tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262295912024-03-13T04:30:47.788+00:00Brown Eyed Handsome ManGo Out And Find It...Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-30368014875027729712009-01-18T10:15:00.006+00:002009-05-04T12:17:49.285+00:00It's A Long Walk To DC, But I'm On My Way<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/SXMGg94t7hI/AAAAAAAAAVo/q9NNop1Br9k/s1600-h/Carl+Winfield+walks+from+Petersburg+to+Washington.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/SXMGg94t7hI/AAAAAAAAAVo/q9NNop1Br9k/s320/Carl+Winfield+walks+from+Petersburg+to+Washington.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292581150528499218" border="0" /></a>An elderly man wakes up one Monday morning and remembers something he planned to do a long time before. He puts on a winter jacket and a grey cloth cap. Like he used to do, he stops at the hallway mirror, looks at his reflection, and sets the cap at a jaunty angle. That's more like it, he thinks, and chuckles, raising one eyebrow as he recognises the face staring back at him. The one who, with the confidence of a younger man, set out to do this same thing 40 years ago.<br /><br />His children and grandchildren came by yesterday to see off their grandpa. They are not here right now on this cold icy morning as he opens the front door and steps off the porch - but the old man knows that they will be waiting for him somewhere in the center of Petersburg, ready to join him for the first stretch of his journey, and they won't be the only ones. As the journey contines, more and more will join him for a time, and others will converge on his destination by different routes leading from across the nation. This time.<br /><br />The first time, 40 years ago, the journey ended before it began. They were waiting for a good friend, but he couldn't make it. Someone made sure of that. The old man thinks about him for a moment. It is his birthday soon, he'd like that, he muses.<br /><br />The old man takes one last look up at the house, and thinks upon the number on the door. 244 is sure a lot less than 65000, and it's a long walk to DC. But you do it one step at a time, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Carl Winfield</span> reminds himself, like we did all those times before. He steps out onto the frosty sidewalk and the crisp crystals crunch beneath his feet, announcing the first step. At times it feels like he is going to fall, but neighbors are coming out now to see him alright. I'm going to see the President, no matter what it takes, he laughs!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Staple Singers - Long Walk To DC (Stax 1968)</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">To everybody setting out for Atlanta this Martin Luther King Day</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> or for Washington for </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Inauguration Day, I hope that it proves to be an unforgettable moment in your life and the life of your Nation! Happy Birthday Dr King, and Godspeed President Obama!</span><br /></span>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-52539206132361382822008-12-28T16:29:00.015+00:002008-12-31T10:32:18.984+00:00Eartha Kitt 1927-2008: I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/SVtEys7mEGI/AAAAAAAAAVc/SBXp8DsZCJA/s1600-h/family-dining-room-1968.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285894225494675554" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/SVtEys7mEGI/AAAAAAAAAVc/SBXp8DsZCJA/s320/family-dining-room-1968.jpg" border="0" /></a> In January 1968, <strong>Eartha Kitt</strong> was invited to a luncheon at the White House. The subject was "What Citizens Can Do To Help Ensure Safe Streets." <strong>Lady Bird Johnson</strong>, wife of <strong>President Lyndon Johnson</strong>, was hosting the event.<br /><br /><div>When asked by the First Lady, Eartha Kitt responded: <em>'"You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. They rebel in the streets. They will take pot and they will get high. They don't want to go to school because they're going to be snatched off from their mothers to be shot in Vietnam."</em></div><div><br /><br /></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/SVtD30yrgcI/AAAAAAAAAVU/Esk-KgpR2SM/s1600-h/kitt.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285893213992485314" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 252px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/SVtD30yrgcI/AAAAAAAAAVU/Esk-KgpR2SM/s320/kitt.jpg" border="0" /></a>There was a general commotion amongst the fifty ladies present, and comments of shock that Ms Kitt could bring up the subject of the war in such a way. Several ladies spoke to assert their pride that sons and husbands were doing their duty and serving in the armed forces. The group applauded each time, and Eartha stood, arms folded.</div><div> </div><div>Mrs Johnson answered her guest. <em>"Because there is a war on - and I pray that there will be a just and honest peace - that still doesn't give us a free ticket not to try to work for better things such as against crime in the streets, better education, and better health for our people. Crime in the streets is one thing we can solve. I am sorry I can't speak as well or as passionately on conditions of slums as you, because I have not lived there."</em></div><div><br /></div><div>Eartha Kitt, realising that she was in a minority of one in her opinions, but deciding that she had to persist, told Mrs Johnson: <em>"I have to say what's in my heart. I have lived in the gutters."</em></div><div><br /></div><div>The First Lady was reportedly either visibly shaken or on the verge of tears, according to different witnesses. She finally turned to Eartha Kitt and brought the conversation to a close: <em>"I am sorry. I cannot understand the things you do. I have not lived with the background you have."</em></div><div><br />The Johnsons were keenly aware of what needed to be done to change America. They were not like Mr Dalton in 'Native Son', the liberal benefactor who can never understand that his donations to the South Side Boys Club will never change how his own companies refuse access to housing in other areas of Chicago and then overcharge on the rent due to 'high demand'. The Johnsons had tried to do many important things to promote greater equality for black Americans, and the meeting itself was supposed to discuss issues such as housing and employment, at the core of those inequalities. But they were unable to accept in their minds that a war had an impact upon their domestic agenda, despite the 30 billion dollars spent on it in that year that even saw the Defence Department request spending cuts on non-frontline military equipment to compensate. The Great Society was in peril. Which was the greater issue for them? One young woman had asked them.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Eartha Mae Kitt, January 17th 1927 - December 25th 2008<br /></strong></div><div><em><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Events related by Mark Kurlansky in his book "1968", based on reports in TIME magazine, January 26th 1968 and other press coverage. Photos from the White House Museum.</span></strong></em></div>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-71138767371917687302008-12-26T15:38:00.105+00:002009-05-04T12:27:31.501+00:00Pantomime At The Apollo: Sleeping Beauty!, or We Had A Dream!<strong><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/SVdeogXLH2I/AAAAAAAAAVM/9AQtTxeqMWg/s1600-h/apollo.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284796737717477218" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 300px; height: 199px;" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/SVdeogXLH2I/AAAAAAAAAVM/9AQtTxeqMWg/s320/apollo.jpg" border="0" /></a>A Merry </strong><strong>Christmas to one and all, and a belated return for Brown Eyed & Handsome Blog! essentially, due to pressures of work and a squeeze on funds for new sounds, it simply became impossible to keep to any kind of a schedule. However, I hope to start afresh with more time set aside for what I want to do - listen to and love the music!</strong><br /><br /><div><div><div><div><strong>We return, as we did last Christmas (see <a href="http://browneyedhandsomeman.blogspot.com/2007/12/barefootin-or-how-cinderella-got-her.html">Barefootin', or How Cinderella Got Her Shoes Back</a>), to the Apollo Theater, where they have decided to create a festive pantomime. For th</strong><strong>ose over the pond who do not know, pantomime is a form of fun theater, where a well-known fairy tale is retold, mixed in with a lot of slapstick and broad satire.</strong></div><br /><div><strong>It seemed a good idea at the time! On with the show!</strong></div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Sleeping Beauty!</span></strong></div><br /><div><strong>The CAST<br /><br />Ole King Coleman, emcee for the Apollo Theater<br />Liberty, a Princess and Beauty<br />Abraham, a kindly old man in a log cabin<br />Jim Crow, our villain and a master of words<br />‘Poor Richard` Pryor, who will open the door!<br />Prince Martin, a hero who has a dream<br />Prince Malcolm, his brother in arms<br />A Bush, a piece of scenery that gets in the way<br />A Fox, who is cunning and a master of </strong><strong>talk<br />Bill and Hillary, an arguing couple<br />The Ice Queen, a witch from Alaska<br />Prince Obama, a hero and everyman<br />A Fashionable Pig, it wears lipstick<br />Judge Pigmeat Markham, here come da judge!</strong></div><br /><div><em>The overture music ends, and our host, King Coleman, walks on stage.</em><br /><br /></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/SVYYd8KzT6I/AAAAAAAAAU8/KQXIGl4LFwg/s1600-h/king_coleman.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284438115412561826" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 150px; height: 225px;" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/SVYYd8KzT6I/AAAAAAAAAU8/KQXIGl4LFwg/s320/king_coleman.jpg" border="0" /></a>KING COLEMAN: Welcome all to the Apollo,<br />I, Ole King Coleman, say hello.</div><div>The Fairy Godfather has granted your wishes,</div><div>So Please, Please, Please, ladies, prepare your kisses!</div><div>We're gonna make light out of the last election -</div><div>Everybody gets fun poked in their direction.</div><div>The jokes are bad, I mean they just ain't funny.</div><div>But its too late y'all coz I gots your money!</div><div>Everybody can shout out, everybody gets to sing</div><div>Everybody gets to do their thing!<br />So what's the jive you've come to see?<br />Well, we're gonna tell you about a Sleeping Beauty!</div><div>And if you think asleep she's great,</div><div>you should see her when she's awake!</div><br /><div><em>Liberty, a fair lady, has wandered onto the stage. </em></div><br /><div>KING COLEMAN: Well ain't that form just fine;</div><div>if the Prince don't take her, man, she's mine!</div><div>This is the story of a fair lady, Liberty<br />Arriving in a land of the free.<br />She finds that a spell hangs over us<br />A vile and inauspicious curse!<br />One half are chained, while half are free,<br />but the other half this will not see.<br />Others still do not want to know,<br />Thanks to the magic of Jim Crow.<br /><br /><em>Jim Crow appears! Costume by Disney out of Dumbo.</em><br /><br />JIM CROW: I am the villain of this piece,<br />Although think hard upon what hides beneath.<br />For all I does is tell you things,<br />And they listen as I softly sings.<br />Perhaps I am a kind of wizard,<br />That gnaws upon this nation’s gizzard.<br />Jim Crow pecks and caws<br />As I busily rewrite the laws<br />And turn what fools do and says<br />Into ancient inviolable folk ways.</div><br /><div><em>Jim Crow hears Liberty approaching, and hides himself away behind the Bush. Liberty appears, searching for something.</em><br /><br />KING COLEMAN: One day Liberty finds a field in spring<br />Where birds of justice have begun to sing<br />She taps the door of a log cabin,<br />And hastily is welcomed in.</div><br /><div><em>Liberty goes inside the cabin, and Jim Cro</em><em>w appears. An old man in a beard and stove-pipe hat comes out of the cabin.</em><br /><br />KING COLEMAN: The old man come out into the world,<br />He spies Jim Crow, and shoos the bird!<br />ABRAHAM: Go to another door than mine.<br />You can’t fool all the people all the time!<br /><br /><em>Jim Crow pecks at Abraham and begins chasing Abraham away. Liberty enters confused…</em><br /><br />LIBERTY: Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham? Can you tell me where he’s gone?<br /><br /><em>The audience holler out warnings, "He's behind you!" and Jim Crow appears. He puts Liberty to sleep and begins to gloat on stage. Boos and hisses! King Coleman, on the stage right, comes back on horrified.</em><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/SVYXUqYsjNI/AAAAAAAAAUk/DyJXg7M3fxc/s1600-h/richard_pryor_01-1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284436856508550354" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 214px; height: 320px;" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/SVYXUqYsjNI/AAAAAAAAAUk/DyJXg7M3fxc/s320/richard_pryor_01-1.jpg" border="0" /></a>KING COLEMAN: Liberty is put to sleep and dreams,<br />That all is not as it here seems,<br />That a better world exists somewhere<br />But time will pass in getting there.</div><div>Another friend Liberty does require<br />And so with that I do retire,<br />And introduce Poor Richard - Pryor!</div><br /><div><em>Richard opens the cabin door and enters the scene, while Jim Crow continues to gloat over sleeping Liberty.</em><br /><br />POOR RICHARD: Good God! Boy, a lot of brothers here today, and some white folks too … come in a bunch didn't y’all? - 'Stick with me, don't worry about a thing.’ Hey, who's this, Big Bird's ugly mother? Hey, where do you think you are?</div><br /><div><em>Jim Crow looks startled.</em></div><br /><div>POOR RICHARD: I may be Poor Richard in this thing, but you are hard of hearing!</div><br /><div>JIM CROW: I'm terribly sorry, but I believe that you are standing in my place.</div><br /><div>POOR RICHARD: Well you ain't standing there right now, motherf*****!</div><br /><div>JIM CROW: Ok, now, that's nice, it's like that is it, ok, you want a piece of this, peckerhead!</div><div><em>He shakes his feathers, menacingly.</em></div><br /><div>POOR RICHARD: I ain't the one standing there dressed like Woody Woodpecker! Come on, shake a tailfeather!</div><br /><div><em>Jim Crow is about to challenge Richard, when he spies two handsome princes appearing. Jim Crow runs for it, and Richard chases him away for now...</em><br /></div><br /><div>KING COLEMAN: Two brothers, Prince Martin and Prince Malcolm, come,<br />And discover Liberty undone. They try to wake her from the curse,<br />But despite their efforts things get worse.<br /><br />PRINCE MALCOLM: What happens to a dream deferred<br />Does it ripen like a raisin in the sun?<br />Or sag like a heavy load?<br />Or does it explode?<br /><br />PRINCE MARTIN: Wait, I think she is giving me a dream.<br />I wonder about what it could mean…<br /><br /><strong>V</strong><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">isions - Stevie Wonder</span></strong><br /></div><div>PRINCE MALCOLM: Then quickly now, here is the hour,<br />Let’s stop Jim Crow and fight the power!<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Fight the Power - Isley Brothers</span></strong><a href="http://www.4shared.com/file/77654099/a75d4d35/12_-_Fight_The_Power__Part_1_.html"><br /></a><br /><em>Jim Crow sneaks up upon the Princes.</em><br /><br />JIM CROW: Like the raven at Poe’s door,<br />I will caw, Nevermore!<br /><br /><em>Prince Martin and Prince Malcolm fight with Jim Crow. But he tricks them both, and they fall to his spells and bullets.</em> <em>The audience are horrified!</em><br /><br />KING COLEMAN: Liberty stirs and looks<br />For the princes whom bullets took.<br /><br />LIBERTY: Has anybody seen my old friends Martin Luther and Malcolm? You know they freed a lot of people, but it seems the good die young.<br /><br /><em>Jim Crow puts Liberty to sleep once more.</em> <em>He laughs and comes to the center stage.</em><br /><br />JIM CROW: Old Abraham used to say this line:<br />“You can fool all of the people some of the time”<br />This has the ring of truth to me<br />But Jim Crow sees things differently.<br />I have set it as my aim to make a very different claim.<br />I put together this daring rhyme,<br />“You CAN fool all the people all of the time.”<br /><br />JIM CROW: I’ll begin to tell people things<br />That make them fear what changes bring,<br />That makes them shun their neighbours hall,<br />And turns them against the victims’ call.<br />I put to sleep your Liberty,<br />So that the powerful should be free,<br />To take your money to give back to you,<br />To bend round lies and make them true!<br /><br /><em>A Bush is placed upon the stage. It does nothing for eight years.</em> <em>Ho ho ho.</em><br /><br />KING COLEMAN: All this is done in a state of hush -<br />Our Jim Crow has hidden in a Bush!<br />Here he hides and he can watch,<br />His words come out of a cunning Fox!<br />In this way none shall know,<br />The dangers of the way they go!<br /><br /><em>Crow and Fox reenact scenes of chaos and mayhem, TV soaps and action movies, in puppet form, from behind the Bush.</em> <em>Richard returns, sees what has happened to Liberty, and watches what Crow and Fox are doing. Then he tears his gaze away in anger.</em></div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - Gil Scott Heron</span></strong></div><br /><div>POOR RICHARD: One week of truth on TV could just straighten out everything. One hundred and twenty-seven million people watch television every night; that's why they use it to sell stuff. They've misused it a long time so now it's just a business, that's all. They're not going to write shows about how to revolutionize America. The top rated shows are for retarded people.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Act 2: We now tune in to Court TV</span></strong><br /><br />OFFICER OF THE COURT: Hear ye, hear ye, this court is now in session - Judge Pigmeat Markham presidin’!<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Pigmeat Markham - Here come da judge!</span></strong><a href="http://www.4shared.com/file/77653516/642720fe/_Disc_2__18_-_Here_Comes_The_Judge.html"><br /></a><br />POOR RICHARD: They give brothers time like it's lunch down there. You go down there looking for justice, and that's what you find - just us.<br /><br />DEFENDANT: Knock Knock!<br />JUDGE: Who’s there?<br />DEFENDANT: Your neighbor!<br />JUDGE: Not any more, I’m repossessin’ your house!”<br /><br />KING COLEMAN: Jim Crow thinks it would be awful funny,<br />If he were to steal our money!<br />Next of all he cancels our loans,<br />And then he takes away our homes!<br /><br />JUDGE: Who we got here today?<br />OFFICER: There’s a man here, he’s a nudist.<br />JUDGE: How long you been in your house, son?<br />DEFENDANT: Three years, your honour.<br />JUDGE: Three years. And how much of your mortgage have you paid?<br />DEFENDANT: Nine years, your honour.<br />JUDGE: Nine years? Officer, release this man.<br />OFFICER: But sir, he’s a nudist!<br />JUDGE: No he’s not.<br />OFFICER: Yes, sir, he’s a nudist! He‘s isn‘t wearing any pants!<br />JUDGE: No he ain’t. Paying those loans, he can’t afford to buy any pants!<br /><br />JUDGE: Well now comes election time - you’ll vote your way, and I’ll vote mine.<br />This is the time the money gets spent - will they notice it’s the government?<br /><br /><em>Everybody in the cast puts in the vote. Some votes are snatched away by Jim Crow, some are pecked full of extra holes by Jim Crow. Some people can’t get to the voting booth.</em><br /><br />JIM CROW: All these people in such a rush,<br />But one vote in here is worth two in the Bush!<br /><br /><em>He throws a whole bunch of ballot papers into the Bush, which rustles appreciatively.</em><br /><br />JUDGE: Some of the people are getting shifty;<br />But the votes for Liberty are 50:50! 4 MORE YEARS!<br /><br /><em>The audience groan! The cast are reduced to poverty</em></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">ACT 3: The Prince Appears</span></strong><br /><br />KING COLEMAN: Now the setting of Act Three,<br />The window where lies Liberty -<br />Under the care of fair Hillary…<br />But lo, does now our hero return?<br />From our troubles have we learned?<br /><br /><em>Bill appears, with partygoers in tow.</em><br /><br />BILL: Here I is, Hillary, drunk again! Open the door Hillary!<br /><br /><em>Hillary appears at the window, and shakes her head. She throws a shoe at him to chase him away. Come on, it’s tradition to throw a shoe at a president … I think? Bill slinks off!</em><br /><br />KING COLEMAN: But wait, at last our hero comes,<br />Is he one of Martin or Malcolm’s sons?<br />Here to complete our saga,<br />Comes the young prince Barack Obama!<br /><br />PRINCE OBAMA: Here I is, Hillary, drunk again!<br /><br /><em>He climbs up a precarious ladder to lean to a window…</em><br /><br />PRINCE OBAMA: Open the door Hillary!<br /><em><br />Hillary leans out the window but she shakes her head. Obama waves a letter offering her the Secretary of State post, and she climbs out the window after it. Richard climbs up the ladder and to the window.</em><br /><br />PRINCE OBAMA: Open the door Richard!<br /><strong></strong></p><br /><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Jack McVea - Open The Door Richard!<br /></span></strong><br /><em>Richard Pryor tries to let the Prince in, but someone is shooting at him in the backside. It is the Ice Queen!<br /></em><br />POOR RICHARD: What you doing there, Ice Queen? You act like one of them police that ain't never arrested nobody before!<br /><br />KING COLEMAN: But now to interrupt our scene,<br />Rides in the indestructible Snow Queen<br />She can thrill you with icy shivers,<br />And reflect you in her many mirrors.<br />Smiling smiling, she begins to stare,<br />And catches Obama in her glare!<br />The mirror darkly obscures our sight<br />And reflects him in many different lights!<br /><em></em></p><br /><p><em>The prince is frozen by the Ice Queen's spells. Each time she shoots him with her rifle, he is transformed into another costume.</em></p><br /><p>ICE QUEEN: Here is the sinister Hussein,<br />Subverting us for Arab gain!<br />Or is he in reality a Brit,<br />Who should have nothing to do with it!<br />He talks to the poor? Now what is this?<br />He must be some kind of Communist!<br />And to top off all the drama,<br />He stands clothed as dread Osama!<br /><br /><em>Meanwhile, Richard has casually gone into to the house, opened the door, walked outside, stood at the Ice Queen’s shoulder, looked with puzzlement at the scene, and then approaches the Prince.</em><br /><br />POOR RICHARD: Hey man! Say brother! What you doing peeping in them people's window? What's your name boy? Obama? What kind of name is that for a brother? What you mean, your grandma is white? Like my dad, your grandpa must have sure loved the pussy! Where you from fool? Hawaii! Brothers don’t need to go to Hawaii to surf - we got the all over tan going on, leave that to the white dudes to get sunburnt and shit! What? Where’s that, now - Indonesia? Now you don’t know if you wanna be seen with the Reverend Wright or with the Nation of Islam! I know where it is - you ain't the smartest mother in the world, you know!<br /><br /><em>The Ice Queen is about to pounce on the hapless Prince, when Richard stops the action for an announcement.</em> <em>The Prince is able to make an escape.</em><br /><br />POOR RICHARD: For an ice queen, she is kinda hot! Now, ladies and gentlemen, at this trying time, there now will be a short sermon from the one and only Reverend Jeremiah ... James! The Reverend James L Wright! White! James L White! Don't reckon some folks can tell the difference, anyhow!</p><div><em>Richard distracts the Ice Queen and offers to 'guide' her to the Prince...</em></div><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/SVYXg-g6EDI/AAAAAAAAAUs/5Xe_8upt5HM/s1600-h/reverend+white.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284437068070129714" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 320px; height: 233px;" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/SVYXg-g6EDI/AAAAAAAAAUs/5Xe_8upt5HM/s320/reverend+white.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udomqgvsHB4&feature=related"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Richard Pryor - The Reverend James L White's Back To Africa Telethon</span></strong> </a><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/Sf7e6WSCohI/AAAAAAAAAWE/gzNFNtGmcwU/s1600-h/Sarah-Palin-Hunter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/Sf7e6WSCohI/AAAAAAAAAWE/gzNFNtGmcwU/s320/Sarah-Palin-Hunter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331944102848274962" border="0" /></a><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Act 3a - The Snowy Wilderness of Alaska</span></strong></p><p><em>The Ice Queen and Richard are searching for the Prince, or anything, to shoot, in the snowy wilds of Alaska.</em><br /></p><br /><p>RICHARD: Illinois, right up ahead, Governor! <em>(To the audience)</em> I know I told her we found Chicago first, but this is too damn cold for any brother!<br /><em></em></p><p><em>They spy something. Could it be her prey?</em><br /></p><p>ICE QUEEN: There he is! Quick Richard, hand me the rifle...<br />RICHARD: The what? <em>(He smirks)</em><br />ICE QUEEN: Now quit playing around. Give me the rifle!<br />RICHARD: I don't have it. I thought you had it. And if you don't, you're screwed.<br />ICE QUEEN: And why is that? He's just a Junior Senator, and I'm a Governor!</p><p>RICHARD: Yeah, but there's a whole lot of Republicans behind you who look like they wanna kill you!<br /><em></em></p><p><em>A mob of enraged Republicans, ravenous and hungry, chase the Ice Queen away, as Richard dusts himself down, and goes to find the Prince once more.</em></p><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Act 4: The Ending</span></strong><br /></div><br /><div><em>As the Prince gets to his feet, a crowd of people gather around to help him up. The Prince thanks them and talks to them all.</em></div><br /><div>PRINCE OBAMA: I may be a mystery<br />I have an enchanting history<br />Where am I from, none can tell<br />Which for most voters is just as well!<br />Try to classify me if you can,<br />But I will stand for everyman!<br /><br />KING COLEMAN: What the Ice Queen does not expect,<br />Is her spell to have the opposite effect!</div><div>It does not toe the party line,</div><div>It transforms her into a swine!</div><br /><div><em>The Ice Queen's spells reflect upon her, and she becomes a well-groomed pig.</em><br /><br />PRINCE OBAMA: Through her distortions the people see,<br />What Liberty means to you and me.<br />As they look upon the maiden more,<br />An end they want to hate and war<br />To poverty and repossession,<br />And most of all to the recession!<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Can You Read Between The Lines - Charles Whitehead (Raw Spitt)</span></strong><br /><br /><em>The Republicans try to grab a pile of cash, but the Prince steps forward and takes it from her hands.</em><br /><br />PRINCE OBAMA: Drop that money before it’s too late!<br />Help us all, let the dollar circulate!<br /><br /><em>The Prince throws our money around! Hey, it’s a satire, everybody gets a go!</em><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Billy Paul - Let the Dollar Circulate</span></strong><a href="http://www.4shared.com/file/77654549/1438f193/Let_The_Dollar_Circulate__Philly_1975_.html"><br /></a><br /><em>Liberty begins to awaken.</em><br /><br />LIBERTY: The Ice Queen’s fractures divide us forever,<br />What we must do is come together!<br />Then We The People will finally be -<br />And we will remember:<br />This is our country!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>We The People - Staple Singers</strong></span><br /><br />PRINCE OBAMA: Sleeping beauty is awoken<br />Now at last is the spell broken?<br />Can we finally give a damn?<br />You know the answer: “Yes We Can!” </div><br /><div><em>Everybody gets to sing!</em><br /><br /><strong>Yes We Can</strong></div><br /><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">ACT 5: The Epilogue</span></strong><br /><br />RICHARD: I think it's time we heard from our new President!</div><br /><div><em>Cheers! The Prince steps forward, but then Richard pushes the Prince out of the way, ties his tie and puts on his suit jacket.</em></div><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/SVYXvNE03bI/AAAAAAAAAU0/_Rrg4HSOYr0/s1600-h/president+pryor.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284437312497049010" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 320px; height: 218px;" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/SVYXvNE03bI/AAAAAAAAAU0/_Rrg4HSOYr0/s320/president+pryor.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtlDVi_1JMg">Richard Pryor - Conference with the 40th President of the United States</a></span></strong><br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>JUDGE: All is well and done,<br />Now is the time to have some fun<br />The is just one thing that does not jig -<br />Who put lipstick on that pig? </div><br /><div><em>The pig in makeup oinks. It sings to the Prince, a lament of love.</em><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Tina Britt - Hawg for You (Minit 32082 - Hawg For You / My Lover's Prayer – 1969)</span></strong><a href="http://www.4shared.com/file/77653907/321d84d/05_-_Hawg_For_You.html"><br /></a><em>Richard is standing solemnly, worrying about the pig.</em> </div><br /><div>JIM CROW: Hello there, Richard<br />RICHARD: Hi there, Crow<br />JIM CROW: Congratulations on winning that election thing, there<br />RICHARD: Oh, thanks, thanks a lot. Hey, my pig, it’s got lipstick on it!<br />JIM CROW: Oh yeah, sorry about that, won’t happen again. I'll pick somebody else for 2012.<br />RICHARD: I appreciate it.<br />JIM CROW: Just so you know - I will be trying to bite your ass off again tomorrow morning, ok?<br />RICHARD: Well, now then we might have to use Plan B</div><br /><p><strong>KING COLEMAN: And so we end this festive tale, and the moral of it be:</strong></p><p><strong>"What once is told to you in jest, maybe the future you can see!" Pay attention now! </strong></p><strong></strong><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Jokes adapted from Richard Pryor, Pigmeat Markham, Langston Hughes, Open The Door Richard, and Malcolm X. All statements attributed to King Coleman et al are I think all pure invention (didn't spend enough time on research this year, last year I did better!) Happy Holidays!</span></strong></div></div></div></div>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-69970011769897723032008-04-05T07:13:00.005+00:002008-12-11T12:14:14.087+00:00I 'll Change If You Vote Me In As The Pres...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R_cwvMuXNUI/AAAAAAAAANs/shZrtM5jslQ/s1600-h/mccain.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R_cwvMuXNUI/AAAAAAAAANs/shZrtM5jslQ/s320/mccain.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185667083368084802" border="0" /></a>Out of all of the images of yesterday's events in Memphis that were broadcast in Britain, the most surprising for me, but also ironically the most heart-warming, was the sight of Republican nominee John McCain standing at the balcony where Dr King was killed and being shown around the museum. The fulsome praise which he heaped upon Dr King and the admiration for his legacy which he expressed was exemplary, and I imagine they took quite a bit of political courage from a man who, throughout most of his life, had not in his own words "even considered" the significance of the Civil Rights Movement, and had frequently in his career campaigned and voted against the institution of a National Martin Luther King Day, and also the establishment of that holiday in his state of Arizona.<br /><br />How did Senator McCain come to this point of view? Well, I imagine that his early upbringing was typical of many white suburban Americans in the 40s, still in a time when segregation was considered by much of white America as an acceptable fact of life. In his own words in an interview, the Senator described further:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;" id="inner">"I had not been involved in the issue. I had come from being in the military to running for Congress in a state that did not have a large African American population."<br /><br /></span><span id="inner">So for Senator McCain, other issues such as Cold War foreign policy and economics occupied his mind at that time. The emergence of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s did not inspire or interest him. By the 1960s, he would have been heavily involved in the military - which he describes as having been an equal-opportunities environment. Compared to the rest of America at that time, he would have been right (though it was far from a paradise), and I can understand why at the time he might then have thought that civil rights protest was unnecessary and divisive. It is an uninspiring story, and reveals a deep lack of empathy and ability for analysing social issues, a disturbing tendency to go along with the flow and follow the herd of opinion, to blame the victim of injustice for not being strong enough to sort</span><span id="inner"> out their own problems, but it fits with where many similar young white men might have been at that time.<br /><br />After this, the Senator was a POW in Vietnam, and he has described how his torturers used events like protests and race riots to try to sap the morale of the prisoners, portraying a nation in turmoil. I can understand how this might emotionally turn the Senator against expressions of admiration for the Civil Rights Movement, as the effects of torture do not make it easy to judge and evaluate events gleaned from patchy scraps of news easy. It is a shame that he had not thought more deeply about the numerous images of the fight against racial injustice which he had been exposed to on televisions and simply walking around any American town before his capture.<br /><br />However, from his entry into politics, Senator McCain had the means, advice and political duty to learn the truth. His record stands up to now as a sorry testament to his ability for self-reflection. It took him literally decades to abandon his trencha</span><span id="inner">nt position opposing Martin Luther King Day, and in the meantime, because he had political position, he was able to add his vote to preventing Arizona joining the rest of the Union in celebrating Dr King's life.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R_cxJsuXNVI/AAAAAAAAAN0/6pYrbU9zekc/s1600-h/talking+book.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 146px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R_cxJsuXNVI/AAAAAAAAAN0/6pYrbU9zekc/s320/talking+book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185667538634618194" border="0" /></a><span id="inner">It seems that in the meantime, John McCain has grappled with how his experiences of imprisonment and the experience of racism in America both highlight injustice and indignity. I hope that his conversion is a heartfelt and a genuine one. To be sure that Senator McCain remembers, I have chosen a song from an old nemesis, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Stevie Wonder</span>, one of the originators of the idea of Martin Luther King Day, which will serve as a reminder.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Stevie Wonder - Big Brother (from Motown LP 'Talking Book STMA8007) 1972</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">For this post I read an interesting debate at the </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://weblogs.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/blog/2008/04/mccain_pays_tribute_to_king_in.html">Chicago Tribune</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> website.</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;" id="inner"></span>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-92149693051290631292008-04-05T06:22:00.004+00:002008-05-01T23:42:21.544+00:00Funny How Time Slips Away ... But I Could Never Leave You!Well, it's been a while... Life has intruded on our moments together. I didn't want it to be such a long time away from you, but a couple of weeks turned into months as work and other things took up more and more of my time. It's gotten me down more than the other problems I've been sorting out. More than once, I tried to come back to you, but each time I was pulled away. Don't be mad, don't be sad. Your brown eyed handsome man is back, here to entertain your ears, and I won't ever leave you. Let me make it up to you with some smooth talking from Joe Tex, singing a classic country track written by Willie Nelson.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Joe Tex - Funny How Time Slips Away (from Atlantic LP 'Soul Country') 1968</span></span><br /><br />... Well, I <span style="font-style: italic;">am</span> going on holiday today, but I will leave you with a bumper crop of posts to reward your patience! And until you hear The Manhattans singing Kiss And Say Goodbye on this blog, my official break-up song, believe I will return to you!Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-49561656654296457282008-04-04T23:55:00.001+00:002008-12-11T12:14:14.315+00:00The Dream Marches On...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R_cl08uXNTI/AAAAAAAAANk/X3X3U4dGM6I/s1600-h/dreammarcheson2008.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R_cl08uXNTI/AAAAAAAAANk/X3X3U4dGM6I/s320/dreammarcheson2008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185655087524427058" border="0" /></a>A phenomena is taking place in Memphis today. Thousands of Americans of all kinds are congregating at the Mason Temple Pentacostal Church and near the National Civil Rights Museum, housed in the Lorraine Motel, to celebrate the memory of a man who changed the face of America and the world, before his life was taken from him by an assassin's bullet.<br /><br />In his last speech before his death, Martin Luther King Jr almost prophetically said, "<span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-family:Arial,Helvetica;" >Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."</span></b></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">This is a day then for contemplation of the way Dr King's legacy has been continued, by others working in their own ways for equality and freedom and justice, up to the present day. Have we reached the mountaintop?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.drmartinlutherkingjr.com/mountaintop.ra"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dr Martin Luther King Jr - I Have Been To The Mountain Top (April 3rd 1968)</span></span></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><br />The recording of this speech is hosted by DrMartinLutherKingjr.com. Photograph taken by Mike Segar.</span><br /></span>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-67867676684398872892008-02-04T20:15:00.001+00:002008-12-26T15:38:10.744+00:00Out Of Time, Out Of Sight: Chris Farlowe Live At The Half Brick!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R6dzYD7y0NI/AAAAAAAAANc/C8CvU5F6kps/s1600-h/DSCN1890.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163222355013718226" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R6dzYD7y0NI/AAAAAAAAANc/C8CvU5F6kps/s320/DSCN1890.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">Ah, this will stand as one of those great events in my life, and I only hope that the little audio clip will give you some of the flavour of a night in the presence of a British soul legend, Chris Farlowe!</span><br /><br />Accompanied by Blue Eyed Handsome Dad once again, we embarked on a musical journey into British soul history. Dad recalled the last time that he was lucky enough to hear Chris Farlowe sing, which he believes may well have been at The Flamingo Club in Soho in the height of 1966, when Chris was most definitely Number 1 amongst blue-eyed soul artists. He was riding high with his hit Out Of Time on Immediate Records, and Jagger and Richards, not to mention Mike D'Abo could not help but proffer him amazing material to record. This followed an outstanding year 1965 on record, releasing his EPs of soul classics which showcased his roaring and soaring, soul-shaking sound.<br /><br />Well, we set off from the shores of town, west towards the nearby town of Worthing, arriving at a small seafront inn called The Half Brick, renowned for a regular line-up of local blues artists and rock tributes. This was something slightly more important, however. All the more bizarre, then, to discover that the headline act had been shunted into a cramped corner of the bar to make way for a wedding reception in the function room! The bar was absolutely jam packed, and at first we wondered if we would be able to make our way around the corner to view the stage.<br /><br />No matter, we were here because for some they had been there. Blue Eyed Handsome Dad bumped into at least two old friends who remembered the days of modishness and could not resist the pull of Chris Farlowe. We endured the slightly over long set by the support act and watched the man himself, who had been relaxing comfortably at the front, stand up and take his place.<br /><br />The band cranked up, and began to play <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">"Ladies and gentlemen, Stormy Monday Blues!"</span> cries Chris, then stops! ... <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">"Wait a minute! They've forgotten how to bloody play it!"</span> ribbed Chris, abruptly breaking away from the mike to turn and stare at the band. With a smirk he folds his arms and observes the guitarist and bass, as they realise their mistake and try to crawl the chord progression back to the correct key. Well, they make it, and off they go into Chris' first British hit record.<br /><br />A slower and more reflective song next, <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Handbags And Gladrags</span>, his hit from 1969. It was written especially for Chris by Mike D'Abo of Manfred Mann. It touches many in the audience tonight, who reminisce about those years ago. But not to let the maudlin set in, Chris livens thing up again with a defiant gesture against the passing years, <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Never To Old To Rock, Never Too Young To Roll</span>.<br /><br />Fired up by that, how could they but follow Chris as he berates the out of touch and old at heart with the astonishing <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Out Of Time</span>? Well, at least the crowd are keeping up, singing along for all its worth. For some it seems the pace is getting to them: <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">"I said baby, baby, baby .. you're out of tune!"</span>, adlibs Chris at one point, giving the band a worried glance.<br /><br />Chris lets us pick anything we like for the encore, then immediately proceeds to sing exactly what he had prepared anyway, <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Johnny B Goode</span>. Then he finishes with a storming rendition of <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Route 66</span> effortlessly better than Jagger could churn out.<br /><br />I'm only sorry I couldn't share that one with you, but here is a taste of Friday's rendition of Out Of Time to give you a flavour of the night. <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">"We hope you've had a good night, and you feeling alright; we thank you for coming along, hope you enjoyed the song, alright."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Chris Farlowe - Out Of Time (Live at the Half Brick, Worthing, Friday 1st 2008)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Thanks for a great night organised at the Half Brick by Bob. You can contact the Half Brick for other events at www.thehalfbrick.co.uk</span></span><br /></span></span>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-66951152020322406612008-01-21T09:01:00.001+00:002008-12-26T15:38:35.460+00:00Happy Birthday!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R5UrKqbWd0I/AAAAAAAAANM/KmuUe75fn_s/s1600-h/bus12.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5158076410410465090" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R5UrKqbWd0I/AAAAAAAAANM/KmuUe75fn_s/s320/bus12.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R5UpGKbWdyI/AAAAAAAAAM8/n4IXjZaQF_4/s1600-h/MLKwithflag.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5158074134077798178" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R5UpGKbWdyI/AAAAAAAAAM8/n4IXjZaQF_4/s320/MLKwithflag.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R5Uoh6bWdxI/AAAAAAAAAM0/_m9hDDTQgGE/s1600-h/king+arrest.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5158073511307540242" style="WIDTH: 373px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 262px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R5Uoh6bWdxI/AAAAAAAAAM0/_m9hDDTQgGE/s320/king+arrest.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R5UmDKbWdvI/AAAAAAAAAMk/AYGxhPrNDXg/s1600-h/MLK.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5158070784003307250" style="MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R5UmDKbWdvI/AAAAAAAAAMk/AYGxhPrNDXg/s320/MLK.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R5UoA6bWdwI/AAAAAAAAAMs/aJUcyxNJ16Y/s1600-h/I+have+a+Dream+speech+by+LIFE+1963.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5158072944371857154" style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R5UoA6bWdwI/AAAAAAAAAMs/aJUcyxNJ16Y/s320/I+have+a+Dream+speech+by+LIFE+1963.bmp" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R5UqrabWdzI/AAAAAAAAANE/BnGRZ3p7mPU/s1600-h/BWDrMartinLutherKingJrandhi.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5158075873539553074" style="CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R5UqrabWdzI/AAAAAAAAANE/BnGRZ3p7mPU/s320/BWDrMartinLutherKingJrandhi.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Rev. Martin Luther King Jr - All Here And Now</span></span>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-47486284955974281722008-01-20T09:02:00.000+00:002008-12-11T12:14:15.956+00:00I Could Never Be President!Race in US politics has always determined the heights of possible ambition. Is this about to change at the highest level? Jesse Jackson succeeded to the Democratic Party nomination. Will Senator Barack Obama first take the nomination and then the Presidency? That brings up very exciting possibilities. Mr Obama has strong family ties to Kenya, and supports local schools in his grandmother's town. I feel that such a man, if elected President, would therefore have a radically different perspective on the USA's relationship with the Third World. Then again, I feel less comfortable with his blanket praise for Ronald Reagan's ability to 'change' the entire nation. Ronnie, and even more so Nancy, have many great achievements in their favour, particularly in the sphere of the conclusion of the Cold War. However, domestically, the USA could not have been further from the goals of the Great Society during his Presidency. Maybe this comment by Obama explains what happened next...<br /><br />On the other side, is the warning word of the cynic. Ironically, it was the Come-Back Kid himself, Bill Clinton, sometimes nicknamed 'the first black President' who, by referring to the rise of less experienced Obama as a 'kid' in 'the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen' left himself open to the charge of having a paternalist attitude. Don't set your hopes too high, he seems to suggest. I think it was the Reagan jibe that made him snap. To his credit, Bill did then make an attempt at amends, telephoning Rev Al Sharpton's radio show to tell him that <span style="font-style: italic;">"He [Obama] had put together a great campaign... he might win."</span> Ah, Bill, you charmer. I can never stay made at you. You'd still make a great First Man. And when I look at certain policy proposals supported by Hillary, such as a health care or insurance scheme for all Americans regardless of wealth, I am of the view that Hillary too could make a President who made a difference.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R5Ur7qbWd1I/AAAAAAAAANU/T8WeqbHQEgE/s1600-h/402px-Martin_Luther_King,_Jr._and_Lyndon_Johnson.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R5Ur7qbWd1I/AAAAAAAAANU/T8WeqbHQEgE/s320/402px-Martin_Luther_King,_Jr._and_Lyndon_Johnson.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5158077252224055122" border="0" /></a>However, Hillary Clinton and her campaign staff had by this time already proceeded much further in their politicking, in a manner that must leave her husband despairing. She discussed the legacy of Dr Martin Luther King Jr in the run up to the anniversary of his birth, and decided to give an <span style="font-style: italic;">ad hoc</span> lecture on the importance of President Johnson in implementing civil-rights reform. Be it true that Martin Luther King could not alone in 1963 sway the politicians to support change. And it is one of those ironies of history that it was actually the career southern politician Lyndon Johnson, and not the dashing John Kennedy, who would actually turn out to care about civil rights and have the political skills to push them through Congress. Yet, to deny one of these facts over the other is to deny the obvious interplay between them. Historical factors do not work in isolation. Johnson knew very well his chance to pass the Civil Rights Act on 1964 depended on the up-swell of despair and human idealism that followed the death of a President and the mobilisation of that idealism by activists inspired by the speeches of hope given by Martin Luther King. Every one of those ordinary, extraordinary people who stood up and did something made a difference, as Johnson could refer to the popular movement and apply pressure to the stalwarts and cynics in the Congress.<br /><br />Now, maybe Hillary Clinton, when she reflects a little out away from Washington, will come to see this, and the contribution of so many. What to say about the Clinton staff member, though, who briefed journalists that one reason not to choose Barack Obama as presidential candidate is that someone might want to assassinate him? Can the currency of civic duty be so debased that some would accept meekly the authority of an assassin to determine who should or should not stand in democratic election? And once again, skin colour stands as the shibboleth that America is too afraid to confront? No, too many times that has been allowed. No more, not this time.<br /><br />I'm going to play <span style="font-weight: bold;">Johnnie Taylor'</span>s <span style="font-weight: bold;">I Could Never Be President</span>, recorded in 1969. Johnnie is having one of those dilemmas we all have - should he be President and end discrimination and poverty, or spend time loving his woman. Or, in Bill's case, women. Now, I've gone through a half dozen changes of mind on what exactly this song is trying to infer in the light of recent events. It has the word President in it. Listen, then make a difference in your community, by using your voice and your vote. I Could Never Be President? Why the hell not?<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Johnnie Taylor - I Could Never Be President (Stax 0046) June 1969</span></span><a href="http://www.savefile.com/files/1329652"><br /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />I'm sure this has been all over the press in the USA, but here is a link to a news report if you haven't heard the furor: </span><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/12/wuspols312.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Daily Telegraph report</span></a>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-48883593463102447502007-12-31T14:16:00.000+00:002008-12-11T12:14:16.813+00:00Barefootin'! Or, How Cinderella Got Her Shoes Back<strong><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >UPDATE: All the songs should be up now, including the most excellent Miss Black America. Enjoy!</span><br /><br />"Happy holidays and a Happy New Year! We hope you have enjoyed our program of westerns this afternoon. Now its time for our main feature of the evening. </strong><strong>With apologies to the original rapper and Apollo MC, King Coleman, the Apollo Theater presents Barefootin'!</strong> "<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R3jyw6bWduI/AAAAAAAAAMc/dli-o8EAhjk/s1600-h/king+coleman.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150133096029779682" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R3jyw6bWduI/AAAAAAAAAMc/dli-o8EAhjk/s200/king+coleman.jpg" border="0" /></a>"KING COLEMAN": "Thank you! Thank you! It's a joy to be here! If you don't dig it, don't knock it! Somebody else might wanna rock it! ‘Tis the season to be jolly, when Poison Ivy meets Buddy Holly. So find a seat that suits you fine, and enjoy a strangely soulful pantomime. Our story tonight is a real bestseller, about Cinderella and her fella. Though if she leaves that ball without a soul, man, look no further than this ole’ King Coleman! Now if things get crazy, holler out and tell her, let’s hear the tale of Cinderella!...<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R3ZnvabWdrI/AAAAAAAAAME/dRaTNeVGyK0/s1600-h/cinders.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5149417288190293682" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R3ZnvabWdrI/AAAAAAAAAME/dRaTNeVGyK0/s200/cinders.jpg" border="0" /></a>We begin our story here, in a dark and tragic room. Who’s this, about to dust my broom? Now, keep it clean, fellas – this is our future princess, Cinderella! You mind your mouth, she has some moves in her! With that broom she's her own Executioner!<br /><br /><br /><div><div>She is clothed in rags, smudged in dirt and grime, she cleans the stage floor in double time, with a tear in her eye, and a weary sigh."<br /></div><div>CINDERS: "I've been working on this stage for an age, earning less than a maid. All my life I've been shucked and shirked. A Fair Day's Pay For A Fair Day's Work!"<br /><br />KING COLEMAN: "Now, you know me, I'm a real gent - but that don' t go likewise for the management! This hard life for Cinders, it takes me back - to Tennessee, to a cropper’s shack. Nutbush is the name they give it, and with it Cinders had reached her limit!”<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Ike & Tina Turner – Nutbush City Limits (1973)</span></strong><a href="http://savefile.com/files/1290927"> </a><br /><br />“Yeah, that’s right people! There's songs about this, and songs about that -- There's songs about people, big and fat!<br /><br />In Kansas they have rainbows to take you far away; in Tennessee you have to deal with it, and live from day to day. This ain’t no fairytale, with ruby slippers, dogs and twisters! Aw hell, here they are, those put-you-down sisters!"<br /><br />SISTERS: “Where you be at, baby sister? Scrubbing at floors? You gonna get blisters! Prince Charming just gave us a call, he says tonight we’re gonna have a ball. So you gonna help us, make us nice and fair, first of all, straighten out our hair! We don’t want to give him a fright, so make us out to be just like Snow White!”<br /><br />KING COLEMAN: "So off they go, full of jubilation, while Cinders attends to her station."<br /></div><div>CINDERS: "You know, I could do without that strife. Tomorrow is a new dawn, a new day, and a new life."<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Nina Simone - Feeling Good</span></strong><a href="http://www.savefile.com/files/1292600"> </a><br /></div><div> </div><div>KING COLEMAN: “You know, Cinders ain’t got nothing to fear, ‘cause this is the time when I appear! There’s plenty a trick, Cinders, that I know – you shall go to the Apollo!”<br /><br />CINDERS: "But my sisters, they all straight and fair; and I haven’t got a stitch to wear!"<br /><br />KING COLEMAN: "I know what you’re really after, and I’ll give it like I was a Fairy Godfather! Come here, momma, quick, and I’ll bring you my magic stick!"</div><div><br />CINDERS: "Ole King Coleman, now you behave! I don’t need your magic stave! My Prince awaits me at the ball – I just need a dress and shoes, is all!"<br /><br />KING COLEMAN: "Like an alley cat chasing a rat across a railroad track ... stay tuned, I will be right back!... now, here I am back again, before you knew I was gone – wear these high heeled sneakers and put that red dress on!"<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Ike & Tina Turner – Hotpants/High Heeled Sneakers</span></strong><a href="http://savefile.com/files/1290952"> </a><br /><br />"So you gonna have a ball, but remember this one thing right – the magic will end at ‘round midnight!”<br /><br />"Put your left foot on the floor -- get out the front door. Rush, rush, rush -- get on that bus! If you wasn't on your heels -- you could be driving a brand-new automobile!"<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">The Kings Of Rhythm – Rocket ‘88</span></strong><br /><br />"So here we are at the Apollo, ready to enjoy the show! I’ll MC this thing, of course, and rock this pantomime by force! Cinderella is dressed to look alarming – and catches the eye of her Prince Charming! But by others she is also spied, by fine Jim Dandini at the Prince’s side!"<br /><br />JIM DANDINI: “Be wild and free, but save the last dance for me!”<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">The Drifters – Save The Last Dance For Me</span></strong><em><br /></em><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R3jw3KbWdsI/AAAAAAAAAMM/dl3-Wm3LGjs/s1600-h/princesstiana.jpg"></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R3jxK6bWdtI/AAAAAAAAAMU/FuJ9wA2pceA/s1600-h/tiana.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150131343683122898" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R3jxK6bWdtI/AAAAAAAAAMU/FuJ9wA2pceA/s200/tiana.jpg" border="0" /></a>KING COLEMAN: "There she stands, in fine shoes and dress, yeah, and everyone gives cries of ‘Bless her!’”<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Curtis Mayfield – Miss Black America</span></strong></div><div> </div><div>KING COLEMAN: "She has eclipsed, I should mention, her snow-white sisters, by hair extension!<br /><br />Now, Everybody get on your feet. You make me nervous when you're in your seat. Take off your shoes and stamp your feet, and do the dance that can’t be beat!"<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Robert Parker – Barefootin’<br /></span></strong><br />"The Prince has crossed the stage, after checking she is of legal age! Jim Dandy, looking quite dismayed, decides to end his Prince's masquerade. As Cinders begins to look closely, he is not what he appeared to be!"<br /><br />PRINCE APOLLO: "Why look at you, I must confess, you are the image of a fine princess! Fine and dainty from head to your toes, you remind me of a fragrant rose. You are surely Harlem’s finest flower - I shall pluck you in the midnight hour!"<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Wilson Pickett – In The Midnight Hour<br /></span></strong><br />CINDERS: "Can you keep up ‘till the midnight hour? I’ll take a rain check – you take a shower! Who’d have thought this Prince would be a creep – all your talk puts me to sleep! You got to be at least twice my age - I ought to sweep you right off 'a this stage!""</div><br /><div>PRINCE APOLLO: "Come on, honey, don't be sore - what you think I pay you for?"</div><br /><div>CINDERS: "Do you know why I really came here? To get what's owed to me fair and square. I came here tonight to sing and dance, but now that I have got the chance, although my clothes are rearranged, I see that nothing's really changed! You've got the money - we all doled it out - so treat me fair or I'll walk out!"</div><br /><div>CINDERS: "All your patter makes my toes curl – the Prince Apollo is just the Duke of Earl. Amidst all this finery and bustle, all you got to show me is a Harlem shuffle! You really think that I would choose you? - I want to know is, who's behind you?"<br /><br />KING COLEMAN: "Now while you all enjoy the pantomime, our Cinderella forgot about the time! Cinderella, you take flight! The clock strikes twelve, its ‘round midnight!"<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Miles Davis & John Coltrane – ‘Round Midnight</span></strong><br /><br />"Look at that! I ain't gotta say nothing! Cinders is off and rushing! Put your flappers on the floor -- head out that front door!<br /><br />In all her rushing out the door, she forgot her shoe upon the floor. Sparkling, shimmering, shining bright, Jim Dandy picks up the slipper light. For while he watched the prince preen and pout, he realised Cinders is something to shout about!"<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">The Rivileers – Who Is The Girl? (1954)</span></strong><a href="http://savefile.com/files/1290951"> </a><br /><br />"Now the Prince Apollo has awoken, and these are the words that he has spoken:"<br /><br />PRINCE APOLLO: "I woke up this morning/I was all alone/Because I discovered my woman had packed up and gone."<br /><br />KING COLEMAN: "Feeling no pain, he scratches his head - and pushes the two sisters out of bed! For a moment, he thinks to linger – then spies a ring upon each finger! He hollers out to hail a carriage, to make escape from a sudden marriage!<br /><br />Jim Dandy know what he has to do, he really should report the shoe. But rather than play second mate, he hides the shoe and changes fate! Leaving the Prince in the lurch, Jim Dandy goes to start the search! Leaving the Prince in the arms of others, Jim Dandy searches for his new lover! True love ain’t just for the boss; he deserves the double-cross! The Prince realises he has been cussed – who will find Cinderella first?"<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Sam & Dave – Hold On, I’m Comin’!<br /></span></strong><br />"The sisters have made their own way home, and find Cinderella all alone. They see Cinder's dress, now all in tatters, and decide to scorn instead of flatter:<br /><br />SISTERS: "They said the ball is over<br />And love is here to stay<br />You kitchen-working women<br />Sure did have your way<br />But it’s all over baby<br />Now you girls have got to pay"<br /><br />KING COLEMAN: "Nothing has changed, no dream came true?<br />Hey wait – here’s Jim Dandy to the rescue!<br /></div><br /><div>Getting them both out the way, Jim steps right in to save the day!"<br /></div><div>JIM DANDY: "Sisters, listen - if you show off a rock, you have the Prince in a marriage lock! If he wants two for the price of one, make him pay for what he's done. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust -- Hit 'em in the head with a cornbread crust!"<br /><br />KING COLEMAN: Go Jim Dandy! You know what to do!<br />Go Cinders! Try on that shoe!"<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>LaVern Baker – Jim Dandy</strong></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><em><br /></em></span><br />JIM DANDY: “Cinderella, I’ll be your fortune teller – forget the Prince, I’m your fella! Muscle ain’t your hustle, your mind is your thing. Get up off of that floor, you can do anything. From this life you're freed, and for me, you're all that I need!"</div><div><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell – You're All I Need To Get By</span></strong><br /><br />KING COLEMAN: "Everyone ends up together, Jim Dandy with his Cinderella. Everyone makes it, at a pinch – the sisters team up against the Prince. Now it isn't quite so funny, his money's spent on alimony. The moral of this story, as you already knew, to get what you want, to thine own self be true!"<br /><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!</span></div><br /><div><br /><br /><em><strong>Bad puns and rhymes my own fault, of course - don't blame the real King Coleman! With some better ideas and rhymes from interviews with King Coleman, Shipyard Woman by Jim Wynn, and Weeping And Crying by King Coleman & The Griffin Brothers Orchestra. Apologies also for some missing songs at present - i've gone on holiday without them! They'll be up on Jan 2nd when I get back home! Also, read this interesting feature about the upcoming Disney cartoon <a href="http://images.google.fr/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0c/Frog_princess_maddy.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/09/11/fear_of_a_black_princess.php&h=199&w=272&sz=63&hl=fr&start=53&um=1&tbnid=3Limm5dB-pwW_M:&tbnh=83&tbnw=113&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dblack%2Bcinderella%26start%3D36%26ndsp%3D18%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dfr%26sa%3DN">"The Princess And The Frog"</a> by Alan Jenkins at Tompaine.com, a film which will star their first black heroine. How will she be portrayed?</strong></em></div></div>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-45852159977333920562007-12-22T14:18:00.000+00:002008-12-11T12:14:17.749+00:00Ike Turner RIP: Kings Of Rhythm<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Ike Wister Turner, born Clarksdale, Mississippi, 5th November 1931, died December 12th 2007.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R2bDF6bWdlI/AAAAAAAAALU/FdpHC-v7-mc/s1600-h/kings+of+rhythm.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145014130668107346" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R2bDF6bWdlI/AAAAAAAAALU/FdpHC-v7-mc/s200/kings+of+rhythm.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R2bIv6bWdpI/AAAAAAAAAL0/e3rhl3sJd4E/s1600-h/highway61.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145020349780752018" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R2bIv6bWdpI/AAAAAAAAAL0/e3rhl3sJd4E/s200/highway61.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">It is a wet Wednesday, March 3rd 1951, and </span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">Ike </span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">Turn</span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">er and his Kings of Rhythm</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> are travelling up from Clarksdale into Memphis in the back of a Chrysler. An acquaintance of theirs, </span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">Riley King</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">, has just got s</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">igned to play blues at Modern Records, and they have been jamming with him at a club in Chambers, Mississippi. </span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Riley, or </span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">B.B.</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> as he is now calling himself, tells them to go visit </span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">Sun Studios</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">, a record label run by </span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">Sam Phillips</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">. They have a song that Ike has written the first verse for and the rest of the band are trying to come up with an ending before they get there, as they have nothing else to record. It is about </span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">Jackie Brenston</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">'s favourite car, the Oldsmobile </span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">Rocket '88</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">. While they are throwing around ideas, there is a loud bang, and </span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">Johnny Dougan</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> swerves the Chrysler to the side of the road. They hear a thud, and </span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">Willie K</span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">izzert</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> sees his amplifier lying in the road. The tire has burst and everything has come loose. After packing again, they continue, only to hear the siren of a patrol car a few miles further down Highway 61...<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R2bEKabWdmI/AAAAAAAAALc/VPu-EZopn4c/s1600-h/Jackie+Brenston.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145015307489146466" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R2bEKabWdmI/AAAAAAAAALc/VPu-EZopn4c/s200/Jackie+Brenston.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R2bGR6bWdoI/AAAAAAAAALs/51zdkEF7_fg/s1600-h/sun_studio.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145017635361420930" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R2bGR6bWdoI/AAAAAAAAALs/51zdkEF7_fg/s200/sun_studio.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">.</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">..The band begi</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">n to set up at 706 Union Avenue. </span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Willie checks his amplifier and finds it damp and cracked, and</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> rain has leaked into it! It starts to buzz and crackle as Willie plugs in his guitar, but there's nothing to be done, and when Willie plays a few licks, everyone kind of likes </span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">the 'fuzzy' sound. </span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Ike sets himself up at the piano, while band saxophonist </span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Jackie Brenston</span> steps up to sing the vocal. </span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">Ray Hill</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">, a young addition to the group, picks up the saxophone this time. Blow your horn, Raymond! They need some bass, but the double bass is too quie</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">t, so Willie starts to pick out a bass line on his electric guitar strings, and the sound makes the room vibrate. Ike starts to play a stand-out piano intro, and the band kicks in...<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Jackie Brenston And His Delta Cats (Ike Turner & The Kings Of Rhythm) - Rocket '88</span></span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><br /></span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><br />They cut a couple of more tunes, and they flip for whose name will appear on which side. Jackie gets his on Rocket '88. No problem, says Ike, you have that one, mine will be bigger. Sam releases it with another track with Ike's name on, but he knows already which side is going to hit... It's an r&b smash - and that rankles Ike for years, as he gave Jackie all of the song-writing credits too!<br /><br />Now, nobody picks it up on the white radio, but Sam has heard something - a mix of jump blues and boogie-woogie - that he likes, and others, like <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Bill Haley</span> and his Tennessee Boys, are listening hard too, taking it for a new sound.<br /><br />They call it rock and roll, but Ike says its just what we always played, r&b, they just call it something different because when we play we're black and when they play it they're white. The Kings Of Rhythm are the hottest thing in Clarksdale, then Memphis, Granite City, then St Louis. They play with Ike pushing them on, in places where you mostly play non-stop, just one set, no breaks. It's a tough life, and the Kings of Rhythm change personnel from gig to gig. When somebody has to leave, somebody else has to jump in, play that part. Raymond subs for Jackie on sax, Bonnie Turner covers Ike on the piano, and Ike tries his hand at the guitar when Willie leaves. Ike's never really played guitar before now. In less than a year, Ike can play just like B.B. King, like John Lee Hooker, like Elmore James, like everyone he has played piano behind, and he still sees it as just something he has to do because he can't find someone else. He and Bonnie, his girlfriend, record tracks with different Kings Of Rhythm in a studio in Clarksdale that the <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Bihari Brothers</span> have set up for Ike...<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Ike Turner & The Kings Of Rhythm - All The Blues, All The Time (Modern Records) 1954 <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">(released on Crown Records LP Ike Turner Rocks The Blues 1963)</span></span></span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><br /></span>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-11574492596748863812007-12-21T12:27:00.000+00:002008-12-11T12:14:18.691+00:00Ike Turner RIP: Growing Up In Clarksdale<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Ike Wister Turner, born Clarksdale, Mississippi, 5th November 1931, died December 12th 2007.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R2bFHabWdnI/AAAAAAAAALk/JuS4WBND3qY/s1600-h/ike%27s+childhood+home+clarksdale+miss.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145016355461166706" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R2bFHabWdnI/AAAAAAAAALk/JuS4WBND3qY/s200/ike%27s+childhood+home+clarksdale+miss.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Let us go back to Clarksdale, </span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Mississippi, back to around the year 1935. </span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Ike lives in a small house ... Ike looks up. Somewhere outside in t</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">he street there is a dist</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">urbance. People are yelling for his father, baptist mini</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">ster Izear Luster Turner. His father goes to </span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">the door and out onto </span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">the porch. He tries to reason with the assembled mob of white men, but t</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">hey don't want to listen. They drag Rev</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">erend Turner and pull him onto the front lawn, where they begin to beat him mercilessly. Young Ike can see everything from his vantage point at the window, until his mother, Beatrice, drags him away. Finally, the men leave, satisfied that the minister will never again 'mess around' with white women. The Turner family emer</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">ge to tend to his grievous injuries, while a neighbour runs to find a telephone to call for an ambulance. None is willing to take him to the hospital nearby, because he is black. The family are forced to tend to him themselves, in their back</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> yard, erecting a small tent over him as some kind of protection because he is too weak to move. Reverend Turner lasts three years like this, bef</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">ore finally</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> submitting to his wounds...</span><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R2bAbqbWdhI/AAAAAAAAAK0/fCOdAJdimmI/s1600-h/perkins.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145011205795378706" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R2bAbqbWdhI/AAAAAAAAAK0/fCOdAJdimmI/s200/perkins.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">It is 1940. Ike is on his way hom</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">e out of school with is </span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">friend Ernest Lane. They get to Ernest's house, and there is a heck of a noise! Young Ike and </span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Ernest stare through the window and see Mr Lane laughing and cheering, for </span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">Pinetop Perkins</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> is banging the heck out of a piano! Soon Lane and Ike are inside the house at the end of the piano looking at him... Ike</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> runs home to tell his mama, 'Mama, I want a p</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">iano!' Beatrice tell</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">s him: "Pass the third grade and bring me a good report card - I'll get you one." Ike works hard and one day there is a piano. Pin</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">etop himself teaches both Ike and Ernest to play. Ike never forgets his kindness, for the rest of his life...<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:+0;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Pinetop Perkins & Ruth Brown - Chains Of Love</span></span></span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><br /><br />It is 1940, and home is full of surprises, but they are not always the kind y</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">ou want. There is the woman who lives next door, the one who says she is his mother's friend. She says she will look after Ike when his stepfather comes home. Ike doesn't know which is worse anymore. Ike and his</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> mother Beatrice live w</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">ith one of a series of stepfathers. This one, like the rest, doesn't seem to wa</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">nt Ike around, and one night lashes out at him with a length of barbed wire for the yard fence. This time, Ike isn't going to take it. When the man drops his guard, Ike is ready with the nearest object to hand, and the nine-year old boy starts to pummel th</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">e grown </span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">man to the floor. If it is a father figure that Ike seeks from now on, it can be found in Pinetop, and the young blues players he starts to spend his time with around Clarksdale...<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R2bB4qbWdiI/AAAAAAAAAK8/sPxK22MVZZI/s1600-h/Museum-Studio+WROX.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145012803523212834" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R2bB4qbWdiI/AAAAAAAAAK8/sPxK22MVZZI/s200/Museum-Studio+WROX.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Young Ike ha</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">s found a job manning the elevator at the Alcazar Hotel, working in the evenings after school. He thinks he was 8 years old, which makes it 1939, but others think he was at high school at Clarksdale High, w</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">hich makes it at least around about 1947. It has to be because of what is about to happen. He takes a ride up to the second floor, where he sees a </span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">glass door leading into offices. The lettering on the glass door reads <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">WRO</span></span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">X Radio</span>. There is </span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">a man, an African-American,</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> behind the window.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R2bCV6bWdkI/AAAAAAAAALM/EbFrTcwTTAE/s1600-h/EARLYWRIGHT+Clarksdale+WROX+in+1990s.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145013306034386498" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R2bCV6bWdkI/AAAAAAAAALM/EbFrTcwTTAE/s200/EARLYWRIGHT+Clarksdale+WROX+in+1990s.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">His name is <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Early Wright</span>. </span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">He is also known as 'The Soul Man' to his many night-time listene</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">rs, and is the first black radio announcer in Mississippi. "Hey, come in kid!", says Early to Ike, and the youth enters cautiously, yet fascinated by the surroundings. "</span><i><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Would you like to see how you 'hold a r</span></i><i><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">ecord'?", asked Early, and Ike just no</span></i><i><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">ds, staring at the turntables. "Sit there and hold </span></i><i><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">this switch until the 45 that's playing stops, then turn the knob." Ike waits and turns, and the next record starts to broadcast across Cl</span></i><i><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">arksdale. "Good, kid, you got it."</span></i><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> Early reaches over and presses the mike button to talk over. "That was a beautiful record I dropped on you for your listening pleasure." </span><i><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Ike is concerned. "Shouldn't you tell em the name of the record?", he queries nervously. "Nah," replies Early," They ought to know it already, and if they don't they'll phone in to find out, they'll beg us to tell them. You'll see. Try it again. I'm going over to get me some coffee..."</span></i><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic;font-family:garamond;color:#cccccc;" ><span class="PhorumMessage" style="color:#000000;"><br /></span></span>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-9627179512948011042007-12-07T08:55:00.000+00:002008-12-11T12:14:20.509+00:00More Nugetre's Nuggets: Whatcha' Gonna Do?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h258/rob_whatman/ertegunchrisgriffith.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h258/rob_whatman/ertegunchrisgriffith.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The tribute concert to commemorate the life of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ahmet Ertegun</span> has been postponed until December 10th. The announcement that <span style="font-weight: bold;">Led Zeppelin</span> would reform to headline the show sent rock fans into a frenzy for a furious ticket lottery earlier this year, perhaps to the detriment of the memory of Mr Ertegun himself, who sometimes was barely mentioned in the news reports.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R1EH7RCvg2I/AAAAAAAAAJ8/eHiEEj8Y7Zg/s1600-R/ahmet+%26+plant.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R1EH7RCvg2I/AAAAAAAAAJ8/KcLJnw5HkqA/s200/ahmet+%26+plant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138897364575028066" border="0" /></a>So here for your enjoyment are some more nuggets of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nugetre</span> ("Ertegun" backwards), r&b authored by Ahmet himself, continuing the series I ran last November. Well, this selection has a few twists and turns, which took it past Ahmet along the way...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R1pZWBCvg7I/AAAAAAAAAKk/N-ISjLDHuQg/s1600-h/whatcha+gonna+do+clyde.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R1pZWBCvg7I/AAAAAAAAAKk/N-ISjLDHuQg/s200/whatcha+gonna+do+clyde.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141520159368774578" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Whatcha Gonna Do</span> by <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Drifters</span> was recorded on 2nd April 1954 and was released in February 1955 and featured <span style="font-weight: bold;">Clyde McPhatter </span><span>on lead vocals</span>, and was to become the last single featuring him, as several other recorded tracks were then canned and kept for rainy days and b-sides. It reached No.2 on the R&B chart. It marked the end of Clyde's tenure with the group, as it had been intended to promote it as a commencement of his solo career. Then in July 1955 he was drafted.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R1ELRBCvg3I/AAAAAAAAAKE/sk2K4keRXs0/s1600-R/2nd+lineup+drifters.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R1ELRBCvg3I/AAAAAAAAAKE/qBqITmu0deg/s200/2nd+lineup+drifters.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138901036772066162" border="0" /></a>This was the third time that the Drifters had recorded the song, the first time having been with the short-lived <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mount Lebanon Singers</span> line-up, the next time when <a href="http://browneyedhandsomeman.blogspot.com/search/label/Bill%20Pinkney"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bill Pinkney</span></a> and the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jerusalem Stars</span> had come in to replace the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mount Lebanon Singers</span> on 9th August 1953. So in a way the song had a history that spanned the entire period of the classic Drifters line-up. It also had a gospel past.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R1pcWhCvg8I/AAAAAAAAAKs/zwJcOcaDG8s/s1600-h/morgan+babb+CD.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R1pcWhCvg8I/AAAAAAAAAKs/zwJcOcaDG8s/s200/morgan+babb+CD.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141523466493592514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Whatcha Gonna Do</span> was originally recorded by <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Radio Four</span>, and written by their lead singer <span style="font-weight: bold;">Reverend Dr Morgan Babb</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">. </span>Ahmet had heard the gospel tune perhaps on the legendary radio show <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ernie's Rec</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">or</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">d Parade</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">John Richbourg's</span> show on <span style="font-weight: bold;">WLAC</span> on a 50,00 watt signal out of Nashville, as Dr Babb also acted as a gospel A&R man for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ernie Young</span>, founder of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nashboro</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Excello Records</span>, who was the show's sponsor.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R1EbIRCvg4I/AAAAAAAAAKM/lm0MAe_CbPQ/s1600-R/Republic7067a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R1EbIRCvg4I/AAAAAAAAAKM/SF5fc1OJHbU/s200/Republic7067a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138918478634255234" border="0" /></a>This 45 was recorded at 535 Fourth Avenue South in Nashville and released in April 1953 on <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tennessee Records</span> subsidiary label <span style="font-weight: bold;">Republic</span>. The new subsidiary had been set up in summer 1952 on the back of the success of <a href="http://browneyedhandsomeman.blogspot.com/search/label/Christine%20Kittrell"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Christine Kittrell</span></a>'s single <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sitting And Drinking</span>. The five brothers in the group, of whom Dr Babb was the youngest, had been performing in various line-ups since the late 1930s. The Radio Four had an enviable reputation in the gospel circuit, regularly sharing billing with <span style="font-weight: bold;">R.H. Harris' Soul Stirrers</span>, and by chance happened to be double-heading the bill for Sam Cooke's first outing with the Stirrers. They recorded a kind of country gospel style, which related very much to the older brothers' former days in a popular jug band before their conversion to religion (appparently due to a bolt of lightning that nearly killed their father.) When Dr Babb joined his older brothers in 1950, he brought a emotive, soulful style of singing, which set them apart from the emphasis on technical singing found in the jubilee singing groups of the era.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R1pY9xCvg6I/AAAAAAAAAKc/426tV9pHEHI/s1600-h/EdnaGallmonCooke.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R1pY9xCvg6I/AAAAAAAAAKc/426tV9pHEHI/s200/EdnaGallmonCooke.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141519742756946850" border="0" /></a>This particular track also bore the name of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Madame Edna Gallmon</span>, a bone of contention for The Radio Four. Morgan Babb had helped her to get a chance singing with them at Tennessee, and coached her in technique to develop an up close and personal style of performance. The first recordings were released released as just by The Radio Four, as Tennessee were unsure whether to even sign her to a contract. When she was finally signed, not for the first time Tennessee wanted to use them as a backing group for the new 'star', and so The Radio Four stated that they would not be backing her in the future. Despite this, tracks like this one were later released and promoted with both Gallmon and The Radio Four's names. To add further salt to the wound, Dr Babb was never paid any royalties for the songs , like this one, that he wrote for Republic.<br /><br />Listen to a rollicking, boogie-woogie number:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters - Whatcha Gonna Do (Atlantic 1055) 1955<br /></span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">And here is the gospel original:<br /><br /></span><span><span style="font-size:180%;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mdm Edna Gallmon Cook & The Radio Four - Whatcha' Gonna Do? (Republic Records 7067) 1953</span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />OK, I can understand Led Zeppelin being on the bill. But Paolo Nutini?<br /><br />I really enjoyed researching this little post, as I discovered so many connections between this and other artists I had researched in the past year. Information and images about The Drifters from <a href="http://home.att.net/%7Emarvy42/Drifters/drifters.html"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Marv Goldberg's R&B Notebooks</span></span></a>, a site I cannot stop reading! Information about The Radio Four comes from </span><span style="font-style: italic;">the liner notes of CD <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Radio Four 1952-1954</span></span>, </span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">written by </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Opal Louis Nations</span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;">, which is also where I took the featured track from. </span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">The great gospel site <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.recordconnexion.nl/start.html">Recordconnexion</a></span>, written by <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Robert Termorshuisen</span></span>, who got details from ''Gospel Music 1943-1969' by Cedric Hayes and Robert Laughton, is also a great resource. I also read about Dr Morgan Babb on the <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.yodaslair.com/dumboozle/wlac/wlacdex.html">WLAC Fan Site</a></span>. The Radio Four label scan and images come from Big Joe Louis and Robert Termorshuisen. The development of gospel in Tennessee is well documented by PBS in the article <a href="http://www.pbs.org/riverofsong/music/e3-tennessee.html"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">From Jug Band To Gospel</span></span></a> by <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">David Evans</span></span> & <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Richard M Raichelson</span></span> Also, visit <a href="http://redkelly3.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html">this post</a> at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Red Kelly's</span> gospel blog, <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Holy Ghost</span></span>, to read a bit more about Nashboro Records.</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:78%;" ><br /></span>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-21956126173187727052007-11-30T09:17:00.000+00:002008-12-11T12:14:20.648+00:00The Night Beat: I'm Lost And Lookin' For My Baby<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R1EddRCvg5I/AAAAAAAAAKU/GLJSDVu_KLw/s1600-R/scan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R1EddRCvg5I/AAAAAAAAAKU/9_ou4KUVq4s/s320/scan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138921038434763666" border="0" /></a>Recorded for the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Night Beat</span> album in 1963, this song has an utterly compelling quality, as, just embellished by a bass and cymbal, the lilting voice of Sam Cooke perfectly putting across the sensation of a man haunted and put to distraction by love lost.<br /><br />That is one of the remarkable qualities of Sam Cooke - his lyrics are always so direct. They simply tell you exactly what he wants to say, and his delivery is always meticulously pitched to convince you that he means it.<br /><br />H W Saxton, writing at BC Music, suggests a similarity here between Sam's singing and that of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Reverend Claude Jeter</span> of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Swan Silvertones</span>.<br /><br />Written by Sam's faithful friend and partner <span style="font-weight: bold;">J W Alexander</span>, it was based upon a gospel song Alex had sung. You get the feeling that Sam is so much more comfortable with the material from these sessions. In some ways, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hugo and Luigi</span> were perhaps hoping to package it as a kind of Frank Sinatra after-hours collection, but they too must have sensed that it was more than that. Here was Sam Cooke releasing an album even more firmly rooted in r&b and gospel, divested of the strings and things, and soaring at the top of the mainstream pop market. It was a testament to Sam's achievement and a stake to a claim to respect for black artists that went beyond the next 45. Some see a link between these February 63 sessions and the recording of <span style="font-weight: bold;">A Change Is Gonna Come</span>, possibly Sam's most transcendent song, a few months later.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sam Cooke - Lost And Lookin' (from 'Night Beat' RCA LSP 2709) 1963 </span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >Information for this post garnered from <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dream Boogie</span></span> by <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Peter Guralnick</span></span>, album liner notes and <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">H W Saxton</span></span>. Photo scanned from album back cover. Listen to the hiss from the vinyl!</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-33908102254994742472007-11-23T18:55:00.000+00:002008-12-11T12:14:21.397+00:00It Was Just Past Closing Time: Laughin' And Clownin' With Sam Cooke<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R0cd1FoSKfI/AAAAAAAAAJc/L_8Pc916nAw/s1600-h/sam+cooke.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R0cd1FoSKfI/AAAAAAAAAJc/L_8Pc916nAw/s320/sam+cooke.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136106697920752114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">It was just past closing time</span></span> when we dropped into the club to talk with Sam Cooke that night. 'Mr Soul' was singing for himself and for the small group of musicians who accompanied him.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Stand</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ing to the rear of the club, we watched the young singer - tie off, jacket slung on a cane-backed chair - settle into </span><span style="font-style: italic;">a mood. We heard him sing through a smoky after-hours haze. The </span><span style="font-style: italic;">night's work was done. This was for the pure pleasure of performing..."</span><br /><br />This was the way that <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hugo And Luigi</span>, successful hit-making pop producers working for <span style="font-weight: bold;">RCA</span>, described their first encounter with the live sound of the artist they had been trying to generate a pop hit for in the classic mould. They had gone to the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Town Hill Club</span> in Brooklyn in April 1960 to listen to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mr Sam Cooke</span>:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"One song, two songs, and then even the waiters, busy with get-home chores, stopped work to listen. One by one they paused for a cigarette, pulled up a chair. Con</span><span style="font-style: italic;">versations lowed and ceased."</span><br /><br />Hugo and Luigi were more accustomed to making mainstream pop that was successful and catchy. While they had dabbled in the r&b field with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Della Reese</span>, scoring a spectacular success with a r&b No. 1 and Pop No. 2, they had been struggling to understand what it was exactly about Mr Cooke. What were they not bringing out in the studio? Now they were experiencing the side to Sam's music that was not captured on any number of their records together to date...<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"It was an experience to live through, to see Sam singing to a black audience... it seemed like i</span><span style="font-style: italic;">t was e</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ffortless, the audience just loved every nuance, they fed on every little thing, they were enwrapt"</span>, recalled Luigi in an interview with renowned author <span style="font-weight: bold;">Peter Guralnick</span>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R0cg91oSKiI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/rNNKuSHl6Ls/s1600-h/hugo%26luigi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R0cg91oSKiI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/rNNKuSHl6Ls/s200/hugo%26luigi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136110146779490850" border="0" /></a>Hugo and Luigi had been chosen by Sam because they could provide production values to complement Sam's music, make it successful in a mainstream pop market, without drowning it in traditional pop production. They sometimes did not necessarily connect with the deeper messages in some of Sam's songs, but on this occasion, they could sense that this was more than pop music for the sake of it. Soon after seeing Sam perform, they returned to the studio with a small band, like the one Sam had played with, and rerecorded <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chain Gang</span>, a pop classic with a personal message about the pain of incarceration. The hits, and a connection with the concerns of Sam Cooke, had been established...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R0ceoloSKgI/AAAAAAAAAJk/LQpmzBK7bLM/s1600-h/dunbar.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R0ceoloSKgI/AAAAAAAAAJk/LQpmzBK7bLM/s320/dunbar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136107582684015106" border="0" /></a>Last summer, I did a post on poetry for a change. I chose <span style="font-weight: bold;">Paul Lawrence Dunbar's</span> classic, <span style="font-weight: bold;">We Wear The Mask</span>. I discussed briefly how Dunbar's work had impressed well-known black disc-jockey and black history collector<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Magnificent Montague</span><span>, and set him </span><span>upon his life-long and continuing journey to conserve the cultural heritage of African-Americans</span>. What I did not know then was that it had also made an impact on his friend <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sam Cooke</span>, whose brother <span style="font-weight: bold;">LC</span> had sung in Montague's band <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Magnificents</span>.<br /><br />In <span style="font-weight: bold;">Peter Guralnick's</span> frank and absorbing biography of Sam Cooke, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dream Boogie</span>, he explains how Wear Wear The Mask inspired Sam to write <span style="font-weight: bold;">Laughin' And Clow</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">nin', </span>a track for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Night Beat</span>, the album he recorded in February 1963. It was his first LP with a small group backing, organised by close associate <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rene Hall</span> (as opposed to the strings arrangements Sam had gone for with most of his albums up to that point.) As an aside, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Billy Preston</span>, then just sixteen years old, is playing organ.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><br />The song echoes the poem's themes of a hidden aspect of character for African-Americans, at a time when survival in white-dominated society required they conceal their true opinions. It was a way of coping with discrimination that everybody associated with Sam Cooke agree he simply would not accept. That was the truly inspiring thing about Sam Cooke, who had succeeded in becoming the most successful singer since Elvis on RCA, owner of his own record label, without ever compromising his beliefs or dignity.<br /><br />Recalling that first time they went to meet Sam in a club, three years before, Hugo and Luigi wrote:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">"What we witnessed that night was not a performance in the accepted sense. The effort had all of Sam's artistry and style, but there was something more intense and personal about it. Actually, we were eavesdropping on a top singer in those dark hours...<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">This, we know, is it.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It's just past closing time, and Sam is singing for himself. </span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">There's an empty table over there. Welcome to Night Beat.</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">"<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />The mask is off, and it won't be worn.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:180%;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sam Cooke - Laughin' And Clownin' (Night Beat LP RCA LSP-2709) 1963<br /><br /></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R0cfBloSKhI/AAAAAAAAAJs/pt9iI49tBhs/s1600-h/dreamboogiecover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/R0cfBloSKhI/AAAAAAAAAJs/pt9iI49tBhs/s200/dreamboogiecover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136108012180744722" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h258/rob_whatman/book_cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 201px;" src="http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h258/rob_whatman/book_cover.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Liner notes </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">written by <span style="font-size:130%;">Hugo and Luigi </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">from the LP <span style="font-size:130%;">Nightbeat</span>. Other information and quote from Luigi from <span style="font-size:130%;">Dream Boogie</span> by <span style="font-size:130%;">Peter Guralnick,</span> and <span style="font-size:130%;">Burn Baby Burn</span> by <span style="font-size:130%;">Magnificent Montague and Bob Baker</span>.</span></span><br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"></span>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-65784898644233283422007-11-23T18:00:00.000+00:002007-11-23T19:16:04.908+00:00<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Dear Reader, An Apology: </span>Thank you for your patience in awaiting this latest post! I see each week how many people return regularly hoping to read and listen to some more good music, and I appreciate it. It has been an exhausting month! Sudden changes at my place of work lead to a phenomenal rush of activity and a heavy workload. I thought to post a few things I had been working on, but to be frank they were half-done, and it wouldn't have been fair not to put my best effort into the writing - after all, I can't take credit for the music! The majority of work tasks have now been done, and this means that I shall be posting more regularly from today!Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-31636555390353244382007-11-04T13:07:00.000+00:002008-12-11T12:14:21.852+00:00"Dusty" Liverpool Soul: Chanting A Lover's Story<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/Ry28INx7H0I/AAAAAAAAAJU/dVqXBdRq2ds/s1600-h/chants1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/Ry28INx7H0I/AAAAAAAAAJU/dVqXBdRq2ds/s320/chants1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128962399968894786" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">This week, I'm </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">featuring another single from Liverpool soulsters <span style="font-size:130%;">The Chants</span>. I'm glad to be making a bit of a fuss about these guys, and I've noticed a little bit of interest in their music growing on both the Soul Source and Soulful Detroit forums. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">It seems that some of their RCA singles were a popular dancefloor hit on the Northern Soul scene back in the 70s. I'm brushing off a dusty, and slightly crackly 45 </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">(yes, I believed an ebay vendor when they said VG++)</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">But as it happens, <span style="font-style: italic;">dusty</span> is exactly how it was </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">supposed</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> to sound...</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/Ry265Nx7HzI/AAAAAAAAAJM/F_pOmeZ2n54/s1600-h/springfields+%26+ivor+raymonde+on+2nd+left.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/Ry265Nx7HzI/AAAAAAAAAJM/F_pOmeZ2n54/s200/springfields+%26+ivor+raymonde+on+2nd+left.JPG" alt="The Springfields, with Ivor Raymonde giving directions 2nd from left..." id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128961042759229234" border="0" /></a>This time, it's a single from 1967. The Chants' relationship with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pye</span> had broken down very quickly, and they had moved on to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fontana Records</span> and then to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Decca</span>. The producer here is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ivor Raymonde</span>, who was a well-known arranger and former BBC musical director who had devised the arrangement for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dusty Springfield's</span> 1963 hit <span style="font-weight: bold;">I Only Want To Be With You</span>, with its Phil Spector-like overloud orchestration giving it the impetus it needed, and had been guiding Dusty's career since then.<br /><br />All the auspices might appear good, with a proven, experienced hit-maker producing <span style="font-weight: bold;">Eddie Amoo's</span> composition <span style="font-weight: bold;">A Lover's Story</span>, and providing one of his own, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wearing A Smile,</span> for the b-side. Eddie Amoo has written a wonderful love song, with what may well be the first soul reference to a 'science-fiction book', though no George Clinton funk workouts here! The resulting single does sound lush and polished, and Raymonde gave the Chants the space on A Lover's Story to develop some interesting backing vocal lines on A Lover's Story to show off their harmony skills. However, the guys have to sometimes fight with the violins and flutes of Raymonde's powerful orchestral arrangement. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wearing a Smile</span> is a more conventional pop tune, clearly in a Dusty style, that they perform magnificently, bringing it roaring to life, adding power and versatility to the singing that allows Raymonde to do away with some of the brasher orchestral musak. Sadly, once again, none of this made a difference when it came to getting a hit. Perhaps the Chants should have taken a leaf out of Dusty's book and moved on from Raymonde to try their luck in Memphis...<br /><br />Instead it was time to move on, to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Page One Records</span><span style="font-style: italic;">, </span><span>home of numerous British psyche bands such as <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Paramounts</span> (soon to become <span style="font-weight: bold;">Procul Harem</span>) and <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Troggs</span>. However, once again, this move turned sour when Page One's first album release failed to sell, and seriously dented their available cashflow to release other records. The Chants were again not a priority, and moved on to <span style="font-weight: bold;">RCA</span>...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Chants - A Lover's Story (A-side Decca 40923) 1967<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Chants - Wearing A Smile (B-side Decca 40925) 1967</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Moving back to the present, </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Eddie Amoo</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> has been recording with various local 'grime' and hip-hop artists from Toxteth, </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Rawface</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> from </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=5&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fuser%2Fliverpoolsown&ei=mcEtR-WTH5SigQS2qcimBg&usg=AFQjCNG_naQVa_QL78lBZPN5450zCh3cDg&sig2=PveQOi4Vakg3cj2bxVKR4Q"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Souls Rest</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;">, </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fprofile.myspace.com%2Findex.cfm%3Ffuseaction%3Duser.viewprofile%26friendid%3D40956756&ei=2sEtR8qfLpjEgQTmyomnBg&usg=AFQjCNFzo93AffjJt7E9rLy13D72prxr_A&sig2=moNe64UT5fgDeGwlfRD28w"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Laura Leigh</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;">, </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Chan</span><span style="font-style: italic;">, and </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=189551760"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The</span> </a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=189551760">Grime Family</a> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">to produce a CD of his Liverpool musical named after his </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Real Thing</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> smash hit </span><a href="http://savefile.com/files/1105145"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">"Children Of The Ghetto"</span></span></a><span style="font-style: italic;">, which I notice was dramatically less downloaded in my last Chants post (always scroll to the end!!!) Go to this MySpace site </span><a style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" href="http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=105752281">"Liverpool's Own"</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> to keep up to date with news about this and other current Liverpool r&b trends (warning for us old folks, these youngsters do seem to enjoy their 'booty') ... Photos courtesy of <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bill Harry </span><span style="font-size:100%;">and </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Spectropop</span></span>.</span>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-83778388738385571192007-10-21T11:48:00.000+00:002008-12-11T12:14:23.314+00:00Keep Believing, Keep Pushing: The Story Of Lou Pride<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/Rxst1Re1DVI/AAAAAAAAAJE/ckLjY6zMYXA/s1600-h/natalie+%26+nat.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/Rxst1Re1DVI/AAAAAAAAAJE/ckLjY6zMYXA/s200/natalie+%26+nat.jpg" alt="FIrst Baptist Church" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123739394313096530" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxsrLRe1DUI/AAAAAAAAAI8/4CnYB7VJzTU/s1600-h/firstbaptistchurchchicago.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxsrLRe1DUI/AAAAAAAAAI8/4CnYB7VJzTU/s200/firstbaptistchurchchicago.jpg" alt="Natalie & Nat" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123736473735335234" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">The story of </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">George Lou Pride</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> begins in Chicago's North Side on 24th May 1950, when he was born. He performed a solo at grade school and became hooked on music! Along with his family, support came from local pastors </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Reverend Charles L Fairchild</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">, and </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Reverend Edward J. Cole </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">of the </span><a style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);" href="http://fbcpreacher.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">First Baptist Church</span></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">. Father of singer </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Nat King Cole</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">, Reverend Cole gave Lou advice about music as well as spiritual advice, and encouraged him to sing in the choir, directed by his wife Perlina. Lou recalls meeting Nat many times and greeting him in the street, and spent many days at the Cole house playing marbles with </span><a href="http://fufustew.wordpress.com/2007/09/28/another-antidivas-special/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Natalie Cole</span></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">, but it was </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">BB King</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> who was his biggest influence.</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxoiCRe1DOI/AAAAAAAAAIM/tPFBupk6N4g/s1600-h/LOU+AT+TASMIT1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxoiCRe1DOI/AAAAAAAAAIM/tPFBupk6N4g/s320/LOU+AT+TASMIT1.jpg" alt="Lou at Suemi" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123444948535151842" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">In the late 60s, Lou was drafted into the US Army, and spent two years on bases in Germany, where he joined a group called </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">The Karls</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">. After leaving the army, he returned to Chicago, and formed a Sam & Dave style duet with a friend called LC, called </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">LC & Lou</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">(some sources claim that Lou was singing with and married to a woman known as 'JLC', but in Drew Vergis's interview Lou clearly states otherwise)</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">. After LC left the group to get married, Lou's manager </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Jim Dorman</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> persuaded Lou to start a solo career. He decided to move to a new life in El Paso, Texas, where they thought they could get a deal with some friends.</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxsZZRe1DSI/AAAAAAAAAIs/JD5WX1JWaGE/s1600-h/Bill+Sparky+Taylor+%26+Kenny+Smith+1964+in+early+studio.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxsZZRe1DSI/AAAAAAAAAIs/JD5WX1JWaGE/s320/Bill+Sparky+Taylor+%26+Kenny+Smith+1964+in+early+studio.jpg" alt="Bill & Kenny in 1964" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123716923044203810" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Lou met a friend of Jim's, </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Kenny Smith,</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> in an El Paso restuarant. Kenny was sure from the start that Lou was going to make fantastic music: "</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Lou Pride is one of the best people I have ever dealt with over the many years I have been involved in the music business." </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">He decided to sign Lou to </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Suemi Records </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">(their publicity tag-line read: </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">"If you don't like it, sue me!"</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">), which he co-owned with </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Bill 'Sparks' Taylor</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">, and which had recorded a</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> variety of country and rockabilly artists, an</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">d had some success with </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Bobby Fuller</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">. When Lou arrived at their </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Tasmit Studio</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">, Kenny was impressed and excited:</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span style="font-style: italic;">"He showed up to our studios wanting to put out a record of his band "The Funky Bunch" and I was glad to have a different type band play in the studio. They had horns and I had never dealt with horns before."<br /><br /></span></span><a style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/Rxsl_Be1DTI/AAAAAAAAAI0/_VpoVex6dMM/s1600-h/fort+bliss.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/Rxsl_Be1DTI/AAAAAAAAAI0/_VpoVex6dMM/s200/fort+bliss.jpg" alt="Fort Bliss 1960s" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123730765723798834" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Funky Bunch</span> were a group of Lou's aquaintances</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> from the nearby Fort Bliss army base. While he was astounded by their musicianship, Kenny wasn't so impressed with their name, and began searching for a better one. He thought wrongly that Lou billed himself as </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">'The Groove Merchant'</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">, so when it came to naming the band for the 45, </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">The Gr</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">oove Merchants</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> was printed on the label.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Just 500 copies were pressed, and most were sold just in the local area. While the single never broke nationally, it was played frequently by </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Johnny "T" Thompson</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">, a DJ at the time (</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">who himself recorded songs such as </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">So Much Going For You</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> on Chess Records, the Top 20 hit </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Main Squeeze</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> and </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Given Up On Love</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> on New Miss Records, and more recently performed with the late </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Bill Pinkney</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> in the </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Original Drifters</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">)</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">. It provided Lou with regular bookings on the chittin' circuit across Texas. Lou explained to Drew Vergis how </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">"the old hard-time crusty promoters"</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> in Texas helped him hone his stage performance: </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">"Percy told me one day, 'Boy, you're pretty good son, but you stay on stage too long! Get off the stage , son!'"</span> That of course, led him to spend more and more nights away from his family home on the road. Despite this, Kenny describes Lou thus: <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">"Lou was and still is one of those people that never complains and is always in a positive mood."</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><br /><br /></span><a style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/Rxoq3Be1DQI/AAAAAAAAAIc/-9io_nB15D8/s1600-h/Lou+in+control+Room-Royal+Studios-Aug71.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/Rxoq3Be1DQI/AAAAAAAAAIc/-9io_nB15D8/s320/Lou+in+control+Room-Royal+Studios-Aug71.jpg" alt="Lou at boards at Royal Studio" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123454650866273538" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">For the next Lou Pride session, Bill Taylor used his contacts through his uncl</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">e, who owned the distributor <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hot Line Music Journal</span> in Memphis and owned some stock in <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hi Records</span>, to arrange studio time at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Willie Mitchell's Royal Studio</span>. It is here that Lou recorded his funky, uptempo version of <span style="font-weight: bold;">It's A Man's Mans World</span>, backed by the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hodges Brothers</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Howard Grimes</span>. Sadly, it would be a short interlude, as Lou's family commitments life made extended trips away increasingly difficult.<br /><br /></span><a style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/Rxor9xe1DRI/AAAAAAAAAIk/tg3dnY8tsZA/s1600-h/Lou+pride+promo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/Rxor9xe1DRI/AAAAAAAAAIk/tg3dnY8tsZA/s320/Lou+pride+promo.jpg" alt="Lou Pride in 1970s" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123455866342018322" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Lou would continue to record for Suemi for another year, </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">back in El Paso. I told some of the story of Lou's classic Northern Soul hit <span style="font-weight: bold;">I'm Com'un </span></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Home In The Morn'un</span> last year in another post. It highlighted the</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> difficulties Lou was facing in trying to recording in El Paso, for Suemi, tour and gig to make money, and still make visits to his new girlfriend and to his family and children living up in Chicago. According to Kenny Smith, just 500 copies again were pressed. Ironically, had half of the thousands of UK bootlegs been genuine, Lou Pride would have been able to put his financial worries behind him, but Suemi Records had no idea that anyone in England had even heard of it. Instead, Lou, now a single father raising his young children, devoted himself to supporting them by keeping up his touring and live performances at jazz and blues festivals</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">.</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> As Lou describes it in an interview with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Drew Vergis</span>; <span style="font-style: italic;">"I was doing good on the road, then my mother got sick, and then things just fell apart!"</span> In the late 70s, he returned to Chicago to visit his sick mother. She told him to go visit the Reverend Fairchild, in the church not 25 yards from his front door:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >"</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);font-family:georgia;font-size:12;" lang="EN-GB" ><span style="font-size:100%;">My pastor Reverend Fairchild, Curtis [Mayfield], Marvin [Yancy], Kevin Yancy, Natalie [Cole], my mom, all of them grew up together, and I said to my parents</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">“Man I need a record deal!”</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">He [Reverend Fairchild] said , “Well come on, come on, go to Atlanta with me." He said, "You'll need some hotel money", so I went down there, and he fed me and took good care of me , and he said, "Go to your room ,</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">I'll call you when I need you." I didn’t know what was goin' on, and he called the room the next day and said, "Come downstairs, someone wanna meet you", and Curtis Mayfield’s sitting in the room!</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">You know how your mouth just drops? There's nothing to say but "How you doin', Curtis, I love you and admire you." By them being friends the Rev erend just says, "Curtis - the man needs a record deal", so Curtis says,"Can you sing?" "Yeah, sure, he sang in my choir!"</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">So Curtis says I’ll give him a record deal!"</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><br />Curtis was impressed with Lou, and they were working on an album for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Curtom Records</span> , writing half of the songs each, up until Curtis Mayfield's accident in 1985. Several of those songs appeared later on CDs, as Lou continued to work with colleagues of Curtis with his support. </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-GB" >"I never ever saw him with sadness on his face" </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-GB" >recalls Lou. It seems to be a temperament they have had in common.</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);font-size:100%;" ><br />And Lou is still recording, now with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Severn Records</span> with labelmates such as Johnny Jones, formerly of the King Kasuals, and still touring. Speaking of his first tour in England in 2003: <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >"</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-GB" >When I got there<span style=""> </span>it was an amazing sight for me, people just wanted to touch me and take pictures of me,and oh god, it was just beautiful man!"</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Back to the beginning of the story, in El Paso with those 'Groove Merchants', and then the b-side to Lou's funky It's A Man's Man's World:</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Groove Merchants (Lou Pride & The Funky Bunch) - There's Got To Be Someone For Me (Suemi 4557)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lou Pride - Your Love Is Fading (Suemi 4571 B)</span></span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Buy CDs of Lou Pride's recordings</span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">from </span></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://www.severnrecords.com/site/artistDetail.asp?AID=15">Severn Records</a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">. </span><a style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);" href="http://www.jazzmanrecords.co.uk/asp/product.asp?recorprod=1&product=292&cat=45&ph=&keywords=&recor=1&SearchFor=&PT_ID=1"><span style="font-size:130%;">Jazzman Records</span></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> also</span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">sell a vinyl special edition containing three reissue singles. A recorded</span> </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://drewverbis.com/interviews/lou-pride/">interview with Lou Pride</a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">from 2004, by </span></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);font-size:130%;" >Drew Vergis</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">, can be heard at DirtyDj.com.</span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Quotes by </span></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);font-size:130%;" >Kenny Smith</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> come from the </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://www.suemirecords.com/">Suemi Records</a></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);font-size:130%;" > </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">website.</span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Further information about Lou Pride comes from</span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">liner notes to </span></span><a style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);" href="http://www.jazzmanrecords.co.uk/asp/product.asp?recorprod=1&product=292&cat=45&ph=&keywords=&recor=1&SearchFor=&PT_ID=1"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Lou Pride:</span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">The Suemi Sessions</span></span></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">,</span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">written by</span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);font-size:130%;" >Kym Fuller</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> and </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);font-size:130%;" >'Jazzman' Gerald Short</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">.</span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Check out <a href="http://fufustew.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-size:130%;">Vincent's FuFu Stew</span></a> at the moment for a <a href="http://fufustew.wordpress.com/2007/09/28/another-antidivas-special/">fabulous link to Natalie Cole Live</a>. Unverified 'JLC' story credited to Andrew Hamilton of the All Music Guide...</span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-13738799264271920992007-10-20T16:51:00.000+00:002008-12-11T12:14:23.575+00:00Return Of The Groove Merchant: Lou Pride Is Back!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxokJRe1DPI/AAAAAAAAAIU/mTwyTlTYWFk/s1600-h/Lou_Pride_A5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxokJRe1DPI/AAAAAAAAAIU/mTwyTlTYWFk/s320/Lou_Pride_A5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123447267817491698" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-GB">I</span></i></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-GB"> am in a groove this week, and the posts keep coming...</span></i></span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" lang="EN-GB" ><br /></span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" lang="EN-GB" ><br />Great news for soul fans! The Groove Merchant, <b>Lou Pride</b>, is back in concert in the </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-GB">UK</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" lang="EN-GB" > this month. Sadly he isn't coming my way again to Brighton, but he will be at the following venues:<br /><br /><b>Oct 24 Canterbury Festival Club (St Alphege's Church) 01227 378188<br />Oct 25 London 100 Club 0208 460 6941<br />Oct 26 Stamford Arts Centre 01780 763203<br />Oct 27 Penrith Playhouse 01228 409795<br />Oct 28 Newcastle, The Cluny 0191 230 4474</b><br /><br />Thanks to <b>Harry Lang</b> on the <a href="http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/southernsoul/"><b>Yahoo Southern Soul Forum</b></a> for tipping us all off to this!</span>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-22325038310805743112007-10-18T17:51:00.000+00:002008-12-11T12:14:24.516+00:0099 1/2 Just Won't Do: Brown Eyed Has Got To 100!<span style="font-style: italic;">I have let another milestone pass me by... my post about </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The Chants</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> was in fact my 100th published post.! With all of the half-started posts strewn in my blogger dashboard, I never realised...</span><br /><br />To help me celebrate it, here is the late, the great, the wicked <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wilson Pickett</span>, to sing that ode to perfection, 99 1/2 Won't Do. I just hope 102 is enough! Accompanying him, <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Alabama Christian Movement For Human Rights Choir</span> sing the hymn and freedom song from which Pickett, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Eddie Floyd</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Steve Cropper</span> took their inspiration.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/Rxkgdhe1DHI/AAAAAAAAAHU/hy2w6yEVOkw/s1600-h/carlton+reese.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/Rxkgdhe1DHI/AAAAAAAAAHU/hy2w6yEVOkw/s320/carlton+reese.jpg" alt="Carlton Reese" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123161742686620786" border="0" /></a>In the summer of 1963, in the midst of the gruelling Birmingham, Alabama protests co-ordinated by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rev Fred Shuttlesworth</span> of the ACMHR and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rev Martin Luther King</span> of the SCLC, the Alabama Christian Movement Choir perfomed nightly at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in support of the protests. According to historian <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wilson Fallin Jr</span>: <span style="font-style: italic;">"In two organizations within the ACMHR, women made up the majority of the members. The ACMHR choir, formed in 1960, was intended to enhance the spirituality of the Monday night meetings. Twenty-three members formed the group. Most were Baptist women who sang in their church choirs and were accustomed</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> to singing songs similar to those sung by the movement choir, including spirituals and gospel hymns. They sang "God Will Make a Way Some How," Walk with me Lord," and "Ninety-Nine and a Half Won't Do." One member of the choir remarked that "the choir sang with faith in God knowing that his power worked through their songs to give courage." In the mass meetings, female singers allowed their emotions to take over, and on many occasions, they had to be restrained by the ushers."</span><br /><br />Choir conductor <span style="font-weight: bold;">Carlton Reese</span> adapted the lyrics to add new civil-rights phrases to a popular gospel song sung by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mother Katie Bell Nubin</span> (mother of even more famous <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sister Rosetta Tharpe</span>). Reese is leading the singing, backed by a powerful thumping Hammond organ. This version was recorded by folk singer <span style="font-weight: bold;">Guy Carawan</span>. The recording served a dual purpose, giving nightly hope and strength to those taking part in the protest, but also as a conscious element of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Project C</span>, a strategy to confront the racialist system of segregation in the city head-on in a high-visibility strategy that would engage the entire nation. The singers themselves faced intimidation and arrest. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Cleopatra Kennedy</span> was 20 years old in 1963 when she sang solos for the choir. She recalls what it was like the first time she was sent to jail: <span style="font-style: italic;">"That first time, she was in jail for 14 days, but the group sang songs and stomped their feet on the iron beds to make their music. "Singing songs was our way of keeping our self-esteem up, of washing away fear," she says. The day after she was released, she went back on the picket line."</span> When Martin Luther King was arrested and jailed in April of that year, local liberal white church leaders wrote to him urging him to tone down the movement's activities, calling them "unwise and untimely". His response was the famous <span style="font-weight: bold;">L</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">e</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">tter From A Birmingham Jail</span>, with his powerful riposte: <span style="font-style: italic;">"For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant 'Never." </span><span>The situation would beco</span><span>me even more ense later in that year, with the use of dogs and fire hoses against student and youth protestors, and the bombing of the 16th Street Church during a Sunday school session, with the tragic death of four children. It was in trying times like these that freedom songs could give hope and inspiration.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxoDMBe1DII/AAAAAAAAAHc/aqWYPFbQ4PA/s1600-h/jerry+wexler+%26+wilson+pickett.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxoDMBe1DII/AAAAAAAAAHc/aqWYPFbQ4PA/s200/jerry+wexler+%26+wilson+pickett.jpeg" alt="Jerry Wexler & Wilson Pickett" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123411031178415234" border="0" /></a>Jump forward in time two years, to May 1965. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wilson Pickett</span> arrived in Memphis courtesy of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jerry Wexler</span>, who was sure that The Little Label That Could had the spark he needed to secure Pickett, former member of <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Falcons</span>, an elusive r&b hit. Pickett sat down with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Steve Cropper</span>, and within a matter of half-an-hour, they had come up with <span style="font-weight: bold;">In The Midnight Hour</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Don't Fight It</span>, both taking the behind-the-beat Stax sound in a new direction by incorporating a behind-the-beat 'Jerk' rhythm. Not a bad night's work! So pleased was he with the sessions, that he sent each of the MGs a $100 thank-you gift.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxoDzhe1DJI/AAAAAAAAAHk/yvenqaY_PAQ/s1600-h/eddie+floyd.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxoDzhe1DJI/AAAAAAAAAHk/yvenqaY_PAQ/s200/eddie+floyd.jpg" alt="Eddie Floyd publicity photo" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123411709783248018" border="0" /></a>Wexler and Pickett were eager to return in October and again in December 1965. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Eddie Floyd</span>, Wilson's old partner from The Falcons, Steve Cropper, keen to earn some more songwriting money, and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Donald Dunn</span>, impressed with Pickett's vocal ability, were all pleased to see him again. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jim Stewart</span> was less keen, perhaps fearful that Atlantic Records were borrowing too much of the Stax sound. The MGs were joined this time by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Isaac Hayes</span>, brought in to play piano while <span style="font-weight: bold;">Booker T Jones</span> was at college. The new sessions were more difficult, as the group felt the pressure to reproduce what they had achieved in May. Nervous about the prospect, Steve Cropper turned to the experienced Eddie Floyd for advice about songwriting. Cropper said in an interview with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Gerry Hershey</span>: <span style="font-style: italic;">"He had been on the stage, and he knew what was going on... He was real helpful to me. Eddie knew the pulse on the street, he knew the pulse of the ghettos of Chicago and Detroit, and I didn't know jack shit about that..."</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>Eddie Floyd and Cropper had been working on a new song for a whole week, <span style="font-weight: bold;">634-5789</span>, before Wilson arrived back in Memphis on 19th December. After hearing a tape, a clearly tense and nervous Pickett let fly: <span style="font-style: italic;">"This is it? This is</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> my hit tune? It's a piece of shit!"</span> Eddie Floyd had to be prised off his old buddy! But apparently, it had been no different in the old days with The Falcons...<br /><br />Later on that day, Wilson had calmed down, and so had Eddie, so they went over to Pickett's hotel to write something else. Eddie and Steve noticed a Coca-Cola billboard, with the slogan <span style="font-style: italic;">'Ninety-Nine And A Half Won't Do.'</span> Recalling the gospel tune and the freedom song, and with Eddie suggesting they add that stop-start behind-the-beat jerk feel, soon Pickett had another classic in the can, so to speak!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxoElxe1DKI/AAAAAAAAAHs/V-QeFHY73OI/s1600-h/wilson+pickett,+jimmy+johnson,+clarence+carter+at+FAME.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxoElxe1DKI/AAAAAAAAAHs/V-QeFHY73OI/s200/wilson+pickett,+jimmy+johnson,+clarence+carter+at+FAME.jpg" alt="Wilson Pickett at FAME with Jimmy Johnson and Clarence Carter" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123412573071674530" border="0" /></a>The songwriting and recording relationship was sometimes explosive but always professional, and could have produced even more hits, had not Jim Stewart become uncomfortable with the amount of studio time devoted to an Atlantic artist. Citing Pickett's 'drunkenness' (an assertion that Cropper and others hotly dispute, citing Pickett's sober dedication to every session), Stewart packed Pickett and Jerry Wexler back to New York. It was time for them to try to find similar magic at FAME Studios...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Alabama Christian Movement Choir - 99 1/2 Won't Do</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Wilson Pickett - Ninety-Nine And A Half (Won't Do)</span><br /></span><br /><a href="http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read A Letter From A Birmingham Jail here...</span></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.folkways.si.edu/search/AlbumDetails.aspx?ID=2269"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxoLkhe1DMI/AAAAAAAAAH8/SXXouiZ4KRw/s200/voices+CD.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123420248178232514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Information from <span style="font-size:130%;">Soulsville: USA</span> by Rob Bowman, <span style="font-size:130%;">Nowhere To Run</span> by Gerry Hershey, and liner notes of <a href="http://www.folkways.si.edu/search/AlbumDetails.aspx?ID=2269"><span style="font-size:130%;">Voices Of The Civil Rights Movement: Black American Freedom Songs 1960-1966</span></a> by Bernice Johnson Reagon and Phyllis May. <span style="font-size:130%;">Wilson Fallin's</span> article about the <span style="font-size:130%;">ACMHR</span> and the role of women in the organisation can be found <a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-138811966.html">here</a>. Visit the <a href="http://www.bcri.org/resource_gallery/interview_segments/index.htm"><span style="font-size:130%;">Birmingham Civil Rights Institute</span></a> to read more and to study eye-witness accounts of events from 1956-1963. Quote from <span style="font-size:130%;">Cleopatra Kennedy</span> from an <a href="http://www.baylormag.com/story.php?story=004480">interview for Baylor University</a> magazine.<br /></span>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-17946774966717907122007-10-14T12:24:00.000+00:002008-12-11T12:14:25.179+00:00Isaac On His First Go Round: Sir Isaac & The Doo-Dads<span style="font-style: italic;">In 1962, </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Isaac Hayes</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> was graduating Manassas High School in Memphis, and contemplating whether to find a way to study for his early ambition of becoming a doctor, find a steady job at a local meat-packing company to support his young family, or to pursue a career in music...</span><br /><br />After a guidance counsellor at school had persuaded him to enter a talent concert, which he won by singing Nat King Cole's "Looking Back", Isaac had begun to learn the baritone and alto sax with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lucian Coleman</span>, and had begun to make contacts with some of Memphis' premier musicians, whom he would watch as they turned up to play at the clubs on <span style="font-weight: bold;">Thomas Street</span> in the 'North Chicago' district of Memphis.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxIsURe1DFI/AAAAAAAAAHE/0v-YJh74C6M/s1600-h/Inside+Currie%27s+in+1955.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxIsURe1DFI/AAAAAAAAAHE/0v-YJh74C6M/s200/Inside+Currie%27s+in+1955.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121204453075389522" border="0" /></a>In 1961, in one version of the story, he impressed respected band leader <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ben Branc</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">h</span> while singing "The Very Thought Of You" by Arthur Prysock, after being snuck into <span style="font-weight: bold;">Currie's Club Tropicana</span>, and sang three nights a week with the band for the next two years - backed by Branch, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Floyd Newman</span> on alto sax, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Emerson Able</span> on tenor sax, Larry Brown on bass guitar, Eddie Jones on piano, Herbert Thomas and Herman Green on trumpets, Big Bell James on drums, and Clarence Nelson on guitar. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxItlxe1DGI/AAAAAAAAAHM/yT19BVk1yDk/s1600-h/howard+grimes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxItlxe1DGI/AAAAAAAAAHM/yT19BVk1yDk/s200/howard+grimes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121205853234728034" border="0" /></a>However, in another version of the story, told by band-member and eye-witness <span style="font-weight: bold;">Howard 'Bulldog' Grimes</span> over here at the amazing blog <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://memphissound.blogspot.com/search/label/Currie%27s%20Club%20Tropicana">Lost And Found: The Memphis Sound</a>, it was thanks to the rest of the band and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mr Johnnie Currie</span>, the club owner, and a lot of shouting in the kitchen, that Ben Branch even allowed Isaac up on stage! As it turned out, Ben had been wrong, and Isaac was a great hit, singing Brook Benton's "Just A Matter Of Time"!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxIl0Be1DEI/AAAAAAAAAG8/EnzKL70HVzQ/s1600-h/emerson+able.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxIl0Be1DEI/AAAAAAAAAG8/EnzKL70HVzQ/s320/emerson+able.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121197301954841666" border="0" /></a>Isaac also sang gospel with <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Morning Stars</span>, and doo-wop with <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Ambassadors</span>, The <span style="font-weight: bold;">Teen Tones</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Missiles</span>, played r&b with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Calvin & the Swing Cats</span>, before graduating, and his singing was so good that he had been offered many college scholarships to study vocal music. Amongst those who had encouraged Isaac at the school was <span style="font-weight: bold;">Emerson Able</span>, school band teacher and tenor sax player with Ben Branch, who is featured here at <a href="http://memphissound.blogspot.com/2007/05/emerson-able-heart-attack.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lost And Found: The Memphis Sound</span></a>, and is recovering from a recent heart attack. At one point, the story goes, Emerson actually kicked Isaac out of the school band to get him to focus more, perhaps to remind him that playing nights wit Ben Branch and himself wasn't going to be enough without an education! <span style="font-weight: bold;">Manassas High School</span> is where Isaac Hayes chose to place his historical marker, in thanks for the encouragement they gave him. He continues to support the school in many ways, including attending events during Black History Month <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">(in the photo below Isaac is standing with Dr Linkwood Williams, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, the African-American pilots and officers of WWII)</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxIjvBe1DDI/AAAAAAAAAG0/xCpVgflvCso/s1600-h/Dr+Linkwood+Williams+%28WWII+Tuskegee+Airman%29+%26+Isaac+Hayes+at+Manassas+2005.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxIjvBe1DDI/AAAAAAAAAG0/xCpVgflvCso/s320/Dr+Linkwood+Williams+%28WWII+Tuskegee+Airman%29+%26+Isaac+Hayes+at+Manassas+2005.jpg" alt="Isaac Hayes with Dr Linkwood Williams, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, at Manassas High School, Black History Month 2005" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121195017032240178" border="0" /></a><br /><br />However, in need of money, he had to turn them all down and started work full-time at the processing plant. It was only by chance that Isaac heard of an opportunity to perhaps continue in music. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sidney Kirk</span> persuaded him to go down to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chips Moman's American Sound Studios</span> for an audition for Chip's new <span style="font-weight: bold;">Youngstown Records</span> label.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Isaac & The Doodads - Laura, We're On Our Last Go-Round (A-side) </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Youngstown </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">1962</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Isaac & The Doodads - Sweet Temptation (B-side) </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Youngstown </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">1962</span></span><br /><br />Moman decided to record them performing <span style="font-weight: bold;">Laura, We're On Our Last Go-Round</span> by Patti Ferguson, and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sweet Temptations</span> by Merle Travis. The band was Isaac on vocals, Sidney on piano, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ronnie Capo</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">ne</span> on drums, and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tommy Cogbill</span> on bass, while apparently, those sweet, tempting backing singers are in fact Isaac himself on an overdub. Isaac's singing on Laura demonstrates a purity and honesty in his tenor range, while Sweet Tmeptation begins to reveal the earthiness and allure possed by his baritone voice, which would later become his trademark. Sadly, the record went nowhere at the time, but Isaac Hayes turned up nearly every evening after work to learn more about recording from Chip, and hoping to get more work, perhaps as a backing singer or saxophonist. Just before Christmas, Sidney Kirk decided to quit music and go into the Air Force. And it was ironically the loss of his partner that set Isaac Hayes on the route to success. Fanny Kirk phoned him just before New Year to see if he knew a piano player for the New Year's Eve party at The Southern Club. Getting desperate for money, Isaac found himself saying that he would play the gig:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"After I accepted it, I broke into a cold sweat ... I was scared to death. I said "What am I doing? I don't know how to play piano. They gonna kill me!"<br /><br /><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=XLdsRwpZ9oYC&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=%22laura+we+re+on+our+last+go+round%22&source=web&ots=RR7gqNpQiH&sig=Ay8DX8LRhbnkT9bm_WnrEYG8GtY#PPA54,M1"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read what happen</span></a></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=XLdsRwpZ9oYC&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=%22laura+we+re+on+our+last+go+round%22&source=web&ots=RR7gqNpQiH&sig=Ay8DX8LRhbnkT9bm_WnrEYG8GtY#PPA54,M1"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ed next here from an excerpt of Rob Bowman's Soulville USA: The Story of Stax Records...</span></a></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.soulsvilleusa.com/shop/detail.asp?prod_id=145&cat_id=2"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RxIbEhe1DCI/AAAAAAAAAGs/Q9mNJnbtIk4/s200/soulsvilleusa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121185490794777634" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.soulsvilleusa.com/shop/detail.asp?prod_id=145&cat_id=2"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Buy Soulsville USA. Now!</span></span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Information and photos for this post come courtesy of <span style="font-size:130%;">Rob Bowman's</span> research, and the dedication of <span style="font-size:130%;">Scott</span> and <span style="font-size:130%;">Preston Lauterbach</span> at <span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://memphissound.blogspot.com/">Lost And Found: The Memphis Sound</a></span>. The recordings here are from a reissue by San American records (#950), of Little Rock Arkansas, where Joe Lee was sound engineer and did some work with Allen Orange in the 70s. Go over to the </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://souldetective.blogspot.com/">Soul Detective</a></span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> to read more about this...</span>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-25633826032800409622007-10-06T07:57:00.000+00:002008-12-11T12:14:26.359+00:00More Soul Britannia: The Chants Of Liverpool 8<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RwfgOhe1C_I/AAAAAAAAAGU/iG5EQ5buLQ8/s1600-h/chants.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RwfgOhe1C_I/AAAAAAAAAGU/iG5EQ5buLQ8/s320/chants.jpg" alt="The Chants In 1963" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118306041640324082" border="0" /></a>Time for some more Soul Britannia, and we are returning to Toxteth, Liverpool, to continue the story of <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Chants</span>...<br /><br />As the excellent <a href="http://www.geocities.com/soulpooluk/index.html"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Soulpool</span></span></a> website explains, and as discussed in a <a href="http://browneyedhandsomeman.blogspot.com/2007/02/soul-britannia-soulpool.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">previous post</span></a>, the musical heritage of Liverpool and the origins of the Merseybeat explosion have deep roots. Some of those roots were drawing nutrients from the singing groups and bands of Toxteth, Liverpool 8, an area of Liverpool with a large Caribbean population long pre-dating the Windrush generation. Local halls such as <strong>the Ni</strong><strong>gerian</strong>, <strong>the Sierra Leone</strong>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Stanley House</span>, the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rialto Ballroom</span>, and <strong>the All Nations</strong>, built by the Toxteth community, or the <strong>White House</strong> pub, were popular venues for local people to hear r&b, and a big draw to black GIs from RAF Burtonwood. Some of the key r&b acts of the late 50s and early 60s - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Derry Wilkie, Sugar Dean </span>and<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Colin Areety, The Sobells, The Conquests, The Poppies </span>and<span style="font-weight: bold;"> The Chants</span> - all came from Toxteth.<strong></strong><br /><br />It was in this environment that <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Shades</span> - <span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >Joe and Edmund Ankrah, Nat Smeda, Alan Harding and Eddie Amoo</span> - honed their craft, enough to be noticed by the young and eager <span style="font-weight: bold;">Paul McCartney</span>, who met Joe Ankrah in a New Brighton ballroom, and invited them to come along to <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Cavern</span>. The other Beatles were equally enthusiastic, and they decided to play behind as the backing band. The response from the audience was enough to convince Epstein to sign the renamed <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chants</span>, but it would not be the magical mystery tour of fame that they had expected. Rather, they would take the long and winding road to the real thing...<br /><br />Despite Epstein's management, nothing seemed to happen for The Chants through early 1963, and as they continued to miss the wave of the Mersey Sound, they managed to convince a clearly-disinterested Epstein to release them from their contract. They had to go to Manchester to find <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ted Ross</span>, who arranged a record deal with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pye Records</span> in London in April 1963. Such a journey to find musical success was not at all unusual in the British music industry, which was overwhelmingly centred on the capital for many decades. It would, however, leave The Chants particularly isolated from the musical influences and musicians that underpinned their vision for themselves.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Chants - I Could Write A Book</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Chants - I Don't Care</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Pye Records, a big industry hitter which was trying to embrace this new youth fashion for 'beat' music, were not an r&b label. </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">'They had no idea what to do with a black doo-wop group, they just had no idea.'</span> recalled Eddie Amoo in an interview. While other r&b groups, for example The Kinks, could turn up at Pye and just start playing the way they wanted to sound, The</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Chants, as a harmony singing group, su</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ffered from the need to rely upon the hired musicians and arrangements designed by people unfamiliar with all of the nuances of doo-wop and r&b. Eddie in another interview explained the impact this had upon them:<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >"But in that era - late </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >60s, the very early 70s - most black bands in this country that were recorded were recorded like white bands, and they sounded like white bands. They used to record The Chants like a white pop band, which we weren't. We weren't musically adept enough in them days to establish what we really wanted ourselves - we weren't musicians then."</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Eddie talks with some bitterness about this upon the career of The Chants, but at the end of the day, the other musicians could only bring the influences they had to the table, and that seems to have extended only as afar as the latest releases of the 'beat' and 'mod' scene - r&b influenced, to be sure, but too adulterated for what The Chants wanted. You do sense that Eddie is directing</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> his ire more at their manage</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ment and at A&R at Pye itself, who either from benign ignorance, or paternal condescension, did not put enough thought into how The Chants wo</span><span style="font-size:100%;">rked best, and didn't hire the kind of arranger and band that would have made a difference. <span style="font-size:100%;">With P</span><span style="font-size:100%;">y</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">e unaware of The Chants best interests, as Eddie admitted, they were also too inexperienced to know how to ask for what they wanted.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RweMSBe1C6I/AAAAAAAAAFs/Kb5vmK2_-QM/s1600-h/Chants+in+late+60s.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RweMSBe1C6I/AAAAAAAAAFs/Kb5vmK2_-QM/s320/Chants+in+late+60s.jpg" alt="The Chants around 1968" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118213742793132962" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">So, during the 1960s, yo</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">u can hear the sound of The Chants changing with the dominant </span>trends of 60s British pop, and changing accompaniment, f</span><span style="font-size:100%;">rom Merseybeat </span><span style="font-size:100%;">ballads to psychedelic-tinged pop in t</span><span style="font-size:100%;">he late 60s. Live, they continued to attract a loyal following, regularly performing at venues such as The Twisted Wheel in Manchester and touring Europe, where they played alongside <span style="font-weight: bold;">Curtis Mayfield</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Four Tops</span> at US Army bases in Germany. Whatever they tried, however, they still could </span><span style="font-size:100%;">not break into the pop market for commercial success. It is n</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ot entirely clear that even if they had hit the magic formula, that they would have profitted from that success. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Geno Washington</span>, who despite low single sales made a success of a series of 'live' albums, cashing in on his immense popularity on the live circuit, became embroilled in a legal fight over the royalties he was owed by </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Pye, a battle he lost and saw him bow out at the end of the 60s.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RwfaXhe1C8I/AAAAAAAAAF8/PSeB-E6_pjA/s1600-h/bessie+braddock+20th+April+1954.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RwfaXhe1C8I/AAAAAAAAAF8/PSeB-E6_pjA/s200/bessie+braddock+20th+April+1954.jpg" alt="'Battling Bessie' Braddock, long-time campaigning MP for Liverpool Exchange." id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118299599189380034" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">In their singles of the late 60s, The Chants developed messages into a number of their songs, per</span><span style="font-size:100%;">haps in part inspired by the problems and barriers they had tried to overcome in their car</span><span style="font-size:100%;">eer. For the community of Toxteth, they continued to be feted, and in particular, local MP, 'Battling' Bessie Braddock, had strongly supported them ever since their first recording.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:180%;">The Chants - Progress</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">The Chants - You Don't Know What I Know</span></span><br /><br />Throughout</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> all of this, The Chants had to also make a living. Increasingly, they took bookings to perform less at the cuttin</span><span style="font-size:100%;">g edge of soul, and more on the cabaret circuit of popular standards mixed with a few of their Mersey hits. This way, the rest of the Chants could continue in music and put food on the table</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, but for Eddie Amoo, it was not what he had dreamt of. He began to perform less and less with The Chants, and made his way back to Toxteth, where he discovered a new possibility unexpectedly close to home. His younger brother Chris had formed his own band...<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >"The Real Thing started out with three people, then went to five, then they dropped two out and by 1975 they'd become a trio - Ray, Dave and Chris. But by then Chris [Amoo] and I had started to write together. I wrote the first three Real Thing singles. I was still with The Chants, but I was writing for The Real Thing, because The Chants were no longer a vehicle for the songs I was writing - The Chants were doing cabaret, and The Real Thing were able to play these songs live, so I was writing and giving the songs to Chris."<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RwfdeBe1C-I/AAAAAAAAAGM/1QtN8UM5-MI/s1600-h/Real-Thing-8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RwfdeBe1C-I/AAAAAAAAAGM/1QtN8UM5-MI/s320/Real-Thing-8.jpg" alt="Eddie Amoo, Chris Amoo, Ray Lake, Dave Smith(and Kenny Davis, not pictured)" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118303009393413090" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Real Thing</span> were more fortunate than The Chants had been in that they were able to secure the servic</span><span style="font-size:100%;">es of some people with experience of soul music, in the form of songwriter Ken Gold, who had written songs for</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Areth</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">a Franklin</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jackie Wilson</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Eugene Record</span>, and producers such as <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jerome Rimson</span>, who had played with <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Detroit Emeralds</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hugh Masekela</span> and others. They also had the experience of Eddie Amoo, who wrote many of The Real Thing hits with his brother, to steer them away from decisions that might stymie their career.<br /><br />Such considerations were important, for essentially, the mass commercial appeal of 'soul music' had begun to dissappear not long after the 'mod' heyday of 1965-66, and by 1967, new influences focused more on the psychedelic scene had taken their place in British youth culture. It is important to remember that youth cultures in those times were not fuelled by 20 and 30-somethings living an ete</span><span style="font-size:100%;">rnal youth, but by teenagers just entering the world of work. In 1970, 95% of people under the age of 45 in Britain were married, and embarking on a new family life, which did not involve following the latest musical trends. An entire generation who had been inspired somewhat by soul music had essentially 'grown up' and settled down, sometimes casually tuning into Tony Blackburn on Radio 2 to hear</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> some old Motown hits. It wa</span><span style="font-size:100%;">sn't until the mid 70s that a new disco-influenced soul began make an impression on the record-buying public, who were by then a quite different generation of teenagers.<br /><br />This time, the band set out deliberately to write those hit records, and they succeeded time after time, with classic disco soul like <span style="font-weight: bold;">You To Me Are Everything</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Can You Feel The Force</span> in which even <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pye Records</span> could not fail to see the potential. Beneath the surface of success, however, the band yearned to venture further into funk and to write lyrics with a wider meaning. By the mid 70s, racial tensions in Toxteth were building to levels not experienced since 1948, despite the outlawing of</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> overt racial discrimination The Race Relations Act.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Britain was in the midst of yet another period of economic decline after a short respite of the early 70s, </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Merseyside itself was suffering a major slump, </span><span style="font-size:100%;">and many people looked around for easy explanations. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">While small in actual number, the National Front were a prominent and highly vocal group, and their activities in the mid 1970s validated a much larger swathe of petty prejudices amongst white Britons. L</span><span style="font-size:100%;">evels of unemployment were higher in Liverpool 8 than in the surr</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ounding districts, as people struggled. Housing, welfare and education in Toxteth was maintained badly by a bankrupt</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ed council increasingly preoccupied by ideological disputes about socialism.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Meanwhile, Merseyside Police were becoming increasingly heavy-handed with the application of stop and search powers. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">It was in this environment that The Real Thing wro</span><span style="font-size:100%;">te their masterpiece, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Children Of The Ghetto</span>. Sadly, the song's call for action to change conditions were ignored, and political interest in the difficulties of Liverpool 8 would only be pricked by the Toxteth Riots in 1981.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Real Thing - Liverpool Medley: Liverpool 8/Children Of The Ghetto/Stanhope Street</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RwfdHBe1C9I/AAAAAAAAAGE/W_h_4X8soZ4/s1600-h/Joe+Ankrah+opens+the+Joe+hill+Art+Gallery+in+Kirkby+1st+May+2007.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RwfdHBe1C9I/AAAAAAAAAGE/W_h_4X8soZ4/s200/Joe+Ankrah+opens+the+Joe+hill+Art+Gallery+in+Kirkby+1st+May+2007.jpg" alt="Joe Ankrah at a recent Art In Liverpool event opening a new local gallery" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118302614256421842" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RwfmQhe1DAI/AAAAAAAAAGc/GUa7Z8OPNJ4/s1600-h/real+thing.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RwfmQhe1DAI/AAAAAAAAAGc/GUa7Z8OPNJ4/s200/real+thing.jpg" alt="The Real Thing Today: Chris Amoo, Eddie Amoo and Dave Smith" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118312673069829122" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Today, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Joe Ankrah</span>, who also left The Chants in the 1970s to perform with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ashanti</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> with brother Edmund</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, is a respected artist,</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> working and living in Liverpool 8. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Eddie</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chris Amoo</span> still tour with The Real Thing. Bizarrely, one of their former tour bassists, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Des Tong</span>, went on to for</span><span style="font-size:100%;">m a computer company, and devised some of the motion-capture technology that is used in film and animation today.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RwfvaBe1DBI/AAAAAAAAAGk/u8OKQKl8_7k/s1600-h/real+thing+cd.bmp"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RwfvaBe1DBI/AAAAAAAAAGk/u8OKQKl8_7k/s200/real+thing+cd.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118322731883236370" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Information about the Chants came from excellent articles by <a href="http://triumphpc.com/mersey-beat/a-z/chants.shtml">Bill Harry</a>, <a href="http://www.sadcafe.co.uk/destong.htm">Des Tong</a>, and The <a href="http://www.geocities.com/soulpooluk/index.html">Soulpool</a> website. Bessie Braddock photo by Bert Hardy/Getty Images. Chants photos courtesy of Bill Harry and Des Tong. <a href="http://www.davehaslam.com/control.php?_command=/DISPLAY/16/13//1500/12033">Dave Haslam</a> has written a particularly good article and interview with Eddie Amoo about The Real Thing. You can buy <span style="font-size:130%;">"The Real Thing: Children Of The Ghetto - Greatest Hits"</span> direct from itunes.</span></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-22820940507578917192007-09-22T09:10:00.000+00:002008-12-11T12:14:27.333+00:00Chewing The Bacon Fat: Andre Williams<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RvakIjQ9mwI/AAAAAAAAAFc/RqT216qFI8I/s1600-h/andre7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RvakIjQ9mwI/AAAAAAAAAFc/RqT216qFI8I/s320/andre7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113454893738072834" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Andre Williams</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> began his career in music singing with groups like </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >The Cavaliers</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> in Chicago on creatively extended weekend furloughs from the Navy</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, where he served alongside a young <span style="font-weight: bold;">Redd Foxx</span>, a</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">nd when he was discharged for being only 15, he tried his fortunes in Detroit - at the little </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Fortune Records</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> label, located</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> behi</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">nd a barbershop.<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RvYf1jQ9muI/AAAAAAAAAFM/CpW0fubecB8/s1600-h/fortune+records.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RvYf1jQ9muI/AAAAAAAAAFM/CpW0fubecB8/s320/fortune+records.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113309431785691874" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here is where he gained his opportunity to gain experience of song-writin</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">g, and more importan</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">tly, of studio production:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >"...not only figuring out how records was made, it brought me to the realization that I could write! I didn't have no prior musical training, but I could put those damn songs together in five or ten minutes."</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><br />Andre got busy creating dozens of hit records, and he began each with the same concept in mind:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >" I'll tell you somethin' fellows, the first line of communications was the drums. That was in Africa, the Congos, the Mongos, and all them 'gos. When they was doin' communications, it was with the drums. So if I could get a drum rhythm which captivates people and put a hell of a story on top of it, I can't lose. And that's where I went."<br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />That was the concept behind such hits at Fortune as <span style="font-weight: bold;">Bacon Fat</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jail Bait</span>. Recorded in 1957, they stand out for their take on the seamy side of life, and for Williams vocal delivery. How did Bacon Fat's lyric come about?:<br /></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >"When I came up with "Bacon Fat" I was travelling from Detroit to Memphis. That's when I knew that I had to come up with a gimmick. So I stopped in Memphis and I got an egg and bacon sandwich - on toast! I'm driving and a lot of places where we used to travel, it was only a two lane highway so you'd see the cotton pickers on both sides and I'm driving and [starts tapping a beat on his thigh, starts humming] "Down in Tennessee... and the name of the dance is..." and I had the sandwich in my hand and there it came, "T</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >he Bacon Fat!"</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><br />As for the talking style, often cited as a forerunner of rap, it came partly from necessity, and partly from Andre spotting how to make his own mark:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >"With all these guys singing acapella, I knew I couldn't cut the mustard with that. I've always been a survivor; I've always been able to look ahead and see disaster coming. I said to myself, "Andre, you gon' have to come up with a gimmick, or these people are gonna spot you, and you gonna go down the tubes, because you cannot sing like these people. You ain't no Clyde McPhatter, you ain't no Nolan Strong, you ain't Pookie Hudson, you cannot sing like these guys. You gotta come up with somethin'...Nobody knew that I was gonna talk this record...They pressed the record and, bingo, that was it! I said, "Okay, now I got it; now the only</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" > thing I got to do is talk about all these bad times that I had, and I should be able to have me a lengthy career."</span><br /><br />Sadly, according to the research of <a href="http://home.att.net/%7Emarvart/5Dollars/5dollars.html"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Marv Goldberg</span></span></a>, who has interviewed many of the people involved, Bacon Fat did not lead to fame and fortune for all of its participants. For the singing group <span style="font-weight: bold;">The 5 Dollars</span>, for whom Andre was supposedly a nominal fifth member, and who had written the tune and sung the backing vocals, it threw fat on the fire in their relationship with Fortune. When the record actually was released, it was no longer Andre Williams and The Five Dollars (or even 'The Don Juans', the pseudonym Andre had encouraged them to adopt for some of their recordings and shows - wearing handkerchief masks) but Andre Williams & His New Group - and the backing voices were somebody else. They belonged to another Detroit group, <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Dexatones</span>. The original take with the 5 Dollars does somewhere exist, since Fortune Records used to keep the tapes running constantly to capture anything they might use for a quick release. However, the version we all know is the one released on Columbia/Epic.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">In 1961, he met up with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Berry Gordy</span>, and was hired to act as both an A&R man, writer and producer. It seems to have been a kind of love-hate relationship!:<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >"I could never conform to his way of doing business, and I could never be a yes-man and suck up to him, so he fired me! But when he'd fire me, then he'd get a guilty conscience or something, and he call me back. I'd go back and work maybe six or seven months, then mess up again and he'd fire me again …"</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;">Despite the temporary disagreements over business, Gordy could not deny the genius that Andre brougth to Motown, and Andre produced dozens of hits for the likes of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mary Wells</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Contours</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Stevie Wonder</span>, and later for groups like <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Chi-Lites</span>.</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RvakQTQ9mxI/AAAAAAAAAFk/6ED3IVFBCFs/s1600-h/alvin+cash+%26+The+crawlers+or+registers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RvakQTQ9mxI/AAAAAAAAAFk/6ED3IVFBCFs/s320/alvin+cash+%26+The+crawlers+or+registers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113455026882059026" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">So when </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Andre Williams</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> knew when he encountered </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Alvin Cash</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> and his brothers in the Budland Dance Club, he knew that he had another vehicle for</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> his unique style of rhythm-heavy, direct vocals r&b, and the Cash brothers should have realised their good fortune. Sadly, it seems that Alvin Cash didn't feel the same about his mentor. Andre Williams explains in an interview with </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Joss Hutton</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> for </span><a style="font-family: georgia;" href="http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/andrewilliams.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">furious.com</span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;"> in 2001:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >" </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >I wrote the song ["Shake A Tailfeather"] originally for the Five Du-Tones, a vocal band and I also recorded it with Alvin Cash (and the Registers). I also did "Twine Time" with him. When I cut Alvin and I got a hit on him, the same way the American system works, the white boys moved in and he chose a white producer. You know, "We're gonna make you a star, why don't you go with us?" and then, when comes session time, Alvin doesn't want Andre to produce it. What a dumb motherfucker! I mean, I would've always stuck with the cat that got me there in the first place! But he wanted to go with them. Alvin needs producing 'cause there's no talent there, he's just a voice on a record you know!"</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;">Even if Alvin didn't realise what Andre could do with a record, others like Berry Gordy, watching a Williams song hit for another label, certainly did!:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >"Berry'd send a telegram sayin', "Come back to Detroit!" (la</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >ughs) You know? Everytime I'd catch a hit like "Twine Time," he'd send for me, because he didn't want his soldiers out there. He was a selfish cat."</span> <p style="font-style: italic; font-family: georgia;"> </p><span style="font-family:georgia;">Andre Williams took that genius for hit-making on to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chess</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Duke-Peacock</span> before things got out of his control after a gruelling 18-month stint working with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ike Turner</span> led to a spiral of drug addiction, and eventually saw Andre homeless. In the mid 90s, Andre Williams was back recording.</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> On his latest album in an ongoing career, Andre hired guitarist </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Bobby Quine</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">. Bobby Quine is quoted as saying: </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >"Now I've worked with two geniuses: Lou Reed and Andre Williams."<br /><br />Funny he should say that...<br /></span> <span style="font-family:georgia;">Williams idiosyncratic vocal delivery seems to have had an influence in one of the unlikeliest of places. A young guitar player from Long Island, soon to make his way to New York City to become a company songwriter for Pickwick Records in the Brill Building, absorbed a great deal of ideas and techniques from listening to songs like Bacon Fa</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">t and Jail Bait. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Lou Reed</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, soon to form the avante-garde rock band </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >The Velvet Underground</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">, adopted some of Andre's style for almost improvisational lyrics, lacsadaiacal delivery, slurring and deadpan asides. You can hear Andre's laid back </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >'Lord have mercy!'</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> from Bacon Fat echoed on Lou's 'Temptation Inside Of Your Heart' along with a whole background of extemporisation, and the word association of Jail Bait is echoed in 'Murder Mystery'. </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >'She looks so good, just like a young girl should'</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> is used by Lou in one of his live numbers 'Sweet Bonnie Brown'. If the only band The Velvet Underground ever wanted to be able to play like was Booker T & The MGs, then Lou wanted to be singing in front like Andre Williams.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RvYj-TQ9mvI/AAAAAAAAAFU/1SAiDvqcOyk/s1600-h/5+dollars+reunion+199.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RvYj-TQ9mvI/AAAAAAAAAFU/1SAiDvqcOyk/s320/5+dollars+reunion+199.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113313980156058354" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">Andre continues recording. The Five Dollars had a well-recieved reunion in 1999. Sadly, in 2006, pianist Joe Weaver, featured on Bacon Fat, passed away.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />Well, I've been chewing the fat for long enough. Now it's your turn:<br /></span><a href="http://www.savefile.com/files/1074964"><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span></a><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Andre Williams - Bacon Fat (Fortune/Epic) 1957</span></span><br /><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >All Andre Williams quotes are taken from an interview with <span style="font-size:130%;">Joss Hutton</span> for </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" href="http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/andrewilliams.html">furious.com</a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> , and from an interview by <span style="font-size:130%;">Dan Epstein</span> for <a href="http://www.ugly-things.com/andre.html">Ugly Things</a> magazine. <span style="font-size:130%;"> John Nova Lomax</span> at <a href="http://www.clevescene.com/2005-06-22/music/the-black-godfather/">Cleveland Scene</a> magazine has also collated together several other Andre Williams interviews from recent years. The story behind the story of the recording of Bacon Fat, and the role of the The 5 Dollars, is revealed in full by <span style="font-size:130%;">Marv Goldberg</span>, in another one of his fabulous <a href="http://home.att.net/%7Emarvart/5Dollars/5dollars.html">R&B Notebooks</a>. 5 Dollars photos belong to Marv Goldberg and to group member <span style="font-size:130%;">Charlie Evans</span>. ALvin Cash photo shared by Mel(andthensome) on SOulful Detroit forum.</span></span><a style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" href="http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/andrewilliams.html"><br /></a></span>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-80507894857807857292007-09-15T13:49:00.000+00:002008-12-11T12:14:27.576+00:00It's Twine Time!: Alvin Cash And The Registers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RuKOBwdf1cI/AAAAAAAAAEc/UOIBiY4pMa4/s1600-h/alvincash%26brothers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RuKOBwdf1cI/AAAAAAAAAEc/UOIBiY4pMa4/s320/alvincash%26brothers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5107801088231200194" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">"The Twine</span>, which is the title of this album, is a dance started in one of Chicago's High Schools. It is the consensus of opinion that Dunbar High School students started the dance.</span> <div> <span style="font-style: italic;">Herb 'The Cool Gent' Kent, WVON deejay, popular with teenagers, picked up the name at one of his regular record hops and started talking about the WOODBINE TWINE (the title of our newest release by the Five Du-Tones).</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Bill Cody, who has taught choreography and dancing in and around Chicago for many years to most of the singing groups, saw the dance and brought it to the attention of Mar-V-Lus' A&R man, Andre Williams. Andre saw the dance and felt the beat - grabbed Alvin Cash and the Registers, and bingo, the rest is history.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Alvin Cash, the leader of the Crawlers dance group has been on the entertainment scene as a dancer and entertainer for thirteen years. Alvin was born in St. Louis, Missouri, is now 23 years old. At the age of 10, Alvin became a close associate of his Uncle Bill Robinson Jr., who was a well known dancer in the St. Louis area; and soon after, became a part of his uncle's act. Later, when Alvin's brothers, Robert (now 16) and George (now 15), were 7 and 8 respectively, they joined him as part of his act.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Robert 'B Q', a radio personality at KATZ in St. Louis, named the act (because of their ages) THE CRAWLERS.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Alvin, unmarried, lives in Chicago. George and Robert, who are still attending Sumner High School, St. Louis, Missouri, commute to Chicago every weekend to work in various clubs, returning to St. Louis on Sunday for classes on Monday."</span><br /><br /><strong><em>- liner notes to Mar-V-Lus LP 1827, "Twine Time" released in 1965.<br /><br /></em></strong><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" ></span><span style="font-family:Century Gothic,Arial,Helvetica;">The weather is still fine, and summer has not left us behind, it's time to dance but one thing is on my mind: <span style="font-size:130%;">How do you do The Twine?</span><br /><br />I don't know about you, but not having lived through the Sixties, and living far from the talcum powdered dancefloors of northern soul, I have immense difficulties in strutting my stuff. I hear a record, my body wants to move, but I am reduced to one of three options: propping up the bar for another pint; gyrating wildly in a freestyle form of funky James Brown dance which results in injuries for other dancers; or the intense, </span><span style="font-family:Century Gothic,Arial,Helvetica;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">solo dance, comprising lots of</span> </span><span style="font-family:Century Gothic,Arial,Helvetica;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">shuffling and spinning, that for some reason third-generation mods like me seem to think should accompany Green Onions.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">What I really would like to be able to do is to dance The Bop, The Watusi, The Cool Jerk, The Boston Monkey, The Birdland, The Sissy Strut, The Popeye, The Funky Penguin, or just Shake A Tailfeather. The trouble is, I have never actually come across anybody who knew how any of these dances go. I suppose there is the Twist, and the Mashed Potato, but surely things used to be more exciting than that? Where did all the dancers go? Nowadays, there seem to be more people interested in learning the foxtrot than in knowing what to do when somebody yells, "It's Twine Time!". When Land Of A Thousand Dances comes on, you'll find me propping up the bar again, watching other people go, </span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Well, I know how to , um, and do the .. well, ..."</span><br /></span></span><br />I am still no nearer to finding out just exactly how to dance the Twine. Maybe Sis Detroit can enlighten us?:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Century Gothic,Arial,Helvetica;" >"<span style="font-family:georgia;">I was once in a boogaloo contest in a backyard party (twenty-five cents to enter the gate.) But I was a young teen-ager. When the jerk came out, I was an older teen, and I had slowed down a bit, but tried to hang in there. The twine was quite easy, but the older I got, the less I danced, and the more I just listened and observed."</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Century Gothic,Arial,Helvetica;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">This sounds slightly reassuring, as I am now at the tender age of 34, and need to consider slipped discs, hernias etc.</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;">Meanwhile,</span> </span>Joe Nawrozki, a writer for the Baltimore Sun, attests to the powers of The Twine when far from home:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"I would see this again years later, stinky and scared young guys dancing to candlelight in a sandbagged Vietnam bunker, serenaded by a tropically-warped Temptations album. </span><i style="font-style: italic;">That</i><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">dancing was integrated [unlike in clubs in Baltimore] and I learned how to do the boomerang, shing-a-ling, the skate and the twine time. Dance was a brief connection with home for us, time out from the insanity of war."<br /><br /></span>So what is the story behind The Twine?<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:Century Gothic,Arial,Helvetica;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Alvin Cash</span> (real name Alvin Welch) was I believe the eldest of eight children. Alvin, Arthur, George, and Robert formed a song and dance act and called themselves The Four Steps or the The Step Brothers.</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> </span>Alvin wanted to try to get into music, and encouraged his brothers to visit him in Chicago for dance gigs and competitions. As a dance group they were very successful. They renamed themselves The Crawlers, while Alvin formed a band of his own called the Nightlighters. It was while the Crawlers were dancing at the Budland Dance Club in Chicago that <span style="font-weight: bold;">Andre Williams</span> spotted them, and decided to try Alvin out at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mar-V-Lus</span> back in Chicago.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br />The other brothers in the Crawlers were not featured on the record that came out of this, Twine Time, written by Andre Williams and Verlie Rice, following on from the tune <span style="font-weight: bold;">Woodbine Twine</span> by <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Five Du-Tones</span>. All being much younger than Alvin, nobody could quite see how they would fit together as an r&b group performing for adults. That is all bar one. While Andre was taken by Alvin's singing skills, flambouyancy and sharp, colourful dress sense, it is another brother, <span style="font-weight: bold;">George</span>, to whom much of the credit should go for crafting the dance we know as The Twine. Don on the Soulful Detroit forums recalls:<span style=";font-family:Century Gothic,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Century Gothic,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica;font-size:100%;" >George was the person who originated the dance moves named The Twine that Alvin adapted ...</span><span style=";font-family:Century Gothic,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;"> Since George was a dancer he would make up the dance routines, or would make better routines out of any regions dance moves. If anyone ever saw Alvin Cash do a concert you know what I mean."</span></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br />George was so talented he is alleged to have shown <span style="font-weight: bold;">Major Lance</span> and others how to improve their moves. Not only that, but despite his young age at the time, George was know locally as a remarkable drummer, playing with local group <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Vows</span>. He could even dance at the same time, and once, opening a concert for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Frank Sinatra</span> with the Four Steps, he was invited back on to play some drums by Frank himself, while tapping! According to Don, George's drumming was so good that <span style="font-style: italic;">"[it]...</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Century Gothic,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica;font-size:100%;" > <span style="font-family:georgia;">even made Sammy Davis, Jr said wow!</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">"</span> </span>So it is George you can hear keeping the beat on The Twine Time and many other Alvin Cash recordings. Only trouble was, due to his age, George would have to be snuck into clubs and snuck back out again as soon as the set was over:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Century Gothic,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica;font-size:100%;" >Since George being young, he couldn't stand around or mingle in the area because he was underage, and would have to stay in the back before the shows began and during intermissions and after."</span><br /><br />While George was too young to latch onto the fame that went with Alvin Cash and The Registers, he went on to play drums with a number of groups, including Mothers' Finest, and continued playing with <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Vows</span>. He is married to Berniece Willis of <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Kittens</span>.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><span style=";font-family:Century Gothic,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica;font-size:100%;" ><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Ladies and gentlemen, you don't need to check your watches, I'll tell you what time it is!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Alvin Cash & The Registers - Twine Time (Mar-V-Lus 6002)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Alvin Cash & The Registers - Twine Awhile (from Mar-V-Lus MLP 1827)</span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Century Gothic,Arial,Helvetica;" ><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Information from liner notes, and from the informative posts of Mel(andthensome), </span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Century Gothic,Arial,Helvetica;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sis Detroit, </span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Century Gothic,Arial,Helvetica;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Randy Russi, and </span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Century Gothic,Arial,Helvetica;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">most especially Don </span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Century Gothic,Arial,Helvetica;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">on the Soulful Detroit forums</span></span></span><strong><em><br /></em></strong> </div>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26229591.post-29669199747227024192007-09-07T19:35:00.000+00:002008-12-11T12:14:27.915+00:00He Meant Well: Say It One More Time For Kip Anderson 1941 - 2007<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RuGJIQdf1bI/AAAAAAAAAEU/DAdRtbVjI0o/s1600-h/kip_anderson_025%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5107514227365500338" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGhxjNmHuUU/RuGJIQdf1bI/AAAAAAAAAEU/DAdRtbVjI0o/s320/kip_anderson_025%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Born January 24, 1941 in Anderson, South Carolina; died Wednesday August 29th 2007</strong><br /><br /><div></div><div>Today's post is going to add to the other tributes that have been presented about Kip Anderson, who died after recent heart problems in his home town of Anderson, South Carolina.<br /></div><div>The title of this post comes from an <a href="http://www.metrobeat.net/gbase/Expedite/Content?oid=oid%3A2061"><strong>interview</strong></a> with Kip for The Beat magazine by <strong>Dan Armonaitis</strong> in 2003. When asked what he would like to be remembered for, Kip replied that he would ask for his tombstone simply to read: "He meant well". By all accounts, Kip Anderson was a gentle and kind individual, and devoted a great deal of his time helping others in the community. In part this was inspired by the pitfalls that he himself had encountered in his life that almost derailed his musical career, and by the individuals who, when he had reached a low point, offered him a lifeline.</div><br /><div>Dan's article is well worth the time reading for its detailed summary of Kip's life and career, as well as the personal anectdotes which Kip revealed to him in their interviews: amongst the highlights of which is, what Sam Cooke used to do to the unsuspecting Blind Boys of Alabama while driving their car to a gig. With Kip's input, the article spans from his early years playing piano for gospel groups in Anderson and his big break playing for gospel legend Madame Edna Gallmon Cooke, to his move into r&b recording, to his movements from label to label looking for the big hit, which came closest with I Went Off And Cried, on which Kip Anderson uttered the legendary phrase 'say it one time for the broken-hearted.' It then records the struggles Kip had through the 1970s trying to beat an addiction and cope with the stresses of incarceration, and the way in which, thanks to a prison warden who happened to be an old school friend, Kip got the chance to discover how music could transform other people's lives as well as his own. His well-deserved career renaissance saw him feted in both the local gospel and the beach music audiences.</div><div></div><div><strong>Without A Woman</strong>, a release on Checker Records for Chess, was the first Kip Anderson song I ever heard, and precisely the sixth soul record I had ever heard. It can't fail to hit the mark as a quintessential deep southern soul number, being written by Quin Ivy and Dan Penn and recorded at FAME.</div><div></div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Kip Anderson - Without A Woman (Checker Records) 1966</span></strong></div><br /><br /><div><strong><em><span style="font-size:130%;">Visit the </span></em></strong><a href="http://www.kipanderson.com/index.cfm?nextpage=contact"><strong><em><span style="font-size:130%;">Kip Anderson website</span></em></strong></a>.</div><br /><em><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>For more information on Kip Anderson, go to the </strong></span></em><a href="http://www.metrobeat.net/gbase/Expedite/Content?oid=oid%3A2061"><em><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Dan Armonaitis article</strong></span></em></a><em><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>.</strong></span></em>Rob Whatmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04451974312809323440noreply@blogger.com1