RIP Michael Jackson (1958 – 2009)

RIP Michael Jackson (1958 – 2009)

Thriller (1982) – Michael Jackson [Amazon.com]

I’ve mentioned Michael Jackson twice[1][2] on this blog, once when I was amazed by his choice of footage in “They Don’t Care About Us“[3], and once when I did the obituary of James Brown when I mentioned that Brown’s “rapid-footed dancing inspired Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson”.

Jackson was the embodiment of things gone awry as the result of mediated fame in the 20th century, when he was catapulted from child prodigy[4] to natural freak[5].

With more than 100 million albums sold, Thriller (1982) is the bestselling album of all time and is iconic in the history of 20th century popular music, where he is the natural heir to Elvis Presley. Beyond both dying from an abuse of prescription drugs, parallels beween Presley and Jackson are numerous (Graceland/Neverland). Lisa Marie Presley, for a short time married to Jackson in the nineties wrote at the time of Jackson’s death that he knew “exactly how his fate would be played out” and feared his death would echo that of Elvis Presley.

Jackson dies, long live Jackson.

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y10FUwJldKM&]

Shinehead‘s reggae version of “Billie Jean.”

Here he is reincarnated in Shinehead‘s reggae version[6] of “Billie Jean.”[7]. But one of the earliest samples of “Billie Jean” was in 1983, when Italian studio project Clubhouse mixed Steely Dan‘s “Do It Again” (1981) with “Billie Jean” as the “Do It Again Medley with Billie Jean“[8] .
*Daryl Hall has claimed that Michael Jackson admitted to copying the bassline from “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)“[9] in his song “Billie Jean“.

PS. For those of you who miss the Jahsonic old style of haphazard blogging about anything he finds, please check Jahsonic’s microblog[10] at Tumblr.

RIP Huey Long (1904 – 2009)

RIP Huey Long

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvwfLe6sLis]

Huey Long (April 25, 1904 – June 10, 2009) was an African American singer and musician and the last living member of the Ink Spots.

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SZHMySBX_A]

The Ink Spots were a popular African American vocal group that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm & blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop. They and the Mills Brothers, another black vocal group of the 1930s and 1940s, gained much acceptance in the white community. They are known for such songs as “If I Didn’t Care“[1] and “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore“[2].

RIP Viola Wills (1939 – 2009)

RIP Viola Wills   (1939 – 2009)

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdiHJjq84oI&]

“If You Could Read My Mind“  (1980)Viola Wills (December 30, 1939—May 6, 2009) was an American pop singer, best known for her rendition of “If You Could Read My Mind” (1980).

“If You Could Read My Mind” is a song by Gordon Lightfoot.  Lightfoot has cited his divorce for inspiring the lyrics.

The version by Miss Wills came out when I was fifteen. Little did I know the song was by Lightfoot and its theme was divorce*, although my parents were going through a particularly nasty end of marriage. I just loved the song.

*Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the ending of a marriage before the death of either spouse. Powerful cinematic divorce allegories include The Brood (1979) and Possession (1981).

Jimmy Ruffin @70

Jimmy Ruffin @70

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vf3ZE7CLg0]

Jimmy Ruffin (born 7 May 1939 in Collinsville, Mississippi) is an American soul singer. His 1966 hit “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” was a major success and his best known song.[1]

Hugh Masekela @70

Hugh Masekela @70

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtfKmRa5TsA&]

“Grazing in the Grass“

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tih7wwc31lo]

“Don’t Go Lose It Baby“

Hugh Masekela (April 4, 1939) is a South African musician known for such songs as “Grazing in the Grass” and the discotheque hit “Don’t Go Lose It Baby“. He was married to Miriam Makeba[1].

He was one of several African musicians to introduce African music in the west in the 1960s which has been a major factor in the shaping Western popular music.

Always a musical chameleon, Masekela has been classified as Afrobeat, jazz fusion, jazz funk, soul jazz; he even produced an album with drum machines, appropriately titled Techno Bush.

Marvin Gaye @70

Marvin Gaye @70

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVTN5o9Kgu8]

“Sexual Healing“

Marvin Gaye (April 2 1939 – April 1 1984) was an African-American singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained international fame as an artist on the Motown record label in the 1960s and 1970s. He is best-known for “Sexual Healing,” a 1982 song and the first hit record to use the Roland TR-808¹ for bass.

The lyrics of ‘Sexual Healing” song discussed a man’s aching for finding sexual healing with his woman – hence the title “Sexual Healing“. According to David Ritz, when he interviewed Gaye for an autobiography, he noticed comic book pornography in Marvin’s room and mentioned to the singer that he “needed sexual healing” causing Gaye and Ritz to write the lyrics.

1 The famous Roland TR-808 was launched in 1980. At the time it was regarded with little fanfare, as it did not have digitally sampled sounds; drum machines using digital samples were much more popular. In time though, the TR-808, along with its successor, TR-909 (released in 1983), would soon become a fixture of the burgeoning underground dance, techno, and hip hop genres, mainly because of its low cost (relative to that of the Linn machines), and the unique character of its analogue-generated sounds. The TR-808′s sound only became truly desirable in the late 1980s, about five years after the model was discontinued and had become cheaply available on the second hand market.

RIP Manny Oquendo (1931 – 2009)

RIP Manny Oquendo (1931 – 2009)

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWLRljA5g_8&]

Grupo Folklorico Y Experimental Nuevayorquino.

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbj-SIoN6EU&]

“Little Sunflower,” Freddie Hubbard original

Manny Oquendo (January 1, 1931 – March 25, 2009) was an American percussionist. His main instrument was the timbales, and was strongly influenced by Cuban drumming. He especially holds interest as the percussionist with own Conjunto Libre and Grupo Folklorico Y Experimental Nuevayorquino. His work can be classified as latin jazz, but he expanded the limits of his own genre by working with such artists as August Darnell and DJ Spooky. He had a worldwide hit with Freddie Hubbard‘s “Little Sunflower” in 1983.

I discovered Manny Oquendo in the 1990s (my disco period) via Mericana Records, which was a sublabel of Salsoul Record. I listened to Grupo Folklorico Y Experimental Nuevayorquino and related groups a  zillion times. Brilliant.

RIP Uriel Jones (1934 – 2009)

RIP Uriel Jones (1934 – 2009)

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVFT7i94zQU]

“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (1967) by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

Uriel Jones (13 June 1934 – March 24, 2009) was an African-American musician. Jones was a recording session drummer for Motown Records‘ in-house studio band, The Funk Brothers, during the 1960s and early 1970s.

Jones was first hired by Motown as a fill-in for principal drummer Benny Benjamin; along with Richard “Pistol” Allen, he moved up the line as recordings increased and Benjamin’s health deteriorated. Jones had a hard-hitting, funky sound, best heard on the tracks for the hits “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” – both versions, by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell in 1967 and the 1970 remake by by Diana Ross, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye, “Cloud Nine” by the The Temptations (in which he was augmented by “Spider” Webb), Junior Walker‘s “Home Cookin’,” “I Second That Emotion” by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, “For Once In My Life” by Stevie Wonder, and many more. His influences included Art Blakey. Jones became better known to music fans through his memorable appearance in the feature documentary film, Standing In The Shadows Of Motown.

“Rap das Armas,” or, Parapapapapapapapapapa

“Rap das Armas” (1990s) by MC Cidinho and MC Doca

MC Cidinho and MC Doca

Rap das Armas (Rap of Weapons) is a Brazilian “proibidão” song by that has become very popular through the film 2007 film Tropa de Elite, however the original song was already very popular in the early 1990s (there is no info on original release dates on discogs). The song illustrates the elite police who invade the favelas (shantytowns) on a daily basis to fight the drug dealers, with lyrics about fireweapons such as the AK47 popular among said dealers and their confronts with the police and other drug dealer factions, but clearly being on the side of bad guys.

Because of the allegations that the songs are an apology for crime, they are  banned from recording and broadcasting. The obvious analogy here is with its American counterpart gangsta rap.

The song was produced by MC Cidinho and MC Doca. The song, despite its popularity, is never played on the radio, and was taken out of the movie’s soundtrack after 2 weeks. The motive behind this was that the lyrics in “Rap das Armas” praise the use of drugs, the criminal factions of Rio de Janeiro, and the drug dealers themselves.

The song illustrates the violence of everyday life in the favelas. Brazilians are in danger not only when they take drugs but also when they take the bus or attend funk dances.

Proibidão, which literally translates to “strongly prohibited,” is a genre of Brazilian funk (pronounced “funkee”) music originating from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro where it began in the early 1990s as a parallel phenomenon to the growth of drug gangs in the many slums of the city. The drug gangs sponsored DJs and baile funks in the favelas they controlled to spread respect and love for their gang as well as hate to the other gangs. The music that resulted is proibidão and its most famous example is Rap das Armas.

I’ve been repeatedly listening to this song, enthused by the sheer simplicity of it. Researching its history brings memories of the film Pixote (1980) by Hector Babenco, an arthouse hit when it came out and my first exposure to the favelas. The favelas were recently depicted in Cidade de Deus, one of the best films of the 2000s.

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrAZ48gHJII&]

Parapapapapapapapapapa,

papara papara papara clack bum,

Parapapapapapapapapapa!

The original lyrics:

Morro do Dendê é ruim de invadir
Nós com os alemão vamos se divertir
Porque no Dendê eu vou dizer como é que é
Aqui não tem mole nem pra DRE
Pra subir aqui no morro até a BOPE Treme
Não tem mole pro Exército, Civil nem pra PM
Eu Dou o maior conceito para os amigos meus
Mas morro do Dendê, também é terra de Deus
Vem um de AR15 e outro de 12 na mão
Vem mais um de pistola e outro com 2 oitão
Um vai de Uru na frente, escoltando o camburão
Vem mais dois na retaguarda mas tão de crok na mão.
…
De AK47 na outra mão a metralha
Esse rap é maneiro eu digo pra vocês
Quem é aqueles caras de M16
A Vizinhança dessa massa já diz que não agüenta
Nas entradas da favela já tem ponto 50
E Se tu tomar um “PÁ” será que você grita?
Seja de ponto 50 ou então de ponto 30 …

Translated and annotated lyrics[2]

The neigbourhood of Dendê is hard to invade
We with the Germans (German from enemy in the WWII meaning, by analogy, the police; it could also refer to gangs from the Complexo do Alemão favela) will have some fun
Because here in Dendê I will tell you how it is done
Here there is no “easiness” to the DRE (special police)
To climb up this neigbourhood even the BOPE (Police Special Forces) is afraid
Here there are no “easiness” to the Army the Civil(ian police) or to the P.M. (Military Police)
I give the best advice to the friends of mine
But Dendê neighbourhood, is also God’s land
There comes one with AR15 and another with a 12 (gage) in their hands
One cames with a pistol and another with two big eights (heavy arms again)
One comes with a “Uru” in the front, escorting the dumb ass (police officer)
Two more follow with Glocks in their hands

…

With an AK47 and the other with a machine gun
This rap is really cool, I can tell to you
Who are those guys with M-16
The neighbours of all our people (the Favelas) are already saying that they can not handle it (here it refers to the white middle and high classes of Rio who live properly in the city)
At the doors of the favelas there is already .50 (caliber)
And if you get a Pá! (BOOM!) will you scream?
Being of .50 or .30 (weapons’ calibers).

RIP Eddie Bo (1930 – 2009)

RIP Eddie Bo.

Edwin Joseph Bocage (“Eddie Bo”) (September 20, 1930 – March 18, 2009) was an American singer and one of the last New Orleans junker-style pianists. Schooled in jazz, he was known for his blues, soul and funk recordings, compositions, productions and arrangements.

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANoc-TghlWM]

“From This Day On”

He debuted on Ace Records in 1955 and released more single records than anyone else in New Orleans other than Fats Domino.

His song “Hook & Sling” was featured on the breakbeat compilation “Ultimate Breaks and Beats” and on the rare groove compilation Rare Grooves Vol. 1.

Rare groove is an umbrella term that refers to relatively obscure and hard-to-find jazz-funk, funk and soul, soul jazz and jazz-fusion tracks from the 1970s. Originally coined by Kiss FM DJ Norman Jay in 1985 through his show The Original Rare Groove Show, ‘rare groove’ tracks have been influential on the musical genres of hip hop, techno, house, breakbeat, jungle and others.