Tag Archives: Soul

Music Calendar

Lou Reed profile

lou-reed

One chord is fine. Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you’re into jazz.
~Lou Reed

I think that everything happens for a reason, everything happens when it’s going to happen.
~Lou Reed

…he’s often cited as punk’s most important ancestor. It’s often overlooked, though, that he’s equally skilled at celebrating romantic joy, and rock & roll itself, as he is at depicting harrowing urban realities.
~Richie Unterberger

Patti Smith inducts Velvet Underground Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 1996:

Sweet Jane (@ Letterman 1993):

Wikipedia:

Birth name Lewis Allan Reed
Born March 2, 1942 (age 71)
Brooklyn, New York
United States
Genres Rock, experimental rock, art rock, protopunk, noise music, drone music, psychedelic rock, folk rock, glam rock, blue-eyed soul, spoken word
Occupations Musician, songwriter, producer, photographer
Instruments Vocals, guitar, ostrich guitar, bass, synthesizer, keyboards, piano, harmonica, drums, percussion
Years active 1964–present
Labels Matador, MGM, RCA, Sire, Reprise, Warner Bros.
Associated acts The Velvet Underground, John Cale, Nico,David Bowie, The Killers, Mick Ronson, Gorillaz, Laurie Anderson, Peter Gabriel, Metallica, Metric
Website www.loureed.com

Lewis Allan “Lou” Reed (born March 2, 1942) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his solo career, which has spanned several decades. Though the Velvet Underground were a commercial failure in the late 1960s, the group has gained a considerable cult following in the years since its demise and has gone on to become one of the most widely cited and influential bands of the era. As the Velvet Underground’s principal songwriter, Reed wrote about subjects of personal experience that rarely had been examined so openly in rock and roll, including sexuality and drug culture.

The-Velvet-Underground

After his departure from the group, Reed began a solo career in 1971. He had a hit the following year with “Walk on the Wild Side”, although he subsequently lacked the mainstream commercial success its chart status seemed to indicate. Reed’s work as a solo artist frustrated critics wishing for a return of the Velvet Underground. In 1975, Reed released a double album of feedback loops, Metal Machine Music, upon which he later commented, “No one is supposed to be able to do a thing like that and survive.”

lou reed

A Walk On The Wild Side (Live at Farm Aid 1985):

 Album of the day:

New York (1989)

lou reed newyork

Other March 02:

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Motown, Music Calendar, Soul

Today: Smokey Robinson is 73

smokey robinson

I don’t ever balk at being considered a Motown person, because Motown is the greatest musical event that ever happened in the history of music.
~Smokey Robinson

Berry Gordy founded Motown Records, but one could argue that Smokey Robinson was the man who first pushed America’s most iconic soul music label toward greatness.
~Mark Deming (allmusic.com)

The Tracks Of My Tears Live (1965)

Wikipedia:

Birth name William Robinson, Jr.
Born February 19, 1940 (age 73)
Origin Detroit, Michigan, United States
Genres R&B, soul, pop, adult contemporary
Occupations Singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive
Instruments Vocals, piano
Years active 1955–present
Labels Motown, Universal, SBK, Liquid 8, Robso
Associated acts The Miracles, The Temptations, Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye
Website Official website

William “Smokey” Robinson, Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson was the founder and front man of the popular Motown vocal group The Miracles, for which he also served as the group’s chief songwriter and producer. Robinson led the group from its 1955 origins as The Five Chimes until 1972 when he announced a retirement from the stage to focus on his role as Motown’s vice president.

I Second That Emotion:

However, Robinson returned to the music industry as a solo artist the following year, later having solo hits such as “Baby That’s Backatcha”, “A Quiet Storm”, “The Agony and the Ecstasy”, “Cruisin'”, “Being With You” and “Just to See Her”. Following the sale of Motown Records in 1988, Robinson left Motown in 1990. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

smokey robinson2

 Awards and accolades

  • In 1987, Robinson was inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
  • Two years later, in 1989, he was inducted to the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame
  • In 1993, Robinson was awarded a medal at the National Medal of Arts
  • Two years before, he won the Heritage Award at the Soul Train Music Awards
  • At its 138th Commencement Convocation in May 2006, Howard University conferred on Robinson the degree of Doctor of Music, honoris causa
  • In December 2006 Robinson was one of five Kennedy Center honorees, along with Dolly Parton, Zubin Mehta, Steven Spielberg and Andrew Lloyd Webber
  • On May 9, 2009, Smokey Robinson received an honorary doctorate degree and gave a commencement speech at Berklee College of Music’s commencement ceremony

On March 20, 2009, The Miracles were finally honored as a group with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Smokey was present with original Miracles members Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, (Bobby’s cousin) Claudette Rogers, and Gloria White, accepting for her husband, the late Ronnie White, whose daughter Pamela and granddaughter Maya were there representing him as well. Smokey’s replacement, 1970s Miracles lead singer, Billy Griffin was also honored. Controversially, original Miracle Marv Tarplin was not honored, against the wishes of his fellow Miracles, and the group’s fans, who felt that he should have also been there to share the honor. However, later ,Tarplin did receive his star. He was also finally inducted with the rest of the original Miracles, Bobby Bogers, Pete Moore, Ronnie White,and Claudette Robinson, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 20th, 2012, some 26 years after Robinson’s controversial solo induction in 1987.

the Miracles

 Album of the day:

Ooo Baby Baby: The Anthology (2002)

the miracles ooo baby anthology

Other Feb 19:

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Music Calendar, Rock'n Roll, Soul

Today: Ray Charles recorded “What’d I Say” in 1959 – 54 years ago

Ray_Charles_-_What'd_I_Say

I’m not one to interpret my own songs, but if you can’t figure out ‘What I Say’, then something’s wrong. Either that, or you’re not accustomed to the sweet sounds of love.
—Ray Charles

The feel comes from gospel but the resulting witty, elegant essay on rhythm and sex and why they’re inseparable is purely pagan.
~Dave Marsh (The Heart of Rock & Soul)

wikipedia:

Released July 1959
Format 7-inch single
Recorded February 18, 1959
Genre Soul, blues, gospel, rock and roll
Length 6:30
Label Atlantic
Writer(s) Ray Charles
Producer Jerry Wexler

“What’d I Say” (or “What I Say“) is a song by American rhythm and blues (R&B) musician Ray Charles, released in 1959 as a single divided into two parts. It was improvised one evening late in 1958 when Charles, his orchestra, and backup singers had played their entire set list at a show and still had time left; the response from many audiences was so enthusiastic that Charles announced to his producer that he was going to record it.

 ray charles what'd I say

 After his run of R&B hits, this song finally broke Charles into mainstream pop music and itself sparked a new sub-genre of R&B titled soul, finally putting together all the elements that Charles had been creating since he recorded “I Got a Woman” in 1954. The gospel influences combined with the sexual innuendo in the song made it not only widely popular but very controversial to both white and black audiences. It earned Ray Charles his first gold record and has been one of the most influential songs in R&B and rock and roll history. For the rest of his career, Charles closed every concert with the song. It was added to the National Recording Registry in 2002 and ranked at number 10 in Rolling Stone‘s “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.

ray charles what'd i say

“Ray would call and say that he had a few songs but he wouldn’t usually comment on them beforehand. He called me up before he brought “What’d I Say” in and said, “I think you might like this one pretty well.” That constituted a rave from him and it was very easy to record. It was hardly a song: it was an extended rhythm lick with a few jingle-like verses: “See that girl with the red dress on, She can do the Birdland all night long”, not exactly Shakespearian innovation. He had strung a few lines together but the essence of that record was the boiling rhythm track and the exchanges between himself and the Raelets.”
– Jerry Wexler (Co-owner of Atlantic Records & legendary producer)

Live – 1960:

Album of the day:

The Best of Ray Charles – Atlantic Years (1994)

Ray_Charles_-_The_Best_of_Ray_Charles_-_The_Atlantic_Years

Other February 18

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Music Calendar, Rock'n Roll

Today: The late Gene Vincent was born in 1935 – 78 years ago

Gene Vincent

“When I first started I never meant to make money. My only thought was to make a living singing, but all of a sudden I was getting $1500 a night. And if you take a 19-year-old boy and put him in those circumstances…it was a bad scene, it shouldn’t have happened on that first record. I didn’t know how to handle a hit: I was only a child, a boy.”
~Gene Vincent in 1969

Gene Vincent only had one really big hit, “Be-Bop-a-Lula,” which epitomized rockabilly at its prime in 1956 with its sharp guitar breaks, spare snare drums, fluttering echo, and Vincent’s breathless, sexy vocals. Yet his place as one of the great early rock & roll singers is secure, backed up by a wealth of fine smaller hits and non-hits that rate among the best rockabilly of all time.
~Richie Unterberger (allmusic.com)

Gene Vincent tribute:

Be-Bop-A-Lula:

Wikipedia:

Birth name Vincent Eugene Craddock
Born February 11, 1935
Norfolk, Virginia, United States
Died October 12, 1971 (aged 36)
Genres Rockabilly, rock and roll
Occupations Singer, musician
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Years active 1955–1971

Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, “Be-Bop-A-Lula”, is considered a significant early example of rockabilly. He is a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

gene vincent 2

 

Legacy

  • He was the first inductee into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame upon its formation in 1997
  • The following year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
  • Vincent has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1749 N. Vine Street
  • In 2012, his band, the Blue Caps, would be retroactively inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by a special committee, alongside Vincent.

Album of the day

Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps (1957)

gene vincent and his blue caps album

Other February 11:

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Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Film, Rolling Stones, Soul, Southern rock, To Watch

New documentary: Muscle Shoals

SundanceMuscleShoals_480x720

“You’re in rock’n roll heaven, man”
– Keith Richards

We can hardly wait, this is really the stuff of legends. The new documentary, “Muscle Shoals” will soon be released, it was shown on The Sundance festival 26th of January. The film was inspired by a magical visit to the town of the same name in Alabama. Camalier a self-taught filmmaker expresses his passion using his instinct, sensibility, and great appreciation of the art form. His original approach to this music documentary is clear in the mystical and evocative way he tells the story of Muscle Shoals.

From Rolling Stone Magazine:

Filled with interviews with a wide array of artists and never-before-seen footage, Muscle Shoals tells the story of this Northern Alabama town and the many hits that came out of its legendary recording spaces: Rick Hall’s FAME Studios and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, which was started by FAME’s former rhythm section, the Swampers. “Being there does inspire you to do it slightly differently,” says Mick Jagger in the trailer. “It was really funky; you know, that was the whole idea of it.”

The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio was formed in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in 1969 when musicians Barry Beckett (keyboards), Roger Hawkins (drums), Jimmy Johnson (guitar) and David Hood (bass) (called The Swampers) left FAME Studios to create their own studio. The Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section, as they became known, was the first rhythm section to own its own studio and, eventually, its own publishing and production companies.

MickJagger_and_JerryWexler

The distinctive accompaniment and arrangements have been heard on a tremendous amount legendary recordings, including those from Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and the Staple Singers among others. Many artists have recorded hit songs and complete albums at the studio. (read more on Wikipedia)

A short clip of director  Greg Camalier  explaining why he made the movie:

Back in 2008, he was driving from the East Coast to New Mexico with a friend when Camalier saw a road sign for Muscle Shoals. Camalier was a music fan who had heard bits of information about the place for years, but didn’t know much about it. They decided to spend the night in Muscle Shoals, and he and his friend talked about why they had never seen a film about that small yet crucial slice of music history.

FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) Studios are located at 603 East Avalon in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. They have been an integral part of American popular music from the late 1950s to the present. Artists who recorded there included Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Joe Tex, Duane Allman, The Hour Glass, Clarence Carter, Candi Staton, Mac Davis, Paul Anka, Tom Jones, Etta James, Andy Williams, The Osmonds, Shenandoah, and many others. The studio was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on December 15, 1997. (read more, Wikipedia)

From the recording of Saved
From the recording of Saved

From www.muscleshoalsmovie.com:
Located on the banks of the Tennessee River, Muscle Shoals, Alabama is the unlikely breeding ground for some of the most creative and defiant music in American history.
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