Podcasts about grammies

There is something that happens when two particular voices blend together that transcends all understanding or logic. And, when those voices share the same DNA, the magnetic pull is such that they become one voice. We've heard that family blend many times: The Everlys, The Wilsons, The Gibbs, The Andrew Sisters, etc. The list goes on.One of the most uncanny examples of this phenomenon belongs to Charlie and Ira Louvin, those titans of Country and Gospel music. When they sing with religious devotion, such as they do here in The River of Jordan - you can hear God and his miracles working in every keening, harmonic fifth. The other song presented today features Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, - a pair of folks about as far from siblings as you can get, but whose vocal cords also combine miraculously.THE LOUVINSThe first time I heard of Ira and Charlie Louvin was through Emmylou Harris's 1975 version of If I Could Only Win Your Love, and I had to know from whence this other-worldly sound originated. Like a hound on the scent, I tracked down several recordings from the brothers, and sat open mouthed as song after song cut through me. The Louvins, whose birth name was Loudermilk (cousins to the noted songwriter), had a contentious relationship, owing to Ira's drunken temperament and womanizing. Charlie contemplated going solo, but Ira's early demise, at 41, in a drunken car crash, made the decision permanent. Ira usually takes the high harmony, but they had the ability to switch mid way through a song so that it was often hard to tell who was covering which part.  Truly one of the all time great sibling singing duos. ALISON KRAUSS AND ROBERT PLANTA musical marriage made in heaven that no fiction writer could have invented, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss came together in one of the most celestial combos ever. The Led Zeppelin frontman, renowned for his soaring falsetto, melds with the rawboned steadiness of bluegrass's sweetheart in an eclectic stew of influences that somehow create a single entity. Today's featured song, Please Read the Letter, nestled among cuts by the Everlys, Gene Clark, Mel Tillis, and Townes Van Zandt was written by Plant and his Zeppelin brother, Jimmie Page, and is added seamlessly to the mix.The resulting album, Raising Sand, produced by the curatorial genius T-Bone Burnett, was released in 2007, and swept the Grammies and Americana Music Awards, taking its place in the pantheon of beautiful enigmas.  

It's that time again. Our little longtime listeners know what the Juno Awards (Canada's answer to the Grammies) mean to us. At least the Metal category, being two time judges ourselves. So we're stoked for this year's nominees. Especially since four out of five are Radioactive Metal alum. So in the spirit of the Junos, we go over the list and “cast our vote” over the air. You'll find making... The post Radioactive Metal 822: And The Nominees Are… appeared first on Shining Wizards Network.

It's that time again. Our little longtime listeners know what the Juno Awards (Canada's answer to the Grammies) mean to us. At least the Metal category, being two time judges ourselves. So we're stoked for this year's nominees. Especially since four out of five are Radioactive Metal alum. So in the spirit of the Junos, we go over the list and "cast our vote" over the air. You'll find making a pick to be a Herculean task too.   In our "News, Views and Tunes", we go over the "Back To The Beginning" final Ozzy gig and announce the Manitoba Metalfest. Musically, we crank Deceased, Anciients, Striker, Warpig, Steel Inferno, Pupil Slicer, Drop Off Point, Malefaction and introduce Finland's Steel Machine in our "Indie Spotlight".   Horns Up!

Find us on all platforms: https://linktr.ee/TAPFLIN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS: 0:00 - Intro 4:03 - Men and haircuts 7:29 - RIP Irv Gotti 11:17 - TDE Sweep at the Grammies 16:53 - Kendrick's performance at the Super Bowl reactions 37:40 - Recent NBA trades 46:13 - How men view Valentines Day

In the laughter locker this week! Emotional Jemma  Cantonese Cafe!  Scott Alone  Newcastle weekend Kayne West Grammies Scotts Glasses Signs of old age Roy the terminator!  A traditional birthday Good Art?  Stick me to the wall Dinner Date Table étiquette The Shark is Broken Scott's Secret news! Second family man German test Drop us a line and say hello! bwtbpod@gmail.com Join our Patreon for exclusive episodes and early access here! https://www.patreon.com/bwtbpod A 'Keep It Light Media' Production Sales, advertising, and general enquiries: hello@keepitlightmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's our 200th episode!!! HOLY MOLY! This week we're recapping our cruise, our trip to NYC to see Wicked, discussing the Grammies, and more! Tune in to Ketchup With The Freys! 

Lorraine Lewis discussed her new role as a casting producer for a Netflix dating show, focusing on big, loud characters. She shared her experience working with Peter Higgins and her nickname "the closer." Lorraine also talked about discovering Jelly Roll and his rise to fame, her personal life, and her new music projects under the name Femme Fatale. She revealed her OnlyFans account, which has grown to 560 subscribers, and her involvement with animal charities like Pasadena Humane Society and Bridging the World's Animal Sanctuary. Lorraine emphasized her commitment to living life to the fullest and staying connected with pop culture.00:00 - Intro00:22 - Casting Producer & Netflix Dating Show03:45 - Meeting Jelly Roll & Friendship with Wife 07:40 - Motherly Message & Performing 09:15 - Jelly Roll Having Star Factor & Edge 11:25 - New Morning Routine & Feeling Things 15:35 - Animal Love & Donkeys 19:00 - Writing New Music & Upcoming Singles 22:00 - Staying Up on New Music & The Grammies 28:45 - Dying Hair 29:45 - OnlyFans & New Music Release 35:30 - Charities Lorraine SupportsLorraine Lewis discussed her new role as a casting producer for a Netflix dating show, focusing on big, loud characters. She shared her experience working with Peter Higgins and her nickname "the closer." Lorraine also talked about discovering Jelly Roll and his rise to fame, her personal life, and her new music projects under the name Femme Fatale. She revealed her OnlyFans account, which has grown to 560 subscribers, and her involvement with animal charities like Pasadena Humane Society and Bridging the World's Animal Sanctuary. Lorraine emphasized her commitment to living life to the fullest and staying connected with pop culture.Lorraine Lewis website:https://www.lorrainelewisrocks.co/Lorraine Lewis OnlyFans:https://onlyfans.com/lorrainelewisrocksPasadena Humane Society:https://pasadenahumane.org/Bridging the World's Animal Sanctuary: https://sharenm.org/bridging-the-worlds-animal-sanctuary/bridging-the-worlds-animal-sanctuaryGentle Barn:https://www.gentlebarn.org/Chuck Shute Link tree:https://linktr.ee/chuck_shuteSupport the showThanks for Listening & Shute for the Moon!

The Lomeli gang chop it up about their weekend. The Grammies runway. Raul shares his love for the before trilogy from "Richard Liklater" . Thoughts on the paradoxical protests.

My internet went out and my decency disappeared. Meanwhile the Grammies made an absolute arse out of itself. Oh, also: i tell the story of how i almost became the biggest band in the world. Here are some links i really hope you click: Patreon

Send us a textKenny is in the building! The Super Bowl is coming up. We look into the infamous Aaron Rodgers and Josh Allen hug from the Netflix Doc. Justin Tucker gets exposed. And we learn a little about John Travolta. A possible $15 Million Dollar Van Gogh painting was found at a yard sale for $50. Jaden Smith looks like an idiot at the Grammies. Couple wants Air BnB refund because of ghosts. And the Paul Brothers are getting a reality TV show on Max. All that and more on this week's episode of Greenfield's Finest Podcast.Check out our upcoming events, social media, and merch sale at the link below ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/GFP Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/7viuBywVXF4e52CHUgk1i5 Produced by Lane Media ⁠https://www.lanemediapgh.com/

Jonny and Craig discuss DEI. They start with a focus on the local, plugging artistic work in Carbondale with the upcoming Kleinau Theatre production of "Epiphanies," an adaptation of Flash Fiction by local writer, Epiphany Ferrell. They then turn to recent attacks by the Trump Administration on DEI and what that might mean for the university where they teach (SIU). They then discuss the Grammies and what this past weekend's music awards might teach us about the value of DEI. In the back half of the show, they examine the Trump Administration's high level placement of gay and lesbian conservatives in positions of significance. They discuss how this participates in a concerted effort to pare the Q and T off of LGBTQ, and why they are not having it. 

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers discuss everything from "Playing a Hooter", to Sleeping with the Monkeys. Join Stan, David, and Steve as they pontificate about: Snow in Florida; Fires near Snoot's house;  David at NAMM and the Grammies; The Majesty of Mellotrons; Steve heading to URTA; How not to burn bridges when you get really pissed off; What is so special about diffusion?; "A whole bowl of wrong"; GAM diffusion filters; Beam shaping; Moving to the United States for theatre gigs; A PSA from "The American Federation of Donut Makers"; Marijuana Donuts; What to say when you first meet your lighting team; Stan in a bucket; "The Finisher"; and Turning off the power prematurely. Nothing is Taboo, Nothing is Sacred, and Very Little Makes Sense.

It's not over until…we've had our Rammy Awards. Basically, the Rammies are our take on the Grammies. Meaning we make our picks for the “Best Of” for the year that was. In the categories that mean the most to Metalheads; Band, Album, Live, News Story a.o. As well, as is tradition, we give our inductions into the RAM Hall of Hall for Band, Album and what we call Myth and... The post Radioactive Metal 817: The 2024 Rammy Awards! appeared first on Shining Wizards Network.

It's not over until...we've had our Rammy Awards.   Basically, the Rammies are our take on the Grammies. Meaning we make our picks for the "Best Of" for the year that was. In the categories that mean the most to Metalheads; Band, Album, Live, News Story a.o. As well, as is tradition, we give our inductions into the RAM Hall of Hall for Band, Album and what we call Myth and Legend. Play along with your picks too.   Musically, we crank Warlord, The Rods, Nails, Ghoul, Jaguar, Sentry, Fulci, and Blood Opera.   Horns Up and here's to an awesome 2025!

In addition to the in-depth conversations with each guest on our show, we have a lightning round segment where we ask each guest to respond on the spot without seeing the questions in advance. This week, we welcome back renowned designer Stefan Sagmeister to hear his alternative career choices, next travel destinations, favorite food, and much more.Stefan Sagmeister has designed for clients as diverse as the Rolling Stones, HBO, and the Guggenheim Museum. He's a two time Grammies winner and also earned practically every important international design award.Stefan talks about the large subjects of our lives like happiness or beauty, how they connect to design and what that actually means to our everyday lives. He spoke 5 times at the official TED, making him one of the three most frequently invited TED speakers.His books sell in the hundreds of thousands and his exhibitions have been mounted in museums around the world. His exhibit 'The Happy Show' attracted way over half a million visitors worldwide and became the most visited graphic design show in history. A native of Austria, he received his MFA from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and, as a Fulbright Scholar, a master's degree from Pratt Institute in New York.Episode References:Stefan Sagmeister | Online PortfolioStefan Sagmeister | InstagramRei Inamoto | InstagramRei Inamoto | XI&CO | Corporate SiteSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Copying is a great way to study what makes an impactful website, poster, or even a social media post, according to Stefan Sagmeister.Rei welcomes back graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister to explore the importance of beauty in form and design. Reflecting on his career, Stefan shares how his collaboration with Jessica Walsh transformed his perception of design aesthetics, the impact of Apple's design philosophy, and his innovative sabbatical approach and its role in maintaining his creative passion. With insights on embracing change, valuing aesthetics, and intentionally designing one's life, this episode offers profound wisdom for aspiring designers and creative professionals.Stefan Sagmeister has designed for clients as diverse as the Rolling Stones, HBO, and the Guggenheim Museum. He's a two time Grammies winner and also earned practically every important international design award.Stefan talks about the large subjects of our lives like happiness or beauty, how they connect to design and what that actually means to our everyday lives. He spoke 5 times at the official TED, making him one of the three most frequently invited TED speakers.His books sell in the hundreds of thousands and his exhibitions have been mounted in museums around the world. His exhibit 'The Happy Show' attracted way over half a million visitors worldwide and became the most visited graphic design show in history. A native of Austria, he received his MFA from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and, as a Fulbright Scholar, a master's degree from Pratt Institute in New York.Timestamps:0:03 The Evolution of Aesthetic Importance in Design4:25 Apple's Unwavering Commitment to Design and Aesthetics9:03 Stefan Sagmeister on Long-Term Projects and Creative Sabbaticals16:54 The Importance of Form and Copying in Design Learning20:20 The Dual Nature of Online Interactions and Empathy22:57 Stefan Sagmeister on Design, Beauty, and Evolving Perspectives25:12 Three TakeawaysEpisode References:Stefan Sagmeister | Online PortfolioStefan Sagmeister | InstagramRei Inamoto | InstagramRei Inamoto | XI&CO | Corporate SiteSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How does long-term thinking influence creativity?Rei sits down with renowned designer Stefan Sagmeister to explore how the interpretation of data through art can shift public consciousness towards optimism. The episode places particular emphasis on Stephan's exhibition “Now is Better,” which centers around the idea of long-term thinking of humanity's progression. The conversation dives into Stephan's underlying philosophies throughout his design process, belief in “low-function design”, and thoughts on balancing beauty and functionality.Stefan Sagmeister has designed for clients as diverse as the Rolling Stones, HBO, and the Guggenheim Museum. He's a two time Grammies winner and also earned practically every important international design award.Stefan talks about the large subjects of our lives like happiness or beauty, how they connect to design and what that actually means to our everyday lives. He spoke 5 times at the official TED, making him one of the three most frequently invited TED speakers.His books sell in the hundreds of thousands and his exhibitions have been mounted in museums around the world. His exhibit 'The Happy Show' attracted way over half a million visitors worldwide and became the most visited graphic design show in history. A native of Austria, he received his MFA from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and, as a Fulbright Scholar, a master's degree from Pratt Institute in New York.Timestamps:0:03 Exploring Long-Term Thinking in Design and Art5:10 The Long-Term Perspective on Global Democracy and Progress8:40 Transforming Antique Art with Modern Data Representations15:56 The Intersection of Art, Design, and Commercial Viability19:43 Exploring Communication Design Beyond Commercial Boundaries20:48 The Intersection of Design and Art in Austrian Culture22:16 Blurring the Lines Between Design and Art26:11 The Allure of Low Functioning Design in Modern Life30:41 The Joy of Low Functionality in Everyday Activities34:43 The Sliding Scale Between Art and Design36:20 The Interplay of Beauty, Function, and Form in Design41:29 The Intersection of Design, Art, and Functionality46:11 Three TakeawaysEpisode References:Stefan Sagmeister | Online PortfolioStefan Sagmeister | InstagramRei Inamoto | InstagramRei Inamoto | XI&CO | Corporate SiteSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This drummer, songwriter, producer and filmmaker got his start by founding the North Mississippi All Stars with his brother Luther.  He has since gone onto a career that has encompassed Grammies, supergroups, and film scores.

Joe Bonamassa is an American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter.  His music has been nominated for 3 Grammies and he is also well known for his extensive collection of vintage guitars and amplifiers.  He has a new live album out now as well as a collaboration with the band Train. We discuss the new album, the single with Train, social media trolls and more! 00:00 - Intro00:13 - Upcoming Tour Promotion 04:15 - Social Media & Trolls 12:45 - New Live Record 16:15 - Female Voices 17:45 - Collaboration with Train 19:25 - Promotion 19:50 - Outro Joe Bonamassa website:https://jbonamassa.com/Chuck Shute link tree:https://linktr.ee/chuck_shuteSupport the Show.Thanks for Listening & Shute for the Moon!

Herb Alpert: you'll never find a more beloved figure in the pop music world. A mensch. Did you think he was Latin? Nope. He IS an Angeleno, but….he was a Jewish kid, born in Boyle Heights; went to Fairfax High and USC. Before “cultural appropriation” became a dirty word, Herbie had a revelation while attending a bullfight in Baja - came back with “The Lonely Bull”, and ignited a career that has won him a Tony, 8 Grammies, and, a National Medal of Arts. He is the only musician to have #1 hits, both as a vocalist and instrumentalist. In his mid-sixties heyday he outsold The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Frank Sinatra. Always smiling behind his trumpet, the handsome Mr. Alpert became an unlikely pin-up, then he scored big-time as a record producer and mogul (with partner Jerry Moss), and today, at 88, as an artist of renown, crafting massive sculptural installations and paintings, he continues to thrive creatively. I guess you could say that in addition to being a dedicated, hard worker, that he also was blessed.The Mexican Shuffle, (or, as some may remember from the chewing gum commercials)- The Teaberry Shuffle, was ubiquitous. It was all over the tv. This is happy music, pure and simple. In the ad folks of all walks of life, just going about their business, start dancing whenever they pop in a stick of Teaberry gum. And, Herbie's percolating soundtrack conveys that propulsion perfectly. (I recommend YouTubing it). The record received a sizable boost of recognition from this exposure - as did A Taste Of Honey (from the Whipped Cream and Other Delights album) - as The Dating Game theme song. Along with Motown and The Beatles, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass were the soundtrack of the 60s. 

Hit us up- Email- idoitforhiphop1@yahoo.com or Leave Us a 5 star review on iTunes or leave a comment on the Soundcloud Check us out on Instagram too: I Do It For HipHop_Podcast or On Facebook I Do It For HipHop Podcast find us on TWITTER/INSTAGRAM @gr8_pharaoh @mrcanilive @macbailey_

God and Jesus preview the big game. Who does Jesus favor? And why?  Humans are now walking around wearing cyber goggles called Apple Vision Pros, and God is disgusted. Elmo got trauma dumped on and the King has cancer. All this and the Grammies on the God Pod Taylor Swift Superbowl Preview! NEW PODCAST EPISODE EVERY TUESDAY  Follow the God Pod on your favorite podcasting platform: https://linktr.ee/godpod  JOIN OUR COMMUNITY Join our Patreon for special access: https://www.patreon.com/godpod   

The Grammies are rigged, bought and purchased!

A quick look at the charts of Taylor Swift, King Charles, and Princess Catherine, who are in the news. And a totally non-astrological rant about the Grammies. Plus a chance to wear my new t-shirt. Subscribe to my Substack blog for FREE https://cosmicowlastrology.substack.com/ Check out my Amazon store for books and other products I love and recommend! https://www.amazon.com/shop/cosmicowlastrology-louiseedington Work with the Cosmic Owl: Become a Venus Enchantment Community member to support my work. https://louiseedington.com/venus-enchantment Book a consultation. https://louiseedington.com For more from Louise subscribe to this channel and check the bell to receive notifications AND/OR follow Louise at louiseedington.com or https://www.facebook.com/WildWomanUnleashed/ My fave numerology resource is http://numerology-thenumbersandtheirmeanings.blogspot.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/weirdlycosmic/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/weirdlycosmic/support

Sammy and Kane ramble about the Grammies, Martin Odegaard's camera behaviour and sliding into people's DM's. All in this morning's ramble. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jumbo Ep:622 - 05.02.24 - Grammy Bag, Quiz & RenovatingHouse Renovating - Toilet Flush - Arch Rivals Quiz with Mike & Daisy - Married & Podcasting - Grammy Gift Bags, New 80's Show Support me at:www.buymeacoffee.com/jumbo www.jumbopodcast.comYou can listen on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spreaker and many others.#PodernFamily #Podcasts #SpotifyPodcasts #Applepodcasts

Joey Belladonna is an American singer and drummer, best known as the frontman for thrash metal band Anthrax.  As a member of Anthrax he was nominated for six Grammies.  Anthrax is part of the “The Big Four” thrash metal bands including Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer. In this episode we discuss joining Anthrax, his hiatus from the band, his  Journey tribute band Beyond Frontiers, touring with KISS and more! 0:00:00 - Intro 0:00:13 - Cameo & Fans 0:03:20 - Cover Bands & Bible Black 0:05:25 - Joining Anthrax 0:10:21 - First Split with Anthrax 0:12:50 - Relationship with Anthrax Now 0:15:05 - National Anthem, New Music & Tour 0:21:40 - Playing with Different Bands & Genres 0:24:54 - Tour w/ Megadeth, Slayer & Alice In Chains 0:27:15 - Touring with Iron Maiden  & Band Friendships 0:30:10 - Attack of the Killer B's 0:33:10 - Grammies, Best Songs & Covers 0:36:55 - Solo Projects- Joey's Jukebox & Beyond Frontiers 0:39:55 - Songwriting Role , Co-Writes, & Belladonna 0:43:25 - Reflecting Back on Hiatus From Anthrax  0:46:30 - Returning to Anthrax & Voice Strength 0:48:50 - Playing Different Venue Sizes 0:51:20 - The Big 4, Potential Tours & Tour Pranks 0:54:40 - "Not" Sign, Married with Children & Music Videos 0:57:20 - Differences in Music Business Now & Then 0:58:16 - Scott Ian as a Businessman & His Character 1:01:15 - Anthrax Singer Shuffles & Band Relationships 1:05:15 - Veteran Charities 1:05:50 - Future Plans 1:08:42 - Outro Joey Belladonna website:https://www.joeybelladonna.com/Anthrax website:https://www.anthrax.com/Guitars for Vets website:https://guitars4vets.org/War Horses for Vets website:https://www.warhorsesforveterans.org/Chuck Shute Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChuckShuteSupport the showThanks for Listening & Shute for the Moon!

Welcome back to the party friends! We're back with our podcast fave @tannahtaughtme ! Join us as we discuss why Jeezy is NOT invited back to the cookout, why one of our podcast members had a change of heart about coffee dates, and who thought Nicki Minaj needed Ice Spice to get a grammy. We're also discussing how we navigate adult friendships as we get older and how we set boundaries in our romantic and platonic relationships. This is definitely an episode that'll keep you laughing from the beginning to end. So come on, what are you waiting for? Press play and join the party! XOXO Petty Party Get Interactive with Us! Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pettypartypodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pettypartypod Twitter: https://twitter.com/pettypartypod Email: PettyParty12814@gmail.com Follow US Crystal: @champagnecrys Jori: @jorialiah Michelle: @chellysays Nikki: @stanleyoglevee Paulette: @amakalette Tannah: @tannahtaughtyou Hear Ye Podcast: @hearyepodcast

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

Hooman Khalili, an artist, filmmaker, and former radio talk show host from the Bay Area, is creating murals in Israel to support Iranian women as they protest the violence and arrests that they are facing by their government. He has created five beautiful murals across Israel and one in the United States; his goal is 18 in total. Born in Iran and raised in San Mateo, California, Hooman has had a successful career in film, including voicing a character in the movie Cars and working as a morning radio talk show host for Alice Radio 97.3 FM. Hooman also worked for the Sarah and Vinnie morning show, conducting red carpet interviews at events like the MTV Awards, the Grammies, and the Sundance Film Festival. He is the creator of OLIVE, the first full-length feature film shot entirely on an iPhone. It received critical acclaim and qualified for the Academy Awards. To learn more about Hooman Khalili and his incredible global mural project, please visit: www.hooman.tv Meet Hooman Khalili!

This week Kevin and Amanda talk: Blues Traveler at Red Rocks Trey Anastasio at Pier 6 Allen Roper launches RoundTable Artists agency Nelly Sells Catalog Grammy Is A-OK with AI Plus our interview with Richie Furay (Buffalo Springfield / Poco / Solo) about Buffalo Springfield Reunions, his work in ministry, playing live vs studio, and having 'the big hit' @allthatjampod on IG, FB, and Twitter - www.allthatjampod.com - Subscribe - leave a review - tell a friend. All That Jam is brought to you by Executive Producers Amanda Cadran and Kevin Hogan. Produced and edited by Amanda Cadran and Kevin Hogan. Mixed and Mastered by Kevin Hogan. Original Music by Aaron Gaul. Art by Amanda Cadran.    

The Grammies have decided to expand their category by including The Best African Music Performance which includes but is not limited to the Fuji Sound. But down here in Nigeria the Fuji Sound is something that comes with some negativity, as a matter people see Fuji as "Garage Music" which they relate with Rascals. But during the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s Fuji was one of the biggest genres of music from Nigeria. Today I and my guest Jide Tawio discussed The Misconceptions about The Fuji Sound and what the future holds Click on the play button to enjoy this conversation --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/hafeestonova1/support

The Grammies have decided to expand their category by including The Best African Music Performance which includes but is not limited to the Fuji Sound. But down here in Nigeria the Fuji Sound is something that comes with some negativity, as a matter people see Fuji as "Garage Music" which they relate with Rascals. But during the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s Fuji was one of the biggest genres of music from Nigeria. Today I and my guest Jide Tawio discussed The Misconceptions about The Fuji Sound and what the future holds Click on the play button to enjoy this conversation --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/hafeestonova1/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/hafeestonova1/support

I've always been amazed by the fact that there are genius levels of human intelligence that are far beyond the ordinary. Some people seem to be born with remarkable talents and capabilities that the rest of us clearly don't have. That's not to say that these people don't need to work and practice to perfect their skills. They clearly do. Still, they possess brilliant talents that are far above those of the average person.           Take music for example. My mother was a real lover of classical music. She attended concerts regularly and had a great collection of records that she would play in our house all the time. And without question, I knew that her fondest hope for me was that I would become a concert pianist, not that I had ever shown any talent or the slightest bit of interest in it.           Still, she made sure that I took piano lessons every week for about six years, until the painfully obvious became painfully obvious, and she finally let me quit.  On some level though, I've always been kind of sorry about it and I've tried to pick it up every now and then. I've even taken a few lessons here and there but still, all I can do is play a few basic scales and bang out a couple of elementary songs, and that's it. As a result of all this, to say that I have the keyboard finesse of an aging chimpanzee would be more kind than accurate.            So, it always makes me wonder - what's the story with these geniuses, who are able to play as if the music is pouring out of their very soul. They perform these outrageously difficult compositions by heart, without reading any music at all. In a state of pure inspiration, they don't even open their eyes half of the time and yet, these magnificent melodies flow out of them in perfect timing and sequence, seemingly with no effort at all. It just boggles the mind. If you want to see a truly amazing example of this, watch Leonard Bernstein conduct the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at Lincoln Center in 1976, performing Rhapsody in Blue. The multi-talented maestro conducts the fifty-piece orchestra while he performs as the piano soloist at the same time. I've probably watched it over twenty times and I still can hardly believe my eyes and ears. But this astounding manifestation of genius intelligence also has two other forms of it that are just as hard for me to grasp. They are child prodigies and polymaths. We've had child prodigies among us for many centuries. For some inexplicable reason, certain young children manifest extremely advanced talent and abilities at a very early age, and no one has been able to figure out why this happens. Probably the most famous prodigy in musical history was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.           By age five, he was already extremely competent on the violin and piano and he began composing music. At six, he embarked on a three-year career, playing before the crowned heads of Europe. Can you imagine that? Think about what you were like at that age.  By six I had memorized the theme song to the Mickey Mouse Club and my parents probably thought I was a genius because of it.             Anyway, there have been child prodigies in dozens of different fields including math, science and the visual arts, but it's still pretty rare. The current thinking is that it's only a one-in-ten-million phenomenon. And staying within the realm of music, even though it's quite a stretch from Mozart, Stevie Wonder was clearly one of them, as well.    Born six weeks premature, he went blind from having too much oxygen in his incubator. Still, in his early childhood he taught himself how to play the piano, harmonica and drums and along with his powerful singing voice, signed his first recording contract in 1961 at age eleven. Since then, he has won far too many awards to list here, including, twenty-five Grammies, eight Honorary Doctorates, an Academy Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And in all this time, he hasn't slowed down a bit.             Now, let's go on to the polymath, which is another manifestation of intelligence that I just can't fathom.  Simply put, these are people who are able to excel in several different fields, which are often completely unrelated.  Some of the most famous ones have been Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. But there have been other, quite surprising ones as well.  I was pretty amazed when I found out that Danny Kaye, the famous performer from the golden age of movies and TV, was one of them. He was an extraordinarily gifted actor, singer, and dancer. But it turns out that his genius as an entertainer was just the tip of the iceberg. He was also an expert jet pilot who flew his own plane. He owned a Lear Jet and flew it to sixty-five different countries, mainly on UNICEF tours for the United Nations. In addition, he spoke eleven different languages and although he couldn't read a note of music, he was a talented conductor of symphony orchestras and spent fifteen years giving benefit performances with the finest orchestras in the world including the National Symphony, the Boston Symphony and the New York Philharmonic.   He was also a bit of a sports nut. He was a single digit golfer who grew up a die-hard Brooklyn Dodgers fan. And as a lifelong lover of baseball, as well as a savvy businessman, he was one of the founders of the Seattle Mariners.           But that's not all. He was also a master chef, particularly in Chinese and French cuisine and he is still the only non-professional chef to ever be awarded France's highest culinary award, which is bestowed by the Sorbonne.            And finally, and probably the most unexpected, he was an honorary member of the American College of Surgeons as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics. He had always wanted to be a doctor, but his family couldn't afford  higher education, so he went into show business instead. Still, he always maintained his serious interest on medicine.           But it went a little further than that. He was close friends with the heart surgeon who performed history's first coronary bypass. He would observe operations, which they would later discuss in great detail. “Danny has had no medical training, but he knows his way around an operating room” the doctor said. “He's so intelligent he picks up immediately what he has observed.”           This was all absolutely remarkable to me because I had been aware of Danny Kaye as an entertainer for many years, but had never heard about all of his other abilities.           When it comes to observing this kind of extraordinary talent, I had a similar experience when I ran across someone who was a child prodigy, but was also a budding polymath as well. It happened when I was beginning to explore the world of personal growth, which was really just a by-product of having been a die-hard Beatles fan for over a decade.   Capturing global attention, the Fab Four had gotten into meditation in 1968 and had been studying under a teacher named the Maharishi, who was a classical Indian guru, with flowing white robes and a long, grey beard.   Like the millions of other Beatles devotees throughout the world, I basically mirrored whatever they did, so I started practicing the same form of meditation. But I wasn't very sincere about it and after a couple of months, I stopped. Then, a few years later, a friend told me that he had started practicing a deeper form of meditation that was doing him a lot of good. A little while later, he told me that the teacher of that meditation, who was supposed to be a major authority on inner growth, was coming to Philadelphia to give a talk about it. It sounded interesting until he told me that the teacher was only fourteen years old. I don't remember what my exact reaction was, but I'm pretty sure I burst out laughing because it seemed ridiculous on the face of it. I mean the Beatles' guy looked like he was in his mid-eighties and this kid was barely a teenager. What could he know about the evolution of higher consciousness? Out of deference to my friend, I decided to do a little research and I learned to my surprise that in the East, this kind of thing does happen from time to time. There were child prodigies who were renowned spiritual teachers.   There was Sri Ramakrishna, a globally respected teacher during the mid-1800s, who had been recognized as a spiritual master at the age of nine. His successor, Swami Vivekananda, was recognized in the same way at age of nineteen. And the current Dalai Lama assumed the full authority of his role when he was fifteen years old.  As an aside, in our culture, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. became a fully ordained minister at nineteen.           Anyway, this fourteen-year-old teacher was named Prem Rawat, and when I went to hear him speak at the Irvine Auditorium of the University of Pennsylvania, I found him to be surprisingly impressive. There was a calm, but extremely powerful presence about him, and he seemed to really know what he was talking about. I observed him rather carefully from the time he entered the prestigious auditorium until he left, and perceived nothing about him that had anything to do with his age whatsoever. Rather than seeming like a young teenager, he had the presence of a secure adult about him. In fact, he seemed to be the most centered individual I had ever seen. But there was also a subtle, yet clearly present joyfulness about him that seemed foundational to his being. Again, it was quite impressive. By the way, as far as being a child prodigy is concerned, he had been in this teaching mode for quite some time.  He had begun his work at the age of four and started meditating at six. At the age of nine, he became the recognized teaching authority to several hundred thousand Indian meditators. But there's also a profound element about being a teacher of inner growth that I found to be most intriguing. It's different from being a genius in art, music or science because in those realms, you can tell if someone is truly a master of their craft just by observing their work. You look at the art, listen to the music or watch the dance, and you can quickly get a sense of how good they are.           But with a teacher of inner growth, it's quite different, because the purpose of the teaching isn't just to entertain and inspire you, it's to actually help you expand and grow your own consciousness. And the only way you can tell if the teacher is truly a master of the craft is by the actual experiences you start having within your own awareness. And this is not just in the short-term. It pertains to the long-term as well.  Are you continually growing beyond where you were? Are you becoming kinder and more compassionate?  Are you feeling more connected to the larger and higher consciousness? You have to determine all this for yourself. It doesn't matter what anyone says, what matters is what's going on inside of you. Along these lines, that night at Penn, Prem made a statement that I still remember. He said if you find his information to be helpful, then enjoy it. If not, then immediately leave it and move on.            So, as a child prodigy, I found him to be most impressive, but surprisingly, he was also blossoming into becoming a polymath as well. Over the years that followed, while his primary focus was always on teaching meditation and inner growth, his considerable other talents spread out into seemingly unrelated fields.   For instance, in the aviation world alone, his accomplishments are truly noteworthy. He is a fully licensed jet pilot, with tens of thousands of hours of flight time, and was one the youngest pilot in aviation history to be certified to fly a certain sophisticated jet aircraft. He is also a helicopter pilot and a veteran helicopter instructor as well. More down to earth, he is also a master car mechanic and one of his hobbies is the total restoration of antique automobiles, of which he has completed several. In addition, he is also a prolific photographer on a professional level, and several of his photographs are hung in galleries around the world. On top of all this, as an author, his recent book on personal growth is a New York Times best seller. And on the lighter side, he is a tremendous chef and has been approached a few times to host a cooking show. And get this last one - he writes his own computer code and is a master programmer. For some reason, to me that one really takes the cake. After using a computer for over forty years, I still have absolutely no idea how they work. Well, so much for geniuses, prodigies and polymaths. In essence, as impressive as they are, this episode isn't really about just listing their incredible accomplishments. It's really about the fact that they exist at all and what that says about human intelligence, and our possible potential.    For starters, it puts things into perspective. If they're only one in ten million, then the nine million, nine hundred thousand, nine hundred and nine of the rest of us have an opened door to feeling truly humble. We've all heard the phrase - a jack of all trades but a master of none. Well as far as I'm concerned, I'm not even one of the jacks. Still, to close, here are a couple of quick, rather optimistic things to consider.    First, neuroscience believes that within the next hundred years, we will find methods that will enhance our intelligence exponentially, taking us into levels of existence that are inconceivable to us now. According to them, we all have genius potential within us and as the brain sciences evolve, we will find ways to bring it into the forefront. And they also say that we all possessed genius intelligence through the age of five, so in one way or another, we were all child prodigies. And finally, the essence of our intelligence shows that we are all inherently positive beings, biased to the highest. And that is revealed by the simple fact that we have a finite capacity for suffering and pain, while we each have an infinite capacity for happiness and joy. I don't know about you, but all of this inspires a great deal of hope in me. So that will be the end of this episode. As always, keep your eyes mind and heart opened, and let's get together in the next one.

41. T&T-TFP CO-lab

On today's episode of The G Talk Podcast, we have Semaj, Griff, and Yasmeen in the building! Band heads are really going to enjoy this. We start off with a conversation on the battle of the bands and we find ourselves talking about those mystery boxes (10:53). We get into the news week (14:44). We share our take on the $100 haircut take by Jalen Rose (22:27). We talk about the Aristocrat of Bands winning their Grammies and get into band stories (30:03). We recap our Valentine's Day, which leads into stories from college and our living situations (50:17). We close with a continuation of a discussion from a previous pod about dating people's exes (01:19:52).

We discuss - Chandler Moore's dress - Maverick City x Quavo - Carl Lentz & justin Bieber Hosts:- Gabz: @Gabz_Amadi Eman: @Gaemechanger Ore: @Ms_Ore #RTRWPodcast You can contact us: Twitter: @RTRW_Podcast Instagram: @RealTalkRealWalk_ Email: RealTalkRealWalk@hotmail.com

This week Adam & Debra get into George Santos' extensive lie list, wacseen news from England and Australia, chicken/egg news, balloon news, the Satanic gay Grammies and real life Man In Black Joseph SpencerWE ARE NOW ON PATREON www.patreon.com/debragetsredpilledTHANK YOU NEW PATRONS!Charles (Reptilian Tier) Amy (Paul Pelosi Tier)We are a Value For Value Production. Please support the show with TIME, TALENT or TREASURE equivalent to the value that you are getting. Subscribe, rate, review and recommend us to your family and friends. For all your Gold, Silver and Crypto needs go to Wise Wolf Gold and Silver Exchange and Tell Tony Debra sent you!debragetsredpilled.golddebragetsredpilled@pm.meDGRP ODYSEEDGRP TwitterDGRP MerchTelegram Group ChatDGRP PaypalVenmo: @adam-alamano CashApp: @$ALLSKREWEDUP  CRYPTO ACCEPTED

In this Episode, what is going on with Madonna? Sam Smith might think he's Bowie but he clearly isn't! The Grammies still suck! Kissing someone other than your spouse on the lips is apparently acceptable today. Just ask First Lady Jill Biden! 

Pebble in your shoe Tuesday calls and stories of the morning. State Rep. Court Boice talks about his brand new appointment to the legislature. Plus a bright spot at an otherwise satanic themed Grammies.

Cyrus shares a hand-written letter from a grateful listener Dan - The song they played at the Grammies is supposedly about how bad infidelity is. How do we reconcile that with it being song by the devil? Why did Jesus go to hell? Cindy - Does the Church intently not offer the sacraments if they think the parents are not good? My friend was unable to come into the church as an adult.

J-L discusses travel drama, shoulder drama, album drama, why he can't separate himself from 2020 comedy, the 2023 Grammies, the documentary Stand, the new George Michael biography and the show 1883.Patreon.com/JLCauvin

In a live interview at MAKERS Women, we talk with comedian Tig Notaro who is best known for her deadpan humor. She was nominated for two Grammies and an Emmy. Her memoir, I'm Just a Person, is a New York Times Bestseller.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Year in Rock 2022! We're going over the year's biggest news, releases, concerts, reunion, gossip and more! We also reveal our favorite new rock music of 2022.  With special guests Troy Patrick Farrell (ex White Lion, Tantric) and Joe Scibilia (Rock 'N Roll & Coffee Show).  0:00:00 - Intro0:00:30 - Welcome Troy & Joe! 0:03:16 - Eddie Vedder Vs Nikki Sixx 0:07:10 - Judas Priest Band Shake Up 0:10:22 - Nita Strauss Quits Alice Cooper 0:13:22 - Neil Young & Spotify 0:18:26 - Touring & Budgeting Money 0:21:50 - 3 Days Grace & Shinedown 0:27:56 - Foo Fighters & Grammies 0:29:50 - Skid Row Changes Singers 0:36:20 - Great White Changes Singers 0:39:25 - Pantera Reunion 0:43:02 - Quiet Riot & Original Band Members 0:46:35 - Potential Van Halen Tribute Tour 0:49:30 - Nirvana Nevermind Cover Controversy 0:51:20 - Motley Crue & Def Leppard Stadium Tour 0:54:52 - Tommy Lee Dick Pic & Only Fans 0:57:25 - Mick Mars Replaced by John 5 1:01:05 - James Kottak of Scorpions & Kingdome Come 1:06:45 - Jason McMaster Fills In 1:09:25 - Dave Ellefson 1:11:31 - Sebastian Bach Fight1:13:06 - Journey Sues Journey 1:18:08 - In Memoriam1:19:30 - Taylor Hawkins & Drugs 1:24:26 - Joe's Favorite Music of the Year 1:28:10 - Troy's Favorite Music of the Year 1:34:10 - Chuck's Favorite Music of the Year 1:37:40 - Upcoming New Music, Tours & Bands 1:41:57 - Holiday Charity Shout Out 1:43:52 - Outro Troy Patrick Farrell website:https://drummertroy.com/Rock & Roll & Coffee Show website:https://anchor.fm/rnrcoffeeshow/Chuck Shute website:http://chuckshute.com/Salvation Army website:https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/Support the showThanks for Listening & Shute for the Moon!

Music: Are U Ok by @lil2oo7 Holiday Season + People are Phony 5:45 / Target is not cheap 12:24 / Twitter Conspriacy 15:16 / Kyrie, Accountability + Black and Jewish Relationship 23:00 / Balenciaga Ad 37:44 / Ye 2024 + Ughh Politics 48:24 / Creator of Oculus Rift creates model that can blow up? 51:50 / Why is everybody so Negative? 54:36 / A Word From Peta 57:20 / Hello Fresh got Monkeys picking coconuts / Sheep Crops Circles + End of World Conspiracies 1:02.51 / Tampax in trouble 1:08 / Glorilla finds out ham is pork + How do Grammies really work? 1:09.45

Theo Delaney's guest is phenomenally successful record producer, songwriter and musician Paul Epworth who counts Adele, Rhianna, Florence and The Machine and The Stone Roses and among the stellar artists he has worked with in a career which has reaped Brit awards, Grammies and even an Oscar. The interview takes place at his famous studio, The Church in Crouch End, London where he relives the goals of his Spurs-supporting life including strikes from Heung Min Son, Glenn Hoddle and Luke Shaw.@paulepworth@LifeGoalsTD @theodelaneyhttps://www.paulepworth.comhttps://www.theodelaney.com/life-goalshttps://www.11-29media.com/life-goals

Jaret Reddick is a musician, voice actor and podcaster. He's known for being the frontman for Bowling for Soup as well as the voice of Chuck E. Cheese. He has a new album out with Bowling for Soup as well as a new solo country album.  In this episode we discuss the new music, the early days of Bowling for Soup, music videos, censorship, dealing with fans and more! 00:00 - Intro00:47 - Podcasts, Producing & Staying Busy 04:06 - Touring in Texas 05:22 - Sports Fan & Sports Betting 07:20 - New Country Album "Just Woke Up" 08:48 - Garth Brooks, Dave Grohl & Sebastian Bach 13:21 - Comments, Trolls & Fans 15:43 - Reaction to New Album & Critics 19:43 - Chilling Out, Old School Country & Simplicity 22:15 - Bowling for Soup Origin Story 26:40 - Discovering New Music & Opening Bands 32:25 - Vans Warped Tour 35:10 - Music Videos & High Anxiety37:55 - I Wanna Be Brad Pitt 40:15 - Alexa Bliss 43:15 - High School Never Ends 45:15 - 1985 Song & TikTok 47:13 - Censorship 50:30 - Worst Dressed & The Grammies 53:05 - Dealing with Fans55:03 - Darius Rucker & Crossing Over 56:36 - Foundation 45 57:45 - Outro Jaret Reddick website:https://jaretreddick.com/music/Foundation 45 website:https://foundation45.orgChuck Shute website:http://chuckshute.comSupport the show

Lauryn Hill has had an outsized impact on the world of hip-hop, soul and R&B. She entered the music world in the mid-1990's as one third of the band The Fugees, and soon after released a solo album, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”. It was a phenomenon, and swept the Grammys. But then Ms. Hill pretty much vanished from music and public life, in an internal battle between fame, family and faith. On this episode you'll hear the incomparable and enigmatic Lauryn Hill, speaking in 2000, just as she had begun her retreat. She's open, honest, raw and very funny about the transformation she was undergoing. This episode originally posted in 2016. We're bringing it back to usher in summer! 

Witchcraft is growing every year, and Witches are open in all places in society. Author, public Witch, and lawyer Phyllis Curott joins us to explore why Witchcraft calls so many people right now, and why the world needs Witches. We also explore Phyllis's new book. Other topics include Kanani's continued Supernatural binge, challenges with Magickal herbs and cats. Plus, tune in next week to hear Hilary's adventures at The Grammies! A listener is looking for help cleansing a negative energy in their home after a scary incident in their neighborhood. What can they do to cleanse this presence from their space? On Patreon: Kanani does a reading for Courtney with the Supernatural Tarot. Don't forget to pick up Espiritismo: Puerto Rican Mediumship And Magic and The 21 Divisions: Mysteries and Magic of Dominican Voodoo from Weiser Books wherever books are sold!  Show notes and audio transcript at thatwitchlife.com Support the podcast:  patreon.com/thatwitchlife ko-fi.com/thatwitchlifepodcast etsy.com/shop/thatwitchlifepodcast

Music, art, and song...all of these are powerful acts of Magick. Multimedia artist and opera singer Rosśa Crean joins us to talk about how they utilize different art forms as expressions of their Witchcraft practice. They describe living with with synesthesia, using shadow work to heal from trauma, and their dynamic Art Coven. Plus, stories from Alabama and Salem, MA, Hilary's officiating a wedding and prepares to attend the Grammies, and Kanani reviews Supernatural. Digressions include pig faces, a disaster involving a mannequin, and near pants-peeing. On Patreon: Building boundaries, adventures with doughnuts, scary Christian movies, and a visit to the wax museum. Show notes and audio transcript at thatwitchlife.com Support the podcast:  patreon.com/thatwitchlife ko-fi.com/thatwitchlifepodcast etsy.com/shop/thatwitchlifepodcast Visit Jasmine Pearl Tea Company and treat yourself to a beautiful blend! Free shipping on orders of $35 or more! Tell them you heard their ad on That Witch Life Podcast! Get 10% off at CucinaAurora.com for AMAZING, Magickally-infused olive oils and other food products, or Dawn Hunt's new cookbook, ‘A Kitchen Witch's Guide to Love and Romance.' Enter WITCHLIFE2022 at checkout.