|
|
Post by pippsheadache on Nov 19, 2023 20:11:01 GMT -5
Hoo boy, now you are in my sweet spot. Al Green must have sold a billion records in the 70s. He has to be the biggest-selling soul singer from that time. Even though there is a sameness to his songs, I buy into them. My favorite of his is still his first big hit "I'm So Tired Of Being Alone" but I can listen to any of them -- "Let's Stay Together" or "Look What You've Done To Me" or "You Ought To Be With Me" or "Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy)" and on and on. "Love And Happiness" was not as big of a hit as some of those, but still a great song. Kudos to you for knowing it. I have always loved the high-tenor soul singer, going back to Clyde McPhatter and Smokey Robinson and Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations and possibly my favorite (although commercially not terribly successful) Donnie Elbert. I love the quirky chord changes in Al Green's music and the way he utilizes brass. Smooth as silk. Funny just a few days ago I plunked on YouTube and played that Greatest Hits album you posted from. Al is still alive; I'm never quite sure if he's in his reverend phase or his sweet soul phase. Little Richard used to quite sincerely move back and forth from preaching the gospel to singing about sex. Al Green is from the same small town in Arkansas that blues great Albert King came from. Also former Cubs SS Don Kessinger. Close to Memphis, which is where Green began his recording career on a well-known R&B label called Hi Records. I was watching an episode from the second season of "House" and this song tied up the ending perfectly. Then, I thought, what an underrated song from Al Green, and it still sounds fresh and creates a mood just as it did in the 1970s. And, the lyrics mean something more to me at this age than when I was 12 in 1977. Lastly, I smiled and said to myself, "Pipps is going to eat up this one!" Some people think of BB King, when Albert King is mentioned. That's a huge mistake - I'll take Albert King any day of the week. There is a book by Lee Child in the Jack Reacher series called "Bad Luck and Trouble," and that had to have come from Albert's "Born Under A Bad Sign," from the phrase "hard luck and trouble." In the books, Jack Reacher is a blues aficionado, and he goes out of his way to visit towns and grave yards with history of the likes of Howling Wolf and Blind Blake. Hah, you know my taste for sure. I do love all of the Three Kings -- Albert, BB and Freddie. The only one I ever saw in person was BB -- fortuitously enough, it was at BB King's in NYC -- he gave a great show, 2 1/2 hours without a break. He had his grandson up there helping out on guitar. He loves to play and he loves his audience. I am a shameless BB devotee, but I have nothing but good things to say about either Albert or Freddie. Albert's album with the Stax crew of Booker T and the MGs is a classic. As good as it gets. And Freddie could hang with any of them on guitar -- "Hide Away" is a favorite. Oh man, Howlin' Wolf, now we're getting deep into the roots. "Smokestack Lightning" and "300 Pounds Of Joy" and anything else he made. I will have to search out that Lee Child book. About five years ago my brilliant insane niece took about a month and did a hardcore Mississippi Blues tour, tracking down everything she could find related to BB King and Albert King and Howlin' Wolf and Willie Dixon and Elmore James and Robert Johnson et al. I have her notes and plan to replicate it once I am too old for more foreign travel. Man, Elmore James drives me up the wall with his slide guitar and incredible voice. He should be one of the most famous singers in American history. I'm guessing you know "Dust My Broom" by him. George Harrison worshiped him and even shouted out his name in "For You Blue." Blind Blake also brilliant. Blind Lemon Jefferson. Blind Willie McTell. Any of those blind guys right up through Al Hibbler and Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. And for balance the blind white singer Riley Puckett "When I Grow Too Old To Dream." Damn this is good stuff. Roots music, from Stephen Foster to Louis Moreau Gottschalk (a Louisiana boy with the most fascinating life and amazing music from the nineteenth century) up on through early Armstrong or the Carter Family to Jimmy Rodgers to Leadbelly to Bill Monroe to Hank Williams to those blues masters we mentioned -- they are mostly from the South and just so essential to understanding American music. So glad you appreciate this stuff! But back to the 1970s -- here is Donnie Elbert with the closest thing he ever had to a hit, his cover of The Supremes "Where Did Our Love Go." He has a cult following of which I am a part. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BdbT1rzYyQ |
|
|
|
Post by chiyankee on Nov 25, 2023 12:59:53 GMT -5
This is cool. RIP Taylor Hawkins.
|
|
|
|
Post by rizzuto on Dec 11, 2023 14:15:05 GMT -5
Get It While You Can, my friends...
|
|
|
|
Post by rizzuto on Dec 11, 2023 14:29:14 GMT -5
The roots of rock and roll came from guys like Mississippi Fred McDowell.
|
|
|
|
Post by inger on Dec 11, 2023 14:51:25 GMT -5
The roots of rock and roll came from guys like Mississippi Fred McDowell. I’m hearing a lot of early Rod Stewart as well as The Faces in that instrumental. As in “Cut Across Shorty”, “Miss Judy’s Farm”, “Stay With Me”…even my old favorite, “You’re So Rude”…and more. That basic sound was built upon and endured through “Maggie May” and onward… Renfield |
|
|
|
Post by Renfield on Dec 11, 2023 17:59:59 GMT -5
The roots of rock and roll came from guys like Mississippi Fred McDowell. I’m hearing a lot of early Rod Stewart as well as The Faces in that instrumental. As in “Cut Across Shorty”, “Miss Judy’s Farm”, “Stay With Me”…even my old favorite, “You’re So Rude”…and more. That basic sound was built upon and endured through “Maggie May” and onward… RenfieldSlide on that sounds very Ron Wood-ish like Around the Plynth or That's All You Need. |
|
|
|
Post by inger on Dec 11, 2023 18:14:50 GMT -5
I’m hearing a lot of early Rod Stewart as well as The Faces in that instrumental. As in “Cut Across Shorty”, “Miss Judy’s Farm”, “Stay With Me”…even my old favorite, “You’re So Rude”…and more. That basic sound was built upon and endured through “Maggie May” and onward… RenfieldSlide on that sounds very Ron Wood-ish like Around the Plynth or That's All You Need. Yep. You e hit on it. I related to to Stewart because of his association with Ronnie Wood…He’s so rude that he’s left me on a debris… |
|
|
|
Post by pippsheadache on Dec 11, 2023 19:48:59 GMT -5
Get It While You Can, my friends... I see you've been rooting around in my record collection again Rizz. Howard Tate was a Philly guy and this song got played around here a lot in 1967. He was one of the really great gospel/soul vocalists who never got the kind of recognition he should have. He had another great hit called "Ain't Nobody Home." These songs were written by another Philly guy named Jerry Ragavoy, who had better-known hits like "Time Is On My Side" by the Rolling Stones and "Piece Of My Heart" by Big Brother and the Holding Company aka Janis Joplin. The original vocal of "Time Is On My Side" was by Irma Thomas, "The Soul Queen Of New Orleans" who you might know about. One of my favorite woman soul singers. The original "Piece Of My Heart" was sung by Irma Franklin, older sister of Aretha and a powerful vocalist in her own right. Ragavoy also wrote one of my all-time favorite gospel soul songs, "Cry Baby" done originally by Philly's Garnet Mimms and later covered by Joplin. Anyway, thanks for unexpectedly posting this seldom-heard gem from out of the past. |
|
|
|
Post by pippsheadache on Dec 11, 2023 19:59:32 GMT -5
The roots of rock and roll came from guys like Mississippi Fred McDowell. You're on a roll with the tunes today Rizz. McDowell is definitely one of the great roots blues guys. He was unknown outside of the Mississippi Delta until the famous musicologist Alan Lomax found him and recorded him and brought him to the attention of the record companies when Fred was in his late 50s. Lomax (and his father John) was the same guy who sought out and recorded Robert Johnson, Leadbelly, Muddy Waters and many other giants of the blues. Without his work, the wider world may have never known about these guys. I never heard of Fred McDowell until I was in college and he released a well-received album called "I Do Not Play No Rock And Roll." One of the songs on that album, "You Gotta Move," was covered by the Stones on their album "Sticky Fingers." The Stones really did a lot to educate British and American kids about some of the blues (and country) roots of rock music. Supposedly Fred McDowell tutored a young Bonnie Raitt on playing slide guitar. |
|
|
|
Post by pippsheadache on Dec 11, 2023 20:06:42 GMT -5
The roots of rock and roll came from guys like Mississippi Fred McDowell. I’m hearing a lot of early Rod Stewart as well as The Faces in that instrumental. As in “Cut Across Shorty”, “Miss Judy’s Farm”, “Stay With Me”…even my old favorite, “You’re So Rude”…and more. That basic sound was built upon and endured through “Maggie May” and onward… Renfield Good catch Inger. I do like Stewart's version of "Cut Across Shorty." The original of that song was by the great early rocker Eddie Cochran, best known for "Summertime Blues." "Shorty" was the last song he ever recorded before he was killed in a car accident in England in 1960. Apropos of nothing, Eddie Cochran is buried not very far from Karen Carpenter in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cypress, CA, an eastern suburb of LA. They were always part of my cemetery tours for LA visitors who were so inclined. |
|
|
|
Post by chiyankee on Dec 11, 2023 20:11:18 GMT -5
The roots of rock and roll came from guys like Mississippi Fred McDowell. Led Zeppelin liked Shake 'Em On Down so much that they "borrowed" lines from the song to make up two different Zeppelin tunes. Hat's Off to Roy Harper from the third album and Custard Pie which is the first track on Physical Graffiti. |
|
|
|
Post by pippsheadache on Dec 11, 2023 20:19:19 GMT -5
The roots of rock and roll came from guys like Mississippi Fred McDowell. Led Zeppelin liked Shake 'Em On Down so much that they "borrowed" lines from the song to make up two different Zeppelin tunes. Hat's Off to Roy Harper from the third album and Custard Pie which is the first track on Physical Graffiti. Great stuff Chi. You are our Zep referent for sure. I'm guessing you have some familiarity with Page's previous group The Yardbirds. They were definitely cutting edge for 1965-66 and still hold up well IMO. |
|
|
|
Post by inger on Dec 11, 2023 20:56:57 GMT -5
Led Zeppelin liked Shake 'Em On Down so much that they "borrowed" lines from the song to make up two different Zeppelin tunes. Hat's Off to Roy Harper from the third album and Custard Pie which is the first track on Physical Graffiti. Great stuff Chi. You are our Zep referent for sure. I'm guessing you have some familiarity with Page's previous group The Yardbirds. They were definitely cutting edge for 1965-66 and still hold up well IMO. You made me smile at the memory of my dearly departed brother in law. Upon hearing the birds chirping one morning my little sister (maybe 6-7 at the tome) asked of him what kind of birds they were. Glenn had a quiet, deep voice and a talent for not flinching when he joked and said casually, “Shitbirds.” And walked away with a hint of a twinkle in his eye. Third mate on naval submarines at the time and continued his career for a total of 25 years… |
|
|
|
Post by chiyankee on Dec 11, 2023 21:06:57 GMT -5
Great stuff Chi. You are our Zep referent for sure. I'm guessing you have some familiarity with Page's previous group The Yardbirds. They were definitely cutting edge for 1965-66 and still hold up well IMO. Thanks pipps. Yes, I'm fan of the Yardbirds. It's amazing a band with such a short shelf life could produce three of the greatest guitarist of all time. |
|
|
|
Post by pippsheadache on Dec 11, 2023 21:29:41 GMT -5
Great stuff Chi. You are our Zep referent for sure. I'm guessing you have some familiarity with Page's previous group The Yardbirds. They were definitely cutting edge for 1965-66 and still hold up well IMO. Thanks pipps. Yes, I'm fan of the Yardbirds. It's amazing a band with such a short shelf life could produce three of the greatest guitarist of all time. Yep, everybody knows Clapton, Page and Beck, but only Yardbirds fans know lead vocalist Keith Relf, one of the few rockers I am aware of who died from electrocution. They were ahead of their time, especially with songs like "Over Under Sideways Down" and "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago." A great cover of Howlin Wolf's blues standard "Smokestack Lightning." Their biggest hits "Heartful Of Soul" and "For Your Love" were good too. Early inklings of Zeppelin, which to me sounded revolutionary when they hit the scene. |
|
