I gotta say
that Duane Eddy was truly one of those great acts I heard so much in my very
early days. My older brother had more Eddy 45s in his collection than
anyone else before the Beatles came along. Thus, I heard those hoops and
hollers and echo cave sounds very often. It probably helped me to play
music LOUD and helped the DC5 become the loud sounding vinyl that I loved as
well.
One of my all-time
fave videos is Duane on the Dick Clark tour and a forklift takes him and the
Rebel Rousers to the stage. As a longtime forklift driver, I always loved
sharing this with co-workers. People today think Pink and Cher and Bette
Midler and all those that fly around in the audience is unique, THIS might have
been cooler and maybe more dangerous! No OSHA breathing down Dick Clark's
throats then. haha
Duane Eddy
"Rebel Rouser"
Clark Besch
The
Rolling Stones mixed things up a bit for the second show of their new Hackney
Diamonds Tour.
Appearing
at The New Orleans Jazz Fest, Mick & Company were joined on stage by Irma
Thomas, whose song “Time Is On My Side” they covered in 1964, giving them their
first Top 10 Record here in The States.
(Thomas’ version never made The Top 100, peaking at #120 in Record World
earlier that same year.)
They
varied their set list as well, dropping “Rocks Off,” “Beast of Burden,” and
“Mess It Up” and adding in their place “Let It Bleed” (which also featured
a special guest, New Orleans Zydeco musician Dwayne Dopsie on accordion), “Whole
Wide World” and “Time Is on My Side.”
Besides the added surprise of Irma Thomas joining them on stage, this
was reportedly the first time The Stones had performed this song since 1998.
The
complete, revamped set list included “Start Me Up,” “Get Off of My Cloud,” “Out
of Time,” “Angry,” “Let it Bleed,” “Time is On My Side,” “Whole Wide World,” “Tumbling
Dice,” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” “Little T&A,” “Sympathy For
the Devil,” “Honky Tonk Women,” “Miss You,” “Gimme Shelter,” “Paint It Black” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” with “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” and “(I Can’t Get No)
Satisfaction” performed as the encore.
(kk)
kk …
Did You Know
About This?
FRANKIE
VALLI WAS AWARDED HIS STAR ON THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME … AND THE CEREMONY WAS
BROADCAST LIVE AT 11:30 AM PACIFIC TIME, STREAMING LIVE AT WALKOFFAME.COM ON
FRIDAY.
FB
Nope, sure didn’t. Valli also turned NINETY on Friday … so a
VERY big birthday celebration for the music legend. Congratulations … and Happy Belated Birthday
to the premier Jersey Boy! (Sorry,
Bruce!) kk
From Tom Cuddy …
Five 1960s bands
that broke up far too soon
https://audiophix.com/posts/1960s-bands-broke-up-far-too-soon-01hwx8a7g4pr
Hard to comment on this
list since I’m not particularly familiar with the collected works of most of
them, one of whom never even released a single album!
(kk)
Also from Tom …
Hall & Oates
confirm their split after 50 years together
https://mol.im/a/13380587
Can’t say that this one
comes as much of a surprise! (kk)
We first told you about
this one a while ago …
But we got a couple of
“friendly reminders” that John Lennon’s “Live Peace In Toronto” concert will be
seen as part of a new film documentary called “Revival ’69: The Concert That
Rocked The World” starting on June 28th.
Most of the attention was
focused on Lennon’s first live post-Beatles appearance in concert … backed by
Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman and Andy White no less … but The Plastic Ono Band
wasn’t the ONLY act on the bill that day …
Alice Cooper, Little
Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent, Chicago and The Doors
were also part of the festivities.
As part of the Rock and Roll Revival
concept, Lennon performed "Blue Suede Shoes," "Money (That's
What I Want)" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy," as well as The Beatles'
song "Yer Blues" (clearly a personal favorite since he had also just
performed it as part of The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus television
special) and his solo hits "Cold Turkey" and "Give Peace a
Chance."
Harvey Kubernik sent us this to share:
REVIVAL 69: The Concert That Rocked The World
…
In Theaters and Digitally June 28th
By Harvey
Kubernik ©2024
In 2022,
producer/director Ron Chapman interviewed me for his music documentary,
REVIVAL69: The Concert That Rocked the World, which celebrates and
chronicles a 1969 rock festival in Toronto, Canada, that spotlighted the debut
of John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band along with the Doors, Chuck Berry, Little
Richard, Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Gene Vincent, backed by the Alice
Cooper band.
I served as a
consultant for the film and helped arrange an interview with Robby Krieger for
it.
The film captures John
Lennon’s first solo booking outside of the Beatles.
It details how
promoters John Brower and Ken Walker were able to book Lennon for the show
and how his appearance almost didn’t happen. The Plastic Ono Band’s lineup:
Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman, and Alan White. The movie
includes interviews with Krieger, Voormann, White, Cooper, and Geddy
Lee of Rush, who attended the festival.
The documentary
incorporates plenty of live footage from legendary documentarian D.A.
Pennebaker who lensed the action.
It will be
released in theaters and digitally this year on June 28th.
A few years
ago, I interviewed a few principals in the important documentary about the
landmark event. Portions appeared in my book Docs That Rock, Music That
Matters.
John Brower, Toronto
Concert Promoter
Q:
Talk to me about this monumental endeavor.
A:
I called Lennon at Apple Records asking if he wanted to emcee the gig. Lennon
said, ‘no … but he would like to play!’ We went from selling a couple of
thousand seats to selling 25,000 tickets when it was announced Lennon would
play.
Q:
Did Morrison and Lennon actually meet at the show?
A:
When Morrison and the Doors heard that Lennon was now going to play, he asked
[manager] Bill Siddons to set up a meeting to discuss who would headline the
show.
There was a knock on
the locker room door and it was Bill [Siddons] and Morrison asking if they
could talk to John and I. I grabbed John and we met in the hallway. The two
singers didn’t acknowledge each other or shake hands but Siddons wanted to ask
Lennon if the Doors could go on before Lennon.
John’s eyes opened
wide and he said, ‘No, you guys are the headliners. That means you go on last,
that’s the way it works.’ John was not about to be upstaged by Morrison and
whatever antics he might pull off. Just then, Little Richard appeared, and said
to us, ‘Hey, I will headline! I will headline!’
I then told Morrison,
‘Look, I have already paid you guys, so if you don’t want to play, you can go
back to your hotel room and relax. No problem.’
Morrison nodded at
Siddons and they agreed to go on after Lennon. Then Morrison said, “One thing:
We want to be on the side of the stage so we can watch the
set.”
John Densmore, The
Doors
Q:
Tell me about this Toronto concert
A:
We came to Canada and at the airport we all got into two black Cadillacs, then
all of a sudden several hundred bikers started zooming along beside us, they
were in a club called the Vagabonds. A hundred ‘Hell’s Angels’ types, and we’re
going, ‘Hey, this is kind of cool.’ And we come into the stadium, a football
stadium, and they drive the limos all the way around the entire circle of the
track with these 150-200 bikers leading us. So, it’s real profound. Like, ‘Oh
my God. Here comes Lucifer,’ you know. It was really great.
So, I go backstage and
Eric Clapton says to me, ‘Isn’t this a crazy life?’ Eric has not cleaned up his
act yet. I didn’t get to see John. And we have to follow John and Yoko, and
it’s a monster band. Eric, Klaus, Alan. Ridiculous. They start and then we hear
this noise coming out of the speakers. Everyone on the stage is saying, ‘What
the fuck is going on here? Some feedback with their set? And then everyone
notices a bag on the floor of the stage with a wire leading from it. Yoko is in
the bag with a microphone warbling. It was great. We didn’t know what the fuck
was going on. ‘Oh, wait a minute, she’s in there.’ Really outrageous.
I mean, you know, John
Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band walked out on stage and it was the biggest roar
of the century and we’re supposed to follow this group?
Kim Fowley introduced
us and we played the best we could. In my opinion, we were fine. We weren’t
great. We weren’t lousy. We were fine. But everyone was so in awe of the Mop
Top … It was great.”
D.A.
Pennebaker
Q: You saw and
documented the Toronto moment but didn’t film The Doors.
A: Morrison had come
to me a couple of times and he obviously was interested. He and Bob Newirth
came and showed me Jim’s film. His student film HWY. I was not
impressed, but that didn’t mean anything. And I was interested in anybody who
was a poet and wanted to make films. That was interesting to me. I didn’t look
down like this was amateur. But the fact is that he was a boozer. And, you
know, that’s a hard thing to make a film about. My father was a boozer. You
can’t count on getting their real lives. You get something else. They put on a
kind of a show. And that was a problem.
And, Morrison was
funded. He had some kind of money. And I had some concerns what he would look
at in 20 years. When the Doors got to Toronto, they were all very puffy. They
looked like chefs in a big restaurant. And I would have shot them, but we
couldn’t afford to stay for the two days. But I heard them and we couldn’t
afford the tracking. We paid for the track for Yoko and John and gave it to
them to release as a record.
It’s an amazing thing.
Coming at the end of that whole concert, it was the end of the Beatles. They
understood it and at the end they fell silent. And John looked out and it was
kind of scary and nobody was there. It was a funny moment. And they all left
the stage and I remember a piece of paper blowing across the stage and slowly
the audience came to life. I thought, ‘My God. This is a fantastic wake.’
Yoko was so
crazy, but still, there was something so fascinating about what she did. You
could see she did it with absolute conviction. What she was bringing to me was
a kind of funeral cry for something that was lost. At the time I wasn’t sure
how I felt about it. But I did welcome it.”
Gary Pig Gold,
Writer
"Saturday,
September the 13th of 1969, broke particularly warm, bright and sunny over the
suburbs of Toronto," recalls decidedly suburbanite Gary Pig Gold.
"And this was to be the day the drummer in my very first
teenaged garage combo agreed to accompany me all the way into the Big City in
order that I could buy my very first teenaged guitar. But! An electricone
this time; the better to approximate the walls of sound on our bass player's
'Summertime Blues' 45 ... Blue Cheer version, that is.
"Only one problem
though: I had only managed to accumulate twenty Canadian dollars with which to
accomplish this most momentous of tasks. Which, of course, upon arrival
dictated we bypass the big downtown music stores and traipse directly instead
over to that string of seedy-and-then-some pawn shops
which littered – literally! – the city's infamous Church Street
strip. Needless to say, the proprietor of the very first establishment we
entered certainly must have seen us coming, as in answer to my request he
pulled from the back room a flaming once-red electric (sort of) guitar of
questionable pedigree, not to mention intonation which cost –
surprise! – exactly twenty dollars. The grin on my face as I emptied my
pockets was equaled only by the smirk on said salesman's face as he packed my
new best friend into a 'complimentary' cardboard carrying case and sent us
triumphantly upon our Blue Cheer way.
"However,
strolling back to the train station drummer Mike and I were suddenly struck
by music – loud music; rock and roll music! –
drifting enticingly overhead from some far-off location. It didn't sound like a
record ... or a radio ... and as we ventured northwesterly, it grew ever louder
and absolutely groovier by the block. Soon enough we found ourselves, along
with about a thousand or so other curious kids milling outside the University
of Toronto's Varsity Stadium, wherein it seemed like there was an actual
bonafide rock festival going on. Could it ... Could it be the
Great White Northland's very own Woodstock a-happening?!!
"Eagerly
circumventing the perimeter of the gigantic structure we came upon
one rear entranceway guarded by a genuine dyed-in-tie-dyed-wool hippie –
yep, just like those our parents had warned us about via the pages
of The Toronto Daily Star – who said 'Hey, man. You guys wanna
come on in?'
Welllll ...
Explaining we'd just lost our last remaining $20 on Church Street he replied
'Don't worry, man. Just sneak on in. I won't tell anyone. Go on!'
"But alas,
what with the complimentary elastic band already giving way 'round my pawnshop
guitar case [sic!], and terrified said instrument might fall into some wrong
hands altogether I regretfully said 'No thanks,' clutched my six-strings ever
tighter, and Mike and I continued our journey back to Union Station just as it
sounded like Jerry Lee Lewis was taking the stage. We tried consoling ourselves
on the ride home that not only would there be other rock concerts to
sneak into in our futures, but that with an actual electric guitar finally in
our arsenal, someday WE would be playing Varsity Stadium. And the Killer would
be opening for us!
"Now,
here's the punchline: A few hours later, safely home after Saturday dinner, my
phone rang. It was drummer Mike. 'Gary! Quick! Turn on CHUM-FM right
now!!' he gasped before hanging up. Hmmm. Downstairs to my radio I went, just
in time to hear our favorite jock gasping 'And I don't believe it, ladies
and gentlemen, but it's true! As we report to you now, live from Varsity
Stadium, none other than JOHN LENNON has just taken the stage! Yes, JOHN
LENNON. This is unbelievable, ladies and gentlemen!!'
"Eight
years later I also turned down two free tickets to go see April Wine at the El
Mocambo ... yes, on the night it turned out the Rolling Stones were playing
instead. But I really do much more miss having missed the world premiere of the
Plastic Ono Band right there ten blocks northwest of Church Street near the end
of one of the greatest 1969's of my life. But every September 13th I still
pull Live Peace in Toronto out for a spin on the ol' Pig
Player ... Side 2 and all, I'll have everyone know.
"Oh, and
that semi-red $20 electric special from Church Street? Turns out its frets and
neck altogether were no more durable than its cardboard carrying case: the poor
thang survived less than two months of my adolescent Blue Cheering all over it.
"I
certainly learned my lesson though: I spent nearly Fifty dollars on my next guitar..."
Check out this upcoming 4-Part Stax
Documentary coming to HBO and Max …
HBO ORIGINAL
DOCUMENTARY SERIES STAX: SOULSVILLE U.S.A. DEBUTS MAY 20
The Memphis
Soul Sound That Electrified The World
Click
here to watch the trailer
The
HBO Original four-part documentary series STAX: SOULSVILLE U.S.A., an
official selection of the 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival and
winner of the TV Premiere Audience Award, is produced and directed by filmmaker
Jamila Wignot. The series, a production of Laylow Pictures and White Horse
Pictures in association with Concord Originals, Polygram Entertainment, and
Warner Music Entertainment, debuts MONDAY, MAY 20 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) on
HBO with two episodes airing back-to-back, followed by the final two episodes
airing back-to-back on Tuesday, May 21 at the same time. All four episodes of
the series will be available to stream on Max on May 20.
● Synopsis: By 1973, Stax
Records was one of the recording industry’s most influential producers of soul
music, breaking acts such as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the
M.G.’s, Sam & Dave, and many more. In just under two decades, the scrappy
outsider had grown from a modest family-owned record store and studio in
Memphis, TN to a trailblazing global music label. STAX: SOULSVILLE U.S.A.
chronicles the audacious group of individuals who dared to make music on their
own terms, smashing racial barriers and defining an era and leaving an enduring
musical legacy in their wake. Driven by a striking collection of restored and
remastered archival performance footage and intimate interviews with key players
in the label’s remarkable history, STAX: SOULSVILLE U.S.A. details the unlikely
origin story of Stax Records and pays tribute to its complex music library and
the legendary artists that emerged from the iconic studio.
Founded
in 1957 by Jim Stewart and co-owned with his sister, Estelle Axton, the company
drew upon a mix of young, local talent – musicians, songwriters, and producers
– who would create the unforgettable Stax sound. Against the backdrop of the
American south of the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, white and Black artists worked
together, defying segregation, and producing hits such as “(Sittin’ On) the
Dock of the Bay,” “Soul Man,” “Green Onions,” and the Oscar®-winning
“Theme from Shaft.” At the peak of its success, Stax artists commemorated the
Watts Rebellion by playing to over 100,000 African Americans at the 1972
benefit concert Wattstax. During an era of major social turbulence, systemic
inequity, and racial tensions, Stax, an integrated company, saw stunning artistic
and cultural success, and managed to rebound from repeated business setbacks
and tragic losses before the studio ultimately dissolved after fifteen
pioneering years.
● Featured Participants: A
wealth of music and archival footage is complemented by insight from: Stax
founder Jim Stewart and co-owner Estelle Axton; the legendary Otis Redding and
Isaac Hayes, Stax producer and artist; Al Bell, Stax’s former president, owner,
and director of promotions; Deanie Parker, Stax’s director of publicity; David
Porter, musician and Stax songwriter; Booker T. Jones, Booker T. & The
M.G.’s musician and band leader; Booker T. & the M.G.’s guitarist, Steve
Cropper; Rufus Thomas, artist and Memphis DJ; Carla Thomas, Stax singer and
songwriter; Sam Moore, singer; Bar-Kays bassist, James Alexander; musician and
Bar-Kays drummer, Willie Hall; Howard Robertson, Stax publicist; Terry Manning,
Stax engineer; Bettye Crutcher, Stax songwriter; Bobby Manuel, Stax
guitarist; Wattstax cinematographers Larry Clark and Roderick Young; Bruce
Talamon, photographer; James Douglas, marketing and promotions for Stax; and
Rob Bowman, historian and author of “Soulsville, U.S.A.”
● Episode Descriptions
CHAPTER
ONE “Cause I Love You”
Debut
date: MONDAY, MAY 20 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)
With
humble beginnings in Memphis, TN in the late 1950s, Stax Records quickly
becomes one of the most influential record labels on the Black music scene,
breaking out iconic artists including Sam & Dave, Booker T. & the MG’s,
and Otis Redding. With growing popularity in the Black market, Stax executives
and musicians were determined to transcend racial divides and bring their music
into the American mainstream.
CHAPTER
TWO “Soul Man”
Debut
date: MONDAY, MAY 20 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT)
Stax
Records finally breaks through to the white market, with their crossover hit
“Soul Man” and Otis Redding’s performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. But
Redding’s untimely death, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
legal obstacles, and ongoing racial tensions in Memphis reveal cracks in the
surface at the company.
CHAPTER
THREE “Respect Yourself”
Debut
date: TUESDAY, MAY 21 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)
After
the tragic death of Otis Redding and the Atlantic Records merger that left Stax
in the dust, Stax promotions director Al Bell steps up to save the company,
releasing hit records such as “Soul Limbo” and “Who’s Making Love?.” Stax puts
their efforts behind Isaac Hayes, who receives GRAMMY® and Oscar®
awards for his work composing the music and theme song for the 1971 box office
smash hit “Shaft.”
CHAPTER
FOUR “Nothing Takes The Place Of You”
Debut
date: TUESDAY, MAY 21 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT)
By
the 1970s, Stax is in its prime and decides to give back to the Black community
in Los Angeles, CA by putting on the Wattstax benefit concert in 1972 and
recording the event as a documentary. However, not long after, money troubles
plague the company when their bank goes under and drags Stax down with them,
forcing the company to shutter its doors.
Credits:
HBO Documentary Films presents STAX:
SOULSVILLE U.S.A., a Laylow Pictures Production and a White Horse Pictures
Production in association with Concord Originals, Polygram Entertainment, and
Warner Music Entertainment. Directed by Jamila Wignot; produced by Jamila
Wignot and Kara Elverson; executive produced by Ezra Edelman, Caroline
Waterlow, Nigel Sinclair, Nicholas Ferrall, Scott Pascucci, Sophia Dilley,
Michele Smith, Jody Gerson, David Blackman, Charlie Cohen, and Ron Broitman.
For HBO: executive producers, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Tina Nguyen.
More from Harvey …
In the 1960-1975
period the Stax company placed more than 167 hit songs in the Top 100 on the
pop charts, and 243 hits in the Top 100 R&B charts.
Stax launched and/or
further supported the careers of such legendary artists as Otis Redding, Sam
& Dave, Rufus & Carla Thomas, Johnnie Taylor, Isaac Hayes, Booker T.
& the MGs, Steve Cropper, Ron Capone, Albert King and numerous others.
Wayne Jackson was an R&B musician who played trumpet in the Mar-Keys and in the studio house band at Stax Records. Later, a member of the Memphis Horns.
In 2007 Jackson and I discussed the epic Stax/Volt ’67 UK/Europe tour and Stax label colorful memories.
“Initially it was going to be Otis and his guys who went on the road with him. It was Jerry Wexler who said, ‘No. They want to hear the sound of Stax.’ The UK audience knew it as the Stax/Volt band. The Mar-Keys and Booker T. & the MG’s that made up the band. They loved Otis Redding like we all loved Otis Redding but the band at Stax was the diving board he jumped off of.
“You can tell the horn sound,” Jackson reiterated. “Me, Andrew Love and Floyd Newman sound a certain way. All those records had that in common. All those records had Steve Cropper’s guitar, Al Jackson’s drums, Duck Dunn’s bass and Booker’s organ. Those things are very distinctive and that made up Stax sounds. And that’s where Otis came from. So, Jerry Wexler was really hip to say that,” Jackson remarked.
“I loved Otis and he loved me. We were big friends. ‘Cause we all liked to laugh, and we were all young and the testosterone levels were out of this world. That’s what you heard in that music. Al Jackson was a joy to watch. He was the most fun drummer I ever was around. He was just the best drummer you ever heard and the best drummer you ever saw. He was a great musician.
“Musicians are not in competition. No one in that band was in competition. We were one thing. We were there to support and glorify Otis Redding. And we did that. And it shows on screen. We were there to respect glorify and hold the singer up to glory. Whether it be Otis, Eddie Floyd or Sam & Dave. We did that. That was our job and we loved it and did it good. Everybody in that band had his position. Like Duck Dunn. Have you ever seen anybody work that hard on bass? It makes my hands cramp up.
“Playing on the 1967 Stax/Volt tour I didn’t alter anything. I just tried to hang on. ‘Cause the tempos were higher. Jim Stewart told Otis in England, ‘We’re recording this Otis, so we need to get into the groove of Stax.’ And Otis said, ‘Fuck you. This is my show and I’m gonna leave these people out of breath.’ And that’s what he did. He ignored Jim completely.
“It was his way to keep the fire under their feet I don’t think he had more confidence. I don’t think he could have had any more confidence if he tried. He was just an exuberant, wonderful guy. He brought all of that to the stage with him.
“Sam & Dave tried to cut him every night. They tried to blow him out of the water but they never did. They were as strong as nine acres of garlic but Otis was ten acres of garlic!”
During my
2007 encounter with horn man Wayne Jackson, I felt a sense of destiny imbued
the sound of Stax wax.
“Duck Dunn
and I are both left-handed, born on the same day in the same hospital. It was a
real spiritual and astrological happening at Stax,” acknowledged Wayne.
“Andrew Love
is three days older than me and he and David Porter were born the same day.
Booker is a musical genius. Otis always brought a great contribution to all the
sessions he was on. He was educated. Steve Cropper invented a style of guitar
where the little guitar parts were singular. He played licks that became part
of the song. The horns were part of the song. Without us they would not have
been the same.
“Otis used a
guitar to write songs and would use open key. So, he could just bar it put a
bar on his finger and play up the scale and chords. He could easily write with
it. When I was with Otis, he was on another energy track. Otis was like a
16-year old boy with a hard on all the time.
“Because all
he could think about was writing a song and getting into a studio. That was his
life. Zelma and those kids and the farm and his music in that order, I think.
But outside of the farm he didn’t think of nothing but his career. Otis did an
amazing body of work in the six years he was recording,” Wayne summarized.
On August 20,
1972, over one hundred and ten thousand people witnessed a seven-hour concert
in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Wattstax music festival
celebrated a new direction in soul and R & B for 1972. Isaac Hayes, the
Staples Singers, Luther Ingram, Albert King, Little Milton, Johnny Taylor, and
Rufus Thomas contributed to this event recognizing the increasing cultural and
financial strength of the downtown and South Central L.A. communities.
The
entertainers’ expenses, the equipment, the promotion, and the advertising were
all paid for by the Stax organization, in conjunction with the Schlitz Brewing
Company. Ticket sales benefited the Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation, the Martin
Luther King Hospital in Watts, and the Watts Summer Festival.
In 1973, the
documentary film Wattstax, directed
by Mel Stuart, enjoyed a national theatrical release. It debuted at the Cannes
Festival in 1973 and nominated for a Best Documentary, and a Golden Globe.
There was a double-disc sound track.
“They asked
me to do the show,” recalled Stuart in a 2006 interview I did with him for my
book Hollywood Shack Job: Rock Music In Film and on Your Screen.
“Wattstax started when Stax Records wanted to do a big
concert at the Los Angeles Coliseum to recognize the Watts Riots of summer
1965, and wanted to show off all their artists in a big concert that would go
on for nine hours. Al Bell, then the Stax Organization’s board chairman, got in
touch with David Wolper, who I worked with, and he had some connections at
Columbia Pictures, and through David, Stax, and Columbia, they decided to shoot
a documentary that would play in the theaters.
“I knew a lot about music, but I had
never done a show like this. What I did was meet with the Stax people, and
basically, the way I wanted to work was to be the only white person. Everybody
else would be black. Everybody who would advise me, be around me, and guide me
would be black, because they would understand [that] what we were trying to do
was create some kind of personification of the way black people feel at a
particular time. I made sure that we hired all-black crews because, at the
time, they didn’t get a chance to get jobs. I don’t do storyboards. I’ve done
too many documentaries, and just follow my brain.
“The Stax people lined up all their talent that was available. I
was also fortunate, because three or four acts couldn’t make it, so I had the
Emotions on location in a church, both Johnnie Taylor and Richard Pryor in a
funky club, and Little Milton out by the railroad tracks.
“Luther Ingram’s ‘(If Lovin’ You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be
Right.’ Man, I love that song. I think that song is so ‘on.’ I used the entire
full version. Rufus Thomas’ ‘Funky Chicken.’ A big moment for me was when Kim
Weston got up and sang ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ and nobody stood up. And they
really stood up for Jesse Jackson’s ‘I Am Somebody’ and ‘Lift Every Voice and
Sing.’”
In 2003 a DVD was issued and screened at the Sundance Film
Festival.
“There are people coming to see it now, who weren’t even born
when the movie was made,” reiterated Stuart. “By the way, the audience gets
more and more white. It’s become a thing. I think people have a much greater
understanding of the black experience today than they had then.”
The Los
Angeles soul and R&B radio station KGFJ in the late fifties, sixties and
seventies had Stax singles on their influential playlist. Stax tunes were spun
by deejays Magnificent Montague, Hunter Hancock, Tom Reed, and Jim Wood along
with Wolfman Jack on XERB. Decades ago, I saw Stax acts around Hollywood and
inside Los Angeles clubs. I got Johnny Taylor’s autograph for Paul Body!
I remember a May, 1975 visit to
Cherokee Studios on Fairfax Avenue in West Hollywood when Rod Stewart was
recording Atlantic Crossing sessions. Cropper, Stewart and engineer Tom
Dowd regaling me with anecdotes about Stax and staff.
I had a meal with Rod and then
Cherokee co-owner Con Merton, at the Cock ‘n Bull tavern on Sunset Blvd.
Excellent trout. It was a watering hole of television and movie actor/producer
Jack Webb.
I interviewed Rod at the Beverly
Wilshire Hotel. He loved talking about Sam Cooke and Stax.
David
Bowie’s “1984” from Diamond Dogs was
playing on an FM radio when I met Rod Stewart at the Beverly Wilshire. Rod
remarked after listening to the opening guitar riff, “Sounds like David has
been listening to Isaac Hayes’ theme from Shaft.”
That 1967 Stax/Volt tour of the UK
really made an impact not only on Stewart’s record collection but his
monumental career.
In 1977, Rod covered Luther Ingram’s
hit “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right)” on his album Foot
Loose and Fancy Free, produced by Tom Dowd.
“Rod Stewart was foaming at the mouth
when I got the horn section in for Atlantic
Crossing,” recalled Wayne Jackson
in our 2007 exchange.
“Before that we did Smiler. I recently heard Smiler.
Boy, we were some excited folks. I mean me and Andrew were like 31, 32, so
anyway we were in England again and recording with a rock star. It was so
exciting. He was in love with all of us. Peter Gabriel. I went up to Bath. He
saw Otis in Brixton (at the Ram Jam club). I did the arranging on
‘Sledgehammer.’ (The song was written as a tribute to Redding). Stevie Winwood
told me personally that our ’67 tour changed his life that night.”
That applies to Keith Richard,
too. The Rolling Stones have never shied
away from their love and appreciation of Otis Redding and his early Stax/Volt
catalog.
The band recorded “That’s How Strong
My Love Is,” “Pain In My Heart,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” and on their
2005 Bigger Bang tour performed “Mr.
Pitiful” at concerts.
On the debut LP from the Rolling
Stones produced by Andrew Loog Oldham, they cut Rufus Thomas’s “Walking the
Dog.”
Around a month of 1997 Rolling Stones’
Bridges to Babylon Ocean Way recording sessions, one evening Keith and I
talked about his favorite Stax tracks. I ran into him with Ronnie Wood at Musso
& Frank Grill on Hollywood Blvd. We devoured a meal of Liver and Onions.
Keith said, “Stay on the mission, mate.”
Taylor Swift set a new Billboard record … by
achieving The Top 14 Songs on their Hot 100 Chart.
Have you seen the video (with Post Malone) for her
latest #1 Hit, “Fortnight,” the 12th Hot 100 #1 Hit of her career?
Pretty cool ... and not a bad song either ... with some GREAT special effects. (Taylor DOES know how to make a good music video!) kk
And check out this picture of Sean Ono Lennon …
About to perform Watermelon Surgery …
And looking more and more like Papa every day!!! (kk)
REMINDER: The fully restored version of "Let It Be" premiers this Wednesday (May 8th) on Disney+
And Timmy sent us this “What’s Wrong With This Picture”
analysis …
Food for thought indeed! (kk)
