I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in "Cheers & Jeers".
OK, you've been warned - here is this week's tomfoolery material that I posted.
CHEERS to Bill and Michael in PWM, our Wyoming-based friend Irish Patti and ...... well, each of you at Cheers and Jeers. Have a fabulous weekend .... and week ahead.
ART NOTES — the influence of the Florentine painter in an exhibition entitled Botticelli Reimagined— from the Pre-Raphaelites to the present, and being shown alongside his works are those from Dante Gabriel Rossetti to Andy Warhol — is at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England through July 3rd.
Known for his curlsHAIL and FAREWELL to the 1950’s pop singer Gogi Grant— whose hit single was “The Wayward Wind” — who has died at the age of 91 …..… to the jazz singer Ernestine Anderson — with a voice once described by her childhood friend Quincy Jones as the sound of ‘honey at dusk’ — who has died at the age of 87 …. and tragically to the virtuoso keyboard player Keith Emerson— of Emerson, Lake & Palmer fame — who has died (of an apparent suicide) at the age of 71.
PROGRAMMING NOTE — I will be travelling next weekend, and will not have an Odds & Ends posting. See you in two weeks.
THURSDAY's CHILD is named Petro the Cat— a Brooklyn kitteh who became jealous at the attention no longer given to him, but instead a couple’s new child … and responded by now now becoming the Mayor of his block: greeting strangers and friends, terrifies dogs (or imagines he does) and able to calm crying children.
The Cat-Mayor of First PlaceCHEERS to learning that (in addition to a previously unreleased live recording now being issued on CD) there will be a new “forever” stamp issued to honor the late singer Sarah Vaughan— twenty-five years after her death.
SCIENCE NOTES — engineers at MIT believe they may have discovered a way to detect potentially ship-destroying ocean waves— providing time for crew members to prepare and increasing the chance of weathering them.
FRIDAY's CHILD is named Mo the Cat— a Chicago kitteh who went missing for two months and was found emaciated … yet survived thanks to a gastric tube.
Mo the Cat — on the mendBRAIN TEASER - try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC.
THE OTHER NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with a look at the Nixon White House Enemies List… and some names on it that may surprise you.
OLDER- YOUNGER SISTERS? — Grammy Award-winner Sheryl Crow and film star Leslie Mann (“Cable Guy”, “Knocked Up”).
The musician Sheryl Crow Film star Leslie Mann...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… in the words of the veteran DJ and producer Bob Porter, King Curtis was "the last of the great R&B tenor sax giants" .. but who has largely faded from view with his murder nearly forty-five years ago. King Curtis not only achieved fame under his own name, but also in two prominent jazz bands, as a prolific session player, then as Aretha Franklin’s musical director – and eventually a producer at Atlantic Records.
Born Curtis Ousley in Fort Worth, Texas, he became proficient on not only the tenor, but also the alto and soprano saxophones. Turning down a music scholarship, he moved to New York in 1952 to join the band of Lionel Hampton (and Horace Silver later on) and seemed well on his way to a jazz career.
Then he began to work as a session musician for many R&B performers, such as Clyde McPhatter (on A Lover’s Question from 1958), the Shirelles ("Boys") and most famously for the Coasters on Yakety Yak– which would later inspire Boots Randolph to record Yakety Sax (and thus a certain English gentleman B. Hill must owe indirect credit to Curtis).
King Curtis also appeared on Buddy Holly’s song "Reminiscing" (for which Holly gave him a ½ credit as songwriter). And King Curtis began to record his own work, fronting a band called the Kingpins– whose members were to create several instrumental hits with Curtis over the years, and then went on to further success following his death.
The late Cornell Dupree grew up with Curtis in Forth Worth and whose guitar later graced landmark recordings such as Respect by Aretha Franklin and A Rainy Night in Georgia by Brook Benton and was a member of the original "Saturday Night Live" band. The late keyboard player Richard Tee was a prolific session player, and was Paul Simon’s choice for the 1981 Simon & Garfunkel reunion concert. Bassist Jerry Jemmott was a major influence on jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius, has long been involved with music instruction books and videos - and has toured with Gregg Allman. And the drummer Bernard Purdie is considered the world’s most-recorded drummer of all time – although claims that he filled-in on Beatles recordings are untrue (he did minor overdubs on Tony Sheridan recordings some of the Beatles were backing musicians for in 1961).
By the early 1960’s, Curtis began to have chart success, including 1962’s Soul Twist (at #17) and in 1965 he joined Atlantic Records. There he released what became his signature tune Memphis Soul Stew - which reached #33 and foreshadowed songs like Tighten Up a few years later. He and the Kingpins were an opening act for the Beatles at their 1965 Shea Stadium concert. Curtis went on to appear as a sideman on numerous Atlantic recordings (with the likes of Jimi Hendrix as well as Duane Allman, Eric Clapton and Robbie Robertson of The Band).
And by 1967 King Curtis had – in effect – become a producer at Atlantic, arranging sessions for musicians, working alongside Jerry Wexler and alerting management to the abilities of a (largely-ignored) staff arranger named Arif Mardin - who went on to a sterling career as a record producer. At the same time, Curtis had another hit instrumental in the Ode to Billie Joe that year.
By 1970, he was appointed as Aretha Franklin’s music director, and he and the Kingpins backed-up Aretha in a 1970 recording at the Fillmore West - in addition to one that King Curtis recorded himself at the same venue– which included keyboard player Billy Preston (who had worked with the Beatles) and a cover version of "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin.
In 1971, he was on the recording of the original theme song to the TV show "Soul Train" and also appeared on two songs of the landmark album Imagine by John Lennon. And while nearly every recording you’ll ever hear of the Erroll Garner tune Misty is done as a slow ballad – King Curtis recorded a medium-tempo instrumental version (which I finally located on-line).
Then fatefully, he was returning (with an air conditioner in his arms) to his Manhattan apartment in August, 1971 where two junkies were using, right on the front steps of his brownstone. After asking them to leave: an argument ensued, where one of them stabbed King Curtis to death at only age 37.
On the day of the funeral Atlantic Records closed their offices in tribute: and among those attending besides many Atlantic employees were Brook Benton, Duane Allman, the Rev. Jesse Jackson – and which featured songs performed by Aretha Franklin as well as Stevie Wonder, who sang Abraham, Martin & John .... 'and now King Curtis'.
Forty-five years later, his legacy is still strong. A recording that King Curtis made weeks before his death at the Montreux Jazz festival in Switzerland was released posthumously. A compilation album sums up his career nicely, King Curtis won a 1969 Grammy for his version of Games People Play– and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a sideman in 2000.
During his session days “Imagine” recording sessionOf all of his work, my favorite is Soul Serenade - which was performed by the rest of the Kingpins at his funeral, and was also performed by the Allman Brothers during a New York concert shortly after his death as a tribute. Co-written with producer Luther Dixon - it reached #51 on the charts in 1961.
Aretha Franklin sang the song's lyrics, which you can hear at this link - and a portion are listed - but below you can hear the he and the Kingpins play the original instrumental.
I want to be free to fly away and sing to the world About my soul serenade When you're not around there's a lonely sound In my soul serenade
My message to them this evening Is they can jump in anybody's ocean Because only you hear my soul My soul serenade Oh, my soul serenade
x YouTube Video