I was wondering if you knew if the Watts 103rd were competitive with early Earth wind and Fire, because at some point they were both on Warner Brothers together.
I don't know 'bout that - one band (Watts) was fading just as the other one (E,W&F) was starting up. And even then, Earth, Wind & Fire had to change labels before making any kind of impact.
Seems to me if the Watts Band were competitive with any funk band, it would have to be the Josie-era Meters (who also turned up on Warner/Reprise just as Charles Wright was easing out the back door). Probably Dyke & the Blazers too (and even then, some of their songs had Watts Band personnel playing on them).
Good response pickwick. I can definitely understand that, and I'm always wondering about bands if they respected there peers or if there were rivalries. More times than most it's usually rivals, and not respect. I dunno If it was me in charge of the watts 103rd, and some new guys coming from chicago started doing funk on my label. That would make me a bit competitive.
They say that's why United Artists signed Brass Construction - because they thought War (their big funk mainstay) was getting too big for their britches, and signing a younger, more disco-ish band (but in the same funk vein) would have put 'em in their place. Dunno about that, but War did change labels shortly thereafter.
So... will this project include Rhythm & Poetry and/or extra material from that album. I like that album a lot. It doesn't seem to get as much love as the others though and if I'm not mistaken hasn't really been available in the US on any format since it's release (???). I don't have the album in front of me... did it feature the same players as the early albums? If so, how did he convince the band not to get any credit on the album title? If not, then who were THOSE guys?
Good question. I don't know. That album wasn't on Warner Bros so it's not included in this set of projects and I haven't spoken to Wright about his later solo albums.
R&P was on Warners. That was Wright's last before switching to ABC/Dunhill.
As far as the musicians themselves, there are one or two Watts Band members on the LP, but it's mostly a different, rotating crew (there's a full personnel breakdown on the back cover).
Odub, you really should go to a library and track down Lester Bangs' rave review of In The Jungle in Rolling Stone (ca. late '69, with Miles Davis on the cover). You might find it interesting - Bangs has some insightful things to say about how there should have been more homegrown black soul BANDS (as opposed to singing groups) like there were in white rock, and he cited the Watts Band and the Bar-Kays as exhibits A & B.
Late pass, I missed it the first time: what is bangs talking about though? Call me crazy but was there an actual shortage of Black soul bands in this era?
I don't have the article in front of me right this minute, but the gist of it basically was that soul music - as of 1969 - was mainly about singers and singing groups, but there were relatively few BANDS, that played actual instruments, like there were in white rock. And when you did see black bands back then (now this is me talking, not Lester Bangs), it was usually some slick backup band, like King Curtis's group or James Brown's. Bangs thought there should be more homegrown African-American bands (not singing groups) concentrating on performing their own material, and thought the Bar-Kays and the Watts Band were a step in the right direction. Remember, in '69 self-contained soul bands were a relative rarity. Besides the Bar-Kays and the Watts Band, there was Sly & the Family Stone, Kool & the Gang, Funkadelic (a few 45's but no albums yet), the Meters, Dyke & the Blazers, and maybe a few others here & there. But it was still all about the singers - funk and black bands didn't really take off until '71.
Really, the seventies and early eighties were probably the only time you saw so many self-contained black soul/funk bands playing instruments. After '83 or so, it kinda tailed off. (Except maybe for all those D.C. go-go bands.)
I jsut read a set of notes (yet unpublished) that said "Spreadin Honey" was recorded by Wright, Carmichael PLUS Bobby Womack and Leon Haywood. This jibe with what you've heard?
Yes - I have read that Bobby Womack was on the session, and it makes sense that Leon Haywood was in on it as well, since he was working quite a few L.A. sessions at that time.
This version of the Watts Band actually appeared on American Bandstand (the old Dick Clark-hosted dance-party TV show on ABC) around that time. Wonder which lineup showed up to pick-synch to the track? Supposedly this clip is still in Dick Clark's vaults, but he's known to be pretty tight-fisted about letting his stuff get out there...
So... will this project include Rhythm & Poetry and/or extra material from that album. I like that album a lot. It doesn't seem to get as much love as the others though and if I'm not mistaken hasn't really been available in the US on any format since it's release (???). I don't have the album in front of me... did it feature the same players as the early albums? If so, how did he convince the band not to get any credit on the album title? If not, then who were THOSE guys?
Good question. I don't know. That album wasn't on Warner Bros so it's not included in this set of projects and I haven't spoken to Wright about his later solo albums.
R&P was on Warners. That was Wright's last before switching to ABC/Dunhill.
As far as the musicians themselves, there are one or two Watts Band members on the LP, but it's mostly a different, rotating crew (there's a full personnel breakdown on the back cover).
My bad - I was confusing "R&P" with "99 Day Cycle People." So the answer is, in fact, YES, "R&P" is also part of this project and as with the other albums involved, there's a good deal of bonus material for this album as well.
I jsut read a set of notes (yet unpublished) that said "Spreadin Honey" was recorded by Wright, Carmichael PLUS Bobby Womack and Leon Haywood. This jibe with what you've heard?
Yes - I have read that Bobby Womack was on the session, and it makes sense that Leon Haywood was in on it as well, since he was working quite a few L.A. sessions at that time.
This version of the Watts Band actually appeared on American Bandstand (the old Dick Clark-hosted dance-party TV show on ABC) around that time. Wonder which lineup showed up to pick-synch to the track? Supposedly this clip is still in Dick Clark's vaults, but he's known to be pretty tight-fisted about letting his stuff get out there...
Interesting. Weird actually! I'll have to follow-up with that as well. Wright also released a single on Phillips in 1965 but I don't know who backed him on that either.
This does create more confusion though because Wright said, point blank, he did NOT record on "Spreadin Honey" and I asked him about this several times so either his memory is REALLY bad or else he really wasn't on a player on that record.
And just to go back to the earlier point of confusion. Assuming Watts Band 1 and the Soul Runners were two different groups, then did the Soul Runners re-record "Spreadin Honey" and "Charley" for their MoSoul releases?
The thing is though - LA in this era didn't seem to have as many big name R&B recording artists as other cities. What's telling is that the Watts Band were mostly playing Top 40 music before they started recording and if you looked at their playlists, they'd be playing some Stax, some JB, some Motown, some Sly Stone, some Impressions...etc...everything except anything from Los Angeles with the exception of Dyke and the Blazers.
And I'm definitely NOT an expert on LA R&B of this era so I can't really say what was going on (or not going on) but in the late '60s, despite a shitload of R&B studio players and stage bands, it just seemed like there were few of them making a run at the charts besides the Watts 103rd. That said, I'm out of my league in knowledge here and other people can probably chime in and fill in the massive blanks I'm leaving.
As quiet as it was kept, L.A. did have a local soul scene back then. It didn't seem to be quite as organized as Memphis, Detroit or Chicago, but it existed. Brenton Wood was active on the L.A.-based Double Shot label; Brenda Holloway was on Motown, but lived and recorded in Los Angeles; the Mirwood label had the Olympics and Jackie Lee, among others, and their pseudo-Motown sound is in high esteem with Northern Soul types; even the Del-Fi label (home to Ritchie Valens, Bobby Fuller and more surf bands than you could shake a stick at) got in on it with their Bronco label, featuring acts like Felice Taylor ("It May Be Winter Outside") who were produced by Barry White.
He says, as best as he can remember, he was not present to record "Spreadin Honey." He is unable to confirm, one way or another, if Bobby Womack and Leon Haywood were present to record it.
He stated with with some clarity that he never appeared on American Bandstand with either gentleman. He has, however, been on American Bandstand numerous times. Just not with those guys.
He also says that the Soul Runners - a band which included Leslie Milton on drums and George Clark on congas - did not record "Spreadin Honey" either but that the MoSoul folks re-released the song, credited to the Soul Runners. Basically, on some shady sh--.
I got a contact number for James Carmichael so maybe I'll try to ask him about it directly.
There is still this rumor that Charles Wright is the uncle of Easy E. Can you confirm that ???
Peace Hawkeye
I'm pretty sure this is a false rumor.
Yeah, I think this one has been debunked many times...
Amazing info shared, O. Continue to keep us updated.
Its rather shocking to me that an artist of his stature is getting such comprehensive reissue treatment, looking forward to seeing/hearing this stuff.
One factor here is that Warner Bros, unlike many, many other labels, were really great about keeping their vault in order. In contrast, I've been told on good authority that you can practically kiss any chance at finding unreleased shit that Universal owns because they put that shit into deep storage with no ability for an archivist to comb shelves, searching for stuff. It's a damn shame but luckily, for other labels, like WBs, a lot of that material is still well enough organized for people to locate and retrieve.
He says, as best as he can remember, he was not present to record "Spreadin Honey." He is unable to confirm, one way or another, if Bobby Womack and Leon Haywood were present to record it.
He stated with with some clarity that he never appeared on American Bandstand with either gentleman. He has, however, been on American Bandstand numerous times. Just not with those guys.
He also says that the Soul Runners - a band which included Leslie Milton on drums and George Clark on congas - did not record "Spreadin Honey" either but that the MoSoul folks re-released the song, credited to the Soul Runners. Basically, on some shady sh--.
You may have seen this page, but it seems to be a picture with names of the original line-up of soul runners:
One factor here is that Warner Bros, unlike many, many other labels, were really great about keeping their vault in order. In contrast, I've been told on good authority that you can practically kiss any chance at finding unreleased shit that Universal owns because they put that shit into deep storage with no ability for an archivist to comb shelves, searching for stuff. It's a damn shame but luckily, for other labels, like WBs, a lot of that material is still well enough organized for people to locate and retrieve.
Just for contrast (and granted, I can't really verify this although I do have the guy's email address buried somewhere), I met a guy last year who claimed to have been involved with some reissue work for big labels on funk groups that are now well-regarded but only issued 1-2 albums in their day. He was emphatic that a lot of these groups had LOADS of material recorded (and still in the vaults) that would never see the light of day simply because it was not worthwhile to the labels to bother reissuing it, but instead they only wanted 2-4 extra tracks to tack on to a CD reish.
Not that this line-up is in dispute or anything, just thought I would post it for everyone's general benefit if they hadn't come across it before.
Oh.. and that's great it will include Rhythm And Poetry.
Yeah, Soulwalking is typically pretty solid but like many places, they're basically repeating bad information and hey - I can't blame them. Until the other week, I thought for certain that the Soul Runners were an early form of the Watts 103rd Band too but according to Wright, the groups had NOTHING to do with one another.
Just to clarify, the names that Soulwaking has are indeed the formal Watts Band 3 line-up - basically, the Wright Sounds. But they are not the Soul Runners (according to Wright).
The confusion really arises because: 1) Fred Smith produced "Spreadin' Honey" under the name "The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band" but the personnel on that had little to do with Watts Band 2 or 3, 2) MoSoul re-released "Spreadin Honey" as a Soul Runners B-side, and 3) Warner Brothers insisted "Spreadin Honey" be included on the first Watts 103rd album.
One of my favorite Watts 103rd songs, "A Dance, a Kiss and a Song" is an old doo-wop song that James Gadson brought to Wright to arrange and Wright let Gadson sing it (which explains why this song doesn't like a Wright vocal. I was always confused about this).
I thought that this was cleared up in the Wax Po interview with James Gadson. At least, I know I knew that already from somewhere. One of my favorite songs of theirs too.
One of my favorite Watts 103rd songs, "A Dance, a Kiss and a Song" is an old doo-wop song that James Gadson brought to Wright to arrange and Wright let Gadson sing it (which explains why this song doesn't like a Wright vocal. I was always confused about this).
I thought that this was cleared up in the Wax Po interview with James Gadson. At least, I know I knew that already from somewhere. One of my favorite songs of theirs too.
I wasn't reporting as new; it was new to me though. I want to hear some of the original doo wop versions of it too.
One of my favorite Watts 103rd songs, "A Dance, a Kiss and a Song" is an old doo-wop song that James Gadson brought to Wright to arrange and Wright let Gadson sing it (which explains why this song doesn't like a Wright vocal. I was always confused about this).
I thought that this was cleared up in the Wax Po interview with James Gadson. At least, I know I knew that already from somewhere. One of my favorite songs of theirs too.
I wasn't reporting as new; it was new to me though. I want to hear some of the original doo wop versions of it too.
Ever hear Gadson's solo 45's on the Cream label (ca. '72)? At least one of the songs ("Got To Find My Baby") is a very blatant answer record to "Love Land"...
Ever hear Gadson's solo 45's on the Cream label (ca. '72)? At least one of the songs ("Got To Find My Baby") is a very blatant answer record to "Love Land"...
One of my favorite Watts 103rd songs, "A Dance, a Kiss and a Song" is an old doo-wop song that James Gadson brought to Wright to arrange and Wright let Gadson sing it (which explains why this song doesn't like a Wright vocal. I was always confused about this).
I thought that this was cleared up in the Wax Po interview with James Gadson. At least, I know I knew that already from somewhere. One of my favorite songs of theirs too.
I wasn't reporting as new; it was new to me though. I want to hear some of the original doo wop versions of it too.
Ever hear Gadson's solo 45's on the Cream label (ca. '72)? At least one of the songs ("Got To Find My Baby") is a very blatant answer record to "Love Land"...
THe B-Side is "Good Vibrations" right? THAT song is my JAAAAAMMMMMM.
Ever hear Gadson's solo 45's on the Cream label (ca. '72)? At least one of the songs ("Got To Find My Baby") is a very blatant answer record to "Love Land"...
THe B-Side is "Good Vibrations" right? THAT song is my JAAAAAMMMMMM. Actually, "Good Vibrations" was the A-side to his other Cream single, and I gotta cosign - that song is quite the "cut," ain't it? All while this thread has been running, as soon as Gadson's name was mentioned, I've been mentally replaying that tune in my head. I can hear that falsetto chorus right now- how'd that joker go again, "I can see, you and me, GOOOOD VIBRATIONS!" Or something like that, I know I'm messin' it up. Anyway, I really have to pull it out of the crates when I get home to give it a good listen.
As far as "Got To Find My Baby," which was a minor hit (#36 on Billboard's soul chart)...after messing around on the 'Net I find out that Gadson deliberately ripped off "Love Land" (which he says he wrote) and dared them to sue, because he didn't get the proper writer's credits the first time around...
I interviewed with Melvin Dunlap and James Gadson this past week.
Neither could shed a ton of light on the confusion around "Spreadin Honey" and the Soul Runners except that both Dunlap and Gadson thought Wright played on that single (even though Charles says he has no recollection having done so).
What did emerge was how the Watts Band sound was really an embodiment of Wright's vision. I was always curious what the balance of creative power was in the group - it was such a big ensemble - and my sense of things is that Wright really exercised a high level of control and direction and that, in the end, this contributed to why the group fell apart so quickly after they found success post-Express Yourself.
The Gadson interview, in particular was fantastic. It's a little hard to take in how many incredible songs he's played on and as a creative force, it's pretty clear that he's always been "more than just a drummer" especially having started out as a doo wop singer signed to Federal and former member of the Hank Ballard and the Midnighters. I asked him if you ever recorded a solo album's worth of material for Cream Records in the '70s but it was just the 4 singles.
Gadson also says that the Linn Drum machine were built using his drums, though of course, he was never credited or compensated for that. Anyone confirm this?
Also, I didn't realize that Rick Rubin had pulled together four of the Watts members, beginning with Gadson, to record on the recent Justin Timberlake album - mostly on the strength of Rubin wanting to bring together the core squad of Withers' ex-rhythm section.
Gadson also says that the Linn Drum machine were built using his drums, though of course, he was never credited or compensated for that. Anyone confirm this?
It wouldn't surprise me
Also, I didn't realize that Rick Rubin had pulled together four of the Watts members, beginning with Gadson, to record on the recent Justin Timberlake album - mostly on the strength of Rubin wanting to bring together the core squad of Withers' ex-rhythm section.
There's an interview with Beck (as in Hansen) about how he and the Dust Brothers liked sampling a number of records before, and noticed a number of them used Gadson. He said around the time he was doing Midnite Vultures[/b], he realized maybe it would be easier to just call him up and ask if he would be interested in sitting in for a few seconds. Gadson was more than happy to, and he wound up playing on Beck's last three albums, including The Information[/b]. I think it's great, because while I'm all about sampling and "the merits" of recapturing that old sound, it's at least giving Gadson some sessions and live work, specifically high profile ones, that he might not have had otherwise. You can probably thank hip-hop for that.
On an unrelated note, anyone heard Lonnie Jordan's new album? I saw this at the store the other day.
In talking about the linn drums, gadson quipped, "if I ever want to hear myself, I just turn on the radio."
And Rubin thought to use Gadson b/c of the Beck sessions - rubin and beck share a mutual collaborator who knows Gadson and then James called up Benorce, Al and Melvin.
1965: The Wright Sounds begin a residency at the Haunted House in Hollywood (right around Star Shoes used to be, if I'm not mistaken). It is now an adult bookstore.
I found out that there's actual footage of the Haunted House from this 1960s b-movie, "Girl in Gold Boots."
"Express Yourself" is one of those hit songs I could never get sick of no matter how many commercials or whatever I hear it being used. I found a chart on drummerworld.com and am learning how to play it. Love that bass line, too.
Comments
They say that's why United Artists signed Brass Construction - because they thought War (their big funk mainstay) was getting too big for their britches, and signing a younger, more disco-ish band (but in the same funk vein) would have put 'em in their place. Dunno about that, but War did change labels shortly thereafter.
R&P was on Warners. That was Wright's last before switching to ABC/Dunhill.
As far as the musicians themselves, there are one or two Watts Band members on the LP, but it's mostly a different, rotating crew (there's a full personnel breakdown on the back cover).
I don't have the article in front of me right this minute, but the gist of it basically was that soul music - as of 1969 - was mainly about singers and singing groups, but there were relatively few BANDS, that played actual instruments, like there were in white rock. And when you did see black bands back then (now this is me talking, not Lester Bangs), it was usually some slick backup band, like King Curtis's group or James Brown's. Bangs thought there should be more homegrown African-American bands (not singing groups) concentrating on performing their own material, and thought the Bar-Kays and the Watts Band were a step in the right direction. Remember, in '69 self-contained soul bands were a relative rarity. Besides the Bar-Kays and the Watts Band, there was Sly & the Family Stone, Kool & the Gang, Funkadelic (a few 45's but no albums yet), the Meters, Dyke & the Blazers, and maybe a few others here & there. But it was still all about the singers - funk and black bands didn't really take off until '71.
Really, the seventies and early eighties were probably the only time you saw so many self-contained black soul/funk bands playing instruments. After '83 or so, it kinda tailed off. (Except maybe for all those D.C. go-go bands.)
Yes - I have read that Bobby Womack was on the session, and it makes sense that Leon Haywood was in on it as well, since he was working quite a few L.A. sessions at that time.
This version of the Watts Band actually appeared on American Bandstand (the old Dick Clark-hosted dance-party TV show on ABC) around that time. Wonder which lineup showed up to pick-synch to the track? Supposedly this clip is still in Dick Clark's vaults, but he's known to be pretty tight-fisted about letting his stuff get out there...
My bad - I was confusing "R&P" with "99 Day Cycle People." So the answer is, in fact, YES, "R&P" is also part of this project and as with the other albums involved, there's a good deal of bonus material for this album as well.
Interesting. Weird actually! I'll have to follow-up with that as well. Wright also released a single on Phillips in 1965 but I don't know who backed him on that either.
This does create more confusion though because Wright said, point blank, he did NOT record on "Spreadin Honey" and I asked him about this several times so either his memory is REALLY bad or else he really wasn't on a player on that record.
And just to go back to the earlier point of confusion. Assuming Watts Band 1 and the Soul Runners were two different groups, then did the Soul Runners re-record "Spreadin Honey" and "Charley" for their MoSoul releases?
As quiet as it was kept, L.A. did have a local soul scene back then. It didn't seem to be quite as organized as Memphis, Detroit or Chicago, but it existed. Brenton Wood was active on the L.A.-based Double Shot label; Brenda Holloway was on Motown, but lived and recorded in Los Angeles; the Mirwood label had the Olympics and Jackie Lee, among others, and their pseudo-Motown sound is in high esteem with Northern Soul types; even the Del-Fi label (home to Ritchie Valens, Bobby Fuller and more surf bands than you could shake a stick at) got in on it with their Bronco label, featuring acts like Felice Taylor ("It May Be Winter Outside") who were produced by Barry White.
Peace
Hawkeye
I'm pretty sure this is a false rumor.
Just got off the phone with CW.
He says, as best as he can remember, he was not present to record "Spreadin Honey." He is unable to confirm, one way or another, if Bobby Womack and Leon Haywood were present to record it.
He stated with with some clarity that he never appeared on American Bandstand with either gentleman. He has, however, been on American Bandstand numerous times. Just not with those guys.
He also says that the Soul Runners - a band which included Leslie Milton on drums and George Clark on congas - did not record "Spreadin Honey" either but that the MoSoul folks re-released the song, credited to the Soul Runners. Basically, on some shady sh--.
I got a contact number for James Carmichael so maybe I'll try to ask him about it directly.
Yeah, I think this one has been debunked many times...
Amazing info shared, O. Continue to keep us updated.
Its rather shocking to me that an artist of his stature is getting such comprehensive reissue treatment, looking forward to seeing/hearing this stuff.
One factor here is that Warner Bros, unlike many, many other labels, were really great about keeping their vault in order. In contrast, I've been told on good authority that you can practically kiss any chance at finding unreleased shit that Universal owns because they put that shit into deep storage with no ability for an archivist to comb shelves, searching for stuff. It's a damn shame but luckily, for other labels, like WBs, a lot of that material is still well enough organized for people to locate and retrieve.
You may have seen this page, but it seems to be a picture with names of the original line-up of soul runners:
http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Charles%20Wright.html
Not that this line-up is in dispute or anything, just thought I would post it for everyone's general benefit if they hadn't come across it before.
Oh.. and that's great it will include Rhythm And Poetry.
Just for contrast (and granted, I can't really verify this although I do have the guy's email address buried somewhere), I met a guy last year who claimed to have been involved with some reissue work for big labels on funk groups that are now well-regarded but only issued 1-2 albums in their day. He was emphatic that a lot of these groups had LOADS of material recorded (and still in the vaults) that would never see the light of day simply because it was not worthwhile to the labels to bother reissuing it, but instead they only wanted 2-4 extra tracks to tack on to a CD reish.
Yeah, Soulwalking is typically pretty solid but like many places, they're basically repeating bad information and hey - I can't blame them. Until the other week, I thought for certain that the Soul Runners were an early form of the Watts 103rd Band too but according to Wright, the groups had NOTHING to do with one another.
Just to clarify, the names that Soulwaking has are indeed the formal Watts Band 3 line-up - basically, the Wright Sounds. But they are not the Soul Runners (according to Wright).
The confusion really arises because: 1) Fred Smith produced "Spreadin' Honey" under the name "The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band" but the personnel on that had little to do with Watts Band 2 or 3, 2) MoSoul re-released "Spreadin Honey" as a Soul Runners B-side, and 3) Warner Brothers insisted "Spreadin Honey" be included on the first Watts 103rd album.
I thought that this was cleared up in the Wax Po interview with James Gadson. At least, I know I knew that already from somewhere. One of my favorite songs of theirs too.
I wasn't reporting as new; it was new to me though. I want to hear some of the original doo wop versions of it too.
Ever hear Gadson's solo 45's on the Cream label (ca. '72)? At least one of the songs ("Got To Find My Baby") is a very blatant answer record to "Love Land"...
THe B-Side is "Good Vibrations" right? THAT song is my JAAAAAMMMMMM.
THe B-Side is "Good Vibrations" right? THAT song is my JAAAAAMMMMMM.
Actually, "Good Vibrations" was the A-side to his other Cream single, and I gotta cosign - that song is quite the "cut," ain't it? All while this thread has been running, as soon as Gadson's name was mentioned, I've been mentally replaying that tune in my head. I can hear that falsetto chorus right now- how'd that joker go again, "I can see, you and me, GOOOOD VIBRATIONS!" Or something like that, I know I'm messin' it up. Anyway, I really have to pull it out of the crates when I get home to give it a good listen.
As far as "Got To Find My Baby," which was a minor hit (#36 on Billboard's soul chart)...after messing around on the 'Net I find out that Gadson deliberately ripped off "Love Land" (which he says he wrote) and dared them to sue, because he didn't get the proper writer's credits the first time around...
Neither could shed a ton of light on the confusion around "Spreadin Honey" and the Soul Runners except that both Dunlap and Gadson thought Wright played on that single (even though Charles says he has no recollection having done so).
What did emerge was how the Watts Band sound was really an embodiment of Wright's vision. I was always curious what the balance of creative power was in the group - it was such a big ensemble - and my sense of things is that Wright really exercised a high level of control and direction and that, in the end, this contributed to why the group fell apart so quickly after they found success post-Express Yourself.
The Gadson interview, in particular was fantastic. It's a little hard to take in how many incredible songs he's played on and as a creative force, it's pretty clear that he's always been "more than just a drummer" especially having started out as a doo wop singer signed to Federal and former member of the Hank Ballard and the Midnighters. I asked him if you ever recorded a solo album's worth of material for Cream Records in the '70s but it was just the 4 singles.
Gadson also says that the Linn Drum machine were built using his drums, though of course, he was never credited or compensated for that. Anyone confirm this?
Also, I didn't realize that Rick Rubin had pulled together four of the Watts members, beginning with Gadson, to record on the recent Justin Timberlake album - mostly on the strength of Rubin wanting to bring together the core squad of Withers' ex-rhythm section.
There's an interview with Beck (as in Hansen) about how he and the Dust Brothers liked sampling a number of records before, and noticed a number of them used Gadson. He said around the time he was doing Midnite Vultures[/b], he realized maybe it would be easier to just call him up and ask if he would be interested in sitting in for a few seconds. Gadson was more than happy to, and he wound up playing on Beck's last three albums, including The Information[/b]. I think it's great, because while I'm all about sampling and "the merits" of recapturing that old sound, it's at least giving Gadson some sessions and live work, specifically high profile ones, that he might not have had otherwise. You can probably thank hip-hop for that.
On an unrelated note, anyone heard Lonnie Jordan's new album? I saw this at the store the other day.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vxl8OhYKRRg
- spidey
And Rubin thought to use Gadson b/c of the Beck sessions - rubin and beck share a mutual collaborator who knows Gadson and then James called up Benorce, Al and Melvin.
What are some rap songs that use the linn?
im sitting here munching popcorn and learning.
fantastic.
I found out that there's actual footage of the Haunted House from this 1960s b-movie, "Girl in Gold Boots."
Peep the stage:
Wow, AWESOME.