I thought Teena Marie was black, but really light-skinned.
I thought the same about Pink when she first came out on the R&B singles.
So did I. If you recall the video for "There You Go", it's difficult not to conclude that she was lit in a way that might lead the casual viewer/listener to think she was light-skinned.
Also, cosign on thinking that, on first hearing, Lewis Taylor was a black guy, rather than a Jewish dude from North London with an impressive prog-rock/psych pedigree whose first album was more or less written about his struggle with heroin.
Hey Doc, I've never tracked down any of Taylor's pre Island releases as Sheriff Jack - is it worth picking up as I preferred the sound on Lewis I to the more polished stuff that followed and, if so, how the hell do you go about finding it?
/
To be perfectly honest, I've never heard any of it. I understand that it's very highly-regarded and sought-after by psych heads, though. I was thinking more of his stint as a guitarist in The Edgar Broughton Band and his frankly mindblowing, but subsequently abandoned cover of Beefheart's "Trout Mask Replica". That's the whole album, by the way. I'll try and up it at some point if you haven't heard it - it's very good.
Did you ever hear Bob Jones' show on Kiss back when he had LT in as a guest, just before his first album came out? I used to be quite chummy with the good Doctor, and he once described Lewis as "the most boring cunt I've ever interviewed". He was expecting Lewis to talk about his influences on the soul side, and was completely bamboozled when he came to the studio with a bunch of records by the likes of Tim Buckley, Yes and Tangerine Dream, and gave monosyllabic answers to all of Bob's questions.
Would absolutely love to hear his cover of Beefheart - I really don't know what to expect. Ha ha I used to listen to late night kiss religiously around that time but I didn't hear that particular interview by Bob Jones - my heart goes out to him as I've read enough interviews with Lewis to suspect he wouldn't be the easiest guest. I actually first heard LT when Gilles Peterson played Bittersweet and was more than a little surprised when the singer turned out to be a white British guy.
When you listen to "Georgy Porgy" by TOTO,you'd swear that was a black dude
Singer from FLAMBING EMBER sounds like a brotha
I remember when that chick JANE CHILD dropped that one song in the early 90's,i thought she was black.
On the real though,JON B had people thinking he was black,because he sounded like BABYFACE..JON B is a VERY talented cat that knows about soul music..Plays all instruments and all dat stuff
DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
[ I was thinking more of (Lewis Taylor's) stint as a guitarist in The Edgar Broughton Band
He's THAT old??
Or is Broughton still playing?
I dunno if he's still active now, but I think Lewis was in the band for a while during the 1980's, when he was still a teenager. At that time, Broughton was still touring extensively in Europe, presumably playing interminable versions of "Out Demons Out" to clubs full of German bikers.
(I actually mentioned this upthread, but no big deal...)
May as well add to the list: the Soul Survivors, of "Expressway To Your Heart" fame. A white Rascals-type band from Long Island who I thought were black...
DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
Gary Burton
This leads me on to "dudes you never knew had come out of the closet". I only found out that Gary Burton was gay about five years ago, although apparently he came out a long while back. A friend of mine told me about this interview he did, where he was kinda complaining that nobody ever asked him about it. He said something like, "Everyone always wants to talk about the music, which is great, but sometimes I think 'how come nobody ever asks me what it's like being a gay jazz musician?'"
(I actually mentioned this upthread, but no big deal...)
sorry, i didn't see it (and actually still don't).
oops, my fault
theres a post where i mention a gang of white-sounding blacks and black-sounding whites...i remember i STARTED to mention the casinos, but i figured, nah, i dont want to name ALL the cats in that category or else this thread will NEVER be revived! so i didnt do it...it wasnt mentioned upthread, it turns out
The way this story goes - if I remember it correctly - is that Hank Shocklee (I might have that part wrong) used to keep a list of rap group names on a wall...and he'd turn to that when helping a new bunch of rappers choose their name. Apparently, that's how "Leaders of the New School" but their name and for whatever reason, Hank thought it'd be funny to give "Young Black Teenagers" to the bunch of white and Puerto Rican kids in the group.
co-sign on the Soul Survivors & I only found out KC is not black about a month ago, blew my mind. I guess I never checked the album cover photos & after someone said it I went home & checked, sure enough, damn!
The way this story goes - if I remember it correctly - is that Hank Shocklee (I might have that part wrong) used to keep a list of rap group names on a wall...and he'd turn to that when helping a new bunch of rappers choose their name. Apparently, that's how "Leaders of the New School" but their name and for whatever reason, Hank thought it'd be funny to give "Young Black Teenagers" to the bunch of white and Puerto Rican kids in the group.
But then they'd talk in interviews on how being young white men into Hip Hop at the time, made them like "Young Black Teenagers" because the public's perception of the entire genre and its audience. Like some extension of the Public Enemy ideal. It almost made sense but......pause.
Comments
LOL
Maybe I can play Jackie McLean in the biopic!
Would absolutely love to hear his cover of Beefheart - I really don't know what to expect. Ha ha I used to listen to late night kiss religiously around that time but I didn't hear that particular interview by Bob Jones - my heart goes out to him as I've read enough interviews with Lewis to suspect he wouldn't be the easiest guest. I actually first heard LT when Gilles Peterson played Bittersweet and was more than a little surprised when the singer turned out to be a white British guy.
Singer from FLAMBING EMBER sounds like a brotha
I remember when that chick JANE CHILD dropped that one song in the early 90's,i thought she was black.
On the real though,JON B had people thinking he was black,because he sounded like BABYFACE..JON B is a VERY talented cat that knows about soul music..Plays all instruments and all dat stuff
PAUL WALL
So ill.
Am I alone in thinking he pulled a reverse Michael Jackson?
I dunno if he's still active now, but I think Lewis was in the band for a while during the 1980's, when he was still a teenager. At that time, Broughton was still touring extensively in Europe, presumably playing interminable versions of "Out Demons Out" to clubs full of German bikers.
It was Gene Hughes.
(I actually mentioned this upthread, but no big deal...)
May as well add to the list: the Soul Survivors, of "Expressway To Your Heart" fame. A white Rascals-type band from Long Island who I thought were black...
This leads me on to "dudes you never knew had come out of the closet". I only found out that Gary Burton was gay about five years ago, although apparently he came out a long while back. A friend of mine told me about this interview he did, where he was kinda complaining that nobody ever asked him about it. He said something like, "Everyone always wants to talk about the music, which is great, but sometimes I think 'how come nobody ever asks me what it's like being a gay jazz musician?'"
But those guys do instrumentals...
For some reason, maybe it's just me, but ethnicity only really shocked me if it were a singer.
i still dont know why they chose that name?
sorry, i didn't see it (and actually still don't).
oops, my fault
theres a post where i mention a gang of white-sounding blacks and black-sounding whites...i remember i STARTED to mention the casinos, but i figured, nah, i dont want to name ALL the cats in that category or else this thread will NEVER be revived! so i didnt do it...it wasnt mentioned upthread, it turns out
The way this story goes - if I remember it correctly - is that Hank Shocklee (I might have that part wrong) used to keep a list of rap group names on a wall...and he'd turn to that when helping a new bunch of rappers choose their name. Apparently, that's how "Leaders of the New School" but their name and for whatever reason, Hank thought it'd be funny to give "Young Black Teenagers" to the bunch of white and Puerto Rican kids in the group.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=phZbug-bSuA
- spidey
and i still dont know what jzone is and in interviews he keeps you guessing.
peace, stein. . .
But then they'd talk in interviews on how being young white men into Hip Hop at the time, made them like "Young Black Teenagers" because the public's perception of the entire genre and its audience.
Like some extension of the Public Enemy ideal. It almost made sense but......pause.