Tag Archives: Porter Wagoner

Today: Stevie Wonder released “Talking Book” in 1972 – 41 years ago

talking-book-steve wonder

 The artist breaks through and takes control, though not in that order. Suddenly he’s writing better ballads than he used to choose, and not at any sacrifice of his endearing natural bathos (if you have doubts about “Sunshine of My Life,” try “Blame It on the Sun”). “Maybe Your Baby” and “Big Brother” continue his wild multi-voice experiments but come in out of left field. And “Superstition” translates his way of knowledge into hard-headed, hard-rocking political analysis.
~Robert Christgau

From Wikipedia:

Released October 28, 1972
Recorded 1972
Genre Soul, funk
Length 43:31
Label Tamla
Producer Stevie Wonder, Robert Margouleff,Malcolm Cecil

Talking Book is the fifteenth album by Stevie Wonder, released on October 28, 1972. A signal recording of his “classic period”, in this one he “hit his stride.” The album’s first track, “You Are the Sunshine of My Life”, earned Wonder his first Grammy Award, for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Superstition live on Sesame Street:

Sandwiched between the release of Music of My Mind and InnervisionsTalking Book saw Wonder enjoying more artistic freedom from Motown. Guest appearances include Jeff Beck, Ray Parker, Jr., David Sanborn, and Buzz Feiten. The sound of the album is sharply defined by Wonder’s keyboard work, especially with the synthesizers he incorporated, giving a funky edge to tracks like “Maybe Your Baby”. His use of the Hohner clavinet model C on “Superstition” is widely regarded as one of the definitive tracks featuring the instrument. His swinging clavinet and harmonica embellishments on “Big Brother”, though, defy categorization.

Stevie_Wonder-Talking_Book-Interior_Frontal

Reception:

Released after Wonder toured with the Rolling Stones in 1972, Talking Book became an immediate hit. The popular appeal of the recording helped destroy the myth that R&B artists were incapable of creating music that could be appreciated by rock audiences, and marked a unique period for R&B artists (especially Motown artists).

  • Talking Book peaked at #3 on the Pop Albums chart, and became the first album for Wonder to top the Top R&B Albums chart where it remained for three weeks.
  • Wonder won three awards for Talking Book at the 1974 Grammys: Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “You Are the Sunshine of My Life”, and both Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song for “Superstition”.
  • Incidentally, at the same ceremony, Wonder’s next album, Innervisions, won Album of the Year and Talking Book’s producers Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff won the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical award for their work on that album.
  • In 2003, the album was ranked number 90 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

You are The Sunshine of My Life – Rainbow Theatre in London. Feb 1974:

Songs

  1. “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” 2:58
  2. “Maybe Your Baby” 6:51
  3. “You and I (We Can Conquer the World)” 4:38
  4. “Tuesday Heartbreak” 3:02
  5. “You’ve Got It Bad Girl” (Wonder, Yvonne Wright) 4:59
  6. “Superstition” 4:26
  7. “Big Brother” 3:34
  8. “Blame It on the Sun” (Wonder, Syreeta Wright) 3:26
  9. “Looking for Another Pure Love” (Wonder, Syreeta Wright) 4:43
  10. “I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)” (Wonder, Yvonne Wright)

 

Album of the day – Talking Book (1972):

From allmusic.com – John Bush:
After releasing two “head” records during 1970-71, Stevie Wonder expanded his compositional palate with 1972’s Talking Book to include societal ills as well as tender love songs, and so recorded the first smash album of his career. What had been hinted at on the intriguing project Music of My Mind was here focused into a laser beam of tight songwriting, warm electronic arrangements, and ebullient performances — altogether the most realistic vision of musical personality ever put to wax, beginning with a disarmingly simple love song, “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” (but of course, it’s only the composition that’s simple). Stevie’s not always singing a tender ballad here — in fact, he flits from contentment to mistrust to promise to heartbreak within the course of the first four songs — but he never fails to render each song in the most vivid colors. In stark contrast to his early songs, which were clever but often relied on the Motown template of romantic metaphor, with Talking Book it became clear Stevie Wonder was beginning to speak his mind and use personal history for material (just as Marvin Gaye had with the social protest of 1971’s What’s Going On).   … read more over @ allmusic.com

Other October 28:

Continue reading Today: Stevie Wonder released “Talking Book” in 1972 – 41 years ago

Dolly Parton’s 20 best songs

dolly parton 2

Dolly Parton’s 20 best songs according to Hallgeir.

This was hard. It was supposed to be a top 10 list, but I just couldn’t cut the list down to just ten songs.

15 songs written by Dolly Parton, 1 by W. Guthrie and 4 traditional songs. The first 15 are orginal Parton compositions.

Dolly Parton and Mick Jagger:
Dolly Parton and Mick Jagger

Take away the glitz and the bling,  what’s left is a tremendous artist. Dolly Parton is one of the best performers out there and she is one of the all time best songwriters. 20 songs from a singer and songwriter that I consider to be world class.

Here are my chosen 20:

1. Jolene:

2. Coat of many colors:

3. I will always love you:

4. Daddy come and get me:

Continue reading Dolly Parton’s 20 best songs

Today: Dolly Parton is 67

Dolly Parton

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”
― Dolly Parton

“Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”
― Dolly Parton

“I tried every diet in the book. I tried some that weren’t in the book. I tried eating the book. It tasted better than most of the diets.”
― Dolly Parton

Here’s a nice tribute video – Gospel Music Hall of Fame 2009:

Jolene – live 1974:

In her productivity and devotion to writing Parton is like a nineteenth-century woman novelist–a hillbilly Louisa May Alcott. What’s best about her is her spunkiness and prettiness (Jo crossed with Amy); what’s worst is her sentimentality and failures of imagination (Beth crossed with Meg).
~Robert Christgau (Christgau – Dolly Parton albums)

From Wikipedia:

Birth name Dolly Rebecca Parton
Born January 19, 1946 (age 67)
Sevierville, Tennessee, United States
Genres Country, country pop, pop, bluegrass, gospel
Occupations Singer-songwriter, record producer, actress, author, musician, businesswoman
Instruments Vocals, guitar, banjo, autoharp, piano, drums, appalachian dulcimer, harmonica, pennywhistle, recorder, fiddle, bass guitar, saxophone

Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actress, author, and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music.

Beginning her career as a child performer, Parton issued a few modestly successful singles in the mid-1960s, showcasing her distinctive soprano voice. She came to greater prominence in 1967 as a featured performer on singer Porter Wagoner’s weekly television program; their first duet single “The Last Thing on My Mind” was a hit on the country charts and led to several successful albums before they ended their partnership in 1974. Moving towards mainstream pop music, Parton’s 1977 single “Here You Come Again” was a success on both the country and pop charts. A string of pop-country hits followed into the mid-1980s, notably recording a pair of successful albums with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, along with the creation of the Dollywood amusement park. In the late 1990s, Parton returned to classic country/bluegrass with a series of acclaimed recordings.

Dolly Parton2

Coat Of My Colors – live 1974:

She has composed over 3,000 songs, the best known of which include “I Will Always Love You” (a two-time U.S. country chart-topper for Parton, as well as an international pop hit for Whitney Houston), “Jolene”, “Coat of Many Colors”, “Here You Come Again” (Parton’s first significant crossover hit, reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100), “9 to 5”, and “My Tennessee Mountain Home”. Parton is one of the most successful female country artists of all time, and with an estimated 100 million in album sales, she is also one of the best selling artists of all time in any genre.

As an actress, she starred in the movies 9 to 5The Best Little Whorehouse in TexasSteel MagnoliasGnomeo & JulietStraight TalkUnlikely Angel, and Joyful Noise.

Dolly Parton3

I Will Always Love You – live 1974:

Album of the day:

The Essential Dolly Parton (2005):

album-the-essential-dolly-parton

 

There have been many, many Dolly Parton compilations over the years, but RCA/Legacy’s 2005 set The Essential Dolly Parton is one of the handful that gets it right. Spanning two discs and 37 tracks, this set covers her entire career, from her 1967 debut, Hello, I’m Dolly, to her 2001 bluegrass comeback album, Little Sparrow, but the bulk of this set concentrates on her hitmaking years for RCA in the ’70s and ’80s. Since Dolly had so many hits, not all of them can be included even on a double-disc collection, but this does a tremendous job of picking the biggest and the best of them.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)

Other January 19:

Continue reading Today: Dolly Parton is 67

Today: Stevie Wonder released “Talking Book” in 1972 – 40 years ago

 The artist breaks through and takes control, though not in that order. Suddenly he’s writing better ballads than he used to choose, and not at any sacrifice of his endearing natural bathos (if you have doubts about “Sunshine of My Life,” try “Blame It on the Sun”). “Maybe Your Baby” and “Big Brother” continue his wild multi-voice experiments but come in out of left field. And “Superstition” translates his way of knowledge into hard-headed, hard-rocking political analysis.
~Robert Christgau

From Wikipedia:

Released October 28, 1972
Recorded 1972
Genre Soul, funk
Length 43:31
Label Tamla
Producer Stevie Wonder, Robert Margouleff,Malcolm Cecil

Talking Book is the fifteenth album by Stevie Wonder, released on October 28, 1972. A signal recording of his “classic period”, in this one he “hit his stride.” The album’s first track, “You Are the Sunshine of My Life”, earned Wonder his first Grammy Award, for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Superstition live on Sesame Street:

Sandwiched between the release of Music of My Mind and InnervisionsTalking Book saw Wonder enjoying more artistic freedom from Motown. Guest appearances include Jeff BeckRay Parker, Jr.David Sanborn, and Buzz Feiten. The sound of the album is sharply defined by Wonder’s keyboard work, especially with the synthesizers he incorporated, giving a funky edge to tracks like “Maybe Your Baby”. His use of the Hohner clavinet model C on “Superstition” is widely regarded as one of the definitive tracks featuring the instrument. His swinging clavinet and harmonica embellishments on “Big Brother”, though, defy categorization.

  Continue reading Today: Stevie Wonder released “Talking Book” in 1972 – 40 years ago

Today: The late Buck Owens was born in 1929 – 83 years ago

From Wikipedia:

Birth name Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr.
Born August 12, 1929
Sherman, Texas
Died March 25, 2006 (aged 76)
Bakersfield, California
Genres Country, Bakersfield sound
Occupations singer, bandleader, TV host
Instruments vocals, guitar
Years active 1945–2006
Labels Capitol Records, Sundazed Records
Associated acts The BuckaroosSusan RayeRose MaddoxDwight YoakamRoy Clark
Website Owens’ Web site

Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), better known as Buck Owens which then was one of the most enthusiastic musicians in country music history, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos. They pioneered what came to be called the Bakersfield sound—a reference to Bakersfield, California, the city Owens called home and from which he drew inspiration for what he preferred to call American music.

While Owens originally used fiddle and retained pedal steel guitar into the 1970s, his sound on records and onstage was always more stripped-down and elemental, incorporating elements of rock and roll. His signature style was based on simple storylines, infectious choruses, a twangy electric guitar, an insistent rhythm supplied by a drum track placed forward in the mix, and high two-part harmonies featuring Owens and his guitarist Don Rich.

From Allmusic (Stephen Thomas Erlewine):

Buck Owens, along with Merle Haggard, was the leader of the Bakersfield sound, a twangy, electricified, rock-influenced interpretation of hardcore honky tonk that emerged in the ’60s. Owens was the first bona fide country star to emerge from Bakersfield, scoring a total of 15 consecutive number one hits in the mid-’60s. In the process, he provided an edgy alternative to the string-laden country-pop that was being produced during the ’60s. Later in his career, his musical impact was forgotten by some as he became a television personality through the country comedy show Hee Haw. Nevertheless, several generations of musicians — from Gram Parsons in the late ’60s to Dwight Yoakam in the ’80s — were influenced by his music, which wound up being one of the blueprints for modern country music.

More on->  allmusic.com

Loves Gonna Live Here:

Act Naturally:

Album of the day:

Other August-12:

Continue reading Today: The late Buck Owens was born in 1929 – 83 years ago