Podcasts about Arif Mardin

grammy masterclass ritz leo sayer richard perry arif mardin

Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2024 0:59

Out tomorrow from ProMixAcademy, my new interviews with Grammy winner Leo Sayer take you inside his vocal techniques, his songwriting, how he deals with the business, touring advice, how to develop your own style, the constant exploration at the heart of his creativity! He also talks about working with producers David Courtney, Adam Faith, Richard Perry, Arif Mardin, Alan Tarney, and… his new self productions! Available at ProMix Academy!!! Masterclass with LEO SAYER Watch this episode in video HERE Please Like, Share, and Subscribe to our YouTube channel HERE Buy Richard's acclaimed books HERE Buy Richard's astounding music HERE Send me enough for a cup of coffee at The Ritz to keep our Radio Richard growing: Via PayPal Via Patreon

Move Away

random Wiki of the Day

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2024 1:14

rWotD Episode 2520: Move Away Welcome to random Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of a random Wikipedia page every day.The random article for Thursday, 28 March 2024 is Move Away."Move Away" is a song by British band Culture Club, issued as the lead single from their fourth album, From Luxury to Heartache (1986). The song was produced by Lew Hahn and Arif Mardin. Released in March 1986, it became the group's eighth top-10 hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number seven. In the United States, it reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their last top-40 hit in the US. It also reached the top 10 in various other countries, including Denmark, where it peaked at number three.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:04 UTC on Thursday, 28 March 2024.For the full current version of the article, see Move Away on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm Joanna Standard.

united states education british wikipedia released denmark corner mastodon heartache wiki billboard hot utc culture club move away curmudgeon uk singles chart arif mardin

DUSTY IN MEMPHIS – DUSTY SPRINGFIELD

The CAT Club (Classic Album Thursdays)

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2024 59:06

DUSTY SPRINGFIELD – DUSTY IN MEMPHIS with special guest LUCY O'BRIEN Surprisingly unsuccessful at the time, the album has thankfully become a monument to the unique soulfulness of one of Britain's finest-ever voices. The record that's widely held to be the greatest album in the distinguished catalogue of Dusty Springfield – in fact, for many, one of the greatest albums, period – was released on March 31, 1969. Despite being surprisingly unsuccessful at the time, Dusty In Memphis has thankfully become a monument to the unique soulfulness of one of Britain's finest-ever voices. The album was Dusty's fifth, some five years into her hitmaking career. It marked a new era, as it was the first time that she had recorded an LP outside the UK. Masterfully overseen by three of the all-time giants of American soul and rock music production, Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin, and Tom Dowd, it had a famously difficult birth. Happily, what endures is the brilliant quality of the songs and performances. Our special guest, LUCY O'BRIEN launched the paperback version of her updated & definitive biography, Dusty. Lucy has written critically acclaimed books about Karen Carpenter, Madonna, Annie Lennox as well as 'She Bop: The Definitive History Of Women In Popular Music.' IAN CLAYTON was in the interviewer's chair. This event took place on 29th February 2024 in the Pigeon Loft at The Robin Hood, Pontefract, West Yorkshire. To find out more about the CAT Club please visit: www.thecatclub.co.uk This podcast has been edited for content and for copyright reasons.

american uk britain robin hood lp happily brien annie lennox west yorkshire dusty springfield karen carpenter masterfully pontefract tom dowd jerry wexler arif mardin ian clayton

Músíktilraunir, afmæli Arif Mardin og fössari.

Poppland

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2024 195:00

Úrslitakvöld Músíktilrauna 2024 er á morgun laugardaginn 16.mars, svo við fórum yfir sigurvegara fyrri ára, hlustuðum á upptökur frá kvöldunum í bland við klippur úr þáttunum Árið er. Svo pældum við aðeins í Arif Mardin, en sá goðsagnakenndi pródúsent, útsetjari og yfirmaður markaði stór spor í tónlistarsögu heimsins eins og heyrðist vel í þættinum. Allt þetta og undirbúningur fyrir það sem lítur út fyrir að vera köld helgi. Lagalisti: Retro Stefson - Glow. XXX Rottweiler hundar - Beygla. ÚLFUR ÚLFUR - Tarantúlur. Bróðir Svartúlfs - Fyrirmyndar-veruleika-flóttamaður (Frá úrslitakvöldi Músíktilrauna 2009). Hasar - Drasl. FRANZ FERDINAND - Take Me Out. SIGRID - Sucker Punch. MAMMÚT - Salt. DÚKKULÍSUR - Pamela Í Dallas. Teitur Magnússon Tónlistarmaður - Fjöllin og fjarlægðin. MANNAKORN & ELLEN KRISTJÁNSDÓTTIR - Lifði Og Dó Í Reykjavík. Jónfrí - Sumarið er silungur. Sakaris - Allarbesti. Júlí Heiðar, PATRi!K - Heim. JAIN - Makeba. Úlfur Úlfur Hljómsveit - Myndi falla. FLEETWOOD MAC - Everywhere. Murad, Bashar - Wild West. Jón Jónsson Tónlistarm. - Spilaborg. OF MONSTERS & MEN - Alligator. MÍNUS - The Long Face. BLUR - Barbaric. Bee Gees - Night's On Broadway. DUSTY SPRINGFIELD - Son Of A Preacher Man. PHIL COLLINS - Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now). Jónfrí - Draumur um Bronco. Royel Otis - Murder on the Dancefloor (triple j Like A Version). Bríet - Rólegur kúreki. Fred again.., Obongjayar - Adore u. RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - Breaking the girl. U2 - Stuck In A Moment. Ensími - New leaf. GDRN - Ævilangt. CORINNE BAILEY RAE - Put Your Records On. EAGLES - Take it easy. ARETHA FRANKLIN - Think. TRAIN - Drops of Jupiter. SUPERSERIOUS - Bye Bye Honey. Hera - Scared of heights Dua Lipa - Training Season

broadway jupiter allt hei bronco dancefloor ens fj murad patri svart svo of monsters hlj eagles take arif mardin sumari like a version gdrn draumur aretha franklin think teitur magn mannakorn train drops fleetwood mac everywhere

420- Danny O'Keefe - New Retrospective, Circular Turns

Icon Fetch

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2023 30:12

Danny O'Keefe's best known song is “Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues,” which cracked the Top Ten in 1972. Jackson Browne put O'Keefe's song, “The Road,” on his hugely-successful Running on Empty album. O'Keefe's compositions have been covered by a wide range of artists, from Elvis Presley to Miranda Lambert, from Andy Williams to Ben Harper. His new album, Circular Turns, now out on Sunset Boulevard Records, covers the period from 1999-2017, which saw O'Keefe collaborate with the likes of Bob Dylan, Michael McDonald, Bill Braun, and Fred Knoblach. He also reimagines some of his best songs of the past, like “Angel Spread Your Wings” and “Magdelena.” In addition, there's a second disc featuring an intimate live performance recorded in 2016. O'Keefe talks about what led to this new compilation, and the stories behind some of the songs, including a "collaboration" with Bob Dylan. He also touches on growing up in Washington state and learning from producer Arif Mardin.

washington running blues empty bob dylan retrospective top ten elvis presley circular michael mcdonald miranda lambert jackson browne ben harper andy williams danny o arif mardin good time charlie magdelena

La danse, le rock, la pop, tous en mouvement ! 1/5

Rock & Roll Attitude

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2023 3:06

Avec les Bee Gees, Jive Bunny, Bill Haley, Serge Gainsbourg et Perry Como Danse et Bee Gees, le disco "Saturday Night Fever" mais avant il y eut "Jive Talkin'" en 1975. Le Jive ou Rockabilly Jive, a connu un grand succès dans les années 50, remplacé par la danse rock'n'roll dans les années 60. "Jive Talkin'" suggestion du producteur des Bee Gees, Arif Mardin, d'utiliser ce terme pour toucher les adolescents. Jive Bunny, un groupe de pop britannique formé en 1988, va, avec son medley, faire revenir le rock'n'roll à la mode sur les pistes de danse ainsi qu'en radio. "Swing The Mood", un peu d'"In The Mood" de Glen Miller, de Little Richard, Chubby Checker, Eddie Cochran, un peu d'Elvis. Le mambo, inventé dans les années 30 par le musicien et compositeur cubain Arsenio Rodriguez, célébré par Bill Haley dans "Mambo Rock" en 1955. En France, Serge Gainsbourg en 1959 "Mambo Miam Miam". 1954 interprété par l'acteur et chanteur américain Perry Como "Papa Loves Mambo", un titre qui participera à la popularité du mambo aux Etats-Unis. --- Du lundi au vendredi, Fanny Gillard et Laurent Rieppi vous dévoilent l'univers rock, au travers de thèmes comme ceux de l'éducation, des rockers en prison, les objets de la culture rock, les groupes familiaux et leurs déboires, et bien d'autres, chaque matin dans Coffee on the Rocks à 6h30 et rediffusion à 13h30 dans Lunch Around The Clock.

rock coffee rocks histoire musique en france etats unis bee gees little richard danse mouvement saturday night fever serge gainsbourg la danse chubby checker bill haley eddie cochran le rock in the mood glen miller arif mardin racontee fanny gillard lunch around the clock

GROOVIN' BLUE SHOW 23 - 10

WAGRadio

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2023 79:20

! What's Past - Is Prologue ! ! ! Callin' ALL The Boom Booms & The Zoom Zooms ! ! ! Turn On - Choon In - Zig Zag ! ! ! Hello World . . . Groovin' Blue Is On The Air ! ! * * * GROOVIN' BLUE 23 - 10 * * * Groovin' Blue is dedicated to Dr. Li Wenliang 1. (4:21) GB 23-10 Intro Produced by - WAGRadio Vinyl Librarian William "Fats Is Back" Reiter 2. (3:16) "Smooth Operator (TikTok Mix)" - SWALLOX [Ego] 3. ( :27) WAGRadio Zuka Id 4. (4:06) "Pick It Up Honey (DJZigZag Gettin' Smitty Wit' It EdiT)" - FUNKY GURLZ [Sophisticated Elite] samples - "Pick Up The Pieces" - AWB (Average White Band) [Atlantic 45rpm No. 45-3229] 1974 Prod. Arif Mardin, Arr. AWB, Horns Arr. Roger Ball 5. (2:29) "Ms. Johnson" - FOGGIERAW [Foggieraw] 6. (3:19) "Wrong Number (DJZigZag La Petite Mortimer EdiT)" - JESUS PABLO, PIXEL8 TRAX [Sunshine At Midnight] 7. ( :35) WAGRadio Wait A Minoot Id 8. (1:36) "Haute" - JANELLE MONAE [Warner] 9. (6:16) "Big Apple Boogaloo (Original Vinyl Mix)" - BROOKLYN FUNK ESSENTIALS [Dorado 12" No. DOR 057] 1997 10.( :19) WAGRadio Stress This Id 11.(2:51) "Solo" - CHICOCURLYHEAD [Latium Entertainment Inc.] 12.( :12) WAGRadio Real Id 13.(7:04) "Darkness" - TIMMY THEE DJ, JAYSOULS, BOVMUSIQ [Dynmite Disco Club] 14.(4:39) "Fender Jazz Ensemble (DJZigZag EdiT Pt.1)" - KENNY SUMMIT, KAYSUM [Good For Your Records] 15.(2:58) "Baby Workout" - JACKIE WILSON [Brunswick 45rpm No. B-55239] 1963 - Vocal with Chorus & Orch. Dir. by Dick Jacobs 16.(4:15) "Morning Sun (DJZigZag Final EdiT)" - KERRIER COLLECTIVE [Boogie Cafe] 17.(5:42) "Switch" - GREG PAULUS, TAYLOR BENSE [Freerange] 18.( :27) WAGRadio GB2005 Open Segment plus Id 19.(3:13) "Contact High" - EQUAL ft. GYPTIAN [Flex Up Song] 20.( :49) WAGRadio Bouncy Familiar Id 21.(2:47) "Lady Cop (Instrumental)" - 2RARE [Warner] 22.( :14) WAGRadio Cap Fit Id 23.(5:06) "Would You (go to bed with me?) vs. Jazzed (Muzikman Vibes Mix) [DJZigZag MashEdiT]" - ALCEMIST, CAMPBELL, MAUZIKMAN EDITION, DANIELE BUSCIALA [Atlantic] / [Merecumbe] 24.(2:58) "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And HIgher" - JACKIE WILSON [Brunswick 45rpm No. 55336] 1967 - Vocal w/ chorus and instrumental accompaniment Directed by Gerald Sims, Arr. Sonny Sanders, Prod. Carl Davis 25.( :28) WAGRadio Fun Yeah Id 26.(2:44) "I Don't See" - KEY NOTEZ, DEFUCKNBITZ [5Eleven Entertainment LLC] 27.(2:48) "Falling Up (DJZigZag Perco Later EdiT)" - ADEKUNIE GOLD, PHARRELL WILLIAMS, NILE RODGERS [Def Jam] 28.(2:48) "If You Wanna Be Happy" - JIMMY SOUL [Quality No. 1520X] 1963 Prod. Frank Guida 29.( :07) Nu GB End 30.(2:50) "Doggin' Around" - JACKIE WILSON [Brunswick Records Lp No BL754185 "Jackie Wilson's Greatest Hits] 1972

ms campbell directed vocal gb greatest hits chorus arr prod pharrell williams hello world call in dor groovin past is prologue awb kenny summit orch arif mardin

Raul Midón

Making Sound with Jann Klose

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2023 69:29

EPISODE 97: Raul Midón is a blind singer songwriter guitarist with an international following. He has received numerous accolades, highlights which include the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Miami & the Disability Rights Advocate Award. He has collaborated with artists from Bill Withers to Jason Mraz. In 2020 he decided to forgo the traditional record label relationship to create his own label ReKondite ReKords. His first release on Reko Reko is “Eclectic Adventurist” which is also his first instrumental album of guitar duets with the likes of Mike Stern, Dean Parks, Romero Lubambo, Julia Bailen to name a few. He is also an aspiring novelist. raulmidon.comContact us: makingsoundpodcast.comFollow on Instagram: @makingsoundpodcastFollow on Threads: @jannkloseJoin our Facebook GroupPlease support the show with a donation, thank you for listening!

Episode 168: “I Say a Little Prayer” by Aretha Franklin

A History Of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2023

Episode 168 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “I Say a Little Prayer”, and the interaction of the sacred, political, and secular in Aretha Franklin's life and work. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a forty-five-minute bonus episode available, on "Abraham, Martin, and John" by Dion. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Resources No Mixcloud this week, as there are too many songs by Aretha Franklin. Even splitting it into multiple parts would have required six or seven mixes. My main biographical source for Aretha Franklin is Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin by David Ritz, and this is where most of the quotes from musicians come from. Information on C.L. Franklin came from Singing in a Strange Land: C. L. Franklin, the Black Church, and the Transformation of America by Nick Salvatore. Country Soul by Charles L Hughes is a great overview of the soul music made in Muscle Shoals, Memphis, and Nashville in the sixties. Peter Guralnick's Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm And Blues And The Southern Dream Of Freedom is possibly less essential, but still definitely worth reading. Information about Martin Luther King came from Martin Luther King: A Religious Life by Paul Harvey. I also referred to Burt Bacharach's autobiography Anyone Who Had a Heart, Carole King's autobiography A Natural Woman, and Soul Serenade: King Curtis and his Immortal Saxophone by Timothy R. Hoover. For information about Amazing Grace I also used Aaron Cohen's 33 1/3 book on the album. The film of the concerts is also definitely worth watching. And the Aretha Now album is available in this five-album box set for a ludicrously cheap price. But it's actually worth getting this nineteen-CD set with her first sixteen Atlantic albums and a couple of bonus discs of demos and outtakes. There's barely a duff track in the whole nineteen discs. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript A quick warning before I begin. This episode contains some moderate references to domestic abuse, death by cancer, racial violence, police violence, and political assassination. Anyone who might be upset by those subjects might want to check the transcript rather than listening to the episode. Also, as with the previous episode on Aretha Franklin, this episode presents something of a problem. Like many people in this narrative, Franklin's career was affected by personal troubles, which shaped many of her decisions. But where most of the subjects of the podcast have chosen to live their lives in public and share intimate details of every aspect of their personal lives, Franklin was an extremely private person, who chose to share only carefully sanitised versions of her life, and tried as far as possible to keep things to herself. This of course presents a dilemma for anyone who wants to tell her story -- because even though the information is out there in biographies, and even though she's dead, it's not right to disrespect someone's wish for a private life. I have therefore tried, wherever possible, to stay away from talk of her personal life except where it *absolutely* affects the work, or where other people involved have publicly shared their own stories, and even there I've tried to keep it to a minimum. This will occasionally lead to me saying less about some topics than other people might, even though the information is easily findable, because I don't think we have an absolute right to invade someone else's privacy for entertainment. When we left Aretha Franklin, she had just finally broken through into the mainstream after a decade of performing, with a version of Otis Redding's song "Respect" on which she had been backed by her sisters, Erma and Carolyn. "Respect", in Franklin's interpretation, had been turned from a rather chauvinist song about a man demanding respect from his woman into an anthem of feminism, of Black power, and of a new political awakening. For white people of a certain generation, the summer of 1967 was "the summer of love". For many Black people, it was rather different. There's a quote that goes around (I've seen it credited in reliable sources to both Ebony and Jet magazine, but not ever seen an issue cited, so I can't say for sure where it came from) saying that the summer of 67 was the summer of "'retha, Rap, and revolt", referring to the trifecta of Aretha Franklin, the Black power leader Jamil Abdullah al-Amin (who was at the time known as H. Rap Brown, a name he later disclaimed) and the rioting that broke out in several major cities, particularly in Detroit: [Excerpt: John Lee Hooker, "The Motor City is Burning"] The mid sixties were, in many ways, the high point not of Black rights in the US -- for the most part there has been a lot of progress in civil rights in the intervening decades, though not without inevitable setbacks and attacks from the far right, and as movements like the Black Lives Matter movement have shown there is still a long way to go -- but of *hope* for Black rights. The moral force of the arguments made by the civil rights movement were starting to cause real change to happen for Black people in the US for the first time since the Reconstruction nearly a century before. But those changes weren't happening fast enough, and as we heard in the episode on "I Was Made to Love Her", there was not only a growing unrest among Black people, but a recognition that it was actually possible for things to change. A combination of hope and frustration can be a powerful catalyst, and whether Franklin wanted it or not, she was at the centre of things, both because of her newfound prominence as a star with a hit single that couldn't be interpreted as anything other than a political statement and because of her intimate family connections to the struggle. Even the most racist of white people these days pays lip service to the memory of Dr Martin Luther King, and when they do they quote just a handful of sentences from one speech King made in 1963, as if that sums up the full theological and political philosophy of that most complex of men. And as we discussed the last time we looked at Aretha Franklin, King gave versions of that speech, the "I Have a Dream" speech, twice. The most famous version was at the March on Washington, but the first time was a few weeks earlier, at what was at the time the largest civil rights demonstration in American history, in Detroit. Aretha's family connection to that event is made clear by the very opening of King's speech: [Excerpt: Martin Luther King, "Original 'I Have a Dream' Speech"] So as summer 1967 got into swing, and white rock music was going to San Francisco to wear flowers in its hair, Aretha Franklin was at the centre of a very different kind of youth revolution. Franklin's second Atlantic album, Aretha Arrives, brought in some new personnel to the team that had recorded Aretha's first album for Atlantic. Along with the core Muscle Shoals players Jimmy Johnson, Spooner Oldham, Tommy Cogbill and Roger Hawkins, and a horn section led by King Curtis, Wexler and Dowd also brought in guitarist Joe South. South was a white session player from Georgia, who had had a few minor hits himself in the fifties -- he'd got his start recording a cover version of "The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor", the Big Bopper's B-side to "Chantilly Lace": [Excerpt: Joe South, "The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor"] He'd also written a few songs that had been recorded by people like Gene Vincent, but he'd mostly become a session player. He'd become a favourite musician of Bob Johnston's, and so he'd played guitar on Simon and Garfunkel's Sounds of Silence and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme albums: [Excerpt: Simon and Garfunkel, "I am a Rock"] and bass on Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde, with Al Kooper particularly praising his playing on "Visions of Johanna": [Excerpt: Bob Dylan, "Visions of Johanna"] South would be the principal guitarist on this and Franklin's next album, before his own career took off in 1968 with "Games People Play": [Excerpt: Joe South, "Games People Play"] At this point, he had already written the other song he's best known for, "Hush", which later became a hit for Deep Purple: [Excerpt: Deep Purple, "Hush"] But he wasn't very well known, and was surprised to get the call for the Aretha Franklin session, especially because, as he put it "I was white and I was about to play behind the blackest genius since Ray Charles" But Jerry Wexler had told him that Franklin didn't care about the race of the musicians she played with, and South settled in as soon as Franklin smiled at him when he played a good guitar lick on her version of the blues standard "Going Down Slow": [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "Going Down Slow"] That was one of the few times Franklin smiled in those sessions though. Becoming an overnight success after years of trying and failing to make a name for herself had been a disorienting experience, and on top of that things weren't going well in her personal life. Her marriage to her manager Ted White was falling apart, and she was performing erratically thanks to the stress. In particular, at a gig in Georgia she had fallen off the stage and broken her arm. She soon returned to performing, but it meant she had problems with her right arm during the recording of the album, and didn't play as much piano as she would have previously -- on some of the faster songs she played only with her left hand. But the recording sessions had to go on, whether or not Aretha was physically capable of playing piano. As we discussed in the episode on Otis Redding, the owners of Atlantic Records were busily negotiating its sale to Warner Brothers in mid-1967. As Wexler said later “Everything in me said, Keep rolling, keep recording, keep the hits coming. She was red hot and I had no reason to believe that the streak wouldn't continue. I knew that it would be foolish—and even irresponsible—not to strike when the iron was hot. I also had personal motivation. A Wall Street financier had agreed to see what we could get for Atlantic Records. While Ahmet and Neshui had not agreed on a selling price, they had gone along with my plan to let the financier test our worth on the open market. I was always eager to pump out hits, but at this moment I was on overdrive. In this instance, I had a good partner in Ted White, who felt the same. He wanted as much product out there as possible." In truth, you can tell from Aretha Arrives that it's a record that was being thought of as "product" rather than one being made out of any kind of artistic impulse. It's a fine album -- in her ten-album run from I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You through Amazing Grace there's not a bad album and barely a bad track -- but there's a lack of focus. There are only two originals on the album, neither of them written by Franklin herself, and the rest is an incoherent set of songs that show the tension between Franklin and her producers at Atlantic. Several songs are the kind of standards that Franklin had recorded for her old label Columbia, things like "You Are My Sunshine", or her version of "That's Life", which had been a hit for Frank Sinatra the previous year: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "That's Life"] But mixed in with that are songs that are clearly the choice of Wexler. As we've discussed previously in episodes on Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett, at this point Atlantic had the idea that it was possible for soul artists to cross over into the white market by doing cover versions of white rock hits -- and indeed they'd had some success with that tactic. So while Franklin was suggesting Sinatra covers, Atlantic's hand is visible in the choices of songs like "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and "96 Tears": [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "96 Tears'] Of the two originals on the album, one, the hit single "Baby I Love You" was written by Ronnie Shannon, the Detroit songwriter who had previously written "I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You)": [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "Baby I Love You"] As with the previous album, and several other songs on this one, that had backing vocals by Aretha's sisters, Erma and Carolyn. But the other original on the album, "Ain't Nobody (Gonna Turn Me Around)", didn't, even though it was written by Carolyn: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "Ain't Nobody (Gonna Turn Me Around)"] To explain why, let's take a little detour and look at the co-writer of the song this episode is about, though we're not going to get to that for a little while yet. We've not talked much about Burt Bacharach in this series so far, but he's one of those figures who has come up a few times in the periphery and will come up again, so here is as good a time as any to discuss him, and bring everyone up to speed about his career up to 1967. Bacharach was one of the more privileged figures in the sixties pop music field. His father, Bert Bacharach (pronounced the same as his son, but spelled with an e rather than a u) had been a famous newspaper columnist, and his parents had bought him a Steinway grand piano to practice on -- they pushed him to learn the piano even though as a kid he wasn't interested in finger exercises and Debussy. What he was interested in, though, was jazz, and as a teenager he would often go into Manhattan and use a fake ID to see people like Dizzy Gillespie, who he idolised, and in his autobiography he talks rapturously of seeing Gillespie playing his bent trumpet -- he once saw Gillespie standing on a street corner with a pet monkey on his shoulder, and went home and tried to persuade his parents to buy him a monkey too. In particular, he talks about seeing the Count Basie band with Sonny Payne on drums as a teenager: [Excerpt: Count Basie, "Kid From Red Bank"] He saw them at Birdland, the club owned by Morris Levy where they would regularly play, and said of the performance "they were just so incredibly exciting that all of a sudden, I got into music in a way I never had before. What I heard in those clubs really turned my head around— it was like a big breath of fresh air when somebody throws open a window. That was when I knew for the first time how much I loved music and wanted to be connected to it in some way." Of course, there's a rather major problem with this story, as there is so often with narratives that musicians tell about their early career. In this case, Birdland didn't open until 1949, when Bacharach was twenty-one and stationed in Germany for his military service, while Sonny Payne didn't join Basie's band until 1954, when Bacharach had been a professional musician for many years. Also Dizzy Gillespie's trumpet bell only got bent on January 6, 1953. But presumably while Bacharach was conflating several memories, he did have some experience in some New York jazz club that led him to want to become a musician. Certainly there were enough great jazz musicians playing the clubs in those days. He went to McGill University to study music for two years, then went to study with Darius Milhaud, a hugely respected modernist composer. Milhaud was also one of the most important music teachers of the time -- among others he'd taught Stockhausen and Xenakkis, and would go on to teach Philip Glass and Steve Reich. This suited Bacharach, who by this point was a big fan of Schoenberg and Webern, and was trying to write atonal, difficult music. But Milhaud had also taught Dave Brubeck, and when Bacharach rather shamefacedly presented him with a composition which had an actual tune, he told Bacharach "Never be ashamed of writing a tune you can whistle". He dropped out of university and, like most men of his generation, had to serve in the armed forces. When he got out of the army, he continued his musical studies, still trying to learn to be an avant-garde composer, this time with Bohuslav Martinů and later with Henry Cowell, the experimental composer we've heard about quite a bit in previous episodes: [Excerpt: Henry Cowell, "Aeolian Harp and Sinister Resonance"] He was still listening to a lot of avant garde music, and would continue doing so throughout the fifties, going to see people like John Cage. But he spent much of that time working in music that was very different from the avant-garde. He got a job as the band leader for the crooner Vic Damone: [Excerpt: Vic Damone. "Ebb Tide"] He also played for the vocal group the Ames Brothers. He decided while he was working with the Ames Brothers that he could write better material than they were getting from their publishers, and that it would be better to have a job where he didn't have to travel, so he got himself a job as a staff songwriter in the Brill Building. He wrote a string of flops and nearly hits, starting with "Keep Me In Mind" for Patti Page: [Excerpt: Patti Page, "Keep Me In Mind"] From early in his career he worked with the lyricist Hal David, and the two of them together wrote two big hits, "Magic Moments" for Perry Como: [Excerpt: Perry Como, "Magic Moments"] and "The Story of My Life" for Marty Robbins: [Excerpt: "The Story of My Life"] But at that point Bacharach was still also writing with other writers, notably Hal David's brother Mack, with whom he wrote the theme tune to the film The Blob, as performed by The Five Blobs: [Excerpt: The Five Blobs, "The Blob"] But Bacharach's songwriting career wasn't taking off, and he got himself a job as musical director for Marlene Dietrich -- a job he kept even after it did start to take off. Part of the problem was that he intuitively wrote music that didn't quite fit into standard structures -- there would be odd bars of unusual time signatures thrown in, unusual harmonies, and structural irregularities -- but then he'd take feedback from publishers and producers who would tell him the song could only be recorded if he straightened it out. He said later "The truth is that I ruined a lot of songs by not believing in myself enough to tell these guys they were wrong." He started writing songs for Scepter Records, usually with Hal David, but also with Bob Hilliard and Mack David, and started having R&B hits. One song he wrote with Mack David, "I'll Cherish You", had the lyrics rewritten by Luther Dixon to make them more harsh-sounding for a Shirelles single -- but the single was otherwise just Bacharach's demo with the vocals replaced, and you can even hear his voice briefly at the beginning: [Excerpt: The Shirelles, "Baby, It's You"] But he'd also started becoming interested in the production side of records more generally. He'd iced that some producers, when recording his songs, would change the sound for the worse -- he thought Gene McDaniels' version of "Tower of Strength", for example, was too fast. But on the other hand, other producers got a better sound than he'd heard in his head. He and Hilliard had written a song called "Please Stay", which they'd given to Leiber and Stoller to record with the Drifters, and he thought that their arrangement of the song was much better than the one he'd originally thought up: [Excerpt: The Drifters, "Please Stay"] He asked Leiber and Stoller if he could attend all their New York sessions and learn about record production from them. He started doing so, and eventually they started asking him to assist them on records. He and Hilliard wrote a song called "Mexican Divorce" for the Drifters, which Leiber and Stoller were going to produce, and as he put it "they were so busy running Redbird Records that they asked me to rehearse the background singers for them in my office." [Excerpt: The Drifters, "Mexican Divorce"] The backing singers who had been brought in to augment the Drifters on that record were a group of vocalists who had started out as members of a gospel group called the Drinkard singers: [Excerpt: The Drinkard Singers, "Singing in My Soul"] The Drinkard Singers had originally been a family group, whose members included Cissy Drinkard, who joined the group aged five (and who on her marriage would become known as Cissy Houston -- her daughter Whitney would later join the family business), her aunt Lee Warrick, and Warrick's adopted daughter Judy Clay. That group were discovered by the great gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, and spent much of the fifties performing with gospel greats including Jackson herself, Clara Ward, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. But Houston was also the musical director of a group at her church, the Gospelaires, which featured Lee Warrick's two daughters Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick (for those who don't know, the Warwick sisters' birth name was Warrick, spelled with two rs. A printing error led to it being misspelled the same way as the British city on a record label, and from that point on Dionne at least pronounced the w in her misspelled name). And slowly, the Gospelaires rather than the Drinkard Singers became the focus, with a lineup of Houston, the Warwick sisters, the Warwick sisters' cousin Doris Troy, and Clay's sister Sylvia Shemwell. The real change in the group's fortunes came when, as we talked about a while back in the episode on "The Loco-Motion", the original lineup of the Cookies largely stopped working as session singers to become Ray Charles' Raelettes. As we discussed in that episode, a new lineup of Cookies formed in 1961, but it took a while for them to get started, and in the meantime the producers who had been relying on them for backing vocals were looking elsewhere, and they looked to the Gospelaires. "Mexican Divorce" was the first record to feature the group as backing vocalists -- though reports vary as to how many of them are on the record, with some saying it's only Troy and the Warwicks, others saying Houston was there, and yet others saying it was all five of them. Some of these discrepancies were because these singers were so good that many of them left to become solo singers in fairly short order. Troy was the first to do so, with her hit "Just One Look", on which the other Gospelaires sang backing vocals: [Excerpt: Doris Troy, "Just One Look"] But the next one to go solo was Dionne Warwick, and that was because she'd started working with Bacharach and Hal David as their principal demo singer. She started singing lead on their demos, and hoping that she'd get to release them on her own. One early one was "Make it Easy On Yourself", which was recorded by Jerry Butler, formerly of the Impressions. That record was produced by Bacharach, one of the first records he produced without outside supervision: [Excerpt: Jerry Butler, "Make it Easy On Yourself"] Warwick was very jealous that a song she'd sung the demo of had become a massive hit for someone else, and blamed Bacharach and David. The way she tells the story -- Bacharach always claimed this never happened, but as we've already seen he was himself not always the most reliable of narrators of his own life -- she got so angry she complained to them, and said "Don't make me over, man!" And so Bacharach and David wrote her this: [Excerpt: Dionne Warwick, "Don't Make Me Over"] Incidentally, in the UK, the hit version of that was a cover by the Swinging Blue Jeans: [Excerpt: The Swinging Blue Jeans, "Don't Make Me Over"] who also had a huge hit with "You're No Good": [Excerpt: The Swinging Blue Jeans, "You're No Good"] And *that* was originally recorded by *Dee Dee* Warwick: [Excerpt: Dee Dee Warwick, "You're No Good"] Dee Dee also had a successful solo career, but Dionne's was the real success, making the names of herself, and of Bacharach and David. The team had more than twenty top forty hits together, before Bacharach and David had a falling out in 1971 and stopped working together, and Warwick sued both of them for breach of contract as a result. But prior to that they had hit after hit, with classic records like "Anyone Who Had a Heart": [Excerpt: Dionne Warwick, "Anyone Who Had a Heart"] And "Walk On By": [Excerpt: Dionne Warwick, "Walk On By"] With Doris, Dionne, and Dee Dee all going solo, the group's membership was naturally in flux -- though the departed members would occasionally join their former bandmates for sessions, and the remaining members would sing backing vocals on their ex-members' records. By 1965 the group consisted of Cissy Houston, Sylvia Shemwell, the Warwick sisters' cousin Myrna Smith, and Estelle Brown. The group became *the* go-to singers for soul and R&B records made in New York. They were regularly hired by Leiber and Stoller to sing on their records, and they were also the particular favourites of Bert Berns. They sang backing vocals on almost every record he produced. It's them doing the gospel wails on "Cry Baby" by Garnet Mimms: [Excerpt: Garnet Mimms, "Cry Baby"] And they sang backing vocals on both versions of "If You Need Me" -- Wilson Pickett's original and Solomon Burke's more successful cover version, produced by Berns: [Excerpt: Solomon Burke, "If You Need Me"] They're on such Berns records as "Show Me Your Monkey", by Kenny Hamber: [Excerpt: Kenny Hamber, "Show Me Your Monkey"] And it was a Berns production that ended up getting them to be Aretha Franklin's backing group. The group were becoming such an important part of the records that Atlantic and BANG Records, in particular, were putting out, that Jerry Wexler said "it was only a matter of common decency to put them under contract as a featured group". He signed them to Atlantic and renamed them from the Gospelaires to The Sweet Inspirations. Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham wrote a song for the group which became their only hit under their own name: [Excerpt: The Sweet Inspirations, "Sweet Inspiration"] But to start with, they released a cover of Pops Staples' civil rights song "Why (Am I treated So Bad)": [Excerpt: The Sweet Inspirations, "Why (Am I Treated So Bad?)"] That hadn't charted, and meanwhile, they'd all kept doing session work. Cissy had joined Erma and Carolyn Franklin on the backing vocals for Aretha's "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You": [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You"] Shortly after that, the whole group recorded backing vocals for Erma's single "Piece of My Heart", co-written and produced by Berns: [Excerpt: Erma Franklin, "Piece of My Heart"] That became a top ten record on the R&B charts, but that caused problems. Aretha Franklin had a few character flaws, and one of these was an extreme level of jealousy for any other female singer who had any level of success and came up in the business after her. She could be incredibly graceful towards anyone who had been successful before her -- she once gave one of her Grammies away to Esther Phillips, who had been up for the same award and had lost to her -- but she was terribly insecure, and saw any contemporary as a threat. She'd spent her time at Columbia Records fuming (with some justification) that Barbra Streisand was being given a much bigger marketing budget than her, and she saw Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, and Dionne Warwick as rivals rather than friends. And that went doubly for her sisters, who she was convinced should be supporting her because of family loyalty. She had been infuriated at John Hammond when Columbia had signed Erma, thinking he'd gone behind her back to create competition for her. And now Erma was recording with Bert Berns. Bert Berns who had for years been a colleague of Jerry Wexler and the Ertegun brothers at Atlantic. Aretha was convinced that Wexler had put Berns up to signing Erma as some kind of power play. There was only one problem with this -- it simply wasn't true. As Wexler later explained “Bert and I had suffered a bad falling-out, even though I had enormous respect for him. After all, he was the guy who brought over guitarist Jimmy Page from England to play on our sessions. Bert, Ahmet, Nesuhi, and I had started a label together—Bang!—where Bert produced Van Morrison's first album. But Bert also had a penchant for trouble. He courted the wise guys. He wanted total control over every last aspect of our business dealings. Finally it was too much, and the Erteguns and I let him go. He sued us for breach of contract and suddenly we were enemies. I felt that he signed Erma, an excellent singer, not merely for her talent but as a way to get back at me. If I could make a hit with Aretha, he'd show me up by making an even bigger hit on Erma. Because there was always an undercurrent of rivalry between the sisters, this only added to the tension.” There were two things that resulted from this paranoia on Aretha's part. The first was that she and Wexler, who had been on first-name terms up to that point, temporarily went back to being "Mr. Wexler" and "Miss Franklin" to each other. And the second was that Aretha no longer wanted Carolyn and Erma to be her main backing vocalists, though they would continue to appear on her future records on occasion. From this point on, the Sweet Inspirations would be the main backing vocalists for Aretha in the studio throughout her golden era [xxcut line (and when the Sweet Inspirations themselves weren't on the record, often it would be former members of the group taking their place)]: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "Ain't Nobody (Gonna Turn Me Around)"] The last day of sessions for Aretha Arrives was July the twenty-third, 1967. And as we heard in the episode on "I Was Made to Love Her", that was the day that the Detroit riots started. To recap briefly, that was four days of rioting started because of a history of racist policing, made worse by those same racist police overreacting to the initial protests. By the end of those four days, the National Guard, 82nd Airborne Division, and the 101st Airborne from Clarksville were all called in to deal with the violence, which left forty-three dead (of whom thirty-three were Black and only one was a police officer), 1,189 people were injured, and over 7,200 arrested, almost all of them Black. Those days in July would be a turning point for almost every musician based in Detroit. In particular, the police had murdered three members of the soul group the Dramatics, in a massacre of which the author John Hersey, who had been asked by President Johnson to be part of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders but had decided that would compromise his impartiality and did an independent journalistic investigation, said "The episode contained all the mythic themes of racial strife in the United States: the arm of the law taking the law into its own hands; interracial sex; the subtle poison of racist thinking by “decent” men who deny they are racists; the societal limbo into which, ever since slavery, so many young black men have been driven by our country; ambiguous justice in the courts; and the devastation in both black and white human lives that follows in the wake of violence as surely as ruinous and indiscriminate flood after torrents" But these were also the events that radicalised the MC5 -- the group had been playing a gig as Tim Buckley's support act when the rioting started, and guitarist Wayne Kramer decided afterwards to get stoned and watch the fires burning down the city through a telescope -- which police mistook for a rifle, leading to the National Guard knocking down Kramer's door. The MC5 would later cover "The Motor City is Burning", John Lee Hooker's song about the events: [Excerpt: The MC5, "The Motor City is Burning"] It would also be a turning point for Motown, too, in ways we'll talk about in a few future episodes. And it was a political turning point too -- Michigan Governor George Romney, a liberal Republican (at a time when such people existed) had been the favourite for the Republican Presidential candidacy when he'd entered the race in December 1966, but as racial tensions ramped up in Detroit during the early months of 1967 he'd started trailing Richard Nixon, a man who was consciously stoking racists' fears. President Johnson, the incumbent Democrat, who was at that point still considering standing for re-election, made sure to make it clear to everyone during the riots that the decision to call in the National Guard had been made at the State level, by Romney, rather than at the Federal level. That wasn't the only thing that removed the possibility of a Romney presidency, but it was a big part of the collapse of his campaign, and the, as it turned out, irrevocable turn towards right-authoritarianism that the party took with Nixon's Southern Strategy. Of course, Aretha Franklin had little way of knowing what was to come and how the riots would change the city and the country over the following decades. What she was primarily concerned about was the safety of her father, and to a lesser extent that of her sister-in-law Earline who was staying with him. Aretha, Carolyn, and Erma all tried to keep in constant touch with their father while they were out of town, and Aretha even talked about hiring private detectives to travel to Detroit, find her father, and get him out of the city to safety. But as her brother Cecil pointed out, he was probably the single most loved man among Black people in Detroit, and was unlikely to be harmed by the rioters, while he was too famous for the police to kill with impunity. Reverend Franklin had been having a stressful time anyway -- he had recently been fined for tax evasion, an action he was convinced the IRS had taken because of his friendship with Dr King and his role in the civil rights movement -- and according to Cecil "Aretha begged Daddy to move out of the city entirely. She wanted him to find another congregation in California, where he was especially popular—or at least move out to the suburbs. But he wouldn't budge. He said that, more than ever, he was needed to point out the root causes of the riots—the economic inequality, the pervasive racism in civic institutions, the woefully inadequate schools in inner-city Detroit, and the wholesale destruction of our neighborhoods by urban renewal. Some ministers fled the city, but not our father. The horror of what happened only recommitted him. He would not abandon his political agenda." To make things worse, Aretha was worried about her father in other ways -- as her marriage to Ted White was starting to disintegrate, she was looking to her father for guidance, and actually wanted him to take over her management. Eventually, Ruth Bowen, her booking agent, persuaded her brother Cecil that this was a job he could do, and that she would teach him everything he needed to know about the music business. She started training him up while Aretha was still married to White, in the expectation that that marriage couldn't last. Jerry Wexler, who only a few months earlier had been seeing Ted White as an ally in getting "product" from Franklin, had now changed his tune -- partly because the sale of Atlantic had gone through in the meantime. He later said “Sometimes she'd call me at night, and, in that barely audible little-girl voice of hers, she'd tell me that she wasn't sure she could go on. She always spoke in generalities. She never mentioned her husband, never gave me specifics of who was doing what to whom. And of course I knew better than to ask. She just said that she was tired of dealing with so much. My heart went out to her. She was a woman who suffered silently. She held so much in. I'd tell her to take as much time off as she needed. We had a lot of songs in the can that we could release without new material. ‘Oh, no, Jerry,' she'd say. ‘I can't stop recording. I've written some new songs, Carolyn's written some new songs. We gotta get in there and cut 'em.' ‘Are you sure?' I'd ask. ‘Positive,' she'd say. I'd set up the dates and typically she wouldn't show up for the first or second sessions. Carolyn or Erma would call me to say, ‘Ree's under the weather.' That was tough because we'd have asked people like Joe South and Bobby Womack to play on the sessions. Then I'd reschedule in the hopes she'd show." That third album she recorded in 1967, Lady Soul, was possibly her greatest achievement. The opening track, and second single, "Chain of Fools", released in November, was written by Don Covay -- or at least it's credited as having been written by Covay. There's a gospel record that came out around the same time on a very small label based in Houston -- "Pains of Life" by Rev. E. Fair And The Sensational Gladys Davis Trio: [Excerpt: Rev. E. Fair And The Sensational Gladys Davis Trio, "Pains of Life"] I've seen various claims online that that record came out shortly *before* "Chain of Fools", but I can't find any definitive evidence one way or the other -- it was on such a small label that release dates aren't available anywhere. Given that the B-side, which I haven't been able to track down online, is called "Wait Until the Midnight Hour", my guess is that rather than this being a case of Don Covay stealing the melody from an obscure gospel record he'd have had little chance to hear, it's the gospel record rewriting a then-current hit to be about religion, but I thought it worth mentioning. The song was actually written by Covay after Jerry Wexler asked him to come up with some songs for Otis Redding, but Wexler, after hearing it, decided it was better suited to Franklin, who gave an astonishing performance: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "Chain of Fools"] Arif Mardin, the arranger of the album, said of that track “I was listed as the arranger of ‘Chain of Fools,' but I can't take credit. Aretha walked into the studio with the chart fully formed inside her head. The arrangement is based around the harmony vocals provided by Carolyn and Erma. To add heft, the Sweet Inspirations joined in. The vision of the song is entirely Aretha's.” According to Wexler, that's not *quite* true -- according to him, Joe South came up with the guitar part that makes up the intro, and he also said that when he played what he thought was the finished track to Ellie Greenwich, she came up with another vocal line for the backing vocals, which she overdubbed. But the core of the record's sound is definitely pure Aretha -- and Carolyn Franklin said that there was a reason for that. As she said later “Aretha didn't write ‘Chain,' but she might as well have. It was her story. When we were in the studio putting on the backgrounds with Ree doing lead, I knew she was singing about Ted. Listen to the lyrics talking about how for five long years she thought he was her man. Then she found out she was nothing but a link in the chain. Then she sings that her father told her to come on home. Well, he did. She sings about how her doctor said to take it easy. Well, he did too. She was drinking so much we thought she was on the verge of a breakdown. The line that slew me, though, was the one that said how one of these mornings the chain is gonna break but until then she'll take all she can take. That summed it up. Ree knew damn well that this man had been doggin' her since Jump Street. But somehow she held on and pushed it to the breaking point." [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "Chain of Fools"] That made number one on the R&B charts, and number two on the hot one hundred, kept from the top by "Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)" by John Fred and his Playboy Band -- a record that very few people would say has stood the test of time as well. The other most memorable track on the album was the one chosen as the first single, released in September. As Carole King told the story, she and Gerry Goffin were feeling like their career was in a slump. While they had had a huge run of hits in the early sixties through 1965, they had only had two new hits in 1966 -- "Goin' Back" for Dusty Springfield and "Don't Bring Me Down" for the Animals, and neither of those were anything like as massive as their previous hits. And up to that point in 1967, they'd only had one -- "Pleasant Valley Sunday" for the Monkees. They had managed to place several songs on Monkees albums and the TV show as well, so they weren't going to starve, but the rise of self-contained bands that were starting to dominate the charts, and Phil Spector's temporary retirement, meant there simply wasn't the opportunity for them to place material that there had been. They were also getting sick of travelling to the West Coast all the time, because as their children were growing slightly older they didn't want to disrupt their lives in New York, and were thinking of approaching some of the New York based labels and seeing if they needed songs. They were particularly considering Atlantic, because soul was more open to outside songwriters than other genres. As it happened, though, they didn't have to approach Atlantic, because Atlantic approached them. They were walking down Broadway when a limousine pulled up, and Jerry Wexler stuck his head out of the window. He'd come up with a good title that he wanted to use for a song for Aretha, would they be interested in writing a song called "Natural Woman"? They said of course they would, and Wexler drove off. They wrote the song that night, and King recorded a demo the next morning: [Excerpt: Carole King, "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (demo)"] They gave Wexler a co-writing credit because he had suggested the title. King later wrote in her autobiography "Hearing Aretha's performance of “Natural Woman” for the first time, I experienced a rare speechless moment. To this day I can't convey how I felt in mere words. Anyone who had written a song in 1967 hoping it would be performed by a singer who could take it to the highest level of excellence, emotional connection, and public exposure would surely have wanted that singer to be Aretha Franklin." She went on to say "But a recording that moves people is never just about the artist and the songwriters. It's about people like Jerry and Ahmet, who matched the songwriters with a great title and a gifted artist; Arif Mardin, whose magnificent orchestral arrangement deserves the place it will forever occupy in popular music history; Tom Dowd, whose engineering skills captured the magic of this memorable musical moment for posterity; and the musicians in the rhythm section, the orchestral players, and the vocal contributions of the background singers—among them the unforgettable “Ah-oo!” after the first line of the verse. And the promotion and marketing people helped this song reach more people than it might have without them." And that's correct -- unlike "Chain of Fools", this time Franklin did let Arif Mardin do most of the arrangement work -- though she came up with the piano part that Spooner Oldham plays on the record. Mardin said that because of the song's hymn-like feel they wanted to go for a more traditional written arrangement. He said "She loved the song to the point where she said she wanted to concentrate on the vocal and vocal alone. I had written a string chart and horn chart to augment the chorus and hired Ralph Burns to conduct. After just a couple of takes, we had it. That's when Ralph turned to me with wonder in his eyes. Ralph was one of the most celebrated arrangers of the modern era. He had done ‘Early Autumn' for Woody Herman and Stan Getz, and ‘Georgia on My Mind' for Ray Charles. He'd worked with everyone. ‘This woman comes from another planet' was all Ralph said. ‘She's just here visiting.'” [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"] By this point there was a well-functioning team making Franklin's records -- while the production credits would vary over the years, they were all essentially co-productions by the team of Franklin, Wexler, Mardin and Dowd, all collaborating and working together with a more-or-less unified purpose, and the backing was always by the same handful of session musicians and some combination of the Sweet Inspirations and Aretha's sisters. That didn't mean that occasional guests couldn't get involved -- as we discussed in the Cream episode, Eric Clapton played guitar on "Good to Me as I am to You": [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "Good to Me as I am to You"] Though that was one of the rare occasions on one of these records where something was overdubbed. Clapton apparently messed up the guitar part when playing behind Franklin, because he was too intimidated by playing with her, and came back the next day to redo his part without her in the studio. At this point, Aretha was at the height of her fame. Just before the final batch of album sessions began she appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, and she was making regular TV appearances, like one on the Mike Douglas Show where she duetted with Frankie Valli on "That's Life": [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin and Frankie Valli, "That's Life"] But also, as Wexler said “Her career was kicking into high gear. Contending and resolving both the professional and personal challenges were too much. She didn't think she could do both, and I didn't blame her. Few people could. So she let the personal slide and concentrated on the professional. " Her concert promoter Ruth Bowen said of this time "Her father and Dr. King were putting pressure on her to sing everywhere, and she felt obligated. The record company was also screaming for more product. And I had a mountain of offers on my desk that kept getting higher with every passing hour. They wanted her in Europe. They wanted her in Latin America. They wanted her in every major venue in the U.S. TV was calling. She was being asked to do guest appearances on every show from Carol Burnett to Andy Williams to the Hollywood Palace. She wanted to do them all and she wanted to do none of them. She wanted to do them all because she's an entertainer who burns with ambition. She wanted to do none of them because she was emotionally drained. She needed to go away and renew her strength. I told her that at least a dozen times. She said she would, but she didn't listen to me." The pressures from her father and Dr King are a recurring motif in interviews with people about this period. Franklin was always a very political person, and would throughout her life volunteer time and money to liberal political causes and to the Democratic Party, but this was the height of her activism -- the Civil Rights movement was trying to capitalise on the gains it had made in the previous couple of years, and celebrity fundraisers and performances at rallies were an important way to do that. And at this point there were few bigger celebrities in America than Aretha Franklin. At a concert in her home town of Detroit on February the sixteenth, 1968, the Mayor declared the day Aretha Franklin Day. At the same show, Billboard, Record World *and* Cash Box magazines all presented her with plaques for being Female Vocalist of the Year. And Dr. King travelled up to be at the show and congratulate her publicly for all her work with his organisation, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Backstage at that show, Dr. King talked to Aretha's father, Reverend Franklin, about what he believed would be the next big battle -- a strike in Memphis: [Excerpt, Martin Luther King, "Mountaintop Speech" -- "And so, as a result of this, we are asking you tonight, to go out and tell your neighbors not to buy Coca-Cola in Memphis. Go by and tell them not to buy Sealtest milk. Tell them not to buy—what is the other bread?—Wonder Bread. And what is the other bread company, Jesse? Tell them not to buy Hart's bread. As Jesse Jackson has said, up to now, only the garbage men have been feeling pain; now we must kind of redistribute the pain. We are choosing these companies because they haven't been fair in their hiring policies; and we are choosing them because they can begin the process of saying, they are going to support the needs and the rights of these men who are on strike. And then they can move on downtown and tell Mayor Loeb to do what is right."] The strike in question was the Memphis Sanitation Workers' strike which had started a few days before. The struggle for Black labour rights was an integral part of the civil rights movement, and while it's not told that way in the sanitised version of the story that's made it into popular culture, the movement led by King was as much about economic justice as social justice -- King was a democratic socialist, and believed that economic oppression was both an effect of and cause of other forms of racial oppression, and that the rights of Black workers needed to be fought for. In 1967 he had set up a new organisation, the Poor People's Campaign, which was set to march on Washington to demand a program that included full employment, a guaranteed income -- King was strongly influenced in his later years by the ideas of Henry George, the proponent of a universal basic income based on land value tax -- the annual building of half a million affordable homes, and an end to the war in Vietnam. This was King's main focus in early 1968, and he saw the sanitation workers' strike as a major part of this campaign. Memphis was one of the most oppressive cities in the country, and its largely Black workforce of sanitation workers had been trying for most of the 1960s to unionise, and strike-breakers had been called in to stop them, and many of them had been fired by their white supervisors with no notice. They were working in unsafe conditions, for utterly inadequate wages, and the city government were ardent segregationists. After two workers had died on the first of February from using unsafe equipment, the union demanded changes -- safer working conditions, better wages, and recognition of the union. The city council refused, and almost all the sanitation workers stayed home and stopped work. After a few days, the council relented and agreed to their terms, but the Mayor, Henry Loeb, an ardent white supremacist who had stood on a platform of opposing desegregation, and who had previously been the Public Works Commissioner who had put these unsafe conditions in place, refused to listen. As far as he was concerned, he was the only one who could recognise the union, and he wouldn't. The workers continued their strike, marching holding signs that simply read "I am a Man": [Excerpt: Stevie Wonder, "Blowing in the Wind"] The Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the NAACP had been involved in organising support for the strikes from an early stage, and King visited Memphis many times. Much of the time he spent visiting there was spent negotiating with a group of more militant activists, who called themselves The Invaders and weren't completely convinced by King's nonviolent approach -- they believed that violence and rioting got more attention than non-violent protests. King explained to them that while he had been persuaded by Gandhi's writings of the moral case for nonviolent protest, he was also persuaded that it was pragmatically necessary -- asking the young men "how many guns do we have and how many guns do they have?", and pointing out as he often did that when it comes to violence a minority can't win against an armed majority. Rev Franklin went down to Memphis on the twenty-eighth of March to speak at a rally Dr. King was holding, but as it turned out the rally was cancelled -- the pre-rally march had got out of hand, with some people smashing windows, and Memphis police had, like the police in Detroit the previous year, violently overreacted, clubbing and gassing protestors and shooting and killing one unarmed teenage boy, Larry Payne. The day after Payne's funeral, Dr King was back in Memphis, though this time Rev Franklin was not with him. On April the third, he gave a speech which became known as the "Mountaintop Speech", in which he talked about the threats that had been made to his life: [Excerpt: Martin Luther King, "Mountaintop Speech": “And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."] The next day, Martin Luther King was shot dead. James Earl Ray, a white supremacist, pled guilty to the murder, and the evidence against him seems overwhelming from what I've read, but the King family have always claimed that the murder was part of a larger conspiracy and that Ray was not the gunman. Aretha was obviously distraught, and she attended the funeral, as did almost every other prominent Black public figure. James Baldwin wrote of the funeral: "In the pew directly before me sat Marlon Brando, Sammy Davis, Eartha Kitt—covered in black, looking like a lost, ten-year-old girl—and Sidney Poitier, in the same pew, or nearby. Marlon saw me, and nodded. The atmosphere was black, with a tension indescribable—as though something, perhaps the heavens, perhaps the earth, might crack. Everyone sat very still. The actual service sort of washed over me, in waves. It wasn't that it seemed unreal; it was the most real church service I've ever sat through in my life, or ever hope to sit through; but I have a childhood hangover thing about not weeping in public, and I was concentrating on holding myself together. I did not want to weep for Martin, tears seemed futile. But I may also have been afraid, and I could not have been the only one, that if I began to weep I would not be able to stop. There was more than enough to weep for, if one was to weep—so many of us, cut down, so soon. Medgar, Malcolm, Martin: and their widows, and their children. Reverend Ralph David Abernathy asked a certain sister to sing a song which Martin had loved—“Once more,” said Ralph David, “for Martin and for me,” and he sat down." Many articles and books on Aretha Franklin say that she sang at King's funeral. In fact she didn't, but there's a simple reason for the confusion. King's favourite song was the Thomas Dorsey gospel song "Take My Hand, Precious Lord", and indeed almost his last words were to ask a trumpet player, Ben Branch, if he would play the song at the rally he was going to be speaking at on the day of his death. At his request, Mahalia Jackson, his old friend, sang the song at his private funeral, which was not filmed, unlike the public part of the funeral that Baldwin described. Four months later, though, there was another public memorial for King, and Franklin did sing "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" at that service, in front of King's weeping widow and children, and that performance *was* filmed, and gets conflated in people's memories with Jackson's unfilmed earlier performance: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "Take My Hand, Precious Lord (at Martin Luther King Memorial)"] Four years later, she would sing that at Mahalia Jackson's funeral. Through all this, Franklin had been working on her next album, Aretha Now, the sessions for which started more or less as soon as the sessions for Lady Soul had finished. The album was, in fact, bookended by deaths that affected Aretha. Just as King died at the end of the sessions, the beginning came around the time of the death of Otis Redding -- the sessions were cancelled for a day while Wexler travelled to Georgia for Redding's funeral, which Franklin was too devastated to attend, and Wexler would later say that the extra emotion in her performances on the album came from her emotional pain at Redding's death. The lead single on the album, "Think", was written by Franklin and -- according to the credits anyway -- her husband Ted White, and is very much in the same style as "Respect", and became another of her most-loved hits: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "Think"] But probably the song on Aretha Now that now resonates the most is one that Jerry Wexler tried to persuade her not to record, and was only released as a B-side. Indeed, "I Say a Little Prayer" was a song that had already once been a hit after being a reject. Hal David, unlike Burt Bacharach, was a fairly political person and inspired by the protest song movement, and had been starting to incorporate his concerns about the political situation and the Vietnam War into his lyrics -- though as with many such writers, he did it in much less specific ways than a Phil Ochs or a Bob Dylan. This had started with "What the World Needs Now is Love", a song Bacharach and David had written for Jackie DeShannon in 1965: [Excerpt: Jackie DeShannon, "What the "World Needs Now is Love"] But he'd become much more overtly political for "The Windows of the World", a song they wrote for Dionne Warwick. Warwick has often said it's her favourite of her singles, but it wasn't a big hit -- Bacharach blamed himself for that, saying "Dionne recorded it as a single and I really blew it. I wrote a bad arrangement and the tempo was too fast, and I really regret making it the way I did because it's a good song." [Excerpt: Dionne Warwick, "The Windows of the World"] For that album, Bacharach and David had written another track, "I Say a Little Prayer", which was not as explicitly political, but was intended by David to have an implicit anti-war message, much like other songs of the period like "Last Train to Clarksville". David had sons who were the right age to be drafted, and while it's never stated, "I Say a Little Prayer" was written from the perspective of a woman whose partner is away fighting in the war, but is still in her thoughts: [Excerpt: Dionne Warwick, "I Say a Little Prayer"] The recording of Dionne Warwick's version was marked by stress. Bacharach had a particular way of writing music to tell the musicians the kind of feel he wanted for the part -- he'd write nonsense words above the stave, and tell the musicians to play the parts as if they were singing those words. The trumpet player hired for the session, Ernie Royal, got into a row with Bacharach about this unorthodox way of communicating musical feeling, and the track ended up taking ten takes (as opposed to the normal three for a Bacharach session), with Royal being replaced half-way through the session. Bacharach was never happy with the track even after all the work it had taken, and he fought to keep it from being released at all, saying the track was taken at too fast a tempo. It eventually came out as an album track nearly eighteen months after it was recorded -- an eternity in 1960s musical timescales -- and DJs started playing it almost as soon as it came out. Scepter records rushed out a single, over Bacharach's objections, but as he later said "One thing I love about the record business is how wrong I was. Disc jockeys all across the country started playing the track, and the song went to number four on the charts and then became the biggest hit Hal and I had ever written for Dionne." [Excerpt: Dionne Warwick, "I Say a Little Prayer"] Oddly, the B-side for Warwick's single, "Theme From the Valley of the Dolls" did even better, reaching number two. Almost as soon as the song was released as a single, Franklin started playing around with the song backstage, and in April 1968, right around the time of Dr. King's death, she recorded a version. Much as Burt Bacharach had been against releasing Dionne Warwick's version, Jerry Wexler was against Aretha even recording the song, saying later “I advised Aretha not to record it. I opposed it for two reasons. First, to cover a song only twelve weeks after the original reached the top of the charts was not smart business. You revisit such a hit eight months to a year later. That's standard practice. But more than that, Bacharach's melody, though lovely, was peculiarly suited to a lithe instrument like Dionne Warwick's—a light voice without the dark corners or emotional depths that define Aretha. Also, Hal David's lyric was also somewhat girlish and lacked the gravitas that Aretha required. “Aretha usually listened to me in the studio, but not this time. She had written a vocal arrangement for the Sweet Inspirations that was undoubtedly strong. Cissy Houston, Dionne's cousin, told me that Aretha was on the right track—she was seeing this song in a new way and had come up with a new groove. Cissy was on Aretha's side. Tommy Dowd and Arif were on Aretha's side. So I had no choice but to cave." It's quite possible that Wexler's objections made Franklin more, rather than less, determined to record the song. She regarded Warwick as a hated rival, as she did almost every prominent female singer of her generation and younger ones, and would undoubtedly have taken the implication that there was something that Warwick was simply better at than her to heart. [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "I Say a Little Prayer"] Wexler realised as soon as he heard it in the studio that Franklin's version was great, and Bacharach agreed, telling Franklin's biographer David Ritz “As much as I like the original recording by Dionne, there's no doubt that Aretha's is a better record. She imbued the song with heavy soul and took it to a far deeper place. Hers is the definitive version.” -- which is surprising because Franklin's version simplifies some of Bacharach's more unusual chord voicings, something he often found extremely upsetting. Wexler still though thought there was no way the song would be a hit, and it's understandable that he thought that way. Not only had it only just been on the charts a few months earlier, but it was the kind of song that wouldn't normally be a hit at all, and certainly not in the kind of rhythmic soul music for which Franklin was known. Almost everything she ever recorded is in simple time signatures -- 4/4, waltz time, or 6/8 -- but this is a Bacharach song so it's staggeringly metrically irregular. Normally even with semi-complex things I'm usually good at figuring out how to break it down into bars, but here I actually had to purchase a copy of the sheet music in order to be sure I was right about what's going on. I'm going to count beats along with the record here so you can see what I mean. The verse has three bars of 4/4, one bar of 2/4, and three more bars of 4/4, all repeated: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "I Say a Little Prayer" with me counting bars over verse] While the chorus has a bar of 4/4, a bar of 3/4 but with a chord change half way through so it sounds like it's in two if you're paying attention to the harmonic changes, two bars of 4/4, another waltz-time bar sounding like it's in two, two bars of four, another bar of three sounding in two, a bar of four, then three more bars of four but the first of those is *written* as four but played as if it's in six-eight time (but you can keep the four/four pulse going if you're counting): [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "I Say a Little Prayer" with me counting bars over verse] I don't expect you to have necessarily followed that in great detail, but the point should be clear -- this was not some straightforward dance song. Incidentally, that bar played as if it's six/eight was something Aretha introduced to make the song even more irregular than how Bacharach wrote it. And on top of *that* of course the lyrics mixed the secular and the sacred, something that was still taboo in popular music at that time -- this is only a couple of years after Capitol records had been genuinely unsure about putting out the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows", and Franklin's gospel-inflected vocals made the religious connection even more obvious. But Franklin was insistent that the record go out as a single, and eventually it was released as the B-side to the far less impressive "The House That Jack Built". It became a double-sided hit, with the A-side making number two on the R&B chart and number seven on the Hot One Hundred, while "I Say a Little Prayer" made number three on the R&B chart and number ten overall. In the UK, "I Say a Little Prayer" made number four and became her biggest ever solo UK hit. It's now one of her most-remembered songs, while the A-side is largely forgotten: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "I Say a Little Prayer"] For much of the

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houston king curtis you are my sunshine my sweet lord this girl aaron cohen bernard purdie mardin norman greenbaum precious memories henry george jackie deshannon gerry goffin bernard edwards cashbox darius milhaud loserville say a little prayer never grow old webern betty shabazz so fine tom dowd esther phillips ahmet ertegun james cleveland vandross fillmore west mike douglas show milhaud jerry wexler in love with you medgar david ritz arif mardin bob johnston wait until i was made john hersey joe south ted white edwin hawkins new africa peter guralnick make me over ralph burns ellie greenwich play that song pops staples lady soul champion jack dupree rap brown you make me feel like a natural woman brook benton spooner oldham henry cowell morris levy jesus yes don covay chuck rainey john fred charles cooke thomas dorsey how i got over soul stirrers bert berns i never loved civil disorders henry stone baby i love you will you love me tomorrow way i love you hollywood palace gene mcdaniels gospel music workshop larry payne harlem square club fruitgum company savoy records judy clay national advisory commission ertegun charles l hughes tilt araiza

"PUT ON A STACK OF 45's"- DUSTY SPRINGFIELD - "STAY AWHILE" - Featuring The Splendid Bohemians Rich Buckland and Bill Mesnik -The Boys Devote Each Episode To A Famed 45 RPM And Shine A Light Upon It's Import

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Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2023 19:57

With the single “I Only Want to Be with You” (1963), Springfield went solo and made her way into the heart of “Swinging London.” Part cartoon, part unresolvable desire, part bruised despair, she peered through heavy mascara and a stack of peroxided hair while singing with breathy sensuality. Bringing a fragile uncertainty to her cover versions of songs by Burt Bacharach and Hal David that had been hits in the United States for Dionne Warwick, Springfield had a string of British hits. The commercial high point of her career, though, was the ballad “You Don't Have to Say You Love Me” (1966), which topped the British singles chart and reached number four in the United States.In the late 1960s Springfield began to take herself seriously as a soul diva. In 1965 she hosted a television special that promoted Motown artists, including the Supremes and Martha and the Vandellas, to British audiences, and she often performed American rhythm-and-blues songs in her own subsequent TV appearances. She signed with Atlantic Records in 1968 and cut her Dusty in Memphis (1969) album in the famed American Sound Studios with producers Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin. The album brought her critical acclaim and an international hit with “Son of a Preacher Man.”Springfield continued to record into the 1970s, but her career was derailed by poor management and struggles with drugs and alcohol. By the middle of the decade, she was working as a session singer in Los Angeles. Repeated comeback attempts failed until she teamed up with the Pet Shop Boys on the single “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” (1987); after it became a hit, the duo wrote and produced other songs for her that were included on her album Reputation (1990). By the 1990s Springfield had become a camp icon. After she resettled in England, she battled cancer and in 1998 received the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire). She was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.

"You Should Hear How She Talks About You" 2023-06-17 Random Soundcheck

Random Soundchecks

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2023 5:23

Melissa Manchester, Dean Pitchford, Tom Snow, Arif Mardin, and me.

soundcheck melissa manchester arif mardin dean pitchford

In Conversation with Grant Walters, co-author of “Decades: The Bee Gees in the 1970s”

Permanent Record Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2023 114:10

Episode 156: In Conversation with Grant Walters, co-author of “Decades: The Bee Gees in the 1970s” If you follow the podcast on any of the below social media accounts, then you probably know that Brian got heavily into the Bee Gees over the past couple of years, after watching the excellent HBO documentary How Can You Mend a Broken Heart. He has now amassed quite a collection of vinyl records and CDs by the Brothers Gibb, and he's also been eager to read any books about them he can get his hands on. Until recently, such books were hard to find. However, Grant Walters, Andrew Môn Hughes and Mark Crohan have combined their writing talents and their encyclopedic knowledge of the Bee Gees to develop a book series covering the career of the Bee Gees, a decade at a time. The second book in the series, Decades: The Bee Gees in the 1970s, has just recently been released in the UK, and is soon to be released in the US. Brian and Sarah had the great pleasure of talking with Grant Walters about the new book, and they also learned more about Grant and his many talents, how he came to know Andrew and Mark, and how the book series came about. The 1970s was quite a roller coaster of a decade for Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, and the discussion addresses such topics as the breakup and re-formation of the Bee Gees; their challenges with songwriting and chart success in the early 1970s; their work with Arif Mardin, and of course, Saturday Night Fever. There's also talk about youngest brother Andy and his career progression during this time, as well as the disco movement in general. It's a fun and informative conversation with a friendly and extremely knowledgeable fellow, on one of the biggest pop acts of all time, so you won't want to miss it! Find out more about Decades: The Bee Gees in the 1970s, as well as the previous book in the series, Decades: The Bee Gees in the 1960s, at https://www.beegeesdecades.com/ Visit https://www.grantwalters.online/ to see Grant's digital art and photography, to get links to his many arts and entertainment articles, and much more! Read more at https://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

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Level 222: Lennie Moore (Mentors, Outcast 2)

Level with Emily Reese

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2023 116:30

Composer Lennie Moore talks about his newest passion project, a big band album called Mentors that pays tribute to his musical mentors, like record producer Arif Mardin, pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi and drummer Peter Erskine (who plays on the album). While we do briefly discuss the upcoming Outcast 2 (Lennie scored the first Outcast in 1999), most of the conversation centers around the album and the people who aided Lennie musically along the way. You can hear Sam (Level's producer) and I discuss it in Next Level on YouTube. This is long conversation but we make no apologies; you're going to learn a LOT about some legendary musicians and it's well worth it! You can support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find this conversation on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to exclusive merch, Discord events and special guest playlists. PLAYLIST by Lennie Moore from Mentors unless noted otherwise 00:00 Manic 09:26 The Mardini Effect 14:53 The Mardini Effect 17:20 Planetary Misalignment 20:04 Two Peas In A Pod 21:13 Essence MIDI demo 21:24 Essence (album version) 30:11 Manic 34:31 Two Peas In A Pod 35:10 Intentionality 39:33 Intentionality 42:05 Two Peas In A Pod 43:35 Essence 44:27 “Saving Metroville” (ft. Wayne Bergeron, lead trumpet) from The Incredibles by Michael Giacchino 45:22 Essence 49:30 Essence 54:45 The Mardini Effect 56:14 The Mardini Effect 1:02:18 The Mardini Effect 1:03:53 The Mardini Effect 1:06:19 Smoke & Mirrors 1:08:25 Intentionality 1:10:38 Intentionality 1:15:06 Manic 1:17:41 Manic 1:22:13 Manic 1:23:46 Manic 1:29:44 The Kid 1:49:05 Main Title from Outcast by Lennie Moore, featuring the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and Chorus 1:55:25 Planetary Misalignment 1:55:55 “Other Sprouts” by Sam Keenan

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Mr. Natural - Part 1

Words - The Bee Gees Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 2, 2023 122:09

Stuart and Cristiano return to pick up where they left off, starting in 1974 with 'Mr. Natural'. Working with the prolific and renowned R&B producer and arranger Arif Mardin, the Bee Gees uncovered a new sound, and one which would come to define their music forever. Soft keyboards, luscious strings and breathy vocals, all blended with Mardin's R&B and American touch, results in one of the most fascinating Bee Gees albums. In Part 1, Stuart and Cristiano go through the album and the story of its recording. There's a lot to say about this one…Acapella 'Mr. Natural' - BEE GEES (ACAPELLA) MR. NATURAL - YouTubeFind us on Instagram and Facebook @wordsbeegeespodcast, and on Twitter @wordsbeegeespod. Email us: wordsbeegeespodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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A Journey in music with powerhouse Producer Artist Lynn Davis on new single

Brenda Moss's Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2022 32:19

Lynn Davis is a Vocalist · Songwriter · Producer · Arranger ~She is back in the spotlight. After four decades of singing background for icons like George Duke, Marvin Gaye, Chaka Khan, and Stevie Wonder, Lynn is reintroducing her high-reaching, warm, vocal range to the world. As one of the most recorded session singers in the music industry, Lynn Davis has musical credits that go around your neighborhood block at least five times. She has written songs for Patrice Rushen, Tracie Spencer, Thomas Anders, and LaToya Jackson, just to name very few.Singer/songwriter/producer formerly part of the George Duke Band known for her 1979 hit song "I Want You for Myself", she is noted to be one of the most recorded session singers in the music industry. She has sung with Mick Jagger, The Jackson 5, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Meatloaf, Marilyn Manson, Kenny G, Barbara Streisand, Anita Baker, and Whitney Houston. She also appeared on the film soundtracks of Steven Spielberg, Marvin Hamlisch, Arif Mardin, and Lalo Schifrin. Her extensive vocal range has garnered the attention of international recording musicians Elton John, Yanni, Toshinobu Kubota, Eros Ramazzotti, and Celine Dion, all of whose she has recorded and/or performed with. Starting her career at the age of seventeen as one of the vocalists in the George Duke Band led by the iconic George Duke. Lynn's vocal talent afforded her the opportunity to record a song that became one of their signature hits "I Want You for Myself" (1979). The song became a top-charting single that remains a well-known funky classic to date. She continued recording by performing with the R&B group Twentynine. Her first single and video,” Can I Come Over” is from her up-and-coming album,” Lynn Davis From The Vault” available on all digital platforms from her own independent label Bella Records. Support the show

A Journey in music with powerhouse Producer Artist Lynn Davis on new single

LADYDIVA LIVE RADIO

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2022 32:20

Hygge: The Danish Art of Feeling Good

The Positive Mind

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2022 57:59

This week Kevin and Niseema talk about the Danish word "Hygge," which is a way of creating comfort and ease in your life. It is amazing how many ways we can create more comfort and ease in our daily rituals, from how we wake up in the morning, to how we live our day, to how we go to sleep.In the fall/winter season, there are so many ways to add pleasure to our lives, like wearing cozy wool socks, to making a cup of hot apple cider or hot chocolate. For the Danish, Hygge is a way of life, which explains why they are one of the happiest countries in the world.______________________________For more information or support contact hosts Kevin O'Donoghue LMHC or Niseema Dyan Diemer SEP at: info@thepositivemindcenter.com, or call 212-757-4488. You can sign up for our weekly newsletter at www.tffpp.org.These are challenging times and we hope this episode served to validate and ease your anxiety about what you may be experiencing. Please feel free to also suggest show ideas to the above email. Thank you for listening,Kevin and Niseemawww.tffpp.orghttps://www.kevinlmhc.comwww.niseema.comwww.thepositivemindcenter.comPRODUCTION CREDITSOpening Music : "Another Country", Performed by: Shadowfax, Written and Produced by: Chuck Greenberg, Source:Windham Hill/LegacyBreak Music: "Come Away With Me." Performed and Written by: Nora Jones, Produced by: Arif Mardin, Nora Jones, Jay Newland, Craig Street, Source: Blue Note RecordsEnd Music : "You Still Believe in Me." Performed by M.Ward, Written by: Brian Wilson and T Asher, Produced by: --, Source:Merge Records.The Positive Mind is produced with the help of:Engineering: Geoff BradyProducer: Connie Shannon Website Design and End Music: Giullian GioelloMarketing and PR: Jen Maguire, Maguire PR, jen@maguirepr.com

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Rock's Backpages: Luke Haines & Peter Buck on R.E.M. + The Auteurs + Pharoah Sanders

Rock N Roll Pantheon

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2022 58:25

In this episode we welcome the dynamic transatlantic duo of Luke Haines & Peter Buck and invite them to discuss their splendidly-titled new album All the Kids are Super Bummed-Out.Luke and Peter reflect on their musical partnership, working methodology, and relationships with music journalists — sometimes fractious, occasionally fruitful. Peter recalls growing up as a New York Dolls fan in the Allman Brothers country of his native Georgia, then listens to 1992 audio of himself and bandmate Mike Mills telling Ira Robbins about R.E.M.'s rise and decision not to tour the imminent Automatic for the People. Luke then reflects on his early preference for Sounds (over NME and Melody Maker) and the postpunk writing of the late Dave McCullough.Mark & Jasper pay fulsome tribute to the departed Pharoah Sanders, with both guests pitching in on the music of the intrepid jazz man — and we also bid farewell to 'Gangsta's Paradise' rapper Coolio. Marks then talks us through his highlights among the latest articles added to the RBP library, including pieces about the Beatles in America (1964), Otis Redding at the Whisky (1966) and Leon Russell at the Royal Albert Hall(1971) — the greatest gig he ever saw, he claims — and Jasper wraps matters up with quotes from articles about Harry Styles (2017) and Rose Royce (2021)...Many thanks to special guests Luke Haines and Peter Buck; their new album All The Kids Are Super Bummed Out is out October 28th on Cherry Red.Pieces discussed: Rock Criticism and the Rocker: Peter Buck in conversation with Anthony DeCurtis, Simon Price on the Auteurs, Peter Buck and Mike Mills audio, Don Snowden's tribute to Pharoah Sanders, Coolio Like That, The Beatles in New York, Graham Nash, The Beach Boys, Leon Russell, Otis Redding, Arif Mardin, Harry Styles and Rose Royce on making 'Car Wash'.

E137: Luke Haines & Peter Buck on R.E.M. + The Auteurs + Pharoah Sanders

Rock's Backpages

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2022 58:25

In this episode we welcome the dynamic transatlantic duo of Luke Haines & Peter Buck and invite them to discuss their splendidly-titled new album All the Kids are Super Bummed-Out.Luke and Peter reflect on their musical partnership, working methodology, and relationships with music journalists — sometimes fractious, occasionally fruitful. Peter recalls growing up as a New York Dolls fan in the Allman Brothers country of his native Georgia, then listens to 1992 audio of himself and bandmate Mike Mills telling Ira Robbins about R.E.M.'s rise and decision not to tour the imminent Automatic for the People. Luke then reflects on his early preference for Sounds (over NME and Melody Maker) and the postpunk writing of the late Dave McCullough.Mark & Jasper pay fulsome tribute to the departed Pharoah Sanders, with both guests pitching in on the music of the intrepid jazz man — and we also bid farewell to 'Gangsta's Paradise' rapper Coolio. Marks then talks us through his highlights among the latest articles added to the RBP library, including pieces about the Beatles in America (1964), Otis Redding at the Whisky (1966) and Leon Russell at the Royal Albert Hall (1971) — the greatest gig he ever saw, he claims — and Jasper wraps matters up with quotes from articles about Harry Styles (2017) and Rose Royce (2021)...Many thanks to special guests Luke Haines and Peter Buck; their new album All The Kids Are Super Bummed Out is out October 28th on Cherry Red.Pieces discussed: Rock Criticism and the Rocker: Peter Buck in conversation with Anthony DeCurtis, Simon Price on the Auteurs, Peter Buck and Mike Mills audio, Don Snowden's tribute to Pharoah Sanders, Coolio Like That, The Beatles in New York, Graham Nash, The Beach Boys, Leon Russell, Otis Redding, Arif Mardin, Harry Styles and Rose Royce on making 'Car Wash'.

388 - Chris Parker: Decades on the New York Scene, Playing with Dylan, Stuff, and G.E. Smith, Performing on SNL

Working Drummer

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2022 77:09

Born in Chicago, Chris was playing drums at age three and began performing his first professional gigs at eleven. At nineteen, Parker began recording and touring with blues great Paul Butterfield and then broke into the New York studio scene in 1970,doing records, movie scores and filling the drum chair at Saturday Night Live. Toph, as friends know him, recorded platinum, gold and Grammy winning albums and CDs with many artists, including, Bob Dylan, Cher, Natalie Cole, Donald Fagen, Ashford and Simpson, Aretha Franklin, Freddie Hubbard, James Brown, Stuff, Miles Davis, Patti LaBelle, Michael Bolton, Lionel Hampton, Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett, and Quincy Jones who has written liner notes for the latest cd, ”Blue Print.” Currently leading his own band, the Chris Parker Trio with Kyoko Oyobe, piano and Ameen Saleem, bass, Parker has just recorded “Blue Print,” a new cd dedicated to Arif Mardin and produced by Arif's son, Joe. This new work features Randy Brecker on three tracks as well as Parker's original compositions. In this episode, Chris talks about New York scene in the 70s, when he was getting serious about music His 50 year association with bassist Will Lee His work with Stuff, and playing double drums in the band with Steve Gadd Seeing numerous drum legends over and over at New York clubs, and receiving mentorship from them in different ways How an impromptu rehearsal/jam with Bob Dylan unknowingly served as an audition Adapting to the many different ways Dylan wanted to interpret songs in the moment How his passion for drawing and painting has informed his musical approach

Peligrosamente juntos - Dance / Rhythm & Blues - 31/07/22

Peligrosamente juntos

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2022 120:16

-Everybody Dance! Remixed Dance Classics CD1: Chic “Good Times” (Remixed by A Touch Of Jazz) Sugarhill Gang “Rapper's Delight” (Remixed by “That Kid” Chris) Chic “Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)” (Remixed by Pal Joey) Spinners “Could It Be I'm Falling In Love” (Remixed by Paul Simpson) Sister Sledge “He's The Greatest Dancer” (Remixed by “Brutal Bill” Marquez) Chic “I Want Your Love” (Remixed by Stonebridge) Yes “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” (Remixed by Todd Terry) Linda Clifford “Runaway Love” (Remixed by Masters At Work) Phreek “Weekend” (Remixed by Tommy Musto) Aretha Franklin “Respect” (Remixed by Albert Cabrera) Chic “Everybody Dance” (Remixed by Glenn Friscia) Aretha Franklin “Rock Steady” (Remixed by Arif Mardin) -Putumayo Presents Rhythm & Blues: Lavelle White “I've Never Found A Man To Love” James Hunter “'Til Your Fool Comes Home” Cracked Ice “Sweet Feeling” The Quantic Soul Orchestra Featuring Kabir “Who Knows” The Emotions “My Honey And Me” Sam Moore, Keb' Mo' And Angie Stone “Wang Dang Doodle” Catherine Russell “Put Me Down Easy” Ruthie Foster “'Cuz I'm Here” Snooks Eaglin “A Mother's Love” Sharon Jones And The Dap Kings “100 Days, 100 Nights” Rockie Charles “Before I Find The Right Girl For Me” Irma Thomas With Henry Butler “River Is Waiting” Escuchar audio

love mother rock radio dance emotions respect blues pop falling in love rappers rhythm delight nights aretha franklin good times escuchar chic marquez rocksteady remixed todd terry spinners sugarhill gang sister sledge stonebridge masters at work sam moore keb programas de rne everybody dance james hunter catherine russell pal joey paul simpson ruthie foster linda clifford arif mardin that kid owner of a lonely heart i want your love snooks eaglin wang dang doodle albert cabrera peligrosamente juntos

#Aretha Franklin Rock steady

aretha franklin rocksteady arif mardin

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2022 4:04

#Aretha Franklin Rock steady # one of the greatest artists ever # singer songwriter, musician and versatile # respect # songwriter Aretha Franklin # producers Jerry wexler,Tom down, Arif Mardin # respect and Rip --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mr-maxxx/support

Episode 149: “Respect” by Aretha Franklin

A History Of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs

Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2022

Episode 149 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Respect", and the journey of Aretha Franklin from teenage gospel singer to the Queen of Soul. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a fifteen-minute bonus episode available, on "I'm Just a Mops" by the Mops. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Also, people may be interested in a Facebook discussion group for the podcast, run by a friend of mine (I'm not on FB myself) which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/groups/293630102611672/ Errata I say "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby to a Dixie Melody" instead of "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody". Also I say Spooner Oldham co-wrote "Do Right Woman". I meant Chips Moman. Resources No Mixcloud this week, as there are too many songs by Aretha Franklin. My main biographical source for Aretha Franklin is Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin by David Ritz, and this is where most of the quotes from musicians come from. I also relied heavily on I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You by Matt Dobkin. Information on C.L. Franklin came from Singing in a Strange Land: C. L. Franklin, the Black Church, and the Transformation of America by Nick Salvatore. Rick Hall's The Man From Muscle Shoals: My Journey from Shame to Fame contains his side of the story. Country Soul by Charles L Hughes is a great overview of the soul music made in Muscle Shoals, Memphis, and Nashville in the sixties. Peter Guralnick's Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm And Blues And The Southern Dream Of Freedom is possibly less essential, but still definitely worth reading. And the I Never Loved a Man album is available in this five-album box set for a ludicrously cheap price. But it's actually worth getting this nineteen-CD set with her first sixteen Atlantic albums and a couple of bonus discs of demos and outtakes. There's barely a duff track in the whole nineteen discs. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript Before I start this episode, I have to say that there are some things people may want to be aware of before listening to this. This episode has to deal, at least in passing, with subjects including child sexual abuse, intimate partner abuse, racism, and misogyny. I will of course try to deal with those subjects as tactfully as possible, but those of you who may be upset by those topics may want to check the episode transcript before or instead of listening. Those of you who leave comments or send me messages saying "why can't you just talk about the music instead of all this woke virtue-signalling?" may also want to skip this episode. You can go ahead and skip all the future ones as well, I won't mind. And one more thing to say before I get into the meat of the episode -- this episode puts me in a more difficult position than most other episodes of the podcast have. When I've talked about awful things that have happened in the course of this podcast previously, I have either been talking about perpetrators -- people like Phil Spector or Jerry Lee Lewis who did truly reprehensible things -- or about victims who have talked very publicly about the abuse they've suffered, people like Ronnie Spector or Tina Turner, who said very clearly "this is what happened to me and I want it on the public record". In the case of Aretha Franklin, she has been portrayed as a victim *by others*, and there are things that have been said about her life and her relationships which suggest that she suffered in some very terrible ways. But she herself apparently never saw herself as a victim, and didn't want some aspects of her private life talking about. At the start of David Ritz's biography of her, which is one of my main sources here, he recounts a conversation he had with her: "When I mentioned the possibility of my writing an independent biography, she said, “As long as I can approve it before it's published.” “Then it wouldn't be independent,” I said. “Why should it be independent?” “So I can tell the story from my point of view.” “But it's not your story, it's mine.” “You're an important historical figure, Aretha. Others will inevitably come along to tell your story. That's the blessing and burden of being a public figure.” “More burden than blessing,” she said." Now, Aretha Franklin is sadly dead, but I think that she still deserves the basic respect of being allowed privacy. So I will talk here about public matters, things she acknowledged in her own autobiography, and things that she and the people around her did in public situations like recording studios and concert venues. But there are aspects to the story of Aretha Franklin as that story is commonly told, which may well be true, but are of mostly prurient interest, don't add much to the story of how the music came to be made, and which she herself didn't want people talking about. So there will be things people might expect me to talk about in this episode, incidents where people in her life, usually men, treated her badly, that I'm going to leave out. That information is out there if people want to look for it, but I don't see myself as under any obligation to share it. That's not me making excuses for people who did inexcusable things, that's me showing some respect to one of the towering artistic figures of the latter half of the twentieth century. Because, of course, respect is what this is all about: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "Respect"] One name that's come up a few times in this podcast, but who we haven't really talked about that much, is Bobby "Blue" Bland. We mentioned him as the single biggest influence on the style of Van Morrison, but Bland was an important figure in the Memphis music scene of the early fifties, which we talked about in several early episodes. He was one of the Beale Streeters, the loose aggregation of musicians that also included B.B. King and Johnny Ace, he worked with Ike Turner, and was one of the key links between blues and soul in the fifties and early sixties, with records like "Turn on Your Love Light": [Excerpt: Bobby "Blue" Bland, "Turn on Your Love Light"] But while Bland was influenced by many musicians we've talked about, his biggest influence wasn't a singer at all. It was a preacher he saw give a sermon in the early 1940s. As he said decades later: "Wasn't his words that got me—I couldn't tell you what he talked on that day, couldn't tell you what any of it meant, but it was the way he talked. He talked like he was singing. He talked music. The thing that really got me, though, was this squall-like sound he made to emphasize a certain word. He'd catch the word in his mouth, let it roll around and squeeze it with his tongue. When it popped on out, it exploded, and the ladies started waving and shouting. I liked all that. I started popping and shouting too. That next week I asked Mama when we were going back to Memphis to church. “‘Since when you so keen on church?' Mama asked. “‘I like that preacher,' I said. “‘Reverend Franklin?' she asked. “‘Well, if he's the one who sings when he preaches, that's the one I like.'" Bland was impressed by C.L. Franklin, and so were other Memphis musicians. Long after Franklin had moved to Detroit, they remembered him, and Bland and B.B. King would go to Franklin's church to see him preach whenever they were in the city. And Bland studied Franklin's records. He said later "I liked whatever was on the radio, especially those first things Nat Cole did with his trio. Naturally I liked the blues singers like Roy Brown, the jump singers like Louis Jordan, and the ballad singers like Billy Eckstine, but, brother, the man who really shaped me was Reverend Franklin." Bland would study Franklin's records, and would take the style that Franklin used in recorded sermons like "The Eagle Stirreth Her Nest": [Excerpt: C.L. Franklin, "The Eagle Stirreth Her Nest"] And you can definitely hear that preaching style on records like Bland's "I Pity the Fool": [Excerpt: Bobby "Blue" Bland, "I Pity the Fool"] But of course, that wasn't the only influence the Reverend C.L. Franklin had on the course of soul music. C.L. Franklin had grown up poor, on a Mississippi farm, and had not even finished grade school because he was needed to work behind the mule, ploughing the farm for his stepfather. But he had a fierce intelligence and became an autodidact, travelling regularly to the nearest library, thirty miles away, on a horse-drawn wagon, and reading everything he could get his hands on. At the age of sixteen he received what he believed to be a message from God, and decided to become an itinerant preacher. He would travel between many small country churches and build up audiences there -- and he would also study everyone else preaching there, analysing their sermons, seeing if he could anticipate their line of argument and get ahead of them, figuring out the structure. But unlike many people in the conservative Black Baptist churches of the time, he never saw the spiritual and secular worlds as incompatible. He saw blues music and Black church sermons as both being part of the same thing -- a Black culture and folklore that was worthy of respect in both its spiritual and secular aspects. He soon built up a small circuit of local churches where he would preach occasionally, but wasn't the main pastor at any of them. He got married aged twenty, though that marriage didn't last, and he seems to have been ambitious for a greater respectability. When that marriage failed, in June 1936, he married Barbara Siggers, a very intelligent, cultured, young single mother who had attended Booker T Washington High School, the best Black school in Memphis, and he adopted her son Vaughn. While he was mostly still doing churches in Mississippi, he took on one in Memphis as well, in an extremely poor area, but it gave him a foot in the door to the biggest Black city in the US. Barbara would later be called "one of the really great gospel singers" by no less than Mahalia Jackson. We don't have any recordings of Barbara singing, but Mahalia Jackson certainly knew what she was talking about when it came to great gospel singers: [Excerpt: Mahalia Jackson, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand"] Rev. Franklin was hugely personally ambitious, and he also wanted to get out of rural Mississippi, where the Klan were very active at this time, especially after his daughter Erma was born in 1938. They moved to Memphis in 1939, where he got a full-time position at New Salem Baptist Church, where for the first time he was able to earn a steady living from just one church and not have to tour round multiple churches. He soon became so popular that if you wanted to get a seat for the service at noon, you had to turn up for the 8AM Sunday School or you'd be forced to stand. He also enrolled for college courses at LeMoyne College. He didn't get a degree, but spent three years as a part-time student studying theology, literature, and sociology, and soon developed a liberal theology that was very different from the conservative fundamentalism he'd grown up in, though still very much part of the Baptist church. Where he'd grown up with a literalism that said the Bible was literally true, he started to accept things like evolution, and to see much of the Bible as metaphor. Now, we talked in the last episode about how impossible it is to get an accurate picture of the lives of religious leaders, because their life stories are told by those who admire them, and that's very much the case for C.L. Franklin. Franklin was a man who had many, many, admirable qualities -- he was fiercely intelligent, well-read, a superb public speaker, a man who was by all accounts genuinely compassionate towards those in need, and he became one of the leaders of the civil rights movement and inspired tens of thousands, maybe even millions, of people, directly and indirectly, to change the world for the better. He also raised several children who loved and admired him and were protective of his memory. And as such, there is an inevitable bias in the sources on Franklin's life. And so there's a tendency to soften the very worst things he did, some of which were very, very bad. For example in Nick Salvatore's biography of him, he talks about Franklin, in 1940, fathering a daughter with someone who is described as "a teenager" and "quite young". No details of her age other than that are given, and a few paragraphs later the age of a girl who was then sixteen *is* given, talking about having known the girl in question, and so the impression is given that the girl he impregnated was also probably in her late teens. Which would still be bad, but a man in his early twenties fathering a child with a girl in her late teens is something that can perhaps be forgiven as being a different time. But while the girl in question may have been a teenager when she gave birth, she was *twelve years old* when she became pregnant, by C.L. Franklin, the pastor of her church, who was in a position of power over her in multiple ways. Twelve years old. And this is not the only awful thing that Franklin did -- he was also known to regularly beat up women he was having affairs with, in public. I mention this now because everything else I say about him in this episode is filtered through sources who saw these things as forgivable character flaws in an otherwise admirable human being, and I can't correct for those biases because I don't know the truth. So it's going to sound like he was a truly great man. But bear those facts in mind. Barbara stayed with Franklin for the present, after discovering what he had done, but their marriage was a difficult one, and they split up and reconciled a handful of times. They had three more children together -- Cecil, Aretha, and Carolyn -- and remained together as Franklin moved on first to a church in Buffalo, New York, and then to New Bethel Church, in Detroit, on Hastings Street, a street which was the centre of Black nightlife in the city, as immortalised in John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillun": [Excerpt: John Lee Hooker, "Boogie Chillen"] Before moving to Detroit, Franklin had already started to get more political, as his congregation in Buffalo had largely been union members, and being free from the worst excesses of segregation allowed him to talk more openly about civil rights, but that only accelerated when he moved to Detroit, which had been torn apart just a couple of years earlier by police violence against Black protestors. Franklin had started building a reputation when in Memphis using radio broadcasts, and by the time he moved to Detroit he was able to command a very high salary, and not only that, his family were given a mansion by the church, in a rich part of town far away from most of his congregation. Smokey Robinson, who was Cecil Franklin's best friend and a frequent visitor to the mansion through most of his childhood, described it later, saying "Once inside, I'm awestruck -- oil paintings, velvet tapestries, silk curtains, mahogany cabinets filled with ornate objects of silver and gold. Man, I've never seen nothing like that before!" He made a lot of money, but he also increased church attendance so much that he earned that money. He had already been broadcasting on the radio, but when he started his Sunday night broadcasts in Detroit, he came up with a trick of having his sermons run long, so the show would end before the climax. People listening decided that they would have to start turning up in person to hear the end of the sermons, and soon he became so popular that the church would be so full that crowds would have to form on the street outside to listen. Other churches rescheduled their services so they wouldn't clash with Franklin's, and most of the other Black Baptist ministers in the city would go along to watch him preach. In 1948 though, a couple of years after moving to Detroit, Barbara finally left her husband. She took Vaughn with her and moved back to Buffalo, leaving the four biological children she'd had with C.L. with their father. But it's important to note that she didn't leave her children -- they would visit her on a regular basis, and stay with her over school holidays. Aretha later said "Despite the fact that it has been written innumerable times, it is an absolute lie that my mother abandoned us. In no way, shape, form, or fashion did our mother desert us." Barbara's place in the home was filled by many women -- C.L. Franklin's mother moved up from Mississippi to help him take care of the children, the ladies from the church would often help out, and even stars like Mahalia Jackson would turn up and cook meals for the children. There were also the women with whom Franklin carried on affairs, including Anna Gordy, Ruth Brown, and Dinah Washington, the most important female jazz and blues singer of the fifties, who had major R&B hits with records like her version of "Cold Cold Heart": [Excerpt: Dinah Washington, "Cold Cold Heart"] Although my own favourite record of hers is "Big Long Slidin' Thing", which she made with arranger Quincy Jones: [Excerpt: Dinah Washington, "Big Long Slidin' Thing"] It's about a trombone. Get your minds out of the gutter. Washington was one of the biggest vocal influences on young Aretha, but the single biggest influence was Clara Ward, another of C.L. Franklin's many girlfriends. Ward was the longest-lasting of these, and there seems to have been a lot of hope on both her part and Aretha's that she and Rev. Franklin would marry, though Franklin always made it very clear that monogamy wouldn't suit him. Ward was one of the three major female gospel singers of the middle part of the century, and possibly even more technically impressive as a vocalist than the other two, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Mahalia Jackson. Where Jackson was an austere performer, who refused to perform in secular contexts at all for most of her life, and took herself and her music very seriously, and Tharpe was a raunchier, funnier, more down-to-earth performer who was happy to play for blues audiences and even to play secular music on occasion, Ward was a *glamorous* performer, who wore sequined dresses and piled her hair high on her head. Ward had become a singer in 1931 when her mother had what she later talked about as a religious epiphany, and decided she wasn't going to be a labourer any more, she was going to devote her life to gospel music. Ward's mother had formed a vocal group with her two daughters, and Clara quickly became the star and her mother's meal ticket -- and her mother was very possessive of that ticket, to the extent that Ward, who was a bisexual woman who mostly preferred men, had more relationships with women, because her mother wouldn't let her be alone with the men she was attracted to. But Ward did manage to keep a relationship going with C.L. Franklin, and Aretha Franklin talked about the moment she decided to become a singer, when she saw Ward singing "Peace in the Valley" at a funeral: [Excerpt: Clara Ward, "Peace in the Valley"] As well as looking towards Ward as a vocal influence, Aretha was also influenced by her as a person -- she became a mother figure to Aretha, who would talk later about watching Ward eat, and noting her taking little delicate bites, and getting an idea of what it meant to be ladylike from her. After Ward's death in 1973, a notebook was found in which she had written her opinions of other singers. For Aretha she wrote “My baby Aretha, she doesn't know how good she is. Doubts self. Some day—to the moon. I love that girl.” Ward's influence became especially important to Aretha and her siblings after their mother died of a heart attack a few years after leaving her husband, when Aretha was ten, and Aretha, already a very introverted child, became even more so. Everyone who knew Aretha said that her later diva-ish reputation came out of a deep sense of insecurity and introversion -- that she was a desperately private, closed-off, person who would rarely express her emotions at all, and who would look away from you rather than make eye contact. The only time she let herself express emotions was when she performed music. And music was hugely important in the Franklin household. Most preachers in the Black church at that time were a bit dismissive of gospel music, because they thought the music took away from their prestige -- they saw it as a necessary evil, and resented it taking up space when their congregations could have been listening to them. But Rev. Franklin was himself a rather good singer, and even made a few gospel records himself in 1950, recording for Joe Von Battle, who owned a record shop on Hastings Street and also put out records by blues singers: [Excerpt: C.L. Franklin, "I Am Climbing Higher Mountains" ] The church's musical director was James Cleveland, one of the most important gospel artists of the fifties and sixties, who sang with groups like the Caravans: [Excerpt: The Caravans, "What Kind of Man is This?" ] Cleveland, who had started out in the choir run by Thomas Dorsey, the writer of “Take My Hand Precious Lord” and “Peace in the Valley”, moved in with the Franklin family for a while, and he gave the girls tips on playing the piano -- much later he would play piano on Aretha's album Amazing Grace, and she said of him “He showed me some real nice chords, and I liked his deep, deep sound”. Other than Clara Ward, he was probably the single biggest musical influence on Aretha. And all the touring gospel musicians would make appearances at New Bethel Church, not least of them Sam Cooke, who first appeared there with the Highway QCs and would continue to do so after joining the Soul Stirrers: [Excerpt: The Soul Stirrers, "Touch the Hem of his Garment"] Young Aretha and her older sister Erma both had massive crushes on Cooke, and there were rumours that he had an affair with one or both of them when they were in their teens, though both denied it. Aretha later said "When I first saw him, all I could do was sigh... Sam was love on first hearing, love at first sight." But it wasn't just gospel music that filled the house. One of the major ways that C.L. Franklin's liberalism showed was in his love of secular music, especially jazz and blues, which he regarded as just as important in Black cultural life as gospel music. We already talked about Dinah Washington being a regular visitor to the house, but every major Black entertainer would visit the Franklin residence when they were in Detroit. Both Aretha and Cecil Franklin vividly remembered visits from Art Tatum, who would sit at the piano and play for the family and their guests: [Excerpt: Art Tatum, "Tiger Rag"] Tatum was such a spectacular pianist that there's now a musicological term, the tatum, named after him, for the smallest possible discernible rhythmic interval between two notes. Young Aretha was thrilled by his technique, and by that of Oscar Peterson, who also regularly came to the Franklin home, sometimes along with Ella Fitzgerald. Nat "King" Cole was another regular visitor. The Franklin children all absorbed the music these people -- the most important musicians of the time -- were playing in their home, and young Aretha in particular became an astonishing singer and also an accomplished pianist. Smokey Robinson later said: “The other thing that knocked us out about Aretha was her piano playing. There was a grand piano in the Franklin living room, and we all liked to mess around. We'd pick out little melodies with one finger. But when Aretha sat down, even as a seven-year-old, she started playing chords—big chords. Later I'd recognize them as complex church chords, the kind used to accompany the preacher and the solo singer. At the time, though, all I could do was view Aretha as a wonder child. Mind you, this was Detroit, where musical talent ran strong and free. Everyone was singing and harmonizing; everyone was playing piano and guitar. Aretha came out of this world, but she also came out of another far-off magical world none of us really understood. She came from a distant musical planet where children are born with their gifts fully formed.” C.L. Franklin became more involved in the music business still when Joe Von Battle started releasing records of his sermons, which had become steadily more politically aware: [Excerpt: C.L. Franklin, "Dry Bones in the Valley"] Franklin was not a Marxist -- he was a liberal, but like many liberals was willing to stand with Marxists where they had shared interests, even when it was dangerous. For example in 1954, at the height of McCarthyism, he had James and Grace Lee Boggs, two Marxist revolutionaries, come to the pulpit and talk about their support for the anti-colonial revolution in Kenya, and they sold four hundred copies of their pamphlet after their talk, because he saw that the struggle of Black Africans to get out from white colonial rule was the same struggle as that of Black Americans. And Franklin's powerful sermons started getting broadcast on the radio in areas further out from Detroit, as Chess Records picked up the distribution for them and people started playing the records on other stations. People like future Congressman John Lewis and the Reverend Jesse Jackson would later talk about listening to C.L. Franklin's records on the radio and being inspired -- a whole generation of Black Civil Rights leaders took their cues from him, and as the 1950s and 60s went on he became closer and closer to Martin Luther King in particular. But C.L. Franklin was always as much an ambitious showman as an activist, and he started putting together gospel tours, consisting mostly of music but with himself giving a sermon as the headline act. And he became very, very wealthy from these tours. On one trip in the south, his car broke down, and he couldn't find a mechanic willing to work on it. A group of white men started mocking him with racist terms, trying to provoke him, as he was dressed well and driving a nice car (albeit one that had broken down). Rather than arguing with them, he walked to a car dealership, and bought a new car with the cash that he had on him. By 1956 he was getting around $4000 per appearance, roughly equivalent to $43,000 today, and he was making a *lot* of appearances. He also sold half a million records that year. Various gospel singers, including the Clara Ward Singers, would perform on the tours he organised, and one of those performers was Franklin's middle daughter Aretha. Aretha had become pregnant when she was twelve, and after giving birth to the child she dropped out of school, but her grandmother did most of the child-rearing for her, while she accompanied her father on tour. Aretha's first recordings, made when she was just fourteen, show what an astonishing talent she already was at that young age. She would grow as an artist, of course, as she aged and gained experience, but those early gospel records already show an astounding maturity and ability. It's jaw-dropping to listen to these records of a fourteen-year-old, and immediately recognise them as a fully-formed Aretha Franklin. [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "There is a Fountain Filled With Blood"] Smokey Robinson's assessment that she was born with her gifts fully formed doesn't seem like an exaggeration when you hear that. For the latter half of the fifties, Aretha toured with her father, performing on the gospel circuit and becoming known there. But the Franklin sisters were starting to get ideas about moving into secular music. This was largely because their family friend Sam Cooke had done just that, with "You Send Me": [Excerpt: Sam Cooke, "You Send Me"] Aretha and Erma still worshipped Cooke, and Aretha would later talk about getting dressed up just to watch Cooke appear on the TV. Their brother Cecil later said "I remember the night Sam came to sing at the Flame Show Bar in Detroit. Erma and Ree said they weren't going because they were so heartbroken that Sam had recently married. I didn't believe them. And I knew I was right when they started getting dressed about noon for the nine o'clock show. Because they were underage, they put on a ton of makeup to look older. It didn't matter 'cause Berry Gordy's sisters, Anna and Gwen, worked the photo concession down there, taking pictures of the party people. Anna was tight with Daddy and was sure to let my sisters in. She did, and they came home with stars in their eyes.” Moving from gospel to secular music still had a stigma against it in the gospel world, but Rev. Franklin had never seen secular music as sinful, and he encouraged his daughters in their ambitions. Erma was the first to go secular, forming a girl group, the Cleo-Patrettes, at the suggestion of the Four Tops, who were family friends, and recording a single for Joe Von Battle's J-V-B label, "No Other Love": [Excerpt: The Cleo-Patrettes, "No Other Love"] But the group didn't go any further, as Rev. Franklin insisted that his eldest daughter had to finish school and go to university before she could become a professional singer. Erma missed other opportunities for different reasons, though -- Berry Gordy, at this time still a jobbing songwriter, offered her a song he'd written with his sister and Roquel Davis, but Erma thought of herself as a jazz singer and didn't want to do R&B, and so "All I Could Do Was Cry" was given to Etta James instead, who had a top forty pop hit with it: [Excerpt: Etta James, "All I Could Do Was Cry"] While Erma's move into secular music was slowed by her father wanting her to have an education, there was no such pressure on Aretha, as she had already dropped out. But Aretha had a different problem -- she was very insecure, and said that church audiences "weren't critics, but worshippers", but she was worried that nightclub audiences in particular were just the kind of people who would just be looking for flaws, rather than wanting to support the performer as church audiences did. But eventually she got up the nerve to make the move. There was the possibility of her getting signed to Motown -- her brother was still best friends with Smokey Robinson, while the Gordy family were close to her father -- but Rev. Franklin had his eye on bigger things. He wanted her to be signed to Columbia, which in 1960 was the most prestigious of all the major labels. As Aretha's brother Cecil later said "He wanted Ree on Columbia, the label that recorded Mahalia Jackson, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, Percy Faith, and Doris Day. Daddy said that Columbia was the biggest and best record company in the world. Leonard Bernstein recorded for Columbia." They went out to New York to see Phil Moore, a legendary vocal coach and arranger who had helped make Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge into stars, but Moore actually refused to take her on as a client, saying "She does not require my services. Her style has already been developed. Her style is in place. It is a unique style that, in my professional opinion, requires no alteration. It simply requires the right material. Her stage presentation is not of immediate concern. All that will come later. The immediate concern is the material that will suit her best. And the reason that concern will not be easily addressed is because I can't imagine any material that will not suit her." That last would become a problem for the next few years, but the immediate issue was to get someone at Columbia to listen to her, and Moore could help with that -- he was friends with John Hammond. Hammond is a name that's come up several times in the podcast already -- we mentioned him in the very earliest episodes, and also in episode ninety-eight, where we looked at his signing of Bob Dylan. But Hammond was a legend in the music business. He had produced sessions for Bessie Smith, had discovered Count Basie and Billie Holiday, had convinced Benny Goodman to hire Charlie Christian and Lionel Hampton, had signed Pete Seeger and the Weavers to Columbia, had organised the Spirituals to Swing concerts which we talked about in the first few episodes of this podcast, and was about to put out the first album of Robert Johnson's recordings. Of all the executives at Columbia, he was the one who had the greatest eye for talent, and the greatest understanding of Black musical culture. Moore suggested that the Franklins get Major Holley to produce a demo recording that he could get Hammond to listen to. Major Holley was a family friend, and a jazz bassist who had played with Oscar Peterson and Coleman Hawkins among others, and he put together a set of songs for Aretha that would emphasise the jazz side of her abilities, pitching her as a Dinah Washington style bluesy jazz singer. The highlight of the demo was a version of "Today I Sing the Blues", a song that had originally been recorded by Helen Humes, the singer who we last heard of recording “Be Baba Leba” with Bill Doggett: [Excerpt: Helen Humes, "Today I Sing the Blues"] That original version had been produced by Hammond, but the song had also recently been covered by Aretha's idol, Sam Cooke: [Excerpt: Sam Cooke, "Today I Sing the Blues"] Hammond was hugely impressed by the demo, and signed Aretha straight away, and got to work producing her first album. But he and Rev. Franklin had different ideas about what Aretha should do. Hammond wanted to make a fairly raw-sounding bluesy jazz album, the kind of recording he had produced with Bessie Smith or Billie Holiday, but Rev. Franklin wanted his daughter to make music that would cross over to the white pop market -- he was aiming for the same kind of audience that Nat "King" Cole or Harry Belafonte had, and he wanted her recording standards like "Over the Rainbow". This showed a lack of understanding on Rev. Franklin's part of how such crossovers actually worked at this point. As Etta James later said, "If you wanna have Black hits, you gotta understand the Black streets, you gotta work those streets and work those DJs to get airplay on Black stations... Or looking at it another way, in those days you had to get the Black audience to love the hell outta you and then hope the love would cross over to the white side. Columbia didn't know nothing 'bout crossing over.” But Hammond knew they had to make a record quickly, because Sam Cooke had been working on RCA Records, trying to get them to sign Aretha, and Rev. Franklin wanted an album out so they could start booking club dates for her, and was saying that if they didn't get one done quickly he'd take up that offer, and so they came up with a compromise set of songs which satisfied nobody, but did produce two R&B top ten hits, "Won't Be Long" and Aretha's version of "Today I Sing the Blues": [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "Today I Sing the Blues"] This is not to say that Aretha herself saw this as a compromise -- she later said "I have never compromised my material. Even then, I knew a good song from a bad one. And if Hammond, one of the legends of the business, didn't know how to produce a record, who does? No, the fault was with promotion." And this is something important to bear in mind as we talk about her Columbia records. Many, *many* people have presented those records as Aretha being told what to do by producers who didn't understand her art and were making her record songs that didn't fit her style. That's not what's happening with the Columbia records. Everyone actually involved said that Aretha was very involved in the choices made -- and there are some genuinely great tracks on those albums. The problem is that they're *unfocused*. Aretha was only eighteen when she signed to the label, and she loved all sorts of music -- blues, jazz, soul, standards, gospel, middle-of-the-road pop music -- and wanted to sing all those kinds of music. And she *could* sing all those kinds of music, and sing them well. But it meant the records weren't coherent. You didn't know what you were getting, and there was no artistic personality that dominated them, it was just what Aretha felt like recording. Around this time, Aretha started to think that maybe her father didn't know what he was talking about when it came to popular music success, even though she idolised him in most areas, and she turned to another figure, who would soon become both her husband and manager. Ted White. Her sister Erma, who was at that time touring with Lloyd Price, had introduced them, but in fact Aretha had first seen White years earlier, in her own house -- he had been Dinah Washington's boyfriend in the fifties, and her first sight of him had been carrying a drunk Washington out of the house after a party. In interviews with David Ritz, who wrote biographies of many major soul stars including both Aretha Franklin and Etta James, James had a lot to say about White, saying “Ted White was famous even before he got with Aretha. My boyfriend at the time, Harvey Fuqua, used to talk about him. Ted was supposed to be the slickest pimp in Detroit. When I learned that Aretha married him, I wasn't surprised. A lot of the big-time singers who we idolized as girls—like Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan—had pimps for boyfriends and managers. That was standard operating procedure. My own mother had made a living turning tricks. When we were getting started, that way of life was part of the music business. It was in our genes. Part of the lure of pimps was that they got us paid." She compared White to Ike Turner, saying "Ike made Tina, no doubt about it. He developed her talent. He showed her what it meant to be a performer. He got her famous. Of course, Ted White was not a performer, but he was savvy about the world. When Harvey Fuqua introduced me to him—this was the fifties, before he was with Aretha—I saw him as a super-hip extra-smooth cat. I liked him. He knew music. He knew songwriters who were writing hit songs. He had manners. Later, when I ran into him and Aretha—this was the sixties—I saw that she wasn't as shy as she used to be." White was a pimp, but he was also someone with music business experience -- he owned an unsuccessful publishing company, and also ran a chain of jukeboxes. He was also thirty, while Aretha was only eighteen. But White didn't like the people in Aretha's life at the time -- he didn't get on well with her father, and he also clashed with John Hammond. And Aretha was also annoyed at Hammond, because her sister Erma had signed to Epic, a Columbia subsidiary, and was releasing her own singles: [Excerpt: Erma Franklin, "Hello Again"] Aretha was certain that Hammond had signed Erma, even though Hammond had nothing to do with Epic Records, and Erma had actually been recommended by Lloyd Price. And Aretha, while for much of her career she would support her sister, was also terrified that her sister might have a big hit before her and leave Aretha in her shadow. Hammond was still the credited producer on Aretha's second album, The Electrifying Aretha Franklin, but his lack of say in the sessions can be shown in the choice of lead-off single. "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody" was originally recorded by Al Jolson in 1918: [Excerpt: Al Jolson, "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody"] Rev. Franklin pushed for the song, as he was a fan of Jolson -- Jolson, oddly, had a large Black fanbase, despite his having been a blackface performer, because he had *also* been a strong advocate of Black musicians like Cab Calloway, and the level of racism in the media of the twenties through forties was so astonishingly high that even a blackface performer could seem comparatively OK. Aretha's performance was good, but it was hardly the kind of thing that audiences were clamouring for in 1961: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody"] That single came out the month after _Down Beat_ magazine gave Aretha the "new-star female vocalist award", and it oddly made the pop top forty, her first record to do so, and the B-side made the R&B top ten, but for the next few years both chart success and critical acclaim eluded her. None of her next nine singles would make higher than number eighty-six on the Hot One Hundred, and none would make the R&B charts at all. After that transitional second album, she was paired with producer Bob Mersey, who was precisely the kind of white pop producer that one would expect for someone who hoped for crossover success. Mersey was the producer for many of Columbia's biggest stars at the time -- people like Barbra Streisand, Andy Williams, Julie Andrews, Patti Page, and Mel Tormé -- and it was that kind of audience that Aretha wanted to go for at this point. To give an example of the kind of thing that Mersey was doing, just the month before he started work on his first collaboration with Aretha, _The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin_, his production of Andy Williams singing "Moon River" was released: [Excerpt: Andy Williams, "Moon River"] This was the kind of audience Aretha was going for when it came to record sales – the person she compared herself to most frequently at this point was Barbra Streisand – though in live performances she was playing with a small jazz group in jazz venues, and going for the same kind of jazz-soul crossover audience as Dinah Washington or Ray Charles. The strategy seems to have been to get something like the success of her idol Sam Cooke, who could play to soul audiences but also play the Copacabana, but the problem was that Cooke had built an audience before doing that -- she hadn't. But even though she hadn't built up an audience, musicians were starting to pay attention. Ted White, who was still in touch with Dinah Washington, later said “Women are very catty. They'll see a girl who's dressed very well and they'll say, Yeah, but look at those shoes, or look at that hairdo. Aretha was the only singer I've ever known that Dinah had no negative comments about. She just stood with her mouth open when she heard Aretha sing.” The great jazz vocalist Carmen McRea went to see Aretha at the Village Vanguard in New York around this time, having heard the comparisons to Dinah Washington, and met her afterwards. She later said "Given how emotionally she sang, I expected her to have a supercharged emotional personality like Dinah. Instead, she was the shyest thing I've ever met. Would hardly look me in the eye. Didn't say more than two words. I mean, this bitch gave bashful a new meaning. Anyway, I didn't give her any advice because she didn't ask for any, but I knew goddamn well that, no matter how good she was—and she was absolutely wonderful—she'd have to make up her mind whether she wanted to be Della Reese, Dinah Washington, or Sarah Vaughan. I also had a feeling she wouldn't have minded being Leslie Uggams or Diahann Carroll. I remember thinking that if she didn't figure out who she was—and quick—she was gonna get lost in the weeds of the music biz." So musicians were listening to Aretha, even if everyone else wasn't. The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin, for example, was full of old standards like "Try a Little Tenderness": [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "Try a Little Tenderness"] That performance inspired Otis Redding to cut his own version of that song a few years later: [Excerpt: Otis Redding, "Try a Little Tenderness"] And it might also have inspired Aretha's friend and idol Sam Cooke to include the song in his own lounge sets. The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin also included Aretha's first original composition, but in general it wasn't a very well-received album. In 1963, the first cracks started to develop in Aretha's relationship with Ted White. According to her siblings, part of the strain was because Aretha's increasing commitment to the civil rights movement was costing her professional opportunities. Her brother Cecil later said "Ted White had complete sway over her when it came to what engagements to accept and what songs to sing. But if Daddy called and said, ‘Ree, I want you to sing for Dr. King,' she'd drop everything and do just that. I don't think Ted had objections to her support of Dr. King's cause, and he realized it would raise her visibility. But I do remember the time that there was a conflict between a big club gig and doing a benefit for Dr. King. Ted said, ‘Take the club gig. We need the money.' But Ree said, ‘Dr. King needs me more.' She defied her husband. Maybe that was the start of their marital trouble. Their thing was always troubled because it was based on each of them using the other. Whatever the case, my sister proved to be a strong soldier in the civil rights fight. That made me proud of her and it kept her relationship with Daddy from collapsing entirely." In part her increasing activism was because of her father's own increase in activity. The benefit that Cecil is talking about there is probably one in Chicago organised by Mahalia Jackson, where Aretha headlined on a bill that also included Jackson, Eartha Kitt, and the comedian Dick Gregory. That was less than a month before her father organised the Detroit Walk to Freedom, a trial run for the more famous March on Washington a few weeks later. The Detroit Walk to Freedom was run by the Detroit Council for Human Rights, which was formed by Rev. Franklin and Rev. Albert Cleage, a much more radical Black nationalist who often differed with Franklin's more moderate integrationist stance. They both worked together to organise the Walk to Freedom, but Franklin's stance predominated, as several white liberal politicians, like the Mayor of Detroit, Jerome Cavanagh, were included in the largely-Black March. It drew crowds of 125,000 people, and Dr. King called it "one of the most wonderful things that has happened in America", and it was the largest civil rights demonstration in American history up to that point. King's speech in Detroit was recorded and released on Motown Records: [Excerpt: Martin Luther King, "Original 'I Have a Dream' Speech”] He later returned to the same ideas in his more famous speech in Washington. During that civil rights spring and summer of 1963, Aretha also recorded what many think of as the best of her Columbia albums, a collection of jazz standards called Laughing on the Outside, which included songs like "Solitude", "Ol' Man River" and "I Wanna Be Around": [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "I Wanna Be Around"] The opening track, "Skylark", was Etta James' favourite ever Aretha Franklin performance, and is regarded by many as the definitive take on the song: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "Skylark"] Etta James later talked about discussing the track with the great jazz singer Sarah Vaughan, one of Aretha's early influences, who had recorded her own version of the song: "Sarah said, ‘Have you heard of this Aretha Franklin girl?' I said, ‘You heard her do “Skylark,” didn't you?' Sarah said, ‘Yes, I did, and I'm never singing that song again.” But while the album got noticed by other musicians, it didn't get much attention from the wider public. Mersey decided that a change in direction was needed, and they needed to get in someone with more of a jazz background to work with Aretha. He brought in pianist and arranger Bobby Scott, who had previously worked with people like Lester Young, and Scott said of their first meeting “My first memory of Aretha is that she wouldn't look at me when I spoke. She withdrew from the encounter in a way that intrigued me. At first I thought she was just shy—and she was—but I also felt her reading me...For all her deference to my experience and her reluctance to speak up, when she did look me in the eye, she did so with a quiet intensity before saying, ‘I like all your ideas, Mr. Scott, but please remember I do want hits.'” They started recording together, but the sides they cut wouldn't be released for a few years. Instead, Aretha and Mersey went in yet another direction. Dinah Washington died suddenly in December 1963, and given that Aretha was already being compared to Washington by almost everyone, and that Washington had been a huge influence on her, as well as having been close to both her father and her husband/manager, it made sense to go into the studio and quickly cut a tribute album, with Aretha singing Washington's hits: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "Cold Cold Heart"] Unfortunately, while Washington had been wildly popular, and one of the most important figures in jazz and R&B in the forties and fifties, her style was out of date. The tribute album, titled Unforgettable, came out in February 1964, the same month that Beatlemania hit the US. Dinah Washington was the past, and trying to position Aretha as "the new Dinah Washington" would doom her to obscurity. John Hammond later said "I remember thinking that if Aretha never does another album she will be remembered for this one. No, the problem was timing. Dinah had died, and, outside the black community, interest in her had waned dramatically. Popular music was in a radical and revolutionary moment, and that moment had nothing to do with Dinah Washington, great as she was and will always be.” At this point, Columbia brought in Clyde Otis, an independent producer and songwriter who had worked with artists like Washington and Sarah Vaughan, and indeed had written one of the songs on Unforgettable, but had also worked with people like Brook Benton, who had a much more R&B audience. For example, he'd written "Baby, You Got What It Takes" for Benton and Washington to do as a duet: [Excerpt: Brook Benton and Dinah Washington, "Baby, You Got What it Takes"] In 1962, when he was working at Mercury Records before going independent, Otis had produced thirty-three of the fifty-one singles the label put out that year that had charted. Columbia had decided that they were going to position Aretha firmly in the R&B market, and assigned Otis to do just that. At first, though, Otis had no more luck with getting Aretha to sing R&B than anyone else had. He later said "Aretha, though, couldn't be deterred from her determination to beat Barbra Streisand at Barbra's own game. I kept saying, ‘Ree, you can outsing Streisand any day of the week. That's not the point. The point is to find a hit.' But that summer she just wanted straight-up ballads. She insisted that she do ‘People,' Streisand's smash. Aretha sang the hell out of it, but no one's gonna beat Barbra at her own game." But after several months of this, eventually Aretha and White came round to the idea of making an R&B record. Otis produced an album of contemporary R&B, with covers of music from the more sophisticated end of the soul market, songs like "My Guy", "Every Little Bit Hurts", and "Walk on By", along with a few new originals brought in by Otis. The title track, "Runnin' Out of Fools", became her biggest hit in three years, making number fifty-seven on the pop charts and number thirty on the R&B charts: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "Runnin' Out of Fools"] After that album, they recorded another album with Otis producing, a live-in-the-studio jazz album, but again nobody involved could agree on a style for her. By this time it was obvious that she was unhappy with Columbia and would be leaving the label soon, and they wanted to get as much material in the can as they could, so they could continue releasing material after she left. But her working relationship with Otis was deteriorating -- Otis and Ted White did not get on, Aretha and White were having their own problems, and Aretha had started just not showing up for some sessions, with nobody knowing where she was. Columbia passed her on to yet another producer, this time Bob Johnston, who had just had a hit with Patti Page, "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte": [Excerpt: Patti Page, "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte"] Johnston was just about to hit an incredible hot streak as a producer. At the same time as his sessions with Aretha, he was also producing Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited, and just after the sessions finished he'd go on to produce Simon & Garfunkel's Sounds of Silence album. In the next few years he would produce a run of classic Dylan albums like Blonde on Blonde, John Wesley Harding, and New Morning, Simon & Garfunkel's follow up Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme, Leonard Cohen's first three albums, and Johnny Cash's comeback with the Live at Folsom Prison album and its follow up At San Quentin. He also produced records for Marty Robbins, Flatt & Scruggs, the Byrds, and Burl Ives during that time period. But you may notice that while that's as great a run of records as any producer was putting out at the time, it has little to do with the kind of music that Aretha Franklin was making then, or would become famous with. Johnston produced a string-heavy session in which Aretha once again tried to sing old standards by people like Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern. She then just didn't turn up for some more sessions, until one final session in August, when she recorded songs like "Swanee" and "You Made Me Love You". For more than a year, she didn't go into a studio. She also missed many gigs and disappeared from her family's life for periods of time. Columbia kept putting out records of things she'd already recorded, but none of them had any success at all. Many of the records she'd made for Columbia had been genuinely great -- there's a popular perception that she was being held back by a record company that forced her to sing material she didn't like, but in fact she *loved* old standards, and jazz tunes, and contemporary pop at least as much as any other kind of music. Truly great musicians tend to have extremely eclectic tastes, and Aretha Franklin was a truly great musician if anyone was. Her Columbia albums are as good as any albums in those genres put out in that time period, and she remained proud of them for the rest of her life. But that very eclecticism had meant that she hadn't established a strong identity as a performer -- everyone who heard her records knew she was a great singer, but nobody knew what "an Aretha Franklin record" really meant -- and she hadn't had a single real hit, which was the thing she wanted more than anything. All that changed when in the early hours of the morning, Jerry Wexler was at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals recording a Wilson Pickett track -- from the timeline, it was probably the session for "Mustang Sally", which coincidentally was published by Ted White's publishing company, as Sir Mack Rice, the writer, was a neighbour of White and Franklin, and to which Aretha had made an uncredited songwriting contribution: [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett, "Mustang Sally"] Whatever the session, it wasn't going well. Percy Sledge, another Atlantic artist who recorded at Muscle Shoals, had turned up and had started winding Pickett up, telling him he sounded just like James Brown. Pickett *hated* Brown -- it seems like almost every male soul singer of the sixties hated James Brown -- and went to physically attack Sledge. Wexler got between the two men to protect his investments in them -- both were the kind of men who could easily cause some serious damage to anyone they hit -- and Pickett threw him to one side and charged at Sledge. At that moment the phone went, and Wexler yelled at the two of them to calm down so he could talk on the phone. The call was telling him that Aretha Franklin was interested in recording for Atlantic. Rev. Louise Bishop, later a Democratic politician in Pennsylvania, was at this time a broadcaster, presenting a radio gospel programme, and she knew Aretha. She'd been to see her perform, and had been astonished by Aretha's performance of a recent Otis Redding single, "Respect": [Excerpt: Otis Redding, "Respect"] Redding will, by the way, be getting his own episode in a few months' time, which is why I've not covered the making of that record here. Bishop thought that Aretha did the song even better than Redding -- something Bishop hadn't thought possible. When she got talking to Aretha after the show, she discovered that her contract with Columbia was up, and Aretha didn't really know what she was going to do -- maybe she'd start her own label or something. She hadn't been into the studio in more than a year, but she did have some songs she'd been working on. Bishop was good friends with Jerry Wexler, and she knew that he was a big fan of Aretha's, and had been saying for a while that when her contract was up he'd like to sign her. Bishop offered to make the connection, and then went back home and phoned Wexler's wife, waking her up -- it was one in the morning by this point, but Bishop was accustomed to phoning Wexler late at night when it was something important. Wexler's wife then phoned him in Muscle Shoals, and he phoned Bishop back and made the arrangements to meet up. Initially, Wexler wasn't thinking about producing Aretha himself -- this was still the period when he and the Ertegun brothers were thinking of selling Atlantic and getting out of the music business, and so while he signed her to the label he was originally going to hand her over to Jim Stewart at Stax to record, as he had with Sam and Dave. But in a baffling turn of events, Jim Stewart didn't actually want to record her, and so Wexler determined that he had better do it himself. And he didn't want to do it with slick New York musicians -- he wanted to bring out the gospel sound in her voice, and he thought the best way to do that was with musicians from what Charles Hughes refers to as "the country-soul triangle" of Nashville, Memphis, and Muscle Shoals. So he booked a week's worth of sessions at FAME studios, and got in FAME's regular rhythm section, plus a couple of musicians from American Recordings in Memphis -- Chips Moman and Spooner Oldham. Oldham's friend and songwriting partner Dan Penn came along as well -- he wasn't officially part of the session, but he was a fan of Aretha's and wasn't going to miss this. Penn had been the first person that Rick Hall, the owner of FAME, had called when Wexler had booked the studio, because Hall hadn't actually heard of Aretha Franklin up to that point, but didn't want to let Wexler know that. Penn had assured him that Aretha was one of the all-time great talents, and that she just needed the right production to become massive. As Hall put it in his autobiography, "Dan tended in those days to hate anything he didn't write, so I figured if he felt that strongly about her, then she was probably going to be a big star." Charlie Chalmers, a horn player who regularly played with these musicians, was tasked with putting together a horn section. The first song they recorded that day was one that the musicians weren't that impressed with at first. "I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You)" was written by a songwriter named Ronnie Shannon, who had driven from Georgia to Detroit hoping to sell his songs to Motown. He'd popped into a barber's shop where Ted White was having his hair cut to ask for directions to Motown, and White had signed him to his own publishing company and got him to write songs for Aretha. On hearing the demo, the musicians thought that the song was mediocre and a bit shapeless: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin "I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You) (demo)"] But everyone there was agreed that Aretha herself was spectacular. She didn't speak much to the musicians, just went to the piano and sat down and started playing, and Jerry Wexler later compared her playing to Thelonius Monk (who was indeed one of the jazz musicians who had influenced her). While Spooner Oldham had been booked to play piano, it was quickly decided to switch him to electric piano and organ, leaving the acoustic piano for Aretha to play, and she would play piano on all the sessions Wexler produced for her in future. Although while Wexler is the credited producer (and on this initial session Rick Hall at FAME is a credited co-producer), everyone involved, including Wexler, said that the musicians were taking their cues from Aretha rather than anyone else. She would outline the arrangements at the piano, and everyone else would fit in with what she was doing, coming up with head arrangements directed by her. But Wexler played a vital role in mediating between her and the musicians and engineering staff, all of whom he knew and she didn't. As Rick Hall said "After her brief introduction by Wexler, she said very little to me or anyone else in the studio other than Jerry or her husband for the rest of the day. I don't think Aretha and I ever made eye contact after our introduction, simply because we were both so totally focused on our music and consumed by what we were doing." The musicians started working on "I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You)", and at first found it difficult to get the groove, but then Oldham came up with an electric piano lick which everyone involved thought of as the key that unlocked the song for them: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, "I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You)"] After that, they took a break. Most of them were pleased with the track, though Rick Hall wasn't especially happy. But then Rick Hall wasn't especially happy about anything at that point. He'd always used mono for his recordings until then, but had been basically forced to install at least a two-track system by Tom Dowd, Atlantic's chief engineer, and was resentful of this imposition. During the break, Dan Penn went off to finish a song he and Spooner Oldham had been writing, which he hoped Aretha would record at the session: [Excerpt: Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham, "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man"] They had the basic structure of the song down, but hadn't quite finished the middle eight, and both Jerry Wexler and Aretha Franklin chipped in uncredited lyrical contributions -- Aretha's line was "as long as we're together baby, you'd better show some respect to me". Penn, Oldham, Chips Moman, Roger Hawkins, and Tommy Cogbill started cutting a backing track for the song, with Penn singing lead initially with the idea that Aretha would overdub her vocal. But while they were doing this, things had been going wrong with the other participants. All the FAME and American rhythm section players were white, as were Wexler, Hall, and Dowd, and Wexler had been very aware of this, and of the fact that they were recording in Alabama, where Aretha and her husband might not feel totally safe, so he'd specifically requested that the horn section at least contain some Black musicians. But Charlie Chalmers hadn't been able to get any of the Black musicians he would normally call when putting together a horn section, and had ended up with an all-white horn section as well, including one player, a trumpet player called Ken Laxton, who had a reputation as a good player but had never worked with any of the other musicians there -- he was an outsider in a group of people who regularly worked together and had a pre-existing relationship. As the two outsiders, Laxton and Ted White had, at first, bonded, and indeed had started drinking vodka together, passing a bottle between themselves, in a way that Rick Hall would normally not allow in a session -- at the time, the county the studio was in was still a dry county. But as Wexler said, “A redneck patronizing a Black man is a dangerous camaraderie,” and White and Laxton soon had a major falling out. Everyone involved tells a different story about what it was that caused them to start rowing, though it seems to have been to do with Laxton not showing the proper respect for Aretha, or even actually sexually assaulting her -- Dan Penn later said “I always heard he patted her on the butt or somethin', and what would have been wrong with that anyway?”, which says an awful lot about the attitudes of these white Southern men who thought of themselves as very progressive, and were -- for white Southern men in early 1967. Either way, White got very, very annoyed, and insisted that Laxton get fired from the session, which he was, but that still didn't satisfy White, and he stormed off to the motel, drunk and angry. The rest of them finished cutting a basic track for "Do Right Woman", but nobody was very happy with it. Oldham said later “She liked the song but hadn't had time to practice it or settle into it I remember there was Roger playing the drums and Cogbill playing the bass. And I'm on these little simplistic chords on organ, just holding chords so the song would be understood. And that was sort of where it was left. Dan had to sing the vocal, because she didn't know the song, in the wrong key for him. That's what they left with—Dan singing the wrong-key vocal and this little simplistic organ and a bass and a drum. We had a whole week to do everything—we had plenty of time—so there was no hurry to do anything in particular.” Penn was less optimistic, saying "But as I rem

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Como lo oyes - BlacK LovE - 06/05/22

Como lo oyes

Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2022 58:36

Tal día como hoy hace medio siglo se publicó el disco de Roberta Flack y Donny Hathaway producido por Joel Dorn y Arif Mardin para Atlantic Records, el sello de Detroit. Aprovechamos esta efeméride para escuchar grandes momentos de ambos juntos, por separado y derivados. DISCO 1 DONNY HATHAWAY Valdez In The Country (THESE SONGS FOR YOU LIVE - 2) DISCO 2 ROBERTA FLACK & DONNY HATHAWAY Where Is The Love (7) DISCO 3 ROBERTA FLACK Uh-Uh Ooh-OohLook Out (Here It Comes) (OASIS - Cara 1 Corte 3) DISCO 4 DONNY HATHAWAY Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything) (1) DISCO 5 ROBERT GLASPER & LALAH HATHAWAY & COMMON Everybody Wants To Rule The World (7) DISCO 6 ROBERTA FLACK & DONNY HATHAWAY Back Together Again (THE BEST OF…Cara 2 Corte 2) DISCO 7 DONNY HATHAWAY Flying Easy (EXTENSION OF A MAN - 3) DISCO 8 ROBERTA FLACK & DONNY HATHAWAY The Closer I Get To You (THE BEST OF…Cara 1 Corte 2) DISCO 9 ROBERTA FLACK Klling Me Softly With His Song (THE BEST OF…Cara 1 Corte 1) DISCO 10 DONNY HATHAWAY The Guetto (EVERYTHING IS EVERYTHING - 8) DISCO 11 ROBERTA FLACK & DONNY HATHAWAY You Are My Heaven (THE BEST OF…. Cara 2 Corte 3) DISCO 12 DONNY HATHAWAY & QUINCY JONES Little Ghuetto Boy (14) DISCO 13 ROBERTA FLACK & DONNY HATHAWAY You’ve Got A Friend (THE BEST OF… Cara 1 Corte 3) Escuchar audio

#Herbie Mann push,push

herbie mann push push arif mardin

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2022 4:09

#Herbie Mann push push# one of the most distinctive jazz musicians ever, flute and instrumentalist, composer# composed this song# producer Arif Mardin# jazz fusion and incredible # respect and Rip --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mr-maxxx/support

#Eddie Harris and Les McCain set us free

jazz mccain eddie harris arif mardin

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2022 4:24

#Eddie Harris and Les McCain # set us free # two great Jazz instrumentalist on this combination piece which was composed by Eddie Harris # producer Arif Mardin # classic instrumentation # socially aware # respect and Rip --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mr-maxxx/support

Episode Six: Syllabus, Whole Oats

Out of Touch: A Hall and Oates Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2022 46:44

This week we sift through the album Whole Oats one song at a time. We begin part one of many conversations about Arif Mardin, and laugh at potential song inspirations like The Golden Girls, Muppets, Nico, and Joni Mitchell. Plus we may toss in a little ASMR along the way! This episode brought to you by Naomi's Wildfang overalls (not an ad).

germany asmr muppets wes anderson golden girls joni mitchell seth rogen pamela anderson mullet tommy lee oats syllabus arif mardin wildfang

Hygge: The Danish Art of Feeling Good

The Positive Mind

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 20, 2022 58:00

This week Kevin and Niseema talk about the Danish word "Hygge," which is a way of creating comfort and ease in your life. It is amazing how many ways we can create more comfort and ease in our daily rituals, from how we wake up in the morning, to how we live our day, to how we go to sleep.In the winter season, there are so many ways to add pleasure to our lives, like wearing cozy wool socks, to making a cup of hot apple cider or hot chocolate. For the Danish, Hygge is a way of life, which explains why they are one of the happiest countries in the world.______________________________For more information or support contact hosts Kevin O'Donoghue LMHC or Niseema Dyan Diemer SEP at: info@thepositivemindcenter.com, or call 212-757-4488. You can sign up for our weekly newsletter at www.tffpp.org.These are challenging times and we hope this episode served to validate and ease your anxiety about what you may be experiencing. Please feel free to also suggest show ideas to the above email. Thank you for listening,Kevin and Niseemawww.tffpp.orghttps://www.kevinlmhc.comwww.niseema.comwww.thepositivemindcenter.comPRODUCTION CREDITSOpening Music : "Another Country", Performed by: Shadowfax, Written and Produced by: Chuck Greenberg, Source:Windham Hill/LegacyBreak Music: "Come Away With Me." Performed and Written by: Nora Jones, Produced by: Arif Mardin, Nora Jones, Jay Newland, Craig Street, Source: Blue Note RecordsEnd Music : "You Still Believe in Me." Performed by M.Ward, Written by: Brian Wilson and T Asher, Produced by: --, Source:Merge Records.The Positive Mind is produced with the help of:Engineering: Geoff BradyProducer: Connie Shannon Website Design and End Music: Giullian GioelloMarketing and PR: Jen Maguire, Maguire PR, jen@maguirepr.com

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#melissa Manchester you should hear how she talks about you

melissa manchester arif mardin

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2022 4:21

#Melissa Manchester you should hear how she talks about you# classic song and vocals # real fun pop song# producer Arif Mardin# respect --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mr-maxxx/support

The Lane Tietgen Interview

The Jake Feinberg Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 19, 2022 48:52

Calling all unsung heroes. That's right, you over there who can read music and write compositions with something to say. Unsung heroes have been prevalent on the JFS, Guys who oozed the cosmic plasma of listening to each other. When everyone is listening then and only then can magic occur. My guest today is a listener, singer, song writer and individualist. He could have chosen the route of Studio City, playing sessions, getting union scale and an identity. He chose not to do this rather making a big imprint on the musical landscape during the days that mixed race bands had crossover appeal because they could play at some upholstered sewer in Cape Cod for a week two weeks- a month. His imprint is also attributable to the fact that people like Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler, Norman Granz and Saul Zaentz were business men who understood the musicians craft. They saw the bigger picture, both sonically and sociologically. They wanted to make money but they understood the lineage that exists in music and when those links are missing. You see when links are missing it begins to dilute our cultural heritage, music serves to pacify instead of elevate consciousness. When the individual supersedes the music then no one is listening and no magic can occur. Trust me, Mingus, Roach and Dizzy are convulsing in their graves. My guest plays with his band in Marin County these days for fun. What a concept? How do you think real music is made? Recently he has been writing some songs with former bandmate and collaborator Mike Finnegan who continues to use my guests tunes on his own albums. Calling all unsung heroes Lane Tietgen welcome to the JFS

trust guys roaches cape cod dizzy unsung marin county studio city mingus jerry wexler arif mardin jfs norman granz mike finnegan tietgen saul zaentz

Jeremy Lubbock On Melody: Part 2

history bbc adventures awakening lubbock brian wilson barry manilow george martin thom bell arif mardin

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2021 14:33

In 2008, I interviewed Jeremy Lubbock for two BBC documentaries, “Richard Niles' History of Pop Arranging” and “What is Melody?”. Jeremy was in fine form and discussed the current state of music, the music business and record companies. He also talked about his masterpiece recording “Awakening” conducted by his brother John and produced by George Martin. I am very happy to let music lovers hear the thoughts of one of this brilliant musical creator. My book “The Invisible Artist” has an extended analysis of Lubbock's work with musical transcription and analysis. Other featured artists are Jimmie Haskell, Arif Mardin, Brian Wilson, Thom Bell, Barry Manilow and Michael Gibbs. Don't miss, “Adventures in Arranging” Please Like, Share, and Subscribe to our YouTube channel:

The Making of JOHN PRINE (Self-Titled) - featuring Margo Price, Amanda Shires, Erin Osmon, Dave Prine, Bobby Wood and Gene Chrisman

Life of the Record

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2021 129:11

For the 50th anniversary of John Prine's debut album, we take a detailed look at the extraordinary circumstances of how this record came to be. In this episode, John's older brother, Dave Prine, describes the shocking moment when he realized his brother's staggering talent. Erin Osmon, author of the forthcoming 33 1/3 book about this album, takes us through John's discovery story and how he first made an impact at folk clubs in Chicago before being discovered by Kris Kristofferson and Jerry Wexler. We'll hear about the unlikely pairing of Prine with legendary Atlantic producer, Arif Mardin, and session players, the Memphis Boys, who had never made a folk record before. Keyboardist, Bobby Wood, and drummer, Gene Chrisman, of the Memphis Boys, discuss what it was like to record these songs at American Sound Studio with a very nervous and inexperienced young performer. Additionally, we'll hear from another generation of Nashville songwriters and Prine collaborators, Margo Price and Amanda Shires, who describe why many of the songs from this record have become standards. From Prine's wry sense of humor to his ability to write characters to covertly writing about controversial subjects to his deep empathy, we'll hear the stories around how this record came together and why it ended up becoming one of Prine's most enduring works.

chicago nashville atlantic john prine kris kristofferson self titled keyboardist margo price prine amanda shires bobby wood jerry wexler arif mardin

Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul

Polyphonic Press

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2021 47:36

"Appearing after a blockbuster debut and a sophomore set that was rather disappointing (in comparison), 1968's Lady Soul proved Aretha Franklin, the pop sensation, was no fluke. Her performances were more impassioned than on her debut, and the material just as strong, an inspired blend of covers and originals from the best songwriters in soul and pop music. The opener, "Chain of Fools," became the biggest hit, driven by a chorus of cascading echoes by Franklin and her bedrock backing vocalists, the Sweet Impressions, plus the unforgettable, earthy guitar work of guest Joe South. The album's showpiece, though, was "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," a song written expressly for her by Brill Building pop stalwarts Gerry Goffin and Carole King, based on a title coined by producer Jerry Wexler. One of the landmark performances in pop music, the song floats serenely through the verses until, swept up by Ralph Burns' stirring string arrangement again and again, Franklin opens up on the choruses with one of the most transcendent vocals of her career. And just as she'd previously transformed a soul classic (Otis Redding's "Respect") into a signature piece of her own, Franklin courageously reimagined songs by heavyweights James Brown, Ray Charles, and the Impressions. Brown's "Money Won't Change You" is smooth and kinetic, her testifying constantly reinforced by interjections from the Sweet Inspirations. Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready," a 1965 civil-rights anthem and a hit for the Impressions, is taken at a slower pace than the original; after a quiet verse, Franklin lets loose amidst a magisterial brass arrangement by Arif Mardin. Powered by three hit singles (each nested in the upper reaches of the pop Top Ten), Lady Soul became Aretha Franklin's second gold LP and remained on the charts for over a year." - John Bush, All MusicSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/polyphonic-press1229/donations

#Aretha Franklin call me

aretha franklin arif mardin

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2021 3:48

# Aretha Franklin call me# classic song and vocals# songwriter, musician# Arif Mardin producer# gospel feel,queen of soul# respect --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mr-maxxx/support

Episode 45 Steve Ferrone: Celebrity Session and Touring Drummer

The Music Makers

Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2021 57:09

Steve Ferrone has recorded and/or toured as a drummer with numerous high profile acts, including Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1994 until now, Average White Band for eight years, George Harrison, Duran Duran, Stevie Nicks, Slash, Chaka Khan, Eric Clapton, The Bee Gees, Johnny Cash, Bryan Ferry, Peter Frampton, Whitney Houston, Pat Metheny, Marcus Miller, Steve Winwood, Paul Simon, and Jaco Pastorius – and that's just some of the acts he's been with! This was a blast of a conversation because Steve has so many great stories. He talks about his work with The Average White Band, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Chaka Khan, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and Michael Jackson. He also talks about some of his favorite bass players and more! Steve was actually a tap dancer at a young age. He was only twelve years old, and he shares how that inadvertently led to his first drumming gig. He explains how he found his sound, as a drummer, and the journey that led him to where he is today. Despite the fact that Steve has played drums on a lot of classic hits from artists such as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (with whom he has worked for more than twenty-five years!), Chaka Khan, Michael Jackson, and so many others, he definitely maintains a certain level of modesty, presenting the possibility that a hit with which he was involved “was already a hit and I got to play on it.” He also discusses the advent of the drum machine and electronic drums and how they initially made some drummers panic thinking that their work would become obsolete. He shares his own feelings on electronic drums and gives examples of times when he maintained the value of organic drums over electronic ones, such as when he worked on “Earth Song” by Michael Jackson. Andy and Steve also talk a little about the COVID-19 pandemic and how it affected musicians, with Steve detailing what his life and profession have been like ever since the breakout of the pandemic. He remains optimistic and hopeful that an end to the pandemic is in sight but also clarifies that he is grateful for that which he has been able to hold onto in his life. Having worked with so many high profile musicians, Steve definitely has a lot of great stories to share and makes for a very fascinating guest on the podcast! Show Highlights: [00:10] Andy gives some background information on Steve Ferrone and his career so far as a high profile drummer. [2:06] – Steve reveals where his passion for drumming comes from and shares what some of his hobbies were as a child. [5:00] – Steve reveals how he scored his first drumming gig. [7:14] – We learn how Steve found his sound as a musician. [10:19] – Steve talks about what his process is like preparing for recording in the studio. [12:27] – Steve shares the story of having worked with Duran Duran on their “Ordinary World” song. [15:18] – Steve reflects on how he feels about many musicians today playing their parts separately and sending them in rather than all being in the same room playing together. [18:55] – Steve hones in on an important lesson that he learned from Arif Mardin. [22:03] – Steve looks back on his time with The Average White Band. [22:38] – Steve and Andy discuss Tom Petty and what it was like for Steve to work with him. [24:34] – Steve talks about his time with Chaka Khan. [27:40] – Steve explains how his collaboration with Eric Clapton came about. [30:45] – We learn how Steve led a very busy life while touring with Eric Clapton because he was touring with him and with Duran Duran. [32:45] – Andy and Steve enthuse over Phil Collins' phenomenal drumming work. [35:38] – Steve talks about electronic drums and how they were incorporated into “I Feel for You” by Chaka Khan. [36:42] – Steve narrates how he came to work with George Harrison. [38:47] – Steve explains how George Harrison might hold the record for most expensive recording session ever. [41:56] – Steve describes his experiences working with different bass players. [44:00] – We learn that the business side of things is Steve's least favorite aspect of his job. [44:57] – Steve describes his experience working on “Earth Song” by Michael Jackson. [48:35] – Andy and Steve talk about what Steve is looking forward to now that we're reaching the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. [50:25] – Steve describes an experience that he had recording a project during the pandemic. [52:05] – Steve looks forward to the day when the pandemic is over but remains grateful for what he has in his life now even in a pandemic. [54:22] – Steve talks a little bit about his jazz group, The Coffee Shop Trio, and how they play. LINKS & RESOURCES Steve Ferrone - Website Mentioned in this Episode: The Music Makers - Episode 37: Jeff Babko: Keyboardist Extraordinaire & Keeping the Channels Wide Open Duran Duran - “Ordinary World” Chaka Khan - “I'm Every Woman” Chaka Khan - “I Feel for You” Phil Collins - “Easy Lover” Michael Jackson - “Earth Song” Follow The Music Makers: The Music Makers on Instagram The Music Makers podcast theme song was written and produced by Andy Kushner with help from the rhythm section and horn players of the band, SoundConnection. Sponsor: Kushner Entertainment Check out Andy's Other Podcast: The Wedding Biz

Nova Classic : « Work To Do » d’Average White Band

Nova Classics

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2021 6:04

Radio Nova revisite ses propres classiques : les raretés de tout bord qui rythment notre antenne, de la soul-funk au hip-hop en passant par les musiques afro-latines et la pop. Aujourd’hui : « Work To Do » d’Average White Band.« Work To Do », un Nova Classic dont on écoute aujourd’hui la version du Average White Band, puisque l’originale est signée The Isley Brothers. Une reprise sortie en 1974 par ce groupe de funk écossais révélé au grand public en ouverture d’un concert marquant le retour d’Eric Clapton sur scène après deux ans de silence. Un concert attendu donc, et une mise en lumière qui permet au AWB d’être signé sur des labels américains, MCA d’abord puis Atlantic Records. C’est d’ailleurs l’un des façonneurs du son d’Atlantic Records, le producteur Arif Mardin qui chapeautera la conception de ce second disque. Average White Band, un nom de scène plein d’autodérision pour ces musiciens blancs qui, avec des titres comme « Pick Up the Pieces » et cette reprise des Isley Brothers se retrouvent en tête des charts. Et nombreux ont été surpris de découvrir que cette musique au groove imparable était l’œubre d’un groupe de blancs en kilt originaire de Glasgow… Un pied-de-nez musical à tous ceux qui aiment ranger les choses dans les cases. Un Nova Classic que vous retrouverez au cœur de ce double vinyle qui sort aujourd’hui, et compile des classiques Nova, option soul et rap.Visuel © The Essentials d’Average White Band See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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Episode #6 - John Oates

T-Bone's Prime Cuts...On The Other Side

Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2021 48:11

John Oates is today's guest. Half of famed duo, Daryl Hall & John Oates. He's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, AND the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. Today we'll talk about: His new solo album, "Live In Nashville" with the Good Road Band, Oates Fest 7908, Saxsquatch, "Abandoned Luncheonette", Arif Mardin, George Harrison, How no two Daryl Hall & John Oates songs sound similar, Recording "We Are The World", Re-opening The Apollo Theater with Eddie Kendricks & David Ruffin, Live Aid, The GREAT T-Bone Wolk, John Oates the guitarist and MORE! John's Site: https://johnoates.com/ Feeding America: https://www.feedingamerica.org/ TBPC Site: https://www.tbpcpodcast.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBonesPrimeCuts FB: https://www.facebook.com/tbonesprimecuts --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tbpc/support

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History of Pop Arranging – Part 3

history bbc motown rr stax arranging muscle shoals pretty please jerry wexler arif mardin

Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2021 29:11

RR listeners will have heard interviews with Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin and David Van De Pitte. But here's part 3 of my BBC series on the contribution of arrangers, to Motown, Stax, Muscle Shoals and more, putting it all in context. With excerpts of some great music the publishers will try to cut out! Listen, enjoy, subscribe. Part 4 next week! This is killer stuff and you only get this with Radio Richard. LIKE this video! SUBSCRIBE to our social media! DONATE to our PATREON! Pretty Please! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DRRICHARDNILES?sub_confirmation=1 Podcast: https://radiorichard.podbean.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/radiorichard2021 Twitter: https://twitter.com/radiorichard3 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/radiorichard #richardniles #radiorichard #musicinterviews #pop #poparrangers #arranger #interviews #podcasts #music #podcasting #podbean #educational

ARIF MARDIN Interview – Part 2

Here's The Thing with Alec Baldwin

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2021 21:05

With more than forty gold and platinum albums, over 15 Grammy nominations and seven Grammy Awards. Arif Mardin consistently arranged and produced hits for over forty years hits for Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, Hall & Oates, Brandy, Carly Simon, Roberta Flack, Patti LaBelle, Laura Nyro, Phil Collins, Jewel, the Bee Gees, Ringo Starr, Michael McDonald, Eric Clapton, Gladys Knight, Scritti Politti, Culture Club and Willie Nelson. His relationship with Chaka Khan was particularly fruitful resulting in hits like I Feel For You, I'm Every Woman and What Cha' Gonna Do For Me. Mardin has worked in virtually every musical style producing everything from classical to film music, from the 1966 Young Rascals hit Good Lovin' to The Modern Jazz Quartet. In 2002 he scored another hit with his own discovery Norah Jones. Come Away With Me became the second highest selling album of the year. I interviewed Arif at his NYC home in 2002 for my BBC series “Richard Niles' History of Pop Arranging”. This rare and historically valuable interview is a good example of the unique content you get by subscribing to RADIO RICHARD. LIKE this video! SUBSCRIBE to our social media! DONATE to our PATREON! Pretty Please! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DRRICHARDNILES?view_as=subscriber?sub_confirmation=1 Podcast: https://radiorichard.podbean.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/radiorichard2021 Twitter: https://twitter.com/radiorichard3 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/radiorichard #arifmardin #richardniles #radiorichard #musicinterviews #popmusic #producer #arranger #arethafranklin #dustyspringfield #barbrastreisand #bettemidler #dianaross #whitneyhouston #hall&oates #brand #carlysimon #robertaflak #philcollins #beegees #ringostarr #ericclapton #michaelmcdonald #gladysknight #interviews #podcasts #music #podcasting #podbean #educational “Radio Richard Theme” ©2021 Niles Smiles Music (BMI) performed by Free Play Duo, Dylan Bell & Suba Sankaran

The Rascal’s Felix Cavaliere Really Sings

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2021 50:45

Felix Cavaliere started The Rascals in 1965. Felix began playing piano at age six and listened exclusively to classical music until junior high when he first heard Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and Fats Domino. Rock and roll changed his life. In The Rascals, Felix sang and played organ on some of the group’s biggest hits, including It’s a Beautiful Morning, Groovin’, Good Lovin’, and People Got to Be Free. The band signed with Atlantic and, with the legendary producer Arif Mardin, The Rascals had nine hits between 1965-1968, making it big as a crossover hit on Black R&B stations and white stations. Felix took a stand in favor of civil rights, insisting The Rascals would play only if Black acts were also on the ticket, a decision that eliminated parts of the country from their touring schedule. Today, Felix lives in Nashville, and he’s still playing and producing music. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

black nashville atlantic rock and roll sings chuck berry jerry lee lewis be free rascal rascals groovin fats domino beautiful morning felix cavaliere good lovin arif mardin

ARIF MARDIN Interview – Part 1

The Real Deal On...Success!

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2021 21:34

Beatles ’76 pt7

Yesterday and Today

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2021 107:47

It's the summer of 1976 and Wings are finishing their victory lap over North America with a lavish party attended by the rich & famous of Los Angeles. With two monster singles: Silly Love Songs and Let Em In, catapulting to the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic (well, the #2 spot in the UK), Paul McCartney and his rock n roll quintet were riding high, and enjoying the fruits of their labors. Back in New York, another victory was at hand for John Lennon, who after nearly half a decade of struggle at last obtained the coveted green card that would signify the end to his immigration troubles. By September, another verdict (this time less than ideal) would be handed down in the case of George Harrison and his My Sweet Lord copyright infringement case. A New York City judge found George guilty of plagiarism, responsible for monetary restitution to the copyright holders of the song "He's So Fine", despite Harrison's recognizably sincere denial of having pinched their melody for his 1970 smash single. This landmark decision cost George quite a sum, as well as setting an important precedent for composers and song publishers for decades to come. While George and John respectively celebrated victory and mourned defeat in the New York City courts, Ringo Starr released a new LP on September 17th 1976: Rotogravure. A follow-up to his successful 1974 album Goodnight Vienna, this new collection of songs featured contributions from all four former Beatles, as well as a new producer: the acclaimed Arif Mardin. Despite the musical pedigree of the album's contributors, and Ringo's own enthusiasm, this record's underperformance would signify yet another dramatic sea change in the career trajectory of one of the most successful graduates of the fab four.... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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Creating lasting success in the music industry! Shane Keister, county music icon gets Real!

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 29, 2021 73:45

Shane figured out how to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" at age three. Too tiny to actually reach the piano keys, he picked out the notes by reaching up and feeling for them with his fingertips. Thus began his lifetime of music. He's created music hand in hand with legends of the recording industry, ranging from Elvis Presley and Paul McCartney to Arif Mardin and Ahmet Ertegun. His diversity as a player, arranger, producer and composer is amazing: pop to classical, jazz to R & B, country to alternative, appearing in one form or another on many thousands of recordings. Born in Huntington WV, Shane began formal classical piano training with Edith Sweeney before reaching his fourth birthday and moved to Portsmouth, Ohio when he was 7. There he continued piano studies in the years to follow with his adored teacher, Dorothy Knost. With her guidance, he began winning the coveted "Guild" piano competition awards year after year. At age twelve, while beginning junior high school, he met the inspirational Ralph Harrison, the McKinley Junior High School Band Director. Ralph asked Shane to join the school's orchestra and the big-band swing band. He also studied and performed choral music with another wonderful teacher and friend, Charles Varney, and with Bob McCoy at Portsmouth High School. Shane also began playing with many local musicians and bands in the Tri-State area. His family moved back to Huntington for his senior year, where he attended Huntington High School and enrolled at Marshall University, where he studied with Mary Shepp Mann. At the end of his freshman year, he left Huntington to "...travel and play music!...". He eventually moved to Dallas TX and soon enrolled in the jazz program at North Texas State University. By age nineteen, he was working in Dallas music production houses and studios, playing piano and organ two to three days a week on everything from film scores and records to radio libraries and jingles. He withdrew from NTSU and, seeking work as a studio musician, moved to Memphis. Within just a few weeks, he was blessed by reuniting with the legendary Jim Stewart of Stax Records and began working as a staff pianist/keyboardist in the Stax Rhythm Section. He also worked as a session pianist at Pepper/Tanner and with producers Al Jackson Jr., Willie Mitchell and Chips Moman. In 1971, Chips asked Shane to join the American Studios Rhythm Section as a staff pianist, where he worked with music icons such as Arif Mardin and many others. Learn more about creating financial and emotional freedom at www.freedomhacknow.com In 1972, Shane was in such demand as a pianist/session keyboardist from his work in Dallas and Memphis that he moved to Nashville. Word of his talent and abilities spread rapidly and he was soon working constantly. In 1974, he was contacted by Paul McCartney and performed on the "Junior's Farm/Sally G" sessions. Subsequently, Shane was called to play on several tracks on Elvis Presley's "Promised Land" album. Presley was so impressed with Shane's keyboard work that he personally requested Shane accompany him as pianist on the forthcoming '76 tour. His studio career continued at lightning speed, as he performed on and arranged hundreds of records for major artists. He also became an early explorer of synthesis and digital recording, purchasing a Mini-Moog in 1971 and purchasing his first digital audio recording system in 1981. In the late 80's, Shane had the great fortune of meeting legendary record mogul Ahmet Ertegun. Ahmet realized Shane's abilities and versatility and recruited him as a staff producer. He worked closely with Ahmet and with many of Atlantic's artists until April 2001, when he started his own independent production company. He returned to Nashville, TN in 2004 and continues to reside there. Shane currently performs live with Lynda Carter and is a member of the Musician's Hall Of Fame. As a producer/arranger, he's been twice nominated for a Grammy and received two Dove awards and one Cleo award. Shane is able to enrich any project he's part of, and he continues to be one of the most sought after talents in the industry. Break free from whats holding you back from creating financial and emotional freedom! www.freedomhacknow.com

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Robbie LaBlanc Gets It Right ~ "Double Trouble" with Bruce Hilliard

Better Each Day Podcast Radio Show with Bruce Hilliard

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2021 38:28

Welcome to the Better Each Day podcast. I’m your host and bathroom buddy Bruce Hilliard donning my new groovin’ the tunes of Rube Tubin and the Rondonnas stylish, yet comfy, wardrobe courtesy of Freya Fashion Design and Calvin Klein undies. It's been a year since the COVID hammer came down. People. Let’s remain Fauchi-ing until it’s cool to take off our masks and dance like children of the night. I should take a moment and apologize for the late airing of this episode. I, under the close adherence of the State of Washington’s current COVID ordinances and guidelines, performed live twice. So sorry to thousands of listeners. It’s now two days late and I’m just now publishing. So back to the gig. It was a limited size masked audience where required, but it was almost like a religious event. A scene from a lost Back To The Future sequel where instead of Marty McFly McFlying off on some wild ass overdriven amp guitar shred, Bruce Hilliard in this flick plays for an audience that hasn’t heard live music. Or at least forgot what it was like to watch a living flesh sing and not on TV. Sounds of a one man guitar vocal set with occasional ad libs and P’s popping in the mic. There were long distance hugs and even some tears. A scenario you’d never think possible. And it’s gonna get better, I just know it. Today’s guest is the very talented, yet humble and happy Robbie LaBlanc. His latest release Double Trouble drops April 16th and if you like the 70s and 80s vibe, Escape Music does too and they came to guest Robbie LaBlanc and asked if he would be the lead vocalist on their new project. Robbie said yes, they recorded the album, it’s great, and here’s Robbie LaBlanc to tell us about it. About the Artist Robbie (and his brother Brian) have been singing and playing instruments since age 3. Robbie’s first influences (besides his dad always singing and playing the guitar) were Trini Lopez and the Beatles. Shortly after, the influences were bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival and Grand Funk Railroad. Robbie’s first break in the music business came when he met Rock and Roll Hall Of Famer Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals in CT. Felix produced the album “FURY” with a slew of great musicians in a CT studio. After the album disappeared from the charts, Robbie signed with a management company that had Michael Bolton ties and the duo recorded at least four albums worth of material at Michael’s CT studio. It still failed to generate a record deal. When that deal ended about three years later Robbie dropped a DAT tape in Arif Mardin’s mailbox in CT. Arif called the next day and a deal with Atlantic Records was on the table. One hurdle to go, a showcase with the new Atlantic regime. Again, it proved disappointing, no deal. At the suggestion of a friend, a CD was sent to Frontiers Records and the two “Blanc Faces” records were done in 2005 and 2009. Robbie then signed on to sing with the “Find Me” project which has received some great reviews on all three releases. Robbie also sings lead vocals in a band called East Temple Avenue which will have it’s first release in 2020 as well. ETA is comprised of members from various bands like “Work of Art” and “Cruzh” along with Darren Philips (founder) and Phil Lindstrand. In 2019 Robbie hooked up with Escape Music to do a “70’s and 80’s vibe” record and Robbie loved the idea. The result is that a solo record will be coming in 2021, written and produced by Steve Overland and Tommy Denander. The songs are fresh and vibrant, just what we need in these troubling times and with Robbie’s powerhouse vocals leading the way then we are all in for a real treat. Support this podcast

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Robbie LaBlanc Gets It Right ~ "Double Trouble" with Bruce Hilliard

Better Each Day Podcast Radio Show with Bruce Hilliard

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2021 38:28

Electronic Literature

The Holmes Archive of Electronic Music

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2021 114:19

Episode 31 Electronic Literature The Marriage of Electronic Music, Poetry, and Literature Playlist Luciano Berio, "Thema (Omaggio A Joyce)," from Orient-Occident/Momenti-Omaggio A Joyce/Continuo/Transition 1 (1967 Philips). Composed by Luciano Berio at the RAI studio in Milan. Vocals, Cathy Berberian. The piece dates from 1958-59. An exploration of editing and tape composition with the voice as a key source of audio material. This is an interpretative reading of the poem "Sirens" from chapter 11 of the novel Ulysses by James Joyce. This release on the Philips Prospective 21e Siècle is shorter than the one released around the same time on the Turnabout label in America. It omits the spoken sequence at the beginning where Berberian recites the words prior to them being manipulated on tape. John Cage/David Tudor, "Side 3" excerpt from Indeterminacy: New Aspect of Form in Instrumental And Electronic Music (1959 Folkways). John Cage reads previously prepared stories and anecdotes, David Tudor performs electronic music at the same time with no Earthly connection between the two. This was a long-standing performance practice of theirs and I saw them do this several times. John Cage, "Part One (To Line 220)" from Roaratorio: An Irish Circus On Finnegans Wake (1992 Mode), excerpt, for speaker, Irish musicians and 62-track tape. Speaker, John Cage. Production: WDR, Köln; Süddeutscher Rundfunk, Stuttgart; Katholieke Radio Omroep, Hilversum; Technical cooperation: IRCAM, Paris. First transmission: 22 October 1979, WDR3-Hörspielstudio. This score is a means for translating any book into a performance without actors, a performance which is both literary and musical or one or the other. In this case, the book was Finnegans Wake by James Joyce. The text of Roaratorio was published separately as Writing for the Second Time Through Finnegans Wake. This was part of the evolution of Cage's interest in creating works of text for performance with music and other activities. It further evolved into his use of texts by Henry David Thoreau for which he used chance processes to derive a text for solo vocal performance. Shakespeare, excerpt, (1962 Odhams Books Ltd.). BBC radioplay production with musique concrète by Desmond Leslie. King Henry is played by Richard Burton. Electronic music provided on tape for a set of Shakespeare play productions. This short. 2 and a half-minute segment is from Act IV, Scene 3 and gives you an idea of how the sound effects was joined with the dialog. This was a common outlet for electronic music in the UK. Shackleton, “Music For The Quiet Hour, Part 2,” excerpt, from Music For The Quiet Hour (2012 Woe To The Septic Heart!). Vocals, words (poetry), Vengeance Tenfold; Composer, producer, A. Gerth, K. Biswas, Sam Shackleton. A collaboration between producer Shackleton and vocalist Vengeance Tenfold. Beats, bass and rhythm patterns provide a backdrop for some stark poetry. This is a portion of a longer work that whose overall length is about an hour. Lily Greenham, “Traffic” from Lingual Music (2007 Paradigm Discs). Reissue of text-sound works made by Danish concrete poet Lily Greenham, probably between 1972-75. Hugh Davies is credited with assisting on the electronics for this work. Voice: Lily Greenham. Anne Clark, "Swimming" and "An Ordinary Life" from The Sitting Room (1982 Red Flame). Clark is a foremost British poet who fuses her texts with electronic music. This was the first of her albums. Words, Keyboards, Electronic Percussion, Water Percussion, Anne Clark; Guitar, Effects, Voice, Gary Mundy; Keyboards, Domonic Appleton, Patrik Fitzgerald; Keyboards, Electronic Percussion, Andrea Laschetti. Rick Wakeman, “The Journey,” excerpt, from Journey to the Center of the Earth (1974 A&M). Recorded in concert at The Royal Festival Hall London on Friday January 18th 1974. Synthesizers and other keyboards, Rick Wakeman; Narrator, David Hemmings; drums, Barney James; guitar, Mike Egan; accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Measham. Alan Parsons Project, "The Raven" from Tales of Mystery and Imagination - Edgar Allan Poe (1976 Charisma). Words from the tale of the same name by Poe. The Harmony Vocoder heard on "The Raven" was invented and built by EMI Central Research Laboratories.Keyboards, Alan Parsons, Andrew Powell, Billy Lyall, Christopher North, Eric Woolfson, Francis Monkman; Composed by Alan Parsons, Andrew Powell, and Eric Woolfson. Silver Apples, "Dust" from Silver Apples (1968 Kapp). "INSTRUCTIONS: Play Twice Before Listening." Composed and Arranged by Dan Taylor and Simeon; Percussion, Dan Taylor; Oscillators, mixers, electronic gear (The Simeon), Simeon; Vocals, Dan Taylor, Simeon. Alice Shields, " Study For Voice And Tape" from Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center 1961-1973 (1998 New World Records). Recorded Voice, Buchla synthesizer, poem by Alice Shields. Ronald Perera, "Three Poems of Gunter Grass," part 1, “Gleisdreieck" from Music And Words (1980 CRI. Ronald Perera, electronic music on tape created in the Smith College Electronic Music Studio; soprano, Elsa Charlston; Conductor, Richard Pittman. John Hill, "Europa" from Six Moons Of Jupiter (2009 Finders Keepers). Recorded at Sigma Sound, Philadelphia, January-August 1970, but I don't think it was ever released. Uses a Moog Modular synthesizer programmed by Walter Sear. Composed, arranged produced, Moog Modular Synthesizer, Guitar, Bass, Flute, Recorder, Hammond organ, John Hill; Drums, Percussion, Jimmy Valerio; Performer (Poetry), Susan Christie; poetry, Ian Michaels. Ruth White, "The Clock," "Evening Harmony," "Lover's Wine," Owls," from Flowers of Evil (1969, Limelight). Composer, vocals, electronics (Moog Synthesizer), Ruth White; based on poetry by Charles Baudelaire, translated by Ruth White. Fantastic music from this singular composer who owned a Moog Modular Synthesizer. Her other music was often composed for media, television, and children's records. Archive Mix In which I play two records at the same time to see what happens. The recordings were: Lily Greenham, “ABC in Sound” from Lingual Music (1968/2007 Paradigm Discs). Recording from 1968 and includes the words of poet Bob Cobbing. Arif Mardin, “The Prophet,” excerpt from side 1, from The Prophet (1974 Atlantic). Narrator Richard Harris; keyboards, Bob James, Pat Rebillot, and Ken Bichel (ARP 2600). Poetry by Kahlil Gibran. The opening montage consists of excerpts from Milt Gabler and a reading of “The People Yes (Excerpt)” by Carl Sandburg and some saxophone music from Avant Slant (1968 Decca); James Joyce reading “Anna Livia Plurabelle” (1929 The Orthographic Institute); John Cage and David Tudor, Indeterminacy (1959 Folkways); Alice Shields, Dance Piece No. 3 from Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center 1961-1973 (1998 New World Records); Luciano Berio, "Thema (Omaggio A Joyce)," from Electronic Music III (1967 Turnabout); Anne Clark, "The Sitting Room " from The Sitting Room (1982 Red Flame); Arif Mardin, “The Prophet,” excerpt from The Prophet (1974 Atlantic); Ruth White, "Owls" from Flowers of Evil (1969, Limelight). Background music is excerpted from Shackleton, “Music For The Quiet Hour, Part 2,” from Music For The Quiet Hour (2012 Woe To The Septic Heart!). Opening and closing sequences voiced by Anne Benkovitz.

america earth uk voice british sound writing philadelphia speaker mystery evil tales irish europa bbc abc wine atlantic effects poetry shakespeare recording beats prophet flowers literature dust traffic bass fantastic lover technical guitar swimming clock danish electronic cage simeon composer drums stuttgart hammond earthly charisma poe philips owls conductor narrators sirens vocals flute rai james joyce percussion electronic music composed henry david thoreau limelight recorder john cage shackleton arranged keyboards king henry cri rundfunk richard burton ordinary life finders keepers charles baudelaire reissue london symphony orchestra hilversum act iv kahlil gibran kapp decca alan parsons project alan parsons rick wakeman bob james john hill turnabout new world records dan taylor biswas synthesizers carl sandburg finnegans wake luciano berio gerth ircam folkways buchla three poems david hemmings anne clark silver apples arif mardin oscillators berberian andrew powell indeterminacy mike egan david tudor hugh davies gleisdreieck sitting room ruth white eric woolfson moog synthesizer cathy berberian gunter grass francis monkman water percussion

T3 Capítulo 32 Still Waters (1997) Bee Gees

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Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2021 184:59

Llegó 1997, 20 años después de la fiebre los Bee Gees son inducidos al Salón de la Fama del Rock and Roll y al de Autores y Compositores de la Música. Editan el álbum Still Waters y lo producen con varios expertos como el legendario Arif Mardin, un álbum muy inspirado con una docena de sencillos magistralmente compuestos, arreglados e interpretados. Sin duda uno de los mejores álbumes de la carrera de los hermanos Gibb.

The Victor Brooks Show Episode 47 (Quarantine Series) Junior Giscombe

The Victor Brooks Show

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 30, 2020 84:38

Junior Giscombe cut his teeth as a backing vocalist with Linx before enjoying success as a solo artist with Mama Used To Say, a 1982 hit on both sides of the Atlantic. His third album, Acquired Taste, was helmed by top producer Arif Mardin. He made the British Top 10 again in 1987, this time alongside Kim Wilde on Another Step (Closer To You). A proliﬁc writer, Junior has penned songs for Maxi Priest, Amy Stewart and Ruby Turner, and collaborated with Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott. A reggae reboot of his best known material, featuring duets with the likes of Luciano and Stephen Marley, is released later this year.

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Jimmy Johnson

Truetone Lounge

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2020 70:51

In the latest Truetone Lounge, we take a trip down to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to meet up with Swamper, Jimmy Johnson at 3614 Jackson Highway, home of the Muscle Shoals Sound. In our interview, Johnson covered everything from his early days as Rick Hall’s first employee, through all of his groundbreaking work with Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, Wilson Pickett, Paul Simon, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Bob Seger. Along the way, we get amazing anecdotes about Tom Dowd, Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin, Duane Allman, Eddie Hinton, and Pete Carr. Jimmy also shares of his involvement in the award-winning Muscle Shoals documentary, and how the film came to fruition.

Episode 5: John Oates on Philly's Beatles backlash, the Hall & Oates origin story and living next to Hunter S. Thompson

Everything Fab Four

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2020 34:55

John Oates, best known as half of the iconic pop duo Hall & Oates, has played guitar alongside Darryl Hall for decades, co-writing hits like “Sara Smile,” “I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)” and “Maneater.” He grew up in Philadelphia, and tells our host Ken Womack that when the Beatles first hit the U.S., his local radio stations wouldn't play their songs. “Being a teenager in Philadelphia I was right along with them. . . . To me the Beatles didn't mean that much initially.” Eventually, though, his relationship to the Fab Four's music changed, starting with “Abbey Road.” In this wide-ranging conversation, Oates tells the story of a fateful eviction, the impact producer Arif Mardin had on Hall & Oates, his recent solo work, what kind of neighbor Hunter S. Thompson was, and which Beatles song he'd want with him on a desert island. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/everythingfabfour/support

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A CLASSIC ALBUM: Chaka Khan - WHAT’CHA GONNA DO FOR ME

My Classic Soul

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2020 26:30

Released in 1981, the best-selling album “What’cha Gonna Do For Me” by the iconic Chaka Khan gave her ever-expanding global audience an opportunity to hear her musical diversity with the jazz standout “And The Melody Lingers On (A Night In Tunisia),” the dance music classic “I Know You, I Live You” and the Grammy-nominated title track. Her third solo LP with multi-talented producer and arranger Arif Mardin, “What’cha Gonna For Me” featured all-star musicians including members of The Average White Band among others. As SoulMusic.com founder David Nathan and music industry veteran Michael Lewis discuss, the album is still considered by many as a an artistic milestone in Chaka’s enduring career.

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100. John Oates

Music Makers and Soul Shakers Podcast with Steve Dawson

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 7, 2020 79:38

Well we made it to our 100th episode! Singer, songwriter and member of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, John Oates joins me on the show this week. John is widely known for his work with Hall & Oates, topping the charts and selling over 40 million records - that ain’t too shabby. John’s been in Nashville now for quite a few years and has established himself on the local scene here, playing with the cream of the crop of studio players, and exploring some of his blues, country and soul roots with them, dubbing them the Good Road Band. His brand new album “Live In Nashville” features his soulful voice and the killer playing of his live band. John and I talked about the recent records he’s worked on with them, and delved into his early history in the Philly and New York soul scene, which goes back to his recording debut in 1966, and through some of his early Hall and Oates recording experiences with Arif Mardin and Todd Rundgren, jamming with Doc Watson, and how he ended up with Mississippi John Hurt’s guitar. Enjoy my conversation with John Oates! I’m encouraging listeners to call in this season, and at this point I’m hoping to hear from people about their experiences, good and bad, with starting to play or experience live music again. Join in and leave a message at 615-375-6318 anytime! If you want to skip straight to the interview, it starts about 12 minutes in. Our new website is now up at www.makersandshakerspodcast.com

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T3 Capítulo 16 Children of the World (1976) Bee Gees

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2020 138:26

Los Bee Gees entran con todo al Rhythm & Blues con este álbum lleno de sencillos. Arif Mardin deja a los Bee Gees por temas contractuales con otra marca y los hermanos producen al lado de Karl Richardson y Alby Galuten esta obra que los catapultó al mercado de música negra de forma contundente, algo que molestó a algunos en la industria musical y que a la fecha no les han podido "perdonar".

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T3 Capítulo 15 Main Course (1975) Bee Gees

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Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2020 133:17

El éxito llegó, los Bee Gees arribaron a Miami para explorar nuevos sonidos, Barry, Robin y Maurice Gibb integraron a Alan Kendall, Dennis Bryon y Blue Weaver bajo la producción de Arif Mardin para crear Main Course (Plato Principal) el album que los catapultó a las listas de popularidad y sobre todo al gusto mundial.

T2 Capítulo 14 Mr Natural (1974) Bee Gees

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Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2020 146:30

El primer album a cargo de Arif Mardin fue hecho en medio de una gira internacional. Poder reunirlos y el temperamento de los Gibb complicaba la misión. Mardin utilizó hasta 3 estudios para culminarlo (dos en Londres y uno en Nueva York). El resultado fue un cambio radical en las voces e instrumentación, es el álbum transición entre las pocas ventas y el éxito absoluto.

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EPISODE #32 JAZZ GUITAR REMEMBERS TIMES W/CHAKA KHAN & HERBIE MANN

Lou Volpe's Jazz Cast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2020 25:53

More of Lou's recent compositions are on display along with originals and standards he recorded or played with 2 of his favorite former employers: Chaka Khan and Herbie Mann. Hear Lou talk about and play music from his time at the iconic Atlantic Records recording studio. He got to know and play for the great producer Arif Mardin while working at Atlantic. Enjoy the set!

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B Is For Bee Gees

Music A To Z

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 2, 2020

*Originally released February 3rd 2018*Steve and Doug tackle one of the biggest challenges of their podcast history: the monstrous discography of pop act Bee Gees. The duo cover five decades worth of album releases and weigh the different eras of Bee Gees music against each other. They also chat about soulful love ballads, the evolution of cover art, and the Night Disco Died.Six Degrees From King Crimson:Bee Gees -> Arif Mardin -> Hall & Oates -> Robert Fripp -> K [...]

RSR219 - Ryan Smith - Sterling Sound Engineer & Tips for DIY Mastering At Home

Recording Studio Rockstars

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2019 128:39

My guest today is Ryan Smith a mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He has mastered records for a wide array of artists, including Greta Van Fleet, Elle King, and AC/DC. Ryan Smith began his journey in the world of audio when he moved to New York City in 1995. In the late 90’s he moved through various recording studio gigs and other “audio odd jobs” around New York City. This eventually led to a job as an assistant engineer at the Manhattan’s Right Track Recording, where Ryan had the opportunity to work alongside legendary engineers and producers, including Phil Ramone, Arif Mardin, Russ Titelman and Frank Filipetti. In 2002, Ryan made the move to mastering. He joined Sterling Sound where he’s been for the past 17 years. Early in his time at Sterling, Ryan spent time working alongside both Ted Jensen and the late George Marino. In addition to digital mastering, Ryan learned the art of vinyl mastering and lacquer cutting from George. During the current resurgence of vinyl, Ryan has become one of the most in demand vinyl specialists around. Thanks to our sponsors! WhisperRoom: https://whisperroom.com Get 10% off the 4x4 or 4x6 booths now when you mention Recording Studio Rockstars: http://whisperroom.com Eventide: https://www.eventideaudio.com OWC - Other World Computing: https://www.OWC.com RSR Academy: http://RSRockstars.com/Academy Want to learn more about mixing? Get Free mix training with Lij at: http://MixMasterBundle.com Hear more on Youtube If you love the podcast, then please Leave a review on iTunes here CLICK HERE FOR SHOW NOTES AT: http://RSRockstars.com/219

music new york city home tools manhattan mastering studio recording logic tape mixing ac dc console analog get free ryan smith greta van fleet sound engineers elle king eventide owc lij presonus phil ramone arif mardin sterling sound ted jensen recording studio rockstars owc other world computing academy want

Beginners Arabic Lesson 13: Conjugating سافر or He Travelled in the Past Tense with Barry Danielian

Arabic with Imran Lum

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2019 6:16

Check out my Arabic Podcast Lesson with the phenomenal brother Barry Danielian who is a retired former trumpet player for Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band. He has toured and performed with many of the biggest names in the music industry, including Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, Billy Joel, and James Taylor. He was one of New York City’s most in demand session players and arrangers, racking up hundreds of recordings with legendary producers Phil Ramone, Arif Mardin, Narada Michael Walden, and Nile Rodgers among others. In addition he also has a long list of Broadway, television and film credits to his name. To add to that, he also proficient in Arabic! I caught him a few years ago while he was on tour in Australia to give us a short Arabic lesson on conjugating سافر or He Travelled in the past tense. In this lesson we learn the following phrases in Arabic. He travelled I travelled to London We travelled to Paris Did you travel to New York? (m) Did you travel to New York? (f) You travelled to the city (m/f) You all travelled to the big mosque (m) Did you girls travel to Sydney? He travelled with his mother She travelled with her mother They didn’t travel to Australia (f-pl.)

new york new york city australia broadway lesson beginners bruce springsteen arabic billy joel barbra streisand james taylor nile rodgers travelled past tense narada michael walden phil ramone arif mardin bruce springsteen's e street band

Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie: "Something Old/Something New"

CiTR -- The Jazz Show

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2019 210:22

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was born on Oct 21,1917 and today we celebrate his 102nd Birthday Anniversary with one of his finest albums with his great working band that stayed together for well over 5 years. Dizzy on trumpet was one of the pioneers of Modern Jazz and he is in magnificent form here. James Moody is heard on alto and tenor saxophones and of course, flute. A young Kenny Barron is on piano at the beginning of his storied career. The rhythm section is the great team of Christopher White on bass and Rudy Collins on drums. The "something old" idea is Dizzy's updating four of his his tunes that he recorded back in the mid 1940s. We'll hear "Bebop", "Good Bait", A segue of "I Can't Get Started and 'Round Midnight" and "Dizzy Atmosphere". The n"something new" is three then new compositions by the talented Tom McIntosh: "November Afternoon", "The Day After". "The Cup Bearers". "This Lovely Feeling" is a bossa nova by Arif Mardin and Margo Guryan. The album ends with Dizzy's night club closing theme "Early Mornin' Blues". All of this was recorded in April of 1963 and is a great representation of this powerhouse band. Happy Birthday Dizzy!

blues get started dizzy bebop dizzy gillespie day after trumpeter something old something new round midnight kenny barron james moody modern jazz christopher white arif mardin

The Old School Rewind Featuring Chaka Khan

Old School Rewind

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2019 45:09

Chaka Khan: Singer, Songwriter, Actor, Activist Chaka Khan was born Yvette Marie Stevens on March 23, 1953 into an artistic, bohemian household in Chicago, Illinois. Bohemian, is not a word used much anymore but it by definition means "socially unconventional, but involved in the arts, or in an artistic way. Chaka/Yvette was the eldest of five kids born to Charles Stevens and Sandra Coleman, Yvette described her father as a beatnik and her mother as "able to do anything." She was raised in the Hyde Park area, which has been called "an island in the middle of the madness" of Chicago's rough South Side housing projects. Her sister Yvonne later became a successful musician in her own right under the name Taka Boom. Her only brother, Mark, who formed the funk group Aurra, also became a successful musician. She has two other sisters, Zaheva Stevens and Tammy McCrary. Yvette was raised as a Catholic, and attributed her love of music to her grandmother, who introduced her to jazz as a child. Yvette soon became a fan of rhythm and blues music as a preteen and at eleven formed a girl group, the Crystalettes, that included her sister Taka. In the late 1960s, Yvette attended several civil rights rallies with her father's second wife, Connie, who was a strong supporter of the movement and joined the Black Panther Party after befriending fellow member, activist and Chicago native Fred Hampton in 1967. Though many think that she was given the name Chaka while in the Panthers, she has made it clear that her name Chaka Adunne Aduffe Hodarhi Karifi was given to her at age 13 by a Yoruba Baba. In 1969, she left the Panthers and dropped out of high school, having attended Calumet High School and Kenwood High School (now Kenwood Academy). Chaka began to perform in small groups around the Chicago area, first performing with Cash McCall's group Lyfe, which included her then-boyfriend Hassan Khan. Chaka and Hassan married in 1970. Chaka was asked to replace Baby Huey of Baby Huey & the Babysitters A great singer and tight band (CLIP) Baby Huey Hard Times After Huey's death in 1970. The group disbanded a year later. While performing in local bands in 1972, Chaka Khan was spotted by two members of a new group called Rufus and soon won her position in the group (replacing rock n roll singer Paulette McWilliams). The group caught the attention of musician Ike Turner who flew them out to Los Angeles to record at his studio Bolic Sound in Inglewood, California. Ike wanted Khan to become an Ikette; she declined stating she was "really happy with Rufus. But Ike's attention was certainly a boost." Early on, Chaka caught the attention of music icon Stevie Wonder, who penned her first smash hit with Rufus, “Tell Me Something Good.” (CLIP). TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD The single from the group’s 1974 platinum-selling album, Rags to Rufus, earned Chaka her first GRAMMY® Award. With Chaka as the group’s dynamic center, Rufus became one of the most popular acts around selling out shows throughout the country and dominating the airwaves with hit after hit with songs such as “You Got the Love,” which Chaka co-wrote (CLIP). YOU GOT THE LOVE “Once You Get Started,” (CLIP). ONCE YOU GET STARTED “Sweet Thing,” (CLIP) SWEET THING “Everlasting Love,” (CLIP). EVERLASTING LOVE “Do You Love What You Feel?” (CLIP). DO YOU LOVE WHAT YOU FEEL The biggie “Ain’t Nobody” Chaka’s second GRAMMY Award-winning song with Rufus. Is up... Rufus and Chaka Khan racked up five RIAA certified gold and platinum albums during their time together. Rufus keyboardist David "Hawk" Wolinski wrote the song around a repeating synthesizer loop backed by a Linn LM-1 drum computer; however, John J. R. Robinson, the band's drummer, played real drums for the recording session. The band did a democratic vote and they decided to include the song in their album repertoire. Once the song was recorded, Warner executives wanted to issue another song as the album's first single. AND Wolinski threatened to give the song to American singer Michael Jackson and American producer Quincy Jones for Jackson's album Thriller, if the song was not the lead-off single. The label relented and "Ain't Nobody" was issued and hit number one on the R&B chart for the week ending October 15, 1983. It was also the song included on the soundtrack album to the 1984 film Breakin'. The song is performed in the key of E♭ minor with a tempo of 104 beats per minute in common time. Khan's vocals span from G♭3 to E♭5 in the song. (SONG) AINT NOBODY This is the Old School Rewind Podcast this week featuring Chaka Khan.. so we just played Ain't Nobody, It was inevitable that a singer with Chaka’s star power would eventually venture out on her own. In 1978, Chaka blazed onto the music scene as a solo artist with the release of the smash hit “I’m Every Woman” written by Ashford & Simpson. (SONG). I'M EVERY WOMAN Thats Chaka Khan with her first solo hit "I'm every woman." This is Aaron Goodwin and the Old School Rewind Podcast. From the 35 acres and a microphone farm we tribute the old school.. This week it's Chaka Khan and she has now Paired with the late producer extraordinaire, Arif Mardin (Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler), her catalog grew even more impressive with hits such as “Clouds,” “Papillon,” and “What ‘Cha Gonna Do For Me?” It was during this time that Chaka began pursuing her love of jazz. She and Arif brilliantly re-worked the classic song “Night in Tunisia” with the song’s originator, Dizzy Gillespie, on trumpet. Chaka also recorded an album of jazz standards titled Echoes of an Era, which featured such luminaries as Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, and Lenny White. Her crowning achievement in jazz was the GRAMMY® Award-winning tune, “Be Bop Medley.” The song’s album, titled Chaka Khan, also won a GRAMMY® for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. However, anyone else would be winded.. not Chaka as the biggest and best was yet to come. And , the song that made Chaka Khan a household name and propelled her to superstardom the world over was “I Feel For You,” written and first performed by Prince. (Clip) Prince I FEEL FOR YOU This chart-topping, GRAMMY® Award-winning song also made music history. Released in 1984, it was the first R&B song to feature a rap, and rapper, which was the best to ever touch a mic. Grandmaster Melle Mel. Khan's version featured a supporting cast including guitar, drum programming, bass guitar, keyboards and arrangement by Reggie Griffin; bass synthesizer and programming by The System's David Frank using an Oberheim DSX sequencer, which was connected to his Minimoog via CV and gate; and chromatic harmonica playing by Stevie Wonder. The song also uses vocal samples from Wonder's song "Fingertips" (1963). The repetition of Khan's name by Melle Mel at the beginning of the song was a mistake made by producer Arif Mardin, who then decided to keep it.[7] This version of the song sold more than one million copies in the US and UK, and it helped to relaunch Khan's career. The song hit No. 1 on the Cash Box singles chart and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from the weeks of November 24, 1984 to December 8, 1984.[8] The song remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for 26 weeks and became one of Billboard's five biggest pop songs of the year for 1985. The single reached No. 1 on both the US dance[9] and R&B charts in late 1984, remaining atop both for three weeks each.[10] In addition, the song also reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.[11] While touring with Prince in 1998 in support of her collaborative album, Come 2 My House, Khan and Prince performed "I Feel for You" as a duet. Let's jam Chaka and her biggest with Melle Mel (SONG) Chaka khan I FEEL FOR YOU This is the Old School Rewind Podcast. Aaron in your ears with the candy from the early 80's that was oh so sweet. Old school dance r and b.. We're up to another marvel from David Foster as we feature the single "Through the Fire" is a song recorded by this weeks feature artist. Yvette Marie Stevens, or Chaka Khan through the fire is from her sixth studio album, I Feel for You (1984). The David Foster-produced track was the third single from the album and reached number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 15 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts It was one of the few Khan hits to cross to the Adult Contemporary chart. The music video was filmed at Los Angeles' Union Station. Now in top demand, Chaka lent her voice and producer skills to two of the biggest hits of 1986, Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” (clip) and Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love.”(clip) Both were GRAMMY®-winning songs. David Foster revealed in his 2011 PBS concert The Hit Man Returns if you heavens seen that. You need to. 5 snaps a stars whatever tomatoes . A killer dvd David foster super producer says that "this was the only melody that he ever wrote with someone in mind and that the working title of the piece was actually called "Chaka" because he was very confident that Chaka Khan would perform the song. The song was sampled by Kanye West on "Through the Wire", the breakout single from his 2004 debut album, The College Dropout. (CLIP) Kanye Through the wire The Chaka khan podcast. Old school rewind with Aaron e Goodwin. Now in top demand, Chaka lent her voice and producer skills to two of the biggest hits of 1986, The Old School Rewind Podcast comes to a close with Chaka mentions past 1986ish which is our primary focus on the rewind In 1995, she made her musical theater debut on London’s West End, where she starred in Mama I Want to Sing. In 2002 she traveled to Las Vegas, where she starred in Signed, Sealed Delivered, a critically-acclaimed musical based on the music of Stevie Wonder. Her Broadway debut came in 2008 when she took over the role of Sofia in Oprah Winfrey’s musical The Color Purple. Chaka’s emotive vocals can also be heard on a number of soundtracks, including Clockers, Set It Off, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, Miami Vice, White Knights, Moscow on the Hudson, Disappearing Acts, Waiting to Exhale and Standing In The Shadows Of Motown, as well as Tyler Perry hits Madea’s Family Reunion and Meet The Browns. From the Chaka khan website,, During her career, she has collaborated with a long list of artists in diverse genres. Collaborators have included Miles Davis, Quincy Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Steve Winwood, Mary J. Blige, George Benson, Larry Graham, the London Symphony Orchestra and countless others. Chaka has received a steady stream of accolades for both her artistry and philanthropy. In June 2012, she was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame, joining previously inducted music greats such as Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Stevie Wonder, Garth Brooks, Bonnie Raitt, George Harrison, B.B. King, Carlos Santana, Donna Summer and Kathleen Battle. In 2011, she was honored for her legendary career with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. During the same year, Chaka was honored with the United Negro College Fund’s An Evening of Stars Tribute. The program, which was televised on cable networks and broadcast stations in more than 40 cities nationwide, featured tribute performances by Stevie Wonder, Fantasia, Ledisi, El Debarge, Faith Evans, Angie Stone, Ginuwine, Chaka’s brother, Mark Stevens, and her daughter, Indira Khan, among others. In recent years, Chaka also received the Soul Train Legend Award (2009), the BET Lifetime Achievement Award (2006), the GRAMMY® Honors Award from the NARAS Chicago Chapter (2006) and the World Music Award Lifetime Achievement Award (2003). In 2004, Chaka received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music. Chaka’s autobiography, Through the Fire, was published by Rodale Books in 2003 and is currently being adapted into a screenplay. Despite her busy schedule, Chaka has always made time to support and uplift her community. She has a deep commitment to women and children at risk, which led her to establish the Chaka Khan Foundation in 1999. Initially, the foundation focused primarily on public awareness campaigns around the diagnosis, intervention, and available family resources and the search for a cure for autism. Her efforts were particularly aimed at communities of color and other underserved communities, where awareness about this disorder is low. Her work in this area was inspired by her nephew who has autism and who Chaka describes as “gifted and beautiful and so full of life.” She later expanded the mission of the foundation to focus more broadly on women and children at risk. In July 2012, Chaka received the McDonald Corporation’s 365Black Award, honoring her for her leadership of the Chaka Khan Foundation. Chaka also is an entrepreneur. In 2004, her line of gourmet chocolates, Chakalates, was sold in 20 Neiman Marcus stores around the country. Plans are underway to re-launch her signature brand of chocolates nationally and internationally. She currently is introducing Khana Sutra, a fragrance line for men, women and the home. The line also includes candles, and room and linen sprays. With a new svelte look, a new album, and a great enthusiasm for her new and expanding activities in music, philanthropy and entrepreneurial ventures, the 10-time GRAMMY® Award-winner is looking forward to a celebration of a lifetime. From the about button on Chakas website.. Chaka Khan is one of the world’s most gifted and celebrated musicians, with a rich musical legacy. The 10-time GRAMMY® Award-winner is A songwriter, actor, author, philanthropist, entrepreneur and activist, Chaka Khan has influenced generations of recording artists. She has the rare ability to sing in seven music genres, including R&B, pop, rock, gospel, country, world music and classical. Affectionately known around the world as Chaka, she is revered by millions of fans as well as her peers for her timeless, classic and unmatched signature music style and ability. The late, great Miles Davis often said, “She [Chaka] sings like my horn.” And the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin says, “[Chaka] is a one- of- a -kind, premier vocalist.” Throughout her legendary career, Chaka has released 22 albums and racked up ten #1 Billboard magazine charted songs, seven RIAA certified gold singles and ten RIAA certified gold and platinum albums. Chaka’s recorded music has produced over 2,000 catalog song placements. “I am honored and blessed to celebrate 40 years in music and entertainment,” says Chaka. “I am so humbled by the love, support and gracious spirit of my fans worldwide and the continuous support my peers have shown over the years. Throughout my 40-year career, I have been through the fire a few times over and I’m still here as a living testament to God’s love and grace. Next year, I will be celebrating 40 years in the business and 60 years on earth, which equals one hundred percent Chaka.” I'll see you next week from the 35 acres and a microphone podcast farm... (SONG) Chaka khan love of a lifetime

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Ahmet's House June 30, 2019

house grammy atlantic in memoriam ahmet arif mardin

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2019 58:52

In Memoriam...Arif Mardin in Ahmet's HouseTonight we commemorate the extraordinary career of multi-platinum, multi Grammy winner, composer, arranger and musician Arif Mardin. We will draw from three of his albums reflecting on a vast array of talent and passion from his Atlantic years!

Ahmet's House June 30, 2019

When They Was Fab: Electric Arguments About the Beatles

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 30, 2019 58:52

In Memoriam...Arif Mardin in Ahmet's House Tonight we commemorate the extraordinary career of multi-platinum, multi Grammy winner, composer, arranger and musician Arif Mardin. We will draw from three of his albums reflecting on a vast array of talent and passion from his Atlantic years!

grammy blues jazz atlantic classic rock atlantic records in memoriam ahmet ertegun arif mardin wbkm

2019.20 Cookin' (Lennon Demo) -- John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Nancy Lee Andrews, Delbert McLinton, Judy Garland, Fred Astaire

Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2019 55:30

The year 1976 presented a lot of changes to the former Beatles. For Ringo Starr, that meant a new record label (Atlantic in the US, Polydor otherwise), a new home (Los Angeles and Monte Carlo), a new producer (Arif Mardin), a new girlfriend (Nancy Lee Andrews) and a record that bid a fond farewell to the past (both in terms of the Apple door, and the "little help from my friends" collection of material). The charts reveal the commercial success (or lack thereof), but the artistic value is left to the listener.

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Ep. 111 - DAVID GAMSON ["Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)"]

Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 18, 2019 60:46

Two-time Grammy nominee and co-writer of Kelly Clarkson's global hit "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) joins us to discuss his multifaceted career. But first, Scott and Paul talk about whether or not it's still OK to listen to Michael Jackson's music. EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE Scott and Paul talk about the loss of Dick Dale and Hal Blaine, and remind listeners of their friends at Pearl Snap Studios. PART TWO - 5:15 mark Is it still OK to listen to Michael Jackson's music? How do we separate artists from their art? Or can we? PART THREE -13:00 mark Scott and Paul head over to David's studio in downtown LA to find out why he wanted his earliest music to sound like a machine; what he discovered about his hero Nile Rogers after meeting him in real life; what happened when he played songs for Miles Davis over the phone; why he says it's a good thing there are more writers on songs today than ever before; how he partially inspired Kesha to ditch the guitars; why he says writers shouldn't get in too early on an artist's project; and what major artist rejected "Stronger" before Kelly Clarkson made it a massive hit. ABOUT DAVID GAMSON Two-time Grammy nominee David Gamson established himself as an innovative and influential musician, programmer, and producer with his distinctive synth work and arrangements as a member of the band Scritti Politti. Though classically trained, he gravitated toward the pop, funk and prog-rock influences he absorbed as a teenager, forging his own sound as exemplified by the group’s Top 10 UK hits “Wood Beez” and “The Word Girl,” as well as their successful US single “Perfect Way.” Outside his work with the group, Gamson is best known as the co-writer of “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You),” a massive pop hit for Kelly Clarkson that spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard pop chart in the US, hit #1 in nearly a dozen other countries, and became one of the best-selling singles of all time. As a producer, programmer and musician he has collaborated with Roger Troutman, Meshell Ndegeocello, Maxwell, Angie Stone, George Benson, Nile Rogers, Beth Hart, Michael McDonald, Hans Zimmer, will.i.am, legendary producer Arif Mardin, and many others. His songs have been recorded by Miles Davis, Jessi J, Charli XCX, LP, Luther Vandross, Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, Sheila E., Adam Lambert, Nick Lachey, and more.

Jimmy Johnson

Truetone Lounge

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2019

Cloud Jazz Nº 1500 (Especial Aretha Franklin) - Episodio exclusivo para mecenas

Cloud Jazz Smooth Jazz

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2018 62:55

Agradece a este podcast tantas horas de entretenimiento y disfruta de episodios exclusivos como éste. ¡Apóyale en iVoox! Programa especial dedicado a la desaparecida Aretha Franklin, la Reina del Soul. Nos centramos en su música con un sello más Rhythm and Blues, sus discos producidos por Arif Mardin, Luther Vandross, Preston Glass o Narada Michael Walden y sus dúos junto a George Benson o Michael McDonald.Escucha este episodio completo y accede a todo el contenido exclusivo de Cloud Jazz Smooth Jazz. Descubre antes que nadie los nuevos episodios, y participa en la comunidad exclusiva de oyentes en https://go.ivoox.com/sq/27170

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Robin Williams part 2

MONEY FM 89.3 - Movie Magic with Colin Gomez

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2018 24:44

In this episode, we journey with this comedian from his achievements to what led to his death. First Broadcast: 28 July 2018 Credits: 1. Adrian Cronauer (soundbite) OST Good Morning VietnamLabel: A&M 2. I Got You (I Feel Good) Performed by James BrownHudson Bay Music Inc; BMIOST Label: A&MNote: Only part of this song was featured 3. Friend Like MePerformed By Robin Williams Produced by Alan Menken, Tim Rice, Walter AfansieffLabel: Disney 4. Don't Worry Be Happy Performed By Bobby McFerrinAlbum: Simple PleasuresWritten by: Bobby McFerrinProduced by: Linda Goldstein Note: Only part of this song was featured 3. My Way Performed By Robin WilliamsHappy Feet OST Music by Claude François and Jacques Revaux French lyrics by Gilles Thibaut English lyrics by Paul Anka (c) Warner Chappell Music France & Editions Jaune Musique / Universal Music Publishing Ltd Spanish translation by Germaine Franco / Daniel Lerner Produced by John Powell 4. Send In the ClownsPerformed by Judy CollinsProduced By Mark Abramson, Jac Holzman, David Anderle, Judy Collins and Arif Mardin.

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ANGELA McCLUSKEY Talks to the boyz and intros a new song

Between The Scripts

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 1, 2016 95:16

ROXY SESSIONS Available Everywhere on September 9th The First Single, YOU & ME to Exclusively Premiere via Brightest Young Things on July 19th “ANGELA McCLUSKEY !!! She is a singer/songwriter of pathos, beauty, sadness, tempest,magic, love of life and joy,…..she is the voice of all things” — Michael Stipe “McCluskey eases emotion and soul out of her most personal obsessional ballads with an effortless cool.” – Alan McGee, Co-Founder of Creation Records (New York City — July 19, 2016) The new single from chanteuse Angela McCluskey, You and Me, premiered today exclusively at Brightest Young Things. The complete album entitledThe Roxy Sessions will be released on September 9th via Angela’s own imprint, Bernadette Records. Recently, Angela was heard on KENDRICK LAMAR’s Is it Love ; onAZALEA BANKS’ supreme Ice Princess; with BIG GIGANTIC on the smash hit – The Little Things ;with TELEPOPMUSIKon several cuts including the worldwide #1 hit Breathe, and now the ‘featured’ vocalist behind those massive hits is stepping into the light with a new album, The Roxy Sessions. On this project Angela shares songwriting duties with her producer and collaborator, Kiran Shahani (Bitter:sweet, Supreme Beings of Leisure.) Leading up to the September 9th album release Angela will be ‘Artist in Residence’ at THE ROXY HOTEL in NYC. Angela McCluskey’s world is orbited by a diverse array of cultural superstars that both influence and inspire her works, disrupters and collaborators; Morgan Page, Michael Stipe, Cyndi Lauper (whom Angela’s guested with for years) Paul Oakenfold and Robbie Robertson. Prior to her solo career, Angela was signed to Geffen Records and toured extensively with her LA band the Wild Colonials, before joining French electronic trio, Telepopmusik with whom she wrote and recorded the world-wide hit Breathe as well asDon’t Look Back, the oft-sampled track most notably by Kendrick Lamar. During this period she caught the ear of legendary music producer Arif Mardin at BLUE NOTE RECORDS, who signed her to a solo deal and was instrumental in developing Angela’s sound and releasing her first solo album The Things We Do,co-written and produced by the inimitable Nathan Larson. Her dance track, In The Air, with Morgan Page, went to number #1 on the Billboard Dance charts and she collaborated with Electro Swing King, Parov Stelar, on Don’t Believe What They Say andPaul Oakenfold on the dance trackYou Could Be Happy. Today Brightest Young Things exclusively premieres the retro/electro cut You & Me. The track was produced by Kiran Shahani (Bitter:sweet, Supreme Beings of Leisure.) The full length ROXY SESSIONS features a wide range of styles and genres from vintage James Bond themes to surf guitar good vibes to post-modern trip-hop chill outs. Cuts such as Paris to Hollywood, a bright & breezy carefree intercontinental romance, Hit & Run a trip groove laden gem, Lets Get Lost - a jaunty dance track that will make flappers drop their champagne flutes and hit the dance floor and Electric Sky a cinematic monster of a chill-out track. The idea for the album was inspired by Time Warp, and event that Angela created, where she picks a decade and recreates a night around that theme. After recording a track for the HBO hit show Boardwalk Empire, Angela was excited to do a night around the ‘20s. It was an enormous success. Angela immediately realized the music appealed to just about every age group. Angela and her producer Kiran penned 10 original songs at the Roxy in 3 weeks. Using the roaring ’20s as inspiration, the pair added a modern beat and fashioned an addictive blend of electro swing that propels listeners to the dance floor in a feel good frenzy. Of THE ROXY SESSIONS, Angela recalls “In many ways, the theme of the album was inspired by the events surrounding it. It is a record that celebrates coming through it all—the success, the failure, the heartache and despair— and finding yourself being a little less dramatic about love and intent on just enjoying your life and being thankful for what you’ve got— and that’s something worth celebrating.” Many of Angela’s previous works have been chosen for placement in major studio films, hit television shows and high profile national ad campaigns. Her distinct sound and talent is striking and eminently memorable. Angela’s voice and artistry has appeared in pop culture juggernauts such as: HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, Nike, American Express, Mercedes, ESPN, MITSUBISHI,Chicos, Fox TV’s Empire and countless more… THE ROXY SESSIONS will be released on September 9th. Angela and her band will be performing at the THE ROXY HOTEL in downtown Manhattan July 27 and through September. “Angela has the voice of an angel…completely commands the room and draws you in…mesmerizing. She once sat me down and sang to me, and I was instantly in love.” ~Norman Reedus Here is the link to preorder… Pre Order link: iTunes: http://apple.co/2bDQSxk Amazon http://amzn.to/2btFjuc

Podcast featuring Quincy Jones, Herbie Mann, Electric Light Orchestra, Tommy James & the Shondells, Deftones, Andy Gibb, and More!

Music First with DJ Dave Swirsky

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2015 63:28

It's Tuesday and you know what that means! It's time for a new set of melodic songs which we hope you'd love as much as we do! This week we are featuring Quincy Jones, Herbie Mann, Electric Light Orchestra, Tommy James & the Shondells, Deftones, Jose Antonio "Nico" Rojas, Andy Gibb with Olivia Newton John, Arif Mardin, Kaki King, Jordan Smith of this season's The Voice, Black Kids, and watch out for a song written by our very own Dave Swirsky!!!SUBSCRIBE: iTunes TWITTER: @MusicFirstPcastFACEBOOK: Music First PodcastEMAIL: MusicFirstPodcast@gmail.com

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EPISODE #2

Lou Volpe's Jazz Cast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2015 25:35

We talk about and listen to music and some stories behind the music while playing guitar accompanying the great soul singer, Chaka Khan, the always amazing Grammy winning pianist, Herbie Hancock and the legendary Freddie Hubbard on trumpet. Hear Lou play his versions of songs he did with these great icons of Jazz, plus talk a little about Arif Mardin at Atlantic Records and the impromptu gig he played with the great Freddie Hubbard at Italy's Perugia Jazz Festival!

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Arif Mardin: de Turqu

Oldies

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2015

La historia de Arif Mardin es la de un joven turco que viaja a Estados Unidos y consigue convertirse en uno de los mejores productores musicales de la historia. Durante su carrera trabaj

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6: Shane Keister - Elvis Presley

The StageLeft Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2015 58:39

In this weeks episode of The StageLeft Podcast, Shane Keister gives us a fascinating insight into the working practices of Elvis Presley from his time recording at Graceland and on the road as pianist for ‘The King's' 1976 US tour. Shane also tells us about recording with Paul McCartney and discusses his career a session musician for Stax & Atlantic Records. Shane also shares with The StageLeft Podcast what he has learned as writer and arranger from working with the likes of Ahmet Ertegun and Arif Mardin. #bass #music #musicpodcast #podcast #musicians #bassist #bassists #guitar #guitarist #guitars #guitarists #musiccommentary #drums #drummer #drummers #piano #elvis #elvispresley #paulmccartney

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Ahmet's House January 18, 2015

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Play Episode Listen Later Jan 19, 2015 119:36

Ahmet's House for January 18, 2015Having just returned from New York to celebrate a showing of Joe Mardin's film about his dad, the one and only Arif Mardin, we are excited to go...deep into the Atlantic catalog.

Ahmet's House January 18, 2015

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 18, 2015 119:36

Ahmet's House for January 18, 2015 Having just returned from New York to celebrate a showing of Joe Mardin's film about his dad, the one and only Arif Mardin, we are excited to go...deep into the Atlantic catalog.

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Albhy & Noah Galuten

Food is the New Rock

Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2014 87:52

Ep. 92 - Grammy Award winning music producer Albhy Galuten is this week's podcast guest, along with his son Noah- who is the pitmaster of Bludso's Bar & Cue in Los Angeles and host of the Food Feeder on You Tube's Tasted Channel. We break format a bit, letting Noah coax some amazing stories from his Dad, who produced an astouding 18 #1 hits. Within the first 10 minutes Albhy admits to turning the Bee Gees vegetarian, turning Clapton on to Bob Marley, and turning Peter Tosh on to synth (in addition to being credited with inventing the drum loop.) He also goes on to tell stories about Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, David Crosby, the Allman Bros, and producers Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, and Jerry Wexler (who he workd with at Criteria Studios in Miami.) The show is a long one, but it's a must listen for any fan of music and music production.

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Ahmet's House March 16, 2014

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Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2014 66:14

The Atlantic Sound...Celebrating Arif Mardin tonight in Ahmet's HouseMusic...all beautiful, all valued. But a Sound! When a band defines a unique sound...think Yes, or CSN...it distinguishes them among their peers. But an entire Label? That was Atlantic...with the arrival in 1963 of Arif Mardin, a Turkish born composer, arranger and musician...well, Atlantic had the combined power of Ahmet, Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd and"The Greatest Ears in Town", Arif Mardin. Come journey with us as his son Joe shares a conversation with Tony tonight in Ahmet's House. Music provided exclusively by this wonderful documentary soundtrack. Birthdays: Arif Mardin, Dee Snyder

Ahmet's House March 16, 2014

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2014 66:14

The Atlantic Sound...Celebrating Arif Mardin tonight in Ahmet's House Music...all beautiful, all valued. But a Sound! When a band defines a unique sound...think Yes, or CSN...it distinguishes them among their peers. But an entire Label? That was Atlantic...with the arrival in 1963 of Arif Mardin, a Turkish born composer, arranger and musician...well, Atlantic had the combined power of Ahmet, Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd and "The Greatest Ears in Town", Arif Mardin. Come journey with us as his son Joe shares a conversation with Tony tonight in Ahmet's House. Music provided exclusively by this wonderful documentary soundtrack. Birthdays: Arif Mardin, Dee Snyder

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Ahmet's House September 2, 2012

house ahmet phil carson jerry wexler arif mardin

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2012 63:08

What would you hear tonight...a little jazz, some blues, a little rock n' roll? It's all possible in Ahmet's House...this great legacy formed by the collective work of so many music lovers like Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin, Nesuhi Ertegun, Phil Carson...and all the great performers of the past 60 years in music. Join us! Birthdays: Alex Lifeson (Rush), Rudy Lewis (The Drifters)

Ahmet's House September 2, 2012