Soul

September 9: The Late Great Otis Redding was Born in 1941

Posted on by Egil Mosbron

otis-redding-876x668

Otis Redding was soul, but Otis Redding was country, too. That was a point on which he always insisted, and that was the way others saw him. His strength was his simplicity, even if the simplicity was hard-won. The basis for his music was sincerity, not spectacular showmanship; he was at heart a stand-up singer whose power came from his ability to inspire…
~Peter Guralnick

Check out: Robbie Robertson: The night Bob Dylan offered Otis Redding to record Just Like a Woman

Sitting on the dock of the bay:

Continue reading “September 9: The Late Great Otis Redding was Born in 1941” →

Van Morrison’s 50 Greatest Songs Countdown – #42 Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

Jackie Wilson said
It was Reet Petite
Kinda love you got
Knock me off my feet
Let it all hang out
Oh, let it all hang out
And you know
I’m so wired up
Don’t need no coffee in my cup
Let it all hang out
Let it all hang out

TOC

  1. Facts
  2. Quotes
  3. Lyrics
  4. Live versions
  5. Cover versions

–

Facts

Continue reading “Van Morrison’s 50 Greatest Songs Countdown – #42 Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)” →

July 4: Happy 81st Birthday Bill Withers

Posted on by Egil Mosbron

I feel that it is healthier to look out at the world through a window than through a mirror. Otherwise, all you see is yourself and whatever is behind you.
~Bill Withers

Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, It’s not warm when she’s away, Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, And she’s always gone too long, Anytime she goes away.
~Bill Withers (Ain’t No Sunshine)

Ain’t No Sunshine (Live 1971):

Continue reading “July 4: Happy 81st Birthday Bill Withers” →

April 27: Ann Peebles was born in 1947

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

Ann Lee Peebles (born April 27, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter who gained celebrity for her Memphis soul albums of the 1970s for Hi Records. Two of her most popular songs are “I Can’t Stand the Rain”, which she wrote with her husband Don Bryant and radio broadcaster Bernie Miller, and “I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down”. In 2014, Ann Peebles was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.

Happy birthday!

I can’t stand the rain (1974):

I’m gonna tear your playhouse down:

– Hallgeir

April 13: Al Green was born in 1946

Posted on by Egil Mosbron

I’m thankful for every moment.
~Al Green

The music is the message, the message is the music. So that’s my little ministry that the Big Man upstairs gave to me – a little ministry called love and happiness.
~Al Green

“Green plays the boyish Sam Cooke supplicant–or maybe a smooth Otis Redding, or an assertive Smokey Robinson–with the startling is-that-a-synthesizer? high note…”
~Robert Christgau (in 1970 – review of “Gets next to you” album)

Let’s Stay Together (Live 1972):

Continue reading “April 13: Al Green was born in 1946” →

November 15: Little Willie John was born in 1937

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

“…Take a picture of this
The fields are empty, abandoned ’59 Chevy
Laying in the back seat listening to Little Willie John
Yea, that’s when time stood still…”
– Robbie Robertson – Somewhere Down The Crazy River

William Edward “Little Willie” John (November 15, 1937 – May 26, 1968) was an American rock ‘n’ roll and R&B singer who performed in the 1950s and early 1960s. He is best known for his successes on the record charts, with songs such as “All Around the World” (1955), “Need Your Love So Bad” (1956), and “Fever” (1956). An important figure in R&B music of the 1950s, John was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

Fever:

Continue reading “November 15: Little Willie John was born in 1937” →