James Brown, Music Calendar, Soul

May 3: James Brown Birthday

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james brown

When I’m on stage, I’m trying to do one thing: bring people joy. Just like church does. People don’t go to church to find trouble, they go there to lose it.
~James Brown

The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing.
~James Brown

“Soul Brother Number One,” “the Godfather of Soul,” “the Hardest Working Man in Show Business,” “Mr. Dynamite” — those are mighty titles, but no one can question that James Brown earned them more than any other performer. Other singers were more popular, others were equally skilled, but few other African-American musicians were so influential over the course of popular music. And no other musician, pop or otherwise, put on a more exciting, exhilarating stage show: Brown’s performances were marvels of athletic stamina and split-second timing.
~Richie Unterberger (allmusic.com)

Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag – from TV program Shindig:

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Bob Dylan

Ben E. King and Bob Dylan

Ben_E_King bob dylan

Ben E. King passed away April 30, 2015.

In this post I will connect Ben E. King to Bob Dylan.

  1. Ben E. King
  2. Ben E. King covering Bob Dylan
  3. Ben E. King & Bob Dylan together on stage
  4. Bob Dylan mentions “Stand By Me”.. a couple of times

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Ben E. King

Birth name Benjamin Earl Nelson
Also known as Ben E. King
Born September 28, 1938
Henderson, North Carolina
Origin Harlem, New York
Died April 30, 2015 (aged 76)
Hackensack, New Jersey
Genres Soul, R&B, pop, doo-wop
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter, record producer
Instruments Vocals, guitar, piano,keyboards
Years active 1958–2015
Labels Atco Records
Atlantic Records
Ichiban Records
Associated acts The Drifters
The Five Crowns
Website www.beneking.info

Benjamin Earl King (September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015), professionally known by his pseudonym Ben E. King, was an American soul and R&B singer. He was perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of “Stand by Me“—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later in 1986 (when it was used as the theme to the film of the same name), a number one hit in the UK in 1987, and #25 on the RIAA’s list of Songs of the Century—and as one of the principal lead singers of the R&B vocal group the Drifters.

Stand By Me

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Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan other, Bob Dylans's best songs, List

Bob Dylan’s best songs from the 1960s

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672225d Bob Dylan

[on songwriting] The song was there before me, before I came along. I just sorta came down and I sorta took it down with a pencil that it was all there before I came around. That’s how I feel about it.
~to Pete Seeger, Broadside Show, WBAI-FM Radio, May 1962

Anything I can sing, I call a song. Anything I can’t sing, I call a poem. Anything I can’t sing or anything that’s too long to be a poem, I call a novel.
~Nat Hentoff quoting Dylan, jacket notes Freewheeling Dylan

“It’s hard being free in a song – getting it all in. Songs are so confining. Woody Guthrie told me once that songs don’t have to do anything like that. But it’s not true. A song has to have some kind of form to fit into the music. You can bend the words and the meter, but it still has to fit somehow. I’ve been getting freer in the songs I write, but I still feel confined. That’s why I write a lot of poetry – if that’s the word. Poetry can make it’s own form.”
~Nat Hentoff Interview, June 1964

“A song is anything that can walk by itself, I am called a songwriter. A poem is a naked person, some people say that I am a poet”.
~Jacket notes Subterranean Homesick Blues

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Saturday (April 12 – 2014) I asked the question – What’s your top 5 Bob Dylan songs recorded in the 60’s ? – over at our Facebook page. As of writing 72 people (all Bob Dylan experts)  have uttered their opinions.

If you’re not on Facebook, or do not “like” our page.. you can use the comment section to post your 5 favorites.

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Blues, Gospel, Jazz, The Best Songs

The Best Songs: St. James Infirmary blues

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George E. Lee's Novelty Singing orchestra
George E. Lee’s Novelty Singing orchestra

“One place you’re going to find a lot of doctors is St. James Infirmary. This song’s history is convoluted and fascinating. Louis Armstrong recorded it as early as nineteen and twenty-eight, but it goes back much further. According to one study it got its start as a ballad called ‘The Unfortunate Rake’…”
– Bob Dylan (Theme Time Radio Hour, Doctors)

The Best Songs: St. James Infirmary blues

“St. James Infirmary Blues” is an American folksong of anonymous origin, though sometimes credited to the songwriter Joe Primrose (a pseudonym for Irving Mills). Louis Armstrong made it famous in his influential 1928 recording.

There are hundreds of recordings and it has been difficult to choose my favourites. I’ve tried to pick some for their historic significance and some just because they are so incredibly good.

“St. James Infirmary” is based on an 18th-century traditional English folk song called “The Unfortunate Rake” (also known as “The Unfortunate Lad” or “The Young Man Cut Down in His Prime”), about a soldier who uses his money on prostitutes, and then dies of a venereal disease.

My first pick is an a cappella version of The Unfortunate Rake done by  Ian McShane from the TV-series Deadwood (we can also clearly hear the melody that became Streets of Laredo):

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Blues

May 1: Little Walter was born in 1930

Little_Walter

 

May 1: Little Walter was born in 1930

..king of all post-war blues harpists,…. The fiery harmonica wizard took the humble mouth organ in dazzling amplified directions that were unimaginable prior to his ascendancy.
~Bill Dahl (allmusic.com)

Induction of Little Walter into R&R Hall of Fame in 2008:

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