January 24, 2012

bootie cooler

Johnny's son Shuggie Otis, 1970!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuggie_Otis

January 23, 2012

rip johnny otis

January 1, 2012

lesley duncan's love song

I keep getting back to this song … do you know what I mean? Lesley Duncan (née Cox) wrote and performed the original version in 1969, while Elton John's cover version from 1970 - which also features la Duncan - has made the song famous ever since … resulting in fine versions by Dionne Warwick(e) (1971), Peggy Lee (studio version d.d. 1972), etc. (Apparently, David Bowie and John Hutchinson had already recorded a demo of this song as soon as 1968-12, later to be released on the bootleg "The Forgotten Songs Of David Robert Jones".)
http://www.lesleyduncan.net/
http://www.45cat.com/record/rca1783
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesley_Duncan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumbleweed_Connection
http://thehelplessdancer.wordpress.com/2010/03/21/lesley-duncan/
http://garbocathedral.blogspot.com/2007/10/lesley-duncan-love-song.html
http://eltonjohnallsongslist.blogspot.com/2008/06/unforgettable-people-xxi-lesley-duncan.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/lesley-duncan-singer-and-songwriter-who-worked-with-elton-john-and-pink-floyd-1942138.html

December 31, 2011

folk for fans of kate bush

What with Kate Bush releasing her first album in many years … here's a completely different act, viz. the Irish girl duo Clodagh Simonds & Alison O'Donnell (née Bools) of Mellow Candle! As for Kate … do check "Come back Kate", a compelling documentary (by Helena Muskens & Quirine Racké, 2007) on her cult following … the strangest of fans, really ;-)
http://www.janetrecords.com/mc/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellow_Candle
http://www.irishshowbands.net/bgmellow.htm
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Mellow+Candle
http://www.cherryred.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=1586
http://dewerelddraaitdoor.vara.nl/Video-detail.628.0.html
http://katebushforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=2248&st=160
http://www.idfa.nl/nl/tags/project.aspx?id=879462c2-56a5-4b41-8cb4-7faea9517203
http://www.nps.nl/page/programma/238/het-uur-van-de-wolf/aflevering/detail/6821345/come-back-kate
http://www.mediamatic.net/page/34920/nl

+ bonus must read: http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/this-sentient-soul-this-living-breath.htm

December 28, 2011

pink french on floyd tv

What with all those dinosaur boxes, here's a track with the Pink Floyd sound still très pointu at the sky … ideal for midwinter … As for the Floyd flock's greed: careful with that axe, number 51 …

December 26, 2011

doc crimson & king severinsen

A King Crimson ànd a Beach Boys (Brian Wilson) cover by Doc Severinsen and the New Generation Brass off 1970's "Doc Severinsen's Closet" lp, arranged and produced by Don Sebesky (author of "Bottleneck") for the Command label. And for that now generation, of course …

November 24, 2011

trying times

"Tryin' times" - a magnificent song, written by Donny Hathaway and Leroy Hutson and first performed by Roberta Flack in 1969. Hathaway released his version in 1970; Hutson doesn't seem to have recorded the song. Flack's live version was recorded 1971-03-06 at the Soul to Soul festival in Accra, Ghana. (Do see the movie!) Fairground Attraction's version from 1990 is nice too.
http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2006/05/20/roberta-flack-“trying-times”/
http://dereksmusicblog.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/donny-hathaway-everything-is-everything-2/
http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Leroy%20Hutson.html
http://www.originals.be/en/originals.php?id=6475
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_to_Soul_(film)
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairground_Attraction

November 20, 2011

more from rick hall's fame studios

After yesterday's post on Kent's F.A.M.E. Studios 3cd, you might think it's a groovy v/a comp. Well no, it has its moments, but it's mostly deep soul ballads you'll find on "The Fame Studio Story 1961-1973 Home Of The Muscle Shoals Sound" … Sometimes in less obvious versions, but always high quality performances … even if they were sung by some unknown singer. But I wanted to show the funky side too, yesterday, because that often gets overlooked by a certain 'beer, blues 'n' soul' audience, no? As if northern soul = uptempo vs. southern soul = downtempo. And as if there isn't enough confusion re: Muscle Shoals already! Anyhoo, enjoy the ups ànd the downs ;-)

November 19, 2011

muscle shoals' fame studios

After 2008's magnificent "Take Me To The River: A Southern Soul Story 1961-1977" 3cd v/a compilation (KENTBOX10) - a must in any collection - Kent come up trumps again with "The Fame Studio Story 1961-1973 Home Of The Muscle Shoals Sound" (KENTBOX12 v/a 3cd, 2011-11). Not an unmistakeable classic, this time around, but filled to the brim with magnificent soul all the same. And quite a few groovy numbers, as you can witness here. It also features Bobby Marchan's "Funny style" - hear it & read more on him here (in a future post). Meanwhile, for more on the Florence Alabama Music Enterprises over at Muscle Shoals:

http://www.fame2.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Hall

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FAME_Studios

http://uzine.posterous.com/more-from-rick-halls-fame-studios

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1437161

http://the60sat50.blogspot.com/2011/09/undated-muscle-shoals.html

http://www.onetrippass.com/blog/2010/06/22/florence-alabama-music-enterprises/

http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Categories.jsp?path=ArtsandLiterature/Arts/Music-4/