DVD Reviews: Two of the America’s Music Legacy Series, Part 3: Blues; Soul

Text © Robert Barry Francos/FFanzeen, 2011
Images from the Internet

Part 3: This is just two of a series of six DVDs that have been released to promote a collection of television specials from the 1980s that highlight specific genres of music, with each disc focusing on a one at a time. Note that links to other performances are not present on these compilations.


America’s Music Legacy: Blues
Directed by Kip Walton
Cube International / Century Home Video, 1982 / 2010
115 minutes, USD $16.95
Cubeinternational.com
Qleap.co.uk
MVDvisual.com

There are so many subgenres of blues, such as Delta (mostly acoustic), Chicago (electric), Harlem (swing), and Kansas City/Memphis (R&B/R&R). This is sort of a gross definition, and there are many crossovers, but most blues has the same I-IV-V progression (e.g., C-F-G: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chord_progression) that instilled and enabled early rock and roll. As put by the host of this blues-focused show, Brock Peters, “Three basic chords, 12 basic measures.” The topics within the genre tend to be gender specific (“s/he done me wrong”), though money-related matters is a close second.

The collection here, which is comprised of two performance shows and clips edited together, easily flips among the many subgenres with ease, and starts strong with a short film of the late Bessie Smith (d. 1937). The musical action starts in full with Linda Hopkins performing “St. Louis Blues” (a completely different one than with which Louis Armstrong would have a hit), a boogie holler. She certainly has the voice to carry it off, as well.

Chicago-style gets a boost from one of its founders, as B.B. King just wails through “Payin’ the Cost to Be the Boss,” “How Blue Can You Get,” and “All Over Again.” These burners exemplify why he is held in such high respect, as he moans and growls the lyrics, wrings the guitar, and pounds the top of the instrument with his fists in emotional fits. He may have the blues, but he is a joy to watch.

Following a clip of Billie Holliday (d. 1959) is Leata Galloway, who sings “Fine and Mellow” and “Stormy Monday” in a similar Harlem chanteuse style. Not surprising as Galloway was born in Brooklyn and raised in Harlem. She also has an interesting body language, as she sometimes dips waaaaay down. On the second song, the Gerald Wiggins Band, which does the backing throughout, gets an opportunity to also shine.

Likewise, after a clip of Jimmy Rushing (1972), of the Count Basie Orchestra, Ernie Andrews does a Basie-big-band-swing-style “Ernie’s Blues.” He’s followed by alto saxer Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson (d. 1988), who performs the humorous and also self-named “Cleanhead Blues.”

Linda Hopkins returns for three songs after a short filmed interview with her discussing Bessie Smith. First up is “Born on a Friday,” in which she gets to make use of her powerful voice. Next, she has a duet with B.B. King on “Everyday I Have the Blues,” where she handles most of the singing and he does all the guitar. Last is another duet, this time with saxist Vi Redd, where she once again does “St. Louis Blues,” but this time it’s all her vocals, and Vi does some wild playing on her instrument.

Reminiscent of T. Bone Walker, Connie Carter “Pee Wee “Crayton (d. 1985) handles the standard “After Hours,” which is closer to rock and roll, or Tex-Mex. Of course, I enjoyed this immensely.

For the finale of the first part, all the artists come out for a jam of “Jammin’ the Blues,” with Hopkins on point.

Leading off the second half, also hosted by Brock Peters, is smooth-as-silk Joe Williams (d. 1999), who sings “Come Back” with a smattering of scat. This should come as no surprise as he was the vocalist for the Count Basie Orchestra for six years. He comes back later to do the equally silky “Tell Me Where to Scratch.”

My memory of actress Paula Kelly is from the film Sweet Charity (paired with Chita Rivera) and a memorable Playboy pictorial around the same time, when I was at an impressionable age. She proves she can sing with a perky (for blues) “Ain’t Nobody’s Business.” She performs in a sultry manner, and is obviously comfortable in her body as she moves around to the music.

A more nasal boogie blaster, along the lines of Nell Carter, is “Little” Esther Philips (d. 1984), with “Early in the Morn.” This a jazzy, nearly a-melodic and dissonant number, followed by the slower “Cherry Red.” Philips passed away soon after this from complications of drug abuse.

Brownie McGhee (incorrectly listed as Bobby McGee) is a solid Delta-style guitarist and singer who does the strong and wonderful “Life is a Gamble.” After him, unlisted in the credits, is the sole white performer, Addie Clement, previously of the all female rock band Fanny. She plays a Chicago electric style Willie Dixon cover of “I Think I Got the Blues” that reminds me of the likes of John Scofield.

Introduced as “the original Blues Brothers,” Buddy Guy (vox) and Junior Wells (guitar; d. 1998) flex their muscle through “Who’s Lovin’ You Tonight?” This is a more rockin’ vein of the blues, along the likes of Sam and Dave.

Dorothy Donegan (misspelled on the box!; d. 1998) plays a jellyroll boogie piano along the lines of Little Richard and Jerry Lee, except she has horns backing her. She absolutely rocks through “After Hours,” mixing in a bit of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “Bye, Bye Blackbird.” The way she plays sounds nothing short of controlled raucous; it’s great.

For the finale, Joe Williams and Esther Philips duet on “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down,” which has an improvised feel; it is a scorching ballad with some power moments.

The blues is feel-bad music that makes the listener feel good. Yes, it’s an oxymoron, but it certainly works here. There are some brilliant moments here, and none that hits a bad note or untrue to the genre.


* * *

America’s Music Legacy: Soul
Directed by Kip Walton
Cube International / Century Home Video, 1983 / 2010
95 minutes, USD $16.95
Cubeinternational.com
Qleap.co.uk
MVDvisual.com

Soul is an emotional style of music that is poppier than the blues, is more melodic than disco, and generally has high emotional peaks. It took me a while to appreciate the form; it came when VHS was new, and I rented out a tape of live performances called The Soul Experience (there wasn’t as large a selection as would come later). I was blown away by a very subtle and moving solo Bill Withers doing his classic “Ain’t No Sunshine” (youtube.com/watch?v=tIdIqbv7SPo; different than the tape), a song was I found irksome until that moment. With an epiphany, I suddenly found an appreciation for the form, and went back to watch James Brown do “Please, Please, Please” on the T.A.M.I. Show (youtube.com/watch?v=54y_XDKNxPg), and it was a whole different experience. Yeah, sometimes I’m a slow learner (and in the Brown example, so were the Rolling Stones, but that’s another story).

Appropriately, James Brown (d. 2006) opens up this program, introduced by host then-actor/now-minister Leon Isaac Kennedy. Brown starts off strong, of course, with “Rap Payback.” Definitely a dynamic performer, and even the band is in constant motion while they’re playing and interacting using call and response with Brown; there is solid drumming and horns to enforce the sound, as he slides into “Jam,” relying on simple repetitive rhythms, riding it for many minutes while never being boring. When he returns later for “The Man Understands,” the audience is on its feet and swaying; heck, so was I. The band member introducing him looks a lot like Rick James, and as is usual, there is someone in the entourage just to say “James Brown” over and over and over and over and… Vibrant stuff.

He is followed by Ben E. King, who rose to fame in the Drifters, and then had his own hits, including “Spanish Harlem,” which he opens with here. Kennedy precedes him with the personal descriptor of “Uptown R&B.” Before his second number, there is a brief interview with King where he describes recording “Spanish” with Phil Spector, and how it only took two takes. His sophomore song here is the crooner standard, “I Who Have Nothing,” which he infuses with soul via minor chords, without losing any of the song’s feel or emotion.

Kennedy then presents Mary Bond Davis as “The future of soul,” when in actuality she is more symbolic of the death of disco with “This is It.” In the early ‘80s, disco was (too) slowly fading into hip-hop (not much better), which was more R&B than soul (in my opinion), but it was the sound of the time. She has a good voice with some theatrical punch, which is appropriate considering she appeared often on the Broadway stage.

Atlantic Records signed Tyrone Davis (d. 2005), but with “Turn Back the Hands of Time,” a big hit for him, his sound could be considered Motown, with its Temptations vibe. His interview piece is about performing, as he sits on a couch weighed down in almost Mr. T levels of gold jewelry. He comes back later for a second tune, a sultry ballad that’s somewhere between Marvin Gaye and Barry White.

Between performers, Kennedy gives history lessons on soul, as is common of the hosts in this series, while also presenting clips. He states (reads) that soul started in 1954 with Brown vs. The Board of Education ruling, and then kick started by the likes of Ray Charles.

Maxine Nightingale starts off with “Lead Me On,” which shows she has the pipes, and then slows it down for the lovely ballad, “I Don’t Miss You At All.” Then, unfortunately, of course she resorts to her big disco hit, “Right Back Where We Started From” (one of the reasons why they invented 2x speed), even though she does a more soulful version of the tune than her original recording.

Along with her Pips, Gladys Knight takes over the stage in the first performance that can come close to the level of James Brown, but without all the (literal) sweat. She starts upbeat with “I Will Fight,” leading into her hit ballad, “You’re The Best Thing that Ever Happened to Me,” in that style that she has made her own. It is further exemplified by her next number, the outstanding “Midnight Train to Georgia,” which shows off the Pips a bit more in the return and call.

While recording at Sun around the time Elvis walked in, Rufus Thomas (Jr., d. 2001) shows with “Do the Push and Pull” that he has a sound that is similar in style to James Brown (as did Joe “I Gotcha” Tex, who passed away in 1982, shortly before this show was recorded: youtube.com/watch?v=zEYl8TtckjI&feature=related). Despite his age here, he is also fashionably bombastic like Brown, dressed in yellow cape, shorts (!), shirt, and knee-high high-heel boots. And then he drops the cape… His daughter, Stax Records artist Carla Thomas, shows up next with “I Like What You do to Me,” a borderline disco number. Her voice is in fine shape, but I wish she had done some of her earlier material, as “Gee Whiz,” a fine example of “northern soul.”

Jerry Butler, known as “The Ice Man” due to his cool and suave style, sings “Hey, Western Union Man.” He is similar to Ben E. King in presentation, but a bit more upbeat. Following him is Freda Payne, known especially for her “Band of Gold,” which she has been singing for nearly 15 years at the time of this taping, and just about 40 years now. She is apparently enjoying being on the stage and getting a chance to sing, as she has an underrated voice, but she also seems to have lost the meaning of the song. It is not a happy song despite its upbeat melody. Yet she’s all smiles and sings it with little emotional backing, which is kind of as heartbreaking as the song.

Speaking of glad to be there, Percy Sledge, who did the powerful “When a Man Loves a Woman,” which can still give me goosebumps, does not do that song, but rather “You Had to Be There.” His voice has a nasal quality, but remains solid. He also has an ear to ear grin throughout. While I prefer his blues, he carries off the song well.

Though he died in 1967, the film of Otis Redding doing an exciting soul-encased cover of the Stones’ “Satisfaction” shows why he is regarded enough to have a full song presented rather than just a clip.

To close the show, Gladys Knight and the Pips return to the stage for the upbeat “Save the Overtime,” which made it to No. 1 in the R&B charts. For her cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Heard It Through the Grapevine,” she starts and a number of the performers come back on stage to join in for a rousing finale.

As is common with this series, there are some songs that are listed that never made it past the DVD editing, in this case one by Tyrone Davis’s, Rufus Thomas’s “Walking the Dog,” Freda Payne’s “Bring the Boys Home,” and Gladys Knight’s “Neither One of Us,” all songs I would have genuinely liked to have heard.

Despite that, this collection is exciting (sans disco), and fun watch.

DVD Reviews: Two of the America’s Music Legacy Series: Gospel; Rock and Roll

Text © Robert Barry Francos/FFanzeen, 2010
Images from the Internet

Part 2: This is just two of a series of DVDs that have been released to promote a collection of television specials from the 1980s that highlight specific genres of music, with each disc focusing on a one at a time.


America’s Music Legacy: Gospel
Directed by Kip Walton
Cube International / Century Home Video, 1983 / 2010
105 minutes, USD $16.95
Cubeinternational.com
Qleap.co.uk
MVDvisual.com
I did not really grow up with gospel; after all, it’s not something we sang around lighting the menorah. Gospel did not really come into my consciousness at least until the mid-1980s, through Sweet Honey in the Rock, who help me appreciate the form.

Hosting this show is a post-Kunta/pre-Geordi LeVar Burton, obviously reading the text off cue cards, but clearly into the topic as well. Most of his comments and introductions appear to be independent of the actual program and inserted in, but that’s just observation rather than a criticism.

Gospel truly is a joyful noise, full of spirituality, uplifting messages, and especially focused on two particulars: Jesus and repetition. There are a lot of both in a truly great gospel genre tune. A line in the chorus may get repeated numerous times, each one more excited than the one before. At least that is true in classic form (e.g., “Oh when the saints go marching in / Oh when those saints go marching in / Lord I want to be in that number/ When the saints go marching in”). While less true in ballads, with any kind of raver the message is going to be pounded, and again, I mean that in a positive way.

First up is the legendary Andraé Crouch, who sings a joyous “Can’t Nobody Do Me Like Jesus.” And as happens occasionally throughout the show, there are short interview clips of some artists, including Andraé.

Some of my favorite gospel performances are ones that use harmony, such as the Winans, who use four-part vocal inter-weavings on “I Love You.” This leads to some very moving moments. However, the group is followed by the Archers (three siblings: Tim, Steve, and Nancye), who seem grossly out of place on this collection. One of the only two white groups here, they’re more along the line of televangelist fodder than real gospel. Their sound compared to the rest of the performers represented here is like a Lawrence Welk act at a rock concert. It’s just lame.

Luckily, the slate is cleaned off with some black-and-white clips of Mahalia Jackson from an old television show of her performing a couple of songs (separated by an interview), including “When the Saints Go Marching In” (which is revived later in the show).

Back on track, we see Marion Williams (d. 1994), including an interview about her vocal range, followed by the deep-voiced Doug Miller, who has a couple of song. Repetitions are a key structure with Miller and mightily he praises the Lord.

The Edwin Hawkins Singers evolved into the Walter Hawkins Family, and they do some fine songs that have a bit of a Caribbean feel. They get to do a trio of tunes, including their biggest hit, and one of the first gospel / Top 10 crossovers, “Oh Happy Day.” This was actually one of the bigger disappointments for me, as the song is cut short. It’s a great song, and I was sorry not to be able to hear the whole megillah.

Sandra Crouch and Friends present more iconic gospel, with the choir behind her on “Power in the Blood,” on which she shares the spotlight with one of the choir. But on the second tune, “He’s Worthy,” the singing is split between two members, the first of which is spectacular (no credits are given by name).

With a deep, basso timbre, Walter Phipps (d. 1987) is obviously enjoying sharing his “Choose You Again and Again.” His style is mixing some R+B into the sound, as does the next group, the Chambers Family, including parents and (adult) children. Their tune, the appropriate “In My Father’s House” is Motown influenced and sounds really strong. This is hardly surprising since a core of the family is the Chambers Brothers, who did the infamous “Time Has Come Today,” which was even covered by the Ramones. I’m also fond of a cut by the Brothers of a gospel raver called “I Got It,” from a comp album called Greatest Folk Singers of the ‘Sixties.

The legendary Linda Hopkins is up next. She was in quite a few Broadway shows, and has a powerful voice that lay somewhere between Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin. She does a bluesy gospel with “The Lord Will Make a Way.” She follows this with the classic “Thank You Jesus,” which has a bottom rhythm that is reminiscent of Little Richard during his gospel phase.

Again breaking with true gospel form, though this time a bit more successfully, is Reba Rambo and Donny McGuire. Their music is almost rock-lite with some funk flourishes. During an interview segment, McGuire says that they are occasionally called “Christian rock” or “Contemporary Christian,” though he sees it as “Top 40.” Well, they’re mild enough to be on Oral Roberts, but they are also among the first successful Christian MOR groups.

Up next to last in the live show is Mel Carter, who was also known for the ‘60s pop hit “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me,” but whose roots are in the gospel sector. His style is a bit jazzy, but there is a smattering of a reggae rhythm that creeps in on “Lift Up Jesus.”

LeVar takes the lead next in a clip that tells a very brief history of gospel as an art form, putting it into a historical context. Just long enough to be interesting, and just short enough not to be distracting.

To end the DVD is a classic-style choir raver by Sandra Crouch and Friends, “Oh Lord, I’m Glad I Found You.” One could be standing in a Baptist Church on a Sunday and hear a handclapper (and yes, happily repetitious) like this one. It is also a strong way to end the show.

No, Sweet Honey in the Rock was not represented here, but many of the top performers in the field make their presence felt. While I’m never going to go the way of Jesus, I can appreciate the music for what it is, and the spirit behind it.


America’s Music Legacy: Rock ‘n Roll
Director: Arthur Forrest
Cube International / Century Home Video, 1985 / 2010
110 minutes, USD $16.95
Cubeinternational.com
Qleap.co.uk
MVDvisual.com

I actually remember when this show was on, titled Fabian’s Good Time Rock n’ Roll. Hosted by its producer, Fabian Forte, he starts off singing Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll,” clearly showing why his career fizzled out before the Beatles even showed up. He makes Pat Boone look like, well, Bob Seger, despite actually having charted with 11 songs. However, as a producer, he’s done a splendid job here.

If you’ve watched any of those PBS specials (usually replayed ad nauseam during pledge periods where they trot out artists from a long ago era and have them perform their songs, well you have the idea here, though this form was not a common a thing to do back then.

Taped in Baton Rouge, the stage is set for a rockin’ revival, which starts off with the Coasters doing a bunch of their classics, such as “Poison Ivy,” “Yakety Yak,” and of course “Charlie Brown” (“Why’s everybody always pickin’ on me?”). While I’m not sure how many of the original band is still present here, they sound true to the hits.

Next up is Lou Christie (nee Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco), who had some really big hits, as shown here, namely “I’m Gonna Make You Mine,” “Two Faces Have I” / “The Gypsy Cried” (a smart medley, since they are actually quite similar),” and that great (and yet misogynistic) “Lightenin’ Strikes (Again).” His falsetto is still strong (his range is 3 octaves), as is the color of his shiny shirt (not to mention the mullet). Woof! I will add that he is actually quite the dynamic stage performer.

He is followed by the diminutive-yet-still-powerfully-voiced Lesley Gore. Yeah, she does the overplayed (and I think overrated) “It’s My Party,” and my least favorite song of hers, “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows,” but she follows it up with an amazing “You Don’t Own Me” (I would have liked to have also heard so many of her other great songs, like “Maybe I Know” and “California Nights”; be sure to check out her relatively recent album, Ever Since). She has great eyes, by the way.

She’s then joined by Christie, and they do a medley of “Since I Don’t Have You” and “It’s Only Make Believe” (which was released as a single; I bought it after seeing this when it was originally on). They make it into a strapping power ballad that would make a Glee! fan squeal.

Ernest Evans is next, in his nom de music of Chubby Checker. He starts off with “Pony Time” and ends with “The Twist” (duh!), and inbetween is a rambling medley of eight different songs, by the likes of Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the Beatles. He’s quite a bit older than when he started, but he could still twist the night away at that point.

Bringing it down a bit is the producer pulling his power, and Fabian sings some of his hits, such as, “Turn Me Loose,” “Tiger,” and once again for some reason, “Old Time Rock and Roll.” I sat through it all the way, but next time it’ll be at 8x.

I know I’m whining a bit and nitpicking, but I need to say that the Crystals are the next act, in which only Dee Dee Kenniebrew is one the originals. And they are bad. No one here can touch Darlene Love (well, few can anyway), whose band the Blossoms released a bunch of songs as the Crystals. The three on this show take a stab at “He’s A Rebel,” “He’s Sure the Boy I Love,” “Then He Kissed Me” and “Da Doo Ron Ron,” (all actually Blossoms tunes), and I could not help but wince. Perhaps it would be better if they covered the Crystals’ own hits, like “There’s No Other (Like My Baby)” or “Uptown.”

Getting back to the earlier times, the next performers are doo-wopers, the Diamonds, a mix of originals and new guys (as is true with most groups from that time period). They do their biggies, “Silhouettes,” “The Stroll,” and my favorite of theirs, “Little Darlin’” (\which is overstated here as “the national anthem of rock and roll”).

Little Anthony Gourdine comes by with a run of some of his charters, including “Tears On My Pillow,” “Hurt So Bad” (my fave of his hits), and “Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop” (my least fave of his hits, and apparently his: before the song starts, he’s sure to make the point by stating that he was told he had to do the song “to get the gig”). Better he should have been allowed to do “Going Out of My Head,” a much better song. Gourdine is definitely one of the more chatty artists, commenting that he’s 44 years old and has 8 kids, and that he played on an Alan Freed show in 1958. I will add that he also is in fine vocal form.

The mood completely changes when Bo Diddley takes the stage and makes it his own. He drives through some of his boastful tunes: “Hey Bo Diddley,” “I’m a Man” and “Bo Diddley Put the Rock into Rock and Roll“ (he was one of the first artists in rock and roll to consistently praise his own prowess). He has that rumpa-rumpa-rumpa sound that he created, and is rightfully proud of, right up front. His influence on music was early (e.g., Buddy Holly), and still continues. Ellas McDaniel Bates (d. 2008) was a powerhouse.

What is needed is some Chuck Berry (the true king of rock and roll), and while the man is not present (perhaps they wouldn’t meet his fee), everyone gets back on stage to sing “Johnny B. Goode.” It’s a train wreck, honestly, but one that put a smile on my face.

In all its incarnations over the years, many of which are presented here, it’s true that rock’n’roll is meant to be; it will never die.