With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

Music reviews, gig reviews, fun trivia and extra added random stuff!

“And if you keep it young your song is always sung” October 15, 2014

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 5:51 pm
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joe sample 1

I missed this sad news last month. Either because it was not reported widely enough or because I was on holiday. So thanks to Record Collector magazine for bringing it to my attention. Joe Sample off of the Crusaders died of cancer aged 75 on 12th September. Whilst I am not a jazz aficionado I was a big jazz funk fan in my days as a soul boy in the late 70s. Soul Boy? You remember right? Peg trousers, billowy shirts or jumpers and on some occasions plastic sandals!

joe sample

As far as jazz funk goes in my own musical history Joe Sample was a giant and as keyboard and piano player with the Crusaders he was a big hero. Many of you remember the Crusaders big 1979  UK hit “Street Life” with vocals from Randy Crawford. But my liking for the band goes back a little further than that to tunes like “Keep That Same Old Feeling” and “Stomp And Buck Dance” from 1976 and 1974 respectively. ‘Free As The Wind‘ and ‘Chain Reaction’ were also really great albums. I also used to won a couple of Joe’s solo albums too; ‘The Three’ and ‘Rainbow Seeker‘

My thoughts go out to Joe’s family, friends and fans. Joseph Leslie ‘Joe’ Sample RIP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iVR7WLsvAg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZv3aBGGAXM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFb1gxfPQwc

 

“Sit yourself down, take a seat all you gotta do is repeat after me” December 1, 2011

Filed under: Christmas,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 12:06 am
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Here we are at December already and this will be the third year of my musical Christmas Advent calendar. In 2009 it was cover versions and last year it was UK Christmas number ones. So what will it be this year? It will be an ABC of Motown songs and I bet you can’t guess what is under that little cardboard flap for December 1st.

Well obviously it has to be “ABC” by the Jackson 5 doesn’t it? This song was one of my favourite 45s in my then fledgling record collection in the early 70s. I’m pretty sure I bought it at the old Uxbridge market, probably in 1970 or 1971. I no longer have the vinyl but I do have it on various CDs and on my iPod too. I was a real fan of the Jackson 5 in those days and this led to me going to see them at the Wembley Empire Pool in November 1973. I had actually wanted to go and see David Bowie in May of that year but my Dad wouldn’t let me! He said that Bowie was a ‘bloody weirdo’. It’s strange how things worked out isn’t it? But my Dad and I did have a laugh about that during the long conversations that we shared in the year before he died. If there is anything after this existence I’m sure he is chuckling now.

“ABC” was the second in a run of four consecutive US number one singles starting in 1969 with “I Want You Back”. The third was “The Love You Save” and the run ended with “I’ll Be There” in 1970. “ABC” was written by ‘The Corporation’ which consisted of Motown head honcho Berry Gordy along with Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell and Deke Richards. This writing team wrote the first three of this quartet of songs. “ABC” only managed the number 8 spot in the UK.

Wilton Felder, a member of the Crusaders, played bass guitar on the track. Obviously it was a very young (just 11 years old) Michael Jackson who provided the lead vocal. The first airing of the song on US TV was on the American Bandstand show which coincidentally was on the ABC network. You can see that clip below. The song is one of the shortest titles ever to reach the top of the US charts.

The Jackson 5 on tour again sponsored by Jelly Babies