A true pioneering musician/composer/arranger Oliver Nelson is a name and a sound that I wish more were familiar with. In the late 60′s and early 70′s and for the most part today there were very few Black Composers working in the Film and Television Industry. Quincy Jones was one and Oliver Nelson was the other to find consistent work.

Over his storied career Oliver Nelson played in the bands of Louis Jordan and the aforementioned Quincy Jones as well as, served as the house arranger for the Apollo. Nelson was a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis where he studied composition and theory. In 1967 Oliver moved to Los Angeles where he secured scoring duties for the TV shows Ironside, Night Gallery, Columbo, The Six Million Dollar Man and Longstreet and the films Death of a Gunfighter and Last Tango in Paris.

Oliver Nelson died in 1975 at the age of 43 from a heart attack. I wanted to post two of his most famous compositions today in tribute to a musical hero of mine.

DJ Polished Solid is back with Pt. 2 of her great mix where the theme is Black. It features a lot of blaxploitation radio spots and music from the 70s. Right On. Make sure to checkout DJ Polished each and every Sunday from 4pm to 6pm on her show No Turn Unstoned right here.

Checkout the playlist after the jump. (more…)

Ok so a little context first…checkout this demo and interview with one of the designers of the Fairlight Peter Vogel from 1980.

Next you can watch this video of Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones working out with a Fairlight and you can also read a post that I wrote about my feelings on their use of the equipment here.

And finally the inspiration for this post…

I literally was talking about this with one of musical cohorts the other day before the Whodini episode of Unsung came on and when they started talking about their use of the Fairlight in the studio and the fact that at that particular time there were on 12 in the world. When you work with a tool that not many have access to, and you can work with it skillfully that is going to immediately put you front and center or it should. (more…)

Here’s a biggin’ that you sho’ nuff’ will be diggin’ from friend to GFM DJ Polished Solid a tribute to the one and only Don Cornelius!

From the show notes…

(September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012)

This is the first mix of two in tribute to Don Cornelius. My childhood was filled with many hours of dutifully watching Soul Train, ironically, the soul train line being the centerpiece for me and not the guest artists. This week we are keeping it in the groove, and next week we’ll return to No Turn Unstoned’s usual eclectic format. It goes without saying that for both sets the theme is SOUL of course.

There are four soul train themes in this mix:

1973-1975′s TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia), composed by Gamble and Huff and recorded by
Philadelphia soul studio group M.F.S.B. with vocals by the Three Degrees.
1975-1976′s Soul Train ’75 by The Soul Train Gang
1976-1978′s Soul Train ’76 (Get on Board), also by The Soul Train Gang
1980-1983′s Up on Soul Train by The Whispers

Check out the playlist after the jump.

(more…)

Another hit single from the ingenious duo of writer, Rod Temperton and producer, Quincy Jones, Off The Wall‘s Rock With You proved to be an illustrating moment for Michael in the early 80′s. Echoing the dance floors of  Studio 54 with its moving bass line, flowing string arrangements, and synthesised sound of disco, this single captures a sensual playfulness fused with a joyous spirit in Jackson’s voice. Released November 3, 1979, Rock With You became a defining tune for Michael landing him in the #1 spot on Billboard’s pop and R&B single charts and later becoming the 4th biggest single of the 80′s decade.  From a perspective of resilience,  the staying power of  this single beneath the backdrop of industry changes due to the declining taste for disco and a resurgence of rock makes its chart topping endurance and platinum certification very impressive.

While Rock With You is 31 years old, its ripple effect in song and video is still felt in many contemporary artists like Chris Brown, Kelly Clarkson, Chuck Loeb and many, many others. Here’s a couple of  of examples to show  the single’s reach and influence: (more…)

You would have to be “Bad” with an opening line like “Your butt is mine” nothing else to talk about see here… but seriously the title track from the final album in the MJ/Quincy trilogy is bad as in bad meaning good not bad meaning bad(cue Run-DMC). Based in part on a story that Michael had read in Time magazine, “Bad” had a two week stay at #1 in the Fall of ’87. I particularly like the Jimmy Smith Organ solo and who didn’t practice the “You’re doing wrong!” section of the video in the basement by the full length mirror? Or was that just me?

Better than any muckraking I can do checkout the commentary from the creators themselves…

Released on July 28, 1979 as the lead single for Michael’s first solo record for Epic, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” ruled the airwaves in the late Summer of 1979. Even though the track was firmly entrenched in the Disco idiom it comprised much more than just the four on the floor kick drum pattern and open hi-hats. Frenetic string and horn work, a falsetto never heard before from Michael and the nastiest of nasty synth bass work from Greg Phillinganes this song was and is a party starter.