Dance time for a Friday Night
I can’t help it.
Artist: KC and the Sunshine Band
Tune: Get Down Tonight
Entries Tagged as 'Music'
Chris Botti and a mini-news Roundup
I’m still looking over the president’s numbers. I thought his speech was excellent. I think he struck the right tone. Now, no matter what he actually said last night, he has to take his speech and sell it to the American people. This is the key.
Authorities are still scrambling over the suspected bomb plot. The targets are, supposedly, New York and/or Washington.
That was very ugly football last night. Beautiful offense. No sign of defense.
Representative Tom Price is simply trying to get attention. These days, you need to say something outlandish in order to get media attention. Being thoughtful doesn’t get you in front of the camera. Tom Price stated that a payroll tax cut for working families is class warfare. Really? How is that exactly? By the way, his net worth is estimated to be $8.5 million.
Chris Botti became famous when he replaced Branford Marsalis and Sting’s band. This is an absolutely beautiful tune. I’ll have more news for you tomorrow.
Artist: Chris Botti
Tune: When I Fall in Love
Bachman Turner Overdrive
Bachman Turner Overdrive had an extremely unique sound. I really haven’t heard anybody tried to imitate their sound. They were extremely popular in the early to mid-1970s.
Artist: Bachman Turner Overdrive
Tune: Taking Care of Business
Travel Music
A friend of mine wrote this after someone asked him about travel music. He mentioned Curtis Mayfield. They had that look which means I have no idea who you are talking about.
(You can use Rhapsody to access these albums.)
The holy trinity of Old School Soul is Curtis Mayfield, Jerry “Iceman” Butler, and Marvin Gaye. Yes, yes – I know about Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder, James Carr, Percy Sledge, James Brown, etc. I love and admire them all, but there’s just something special about Curtis, Jerry, and Marvin. In the late 1960s, they ruled the airways. They kept me company on Armed Forces Radio during my stint in Nam.
Jerry Butler – (1967) Mr Dream Merchant
Jerry Butler – (1967) Soul Artistry
Jerry Butler – (1968) The Ice Man Cometh
Jerry Butler – (1968) The Soul Goes On
Jerry Butler – (1969) Ice on Ice
Jerry Butler was the original lead singer of The Impressions, and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. He grew up poor, having lived in Chicago’s Cabrini–Green housing complex. Music and the church provided solace from a city that was as segregated as those in the Deep South. He performed in a church choir with Curtis Mayfield and the two were together in a gospel quartet called Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers. Mayfield, a guitar player, became the lone instrumentalist for the six-member Roosters group, which later became The Impressions. Inspired by Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers, the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, and the Pilgrim Travelers. Butler was dubbed the “Iceman” by Philadelphia disc jockey, Georgie Woods, while performing at the Uptown Theater, just down Broad Street from where I work. With Otis Redding, he co-wrote the classic “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” in 1965. Butler’s solo career had a string of hits, including the Top 10 successes “He Will Break Your Heart”, “Find Another Girl”, “I’m A-Telling You” (all written by fellow Impression Curtis Mayfield and featuring Mayfield as harmony vocal), the million selling “Only the Strong Survive,” “Need To Belong” (recorded with the Impressions after he went solo), “Make It Easy On Yourself,” “Let It Be Me” (with Betty Everett), “Brand New Me,” “Ain’t Understanding Mellow” (with Brenda Lee Eager), “Hey, Western Union Man”, and “Never Give You Up.” Butler is currently a Commissioner for Cook County, Illinois, having first been elected in 1985. As a member of this 17-member county board, he chairs the Health and Hospitals Committee, and serves as Vice Chair of the Construction Committee.
Curtis Mayfield – (1970) Curtis
Curtis Mayfield – (1971) Love
Curtis Mayfield – (1971) Roots
Curtis Mayfield – (1972) Superfly
Curtis Mayfield – (1973) Back to the World
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer. Best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, he was a pioneer of funk and of politically conscious African-American music. He was also a multi-instrumentalist who played the guitar, bass, piano, saxophone, and drums. Curtis was a double inductee into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He taught himself how to play guitar, tuning it to the black keys of the piano, thus giving him an open F-sharp tuning—F#, A#, C#, F#, A#, F#—that he used throughout his career. The Impressions reached the height of their popularity in the mid-to-late-’60s with a string of Mayfield compositions that included “Keep on Pushing,” “People Get Ready”, “It’s All Right”, “Talking about My Baby”, “Woman’s Got Soul”, “Choice of Colors,”, “Fool For You,” “This is My Country” and “Check Out Your Mind.” In 1990, Mayfield was paralyzed from the neck down after stage lighting equipment fell on him at an outdoor concert in New York. He died 9 years later of complications from that injury.
Marvin Gaye – (1966) Moods of Marvin Gaye + (1970) That’s The Way Love Is:
Marvin Gaye – (1971) What’s Going On (Deluxe Edition)
Marvin Gaye – (1972) Let’s Get It On
Marvin Gaye – (1972) Trouble Man + (1969) M.P.G.
Marvin Gaye – (1976) I Want You
Marvin Gaye had a four-octave vocal range. Starting as a member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows in the late fifties, he ventured into a solo career after the group disbanded in 1960 signing with the Tamla Records subsidiary of Motown Records. After starting off as a session drummer, Gaye ranked as the label’s top-selling solo artist during the sixties. Because of solo hits such as “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)”, “Ain’t That Peculiar”, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and his duet singles with singers such as Mary Wells and Tammi Terrell, he was crowned “The Prince of Motown” and “The Prince of Soul.” Gaye was shot dead by his father on April 1, 1984. He was posthumously inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and in 2008, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at number 6 on its list of the Greatest Singers of All Time, and ranked at number 18 on 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
Phil Collins – I Don’t Care Anymore
I still don’t understand what the heck S&P is saying. Are they worried about our long term debt? Are they worried about our near term debt? It is simply crazy. If we can get the economy to begin to make jobs, much of the near and medium debt debt will go away. If we let the Bush tax cuts expire, then a huge chunk of our debt disappears. So what is the big deal? These guys are either the dumbest guys in the room or simply criminals. (A couple of great references - S&P funny numbers, S&P have been wrong before, Krugman clears up what some think that he has said before)
Oh and I haven’t mentioned a better than expected jobs report.
This has been one of my favorite protest tunes for a long time. The soaring guitar is screaming throughout the tune. Then you have the drums laying out a marvelous beat. I love this tune.
Artist: Phil Collins
Tune: I don’t care anymore
Miles Davis – So What
Probably one of the most influential jazz musicians, playing one of the influential jazz tunes of all-time.
I originally posted this several years ago. I would like to ask the guys at S&P to kiss a part of my anatomy but that’s not civilized. So, I’ll play a little music and let my blood pressure settle down.
Since S&P was an integral part of the fraud that was the mortgage bubble, I don’t see why the Department of Justice doesn’t take the gloves off. You downgrade us over some stupidness, then I’ll throw your butt in jail over helping to take down the country with willful mis-rating of mortgage securities.
Wednesday Evening News Round Up
click to enlarge
- As I mentioned yesterday, government spending makes up approximately 25% of our GDP. Cutting government spending equals losing jobs. Our unemployment rate is unacceptably high and, instead of creating jobs, Congress has just taking a big step toward losing more jobs. The GOP is killing America.
- Michele Bachmann, in an absolutely brilliant paragraph, starts out by stating that she could not afford to buy a house on her own and needed government assistance. No big deal. Almost everybody has had some sort of government assistance with buying homes over the last 15 or 20 years. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have facilitated tens of millions of loans for average Americans. Then, Michele Bachmann pivoted and talked about how these agencies need to be eliminated. Therefore, as I see it, it appears to be okay for her to use government assistance to buy a house, but it’s not okay for you and me to do the same thing. I wonder if you could give her house back?
- Remember when Republicans like Michele Bachmann were talking about how blacks were better off in slavery because they had both a mother and a father? Remember that? Well, here’s a thoughtful response.
- Can somebody please explain to me why there is a fight over funding the FAA? For some reason, dating back to the Reagan years, the FAA has been a political football. It sure seems to me that if Republicans are serious about closing the deficit (and I don’t think that they are) they wouldn’t let an agency sit idle and let millions of dollars in revenue float off into the ether.
- Why is Senator David Vitter still in the Senate? Wasn’t he in the DC Madam’s phone book? How did he win reelection? I’m still baffled by it. He is blocking a nomination to the Assistant Secretary of the Interior because it has become acceptable for senators to block nominations until their pet projects are funded. This is the kind of garbage that hurts America.
- Speaking of hurting America, there is the NRA. The Obama administration is trying to work to control illegal guns getting into Mexican cartels. This would seem to be a good thing… unless you are the NRA. Then, you’re seriously mad about this affront to civil liberties. It would seem to me that we should do everything in our power to choke off the flow of guns to the Mexican cartels. If the NRA is upset, let them buy the guns and store them in a warehouse somewhere. The bottom line is we have to do whatever we can to stop that violence if it’s being fueled with American guns.
- Please list this under the category of very stupid: Rep. Ron Paul has written a bill that will simply cancel $1.6 trillion in Federal Reserve debt. Yep. that should calm the markets. Let’s simply write off our debt. I’m sure that foreign governments and Wall Street will love that.
- This has been a terribly depressing week from a political standpoint. Because of this, I need to put on something that makes me smile –
Artist: Stevie Wonder
Tune: Do I Do
- The Tea Party explained.
Harry Connick, Jr.: Whisper Your Name
I posted this about three years ago. I really needed something fun to jump start a Friday night that was making me more and more depressed. The knuckleheads in Washington are on my last nerve. There’s a bomb explosion in Norway. And some guy breaks into a summer camp and shoots and kills at least 80. In Norway!! Damn it. A sink hole in Florida is swallowing up buildings. Is that covered by your insurance? (I never really understood sinkholes.) A nurse has been arrested in connection with three deaths. Yep, I need a really fun tune like this.
I have liked Harry Connick, Jr. ever since I first heard him about 15 years ago. Although he is well-known, he hasn’t really had a big hit. This tune, “Whisper Your Name,” did get some air play. The video was filmed in New Orleans, of course. It makes me want to go back and visit.
Chicago – Make me smile
I love the sound of Chicago from the ’70s. The power of their horn section was only equaled by a couple of other groups – Earth, Wind and Fire and Tower of Power come to mind. This recording is a little muddy. I’ll try and find something better.
Artist: Chicago
Tune: Make Me Smile
Boyz II Men
There were very few groups that came out of the late ’80s and early ’90s boy band craze that were as talented as Boyz II Men. I remember getting their CD for MotownPhilly which was a dance tune that sounded much like Bell Biv DiVoe’s Poison. (They were produced by Michael Bivens.) There were two tunes that really blew me away. The first was a very passionate tune called Please Don’t Go. The other tune was Uhh Ahh. This tune is about lust but the sound and harmony are simply outstanding.
Artists: Boyz II Men
Tune: Uhh Ahh
Autumn Leaves
Julian “Cannonball” Adderley was one of the greatest sax players of all-time. It is my opinion that because he played with Miles Davis (on some of Miles’ greatest CD’s like Kind of Blue) and with the really, really great John Coltrane , that he never really got his due. Also, he died young (at the age of 46). This is an absolutely great tune. Enjoy. (Oh, this is a great video. It isn’t live but whoever but this together chose the photos perfectly to go with the music.)
Artist: Cannonball Adderley
Tune: Autumn Leaves
Bill Evans – Waltz for Debbie
Now, this is perfect.
Artist: Bill Evans
Tune: Waltz for Debbie
Stevie Ray Vaughn – Pride and Joy
I just decided not to wait until Friday night to post this great tune. I was listening to it and I think that this is my favorite Stevie Ray Vaughn tune.
Artist: Stevie Ray Vaughn
Tune: Pride and Joy
50th anniversary of Bill Evan’s Live at Village Vanguard
A friend of mine sent out this marvelous e-mail. I have to share it.
Fifty years ago today a miracle occurred. One of the best jazz albums of all times was recorded, Sunday at The Village Vanguard, featuring Bill Evans on piano, Paul Motian on drums (still playing the NY scene), and Scotty LaFaro on bass (killed in a car crash less than two weeks after this recording). This is a desert-island disc and features some of the most telepathic communication between players ever heard in any form of music.
Even people who know nothing about jazz are familiar with Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, which I think of as a Friday night album – the day’s work is done, the room is dark, you’ve got a glass of your favorite wine or scotch, you are quietly sitting with someone you love, and the music communicates for you. Go back and look – you’ll find that Bill Evans wrote the liner notes for that masterpiece, played piano on all except “Freddie Freeloader,” and co-wrote “Blue in Green” and “Flamenco Sketches.”
Sunday at the Village Vanguard is different – it should be subtitled Sunday Morning on Your Front Porch Reading the Paper and Drinking Coffee, or maybe Sunday Morning in Front of a Fireplace Watching the Snow Fall Outside. If anything, it is even more contemplative than the Miles’. It is so still that it demands you stop everything and listen.
Orrin Keepnews recorded and produced the album. Born in 1923, he is still alive and talks about some of his classic recordings on various YouTube sessions, including this one (see video above) on the Vanguard recording, tempting fate by waiting until the last day of a multi-week gig to set up his recording equipment. He was blessed with a miracle. Years later, he was rewarded with a Bill Evans composition, “Re: Person I Knew,” an anagram of his name. [Read more →]
Bootsy
Finally, youtube is being populated with some great funk from the late ’70s. This is perfect for a Friday night. Boosty Collins is one of the greatest bass players of our time. At age 17, he was playing with James Brown. He may not have originated funk, but he was close.
Artist: Bootsy Collins
Tune: Stretchin’ Out
Grab Bag – Saturday morning
- I know I haven’t talked about it. It’s really because I’m extremely nervous that the Dallas Mavericks are going to fumble this opportunity away. During the last 20 years, the Mavericks have had several extremely strong and talented teams. They’ve gone to the playoffs and, for the most part, have played extremely well. Then, they would come up against the Los Angeles Lakers or the San Antonio Spurs and wilt at crunch time. Now, in this NBA playoff run, the Dallas Mavericks have made critical play after critical play during crunch time. They have created turnovers instead of making turnovers. They are one game away from winning the NBA finals. Go Mavericks!
- I don’t understand why politicians just can’t admit when they’re wrong. Sarah Palin was 100% wrong about Paul Revere’s ride and the purpose for it. You can spin it. You can examine it. She was simply wrong. For some reason, there are boxes and boxes of Sarah Palin’s e-mails. Boxes? This is 2011, why won’t they be put on disks? Why is anybody concerned about Sarah Palin’s e-mails?
- Congressman Dana Rohrabacher wants our money back. He believes that Iraq should repay us for invading them. I think he should hold his breath until that happens. Craziness.
- Strenuous exercise may protect the brain against strokes. There are hundreds of benefits of strenuous exercise, which I need to get to, and this is just one of them.
- There’s lots of turmoil and disarray in Yemen.
- Two common substances appear to be linked to cancer. I’m not sure that it’s a surprise to anyone that formaldehyde has been linked to cancer.
- 10 years after the Bush tax cuts (happy anniversary) there’s no evidence that the Bush tax cuts did any of the positive things that the Bush administration claimed. Tax cuts do not pay for themselves.
- The Anthony Wiener saga continues. It appears that he exchanged a series of Twitter messages with a 17-year-old girl. None of the messages appeared to be inappropriate. The problem is, once you open that ugly can of worms the members of the press are all over you.
25 years ago Ferris Bueller’s Day Off debuted. One of the most enjoyable movies that I’ve ever seen. Where are the actors now? If you haven’t seen it, rent it this weekend. If you have, see it again. Pure fun. BTW, I just saw Kung Fu Panda 2. Now that was a ton of fun also. I highly recommend. I took my 7-year-old grandson, but it is fun without the grandson.
Santana – Blues for Salvador
Artist: Carlos Santana
Tune: Blues for Salvador
Michael Franks – Eggplant
Michael Franks was smooth jazz before there was smooth jazz. His album (CD) – The Art of Tea is a classic. It is a must have for any one that loves music and jazz.
Artist: Michael Franks
Tune: Eggplant
The right freaks out over rapper’s invite to WH (Update)
This was very predictable. Some on the right have been trying to paint President Obama with the Black Stereotype brush. Remember Glenn Beck and others have stated that Obama has a deep seeded hatred of white people. There have been several racial cartoons depicting our president as a monkey or worse. So, the fact that Obama invited rapper Common to the White House is another opportunity for the Right to go nuts about rap music… except this rapper delivers a positive message.
From Media Matters:
Tonight, MSNBC’s Cenk Uygur reported on the freak-out by the right-wing media, including Fox News, about the White House’s invitation to rapper Common for a poetry event.
Uygur noted that Fox’s attacks are hypocritical in light of the fact that the network had sung a much different tune about Common roughly half-a-year ago.
“It’s funny how quickly Fox forgets things,” Uygur said. “As Media Matters points out, just in October, Fox interviewed Common, praising him as a ‘very positive’ and ‘conscious rapper.’ ”
The interview between reporter Jason Robinson and Common that was posted on FoxNews.com can be seen here.
Update:
Tower of Power – What is Hip?
Simply a great tune. Sit back and listen.
Artist: Tower of Power with Carlos Santana
Tune: What is hip?
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Errington C. Thompson, MD, is a surgeon, scholar, full-time sports fan and part-time political activist. He is active in a number of community projects and initiatives. Through medicine, he strives to improve the physical health of all he treats...
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