If you’re a fan of the singer Jewel, set your alarm for 6:30 a.m. Monday. That’s when she will be performing live, acoustic guitar, on HSN.

Why HSN has scheduled Jewel’s first performance at dawn, we have no idea. But the singer will also be on at a more reasonable hour, 1 p.m. Monday.

We believe she will be performing songs from her CD “Lullaby,” which HSN is selling for $18.

As part of its effort to draw in non-home shopping viewers, both HSN and QVC have been offering live concert performances of artists such as Natalie Cole and Jose Feliciano.

45 GIRI NATALIE COLE – THIS WILL BE / JOEY – CAPITOL 1976 MADE IN ITALY € 8

QVC CEO Mike George

Then back in October, we couldn’t believe it when a sharp-eyed poster on QVC’s jewelry forum said that upscale jewelry designer Stephen Dweck, whose chunky gemstone masterpieces are featured in Neiman Marcus, was on the No. 1 home shopping network’s schedule. THE Stephen Dweck?

We checked QVC’s program guide ourselves, and there it was: Dweck was doing a lower-priced jewelry line for QVC called Dweck’s Diamonds. His Neiman Marcus pieces didn’t even have diamonds. The high-end stuff is made with semi-precious stones.

Also in October, we were checking the press releases on HSN’s Web site when we saw the network had struck a deal with one of the most famous and elite fashion houses: Badgley Mischka, designers of bejeweled gowns for the red carpet and celebrities.

We’ve written bits and pieces of this during the past two months, but we thought we’d tie it all up in a tidy package for Thanksgiving: There has been a sea change in the home shopping world, prompted by the disastrous economy and the crash of the luxury market.

Yes, home shopping networks have seen their sales hurt by the economy, like everyone else. But they claim they are still managing to steal market share from brick-and-mortar retailers. In fact, QVC is making a full-frontal assault on them this Black Friday, with 28 hours of special products and programming stunts starting Thanksgiving night.

The consumer press will continue to mention “cubic zirconia” in every story it writes about QVC or HSN, oblivious to the fact that some of the most esteemed names in fashion, jewelry and cosmetics — brands you find in Saks, Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus — are plying their wares on the aforementioned home shopping channels.

ShopNBC CEO Keith Stewart

Male journalists are blind to this. You still have the nerds at Gawker, a snide Web Site for the navel-gazing media, chiding HSN for selling “useless crap.”

If you have ever seen how male journalists dress or their fashion and style sensibilities, you will realize that you can’t expect them to know names like Badgley Mischka, Judith Ripka, Robert Lee Morris, our fellow Montclair, N.J., resident Bobbi Brown, Yves Saint Laurent, Smashbox, Lancome and Dweck. And these brands and artists don’t represent “useless crap.”

Luxury-good makers are hurting, and they need to make up their loss in sales. So they are turning to outlets like QVC, as CEO Mike George explained at a recent Liberty Media conference, as outlets to distribute new lower-priced lines to the masses. George cited fashion designer Vivienne Tam’s QVC alliance at the meeting held in Manhattan by his parent company, Liberty.

“This complete implosion of luxury retailing in America has caused all these folks to rethink their business model,” George said.

And that means partnering with QVC, HSN or ShopNBC.

As we said, it will take the consumer press years to figure out that home shopping channels are distribution powerhouses that have undergone a transformation, in part because of the infllux of talent like a Morris, who does couture jewelry for designers like Donna Karan and RLM Studio sterling silver jewelry for QVC.

The Big Three — QVC, HSN and ShopNBC — are aggressively trying to broaden their audience and potential customer base, those who don’t normally watch any of these three networks. That means the three are actually “programming” the channels, doing “shows” that have entertainment value, not just product shilling, so they will attract non-QVC or non-HSN watchers.

We remember once interviewing a QVC exec years ago and asking what the network’s ratings were. He said ratings were irrelevant: QVC was only concerned about how many products were sold in an hour.

HSN CEO Mindy Grossman

That’s a totally different tune from what we heard recently from QVC’s George, and from the strategies that HSN CEO Mindy Grossman and ShopNBC CEO Keith Stewart have initiated.

Like traditional TV networks, the home shopping players want viewers to “sample” a QVC or an HSN. These new audience members, hopefully, will then see products that they want to buy.

For example, singer Natalie Cole recently did a live concert on HSN to promote a new Holiday CD set she is selling on the channel. If you’re a fan, you might tune in to HSN to see her, and then actually decide to purchase her CD. Artists such
as Jose Feliciano have also performed live on QVC.

QVC alum Stewart on a recent third-quarter conference call pointed out that actress-entrepeneur Suzanne Somers, who came to ShopNBC from HSN, had succeeded in attracting new viewers to Minneapolis-based ShopNBC because she was “entertaining.” And these networks want new eyeballs.

And home shopping networks’ capacity to reach millions of consumers and do fulfillment of orders has not been lost on magazine publishers, celebrities or cable’s reality TV stars. With circulation falling, women’s magazines such as Lucky, Allure, Glamour and Self are partnering with HSN to sell subscriptions.

And stars have seen the light. In a recent interview in Oprah Winfey’s O magazine, Joan Rivers, who’s had a jewelry line on QVC for almost 20 years, told O she was on home shopping when “nobody except dead celebrities was doing merchandise on TV.”

Nowadays, it’s hard to find a celebrity or TV star who doesn’t have a home shopping line. Even Madonna was interviewed on HSN when she was selling her children’s book.

Here’s a partial list:

Paula Abdul, HSN, formerly “American Idol,” Fox

Rachel Zoe, QVC, “The Rachel Zoe Project,” Bravo

Isaac Mizrahi, QVC, “The Fashion Show,” Bravo

Padma Lakshmi, HSN, “Top Chef,” Bravo

Ramona Singer, HSN, “The Real Housewives of New York City,” Bravo

Susan Lucci, HSN, “All My Children,” ABC

Carson Kressley, QVC, “How to Look Good Naked,” Lifetime Television

Dr. Robert Rey, ShopNBC, “Dr. 90210,” E! Entertainment Television

Tori Spelling, HSN, “Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood,” Oxygen

Paula Deen, QVC, Food Network

Rachael Ray, QVC, “The Rachael Ray Show,” syndication

Ingrid Hoffmann, HSN, Food Network and Univision

Home shopping is a big business. ShopNBC is the also-ran in the group, but in the third quarter Stewart made some nice progress cutting its losses. Sales for the Big Three were all down, but down less than previous quarters.

And we are not talking chump change for these networks. The three home shopping channels generated $8.3 billion in net revenue in 2008. QVC domestic posted $4.9 billion, HSN netted $2.8 billion and ShopNBC had $568 million.

Even with revenue still slipping this year, for the first nine months QVC had revenue of $3.308 billion; HSN had net sales of $1.4 billion; and ShopNBC had $372.6 million in net sales.

Happy Thanksgiving!

And here we come to an end of the 1970s in the Any Major Soul series. There are two mixes covering ’80s soul HERE and HERE. Still, the years 1980/81 and possibly 1982/83 were good enough to yield any major mixes; I’ve not thought about later years.

It’s tempting to dismiss the soul music produced in the disco era. I think this mix shows that it was still a golden era for soul, if not of quite the incredible standards a few years earlier when there was the happy confluence of the influences exerted by the likes of Philly, Motown, Hi, Muscle Shoals, Atlantic, and the Chicago scene.

If I was asked which of these tracks in this mix I’d take with me to a desert island, I would be hard pressed to choose between Bill Withers’ Love Is and Minnie Riperton’s Never Existed Before. I think the latter would win. Released after her death from cancer, Minnie’s vocals are equally cute and sexy (nobody has done cute and sexy as well as Minnie did). It’s not the best-known track from the Minnie LP, but it is my favourite Riperton song.

Several of the songs here are touched by disco golddust. The Gary Toms Empire are perhaps more disco than soul. Former Motown writers Ashford & Simpson certainly were in their disco groove, and You Know How To Love Me by Phyllis Hyman (another wonderful soul singer who died too young, in 1995, the same year Bobby DeBarge, featured in the bonus tracks, died) is the sort of mid-tempo song one can dance or chill to.

Cheryl Lynn is better remembered for one of the great dance tracks, Got To Be Real. The track featured here, You’re The One, comes from the same eponymous 1978 album, one of the few ballads on the LP on which the 21-year-old Lynn delivered a fine, octave-traversing vocal performance. Signed by CBS on strength of her winning performance on the TV talent programme The Gong Show, Cheryl Lynn was a prodigious session singer too. It’s her soaring voice on Toto’s excellent Georgy Porgy, and she also backed Lenny Williams, whom we encounter in the bonus tracks.

Peabo Bryson does not have a good reputation among soul fans (with that name, it’s surprising he ever enjoyed any credibility), while Natalie Cole’s soul credentials have taken a knock with her endeavours to become her father. Don’t let such perceptions worry you as you hear their excellent jazzy cover of Bobby Caldwell’s What You Won’t Do For Love.

Jean Carn (later rendered as Carne, for “numerological” reasons) sang with Duke Ellington’s orchestra just before his death. Through her stint as a regular on US TV shows she was picked up by Gamble & Huff for their Philadelphia International Records label.

The Jones Girls also found success with Gamble & Huff, via two soul legends. The Chicago sisters were first mentored by Curtis Mayfield, through whom they got to work with Aretha Franklin. It was as a support act for Diana Ross that the Jones Girls — Shirley, Brenda and Valerie — came to Gamble & Huff’s attention. Besides releasing their own albums, they also provided backing vocals for the PIR roster.

Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson was cited by Jimi Hendrix as a major influence. He might also have been nicknamed “Organ”, for he played keyboard for Herb Alpert during the 1960s, reuniting with Alpert for his 1979 hit Rise [EDIT: Apparently he didn't. See comments]. Before that, the man known as “Elvis’ private guitar player” had toured with Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson. Here he gets seriously funky, providing one of the few instances of snoring released on vinyl. Another legend, Wilson Pickett, made a brief comeback fusing the funk with old school soul, creating a sound which Tom Jones has tried to emulate for years, but never coming near his ambition.

The “Pops” in the title of the penultimate track is, of course, Berry Gordy, paid tribute here by four of the greatest stars in music history. I’d not have included it was it not for this year being Motown’s 50th birthday.

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TRACKLISTING
1. Gary Toms Empire – Welcome To Harlem
2. Ashford & Simpson – It Seems To Hang On
3. Jean Carn – Don’t Let It Get To Your Head
4. Bill Withers – Love Is
5. Rufus and Chaka Khan – Stay
6. Cheryl Lynn - You’re The One
7. Denise LaSalle - A Miracle You And Me
8. Neville Brothers - Washable Ink
9. Minnie Riperton - Never Existed Before
10. Natalie Cole & Peabo Bryson – What You Won’t Do For Love
11. Phyllis Hyman – You Know How To Love Me
12. The Jones Girls – You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else
13. Johnny Guitar Watson – It’s A Damn Shame
14. Wilson Pickett – Lay Me Like You Hate Me
15. The Whispers - Let’s Go All The Way
16. D Ross, M Gaye, S Robinson, S Wonder – Pops, We Love You
17. Roberta Flack – And The Feeling’s Good

DOWNLOAD

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At one point I thought of making this a two-part mix, because a bunch of longer numbers would fit on the mix, which I have kept, as always, to standard CD-R length. Instead, here are a few bonus tracks.

These include Betty Wright’s live recording of the song about losing her virginity, Lenny William’s fantastically overwrought lament of lost love (“…and then I played my records till I didn’t want to hear them no more), Mtume’s The Closer I Get To You which was a hit for Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack written by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas, the O’Jay’s tribute to a dog, Kandidate’s proto ’80s soul sound, a track by Motown artists Switch who included two older DeBarge brothers, and more.

Lenny Williams – Because I Love You.mp3
Heatwave – Mind Blowing Decisions.mp3
Betty Wright – Tonight Is The Night.mp3
Ray Goodman Brown – Inside Of You.mp3
Brenda Russell – So Good, So Right.mp3
Switch – I Call Your Name.mp3
Mtume – The Closer I Get To You.mp3
The O‘Jays – Brandy.mp3
Kandidate – I Don’t Wanna Lose You.mp3
Rick James – You And I.mp3

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More ’70s Soul
More Mixes

Con el objetivo de incentivar a los consumidores a invertir y estirar su dinero lo más que se pueda, los parques tematicos en Orlando y Tampa han formulado unas interesantes promociones de tiquetes que incrementarán los ahorros entre los Residentes de Florida.  Vea a continuación estas 3 atractivas promociones  que además de darle la opción de visitar los parques multiples veces, también le dan la oportunidad de celebrar la Navidad en ellos.

1.   Universal Studios Orlando

Ofrece un pase Navideño (Holiday Pass) de  $79.99 (más impuestos) para ambos parques tematicos, Universal Studios Orlando y Islands of Adventure sin límite de uso por 2 meses, de Diciembre 2009 a Enero 31, 2010. El precio normal es de $89.99 más impuestos, pero al presentar el código de barra de cualquier producto de Coca Cola o Sprite obtendrá $10 de descuento.

La Navidad en Universal Studios Resort es un experiencia única. De Diciembre 5 al primero de Enero,  unase a la diversión en Islands of Adventure con Grinchmas y goce de una versión en vivo de “Como el Grinch se Robó la Navidad. ” Además en Universal Studios disfrute del Desfíle Navideño de Macy’s (Macy’s Holiday Parade), el cual sale a la calle con nuevos globos  y carrozas, bandas marchando, coloridos artistas y mucho más!  Y si no fuese suficiente disfrute de una Serie de Conciertos Navideños celebrados en el Universal Music Plaza con artistas como Mannheim Steamroller en Diciembre 5; Chris Isaak en Diciembre 12; y Natalie Cole en Diciembre 19, 2009.

Recuerde que tiene hasta el 31 de Enero 2010 para regresar a disfrutar con más calma sus atracciones favoritas como la nueva Rip, Ride and Rock It, Jurassic Park River Adventure y The Amazing Adventures of Spider Man.

2.   SeaWorld Orlando

Pone a su disposición una entrada de $69.95 más impuestos, que es más economica que una entrada de precio regular y que podrá usar sin límite hasta Diciembre 2010. En esta temporada Navideña, usted podrá disfrutar de The Polar Express Experience desde Noviembre 13 hasta Enero 3, 2010; el solemne show de Shamu Christmas Miracles de 22 minutos de duración y Reflections, el íncreible show pirotecnico y de fuentes de agua.  Tendrá hasta la Navidad 2010 para visitar el parque y disfrutar de Believe, Clyde and Seamore y Kraken.

3.   Busch Gardens Tampa

También ofrece una entrada de $69.95 más impuestos de uso ilimitado hasta Diciembre 2010. Con su nuevo pase anual podrá disfrutar de Holidays at Busch Gardens de Noviembre 21 a Enero 3, 2010 y New Year’s Eve at Busch Gardens de Diciembre 26-31, 2009. De Enero en adelante podrá regresar al parque al disfrutar con más tiempo de sus atracciones favoritas como Sheikra, Congo River Rapids y Katonga.

Orlando, Florida Guide, la guía más completa en línea de Orlando, le ofrece información  de tiquetes a Disney World, tiquetes a Universal Orlando, y tiquetes a Sea World Orlando.

Oferta más reciente de Universal de Orlando extiende un día en casi dos meses.

A partir 5 de Diciembre, los Residentes de Florida pueden comprar el nuevo pase o tiquete Navideño conocido como Universal’s Holiday Pass, que da acceso ilimitado a los parques temáticos de Universal Studios y Islands of Adventure  hasta el 31 de Enero 2010, por el precio de la entrada regular de un día, a un parque.

No es coincidencia, el 5 de Diciembre marca el inicio de las celebraciones navideñas en Universal Studios, incluiyendo la cómica obra musical de Cómo el Grinch Robó la Navidad en Islands of Adventures, el desfíle de Macy’s Holiday Parade en Universal Studios además de su serie de tres eventos navideños  - Mannheim Steamroller el día 5, Chris Isaak el 12 de Diciembre y Natalie Cole el 19 de Diciembre. Todos estos eventos estan incluidos en la entrada regular al parque. (Tome en cuenta que los shows del Grinch y el desfile de Macy’s son el 1 de Enero.)

La oferta aún no esta en el sitio Web de Universal, pero el precio es  de $ 79.99 “, al obtener descuento especiales en productos Coca Cola o en vasos especiales de Firehouse Subs. (Una mayor aclaración de Universal Orlando: Eso significa que el Residente de la Florida ahorra $ 10 – pagando $ 79.99 – utilizando el código de barra de cualquier producto de Coca-Cola o un código promocional de tazas Firehouse especialmente marcados. Introduzca el código en línea para comprar el pase.)

Recomendación: Los parques son generalmente muy concurridos en Diciembre, pero recuerde que en Enero estarán bastante vacios.

Orlando, Florida Guide, la guía más completa en línea de Orlando, le ofrece información  de tiquetes a Disney World, tiquetes a Universal Orlando, y tiquetes a Sea World Orlando.

ong title
1. Mr. Melody (Live)
2. This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)
3. I’ve Got Love On My Mind
4. Song For You
5. I Can’t Say No
6. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Live)
7. Pink Cadillac
8. Miss You Like Crazy
9. Inseparable
10. Snowfall On The Sahara
11. Say You Love Me
12. La Costa
13. I Live For Your Love
14. I’m Catchin’ Hell
15. A Smile Like Yours
16. Unforgettable
17. Angel On My Shoulder
18. Our Love (Live)
19. Livin’ For Love

http://www.easy-share.com/1908468924/Nata_C00.part2.rar
http://www.easy-share.com/1908468933/Nata_C00.part1.rar

We love using Sac Foodies to spread the word about all the great ways that local businesses and individuals are helping to make Sacramento  the great city it is.

The “Hope in Harmony” benefit concert for children is one of those great efforts.  The event, which will include an Old Hollywood theme, will be held at the Memorial Auditorium (15th Street and J) on Friday, November 20th and will bring much needed business development, fundraising training and financial support to three local nonprofits – KidsFirst, Roberts Family Development Center and Special Olympics of Northern California.  With Natalie Cole as the headlining artist and special guest Louie Anderson, the night will be filled with great music and laughter all in an effort to give back.

Doors will open at 8:30 p.m. and the show will start at 9:00.  VIP ticket holders will be able to enjoy a cocktail reception featuring food from Paragary Restaurants and wine provided by various local wineries, followed by an elegant sit down dinner during the concert and an after party at Spataro Restaurant and Bar.

Concert ticket prices range from $50 to $150 and can be purchased here.  VIP tickets and sponsor tables are also available by calling (916) 782-4673.

I just finished watching  partial footage of  Oprah’s  interview with Charla Nash, the woman who’s face was ripped apart by a neighbhor’s raging chimpanzee.  I recall a friend telling me about the story some time ago.  She kind of  joked about it…talking about how the neighbor and her lover,  the chimp…were having a lover’s spat.

At first I thought it humorous at the time…based upon my friend’s jokes about it.   But my goodness…it was anything but a joke.  Far from it.  But anything where a person is injured can never be  a  joke at any time.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t thinking like this when my  friend initially  told me the story.   And I am  so ashamed to have laughed.

I never knew that such a thing could or would have happened to anyone.  I prayed for that woman upon seeing that clip.  And  I am not going  to show any pictures in  this blog…or put any videos in it…in respect to that woman. 

I feel for that woman very much…as someone who ran to someone’s rescue…to try and help them…and ended up being severely injured.  Injured beyond all recognition.  As half of  her face was torn off…and it seemed that her fingers and hands had been destroyed as well.

Her face wasn’t even a face.  Her eyes…it was like her whole mouth…teeth were gone too.   But I guess it was the best that anyone could do for her considering the intensitiy of  her injuries. 

It was a horror…but even more so something which really made me feel sad for the woman.  And I began to pray for her.

The fact that the woman went on Oprah’s show and discussed the attack was a sign that the woman has come to grip with her life as it is now.  Which speaks volumes for her.

But she didn’t sound angry…or furious with God over what had happened to her.  As so many people often do when tragedy strikes. 

What a woman.  Much can be said for inner strenght…and being able to connect to it…in order to see your way through any circumstance.

I don’t know if  I have that.  But I pray that if ever the need were to arise  that  I would have the strenght of  character to connect to it  too.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/02/18/2009-02-18_charla_nash_lost_eyes_nose_and_jaw_in_ch.html

One day after Veteran’s Day…I spent some time trying to digest what happened on the  grounds of  Fort Hood where 13 were killed and several others were shot and injured.

I wondered if this was the act of  one of  those buried or implanted individuals that we had heard so much about following 9/11?

You know…those who were trained aboard then shipped here for some appointed time to cause havoc while killing Americans in the wake of  it. 

There is so much killing these days…domestically that  who is going  to tolerate non-American forces or luntics of  any kind  coming here to add to the carnage?

If  indeed there are implants…persons angry with America and Western culture…sitting around and waiting on a time to attack.  Well, Americans are not going to sit back and just take that.

So, if  indeed that doctor at Fort Hood was part of  some kind clan…he will be dealt with very harshly.  And as well he should be.

Is it not enough that they went aboard and risked their lives in foreign lands…then to come home and be shot down?

From 19 to 62…so young and so dedicated to the US Military.  They did not give their lives…but their lives were taken…stolen.

http://news.aol.com/article/obama-remembers-the-fallen-at-fort-hood/761755

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/12/fort.hood.wounded.soldier/index.html

Since the medication for AIDS has gotten so much better…and people are living longer…we pay little to no attention to AIDS any more.  It is not the hot topic it once was.

Because Magic looks so good…so healthy…for many the fear of  AIDS has all but been washed away.   Many feel that it isn’t as great of a threat as it once was…and its affects are not taken as seriously any more. 

But unlike Magic…Natalie Cole doesn’t look so healthy.    In fact, she looks sick…aging and weak.

This past week  I came  across this article about  AIDS and that it is a leading cause for deaths in women.   You might want to read this  for yourself.

http://news.aol.com/health/article/aids-is-leading-cause-of-death-disease/759472

Hope you had a good day.  It’s late…after 2 AM…and I am planning on getting up early.  So, I hope that you have a beautiful day tomorrow and a beautiful weekend.

Well, God bless…

Thank you for reading this blog…and  my others.  Please be sure to continue to share this blog site with your family, co-workers and all your friends… “pass it on…”  www.bsmith101.wordpress.com  ©2009

Did the Beatles borrow from a 1956 jazz hit before their song was shamelessly copied by a 1990s alternative group? How did Rod Stewart get around a plagiarism lawsuit? Does Seal’s mega-hit Kiss From A Rose borrow from Natalie Cole? Did Keith Richards and Mick Jagger really never hear k.d. lang’s Constant Craving? Why am I writing the intro in question format? Could it be because the Copy Borrow Steal posts are not intended to directly accuse songwriters of plagiarism (except when they do)? Shall we proceed to the meat of the post?

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Jorge Ben – Taj Mahal (1976).mp3
Bob Dylan – One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later) (1966).mp3
Rod Stewart – Do Ya Think I’m Sexy (1978).mp3
Steve Dahl – Do You Think I’m Disco (1979).mp3
It didn’t go down well when Rod the Mod donned the leopard-print spandex tights and satin shirt to cash in on the disco boom. His fans were appalled, the disco purists even more so, and the disco haters went into overdrive. Radio jock Steve Dahl was prompted to organise the despicable record burning at Chicago’s Comiskey Park in part because of Rod’s single (for my views on Comiskey, go here). Dahl later released the non-genius spoof Do You Think I’m Disco. In the outrage, few noticed that the chorus of Rod’s song (and, for that matter, Dahl’s) was lifted almost wholesale from Brazilian jazz maestro Jorge Ben’s samba-funk workout Taj Mahal, which he has recorded at least three times since its first appearance in 1972 (featured here is the 1976 version).

Do Ya Think I’m Sexy was written by Stewart with his drummer, Carmine Appice. But clearly, it was largely plagiarised, so Jorge Ben threatened to sue. Rod deftly outmanoeuvred him, and Ben (who also wrote the bossa nova standard Mais Que Nada) saw no profit from it. Stewart grandly announced that future royalties of his ripped-off track would go to UNICEF, at whose proto-Live Aid show he sang “his” song. Ben — now known as Jorge Ben Jor, after somehow royalties due to him were paid to George Benson — later complained that UNICEF never even contacted him about the agreement. He was not happy about having been ripped off, but would have been fine with his melody being lifted if only Stewart and Appice had asked him.

It is said that Da Ya Think also lifted from Bobby Womack’s 1975 track (If You Want My Love) Put Something Down On It, but I don’t have it, nor have I heard it. The Can-Smashing Robot blog, however, believes to have spotted another subtle rip-off: Al Kooper’s organ hook at 2:59 in Bob Dylan’s One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later). You decide. But as you do, think about this: Dylan’s track appeared on Blonde On Blonde; Stewart’s on Blondes Have More Fun. Coincidence?

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Humphrey Lyttleton – Bad Penny Blues (1956).mp3
The Beatles – Lady Madonna (1967).mp3
Sublime – What I Got (1996).mp3
The piano riff of Humphrey Lyttleton’s Bad Penny Blues, played by Johnny Parker, allegedly inspired Paul McCartney ivory-tinkling on Lady Madonna. Engineered by the legendary Joe Meek (who should have received the producer credit), it was the first British jazz number to reach the UK Top 20. Lyttleton, a jazz traditionalist, did not like the song on account of Meek’s innovations.

The aristocratic Lyttleton, who died in April last year, was a colourful character. Apart from playing jazz, he was also a cartoonist for the Daily Mail (which at the time evidently still employed left-leaning characters). At school, he played in a band with the journalist Ludovic Kennedy, who died last month. The trumpet was his constant companion, it seems. During the war, he reportedly landed on Salerno beach during Operation Avalanche with gun in one hand and trumpet in the other. On VE Day, the BBC filmed him celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany sitting in a wheelbarrow playing his trumpet. For 40 years he presented a jazz programme on BBC radio, retiring the month before his death. He also appeared on the BBC radio comedy quiz show I’m Sorry, I Haven’t Got A Clue; one of his replacement after his death was the magnificent Stephen Fry. And in 2001, he contributed to Radiohead’s Life In A Glasshouse.

To spoil a good story, McCartney says that the piano on Lady Madonna was in fact inspired by Fats Domino, whose vocal style he also tried to replicate. And, in fairness, I can’t hear much similarity between Lyttleton’s and McCartney’s songs.

There is, however, more than just a little similarity between Lady Madonna and alternative rock outfit Sublime’s 1997 hit What You Got. The latter’s first verse melody is almost identical to that of the Beatles’ song. Apparently the Sublime song, released after lead singer Bradley Nowell’s death, was based on a song by called Loving by Jamaican dancehall singer Half Pint. He gets a writer’s credit; McCartney doesn’t.

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Natalie Cole – Our Love (1978).mp3
Seal – Kiss From A Rose (1995).mp3
You’ll have to make your own mind up about this: to me, the piano intro of Natalie Cole’s 1978 song Our Love sounds suspiciously like the scatted intro of Seal’s 1995 hit Kiss From A Rose (a song I can’t say I’m particularly partial to, though I’ll allow that Seal’s vocal performance is pretty good).

Natalie Cole’s song was written by Chuck Jackson & Marvin Yancy, and covered in 1997 by Mary J Blige, though I don’t remember her version at all. Cole’s version was a US #10 hit; Seal’s, written for the Batman Forever soundtrack by Seal and Trevor Horn, topped the US charts.

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k.d. lang – Constant Craving (1992).mp3
Rolling Stones – Anybody Seen My Baby (1997).mp3
One of my favourite passages in Timothy English’s fascinating book on songs that have copied, borrowed or stolen, Sounds Like Teen Spirit (website and buy) concerns the Rolling Stones’ Anybody Seen My Baby from the mostly mediocre Bridges To Babylon album. It’s 1997 and Keef is playing the soon-to-be-release album to his daughter and her friends. As the chorus of Anybody Seen My Baby begins, the girls launch into the chorus of k.d. lang’s Constant Craving. Richards and Jagger denied having consciously heard lang’s mammoth hit of 1992 (nor, as English pointedly notes, did the producer, engineer, session musicians or record company honchos, it seems).

However, by the time Ms Richards and pals had alerted Keef to the potential plagiarism, the marketing machine for Bridges To Babylon was already in overdrive, and the track could not be pulled. The pragmatic, and honourable, solution was to add Lang and her co-writer, Ben Mink, to the writing credit. As for Richards, he later told CNN: “If you’re a songwriter, it can happen. You know, it’s what goes in may well come out.”

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Morris ‘MO’ Pleasure

April Sims A and E Radio

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click here to listen to interview.

April Sims and Vincent Versher (sitting in for Christopher ‘Poetry Man’ Fields) welcome keyboardist and musical director for band in the movie ‘This Is It’ to April Sims A and E Radio.

A little bit more about Mo Pleasure

Join April Sims and Vincent Versher (sitting in for Christopher ‘Poetry Man’ Fields) as they welcome MO Pleasure to April Sims A and E Radio Show. MO shares his experiences with Michael Jackson, Janet Janet and countless other celebrities in the music world as well as his upcoming cd project and more. (click links above to listen to the interview)

A little bit about MO Pleasure

Known affectionately as Mo Pleasure, this renowned multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer, began playing acoustic piano at the age of four and by his early teens already mastered several instruments including bass, trumpet, guitar, drums and violin.

Upon receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from University of Connecticut, Mo began his professional music career playing bass with Ray Charles. He then began working as a session musician, backing some of the most accomplished talents in Jazz and R&B including George Duke, Natalie Cole, Dianne Reeves, Jonathan Butler, Rachelle Ferrell, Michael McDonald, Oleta Adams, Roberta Flack, Marcus Miller and Frankie Beverly and Maze, to name a few.

From 1989 through 1992, Mo was both keyboardist and musical director with saxophonist Najee, pianist Alex Bugnon, and vocalists Philip Bailey, Patti Austin and Jon Lucien. In 1993, he became a member of the legendary group Earth, Wind & Fire, and ascended to become the band’s musical director in 1994. Mo was featured playing keyboards, trumpet and guitar with Janet Jackson’s 2001 “All For You” tour and played keyboards and trumpet with Boney James’ 2004 “Pure” tour. As a principal member of the group Devoted Spirits, Mo was featured playing keyboards for Jimi Hendrix’s 60th Birthday Celebration and the 2004 “Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix” tour. Mo most recently toured with Roberta Flack and Rachelle Ferrell.

In addition to performing at worldwide jazz festivals including Montreux, North Sea, St. Lucia, Cancun, and Montreal, Mo has been a featured concert pianist, performing Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and for the Boston Ballet.

There are many Television and Video performances to Mo’s credit, including Ray Charles BBC Special, Mad TV, BET on Jazz, VH1, The Tonight Show, Earth, Wind & Fire documentary Shining Stars and HBO Special – Janet Jackson in Hawaii. His movie soundtrack credits include Talkin’ featured in the Disney movie “Three Men and a Little Lady” and the EWF single “Cruisin,” featured in Spike Lee’s “Get On The Bus.”

Two of Mo’s CDs were released independently in Spring 2005. Devoted Spirits’ “Tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire” and Audio Caviar “Transoceanic.” Audio Caviar is a collaboration featuring Mo on piano, bass, trumpet and flugelhorn, Ralph Johnson on drums and Denmark guitarist Steen Kyed.

Mo’s first offering as a solo artist, Elements of Pleasure, was released in 2006. The release earned him a devoted worldwide following and established him as a producer and multi-instrumentalist with singular talent. Scheduled for release in late 2008, Mo’s second solo effort, Mo’Elements of Pleasure, expands upon his first project. The lyrical movement of the piano, the soulful sounds of the trumpet and flugelhorn and the funky rhythm of the bass are the elements that touch the heart, mind and soul. The music is a combined collaboration of instrumental funk and soulful vocals, reminiscent of his many musical influences. Demonstrating the respect and cache he has garnered in his illustrious career, the album is chockfull of special guests including Tony Terry, Maysa, Ali Woodson, Philip Bailey, Maxayn and Bobby Ricketts.

Posted by: April Sims (http://www.wearegreaterthani.com)

When you can sing songs as Nat did, you don't need all those look-at-me riffs. Uploaded by warchild13.com.

Is this the smoothest voice in American music history? I think you could make the case that it is. Nat is almost as popular today as he was in his prime, because everyone loves that voice. The amazing thing is that he made his name not as a singer, but as a jazz pianist. And he was great at that, too.

The King Cole Trio began performing in 1937, and was a big success in the L.A. area. Nat would sing between sets, and it wasn’t long before people were clamoring for more vocals.

Uploaded by mensxp.com.

His first hit record was “Straighten Up and Fly Right” in 1943. His last hit was “That Sunday, That Summer,” which happens to be one of my favorite Cole songs. In between, he hit the charts with such classics as “Mona Lisa,” “Too Young,” “The Very Thought of You,” “Smile,” “When I Fall in Love”, “A Blossom Fell,” “Ramblin’ Rose,” “Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer,” and of course the haunting “Unforgettable,” which his daughter Natalie inserted herself in and made a hit again in 1991.

If you look around the TV dial, you might happen upon broadcasts of The Nat King Cole Show from 1956-57. If you’re lucky enough to find them, you’ll see that Nat was a natural in front of the camera. The primary reason the show is memorable, though, is that it’s the first network broadcast (NBC) ever hosted by an African-American. Sadly, the series only lasted one year, largely due to lack of a sponsor willing to stand up and be identified with a black entertainer.

Oh, one more thing. It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, it’s always a good day to hear Nat’s iconic recording of Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song”:

I love jazz. Over the next few days I want to share with you some of the great jazz songs I listen to.

The first is Natalie Cole’s ‘Unforgettable’.

Natalie Cole is the daughter of the exceptional jazz pianist Nat King Cole. In 2009 she made her stage comeback. Her latest album is ‘Still Unforgettable‘.

Here is the music video of ‘Unforgettable’, where she sings in duet with her father. Natalie sings in front of a live audience,  Nat sings from a video wall.

Natalie Cole’s website is at www.nataliecole.com

In aceasta seara va concerta la Bucuresti faimoasa cantareata Natalie Cole fiica faimosului cantaret Nat King Cole.Cantareata a devenit faimoasa mai ales dupa interpretarea cantecului”Unforgetable”.Natalie a marturisit ca este pentru prima data in tara noastra si ca de abia asteapta sa afle cat mai multe despre aceasta.Va las mai jos clipul cu piesa “unforgetable”Enjoy it!

When we tell friends we’re doing a blog on home shopping, some stick up their noses and say they wouldn’t be interested, they don’t know anyone on QVC or HSN. Ignorance is bliss.

So they have never heard of Madonna, who has appeared on HSN to promote her children’s book, or Paula Abdul, Ellen DeGeneres, Susan Lucci, Bobbi Brown, Natalie Cole…We don’t have time to go on and list all the celebrities and big names that have home shopping lines.

Today a couple of fan favorites are being featured on QVC. TV food star Rachael Ray, who has been on QVC for a year with a cookware line, has Today’s Special Value, a stoneware set for $47 and change.

And Elisabeth Hasselbeck of “The View” will be on Friday with her apparel for QVC’s Dialogue line.

Ray was just on, and her hair is long. Does she have extensions, or have we not just seen her in awhile? Last time we looked, she had short hair.

It’s Saturday night, and we’re watching and listening to a live concert by singer Natalie Cole — on HSN.

Welcome to the ramping up of one of the newest trends on home shopping networks, namely having artists perform live and then selling their latest CDs. In Cole’s case, she has done an exclusive two CD-Holiday Gift Set for HSN, ”Still Unforgettable” and ”Merry Christmas Darling.”

HSN has a live audience down in its Florida studios for Cole, who is wearing a sparkly silver top and white pants. HSN has the room set up like a nightclub, with lots of  tables and Cole on a stage. The set did look a little cheesey, we admit, but we give HSN “A” for effort. And Cole was a class act all the way.

“All I want to do is get my music out,” said Cole, who was also interviewed by host Callie Northagen. 

The singer, who underwent a kidney transplant six months ago, also answered questions from the studio audience.

“What you bought from HSN lately?” one woman asked.

Cole ‘fessed up and said she had ordered some items before she went on the air, including some of Jennifer Stallone’s skincare products and Joy Mangano’s steamer. You go girl!

“It’s addictive,” Cole said.

The price on Cole’s CD set is $19.90, and HSN brought in 15,000 of them.

Most recently, QVC had Jose Feliciano on the air performing and hawking his line of guitars. Hall and Oates were also just on QVC, also doing their musical thing live and selling CDs.

What’s up with all this? Home shopping networks are programming themselves like traditional TV channels, offering entetainment and talent that will bring viewers who normally wouldn’t be caught dead watching HSN and QVC.

Northagen was gushing with praise for Cole, so much so that the singer was a little embarrassed and joked about it, saying she would pay Northagen after the show.

Cole, who is now on tour, also offered some memories of her dad, legend Nat King Cole, like her peeking from the side of the stage when he performed.

She said the favorite song she enjoyed hearing her dad sing was “Haji Baba,” which was in the movie “Alibaba and the 40 Thieves.”

Natalie Cole posed for a pic with Johnny Mathis during a book release party at a private residence in LA yesterday.  We’re glad to see Natalie doing well after having her kidney transplant.  More photos when you