Posts Tagged: soul music
Edwin Starr: War and 25 Miles
The beginning of War is one of the signature musical moments of the Vietnam War era. It’s nice to learn that Edwin Starr contributed much more than that. Here is the beginning of the profile at his website:
Edwin Starr was an integral part of the soul and dance floor scene since the mid-fifties and the formation of his first band The Future Tones in 1956. He was on the road right to the end.
Born Charles Edwin Hatcher on January 21st, 1942 in Nashville, Tennessee, Edwin was raised and educated in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1962, after completing two years of military service in the USA and Germany he moved to Detroit, the automobile city. By the middle of the decade he was a member of the artistes on the up-and-coming RicTic label under Ed Wingate. Together they released one immortal Northern Soul hymn after another. Songs like “Agent 00 Soul”, S.O.S (Stop her On Sight)” and “Headline News” laid the foundations for Edwins’ continuing world-wide fame. (Continue Reading…)
War, it turns out, was recorded by The Temptations before Starr’s version. The Motown‘s timidness turned out to be the most important moment in Starr’s career:
“War” is a soul song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for the Motown label in 1969. Whitfield first produced the song – a blatant anti-Vietnam War protest – with The Temptations as the original vocalists. After Motown began receiving repeated requests to release “War” as a single, Whitfield re-recorded the song with Edwin Starr as the vocalist, deciding to withhold the Temptations’ version so as not to alienate their more conservative fans. (Continue Reading…)
Above is War, which has to be the lead song in any discussion of Starr. Two observations: He is wearing the greatest shirt ever made and seems very happy for a guy singing about the horrors of war. Below is 25 Miles, which is terrific. It’s clearly a relatively recent clip. The band leader is Jools Holland and this presumably is his BBC television show. Holland was a co-founder of Squeeze. Starr passed away in 2003.
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Al Green: Jesus is Waiting
Few performers come close to the intensity of Al Green. Here is part of the AllMusic bio of the artist, who is as at home in the gospel and soul worlds:
The distinctive Hi Records sound that the vocalist and producer Willie Mitchell developed made Al Green the most popular and influential soul singer of the early ’70s, influencing not only his contemporaries, but also veterans like Marvin Gaye. Green was at the peak of his popularity when he suddenly decided to join the ministry in the mid-’70s. At first, he continued to record secular material, but by the ’80s, he was concentrating solely on gospel. During the late ’80s and ’90s, he occasionally returned to R&B, but he remained primarily a religious performer for the rest of his career. Nevertheless, Green‘s classic early- ’70s recordings retained their power and influence throughout the decades, setting the standard for smooth soul.
Here is Greens are Chicago, Tired of Being Alone, Call Me (Come Back Home) and Amazing Grace.
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Chicago Music Impresario Carl Davis Dies at 77
A major force in Chicago, Carl Davis, has died at age 77. Here is part of the obituary in The New York Times:
Though Chicago’s soul scene was less celebrated than those of Detroit or Memphis, it was rich with talent, and Mr. Davis was at the center of it through the 1960s and ’70s. He worked with Curtis Mayfield, Major Lance, Jackie Wilson, Tyrone Davis, the Chi-Lites and many others in a number of capacities, including producer, scout, manager and record company boss.
Davis was responsible for such hits as Gene Chandler’s Duke of Earl (click on “Read More” for access to the video) and Jackie Wilson’s (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher.
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Knock on Wood
Eddie Floyd was born on this day in 1935. This clip is from a 2008 New Year’s Eve program. Paul McCartney definitely is at 1:33, and there may be other notables present as well.
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The TDMB Music Index
This is the index of music that has appeared at The Daily Music Break.
AC/DC: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap/Highway to Hell Alabama Shakes: I Found You Luther Allison: Livin’ in the House of the Blues/Soul Fixin’ Man The Allman Brothers Band: In Memory of Elizabeth Reed Alpine Kat: Large Hadron Rap Herb Alpert: Spanish Flea Amsterdam Klezmer Band: Op een Goppe/A Chassid in Amsterdam Leroy Anderson: The Syncopated Clock Louis Armstrong Burt Bacharach/Dionne Warwick Medley LaVern Baker: Jim Dandy Got Married/Playing the Game of Love Count Basie: Whirly Bird Black 47: Funky Céilí Jeff Beck/Imelda May: Remember (Walking in the Sand) Chuck Berry: Maybellene The Blasters: American Music The Blind Boys of Alabama: Run On Blockhead: None Shall Pass Booker T. and the MGs (including Donald “Duck” Dunn): Green Onions Victor Borge: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 David Bromberg: Summer Wages/I Will Not Be Your Fool Lonnie Brooks: You’re Usin’ Me “The Original” Bessie Brown: Song from a Cotton Field/St. Louis Blues Clifford Brown: Oh, Lady Be Good James Brown: Night Train Ray Brown: Lady Be Good Dave Brubeck: Take Five/Blue Rondo à la Turk R.L. Burnside: When My First Wife Left Me/Jumper on the Line The Cadillacs: Speedoo Cage the Elephant: Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked JJ Cale: Devil in Disguise/After Midnight/Call Me the Breeze Maria Callas: Tosca Benny Carter: Misty/Wave The Carter Family: Cannonball Blues Johnny Cash: Cocaine Blues Harry Chapin: Sniper Ray Charles: Hit the Road Jack Charlie Christian at Minton’s Oscar “Papa” Celestin: Marie Laveau/Oh! Didn’t He Ramble The Clancy Brothers: Finnegan’s Wake Gary Clark Jr.: Bright Lights The Clash: The Magnificent Seven Patsy Cline: Crazy George M. Cohan: Over There Leonard Cohen: Everybody Knows Nat King Cole: Route 66 John Coltrane: Naima Ry Cooder: Jesus on the Mainline
Elizabeth Cotten: Freight Train
Bobby Darin: Splish Splash
Howard DaSilva, Tom Bosley: Little Tin Box
Rev. Gary Davis: Death Don’t Have No Mercy
Miles Davis: Autumn Leaves
Deodato: Also Sprach Zarathustra/Rhapsody in Blue
Bo Diddley: Road Runner
Dire Straits: Skateaway
Lee Dorsey: Working in the Coal Line/Ya Ya
Duke Ellington, Dr. Billy Taylor, Willie “The Lion” Smith: Perdido
Richard Feynman Talks About Light
Ella Fitzgerald: Mack the Knife
Ella Fitzgerald: The Man I Love
Flogging Molly: Don’t Shut ‘Em Down
Blaze Foley: Clay Pigeons
Georgia Field Hands: Mary Don’t You Weep
Gladys Knight & the Pips: Midnight Train to Georgia/I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Benny Goodman: Moonglow
Dexter Gordon: Body and Soul
Al Green: Jesus is Waiting
Emmylou Harris: Pancho and Lefty/Blue Kentucky Girl
Coleman Hawkins: Jumpin’ With Symphony Sid
Alison Krauss: Down to the River to Pray
The Leningrad Cowboys and The Red Army Choir: Sweet Home Alabama
John Fahey: On the Sunny Side of the Ocean
Little Feat: Dixie Chicken
Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir: I’ve Been All Around this World
George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Dizzy Gillespie/Louis Armstrong: Umbrella Man
Benny Goodman: Moonglow
Steve Goodman: City of New Orleans/Talk Backwards
Morton Gould and his Orchestra: Aaron Copland’s Hoedown
Woody Guthrie: Hard Travelin’
Warren Haynes: Hattiesburg Hustle
Levon Helm: Ophelia
Levon Helm: Short Fat Fanny
Jimi Hendrix: Who Knows
Woody Herman: The Jazz Doctor
Richard X. Heyman: Cornerstone
John Hiatt: Slow Turning
Earl “Fatha” Hines: Memories of You
Billie Holiday: God Bless the Child/Now Baby or Never
John Lee Hooker: Boom Boom/Hobo Blues
House of Pain: Jump Around
Carlos Antonio Jobim: Águas of Março
Mahailia Jackson: Didn’t It Rain/Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
Wanda Jackson: Hard Headed Woman
Etta James, Mick Taylor, John Mayall: You Got Me Runnin’
Skip James: Crow Jane
Bert Jansch: Reynardine/Angie
Dr. John and Eric Clapton: St. James Infirmary
Norah Jones: Don’t Know Why
Scott Joplin’s Ragtime
Louis Jordan: Caldonia
Jethro Tull: Locomotive Breath
Anton Karas: The Third Man Theme
Albert King: Blues Power
The Kinks: Low Budget
Rahsaan Roland Kirk: Serenade to a Cuckoo
Ladysmith Black Mambazo/Paul Simon: You Can Call Me Al
Lianne La Havas: Age/Is Your Love Big Enough?
k.d. lang: The Valley/Hallelujah
Ramsey Lewis: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Gordon Lightfoot: TheWreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Franz Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.1 and Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Little Eva: Let’s Turkey Trot
Los Lobos: Evangeline/Will the Wolf Survive?
Los Lobos, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir: This Land is Your Land
Nils Lofgren: Delivery Night
Yo-Yo Ma: Elgar Cello Concerto, First Movement
Taj Mahal, Eric Bibb: Diving Duck Blues
Henry Mancini: The Pink Panther Theme
Eleni Mandell: Magic Summertime
Bob Marley and the Wailers: Stir It Up
John Mayall: Oh, Pretty Woman
Paul McCartney: Birthday
Delbert McClinton: B Movie Box Car Blues
Larry McCray: Smooth Sailing
Mississippi Fred McDowell: John Henry/Goin’ Down to the River
Modest Mouse: Dashboard
Moe.: Kyle’s Song
Thelonious Monk: Blue Monk
Bill Monroe: Rawhide/Sally Goodin
Mountain: Theme for an Imaginary Western
Mozart: Flute Concerto No.2 In D Major, K.314 First Movement (conducted by James Galway)
Charlie Musselwhite: Christo Redemptor
Willie Nelson: Blue Skies
Randy Newman: Louisiana 1927
The North Mississippi Allstars: The Meeting
Laura Nyro: Save the Country
Old Crow Medicine Show: Down Home Girl/Wagon Wheel
Charley Parker: Dexterity
Parliament Funkadelic: Bring on the Funk
Parov Stelar: Chambermaid Swing
Les Paul and Mary Ford: Alabamy Bound and Darktown Strutter’s Ball
Pinetop Perkins: Pinetop’s Boogie/Down in Mississippi
Phil Phillips: Sea of Love
Phish: What Things Seem
Porcupine Tree: Dark Matter
Cole Porter: Anything Goes
Dennis Potter: Pennies from Heaven (Anything Goes)/The Singing Detective (Dry Bones)
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band: Basin Street Blues/Tailgate Ramble
Elvis Presley: Heartbreak Hotel
The Pretenders: Brass in Pocket/My City Was Gone
Proclaimers: King of the Road
Professor Longhair: Big Chief/Tipitina
Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody
Mohammad Rafi: Jaan Pehchan
Bonnie Raitt and Alison Krauss: Papa Come Quick
The Ramones: I Wanna Be Sedated/The KKK Took My Baby Away
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Purple Stain
Jerry Reed and Chet Atkins: Mule Skinner Blues
Django Reinhardt: J’attendrai Swing
Linda Ronstadt: Blue Bayou
The Rooftop Singers: Walk Right In/Mama Don’t Allow
Run-DMC: King of Rock/Christmas in Hollis
Leon Russell: Crystal Closet Queen/Of Thee I Sing
Santana: No One to Depend On
Santigold: Disparate Youth
Arnold Schoenberg: Verklaerte Nacht
Earl Scruggs: Down the Road
Compay Segunda and The Buena Vista Social Club: Chan Chan
Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen: This Land is Your Land
Marlena Shaw: California Soul
The Shelby Bottom String Band: East Nashville Rag
Allan Sherman: Shake Hands with Your Uncle Max
Matt Siffert: Daybreak in Alabama and Riverside Drive
Rockin Sidney Simien: Don’t Mess with My Toot Toot
Frank Sinatra: That’s Life/I Get a Kick Out of You
The Skatalites: Phoenix City/The Guns of Navarone
Slim Dusty: Waltzing Matilda
Sly and the Family Stone: Higher
Southern Culture on the Skids: Voodoo Cadillac
Bruce Springsteen: John Henry
Steely Dan: Black Friday
Steely Dan: My Old School
The Steve Thorpe Band: Dust My Broom
Johann Strauss II: The Blue Danube Waltz
The Supremes: You Just Keep Me Hanging On
Art Tatum: Humoresque
Susan Tedeschi: Little by Little
Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee: Walk On
Sister Rosetta Tharpe: Up Above My Head
Talking Heads: Psycho Killer
Clark Terry: Take the A Train/On the Trail
These United States: Honor Amongst Thieves
Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra: Grand Canyon Suite
Peter Tosh: Johnny B. Goode
Traffic: John Barleycorn Must Die
Trampled Under Foot: Love My Baby
Merle Travis: 16 Tons/Lost John
Big Joe Turner: Low Down Dog
Jay Ungar: Ashokan Farewell
Stevie Ray Vaughan: Texas Flood
The Ventures: Hawaii Five-O
Giuseppe Verdi: Triumphal March from Aida/La Travia
Tom Waits: Tom Traubert’s Blues/Ol ’55
T-Bone Walker: Call It Stormy Monday/Woman, You Must Be Crazy/Goin’ to Chicago Blues
Fats Waller: The Joint is Jumpin’
Doc Watson: Tennessee Stud
Ben Webster: Old Folks
Ween: Roses are Free/Big Jim
Bukka White: Poor Boy Long Way From Home
The Who: Who Are You/Substitute
Hank Williams Sr.: Jambalaya on the Bayou
Johnny and Edgar Winter and Rick Derringer: Highway 61 Revisited
Howlin’ Wolf: Sitting on Top of the World
Stevie Wonder: Superstition/Sir Duke/I Wish
Lester Young: Pennies From Heaven
Neil Young: Fork in the Road
Frank Zappa: Cosmik Debris
Warren Zevon: Excitable Boy
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Booker T. and the MGs (including Donald “Duck” Dunn): Green Onions
Donald (Duck) Dunn: 1941-2012
Donald “Duck” Dunn, who died in Japan this weekend, tended to get overshadowed. It was probably how he liked it. With some exceptions, folks don’t take up bass guitar for fame (though fortune may have something to do with it). Though Dunn never was a superstar, he made them possible. Here is a two minute bio.
This paragraph from his website sums it up pretty well:
Among the timeless recordings Dunn held down the bottom end of Respect, Dock Of The Bay and I’ve Been Loving You Too Long, by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett’s In The Midnight Hour, and Hold On I’m Coming by Sam and Dave, not to mention sessions with Neil Young, Eric Clapton and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Dunn also was in the band featured in film The Blues Brothers.
The most notable song associated with Dunn is Green Onions, which is featured above. Here is a much more recent version. Other clips include Knock on Wood, One Night-Blues for Elvis, Melting Pot and Hold On, I’m Coming. Some of the video isn’t very good–but the music is great.
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