The All New Music Tag Reboot!

Mother Mother - Sleep Awake



Mother Mother is a band from Vancouver, Canada. My wife introduced me to them just a week or two ago. I love them! They have a very unique and original sound. They don't follow the norm as so many artists do these days (my oppinion anyway). But that is exactly what you can expect from a Canadian Indie band!

 

Marvin Gaye "Whats Going On" (1971)



One of the most gifted, visionary, and enduring talents ever launched into orbit by the Motown hit machine, the career of Marvin Gaye blazed the trail for the continued evolution of popular black music: moving from lean, powerful R&B to stylish, sophisticated soul to finally arrive at an intensely political and personal form of artistic self-expression, his work not only redefined soul music as a creative force but also expanded its impact as an agent for social change.

Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. (in the style of his hero Sam Cooke, he added the "e" to his surname as an adult) was born April 2, 1939 in Washington, D.C. The second of three children born to Marvin Sr., an ordained minister in the House of God - a conservative Christian sect fusing elements of orthodox Judaism and Pentecostalism which imposes strict codes of conduct and observes no holidays - he began singing in church at the age of three , quickly becoming a soloist in the choir. Later taking up piano and drums, music became Gaye's escape from the nightmarish realities of his home life - throughout his childhood, his father beat him on an almost daily basis.

After graduating high school, Gaye enlisted in the U.S. Air Force; upon his discharge, he returned to Washington and began singing in a number of street-corner doo wop groups, eventually joining the (1) Rainbows, a top local attraction. With the help of mentor Bo Diddley, the Rainbows cut "Wyatt Earp," a single for the Okeh label which brought them to the attention of singer Harvey Fuqua, who in 1958 recruited the group to become the latest edition of his backing ensemble, the Moonglows. After relocating to Chicago, the Moonglows recorded a series of singles for Chess including 1959's "Mama Loocie"; while touring the Midwest, the group performed in Detroit, where Gaye's graceful tenor and three-octave vocal range won the interest of fledgling impressario Berry Gordy Jr., who signed him to the Motown label in 1961.

While first working at Motown as a session drummer and playing on early hits by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, he met Gordy's sister Anna, and married her in late 1961. Upon mounting a solo career, Gaye struggled to find his voice, and early singles failed; finally, his fourth effort, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow," became a minor hit in 1962, and his next two singles - the 1963 dance efforts "Hitch Hike" and "Can I Get a Witness" - both reached the Top 30. With 1963's "Pride and Joy," Gaye scored his first Top Ten smash, but often found his role as a hitmaker stifling his desire to become a crooner of lush romantic ballads ran in direct opposition to Motown's all-important emphasis on chart success, and the ongoing battle between his artistic ambitions and the label's demands for commercial product continued throughout Gaye's long tenure with the company.

With 1964's Together, a collection of duets with Mary Wells, Gaye scored his first charting album; the duo also notched a number of hit singles together, including "Once Upon a Time" and "What's the Matter With You, Baby?" As a solo performer, Gaye continued to enjoy great success, scoring three superb Top Ten hits - "Ain't That Peculiar," "I'll Be Doggone," and "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" - in 1965. In total, he scored some 39 Top 40 singles for Motown, many of which he also wrote and arranged; with Kim Weston, the second of his crucial vocal partners, he also established himself as one of the era's dominant duet singers with the stunning "It Takes Two."

However, Gaye's greatest duets were with Tammi Terrell, with whom he scored a series of massive hits penned by the team of Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, including 1967's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Your Precious Love," followed by 1968's "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and "You're All I Need to Get By." The team's success was tragically cut short in 1967 when, during a concert appearance in Virginia, Terrell collapsed into Gaye's arms onstage, the first evidence of a brain tumor which abruptly ended her performing career and finally killed her on March 16, 1970. Her illness and eventual loss left Gaye deeply shaken, marring the chart-topping 1968 success of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," his biggest hit and arguably the pinnacle of the Motown Sound.

At the same time, Gaye was forced to cope with a number of other personal problems, not the least of which was his crumbling marriage. He also found the material he recorded for Motown to be increasingly irrelevant in the face of the tremendous social changes sweeping the nation, and after scoring a pair of 1969 Top Ten hits with "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" and "That's the Way Love Is," he spent the majority of 1970 in seclusion, resurfacing early the next year with the self-produced What's Going On, a landmark effort heralding a dramatic shift in both content and style which forever altered the face of black music. A highly percussive album which incorporated jazz and classical elements to forge a remarkably sophisticated and fluid soul sound, What's Going On was a conceptual masterpiece which brought Gaye's deeply held spiritual beliefs to the fore to explore issues ranging from poverty and discrimination to the environment, drug abuse and political corruption; chief among the record's concerns was the conflict in Vietnam, as Gaye structured the songs around the point of view of his brother Frankie, himself a soldier recently returned from combat.
The ambitions and complexity of What's Going On baffled Berry Gordy, who initially refused to release the LP; he finally relented, although he maintained that he never understood the record's full scope. Gaye was vindicated when the majestic title track reached the number two spot in 1971, and both of the follow-ups, "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)," also reached the Top Ten; the album's success guaranteed Gaye continued artistic control over his work and helped loosen the reins for other Motown artists, most notably Stevie Wonder, to also take command of their own destinies. Consequently, in 1972, Gaye changed directions again, agreeing to score the blaxploitation thriller Trouble Man; the resulting soundtrack was a primarily instrumental effort showcasing his increasing interest in jazz, although a vocal turn on the moody, minimalist title track scored another Top Ten smash.

The long-simmering eroticism implicit in much of Gaye's work reached its boiling point with 1973's Let's Get It On, one of the most sexually charged albums ever recorded; a work of intense lust and longing, it became the most commercially successful effort of his career, and the title cut became his second number one hit. Let's Get It On also marked another significant shift in Gaye's lyrical outlook, moving him from the political arena to a deeply personal, even insular stance which continued to define his subsequent work. After teaming with Diana Ross for the 1973 duet collection Marvin and Diana, he returned to work on his next solo effort, I Want You; however, the record's completion was delayed by his 1975 divorce from Anna Gordy. The dissolution of his marriage threw Gaye into a tailspin, and he spent much of the mid-1970s in divorce court; to combat Gaye's absence from the studio, Motown released the 1977 stopgap Live at the London Palladium, which spawned the single "Got to Give It Up (Pt. 1)," his final number one hit.

As a result of a 1976 court settlement, Gaye was ordered to make good on missed alimony payments by recording a new album, with the intention that all royalties earned from its sales would then be awarded to his ex-wife. The 1978 record, a two-LP set sardonically titled Here, My Dear, bitterly explored the couple's relationship in such intimate detail that Anna Gordy briefly considered suing Gaye for invasion of privacy. In the interim, he had remarried and begun work on another album, Lover Man, but scrapped the project when the lead single "Ego Tripping Out" - a telling personal commentary presented as a duet between the spiritual and sexual halves of his identity, which biographer David Ritz later dubbed the singer's "divided soul" - failed to chart. As his drug problems increased and his marriage to new wife Janis also began to fail, he relocated to Hawaii in an attempt to sort out his personal affairs.

In 1981, long-standing tax difficulties and renewed pressures from the I.R.S. forced Gaye to flee to Europe, where he began work on the ambitious In Our Lifetime, a deeply philosophical record which ultimately severed his long-standing relationship with Motown after he claimed the label had remixed and edited the album without his consent; additionally, Gaye stated that the finished artwork parodied his original intent, and that even the title had been changed to drop an all-important question mark. Upon signing with Columbia in 1982, he battled stories of erratic behavior and a consuming addiction to cocaine to emerge triumphant with Midnight Love, an assured comeback highlighted by the luminous Top Three hit "Sexual Healing." The record made Gaye a star yet again, and in 1983 he made peace with Berry Gordy by appearing on a television special celebrating Motown's silver anniversary. That same year, he also sang a soulful and idiosyncratic rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the NBA All-Star Game which instantly became one of the most controversial and legendary interpretations of the anthem ever performed; it was to be his final public appearance.

Gaye's career resurgence brought with it an increased reliance on cocaine; finally, his personal demons forced him back to the U.S., where he moved in with his parents in an attempt to regain control of his life. Tragically, the return home only exacerbated his spiral into depression; he and his father quarrelled bitterly, and Gaye threatened suicide on a number of occasions. Finally, on the afternoon of April 1, 1984 - one day before his 45th birthday - Gaye was shot and killed by the Reverend Marvin Gay, Sr. in the aftermath of a heated argument. In the wake of his death, Motown and Columbia teamed to issue two 1985 collections of outtakes, Dream of a Lifetime - a compilation of erotic funk workouts teamed with spiritual ballads - and the big-band inspired Romantically Yours. (Vulnerable, a collection of ballads which took over 12 years to complete, finally saw release in 1996.) With Gaye's death also came a critical re-evaluation of his work, which deemed What's Going On to be one of the landmark albums in pop history, and his 1987 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame permanently enshrined him among the pantheon of musical greats. - Jason Ankeny Allmusic.com

 

No story or education (I'm too lazy to due the research), just a great song:
Led Zepplin - Going to California
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cfc3rCQOuU&ob=av2n

 

The Fifth Dimension "California Soul"



Billy Davis, Jr., Ron Townson and Lamonte McLemore grew up together in St. Louis, Missouri, each going in separate directions in their teens; all ended up in Los Angeles with hopes of making the big time.

Billy, in several gospel and soul groups, studied at Washington Tech. He opened his own nightclub, eventually landing in Los Angeles, hoping to sign with Motown’s West Coast recording company. Lamonte went into professional baseball as well as photography only to discover his love for singing while in the Navy. Ron sang opera from an early age. He graduated from Lincoln University, and left for Los Angeles with aspirations in music.

Lamonte McLemore met beauty contestant winner Marilyn McCoo while photographing her during the Miss Bronze Talent Award. Marilyn was born in New Jersey and grew up in Los Angeles. She always had a desire to go into the entertainment business, but her parents wanted her to finish school. She graduated from UCLA and accepted Lamonte’s offer to join the group he was forming.

With Billy experienced in gospel and rhythm and blues, Ron opera and Lamonte jazz, Marilyn jazz and pop, they needed another female member to complete their well-rounded vocal sound.

While photographing Florence LaRue, the winner of the Miss Bronze Talent Award the year after Marilyn won, McLemore decided to ask her to join the group he was forming. At first she didn’t accept the offer because she had graduated from Cal State University in Los Angeles and had just started teaching. Both she and Marilyn joined the group initially as a hobby, with McCoo wanting a solo singing career and LaRue still dreaming of a career in acting.

In 1965, the quintet, with their varied vocal backgrounds, named their group The Versatiles. They put together a demo tape and sent Lamonte to Detroit to see Berry Gordy at Motown Records. Gordy listened to the demo tape and was impressed with their sound but didn’t hear chart hits with the songs. He asked McLemore to return with more songs for him to hear. Lamonte returned home and the group continued to sing at local L.A. clubs.

Their future manager, Marc Gordon, would soon help change their lives. He was a director of West Coast Operations at Motown Records. Gordon was in the process of leaving Motown when he heard The Versatiles and offered to manage them. They recorded "You’re Good Enough For Me" and "Bye Bye Baby", both co-written by Marc Gordon on the Bronco label. It wasn’t until Gordon introduced the group to Johnny Rivers, who was starting Soul City Records, that something exciting started to happen.

Johnny Rivers instantly liked their sound and decided to produce them. He wanted them to change their outdated group name and look. Now called "The Fifth Dimension" and with their new "mod" outfits, they were ready. The first single Rivers produced, "I’ll Be Lovin’ You Forever" / "Train Keep On Movin’", in 1966, didn’t create much excitement with radio listeners. The follow-up single the next year, written by John Phillips, called "Go Where You Wanna Go" went to Billboard’s Top 20, peaking at #16.

The group agreed to hear some songs by a new songwriter named Jimmy Webb, who was under contract with Rivers. Webb was at the piano playing a song he had written about a beautiful balloon. The group loved the song, "Up Up & Away", and it was released in February of 1967. An album with the same title was also issued. The song entered the Top 10 and peaked at #7, staying on the Top 40 for 10 weeks, bringing the quintet to fame. The song was awarded Best Performance By A Vocal Group, Best Contemporary Group Performance, Best Contemporary Single and Record Of The Year at the Grammy Awards. It also won, Song Of The Year, awarded to Jimmy Webb. The group was also nominated for Best New Artist that year. Their album went Gold.

It was actually Bones Howe, their producer, who heard a potential hit in Laura Nero’s song, "Stoned Soul Picnic". Howe said, "We were looking for a piece of material that would reflect what the group was. I came across a song on a demo tape that David Geffen had taken to RCA, a song written by Laura Nyro called Stoned Soul Picnic. I told David that I wanted to cut it with the group, but he said we couldn’t because Nyro was going to cut it on her album. But if they didn’t release it as a single, he said it’s fair game. So the album came out, and the company chose "Eli’s Coming" as the single. I had a test pressing of the album and rushed it to the group and said, 'This is gonna be your first million-selling single.' They loved the song, and we went in and did the record in three days. And of course, it was their first million-selling single." It was in May 1968 when "Stoned Soul Picnic" was released and entered the Top 10, arriving at #3 on Billboard and remaining on the Top 40 for 12 weeks. Howe said, "They are an incomparable combination of talent, energy, and personal warmth. It’s a genuine pleasure to work with them."

Frank Sinatra presented the group with a million-selling award for Stoned Soul Picnic at Caesar’s Palace. The single eventually sold over two million copies. Sinatra said, "Without a doubt the freshest, most musical, most capable group in today’s bag." Another Nyro composition, "Sweet Blindness" was released a few months later, peaking at #13 and staying on the Top 40 for 6 weeks. At the beginning of 1969, "California Soul" entered the top 40 reaching #25 on Billboard's Top 40.

In 1969, the musical "Hair" was on Broadway. It was interesting how the Fifth Dimension ended up recording "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In". Florence said, "It was a real fluke. We were performing in New York City and Billy lost his wallet in a taxi. The man who returned it invited us to see a play he produced. The play of course was Hair. Well we heard Aquarius and we all just looked at each other and said ‘We’ve got to sing this song. It’s great.'" It was producer Howe who suggested splicing Aquarius together with lyrics from another number in the musical which became "Let The Sunshine In". He got together with arranger Bob Alcivar & put the two songs together, making them work as one single. "We recorded that song in Las Vegas, in this small studio," says LaRue. "Our voices were all tired, we’d been performing there for over a month. It was the quickest thing we ever recorded and it was one of our biggest hits." They were very close to the railroad tracks, and while they were singing the final chorus, a train rumbled by. You can still hear the locomotive, though, just barely, on the final master.

"Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" remained in the #1 spot on Billboard's chart for 6 straight weeks and remained in the Top 40 for 16 weeks. Both the single and album "Age Of Aquarius" went Gold and received two Grammy Awards for Record Of The Year and Best Contemporary Vocal By A Group. They were also nominated for Album Of The Year. The song was also nominated for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist. The song eventually sold over three million copies, making it the biggest selling single that year. The original song was over 7 minutes long and it was Bill Drake of a Los Angeles radio station who suggested the song needed to be shortened to about 3 minutes; so Howe released 2 versions, one just over 3 minutes and one under 3 minutes.

"Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" was only the beginning of their album "Age Of Aquarius". Bones Howe told Marilyn about this song that went, "Bill, I love you so, I always will. Won’t you marry me, Bill, etc. So Howe told Marilyn, 'It’d be really funny if you did this song as a joke on the album.' Marilyn and Billy were still courting; she wanted to get married and Billy was dragging his feet. So she did it, and after the album came out I got a call from a guy at a record company who said that a station in San Diego had jumped on the song and that we should release it as a single."

In September of 1969, "Wedding Bell Blues", another Laura Nyro composition, was released and soared to the top of the charts, remaining in the Top 40 for 14 weeks. "Workin’ On A Groovy Thing", co-written by Neil Sedaka peaked at #20 in 1969 and "Blowing Away", yet another Laura Nyro tune, peaked at #21 in 1970.

In 1969, Florence LaRue married their manager, Marc Gordon, high above the Century Plaza Hotel in a hot air balloon. That same year Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. married.

Two hit albums were released in 1969. The single, "The Girl’s Song" which featured Florence and Marilyn on lead was climbing the charts and was included on the Greatest Hits album, which also went gold. Another compilation LP was released after that titled "The July 5th Album".

Their LPs continued to sell well. Changing labels, they went with Bell Records, headed by Larry Uttal. Their first single from the Bell label was "The Declaration", a song not popular with the government, though at a performance which included President Nixon and the Governors of 50 states, they performed "The Declaration". Only after Nixon began clapping at the song’s end did the rest of the audience dare applaud this controversial song.

The album titled "Portrait", had 3 songs which entered the Top 40. One was a song co-written by Neil Sedaka, "Puppet Man", released in May of 1970. Tom Jones’ version hit the air waves months later. The group's version peaked at #24. By this time, three of their albums were on Billboard's Top 50 LP's at the same time. The following month, they released another Nyro tune called "Save The Country" which reached #27. Stronger songs, "This Is Your Life" and "One Less Bell To Answer", were not selected as August releases because their producer wanted a summer song. So they released "On The Beach" in 1970. In the meantime, a Los Angeles radio station called up Bell Records and said that people were calling his station when he played "One Less Bell To Answer" and they should really issue it as a single. In October of 1970, "One Less Bell To Answer", written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David was released and flew up to #2, eventually selling over two million copies.

March of 1971 saw the single "Love’s Lines, Angles & Rhymes" peak at #19. It was also the title of their album that year which went Gold. That same year the group had their second television special, "Traveling Sunshine Show". Later that year they released their double Live! LP which was taped in Las Vegas. With McCoo’s success with lead vocals, they released "Never My Love" in October 1971 which went to #12. In early 1972 they put out a McCoo/Davis duet also from the Live! LP, "Together, Let’s Find Love", which settled at #37. This album also went Gold. Another compilation LP was released called "Reflections".

In 1972 the group were singing more solo vocals than the harmonies they were initially known for. The best description of the direction of the group was the album titled "Individually & Collectively". Marilyn’s solo, "(Last Night) I Didn’t Get To Sleep At All", was released in March of 1972 and made the Top 10 arriving at #8 and eventually selling over two million singles. Five months later another McCoo solo, "If I Could Reach You", was released, reaching #10 on Billboard.

The album "Living Together, Growing Together" was pressed in 1973. The LP title was released as a single in February of 1973 and entered the Top 40, arriving at #32. Two other singles were released but failed to chart well. That same year, they decided to release "Flashback" which was not on the album. "Flashback" was also recorded by Cher, but neither charted with the song.

In 1974, "Soul & Inspiration" was released. This album was created by different producers including Howe, Richard Carson, H.B. Barnum, and John Florez. This marks Bones Howe’s departure from producing the group. This was also the last album the group cut for Bell Records.

Their final album with the original five members, "Earthbound", was issued in 1975 on ABC Records. It’s ironic because they began with composer Jimmy Webb on their first album and were able to work again with him on their final album before Marilyn and Billy left the group to venture in another musical direction. As on the "Magic Garden" LP, Earthbound’s songs flowed beautifully from song to song, only this time there wasn’t a Susan in Webb’s lyrics as on The Magic Garden. Even with strong titles like "Magic In My Life" and "Walk Your Feet In The Sunshine", these singles didn’t chart very high.

McCoo and Davis left the group after "Earthbound". The 5th Dimension continued with ABC Records and released the single "Love Hangover" which featured Florence LaRue on lead. It was climbing the charts when Motown Records decided to quickly release Diana Ross’ version that was on her LP. It was clearly a race between The 5th Dimension and Diana Ross. Even the sheet music to the song had both The 5th Dimension and Diana Ross pictured on the cover. Ross won with Love Hangover, taking it to the top of the charts.

Ironically, The 5th Dimension agreed to sign with Motown Records and released the LP "Star Dancing". Later the same year they put out a follow up album, "High On Sunshine".

With several name changes in The 5th Dimension, Florence LaRue and Lamonte McLemore never left the group. Ron Townson left for a little while to sing as a solo artist, and to form Ron Townson and Wild Honey, but later returned to the group. Now with McCoo and Davis gone and two new members, Michael Procter & Joyce Wright in the group, Soul Newspaper wrote a concert review after seeing them perform in 1976: "The new members are strong singers. There is no doubt this group is as good as the other, in my humble opinion."

In the middle 80's, Phyllis Battle was invited to join the group. At that time, she was working at a law firm in Los Angeles, wanting a solo career singing jazz. She auditioned for the group and they asked her to join knowing her vocal jazz influence would be an asset to the group's sound. She was still performing as a member of The 5th Dimension, over a decade later.

Marilyn McCoo was guest on The Home Show and the segment was a tour through McCoo's and Davis' home. Marilyn puts it this way, "On the day we were shooting, I was leading (host) Gary Collins through my house and unbeknownst to me, Florence, Lamonte and Ron were sitting in the family room." Billy had secretly arranged a surprise visit from the other members. It had been years since the five of them were all together. Donald Trump saw the reunion and thought it would be interesting to see if they would be open to the idea of a reunion performance New Year's Eve at his hotel in Atlantic City. It happened in 1990 with Ron's response, "It's been fantastic. It's like family getting back together again." Billy Davis, Jr. felt, "Getting back together was emotional for me. We did our old hits and put in other ingredients to add a bit of life to the show." A standing-room-only crowd at the event convinced the group to take it on a city to city tour the following year, now calling themselves The Original 5th Dimension.

In 1991, The Original 5th Dimension received a Star on Hollywood's Walk Of Fame which is located at the famed Roosevelt Hotel across from Mann's Chinese Theater.
In the early 90's, after Michael Procter left to pursue a solo career, The 5th Dimension began searching for a new male member. They found Greg Walker. Greg was once the lead singer of the famed group, Santana, and also had a solo career as well as releasing a solo CD in 1991 titled, "Love You So Good". His voice was featured on Santana albums, "Amigos", "Inner Secrets", "Moonflower", "Beyond Appearances", "Cal Jam 2", "Blues For Salvador" and "Viva Santana". He toured with Joan Baez and has also done lead vocals for musicians and recording artists such as Herbie Hancock, Kenny G, Jeff Lorber, Rodney Franklin, and Keiko Matsui.

The new version of the 5th Dimension released a CD in 1995 called "In The House", on Dick Clark's label, Click Records. It features "Say (U Love Me)" which LaRue co-wrote. It also includes two popular songs from the past, "Puppet Man" and "Stoned Soul Picnic" done in the newer 5th style. Willie Williams joined The 5th Dimension in 1998, replacing Ron Townson, who retired for health reasons. The Original 5th Dimension did occasional reunion concerts through the 90's but decided toward the end of the decade to call it quits.

Ron Townson died in his home in Las Vegas on August 2nd, 2001 at age sixty-eight. He suffered renal failure after a four-year battle with kidney disease.

http://www.classicbands.com/Fifth.html

 

The Jackson 5 - Rockin Robin

 

World's Prettiest Bassline (James Jamerson - Jackson Five, 1970)



Where to start with the incredible James Jamerson. He was the first bass player to bring the technique from the upright acoustic double bass to the electric bass. He came onto the scene before John Entwistle and influenced him (by John Entwistle's own admission) also a very big influence on Paul McCartney and all other electric bass players to follow. One of the founding members of the legendary Motown house band the Funk Brothers. He mastered a single finger style from playing the upright bass called the hook which as far as my knowledge goes no one has mastered that technique to date.

James Jamerson–A Look At His Gear And Playing Techniques ​

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Strings used: LaBella Deep Talkin Bass - Model 760-M​

There have been a number of giants in the bass world over the years, but one thing that many of them have in common is a deep respect for one of the early figures of modern electric bass: James Jamerson. One of the most recognizable names in the scene, Jamerson’s role in the expansion of the bass’ role in modern music is the stuff of legend. While many flashier and more technical players have come along since, Jamerson’s groundbreaking work has nevertheless earned him a spot in the roster of the instruments true pioneers. Among the players who count Jamerson as an influence are Rick Danko, Jack Bruce, John Entwistle, Jason Newsted, Jaco Pastorius, John Patitucci, John Paul Jones, Mike Watt, Geddy Lee, Victor Wooten, Paul McCartney, and many more.

Jamersons style was a distinct departure from the typical bass role in previous years, which largely relied on the root and fifth notes, and was fairly rhythmically simple. Jamerson built on this foundation and incorporated more melodic lines, at times almost serving a complementary role to the lead vocal. He also tended to play a lot more syncopated parts, and was known to improvise many of his lines. It was these characteristics that informed much of the "Motown Sound".

Before making his mark as an electric bassist, Jamerson played acoustic bass on a number of hits. His primary instrument then was a German double bass purchased when he was still in his teens, which he used to propel such hits as Mary Wells’ "My Guy" and Martha and the Vandellas’ "(Love is Like a) Heat Wave".

It was as an electric bass player that Jamerson would make an even bigger impact, when he used a 1962 Fender Precision Bass to power many of the Motown hits for which he would achieve renown. The bass was actually his second P-Bass, after his first one was stolen. This second bass was called “The Funk Machine”, and featured a striking sunburst finish, a tortoise-shell pickguard, and chrome hardware. Unfortunately, this bass was also later stolen just before Jamerson died in 1983, and it has been missing ever since.

To achieve his characteristic full and mellow tone, Jamerson used La Bella L-760M flatwound strings (.052-.110) exclusively, and it was said that he never changed strings. This along with the already dark sound of the flatwound strings and his installation of a piece of foam under the bridge cover to dampen the strings slightly led to his distinctive heavy, pinched tone. For amplification in the clubs, Jamerson used an Ampeg B-15. In bigger venues, Jamerson plugged into Naugahyde Kustom amps fitted with two 15" speakers. In the studio, Jamerson simply plugged straight into the mixing board. Scroll to the bottom of this page to hear a track.

A distinctive Jamerson trait that led to his unique sound was his use of only his index finger to pluck the bass strings. This was pretty much how he played the acoustic bass as well, and the unusual style led to his index finger being dubbed "The Hook".

For a GREAT read with tons of biographical information on Jamerson, quotes, photos, and dozens of accurate transcriptions and recorded tribute performances from top players from around the world, I strongly recommend this book.

http://www.bass-strings.com/james-jamerson

 

Another "Pretty" Baseline...

 

I enjoy watching Victor play because he really transmits the joy of playing through his sound and his facial expressions.

Here is another version of Amazing Grace with a discussion of the minor chords or the pentatonic scale.
Amazing Grace History/"Amazing Grace" By Wintley Phipps

 

More Grace...

 

Grace Potter and The Nocturnals - Apologies

 

Chris Potter and Red Rodney and Charles Telerant....Be-Bop Hip Hop...This is Chris Potter's first recording...And Red was actually present for this whole project...Bob Belden arranged everything....I for one would have liked to have seen the Bop-Hop Movement stay around a little longer and see more cats contibute. But Red was all over it...Talk about Be-Bop In Sheep's Clothing...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwHxk3WwNvM

 

Simply an amazing story. I know this is long, but the Red Arrow story should be a movie in it's own right. Story is after the Biography.


RED RODNEY - Red Rodney Rides Again



Red Rodney was the last of the original bebop trumpeters. After cutting his musical teeth playing swing with big bands, Rodney converted to jazz under the guidance of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. Joining Parker's quintet at the age of 21, for more than a half a century he carried on the legacy begun by Gillespie and Miles Davis. Although a true bebop innovator in the 1940s and 1950s, Rodney's early contributions to jazz were overshadowed by his chaotic personal life. It was not until his later years that he gained respect as a driving creative force of bebop's developmental era.

Red Rodney was born Robert Rodney Chudnick on September 27, 1927, in a Jewish ghetto of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He began playing bugle in a Jewish veterans' drum and bugle corps at the age of ten. Originally, he wanted to play the drums, but because he was too small to carry them he was forced to switch instruments. He received his first trumpet at the age of 13 as a bar mitzvah present. He studied music at Philadelphia's Mastbaum High School, where he was a classmate of future jazz greats Buddy DeFranco and John Coltrane. His main influence at that time was swing trumpeter Harry James, whose solos he learned to play when he was 14 years old.

In 1942 Rodney ran away to Atlantic City, New Jersey, where he got a job playing in a house band that warmed up the crowd before the big bands performed. Flamboyant, talented, and too young to be drafted, he caught the attention of big-band leaders looking to replace trumpeters who had been drafted to fight in World War II. Over the next few years Rodney played with various big-band greats including Jerry Wald, Jimmy Dorsey, Tony Pastor, Les Brown, and Georgie Auld.

By the mid-1940s, Rodney had returned to Philadelphia, where he played in a studio band for CBS radio. He became interested in jazz after hearing Dizzy Gillespie perform and began sitting in with bands in clubs around the Philadelphia area. It was in one such venue, the Downbeat Club in South Philadelphia, that he met and befriended Gillespie. Impressed by the young man's musical ability, Gillespie took Rodney to New York to hear his quintet play. There, Gillespie introduced Rodney to Charlie Parker.

Hearing Parker's brand of bebop was an epiphany for Rodney. He told Craig Steinburg in an interview in Diabetes Forecast: "Even though my instrument was trumpet, and Dizzy was my hero, when I heard Charlie Parker, I knew right then, at 18 years old, what I wanted to do the rest of my life. It all came together then—that one night was like a religious experience." Rodney formed his own bebop band in 1946 and recorded his first album as a leader. Over the next two years he played as a featured soloist with Gene Krupa and Claude Thornhill, before joining Woody Herman's Four Brothers Band in 1948.

A Call From Bird

In 1949 Rodney got the call of a lifetime. It was Charlie "Bird" Parker asking him to join his quintet and replace trumpeter Miles Davis, who was leaving to form his own band. Parker didn't have to ask twice. Rodney moved to New York City and took his place beside a legend. His experiences with Parker would have a profound and lasting effect on both his music and life. "I got to stand next to this colossal giant each night and hear outpourings of raw genius," Rodney said in an interview in the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I really didn't feel that I deserved to be there, but he saw some potential, of course. I think it was more that he liked me. And I took advantage of the experience and reached a plateau that I never would have accomplished in so short a time. It was my college and graduate school at the same time."
Between 1949 and 1951, Rodney recorded albums for Keynote, EmArcy and Mercury both with Parker and under his own name. In the 18 months he spent with Parker he mastered the intricate harmonics of bebop and gained a reputation as one of the most talented young bebop artists in the world. Unfortunately, he also learned about drugs. By the time he left Parker's band in 1951, he was addicted to heroin. Rodney faded in and out of the jazz spotlight for most of the 1950s. He played brief stints with Charlie Ventura's Big Band and recorded six albums (1952-57), including the now-classic Modern Music From Chicago with Ira Sullivan. After serving two prison terms for possession of heroin, Rodney returned to Philadelphia in 1957.

Walked Away From Jazz

Rodney kicked his heroin habit in prison, but because of his drug convictions, under Pennsylvania law he was not allowed to work in cabaret clubs. Unable to play the music he loved in the clubs he practically grew up in, Rodney turned his back on jazz and took a job as the leader of the house band at a banquet hall. Playing for weddings and bar mitzvahs was light years away from Rodney's experiences with Parker, but he was tremendously successful. By 1958, he was leading and managing five different dance bands and making more money than he had ever earned in his life. But the money wasn't enough to keep him happy. Frustrated by not playing jazz, he began using heroin again. Two years later, he found himself strung out and broke in San Francisco. Out of desperation, he impersonated an Army officer [General] and stole $10,000 from the Atomic Energy Commission.

Finally apprehended in 1964, Rodney received a 27-month sentence for theft [Federal charges]. While in prison he gave up heroin for good, got his bachelor's degree, and took a correspondence course in law. After his release, Rodney met celebrity lawyer Melvin Belli, who gave him a job as an investigator and enrolled him in law school. Rodney finished his law studies in just three years, but he was unable to become a practicing lawyer because of a California law that prevented convicted felons from taking the bar exam. He moved to Las Vegas and spent the remainder of 1960s in Las Vegas casino orchestras backing Strip headliners including Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, and Sammy Davis, Jr.

For the Record . . .

Born Robert Rodney Chudnick, September 27, 1927, in Philadelphia, PA; died of lung cancer, May 27, 1994, in Boynton Beach, FL. Education: Received bachelor's degree; completed law school.
Began playing trumpet professionally with big bands in Atlantic City, NJ, 1942; formed own band and recorded first album as a leader, 1946; feature soloist with Gene Krupa and Claude Thornhill, 1946-47; joined Woody Herman's Four Brothers Band, 1948; toured and recorded with Charlie Parker Quintet, 1949-51; toured and recorded with various small combos, 1952-55; worked society club engagements in Philadelphia, playing mostly pop music, 1958-60; worked intermittently in Las Vegas casino orchestras backing celebrity headliners, 1960-71 ; returned to jazz with album Bird Lives!, 1973; toured Europe, 1975; formed quartet, toured, and recorded with Ira Sullivan, 1980-85; formed, toured, and recorded with various jazz bands, 1986-94.

Comeback Led to Recognition as Jazz Great

Rodney led the good life in Vegas, but he longed to play bebop again. So he moved to Los Angeles in 1972 and began making frequent appearances at Donte's jazz club. Rodney made his return to jazz official in late 1973 with the release Bird Lives!, his first album in nearly 14 years. His comeback was briefly delayed by a stroke that left him temporarily paralyzed, but by the fall of 1974 he had recovered sufficiently to tour Europe with W.G. Wien's Musical Life of Charlie Parker. He remained in Europe until April of 1975, making numerous television appearances and playing clubs and concerts in Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Belgium, Holland, and England.
Upon returning to the United States, Rodney recorded three albums between 1976 and 1979, before forming a quartet with Ira Sullivan in 1980. The group played, recorded, and toured together until 1985, releasing five albums and garnering a 1982 Grammy nomination for the album Sprint. After parting ways with Sullivan, Rodney formed several new bands featuring up-and-coming jazz musicians whom he had taken under his wing. He recorded an incredible five albums between 1986 and 1988, including Code Red, which marked his first venture into jazz fusion and rap. During that time he also acted as a consultant on actor and director Clint Eastwood's biographical film of Charlie Parker's life, Bird. In addition to adding his fiery licks to the soundtrack, he coached actor Michael Zelnicker, who portrayed him in the film.
Rodney officially joined the ranks of the jazz greats in 1990. The Mellon Jazz Festival was dedicated to his honor and he was elected to the Down Beat Hall of Fame. In the Down Bear article announcing his induction he said: "Some people begin to slip after 50.... It's strange, but I seem to be playing better than ever." Rodney returned once more to his bebop roots in 1993 with Then and Now, a collection of updated bebop standards and new originals. He was planning a follow up album for Chesky records when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He made his last public appearance in the summer of 1993 at the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in New York City.
Red Rodney died of lung cancer on May 27, 1994, at his home in Boynton Beach, Florida. He was one of the last living links to Charlie Parker and bebop, and his death marked the end of an era. Although Rodney experienced his share of hardships and problems during his rollercoaster 52-year career, he overcame all odds to record more than 40 albums and to inspire and encourage four decades of jazz trumpeters.

Selected discography

Advance Guard of the '40s, EmArcy, 1945. Early Bebop on Keynote, Mercury, 1947. The New Sounds—Red Rodney, Prestige, 1952. Modern Music From Chicago, Fantasy, 1955. Fiery Red Rodney, Savoy, 1957. The Red Arrow, Onyx, 1957. Red Rodney, Signal, 1957. Red Rodney Returns, Argo, 1957. Bird Lives!, Muse, 1973. Superbop, Muse, 1974. Red Tornado, Muse, 1975.
Red, White & Blues, Muse, 1976. Home Free, Muse, 1977. The Three R's, Muse, 1979. Hi Jinx (At the Vanguard), Muse, 1980. Live at the Village Vanguard, Muse, 1980. Night and Day, Muse, 1981.
Sprint, Elektra, 1982. The 3 R's, Muse, 1983. Alive in New York, Muse 1986. No Turn on Red, Denon, 1986. One for Bird, Steeple Chase, 1988. Red Giant, Steeple Chase, 1988. Red Snapper, Steeple Chase, 1988. Red Alert!, Continuum, 1990. Then and Now, Chesky, 1992.

Sources

Books

Carr, Ian, Digby Fairweather, and Brian Priestley, Jazz: The Essential Companion, Prentice Hall, 1988. Feather, Leonard G., Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Seventies, Horizon Press, 1976.

Periodicals

Billboard, June 6, 1994. Diabetes Forecast, July 1989. Down Beat, December 1990; August 1994. JazzTimes, December 1993. Philadelphia Inquirer, June 17, 1990; March 13, 1992.
Stereo Review, February 1989. Additional information for this profile was obtained from the All-Music Guide, Matrix Software, 1994.

—Thaddeus Wawro

"The Adventures Of The Red Arrow" - Riding On A Blue Note (Gary Giddins)

Many jazz fans do not know that when Red Rodney wasn't playing jazz, he might have occasionally been planning or executing one of his celebrated cons, many of which were so elaborately planned they often rivalled those seen in movies like The Sting.

Here's an example of just one of his cons, the one which earned him the nickname "The General." It's excerpted from a chapter called "The Adventures Of The Red Arrow," from author Gary Giddins' Riding On A Blue Note: Jazz and American Pop.

The General:

With the ingenuity required to negotiate a difficult chord change at an impossible tempo, Red Rodney was planning capers. Prime territories were San Francisco, his home base, and Las Vegas.

The previous year he had recorded his two best albums, not realizing they would serve as his farewell to music for some time. Now, at thirty, he surveyed his life and made a decision. He thought, "Here I'm going to jail for three and six months and being treated like a dog for using stuff. If I'm gonna go to jail, let it be for something big."

The Red Arrow was not destined to be a mere thug. He would bilk only the rich to forestall becoming one of the poor. "The idea was to take the companies that take us off every day."

One afternoon, he noticed a captioned photograph in the newspaper. General Arnold T. MacIntyre had been appointed disbursement office. "Hey," he thought, "I look like this cat!" Around the same time, a hooker friend showed him the paycheck she'd lifted from a colonel.

Rodney bought it from her and, after researching the average monthly salary of a major general, turned it over to his printer for duplication. He also purchased a major general's uniform. Armed with a roll of credit cards made, by his printer, of teak wood, and twenty checks, each one for one thousand eight hundred forty-some-odd dollars, Red Rodney, alias General MacIntyre, the disbursement officer, traveled around the country.

Uniformed, his hair dyed gray, wearing glasses, he'd walk into a bank, ask to speak with the manager, and unroll the stream of credit cards, not letting examine them too closely. In this manner, he supported himself handsomely for a year.

He was working Las Vegas a lot, thinking it would be a good place to settle when he kicked. In a Reno paper, he read about the Atomic Energy Commission in Mercury, Nevada. Seems the payroll for Nellis Air Force Base, $180,000, was being held there. The Red Arrow was loaded to the gills with guts. He was shooting methedrine to get up and heroin to stay down. He decided to go in and get it.

He drove up to the Atomic Energy Commission in a rented car and asked to see the commander of the place, a colonel. When the colonel saw the major general, unexpected and wanting to inspect the premises, he quaked and gasped and sputtered. "Weeeee! I got this turkey," the Arrow thought. "He must be doing something wrong, he's more nervous than I am."

The colonel unctuously offered the general his quarters. "No, I can stay at the Bachelor Officers' Quarters." "I wouldn't think of fit, General." He ushered the superior officer into his office to examine the books in privacy. The Arrow saw the safe. "How the hell am I gonna open it?" he wondered. The colonel opened the safe, removed the books, and, leaving the safe open, walked to the door, saluted, said "At your service, General," and split.

"Hmmmmm," the Red Arrow thought, saying a silent prayer for the movies he'd seen about army protocol. Truth to tell, he was scared to death. He walked over to the safe...and the money was gone! (Later he leared the money had been moved to the Nellis base ninety minutes before his arrival.) However, there was a briefcase with $16,000 in it. He took ten, hoping it wouldn't be missed for a while. He also took a bundle of securities.

The Colonel wasn't around, so he asked the sergeant at the gate for a lift into town. Town consisted mostly of Beverly Harrell's whorehouse, where, he explained to the sergeant, he would be staying the night. With the sergeant watching, he had to walk into the whorehouse. He and a whore were shown to a room. As he removed her blouse, he noticed tracks on her arms. "Hey, c'mon, let's turn," he offered. "What the fuck kinda general are you?" she asked. "A dope-fiend general!"

The Chase:

The Red Arrow doubled back to Mercury to retrieve his rented car, drove it up the highway to Goldfield, checked it, and rented another. He switched back to his Red Rodney persona. On the road, he pulled over to look at the securities. There were Reynolds securities and government parchment paper stock and say! what's this? Two pieces of paper with gobbledygook written on them. He didn't know what they were but they frightened him.

Then anxiety subsided. "If these papers are what I think they are," he mused, "they could be my ticket to freedom or some kind of deal." In San Francisco, he tucked them in a safe-deposit box. The FBI was combing the Coast for the guy who had ripped off the Atomic Energy Commission.

The Red Arrow had made a mistake. When the Feds traced his steps to the whorehouse, the whore told them about the junk. Now they knew: the description, the MO, and the junk all pointed to Red Rodney.

They didn't catch him for awhile. He played a few gigs in Vegas while keeping a motel room in S.F. He was scoring every day and had one more general's check. He put on the uniform, not realizing the banks had been alerted. When the manager began to stall, he knocked him down and ran out of the bank. A passing FBI car, not even on the case, saw the incident and followed him to his motel. In a few minutes, the place was surrounded.

In the county jail, everyone called him General. Cops and Feds threatened to take him through city court, state court, and federal court. It was a bustling, noisy situation when two internal Security agents from Washington walked in. Everybody else walked out.

The agents grinned. "Listen, Red," one agent said. "You pulled a beauty, but, ah, you had two pieces of paper with the securities." "You mean the gobbledygook? Yeah, I got 'em, what is that?" "Look," the other agent said, "we know you're not an agent, we know, we dug the caper you pulled, it was beautiful. Give us back the two pieces of paper and we'll do this favor. We'll put everything into one. We won't charge you with impersonating an officer, just interstate theft of forged securities."

"Can I have that in writing?"

"We can't put it in writing, you have to take our word. Otherwise, we'll charge you with espionage."

"You got it, gentlemen."

The government kept its word. While Red was waiting in a federal tank to go to court, the agents brought in the Colonel from Mercury. He'd been demoted to major. He became hysterical: "That's the sonofabitch," he yelled, "I'd recognize him any day. He has red hair now, but he was gray then!"

--- above excerpts from "The Adventures Of The Red Arrow," from the collection Riding On A Blue Note: Jazz and American Pop by Gary Giddins (1981, De Capo Press)

 

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