Founder of Buddhism
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Following their discovery by Dres of Black Sheep and signed to his sub record label, the group The Legion consisting of three members Cee Low, Molecules and Chucky Smash released their debut album Theme+Echo=Krill in 1994. Though it did not sell well, it does have great production and includes gems like Jingle Jangle and Legion Groove. This is a guaranteed great listen for anyone who gives it a spin. https://www.tiktok.com/@brandonhetzel996?_t=ZT-8wH5viV63H4&_r=1 https://www.instagram.com/str8_the_clippa?igsh=cTBzNnFhenRkN3Nl&utm_source=qr https://www.facebook.com/share/19Fk2bXWod/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Hjálmar þekkir skrifstofuvinnur þótt hann hafi aldrei unnið á skrifstofu. Helgi var hlíðinn og kvíðinn í Versló. Hjálmar vill búa í íbúðinni sinni út lífið sítt. Helgi rifjaði upp gamla tíma á Sauðarkróknum 1996. IG helgijean & hjalmarorn110Takk fyrir að hlusta - og munið að subscribe´a!Þættina má finna inni í áskrift á pardus.is!
Whitey and Buddah talk sharks, drownings, car restoration, Della's camp and shows to watch on TV. For our listeners: Varsity Sports Bar! https://www.varsity.com.au 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-grin-reapers-podcast/id1380019049
Buddah tells us a funny story about Nic Nat after their comedy show and Whitey has been working in a Chinese sweat shop. For our listeners: Varsity Sports Bar! https://www.varsity.com.au 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-grin-reapers-podcast/id1380019049
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqysH6oErL8 Host Jean P. Kelly and author Kenneth R. McIntosh discuss how understanding both Celtic & Eastern spirituality can liberate the Christian imagination. More from this Creative Audio guided meditation of author-read excerpt About Kenneth McIntosh's commitment to live the compassion of Christ has inspired three decades of service as pastor for six different...
Suffering & God's Response Pt, 1: Who Causes Suffering? By Louie Marsh, 3-9-2025 Last slide – Buddah quote 1) We always blame GOD. “13And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”” (Judges 6:13–14, ESV) “2“Oh that my vexation were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances! 3For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my words have been rash. 4For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; my spirit drinks their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.” (Job 6:2–4, ESV) Philosophers say: If an almighty, good God exists, and does not eliminate evil, then either that god is evil, or he does not exist. A good God must destroy evil. The Greek philosopher Epicurus (342-271 BC) claimed that the existence of evil proved there is no God. · He claimed that if God cannot stop evil then he is not all-powerful (omnipotent). · He then argued that if God can prevent evil but does not, then God is not good. · He linked these two points together, claiming that if God is all-powerful and good, then evil would not exist. · Finally, human experience is that evil does exist. Therefore Epicurus concluded that God must not exist. 2) The REAL culprits. · SATAN “1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?”” (Genesis 3:1, ESV) · US. “4But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:4–6, ESV) · We brought it in, we PERPETUATE it. “9The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV) 3) God is pledged to ELIMINATE it eventually. “4He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4, ESV) “18And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety.” (Hosea 2:18, ESV) 4) The GOSPEL of Jesus is how God will do it. “4He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”” (Revelation 21:4, ESV) “15and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.” (Ephesians 6:15, ESV) “1Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1, ESV)
It's that time of the year again!
The Christian O'Connell Show Returns for 2025 Share your good news with us! All New Misheard Lyrics, The Timewaster and more entries for Knock It Into The ParkSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The holiday season is here, but many people across the country may dread sitting down with their nearest and dearest— all because of politics.In this episode we share down-to-earth advice from two wise experts who have thought deeply and creatively about how to minimize conflict and maximize cooperation with parents, family, and friends.Tania Israel is a Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and award-winning author of "Beyond Your Bubble: How to Navigate the Challenges of Living in a Divided Nation".Arthur C. Brooks is Professor of the Practice of Public and NonProfit Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. We discuss the findings of his book "Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America From the Culture of Contempt".We make podcasts about the work, ideas, and projects of Braver Angels, the volunteer-led, cross-partisan network of American citizens who are working together across divides to push back against toxic polarization. This episode is very much in the spirit of what Braver Angels are working to achieve.This show is released just weeks after the election of Donald Trump to serve a second term as President. Divisive rhetoric by both sides during the campaign added to recent bitterness and division. Polarization is "not only hurting our connections with other people, it's hurting our health and our democracy," says Tania Israel. She argues that Americans "need to strengthen our connections with other people and tolerate, even embrace differences". A longer version of the interview with Tania was first published by the podcast, "Let's Find Common Ground".In the second half of this podcast we hear about the radical ancient teachings of Jesus, Buddah and many religious leaders— love your enemies." This is a "subversive, sort of crazy-sounding idea", Arthur Brooks tells us. But it can have a profound impact on how we live. "It's pretty easy to love your friends, but to love your enemies is something entirely different," he says. "You see them in an entirely different way. You change your own heart."Our "How Do We Fix It?" interview with Arthur Brooks was first recorded in 2018. Richard Davies and his co-host Jim Meigs asked the questions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Send us a textWe're taking you on a big adventure with this one! The universe revolves around this podcast. Apparently, we killed the Smash Mouth guy? Buddah ruins Christmas, and we plan BooStock 2024. Setting people up to be racist. Automatic unisex bidet and douche?! If references made you smart, we'd all be PHDeez! Those things are called bindles??? Speaking of Buddah, Hum still tries to page him after all these years (they have his pager number). Was that Jimmy Smits? Hey… READ YER SHIRT.Support the showFollow Us Everywhere and Anywhere You Do You Social Medias Stuff: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themovieroulettepodcastTikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@themovieroulettepodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/themovieroulettepodcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMovieRoulettePodcast
Whitey and Buddah chat about some old pranks, new trips, Mike Tyson, UFC and not much else. For our listeners: Varsity Sports Bar! https://www.varsity.com.au Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au spend over $100 and enter code: grinreapers for 10% discount and free shipping The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-grin-reapers-podcast/id1380019049
Exclusive! Buddah G talks about his upbringing, finding your soul mate behind bars, VonOff1700, J Mane, and much more! ----- Promote Your Music with No Jumper - https://nojumper.com/pages/promo CHECK OUT OUR ONLINE STORE!!! https://nojumper.com NO JUMPER PATREON / nojumper CHECK OUT OUR NEW SPOTIFY PLAYLIST https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5te... Follow us on SNAPCHAT / 4874336901 Follow us on SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4z4yCTj... iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/n... Follow us on Social Media: / 4874336901 / nojumper / nojumper / nojumper / nojumper JOIN THE DISCORD: / discord Follow Adam22: / adam22 / adam22 / adam22 adam22bro on Snapchat Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
47:45 – Neal considers how a cat learns to smoke in the current regulatory environment, explains your child's hunger for paramilitary-style balaclavas and discusses risky versus risqué, Jesus' disastrous impact on local fishing, changing atitudes to water bombs, edible versus digestible, Inbred fish sandwiches, why lay ministers can't wipe, using Buddah's name in vain, landfills […]
Whitey and Buddah chat about the first ever paddle attempt at The Right by Nate Florence. We also discuss the latest Perth additions to the UFC and betting scandals. For our listeners: Varsity Sports Bar! https://www.varsity.com.au Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au spend over $100 and enter code: grinreapers for 10% discount and free shipping The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-grin-reapers-podcast/id1380019049
Braving Business: Tales of Entrepreneurial Resilience and Courage in the Face of Adversity
In this episode, we welcome Alessandro Tronco, a remarkable entrepreneur whose journey embodies the American Dream. Born in Sicily, Alessandro immigrated to the United States at six years old with his family's hopes and dreams. At fifteen, he returned to America alone with only five dollars in his pocket. Alessandro's tenacity led him to Siena College, and from there, he rose to become one of the youngest Managing Partners at Northwestern Mutual. Today, Alessandro is known for his entrepreneurial spirit, philanthropic efforts, and his book, "The Buddha Who Drove a Bentley," which offers profound insights on personal growth and success.Episode Summary: Alessandro Tronco shares his inspiring journey from a young immigrant with nothing to his name to a successful entrepreneur and Managing Partner at Northwestern Mutual. He discusses the challenges he faced, including overcoming financial hardship and navigating the corporate world. Alessandro also delves into the key principles from his book, such as forgiveness, truth, mindfulness, and connection, offering valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.Key Questions: 1. Alessandro's early life in Sicily and the pivotal moments that shaped his determination.2. Challenges he faced as a young immigrant in America and how he overcame them.3. Insights from his rise through the ranks at Northwestern Mutual.4. The motivation behind his book, "The Buddha Who Drove a Bentley," and its core principles.5. The importance of forgiving oneself before forgiving others and its impact on personal growth.6. Why telling oneself the truth, no matter the cost, is crucial for success.7. How slowing down can lead to recognizing life's magical moments.8. The significance of staying connected and believing in a bigger life story.9. Personal anecdotes of failure and how they primed him for future success.10. Overcoming loneliness and the lessons it taught him about resilience and perseverance.11. Balancing professional success with philanthropic efforts and community involvement.12. Key advice for young entrepreneurs about staying true to their values while pursuing ambitious goals.13. Alessandro's vision for the future and upcoming projects he is excited about.Special Mentions: - Alessandro's journey from Sicily to America.- Achievements at Northwestern Mutual.- Core principles from "The Buddha Who Drove a Bentley."Quotable Moments: - "If you're not all in, you're in the way."- "Forgive yourself before you can forgive others."Connect with Alessandro: Listeners can connect with Alessandro through his website https://thebuddhawhodroveabentley.comOutro: Thanks to Alessandro Tronco for sharing his inspiring journey and valuable insights. His story of resilience, ambition, and leadership continues to inspire many.Listener Engagement: We invite listeners to share their thoughts and stories of overcoming challenges in their own entrepreneurial journeys.Disclaimer: The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Braving Business Podcast or its hosts.Remember to subscribe, rate, and review us wherever you get your podcasts. Stay brave!
Whitey and Buddah discuss clips goin viral, Rufus's two wave hold down at the Right, Nathan Florence's slab session in Brazil and the latest in sport, skating and heart problems. For our listeners: Varsity Sports Bar! https://www.varsity.com.au Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au spend over $100 and enter code: grinreapers for 10% discount and free shipping The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-grin-reapers-podcast/id1380019049
Whitey and Buddah talk about the latest paddle session at The Right, Olympic highlights, UFC, watching Jim Jeffries live and some upcoming events! For our listeners: Varsity Sports Bar! https://www.varsity.com.au Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au spend over $100 and enter code: grinreapers for 10% discount and free shipping The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-grin-reapers-podcast/id1380019049
This week on the Clips4Sale Fetish Friday Creator Spotlight, it's the return of Mistress Buddah to discuss how fetish creators can get their start with Clips4Sale in this super informative interview. Wondered how to start making money with content? Here is the show for you!
We start Buddah Week. Our guest is Mistress Buddah who is a long time content creator who now is a Clips4Sales Creators Success Representative. We talk about her journey in kink and fetish, her presence at FETISH CON in this profile of this charming lady! And on Friday, she will return for our Creator Spotlight to discuss how to get started with Clips4Sale as a content creator!
Welcome to the You Can Heal Your Life podcast! Today, you'll hear a chapter from The Joy of Actually Giving a F*ck, the brand-new audiobook by author, columnist, and speaker David Hamilton. In this excerpt, David discusses the importance of caring for others to foster a happier and healthier society. He contrasts traditional mindfulness, rooted in ethical and kind behavior as taught by Buddha, with modern mindfulness practices that often omit these aspects, advocating for integrating kindness into mindfulness. David coins the term "kindfulness" to enhance both personal well-being and communal harmony. Don't miss your chance to listen to the full audiobook FREE with an Empower You Unlimited Audio trial. Visit hayhouse.com/empoweryou to start listening today.
We hear a reading from local actor and Zen Buddhist priest, Peter Coyote. It's about Japanese gift wrapping around Buddhist teachings.
Whitey and Buddah chat about recent road trips, UFC and future projects. For our listeners: Varsity Sports Bar! https://www.varsity.com.au Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au spend over $100 and enter code: grinreapers for 10% discount and free shipping The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-grin-reapers-podcast/id1380019049
Whitey is back from his East Coast adventures filming with the Stone brothers and Buddah returns from his offshore comedy gigs. We chat about the Shark Island Challenge, a crazy session that went down at a psychotic bombie and much more! For our listeners: Varsity Sports Bar! https://www.varsity.com.au Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au spend over $100 and enter code: grinreapers for 10% discount and free shipping The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-grin-reapers-podcast/id1380019049
Paul de Vries comes from one of Ceylon's oldest colonial families, but has been brought up in England where he now works in an architect's office. His father died two years ago, but suddenly he receives letters from the dead man asking him to return to the land of his birth... --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ang189/support
Whitey and Buddah chat about the latest slab session at The Right, The Shark Island Challenge, Teahupu, ADCC, Menace fishing competition and some dates to put in the calender! For our listeners: Varsity Sports Bar! https://www.varsity.com.au Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au spend over $100 and enter code: grinreapers for 10% discount and free shipping The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-grin-reapers-podcast/id1380019049
Whitey and Buddah talk about some struggles on the new diet, Tattoos, Surf Trips, 1 x 1 equals 2 and if Whitey is losing the plot following animals. For our listeners: Varsity Sports Bar! https://www.varsity.com.au Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au spend over $100 and enter code: grinreapers for 10% discount and free shipping The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-grin-reapers-podcast/id1380019049
Whitey and Buddah are back with crank calls to a fisherman and a MAFS casting agent! We also discuss travelling in Mexico, UFC, Eternal and good shows to watch on TV. For our listeners: Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au spend over $100 and enter code: grinreapers for 10% discount and free shipping The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Watch Live Sport at https://www.varsity.com.au Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com beige@grinreapersmedia.com https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-grin-reapers-podcast/id1380019049
For those who haven't heard the announcement I posted , songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the first part of a two-episode look at the song “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”. This week we take a short look at the song’s writers, Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, and the first released version by Gladys Knight and the Pips. In two weeks time we’ll take a longer look at the sixties career of the song’s most famous performer, Marvin Gaye. This episode is quite a light one. That one… won’t be. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a half-hour bonus episode, on “Bend Me Shape Me” by Amen Corner. 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 Mixcloud will be up with the next episode. For Motown-related information in this and other Motown episodes, I've used the following resources: Where Did Our Love Go? The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound by Nelson George is an excellent popular history of the various companies that became Motown. To Be Loved by Berry Gordy is Gordy's own, understandably one-sided, but relatively well-written, autobiography. Women of Motown: An Oral History by Susan Whitall is a collection of interviews with women involved in Motown. I Hear a Symphony: Motown and Crossover R&B by J. Andrew Flory is an academic look at Motown. The Motown Encyclopaedia by Graham Betts is an exhaustive look at the people and records involved in Motown's thirty-year history. Motown: The Golden Years is another Motown encyclopaedia. And Motown Junkies is an infrequently-updated blog looking at (so far) the first 693 tracks released on Motown singles. For information on Marvin Gaye, and his relationship with Norman Whitfield, I relied on Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye by David Ritz. I’ve also used information on Whitfield in Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations by Mark Ribowsky, I’ve also referred to interviews with Whitfield and Strong archived at rocksbackpages.com , notably “The Norman Whitfield interview”, John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 February 1977 For information about Gladys Knight, I’ve used her autobiography. The best collection of Gladys Knight and the Pips’ music is this 3-CD set, but the best way to hear Motown hits is in the context of other Motown hits. This five-CD box set contains the first five in the Motown Chartbusters series of British compilations. The Pips’ version of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” is on disc 2, while Marvin Gaye’s is on disc 3, which is famously generally considered one of the best single-disc various artists compilations ever. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript Before I start, a brief note — this episode contains some brief mentions of miscarriage and drug abuse. The history of modern music would be immeasurably different had it not been for one car breakdown. Norman Whitfield spent the first fifteen years of his life in New York, never leaving the city, until his grandmother died. She’d lived in LA, and that was where the funeral was held, and so the Whitfield family got into a car and drove right across the whole continent — two thousand five hundred miles — to attend the old lady’s funeral. And then after the funeral, they turned round and started to drive home again. But they only got as far as Detroit when the car, understandably, gave up the ghost. Luckily, like many Black families, they had family in Detroit, and Norman’s aunt was not only willing to put the family up for a while, but her husband was able to give Norman’s father a job in his drug store while he saved up enough money to pay for the car to be fixed. But as it happened, the family liked Detroit, and they never did get around to driving back home to New York. Young Norman in particular took to the city’s nightlife, and soon as well as going to school he was working an evening job at a petrol station — but that was only to supplement the money he made as a pool hustler. Young Norman Whitfield was never going to be the kind of person who took a day job, and so along with his pool he started hanging out with musicians — in particular with Popcorn and the Mohawks, a band led by Popcorn Wylie. [Excerpt: Popcorn and the Mohawks, “Shimmy Gully”] Popcorn and the Mohawks were a band of serious jazz musicians, many of whom, including Wylie himself, went on to be members of the Funk Brothers, the team of session players that played on Motown’s hits — though Wylie would depart Motown fairly early after a falling out with Berry Gordy. They were some of the best musicians in Detroit at the time, and Whitfield would tag along with the group and play tambourine, and sometimes other hand percussion instruments. He wasn’t a serious musician at that point, just hanging out with a bunch of people who were, who were a year or two older than him. But he was learning — one thing that everyone says about Norman Whitfield in his youth is that he was someone who would stand on the periphery of every situation, not getting involved, but soaking in everything that the people around him were doing, and learning from them. And soon, he was playing percussion on sessions. At first, this wasn’t for Motown, but everything in the Detroit music scene connected back to the Gordy family in one way or another. In this case, the label was Thelma Records, which was formed by Berry Gordy’s ex-mother-in-law and named after Gordy’s first wife, who he had recently divorced. Of all the great Motown songwriters and producers, Whitfield’s life is the least-documented, to the extent that the chronology of his early career is very vague and contradictory, and Thelma was such a small label there even seems to be some dispute about when it existed — different sources give different dates, and while Whitfield always said he worked for Thelma records, he might have actually been employed by another label owned by the same people, Ge Ge, which might have operated earlier — but by most accounts Whitfield quickly progressed from session tambourine player to songwriter. According to an article on Whitfield from 1977, the first record of one of his songs was “Alone” by Tommy Storm on Thelma Records, but that record seems not to exist — however, some people on a soul message board, discussing this a few years ago, found an interview with a member of a group called The Fabulous Peps which also featured Storm, saying that their record on Ge Ge Records, “This Love I Have For You”, is a rewrite of that song by Don Davis, Thelma’s head of A&R, though the credit on the label for that is just to Davis and Ron Abner, another member of the group: [Excerpt: The Fabulous Peps, “This Love I Have For You”] So that might, or might not, be the first Norman Whitfield song ever to be released. The other song often credited as Whitfield’s first released song is “Answer Me” by Richard Street and the Distants — Street was another member of the Fabulous Peps, but we’ve encountered him and the Distants before when talking about the Temptations — the Distants were the group that Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Al Bryant had been in before forming the Temptations — and indeed Street would much later rejoin his old bandmates in the Temptations, when Whitfield was producing for them. Unlike the Fabulous Peps track, this one was clearly credited to N. Whitfield, so whatever happened with the Storm track, this is almost certainly Whitfield’s first official credit as a songwriter: [Excerpt: Richard Street and the Distants, “Answer Me”] He was soon writing songs for a lot of small labels — most of which appear to have been recorded by the Thelma team and then licensed out — like “I’ve Gotten Over You” by the Sonnettes: [Excerpt: The Sonnettes, “I’ve Gotten Over You”] That was on KO Records, distributed by Scepter, and was a minor local hit — enough to finally bring Whitfield to the attention of Berry Gordy. According to many sources, Whitfield had been hanging around Hitsville for months trying to get a job with the label, but as he told the story in 1977 “Berry Gordy had sent Mickey Stevenson over to see me about signing with the company as an exclusive in-house writer and producer. The first act I was assigned to was Marvin Gaye and he had just started to become popular.” That’s not quite how the story went. According to everyone else, he was constantly hanging around Hitsville, getting himself into sessions and just watching them, and pestering people to let him get involved. Rather than being employed as a writer and producer, he was actually given a job in Motown’s quality control department for fifteen dollars a week, listening to potential records and seeing which ones he thought were hits, and rating them before they went to the regular department meetings for feedback from the truly important people. But he was also allowed to write songs. His first songwriting credit on a Motown record wasn’t Marvin Gaye, as Whitfield would later tell the story, but was in fact for the far less prestigious Mickey Woods — possibly the single least-known artist of Motown’s early years. Woods was a white teenager, the first white male solo artist signed to Motown, who released two novelty teen-pop singles. Whitfield’s first Motown song was the B-side to Woods’ second single, a knock-off of Sam Cooke’s “Cupid” called “They Call Me Cupid”, co-written with Berry Gordy and Brian Holland: [Excerpt: Mickey Woods, “They Call Me Cupid”] Unsurprisingly that didn’t set the world on fire, and Whitfield didn’t get another Motown label credit for thirteen months (though some of his songs for Thelma may have come out in this period). When he did, it was as co-writer with Mickey Stevenson — and, for the first time, sole producer — of the first single for a new singer, Kim Weston: [Excerpt: Kim Weston, “It Should Have Been Me”] As it turned out, that wasn’t a hit, but the flip-side, “Love Me All The Way”, co-written by Stevenson (who was also Weston’s husband) and Barney Ales, did become a minor hit, making the R&B top thirty. After that, Whitfield was on his way. It was only a month later that he wrote his first song for the Temptations, a B-side, “The Further You Look, The Less You See”: [Excerpt: The Temptations, “The Further You Look, The Less You See”] That was co-written with Smokey Robinson, and as we heard in the episode on “My Girl”, both Robinson and Whitfield vied with each other for the job of Temptations writer and producer. As we also heard in that episode, Robinson got the majority of the group’s singles for the next couple of years, but Whitfield would eventually take over from him. Whitfield’s work with the Temptations is probably his most important work as a writer and producer, and the Temptations story is intertwined deeply with this one, but for the most part I’m going to save discussion of Whitfield’s work with the group until we get to 1972, so bear with me if I seem to skim over that — and if I repeat myself in a couple of years when we get there. Whitfield’s first major success, though, was also the first top ten hit for Marvin Gaye, “Pride and Joy”: [Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “Pride and Joy”] “Pride and Joy” had actually been written and recorded before the Kim Weston and Temptations tracks, and was intended as album filler — it was written during a session by Whitfield, Gaye, and Mickey Stevenson who was also the producer of the track, and recorded in the same session as it was written, with Martha and the Vandellas on backing vocals. The intended hit from the session, “Hitch-Hike”, we covered in the previous episode on Gaye, but that was successful enough that an album, That Stubborn Kinda Fellow, was released, with “Pride and Joy” on it. A few months later Gaye recut his lead vocal, over the same backing track, and the record was released as a single, reaching number ten on the pop charts and number two R&B: [Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “Pride and Joy”] Whitfield had other successes as well, often as B-sides. “The Girl’s Alright With Me”, the B-side to Smokey Robinson’s hit for the Temptations “I’ll Be In Trouble”, went to number forty on the R&B chart in its own right: [Excerpt: The Temptations, “The Girl’s Alright With Me”] That was co-written with Eddie Holland, and Holland and Whitfield had a minor songwriting partnership at this time, with Holland writing lyrics and Whitfield the music. Eddie Holland even released a Holland and Whitfield collaboration himself during his brief attempt at a singing career — “I Couldn’t Cry if I Wanted To” was a song they wrote for the Temptations, who recorded it but then left it on the shelf for four years, so Holland put out his own version, again as a B-side: [Excerpt: Eddie Holland, “I Couldn’t Cry if I Wanted To”] Whitfield was very much a B-side kind of songwriter and producer at this point — but this could be to his advantage. In January 1963, around the same time as all these other tracks, he cut a filler track with the “no-hit Supremes”, “He Means the World to Me”, which was left on the shelf until they needed a B-side eighteen months later and pulled it out and released it: [Excerpt: The Supremes, “He Means the World to Me”] But the track that that was a B-side to was “Where Did Our Love Go?”, and at the time you could make a lot of money from writing the B-side to a hit that big. Indeed, at first, Whitfield made more money from “Where Did Our Love Go?” than Holland, Dozier, or Holland, because he got a hundred percent of the songwriters’ share for his side of the record, while they had to split their share three ways. Slowly Whitfield moved from being a B-side writer to being an A-side writer. With Eddie Holland he was given a chance at a Temptations A-side for the first time, with “Girl, (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)”: [Excerpt: The Temptations, “Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)”] He also wrote for Jimmy Ruffin, but in 1964 it was with girl groups that Whitfield was doing his best work. With Mickey Stevenson he wrote “Needle in a Haystack” for the Velvettes: [Excerpt: The Velvettes, “Needle in a Haystack”] He wrote their classic followup “He Was Really Sayin' Somethin’” with Stevenson and Eddie Holland, and with Holland he also wrote “Too Many Fish in the Sea” for the Marvelettes: [Excerpt: The Marvelettes, “Too Many Fish In The Sea”] By late 1964, Whitfield wasn’t quite in the first rank of Motown songwriter-producers with Holland-Dozier-Holland and Smokey Robinson, but he was in the upper part of the second tier with Mickey Stevenson and Clarence Paul. And by early 1966, as we saw in the episode on “My Girl”, he had achieved what he’d wanted for four years, and become the Temptations’ primary writer and producer. As I said, we’re going to look at Whitfield’s time working with the Temptations later, but in 1966 and 67 they were the act he was most associated with, and in particular, he collaborated with Eddie Holland on three top ten hits for the group in 1966. But as we discussed in the episode on “I Can’t Help Myself”, Holland’s collaborations with Whitfield eventually caused problems for Holland with his other collaborators, when he won the BMI award for writing the most hit songs, depriving his brother and Lamont Dozier of their share of the award because his outside collaborations put him ahead of them. While Whitfield *could* write songs by himself, and had in the past, he was at his best as a collaborator — as well as his writing partnership with Eddie Holland he’d written with Mickey Stevenson, Marvin Gaye, and Janie Bradford. And so when Holland told him he was no longer able to work together, Whitfield started looking for someone else who could write lyrics for him, and he soon found someone: [Excerpt: Barrett Strong, “Money”] Barrett Strong had, of course, been the very first Motown act to have a major national hit, with “Money”, but as we discussed in the episode on that song he had been unable to have a follow-up hit, and had actually gone back to working on an assembly line for a while. But when you’ve had a hit as big as “Money”, working on an assembly line loses what little lustre it has, and Strong soon took himself off to New York and started hanging around the Brill Building, where he hooked up with Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, the writers of such hits as “Save the Last Dance for Me”, “Viva Las Vegas”, “Sweets for My Sweet”, and “A Teenager in Love”. Pomus and Shuman, according to Strong, signed him to a management contract, and they got him signed to Atlantic’s subsidiary Atco, where he recorded one single, “Seven Sins”, written and produced by the team: [Excerpt: Barrett Strong, “Seven Sins”] That was a flop, and Strong was dropped by the label. He bounced around a few cities before ending up in Chicago, where he signed to VeeJay Records and put out one more single as a performer, “Make Up Your Mind”, which also went nowhere: [Excerpt: Barrett Strong, “Make Up Your Mind”] Strong had co-written that, and as his performing career was now definitively over, he decided to move into songwriting as his main job. He co-wrote “Stay in My Corner” for the Dells, which was a top thirty R&B hit for them on VeeJay in 1965 and in a remade version in 1968 became a number one R&B hit and top ten pop hit for them: [Excerpt: The Dells, “Stay in My Corner”] And on his own he wrote another top thirty R&B hit, “This Heart of Mine”, for the Artistics: [Excerpt: The Artistics, “This Heart of Mine”] He wrote several other songs that had some minor success in 1965 and 66, before moving back to Detroit and hooking up again with his old label, this time coming to them as a songwriter with a track record rather than a one-hit wonder singer. As Strong put it “They were doing my style of music then, they were doing something a little different when I left, but they were doing the more soulful, R&B-style stuff, so I thought I had a place there. So I had an idea I thought I could take back and see if they could do something with it.” That idea was the first song he wrote under his new contract, and it was co-written with Norman Whitfield. It’s difficult to know how Whitfield and Strong started writing together, or much about their writing partnership, even though it was one of the most successful songwriting teams of the era, because neither man was interviewed in any great depth, and there’s almost no long-form writing on either of them. What does seem to have been the case is that both men had been aware of each other in the late fifties, when Strong was a budding R&B star and Whitfield merely a teenager hanging round watching the cool kids. The two may even have written together before — in an example of how the chronology for both Whitfield and Strong seems to make no sense, Whitfield had cowritten a song with Marvin Gaye, “Wherever I Lay My Hat, That’s My Home”, in 1962 — when Strong was supposedly away from Motown — and it had been included as an album track on the That Stubborn Kinda Fellow album: [Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “Wherever I Lay My Hat, That’s My Home”] The writing on that was originally credited just to Whitfield and Gaye on the labels, but it is now credited to Whitfield, Gaye, and Strong, including with BMI. Similarly Gaye’s 1965 album track “Me and My Lonely Room” — recorded in 1963 but held back – was initially credited to Whitfield alone but is now credited to Whitfield and Strong, in a strange inverse of the way “Money” initially had Strong’s credit but it was later removed. But whether this was an administrative decision made later, or whether Strong had been moonlighting for Motown uncredited in 1962 and collaborated with Whitfield, they hadn’t been a formal writing team in the way Whitfield and Holland had been, and both later seemed to date their collaboration proper as starting in 1966 when Strong returned to Motown — and understandably. The two songs they’d written earlier – if indeed they had – had been album filler, but between 1967 when the first of their new collaborations came out and 1972 when they split up, they wrote twenty-three top forty hits together. Theirs seems to have been a purely business relationship — in the few interviews with Strong he talks about Whitfield as someone he was friendly with, but Whitfield’s comments on Strong seem always to be the kind of very careful comments one would make about someone for whom one has a great deal of professional respect, a great deal of personal dislike, but absolutely no wish to air the dirty laundry behind that dislike, or to burn bridges that don’t need burning. Either way, Whitfield was in need of a songwriting partner when Barrett Strong walked into a Motown rehearsal room, and recognised that Strong’s talents were complementary to his. So he told Strong, straight out, “I’ve had quite a few hit records already. If you write with me, I can guarantee you you’ll make at least a hundred thousand dollars a year” — though he went on to emphasise that that wasn’t a guarantee-guarantee, and would depend on Strong putting the work in. Strong agreed, and the first idea he brought in for his new team earned both of them more than that hundred thousand dollars by itself. Strong had been struck by the common phrase “I heard it through the grapevine”, and started singing that line over some Ray Charles style gospel chords. Norman Whitfield knew a hook when he heard one, and quickly started to build a full song around Strong’s line. Initially, by at least some accounts, they wanted to place the song with the Isley Brothers, who had just signed to Motown and had a hit with the Holland-Dozier-Holland song “This Old Heart of Mine”: [Excerpt: The Isley Brothers, “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak For You)”] For whatever reason, the Isley Brothers didn’t record the song, or if they did no copy of the recording has ever surfaced, though it does seem perfectly suited to their gospel-inflected style. The Isleys did, though, record another early Whitfield and Strong song, “That’s the Way Love Is”, which came out in 1967 as a flop single, but would later be covered more successfully by Marvin Gaye: [Excerpt: The Isley Brothers, “That’s the Way Love Is”] Instead, the song was first recorded by the Miracles. And here the story becomes somewhat murky. We have a recording by the Miracles, released on an album two years later, but some have suggested that that version isn’t the same recording they made in 1966 when Whitfield and Strong wrote the song originally: [Excerpt: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”] It certainly sounds to my ears like that is probably the version of the song the group recorded in 66 — it sounds, frankly, like a demo for the later, more famous version. All the main elements are there — notably the main Ray Charles style hook played simultaneously on Hammond organ and electric piano, and the almost skanking rhythm guitar stabs — but Smokey Robinson’s vocal isn’t *quite* passionate enough, the tempo is slightly off, and the drums don’t have the same cavernous rack tom sound that they have in the more famous version. If you weren’t familiar with the eventual hit, it would sound like a classic Motown track, but as it is it’s missing something… [Excerpt: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”] According to at least some sources, that was presented to the quality control team — the team in which Whitfield had started his career, as a potential single, but they dismissed it. It wasn’t a hit, and Berry Gordy said it was one of the worst songs he’d ever heard. But Whitfield knew the song was a hit, and so he went back into the studio and cut a new backing track: [Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine (backing track only)”] (Incidentally, no official release of the instrumental backing track for “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” exists, and I had to put that one together myself by taking the isolated parts someone had uploaded to youtube and synching them back together in editing software, so if there are some microsecond-level discrepancies between the instruments there, that’s on me, not on the Funk Brothers.) That track was originally intended for the Temptations, with whom Whitfield was making a series of hits at the time, but they never recorded it at the time. Whitfield did produce a version for them as an album track a couple of years later though, so we have an idea how they might have taken the song vocally — though by then David Ruffin had been replaced in the group by Dennis Edwards: [Excerpt: The Temptations, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”] But instead of giving the song to the Temptations, Whitfield kept it back for Marvin Gaye, the singer with whom he’d had his first big breakthrough hit and for whom his two previous collaborations with Strong – if collaborations they were – had been written. Gaye and Whitfield didn’t get on very well — indeed, it seems that Whitfield didn’t get on very well with *anyone* — and Gaye would later complain about the occasions when Whitfield produced his records, saying “Norman and I came within a fraction of an inch of fighting. He thought I was a prick because I wasn't about to be intimidated by him. We clashed. He made me sing in keys much higher than I was used to. He had me reaching for notes that caused my throat veins to bulge.” But Gaye sang the song fantastically, and Whitfield was absolutely certain they had a sure-fire hit: [Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”] But once again the quality control department refused to release the track. Indeed, it was Berry Gordy personally who decided, against the wishes of most of the department by all accounts, that instead of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” Gaye’s next single should be a Holland-Dozier-Holland track, “Your Unchanging Love”, a soundalike rewrite of their earlier hit for him, “How Sweet It Is”. “Your Unchanging Love” made the top thirty, but was hardly a massive success. Gordy has later claimed that he always liked “Grapevine” but just thought it was a bit too experimental for Gaye’s image at the time, but reports from others who were there say that what Gordy actually said was “it sucks”. So “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” was left on the shelf, and the first fruit of the new Whitfield/Strong team to actually get released was “Gonna Give Her All the Love I’ve Got”, written for Jimmy Ruffin, the brother of Temptations lead singer David, who had had one big hit, “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” and one medium one, “I’ve Passed This Way Before”, in 1966. Released in 1967, “Gonna Give Her All the Love I’ve Got” became Ruffin’s third and final hit, making number 29: [Excerpt: Jimmy Ruffin, “Gonna Give Her All the Love I’ve Got”] But Whitfield was still certain that “Grapevine” could be a hit. And then in 1967, a few months after he’d shelved Gaye’s version, came the record that changed everything in soul: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, “Respect”] Whitfield was astounded by that record, but also became determined he was going to “out-funk Aretha”, and “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” was going to be the way to do it. And he knew someone who thought she could do just that. Gladys Knight never got on well with Aretha Franklin. According to Knight’s autobiography this was one-sided on Franklin’s part, and Knight was always friendly to Franklin, but it’s also notable that she says the same about several other of the great sixties female soul singers (though not all of them by any means), and there seems to be a general pattern among those singers that they felt threatened by each other and that their own position in the industry was precarious, in a way the male singers usually didn’t. But Knight claimed she always *wished* she got on well with Franklin, because the two had such similar lives. They’d both started out singing gospel as child performers before moving on to the chitlin circuit at an early age, though Knight started her singing career even younger than Franklin did. Knight was only four when she started performing solos in church, and by the age of eight she had won the two thousand dollar top prize on Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour by singing Brahms’ “Lullaby” and the Nat “King” Cole hit “Too Young”: [Excerpt: Nat “King” Cole, “Too Young”] That success inspired her, and she soon formed a vocal group with her brother Bubba, sister Brenda and their cousins William and Eleanor Guest. They named themselves the Pips in honour of a cousin whose nickname that was, and started performing at talent contests in Atlanta Chitlin’ Circuit venues. They soon got a regular gig at one of them, the Peacock, despite them all being pre-teens at the time. The Pips also started touring, and came to the attention of Maurice King, the musical director of the Flame nightclub in Detroit, who became a vocal coach for the group. King got the group signed to Brunswick records, where they released their first single, a song King had written called “Whistle My Love”: [Excerpt: The Pips, “Whistle My Love”] According to Knight that came out in 1955, when she was eleven, but most other sources have it coming out in 1958. The group’s first two singles flopped, and Brenda and Eleanor quit the group, being replaced by another cousin, Edward Patten, and an unrelated singer Langston George, leaving Knight as the only girl in the quintet. While the group weren’t successful on records, they were getting a reputation live and toured on package tours with Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, and others. Knight also did some solo performances with a jazz band led by her music teacher, and started dating that band’s sax player, Jimmy Newman. The group’s next recording was much more successful. They went into a makeshift studio owned by a local club owner, Fats Hunter, and recorded what they thought was a demo, a version of the Johnny Otis song “Every Beat of My Heart”: [Excerpt: The Pips, “Every Beat of My Heart (HunTom version)”] The first they knew that Hunter had released that on his own small label was when they heard it on the radio. The record was picked up by VeeJay records, and it ended up going to number one on the R&B charts and number six on the pop charts, but they never saw any royalties from it. It brought them to the attention of another small label, Fury Records, which got them to rerecord the song, and that version *also* made the R&B top twenty and got as high as number forty-five on the pop charts: [Excerpt: Gladys Knight and the Pips, “Every Beat of My Heart (Fury version)”] However, just because they had a contract with Fury didn’t mean they actually got any more money, and Knight has talked about the label’s ownership being involved with gangsters. That was the first recording to be released as by “Gladys Knight and the Pips”, rather than just The Pips, and they would release a few more singles on Fury, including a second top twenty pop hit, the Don Covay song “Letter Full of Tears”: [Excerpt: Gladys Knight and the Pips, “Letter Full of Tears”] But Knight had got married to Newman, who was by now the group’s musical director, after she fell pregnant when she was sixteen and he was twenty. However, that first pregnancy tragically ended in miscarriage, and when she became pregnant again she decided to get off the road to reduce the risk. She spent a couple of years at home, having two children, while the other Pips – minus George who left soon after – continued without her to little success. But her marriage was starting to deteriorate under pressure of Newman’s drug use — they wouldn’t officially divorce until 1972, but they were already feeling the pressure, and would split up sooner rather than later — and Knight returned to the stage, initially as a solo artist or duetting with Jerry Butler, but soon rejoining the Pips, who by this time were based in New York and working with the choreographer Cholly Atkins to improve their stagecraft. For the next few years the Pips drifted from label to label, scoring one more top forty hit in 1964 with Van McCoy’s “Giving Up”, but generally just getting by like so many other acts on the circuit. Eventually the group ended up moving to Detroit, and hooking up with Motown, where mentors like Cholly Atkins and Maurice King were already working. At first they thought they were taking a step up, but they soon found that they were a lower tier Motown act, considered on a par with the Spinners or the Contours rather than the big acts, and according to Knight they got pulled off an early Motown package tour because Diana Ross, with whom like Franklin Knight had something of a rivalry, thought they were too good on stage and were in danger of overshadowing her. Knight says in her autobiography that they “formed a little club of our own with some of the other malcontents” with Martha Reeves, Marvin Gaye, and someone she refers to as “Ivory Joe Hunter” but I presume she means Ivy Jo Hunter (one of the big problems when dealing with R&B musicians of this era is the number of people with similar names. Ivy Jo Hunter, Joe Hunter, and Ivory Joe Hunter were all R&B musicians for whom keyboard was their primary instrument, and both Ivy Jo and just plain Joe worked for Motown at different points, but Ivory Joe never did) Norman Whitfield was also part of that group of “malcontents”, and he was also the producer of the Pips’ first few singles for Motown, and so when he was looking for someone to outdo Aretha, someone with something to prove, he turned to them. He gave the group the demo tape, and they worked out a vocal arrangement for a radically different version of the song, one inspired by “Respect”: [Excerpt: Gladys Knight and the Pips, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”] The third time was the charm, and quality control finally agreed to release “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” as a single. Gladys Knight always claimed it had no promotion, but Norman Whitfield’s persistence had paid off — the single went to number two on the pop charts (kept off the top by “Daydream Believer”), number one on the R&B charts, and became Motown’s biggest-selling single *ever* up until that point. It also got Knight a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female — though the Grammy committee, at least, didn’t think she’d out-Aretha’d Aretha, as “Respect” won the award. And that, sadly, sort of summed up Gladys Knight and the Pips at Motown — they remained not quite the winners in everything. There’s no shame in being at number two behind a classic single like “Daydream Believer”, and certainly no shame in losing the Grammy to Aretha Franklin at her best, but until they left Motown in 1972 and started their run of hits on Buddah records, Gladys Knight and the Pips would always be in other people’s shadow. That even extended to “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” when, as we’ll hear in part two of this story, Norman Whitfield’s persistence paid off, Marvin Gaye’s version got released as a single, and *that* became the biggest-selling single on Motown ever, outselling the Pips version and making it forever his song, not theirs. And as a final coda to the story of Gladys Knight and the Pips at Motown, while they were touring off the back of “Grapevine’s” success, the Pips ran into someone they vaguely knew from his time as a musician in the fifties, who was promoting a group he was managing made up of his sons. Knight thought they had something, and got in touch with Motown several times trying to get them to sign the group, but she was ignored. After a few attempts, though, Bobby Taylor of another second-tier Motown group, the Vancouvers, also saw them and got in touch with Motown, and this time they got signed. But that story wasn’t good enough for Motown, and so neither Taylor nor Knight got the credit for discovering the group. Instead when Joe Jackson’s sons’ band made their first album, it was titled Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5. But that, of course, is a story for another time…
Whitey and Buddah chat about their favourite UFC 300 moments, The WSL, Netflix shows, training, stabbing and much more. For our listeners: Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au spend over $100 and enter code: grinreapers for 10% discount and free shipping The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com
Chef Buddah's journey sounds fascinating, especially with his deep roots in Detroit and his culinary adventures spanning from the Brewster Projects to various esteemed restaurants like Hudsons and the Summit Restaurant. Winning the 2023 Collard Green Cook-Off must have been a proud moment for him. His Vegan Gumbo sounds like a unique culinary experience, combining flavors and spices in a way that reflects his love for Detroit and its diverse food scene. Exploring his story through food is surely a journey worth taking for anyone passionate about food and community. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/detroit-is-different/f03711b1-e0c6-4a03-af41-4a2776880c6b
Whitey and Buddah discuss Shark Island, WSL, training, UFC 300 and people you gotta follow on instagram. For our listeners: Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au spend over $100 and enter code: grinreapers for 10% discount and free shipping The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com
Episode 1421 - Brought to you by: BetterHelp - Give online therapy a try at https://betterhelp.com/HARDFACTOR and get on your way to being your best self. CookUnity - Go to https://cookunity.com/HARDFACTOR or enter code HARDFACTOR before checkout for 50% off your first week of delivery restaurant-quality meals Box of AWESOME - Get a free Mystery Gift with your first monthly shipment when you sign up at https://bespokepost.com/hardfactor Noble Gold - https://noblegoldinvestments.com/hardfactor to invest/buy GOLD Timestamps: (00:00) Today's stories are… Happy St. Paddy's, Farmer's Rising UP and more… (07:53) Mississippi Cop makes man clean up his own urine by drinking it off the jail cell floor (15:20) Instant Karma: Man impaled by giant Buddah statue during meth-fueled temple desecration rampage + Funish Facts about Uppers (24:48) First ever map of the Milky Way Galaxy's center released (27:03) RFK Jr's presumptive Veep pick finally revealed (31:07) Montana Man genetically engineers SUPER-RAMS with the use of sheep testicles from all over the globe WEEKLY BONUS PODCASTS + DISCORD CHAT ACCESS: HTTPS://PATREON.COM/HARDFACTOR
Whitey and Buddah discuss Jack Della and Ben Vickers UFC week in Miami and some of the hurdles Jack went through before and after the fight. We also discuss Mike Tyson, Netflix shows, Surfing, Jeff Hubbard and training in your 40's! For our listeners: Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au spend over $100 and enter code: grinreapers for 10% discount and free shipping The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com
Whitey and Buddah discuss bodyboarding, surfing, Whitey's latest drone mishap, UFC, cool shows to watch and some audience quetions! For our listeners: Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au spend over $100 and enter code: grinreapers for 10% discount and free shipping The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com
Whitey and Buddah discuss the legend that is Volkanovski, Taylor Swift conspiricy, surfing, girls getting piped and upcoming challenges! For our listeners: Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au spend over $100 and enter code: grinreapers for 10% discount and free shipping The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com
What role do drums play in Rock? Should that be keeping the beat or leading from the front? Who are some of the greatest drummers in rock music? The beat goes on as Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot focus on the contributions of drummers to rock music with drummer Joe Wong. Wong also hosts a podcast on drummers called The Trap Set. There's also an interview with Bernard Purdie.Join our Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3sivr9TBecome a member on Patreon: https://bit.ly/3slWZvcSign up for our newsletter: https://bit.ly/3eEvRnGMake a donation via PayPal: https://bit.ly/3dmt9lUSend us a Voice Memo: Desktop: bit.ly/2RyD5Ah Mobile: sayhi.chat/soundops Featured Songs:The Beatles, "Come Together," Abbey Road, Apple, 1969The Beatles, "With A Little Help From My Friends," Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Parlophone, 1967James Brown, "Funky Drummer," Funky Drummer (single), King, 1970Wild Flag, "Romance," Wild Flag, Merge, 2011Little Richard And His Band, "Heeby-Jeebies," She's Got It (single), Specialty, 1956Michael Jackson, "Billie Jean," Thriller, Epic, 1982Earth Wind and Fire, "Can't Hide Love," Gratitude, Columbia, 1975Rush, "Tom Sawyer," Moving Pictures, Mercury, 1981Elvin Jones, "Agappe Love," Poly-Currents, Blue Note, 1970The Rolling Stones, "Paint It Black," Paint It Black (single), Decca, 1966Battles, "Atlas," Mirrored, Warp, 2007Can, "Paperhouse," Tago Mago, United Artists, 1971The Who, "Young Man Blues," Live at Leeds, Decca, 1970The Who, "I Can See For Miles," I Can See For Miles (single), Track, 1967Dennis Coffey, "Scorpio," Evolution, Sussex, 1971Queen, "Fat Bottomed Girls," Jazz, EMI, 1978Violent Femmes, "Blister In the Sun," Blister in the Sun (single), Slash, 1983Phil Collins, "In The Air Tonight," Face Value, Virgin, 1981Fela Kuti, "Zombie," Zombie, Coconut, 1976Aretha Franklin, "Rock Steady," Rock Steady (single), Atlantic, 1971Led Zeppelin, "Rock and Roll," Led Zepplin IV, Atlantic, 1971Led Zeppelin, "Dazed and Confused," Led Zeppelin, Atlantic, 1969Led Zeppelin, "Stairway To Heaven," Led Zepplin IV, Atlantic, 1971Public Image Ltd., "Under the House," The Flowers of Romance, Virgin, 1981Led Zeppelin, "When the Levee Breaks," Led Zeppelin IV, Atlantic, 1971Sleater-Kinney, "Youth Decay," All Hands on the Bad One, Kill Rock Stars, 2000XTC, "Senses Working Overtime," English Settlement, Virgin, 1982James Brown, "I Got the Feelin'," I Got the Feelin', King, 1968Rolling Stones, "Honky Tonk Woman," Honky Tonk Woman (Single), Decca, 1969The Stairsteps, "O-o-h Child," O-o-h Child (single), Buddah, 1970Doris Troy, "Just One Look," Just One Look (single), Atlantic, 1963Gil Scott-Heron, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Flying Dutchman, 1974The Exciters, "Tell Him," Tell Him (single), United Artists, 1962Melvin Bliss, "Synthetic Substitution," Reward (single), Sunburst, 1973Public Enemy, "Don't Believe The Hype," It Takes a Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, Def Jam, 1988Ultra Magnetic M.C.s, "Ego Trippin'," Ego Trippin' (single), Next Plateau, 1986Naughty By Nature, "O.P.P. (instrumental version)," O.P.P. (single), Tommy Boy, 1991EPMD, "I'm Housin'," Strictly Business, Fresh, 1988Wale, "Lacefrontin'," The Eleven One Eleven Theory, Maybach Music, 2011Steely Dan, "Home At Last," Aja, ABC, 1977The MC5, "Kick Out the Jams," Kick Out the Jams, Elektra, 1969See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Whitey and Buddah chat about The Shark Island Challenge, the Florence Brothers crazy trip in Samoa, UFC 300, Cricket, Training, Go woke - go broke, Netflix shows you should watch, Russian flags and much more. For our listeners: Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au spend over $100 and enter code: grinreapers for 10% discount and free shipping The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com
Baby faced Buddah is back from his travels after a run in with a Barber and a midget. We chat about Jono Bruce, Della, Cricket, UFC and some new 30 day challenges! For our listeners: Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au spend over $100 and enter code: grinreapers for 10% discount and free shipping The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com
Whitey and Buddah chat about recent festivities, upcoming plans for the new year and the best TV series and movies ever made! For our listeners: Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com
Whitey and Buddah discuss the latest in sport, dwarfs, free speech, methed out jail encounters a Christmas Miracle for Whitey's drone. For our listeners: Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au Tension 11 tee: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/tension-11-tee The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com
Ukraine's EU funding is thwarted by the Hungarian leader whose less Buddah and more Pest, Victor Orban. Plus, Kate Mara and Shawn Bannon drop by to talk about their documentary about hog pollution in North Carolina, The Smell of Money. And an emergency Antwentig, in which secret geopolitical lyrics to OJay's songs are divulged. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Gift The Gist at https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/gifts Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: PescaProfundities| Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Buddah returns and shares some funny stories from his travels, Whitey is high on a crazy day fishing and we hear about the latest in UFC, Cricket, midgets, 720's and more. For our listeners: Beer: https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au Tension 11 tee: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/tension-11-tee The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/locals-only Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com https://www.youtube.com/c/theGrinReapers https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-grin-reapers-podcast/id1380019049
Whitey and Buddah chat about some fishing adventures, surf trips, UFC, Cricket, midgets and animal attacks. For our listeners: Tension 11 tee: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/tension-11-tee The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/mens-tops-tees/products/deluxe-custom-printed-short-sleeve-tee-3 Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com https://www.youtube.com/c/theGrinReapers https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-grin-reapers-podcast/id1380019049
Track list - Episode 134 (remastered) - feat. DJ Buddah **************************************************************************** 01) Phil Weeks - That's All Right With Me 02) Fabo – Where I Stand (Karmon Remix) 03) Flashmob – HOT (Original Mix) 04) 16 Bit Lolitas, Lucy Iris - Na Na Nahana (Wehbba Remix) 05) Nico Stojan – After the Hour 06) David K – Meet You (Thomas Lizzara Remix) 07) Ry, Frank Wiedemann – Howling (Ame Remix) 08) Stereo Express – Sweet Dreams (Original Mix) 09) Digitalism – Zdarlight ( Chopstick & Johnjon remix) 10) Kasper Bjorke – Bohemian Soul feat. Laid Back (Adana Twins ‘On a Cloudy Day' Remix) 11) Finnebassen - Touching Me (Original Mix) 12) Miguel Campbell - Flight School (Original Mix) **************************************************************************** Year 2013 is calling! Enjoy this 10 years old Deep House Cat Show classic feat. tracks by Flashmob, Stereo Express, Miguel Campbell and many more! It would be awesome if you would leave a like, a comment or a share :) ____________ Follow the Deep House Cat on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deephousecats/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwcUSe8m5Q1-qZcZ1w8MejA/feed Mixcloud Select: https://www.mixcloud.com/DeepHouseCatShow/select/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deephousecatshow #deephouse #classic #soulfulhouse #housemusic #deep #house #soulful #podcast #dancemusic #radio #love #instagroove #freemusic #freepodcast #weekly
Whitey and Buddah discuss the best ever waves made at The Right, IBS (influencer boxing sport) Logan Paul, Dillon Dannis, KSI, UFC and much more. We suggest watching the Right Waves here: https://youtu.be/p12sXZq1bWY For our listeners: Tension 11 tee: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/tension-11-tee The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/mens-tops-tees/products/deluxe-custom-printed-short-sleeve-tee-3 Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com https://www.youtube.com/c/theGrinReapers https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-grin-reapers-podcast/id1380019049
Whitey and Buddah chat about recent travels, Urban Surf, Beckham, UFC, Towing, Slabs, freaky injuries and much more. Youtube Clip that we talked about on the episode: https://youtu.be/dvNjsv2Lquo For our listeners: Tension 11 tee: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/tension-11-tee The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/mens-tops-tees/products/deluxe-custom-printed-short-sleeve-tee-3 Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com https://www.youtube.com/c/theGrinReapers https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-grin-reapers-podcast/id1380019049
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
Whitey and Buddah discuss the latest slab hunting trip to the North dodging 15 footers and sharks, Dellas UFC win, Mexican aliens and Russel Brand getting cancelled. For our listeners: The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/mens-tops-tees/products/deluxe-custom-printed-short-sleeve-tee-3 Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com https://www.youtube.com/c/theGrinReapers https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-grin-reapers-podcast/id1380019049
Whitey and Buddah discuss a Slab Hunting mission deep south, their crazy weekend in Sydney and sharing cage side UFC seats with Cam and Jamal Murray. For our listeners: Tension 11 BTS 01: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLiC5xwvxxc Tension 11 tee: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/tension-11-tee The Gin Reapers and The Va Gin Reapers here: https://www.beyondspirits.com.au/collections/gin-reaper-shop 25% off Rusty TradeR work wear use code: TRADERGRINREAPERS at www.rusty.com.au/traderworkwear 25% off New Rusty wetsuits - use code: GRINREAPERS25 at www.rusty.com.au/wetsuits Rusty Locals Only: https://rusty.com.au/collections/mens-tops-tees/products/deluxe-custom-printed-short-sleeve-tee-3 Use code: REAPERS at https://au.manscaped.com/ for 20% discount Support: https://www.patreon.com/ChrisWhitey https://www.patreon.com/BrianShields Grin Reapers Tshirt: http://www.theoceanpeople.com/product/the-grin-reapers-shirt Other Links: https://www.instagram.com/chris.whitey https://www.instagram.com/brianshields_ https://www.instagram.com/grin_reapers https://www.facebook.com/GrinReapersMedia/ email: theoceanpeopleorders@gmail.com https://www.youtube.com/c/theGrinReapers https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-grin-reapers-podcast/id1380019049
In Buddhism, equanimity (upekkha in Pali) is a state of calmness, balance, and non-reactivity in the face of both pleasant and unpleasant experiences. Equanimity is a quality of mind that is gradually cultivated through spiritual practice. Equanimity is considered one of the four sublime states or divine abidings (Brahma-viharas) in Buddhism, alongside loving-kindness, compassion, and sympathetic joy. These qualities are seen as essential for developing the awakened mind of enlightenment. Equanimity does not mean indifference towards others or the world. Instead, it is the ability to maintain a balanced and non-preferential attitude, free from excessive attachment or aversion. Practicing equanimity involves two things: 1) cultivating a mind that is undisturbed by the ups and downs of life 2) loving all beings impartially. In this episode, we look at how to cultivate the first aspect of equanimity, the ability to maintain a sense of calm and clarity amidst changing circumstances. Praise and blame, gain and loss, fame and shame, pleasure and pain come and go like the wind. To be happy, rest like a giant tree in the midst of them all. —The Buddha By developing equanimity, we navigate the world with a calm, balanced mind. We gain the ability to respond to situations with wisdom, kindness, and understanding, rather than just reacting with our old habits. Equanimity can give us so many happy moments we would otherwise lose to anger, envy, or attachment. The practice helps us experience longer and longer periods of peace and well-being, until our peace is unbroken and we attain enlightenment. As jasmine sheds its withered flowers So, bhikkhus, shed passion and aversion. (377) Peaceful in body, peaceful in speech, The bhikkhu peaceful and well-concentrated Who has rejected the world's bait Is called “one at peace.” (378)* --Buddha, The Dhammapada References and Links Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. (Kindle). Shambala, Boston and London, 2011. (Link)
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