Gamble and Huff "The Sound of Philadelphia"

Willie Mitchell

 Willie Mitchell was born on March 23 1928 in Ashland MS and raised in Memphis, TN. By the age of 8 he was being taught how to play the trumpet and eventually became a student at Rust College where he studied under Onzie Horne.

After college and a stint in the Army he moved back to Memphis in 1954 and quickly became a popular bandleader.

Although having small success with his music Willie would spend the next 13 years

building his craft. At this time the Memphis Soul sound was being spearheaded by Stax Records who proudly had Otis Redding and the great “Wicked Wilson Pickett” recording at their studio.

It is now 1966 and a new decade was coming. This brought about change to Willie. He started to revamp his Hi Rhythm Section.  Consisting of the 3 Hodges brothers. Charles, Mabon and Leroy. He also added Archie Turner, James his brother and legendary Stax musician Al Jackson Jr.

1968 saw Willie Mitchell still searching for a way to help Hi Records and Memphis deal with the decline in music since the unexpected death of Otis Redding and by Motown still updating their sound.  He was trying to break out of the mold of being known as “home of the instrumental”

He immediately went to work with Al Green. Taking several moths to do. Willie Mitchell was looking for a sound. A sound that consisted of smooth vocals that sat on top of the music.  His production style was unique. He insisted on only using 4 tracks. This was done mainly because the result was a clean and spacious sound. He would also have Al slow down his phrasing and soften up his timbre to a whisper.

Willie Mitchell would also be responsible for changing the way Al dressed.

All of this would lead to a string of hits in the 70’s. Including the smash hit Lets’ Stay Together which reached number 1 on Billboards hot 100. He would go on to chart 17 more songs on Billboards Hot 100 from 1971 to 1978.

As a professional I feel that Mr. Mitchell was a visionary. He started learning at an early age, which helped him with his producing. He had more experience than the average person and he used it to his advantage.  I was also impressed because through his teaching he found out what it took to be a star and he molded Al Green accordingly.

As a listener I think that Willie and Al were a perfect combination. Until now I never understood what separated Al from the rest of the field. I knew his lyrics were wonderful and a joy to listen to but the difference was Willie’s recording techniques along with the notion of having smooth vocals on top of gritty music instead of having gritty vocals and rough music.

In closing I would like to say that Willie and Al’s music has been a blessing to me. I have the ability to sing smooth like Al and rough like Wilson Pickett. Knowing what I’ve known already and learning what I have just learn about the two has inspired me to try new things when I record my music.

Kraftwerk

There are many artists who leave their mark on the industry. Some of their styles come and go. Others remain a fixture for years to come but only a few carry on forever.

Kraftwerk’s first three albums were mainly instrumental groove sessions.

Their music was primarily rock with pop oriented hooks. Their image was clean and futuristic. They used specially made devices to create most of their music.

Kraftwerk and Kraftwerk 2 released in 1970 and 72 used more traditional instruments. Released in 1973 Ralf und Florian would see synths and drum machines come into play as got closer to their hallmark sound.

In 1974 Kraftwerk would release Autobahn. It features a 22-minute title track and vocoded vocals. A Minimoog and an ARP Odyssey were used to make this album along with other devices that were made by their own personal teamThis album reached 25 on US Billboard Hot 100 and spent 10 weeks there although all its music was not electronic.

Their next album, a concept named Radio-Activity would not be a hit in the US and UK but garners a gold disc in France.

Trans-Europe Express, which was released in 1977, would see better chart activity in the US than Radio-Activity but it would also influence a new genre of music breaking ground in New York’s adventuresome dance clubs.

Their next two albums The Man-Machine and Computer World were not commercially successful. They did however have a lasting effect on the industry.

As an early teen I can remember Hip-Hop starting to take shape. I remember big boxes and knocking drums. After the release of Trans-Europe Express Hip-Hop pioneers began to incorporate electronic sounds in their music.

As a listener it made a lasting impression on me. Electronic music although not well received in Black America at the time is one of the pieces that helped shaped Hip-Hop.

As a professional I view Kraftwerks work as genius. Since its inception Electronic music has evolved and branched in many different ways. In film it expanded the use of Foley. Video games old and new contain electronic sounds. Their sound has influenced some of the greatest artists and producers in the world. Its influence on Hip-Hop can be found in the groundbreaking film Breakin 2 Electric Boogaloo. For this reason I will forever indebted to Kraftwerk.

Teddy Riley

Teddy Riley’s influence on electronic music has often been overlooked.  Electronic music by the mid 80’s almost ran its course. It had already fused with Hip-Hop, Pop and Rock music and was sure to eventually fade away.

Born on Oct 8, 1967 Edward T. Riley would go on to study electronic music at Manhattan School of Music and composition at Columbia University.

His first success came at the age of 17 when he produced Kool Moe Dee’s single “Go See the Doctor,” which reached number 89 on The Billboard Hot 100.

After a string of successful hits Teddy Riley brought New Jack Swing to the forefront. He used a SP 1200 and Roland 808 drum machine to accompany R&B/Gospel vocals. Mr. Riley is also known for using synthesizers and an occasional vocoder.

As electronic music slowly faded away Mr. Riley began to fuse it with R&B, which was never done. Today we recognize this as Hip-Hop/R&B. It’s influences can be heard in the many genres of music that Teddy has dabbed in.  He has produced a who’s who of people including Madonna, Boy George and Bobby Brown to name a few. His biggest contribution to the world of electronic music is when he used his style on Michael Jackson’s Dangerous album, which is the most successful New jack Swing album of all time with over 32 million copies sold.

As a listener Teddy Riley made a profound impact on my life. He changed the way I felt about fusing Hip-Hop R&B with different genres.  He made it cool for African Americans to listen to Boy George and to be able to listen to non-hardcore rap.

As a professional I see Teddy Riley as the person who took electronic music and made it acceptable in all forms of music, which has not been done by any other artist/producer.  In a sense he was the lifeline that gave electronic music the blood vessels to carry on it legacy.

"What's Going On" A Big Dave Podcast

What's Going On

Prior to making What’s Going On in 1970 Marvin Gaye had become Motown’s top selling solo artist with hits like I Heard it Through the Grapevine and “How Sweet it is

(To Be Loved by You)”. His early years at Motown were used to craft his skill. He was a session drummer who played for various acts at Motown and provided the drums for several albums and singles. His own music prior to What’s Going On was primarily consisted of jazz songs and standards rather than R&B, which was typical of Motown.

After brief success in the early to mid 60’s Marvin’s life would take an unexpected

turn for the worse. In 1966 he paired with singer Tami Terrel after his former duet partner

Kim Westen left.

For the next 18 months they would go on to record a string of hit records until 1967 when Tami was diagnosed with brain cancer. She would eventually pass away from cancer in 1970. This would eventually cause Marvin to have deep depression, which gave him stage fright and made him not want to perform with another female.

After a failed attempt to earn a spot on the Detroit Lions football team he headed back to Motown with two Lions players to start work on his next album.

After a failed attempt to get folksinger Joan Baez to perform his new song, along with his fellow group The Four Tops, Renaldo Benson would place the a song in Marvin Gaye’s lap that would become one of the greatest songs ever written.

What’s Going On became an idea after Mr. Benson witnessed police brutality during a tour stop in San Francisco. He than began to question why kids were being sent off to war and being attacked in their homeland. Marvin eventually went to work on the song after

Being convinced by his Anna who by the way was the older sister of Berry Gordy.

Marvin’s inspiration for this song and album came from his brothers’ stint in the Vietnam War. His brother would send him letters home describing what he was going through and when he came home Marvin was there with open ears. Marvin’s brother Frankie often discussed his tour with Marvin. Writer Ben Edmonds quotes Frankie in his article What

Went On speaking about his conversations with his brother saying

“He wanted to know everything. I cried a lot during our talks. War is hell believe me.

The value of life is unbelievably low. Nothing you’ve ever experienced can prepare you for terror and the blood; all my memories of that time are swimming in blood.

This horrified Marvin but what moved him most was the image of children eating out of the garbage cans. That was hard for him to get past. It’s a sight that I don’t think anybody wants to see: people –children –trying to live off what you throw away. Our garbage cans were always clean. When I saw that I always tried to leave some food on my plate so that they would something to eat. A lot of other GIs did the same. After my brother heard me and saw my tears, he began to understand.” 

Marvin’s biggest challenge was getting Berry Gordy to approve his new material. Besides getting over the death of Tami Terrel, getting this the green light on this record would be his biggest obstacle. Motown at this time was known for its ballads and radio friendly music, which is why Barry was so reluctant to approve this song. He also thought that this would ruin Marvin’s image.

Eventually the song was released and it instantly raced up the charts. At this time Berry Gordy requested a full album. The album was labeled as a song cycle, which meant that its songs were performed in sequence and as a single entity. This album was also the first album that the legendary Funk Brothers would get official credits on.

As a listener and black man who seen his share of police brutality and war within America, I feel like this album has had a profound impact on my life. I can remember listening to this album when I was a child sitting between my mothers’ legs. I was only a few years old then but I remember what it was like. As I grew older I began to study this albums lyrical content and it is truly amazing.

As a professional I think this album is one of the greatest. What’s most remarkable to me was his ability to combine jazz and classical music arrangements and instrumentation to complete the album because in the past he felt like he was putting his audience to sleep with it. Overall this album has greatly influenced my life and will remain in my collection until I pass on.

The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground and Nico album was quite interesting. Co-founded in

1965 by John Cale and Lou Reed, this band would push the limit to become one of the greatest of all time.

Lou Reed the guitarist, vocalist and principle songwriter of the group got his start

in 1964 working as a songwriter for Pickwick Records. As a teen he struggled with his sexuality, which led to horrifying electroconvulsive therapy, which he would write about in the 1974 song called “Kill Your Sons”

Co-founder and classically trained viola player, John Cale arrived in New York in 1963 from Wales to continue his musical training.  His musical training and the bond he had with Lou Reed made him an integral piece in The Velvet Underground. His duties were co-writing the songs, playing instruments like the bass guitar and piano.

 After a failed attempt at getting their demo to Mick Jagger, the band replaced drummer Angus Maclise with Maureen Tucker. With a new drummer in place, The Velvet Underground was about to embark on a journey that would take them to Rock immortality.

In 1965 Andy Warhol became the manager of the group and helped them secure a record deal with Verve Records. At this time they were given free reign on as to the music they created. In the past the group was known for it’s relaxing sound, which was R&B/Free Jazz like.  Andy Warhol at this time was a main player in the visual art movement of the 60’s. He created paintings of many well-known and underground celebrities.

The Velvet Underground was a very unique band. Their drummer, Ms. Tucker had no music training all and her playing style was un-natural. She would used tom-toms, upturned bass drums and even played standing up. She even used garbage cans as drums after her own set were stolen while on a gig.

In 1966 Warhol insisted that German born singer and composer Nico sing three songs on the bands debut album. It was recorded in April of that year and released with an Andy Warhol designed album cover. This album cover would eventually

land the record company in court due to an image of actor Eric Emerson being on the back. Unfortunately, this caused the record company to pull the album off the shelves. This led to the subsequent death of the album because it lost its momentum and never regained it.

As a listener I found this album strange but interesting. The way this band blended their styles was nothing short of amazing. You can hear it in every song. Each member of this group had a unique talent and displayed it in a way that couldn’t be denied. As told in his interview with Eric Olsen John Cale said “"It seemed to work even when we were playing in the exact opposite corners of the musical spectrum on the same piece. We were capable of anything. The dichotomy was given as great a value as the ability to unify on something. That was something that Andy believed in as well. It just angers me that there wasn't more work done because we were so good at it."

This was evident by the many walks of life that came to their shows.

As a professional I am at awe with John’s ability to use his viola as a different instrument. I love the way this album was produced and it has made me critique my own music just to see if I am really expressing myself the way I want to.