If it was up to the capacity crowd last night, Steely Dan’s performance would have lasted well-beyond the just over two hours that partners in crime Walter Becker and Donald Fagen and their 11-piece band performed. It was that good.

As advertised, it was Aja night, with set one being a performance of the classic 1977 album in it’s entirety (tonight’s second show will feature 1976’s The Royal Scam; trust me, it was a tough choice to pick one night over another). No big special effects with this kind of show; it was all about top-flight musicianship. I did get a kick though when, to signal the start of the Aja set, one of the backup singers placed an album on a turntable at the side of the stage then flipped it over to ’side two’ at the appropriate moment. The band was met with tremendous cheers and applause at the conclusion of each song from Aja, and when Part 1 of the evening was done, it was onto the real fun of the night.

Hitting the ground running with one of my faves “Bodhisattva” from 1973’s Countdown To Ecstasy, it was one crowd-pleasing number after another. With such an amzing catalogue of material to choose from, and going in you know an entire album is going to be played, there were bound to be tunes not played which I would have loved to have heard, such as Do It Again and FM. But still, one can’t fault them, this is Steely Dan after all, and for those of us who have been fans of the band for years and years, they could really do no wrong.

Donald Fagen held court mostly at his electric piano at center stage, lurching back and forth like a man possesed but he was having a great time, part lead vocalist, part ringmaster. Guitarist Walter Becker, who’s looking more and more like an English professor the older he gets, took lead vocals on Daddy Don’t Live In That New York City No More, and also took charge of the band intros while the band played the Supremes Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart. Didn’t expect that one, but a lot of fun nonetheless.

The post-Aja setlist covered tracks from various points in their career, form the aformentioned Bodhisattva , to Don’t Take Me Alive, to Black Friday (to which I said “YES!”. Love that song) to a couple of tracks from 1980’s Gaucho. The lone latter-day track was Godwhacker from 2003’s Everything Must Go. (Nothing from 2000’s Grammy winning Two Against Nature).

The sole encore, the outstanding Reelin’ in the Years, had the crowd on its feet wanting more. Kudos go out to drummer Keith Carlock and lead guitarist Jon Herington, who thoughout the evening more than held their own in not only recreating the solos and fills that are so familiar from the records but for providing the solid musicianship that has alwas been the cornerstone of Steely Dan, both live and on record.

Pardon the pun (but I can’t resist) the band will Do It Again tonight. The final show of the tour hits Montreal on Saturday.

Opening act Chicgao-based Deep Blue Organ Trio (just one killer Hammond B-3 organ actually, plus drums and guitar) provided a brief of but upbeat set of jazz-blues instrumentals that the crowd ate up which set the mood for what was to come, including a well-received cover of Earth Wind & Fire’s “Can’t Hide Love“.

Steely Dan set list:
Aja album
Black Cow
Aja
Deacon Blues
Peg
Home at Last
I Got the News
Josie

Bodhisattva
Hey Nineteen
Daddy Don’t Live In That New York City No More
Godwhacker
Babyolon Sisters
Green Earrings
Black Friday
Dirty Work (sung by the backup singers)
Love is Like an Itching in My Heart (band intros)
Don’t Take Me Alive
My Old School
Kid Charlemagne

Encore
Reelin’ In The Years

My attempts to get a decent video of Steely Dan were thwarted by the Massey Hall security goons who told me to turn off my camera. Oh well, I tried. Here’s what I got. Better than nothing:

Older than your last car and still going strong

Bucketfull of Brains, that is.

The new issue is out! My reviews include the new efforts from Cheap Trick, Ian Hunter, Cracker and Muck and the Mires. No features from me this time, but check out these gems from my mates:

• Lucky Soul: ‘It sounds like the Supremes, but inside out. Surely you understand that?!’ Interview by Terry Hermon
• John Wesley Harding: Then, now, and whenever. Wesley Stace speaks to Nick West
• ‘I never travel far without a little Big Star’ Simon Wright hears the box set, sees the band in Hyde Park, and converses with John Fry, Jody Stephens and Alex Chilton.
• ‘We oppose all rock’n’roll’. Phil King hears from Rob Symmons of Subway Sect and Fallen Leaves about 1976, how the Sect formed, and the 100 Club Festival (with unseen pics of the Sex Pistols).
• Mavericks In Maturity. Jeremy Gluck talks to Peter Holsapple about working with Chris Stamey again

All that plus a ton of news and reviews and some great pictures. So head on over to the Bucketfull of Brains site, nab a subscription (or try a single issue) and enjoy the wonder of a great print magazine – music’s endangered species!

As 2009 slowly comes to a close, it’s the season of spoils again – with award ceremonies and gayo daejun festivals coming up, who can’t be excited? MAMA (MNet Asian Music Awards) has got everyone buzzing about the good and bad, but hey, despite disappointments and boycotts, no one can deny that Korea’s got its eyes on some of the performers on MAMA’s star-studded guest list.

As the event begins, let’s congratulate the winners of MAMA’s first ceremony! Here are the winners for each category, the top being the most recent…

Best Female Solo Artist: Baek Ji Young
Best Male Solo Artist: Drunken Tiger
Best Representative for Asia: Dong Bang Shin Ki
Best R&B/Ballad Song: Kim Tae Woo’s Love Rain
Best House/Electronic: Brown Eyed Girls Abracadabra
Asian Recommend: AKB48
Best Rock Song: Boowhal’s Remembering
Best Hip Hop Artist: Leessang
Best Mixed Gender Group: 8Eight
Best Dance: Kara’s Honey
Best Trot Award: Hong Jin Yong’s Love Battery
Best New Female Artist: 2NE1
Best New Male Artist: Supremes
CGV Popularity Award: Super Junior (Did not attend)
Overseas Viewer Award: Super Junior
Mobile Popularity Award: Super Junior
Music Portal Mnet Award: 2NE1
Director of Music Video Award: Hong Won Ki

Source:allkpop

• I Want You Back – The Jackson 5
• My Girl – The Temptations
• Reach Out, I’ll Be There – The Four Tops
• What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted – Jimmy Ruffin
• The Tracks Of My Tears – Smokey Robinson and The Miracles
• Please Mr. Postman – The Marvelettes
• Let’s Get It On – Marvin Gaye
• My Guy – Mary Wells
• War – Edwin Starr
• Stop! In The Name Of Love – The Supremes

Play Manu Play

With the weekend already upon us, here’s the SOUL FOOD List with another fine round-up of the week’s soul news and clips.

1. Listen …

…to a fantastic interview with Motown legend Mable John talking to Craig Charles on 6 Music about her work and the Divas of Motown shows.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/funk_soul/

2. Watch …

… Alicia Keys chatting to Billboard about the connection between her new new songs Doesn’t Mean Anything and Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart.

3.  Read…

… a killer interview with Lynda Laurence talking the Supremes and Divas of Motown to Blues and Soul. 

http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/473/supremely_blessed/

4. Remember….

… the vocal and songwriting genius of Luther Vandross, on the release of an extensive new compilation (Never Too Much – The Soul of Luther Vandross) mining his best work on Epic Records that all soul connoisseurs will love. 

5. Wait…

…until next week for an exclusive from Jody Watley! She’s delivered a stunning set of interpretations on her hot new album The Makeover – now hear what she has to say about her own favourite makeovers.

Have a great weekend!

(Above: Richard “Popcorn” Wylie’s version of “Money (That’s What I Want)” is one of music writer Bill Dahl’s favorite early Motown songs.)

By Joel Francis

Chances are good that Chicago-based music writer Bill Dahl has penned the liner notes to at least one of your favorite reissues or compilations. Since 1985, Dahl has been commissioned to write the notes for hundreds of blues, R&B, rockabilly and rock collections on both major and boutique labels.

In 1998, Dhal was recognized with a Grammy nomination for his essay on Ray Charles’ sax section included in the “Ray Charles – Genius and Soul: The 50^th Anniversary Collection” box set. In 2000, he received the Keepin’ the Blues Alive award from the Blues Foundation in Memphis. His book, “Motown: The Golden Years” was published in 2001. Dahl’s latest project was co-authoring the amazingly comprehensive liner notes for each of the 12 volumes in the Hip-O Select “Complete Motown Singles” series.

Dahl also writes regularly on his Web site. He recently spoke to The Daily Record via e-mail.

The Daily Record: What was your first exposure to Motown and how did you become interested in writing about it?

Bill Dahl: I started buying quite a bit of Motown vinyl—the Miracles, the Temptations, Jr. Walker, Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops—during the early ‘70s as an outgrowth of my record collecting interests, which were expanding rapidly from my original love of ‘50s rock and roll. I was getting into soul, blues, rockabilly, etc., and loving it all (much to the chagrin of my mainstream rock-loving high school classmates, who ragged me unmercifully; I guess I never was much of a conformist).

TDR: What are some of the more interesting stories or facts you learned in researching these liner notes?

BD: One thing that always impresses me is the loyalty the great majority of Motown’s ‘60s artists have to the company and Mr. Gordy to this day. I was fortunate to attend a charity tribute to him a few years ago in LA, and a virtual galaxy of Motown stars performed and paid homage to their beaming boss. Later, all of them trooped up to the stage at the end to sing the old Hitsville fight song!

I’ve found it interesting that several of the better-known songwriting teams had a similar setup to that of Lennon-McCartney—if one wrote it, both names went on automatically. It’s been a pleasure tracking down a lot of the lesser-known acts, including a lot of the Rare Earth label rockers, to get their intriguing stories. They’re too often overlooked and made their own contributions to Hitsville history.

TDR: What are some of the biggest misconceptions about Motown?

BD: The goofy and totally unfounded rumors that the mob was involved with the label, solely because a few very competent Caucasians wielded power in the front office. The only color Mr. Gordy cared about was green, so he hired the best person for the job. There were more than a few R&B labels where “da boys” were in up to their eyeballs (no names here), but Motown wasn’t one of them.

TDR: Motown’s big stars get a lot of attention. Who are some of the unheralded Motown artists worth checking out? Were there any long-forgotten gems you discovered as a result of working on the Complete Motown Singles notes?

BD: I remember being amazed by Richard “Popcorn” Wylie’s version of “Money (That’s What I Want),” which is on the first Complete Singles box. It sounds like B. Bumble and the Stingers meet Hitsville!

Gino Parks’ “Same Thing” (which I knew about already) and several others of his songs are fantastic, as are Singin’ Sammy Ward’s early blues numbers, like “Who’s The Fool.” I love Jr. Walker’s early instrumentals – “Mutiny,” with James Jamerson’s jazz bass solo, is astounding – Shorty Long, Brenda Holloway, Kim Weston, the Velvelettes, and some of Little Stevie Wonder’s overlooked early outings. Los Angeles guitarist Arthur Adams’ “It’s Private Tonight,” which came out on Motown-distributed Chisa (it’s on the 1970 box), is the perfect marriage of blues and soul.

TDR: How detrimental do you think Berry Gordy’s favoritism toward Diana Ross was to the label? How much better would Martha Reeves, Gladys Knight, Kim Weston and Mary Wells have fared otherwise?

BD: It wasn’t detrimental in the slightest; the Supremes made some of the biggest hits of the ‘60s at a time when the British Invasion was otherwise dominating our charts, and Diana Ross had a coquettish mainstream appeal that none of the rest had. Mary Wells ruined her own career by walking away from Motown when she turned 21. Gladys Knight and the Pips were already stars when they arrived at Motown and far bigger ones when they left, though they got even hotter at Buddah. Kim Weston’s Motown career was inextricably intertwined with that of her husband, Motown A&R chief Mickey Stevenson, for both better and worse.  And Martha Reeves and her Vandellas had a series of incredible hits, much like the Marvelettes, that made both groups long-term mainstays.

TDR: There has been some disagreement over Tammi Terrell’s involvement on the duet albums with Marvin Gaye that bear her name. Did she return to the studio after her collapse and is that her voice on those songs? What was (Motown songwriter) Valerie Simpson’s role in these recordings?

BD: It’s impossible to say for sure, since Valerie has never admitted any possible lead vocal involvement (Marvin Gaye’s biography stated such unequivocally, but I’d be less inclined to buy in).  I doubt we’ll ever know one way or the other for sure, though Valerie’s role as co-producer and co-writer on many of them was so crucial that Tammi was no doubt channeling her vocal approach when she sang them (if indeed she was on the last couple hits).

TDR: The Complete Motown Singles Collection series ends in 1972. Why stop there? What is your favorite post-1972 Motown single or moment?

BD:  That was the end of the Detroit era—the Golden Years—so it seems like a reasonable place to end it, though you’d have to ask my boss Harry Weinger (Vice President of A&R for Universal Music – ed.) there. I’m not sure I have too many post-1972 favorites—I’m very partial to the 1959-72 Motown era we’ve covered on the Complete Motown Singles series—but  Gloria Jones, Yvonne Fair, Chicago blues guitarist Luther Allison, and Jr. Walker’s “Peace, Love and Understanding” come to mind.

TDR: In your mind, what was the greatest single factor in the label’s decline? Was it the departure of Holland-Dozier-Holland, the move to Los Angeles, Gordy’s interest in movies or something else?

BD: I don’t think we can accurately say Motown declined, since it’s still a going entity today and enjoyed a ton of hits after 1972. Times change and so do musical tastes, so keeping the same sound in 1972 that sold so well in the mid-‘60s would have been a recipe for disaster. Certainly HDH’s departure was a blow, but that gave other writers and producers more room to create their own soulful magic, like Norman Whitfield. The move to Los Angeles hurt the artists and musicians that chose to remain in the Motor City, and didn’t help the local economy either.

Mr. Gordy’s early ‘70s interest in the film industry made him a lot harder to reach on the phone at the time, much to the frustration of some staffers, but artistically it had a negligible effect since he wasn’t all that active musically by then anyway other than with the Jackson 5.

TDR: Ultimately, what do you feel is Motown’s greatest and most lasting impact on music today? Why?

BD: As the top indie label of the ‘60s, Motown turned the industry on its ear. There had been successful African-American owned record labels prior to Motown—Duke/Peacock, Fire/Fury, and Vee-Jay come to mind—but none were so monumentally successful. Gordy’s mantra of making R&B attuned to pop sensibilities had never been pulled off so convincingly. He also did a masterful job of delegating authority in the A&R department. It sounds like a cliché to say these classic recordings will never die, but they won’t.

TDR: Now that this project is over, what is your next venture? Are there any more Motown projects on the horizon?

BD: There are no Motown projects immediately scheduled, but I wrote the notes on Reel Music’s CD reissue of Jimmy Ruffin’s fine “Ruff ‘n Ready” Motown LP, complete with a fresh in-depth interview with the gracious Mr. Ruffin, which is just coming out.

I’m hoping and praying that Rhino Handmade finally releases the wonderful Wilson Pickett boxed set that it’s been sitting on for more than two years. A recent proclamation on the label’s website says it’s been scheduled. I wrote a huge track-by-track essay for it, much like the ones in the Motown boxes. It’s got everything he did for Atlantic on it and plenty more. Interestingly, the Funk Brothers played on Pickett’s first solo platters for Double L, a fact scantily documented before I started doing research for this box.

Keep reading:

Music essays and reviews by Bill Dahl

More features and interviews on The Daily Record:

Former NBA player at home in KC music scene

Jamie Foxx brings it to Sprint Center on Saturday

George Kalinsky: Painting with Light

Modest Mouse: Johnny Strikes Up the Band

Hail Death Cab

Ever Fallen For The Buzzcocks?

Out of the Tar Pit Back Onto the Stage

Local Doctor Claims He’s Treating Elvis

Down on “Cypress Avenue”

She was a founding member of the most successful black band of her era, but competition and alcoholism pulled it all apart. Rachel Ezekwugo looks back over…

…the supremely tragic life of Florence Ballard

From En vogue to SWV, the imprint and influence of the legendary Supremes is evident. They were not an overnight success, but went on to become the most successful black performers of the 1960s. The Supremes came to epitomise the style and sophistication, glamour and elegance of Motown. They were role models for black women and they took on the responsibilities that came with the fame. Ballard was one of the dream girls that exploded on to the music scene; Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard would go on to make music history. They successfully infiltrated the tastes and televisions of middle America and each played a unique and important role in helping to make the Supremes the most recognisable female singing group of all time.

Yet Florence became one of rock’s greatest tragedies. She died in 1976 an alcoholic living on welfare. But for a time Florence Ballard was a dream girl who had the world at her feet and everything to live for. She was fêted and photographed wherever she went. Florence had the style and capacity to be a solo singer, but it never materialised. Diana would introduce her as the quiet one, but in reality she was the one who kept close contact with the fans. Everyone knew her roaring laugh and her voice was anything but quiet. But behind all the fame and success, deep power struggles would soon surface, creating bad blood. As their careers grew, so did the competitiveness and distrust.

Florence, or Blondie as everyone called her, was the eighth of thirteen children born to Jesse and Lurlee Ballard. Florence had fair skin, auburn hair, long legs and a curvaceous figure. She also had a magnificent voice and in the beginning she took most of the leads, singing in her warm gospel-tinged style. The Ballards were country folk and they made no pretence to being more sophisticated than they were. Florence was brought up in a very loving and close family environment.

We is terrific

The girls first met in the late 50s in Detroit’s Brewster housing project and they soon became the best of friends. Although they took turns singing lead almost everyone who heard them agreed Florence, whose style was similar to Aretha Franklin’s, was the best. During this period they were a quartet (Barbara Martin was the fourth member, but left to marry) known as the Primettes. They recorded their first single in 1960 and believed they could become the best girl group in Detroit. As the Primettes, they were playing venues and had mastered a stage presence which curbed their doubts. Florence would always keep spirits high; “honey, we is terrific” became her favourite phrase.

Their audition for Motown records took place late in the summer of 1960 but they weren’t offered a contract. The last thing Berry Gordy wanted was responsibility for four female teenagers. However, from then on they never really left Motown. The atmosphere was charged with excitement and the missed contract only fuelled their desire to be part of Motown. It wasn’t long before Berry offered them a contract.

No hit Supremes

For a brief period Florence left the group without explanation and Mary and Diana saw all they had worked for begin to fall from their grasp. Unknown to the girls, Florence had been raped by someone she trusted and it was this betrayal that led to a total personality transformation. She went from being reticent and shy with a sassy front, to a woman who was sceptical, cynical and afraid. After the incident her family would try to keep her away from the rest of the world and their affection became a guarded fortress – she would turn to them and not the girls, and their advice would influence her every move. Although she never mentioned the rape again, her self-esteem had been shattered and the Florence the girls knew died on that night.

Through a lengthy series of flops, Berry remained confident that the group would eventually prove themselves. However, they became known as the ‘no hit Supremes’ and were desperate.

Ross takes the lead

Their first Top 40 hit, ‘When the lovelight starts shining through his eyes’, was in 1963. Diana had taken over the lead, even though she was not the most talented. Mary and Florence were disappointed but desperate for a hit and they believed the arrangement would not be permanent. What Diana did have was the most purely pop appeal. The following year the Supremes had their first number one with ‘Where did our love go?’ and it established the prototype for their run of hits. Thereafter Diana’s voice became as much part of the formula as the arrangements and Mary and Florence found they were being pushed to the background. Other Motown stars also began to resent what they perceived as the inordinate attention lavished on Diana, who was now involved with Berry Gordy. Florence and Mary found that their friendship had become a means to an end. Diana became the focus of attention and was given her own dressing room on occasions. Florence believed this was unfair and resentment consumed her.

Their friendship was being torn apart – by now Florence and Mary were not given the lead on any songs. Florence was particularly hurt when her solo number was taken away without any explanation. Florence regularly voiced her concerns about her and Mary’s role being eroded and felt she had been betrayed and lied to. She was constantly being reminded to stay in her place and it became apparent that what should have been an exciting and fulfilling time instead became stifling and frustrating.

Along with the jet-set life came the jet-set lifestyle, but unfortunately Florence’s tolerance of alcohol was almost nil. By 1966 her drinking was becoming a habit and Diana and Mary tried to influence her drinking by curtailing their own. Although she never came on stage drunk, they soon had to hide bottles and the road manager saw to it that all girls had adjacent rooms. But their efforts were ineffective – she was sinking fast and her rage and obsession with Diana was consuming her. She could no longer ignore what she regarded as Diana’s blatant scene stealing. She started turning up late for press conferences and rehearsals and this didn’t help her case. She also started to gain weight, which affected stage costumes. Florence came to regard the glamour girl image as phoney and she wanted out.

At this time, Florence had begun an affair with Tommy Chapman, Berry’s chauffeur, and they were inseparable. It didn’t bother her that everyone was talking about it and he later became her husband. The search for her replacement began in earnest when Florence was found drunk in bed, just before they had to leave for a show. It seemed she was digging herself into a hole so deep she would never get out. She was wearing very harsh make-up and keeping her sunglasses on all the time. Her drinking didn’t help her emotional problems which seemed to get worse. Although she took some time off, Florence got back to her old ways and for the first time she drank before going on stage.  Her performance wasn’t exactly inspirational and Berry Gordy ran backstage demanding she be removed. Soon after Florence was told to leave.

Settlement and litigation

As part of her $160,000 settlement she was forbidden to mention that she had been in the Supremes. She signed a recording contract with ABC records and it seemed things were on the up. She handed her money to an attorney who was meant to oversee the funds, and started up a management firm with her husband. In November 1968 she gave birth to her twin girls, but her career never hit it off and things went downhill. Her husband didn’t have the experience to guide her career and she was working in little bars and grills. By 1969, she was broke, had gained weight and become so depressed she refused to leave her home. In 1971 she gave birth to her third child.

She tried to sue Motown, alleging that Diana had “secretly, subversively and maliciously plotted to oust her” but it was thrown out of court in 1973. She pawned her jewellery to try to keep her house but this failed and she was forced to move in with family and claim social support. In 1974, her plight was picked up by the press and made national headlines. Fan mail poured in and she was asked to appear on several talk shows. In June 1975 she made her final concert appearance at a benefit for a black prisoner charged with killing a guard who raped her. She received a standing ovation, yet that wasn’t enough. After years of losing contact, Mary tried to persuade her to rejoin the group but it seemed the longer she went on the more depressed she became.

In the same year she received a large settlement from a lawsuit and she bought a house and a Cadillac. To many it seemed like her second chance, but on February 21 Florence Ballard died of a heart attack, the result of a blood clot in a coronary artery. Just when she seemed to be getting herself together. There were over five thousand people at her funeral; they came from all walks of life. They wore mink coats, dinner gowns and tatty street clothes but they comforted each other as they paid their respects to one of music’s ultimate dream girls.

Very occasionally a group of people get together on the Touchedmix blog and post mixes on a particular theme. Last week, the theme was HEADS, with their features and their functions. I thought readers of this little corner of the music blogosphere might be interested in the two mixes I banged together.

*     *     *

OVER MY HEAD MIX
1. Aztec Camera – Head Is Happy (Heart’s Insane) (1985)
2. Crowded House – Pineapple Head (live) (1996/2006)
3. Johnny Cash – Mean Eyed Cat (1996)
4. The Dillards – I’ve Just Seen A Face (1968)
5. The Holmes Brothers – Smiling Face Hiding A Weeping Heart (2006)
6. Paul Anka – Eyes Without A Face (2006)
7. The Undisputed Truth – Smiling Faces Sometimes (1971)
8. Justine Washington – I Can’t Wait Until I See My Baby’s Face (1964)
9. The Flamingos – I Only Have Eyes For You (1959)
10. Mississippi Sheikhs – I’ve Got Blood in My Eyes For You (1938)
11. Robert Mitchum – Mama Looka Boo Boo (Shut Your Mouth-Go Away) (1958)
12. Emile Ford & the Checkmates – Them There Eyes (1960)
13. Lewis Taylor – Blue Eyes (2000)
14. Andrew Bird – A Nervous Tic Motion Of The Head To The Left (2005)
15. Nada Surf – The Way You Wear Your Head (2002)
16. The Sweet – The Lies In Your Eyes (1975)
17. Ben Folds – Doctor My Eyes (2002)
18. Josh Ritter – One More Mouth (2006)
19. Kaki King – Saving Days In A Frozen Head (2008)
20. The Lilac Time – The Darkness Of Her Eyes (1991)
21. Thomas Dybdahl – Pale Green Eyes (2009)
22. Ryan Adams – Halloweenhead (2007)
23. The Cardigans – Give Me Your Eyes (2005)

Download

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Justine Washington is better known as Baby Washington; this is the original version of the song covered to good effect by Dusty Springfield.

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SENSES WORKING OVERTIME MIX
1. David Bowie – Can You Hear Me (1975)
2. Tim Buckley – I Can’t See You (1966)
3. Herman Düne – I Wish That I Could See You Soon (2006)
4. Devics – If We Cannot See (2006)
5. Richard Hawley – Can You Hear The Rain, Love (2001)
6. Scott Walker – You’re Gonna Hear From Me (1967)
7. The Righteous Brothers – See That Girl (1965)
8. Chris Montez – The More I See You (1966)
9. Cass Elliot – I’ll Be Seeing You (1973)
10. Blind Boy Fuller – What’s That Smells Like Fish (1938)
11. Smiley Lewis – I Hear You Knocking (1955)
12. The Supremes – I Hear A Symphony (1965)
13. Jim Messina – Seeing You (For The First Time) (1979)
14. Baby Huey – Listen To Me (1971)
15. The Jesus and Mary Chain – Taste Of Cindy (1985)
16. K’s Choice – A Sound That Only You Can Hear (1995)
17. Mull Historical Society – Watching Xanadu (2001)
18. Ron Sexsmith & Don Kerr – Listen (2005)
19. Rosanne Cash – I Was Watching You (2006)
20. The Magic Numbers – I See You, You See Me (2005)
21. Paul Anka – Smells Like Teen Spirit (2005)

DOWNLOAD

Diva…like that’s a BAD thing.

Perfectionist. Uncompromising. High Standards. Ruthless. Loving. Icon. An Original Fashionista. Envied. Emulated.

The Boss.

Foto von : http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20315053,00.html ( von Jeffrey Mayer/Wireimage)

Was würde wohl  passieren, wenn man die Spice Girls mit den Supremes vermischen würde,einen Hauch Asia Gewürz

und eingängige Rhythmen hinzugibt und das ganze einer perfekten Marketingmaschinerie vorsetzt? Es wären die Wonder Girls, die bislang einzige Popband aus Süd-Korea, die es von Null in die Top 100 der Billboard Charts geschafft haben und diesen Sommer sogar schon als Vorgruppe der Jonas Brothers auftreten durften. Die zuckersüssen 17-21 jährigen Asiatinnen,  sind nur eines der Projekte von J.Y.Park, der in den 90′ ern sehr erfolgreich war und genau weiß, wie das Musik Buisness funktioniert . Sun,Yenny,Mimi,Yubin und Sohee werden Hannah Montana vielleicht nicht gleich den Rang ablaufen, aber Sie bringen frischen Wind in die Popszene mit ihrem ersten Hit “Nobody ” und  werden dadurch auf jeden Fall zu”Somebody”.

Lied zum Anhören unter:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFjP-OJ7Bh4

Here’s some more info to whet your appetite for the forthcoming Divas of Motown shows – the complete schedule!

Check it out… 

Jammin’ with Jack at the Borderline 
9 Nov – A Funk Brothers night featuring special guests jamming the night away in a soul funk spectacular.

Motown Sessions at the Jazz Cafe
10 Nov The Funk Brothers featuring special guests Sherrie Payne and Lynda Laurence, formerly of The Supremes
11 Nov, The Funk Brothers featuring Special guests, Mable John, Chris Clark and Brenda Holloway
12 Nov, Thelma Houston & guests- one of America’s greatest R&B female singers of all time

Divas of Motown at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo
13 Nov Jack Ashford’s Funk Brothers + Thelma Houston + Mable John + Chris Clark + Brenda Holloway + Sherrie Payne & Lynda Laurence – Formerly of The Supremes

This is a powerhouse of a line-up! Only problem now is deceiding which shows to attend. Is 5/5 too much???!

Inaugurando uma nova coluna no blog, Videoflux! Nela, compartilharei os vídeos musicais e clipes que considerar divertidos, interessantes e/ou engraçados.

Começarei com o clipe mais recente de Florence + The Machine, da maravilhosa Drumming Song. O clima remete à Bat for Lashes e torna o clipe ainda melhor!

Além dele, também gostei bastante desse cover da clássica You Keep Me Hangin’ On, das lendárias The Supremes (dica do Thiago), que faz parte da trilha sonora da série musical mais divertida da atualidade, Glee. A cantora não é tão boa, mas o vídeo é muito divertido! Em breve falarei sobre a série por aqui. Peço desculpas pela péssima qualidade do vídeo, mas infelizmente a Fox está removendo todos os clipes musicais de Glee do YouTube e essa é uma das únicas que ainda está lá. ):

Por último mas não menos importante, um tributo aos clássicos do Nintendo e dos games 8-bit, Contra e Duck Hunt. Imagine o resultado de misturar jogos tão diferentes… o resultado surpreende e o vídeo é muito bem produzido.

Encerro o post por aqui. Espero que gostem dos vídeos e da nova coluna!

This is a great list of songs that debuted on the Hot 100 during the month of October. There are some interesting songs on this list of number one songs. The shortest #1 in history is here; Stay by Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs. It is only 1:39 long. Notice the Supremes had a number one from October for every year from 1964 to 1969, except for 1967. They did have 2 number ones in 1967, but both came out early that year.

For me, I did not have a favorite from this list. Mr. Lonely by Bobby Vinton is as close as I could come to picking just one but there were about 5 that were close. I am an oldie fan but I would not have been able to tell you that a group named Steam sang Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye. But it was 1969 and, for me, that was not a good year in music.

What is your favorite (or favorites) from this list? Any good memories from these tunes from the past?

Good Vibrations – Beach Boys – 1966

Come Together – Beatles – 1969

April Love – Pat Boone – 1957

Turn! Turn! Turn! – Byrds – 1965

You Send Me – Sam Cooke – 1957

I’m Leaving It Up To You – Dale & Grace – 1963

Runaround Sue – Dion – 1961

Big Girls Don’t Cry – Four Seasons – 1962

Ringo – Lorne Greene – 1964

Tom Dooley – Kingston Trio – 1958

Brand New Key – Melanie – 1971

The Tears of a Clown – Miracles – 1970

Singing the Blues – Guy Mitchell – 1956

Heartaches by the Number – Guy Mitchell – 1959

Winchester Cathedral – New Vaudeville Band – 1966

I Think I Love You – Partridge Family – 1970

Leaving on a Jet Plane – Peter, Paul & Mary – 1969

Running Bear – Johnny Preston – 1959

Get Off Of My Cloud – Rolling Stones – 1965

Leader Of the Pack – Shangri-Las – 1964

Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye – Steam – 1969

Baby Love – Supremes – 1964

I Hear a Symphony – Supremes – 1965

You Keep Me Hangin’ On – Supremes – 1966

Love Child – Supremes – 1968

Someday We’ll Be Together – Supremes – 1969

Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone – Temptations – 1972

Mr. Lonely – Bobby Vinton – 1964

Stay – Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs – 1960

Here’s the latest batch of Music Musings and Miscellany’s unapologetically subjective selection of the twentieth century’s best 1000 singles. More Rs. By the way, in case you’re wondering how long there is to go in this seemingly interminable series, there are just over 300 records left which will take another 20 parts.

SUPREMES – Reflections / Going Down for the Third Time (Motown 1111 1967)
By 1967 the Supremes still ruled, well, supreme as far as chart action went at Motown. The basic formula remained, but was tweaked to include hints of psychedelic pop both lyrically and sonically. The backbeat is little changed, but there is a new use of electronics, particular the oscillator in the introduction.

VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR – Refugees / The Boat of Millions of Years (Charisma 122 1970)
Van der Graaf were undoubtedly the fiercest, most punk of all the prog bands springing up at the start of the seventies. So, although they never achieved anything like the commercial success of some of their contemporaries (except, oddly, in Italy), their critical reputation remained untarnished during the punk year zero revisionism of 1976/7. “Refugees” sees Hammill and co in an unusually romantic (in the heroic sense) mood, as it swells with the hopes of people seeking a new life away from tyranny. You’d have to be hard hearted, or a Daily Mail reader, not to be moved.

NEW ORDER – Regret / mix (London NUO1 1993)
Republic was pretty lame by New Order’s standards, but it did open with this, the band’s finest guitar-oriented single since “Ceremony”.

BIRTHDAY PARTY – Release the Bats / Blast Off (4AD 111 1981)
For a while this became a bit of a millstone for the band as pig-shit thick hacks and DJs decided the band were Goths because they were singing about vampire bats and were all stick thin and pale (with the exception of the robust and well-muscled Tracy Pew). “Release the Bats” was more of an affectionate homage to the old fifties B movie inspired rock and roll stuff like Billy Lee Riley, Nervous Norvus and, of course, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.

SHANGRI-LAS – Remember / It’s Easier to Cry (Red Bird 8 1964)
It’s amazing to think that the girls’ entire recorded career was more or less crammed into an intense 24 month period. “Remember” was the first, and saw the Shangri-las sound emerge fully formed, from the seagull laden, dreamily hypnotic chorus to the glorious melodrama of the verses where Mary Weiss seems constantly on the edge of a fully-fledged breakdown.

ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN – Rescue / Simple Stuff (Korova 1 1980)
They’ve been going for 30 years plus now which, when you think about it, is the same amount of time as that between the beginning of World War 1 and VE Day! All the good stuff had been recorded by the end of 1984. “Rescue” was one of the band’s first songs that didn’t rattle along at a high tempo, but was more measured. The thing that makes the song is the chiming guitar theme – both simple and instantly memorable.

ARETHA FRANKLIN – Respect / Dr Feelgood (Atlantic 2403 1967)
STAPLE SINGERS – Respect Yourself / You Gonna Make Me Cry (Stax 0104 1971)
“Respect” is one of those songs that has been analysed to death and had reams written about it. It’s an example of the unique effectiveness of a good song. In under three minutes it says more clearly and concisely what everybody analysing it can’t capture in all their pseudo-intellectual gibberings. The same is equally true of the Staple Singers’ classic.

E-Z ROLLERS – Retro / Subtropic (Moving Shadow 103 1997)
Few acts are as aptly named as E-Z Rollers. Their best records use rolling breakbeats and a kind of lounge jazz sensibility to create a relatively mellow and sophisticated drum and bass. “Retro” is one of their best and is topped with Derrick May’s ruminations on the fortunes of the electronic music pioneers.

THIRTEENTH FLOOR ELEVATORS – Reverberation / Fire Engine (International Artists 111 1966)
SPACEMEN 3 – Revolution / Che (Fire 29 1988)
What set the Thirteenth Floor Elevators apart from all of their peers was the real sense of a lysergic experience going on. They had great tunes, sure, but so did a whole host of other mid sixties garage bands. The sound, though, seemed to beam through from an altered reality, particularly with the use of drone, reverb and the very weird sounding electric jug. Their first two LPs are absolutely essential. “Reverberation” comes from the first and does exactly what it says in the title. Rugby’s Spacemen 3 were acolytes of Roky Erikson’s crew, and it certainly showed. “Revolution” takes a two note droning riff and turns it into a mantra that never varies in tempo or rhythm, but simply in intensity. It’s barely a song at all, with the words largely spoken like a super slo-mo rap, but it’s hypnotic.

WILD SWANS – Revolutionary Spirit / God Forbid (Zoo 9 1982)
The Wild Swans were among the first wave of Scouse post-punk acts that included the Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes, Pink Military and Wah! They lasted long enough to do one Peel Session (which includes the brilliant “No Bleeding”) and this twelve inch single, although they’ve regrouped several times since. “Revolutionary Spirit” switches between a downbeat series of short verses, and a big, yearning chorus that is basically the same chords but in a higher key. Simple, but bewitching.

JOHNNY CASH – Ring of Fire / I’d Still Be There (Columbia 42788 1963)
Unlike nearly every other one of the artists who’d started out in the mid fifties’ rockabilly explosion and who rapidly switched to mainstream country, Cash never forgot how to rock. “Ring of Fire” was written by Merle Kilgour and Cash’s future wife June Carter, and is just as direct and basic as any of his classic Sun sides of the fifties.

ROBINS – Riot in Cell Block #9 / Wrap It Up (Spark 103 1954)
“Riot in Cell Block #9″ was one of Leiber and Stoller’s earliest efforts, but it has all the trademark humour, drama and storytelling in place. It was also one of the first non-novelty records to use sound effects such as police sirens and machine gun fire. Bobby Nunn’s bass drawl recounts the story in something approaching a slow rap which is almost comically cool considering the mayhem going on all around. “The warden said ‘Come out with your hands up in the air / If you don’t stop this riot You’re all gonna get the chair’ / Scarface Jones said, ‘It’s too late to quit / And pass the dynamite, ’cause the fuse is lit’” The way he almost absent mindedly says that last line is priceless. Nunn and fellow Robin Carl Gardner went on to become one half of the Coasters who were one of the best loved acts during the second half of the decade.

MASSIVE ATTACK – Risingson / mixes (Wild Bunch 8 1997)
“Risingson” introduced the dark, paranoid rock sound that was explored on Mezzanine and famously disillusioned founding member Mushroom so much that he quit. 3D’s narcoleptic rap fits the atmosphere of stoned menace like a glove. The video was typically brilliant, featuring the band sitting around in a crumbling house, making tea and generally appearing bored, unconcerned and stoned whilst it’s under attack from a hoard of masked men like a Police SWAT team.

More soon

AHHH it’s been so long.

<—-slacker (i’m pointing at myself)

but i’ve been listening to a lot of al green and otis redding lately. and then this morning ………………………………..

a little supremes. a good song to ease into the work day.

The first instalment of German music and novelties was rather popular. So here’s another one, with a third instalment waiting.

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Marianne Rosenberg – Ich bin wie Du (1975).mp3
Much of Eurodisco was made in West Germany, with Giorgio Moroder producing Donna Summer in Munich, and acts like the Silver Convention strutting their shiny trousers there, too. It is fair to say, however, that the German Schlager scene was not a hotbed of disco (or, indeed, anything else but banality). The exception was Marianne Rosenberg, whose sensible secretary’s hairstyle complemented her girl-next-door image. She retained the coiffure and high collar dress during her foray into disco in 1975, the splendid Ich bin wie Du (“I am like you”). The fusion of straight-lacedness and disco queenhood established Marianne as an icon in Germany’s gay scene, a position she continues to occupy today.

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Marianne Rosenberg – Mr Paul McCartney (1970).mp3
Die Beat Oma – Ich Bin die Beat Oma (1965).mp3
Before she became a gay icon, a gawkier teenage Marianne Rosenberg appealed to Paul McCartney to reply to her fan letter, because no other girl likes him as much as she does. She resorts to emotional blackmail: John and Ringo and even the odd Rolling Stone would have sent her an autograph by now. But not Paul, oh no. So she has to resort to singing this song to attract his attention. There are, of course, other ways to get Paul’s attention (if not a thumbs up sign). Seven years later, in 1977, German newspapers were agog with the claims of a teenager that Mr Paul McCartney had fathered her during one of the Beatles’ stints in Hamburg. To the shock of nobody, the claims were found to be — gasp — untrue.

Five years before Marianne’s plea to Macca, there was Germany’s insane answer to the wonderful Mrs Miller. Beat Oma (The Beat Granny) based her autobiographical anthem on A Hard Day’s Night, very loosely so, intoning her credentials while aggressively hurtling across vocal keys, hitting none in the process. When she claims that she sings “everybody else against the wall”, the listener virtually feels blindfolded and condemned, hoping only that his superannuated executioner will experience a mishap of the kind depicted in Don Martin’s cartoons in Mad magazine. As the song closes, the drummer puts an end to Beat Oma’s atonal wailings with an assault on the drum kit, perhaps metaphorically beating some sense into the thoroughly charmless Oma (of course, Any Major Dude With Half A Heart disapproves of actual violence against grannies).

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Agnetha – Geh’ mit Gott (1972).mp3
Agnetha – Señor Gonzales (1968).mp3
Agnetha – Mein schönster Tag (1968)
Last time we encountered ABBA recording in German. Before she became one of the As in the groups’ acronymised name, Agnetha Fältskog tried to realise the ambition of many Scandinavian singers of the day with a dream of musical success: breaking into the German Schlager scene. Agnetha released a batch of German singles between 1968 and 1972, most of them quite awful even by the low standards of the genre, though a couple were actually quite good. In her endeavours, Agnetha — who already had a career in Sweden but put it on hold while going for stardom in West Germany — was produced by her boyfriend, Dieter Zimmermann. Once Dieter was history, her next boyfriend, Björn, worked out better on the way to stardom.

Geh’ mit Gott was released towards the end of her futile bid at Schlager stardom. It was the German version of Ennio Morricone’s song Here’s To You (sung by Joan Baez) for the 1971 film Sacco e Vanzetti (about two Italian immigrants executed in the US for a crime they possibly didn’t commit).

Four years earlier, Señor Gonzales was Agnetha’s second German single. I see no reason why it shouldn’t have been a Schlager hit. It has the necessary clichéd lyrics and banal melody; it even has the faux-Mexican sound the Schlager-buying public was so fond of (though here Agnetha might have been ahead of her time; the Mexican Schlager wave peaked in 1972 with Rex Gildo’s superb Fiesta Mexicana, which I shall feature soon). The b-side to Señor Gonzales is a rather better affair. Mein schönster Tag is a country ballad which our girl sings rather well; it is a cover version of a country song, but I can’t work out what the original is. Somebody will surely tell me.

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Johnny Cash – Wer Kennt den Weg (1966).mp3
In the 1960s it became common for English-speaking artists to make foreign-language recordings of their hit songs. Foremost among the European countries to offer a market for such things was West Germany. In 1966, Johnny Cash recorded I Walk The Line as Wer Kennt den Weg (alas not as Johannes Bargeld). In the early 1950s, Cash had been based as an US soldier in southern Germany. Clearly he did little in that time to benefit from the opportunity to learn German; his accent is quite appalling.

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Sandie Shaw – Einmal glücklich sein wie die Andern (1965).mp3
Like her compatriots Petula Clark and, to a lesser extent, Dusty Springfield, Sandie Shaw recorded a lot of her repertoire in German (and in French), including her epic version of Bacharach/David’s Always Something There To Remind Me. Here the title translates as “Just once to be happy like the others”. Recorded in 1965, Sandie sounds like she actually knows what she is singing. She clearly makes an effort (though towards the end the effort apparently becomes a bit too much for her), and her diction is charmingly foreign. That’s all the German public ever asked for; as noted previously, nothing could win the hearts of Germans as much as somebody butchering their languages gently.

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The Supremes – Where Did Our Love Go (German version) (1964).mp3
The Temptations – Mein Girl (1964).mp3
Berry Gordy could spot a marketing opportunity, and so he had the stars of his Motown roster record their big hits in various European languages, apparently singing from phonetic lyric sheets. Diana Ross makes a game attempt at it; one can understand her implorations not to be left by the addressee of the song. The Temptations take rather more relaxed view of linguistic doctrines, anticipating the German tendency to include English words as part of the conversational language. Germans are quite happy to use the word “girl” instead of Mädchen, or indeed “happy” instead of glücklich, as the Temptations do here (dear Diana is more purist about this: she actually uses the word glücklich, which must be a bit of a tongue breaker for non-German speakers).
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Millie – My Boy Lollipop (German) (1964).mp3
And another German version of an English-language hit. Millie (who sounds even more chipmunkish in German) doesn’t make an effort to translate the chief rhyme — sweet as candy/sugar dandy — into German. And how could she? “Du bist so süss wie Süssigkeiten / Du bist mein Zuckerbursche” somehow wouldn’t work well as a line of seduction. So we can forgive that. But why didn’t the songwriters bother to change the line “I love you I love you I love you so” to “Ich lieb’ dich ich lieb’ dich ich lieb’ dich so” ? That’s just lazy.

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Franz Beckenbauer – Gute Freunde kann niemand trennen (1966).mp3
Gerd Müller – Dann macht es bumm (1969).mp3
Fans of English football (or soccer, as my American friends would say) are likely to cringe at the memory of their players’ attempts at pop stardom: Kevin Keegan’s 1979 hit single Head Over Heels, or Glenn Hoddle & Chris Waddle with their 1987 #12 hit Diamond Lights, or Paul Gascoigne teaming up with Lindisfarne to belt out The Fog On The Tyne (there’s a Newcastle United thread here). Bad though these might be, English football fans would have no cause to cringe if they knew what their German counterparts have been subjected to, horrors that would make Hoddle & Waddle seem like the Righteous Brothers.

And yet, the two Bayern München legends featured here can be forgiven for their amateur warblings (if not for their club affiliation). Beckenbauer is, in my view, the greatest defensive player of all time. Adept at playing in virtually any position, he was an elegantly authoritative figure on the pitch. Germans, always acutely sensitive to their troubled history, called him “Der Kaiser”, which is preferable to “Der Führer”.

After finishing his playing career (which included a stint with New York Cosmos), Beckenbauer led the West German national team as coach to a World Cup final in 1986 and the world championship in 1990. After abdicating, as it were, he became a functionary for Bayern München, doing all he could to diminish the affection in which German football fans hold their heroes. Today he is a dear friend of FIFA president Sepp Blatter, a thoroughly nasty piece of work behind his grinning mask of buffoonery.

If Beckenbauer’s nickname was somewhat misguided, that of his teammate Gerd Müller’s is quite mind-boggling, coming just a quarter of a century after World War 2: “Der Bomber”. The moniker was supposed to testify to Müller’s genuinely breathtaking ability to score goals — he’s by far the best I’ve seen in my lifetime. But it was a misnomer. The nickname suggests that Müller had a mighty shot, firing V2 rockets with accuracy from outside the penalty area. In reality, Müller had no particularly powerful shot. He was, however, compact with a low centre of gravity and an almost unerring positioning instinct. Many of his goals were scored with his backside, or while he was on the ground. His single, Dann macht es bumm (“And then it bangs”), perpetuates the mistaken notion of the blitzkrieging bomber. It also perpetuates the reality that Gerd Müller wasn’t particularly bright. Still, the man is a legend and probably not a friend of the evil Blatter.

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Johannes Heesters – Ich werde jede Nacht von Ihnen träumen (1937).mp3
Vera Lynn has just become the oldest person to have a British #1 album (alas not with her collection of Rammstein covers), but the world’s oldest still active performer is Johannes Heesters. The Dutch-born singer and former actor, whose career was directed almost exclusively at German audiences, is still at it at 105 years of age. As one might expect, he is much loved in Germany.

But he is not very popular in the country of his birth, where he has not been forgiven for continuing his career in Nazi Germany (where all entertainment was subject to Joseph Goebbels’ censorship and even dictate), and especially for performing for SS troops at Dachau. After the war Heesters pleaded that he had no idea about Dachau’s the extent of function. I suspect that he might not be entirely loose with the truth here (not all entertainers are very bright); and even if he knew, how much courage might he have needed to muster to tell the SS to bugger off. At the same time, he did move to Germany in 1935, so fuck him for that.

Still, almost 106 years of age, and still performing. And he has a wife who is 45 years younger than he is — Respect!
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Noel Coward – Don’t Let’s Be Beastly To The Germans (1943).mp3
Not a German song, obviously, but a stinging propaganda satire by the legendary English wit at the expense of Germans. Of course he had no intention of pleading for post-war clemency towards Germans; quite the contrary. And yet, to some extent his satirical entreaty would be realised. To be sure, some Germans were treated badly after the war, especially the many women who were raped by occupying soldiers (and not just by the Russians, who clearly did not share the song’s sentiments). But, truth be told, Germans subjected to occupation in the West cannot have too many complaints about the treatment they received.

There will be no more baseball at The Corner

Back in April I blogged about the demised of Tiger Stadium, and how they turned out the lights in old ballpark 10 years ago in favor of the new Comerica Park on the other side of downtown. Yesterday I cruised by the corner of Michigan and Trumbull streets (aka The Corner) to check out the final demolition of the old ballpark–a painful process that began over a year ago.

A few other camera-toting folks and a news crew were there. It was not a pretty sight. A portion of the southwest corner of the old stadium remained, its familiar light blue tile the only recognizable element. We may have lost a ballpark, but we gained so much landfill material.

The last Detroit Tigers baseball game at The Corner was on September 27, 1999. Almost a decade to the day another piece of Detroit history is, well, history.

Thought this might be a good time for a little Tiger Town, a 1983 movie by a former Detroiter, shot on location at Tiger Stadium and around Detroit. More about the movie, below.

Taking one last peak through the fence at The Corner

FilMichigan

In each edition of the paper version of the Great Lakes Gazette that we published years ago, I featured a movie made in Michigan—and that was well before the current flurry of filmmaking due to the state’s incentives to moviemakers. I’ll revive FilMichigan as an occasional feature, mixing old movies and the crop of new flicks that are being shot on location around the state.

TIGER TOWN

1983
Written and directed by Alan Shapiro
Starring Roy Scheider, Justin Henry, Ron McLarty, Bethany Carpenter, Noah Moazezi
With appearances (as themselves) by Ernie Harwell, Al Ackerman, Ray Lane, and other familiar local faces (and voices) including Supreme Mary Wilson singing the National Anthem

Former Detroiter Alan Shapiro (who also wrote and directed the movie Flipper, among others) shows off his hometown with affection in this story of a young boy’s (Justin Henry) belief in his hero, a retiring Detroit Tiger baseball player (Roy Scheider) and the aging outfielder’s ablity to finish his career with a bang—and the pennant.

The filmmaker coddles the city in many recognizable scenes, from car plant to café, Eastern Market to the corner of Michigan and Trumbull. Enjoy the ride as the kid makes his frantic way to the ballpark, on a fictional route only Detroiters will know is impossible, if scenic.

During the filming way back when T.J. and I, in a quest for stardom (maybe it was the bribe of prizes being raffled throughout the day) spent an afternoon of filming at Tiger Stadium with a couple of hundred other extras, trying to make it look like there was a real crowd. Any close-ups of us that might have been, however, landed on the cutting room floor. We didn’t win a toaster, either.

This little family film was the first movie that Disney produced for its cable channel. You may be able to find a copy at a library.

DETROIT   SHALL  RISE  AGAIN!!

Statue of Cadillac commemorating his 1701 landing along the Detroit River

Chart Position: 1

• Lead vocals: Diana Ross
• None of the other Supremes sang on this
• Written and produced by Pam Sawyer, Deke Richards, Frank Wilson and R. Dean Taylor
• This is the Supreme’s biggest hit single
• Taylor later had a hit of his own ‘Indiana Wants Me’ (1970)
• Recorded in Detroit MI
• Backing vocals: Andantes
• Instrumentation: Funk Brothers
• Later recorded by Booker T & MGs (1969), Acid Head (1984), LaToya Jackson (1995) and Gina Glocksen (2007)

Dear Summer of 2009,

Enough.

Okay? Enough.

You have taken from us too many Major Figures in American Culture, and we can’t bear it any more. Farrah. MJ. John Hughes. Walter Cronkite. And then, just yesterday, Ted Kennedy, Dominick Dunne, and Ellie Greenwich (writer and producer of such girl-group classics as “Leader of the Pack,” “Be My Baby,” “Da Doo Ron Ron,” and “Then He Kissed Me”). It’s too much, Summer of 2009.

I can’t claim to have thought about any of these individuals on a regular basis—I can’t even claim to have known Ellie Greenwich’s name before yesterday. Yet their deaths hit as losses all the same, I suppose because each made a significant cultural impact in his or her own way. I do not want to imagine a world with no red-bathing-suit poster, no moonwalk, no classic teen comedies, no CBS gravitas, no stalwart Massachusetts liberals, no trashy Vanity Fair articles, no bouffanted girl groups.

It may be, too, that the losses can be chalked up to my established, encroaching old-fogey-dom, and that with each new obituary I feel a sense of “oh, there goes the last of the great statesmen / songwriters / broadcasters / moonwalkers / etc.”

I’m glad to know Ellie Greenwich’s name now, at least, because I do have this romantic idea of the Brill Building heyday, and do secretly (or not-so) wish I were in a girl group. Actually, Mama Kitt and another friend and I were once sort of in a girl group—we lip-synched as the Supremes at a junior high dance—and apparently I was cute enough in it that I caught the eye of a boy I’d go on to date in high school. And in grad school, girl groups played a key role in clarifying the argument of my dissertation. (I won’t bore you with how.) The opening scene of Adventures in Babysitting, where Elisabeth Shue lip-syncs to “Then He Kissed Me,” is burned into my brain. For a time, in a big empty room in my family’s big old house, I would recreate that scene with my boom box and a cassette tape for hours on end.

Ellie, Ted, other Major Figures in American Culture—we will miss you. Summer of 2009—enough, okay? Okay.

xoxo The Girl on the Swing

Today, August 12, is International Vinyl Record Day. To mark the event, here are a few songs I’ve ripped from my LPs lately. I have old LPs stashed all over the house. Most of them – almost all of them – have not been played in more than a decade, some in more than two decades. None was played after my son, then three or four years old, broke the stylus on my Technics turntable. It has been great playing some of these old records again, and in some cases painful as I realise that the music wasn’t as great as my memory had deceived me to think. These songs here did not disappoint. Happy Vinyl Record Day.

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Tony Schilder – Madeleine.mp3
Tony Schilder is now retired, but in his day he was a keyboard maestro in the field of South African jazz-fusion. His trio regularly featured guest artists, of whom the internationally best known is Jonathan Butler. Schilder’s trio was the houseband of the Montreal nightclub in Cape Town’s Manenberg (which lent its name, inaccurately spelt, to Dollar Brand’s jazz opus), an impoverished, gang-riddled township established by the apartheid regime for South Africans classified as “Coloured” (that is, people of mixed race). In that community’s vibrant nightclub scene, Montreal was the place to be in the 1980s. It had style and Cape Town’s great artists would regularly appear there, such as frequent Schilder collaborator Robbie Jansen (a gifted saxophonist and vocalists, whose unrecorded version of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On is the best I’ve heard) or Dougie Schrikker, “the Frank Sinatra of the Cape Flats”.

The cheerful Madeleine (such a beautiful name) was the highlight in Schilder’s sets; it’s opening keyboard bar alerting the serious jazz dancers (and by this I mean Cape Town jazz-dancing, which is a sexier version of ballroom styles) to take to the dancefloor. Strangely Madeleine didn’t appear on his CD of re-recorded classics released in 1995. The 1985 LP it came from, Introducing the Music of Tony Schilder, has never been released on CD, to my knowledge. The song features Danny Butler on vocals, and his brother Jonathan on guitar (and check out his great solo).

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The Four Tops & The Supremes – Reach Out And Touch (Somebody’s Hand).mp3
The famous version, of course, is that by Diana Ross, her first solo single after splitting from the Supremes. Shortly after La Ross recorded the Ashford & Simpson composition in 1970, the Supremes (now fronted by Jean Terrell) recorded it with the Four Tops, creating a more joyous version than Diana’s, which was lovely but not particularly soulful in arrangement or vocal delivery. I will be honest and admit that I had forgotten I even had this until last weekend, when I ripped most of the tracks featured here. It’s on a collection of soul tracks released in 1974 which I picked up cheaply some 20 years ago in a second-hand shop. Whatever I paid for it, this song alone made it a bargain.

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The Mystics – Hushabye.mp3
American readers of a certain age may well remember this: Hushabye was the song with which the legendary DJ Alan Freed closed his televised Big Beat Show. Written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, it was released in 1959 by the New York doo wop group The Mystics, Italian-Americans from Bensonhurst. A year after Hushabye was released, a young Paul Simon (then calling himself Jerry Landis) joined as lead singer, albeit only very briefly.

The Mystics were supposed to be given Pomus/Shuman’s A Teenager In Love, which in the event was recorded to great commercial success by Dion & the Belmonts. The record label, Laurie Records, were not too pleased, it seems, and ordered the songwriters to come up with a new tune for The Mystics. The next day, Hushabye was ready. It became a #20 hit in summer 1959. Five years later, the Beach Boys recorded a cover for their All Summer Long album.

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The Crusaders – So Far Away (live).mp3
Jazz legends The Crusaders covered Carole King’s So Far Away twice. The studio version is nice; the live take, from 1974’s Scratch: Live At The Roxy, is brilliant. It’s warm and cool, exciting and relaxing. And it sounds barely like the original tune. At 1:54 trombonist Wayne Henderson begins a note which he holds continuously for a minute, driving the crowd mad with concern for his safety (one member shouts “stop!”) before Sample, Hooper, Felder, Carlton and Popwell resume to finish the song off in a rhapsodic orgasm.

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Mungo Jerry – Have A Whiff On Me.mp3
A typically exuberant Mungo Jerry number with its boogie woogie piano, improvised instrument, percussive oral noises and Ray Dorset’s obligatory scat and exclamation of “all right, all right, all right”. Most of Mungo Jerry’s tracks sounded like they were remakes of old songs, but few actually were. Have A Whiff On Me is an exception; it was an old blues song which the folk/blues historians John and Alan Lomax picked up from James “Ironhead” Baker (he of Black Betty original obscurity) and Lead Belly, then titled Take A Whiff On Me. It was recorded subsequently by folk singers such as Woody Gutrie, Cisco Houston and, in 1970, by the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers. A “whiff” is slang for cocaine, and the song is alternatively known as Cocaine Habit Blues.

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Misty In Roots – Own Them Control Them.mp3
The regular reader will have noticed that this blog features very little by way of reggae (one Peter Tosh track, and one by Freddie McGregor in 321 posts). For a brief time in the mid-‘80s I was into reggae, absorbed a lot of it, and then got bored with it. During that fleeting flirtation, I bought the 12” of Own Them Control Them by the London band Misty In Roots. It was not a hit – none of the group’s single bothered the UK Top 75 – and I hadn’t heard it for a very long time. When I did, it did remind me why I bought the record in first place: it’s very good indeed.

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Christopher Plummer & Phillip Glasser – Never Say Never.mp3
Before Disney had their massive resurgence following 1989’s A Little Mermaid, the studio had lost its mojo It took Universal with the Steven Spielberg produced An American Tail in 1986 to show Disney the way to make great animated films again (even if some of them were too saccharine for my taste). The adventures of the immigrant mouse Fievel were charming, certainly in the first film. Children in film can be very endearing or very annoying. Phillip Glasser, barely eight-years-old at the time, voiced Fievel beautifully. His reprimand to Plummer’s French Statue-of-Liberty-building pidgeon for using the word “never” is very cute without being too sugary.

The song, an old-style production number by James Horner which classic Disney would have been proud of, was set early in the movie. Fievel has arrived in America but had lost his family, with whom he was immigrating from Russia (on the false premise that there are no cats there). Henri the pidgeon encourages Fievel not to give up. And, — ***SPOILER ALERT*** — you’d never guess it, but Fievel actually does find his family. Phew!

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George Fenton – The Funeral (Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika).mp3
We started with a bit of South African music, and here we wrap up with the greatest ever South African song which in a truncated form and combined in a medley with the old apartheid-era anthem Die Stem is part of South Africa’s current national anthem. To this day, I refuse to sing the apartheid-anthem portion, an act of recalcitrance which many South Africans with much greater grievances than I can lay claim to evidently do not share, for they sing it with gusto.

This recording is from the 1987 film Cry Freedom, in which Denzil Washington played the murdered anti-apartheid leader Steve Biko. Biko represented the radical Black Consciousness Movement, which held that liberation must come from black people and not through the mediation of whites. This placed him closer to the Pan African Congress, a breakaway from the African National Congress of Albert Luthuli and Nelson Mandela. That’s why this version of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika includes parts of the anthem which the ANC (and, in the ‘80s, its internal federation, the United Democratic Front) excluded. Written by a Methodist school teacher named Enoch Sontonga in 1897, it was originally a Christian hymn – the title means God Save Africa – before in 1927 one Samuel Mqhayi added further verses to it.

The version here, scoring Biko’s funeral on 25 September 1977, is dramatically orchestrated by George Fenton, starting off with a solo by Thuli Dumakude, with the choir directed by the great Jonas Gwangwa. It is real goosepimple stuff.

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On International Vinyl Record Day, don’t forget to visit those blogs which heroically keep the memory of crackling, dusty vinyl alive. These include AM Then FM, The Hits Just Keep On Coming, The Vinyl District, Great Vinyl Meltdown, Dusty Sevens, Funky16Corners, Dust And Grooves, and Dr Forrest’s Cheese Factory for the truly weird stuff (apologies to the fine vinyl blogs that I have neglected to mention).