All posts by Egil

Memphis, Music Calendar, Soul, Stax

Today: William Bell is 73

From Wikipedia:

William Bell (born July 16, 1939) is an American soul singer and songwriter, and one of the architects of the Stax–Volt sound. As a performer, he is probably best known for 1961’s “You Don’t Miss Your Water” (his debut single); 1968’s “Private Number” (a duet with Judy Clay, and a top 10 hit in the UK); and 1976’s “Tryin’ To Love Two”, Bell’s only US top 40 hit, which also hit #1 on the R&B charts. Upon the death of Otis Redding, Bell released the well-received memorial song “A Tribute To A King”.

From Allmusic (Jason Ankeny):

A principal architect of the Stax/Volt sound, singer/composer William Bell remains best known for his classic “You Don’t Miss Your Water,” one of the quintessential soul records to emerge from the Memphis scene. Born William Yarborough on July 16, 1939, he cut his teeth backing Rufus Thomas, and in 1957 recorded his first sides as a member of the Del Rios. After joining the Stax staff as a writer, in 1961 Bell made his solo debut with the self-penned “You Don’t Miss Your Water,” an archetypal slice of country-soul and one of the label’s first big hits. A two-year Armed Forces stint effectively derailed his career, however, and he did not release his first full-length album, The Soul of a Bell, until 1967, generating a Top 20 hit with the single “Everybody Loves a Winner”; that same year, Albert King also scored with another classic Bell composition, the oft-covered “Born Under a Bad Sign.”

You Don’t Miss Your Water:

Album of the day:

Read more about this album here -> Allmusic – The Soul of Bell

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Music Calendar

Today: The late Ian Curtis was born in 1956 – 56 years ago

From Wikipedia:

Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English musician, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the post-punk band Joy Division. Joy Division released their debut album, Unknown Pleasures, in 1979 and recorded their follow-up, Closer, in 1980. Curtis, who suffered from epilepsy and depression, committed suicide on 18 May 1980, on the eve of Joy Division’s first North American tour, resulting in the band’s dissolution and the subsequent formation of New Order.

Curtis was known for his bass-baritone voice, dance style and songwriting filled with imagery of desolation, emptiness and alienation.

Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis (vocals and occasional guitar), Bernard Sumner (guitar and keyboards), Peter Hook (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Stephen Morris (drums and percussion).

Love Will Tear Us Apart:

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Jazz, Music Calendar

Today: The late Lee Morgan was born in 1938 – 74 years ago

From Wikipedia:

Edward Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – February 19, 1972, New York City) was an American hard bop trumpeter.

From Allmusic (Steve Huey):

A cornerstone of the Blue Note label roster prior to his tragic demise, Lee Morgan was one of hard bop’s greatest trumpeters, and indeed one of the finest of the ’60s. An all-around master of his instrument modeled after Clifford Brown, Morgan boasted an effortless, virtuosic technique and a full, supple, muscular tone that was just as powerful in the high register. His playing was always emotionally charged, regardless of the specific mood: cocky and exuberant on up-tempo groovers, blistering on bop-oriented technical showcases, sweet and sensitive on ballads. In his early days as a teen prodigy, Morgan was a busy soloist with a taste for long, graceful lines, and honed his personal style while serving an apprenticeship in Art Blakey‘s Jazz Messengers.

As his original compositions began to take in elements of blues and R&B, he made greater use of space and developed an infectiously funky rhythmic sense. He also found ways to mimic human vocal inflections by stuttering, slurring his articulations, and employing half-valved sound effects. Toward the end of his career, Morgan was increasingly moving into modal music and free bop, hinting at the avant-garde but remaining grounded in tradition. He had already overcome a severe drug addiction, but sadly, he would not live to continue his musical growth; he was shot to death by his common-law wife in 1972.

Bassist Bob Cranshaw played on Lee Morgan’s immortal “The Sidewinder.” Here, he remembers the session, and offers his thoughts on the great trumpeter, who died tragically at the age of 33:

Album of the day:

The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected this album as part of its suggested “Core Collection” (with a crown) calling the title track “a glorious 24-bar theme as sinuous and stinging as the beast of the title. It was both the best and worst thing that was ever to happen to Morgan before the awful events of 19 February 1972.” The album was identified by Scott Yanow in his Allmusic essay “Hard Bop” as one of the 17 Essential Hard Bop Recordings.

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Music Calendar, Rolling Stones

Today: The Rolling Stones released the “Honky Tonk Women” single in 1969 – 43 years ago

I met a gin soaked, bar-room queen in memphis,
She tried to take me upstairs for a ride.
She had to heave me right across her shoulder
Cause I just can’t seem to drink you off my mind.

From Wikipedia:

“Honky Tonk Women” is a 1969 hit song by The Rolling Stones. Released as a single on 4 July 1969 in the United Kingdom and a week later in the United States, it topped the charts in both nations.

B-side “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
Released 4 July 1969 (UK)
11 July 1969 (US)
Format 7″
Recorded June 1969
Olympic Studios, London
Genre Hard rock
Length 3:02
Label Decca F.12952 (UK)
London 45.910 (US)
Writer(s) Jagger/Richards
Producer Jimmy Miller

Two versions of the song were recorded by the band: the familiar hit which appeared on the 45 single and their collection of late 1960s singles, Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2); and a honky-tonk version entitled “Country Honk” with slightly different lyrics, which appeared on Let It Bleed. The concert rendition of the song featured on Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! differs from both the hit version and the country version, with a markedly different guitar introduction and an entirely different second verse, but is much closer to the single version than the album version.

Live from Hide Park, London – 1969:

Live from Madison Sq Garden, NYC – Nov 1969:

album of the day:

 

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