In the early days of a songwriting legend, Dad gave him $40 + this caution: "This songwriting thing is going to break your💖." Instead, the talent of Jimmy Webb broke records, & created musical magic.
Brad, I Loved the Jimmy Web piece. He is one of the great songwriters in our lifetime and your writing shines a light on that fact wonderfully. Never heard Peggy Lee’s live version of “ Phoenix” . She’s fantastic and can sing any song style. Proof here.
Also, Thank you for the “shout out “ for my upcoming concert here in Los Angeles. As of this writing we are nearly sold out. Discussing adding a second show the next night . ♥️ SMS
Thanks so much, Stephen! Peggy's take was new to me, too, and I just couldn't leave it out....pretty much, same with Ms. Wilson's!
I'm so excited for your show! Needless to say, I wish I could be FRONT ROW and even BACKSTAGE for it!! Sold out AND SRO!! Fingers crossed for adding that second show, Stephen! Break a leg!🦵🎶🎸🎼💥😁👍
Wow, what an amazingly chilling song (by Whiskey Myers, "Broken Window Serenade"), KW! That's gonna be somebody's new fave, I'm guessing! And, what a great wood-carving cover shown! Never heard of them, but as fellow Texans (from the east TX town of Palestine), they have an amazing story and start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskey_Myers and https://www.whiskeymyers.com/
....I mean, influenced by both Lynyrd Skynyrd AND Hank, Jr. and Waylon?!?
Calling all who may to write a guest post featuring Whiskey Myers! 'Twould be more than welcome, FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE! Mad props, KW, for bringing WM forward!🎼🎸😉👍
So glad you appreciate this as I do. I have written many playlists with these guys so far.
I discovered WM amidst Tyler Childers, Colter Wall and a newly appreciated Bob Dylan at the beginning of 2020. Helped me develop a new appreciation for the real actual music being appreciated and promoted by real humans here in NashVegas. There is a whole thing going down with all this.
Here is just the latest of my attempts to place these guys in a frame of reference.
Great piece, Brad. But a couple of questions: Sounds like the original break-up was in fact Suzie leaving, not him...so was this wishful turnabout? More important, what happened to Suzie herself? Did she know as it was happening that she was the Helen who launched a thousand covers?
Thanks, Charles! Well, Susie left for a Tahoe casino, early on, as I mentioned. What I don't think I put in (but saw in my original research....hey, editing), was this from Jimmy, according to the NPR piece I cited: "Webb called the song a "succinct tale" with an "O. Henry-esque twist at the end, which consists merely of the guy saying, 'She didn't really think that I would go,' but he did."
And, importantly, "although the protagonist in the song plans to leave his lover, Webb did not leave Horton." So, his lyrics were simply to suit the song and create a certain narrative, disregarding reality at that point, however autobiographical the song had been to that point!
So, nice detective work, Charles....that might've been a key passage to keep in! Plus, I imagine, at some point, she and he spoke, and if nothing else, she was listening to the radio, and if not knowing......wondering! Thanks for keeping me on my toes, and helping me to dot my tees and cross my eyes!👁👁🗨👀
Well, not quite intended as "keeping you on your toes", but really just wondering what happened! Oh, re. the songs, I liked the Peggy Lee and 4Tops versions the best. Hadn't listened to her in decades--what a voice. And as with the Isleys covering Todd, I guess I just love that funk thang applied to easy-listening songs. You know, add some spice!
A great article, Brad, as ever, and thanks for the shout-out (twice, no less!). I liked the Johnny Rivers version and, I was surprised to discover, I thought the Four Tops version worked well. I was rather disappointed with the Peggy Lee version, despite the fact that I love most of her stuff. I will have to check out the soul versions. I'm hoping there's a disco version in there somewhere! Thanks again, Brad, great stuff
Thanks, Terry, and for your contribution, too! I like putting a "line link" on a sentence at the top, and the box link at the end...cleaner, too, as putting the box one (which I like how 'Stack does that) at the top would be a tad intrusive.
As for the Tops (and some of the other soul arrangements), the ballad form seems to scream for a soul treatment, with the runs and inflections some of our greats can muster! I think Peggy's arrangement was maybe too heavy-handed with the instrumentation...unique, to be sure (bass flute, harmonica, etc), but might have detracted from Ms. Lee's vocal. Whaddaya think?
PS As you mentioned my comment that I'd already written about Downriver and Road to Cairo, if your readers would like to explore my comments on them they're here: https://terryfreedman.substack.com/p/updated-in-praise-of-david-ackles Hope you don't mind my putting that link here.
No prob, Terry! I'm glad you did, 'cause it completes your mention at the top of the piece! My comment sections are happy to be nick-named "Links R Us"! Bring it on!
Excellent essay as usual. A couple things come to mind. Glen Campbell was great. I miss Glen...
Here's an article idea for someone to write: The Wrecking Crew, The Funk Brothers were Motown's "house band", MFSB (Mother Father Sister Brother at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios)., and The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (R & B, Soul and Country). Are there any current studio colabs like these guys, and who were the most popular musicians from each?
I know you probably have stories about a couple of them?
As for the Wrecking Crew, lots of info is already available....not that it wouldn't be worthwhile to collate some, and do a focus on a Carol Kaye or an Al De Lory (mentioned in this article as a WC keyboardist)....Muscle Shoals, you betcha....Funk Bros.? Oh, yeah!
But, I give a shout-out to the latest (# 11, Dec/Jan/Feb 2023) issue of Third Man Records' "Maggot Brain" mag (https://thirdmanrecords.com/collections/magazines), where they do an interview (titled "They Really Wrecked It, Too"!) with Memphis' Hi Records Rhythm Section, who played behind the likes of the Rev. Al Green, Ann Peebles, O.V. Wright, and Syl Johnson...namely, the Hodges brothers: guitarist, Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, organist, Charles Sr. (also a Rev.), and bassist, Leroy Hodges aka "Flick."
Along with pianist Archie "Hubbie" Turner, drummer Howard Grimes (with occasional help from M.G.'s drummer, Al Jackson, Jr.) they formed the label's house band, Hi Rhythm. They made one album on their own, in '76, "On the Loose."
Apparently, Jack White was in town (Austin) recently, prepping for the upcoming SXSW Fest, and dropping off several copies of the latest issue of his label's mag, and, as I'm good friends with Jack's Veep of A&R (and FR&B subscriber), Mark Chance, I got one dropped into my ample lap!! All of this to say that, among all those other superb aggregations, Hi Rhythm is equally deserving of attention and applause!
Thanks for the note, Paul....if nothing else, I may do some digging on Hi, using MB's new interview as an anchor! Stay tuned....and keep commenting! You and your ideas are a huge part of FR&B, whose readers would do well to check out your Deplatformable Newsletter: https://pau1.substack.com/about
Thanks again for the connections, stories, and the shout out! You are a walking encyclopedia. Well, I know you're a person, and not a book, but...you know.
A fantastic song - my favourite version being by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds on their album of covers, Kicking Against the Pricks (1986). Worth a listen!
Nick almost made the cut (I found and listened to it)! It would've been cool to get an alt-ish arrangement in there, with all the MOR arrangements that exist/made the cut! My task was daunting, to say the least, with literally hundreds from which to choose! I decided to go with a handful of those that, for them, were more immediate reactions to the song...of the time/era, etc.
I even had a few soul versions from which to choose: The Main Ingredient, O.C. Smith, and a couple others. Most know the Four Tops and Motown, and they did it up proud for a song that was admittedly tough to get a unique arrangement on...like Nick did! I'm hoping my readers will do a deep dive into the glorious pile of "Phoenix" covers extant, and discover a new fave!
I link the site to Secondhandsongs in the piece (the sentence that states that Johnny Rivers was the first to record it). Let that be your guide.....if we don't hear from you within the week, we know you're stuck inside Spotify or someplace similiar!! Have fun, Bryan!🎶
Brad, I Loved the Jimmy Web piece. He is one of the great songwriters in our lifetime and your writing shines a light on that fact wonderfully. Never heard Peggy Lee’s live version of “ Phoenix” . She’s fantastic and can sing any song style. Proof here.
Also, Thank you for the “shout out “ for my upcoming concert here in Los Angeles. As of this writing we are nearly sold out. Discussing adding a second show the next night . ♥️ SMS
Thanks so much, Stephen! Peggy's take was new to me, too, and I just couldn't leave it out....pretty much, same with Ms. Wilson's!
I'm so excited for your show! Needless to say, I wish I could be FRONT ROW and even BACKSTAGE for it!! Sold out AND SRO!! Fingers crossed for adding that second show, Stephen! Break a leg!🦵🎶🎸🎼💥😁👍
For some strange reason this post reminds me of the following song:
https://open.spotify.com/track/7G59EUBvMPfIy1FTuobrqj?si=9ab02d30100444ef
Wow, what an amazingly chilling song (by Whiskey Myers, "Broken Window Serenade"), KW! That's gonna be somebody's new fave, I'm guessing! And, what a great wood-carving cover shown! Never heard of them, but as fellow Texans (from the east TX town of Palestine), they have an amazing story and start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskey_Myers and https://www.whiskeymyers.com/
....I mean, influenced by both Lynyrd Skynyrd AND Hank, Jr. and Waylon?!?
Calling all who may to write a guest post featuring Whiskey Myers! 'Twould be more than welcome, FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE! Mad props, KW, for bringing WM forward!🎼🎸😉👍
So glad you appreciate this as I do. I have written many playlists with these guys so far.
I discovered WM amidst Tyler Childers, Colter Wall and a newly appreciated Bob Dylan at the beginning of 2020. Helped me develop a new appreciation for the real actual music being appreciated and promoted by real humans here in NashVegas. There is a whole thing going down with all this.
Here is just the latest of my attempts to place these guys in a frame of reference.
https://open.substack.com/pub/kwnorton/p/evolution-of-american-music-on-the?r=boqs0&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
This post goes into some interesting connections between these diverse channels of different artists and producers.
https://open.substack.com/pub/kwnorton/p/chris-stapleton-america-nashville?r=boqs0&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
ooh, love the harmonica!
Great piece, Brad. But a couple of questions: Sounds like the original break-up was in fact Suzie leaving, not him...so was this wishful turnabout? More important, what happened to Suzie herself? Did she know as it was happening that she was the Helen who launched a thousand covers?
Thanks, Charles! Well, Susie left for a Tahoe casino, early on, as I mentioned. What I don't think I put in (but saw in my original research....hey, editing), was this from Jimmy, according to the NPR piece I cited: "Webb called the song a "succinct tale" with an "O. Henry-esque twist at the end, which consists merely of the guy saying, 'She didn't really think that I would go,' but he did."
And, importantly, "although the protagonist in the song plans to leave his lover, Webb did not leave Horton." So, his lyrics were simply to suit the song and create a certain narrative, disregarding reality at that point, however autobiographical the song had been to that point!
So, nice detective work, Charles....that might've been a key passage to keep in! Plus, I imagine, at some point, she and he spoke, and if nothing else, she was listening to the radio, and if not knowing......wondering! Thanks for keeping me on my toes, and helping me to dot my tees and cross my eyes!👁👁🗨👀
Well, not quite intended as "keeping you on your toes", but really just wondering what happened! Oh, re. the songs, I liked the Peggy Lee and 4Tops versions the best. Hadn't listened to her in decades--what a voice. And as with the Isleys covering Todd, I guess I just love that funk thang applied to easy-listening songs. You know, add some spice!
Well said! I do hope you've seen Peggy's televised "Fever" from "The Andy Williams Show," 1962! She's just so cool! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUULRXVxsVc
Hadn't seen that, thanks! That was cool!
A great article, Brad, as ever, and thanks for the shout-out (twice, no less!). I liked the Johnny Rivers version and, I was surprised to discover, I thought the Four Tops version worked well. I was rather disappointed with the Peggy Lee version, despite the fact that I love most of her stuff. I will have to check out the soul versions. I'm hoping there's a disco version in there somewhere! Thanks again, Brad, great stuff
Thanks, Terry, and for your contribution, too! I like putting a "line link" on a sentence at the top, and the box link at the end...cleaner, too, as putting the box one (which I like how 'Stack does that) at the top would be a tad intrusive.
As for the Tops (and some of the other soul arrangements), the ballad form seems to scream for a soul treatment, with the runs and inflections some of our greats can muster! I think Peggy's arrangement was maybe too heavy-handed with the instrumentation...unique, to be sure (bass flute, harmonica, etc), but might have detracted from Ms. Lee's vocal. Whaddaya think?
I prefer her stuff where it's mainly her voice: fever, I'm a woman, why don't you do right
PS As you mentioned my comment that I'd already written about Downriver and Road to Cairo, if your readers would like to explore my comments on them they're here: https://terryfreedman.substack.com/p/updated-in-praise-of-david-ackles Hope you don't mind my putting that link here.
No prob, Terry! I'm glad you did, 'cause it completes your mention at the top of the piece! My comment sections are happy to be nick-named "Links R Us"! Bring it on!
Lol
Excellent essay as usual. A couple things come to mind. Glen Campbell was great. I miss Glen...
Here's an article idea for someone to write: The Wrecking Crew, The Funk Brothers were Motown's "house band", MFSB (Mother Father Sister Brother at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios)., and The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (R & B, Soul and Country). Are there any current studio colabs like these guys, and who were the most popular musicians from each?
I know you probably have stories about a couple of them?
Well, Paul, you set me up with the lob, so here's the spike! I poured out all my love for Earl Young, Thom Bell, and MFSB here: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/a-life-worth-singing-remembering in my tribute to the Master, Mr. Bell, and here: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/audio-archaeology-the-birth-of-disco highlighting Mr. Young's contribution to disco (and more)!
As for the Wrecking Crew, lots of info is already available....not that it wouldn't be worthwhile to collate some, and do a focus on a Carol Kaye or an Al De Lory (mentioned in this article as a WC keyboardist)....Muscle Shoals, you betcha....Funk Bros.? Oh, yeah!
But, I give a shout-out to the latest (# 11, Dec/Jan/Feb 2023) issue of Third Man Records' "Maggot Brain" mag (https://thirdmanrecords.com/collections/magazines), where they do an interview (titled "They Really Wrecked It, Too"!) with Memphis' Hi Records Rhythm Section, who played behind the likes of the Rev. Al Green, Ann Peebles, O.V. Wright, and Syl Johnson...namely, the Hodges brothers: guitarist, Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, organist, Charles Sr. (also a Rev.), and bassist, Leroy Hodges aka "Flick."
Along with pianist Archie "Hubbie" Turner, drummer Howard Grimes (with occasional help from M.G.'s drummer, Al Jackson, Jr.) they formed the label's house band, Hi Rhythm. They made one album on their own, in '76, "On the Loose."
Apparently, Jack White was in town (Austin) recently, prepping for the upcoming SXSW Fest, and dropping off several copies of the latest issue of his label's mag, and, as I'm good friends with Jack's Veep of A&R (and FR&B subscriber), Mark Chance, I got one dropped into my ample lap!! All of this to say that, among all those other superb aggregations, Hi Rhythm is equally deserving of attention and applause!
Thanks for the note, Paul....if nothing else, I may do some digging on Hi, using MB's new interview as an anchor! Stay tuned....and keep commenting! You and your ideas are a huge part of FR&B, whose readers would do well to check out your Deplatformable Newsletter: https://pau1.substack.com/about
Thanks again for the connections, stories, and the shout out! You are a walking encyclopedia. Well, I know you're a person, and not a book, but...you know.
There's no proof that Brad is a person. I think he is a musical version of ChatGPT
"There's no proof that Brad is a person"?.....whatareyou, my ex-wife?!😱
Omg I laughed out loud and woke up half the neighborhood
WHAT?!? OMG, You ARE my ex-wife! I WANT MY RECORDS BACK!!! OH! OHHHHHH!!! (Remember that Sam Kinison routine?)
Ah, good point Terry. I've seen him on a zoom call, but could have been some kind of artificial trickery...
exactly. It was probably a deep fake video or something
yeah, most likely 🙃
A fantastic song - my favourite version being by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds on their album of covers, Kicking Against the Pricks (1986). Worth a listen!
Nick almost made the cut (I found and listened to it)! It would've been cool to get an alt-ish arrangement in there, with all the MOR arrangements that exist/made the cut! My task was daunting, to say the least, with literally hundreds from which to choose! I decided to go with a handful of those that, for them, were more immediate reactions to the song...of the time/era, etc.
I even had a few soul versions from which to choose: The Main Ingredient, O.C. Smith, and a couple others. Most know the Four Tops and Motown, and they did it up proud for a song that was admittedly tough to get a unique arrangement on...like Nick did! I'm hoping my readers will do a deep dive into the glorious pile of "Phoenix" covers extant, and discover a new fave!
Thanks, Bryan!🎶😁👍
will definitely need to look into the soul versions - great suggestions! (As always!)
I link the site to Secondhandsongs in the piece (the sentence that states that Johnny Rivers was the first to record it). Let that be your guide.....if we don't hear from you within the week, we know you're stuck inside Spotify or someplace similiar!! Have fun, Bryan!🎶