Have Records, Will Blog

So I've been thinking for awhile that I ought to start a record collection. After all, someone as entranced as I am by the golden oldies has to move beyond CD compilations eventually, right? To have any semblance of cred at all?

Right. A record collection is a clear necessity. But until now, lack of money, lack of a record player, and lack of a home in which to keep either records or record player have all conspired to stop me from acquiring one.

This week, though, in a used record shop doing research for an assignment, I threw caution to the wind. The store had a soul and R&B section with an unexpected cache of original Stax Volt releases, and I took the plunge. I dropped $107 (including taxes) on my first eight grown-up* records.

Here's the list:

-Motown Winners' Circle Volume 2
-Diana Ross and the Supremes: Greatest Hits
-The Drifters: Golden Hits
-Wattstax: The Living Word
-Booker T & The MGs: Greatest Hits
-Otis Redding: The Dock of the Bay
-The Marvelettes
-Steve Cropper: With a Little Help from my Friends

Of course, I can't listen to any of them until I get myself a record player. And a home in which to play it. So until that happens, here's the next best thing: a clip of the Staple Singers at Wattstax.



*Somewhere, I have a solid stash of Raffi and Sharon, Lois and Bram on vinyl.

R.I.P. Jerry Wexler

It's been a sad week for soul fans.

First Isaac Hayes passed away, and now comes the news that Atlantic Records giant Jerry Wexler has died at 91.

You can take your pick of Wexler's accomplishments: he reportedly coined the term 'rhythm and blues', presided over key phases in the careers of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and others, brought Dusty Springfield to town to record 'Dusty in Memphis', and was a major player in bringing the Stax and Muscle Shoals sounds to the wider world.

Oh, and for any non-soul fans out there: he also signed Led Zeppelin to Atlantic, and worked with Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and more.

Here are a couple of crucial Wexler-related clips.

One of Ray Charles' earliest hits at Atlantic, 'I Got A Woman':



'I Never Loved A Man' was one of two tracks produced when Wex brought Aretha to FAME for the infamous Muscle Shoals session:



Word has it that Wexler once said he wanted only two words inscribed on his tombstone: "More bass." Rest in peace, Jerry.

More On Isaac Hayes, from The Root

While many Isaac Hayes obits focus on the Theme from Shaft, or on the Scientology controversy that led to Hayes' departure from South Park, this item from The Root (rightly) emphasizes his early role as a songwriter at Stax, and on the enormous impact of Hot Buttered Soul.

An Ode To Hot Buttered Genius


As an aside, it seems that most of my generation only knows Isaac Hayes as "Chef" - and that makes me nearly as sad as his death did.

R.I.P. Isaac Hayes

After a long silence, it's a sad occasion that brings me back to the blog. Isaac Hayes has died, at age 65.

Best of the obits to come in a day or two, but in the meantime here are some favourite Hayes tracks.

Before he got into the performance side of things, Isaac Hayes was a songwriter at Stax. Alongside partner David Porter, he wrote most of Sam and Dave's greatest hits, including Hold On I'm Comin:



Stax's release of Hayes' first album, Hot Buttered Soul, was almost an afterthought. It turned out to be one of their greatest successes. Here's Walk On By:



Hayes won both an Oscar and a couple of Grammys for the Theme from Shaft:



Later in his career, Hayes voiced the singing Chef from South Park. Here's "Simultaneous":



Rest in peace, Isaac Hayes. There aren't many soul stars who can claim to have had a greater influence on popular music as a whole.

Cover Art: What A Man / Whatta Man

Salt'n'Pepa's 'Whatta Man' blurs the lines between cover and sample, borrowing heavily from Linda Lyndell but still remaining its own song.

Here's the original, playing in the background of a sketchy homemade video:



And here's the version I grew up on:

Soul Soundtracks: The Commitments

This 1991 release, about a soul cover band in Dublin, offers not just a great soul movie soundtrack - it is a great soul album, full stop. The band draws heavily from the Southern soul tradition, covering Otis Redding, Clarence Carter, Wilson Pickett, James Carr, Aretha's two tracks from the infamous Muscle Shoals session, and more.

Call it blasphemy if you like, but sometimes I have trouble deciding which I like better: the originals, or the covers by The Commitments.

Here's Mustang Sally:

The Bar-Kays - Soul Finger

This hilarious video becomes less funny when you remind yourself that the Bar-Kays went down with Otis Redding on December 10, 1967, and that only Ben Cauley and James Alexander (who missed the flight) survived. Sad now? Me too. But this track should cheer us up.

Sweet Soul Music

Let's kick things off with Arthur Conley's Stax Records classic, Sweet Soul Music: