MetaFilter posts tagged with RandB

Jerry Wexler

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 01:17:36 -0800

Legendary record man and music producer Jerry Wexler died on August 15, at the age of 91. His keen insight, and his deep love and appreciation for the artists he worked with resulted in an extraordinary enriching of American music. NY Times book review from 1993, of Wexler's autobiography, RHYTHM AND THE BLUES: A Life in American Music. From Rolling Stone, listen to a selection of twenty essential Wexler productions. Unfortunately, these files are available to US ears only, and also, be warned: you might get a supremely annoying audio ad popout. I got one... Here's a selection of tunes that, in one way or another, were brought to you by Jerry Wexler: What'd I Say, Ray Charles (the original Wexler-produced recording) I Got a Woman, Ray Charles (the original Wexler-produced recording) Green Onions, Booker T and the MGs In the Midnight Hour, Wilson Pickett Tipitina, Professor Longhair And from the incomparable Aretha Franklin (all of these live performances are sheer joy): Chain of Fools Chain of Fools Baby I Love You... And that's just a tiny tip of the iceberg. Rest in peace, Jerry Wexler. And props to stupidsexyFlanders, who originally brought Wexler's passing to our attention here.

King Curtis

flapjax at midnite — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:35:22 -0800

So, there was this little rock band from England, and they got pretty famous and all, so famous that they initiated the era of stadium concerts, back in '65, at a little place in Queens called Shea. But there was an opening act that night, led by a sax-blowin' fellow name of King Curtis, and he kicked total muhfukkin ass, and it wasn't even with his baddest band! You can hear them here. Jump Back! Opening their show with a appropriately energetic version of the Ray Charles chestnut What'd I Say, Curtis and his band turned in a fine performance that evening, for the sweaty young throngs packed into Shea Stadium to see the most famous band in the world. Although the audio quality is less than sterling, here is their short set in its entirety (audio only). From the same live TV studio performance as "Memphis Soul Stew" (under the here link of this FPP), here's Ridin' Thumb and Soul Serenade, albeit with weirdly squashed video. But let's go back a few years, to the tune where Curtis first really made his mark: as the saxophonist on the Coaster's infectious Yakety Yak, which, by the way, was the inspirstion for Boots Randolph's famous Yakety Sax. Here's a soulful little number called Foot Pattin'. Video is another one of those that just shows the record spinning. Nice. Like Booker T and the MGs, Curtis and his band recorded instrumental versions of lots of 60s R&B hits, as well as rock numbers made famous by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Procol Harum, etc. Here are three: I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Whole Lotta Love (with absurdly unrelated video here), A Whiter Shade of Pale (Again, what's with the video? Stupid...). And here's Champion Jack Dupree with a slow blues, joined by King Curtis. And look who's there in the front row, at the beginning of the clip: that's Aretha! Which brings us to another point: King Curtis was Aretha's musical director and backing band leader in 1971, the year he was tragically murdered in the hallway of his apartment building on the Upper West Side of New York City. And, finally, hey, let's give the drummer some. The man who put the seriously funky percussive underpinning to much of King Curtis' work: the great Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. While we're talking Kingpins, let's not forget the great guitarist Cornell Dupree, either, eh?

Wine motherfucker, drinkin' wine.

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:46:46 -0800

The best-known version of that joyful ode to getting smashed, Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee, would surely be the Jerry Lee Lewis rendition, and Memphis rockabilly singer Johnny Burnette recorded a hopping little version of the tune as well. But the song was written and originally recorded by Stick (aka "Sticks") McGhee, who adapted it from a chant he learned during his stint in the Army. And yes, "spo-dee-o-dee" was a substitute for another word, which, though fine for the Army, wasn't exactly radio friendly. Stick wrote a few other tunes in celebration of the alcoholic beverage, including "Six To Eight" and "Jungle Juice". And as has been pointed out previously, the song title was likely the inspiration for the alcoholic concoction known as the "spodi". Drink up!

Sweet Soul Music

Mister Bijou — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 07:44:43 -0800

Ahmet Ertegun, 1923-2006. Co-founder of Atlantic Records, 83 year-old Ertegun had been in a coma since he fell backstage at a concert by The Rolling Stones at Beacon Theatre, NYC, in October. Very comprehensive obit -- more complete than either the one in Variety or New York Times -- to be found in UK's Guardian