Tag Archives: Soul

Music Calendar, Soul

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 Innervisions, Talking 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

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Music Calendar, Rolling Stones

Today: Bill Wyman is 77 Happy birthday

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bill_wyman

I didn’t want to stay in the Stones, and be stuck in a position having to play a music I didn’t like anymore and that restricted me from doing all the others things I’m interested in because of time.
~Bill Wyman

I wanted a variety in my life but after a couple of years I thought that music is what I do so maybe I should start doing it again.
~Bill Wyman

From Wikipedia:

Birth name William George Perks
Also known as Lee Wyman
Born 24 October 1936 (age 76)
Lewisham, London EnglandUnited Kingdom
Genres Rock, rock and roll, swing,rhythm and blues, jazz, blues,skiffle
Occupations Musician, composer, author,record producer, film producer,bandleader, photographer,inventor
Instruments Vocals, bass guitar, guitar,keyboards, percussion,autoharp
Years active 1962–present
Labels Velvel, Koch International,Rolling Stones, BMG
Associated acts The Rolling Stones, Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, Wilie & the Poor Boys, The Cliftons
Website www.billwyman.com

Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings – Chicken Shack Boogie:

Bill Wyman (born William George Perks; 24 October 1936) is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1993. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings. He has worked producing both records and film, and has scored music for film in movies and television.

Wyman has kept a journal since he was a child after World War II. It has been useful to him as an author who has written seven books, selling two million copies. Wyman’s love of art has additionally led to his proficiency in photography and his photographs have hung in galleries around the world. Wyman’s lack of funds in his early years led him to create and build his own fretless bass guitar. He became an amateur archaeologist and enjoys relic hunting; The Times published a letter about his hobby (Friday 2 March 2007). He designed and markets a patented Bill Wyman signature metal detector, which he has used to find relics in the English countryside dating back to the era of the Roman Empire.

bill wyman

As a businessman, he owns several establishments including the famous Sticky Fingers Café, a rock & roll-themed bistro serving American cuisine first opened in 1989 in the Kensington area of London and later, two additional locations in Cambridge and Manchester, England.

Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, Albert Lee & Peter Frampton – Green River:

From allmusic – Jason Ankeny:
As a member of the Rolling Stones for three decades, Bill Wyman established himself among the greatest bassists in rock & roll history; in tandem with drummer Charlie Watts, he belonged to one of the most stalwart rhythm sections in popular music, perfectly complementing the theatrics of Mick Jagger and the gritty guitar leads of Keith Richards.  …. read more @ allmusic.com

 Rolling Stones

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bill wyman compendium

Album of the day – Bill Wyman – Compendium Complete Solo Recordings:

 

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Jazz, Miles Davis, Music Calendar

Today: Miles Davis passed away in 1991 22 years ago

miles-davis

“Don’t play what’s there; play what’s not there.”
― Miles Davis

“Good music is good no matter what kind of music it is.”
― Miles Davis

From Wikipedia:

Birth name Miles Dewey Davis III
Born May 26, 1926
Alton, Illinois, United States
Died September 28, 1991 (aged 65)
Santa Monica, California, United States
Genres Jazz, hard bop, bebop, cool jazz, modal, fusion, third stream, jazz-funk, jazz rap
Occupations Bandleader, composer, trumpeter, artist
Instruments Trumpet, flugelhorn, piano,organ
Years active 1944–1975, 1980–1991
Labels Capitol Jazz/EMI,Columbia/CBS, Warner Bros.Dial Records
Associated acts Billy Eckstine, Charlie Parker,Miles Davis Quintet, Gil Evans
Website www.milesdavis.com

Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, and jazz fusion.

Miles_Davis 2

On October 7, 2008, his 1959 album Kind of Blue received its fourth platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of at least four million copies in the United States. Miles Davis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Davis was noted as “one of the key figures in the history of jazz”. On December 15, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a symbolic resolution recognizing and commemorating the album Kind of Blue on its 50th anniversary, “honoring the masterpiece and reaffirming jazz as a national treasure.”

 From allmusic.com – William Ruhlmann:

Throughout a professional career lasting 50 years, Miles Davis played the trumpet in a lyrical, introspective, and melodic style, often employing a stemless Harmon mute to make his sound more personal and intimate. But if his approach to his instrument was constant, his approach to jazz was dazzlingly protean. To examine his career is to examine the history of jazz from the mid-’40s to the early ’90s, since he was in the thick of almost every important innovation and stylistic development in the music during that period, and he often led the way in those changes, both with his own performances and recordings and by choosing sidemen and collaborators who forged new directions. It can even be argued that jazz stopped evolving when Davis wasn’t there to push it forward.
… read more over @ allmusic.com 

So What:

Legacy, influence & awards:

Miles Davis is regarded as one of the most innovative, influential and respected figures in the history of music. He has been described as “one of the great innovators in jazz”. The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll noted “Miles Davis played a crucial and inevitably controversial role in every major development in jazz since the mid-’40s, and no other jazz musician has had so profound an effect on rock. Miles Davis was the most widely recognized jazz musician of his era, an outspoken social critic and an arbiter of style—in attitude and fashion—as well as music”. His album Kind of Blue is the best-selling album in the history of jazz music. On November 5, 2009, Rep. John Conyers of Michigan sponsored a measure in the United States House of Representatives to recognize and commemorate the album on its 50th anniversary. The measure also affirms jazz as a national treasure and “encourages the United States government to preserve and advance the art form of jazz music.” It passed, unanimously, with a vote of 409–0 on December 15, 2009.

His approach, owing largely to the African American performance tradition that focused on individual expression, emphatic interaction, and creative response to shifting contents, had a profound impact on generations of jazz musicians.

In 1986, the New England Conservatory awarded Miles Davis an Honorary Doctorate for his extraordinary contributions to music. Since 1960 the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) has honored him with eight Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and three Grammy Hall of Fame Awards. In 2010, Moldejazz premiered a play called Driving Miles, which focused on a landmark concert Davis performed in Molde, Norway, in 1984.

All Blues – 1964:

  • Winner; Down Beat Reader’s Poll Best Trumpet Player 1955
  • Winner; Down Beat Reader’s Poll Best Trumpet Player 1957
  • Winner; Down Beat Reader’s Poll Best Trumpet Player 1961
  • Grammy Award for Best Jazz Composition Of More Than Five Minutes Duration for Sketches of Spain (1960)
  • Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance, Large Group Or Soloist With Large Group for Bitches Brew (1970)
  • Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist for We Want Miles (1982)
  • Sonning Award for Lifetime Achievement In Music (1984; Copenhagen, Denmark)
  • Doctor of Music, honoris causa (1986; New England Conservatory)
  • Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist for Tutu (1986)
  • Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist for Aura (1989)
  • Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band for Aura (1989)
  • Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1990)
  • Australian Film Institute Award for Best Original Music Score for Dingo, shared with Michel Legrand (1991)
  • Knight of the Legion of Honor (July 16, 1991; Paris)
  • Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance for Doo-Bop (1992)
  • Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance for Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux (1993)
  • Hollywood Walk of Fame Star (February 19, 1998)
  • Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction (March 13, 2006)
  • Hollywood’s Rockwalk Induction (September 28, 2006)
  • RIAA Quadruple Platinum for Kind of Blue
  • St. Louis Walk of Fame

I know what I’ve done for music, but don’t call me a legend. Just call me Miles Davis.

Album of the day: ‘Round Midnight (1956):

 

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Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen video, Music Calendar

Today: Bruce Springsteen is 64

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bruce springsteen

For me, I was somebody who was a smart young guy who didn’t do very well in school. The basic system of education, I didn’t fit in; my intelligence was elsewhere.
~Bruce Springsteen

The best music is essentially there to provide you something to face the world with.
~Bruce Springsteen

They call him the Boss. Well that’s a bunch of crap. He’s not the boss. He works FOR us. More than a boss, he’s the owner, because more than anyone else, Bruce Springsteen owns America’s heart.
~Bono (induction speech for at the 1999 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)

Thunder Road – live @ Hammersmith 1975:

From Wikipedia:

Also known as The Boss, Bad Scooter
Born September 23, 1949 (age 64)
Long Branch, New Jersey, United States
Genres Rock, folk rock, heartland rock,roots rock
Occupations Musician, Songwriter
Instruments Vocals, guitar, harmonica
Years active 1969–present
Labels Columbia
Associated acts The E Street Band, Steel Mill,Miami Horns, The Sessions Band, Southside Johnny, The Gaslight Anthem, Dropkick Murphys
Website www.brucespringsteen.net

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949), nicknamed “The Boss“, is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who records and tours with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock, poetic lyrics, Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey and his lengthy and energetic stage performances, with concerts from the 1970s to the present decade running up to an uninterrupted 250 minutes in length.

bruce-springsteen

Springsteen’s recordings have included both commercially accessible rock albums and more somber folk-oriented works. His most successful studio albums, Born in the U.S.A. and Born to Run, showcase a talent for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily American life; he has sold more than 65 million albums in the United States and more than 120 million worldwide and he has earned numerous awards for his work, including 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him as the 23rd Greatest Artist of all time, the 96th Greatest Guitarist of all time on their latest list and the 36th Greatest Singer of all time in 2008.

Every good writer or filmmaker has something eating at them, right? That they can’t quite get off their back . And so your job is to make your audience care about your obsessions.
~Bruce Springsteen

Born To Run:

bruce-springsteen

From allmusic.com – William Ruhlmann:

In the decades following his emergence on the national scene in 1975, Bruce Springsteen proved to be that rarity among popular musicians, an artist who maintained his status as a frontline recording and performing star, consistently selling millions of albums and selling out arenas and stadiums around the world year after year, as well as retaining widespread critical approbation, with ecstatic reviews greeting those discs and shows. Although there were a few speed bumps along the way in Springsteen’s career, the wonder of his nearly unbroken string of critical and commercial success is that he achieved it while periodically challenging his listeners by going off in unexpected directions, following his muse even when that meant altering the sound of his music or the composition of his backup band, or making his lyrical message overtly political. Of course, it may have been these very sidesteps that kept his image and his music fresh, especially since he always had the fallback of returning to what his fans thought he did best, barnstorming the country with a marathon rock & roll show using his longtime bandmates.
.. read more over @ allmusic 

Some of his recognition’s: 

  • October 27, 1975: Bruce Springsteen appears simultaneously on the covers of Newsweek and Time
  • Polar Music Prize in 1997.
  • Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1999.
  • Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, 1999.
  • Inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, 2007.
  • “Born to Run” named “The unofficial youth anthem of New Jersey” by the New Jersey state legislature; something Springsteen always found to be ironic, considering that the song “is about leaving New Jersey”.
  • The minor planet 23990, discovered September 4, 1999, by I. P. Griffin at Auckland, New Zealand, was officially named in his honor.
  • Ranked No. 23 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
  • Ranked No. 36 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time.
  • Made Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People Of The Year 2008 list.
  • Won Critic’s Choice Award for Best Song with “The Wrestler” in 2009.
  • Performed at the Super Bowl XLIII half time show.
  • Kennedy Center Honors, 2009.
  • Rolling Stone magazine also ranked 8 out of 16 Springsteen’s studio albums in their 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time list.
  • Rolling Stone magazine ranked “Born to Run” and “Thunder Road” in its 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time list, in 21st and 86th, respectively.
  • Forbes ranked him 6th in The Celebrity 100 in 2009
  • John Steinbeck Award
  • Named 2013 MusiCares Person of the Year
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Check out:

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Atlantic City (Live):

Album of the day – Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978):

darkness on the edge of town

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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)

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