Like Ray (Charles), Aretha was a hands-on performer, a two-fisted pianist plugged into the main circuit of Holy Ghost power. Even though we produced Aretha in a way that we never produced Ray, she remained the central orchestrator of her own sound, the essential contributor and final arbiter of what fit or did not fit […]
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When in doubt: Minutemen. That’s a personal code and I’m passing it along to you free of charge. Don’t forget it. Etch it in your brain. Not many people got a code to live by anymore. To that end, I’ve found that playing Double Nickels On The Dime at least once a month is […]
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The Adios Lounge would be remiss if it didn’t acknowledge the passing of Jerry Wexler, who died Friday at the age of 91. I’ve often said that if I could live anyone else’s life in history, I’d live Jerry Wexler’s. He coined the phrase “rhythm and blues” while writing for Billboard. He helped create rock […]
Read MoreAfter yesterday’s post about black singers in country music, I decided to get away from the computer and chill with some more Ray Charles. I went to the stack o’ vinyl, took out the LP, What’d I Say (pictured right), and hunkered down with the back cover liner notes. I was only to the third […]
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“I am not a blues singer, I am not a jazz singer, I am not a country and western singer. But, I am a singer that sings rhythm and blues, I am a singer that can sing country music, I am a singer that can sing jazz. There’s a big difference.” -–Ray Charles, in […]
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