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Entries categorized as “Friday MP3 Shuffle” 276 results
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Solomon Burke Edition
Atlantic Records executive Jerry Wexler, a man who knew a thing or two about soul music said that this man was “the greatest male soul singer of all time.” He may very well have been the king, as he took the stage and sat on a throne. Today is Solomon Burke’s birthday. Burke had a voice that could summon up the sweetness of Sam Cooke or the fury of Otis Redding and many colors in between. The Philadelphia native began his path to legend as so many soul singers singing in church. Moreover, by the time he was 12, he was preaching too. Yep, Solomon lived at an accelerated pace, fathering his first child at 14. One year later, he entered a talent contest which led to a bidding war to sign him. It wasn’t until he turned 21 that his records began to chart, and then waxed classics like “Cry to Me”, “If You Need Me” and “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love”, among others. But Burke never ascended to the level of stardom equal to his talent. Nevertheless, he endured, he preached, he became a father and grandfather many times over, and was recognized as a major influence on so many acts. In 2002, an all-star collection of songwriters provided the material for Don’t Give Up on Me, a Grammy Award winning album that put the spotlight back on Burke, where it belonged. His voice may have lost some top end, but it gained so much in character that he may have been better than ever. In honor of Solomon Burke, please grab your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle and share the first 10 songs that come up.
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Quincy Jones Edition
Today is the birthday of a giant in the music industry, Quincy Jones. Jones showed musical aptitude at an early age, getting a scholarship to the forerunner of the Berklee School of Music at 18. He left school a year later to tour in Lionel Hampton’s band. Within a few years, he was producing and arranging. For example, at the age of 22, he was producing Louis Jordan, trying to help the jump blues king adapt to the rock ‘n’ roll age (a project that was artistically successful, although a commercial flop). Having worked with a who’s who of jazz legends, by the time he was 31, he was an executive at Mercury Records. He worked on film scores, made his own records, produced Leslie Gore and did tons of other things. This set the pattern for his career. Make a few records, do some soundtracks and work with major artists such as Frank Sinatra. Of course, his legacy was cemented with his work with Michael Jackson on Thriller. In honor of Mr. Jones, please grab your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle and please share the first 10 songs that come up.
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Arthur Lee Edition
Today, let’s celebrate the birthday of the frontman of a band that produced one of the best albums of the ‘60s. Arthur Lee was born in Memphis, but moved to Los Angeles when he was five and by high school, he met Johnny Echols and they played in bands together. He was soon writing songs, and one of his songs was recorded by a local R & B singer, with Jimi Hendrix playing guitar on the session. Love came together in 1965, with Echols and Bryan McLean, among others. The band soon became a top live attraction and garnered a local hit with their radical rearrangement of Burt Bacharach’s “My Little Red Book”. This led to a deal with Elektra Records. Love was a perfect band for the psychedelic age, mixing all sorts of genres together, but this didn’t yield any hits. Nevertheless, their first three albums are great, with Forever Changes one of the most essential albums of the era. Lee later went solo and then dealt with various substance abuse and legal (i.e. jail time) issues. In the early ‘90s, he got himself back together and began touring as Love with mega-fans Baby Lemonade backing him up. I saw this edition of Love twice, and Lee was fascinating and the music sounded great. Let’s honor Lee by grabbing your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle and sharing the first 10 songs that come up.
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Brian Jones Edition
Today is the birthday of the founding member of one the biggest bands in rock history, The Rolling Stones. Brian Jones had a serious jones for the blues. After learning to play saxophone at a young age, he got his first guitar at 17, all the better for taking with him when he dropped out of school to busk through Europe. He eventually moved to London, where he was on the ground floor of a burgeoning blues scene, and he performed under the name Elmo Lewis. It was in 1962 when the pieces of The Rolling Stones came together, with Jones coming up with the name. Indeed, Jones was the original leader of the band, getting gigs, promoting shows and negotiating rates (for which he paid himself an extra five bob a week). While Mick Jagger and Keith Richards eventually supplanted Jones as the driving force of the band, Jones' multi-instrumental talents can be found all over the Stones' catalog. But he became further estranged from the band, began seriously abusing drugs and was out by 1969. Not long after, he was found drowned in a swimming pool. Jones' life took a terrible turn, but his contributions to music cannot be denied. In his honor, please grab your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle and share the first 10 songs that come up.
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Jake Burns Edition
Today, let’s pay tribute to an original punk rocker, who spent some time in Chicago. I’m talking about Jake Burns, the lead singer for the incendiary Northern Irish punk rock band Stiff Little Fingers. Jake got his start in a covers band, but when punk hit, his band morphed into a group call The Fast. That didn’t last long, as they learned the name had already been taken, so they named themselves after a Vibrators song. They got good really quick – their first single was the classic “Suspect Device”. By early 1979, they charted with their first album, the first of a string of intelligent, socially aware punk albums. After originally splitting in 1982, they got back together in 1987 and have been around just about ever since with Jake being the one constant over the years. Jake lived in Chicago for a while, because he married a woman who lived here. One of my cooler rock fan moments was getting an email from Jack Rabid of The Big Takeover Magazine asking if I wanted to hang out. Turned out he was in town for Jake’s wedding, and the reception was held at Jake’s Pub on Clark St. in Lincoln Park. I ended up sitting at a table for a while with Jack, Jake and John Kezdy of The Effigies. Only in Chicago! So let’s celebrate Jake’s birthday by getting your iPod, hitting shuffle and sharing the first 10 songs that come up.