Tag Archives: The Beatles

Blues, Music Calendar

Today: Bessie Smith passed away in 1937 76 years ago

Bat027 Smith, Bessie


Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer.

Nicknamed The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. She is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and, along with Louis Armstrong, a major influence on later jazz vocalists.

09_Bessie_Smith

She scored a big hit with her first release, a coupling of “Gulf Coast Blues” and “Downhearted Blues”, which its composer Alberta Hunter had already turned into a hit on the Paramount label. Smith became a headliner on the black T.O.B.A. circuit and rose to become its top attraction in the 1920s. Working a heavy theater schedule during the winter months and doing tent tours the rest of the year (eventually traveling in her own railroad car), Smith became the highest-paid black entertainer of her day. Columbia nicknamed her “Queen of the Blues,” but a PR-minded press soon upgraded her title to “Empress”.

Smith was gifted with a powerfully strong voice that recorded very well from her first record, made during the time when recordings were made acoustically. With the coming of electrical recording (circa 1925), the sheer power of her voice was even more clear.

She made 160 recordings for Columbia, often accompanied by the finest musicians of the day, most notably Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Fletcher Henderson, James P. Johnson, Joe Smith, and Charlie Green.

Selective awards and recognitions:

Grammy Hall of Fame
Recordings of Bessie Smith were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. This special Grammy Award was established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old and that have “qualitative or historical significance.”

Bessie Smith: Grammy Hall of Fame Award
Year Recorded Title Genre Label Year Inducted
1923 “Downhearted Blues” Blues (Single) Columbia 2006
1925 “St. Louis Blues” Jazz (Single) Columbia 1993
1928 “Empty Bed Blues” Blues (Single) Columbia 1983

National Recording Registry

In 2002 Smith’s recording of the single, “Downhearted Blues”, was included by the National Recording Preservation Board in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. The board selects songs on an annual basis that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

“Downhearted Blues” was included in the list of Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts in 2001. It is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock ‘n’ roll.

Inductions

Year Inducted Category Notes
2008 Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC
1989 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
1989 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame “Early influences”
1981 Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame
1980 Blues Hall of Fame

St. Louis Blues (1929):

Baby Won’t You Please Come Home (1923):

Album of the day – The Essential Bessie Smith (1997):

Other September 25:

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Elvis Presley, Music Calendar

Today: Elvis Presley released “Suspicious Minds” in 1969, 44 years ago

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elvis-presley-suspicious-minds-1969-6

We’re caught in a trap
I can’t walk out
Because I love you too much baby

–

Recorded between four and seven in the morning, during the landmark Memphis session that helped return the King to his throne, “Suspicious Minds” — the final Number One single of his lifetime — is Presley’s masterpiece: He sings so intensely through the fade-out that his band returns for another minute of the tear-stained chorus.
~rollingstone.com

Together with “Mystery Train” this is my fav Elvis song (although not this version).

Suspicious Minds:

From Wikipedia:

B-side You’ll Think Of Me
Released August 26, 1969
Format 45 rpm record
Recorded January 23, 1969
Genre Soul, pop
Length 4:22 (3:28)
Label RCA
Writer(s) Mark James
Producer Chips Moman and Felton Jarvis

“Suspicious Minds” is a song written by American songwriter Mark James. After James’ recording failed commercially, the song was handed to Elvis Presley by producer Chips Moman, becoming a number one song in 1969, and one of the most notable hits of Presley’s career. “Suspicious Minds” was widely regarded as the single that returned Presley’s career success, following ’68 Comeback Special. It was his seventeenth and last number-one single in the United States. Rolling Stone later ranked it #91 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Background

Elvis Presley’s recordings in American Sound Studio were a direct consequence to ’68 Comeback Special, that interested Chips Moman in produce recordings to the new style of Presley, making his comeback to the Memphis musical scene, by recording rock,gospel, country, rhythm & blues and soul. George Klein, local Memphis dj & close friend of Elvis’ suggested he record at the studio.

American Sound Studio session

“Suspicious Minds” was a product of January 23, 1969 session, that took place between 4 am and 7 am. It took eight takes to produce the final song that was later overdubbed by Presley the same night. Also in the same were recorded “I’ll Hold You In My Heart (Till I Can Hold You In My Arms)”, “Without Love (There Is Nothing)”, and “I’ll Be There”. on August 7, was again overdubbed to stereo and mono in Las Vegas, where the final master was produced. The song is noted for its change of Rhythm, in the Bridge section, from 4/4 to a slower 6/8 and back again to the faster 4/4 rhythm. The first verse repeats over and over again, until it completely fades out, it features a bass guitar, organ, strings, trumpets, trombones, and drums. Session producer Felton Jarvis made the unusual decision to add a premature fade-out to the song starting at 3:36, mirroring the way Presley used to perform it in his live Las Vegas stage act. The fadeout lasts for about 15 seconds before fading back in, conveying a message of relationship in the song. Future Grateful Dead vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux sang backing vocals on the track.

Best version (alt.take7 – “Platinum – A Life In Music”):

Elvis Presley Suspicious Minds Live That’s The Way It Is 1970:

Live 1973 – Aloha Hawaii:

Album of the day – Suspicious Minds: The Memphis 1969 Anthology (1999):

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Other August 26:

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Beatles, Classic Concert, Concert films, Music Calendar

Today: The Beatles played at Shea Stadium in 1965 – 48 years ago

1965SheaStadiumTicket_single

“Now, ladies and gentlemen, honoured by their country, decorated by their Queen, loved here in America, here are The Beatles!”
– Ed Sullivan

The Shea Stadium concert on 15 August was record breaking and one of the most famous concert events of its era.  Over 55,000 people saw the concert.  “Beatlemania” was at one of its highest marks at the Shea show. Film footage taken at the concert shows many teenagers and women crying, screaming, and even fainting. The crowd noise was such that security guards can be seen covering their ears as The Beatles enter the field.

Shea2

 

The Beatles backstage preparing to take to the stage:

 

Set List:

All songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, except where noted.

  1. “Twist and Shout” (Phil Medley, Bert Russell)
  2. “She’s a Woman” (not included in film)
  3. “I Feel Fine”
  4. “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” (Larry Williams)
  5. “Ticket to Ride”
  6. “Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby” (Carl Perkins) (not included in film)
  7. “Can’t Buy Me Love”
  8. “Baby’s in Black”
  9. “Act Naturally” (Voni Morrison, Johnny Russell)
  10. “A Hard Day’s Night”
  11. “Help!”
  12. “I’m Down”

The Beatles at Shea Stadium is also a documentary of The Beatles’ concert. The documentary was filmed, using fourteen cameras to capture the euphoria and mass hysteria that was Beatlemania in America in 1965. We have included the half hour Beatles segment from the one hour documentary:

 

The Beatles returned to Shea Stadium during their final tour, on 23 August 1966.

– Hallgeir

Sources: Wikipedia, BeatlesBible.com, thebeatles.com

Country, Music Calendar

Today: The late Sara Carter was born in 1898 – 115 years ago

sara_carterSara Carter (with banjo)

Sara Carter (July 21, 1898 – January 8, 1979) was an American Country music musician. Known for her deep and distinctive singing voice, she was the lead singer on most of the recordings of the historic Carter Family act in the 1920s and 1930s.

The Carter Family:

The Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country music stars. Their recordings of such songs as “Wabash Cannonball”, “Can the Circle Be Unbroken”, “Wildwood Flower” and “Keep On the Sunny Side” made them country standards.

BBC Documentary on Country Music – here is 15 glorious minutes about The Carter Family:

The original group consisted of Alvin Pleasant “A.P.” Delaney Carter (1891–1960), his wife Sara Dougherty Carter (1898–1979), and his sister-in-law Maybelle Addington Carter (1909–1978). Maybelle was married to A.P.’s brother Ezra (Eck) Carter and was also Sara’s first cousin. All three were born and raised in southwestern Virginia, where they were immersed in the tight harmonies of mountain gospel music and shape note singing.

This is an excerpt from the upcoming music documentary The Winding Stream – The Carters, the Cashes and the Course of Country Music (we were participating in the funding of this kickstarter project). It tells the story of how A.P. Carter met his future wife Sara while selling fruit trees in the hills of southwest Virginia:

Throughout the group’s career, Sara Carter sang lead vocals; Maybelle sang harmony and accompanied the group instrumentally; on some songs A.P. did not perform at all but at times sang harmony and background vocals and once in a while, lead vocal. Maybelle’s distinctive guitar playing style became a hallmark of the group.

Legacy:

  • The Carter Family was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970 and were given the nickname “The First Family of Country Music”.
  •  In 1988, the Carter Family was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and received its Award for the song “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”.
  • In 1993, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative postage stamp honoring A.P., Sara, and Maybelle.
  • In 2001, the group was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor.
  • In 2005, the group received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Mother Maybelle & Sara Carter – While The Band Plays Dixie:

Album of the day:

 

Other July-21:

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Beatles

The Beatles: Profiles, albums, lists & other

beatles and george martin 1963

This is a collection of published posts @ JV including videos, lists & other stuff related to  The B.
It will be updated along the way..

 

The Beatles 40 Best Songs – A Countdown

Albums:

Profiles:

Other:

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Check out: