Gospel, the Soul of Pop - part 2

The gospel purists are quick to blame the early 1950’s pop artists for desecrating what was considered Christian music. But this process had already started, while the only persons that knew Elvis’ name were his mother and father. In the late 1940’s a gospel-influenced style of music called jump blues or rhythm and blues, was making itself felt on the dance floors of the USA, and the message it carried was more of the sexual kind than a church sermon, with songs such as Big Joe Turner’s  “Shake, Rattle and Roll” having more than one meaning. In 1955 a young Afro-American singer/song writer, Richard Wayne Penniman, started recording in a style he had been performing on stage to mainly Afro American audiences for years, composed of varied rhythm, a heavy backbeat and over-the-top gospel-style singing; this new music, which included a shot of funk, was called ‘rock and roll’, and the young artist’s stage name is Little Richard.

This staggering change, so to say the re-birth of popular music, was hidden behind America’s wall of segregation; hidden that is, until 1956, when music producer Sam Phillips and a youthful Elvis Presley gave rock and roll a white face. Rock and roll faced many negative criticisms in its early years, from extreme Christians on both side of the racial line, and country and western traditionalists. But the baby had been born, and the world loved it! In fact it has become a force of its own, breaking down racial and language barriers on its way.

In the last decade or so, the opposite has taken place, where gospel has used some of the traits of rock to bring out that extra feeling! In many cases the quality of rock music being played by Christian bands is as good as mainstream groups. Many established pop artists have returned to the roots and recorded gospel related albums; Elvis Presley, for example, released three gospel LPs. Recently some of gospel’s major artists have recorded Bob Dylan songs, giving them a new lease of life!

If you, like me, are a soul and r&b fan, then the gospel scene is the place to search out that extra soulful voice. Don’t forget singers such as Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke and Otis Redding first made their debuts in chorals, not to mention Steve Marriot, whose first singing experience was in his local church choir! These are just a handful of pop dignitaries that initiated their careers in church halls. I leave you with a clip from a man I consider to be one of the best soul/gospel singers of today Smokie Norful singing -“Run ‘Til I Finish”.

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Gospel, the Soul of Pop - part 1

Whether you are religious or not, you are not going to escape the fact that gospel music has more than a vital importance to the evolution of popular music. You will find its influence in every genre you can think of, in jazz, soul, ska, reggae, rock, rap, modern r&b; and even if you trace back the roots of seemingly unrelated music styles, you will find gospel music somewhere along the line.

Gospel music is, and here I quote- ‘music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life’- The words personal and spiritual are the most important factors when trying to explain how this music of faith helped shape the anatomy of pop. Gospel has its beginning in the U.S.A. during the dark days of slavery, when African slaves were forced to follow the religion of their white masters. It was at these Sunday rituals that the slaves could let out their imprisoned emotions, and set their souls free, using music as the conveying vessel. In the beginning the only musical instruments they had were their voices and their hands, and the natural sway of the body kept the rhythm; at some stage in the course of the years the piano made its appearance, and to this day these elements are the solid base of gospel music.

Slavery ended but segregation continued, and black and white Americans lived cheek by jowl, each in their own world. But music is blind to segregation. In the early 20^th century, ragtime and jazz were being played in the whites-only clubs of Chicago and New York, both genres of music being off-shoots of gospel. Surprisingly, credit must given to two white composers George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin who daringly in 1935 wrote and presented the first all African American opera ‘Porgy and Bess’. For the majority of the primarily white audience, this was their first contact with gospel, and its closely related music forms, jazz and blues. Arrogance takes a long time to cure; it was not until 1976 that this masterpiece was accepted as an opera, and it took a further nine years before, the Metropolitan Opera of New York gave their first performance of the work! Thank God, Tommy was a rock opera; otherwise we would be still waiting for the first performance.

The 1940’s saw an eruption of the variety of popular musical styles. Hard bop, show jazz and swing, and hidden in all these genres was a part that was gospel. It is not until the 1950’s that gospel starts to be openly acclaimed as an indispensable part of modern music.

To be continued….

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Music the Seducer- Music the Lover

Casanova, Mata Hari, Don Juan and Cleopatra are names that conjure images of love and seduction; most of us are not so lucky to have the supposed charms and magical alluring physical make-up of these prominent members of the Lovers Hall of Fame. Albeit, we, the majority, have over the centuries have had a valuable easily accessible aid to reinforce our weak seduction magnetism- music.

A Young 60’s Mod, was as romantically poetic as a Harold Wilson speech! In fact Shelley was as foreign to us as the Highway Code. However our music taste was mature enough to appreciate not only the fast dance tunes, but also the slow and soulful love songs, which at times touched on the erotic. When Mod couples danced together, there was no need for romantic talk, the lyrics and the rhythm of the slow soul songs did all the love communication for them!

Couples who have been in a long relationship often talk of their favourite song, the one that they heard when they first met, when they first kissed or when they first… One song that brings back special memories to me is a Joe Tex song "Hold on to What You've Got".

I don’t know who the ingenious couple was that first thought of having music in the background when making love, but I’m sure thousands of lovers used the sounds of Ravel's Boléro to enhance their lovemaking after watching Jenny (Bo Derek) seduce George (Dudley Moore) to the tunes pulsating Latin rhythm in the 1979 film ‘10’. And who can forget Kim Basinger’s bedroom striptease in ‘9½ Weeks,’ to Joe Cocker’s “You Can Leave Your Hat On"?  These films, amongst others, illustrated the benefit of music in bedroom matters.


The Seventies must have been the decade for romance,  besides the release of many erotic/romantic films, it was the era for passionate music, from the Bee Gee’s to Bread, Stylistics and the Manhattans, you were left no choice, but to feel amorous! At the top of this list stood one man, who, as quoted, ‘been responsible for more babies than any other singer’, Barry White. Barry’s voice, lyrics and Philly sound, are still amongst the most romantic, erotic and seductive music to be found.


Today with the break down of popular music into hundreds of categories, heavy metal, gothic rock, soft rock, street rap, political rap, gangster rap, techno… the list goes on forever; we seem to have lost the soul connection to music; I may be wrong, and I hope so, but has the romance gone out of music? As for me, songs such as  the O'Jays, "Stairway To Heaven", can still get the old blood moving!


It would be interesting to know if you have a ‘special song’, if so please leave a comment below.


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Music Producers, Creators of Sound- part 2

Abbey Road Studio. Photo by Scott.

What the work of a ‘music producer’  entails was not clear to me until I started to work on my own musical work ‘Storm’, with the ingenious Urs Wiesendanger. Totally ignorant of the workings of a recording, I was always amazed at how he would take a song, and then break it down as if it was a jig saw puzzle with bits missing- here I have to admit that most of the time I couldn’t make head or tail of what was going through his head- but in the end he added the missing bits and the puzzle became a living song! I could imagine how the Beatles felt when they worked with Sir George Martin.

Sir George H.Martin 1964

If there is any one that you would in the  least expect to be, not only a pop music producer, but also one of the greatest of all time, then it must surely be the man they call “the Fifth Beatle" Sir George Henry Martin CBE. With 30 number one hit singles in the UK and 23 number one hits in the USA, besides at least 15 number one albums, Sir George takes some beating!

Unlike most of the producers of his day Sir George came from a classical background, and had actually studied piano and oboe at the Guildhall School of Music. After his graduation, he worked for the BBC's classical music department; in 1950 he joined EMI, where in 1955 he was made the head of Parlophone Records , which EMI regarded as a minor department where they could dispose of irrelevant acts. But in1962 that all changed. Similar to Sam Phillips, George Martin was searching for that special something to push Parlophone to the stars, yes, he had improved its profits by recording, Beyond the Fringe, a successful TV show, but that was not enough; what he wanted was another Elvis- and it came in the guise of four young men from Liverpool- The Beatles!

George Martin was not impressed by the Beatles, but as the saying goes ‘God works in strange ways’, and if strong marriages are made in heaven, then, the one between the Beatles and Martin definitely was. It was a witty remark from George Harrison that saved the day, and the Beatles were signed on, more for their Liverpool humour than their musical talent!

The Beatles & Sir George Martin having a tea break!

What this celestial partnership created is now legend. The combination of this cultured English musician, arranger and producer, with the raw Mersey/Hamburg talent of the four young rockers, broke all the known boundaries of popular music. Martin’s ability to translate the groups ‘abstract’ ideas into reality was a major factor in the success of the whole project, I would go so far as to say, ‘no Martin-no Beatles’, and ‘no’ what followed! His orchestral arrangements and instrumentation merged classic and rock together so that they stood as one. His talents as a multi instrumentalist were frequently used to add the missing link on many a song. He was also strong enough to push his own ideas through, even in the face of the equally strong willed youngsters; for example, it was Martins idea to put a string quartet on “Yesterday”; Paul McCartney was not hot on the idea, but Martin insisted, and McCartney was over the moon with the result. A simple suggestion from Martin could change the whole character  of a song, such as "Please Please Me",  Martin's crucial contribution here was to tell them to speed up what was initially a slow ballad, a change which made this the groups first number one.

Over the years John and Paul were sponges, soaking up all the production and arrangement techniques of George Martin, so by the time they recorded the White Album they were more or less producing on their own. As with Sam Phillips, Sir George’s career flourished long after the Beatles had gone; but the music that materialized from his Abbey Road Studios in the 60’s, will remain his crowning masterpiece.

Due to the pioneering spirit of the few ‘rebel’, innovating, risk taking music producers of the 50’s and 60’s, music production became a creative art form, which played a great part in the moulding of music as we know it today. And even in today’s electronically, softwared, computerised, downloaded, streamed and overloaded music universe, there occaisonally  appears a star that is “the perfect/imperfect”.

In 2010 two giants of Soul Music, departed this earth within a few months of each other, one was the irreplaceable Solomon Burke, and the other, legendary music producer Willie Mitchell, who worked closely with such greats as Al Green, Syl Johnson and Ann Peebles. Burke and Mitchell’s final earthly cut is the album “Nothing's Impossible”. In the clip below Solomon describes and shows the close bond between the singer and the producer during the recording of this CD, the bond that creates magic.

 


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Music Producers- Creators of Sound- part 1

Most of us know the names of the film directors that creatively guide the making of our favourite film, names such as Spielberg and Tarantino are as familiar as the movies they make. How many music producers can you name? Do you know the vital importance of a good music producer to your best-loved album/CD? Do you even know what a music producer is?

The main problem to understanding what a music producer is lies in the name, which usually leads to a misunderstanding or a misinterpretation of the master of sound’s position in the make up of a song. I asked my friend, accomplished music producer Urs Wiesendanger, how he saw his life’s vocation-

‘A "producer" in music is like the "director" in film. He helps picking the songs, painting an overall picture of a record, picks musicians and engineers to realize the project. He’s also responsible for a good mood in the studio, because without a good mood there's no way to make a good record’.

Having worked with Urs on my CD ‘STORM’ let me tell you that this is an understatement. When you bring a song to the producer’s studio, it has life. Then, in the hands of a master, as if by some miracle, it gains a soul! The music producer's job is to create, shape, and mould a piece of music through its entire process of mixing and mastering. Due to the double use of the word producer in the music industry the creative producer is often thrown into the same bag as the executive producer - whose job is to oversee a project's finances.

Sam Phillips  working at Sun Studios

It can be arguably said that music production came into its own on June the 5^th in 1954, when in the small Sun studios in Memphis, Tennessee, Sam Phillips recorded Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "That's All Right", with three young, unknown musicians, lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, and on vocals a shy Elvis Presley. It was Sam’s touch which gave those early ‘rock and roll recordings’ their wild rawness, or as Phillips liked to call it the “perfect/imperfect cut”. Phillips was an innovator; most recordings at the time gave substantially more volume to the vocals. Phillips pulled back the Elvis vocals, blending it more with the instrumental performances. Phillips also used tape delay to get an echo into the Elvis recordings by running the tape through a second recorder head. RCA, not knowing the method that Phillips had used, was unable to recreate the Elvis echo when recording. Elvis though learnt a lot from Phillips, and used this knowledge when he moved to RCA, where even though others are credited with music production, it was Elvis who did most of the work. “That’s All Right” still stands as a production masterpiece today, and to many it marks the birth of Rock&Roll!

In the end money talks! Phillips sold Elvis’s contract to RCA for $40’000, a large sum of money in those days, and invested most of it into a small unknown hotel chain called ‘Holiday Inn’, which in the end made him a fortune!

Elvis recording at Sun Studios 1956

The “Wall of Sound” was a term used by music producer Phil Spector to describe his technique. To achieve his signature sound, Spector gathered large groups of musicians and had them play orchestrated parts in a small recording area, often doubling and tripling many instruments playing in unison- for a fuller and deeper sound. This group of musicians became known as The Wrecking Crew, amongst whose midst were musicians such as- Glen Campbell and Leon Russell.

Phil Spector in his 'creative'era.

Phil Spector was not only a brilliant music producer, he was also a very clever business man, creating his own recording and publishing company, Philles, and all those who wanted to work with him had to sign to it. From 1964 through to 1968, Phil Spector’s studio was producing hits, with songs such as "Be My Baby" by the Ronettes, which went to #2 on billboard, and “You've Lost That Lovin Feelin” by the Righteous Brothers, the label's second #1 single. Spector’s final signing with Philles was Ike and Tina Turner, in typical Spector manner his only interest was in Tina, and it was with her that he recorded what he considered  his best work "River Deep – Mountain High". 

Spector became bored with the recording industry, and more or less disappeared from public eye, emerging to produce the Beatles, Academy Award winning album “Let it Be” and John Lennon’s "Imagine". He then continued sporadically producing, but became a very hard person to work with, as the Ramones found out, while recording their End of the Century album in 1980.

The Wrecking Crew 1966

Today the only walls that surround Phil Spector are those of his prison cell in Corcoran, California, where he is serving time for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson.

To be continued ...


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So you want to be a legend? Then die at 27!

Suicide, murders, car crashes, drug over dose; and hardly a trace of ‘death by natural causes’!

C.S.I. investigators would have a field day solving the mysteries and the sagas of the World of Rock and Roll. The list of young artists who departed this earth, in unusual circumstances, while still in the service of that hard demanding mistress, music, is long! 

Jimi and Brain both gone at 27

Richey Edwards

This phenomenon has led to the myths of deals with the devil or murderous plots from scheming beneficiaries - I’m not leaning towards any hypothesis, but that the young age of twenty-seven plays a sinister role in these macabre endings, is to say the least, mystifying!  The beginning of this grim occurrence does not start with the accidental death of Rolling Stone, Brain Jones, nor does it end with the suicide of Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain. The first recorded occurrence of such deaths goes way back to 1908 when leading ragtime musician Louis Chauvin dies of syphilis at the age of 27. This is followed in 1938 by the poisoning of blues legend Robert Johnson. So the curse passes through the years, taking prominent victims, such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison, with it on the way. As is the way for misfortune, it has no pity on the next of kin, as in the case of Richey Edwards from The Manic Street Preachers, who disappeared in 1995- never to be seen again!

Jim Morrison mug shot

The last known artist to be accepted into the ‘Forever 27 Club’ was well known Zambian musician Lily Tembo in 2009, which brought the gory membership to 50! It’s enough to make you wonder if Jagger/Richards got it right when they wrote ‘If I could stick a knife in my heart, Suicide right on stage, would it be enough for your teenage lust’.

Yes, it is Rock and Roll, and yes I do like it, but for some it can be a killer!

It is with sadness that since I wrote this post another young artist has died at the age of 27. Amy Winehouse who departed this earth today, Saturday the 23rd of July. R.I.P


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What do you call a man named Robert Allen Zimmerman? Bob Dylan!

I find the term fan limiting, as to how I conceive Bob Dylan the artist, the poet, the musician and the man. Fact is, his influence on modern/popular music- if you wish to categorise that into your preferred genre, i.e. country, pop, rock and r&b - is unavoidable.

Newark Airport 1964 by Daniel Kramer / Promo photo 1978 - Anon. / Modern Times 2006 by William Claxton

Whether you have read Shakespeare or not, you cannot deny William’s importance to the English language; most writers have been inspired by his descriptive use of words and prose. You may not understand the cubes, or the blues of a Picasso painting, but it is open knowledge that he was one of the greatest influences on the face of modern art. You could go as far as to say that they were prime architects of their craft; who, ignoring negative criticism, smashed through all established barriers, opening to those who followed the unending world of creativity. Bob Dylan ranks on par with the few who fall into this elite, farseeing, artistic category of geniuses.

In the early 60’s he was the prophet who showed the music world that it was time to grow up and leave school to face the World and all its perils. Armed with a guitar and a typewriter, he set long imprisoned words free, and married them to music. No subject was taboo for this young writer, the flow of ideas and the lyrics out of his artistic soul never ceased; even his rejects were masterpieces, a fact confirmed by Joan Baez, who seems to have enjoyed rummaging through his waste paper basket! Among his mentors were: Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, and the poet Dylan Thomas. Their job was to fuel his innovative mind, the product that came out was pure Bob Dylan.

Photo by Jerry Schatzberg

Dylan showed the major artists of the time that they could break out of the chains of conformity and write and sing about other matters besides teenage love and high school dances. He gave an attitude to songs and lyrics; it showed the Beatles that there was more to writing a song than “Love Me Do”, or the Rolling Stones that they could go further than “Not Fade Away”. The list of those who kicked off their careers by riding on the back of one his songs is long, and many of his works are falsely attributed to other artists. This attitude personified his own characteristics, once his mind was set on a direction the opinions of the press or fans could not sway him; for example, despite the outcry when he went electric, he carried on his chosen path, ignoring all the threats and abuses thrown at him.

There are many labels that have been attached to his name: rebel, protester and loner, to name some. Others accuse him of having a gift for self-hype, and having invented the arrogant posturing that is dominant in rock. I leave it to President Obama to try and explain the phenomenon: “Here’s what I love about Dylan – he was exactly as you’d expect he would be- He wouldn’t come to the rehearsal. He didn’t want to take a picture with me; usually all the talent is dying to take a picture with me and Michelle before the show, but he didn’t show up to that- He played ‘The Times They Are a-Changin’, a beautiful rendition. The guy is so steeped in this stuff he can come up with a new arrangement and the song sounds completely different.- Finishes the song, steps off the stage ... comes up, shakes my hand, sort of tips his head, gives me just a little grin and then leaves. That was our only interaction with him. And I thought; that’s how you want Bob Dylan, right? You don’t want him to be cheesin’ and grinnin’ with you. You want him to be a little skeptical about the enterprise.”

Since 1988 Dylan has been on what is called‚ ’The Never Ending Tour’- and even now as he enters his 71^st year Dylan shows no sign of stopping. He seems to be more at home on the move than living in any of his many homes; but there is no drinking a beer with the boys after the show. In true Dylan fashion when he tours, he travels in a gigantic customised bus; his band get their own coach and apart from on stage, he pays them little attention. One veteran music industry executive said: “Bob’s one of the hardest working people I know. He loves being on the road. He’s 70 years old but had a thrill about playing Vietnam for the first time. It really is like he’s still 19. But when he plays, he plays obscure tracks and not the classic songs that everybody loves. It is infuriating for fans but they love him for it.”

Asking what is the role of Dylan in the development of popular music, is similar as  asking where does Einstein belong in the philosophy of mathematics?  Who is Bob Dylan? The only person who can answer that question is Robert Zimmerman, and he’s not speaking!

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