"...in parting we wish you love, peace and soul!"

Legendary broadcaster Don Cornelius passed away earlier this week. I’m not sure there’s a way to adequately measure the impact of Don Cornelius and his creation Soul Train on post-1960s culture. Soul Train currently reigns as the longest running “first-run” show, broadcast continuously from 1971 to 2006, 35 full years, documenting so much American cultural history during that time that it boggles the mind. Personally, I spent most of my youth watching Soul Train on Saturday mornings and afternoons, I’m pretty sure most of my sensibilities as a dancer came to me from watching the show, as was the case for millions of people watching the “Soul Train Gang” and later “The Soul Train Dancers” do their thing.

Growing up in the 1980s, I only really knew the 1980s version of Soul Train. It wasn’t until years later that I discovered the absolute treasure trove of material from the show in the early 1970s. My wife and I were visiting some of my family in Atlanta, up late at night (which wasn’t late at night for us, since we were still on west coast time) when flipping through the channels we happened upon a live performance from Al Green. The experience was shocking for me, both because the performance was so amazing and because I hadn’t had any idea just how good the early Soul Train was. When you look at the list of all the artists who made their way down to the show, many of them playing live, it’s just extraordinary, just so much dynamite soul.

What also was fascinating about the show was just the simple fact of representation, by which I mean, Soul train didn’t try to do too much, it just showed the artists and the people getting down as they were. The dancers were mostly just local kids with serious style. They weren’t professionals, though many of them became professionals. When artists came on, these regular black folks got to ask the kind of questions regular people would have loved to have asked their heroes. When you think about the kinds of images that American culture often used to represent Black culture, what Soul Train did to humanize and normalize blackness is nothing short of revolutionary. That’s why I’m thankful to have grown up when I did, to see the show when it ran, and that now so many of those classic episodes are much more readily available. Below are some of my favorite moments from what’s available online. Thank you Don Cornelius and all the Soul Train gang…may you rest in love, peace and soul!

Honorable Mention: Afro-Sheen Commercials

As Questlove makes note, the Soul Train gang produced these spots and as corny as they may seem, it’s pretty special considering how rare it would have been in 1972 to have had ANY representations of black people in advertising, and to have these commercials highlight blackness from our own perspective is again, nothing short of revolutionary.

5.  Sly & the Family Stone – Dance To The Music / I Want To Take You Higher

Everybody knows how much I love Sly, and seeing him in this space, with what looks like his band from the Small Talk era (mentioned already as my favorite Sly Stone LP), cooking with some serious gas is like a dream come true. Amazing…

4.  Stevie Wonder Serenades Soul Train:

Just about the most heart warming thing you’ll ever see from one of the most heart warming musicians of all-time.

3.  Al Green with his arm in sling performing in 1974:

This is that performance I mentioned, that my wife and I saw late at night in Atlanta a number of years back. Transcendent to say the least…

2.  James Brown on Soul Train:

This clip is a collection of the many times that James Brown performed on Soul Train. I especially love when during “Super Bad” a dancer jumps up on stage to get funky, surprising James so much that you can literally see it in his face.

1.  Don Cornelius on the Soul Train Line:

Perhaps the only time that Don Cornelius got down on the Soul Train line, to James Brown no less and with Mary Wilson as a dance partner…absolutely priceless

I’m truly sorry it took so long to get this posted, but I had a problem with the first recording of the audio and wanted to make sure that was straight and clear when we put this up. Etta James was such a fantastic singer, with such incredible range of emotion and consistency over her 55+ year, that it would have been a disservice to post anything other than the best quality I can for her tribute. During the two hours I more or less stick to a chronological order, from her start singing gutsy R&B on the Modern & Kent labels, to her crossover turn when she started at Chess, to her “comeback” with 1968′s Tell Mama recorded in the equally legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals to all her other “comebacks” in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and over the last ten years. It’s amazing listening to her final recordings from last year’s The Dreamer and considering that here was a woman well into her 70s, and still capable of bringing down the house with her voice, style and the emotion expressed in both. Thank you for sharing your talents with us Etta James…we will never forget you.

Etta James Tribute on KPFK’s Melting Pot 01-29-2012: First Hour
Etta James Tribute on KPFK’s Melting Pot 01-29-2012: Second Hour

Etta James Tribute: 01-29-2012

Etta James – The Wallflower (Dance With Me Henry – Etta James Sings (United Superior)
Etta James – Be Mine – The Complete Modern & Kent Recordings (Ace)
Etta James – Market Place – The Complete Modern & Kent Recordings (Ace)
Etta James – Tough Lover – The Complete Modern & Kent Recordings (Ace)
Etta James – Crazy Feeling (Do Something Crazy) – The Complete Modern & Kent Recordings (Ace)
Etta James – W-O-M-A-N – The Complete Modern & Kent Recordings (Ace)

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Etta James – If I Can’t Have You – The Chess Box (Chess)
Etta James – At Last – At Last! (Argo)
Etta James – Stop The Wedding – Etta James Top Ten (Argo)
Etta James – Waiting For Charlie (To Come Home) – The Chess Box (Chess)
Etta James – I Want To Be Loved – Sings For Lovers (Argo)
Etta James – One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) – The Chess Box (Chess)

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Etta James – I Just Want To Make Love To You – The Chess Box (Chess)
Etta James – Next Door To The Blues – 7” (Argo)
Etta James – Something’s Gotta Hold On Me/Baby What You Want Me To Do – Etta James Rocks The House (Chess)
Etta James – (I Don’t Need Nobody To Tell Me) How To Treat My Baby – The Chess Box (Chess)

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Etta James – Tell Mama – Tell Mama (Cadet)
Etta James – I’m Gonna Take What He’s Got – Tell Mama (Cadet)
Etta James – Almost Persuaded – Tell Mama: The Complete Muscle Shoals Sessions (MCA/Chess)
Etta James – I Worship The Ground You Walk On – Tell Mama: The Complete Muscle Shoals Sessions (MCA/Chess)
Etta James – I’ve Gone Too Far – Tell Mama: The Complete Muscle Shoals Sessions (MCA/Chess)

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Etta James & Sugar Pie Desanto – In The Basement Pt. 1 – 7” (Cadet)
Etta James – Sweet Memories – Etta James Sings Funk (Cadet)
Etta James – I Never Meant To Love Him – The Essential Etta James (Chess)
Etta James – Deep In The Night – Deep In The Night (WB)
Etta James – Damn Your Eyes – Seven Year Itch (Island)

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Etta James – Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be) – Mystery Lady: The Songs Of Billie Holiday (Private Music)
Etta James – Body & Soul – Mystery Lady: The Songs Of Billie Holiday (Private Music)
Etta James – The Sky Is Crying – Blues To The Bone (RCA)
Etta James – Cigarettes & Coffee – The Dreamer (Verve Forecast)

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Etta James – I’d Rather Go Blind – Tell Mama (Cadet)

For some strange reason, I’ve been holding off on posts this week unable to get anything together. I’m not saying I’m psychic or anything, but when news first hit early in the week that Jimmy Castor had passed away, there was some feeling that more bad news was coming. Boy was that feeling right, with the additional passings of Johnny Otis and Etta James! Unbelievably three legendary soul artists have left us all in the same week. Over the next couple of weeks on the radio show I’ll be paying tribute to each, with short tributes to Castor and Otis this week and a longer tribute to Etta James on next week’s show. For now, I just wanted to say a few words about my favorite tracks from each artist.

Jimmy Castor Bunch – It’s Just Begun

Jimmy Castor had more popular songs, and he had songs that were more sampled in Hip-Hop, but none of them possibly tops “It’s Just Begun,” a song that if you were to survey “real” B-boys and B-girls the world over, would likely top their list of the best songs to break dance to. I can’t break to save my life (I think all the years of listening to free jazz ruined my ability to consistently “uprock” on beat) but “It’s Just Begun” makes me want more than any other classic B-boy song. The rhythm is so hard, the horns so dirty, the guitar so fuzzy, it just kills all competition for the quintessential B-boy jam. The lyrics also make it anthemic, not only for B-boy/B-girl culture but for Hip-Hop more generally, which literally was just beginning around the time this record was released, and remains a multi-ethnic poly-synthetic hybrid culture that has the potential to break down barriers, like the music of Jimmy Castor.

Johnny Otis Show – Country Girl

My best memories of Johnny Otis are listening to his radio show when it was broadcast in the Bay Area on KPFK’s big sister station KPFA. There’d always be a couple of family members and friends with Johnny in the studio and they’d just basically shoot the breeze for two hours, reminiscing and playing classic R&B. It’s the kind of radio that you almost never hear anymore, endearing beyond belief, silly and funny quite often, but informative and swinging when it came to the music. Johnny Otis had a hand in so many classic and funky tracks, that it’s daunting picking a particular fave. “Country Girl” is the song that I keep coming back to from Johnny Otis. Despite the well-traveled, “Tramp” rhythm the song is based on, Otis brings something new to what he’s borrowing, injecting charm into the back and forth about the merits of this “girl” with singer Delmar Evans (including the gem closer, “it must be jelly, jam don’t shake like that”). But it’s the chorus that slays me every time. First there’s that strong soulful shout, “she’s so fine” and then smoothed out and playful “great big ole healthy country girl.” Even that chorus sounds slightly drunk, just like the rest of the song. Guaranteed to put a smile on your face no matter your mood.

Etta James – I’d Rather Go Blind

Irma Thomas maybe the ruler of my heart when it comes to soul singers, but Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind” is quite possibly the best deep soul song of all time. “At Last” is the song that everyone knows from Etta, but in a number of ways that song is an anomaly. Almost too perfect. “I’d Rather Go Blind” is not a perfect song. It’s not a song that likely gets requested at weddings, it’s a song that is about a woman who is unwilling to give up the man she loves, even though she knows the affair is over. The rawness of emotion which James pours into the song is a rare thing of beauty. It encompasses all of her strengths as a soul singer, it’s a gritty, soulful, painful, desperate performance and it’s the #1 song that I’ll always remember her by.

Still a little in disbelief that I actually played the Game of Thrones parody song “Damn It Feels Good To Be A Lannister” to start the show, but what can I say, I love that show and was really pulling for Tyrion Lannister aka Peter Dinklage to win an Emmy for the role, and lo and behold he won! So, looks like the song is correct. The rest of the first hour features a lot of new music, brand new Wild Flag (featuring Mary Timony from Helium and Carrie & Janet from Sleater Kinney), Atlas Sound, Robin Hannibal of Quadron, AM & Shawn Lee, Staff Benda Bilili, and a few other choice cuts before we paid tribute to Wardell Quezergue in the whole second hour. This was actually one of the most difficult tributes I’ve done, just because Qeuzergue was involved with so many records, sometimes listed under his full name, sometimes as DC Wardell, The Big Q and several other aliases. Also, since a lot of his work was arranging it didn’t always turn up on the printed labels, but I think I was able to choose the 20+ best tracks from his catalog, including some of the biggest songs he was associated with “Mr. Big Stuff,” “Groove Me” and “Misty Blue” plus some truly dynamite soul numbers that most people don’t know about, like personal favorites from Smokey Johnson, Robert Parker and Gus “The Groove” Lewis. Quezergue tribute begins right at the beginning of the second hour, enjoy the tunes and say a prayer from “the Teacher”…

Melting Pot on KPFK #56: First Hour
Melting Pot on KPFK #56: Second Hour

Playlist: 9-18-2011

{opening theme} Booker T & the MGs – Melting Pot – 7” (Stax)

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Connor Shields & Teague Case – Damn It Feels Good To Be A Lannister – Single (Youtube)
Corinithian Singers – Why? (It’s A Shame) – Boddie Recording Co. (Numero)
Hawthorne Headhunters – Teleport – Myriad Of Now (Plug Research)
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou – Egni Miton? Nin Mi Na Wa Gbin – The 1st Album / Funky Rob Way (Analog Africa)

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Googoosh – Pishkesh – Googoosh (Finders Keepers)
AM & Shawn Lee – City Boy – Celestial Electric (ESL)
Robin Hannibal – Transit – Bobby EP (Plug research)
Atlas Sound – Te Amo – Parallax (4ad)
Astrobal – Message from Kobe8 – Poetry & Science Fiction (Plug Research)

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Wild Flag – Endless Talk – Wild Flag (Merge)
Sebadoh – Junk Bonds – Smash Your Head On The Punk Rock (Sub Pop)
Staff Benda Bilili – Avramandole – Tres Tres Fort (Crammed Discs)
Ajit Singh feat. Asha Bhosle – Main Akeli Raat Jawan – Sitar Beat Vol. 2 (Guerilla Reissues)
Superstar Quamallah & Deqawn – Manhattan Reflections – Talkin’ All That Jazz (Brick)
Wardell & the Sultans – Dance Time – 7” (Imperial)

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Royal Dukes of Rhythm – The Flirt – Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye: The Frisco Records Story (Ace)

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Royal Dukes of Rhythm – My Heavy Load – Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye: The Frisco Records Story (Ace)
Wardell & the Sultans – I’m Broke – 7” (Imperial)
Earl King – Trick Bag – 7” (Imperial)
The Dixie Cups – Iko Iko – Iko Iko (Red Bird)
Professor Longhair – Big Chief Pt. 1 – 7” (Watch)
Gentleman June Gardner – Hot Seat – Bustin’ Out (Emarcy)

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Jean Knight – Mr. Big Stuff – Mr. Big Stuff (Stax)
Robert Parker – Let’s Go Baby (Where The Action Is) – 7” (NOLA)
Smokey Johnson – I Can’t Help It – 7” (NOLA)
Bonnie & Sheila – You Keep Me Hanging On – 7” (King)
The Unemployed – They Won’t Let Me – 7” (Cotillion)
The Gaturs – Yeah You’re Right, You Know You’re Right – 7” (Gatur)

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Ruben Bell – Superjock – 7” (Alarm)
Irma Thomas – She’s Taken My Part – 7” (Cotillion)
Gus Lewis – Let The Groove Move You – 7” (Tou-sea)
Robert Parker – Get Ta Steppin’ – 7” (Island)
Jean Knight – Do Me – 7” (Stax)
Gentleman June Gardner – It’s Gonna Rain – 7” (Emarcy)

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King Floyd – Groove Me – 7” (Chimneyville)
Dorothy Moore – Misty Blue – Misty Blue (Malaco)
Charles “Soul” Brown – Standing On The Outside – 7” (NOLA)
The Magnificent Four – You’ve Got Me – Strung Out: The Malaco Sessions (Grapevine)

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{closing theme} Smokey Johnson – It Ain’t My Fault Pt. 1 – 7” (NOLA)

foto © Jacob Blikenstaff

An under-rated though very appreciated (for those who know) legend passed away recently, Wardell Quezergue, one of several architects of the New Orleans soul sound, passed at 81. I’m in the process of planning a big tribute set for the Sept. 18th show when Melting Pot returns to the KPFK airwaves, but for the time being here’s 5 of my favorite Quezergue related songs, a couple of which I only had the faintest hint he was involved in until recently.

Smokey Johnson – I Can’t Help It

This isn’t just one of my favorite Quezergue related productions, it’s one of my single favorite soul instrumentals of ALL-TIME!!! There’s probably not a single song that I love to finger snap and soul clap on the beat to than this one with those the drum patterns and that rhythm…lord that rhythm! Just pure magic to dance to.

Robert Parker – Barefootin’

One of the breeziest NOLA soul songs, the first big hit on Quezergue’s NOLA label. I’m more partial to the flipside “Where The Action Is” but y’all already know that and it’s real hard to deny what a joy it is dance to this gem.

Dorothy Moore – Misty Blue

I’ve heard this song literally hundreds of times, it’s one of my faves and one of my wife’s all-time favorites, but I only just realized that the gorgeous arrangement that, along with Moore’s great vocals, lifts this one into legendary status was arrainged by none of other than Mr. Q.

King Floyd – Groove Me

It’s UNBELIEVABLE to me that ANYONE would hear this song and think, “Yeah, we’re gonna pass…” but that’s exactly what Atlantic Records did on this single, so Quezergue and gang put it out on their record label Chimneyville and it promptly became a big-time hit and later on Atlantic came crawling back. This one is from a pretty legendary session at Malaco studios in Alabama that also yielded Jean Knight’s “Mr. Big Stuff” maybe the biggest song Quezergue ever had a hand in. “Groove Me” is another all-time favorite of my, just a total smile inducing soul song with some of the best sentiments around love you’ll find in an upbeat mover of a song.

Smokey Johnson – It Ain’t My Fault

Another Smokey Johnson instrumental, with it’s opening drum lines, it just screams second line, the piano melody is a New Orleans staple, and one that’s been sampled a few times which Quezergue only recently got a settlement around. So much soul…Thank you Teacher!

Word hit today that Amy Winehouse passed away at the age of 27. It should come as a shock when someone this young and talented passes away, but with a young woman as troubled and self-destructive as Winehouse, it seems like we’ve been waiting for this news for several years. Even with the self-parody she had become post “Rehab,” it’s very hard to deny that on her two proper LPs Winehouse had considerable talent, as a singer and even more so as a songwriter. It is a shame that such talent has gone to waste, but we do still have her music. Here are five of my faves…may you finally find some peace Amy Winehouse.

Amy Winehouse – Valerie

In truth I still prefer the Zutons original version, but like many great singers, Amy took this one over brought out new elements and made it all her own.

Amy Winehouse – You Know I’m No Good

“Rehab” was the hit, but this was the one that sealed the deal for me, a tale of a bad girl gone badder, pitch perfect phrasing and out of sight writing. She told us she was trouble, we should have known from the start how this whole affair would end…

Amy Winehouse – Me and Mr. Jones

Along with “Fuck Me Pumps” I think this is one of my favorite “raw” Amy songs, pure brilliance on the “What kind of fuckery is this,” line, just pure brilliance.

Amy Winehouse – Stronger Than Me

Right now at her passing, I wish that someone close to her could have been stronger for her…such a shame. We only had a hint of the talent when her debut Frank was released, now we’ll never know what should could have achieved.

Amy Winehouse – Love Is A Losing Game

When my wife told me the news, this was the first song that came into my mind. More than any other it seems to fit both the reality and the myth of Amy Winehouse. It’s also one of her best vocal performances and the song that will remain most in my mind when I think of Amy Winehouse.

Forever Sky High...Rest In Peace Fonce Mizell

Word spread out earlier this week that Alphonso “Fonce” Mizell had passed away at the far too young age of 68. Fonce Mizell had a hand in some of the most indelible music of the 1960s and 1970s. First as a member of “The Corporation” at Motown, he helped put together several J5 hits, including “I Want You Back,” “The Love You Save” and “ABC.” There are few songs that I know of that have the universal appeal and just raw beautiful joie-de-vivre of those tracks. There are few perfect smile producing pop songs out there, but Mizell had a hand in more than a few.

Later on Fonce got together with his brother Larry and helped to produce some of the most smile inducing music of the 1970s through partnerships with Donald Byrd, Bobbi Humphrey, Johnny Hammond, Gary Bartz and others. The song is so distinct and yet so consistent regardless of the artist’s name attached to the record that, like David Axelrod from 1968-1971, really ALL of these albums should be listed under the Mizell Bros. It’s music that’s brought great joy to my life and countless others, through the originals or the MANY samples that have come out of Mizell Bros. productions. Definitely expect an hour long tribute on Melting Pot come July 24th, but for now I wanted to run down my Top 5 favorite Mizell Bros. productions.

Music Is My Sanctuary

Though it’s out of step with most of Bartz’s discography, I’m not sure there’s a better anthem than this track. Music is a major part of my life and every line in this song fits my experience with music and why, after almost 18 years and rarely getting paid for it, I continue to spend so much time playing, obsessing, listening, thinking about and loving music. “Music Is My Sanctuary” is indeed optimistical and so much more.

Harlem River Drive

Probably the first Mizell Bros. production that really grabbed onto me, mainly because of the way the lyrics, “Harlem River Drive, Going For A Ride,” are sung. Whether it’s the softness in the sound of the voices, the breeziness of the melody or the way “drive” and “ride” are extended and seem to melt away at each turn, it’s sounds like Heaven to me. Even if you can’t ride down Harlem River Drive, this is a perfect song to drive around on afternoons when the living is easy.

Think Twice

Probably the most sampled track, breaks for days for sure, but all together it’s such a fantastic song, from the female/male vocals to the rhythm and all those fantastic changes. Pure brilliance.

Dominoes

As I mentioned in my Side Bar conversation with Oliver Wang of Soul-Sides, I don’t think there’s a better summer song than this classic…if Doctor’s prescribed this song instead of anti-depressants, the world we be a significantly better place.

Lansana’s Priestess

As much as I love the other songs, the number one track from the Mizell Bros. that finds it’s way into my mind the most remains this lead track from the Street Lady. Like so many of the Mizell Bros. productions, it’s that easy and breezy nature in the groove, with the guitar, drums and synth/horn lines as the song opens and then keeps building and building and building. I can still vividly remember the first time I played this song on the radio, at Album 88 in Atlanta, early on in the monthly midnight show I used to do there “Soul Kitchen.” Several of the guys from the Hip-Hop shows were hanging around getting records and practicing routines for the weekend mix show “The Bomb.” One of them was JayCee who popped his head in and thanked me for playing this track saying how much it reminded him of growing up and having his folks playing this record at his home. To me that’s what this music evokes everytime I hear it, this beautiful and serene memory and I’m so thankful for the Mizell Bros. for producing it…Rest in peace Fonce Mizell.

I’ve been wanting to write more on Gil’s music this whole week, but haven’t found the right ways to do it. I could have probably come up with 20 “Top 5’s” connected to Gil, “Deepest Cuts,” “Best Sampled,” “Top Lyrics,” etc. I choose this list, because it was a trend that I noticed when I was putting together the tribute, even though I wasn’t able to include all of these tracks. Though Gil wrote about a lot of subjects, it seemed to have a particular affinity for songs that dealt with cities. The songs weren’t simple odes to a particular place, they instead served as vehicles for Gil to comment on current affairs as well as his own life. With that in mind here are 5 of these “City Songs” from Gil Scott-Heron.

“New York is Killing Me”

In some ways this song is more than a song. Now that Gil has passed, it seems prophetic, especially understanding the pitfalls that plagued the man’s life. Lyrically it’s also a double reference to earlier songs, “Back Home” and “New York City.” In “Back Home,” Gil is reminiscing about his time spent in Jackson, Tennessee, where his people come from (and incidentially very close to the West Tennessee area my people come from, with both of my parents getting their degrees from Lane College in Jackson) but in that song’s second verse it seems that he’s found a level of comfort away from Jackson. “New York City,” seems to back up that idea where Gil embraces his “second” home. Here though, Gil, a year before his death, seems to understand that “big city livin’” has been his undoing and longs to return to Jackson. So we have one song, about two cities and the contrast of life presented by these two moments in the history of the man.

“Angola, Louisiana”

As is the case with the other tracks on this list, most of Gil’s “City Songs,” were ways of focusing our attention on a particular political issue located in a specific corner of the world. “Angola, Louisiana”’s focus is on the Gary Tyler case. Tyler was accused and convicted of shooting a white teenager in 1975 during what I think can be best described as racial riot created by the desegregation of a local high school. At the time Tyler was 16, and one of the black students integrating the school. On the day of the shooting a crowd of upwards of 200 whites, including David Duke, still in the KKK at the time, descended on the school bus that included the black students, in the chaos that ensued a 13-year old white student was shot and killed and Tyler was arrested and beaten into a confession. Despite an US Appeals Court ruling that the trial was “fundamentally unfair,” Tyler remains in prison 35 years later. Gil attempted to shine the light on Tyler’s ordeal, hopefully people will find renewed interested in this case and continue to push for Tyler to get the trial he deserved back in 1975.

“Washington D.C.”

Here Gil takes on the explicit irony of Washington D.C., the capital of our fair land, where the most powerful people do their work, often secretly, and also home to some of the poorest living conditions in the U.S. Gil’s song reminds me how exceedingly rare it is to hear ANY news related to Washington, D.C. that isn’t connected to the politicians, as if no people actually live there at all. It’s only on rare occasions, like last year during Glenn Beck’s rally where people were warned about specific non-tourist areas of D.C., that also happened to be where all the black people live, that we ever hear anything about the incredible polarization there. Thank goodness for Gil and lines like, “Citizens of poverty are barely out of sight, Overlords escape in the evening with the people of the night…” This video reminds me that I need to track down a copy of “Black Wax,” cause seeing Gil walking around D.C. with a Boombox is just about the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

“We Almost Lost Detroit”

I think this track ranks up there with Gil’s most misunderstood or misused lyrics (Along with “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” which people take too literally, instead of considering Gil’s critique of consumer culture and “Peace Go With You Brother” which after you get through the spoken intro is a very critical look at blackness, success and responsibility). When I initially heard this back in the day, I focused on the chorus more than the lyrics and took the song as being related to the riots or just the problems that seemed to always befall Detroit. The title is very specific as is the song. It relates to the partial meltdown of a nuclear reactor in 1966, the subject of a book of the same name from John Fuller. It stands as one of the best “No Nukes” songs and something that we are painfully reminded of its relevance after the Japanese tsunami and the Fukushima reactor meltdown.

“Johannesburg”

Closing out this list is “Johannesburg,” which as I mentioned on the tribute was probably the first time I heard Gil’s voice, even if it was in a sample for Stetsasonic’s “A.F.R.I.C.A.” “Johannesburg,” is for me one of Gil’s greatest songs. Lyrically it’s very focused an simple, and sounds like it could have been born out of a conversation. Recorded a full year before the Soweto uprising and massacre, Gil is interested in a part of the world that most people in the US wouldn’t have been concerned with. The points he raises about “unreliable” media information remain true to this day, especially around the various uprisings occurring throughout the world currently. Like Gil, “I hate it when the blood starts flowing, but I’m glad to see resistance growing…” This song also contains a couple of my favorite lines from Gil, lines that I think shaped my own curiousity of the world and my persistence on solidarity with people fighting for their freedom, “I know that their strugglin’ over there, it ain’t gonna free me,” “But we all got to be strugglin’ if we want to be free, don’t you want to be free?” Yes I do, and I thank you Gil for inspiring us all to work towards freedom for all.

Gil Scott-Heron is an artist that since encountering his music fully in the mid-1990s I’ve had a deep connection and identification with. As a youth I’d heard Gil without knowing it was Gil in several Hip-Hop tracks, including Stetsasonic’s “A.F.R.I.C.A.” and Boogie Down Productions, “Why Is That?” Gil’s influence on musicians and artists of a variety of genres since the 1970s is difficult in some ways to fully measure or grasp. His style is one that isn’t really easy to copy. His sound is one that isn’t easily confined to a genre. But Gil’s music, his very particular way of singing, his remarkably consistent songwriting ability and socially conscious lyrics and his very deep soulfulness has certainly been a major influence and inspiration for many including me as a DJ, teacher and human being. He will be sorely missed, but never forgotten. Peace be with you Brother Gil…

Gil Scott-Heron Tribute on KPFK’s Melting Pot 05-29-2011: First Hour
Gil Scott-Heron Tribute on KPFK’s Melting Pot 05-29-2011: Second Hour

Gil Scott-Heron Tribute: 05-29-2011

Gil Scott-Heron – Offering – The First Minute Of A New Day (Arista)
Gil Scott-Heron – It’s Your World – It’s Your World (Arista)
Gil Scott-Heron – The Bottle – Winter In America (Strata East)
Gil Scott-Heron – The Summer Of ’42 – From South Africa To South Carolina (Arista)

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Gil Scott-Heron – The Revolution Will Not Be Televised – Pieces Of A Man (Flying Dutchman)
Gil Scott-Heron – Guerrilla – The First Minute Of A New Day (Arista)
Gil Scott-Heron – Johannesburg – From South Africa To South Carolina (Arista)
Gil Scott-Heron – The World – Moving Target (Arista)

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Gil Scott-Heron – Liberation – The First Minute Of A New Day (Arista)
Gil Scott-Heron – Home Is Where Is The Hatred Is – Pieces Of A Man (Flying Dutchman)
Gil Scott-Heron – Ain’t No New Thing – Free Will (Flying Dutchman)
Gil Scott-Heron – Ain’t No Such Thing As Superman – The First Minute Of A New Day (Arista)

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Gil Scott-Heron – I’m New Here – I’m New Here (XL)
Gil Scott-Heron – Back Home – Winter In America (Strata East)
Gil Scott-Heron – Must Be Something – It’s Your World (Arista)
Gil Scott-Heron – Angola, Louisiana – Secrets (Arista)

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Gil Scott-Heron – Pieces Of A Man – Pieces Of A Man (Flying Dutchman)
Gil Scott-Heron – Your Daddy Loves You – Winter In America (Strata East)
Gil Scott-Heron – Free Will – Free Will (Flying Dutchman)
Gil Scott-Heron – Lady Day and John Coltrane – Pieces Of A Man (Flying Dutchman)

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Gil Scott-Heron – We Almost Lost Detroit – Bridges (Arista)
Gil Scott-Heron – Winter In America – The First Minute Of A New Day (Arista)
Gil Scott-Heron – Peace Go With Your Brother – Winter In America (Strata East)

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Gil Scott-Heron – Alluswe – The First Minute Of A New Day (Arista)

Not the way I wanted to return to the blog after a hiatus, but word hit last night that legendary poet/soul man Gil Scott-Heron passed away at 62. I regret deeply never getting a chance to see him perform. I’d really hoped I finally would after his return to music making last year, but now that will never be. I’ve shelved the Anniversary show I’d planned for tomorrow and instead will have a two hour tribute to Gil Scott-Heron on Tomorrow’s Melting Pot on KPFK. I’ll make sure the show is archived here for those of you who miss it or want to remember all the fantastic music this man left behind for us. Peace Go With You Brother Gil…

foto © Richard McCaffrey, Michael Ochs Archive & Getty Images

This past Sunday we paid tribute to Don Van Vliet aka Captain Beefheart on Melting Pot, just a day after what would have been his 70th Birthday. As I’ve mentioned multiple times here in the last month, Beefheart was a major influence for me, and a major influence on many artists who I admire and enjoy, especially Tom Waits and The Minutemen. Having done a similar show 15+ years ago, I was mindful not to repeat the past (though I had played what remain my most favorite songs during that show, I did change about an hour of material and mixed the songs up even more), but I did make the same decision to not do this tribute chronologically. What I think this style of mix reveals is the remarkable consistency of both ideas and quality in Beefheart’s music. There are very few artists who recorded during this same period of time (1966-1982), where you’d be able to put music from the winter of their career paired with music from their spring and find that things mix as seamlessly as much of this music ultimately did. What I also found, and this may be a matter of personal taste in terms of the songs I chose, is how Beefheart’s music remained centered in the blues, even when he completely deconstructed the form. If Beefheart had just been a blues revivalist, ala Canned Heat, he likely would have had a much more financially successful career, but thankfully he was interested in pushing boundaries, even in his attempts at commerciality on The Spotlight Kid (1972), Clear Spot (1972), Unconditionally Guaranteed (1974) and Bluejeans & Moonbeams (1974).

As I mentioned at the end of the show, a special note truly has to be made about the role of Beefheart’s translators in his various “Magic” bands, John French, Bill Harkleroad, Mark Boston, Gary Lucas and others, who were directly responsible for taking Beefheart’s ideas on how the music should sound and shaping them into reality. The Captain was certainly a genius, but like every other musical/artistic genius he didn’t create alone in a vacuum. Their debt to this music is often unrecognized, so I definitely wanted to acknowledge them in this tribute. I got a number of calls during the show thanking me for it and sharing Captain Beefheart stories, I’d love for that to continue here in the comments section. Two hours isn’t nearly enough time to fully honor the Captain’s memory, but I’m very grateful to have been able to do this show and hope you enjoy it.

Captain Beefheart Tribute on KPFK’s Melting Pot 1-16-2011: First Hour
Captain Beefheart Tribute on KPFK’s Melting Pot 1-16-2011: Second Hour

Captain Beefheart Tribute: 1-16-2011

{all tracks feature Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band, except “Willie The Pimp” which is from the Frank Zappa album Hot Rats}

I’m Gonna Booglarize You Baby – The Spotlight Kid (Reprise)
Sure ‘Nuff ‘N Yes I Do – Safe As Milk (Buddah)
On Tomorrow/Beatle Bones N’ Smokin’ Stones – Strictly Personal (Blue Thumb)
The Past Sure Is Tense – Ice Cream For Crow (Virgin)
The Smithsonian Institute Bleus (Or The Big Dig) – Lick My Decals Off, Baby (Straight)
Dirty Blue Gene – Safe As Milk (Bonus Cuts) (Buddah)

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Ant Man Bee – Trout Mask Replica (Straight)
Ashtray Heart – Doc At The Radar Station (Virgin)
Here I Am, I Always Am – The Legendary A&M Sessions (Edsel)
Click Clack – The Spotlight Kid (Reprise)
Owed T’ Alex – Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) (Warner Bros.)
Veteran’s Day Poppy – Trout Mask Replica (Straight)

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Willie the Pimp – Hot Rats {Frank Zappa} (Bizarre)
Electricity – Safe As Milk (Buddah)
Excerpt from Fallin’ Ditch – Trout Mask Replica (Straight)
I Love You, You Big Dummy – Lick My Decals Off, Baby (Straight)
Ella Guru – Trout Mask Replica (Straight)
The Floppy Boot Stomp – Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) (Warner Bros.)
Captains Holiday – Bluejeans & Moonbeams (Mercury)

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The Party Of Special Things To Do – Bluejeans & Moonbeams (Mercury)
Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles – Clear Spot (Reprise)
Full Moon, Hot Sun – Unconditionally Guaranteed (Mercury)
Sugar ‘N’ Spikes – Trout Mask Replica (Straight)
Tropical Hot Dog Night – Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) (Warner Bros.)
Excerpt from Pena – Trout Mask Replica (Straight)
Nowadays A Woman’s Gotta Hit A Man – Clear Spot (Reprise)
One Rose That I Mean – Lick My Decals Off, Baby (Straight)

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My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains – Clear Spot (Reprise)
I’m Glad – Safe As Milk (Buddah)
Grow Fins – The Spotlight Kid (Reprise)
Gimme Dat Harp Boy – Strictly Personal (Blue Thumb)
The Buggy Boogie Woogie – Lick My Decals Off, Baby (Straight)
Hair Pie: Bake 2 – Trout Mask Replica (Straight)

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Moonlight On Vermont – Trout Mask Replica (Straight)
Frying Pan – The Legendary A&M Sessions (Edsel)
Ice Cream For Crow – Ice Cream For Crow (Virgin)
Dirty Blue Gene – Doc At The Radar Station (Virgin)
Lick My Decals Off, Baby – Lick My Decals Off, Baby (Straight)

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{closing theme} Semi-Multicoloured Caucasian – Ice Cream For Crow (Virgin)

{Update 1/24/2011: Below is a tribute mix that I broadcast on the 1/23/11 edition of Melting Pot, just my 10 favorite songs from Broadcast and Trish Keenan…I hope we’ll hear more music from the sessions already recorded, but if not, I’m sure thankful for time spent listening to this music}

Trish Keenan Tribute Mix: Melting Pot’s Top 10 Broadcast Tracks

The extraordinarily tragic news hit today that Trish Keenan of Broadcast passed earlier this morning from H1N1 related pneumonia contracted during the band’s tour of Australia. Keenan was a founding member and integral part of the UK group Broadcast, one of my favorite groups of the last 10 years. I first heard their music while I was at KALX in 2000 and was drawn immediately to their mix of 60s psychedelic, electronic experimentation and girl group harmony with Trish’s ethereal vocals at the fore. With each successive release they seemed to become more and more experimental in their approach to sound. I was supposed to have played a track from Broadcast in my most recent show on KPFK, in hopes that a new album would finally be released in 2011 (Broadcast hasn’t released a proper LP since 2005′s Tender Buttons, though 2009′s Broadcast and the Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age, should certainly count, it is like several other releases in this interim period, a collaboration). From interviews I’d heard before this fateful tour to Australia it does seem that they’ve been recording, but likely had not finished the new record. I sincerely hope there is more music to be heard, now that we’ve lost this unique voice.

There are a number of videos and performances of Broadcast to be found on the internet, but I’ve chosen an exceptional performance recorded at KCRW back in 2006:

I think one of the many things I appreciated about Captain Beefheart was the way he had with words. Here are my favorite lyrics from the Good Captain, sometimes insightful, sometimes playful, sometimes just plain silly, but always absolutely original.

“Ashtray Heart” from Doc At The Radar Station (1980)

“You used me like an ashtray heart,
Right from the start…a case of the punks,”
Another day, another way,
Somebody’s had too much to think,
Open up another case of the punks!”

“Dirty Blue Gene” from Doc At The Radar Station (1980)

“She’s not bad, she’s just ge-net-i-ca-lly mean,
Don’t you wish you’d never met her?”

“Grow Fins” from The Spotlight Kid (1974)

“I’m gonna grow fins,
And go back in the water again,
If you don’t leave me alone,
Imma take up with a mermaid and leave you landlubbin’ women alone…”

“Nowadays A Woman’s Gotta Hit A Man” from Clear Spot (1972)

“Nowadays a woman has to haul off and hit a man to make him know she’s there,
Other night a woman came up and hit me like I wasn’t even there,
Yeah, um, dawned on me man,
That a man been doin’ a woman unfair”

“Click Clack” from the Spotlight Kid (1972)

“We’ll I had this girl, threatened to leave me all the time,
Threatened to go down now,
Go down to New Orleans, get herself lost and found”

{Finally tracked down the original cassette that I recorded this show on, so the sound is a bit more improved (at least for a 15+ year old cassette) and no more of those annoying clicks. I’ll be doing a new 2 hour tribute to Captain Beefheart this Sunday on KPFK’s Melting Pot from 4-6pm}

Just heard some news that deeply saddens my heart, Don Van Vliet, better known as Captain Beefheart passed away today at the age of 69. Captain Beefheart was and remains one of my favorite artists of all time, a man of tremendous talent and creativity. I’d always hoped that somehow someway I’d get a chance to interview the Good Captain, even though he’d been so far removed from the music industry and making music over the last 15-20 years. He certainly left quite a legacy. It especially pains me that because of the fundraiser on KPFK I won’t be able to pay him proper tribute on my radio show, perhaps I’ll do 2 hours on him on the 26th, instead of the vinyl show I’d planned on doing.

I was able to dig up a 2 hour show of Captain Beefheart’s music I did in the mid or late 1990s (I’m thinking 1996 or 1997) when I lived in Atlanta on WRAS 88.5, Album 88. If I can find the cassette copy of this, I’ll replace this version (which has frequent computer clicks, since this was one of the first things I ever transferred into a digital format, 7 or 8 years ago) with slightly better audio, but this will have to do for now as a tribute to one of the most original musicians I’ve ever heard.

Captain Beefheart Freeform on WRAS Album 88 9-26-1996: First Hour
Captain Beefheart Freeform on WRAS Album 88 9-26-1996: Second Hour

The Cool Ruler...Gregory Isaacs. May you rest in peace...

Just yesterday I found out that legendary singer Gregory Isaacs passed away due to complications with lung cancer. For longer than I can remember I’ve had a love affair with the music of Jamaica. Beginning with Bob Marley and moving through Roots to Dance Hall to Ska and Rock Steady and all points in between and back again over the years. Of all the artists from JA that I’ve loved, I’m not sure there’s a better singer than Gregory Isaacs. In truth, I’d rank Isaacs up there in a list of great soul singers of any genre and any locale. For me what separated Isaacs from the others was the intense intimacy of his phrasing and his voice. Like other great singers, it didn’t matter how many times you’d heard a song before Isaacs sang it, when he sang the song, it was his. Below are a few of my favorite performances from the legendary Cool Ruler, whose voice will continue to make the lover’s rock…

{honorable mention…or maybe 5 1/2} “Let’s Dance”

For me this is the quintessential “lover’s rock” jam, built for late nights with your one and only. It features some very rare admissions of tenderness from a man as Isaacs sings “As we embrace and your heart gets close to mine, I get so excited I could cry.”

5. “Storm”

One of my favorite King Tubby riddims pared with Mr. Isaacs equals nothing but pure gold to the ears and the call to remember, “whenever there is a storm, I know there’s got to be a calm.”

4. “One More Time”

From what remains my single favorite Reggae album of all time, 1978′s Cool Ruler, is this upbeat roots rocker where Isaacs begs for his woman to “cool down” and give him “one more chance.” How could anyone resist the Cool Ruler?

3. “My Number One”

Certainly one of his greatest sides, as he attempts test his lover and determine her “future plans” to see if her love is truly true.

2. “Native Woman”

Also from 1978′s Cool Ruler, this one might be the best, most honest and deepest expression of love I’ve heard in a reggae track. I love how this “Native Woman” does not seem to be perfect, as Isaac’s says “she brings me joy into the morning, sometimes.” but its this woman who occupies his mind so totally that “her voice awakes [him] sometimes out of [his] sleep.”

1. “Willow Tree”

I don’t think “Willow Tree” is really considered one of his great sides, Isaacs fans would probably be shocked that “Night Nurse” isn’t even on this list, but “Willow Tree” remains my favorite track from Isaacs because of the deep feeling of intimacy he expresses through his phrasing. When he sings to the Willow tree, “cry not for me, my willow tree,” you can almost picture Isaacs caressing the face (if trees had faces) of the Weeping Willow, pleading with it to stop its tears, because Isaacs has found all that he’s ever been looking for in the love of his life, a “love I’ve searched for.” When Isaacs sings those lines he sounds as if he himself is on the verge of tears, which is exactly what I’m almost brought to everytime I hear it because of range of emotion brought out by Mr. Isaacs, a talent that this world is going to miss dearly.