Музыка соул

Aretha Franklin Revisits Gospel Roots
Thu Jun 2

NEW YORK - Each year, choirs belt out songs at the McDonald's Gospelfest to determine which act has the most soulful sound. But competitors might be overshadowed, considering who else is slated to perform: The Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin.

"I'm just delighted to be invited ... and to sing gospel full-scale again," she told The Associated Press this week. "I always sing and listen to gospel anyway. But I had not sung it publicly at full length. That's what's going to be so exciting for me."

While Franklin will not be competing, she is scheduled to perform at the annual competition Friday, Saturday and Sunday at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Other performers include gospel stars Donnie McClurkin, Vickie Winans and Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney Houston.

Franklin's gospel roots run deep. She was the daughter of famed minister C.L. Franklin, and sang with him before her R&B career took off. And one of her most acclaimed works was the 1972 album "Amazing Grace," which included renditions of religious standards such as "Precious Lord."

Although she is wrapping up an R&B album on her own label, Aretha Records, Franklin said she hopes to record a gospel album in the next year or two.

"Any music that is good music I enjoy, but gospel absolutely has it's own sacred place within that scope," she said.

But when she does record that gospel album, it will likely have a more traditional flavor than some of today's gospel music, which mixes hip-hop, rap and dance beats.

"Some of it I like," she said. "Some of the rest I don't particularly care for. It's a little too finger-popping, boogying gospel for me."

The McDonald's Gospelfest competition is over two decades old, showcasing gospel talent ranging from choirs to dancers. Regional competitions are held in cities nationwide.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050603/ap_en_mu/people_aretha_franklin/nc:689;_ylt=Al3FekH...

2Al Sane:
Забавно, откопал вот такую обложку...Интересно, что это не Little Richard :))))
Неужели их пруд-пруди? :)))

а много ли в Бразилии Педров?
домашнее задание - найти еще Эла Прайсли...

2Mary J Holly:

>а много ли в Бразилии Педров?

" Да, мало ли ф бразилиях доноф Педроф ?!" :)))
атака клоноф (или клауноф)

>домашнее задание - найти еще Эла Прайсли...

хммм...
"I can't do my homework anymore" (с)(Otis Rush)
Но зато смотритя, какую прелесть откопал...Вам, уважаемая(ый), на радысть :)
Не сестричка ль ? :)

The Beat - не самый худший вариант 2тона, так что согласна на родственные связи)))

В Deep Purple на концертах 74-76гг Гленн Хьюз любил сымправизировать что-нибудь в стиле соул,как ни странно после Smoke on the water. Georgia on my mind например.
Мне лично нравится.This time around спета в таком же стиле.

Georgia on my mind - не совсем соул песня. Я бы даже сказал СОВСЕМ не)
Это извесный шлягер начала 30-х годов испоненный в стиле рэгтайм, неким Anson Weeks (by the way он белый, как кэрроловский кролик). Это уже мно-о-ого позже Джорджию перепел Рэй Чарльз, причем перепел её в твердой уверености, что она кантри хит. Вот такие превратности истории)

Вот, кстати довольное лицо самого Уикса

Al Sane:спасибо за комментарии,очень интересно. Значит,Гленн Хьюз интерпретировал её в таком виде.

Cropper to Be Inducted in Songwriters Hall
06/09/2005

Steve Cropper knew "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" and "Knock On Wood" had the potential to be monster hits as soon as he penned them. But executives at the legendary Stax Records saw them as recording session outtakes.

"(`Knock on Wood') literally got thrown off the session, because they didn't think it was good enough and they thought it sounded too much like `Midnight Hour,'" the renowned songwriter/guitarist recalled Thursday. "It sat on the shelf for like nine months."

Both songs, which Cropper co-wrote, went on to become pop classics. And on Thursday, Cropper was an inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

"To have these songs last as long as they have is really overwhelming," Cropper told The Associated Press before the ceremony. "It's still exciting to me. To me, there's nothing more exciting than a song you wrote and produced in the studio being played on the radio."

Besides Cropper, other inductees included John Fogerty, Isaac Hayes and David Porter, Richard and Robert Sherman, and Bill Withers. Smokey Robinson, a previous inductee, was picked to get the Johnny Mercer Award, while relative newcomer Alicia Keys was selected for the Starlight Award, given to accomplished young songwriters.

Les Paul, who celebrated his 90th birthday Thursday, was the choice for the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award.

"He's one of the all-time great guitarists, and worked wonders making guitars, and here he is still around, still playing and having this great award on his birthday," said Hal David, chairman and CEO of the hall.

Cropper, a member of Booker T & the MGs and an integral part of the Stax Records legacy, has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But he said the songwriters' honor was special.

"From my point of view," he said, "I look at this as almost as the Academy Awards of the music industry. It's more about your work and what you've done, rather than whether you've had a hot year."

Cropper said the work of songwriters too often goes unnoticed.

"I feel for the songwriters. I'm always there cheering them on," he said. "The songwriters, I think they are the unsung heroes, and they really take the brunt of the industry."

http://launch.yahoo.com/read/news/20106154

Marvin Gaye -- Love Starved Heart: Rare and Unreleased- (Expanded Edition 1963-'69) - (Motown)
Великолепная подборка неопубликованных записей Марвина от "Мутауна". Лишний раз поражаешься мастерству певца, который из проходных песенок делал конфетки-шедевры(в поп-рок-музыке из таких навскидку припоминается только Элвис да Рэй Чарльз).Мда, ежели это считается отбракованным материалом...Могу сказать одно: на "Мутауне", похоже, во времена Марвина зажралися :)))
Расширенная версия состоит из 25 песенок + интервью-монолог Марвина. По такому же принципу сделана "Портрет легенды" Сэма Кука.

>>Мда, ежели это считается отбракованным материалом...Могу сказать одно: на "Мутауне", похоже, во времена Марвина зажралися :)))

я могу сказать еще одну вещь - на достойных звукозаписывающих компаниях, в отличие от некоторых других, термин "поп-песня" не подразумевает "халтуры"))) За что Motown безгранично уважаю :-)

2Mary J Holly:

>я могу сказать еще одну вещь - на достойных звукозаписывающих
>компаниях, в отличие от некоторых других, термин
>"поп-песня" не подразумевает "халтуры"))) За что
>Motown безгранично уважаю :-)
труднонесогласицца

ну еще бы)

Al Sane - Cat Джимми Смита и вправду замечателен. Хотя фильма этого не смотрел, но альбом великолепный, несмотря на то что он играет там не как обычно, в сопровождениии минимального состава, а с большим оркестром.

Просветите: в свое время слушал совместный альбом "Пирамида" Джонни Ходжес (сакс) и Уайлд Билл Дэвис (орган). Конечно, первую роль играет Ходжес, но говорят, Дэвис сам по себе тоже вполне известный исполнитель был. Слышал ли кто?

R&B Crooner Luther Vandross Dies at 54

NEW YORK - Grammy award winner Luther Vandross, whose deep, lush voice on such hits as "Here and Now" and "Any Love" sold more than 25 million albums while providing the romantic backdrop for millions of couples worldwide, died Friday. He was 54.

Vandross died at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison, N.J., said hospital spokesman Rob Cavanaugh. He did not release the cause of death but said in a statement that Vandross "never really recovered from" a stroke two years ago.

Since the stroke in his Manhattan home on April 16, 2003, the R&B crooner stopped making public appearances — but amazingly managed to continue his recording career. In 2004, he captured four Grammys as a sentimental favorite, including best song for the bittersweet "Dance With My Father."

Vandross, who was still in a wheelchair at the time, delivered a videotaped thank you.

"Remember, when I say goodbye it's never for long," said a weak-looking Vandross. "Because" — he broke into his familiar hit — "I believe in the power of love."

Vandross also battled weight problems for years while suffering from diabetes and hypertension.

He was arguably the most celebrated R&B balladeer of his generation. He made women swoon with his silky yet forceful tenor, which he often revved up like a motor engine before reaching his beautiful crescendos.

Jeff O'Conner, Vandross' publicist, called his death "a huge loss in the R&B industry. He was a close friend of mine and right now it's shocking."

O'Conner said he received condolence calls Friday from music luminaries such as Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones.

Singer Roberta Flack, on tour in Japan, said she was mourning the loss of her friend of more than 20 years.

"He was a musician who couldn't help but give you all he had," she said by telephone. "He was the kind of guy who was born to do what he did musically and let the world know about it. He was not born to keep it smothered in the chest."

Vandross was a four-time Grammy winner in the best male R&B performance category, taking home the trophy in 1990 for the single "Here and Now," in 1991 for his album "Power of Love," in 1996 for the track "Your Secret Love" and a last time for "Dance With My Father."

The album, with its single of the same name, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts while Vandross remained hospitalized from his stroke. It was the first time a Vandross album had topped the charts in its first week of release.

In 2005, he was nominated for a Soul Train Music Award for a duet with Beyonce on "The Closer I Get To You."

Vandross' sound was so unusual few tried to copy it; even fewer could.

"I'm proud of that — it's one of the things that I'm most proud of," he told The Associated Press in a 2001 interview. "I was never compared to anyone in terms of sound."

Vandross' style harkened back to a more genteel era of crooning. While many of his contemporaries and successors belted out tunes that were sexually charged and explicit, Vandross preferred soft pillow talk and songs that spoke to heartfelt emotions.

"I'm more into poetry and metaphor, and I would much rather imply something rather than to blatantly state it," he said. "You blatantly state stuff sometimes when you can't think of a poetic way to say it."

A career in music seemed predestined for the New York native; both his parents were singers, and his sister, Patricia, was part of a 1950s group called the Crests.

But he happily toiled in the musical background for years before he would have his first hit. He wrote songs for projects as varied as a David Bowie album ("Fascination") and the Broadway musical "The Wiz" ("Everybody Rejoice (Brand New Day)"), sang backup for acts such as Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand, and even became a leading commercial jingle singer.

Vandross credited Flack for prodding him to move into the spotlight after listening to one of his future hits, "Never Too Much."

"She started crying," he recalled. "She said, `No, you're getting too comfortable (in the background). ... I'm going to introduce you to some people and get your career started.'"

Vandross' first big hit came as the lead vocalist for the group Change, with their 1980 hit, "The Glow of Love." That led to a recording contract with Epic Records, and in 1981, he made his solo recording debut with the disc "Never Too Much." The album, which contained his aching rendition of "A House is Not a Home," became an instant classic.

Over the years, Vandross would emerge as the leading romantic singer of his generation, racking up one platinum album after another and charting several R&B hits, such as "Superstar," "Give Me The Reason" and "Love Won't Let Me Wait."

Yet, while Vandross was a household name in the black community, he was frustrated by his failure to become a mainstream pop star. Indeed, it took Vandross until 1990 to score his first top 10 hit — the wedding staple "Here & Now."

"I just wanted more success. I didn't want to suddenly start wearing blond wigs to appeal to anyone," he told the AP.

"This is the same voice that sang Pepsi-Cola, Coca-Cola, NBC 'proud as a peacock,' ... America, the world, has heard the voice, so there's no reason that that music shouldn't have gone the complete distance, I mean, to number one."

Another frustration for Vandross was his lifelong battle with obesity. Health problems ran in his family, and Vandross struggled for years to control his waistline. When he first became a star, he was a hefty size; a few years later, he was almost skinny. His weight fluctuated so much that rumors swirled that he had more serious health problems than the hypertension and diabetes caused by his large frame.

Vandross' two sisters and a brother died before him. The lifelong bachelor never had any children, but doted on his nieces and nephews. The entertainer said his busy lifestyle made marriage difficult; besides, it wasn't what he wanted.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050702/ap_en_mu/obit_vandross/nc:689;_ylt=AnoqyR0M9VRNl0iG...

Luther Vandross accepts the Quincy Jones Award for Outstanding Career Achievements at the 13th annual Soul Train Music Awards, in this March 26, 1999 file photo, in Los Angeles. Vandross, whose deep, lush voice on such hits as 'Here and Now' and 'Any Love' sold more than 25 million albums while providing the romantic backdrop for millions of couples worldwide, died Friday, July 1, 2005.

Luther Vandross' Swan Song By Joal Ryan
Fri Jul 1

Luther Vandross wasn't just a singer. He was a wedding day. A radio-show song dedication. A seduction.

The supremely smooth Grammy-winner died Friday at a hospital in New Jersey. He was 54. The cause of death was not immediately disclosed.

Vandross, whose hits included the romantic renderings "Power of Love/Love Power," "Here and Now," and "Always and Forever," was felled by stroke on April 16, 2003, at his Manhattan apartment. Less than two months later, what would be Vandross' final studio album, the reflective Dance with My Father, was released.

The album proved to be his most successful, immediately topping the charts and winning four Grammy Awards in 2004, including Song of the Year for the title cut.

While Vandross regained consciousness, and sufficiently recovered to appear in a taped message at the 2004 Grammys and on The Oprah Winfrey Show later that same year, he never resumed his recording or performing career.

In a heartbreaking statement to the Associated Press in May 2003, the entertainer's mother, Mary Vandross, said she was banking on her son to rebound. "He has to recover, he's all I have left," Mary Vandross said. "He's my last surviving child."

In a 2001 interview, Luther Vandross, who'd long battled obesity, diabetes and hypertension, said his father, brother, nephew, maternal grandfather, paternal grandfather had all succumbed to diabetes.

Luther Ronzoni Vandross, his middle name cribbed from a pasta label, was born April 20, 1951, in New York City.

The future R&B crooner got his start in gospel. As a teenager, he played Harlem's famed Apollo Theatre with the gospel-soul group, Listen My Brother.

At the age of 20, his career moved downtown to Broadway, where his composition, "Everybody Rejoice (A Brand New Day)," was featured in the hit musical The Wiz.

The young Vandross went on to pay the bills as a commercial jingle writer and backup vocalist for the likes of Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand and David Bowie.

Vandross scored the Bowie gig through an old school friend. At the time, the English rocker was working on his landmark 1975 album, Young Americans. Hired as a singer, Vandross ended up arranging the vocal parts and cowriting the song, "Fascination."

The following year, Vandross moved from the background to the foreground with the disco group, Luther. To the relief of wedding deejays, Vandross' bout with Saturday Night Fever was brief. Luther, the group, was a bust. Vandross, the sultry R&B star, was about to be born.

His breakthrough--more than 10 years in the making--came with the 1981 solo debut, Never Too Much. The seven-track collection included the hit title track and a cover of a Burt Bacharach standard he made his own, "A House Is Not a Home."

The platinum-selling album was a career-definer. No more would Vandross ping-pong from Broadway to Bowie. He was, always and forever, the standard-bearer of the smooth love song.

"[My style is] not 'Meet me in the shower' and 'Let's rub oil on each other,'" he once said in an interview. "You'll never hear me sing about those things."

Vandross' more understated style brought him the 1990 Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Here and Now." He repeated in that category in 1991 for "Power of Love," and in 1996 for "Your Secret Love." In all, Vandross won eight Grammys and sold more than 25 million albums.

If his career held steady, Vandross' health did not. By his own admission, he was a carb addict who lost, and gained, more than 100 pounds 14 times--often in the very public eye. As recently as 1998, the six-foot-three singer weighed in at 340 pounds.

"[When you're that heavy it] feels like you're wearing an 80-pound hat and a coat that weighs 300 pounds," Vandross told ABC News in 2001, during one of his slender, 220-pound periods. "You wear it externally, so the minute you walk through the door, everybody knows, 'Luther's not winning his battle with his demon.'"

"An alcoholic can't have half a martini," he said, "and you know, I can't have bread."

Fortunately, Vandross always had song--and admirers. Mariah Carey dueted with him on "Endless Love," off his 1994 cover-tune collection Songs. Whitney Houston recorded his "Who Do You Love," for her 1990 album I'm Your Baby Tonight. Foxy Brown, Busta Rhymes and Queen Latifah contributed to Dance with my Father. His duet with Beyonce from that collection, "The Closer I Get to You," earned the Grammy for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals.

Vandross called Dance with my Father a personal album; the title track "the best song he ever wrote," according to his mother.

"When I heard it, I felt like I was going to, well, scream," Mary Vandross said in a statement around the time of the album's release. "I played it over and over and I cried and cried. I was amazed how well Luther remembered his father, how we used to dance and sing in the house. I was so surprised that at 7-and-a-half years of age, he could remember what a happy household we had. It was always filled with a lot of music."

The song debuted during an April 2003 episode of Fox's Boston Public. American Idol alum Tamyra Gray handled the singing honors. Vandross himself was to have graced the Idol stage in 2003 as a guest judge, but then the stroke struck.

To the end, his mother held out hope for his full recovery.

"Knowing how he loves this new album, I believe Luther would want it to come out now and I'm so grateful that he can get this chance," she said in 2003. "He is going to recover and when he does, I want him to be greeted with a big success story. "

Vandross was remembered in the 2004 tribute album, Forever, for Always, for Luther, featuring the work of jazz artists such as George Benson. A new, R&B-style tribute album was announced just last month. Carey, Celine Dion and former Idol champs Fantasia and Ruben Studdard were among those scheduled to contribute tracks.

"Remember, when I say goodbye it's never for long," Vandross said during his videotaped appearance at the 2004 Grammys. "Because"--he continued, slipping into one of his trademark tunes--"I believe in the power of love."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20050701/en_music_eo/16867/nc:689;_ylt=AkNXSN3z7ryUxgnOCDMwY...

A wheelchair-bound Luther Vandross shown with music mogul Clive Davis, who delivered a platinum plaque for the singer's last record 'Dance With My Father.'

Vandross and his friend and fellow diabetic, singer Patti LaBelle, perform together in 2000.