Podcasts about Bernard Edwards

On this week's show, we spend quality time with new records by Social Distortion and Kacey Musgraves, spin fresh tracks from The Waterboys, The Rolling Stones and Caroline Rose, and celebrate 50 years of one of the greatest protest songs of all time. All this and much, much less! Debts No Honest Man Can Pay is a curated collection of musical eclectica & other noodle stories. The show started in 2003 at WHFR-FM (Dearborn, MI), moved to WGWG-FM (Boiling Springs, NC) in 2006 & Plaza Midwood Community Radio (Charlotte, NC) in 2012, with a brief pit-stop at WLFM-FM (Appleton, WI) in 2004.

Jeff “Tito” Thitoff is back with The Buckeye Daily Blitz, and Ohio State has plenty cooking on and off the field.Tito breaks down Jake Diebler's suddenly massive Ohio State basketball frontcourt after the addition of Serbian 7-footer Vuk Lazarevic, and why the Buckeyes' size could give them a totally different look this season. He also dives into Ohio State's loaded non-conference schedule with UConn, Kansas, BYU and Notre Dame, plus the expanded 76-team NCAA Tournament and why missing March Madness should no longer be acceptable in Columbus.Then it's over to football, where RJ Day, son of Ryan Day, commits to Northwestern and reunites with longtime Day family connection Chip Kelly. Tito also looks at Ohio State's Big Ten schedule, why the Oregon game may avoid Big Noon, the Buckeyes' offensive line outlook and a wild 1991 Ohio State receiving trivia pull involving Bernard Edwards.Subscribe for daily Ohio State football, Buckeyes basketball, recruiting news and no-nonsense Columbus sports talk.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Did you know American music legend Nile Rodgers is helping the Trust plant and protect woodland in Northern Ireland? Alongside generous donations to Faughan Valley Woodlands from the We Are Family Foundation (WAFF), Nile has got stuck in with planting on site. Nile and the foundation he co-founded with his partner, Nancy Hunt, are working with us to reconnect fragmented native woods in a region where less than 1% of ancient woodland remains. We caught up with the multiple Grammy Award winner on his latest visit to find out why. We also hear from David Saddington, trustee of both WAFF and the Trust, on why empowering young people to take direct action is key to this work, and we chat to some of those volunteering at this special event. Please note this episode contains references to drugs. Don't forget to rate us and subscribe! Learn more about the Woodland Trust at woodlandtrust.org.uk  Transcript You are listening to Woodland Walks, a podcast for the Woodland Trust, presented by Adam Shaw. We protect and plant trees for people to enjoy, to fight climate change and to help wildlife thrive. Nile: But it just made me feel so good. It was so real, it was almost like a drug. So my parents were doing heroin, I was doing music *laughs*. Nile: So I always thought that an artist was the guy trying to be the smartest person in the room, that everybody said, 'well, I wish I could play like him, I wish I could do that'. No, it was the person who touched people's hearts. Nile: We actually had them locked out the studio because we still hadn't finished the lyrics to We Are Family. Nile: Trees do, all plants, but trees, you know, especially, do so much for life. Let's not just talk about the overall environment, life, all life forms that exist. Adam: For 40 years, if you've been on a dance floor, you'll have been dancing to the music of one of our guests today. He co-founded Chic, produced and collaborated with David Bowie, Madonna, Richard Jackson, and well, to be honest, too many others to mention. But to give you an idea of the sort of musical success he's had, I can say that he has produced and performed on records which have sold more than 750 million albums and 100 million singles. Born to teenage parents in an environment where drug use was very much part of his every day, he has come from that background with an attitude to life which is as upbeat and as positive as his music. And together with his partner, Nancy Hunt, they have established the We Are Family Foundation, focused on empowering young people around the world. Together, they're in Northern Ireland, in Derry, to support and protect and indeed restore woodland in this country, and indeed Nile is on the Woodland Walks sofa and joined by one of the trustees of the We Are Family Foundation and indeed the Woodland Trust, David. So we'll come to David in a moment. Why don't we start now where it all started with the music? Reading about you and listening to stuff you've done, my impression is you're the most positive person I've read about and that surprises me because of the disjointed background you grew up in. So two questions. Do you think that's a fair description and if so, why? Nile: So the... the interesting thing about my childhood was that though my parents were heroin addicts, they were extremely loving and they believed in me so much so that, believe it or not, I was never, ever told what to do. They knew that I instinctively would figure it out. Or I was just one of those nerdy, nice kids that they knew would never get into trouble. I mean, I have never stolen anything. I've never, I bullied one kid once and the reason why is because everybody bullied me because I was a nerd. And when I bullied this kid, he started crying and I started crying. He's probably forgotten that incident. I will never forget it. It'll bother me my entire life. I could not believe that I did that. So my childhood was actually on one level very happy, but at the exact same time, and I don't know how these two situations could have coexisted, except only now forensically, but it was super happy, but then I actually called my childhood a fear-based childhood. I was afraid of things, so I did things to make me unafraid or happy. And music was that thing. But it just made me feel so good. It was so real. It was almost like a drug. So my parents were doing heroin. I was doing music *laughs*. Adam: I mean, it's weird you describe yourself as a nerd. You're the least nerdy-looking nerd I've ever come across, but fair enough. Nile: Oh God, test me. Adam: Oh really, okay, we'll do a nerd off *both laugh*. Fair, fair enough. But that positivity, I mean, you talk about being nice, but what I think is striking about your music, and perhaps problematic for some of it, is that it's relentlessly positive. And I think sometimes it's seen as sort of very surface level because of that and yet you talk about the deeper meaning behind the music, which I think some fans of yours perhaps don't see, or that's not what they're getting from it. Nile: But that's okay, though. Adam: That's fine. Nile: It's okay. Yeah, you're so correct. I mean, I'll try and quickly just tell you this story. So when I said I was a nerd, believe me, I studied music on a level that was so intense, that was ridiculous. So I thought it was my job to prove to my tutors and various teachers how smart I was, how well I learned the rules and the discipline of music. I wrote symphonic music when I was a child, I wasn't even 10 years old yet. And I remember I was going to one of my tutors. I was around 22 years old and I was a very serious jazz student. And I went into him one day with a very sourpuss attitude and look, and that was not me. He just was like, no, you're always so happy and you're always so upbeat. What's wrong with you today? And I said, well, look at this ******** pop music that I have to play tonight. Now, maybe I thought it was sort of ******** but maybe I was just trying to score brownie points with him because I always thought being a great musician was being the smartest guy or the greatest virtuoso in the room. So what happened was my teacher, I showed him the list of songs that I was playing that night. And I said, look at what I have to start my set with. This song by The Archies called Sugar, Sugar. He said, yeah, but now what's wrong? Why are you so sad? And I said, because I got to play Sugar, Sugar. You know, I want to play straight ahead jazz. He was like, that's okay that you want to play straight ahead jazz, that's what I love. But why is it bothering you to play Sugar, Sugar? And I said, because it goes, *sings* Honey, do, do, do, do, do, do, oh sugar, sugar, do, do, do, do, do, do, you are my candy girl, and you got me wanting you. And he said, Nile, that's a great composition. I went, you call Sugar, Sugar a great composition? He said, absolutely. He said, what do you think about it? He says, and I went, well, it sucks. It's some ******** bubblegum pop music. And he went, now, do you know that Sugar Sugar's been number one for about three weeks? And I said, yeah, but what does that got to do with anything? And he went, so those millions of people around the world, they're wrong, but you, Nile Rodgers, are right? And all of a sudden I felt, uh-oh, *laughs* something weird's getting ready to happen. So he held me behind my head and he pulled my face close to him and he said, Nile, let me explain something to you. Every record in the top 20 is a great composition. And so remember, we're going back now 50 years. I'm 73 years old, so we're going back a long time. And I say, every record in the top 20 is a great composition? He says, yes. I said, why would you say something so absurd? He says, Nile, because it speaks to the souls of a million strangers. And I literally started crying at that moment because in one spark, in a nanosecond, he explained to me what an artist was. So I always thought that an artist was the guy trying to be the smartest person in the room, that everybody said, well, I wish I could play like him. I wish I could do that. No, it was the person who touched people's hearts. It was the person who made people feel something, be it happiness, be it sadness or whatever. But a lot of my friends who are virtuosos, we just would go, wow, he can play his *** off. That was the thing. We didn't feel anything necessarily. Sometimes we did, but I was determined to try and make people feel something every time. And to me, I wanted people to feel happy because I wanted to feel happy. Why do I want to write sad music? Adam: So that phrase, speaking to the souls of a million strangers, it's clearly an iconic thing about your music. The other striking thing, I think, which you've talked about, is about life, not just your music, but I think obviously connected, is not about surviving the storm, but learning how to dance in the rain. Is that one of the tenets of your approach to music and life? Are they the same thing? Nile: That's exactly it. That's why people wonder why I do so much music, and it's because I believe that I could always, I honestly, and this is not an egotistical statement, I always believe that I can add something to the song. I believe that I can make it better, even if it's just a little better, but you can hear it. I mean, five minutes before I came down here, I asked an artist that I sent a piece of music to, I said, you never wrote me back. How do you feel about the guitar streams that I sent you? And Kygo just wrote me, he said, he just literally just wrote me, where the hell is it? I went, cool. He went, oh, yes sir, sounding really cool *laughs*. Minutes ago. Adam: Okay. So look, we need to talk more about that, but I want, you're here not for the music, but for the work of your, and Nancy, your partner's, foundation. And David Saddington, sitting next to you, is a trustee of that foundation. You also happen to be a trustee of the Woodland Trust as well. So the purpose of the We Are Family Foundation is what? David: I mean, the We Are Family Foundation, Nile and Nancy started 20, 25 years ago now, which is insane *both laugh*. And Nile, I mean, you'll tell it better than me in terms of sort of your origin story, which came from, you know, a horrendous event of 9/11. And Nile and Nancy wanted to do something positive for the world, to heal the world. And thankfully, you know, when they sort of asked that question around how do we sort of have more peace in the world, how do we have more harmony, young people came out as the answer and actually finding that hope, finding that positivity, finding those solutions. So the foundation really is built upon curating, nurturing and growing this talent and giving these young people visibility. Adam: And the work that the We Are Family Foundation is starting to do in Northern Ireland, we were today at a planting with Nile and Nancy and you. What is the project here? David: Yeah, my God, like, you know, I work on climate change every day. It's really sort of hard and difficult, but actually by doing something very local with the Woodland Trust, you make such a tremendous difference, not only just about place, but the communities which you bring along. So this partnership just made a lot of sense. And then when we started talking after that visit around sort of why it made sense to support from the foundation, Northern Ireland came out really as a winner. And the beautiful site we visited earlier in the Faughan Valley is so special because, in a sad way really, because so little of the ancient woodland is left in Northern Ireland, less than 1%. And the vision of the Woodland Trust in Northern Ireland to preserve those tiny fragments of ancient woodland, but protect them by restoring the land around it, letting them expand, is so special. And particularly given that site is, what, I mean, like 10 minutes away from Derry? That's so cool. It is right on the doorstep of so many people to restore such a precious habitat, but make sure that people can actually enjoy it and be part of that as well. Amazing. Adam: A little before Nile and I sat down to speak, we both visited Faughan Valley Woodlands with a group of young people who were there to help plant some trees. Now, this is an important area. Since 2000, the Woodland Trust has brought small clusters of native woodlands, including Brackfield, Oaks, Red Brae, Burntollet, Killaloo and Auter, all fragmented along the Faughan Valley, which is a site of special scientific interests. And it's been a vision of the Woodland Trust Northern Ireland for well over a decade, really, to try and connect these fragments for both people and nature. And so when I met the younger people who are busy planting trees, I asked them why they felt what they were doing was important. Speaker 1: So usually it's around every Sunday morning. We go around and it's just odd jobs, like it's never the same thing every week. It's usually planting trees, but recently we've been building fences to keep sheep out and removing tree guards. Adam: And why are you interested in that instead of watching TV or playing Xbox or whatever? Speaker 1: Well, I've always kind of liked outdoorsy stuff in nature and usually I wouldn't really do much on a Sunday. So it's just better to get out rather than do nothing on a Sunday morning so. Adam: And you're about to plant a tree. Speaker 1: Yeah. Adam: Do we know what type of tree that is? Speaker 1: I think it's oak. Adam: Oh, there we are see, I don't know, but you know, go on plant away. Speaker 2: I'm Sophie McGee. Adam: And what are you doing, Sophie? Speaker 2: Well, we're planting trees today for the 30th anniversary. It's just more interesting because we're actually doing something that's worthwhile for the environment and for ourselves. Adam: And do you feel you're making a difference? Speaker 2: Yes, every tree will help. No matter if it's a wee tiny stick or a big massive one. Speaker 3: Well my name is Evie, I'm 13 years old and I've always been interested in nature and plants and animals and stuff and then my auntie decided, or she showed me the Woodland Trust young volunteers so I thought that sounds right up my street. So I joined, I've only been here for a few weeks and so far I've really enjoyed it. We've been trimming down, we've been trimming away trees that'll grow back to let light into the forest floor. We've been looking at different kinds of moths and caterpillars and we've been for walks and here we are planting trees and meeting celebrities! Speaker 4: My name's Milo and you know we're with the Woodland Trust, you know, planting trees and stuff because, well, you know, trees are important and they support a lot of species and insects and wildlife and it's great for the water quality and soil erosion in general. And in my opinion personally, I think biodiversity is really important, especially in, the UK and Northern Ireland in general. It's just seem to be really sort of nature depleted and, you know, I kind of want to change that. I think it doesn't seem fair, you know? Adam: Nile, I think the phrase we've already used many times is We Are Family, the name of one of your most successful songs, but obviously the name of your foundation. And we've talked about your family. That's an obvious theme, family. I'm struck by that because of a disjointed background, even though loving and literarily full. Your family were artists and you had a full and rich literary life. The connection to family, clearly a theme for you. Why? Nile: It wasn't my idea. It was other people's ideas. And they talked me into it. I, as an artist, I wrote We Are Family for Sister Sledge and for Sister Sledge alone. I didn't write it for the world. I wrote it for them. And they, it was their job to now take it out into the world, which they did very well. But what happened as a byproduct of the composition was just the love that I put into the song that my partner Bernard Edwards and I put into the song, we were trying to talk about this wonderful family, you won't believe this, that we never met. We never met Sister Sledge until they came in to sing the song. The entire album was already produced. We didn't know any other way to make records except for by ourselves. So we made the record and said, okay, now sing this. And they were like, what? We've never been treated like this. We're like, we don't know any other way to make records. Me and Luther Vandross and Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson, and we go in and we write and produce, and there you go, here's your record. But so the love that we projected onto Sister Sledge was something that we superimposed upon them. We don't know whether they liked each other or not. We just presupposed that they did. And that's what we wrote, this loving, anthemic, wonderful dance song. And Kathy Sledge, at 15 years old, came in and just gave the performance of her life. We actually had them locked out the studio because we still hadn't finished the lyrics to We Are Family *both laugh*. It was the final song that we wrote, right? So we wouldn't let them come in. We're inside trying to be professional. And they're like, why can't we come in and hear what you guys are making as demos? Making as demos? No, we made, it's the record. But anyway, what happened was, as a result of the popularity of the song, this baseball team in America, the Pittsburgh Pirates, adopted it as their theme song. And they're not women, they're men. And we saw these big burly men going, we are family, I got all my sisters with me. And I was like, whoa. And anyway, they won the World Series *laughs*. Adam: But I mean, that's a fascinating insight how you made that song. But what I'm struck by is that you have talked about this deeper hidden meaning, your phrase, right, behind your songs. So that's an obvious question to ask. You talk about family. It's a key song in your career. It hints of the deeper meaning here is about the importance of your family. And your family are unusual. Super talented people, not particularly stable, I hope that's not insulting or anything. But it's sort of, I'd expect you to maybe be more traumatised by that or to have, but no, it's all good. It's all good. Nile: It wasn't, you see, it wasn't traumatic because I developed my own survival mechanism and it was actually good. But I don't think you realise this. I said, everybody told me, oh, you got Grammys, you got this, you're the head of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, you're the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I said, you know what? The thing that I am the most proud of in my life is at seven years old, I set the national truancy record for the United States of America *both laugh*. I cut school 75 days in a row and went to the movies. I learned more at the cinema in 75 days than everybody in my class learned in an entire semester. You could see Fellini, you could see Truffaut, you could see anything. My mom, when she had her second child, suffered from postpartum depression and threatened to murder my brother every day. So after a few weeks, and I can't remember how long it took because I was a child, but after her going to psychiatrist every day, that's how bad it was, they decided that she had to be separated from her children. She was a danger to herself and others. So they sent me off to Los Angeles to live with my maternal grandmother. And my youngest brother, who was just born, was sent to live with his paternal grandparents. And so while I was in Los Angeles, I was treated ah man, boy, talk about bullying. Every place in LA was sort of run by gangs. And I didn't know anything about the gang culture. And I spoke like a New Yorker. And everybody in LA was, you know, street slang. And, you know, and now look at how big hip hop is. You know, that's the way that that everyone spoke. I didn't know half the stuff they were saying. So kids would try and beat me up. They only beat me up once, no, twice, sorry, twice. And then I just decided, I'm not going to where those kids are. I'm going to where adults are. Because I got along with adults and I went to the cinema every day for 75 days straight. Adam: There's lots to talk about, not much time. But I do want to ask one more question around this sort of area. In actually the podcast we've just done, I spoke to quite a significant business leader who has ADHD. And I said to him at the end of the chat we had, if you had a magic wand and could wave away your ADHD, would you do it? And he went, no, I absolutely wouldn't do it because it's part of who I was, I am, and it's informed and helped me. And I wonder if there's a similar question about your drug past, whether if you could wipe it away, would you? Nile: Never, never, ever, ever, ever. I, you know, I developed a very horrible drug habit. I actually, my heart stopped six times in one night. I don't remember the medical phrase, but it's called something like multiple drug interaction. Like, so if you take cocaine and then you take alcohol and then you take either LSD or something else, your brain doesn't know which one is dominant, right? So it starts going, it tells your heart, do I expand or contract? I don't know. And every time they tried to revive me, I would only stay alert or alive, my heart would only pump a couple of times and then stop again. Adam: So what did that bring you as an artist in retrospect? Nile: Nothing. Because to me, all I remember was driving home, Not getting into an accident, not getting a ticket, driving home, parking in my same parking space, going up to my apartment. However, I mistakenly pushed the number 14 instead of 28. That saved my life. I didn't know that I did, I didn't know I made a mistake. I was so high, I thought 14 was 28. The way that they emptied the garbage in my building, they started at the top and they went down floor by floor. When the elevator hit 14, the doors opened, I fell out onto the floor dead. They just happened to be on the 14th floor and they saw me lying there dead. They go over, I have no pulse. They probably tried to do, I don't know any of this for a fact because I was, out, yeah. So I just assumed they must have tried to help me. They liked me, so they must have tried to do something. Fortunately, the hospital was two blocks away from my house. And they get me to the hospital. The doctors revived me six times. After the sixth time, they figured this is hopeless because they did everything they could possibly do. And he said that, we worked so hard to save your life, but in fact, I was filling out the death certificate and the orderly in the room said, hey doc, we got a live one here. And my heart just started going automatically again by itself. Adam: Amazing. I want to bring you back to your foundation. So we're here because of the good work you're doing for the environment. But the environmental issue may be relatively new, but you've been a political activist since your early days. This is not a recent conversion. You're super plugged in to these sort of big debates, aren't you? Part of the Black Panthers in your early age? Nile: Yeah, I was a subsection of the Black Panther Party when I was 16 years old. Adam: So lots of political issues. Why now the environment? Nile: It's just one of many issues that We Are Family Foundation supports. You asked me about being a nerd. So I grew up as a scientist. I have a scientific background. So I understand how these things in our environment are fundamentally to life itself. That, if you think about it, in today's world, there are a million different species on this planet, but that's only 1% of all the life that's ever lived on this planet. So it just goes up and down and up and down. And prior to humans, we were never the cause. Now we're the cause of things dying and species going away. Before, it was just the fact that Earth was this very volatile planet and over millions, billions, in fact, years, things were changing. But now we're doing the bad stuff. We're killing ourselves, which is incredible. And it's mainly because most people don't know that all these life forms are dependent upon one another. Last night I heard someone talking about plankton. And I was saying, yeah, well, look at how important plankton is. You know, like hydrogen, we need, we don't have hydrogen, we have no life. You know, it's like, so, I mean, trees do, all plants, but trees, you know, especially, do so much for life. Let's not just talk about the overall environment, life, all life forms that exist. Adam: We're running out of time. Just one last question each. David, first, you set the context of what that foundation is doing here and what the Trust is doing here. What are your hopes for if Nile, us, we all gather, come back in ten years' time? Your hope for the project by then would be what? David: I mean, my hope for the project in that time is to see the forest grow, because what I find so encouraging is when you let nature recover with a little bit of help from us, it doesn't take that long to actually start putting it right, you know, to restore those habitats, to protect that ancient woodland, to let it regrow, rejuvenate, with the help of people supporting communities at the same time. It can recover in such a remarkable amount of time, which I just find really quite hopeful and empowering in the world we're in at the moment. Will it restore very precious nature here in Northern Ireland? Will it inspire people to make a difference with all the volunteers we're bringing in? Absolutely. And who knows what the catalytic sort of nature of that will be, which I think is sort of magical to see. So it's a pleasure to bring this partnership together between the We Are Family Foundation and the Woodland Trust and see that grow and grow over the years. Adam: And I think often with trees, people think it's 100 years, their great-grandchildren will come. That's not the case, is it? 10, 20 years is a reasonable time frame to see significant change in this landscape we just visited this morning. David: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, some of the trees we were walking around this morning, the beautiful silver birches, which looked like a woodland, were 20 years old. And actually, it is incredible, actually, it doesn't take a huge amount of time for nature to recover. Adam: Nile, last question. It's been an amazing life. It is an amazing life, perhaps a great life. Your third act? Hard to imagine what new things you could do, but do you, what are the, how do you see your future and what you want to spend that third act doing? Nile: Wow, I'm doing so much now. I'm almost going back to where I started, which was with theatre performances that are more story-ented instead of just going out and playing a whole bunch of hit songs. I think I got super inspired completely accidentally. I wrote a song for Diana Ross years ago. And the first time I worked for the Prince's Trust, he said, now, my dear fellow, I wish I knew more of your music, everybody seems to love it so much. And then he became the King and he printed out his top 10 favorite songs. Number 3 was one of my songs. And he didn't realise it because, you know, the King, what have you got time to sit around and read, you know *laughs* And I said to him, I said, you know, Your Majesty, I promise you, you know some of my songs. But then his list comes out and my #3 song, I mean my song, Upside Down by Diana Ross is #3. He was like, that's one of my favorite songs, and there's a whole video that we put out of him sort of like doing his best dance to Upside Down. It's quite funny. I just thought that the one thing I've not really explored or worked hard on, I'm at the part of my life where I really do want to do all the music that I can do. And I want it to have the same effect as the pop music that I do. So I want my jazz music to make people feel good. So I did Candy Dulfer's last record and she's just unreal. So that's really, I think, where I want to be. And honestly, and I'm being very, very honest, I never keep track of any of this stuff. I did a conference a few weeks ago, and it was all these billionaires and all these tech guys and blah, blah, blah. And I said, you know, I did the biggest selling Madonna album in the world, we sold 10 million copies. All of my memories are from when I first heard this stuff. And somebody hollered out from the back of the room, 23 million copies, you know Nile, it keeps selling and keeps adding up. And I went, oh. In the first few weeks, we sold 10 million copies. And that's all I remember. And I move on to the next record and the next record and the next record. I had huge success with the last two Beyoncé records. But I've done that, and obviously you can see with Kygo, I continue to do that. That's never going to go away. But when I think in terms of full projects, it's going to be more theatrical and maybe more film. David: There's about two things as well. There's one thing that you said to me before, which I think is just so great about the foundation, about how you want the foundation to be bigger than the song, which I think is a pretty epic aspiration there to have, the We Are Family Foundation and We Are Family the song, but I just think that's amazing to think around, the impact which has been achieved over twenty-five years and thinking about the years to come, and then secondly, because with your audience, Adam, we have so many obviously sort of people who love getting out on walks and nature. And my goodness, you won't be up as early as this guy doing his morning walks. And you definitely need to follow him on Instagram at a moment because he's on a roll doing sort of walks all over the world. Nile: It's true. I love, you know, I wake up every morning very, very early. Right now, life and enjoying nature and being out in it is really exciting. Like when I was younger, being indoors, like I used to, there was a joke I used to say, I used to go to like clubs every night and go, ah the great indoors *all laugh*. Adam: Well, look, a sample of how busy you are is I know you have other meetings to go to and other jobs to do, so I won't keep you anymore. Here's to the good times. Thank you very much indeed, both of you. Nile: Thank you. I hope I wasn't too long-winded. David: Thank you. Adam: You were brilliant. It's a real treat to talk to you. David: A pleasure. Thank you for listening to the Woodland Trust Woodland Walks. Join us next month when Adam will be taking another walk in the company of Woodland Trust staff, partners and volunteers. And don't forget to subscribe to the series on iTunes or wherever you are listening. And do give us a review and a rating. If you want to find out more about our woods and those that are close to you, check out the Woodland Trust website. Just head to the Visiting Woods pages. Thank you.

On today's show, the world loses Bernard Edwards of Chic, Levon Helm of The Band, & Mr. Green Jeans.For more music history, subscribe to my Spotify Channel or subscribe to the audio version of my music history podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts fromALL MUSIC HISTORY TODAY PODCAST NETWORK LINKS - https://allmylinks.com/musichistorytodayChapters: 00:00 Intro 00:32 What happened on this date in music history03:04 Music award ceremonies that were held on this date in music history03:26 Albums released on this date in music history 04:29 Singles released on this date in music history 05:33 Birthdays of music artists on this date in music history 06:25 Passings of music artists on this date in music history 08:45 What's on tomorrow's episode

'Diana' var tann 11. einstaklingaútgávan hjá Dianu Ross. Hon er við sínum øðrumplássi á US Billboard 200 og stórari sølu hennara best umtókta. Eisini vórðu fleiri singleplátuhitt tikin frá henni: 'Upside Down', 'My Old Piano', og 'I'm Coming Out', harav 'Upside Down' var plettskot á US Billboard Hot 100. Átta løg eru á plátuni; fýra á hvørjari síðu. Hetta var tann triðja við 'Dianu' í albumheitinum. 'Diana Ross' vóru útgávur í bæði 1970 og 1976, og so bara 'Diana' her í 1980. Nile Rodgers og Bernard Edwards úr Chic skrivaðu øll løgini til plátuna og løgdu tey eisini til rættis. Albumið 'Diana' kom út hjá Motown Records tann 22. mai í 1980, men Diana Ross broytti sjálv mixingina, uttan at teir báðir áðurnevndu vistu av tí. Tað hendi eftir at plátuvendarin, Frankie Crocker, hevði ávarað Dianu um, at útgávan sum hon lág kundi gera enda á hennara karrieru. Millum annað tí disco hevði rættiliga brádliga fingið ringt orð á seg í USA. Saman við Russ Terrana, einum tøkningi hjá Motown, endavendi hon ljóðsporunum og setti meira ferð á løgini, áðrenn plátan varð givin út. Eisini vóru fleiri drúgvar, instrumentalar disco-passagur tiknar burtur. Framleiðandi lagskrivararnir báðir, Bernard Edwards og Nile Rodgers, mótmæltu handlingini og stevndu síðani. Men tey samstarvaðu aftur seinni, so tað rættaði seg. Poppur, R&B, soul og disco eru stílirnir á hesari best umtóktu LP-útgávu hennara. Plátubarrin 11. apríl 2026  

"Lived Through That” is the companion podcast to my book where I look at influential musicians of the 80s and 90s and where they are today. On this podcast, we'll delve deeper into a single pivotal moment in the lives of some of the artists I feature in that book, as well as other artists I love and admire. The stories they tell are open, honest, and inspiring. This week, we've got Belouis Some on the show. He was one of the more distinctive voices to emerge from the British new wave scene of the 1980s and had worldwide hits with "Some People," "Imagination," and "Round, Round,” the last of which found an entirely new audience when it landed on the soundtrack of John Hughes' Pretty in Pink.  Along the way he worked with some remarkable collaborators — including Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson from Chic  and guitarist Carlos Alomar, the man who had helped shape David Bowie's mid-70s sound. After more than thirty years away from the headline stage, he returned to London's O2 Academy Islington in November 2024 for a sold-out show, followed by a US tour in 2025. Today, he tells us about how a change of scenery from London to New York City helped craft his breakthrough song, Imagination, and his post-music career in nightclubs and adult film business. Belouis' Website Music Credits: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"Langustina" and " Laterus" by Blue Dot Sessions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you like the podcast, please subscribe and maybe leave a tip at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Buy Me A ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coffee!  I'd really appreciate your support! Be sure to look for my books, "Lived Through That" and "80s Redux" where ever you buy your books. You can find out more about my work at my website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Il est aujourd'hui une des grandes stars hsitoriques de la musique, un des rares producteurs à l'être devenu réellement. C'est un type adorable, un des plus doués de sa génération, il se nomme Nile Rodgers. Sûrement la plus brillante des étoiles filantes de l'époque disco. Jugez plutôt, il débarque avec Chic en 1977, multiplie les hits mais aussi les collaborations.Lui qui tirait le diable par la queue avec son complice Bernard Edwards est à présent demandé partout comme cette nuit de la St Sylvestre où Grace Jones les a invités à venir voir son show au Studio 54, LA boîte de nuit new yorkaise du moment. C'est là où il faut être pour rencontrer tout le monde dans une ambiance de folie. Frappant à l'entrée des artistes comme Grace le leur a dit de faire, la porte s'ouvre sur une armoire à glaces qui ne veut rien entendre. Il ne sait pas qui ils sont et n'a rien à faire de leur excuse. C'est raté, les mecs, allez vous faire foutre, crie-t-il en claquant la porte ! Tu vois, tu t'es trompé. Elle a sûrement laissé nos noms à l'entrée. Mais à l'entrée. Rebelotte. Après avoir remonté le long fleuve de la queue, ils ont beau dire qu'ils sont invités par Grace Jones, vous n'êtes pas sur la liste. Après un classique, vous êtes sûr ? Regardez bien, Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards, il leur tourne le dos pour reprendre le cours des invités de prestige dans la file. Bernard et Nile savent qu'ils ne rentreront pas dans ce temple du disco qui joue pourtant leurs chansons mais qui a aussi bâti sa notoriété sur la capacité de son personnel à refuser des gens à l'entrée.Alors pour fêter l'année nouvelle, ils s'achètent des bouteilles de Dom Pérignon et rentrent à l'appartement qu'un pote de Nile lui prête tant qu'il est en tournée. Ils trinquent puis comme ils font toujours, l'un à la guitare, l'autre à la basse, ils font les fous en criant leur frustration : Fuck Off Studio 54. Mais après avoir répété ce délire un grand nombre de fois, Bernard dit à Nile : dis, je crois qu'on tient quelque chose, là. Tu rigoles, Fuck Off ? Personne ne passera ça à la radio. Mais non, attend, il suffit de changer. Qu'est-ce qui pourrait bien fonctionner, aaah freak off, Ouais ça marche ! Mais ça ne veut rien dire. Non mais Freak out ! Ah ouais, comme perdre le contrôle sur la piste de danse, pas bête. Puis un verre plus tard, hé The freak, c'est aussi une danse, et le freak avec les filles, c'est chic!Douze millions de singles vendus plus tard, la naissance de ce classique du disco, maintes fois racontée par Nile lui vaudra d'être contacté par un gars sur les réseaux sociaux. Il se présentera comme celui qui l'a jeté ce soir du 31 décembre 1977 et que s'il avait su qui il était … enfin, il est désolé. Mais comment être désolé, se dit Nile, c'est son karma qui a transformé ce qu'il n'a pas pu avoir, lui faisant gagner plus que ce qu'il aurait jamais pu imaginer.

For this episode we welcome former Q/Kerrang! editor-in-chief Paul Rees to RBP Towers to discuss his riveting new book Raised on Radio: Power Ballads, Cocaine & Payola. An oral history of AOR (or Album-Oriented Rock), Raised on Radio gives us an eagerly-awaited chance to enthuse about an oft-maligned genre we all happen to adore. The conversation takes in most of AOR's major practitioners, from Kansas and Toto to Journey and Survivor, and incorporates clips from John Tobler's 1979 audio interview with Tom Scholz and Brad Delp of Boston. After we've exhausted these guilty-till-proved-innocent pleasures, Mark quotes from newly-added library pieces about Siouxsie & the Banshees (1982) and Chic's Bernard Edwards (1987), then Jasper talks us out with his reflections on archive interviews with George Clinton (1997) and Brutalist composer Daniel Blumberg (2025). Many thanks to special guest Paul Rees. Raised on Radio is published by Constable and available now from all good bookshops. Pieces discussed: More Than a Feeling: The 20 Greatest AOR Tracks of All Time!, American revolution: Aerosmith, Boston, Kansas and co., Hard Pop, Suburban Rock, Hall & Oates: Blue-Eyed Philadelphia Soul, The Buzz On Boz Scaggs, Nirvana: Smells like Success, Boston (1979), Heart, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Bernard Edwards, George Clinton: Funkamental and The Brutalist's score.

**Malcolm Martin's Velvet Soul Replay on traxfm.org. This Week Malcolm Featured Boogie/Soul/R&B/70's Soul/80's Soul From Johnnie Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Bernard Edwards, Bill Summers & Summer Heat, Rose Royce, Kleeer, Carolyn Franklin, Lowrell, Evelyn Champagne King, Gary's Gang, The 5th Dimension, Fonzi Thornton, Esther Phillips & More #originalpirates #soul #boogie #ballads #70ssoul #80ssoul Catch Malcolm Every Sunday On traxfm.org From 9PM UK Time. Listen Live Here Via The Trax FM Player: chat.traxfm.org/player/index.html Mixcloud LIVE :mixcloud.com/live/traxfm Free Trax FM Android App: play.google.com/store/apps/det...mradio.ba.a6bcb The Trax FM Facebook Page : facebook.com/profile.php?id=10...100092342916738 Trax FM Live On Hear This: hearthis.at/k8bdngt4/live Tunerr: tunerr.co/radio/Trax-FM Radio Garden: Trax FM Link: radio.garden/listen/trax-fm/IEnsCj55 OnLine Radio Box: onlineradiobox.com/uk/trax/?cs...cs=uk.traxRadio Radio Deck: radiodeck.com/radio/5a09e2de87...7e3370db06d44dc Radio.Net: traxfmlondon.radio.net Stream Radio : streema.com/radios/Trax_FM..The_Originals Live Online Radio: liveonlineradio.net/english/tr...ax-fm-103-3.htm **

The BASS ARCHAEOLOGY Podcast EP2- OUT NOW Welcome to the second installment Hosted by Cookee of a long series exploring every dimension of bass culture, history, and innovation. Ive spent Forty-eight years deep in the crates Digging through the grooves, uncovering the breaks From rock to reggae, house to jungle sounds Bass Archaeology, is what we've found Spinning the vinyl, playing the 4 strings Every record tells a story, hear what history brings No limits, no borders, just the low-end truth Excavating Music from the fountain of my youth. Featuring original music by the amazing artists below, top and tailed by Cookees_BassArchBand Cookees_BassArchBand - 48 Years Deep pt1 Miles Davis - So what - w/Paul Chambers Nina Simon - My Baby Just Cares - w/Jimmy Bond The Black Crowes - Non Fiction - w/Rich Robinson Pearl Jam - Jeremy (unplugged) - w/Jeff Ament RHCP - Tippa my Tongue - w/Flea The Doors - L.A. Woman - w/Jerry Scheff The Brand New Heavies - Highest High - w/Andrew Levy Jungle - Dominoes & Ive Been in Love - w/Josh Lloyd/Lydia Kitto Olivia Dean - A couple of minutes - w/Finn Zefferino-Birchall

 Chic - Everybody Dance - w/Bernard Edwards. Cookees_BassArchBand - 48 Years TripHopOutro This is the latest podcast in the series. The Bass Archaeology Podcast will cover all aspects of bass - from funk foundations to jungle, from studio legends to underground innovators.

How did Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards flip disco on its head with Diana Ross' chart-topping solo hit “Upside Down”? Diallo Riddle and LUXXURY explore the Chic production, groove-driven arrangement, and rare outtakes from the Queen of Motown herself. Get 50% off 1 month of Trade at drinktrade.com/ONESONG Songs Discussed: “Upside Down” - Diana Ross (00:32) “Cold Rock a Party (Bad Boy Remix)” - MC Lyte feat. Missy Elliot (02:13) “Le Freak” - CHIC (04:39) “Good Times” - CHIC (04:42) “I Want Your Love” - CHIC (04:49) “We Are Family” - Sister Sledge (05:44) “Love Hangover” - Diana Ross (06:38) “He's The Greatest Dancer” - Sister Sledge (10:56) “I'm Coming Out” - Diana Ross (11:55) “My Old Piano” - Diana Ross (13:02) “Crazy Train” - Ozzy Osbourne (18:34) “Legs” - ZZ Top (19:03) “Everybody Dance” - CHIC (24:04) “Walk the Night” - Skatt Bros. (29:21) “Give Me the Night” - George Benson (36:06) “Muscles” - Diana Ross (54:09) “Notorious” - Duran Duran (55:39) “Polarlicht” - Xmal Deutschland (58:18) “Deeper Shade Of Soul” - Urban Dance Squad (59:23) “A Deeper Shade Of Soul” - Ray Barretto (01:02:27) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I sit down with bassist and vocalist Keith Horne, and it feels like reconnecting with a player I've admired for decades. I talk about the first time I experienced Keith live in 1996, when I was a freshman at Belmont University, and he was on the road with Peter Frampton. I still remember the impact of his touch, time, and musical confidence. From there, Keith and I dig into how his musical life started as a kid playing bluegrass with his dad, how flatpicking shaped his speed and articulation, and why being a multi-instrumentalist gave him an unusually complete view of the bandstand. We talk about his left-handed approach to playing guitar, how he learned guitar upside down, how he originally played drums left-handed, and why he eventually switched to a right-handed kit to survive the reality of shared backlines and sit-ins.Keith tells some incredible stories about chasing complex instruments, including the moment he finally found a left-handed pedal steel, how watching great steel players for years taught him the mechanics before he ever owned one, and how quickly he was able to apply that knowledge once the instrument was in front of him. We also trace the exact moment bass became his leading voice, when a bassist in his dad's band left his instrument at the house, and Keith quietly learned it without telling anyone, then shocked his dad by switching instruments mid-gig at age twelve and never looking back. That leads to a bigger conversation about why starting on drums is a superpower for a bassist, how it teaches you the unspoken communication between rhythm section players, and why Keith's time feel became one of his calling cards, including a compliment from Dennis Chambers that still stands out as one of the biggest of his life.Keith and I go deep on the singing bassist problem, how to keep vocals expressive while staying locked on bass, and how harmony singing often becomes the secret weapon that gets you the gig. He shares how his range and high harmony work opened doors, how constant performing strengthened his voice over time, and how he learned to shift between full voice and falsetto through heavy gigging and demanding material. We talk about the artists and songs that shaped his bass worldview, from Earth, Wind & Fire and Verdine White to Bernard Edwards, Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, Chuck Rainey, and Jaco. Keith tells the story of hearing Stanley Clarke for the first time and having his entire concept of the instrument explode overnight.A significant highlight is Keith's time in the Virginia fusion band Secrets, a band he calls the best musical situation he's ever been in. He tells the story of sitting in on Jeff Lorber's Tune 88, getting a standing ovation for a bass solo, and then immediately being offered the gig. We talk about how quickly great players elevate your musicianship, how his first night in the band was also Carter Beauford's first night, and the feeling of instant chemistry that made it seem like they'd been playing together forever. Keith also shares stories of opening for the Yellowjackets, becoming friends with Jimmy Haslip, and the surreal mirror-image moment when the band watching their soundcheck saw an upside-down bassist and an open-handed drummer and realized they were looking at a parallel-universe version of themselves.From there, we follow Keith's move to Nashville, living with the Wooten Brothers early on, playing jam nights seven nights a week, and building a reputation fast because he could authentically cover multiple genres on demand. He breaks down how his first major Nashville gig came through the Stockyard, leading to Tanya Tucker, and how the road unfolded from there with Waylon Jennings, Peter Frampton, and Trisha Yearwood, including singing Walkaway Joe with Trisha and what it's like to work with singers so accurate they can survive monitor failures in arenas without losing pitch. We also spend time on Hot Apple Pie, the magic of that record, why it still sounds fresh, and the frustration of how label shifts and industry timing kept the band from reaching the level the music deserved.We wrap with what Keith is doing now in Florida at the Orange Blossom Opry, what makes the venue unique, how the band tailors its opening set to match each headliner, and why the schedule can be intense during the season but still sustainable because the owners take care of the musicians in a rare way. It's a wide-ranging conversation about musicianship, time feel, harmony, career longevity, and the kind of stories you only get from someone who has genuinely lived on bandstands for decades.Thank you for listening. If you have questions, feedback, or ideas for the show, please email me at brad@thebandwichtapes.com.

Gwen Guthrie - Padlock (Long Version)Candi Staton - Young Hearts Run FreeDavid Bowie - Let's Dance (12" Version)Sister Sledge - Lost In Music (Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards 1984 Remix)Billy Ocean - Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car (Extended Version)Skyy - Here's To You (12" Version)Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers (Pleasure And Pain Remix) (Remixed By Maik Schafer)U2 - Angel Of HarlemMadonna - MusicLisa Marie With Malcolm McLaren & The Bootzilla Orchestra - Something's Jumpin' In Your Shirt (Walk The Body Mix)Kiss - I Was Made For Lovin' You (Original 12" Single)Soft Cell - Say Hello Wave Goodbye (Dmc Steve Franklin Remix)Taylor Swift - Lavender Haze (Felix Jaehn Remix Clean Extended)Fox The Fox - Precious Little Diamond (Ben Liebrand 12" Mix)Ava Max - My Head My Heart (Claptone Extended)Sugababes - Red DressRoxette & Galantis - Fading Like A FlowerCraig J Snider & Mark Picchiotti Ft Katie Bates - So Damn Good (Extended Club Mix)D.O.N.S. Ft Alexandra Prince - How Will I Know (Game Chasers Remix)Raye - Call On Me (Extended Mix Clean)Dennis Ferrer - Hey Hey (Riva Starr Paradise Garage Club Mix)Redondo & Senders - All My Lovin' (Extended)A7S - Nirvana (Owen Westlake Extended Remix)

✨ Step inside a disco winter wonderland wrapped in velvet. DISCOTHÈQUE DECADENCE PRESENTS: CHIC NU DISCO CLUB MIX (DD014)** “Where CHIC's mastery meets Studio 54 glamour — with sass tucked neatly in its back pocket.” We open by celebrating the architects of the groove: Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards, and CHIC — the heartbeat of disco, the masters of elegance, and the blueprint behind almost every iconic dancefloor moment that still matters today. From that spark, the night slips instantly into Studio 54 glitz — mirrorballs humming, lights glowing, sequins catching every beat. A flipped-classics celebration built from extended edits, velvet grooves, and that unmistakable New York swagger. Dimitri From Paris sets the tone with gleaming remasters of “Le Freak” and “I Want Your Love”, the perfect velvet curtain-raiser for a winter party in full shimmer. Ivan Jack & Master Mike glide in with “Rapper's Good Times,” stitching disco royalty to early hip-hop cool, before Ken@Work reshapes “Good Times” into a sleek, strut-ready roller glowing with December warmth. The glamour peaks as Sister Sledge's “Lost In Music” dissolves into Soulwax's electric rework of Sylvester's “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” — pure Studio 54 attitude: chic, confident, unstoppable. Dimitri lights the room again with his super-disco blend of “Street Player,” followed by HP Vince & Discotron turning up the heat with a revitalised “Disco Inferno” built for late-night sparkle. And to close the festivities… Anita Ward's “Ring My Bell” floats in like the final dance at a winter party wrapped in velvet, glitter, laughter, and golden light. This is CHIC. This is Studio 54. This is the season — bright, warm, glamorous. This is Discothèque Decadence: Chic Nu Disco Club Mix. ✨ Save it. ✨ Share it. ✨ Ring that bell.

brianturnershow.com, eastvillageradio.comKNUD VIKTOR -  Les Éphémères (Part I) -  Les Éphémères (IDL, 2019)STEVE MILLER & LOL COXHILL - Wimbledon Baths - Coxhill/Miller (Virgin, 1973)MARC RILEY & THE CREEPERS - Bard of Woking - Black Dwarf 7" (In Tape, 1985)CAPTAIN BEEFHEART & THE MAGIC BAND - On Tomorrow (Instrumental) - I May Be Hungry But I Sure Ain't Weird (Sequel, 1992)RESTLESS NATIVES - Ziac - 7" *(Zebra, 1981)PYTHON - Pink Ladies - 7" (1972, re: Supreme Echo, 2025)THE DOOTZ - A.C.N.E. (I've Got Acne) - 7" (Sky, 1983)HECHELCLICKE - Frühtau - V/A: Talfahrt. Sampler 01 (cs, Talfahrt, 1983)ZEN-FASCHISTEN - Acid Head - 7" (Choose, 2001)INDUSTRY - Deranged Thoughts - Indusrty (La Vida Es En Mus, 2025)VOX POP - Just Like Your Mom - 7" (Bad Trip, 1980)LIFEGUARD - Ultra Violence - 7" (Matador, 2025)EDDIE X MURPHY - Sexy Rum Chocolate - Split w/Lumaka Inferocita (cs,  Scaglie Di Rumore, 2018)BILLY BAO - Bilbo's Incinerator - 7" (W.M.O./r, 2005)SISTER SLEDGE -  Lost in Music (1984 Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers Remix) - 12" (Atlantic, 1979)TALL DWARFS - The Brain That Wouldn't Die (Live at the Gluepot, 1991) - 7" (Forced Exposure, 1993)BILL FAY - Maudy La Lune -  From The Bottom Of An Old Grandfather Clock (A Collection Of Demos And Outtakes 1966-70) (Dead Oceans, 2025)ROBERT WYATT - Stalin Wasn't Stalling - Split 7" w/Peter Blackman (Rough Trade, 1981)GHENERAL THI ET LES FOURMIS - Globes! 1st. Part - V/A: Creep-z (cs, Home Produkt 1984)AKSAK MABOUL - Modular Excursions at John's -  Before Aksak Maboul (documents & experiments 1969-1977) (Crammed, 2025)DENDÖ MARIONETTE - Frozen Edge - Juvenile Rock (Splittle, 2025)KJETIL BRANSDAL / THORE WARLAND - Pressures of the Fresh - Pressure of the Fresh (Drid Machine, 2025)LOW END ACTIVIST - Hope III - (Demdike Stare Stressed Version) - Municipal Dreams Remixes (Sneaker Social Club, 2025)DYNASTIE CRISIS - Schizomania - 7" (Pathė, 1973)IDEA FIRE COMPANY - Hot Enough For You? - Hot Enough For You? (Horn of Plenty, 2025)GIANCARLO NICOLAI - Cube Composition No. 2 - Vis Music/ Ecco L'eco L'eco Detto (Leo, 1988)

Don and Dude continue honoring Casey Kasem with another Classic Casey Countdowns visit, this time to November 25, 1978, when disco, rock, and pop intertwined on the American Top 40. This episode highlights two albums behind that week's Top 10 hits, celebrating the sound of a Thanksgiving spent around radios and record players.Chic – C'est Chic (1978) New York studio pros Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards turned Chic into a precision-groove machine on their second LP, fusing disco, funk, and R&B into sleek, minimal arrangements that still feel luxurious. Driven by the monster hit “Le Freak,” the record balances party-starter anthems with emotionally rich cuts like “I Want Your Love,” showcasing airtight rhythm section work, tasteful strings, and a cool, upscale dancefloor vibe.Foreigner – Double Vision (1978) Fresh off their blockbuster debut, Foreigner sharpened their arena-rock formula on Double Vision, pairing Lou Gramm's powerhouse vocals with Mick Jones's riff-heavy guitar lines and radio-ready hooks. From the punchy opener “Hot Blooded” to the grinding title track and moodier deep cuts, the album captures a band refining its identity through tight songwriting, dramatic dynamics, and a polished yet muscular late 70s rock sound.Dude is Diggin':The Pretty Reckless – Taylor Momsen's Pretty Reckless Christmas (2025): A six-track holiday set where Taylor Momsen blends hard rock crunch with nostalgic seasonal moods, highlighted by a powerful new version of “Where Are You Christmas?”.Various Artists – Saturday Night Fever Original Movie Soundtrack (1977) (vinyl): A landmark disco document packed with Bee Gees smashes and club classics, perfectly channeling the sweaty, cinematic pulse of the late 70s dancefloor.Don is Diggin':Magic Wands – Cascades (2025): Dreamy, guitar-and-synth-driven pop steeped in gothic and new wave textures, full of shimmering atmospheres and mystical, nocturnal imagery.Vince Gill – 50 Years From Home: Secondhand Smoke (2025): Reflective country storytelling that blends personal memories with social themes, delivered in Gill's warm tenor and supported by a cast of Nashville collaborators.Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and Bluesky @albumnerds, and support by subscribing, rating, reviewing, and sharing. “Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.” – Casey Kasem

Plongez dans l'histoire de « We Are Family », le tube disco des sœurs Sledge devenu un hymne universel. Derrière ce succès se cache la vision audacieuse de Nile Rodgers, qui choisit de produire le groupe plutôt que les Rolling Stones, et le génie de Bernard Edwards, bassiste légendaire. Sa ligne de basse emblématique donne naissance à un hit planétaire, porteur d'un message fort de solidarité et d'unité.À retenir :Nile Rodgers mise sur les sœurs Sledge et refuse les Rolling Stones.Bernard Edwards crée une ligne de basse culte.« We Are Family » devient un symbole de fraternité et de culture disco.Notre équipe a utilisé un outil d'Intelligence artificielle via les technologies d'Audiomeans© pour accompagner la création de ce contenu écrit.Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Dive into the iconic legacy of The Chic Organisation with author Chris Sutton! Learn all about Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards' impact on music history and Nile Rodgers' incredible production career.Purchase a copy of Chic Organisation: Every Album, Every SongVisit Chris Sutton's website15% OFF Any Purchase At Old Glory For Booked On Rock Listeners! — Over 300,000 officially licensed items. Featuring legendary music artists like Bob Marley, The Beatles,Grateful Dead, and more. Use the code "BOOKEDONROCK" or hit this link:https://oldglory.com/discount/BOOKEDONROCK---------- BookedOnRock.com The Booked On Rock Store The Booked On Rock YouTube Channel Follow The Booked On Rock with Eric Senich:BLUESKYFACEBOOKINSTAGRAMTIKTOKX Find Your Nearest Independent Bookstore Contact The Booked On Rock Podcast: thebookedonrockpodcast@gmail.com The Booked On Rock Music: “Whoosh” by Crowander / “Last Train North” & “No Mercy” by TrackTribe

A (relatively) in-depth analysis of the song 'Why' by Carly Simon (as well as some other general stuff) in just under twenty minutes.The song was recorded for the 1982 film Soup for One. The film was a flop, but the soundtrack, including Simon's song, was a success, particularly in Europe. The song Why, produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic, also became a top 10 hit in the UK.In 2021 it was reissued in a 12" format on the Unidisc label. Pressed on olive green vinyl with a white swirl, the reissue includes the 12" version, an instrumental version, and a radio edit. The pressing was also praised for the quality of its sound.I do hope you enjoy this episode.Mathew Woodallhttps://www.facebook.com/share/1F15mx4ea3/https://buymeacoffee.com/lownoiseWhy buy me a coffee?Low Noise is proudly ad-free. If you would like to to say thank you for any of the content you have enjoyed (and help support the continuation of creating more), the above link provides a way to make a small donation of your choice (I also function on coffee!).Feel free to leave a note with your donation to let me know what you enjoy about the podcast or any topics you would like me to discuss in the future.

Send us a textNeville Keighley a.k.a. Belouis Some stops by the show, and we step back in time. We talk about touring with Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Queen. The spicy video for Imagination and more.*******Belouis Some (real name Neville Keighley), singer-songwriter from London, released his first album Some People in 1985 on Capitol EMI Records. After initial recording in London, the album was produced in New York by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero. Carlos Alomar arranged and played on the tracks and brought together a lineup that included Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson (Chic), Carmine Rojas, Robin Clark, Chester Kamen, and Guy Fletcher (Dire Straits). The album contained the worldwide hit singles Imagination and Some People with the video for Imagination, directed by Storm Thorgerson, causing controversy as it contained full nudity.In 1985, Belouis Some was sponsored by Swatch in North America and opened for Frankie Goes To Hollywood on their US tour. The Some People video was also simultaneously running as a nationwide Swatch TV commercial. In 1986, Belouis Some headlined the “Swatch Live” show at the Beacon Theatre in New York.In 1986, Belouis Some supported Queen on their “Magic” stadium tour, including opening the famous Knebworth concert, one of the largest concerts ever held in the UK and Freddie Mercury's last ever live performance with Queen.The Belouis Some song Round Round, produced by Bernard Edwards, was included in the 1986 John Hughes movie Pretty In Pink, the platinum-selling soundtrack album is on Rolling Stone magazine's “25 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time”.He'll be performing on the “Lost 80s Live” tour of North America in the summer of 2025. Get your tickets and more info here: https://www.belouissome.com/*******If you would like to contact the show about being a guest, please email us at Dauna@bettertopodcast.comUpcoming guests can be found: https://dmneedom.com/upcoming-guest Follow us on Social MediaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_d.m.needom/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bettertopodcastwithdmneedomIntro and Outro music compliments of Fast Suzi©2025 Better To...Podcast with D. M. NeedomSupport the show

**Lynda Law's Soul Show Replay On traxfm.org. This Week Lynda Features Soul/Boogie/Dance Classics/Contemporary Soul From Herbie Hancock, Breakwater, Meco, T-Connection, Bruno Mars, Bernard Edwards, Quincy Jones, Stevie Woods, Cameron, Bobby Thurston, The Whispers & More #originalpirates #soulmusic #contemporarysoul #70smusic #80smusic #disco #danceclassics Catch Lynda's Soul Show Every Tuesday From 4:00PM UK Time On www.traxfm.org Listen Live Here Via The Trax FM Player: chat.traxfm.org/player/index.html Mixcloud LIVE :mixcloud.com/live/traxfm Free Trax FM Android App: play.google.com/store/apps/det...mradio.ba.a6bcb The Trax FM Facebook Page : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092342916738 Trax FM Live On Hear This: hearthis.at/k8bdngt4/live Tunerr: tunerr.co/radio/Trax-FM Radio Garden: Trax FM Link: http://radio.garden/listen/trax-fm/IEnsCj55 OnLine Radio Box: onlineradiobox.com/uk/trax/?cs...cs=uk.traxRadio Radio Deck: radiodeck.com/radio/5a09e2de87...7e3370db06d44dc Radio.Net: traxfmlondon.radio.net Stream Radio : streema.com/radios/Trax_FM..The_Originals Live Online Radio: liveonlineradio.net/english/tr...ax-fm-103-3.htm**

On the April 19 edition of Music History Today, a rap classic gets released, a grunge great is discovered in the worst possible way, and a Broadway musical makes its debut.For more music history, subscribe to my Spotify Channel or subscribe to the audio version of my music history podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts fromALL MUSIC HISTORY TODAY PODCAST NETWORK LINKS - https://allmylinks.com/musichistorytodayResources for mental health issues - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lineshttps://findahelpline.com

Nile Rogers of Chic Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson This sit-down with my old friend, multiple Grammy Winner, Rock & Roll Hall Inductee, Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductee, composer, producer, arranger, and guitarist, Nile Rogers, is SOLID GOLD… more like triple platinum. Even though we never exchanged more than a few words in the handful of times he graced my jams back in the day, there was always DHM (deep hidden meaning), as there always is with Nile. This day, we got to that and so much more. STORIES! Oh my lord, No one tells ‘em like Nile. Case in point, his tome, Le Freak, may be the greatest memoir I've read. I could not put the thing down. When was the last time I read a book cover to cover in less than 24 hours? A rare score on Amazon these days, Nile's assured he'll be updating and republishing. It's a MUST-read for music fans, flower children, and anyone who loves to sink their teeth into a great story, well-told. Nile covered his very humble early days, his barely older than him mother, the drugs, the bi-coastal extended family, the moves, the schools, early influences from Coltrane to The Beatles, flute to clarinet to guitar… how Bernard Edwards got him to the Hitmaker Strat and chucking, which has become synonymous with Nile's style. We talked the DHM, the breakdown, the Chic magic as well as the music during and since… producing the top of the top for Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, Madonna, David Bowie, Duran Duran, still winning Grammys and kicking it with Daft Punk, Beyonce, and Cold Play, to name but a few, 750 MILLION albums worth. Say what? We got the sweetest stories about Michael Jackson… a funny with Keith Richards, a Grace Jones impression, and a scary story about Nile's coke psychosis leading to him bottoming out and getting clean and sober. 31 years worth and counting… That Nile was able to do all that he's done, and it's Herculean - aside from the massive number of hits, the films he's scored, the shows he's played, there's the We Are Family Foundation, Chairing the Songwriters Hall of Fame, receiving the 2024 World Economic Forum's Crystal Award for his extraordinary efforts to make the world a more peaceful, equal, and inclusive place… Nile is a humanist, a gentle soul with a heart of platinum like the records that line his walls. I've always admired, respected, and adored Nile. After reading Le Freak, and spending this time with him, I cherish him all the more. What a man, what a man, what a mighty fine man! 

Nile Rogers of Chic Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson Wednesday, 4/2/25, 11AM PT, 2 PM ET Streamed Live on my Facebook and on my YouTube FB Replay here: https://bit.ly/4cmPP2u YouTube replay here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q875x2lVyLE

C'est Chic is the second studio album by the iconic disco and funk band Chic, released on August 11, 1978. This album solidified Chic's place as a defining force in late 1970s disco music and pop culture. It features some of the most memorable grooves and polished production of the era, created by the legendary duo Nile Rodgers (guitar) and Bernard Edwards (bass).The album is best known for its international hit "Le Freak", a dancefloor anthem with its unforgettable hook ("Ahh, freak out!") and an iconic bassline that became a hallmark of disco. The track was a massive success, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remaining one of the best-selling singles of all time.Another standout on the album is "I Want Your Love," a smooth yet emotionally charged disco ballad featuring lush orchestration and dreamy vocal harmonies. The rest of the album blends elements of funk, soul, and R&B, all wrapped in Chic's signature style of crisp instrumentation, rhythmic precision, and glamorous flair. Tracks like "Savoir Faire" (a jazzy instrumental) and "Happy Man" highlight their versatility and musical sophistication.C'est Chic is often hailed as a quintessential disco record, combining infectious grooves with sophisticated musicality. It remains a testament to Chic's innovation and influence, not just in disco but across genres that followed, including hip-hop and modern dance music.Listen to the album on SpotifyListen to the album on Apple MusicWhat did you think of this album? Send us a text! Support the showPatreonWebsitePolyphonic Press SubredditFollow us on InstagramContact: polyphonicpressmusic@gmail.comDISCLAIMER: Due to copyright restrictions, we are unable to play pieces of the songs we cover in these episodes. Playing clips of songs are unfortunately prohibitively expensive to obtain the proper licensing. We strongly encourage you to listen to the album along with us on your preferred format to enhance the listening experience.

Plongez dans les coulisses du tube légendaire Le Freak de Chic. Découvrez comment Nile Rodgers et Bernard Edwards ont transformé leur frustration, après avoir été refoulés du mythique Studio 54, en un hymne disco intemporel. Fabrice Lafitte partage anecdotes et témoignages, révélant l'origine du refrain culte "Le freak, c'est chic" et l'impact du Studio 54. Revivez l'âge d'or des années 70 avec ce voyage musical fascinant !Notre équipe a utilisé un outil d'Intelligence artificielle via les technologies d'Audiomeans© pour accompagner la création de ce contenu écrit.

Tune in Friday, December 13, 2024 @ 7pm EST for the next “He Said, He Said, He Said Live!” A Look at the World from A Seasoned Black Man's Perspective for Home for the Holidays featuring recording artist Sylver Logan Sharp. SylverLoganSharp.com "The Christmas Song" performed by Sylver Logan Sharp and Daryl L.A. Hunt. In the “ART OF IT”, we're thrilled to welcome Sylver Logan Sharp, vocalist, songwriter, producer, and alum of the prestigious Duke Ellington School of the Arts, to He Said, He Said, He Said Live! Sylver, best known as the former lead singer of the legendary group Chic—alongside icons Nile Rodgers and the late Bernard Edwards—brings decades of talent and passion to the stage. As the voice of Chic for 20 years, she has captivated audiences worldwide, touring across the U.S., Europe, Japan, and beyond. Her amazing artistry extends beyond music from jewelry designer, business owner, entrepreneur, and host of ##FeelBETTERFriday Podcast. She's the creative force behind “No More Color Lines,” a groundbreaking song and social equity campaign produced in collaboration with impresario producer-pianist Daryl L.A. Hunt, promoting racial harmony and unity. Join renowned vocalist Sylver Logan Sharp for an unforgettable evening of music and cheer as she brings her spectacular show, Home for the Holidays, to the Public Playhouse Theater in Hyattsville Maryland on Saturday, December 21st. Backed by her dynamic band, Sylver promises to deliver a soul-stirring performance filled with festive classics, contemporary hits, and heartwarming surprises. Known for her powerful voice and magnetic stage presence, Sylver Logan Sharp creates an atmosphere of joy and togetherness that's perfect for the season. Whether you're looking to kick off your Christmas celebrations or simply bask in the warmth of holiday music, this performance is guaranteed to leave you inspired, uplifted, and ready to embrace the magic of the holidays.

Nile Rodgers is one of the most successful and influential figures in popular music. As a songwriter, producer and arranger he has enjoyed a 50 year career with his bands Chic and Sister Sledge, and collaborations with artists including Diana Ross, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Madonna, Daft Punk and Beyoncé.Bringing his 1959 Fender Stratocaster guitar to the This Cultural Life studio, Nile tells John Wilson how the instrument has been the bedrock of almost every record that he worked on, and acquiring the nickname 'The Hitmaker'. He discusses his bohemian upbringing in 1950s New York with his mother and stepfather who were both drug users. He chooses as one of his most important influences his jazz guitar tutor Ted Dunbar who taught him not only about musical technique but also how to appreciate the artistry of a hit tune. “It speaks to the souls of a million strangers” he was told. Nile Rodgers reminisces about his musical partner Bernard Edwards, with whom he set up the Chic Organisation after the pair first met on the club circuit playing with cover bands. He discusses their song writing techniques and the importance of what they called ‘deep hidden meaning' in lyrics. He also reflects on the untimely death of Bernard Edwards in 1996 shortly after he played a gig with Nile in Tokyo, and why he continues to pay musical tribute to his friend in his globally-touring stage show which includes the songs of Chic and other artists they worked with. Producer: Edwina Pitman

Edición especial de nuestro podcast que dedicamos a la fabulosa vocalista Jocelyn Brown. Repasamos sus colaboraciones junto a Bob Baldwin, Incognito, Bernard Edwards, Cerrone, Jason Rebello, Inner Life, Sherry Winston y Masters at Work.

Full Rig Details: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/donny-benetSubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeThere's comical bands (Gwar), there's parody bands (Steel Panther), and there's clever combinations of both (Mac Sabbath). The Italian-Australian Donny Benét is none of those and all of those at the same time. His polished compositions, breezy rhythms, and funky fretwork are no laughing matter. Instead, Donny is the joke … or is he?“I thought, “What would I think if I saw some bald, chubby dude shredding on bass and fretless?' I'd be like ‘hell yeah,' so I might as well be the guy that'll do it,” explains Benét.Donny (born Ben Waples) is from a musical family in Sydney, Australia. He grew up performing on several instruments, became classically trained on piano, and earned a master's degree in double bass. The fluent musician started a career as a jazz bassist for various artists in Sydney, and eventually shifted to an experimental jazz/electronica band, Triosk. While both endeavors were challenging and rewarding, Ben wasn't having fun. After Triosk disbanded, Waples continued writing and recording on his own. It started with Cubase and a Line 6 DL4 that gave him 48-second loops. He started making “Donny Benét” joke songs. His friends and family continued encouraging him to make more, and before he knew it he had enough material to create Don't Hold Back. (To this day he still records all the parts except saxophone, played by his brother Daniel Waples.) And through his passion for creating music combined with his love for '70s funk and R&B—he mentions his introduction to electric bass was via a VHS tape featuring Larry Graham, Bernard Edwards, and Nile Rodgers—infused with the aesthetic and aura of Itala-disco performers, Donny Benét was born.“I'm a seriously trained jazz musician in a prior life, and I try not to take myself too seriously now, but I'm deadly serious about taking the piss out of myself. I like humor, but I definitely don't make joke music,” states Benét.Since 2011, he's released six albums, all showing an evolution and refinement of the Don. Each release has revealed a new part of Benet's infinite swagger, blending influences of Prince, Alan Vega, Lou Reed, Tom Jones, and, of course, James Jamerson, “Duck” Dunn, and the funk forefathers. Yes, Donny B can sweep you off your feet, but that's because one thing reigns supreme—the music.“With Donny I've always taken the approach of ‘what would I listen to?' I started there and I continue to follow it. If no one likes it, that's fine, so long as I like it. If someone else likes it, even better,” says Benét.Before his headlining gig at Nashville's Basement East, Donny B welcomed PG's Chris Kies onstage to chat about his minimal-but-musical setup. Benét explains the origins of “Donny,” covers his custom Furlanetto 4-string and why he calls it “probably the best live instrument I got,” and discusses scoring tons of gear when the exchange rate presents deals.Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/donny-benetSubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeWin Guitar Gear: https://bit.ly/GiveawaysPG Don't Miss a Rundown: http://bit.ly/RIgRundownENLMerch & Magazines: https://shop.premierguitar.comPG's Facebook: https://facebook.com/premierguitarPG's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/premierguitar/PG's Twitter: https://twitter.com/premierguitarPG's Threads: https://threads.net/@premierguitarPG's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@premierguitar0:00 - D'Addario Pedalboard Essentials0:15 - Chris Kies Intro0:49 - Donny Benét Intro1:42 - Donny Benét Origins8:55 - Custom Furlanetto "F Bass" VF413:39 - D'Addario & Rig Rundown14:11 -...

There is no contemporary pop music without Nile Rodgers. Born in 1952, Rodgers grew up playing classical music on flute and clarinet before picking up jazz guitar. And at age 20, alongside bass player Bernard Edwards, Rodgers formed the band Chic. They wrote the biggest disco hits of the 70s, like: “Dance Dance Dance,” “Everybody Dance,” “Le Freak," and "Good TImes," which formed the core of Sugarhill Gang's “Rapper's Delight”. In his music career spanning six decades, Rodgers has produced and played on some of the biggest pop songs in history, for artists like Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Madonna, Daft Punk, and Beyoncé. He is also the chair of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, so with the Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony taking place this June, we invited him onto Switched on Pop to talk about the making of a great song. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Baxie talks with 80's Pop/New Wave/MTV sensation Belouis Some! In this interview Belouis (ne: Neville Keighly) talks about his fascinating journey from being a virtually ignored solo artist to recording his first album in 1985 with the likes of Carlos Alomar and Earl Slick (both from David Bowie's band) as well as Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson from Chic. That first album would yield two international hits (“Imagination” and the title track “Some People). Belouis talks about the release of his controversial music videos and about being handpicked to support Queen on tour the following year. He also talks openly about walking away from music in 1995 and why he made an incredible comeback after 24 years! Belouis Some was to begin touring the US with The Alarm and Jay Ashton's Gene Loved Jezebel later this month! That tour which as to include stops in Northampton and New Haven has been postponed. But the Belouis Some story is so amazing that it needs to be told! Listen on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, and on the Rock102 website Brought to you by Metro Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram of Chicopee!

On the April 19 edition of Music History Today, a rap classic gets released, a grunge great is discovered in the worst possible way, and a Broadway musical makes its debut. Also, it's Suge Knight's birthday.  ALL MUSIC HISTORY TODAY  PODCAST NETWORK LINKS - https://allmylinks.com/musichistorytoday --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/musichistorytodaypodcast/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/musichistorytodaypodcast/support

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Songwriters Hall of Famer Nile Rodgers is our inaugural guest on the At First Listen podcast!On this episode, Andrew and Diamond dive into Chic's 1978 sophomore album, C'est Chic, with Nile himself as their guide. Nile offers recollections from creating legendary hits like "Le Freak," "I Want Your Love," "Chic Cheer" and others, as well as memories of his close relationship with fellow Chic co-founder and producer late-bassist Bernard Edwards, as well as music icons Jimi Hendrix and Prince.Nile is arguably the most successful record producer in music history, and his fingerprints are all over generations of music from the 1970s to present day. He's been so successful that his favorite white Fender Stratocaster earned the name Hitmaker, and he still uses the guitar to this day. Chic is one of the best-selling musical acts of the '70s, with grooves and melodies that have taken on new life in hip-hop and R&B, and as a producer Nile has created countless hits, including records by Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Madonna, Duran Duran, Daft Punk, Daddy Yankee, LE SSERAFIM, Beyoncé and many others. Listen and let us know who should be on the show next!Subscribe so you don't miss an episode of At First Listen!

Blu DeTiger comes by the show to talk about her new album, 'All I Ever Want Is Everything'; looking up to Bernard Edwards of Chic; being a new 'Grey's Anatomy' fan; going to Burning Man as a child; and which pop star truly puts on the greatest live show. All that and more this week on '24 Question Party People.' Host: Yasi Salek Guest: Blu DeTiger Producer: Jesse Miller-Gordon Associate Producer: Chris Sutton Additional Production Supervision: Justin Sayles Theme Song: Hether Fortune Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Årets vinnare av Polarpriset Nile Rodgers tänkte alltid först och främst på dansgolvet. Men han gjorde det på ett sätt som ingen annan. Nile närmade sig disco med kirurgisk precision och jazzkomplexitet. Fick det svåra att låta enkelt. Smart sväng eller disco på Einsteinnivå. Lyssna på alla avsnitt i Sveriges Radio Play. Nile Rodgers och partnern Bernard Edwards hade problem med att bli kontrakterade som ett svart rockband med punkattityd, och började istället studera annat som hände runt knuten i New York. Duon bestämde sig för att utveckla en sofistikerad och samtidigt progressiv variant av disco. Lös och lite jazzig i kontrast till den europeiska varianten som slog just då(1977), men inte lika hårdsvängande funky som Parliament och Kool & The Gang (banden som de ville imponera på). Först tog Rodgers och Edwards gamla jazzstandards och omarbetade till disco. Inte heller den iden resulterade i ett skivkontrakt. Men det var starten på Chic, som på sin väg mot frihet i en elegant post-hippiehedonism klädde av soulmusiken, gav den subbas och skapade med lika delar hjärta och hjärna några av historiens främsta dansdängor.

"We Are Family" mit dem Song und dem Album hat die Band Sister Sledge 1979 den Durchbruch geschafft. Verantwortlich dafür waren vor allem Nile Rodgers und Bernard Edwards. "Sister Sledge", das waren 1979 die vier Schwestern Kim, Debbie, Joni und Kathy von der amerikanischen Ostküste, genauer gesagt aus Philadelphia. Bevor sie zusammen mit Nile Rodgers und Bernard Edwards arbeiteten, hatten die vier Schwestern schon Singles und auch zwei Alben veröffentlicht – alles mit mäßigem Erfolg. Um den vier Schwestern unter die Arme zu greifen, hatte das Label in die Wege geleitet, dass sich die Band mit zwei jungen aber sehr talentierten Songwritern und Produzenten vom gemeinsamen Label zusammensetzt: Nile Rodgers und Bernard Edwards. Bevor Nile Rodgers und Bernard Edwards mit Sister Sledge zusammengearbeitet haben, hatten der legendäre Gitarrist und Bassist nur Musik für sich selbst geschrieben und produziert. Als Teil der Band "Chic" hatten die zwei vorher mit ihrem großen Hit "Le Freak" einen Megaerfolg gefeiert. Die Plattenfirma hatte die zwei infolge ihres riesigen Erfolgs darum gebeten, auch für andere Künstler des Labels Atlantic Records zu schreiben. In einem Interview hat Nile Rodgers verraten, dass ihnen Künstler wie die Rolling Stones oder auch Aretha Franklin angeboten worden sind. Da die beiden aber noch nie für jemand anderen geschrieben hatten, wollten sie erstmal "klein anfangen" und entschieden sich für die damals noch unbekannten "Sister Sledge". Für Nile Rodgers und Bernard Edwards hatte das nebenher noch den Vorteil, dass sie selbst auch ein bisschen was von dem Rampenlicht abgekommen haben, was vermutlich anders gewesen wäre, hätten sie als erstes ein Album für Aretha Franklin oder die Rolling Stones produziert. Einige der Songs haben Rodgers und Edwards sogar geschrieben, bevor sie die Band überhaupt jemals getroffen hatten, alleine durch die Informationen, die sie von der Plattenfirma bekommen haben. Darunter zum Beispiel auch den größten Hit der Band "We Are Family". Vor allem für Nile Rodgers stellte sich die Zusammenarbeit mit Sister Sledge als Glücksfall heraus. Mit "We Are Family" hatte er einen Welthit geschaffen, den heute noch Millionen Menschen kennen. Für ihn wird dieses Album mit großer Wahrscheinlichkeit auch ein echter Türöffner gewesen sein. Nach "We Are Family" folgten viele weitere erfolgreiche Kooperationen auch mit vielen großen Künstlern wie Diana Ross, David Bowie, Madonna, Duran Duran oder auch Daft Punk. Sein Weggefährte und guter Freund Bernard Edwards, mit dem er gerne und häufig zusammengearbeitet hat, verstarb 1996 nach einem gemeinsamen Auftritt mit Nile Rodgers in Tokio an einer Lungenentzündung. __________ Über diese Songs vom Album "We Are Family" wird im Podcast gesprochen (11:09) – "He's The Greatest Dancer" (28:40) – "Lost in Music" (34:39) – "Thinking of You" (41:51) – "We Are Family" (55:36) – "Easier To Love" __________ Über diese Songs wird außerdem im Podcast gesprochen (01:42) – "Le Freak" von Chic (20:08) – "Ich steh' ja so auf Disco" von Udo Lindenberg (25:11) – "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" von Will Smith (26:03) – "Rappers Delight" von Sugarhill Gang  (26:24) – "Good Times" von Chic (26:51) – "He's The Greatest Dancer" von Danii Minogue (52:07) – "Do What You Wanna Do" von T-Connection __________ Shownotes Muppet Show Version von "He's The Greatest Dancer": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1aCMZWDSQU Allmusic Review zum Album "We Are Family": https://www.allmusic.com/album/we-are-family-mw0000666230 Podcasttipp: "50 Jahre Hip Hop" in der ARD-Audiothek: https://www.ardaudiothek.de/sendung/50-jahre-hiphop-mit-songs-in-die-geschichte/51648976/ SWR1 Meilenstein Folge zum Album "Let's Dance" von David Bowie: https://www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/swr1-meilensteine/david-bowie-let-s-dance/swr1/12576181/ SWR1 Meilenstein Folge zum Album "Random Access Memories" von Daft Punk:   https://www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/swr1-meilensteine/daft-punk-random-access-memories/swr1/12674811/ SWR1 Meilenstein Folge zum Album "Diana" von Diana Ross: https://www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/swr1-meilensteine/diana-ross-diana/swr1/12898255/ __________ Ihr wollt mehr Podcasts wie diesen? Abonniert die SWR1 Meilensteine! Fragen, Kritik, Anregungen? Schreibt uns an: meilensteine@swr.de

** PLEASE SUBSCRIBE ** Brought to you by FUNKNSTUFF.NET and hosted by Scott "DR GX" Goldfine — musicologist and author of “Everything Is on THE ONE: The First Guide of Funk” ― “TRUTH IN RHYTHM” is the interview show that gets DEEP into the pocket with contemporary music's foremost masters of the groove. Become a TRUTH IN RHYTHM Member through YouTube or at https://www.patreon.com/truthinrhythm. Featured in TIR Episode 312 (Part 2 of 2): Soul, disco and funk singer George McCrae, best known for 1974's No. 1 worldwide smash hit, “Rock Your Baby.” With his first three albums going Top 40 on the R&B chart, he also collected hit singles with “I Can't Leave You Alone,” “I Get Lifted” and “Honey I.” During that time, he also collaborated with, managed and married vocalist Gwen McCrae.  Other notables he has worked with include Betty Wright, Michael Jackson & the Jackson 5, James Brown, KC & The Sunshine Band, Chic's Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, and Rolling Stone Bill Wyman. McCrae's most recent album dropped in 2016, and was simply titled, Love. RECORDED OCTOBER 2023 LEGAL NOTICE: All video and audio content protected by copyright. Any use of this material is strictly prohibited without expressed consent from original content producer and owner Scott Goldfine, dba FUNKNSTUFF. For inquiries, email info@funknstuff.net. TRUTH IN RHYTHM is a registered U.S. Trademark (Serial #88540281). Get your copy of "Everything Is on the One: The First Guide of Funk" today! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1541256603/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1541256603&linkCode=as2&tag=funknstuff-20&linkId=b6c7558ddc7f8fc9fe440c5d9f3c400

Break out yer bellbottoms and platforms folks - TNT is going disco!

** PLEASE SUBSCRIBE ** Brought to you by FUNKNSTUFF.NET and hosted by Scott "DR GX" Goldfine — musicologist and author of “Everything Is on THE ONE: The First Guide of Funk” ― “TRUTH IN RHYTHM” is the interview show that gets DEEP into the pocket with contemporary music's foremost masters of the groove. Become a TRUTH IN RHYTHM Member through YouTube or at https://www.patreon.com/truthinrhythm. Featured in TIR Episode 312 (Part 1 of 2): Soul, disco and funk singer George McCrae, best known for 1974's No. 1 worldwide smash hit, “Rock Your Baby.” With his first three albums going Top 40 on the R&B chart, he also collected hit singles with “I Can't Leave You Alone,” “I Get Lifted” and “Honey I.” During that time, he also collaborated with, managed and married vocalist Gwen McCrae.  Other notables he has worked with include Betty Wright, Michael Jackson & the Jackson 5, James Brown, KC & The Sunshine Band, Chic's Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, and Rolling Stone Bill Wyman. McCrae's most recent album dropped in 2016, and was simply titled, Love. RECORDED OCTOBER 2023 LEGAL NOTICE: All video and audio content protected by copyright. Any use of this material is strictly prohibited without expressed consent from original content producer and owner Scott Goldfine, dba FUNKNSTUFF. For inquiries, email info@funknstuff.net. TRUTH IN RHYTHM is a registered U.S. Trademark (Serial #88540281). Get your copy of "Everything Is on the One: The First Guide of Funk" today! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1541256603/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1541256603&linkCode=as2&tag=funknstuff-20&linkId=b6c7558ddc7f8fc9fe440c5d9f3c400

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

CHIC bandleader Nile Rodgers and his Hitmaker spill the history behind writing the unforgettable music and lyrics for Diana Ross' iconic smash, “I'm Coming Out” When CHIC guitar wizard Nile Rodgers tells Chris Shiflett that he was at Woodstock, Shiflett quips, “You didn't take the brown acid, did you?” Rodgers grins and chuckles, “I took every color acid they had!” This is the tongue-in-cheek tenor of the latest episode of Shred With Shifty, a fun, often hilarious conversational romp through Rodgers' music career. It all started with classical music and woodwinds (specifically the flute and clarinet), but as Rodgers tells it, a major turning point was a chance encounter with a crew of Los Angeles hippies—affectionately called “freaks” in those days of the late '60s—that led to a two-day LSD party soundtracked by The Doors' first album. After he picked up a guitar at 16, he turned to unique jazz pluckers like Django Reinhardt and Wes Montgomery. He followed in their footsteps and played semi-hollow guitars until he met his longtime musical partner and CHIC cofounder, bassist Bernard Edwards, who urged him to pick up a Stratocaster. So it was then that the Hitmaker was born one fateful day in a south Florida guitar shop. Rodgers gives Shifty the full, eyebrow-raising story of how he and Edwards penned Diana Ross' hit, “I'm Coming Out.” The duo had tried the song's drumbeat on many other tracks—they nicknamed it “the hesitation waltz”—but its playful rhythm didn't land until they wrote the song for Ross. Rodgers explains that his neck-pickup “chucking” on the song, which is most clearly voiced on the highest three strings, was structured around the vocal melody. “I'm a very hook-oriented guy,” says Rodgers. “I believe in reinforcing the thing that I believe is melodically the motif that the house is built on.” And Rodgers doesn't shy away from the whole truth about the song's history. Ross was the first superstar that Rodgers had recorded with, but as he remembers, that didn't stop him from spinning a little white lie to make sure that “I'm Coming Out” was released. Click below to subscribe to the podcast! Full Video Episodes: http://volume.com/shifty  Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1690423642 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4B8BSR0l78qwUKJ5gOGIWb iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-shred-with-shifty-116270551/ Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/shred-with-shifty/PC:1001071314 Follow Chris Shiflett: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrisshiflettmusic Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shifty71 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chris.shiflett Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisshiflett71 Website: http://www.chrisshiflettmusic.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5tv5SsSRqR7uLtpKZgcRrg?si=26kWS1v2RYaE4sS7KnHpag Producer: Jason Shadrick Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis Engineering support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion Video Editors: Dan Destefano and Addison Sauvan Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/Analytic"Mo Money Mo Problems" is a song by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released through Bad Boy Records and Arista Records, which impacted US mainstream radio stations on July 15, 1997, as the second single from his second and final studio album, Life After Death (1997). It was written by the Notorious B.I.G., Steven Jordan, Mason Betha, and Sean Combs, while the latter also produced the song. It contains a sample and an interpolation of "I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross, for which Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers are also credited as songwriters. The song features guest vocals from Mase and Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, and featured an uncredited hook sung by Kelly Price.full song: (36) Kanye West, Drake, JAY-Z - Mo' Money Mo' Problems (AI Cover) - YouTubeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Here's the long lost album by Johhny Mathis that was shelved back in 1980...it was produced by Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers of Chic. Their sleek style was sophisticated, taut, and lean, with infectious rhythms propelled by Rodgers' searing guitar, Edwards' melodic bass,Tony Thompson's unpredictable drums, and the lustrous harmonies of singers including Alfa Anderson, Luci Martin, Fonzi Thornton, and Michelle Cobbs. Chic went beyond Disco, incorporating strains of funk, jazz, rock, Latin, and classical into their composition and productions.And they found a kindred adeventurous soul in Johnny Mathis. So join us... as we dive into this long lost #Yachtyashell treasure! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-yacht-rock-show-with-eddie-ganz/support

Focus... is known as a forerunner and pioneering voice in Hip Hop culture since the late 90's. We have a great and honest dialogue about what it was like being the son of  Bernard Edwards; legendary bassist and founding member of the hit-making 70's disco band CHIC, how his skills were first recognized by Dr. Dre, who admired the creative sound and ingenuity of Focus…‘ genius musical ability and signed him as a staff producer for Aftermath Entertainment. Enjoy the chat. Visit the website: https://www.bedroombeethovens.com/ Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bedroombeethovens

Eddie Martinez Interview: LOADS of stories about playing with Blondie, Lenny White, Stanley Clarke & George Duke, Robert Palmer, Steve Winwood, David Lee Roth (NOT what you might be thinking), Run DMC, Lou Reed… the making of Eddie's new LP, Bernard Edwards' influence, growing up in the South Bronx and leaving NYC (toughest decision he's ever made), his biggest regret, Chinese fast food, Lots more really cool stuff. GREAT guy: Discover Where the Money's Hiding in the Music Business: https://MusicReboot.com   Support this show: https://www.everyonelovesguitar.com/support Lifetime sideman who's just released his 2nd (AMAZING) record, Akosua. Eddie's played with Robert Palmer, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, George Duke, Blondie, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Steve Winwood, Rod Stewart, Mick Jagger, David Lee Roth, Joe Cocker, Lou Reed, Lou Gramm… and has performed on hundreds of major motion pictures and jingles Subscribe & Website:  https://www.everyonelovesguitar.com/subscribe   Cool Guitar & Music T-Shirts, ELG Merch!: https://www.GuitarMerch.com    

This week is another two-fer! First up is the legend herself and one of the greatest voices in rock history, Heart's Ann Wilson! Ann and Nancy have been doing their own thing the last few years and Ann has a brand new solo album called Fierce Bliss coming out on the 29th. To me, it sounds the closest to the heavy rock sound of the 70s that Heart and their influences like Led Zeppelin and Bad Company were doing. Singles like "Greed" and her cover of the Eurythmics' "Missionary Man" are already out there. Ann and I talk about her approach to covers, the status of Heart these days, how she got Roger Dean to do the album cover and more.  Then we hear from Grammy winning producer/keyboardist/sideman Jeff Bova. Jeff's career began in the early 80s when he was the go-to guy keyboardist for artists like Herbie Hancock and Cyndi Lauper and worked closely with producers like Bernard Edwards and Jim Steiinman. We hear stories about all these great people and what those glory days were like. Enjoy!  www.annwilson.com www.bovaland.com www.patreon.com/thehustlepod

When is it safe to run software? When is it safe to drink orange juice? Are we a better judge of one or the other? Santiago Torres-Arias is an Assistant Professor at Purdue University, the team lead of the in-toto project, and a contributor to The Update Framework. He joins Craig to talk security in both physical and software supply chains. Do you have something cool to share? Some questions? Let us know: web: kubernetespodcast.com mail: kubernetespodcast@google.com twitter: @kubernetespod Chatter of the week Don’t Forget The Lyrics Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It Explained on Genius Will Smith on Top Gear The Oscars thing (CW: violence, cuss words that Will Smith didn’t used to have to rap to sell records) He’s The Greatest Dancer by Sister Sledge; written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers of Chic News of the week New Cisco Intersight Kubernetes features Red Hat OpenShift v4.10 ChaosNative acquired by Harness Azure PlayFab launches Thundernetes Episode 26, with Cyril Tovena and Mark Mandel Hacker News commentary Weave GitOps v2022-03 Qumulo for Kubernetes SpectroCloud raises $40m Pinterest: 99% to 99.9% SLO, high performance control plane Uber: Avoiding CPU throttling in a containerized environment Links from the interview in-toto The Update Framework Purdue University Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Purdue Boilermakers Open Source Software Senior Design Projects NYU Tandon School of Engineering Justin Cappos PolyPasswordHasher Episode 155, with Priya Wadhwa apt-secure for Debian packages A keysigning and a signed PGP key Farm to table attestation Potato tracking An example of E. coli in lettuce in-toto record Project Trebuchet: How SolarWinds is Using Open Source to Secure Their Supply Chain in the Wake of the Sunburst Hack by Trevor Rosen, Solarwinds Reflections on Trusting Trust by Ken Thompson Secure Publication of Datadog Agent Integrations with TUF and in-toto US Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity Readout of White House Meeting on Software Security sigstore in-toto is the second most used format for sigstore SPIFFE SLSA in-toto moves to incubation in the CNCF CFSSL Math rock Covet: “falkor” TTNG: +3 Awesomeness Repels Water Bird of the Year The kea Breaking a police car Santiago Torres-Arias on Twitter and at badhomb.re

Pop critic, chart analyst, writer of Slate's "Why Is This Song No. 1?", and host of the podcast Hit Parade, Chris Molanphy, joins DJ Louie once again for the second part of our series on Diana Ross. This episode, Louie and Chris discuss Diana's initially rocky transition from lead singer for The Supremes into solo superstar and how she finally scored a solo #1 with an unexpected, avant-garde cover of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" in 1970. They then discuss her spotty track record through the early-mid '70s, sometimes scoring massive hits with mostly adult-contemporary ballads like "Touch Me in the Morning" and "Do You Know Where You're Going To", but just as often releasing records that made little impact, all while pursuing a secondary career as a movie star most notably in her Oscar-nominated performance as Billie Holiday in 1972's Lady Sings the Blues. Louie and Chris then chronicle various pop movements that coincided with and affected Diana's career in this '70s- the racial segregation of radio, the birth of the female pop singer-songwriter like Carole King and Joni Mitchell, innovative R&B artists like Roberta Flack and Chaka Khan-  Diana's third wind as a disco queen, beginning with 1976's smash "Love Hangover", 1979's "The Boss" and eventually, her blockbuster, career-defining collaboration with Chic's Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, 1980's Diana and it's legendary singles, "I'm Coming Out" and "Upside Down". Finally, Louie and Chris debate what allowed Diana to beat the odds, defying pop's ageist bent with hits across three decades and what exactly makes Diana one of the ultimate Tier 1 Icons in the official Pop Pantheon.  Send questions about this episode, the Pantheon, pop stars in general or whatever else is on your mind to PopPantheonPod@gmail.comJoin the Pop Pantheon Discord Monday 3/14 at 8PM ET / 5PM PT!Check Out Louie's Diana Ross Essentials PlaylistFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on TwitterFollow Chris Molanphy on Twitter

Hit Parade is back for non-Slate Plus listeners! Upcoming episodes will be split into two parts, released two weeks apart. For the full episode right now, sign up for Slate Plus and you'll also get The Bridge, our Trivia show and bonus deep dive into our subjects. slate.com/hitparadeplus.In Part 2 of this episode of Hit Parade, we continue the story of how Chic—cofounded by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards—gave life to disco through the 1980s and beyond. Their “Good Times” bassline spawned a slew of copycats, from “Rapper's Delight” to “Another One Bites the Dust” to “Rapture.” And as if that wasn't enough, over the next decade, the Chic masterminds became the secret sauce for a range of cutting-edge pop acts, producing and writing for everyone from Diana Ross and David Bowie to Madonna, Duran Duran and the B-52's. Nile Rodgers even scored a hit in the 2010s with a pair of French robots who “got lucky” with another take on the Chic groove.Podcast production by Asha Saluja. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hit Parade is back for non-Slate Plus listeners! Upcoming episodes will be split into two parts, released two weeks apart. For the full episode right now, sign up for Slate Plus and you'll also get The Bridge, our Trivia show and bonus deep dive into our subjects. slate.com/hitparadeplus.How can you tell disco didn't really die at the start of the 1980s? Because half of '80s pop owed its sound to one of disco's most seminal acts. Chic—cofounded by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards—would be legendary if all they'd done was record the'70s disco smashes “Le Freak,” “I Want Your Love” and “Good Times.” Indeed, the “Good Times” bassline spawned a slew of copycats, from “Rapper's Delight” to “Another One Bites the Dust” to “Rapture.”As if that wasn't enough, over the next decade, the Chic masterminds became the secret sauce for a range of cutting-edge pop acts, producing and writing for everyone from Diana Ross and David Bowie to Madonna, Duran Duran and the B-52's. Nile Rodgers even scored a hit in the 2010s with a pair of French robots who “got lucky” with another take on the Chic groove.Podcast production by Asha Saluja. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.