All photos by Mini’s Memories. You can contact her at minismemories@hotmail.com
Photo Gallery: Colin James with Port Cities at the CNE
John Lee Hooker to be Celebrated with Career-Spanning Box Set
Craft Recordings, the Catalog division of Concord Bicycle Music, is proud to announce the release of King Of The Boogie, a career-spanning retrospective, honoring blues icon John Lee Hooker. Due out September 29th, the five-CD set delves deep into the catalog of the influential artist, featuring not only his iconic hits, but also rarities, live recordings and several previously unreleased tracks. Housed in a 56-page book, the collection includes a wide selection of photos, taken throughout the musician’s life, plus new liner notes by writer and John Lee Hooker historian Jas Obrecht, as well as by the artist’s longtime manager and friend, Mike Kappus.
John Lee Hooker (1917-2001) was born 100 years ago today, near Clarksdale, Mississippi to a sharecropping family. Throughout the years, there has been some academic debate about his original birth year. However, The Hooker family maintains 1917 as the de facto date. Says daughter Zakiya Hooker, “As we all know there was no great push for accuracy back then in that portion of the community. But we just stick to what my father told us, which was what he was told by his mother.”
As a young man, Hooker worked his way up north to Detroit to pursue his passion of music. By 1948, the artist had a hit on his hands with one of his earliest recordings, “Boogie Chillun’.” From there, Hooker would record over 100 albums throughout the course of his six-decade-long career, building a diverse collection of fans along the way: from folk musicians and beatniks, to the stars of the British Invasion. The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and Carlos Santana are among those who cite Hooker as a major influence. In his liner notes, Mike Kappus recalls that, “Everyone who knew John Lee Hooker loved him and felt privileged to be in his presence. While he influenced generations of musicians with his incomparable style, that impact on musicians stepped up to yet another level once they got to know and, universally, love him.”
In his later years, as the bluesman found himself in one of the busiest, most productive eras of his career, Hooker was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Blues Hall of Fame and Memphis Music Hall of Fame; was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and took home four GRAMMY® Awards, plus a coveted Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
Tasked with narrowing down Hooker’s vast catalog into five CDs, box set producer Mason Williams curated the collection to narrate the artist’s story. “Even at 100 songs, this set is just a snapshot of John Lee Hooker’s incredible and influential career,” says Williams, “but one that takes you on the long journey he took from his early days in Detroit, to his time in Chicago recording for Vee-Jay Records and up through his later collaborations with Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt and Santana, among others.”
King Of The Boogie will be released as part of a year-long, multi-partner centennial celebration, honoring the music and influence of John Lee Hooker, and will be a companion piece to an exhibit of the same name, which kicks off today at the GRAMMY Museum Mississippi. John Lee Hooker: King Of The Boogie includes Hooker’s performance outfits, guitars, photos, awards and, of course, his music. The exhibit will be on display through February 2018, before traveling west to the GRAMMY Museum at L.A. LIVE. Additional centennial partners include The Blues Foundation, The Delta Blues Museum, Living Blues, Oxford American, the John Lee Hooker Estate, and Epiphone Guitars, who are currently planning the release of a limited-edition John Lee Hooker Zephyr Outfit sometime in early 2018. John Lee’s daughter, Zakiya, has worked closely with all partners on her father’s centennial events, and affirms, “Today, on what would have been my father’s 100th birthday, I am so thrilled to see him celebrated-both with the exhibit, as well as with the announcement of this special collection of music. I know that his fans will be excited to hear rare performances, and to read the touching words of his longtime manager, Mike Kappus, as well as those of the wonderful Jas Obrecht. It was a pleasure to watch this box set come together, and I can’t wait to see it shared with the world.”
The Tragically Hip Announce The Release Dates And Theatres For “Long Time Running” Doc
The Tragically Hip have anounced the release of the trailer and movie poster for their documentary LONG TIME RUNNING. The film is directed by their friends Jennifer Baichwal and Nick de Pencier, and will have its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. LTR will be released theatrically in cinemas across Canada beginning Sept. 14th. Starting today, you can pre-order your tickets for select cities. All cinema tickets will be up this week, so please check your local listings frequently. Click here for Cineplex and here for Landmark Cinemas.
Long Time Running chronicles the emotional and epic iconic Canadian band’s now-legendary 2016 tour that captured the heart of the nation. Viewers will be given a unique and exclusive perspective into The Tragically Hip’s world through intimate moments, behind-the-scenes and on-stage footage, personal interviews with the band and close friends, as well as reactions from their devoted fans from across the country.
Townes Van Zandt describes his Texan sound
Widely regarded for his poetic, often heroically sad songs, Townes talks and performs the song Nothin’ on a Dutch TV show in 1995.
https://youtu.be/jj6cDQWbe58
Video: Charles Mingus in his New York loft
One of the most important figures in twentieth century American music, here’s Charles Mingus in his New York loft, playing with his daughter, and bringing out some piano and bass.
Isaac Hayes being Honored with New Retrospective ‘The Spirit Of Memphis (1962-1976)’
Craft Recordings is proud to announce the forthcoming release of The Spirit of Memphis (1962-1976), chronicling the ascension of one of the most influential creative talents in music history, Isaac Hayes, who would have turned 75 this year. Due out September 22nd, the four-cd collection examines the various avenues of Hayes’ prolific career; each disc offering an in-depth look at his distinct musical contributions to both Memphis-based Stax Records and to the world at large: from his foundational presence as a songwriter and producer at Stax, to his artistic metamorphosis and subsequent rise to stardom. The set also includes a wide range of previously-unreleased material, as well as a replica 7″ vinyl single of the artist’s first commercially-released recordings. Housed in a 60-page hardcover book, the retrospective incorporates a wealth of archival photos and ephemera, as well as an essay by author Robert Gordon (Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion) which includes new interviews with Stax luminaries Deanie Parker and Jim Stewart. Contributions from Floyd Newman, Mickey Gregory, Sam Moore (Sam & Dave), and compilation producer Joe McEwen round out the package. Track listing below.
From his humble beginnings as an orphaned sharecropper to his rise as a session musician, house songwriter, and producer for Stax Records, to his arrival as a star in his own right, Isaac Hayes (1942-2008) became a symbol of what was possible for Black America. Dubbed “Black Moses” during the height of his popularity, Hayes revolutionized soul music, leading it out of the era of the three-minute single and into new territory: that of the fully-orchestrated concept album, complete with extended cuts that, in some cases, spanned nearly the entire side of an LP. The artist also broke barriers in the film industry, scoring the 1971 film Shaft. The soundtrack became Hayes’ fourth consecutive platinum LP, and also earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Song (“Theme From Shaft”). The musician became the first African American to win the Oscar in a non-acting category, and was also the first recipient of the Best Original Song category to both write and perform the winning track. Hayes’ success opened the door for other artists and composers, like Curtis Mayfield and Norman Whitfield, to score music for the screen.
Each disc of The Spirit of Memphis (1962-1976) examines a different facet of Hayes’ career. Disc one covers his early work as a songwriter and producer at Stax, including many of his legendary collaborations with David Porter, such as Carla Thomas’ “B-A-B-Y” recently featured in the hit film Baby Driver, and Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man,” which celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year.
Disc two spotlights Isaac Hayes as a solo artist, featuring his singles recorded for the Volt and Enterprise imprints; from his breakthrough track “By The Time I Get To Phoenix,” off Hot Buttered Soul, to his subsequent chartbusters, including “Never Can Say Goodbye,” “Do Your Thing” and the iconic, ubiquitous chart-topping hit, “Theme from Shaft.”
The third disc, aptly titled “Cover Man,” examines Isaac’s uncanny ability to transform tunes by songwriting greats such as Burt Bacharach and Hal David and make them entirely his own. This disc also includes previously unreleased material, including a studio version of “Windows of the World” and live covers of “Stormy Monday,” “I Stand Accused,” and “The Ten Commandments of Love,” all recorded at a 1972 concert in Chicago.
The final disc, entitled “Jam Master,” offers fans a seat in the studio with Isaac Hayes, showcasing extended jams from his classic LPs, including a full, 33-minute freeform psychedelic Bar-Kays jam on “Do Your Thing.” This disc also includes unreleased work-in-progress versions of “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy,” the Bill Withers-penned classic “Ain’t No Sunshine,” and a never-before-heard composition from the Shaft soundtrack entitled “Black Militant’s Place.”
This collection marks a cornerstone in a year-long initiative celebrating Stax Records’ 60th anniversary and comes on the heels of a recent digital release of Hayes’ Enterprise albums re-mastered from the original analog tapes by renowned engineer Dave Cooley at Elysian Masters earlier this year. LP reissues cut from these new masters, including the best-selling Hot Buttered Soul, Black Moses, and Shaft will be available later this year.
The cross-label collaboration between Concord Music Group and Rhino Entertainment has highlighted the hits, deep cuts and rare tracks from the Memphis label’s heyday of the ’60s and ’70s. Indeed, Isaac Hayes was an integral part of “The Memphis Sound,” and helped to not only shape the sound of a genre, but also helped it explode into mainstream pop culture. 75 years after Hayes’ birth, and nearly a decade after his passing, his music, style and influence still live on today. Many of the most recognizable Hip-Hop beats and drops have been born from Hayes’ original tracks and a collaboration with WhoSampled.com launching in connection with the release of the box set will showcase his lasting effect on popular music.
“The Spirit of Memphis (1962-1976) is an attempt to frame a career that doesn’t always fit neatly together. This box set is a little idiosyncratic, like its subject and the desire is to tell a story, put together in chapters,” writes box set producer Joe McEwen in his Producer’s Note, “hopefully to give context to a visionary talent who came of age in Memphis, Tennessee among a generational eruption of musicians that moved mountains…”
Pre-order The Spirit of Memphis (1962-1976) on Amazon.
TRACK LISTING:
*Denotes previously unreleased material
DISC ONE
Soul Songwriter, Soul Producer
1. Floyd Newman – Sassy
2. David Porter – Can’t See You When I Want To
3. Carla Thomas – How Do You Quit (Someone You Love)
4. Booker T and the MGs – Boot-leg
5. The Astors – Candy
6. Danny White – Can’t Do Nothing Without You
7. Johnnie Taylor – I Had A Dream
8. Sam & Dave – Hold On! I’m A Comin’
9. Ruby Johnson – I’ll Run Your Hurt Away
10. Carla Thomas – Let Me Be Good To You
11. Mable John – Your Good Thing (Is About To End)
12. Homer Banks – Fighting To Win
13. Carla Thomas – B-A-B-Y
14. William Bell – Never Like This Before
15. The Mad Lads – Patch My Heart
16. Johnnie Taylor – Little Bluebird
17. Charlie Rich – When Something Is Wrong With My Baby
18. Charlie Rich – Love Is After Me
19. Judy Clay – You Can’t Run Away From Your Heart
20. Sam & Dave – Soul Man
21. The Charmels – As Long As I’ve Got You
22. Sam & Dave – I Thank You
23. The Soul Children – The Sweeter He Is (Parts I & II)
24. Billy Eckstine – Stormy
25. David Porter – Can’t See You When I Want To
26. The Emotions – Show Me How
DISC TWO
Volt & Enterprise Singles
1. Sir Isaac and The Do-Dads – The Big Dipper
2. Sir Isaac and The Do-Dads – Blue Groove
3. Isaac Hayes – Precious, Precious
4. Isaac Hayes – By The Time I Get To Phoenix
5. Isaac Hayes – The Mistletoe & Me
6. Isaac Hayes – Winter Snow
7. Isaac Hayes – I Stand Accused
8. Isaac Hayes – The Look Of Love
9. Isaac Hayes – Never Can Say Goodbye
10. Isaac Hayes – Theme From “Shaft”
11. Isaac Hayes – Do Your Thing
12. Isaac Hayes – Let’s Stay Together
13. Isaac Hayes and David Porter – Ain’t That Loving You
(For More Reasons Than One)
14. Isaac Hayes and David Porter – Baby I’m-A Want You
15. Isaac Hayes – Theme From “The Men”
16. Isaac Hayes – Rolling Down A Mountainside
17. Isaac Hayes – Joy (Part 1)
18. Isaac Hayes – Wonderful
19. Isaac Hayes – Someone Made You For Me
20. Isaac Hayes – Title Theme (From “Three Tough Guys”)
21. Radio Spot – “You Gotta Have It To Really Be In”
22. Radio Spot – “The Rapper Is Back”
DISC THREE
Cover Man
1. Isaac Hayes – When I Fall In Love
2. Isaac Hayes – Walk On By
3. Isaac Hayes – I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself
4. Isaac Hayes – Man’s Temptation
5. Isaac Hayes – Never Gonna Give You Up
6. Isaac Hayes – Windows Of The World*
Recorded Live at Operation PUSH Black Expo,
International Amphitheatre, Chicago, IL – October 1, 1972:
7. Isaac Hayes – The Ten Commandments of Love*
8. Isaac Hayes – Just Want To Make Love To You / Rock Me Baby*
9. Isaac Hayes – Stormy Monday*
10. Isaac Hayes – I Stand Accused*
11. Isaac Hayes – If Loving You Is Wrong
12. Isaac Hayes – His Eye Is On The Sparrow
DISC FOUR
Jam Master
1. Isaac Hayes – Ike’s Mood I
2. Isaac Hayes – You’ve Made Me So Very Happy*
3. Isaac Hayes – Black Militant’s Place*
4. Isaac Hayes – Ain’t No Sunshine*
5. Isaac Hayes – Hung Up On My Baby* (Extended Jam)
6. Isaac Hayes – Groove-A-Thon* (Extended Jam)
7. Isaac Hayes – Do Your Thing (Extended Jam)
7″ Single
SIDE A
Laura, We’re On Our Last Go-Round
SIDE B
C.C. Rider
Lunch & Learn 01: Starting & Running an Independent Music Business
Looking to start your own indie music business? Unsure where to begin and how to navigate the business world? Join our group of successful panelists as they discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by entrepreneurs in the ever-changing music industry, as well as key advice on what it takes to follow in their footsteps. From music management, indie labels, and professional musicians, we’ll cover all perspectives in this casual info session.
This panel is part of a wider workshop series of Lunch & Learns, where six key topics will be discussed over monthly sessions. Keep an eye out for more info on the upcoming events.
Bonus – lunch is included!
Panelists:
Diane Davy – Executive Director, WorkInCulture (Moderator)
Beverly Moore – Managing Director, More Music Management
Lara Solnicki – Vocalist, Poet, Composer
Tim Potocic – Co-Owner, Sonic Unyon Records
Get your tickets now to reserve your spot!
When: Tuesday, September 19th 2017
Where: Artscape Youngplace (180 Shaw Street, Toronto, ON)
Time: 12:00pm – 2:00pm
Price: FREE for CIMA, MusicOntario & other MIA members with discount code; $10 for non-members
ALA.NI: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
The moment you get a look at ALA.NI behind the Tiny Desk, you’ll notice it in the foreground: The singer asked us to record her set using her vintage RCA Ribbon microphone, which she carries around in a small briefcase between shows. It’s a security blanket, a bit of visual branding, a statement of stylistic intent — and, not for nothing, a big reason ALA.NI’s voice carries with such warmth and intimacy.
The microphone isn’t the only element of ALA.NI’s sound that seems to have been transported from another era. The London-born, Paris-based singer draws inspiration from her uncle, a British ’20s and ’30s cabaret star by the name of Leslie “Hutch” Hutchinson, and writes her own songs in the style of the standards he sang. You & I, her debut album, reverberates from the same spirit: It captures and conveys a reverent love of early-20th-century music, while injecting those sounds with charisma and charm well suited for any era. Here, she performs four songs from You & I, before closing her set with a heartwarming, crowd-aided “Happy Birthday” to her accompanist, Marvin Dolly.
Foo Fighters Release New Video And Constellation Viewer
Following the overwhelmingly massive reception to the MTV Video Music Award-nominated, Mainstream Rock #1 track “Run,” Foo Fighters have delivered a second consecutive contender for rock anthem of 2017 in the form of “The Sky Is A Neighborhood.” Described by Grohl as “the biggest thing sonically that we’ve ever done,” “The Sky Is A Neighborhood” is also the piece de resistance that effectively completed Foo Fighters’ forthcoming ninth album, Concrete and Gold.
“One night I was lying out looking up at stars,” Grohl recalls. “Just imagining all of these stars as places that have life on them as well, and I decided that the sky is a neighborhood, that we need to keep our shit together in order to survive in this universe full of life. But I had no music yet. I just had the title. So everyday I would walk around, kind of humming this thing in my head.”
The melody of the song came to Grohl without even touching a guitar,so it follows that “The Sky Is A Neighborhood” would come just as naturally to the band: the song was recorded in a single afternoon by Grohl and fellow Foo Fighters Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear and Rami Jaffee. “And once we were finished,” Grohl says. “I thought ‘OK now we have an album. This is it and we’re done’… as we were mixing, I realized that we’d actually done what we set out do: to make this gigantic Foo Fighters record but with Greg Kurstin’s sense of jazz and melody and arrangement, something that we’d never done before.”
Of course “The Sky Is A Neighborhood” deserved an equally ambitious visual representation, and together with director of photography Brandon Trost and with production by Therapy Studios, director Grohl, Foo Fighters—and family—have more than delivered: “The Sky Is A Neighborhood” is a kaleidoscopic sci-fi mini-epic as massive as the slow burning rock anthem that gave it life. Hypnotic swirls of color of extraterrestrial origin, glowing eyes, levitating children and more combine to create an otherworldly cinematic palette equal parts beautiful and creepy—the result being arguably the most striking video in the Foo Fighters’ multiple award-winning canon.
Simultaneously, Foo Fighters are launching a constellation viewer, enabling every FF fan to transform to their phone into a tool for exploring the sky in their neighborhood: Go to https://sky.foofighters.com/ from your phone to configure a realistic constellation map in the viewer’s 3D sphere, then let it identify the constellations in your night sky—all while tiny Foo Fighters soundtrack your explorations at the bottom of the screen.
“The Sky Is A Neighborhood” is the second song to be unveiled from Concrete and Gold, following the June 1 surprise release of the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart-topping, MTV Video Music Award-nominated “Run.” With more than 2 million YouTube views in its first 24 hours, “Run” smashed into the top 5 of the iTunes video chart and the top of the 15 iTunes singles chart—quickly amassing the highest first-day numbers of any single in the Foo Fighters’ career. Both songs were performed during Foo Fighters’ epic 3.5 hour 32-song marathon Lollapalooza aftershow August 4 at Chicago’s Metro club, and are sure to be live staples of the coming Foo Fighters U.S. tour. That tour kicks off October 7 with the band’s Cal Jam 17 festival at Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino, CA: a non-stop 100% live 12-hour rock n roll extravaganza featuring Queens Of The Stone Age, Cage The Elephant, Liam Gallagher, The Kills, Royal Blood, Japandroids, Wolf Alice, Bob Mould, The Struts, Bully, Circa Waves, Babes in Toyland, Adia Victoria, Fireball Ministry, The Obsessed, Pinky Pinky, Starcrawler, White Reaper… as well as camping, carnival rides, a water park, attractions, a mobile recording studio & so much more. On Friday night, October 6, campers will also experience the world’s best Go-Go band Big Tony & Trouble Funk, an outdoor movie theater and many other surprises.
Stream 35 Hours of Classic Blues, Jazz, Folk, & Bluegrass Recordings from Smithsonian Folkways
Folkways Records was founded in 1948. Led by Moses Asch (1905-1986), Folkways sought to document the entire world of sound. The 2,168 titles Asch released on Folkways include traditional and contemporary music from around the world, spoken word in many languages, and documentary recordings of individuals, communities, and current events. Folkways grew to be one of the largest and most influential record companies in the world. Folkways Records and the label’s business papers and files were acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987. Every recording is kept in print.
And in the age of music streaming, leave it up to the fans to create massive playlists, including this one – 35 hours of the label. That’s 837 Tracks Featuring Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, and more.