Anyone see this documentary? What did you think? The only thing that felt slightly odd to me (prolly cause I'm from the Delta) was Bono and Keith Richards teaching me the nuances of race relations in rural Alabama. It'd be like me splaining to the Irish about The Troubles in Northern Ireland. When Bono was like "you have to understand it was politics that can't see past color," I'm like "aren't you from Dublin or something?" Anyway, not a big deal - was all around a good film. Certainly killer sound track. This was one of my favorite clips - did you catch her licking her lips at the piano? rayer: [YOUTUBE]Yfzpv1j4YN0[/YOUTUBE] The clip cuts off but in the film she proceeds to spontaneously write/sing [YOUTUBE]pxb-9p5hdRY[/YOUTUBE] And this was the other part I liked. [YOUTUBE]uJVL2y1WkpE[/YOUTUBE] again, the clip cuts off, but in the film .. he comes in the studio and cuts this [YOUTUBE]EYb84BDMbi0[/YOUTUBE]
I remember listening to those Aretha Franklin songs and the first time I heard the name Muscle Shoals was in the film Standing In The Shadows Of Motown. It was Joe Messina one of the Funk Brothers who brought them up in an interview with Me'shell Ndege Ochello. They were a pretty good group of musicians.
Back then, if a singer or musician wasn't Elvis Presley(a man who had a reverence for r&b and gospel), they would not get very far even on radio. Record producer Sam Phillips was one of the few white men who gave black performers that chance. Rod Stewart told of a time he had a talk with Sam Cooke. Cooke explained that if a listener saw the skin color of a musician, they see that musician. But if they listened to the musician, it doesn't matter what race they are. Otis Williams of The Temptations explained in his book about how they sold their first album to white listeners. The photographer took the picture of the group and darkened the exposure to give the illusion that they were in the shadows. That's what was so fascinating about the music back then. You could use your imagination. You couldn't tell if the performer was singing or playing. Keith Richards hung out in John Lee Hooker's house a lot. Hooker said that Richards always brought his own bottle of booze with him. Bono had B.B. King on stage with him at a U2 concert. Soul and r&b are more appreciated overseas than over here.
Was she smoking a jay or what? Sounds like she's in the zone on that record. I really dig documentaries like this. I remember catching one on Stax Records not too long ago. The Still Bill documentary was nice too.
The Stax Records documentary was very interesting. I like that this company used their legacy to give back to the community with music programs educational programs.
I thought of you Satchie yesterday while listening to an NPR interview with the guys behind Muscle Shoals. Very enlightening. Had never heard of the studio before and didn't know how much popular music came out of that lil ol studio during its peak. The guys had all sorts of behind the scenes tidbits. Loved it.
Thanks Bliss! I didn't know about Muscle Shoals so much either till recently. Basin Street Records and Stax Records were required courses in public school round here but I didn't know that after 9 unsuccessful records and being dropped from Columbia, Aretha Franklin made it in a couple hours down at Muscle Shoals. I'm showing my age but I find it interesting.
It's ironic that you bring up Aretha Franklin because they discussed this incident with her in the studio... They said they never got to record with her there because while she was visiting the studio, apparently something was said to her while there and while they didnt say what, you got the feeling it was along racial lines. She was pissed and left the studio. The guys (who werent present) said they were supposed to record with her the next day (l think), and they got a phone call at home telling them its been cancelled.. So they traveled to New York to go jam with her in the studio up there. They also said that around that time, Martin Luther King was shot and killed and that a lot of black artists as a result refused to play with any white artist.
