Mailbag

From: Daniel Kortchmar
Subject: Re: Joe Cocker

I'm so proud to have produced and played on "Love is Alive".... To be in the studio and hear Joe tear that song to pieces was a monumental thrill...it's sad that NO modern singer can achieve that level of intensity...but that was then...

_______________________________________

Subject: Re: Joe Cocker
From: RICHARD ZITO

Hi Bob,

I had the pleasure of working with Joe Cocker when I Produced "You Can Leave Your Hat On" for the Movie 91/2 Weeks.

Since I knew the song intimately, having Played Guitar with Randy Newman on a European Tour, a couple of years prior, I was a bit unsure of the best way to make the song work.

I was on a Phone Call with the Director Adrian Lyne, who I had met briefly working on Flashdance, discussing how to Arrange /Produce the Song and credit where credit's due….he said he envisioned it sounding like something from MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN!

I knew exactly what he meant….and now it's one of the Records I'm most proud of having made…..as well as one of the greatest memories of my life!
Rest In Peace my Friend!

Richie Zito

As a side note, Speaking of Woodstock... An added bonus was that Joe's manager at the time was Michael Lang, F#@%K YEAH!

_______________________________________

From: Mark Gaide
Subject: Re: Joe Cocker

In 1987, I got a call from a manager friend of mine. He asked if I'd be interested in engineering a vocal session with Joe Cocker at Greenstreet Studios in the Village. Without hesitation, I booked the date. Nervous as hell, I entered the control room to sit at the Trident TSM console, flanked by Charlie Midnight and the late Dan Hartman. We were working on one song, "A Woman Loves A Man" which appeared on the "Unchain My Heart" album.

I'd been hearing Joe Cocker's voice and watching his unique persona since I was a kid -- long before I'd ever set foot in a recording studio. Now the man was on the other side of the glass, warming up to sing on an AKG 414. Charlie and Dan sensed that I was a young engineer, but they still treated me with respect, kindness and patience.

But that kindness and respect AND humility overflowed from Mr. Cocker all throughout the session. When we were finished, Joe made a point of walking all around the studio to personally thank BY NAME and shake hands with not only me, but also every assistant, intern and coffee runner who had worked that day.

To this day, I've always loved telling this story. It was one of the most memorable days of my career.

The world will miss you, Joe.

Mark Gaide

_______________________________________

From: Don Grierson
Subject: Joe Cocker

Hi Bob,

We lost not only one of the most unique artists of our time with the passing of Joe, but my favorite "soul man". When I signed Joe to Capitol Records in 1984, I found a man who truly sang from his heart and, although he wanted to be heard, wouldn't compromise his art for commerciality.

I'm with you re "Shelter Me", a song I found for him in Nashville. That was Joe Cocker singing only as Joe could.

Thank you for the kind words you wrote about Joe.

Don Grierson

_______________________________________

Subject: Re: Joe Cocker
From: Rob Giles

Beautiful letter, Bob. Thank you.

Greatest honor to be had by a songwriter? Joe covering one of your songs.

He sang one of mine a few years back on his "Fire It Up" record and I'm not sure I'll ever be more proud of any accolade.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6-kLmX_c9-M

Keep writing, please.
Rob Giles

_______________________________________

From: Peter Asher
Subject: RE: Rhinofy-Heart Like A Wheel-The Originals

Thanks for the interesting and thoughtful "Heart Like a Wheel" (and "Black Rose") notes.

I confess that the first version I ever heard of "You're No Good" (and then I went backwards and listened to the ones you mention) was the Swinging Blue Jeans' excellent cover which was a big UK hit.

Probably more than you need to know, but MIX Magazine (attached below) recently ran a piece about our track, how Andrew and I arranged it, how Val made it sound the way it did and so on. Not to mention my favourite girl singer in the world singing brilliantly and contributing great ideas of her own!

Peter

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/newbay/mix_201411/#/30

_______________________________________

Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Heart Like A Wheel-The Originals
From: Garay Val

Interesting side bar to "When Will I Be Loved".

I'd mixed "That'll Be The Day" 2 or 3 different times and Peter never felt it had come to fruition.

Although we did get finally it right and re-cut it for "Hasten Down The Wind".

So in the 11th hour just prior to finishing "Heart Like A Wheel" we ran in and cut "When Will I Be Loved".

Once Al Coury had finally claimed the album for Capitol and we'd played him everything, I remember him saying to Peter, Linda and myself that "You're No Good" is an elegant record and he was sure a hit single but he said clearly that "When Will I Be Loved" would be a bigger hit.....Both went to number 1 but "When Will I Be Loved" was a bigger hit.

_______________________________________

Subject: Re: Mailbag
From: jeremiah chechik

was wonderful to see/hear VH's "when it's love" i directed that video in what now seems the stone age and remember it fondly - eddie even gave me a guitar which i have to this day.

in the original cut an old couple dances slowly in the ballroom and begin to burn until they are completely on fire, reduced to ash and swept away. MTV felt it was "inappropriate". i was bummed then but the sammy's electrifying performance that day more than made up for the network's conservative (that's right) view.

i hadn't watched it for years and years and thank you for bringing back to the surface. it feels as modern and powerful as the day they sung it.

jeremiah chechik

_______________________________________

Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Clapton Guest Appearances
From: Peter Godwin

Hi Bob,

As you know I co-wrote "Dirty City" (and "I'm Not Drowning" and the rest of "Nine Lives") with Steve Winwood and I'll never forget the first time I heard Clapton's solo on the end of that tune. For me it recalls one of my favourite Clapton guitar moments, his (originally unsung) solo-ing on the Fabs' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"- especially in how it builds and builds in intensity, but also the sound. Of course, Eric only plays the solo at the end, the rest of the guitar being Mr Winwood himself, often underrated as a player probably because his extraordinary voice tends to overshadow his other gifts.

Eric's wondrous soloing was probably at least partly responsible for "Dirty City" being #1 on AOR rock formats non-stop for many weeks and that helped "Nine Lives" reach #12 in The Billboard album charts - Steve's highest chart position since the 1980's. So, I don't think I'd quite agree that "Nine Lives" was put out "to almost no effect". Steve did Letterman and played to almost a million people across the US with Tom Petty that summer of 2008 - which together with the 3 nights sell-out Clapton/Winwood gigs at Madison Square Garden all put Steve back in the high life again (sorry haha!) for a while.

I actually think of "About Time" and "Nine Lives" as very much as two chapters of the same story. Same producer- the wonderful Johnson Somerset bringing it home both times- and pretty much the same band. When I first met Steve, he played me jams from the sound-checks of the band touring "About Time"- and it was those jams we wrote the songs for "Nine Lives" over, with a couple of exceptions- ""I'm Not Drowning" being one- a lyric I gave Steve that he wrote to, like Elton John and Bernie Taupin do it. So I think the two albums have some common DNA actually.

Anyway Bob, thanks for highlighting that magical and passionate Clapton guitar moment on "Dirty City" as the friends reunited on record for the first time (I think) since Blind Faith- about time, you might say, haha! Hearing that was certainly a special moment in my musical life - now a few more out there can share it and understand perhaps why back in the day the graffiti "Clapton is God" was daubed all over London town!

All the best,

Peter Godwin

_______________________________________

From: Aku Valta
Subject: RE: Rhinofy-Clapton Guest Appearances

Hi Bob,
there are two version of "It's Probably Me": the smash single from Lethal Weapon 4 soundtrack with Clapton's not only on guitar but also on snare drum with his Zippo! The Ten Summoners Tales arrangement is slow and Clapton is replaced with Dominic Miller, a Sting regular.

_______________________________________

From: Margaret Moser
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-WABC All American Survey for Week of 15 December 1964

But about "She's A Woman" ... Take that song and throw in some Mexican polka inflection and you've got the Sir Douglas Quintet's "She's About A Mover" (changed from the banned title "She's a Body Mover") from 1965. And who else than Huey Meaux would have thought to shadow on their debut album cover a couple of white boys and three young Chicanos in English mod drag? Yeah, he was despicable in his peccadillos, but the man was one of the old-school geniuses of regional music there on the Texas-Louisiana border. He worked with Don Robey and ran someof the Chitlin Circuit in San Antonio. That's the story few remember and the little ones don't understand, how powerful the regional salesman was.

In 1969, the Quintet was back on the charts with "Mendocino," with Doug Sahm ahead of the progressive country curve. In 1973, Sahm releases Doug Sahm & Friends on Atlantic with Bob Dylan and Flaco Jimenez. In 1989, Sahm forms the Texas Tornadoes with Flaco. In 2014, Flaco gets a lifetime Grammy. Sometimes, there is justice.

_______________________________________

Subject: Re: Rhinofy-WABC All American Survey for Week of 15 December 1964
From: Paul Santo

Good article....but John played the opening lick to "I Feel Fine" on his Gibson J-160 through a Vox AC30 on the record and live! Dig it!! :)

_______________________________________

Subject: Re: Shark Tank Update
From: Travis Laurendine

Thought you might be interested in this insight into how Shark Tank works

I did a joke app airpnp for Mardi gras in New Orleans and it became a viral hit as the story of airbnb for bathrooms on parade route... first with full local coverage and talk of the town status then usa today and quartz and thenextweb and being #2 on hacker news Mardi gras day with inbound requests coming in at lightning speed for 3 days in a row and sure enough...

That's when Shark Tank casting got in touch then asked me to be on the show and skip the line. And when we didn't immediately say yes... They kept hounding us. Calls, emails. Dude wouldn't quit. We wisely passed.

So they are searching for these sucker stories and trying to set people up for hilarious humiliation on tv. They take submissions sure but to bring you the guilty pleasures everyone loves they hire specialized casting companies looking for people to exploit like any other reality tv show.

_______________________________________

From: Tom Goldfogle
Subject: Chuck Brown

Bob –
Thanks for shining the spotlight on the DC Go-Go scene and letting your readers know what DC and Go-Go fans around the world have known for decades. As Chuck Brown's manager I was fortunate to witness night after night this legend of a man give his all for his fans in DC and around the world. With 2 – 3 hour sets without a break from when the first drumbeat started, there was never a set list – it was a new musical journey each night, based on the vibe between Chuck and the audience. It was always about the music and the fans. Not only was Chuck Brown a music innovator, pioneer, and accomplished musician, he was an incredible human being, a humble man, a father figure and mentor to many. He was so important in the Nation's Capital that a 1.8 million dollar commemorative park was unveiled last year on what would have been his 78th birthday. He is missed by a huge following of fans, but Big Tony and Trouble Funk, Rare Essence, Back Yard, Bela Dona, Familiar Faces, The Chuck
Brown Band and others continue to carry the torch and keep the beat alive. Many thanks to Dave Grohl for his love for the music.

Best,
Tom

Tom Goldfogle, President
Full Circle Entertainment, Inc.

_______________________________________

From: Chris Blackwell
Subject: Re: Sonic Highways-Austin & D.C.

I LOVED THE GO GO MUSIC OF DC
I thought it needed a film like The Harder they Come which gave a context to JAMAICAN music in order to break it. The film was called GOOD TO GO and sadly was lousy & almost brought down Island.
I loved the music and the people who made it.
So happy to see it being recognized by you.


--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1

If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25

To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25




-- powered by phpList, www.phplist.com --