Happy 80th Birthday, Sam Cooke!

Mold-breaker. Extreme talent. Pioneer. Soul Stirrer.

 

Sweet Harmony…a la Colette

Colette has another thoughtful submission on one of my favorite musical subjects….HARMONY.

har·mo·ny – [hahr-muh-nee]: Music. the simultaneous combination of tones, esp. when blended into chords pleasing to the ear; chordal structure, as distinguished from melody and rhythm. A/K/A “Modulation”.

I love the sweet sounds of harmony and one of my absolute favorites is Seven Bridges Road by The Eagles:

I particularly enjoy acapella harmony but still like the acoustic guitars, as well. I must also include this as one of the most moving harmonies I’ve heard.

I Shall Not Walk Alone, Ben Harper & the Blind Boys of Alabama

So utterly soothing…and there is a distinct difference between male harmonies, female harmonies and “mixed” harmonies. Colette gives us some wonderful thoughts on the former.

Recent scientific research suggests that basic elements of musical sound, especially harmony, can have a potent physiological effect on our brains.

Given how my own being responds to beautiful harmony, I don’t doubt that. Listening to beautiful vocal harmony, or singing harmony parts with others, are almost spiritual experiences for me. Not to get woo-woo, but there’s a lushness, a richness, a sonic purity about intricate vocal harmony that can be ecstatic. It’s also interesting how singers without outstanding solo voices, can sometimes harmonize gorgeously with others.

Vocal harmony has been central to sacred and folk music for eons, and in American pop music I’m realizing how prominent and essential it’s been also. So I began to search for the harmonized pop music that moves me most, and found some stunning examples from a boundless ocean of them.

I’ve sharing some in two sets. The women’s set will come sometime later. But following in Music Maven’s current jones for male pipes, I’m going to the guys first.

A lot of black pop harmonizers got their “ear training” directly from the church. So let’s start with one of the great 1950s male gospel groups, the Swanee Quintet, which added electric guitar and bluesy verve to their plush gospel harmonies:

“New Mood” — The Sewanee Quintet (1950s)

Harmonizing in unearthly glory with the equally great Soul Stirrers (Sam Cooke‘s an alum) in Bob Telson’s brilliant 1980s musical, “Gospel at Colonus” are the inimitable Blind Boys of Alabama. This fusion of black gospel and Greek myth, seen on Broadway and around the world, is thrilling even on DVD. Here Clarence Fountain & Blind Boys (white coats) are collectively playing the dying Oedipus, and the Soul Stirrers (in purple and orange) are King Creon. Talk about your singing matches:

“Stop, Do Not Go On” — Five Blind Boys of Alabama and the Soul Stirrers

The gospel sound fed right into the secular pop music of the 1950s, when many black doo-wop groups put out classic ’45s. I heard this one as a little kid, and it’s been with me ever since. That opening phrase –” dom, dom, dom/ dom-be-do-be…….” Legend has it, the adolescent Paul McCartney and John Lennon were singing this song together they first time they met. If it’s not true, it should be:

— “Come and Go With Me” — The Del Vikings

White harmony-fueled acts derived more from the bluegrass/rockabilly harmonic strain, of Buddy Holly et al, also burst forth in the 1950s — including those Kentucky princes of harmony, the Everly Brothers, Phil and Don. No question that they directly influenced the Beatles and many others.

Here’s the impossibly young Everly boys on Julius LaRosa’s TV show in the 1950s:

“Bye Bye Love” — The Everly Brothers (ages 18 and 20)

Slightly older, and more poised, on British TV singing two of their dreamy best:

— “All I Have to Do Is Dream” and “Cathy’s CLown”

Leaping ahead to the early 1960s, and building on the Everly sound, one of the greatest vocal bands ever: The Beach Boys. Teen genius Brian Wilson formed the group with brothers Carl and Dennis, cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine. They sang about a teen fantasy of the California Good Life: surfing, cars, and girls, girls, girls. But it’s those high, transporting harmonies that stay with you. Instead of conventional 1-3-5 chord structures, Brian experimented and innovated with different vocal layerings, and his own amazing falsetto. Good early live clips of the original Beach Boys (before Brian stopped performing live) are hard to come by — their lush sound was partly a studio creation, and without onstage monitors or decent amplification, their elecrified sound was tough to record outside the studio. But some great footage on youtube recently has made me a “little surfer girl” wannabe again.

My favorite BB hit, playing on an oldie radio station as I drove across the Golden Gate Bridge, the day I got my driver’s license! Dig the high riff from Brian in the finale:

— “Fun, Fun, Fun” — The Beach Boys

A classic BB ballad, lusciously harmonized:

— “Surfer Girl” — the Beach Boys

And another fave — they could rock it! (“Yeah, the bad guys know us/And they leave us alone”)…..

— “I Get Around” — the Beach Boys

The Beatles were very respectful of, and competitive with, the Beach Boys — and vice versa. They were also wildly inventive themselves in their harmonies — a big part of their magic. Think of “Paperback Writer,” “Nowhere Man,” the list goes on and on.

Once again, the Beatles as artists were way ahead of live concert recording technology. But here’s a good live example of the uniqueness of their harmonies. Consider how Paul & John slip in and out of singing the same melodic line, and then suddenly there’s a gaping blend that verges on dissonace. It’s just smashing:

— “Ticket to Ride” — The Beatles live

The boys (with a nod to the Everlys) harmonizing on “I’m a Loser” (OK, so I’m impartial to John, the greatest rock singer ever IMO):

— “I’m a Loser” — Beatles, live in Paris (bonus cut: George sings lead on “Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby”)

“The Beatles Anthology” showed the Beatles were a spectacular road band whose sound was cemented by years of gigs in the UK & Europe. (For the best live audio recordings, get “Beatles at the BBC”.) The mingling of their voices was wondrous to the end, in this cut from “Let It Be,” from an impromptu concert on the London rooftop. The Beatles didn’t knpw it would be their last performance as a foursome — they were still talking about touring again. Ah, what might have been!

— “Don’t Let Me Down” — The Beatles

Flipping back to California, the folk-rock wave of the ’60s and ’70s brought more harmony. The pioneers in this idiom were the Byrds, and the fantastic, fleeting Buffalo Springfield. If the latter didn’t last long, their members had after-lives in great spin-off bands: Poco, Loggins & Messina, Neil Young‘s various groups and of course, Crosby, Stills & Nash. Her’es a very rare live TV clip of a classic Buffalo Springfield song, inspired by Janis Joplin. Wow, do they look young and sound great, especially Stephen Stills:

— “Rock ‘n Roll Woman” — Buffalo Springfield on “The Flip Wilson Show”

From the ashes of Buffalo Springfield rose the Eagles, the LA ’70s super-group formed by sidemen for Linda Rondstadt. The Eagles weren’t favorites of mine in their heyday, probably because their gazillion hits were so popular you couldn’t escape them. Also, what San Francisco rock freak would admit LA bands could be as good or better than our’s? OK, I was wrong! The Eagles wrote fabulous songs, and are still consistently excellent musicians and harmonizers. From a 1973 BBC appearance, intro’d with some a capella harmonizing:

— “Take It Easy” — The Eagles

A couple decades later, from a reunion tour (they’re putting out a new studio album this fall) — Glen Frye on lead (man, has he aged well!), Don Henley, Joe Walsh and the guys:

— “Tequila Sunrise” — The Eagles

So where do we go from there? Briefly back into the lineage African American harmonizers. On the a capella front, the terrific and still-touring Persuasions are role models for a lot of younger groups — here are Jerry Lawson and the fellas on a funky 1970s cover of (yeah!) the Everlys:

— “All I Have to Do Is Dream” — The Persuasions

After The Persuasions came some dynamic inheritors of the tradition, including the late and much-missed 14 Karat Soul:

— Sesame Street tune, 14 Karat Soul

Still active are the successful Boyz 2 Men and others, but I prefer Take 6 for the originality of their modulating vocal arrangements and depth of their musicianship. I love what they do with this soulful Bill Withers classic:

— “Grandma’s Hands” — Take 6

Let’s close with a white boy band I’m learning to love belatedly — their first mega-hit live, and bringing it all back home with a Beach Boy classic (I posted this earlier, but it deserves an encore in this context). Those Backstreet Boys can really sing harmony! If only they had a Brian Wilson writing all their material they’d really soar….

“I Want It That Way” — Backstreet Boys live

– “When I Grow Up to Be a Man” — Backstreet Boys (at a tribute to Brian Wilson)

 

It’s Rainin’ Men….

Ok, enough of all of the wimmin singers. My tastes in music really run to the masculine side anyway. And, there happens to be some really great male singers out there. I’ve noticed a definite “back to the basics” style of most of the boys out there now, which I thoroughly enjoy. There is real music by real musicians out there who are giving us some really great, memorable music and performances.

It seems to me that music by men is not a typical “macho” characteristic, yet most male performers are so honed in and down right good that they take music to a different level. I think that men in music make a stronger kun-NECK-shun in delivering the message of the music between melody and lyric, but maybe that’s because I am truly touched by sensitive and artistic men.

So I figured that I’d throw a few out there. Such a plethora of testosterone that is simply spectacular, and all are strikingly different.

Of course, there is the Silver Fox — the epitome of passion in music….

TAYLOR HICKS

A nice, new nugget of an old, familiar favorite:

Use Me, Taylor Hicks

Taylor is definitely “all about the music” and his love of music is readily evident and palpable.

Now, onto a few others that might not be as well known to you but are still hawt, in the musical sense, of course…

DONOVAN FRANKENREITER

It Don’t Matter, Donovan Frankenreiter

Donovan is “ungh”. He is a bit of a hippie and not you’re typical media star, but his bluesy-ness is superb. Here’s a bonus of Donovan with JACK JOHNSON.

Heading Home, Donovan Frankenreiter and Jack Johnson

 

 

MATT WERTZ

One of my music geek friends, turned me on to a relatively new artist named Matt Wertz. More to come on Matt, later…

5:19, Matt Wertz

 

 

 

CAS HALEY

Cas is a breath of fresh air from the cheesefest that is America’s Got Talent. From Dallas, TX, Cas is a dedicated husband and father and a rather unique talent. His performances on AGT remind me alot of Taylor on AI….not the “cookie cutter” pop star, he really brings some originality and huge talent. As with Taylor, however, I wonder if Cas can transcend the stigma of reality TV.

Easy, Cas Haley

Oh, if only Taylor had delivered this Lionel Ritchie classic as boldly.

 

 

 

BEN HARPER

Then, there’s Ben Harper. Flying under the radar for a few years, Ben is quite an eclectic talent. Here he is at Bonnaroo:

Burn One Down, Ben Harper

As as added bonus, here is Ben Harper with the Blind Boys of Alabama doing I Shall Not Walk Alone. I was gobsmacked when I first heard this version. Such honesty and sincerity where all of these gentlemen are obviously moved by the music.

I Shall Not Walk Alone, Ben Harper & The Blind Boys of Alabama

 

 

Likely one of the most passionate pairings on a song that I’ve seen in a while, this duo brings this classic to a new level:

RAY LAMONTAGNE & DAMIEN RICE

To Love Somebody, Ray LaMontagne & Damien Rice

Perhaps I like the acoustical nature, ala James Taylor, of these newer artists, but I also love that all of these dudes are incorporating all kinds of instruments including harmonica, slide guitars, stand up bass, etc. Here’s a funky turn from Damien Rice at Abbey Road Studios:

Volcano, Damien Rice

I have a love/hate relationship with Ray LaMontagne. While I find him eerily freakish in stature and demeanor, the man has serious chops and talent.

JAMES MORRISON

This young artist, moreso of all the others, beckons memories of Stevie Wonder to me. He also uses rich instruments…

You Give Me Something, James Morrison

 

 

GAVIN DEGRAW

While many perceive of Gavin Degraw as “commercial” but I happen to think he’s got alot of “soul”…here is Gavin pulling off a classic:

Tracks of My Tears, Gavin Degraw

and I just love this stripped piano, solo version of Chariot:

Chariot, Gavin Degraw

 

 

AMOS LEE

Of course, I love me some Amos. Here’s a recent performance of one of my favorite Amos tunes (for obvious reasons):

Southern Girl, Amos Lee

Why are we not seeing more of Amos?

MARC BROUSSARD

I can’t pass up an opportunity to talk about my “home boy”, Marc. Here’s some relatively new Marc vids:

I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know, Marc Broussard

Donny Hathaway would be proud.

Love & Happiness, Marc Broussard (For those of you who never could connect to the Yahoo! link.

Lastly, here’s a tasty little bootleg:

Pappa Was a Rollin’ Stone, Marc Broussard

 

 

JOHN MAYER

And lastly, there’s Johnny Boy. New Yorker, stoner, environmentalist, comedian….and damn-good musician. I have it on good authority that Mayer may actually be a stalker. (BTW, I’ve forgiven him the Jessica indiscretion.)

Talk about an artist that beckons the past….he brings it to life.

Come Back to Bed, John Mayer with Buddy Guy & Double Trouble

While I highlighted John’s GMA performance with Eric Clapton a few weeks ago, this is a particularly lovely performance of the two guitar impresarios.

Heartbroken, John Mayer & Eric Clapton

Clapton ain’t so bad, himself.

I’ve gone through many Mayer favorites, but right now it’s this one:

In Repair, John Mayer

In more ways than one, Johnny Boy, in more ways than one.

So, what musical dudes in today’s music have I failed to mention?