Category Archives: Soul

Curtis Mayfield, Funk, Great albums, Soul

Curtis Mayfield released Roots in October 1971

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curtis-mayfield-roots

Roots is Curtis Mayfield’s second studio album, released in October 1971, we don’t know the exact date so we will do the celebration today.

Curtis Mayfield – Keep on keeping on (BBC TV, 1972):

I love Mayfield’s pleading voice and strong songwriting. In a just world this album would be as well-known as Marvin Gaye’s What’s Goin on, it is equally good. It has many similarities with What’s Goin’ on, the long songs (relatively), the far-reaching ambition both lyrically and musically, the heartbreaking and soulful ballads and the sweet voice of a soul legend at his peak.

The music is extremely bold, Curtis Mayfield creates a sound scape that is both complex and simple at the same time.

And you can dance to it!

Curtis Mayfield – Get Down (Soul Train, 1972):

“The music is even bolder than the material on the Curtis album, with Mayfield expanding his instrumental range to the level of a veritable soul orchestra; and the recording is better realized, as Mayfield, with that album and a tour behind him, shows a degree of confidence that only a handful of soul artists of this era could have mustered. “
– Bruce Eder (allmusic)

Curtis Mayfield – Roots on Spotify:

– Hallgeir

Jazz, Music Calendar, Soul

Today: Mavis Staples is 74 – Happy Birthday

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Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples  was born July 10, 1939 in Chicago, Illinois she is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress and civil rights activist who recorded with The Staple Singers, her family’s band.

The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck “Pops” Staples (1914–2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha (1934–2013), Pervis (b. 1935), Yvonne (b. 1936), and Mavis (b. 1939). They are best known for their 1970s hits “Respect Yourself”, “I’ll Take You There”, “If You’re Ready (Come Go with Me)”, and “Let’s Do It Again”.

Biography from Allmusic (Rob Bowman):

She first recorded solo for Stax subsidiary Volt in 1969. Subsequent efforts included a Curtis Mayfield-produced soundtrack on Curtom, a disappointing nod to disco for Warner in 1979, a misguided stab at electro-pop with Holland-Dozier-Holland in 1984, and an uneven album for Paisley Park. Staples has a rich contralto voice that has neither the range of Aretha Franklin nor the power of Patti LaBelle. Her otherworldly power comes instead from a masterful command of phrasing and a deep-seated sensuality expressed through timbre manipulation.

Both the Staple Singers andMavis found fresh audiences stemming from their participation on the CD Rhythm Country and Blues, and in 1996 she issued Spirituals & Gospel: Dedicated to Mahalia Jackson. Her next recording project didn’t land for another eight years, although Have a Little Faith on Alligator became her highest-profile release in years. We’ll Never Turn Back appeared three years later in 2007.

Staples teamed up with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy as producer for 2010’s You Are Not Alone, which won the 2011 Grammy Award in the category of Best Americana Album. One True Vine, released in 2013, was also produced by Tweedy and featured a mix of old and new songs written by the likes of George Clinton, Alan Sparhawk (Low), and Nick Lowe.

Mavis Staples with Jeff Tweedy

The Weight – The Band with The Staple Singers (from The Last Waltz):

Album of Today is Mavis’ fantastic new record, One True Vine:
one true vine

Other 10 July:
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Music Calendar, Soul

Today: Bill Withers is 75

Bill Withers

I feel that it is healthier to look out at the world through a window than through a mirror. Otherwise, all you see is yourself and whatever is behind you.
~Bill Withers

Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, It’s not warm when she’s away, Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, And she’s always gone too long, Anytime she goes away.
~Bill Withers (Ain’t No Sunshine)

Ain’t No Sunshine (Live 1971):

Wikipedia:

Birth name William Harrison Withers, Jr.
Born July 4, 1938 (age 75)
Slab Fork, West Virginia, U.S.
Origin Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres Soul, smooth soul, R&B, blues
Occupations Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments Vocals, guitar, keyboards
Years active 1967–1985
Labels Sussex Records
Columbia Records
Website billwithersmusic.com

William Harrison “Bill” Withers, Jr. (born July 4, 1938) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. He recorded a number of hits such as “Lean on Me”, “Ain’t No Sunshine”, “Use Me”, “Just the Two of Us”, “Lovely Day”, and “Grandma’s Hands”. His life was the subject of the 2009 documentary film Still Bill.

Bill Withers

Here is a lovely interview from 2007:

Lean on Me (Live 1973):

Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain
We all have sorrow

But if we are wise
We know that there’s
Always tomorrow

Lean on me, when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on

Album of the day:

Still Bill (1972)

Bill Withers still bill

Bill Withers came into his own on his third album, Still Bill. Released in 1972, the record is a remarkable summation of a number of contemporary styles: the smooth soul coming out of Philly, smoky, late-night funk via Bobby Womack, bluesy Southern soul, and ’70s singer/songwriterism. It’s rich, subtly layered music, but its best attribute is that it comes on easy, never sounding labored or overworked. In fact, it takes several spins of the album to realize just how versatile Withers is on Still Bill, to hear how he makes intricate, funky rhythms sound as effortless and simple as the album’s best-known song, the gospel-tinged inspirational anthem “Lean on Me.” That’s the genius behind Withers’ music: it’s warm and easily accessible, but it has a depth and complexity that reveals itself over numerous plays — and, given the sound and feel of the music, from the lush arrangements to his comforting voice, it’s easy to want to play this again and again. …..
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)

Other July 4:

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Funk, Music Calendar, Soul

Today: The late Curtis Mayfield was born in 1942 – 71 years ago

Curtis Mayfield is one of those artists that sounded cool no matter what he sang, he was a master songwriter and a tremendous guitar player.

Freddie’s Dead (live, early 70s?):

Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999)  is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly regarded as a pioneer of funk and of politically conscious African-American music. He was also a multi-instrumentalist who played the guitar, bass, piano, saxophone, and drums.

Paul Weller interviewing his hero, the late Curtis Mayfield, most likely before Mayfield’s gig at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz club in the Soho area of London on 31st July 1988:

Curtis Mayfield is a winner of both the Grammy Legend Award (in 1994) and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (in 1995), and was a double inductee into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted as a member of The Impressions into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, and again in 1999 as a solo artist. He is also a two-time Grammy Hall of Fame inductee.

Curtis Mayfield in concert Montreux 1987 (full concert):

Curtis Mayfield died in 1999 at age 57, nine years after he was left paralyzed from the neck down by a tragic accident during a concert in Brooklyn.

Awards and legacy

Mayfield has left a remarkable legacy for his introduction of social consciousness into R&B and for pioneering the funk style. Many of his recordings with the Impressions became anthems of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, and his most famous album, Super Fly, is regarded as an all-time great that influenced many and truly invented a new style of modern black music.

  • Mayfield’s solo Super Fly is ranked #69 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
  • The Impressions’ album/CD The Anthology 1961–1977 is ranked at #179 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of all time.
  • Along with his group The Impressions, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
  • In 1999, he was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist making him one of the few artists to become double inductees.
  • Posthumously, in 2000, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
  • He was a winner of the prestigious Grammy Legend Award in 1994.
  • He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995.
  • The Impressions’ 1965 hit song, “People Get Ready”, composed by Mayfield, has been chosen as one of the Top 10 Best Songs Of All Time by a panel of 20 top industry songwriters and producers, including Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Hal David, and others, as reported to Britain’s Mojo music magazine.
  • The Impressions hits, People Get Ready and For Your Precious Love are both ranked on Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, as #24 and #327 respectively.

People Get Ready / Move on up:

Album of the day: Spotify haven’t got many of Mayfield’s albums, so we chose a good compilation, Beautiful Brother – The Essential:

Other June-03

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