I’m back with another collection in my “Afro” playlist series — “AfroBeatles.”
Earlier this month the first new Beatles song “Now And Then” dropped with the help of master filmmaker, Peter Jackson, and the surviving members. It is the first new release from the group in 45 years.
The Beatles are rightly known for the unmatched songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Towards their later years, George Harrison and Ringo Starr also pitched in with originals. Together, the group created a body of work that inspired no shortage of covers.
Few songwriters have been so thoroughly covered as Lennon/McCartney, and the diversity of Beatles covers is a tribute to their indelible mark on pop music. Here at Good Black News, we are going to focus on the covers by Black artists around the world.
The Beatles (and The Rolling Stones) cut their teeth opening for Little Richard; both bands came away forever altered by his singing style and stage presence.
Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger have made no secret of biting his vocal stylings and dance moves. When it came to doing covers they overt about acknowledging it.
On their first five albums of 1963-1965, almost all of the covers were originally recorded by Black soul artists, including Arthur Alexander’s “Anna (Go To Him)”, The Cookies’ “Chains”, The Shirelles’ “Boys” & “Baby It’s You”, The Top Notes’ “Twist & Shout”, The Marvelettes’ “Please Mr. Postman”, The Miracles’ “You Really Got A Hold On Me”, The Donays’ “Devil In Her Heart”, Barrett Strong’s “Money (That’s What I Want)” and Larry Williams’ “Dizzy Miss Lizzy.”
They are all included here, including their versions of Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and other greats of Soul giants, though the lion’s share of the collection is devoted to R&B, reggae, ska, and jazz covers of Beatles songs.
Here are hours of Beatles music by Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Nina Simone, Marica Griffiths, Gary Clark, Jr., and so many others. Please enjoy AfroBeatles!!
Happy Monday, you all. This week’s offering is a soulful collection of cover tunes and original versions of songs that went on to become hits for other folks.
The Pointer Sisters‘ version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire” and Whitney Houston’s take on Dolly Parton‘s “I Will Always Love You” are examples of covers that are as famous as the originals.
There’s Otis Redding’s live version of “Respect” where he explains how “This girl, she just took this song” to an amused audience. I’ve included Prince’s demos for “Manic Monday” and “Glamorous Life”, each went on to become hits for the Bangles and Sheila E., respectively.
Here’s a playlist of music artists who died this year. Although their beautiful voices and talents were lost in 2020, we can enjoy them for years to come.
Musicians are often our collective voices, sharing ideas and feelings through their lyrics and melodies that the rest of us struggle to express. It’s why the deaths of musicians are often difficult to process.
It’s hard to say goodbye to the people who made the art and culture that define our times and speak so directly to us. This collection features soul, hip-hop, country, jazz, and other artists that have been taken by COVID-19, long illness, natural causes, gun violence, and overdoses.
There’s only one way into this world, yet they keep making up new ones to take us out. But I digress. Please enjoy this collection of music that will resonate for eons by folks we’ve lost on this trying trip around the sun.
An early Happy New Year to you all. I can’t scrape 2020 off the bottom of my proverbial shoe fast enough.
Singer-songwriter Bill Withers (photo via wikipedia.com)
According to Variety.com via Associated Press, Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Bill Withers, whose career in music blossomed in the early ‘70s via a string of highly-personalized hits such as “Lean On Me,” “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lovely Day,” and “Use Me,” died from heart complications on Monday in Los Angeles. He was 81. Withers is survived by his wife and two children.
To quote the article:
“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved, devoted husband and father. A solitary man with a heart driven to connect to the world at large, with his poetry and music, he spoke honestly to people and connected them to each other,” the family said in a statement to AP. “As private a life as he lived close to intimate family and friends, his music forever belongs to the world. In this difficult time, we pray his music offers comfort and entertainment as fans hold tight to loved ones.”
Withers was 33 years old and working on an aircraft assembly line in 1971 when his first hit, the self-penned, Grammy-winning “Ain’t No Sunshine,” soared up the charts. He quickly followed up that success with a run of hit singles that included “Use Me” and the gospel-soul smash “Lean On Me,” which won a belated Grammy Award as best R&B song in 1987.
While those songs are recognized today as classics, Withers was not able to top the surprise commercial success of his early career. His subdued, introspective, often acoustic-based style grew increasingly at odds with the hard funk and disco of the ‘70s, and disputes with his record labels slowed his production at the height of his popularity. He essentially retired from performing and recording in the mid-‘80s. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.
Withers was born July 4, 1938, in the mining town of Slab Fork, VA. He was afflicted with a stutter from an early age. He enlisted in the Navy at 18, and, as his speech disability receded, he began singing and songwriting. After nine years of service, he was discharged in 1965.
Relocating to Los Angeles, he began performing in local clubs at night while working assembly line jobs in the aviation industry. In 1970, a demo tape he had recorded caught the interest of the well-traveled black record exec Clarence Avant, who signed Withers to his label, Sussex Records.
Withers debut album “Just As I Am” was released in May 1971; Withers is pictured on the cover holding a lunchbox in his hand, for the shot was taken during his lunch break at Burbank’s Weber Aircraft, where he continued to install toilet seats in commercial airplanes.
The collection was the first major hit produced by Booker T. Jones, the former keyboardist for the Memphis instrumental soul act Booker T. & the MG’s, who appeared on the set with former band mates Donald “Duck” Dunn and Al Jackson. Stephen Stills, of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and studio ace Jim Keltner also contributed to the record’s eclectic sound.
The LP contained “Ain’t No Sunshine,” an incantatory two-minute cry of pain that its author said was inspired by a viewing of Blake Edwards’ drama about alcoholism “The Days of Wine and Roses.” The song — released as the B-side of the “Harlem” 45, which was flipped by DJs — soared to No. 3 on the pop chart and No. 6 on the R&B rolls, garnered a Grammy as best R&B song, and pushed “Just As I Am” into the national pop top 40. The album’s moving “Grandma’s Hands” also reached No. 18 on the R&B side.
For his follow-up, Withers recruited four members of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, a popular L.A. act fronted by singer Charles Wright, to back him and co-produce his sophomore album. “Still Bill” (1972) topped its predecessor, shooting to No. 4 on the pop list and No. 1 on the R&B album chart; the LP was pushed by the massive hit singles “Lean On Me” (No. 1 pop and R&B) and “Use Me” (No. 2 pop, No. 1 R&B). In 1973, Withers wed “Room 222” sitcom star Denise Nicholas, but the marriage lasted only a year.
He made his last appearance in the national top 10 in 1981 with a guest vocal on “Just the Two of Us” (No. 2 pop, No. 3 R&B), a romantic ballad issued on hitmaking saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr.’s album “Winelight.”
After Columbia’s release of “Watching You Watching Me” (No. 143, 1985), Withers stepped away from performing. In later years, he explained his retreat from the stage and the studio, and ultimately from writing, to Alix Sharkey of England’s Telegraph: “That kind of stuff, to me, was a lot more interesting at 35…. I’m not motivated to wanna draw attention to myself or travel all over the place. There was a time for that. When it was done, it was done.”
To hear some of his best music, listen to the Spotify playlist below:
D’Angelo, Ed Sheeran and Sheryl Crow top the initial lineup for “Lean on Him,” an upcoming tribute concert to Bill Withers at Carnegie Hall (Photos: Dave J Hogan/Getty; Paras Griffin/Getty)
D’Angelo, Ed Sheeran,Ledisi and Aloe Blacc are among the artists who will help welcome Bill Withers back to Carnegie Hall on October 1st and pay tribute to the soul musician, who was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The initial lineup for the show, aptly dubbed “Lean on Him,” boasts Sheryl Crow, Amos Lee, Michael McDonald, Dr. John, Keb’ Mo’, Gregory Porter and Kathy Mattea. More artists will be announced in the coming weeks.
Withers will make a rare public appearance at the show, which will find the cast of musicians recreating some of his best known hits and his classic 1973 LP, Live at Carnegie Hall, in its entirety. Greg Phillinganes — who has worked with Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson — will helm the show as house band leader and musical director.
General admission tickets for “Lean on Him” are currently available through the Carnegie Hall website, while VIP tickets can be purchased via MusicOf.org. While a run-of-the-mill VIP ticket runs $300, a backstage pass is available for $2,000, and a five-course wine-paired dinner with Withers, his wife Marcia and no more than 40 other ticket buyers costs $10,000.
All net profits from the concert will benefit the Stuttering Association for the Young, an organization close to Withers, who has stuttered since childhood.
“Lean on Him” is the brainchild of City Winery and Knitting Factory founder Michael Dorf, who, over the past several years, has produced a slew of notable charity tribute concerts at Carnegie Hall. Earlier this year, the Roots, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Rufus Wainwright and more paid tribute to David Byrne and the Talking Heads; previous concerts have honored Prince, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Neil Young, R.E.M., the Who, the Rolling Stones and Paul Simon.
D’Angelo, Ed Sheeran and Sheryl Crow top the initial lineup for “Lean on Him,” an upcoming tribute concert to Bill Withers at Carnegie Hall (Photos: Dave J Hogan/Getty; Paras Griffin/Getty)
D’Angelo, Ed Sheeran,Ledisi and Aloe Blacc are among the artists who will help welcome Bill Withers back to Carnegie Hall on October 1st and pay tribute to the soul musician, who was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The initial lineup for the show, aptly dubbed “Lean on Him,” boasts Sheryl Crow, Amos Lee, Michael McDonald, Dr. John, Keb’ Mo’, Gregory Porter and Kathy Mattea. More artists will be announced in the coming weeks.
Withers will make a rare public appearance at the show, which will find the cast of musicians recreating some of his best known hits and his classic 1973 LP, Live at Carnegie Hall, in its entirety. Greg Phillinganes — who has worked with Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson — will helm the show as house band leader and musical director.
General admission tickets for “Lean on Him” are currently available through the Carnegie Hall website, while VIP tickets can be purchased via MusicOf.org. While a run-of-the-mill VIP ticket runs $300, a backstage pass is available for $2,000, and a five-course wine-paired dinner with Withers, his wife Marcia and no more than 40 other ticket buyers costs $10,000.
All net profits from the concert will benefit the Stuttering Association for the Young, an organization close to Withers, who has stuttered since childhood.
“Lean on Him” is the brainchild of City Winery and Knitting Factory founder Michael Dorf, who, over the past several years, has produced a slew of notable charity tribute concerts at Carnegie Hall. Earlier this year, the Roots, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Rufus Wainwright and more paid tribute to David Byrne and the Talking Heads; previous concerts have honored Prince, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Neil Young, R.E.M., the Who, the Rolling Stones and Paul Simon.
