Written for Glynâs Mixed Music Bag week #25 where we are asked to write about a song by a group or solo singer beginning with the letter K or L
Kings of Leon is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band’s early music was a blend of Southern rock and garage rock with blues influences, but it has evolved throughout the years to include a variety of genres and a more alternative, arena rock sound. Kings of Leon achieved initial success in the United Kingdom with nine Top 40 singles, two BRIT Awards in 2008, and all three of the band’s albums at the time peaked in the top five of the UK Albums Chart. Their third album, Because of the Times, reached #1.
After the release of their 4th album, Only by the Night in September 2008, the band achieved chart success in the United States. The singles âSex On Fireâ, âUse Somebodyâ and âNotionâ all peaked at #1 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album was their first platinum-selling album in the United States and the best-selling album of 2008 in Australia, being certified platinum nine times. The group has 12 Grammy Award nominations, including 4 wins.
“Sex on Fire” has been described as alternative rock. The song was written about lead singer Caleb’s then-girlfriend (and now-wife), model Lily Aldridge. In an interview with Australian radio station Triple J, Nathan Followill explained that the band never intended the song to be named “Sex on Fire” and that it was not intended to be about sexuality.
The song received generally positive reviews. Digital Spy rated the song 4/5 stars, describing it as “a truly stirring single“. Planet Sound also rated the song 9/10. However, Caleb Followill originally thought the song was “terrible” and it was almost ditched during recording.
In the United Kingdom, “Sex on Fire” entered the official UK Singles chart at #1 on September 14, 2008 and went on to an unbroken 42 weeks on the chart. In Germany, the single debuted at #97 on the German Singles chart; in its 32nd week on the chart, the song finally reached its peak of number 33. As of February 2011, the song had been on the chart for 60 weeks, a huge effort for a single that didnât even reach the top 20.
Since 1934 when the FCC was created, countless recordings have been banned or censored for a variety of reasons, including âprovocative or sexually suggestive lyrics, inciting violence or promoting hate and political or religious beliefs and/or associationsâ.
Come with me as I reveal the most powerful number to close out the month. Let’s see which one I saved for last and who made it (in)famous.
Welcome now to the final week of “I’m With the Banned”. I gave much thought to whether I wanted to post this song or not. Surely I could find another song, any song, but this one. But then I realized to exclude this song would be a travesty, another kick in the gut to all those who struggled, fought and died in one of the most disgusting and ignoble ways because all they wanted was to escape slavery, be free and be treated as a human being. This song and the story behind it is compelling and I will not sweep it under the rug or hide it away like so much of our history. It deserves to stand alone which is why it’s the only song I posted today. I beg you to please read the entire post before jumping ahead to the video; what you read may be shocking but the insight I hope you gain will be immeasurable and unforgettable. Thank you.
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Strange Fruit – Billie Holiday
In March 1939, a 23-year-old Billie Holiday walked up to the mic at West 4th’s Cafe Society in New York City to sing her final song of the night. Per her request, the waiters stopped serving and the room went completely black, save for a spotlight on her face. And then she sang softly in her raw and emotional voice: “Southern trees bear strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black body swinging in the Southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees…”
When Billie finished, the spotlight turned off. When the lights came back on, the stage was empty. She was gone. And per her request, there was no encore. This was how Billie Holiday performed “Strange Fruit,” which she would determinedly sing for the next 20 years.
“Strange Fruit” was written and composed by Abel Meeropol, a white Jewish communist, teacher and civil rights activist from The Bronx, New York who wrote it first as a poem, then later as a song.
His inspiration? Meeropol came across a 1930 photo that captured the lynching of two black men in Indiana. The visceral image haunted him for days and prompted him to put pen to paper. After he published “Strange Fruit” in a teachers union publication, Meeropol composed it into a song and passed it on to a nightclub owner, who then introduced it to Billie Holiday. She recorded it and it became her signature piece.
Abel Meeropol chose the words “Strange Fruit” to compare the hanging bodies to the fruit of trees. Such lynchings had reached a peak in the southern US at the turn of the 20th century and the vast majority of victims were black. The song has been referred to as “a declaration” and “the beginning of the civil rights movementâ.
While civil rights activists and black America embraced “Strange Fruit,” the nightclub scene, which was primarily composed of white patrons, had mixed reactions. At witnessing Billie Holiday’s performance, audience members would applaud wildly, while those less sympathetic would bitterly walk out.
One individual who was determined to silence Billie Holiday was Federal Bureau of Narcotics commissioner Harry Anslinger. A known racist, Anslinger believed that drugs caused black people to overstep their boundaries in American society and that marijuana-smoking black jazz singers created the devil’s music.
When Anslinger forbid Billie to perform “Strange Fruit,” she refused, causing him to devise a plan to destroy her. Knowing that she was a drug user, he had some of his men frame her by selling her heroin. When Billie was caught using the drug, she was thrown into prison for the next year and a half. Upon her release in 1948, federal authorities refused to reissue her cabaret performerâs license. Billie Holiday’s nightclub days, which she loved so much, were over.
Before we go any further, let me make something very clear: While it’s true Billie Holiday was a drug addict and an alcoholic, she was in every sense of the word a victim who really didn’t stand much of a chance. Born to unwed teenage parents who didn’t want to be bothered with her, Billie was shuffled around from one “aunt” to another. Her life was predestined for grief, loneliness and hardships from day one and all the fame she realized couldn’t save her from her demons …. or the law. Let’s continue.
In 1959, Billie checked herself into the hospital suffering from heart and lung problems and cirrhosis of the liver due to heavy drinking. She had been a drug addict for a long time and was now in a very bad way. Still Harry Anslinger was ruthlessly relentless. Bent on ruining her, he had his men go to the hospital and handcuff Billie to her bed. The coldhearted Anslinger forbid doctors to offer her further treatment. She died within days. Harry Anslinger accomplished what he set out to do and he killed Billie Holiday in the process.
Despite her tragic demise, Billie Holiday has a lasting legacy in the world of jazz and pop music. She garnered 23 Grammys posthumously and was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. Among the many songs that Billie Holiday is celebrated for, “StrangeFruit” will always be one of her defining works. It allowed her to take what was originally an expression of political protest and transform it into a work of art for millions to hear. In 1999 Time magazine designated “Strange Fruit” the “song of the century.”
This is the one and only Billie Holiday performing âStrange Fruitâ.
As I often do, I’d like to add a personal note: my parent’s ashes are interred at St. Raymond’s Cemetery in The Bronx, New York. The last time I was there doing some ‘spring cleaning‘, I went in search of my long lost uncle’s gravesite. Reading the names on the headstones, I stopped short and gave a little gasp. There, not more than 15 feet from my parent’s gravesite was Billie Holiday’s grave. I was overcome with such emotion, I cannot put it into words. Just thinking what this woman went through made me feel so incredibly sad. I was standing at the feet of a legend, someone I greatly admired for many years. Billie’s headstone was covered with trinkets, cards, letters and mementos from fans and admirers who come from near and far every day to pay their respects. A cemetery worker told me so many people stop by to leave remembrances, he has to clear off the headstone every other day. The items I saw on her headstone had been dropped off that morning alone. There are bins stacked in a storage room at the cemetery containing all the trinkets left on Billie Holiday’s headstone. What a powerful message that sends to the world.
I took this photo last year while at St. Raymond’s Cemetery. What an incredible morning that was for me. Before leaving, I placed a flower on Billie Holiday’s grave.
This is the final installment of I’m With The Banned. Thank you for reading about these historic songs and artists and for listening to their pivotal messages.
I’ll be back here again Thursday with birthday wishes.
Today we have a treat for you: Keith is back in the house!
Keith Allen, AKA The Nostalgic Italian, has written another guest post which weâre sure youâll find interesting and entertaining. Itâs guaranteed to brighten up your end-of-October Sunday! Today Keith is talking about songs that evoke certain memories …. something we can all relate to …. and he’s picked a beauty for us.
OK, enough talking by me; Iâm going to hand the reins over to Keith for another edition of Be Our Guest. Take it away, Keith!
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Thank you, Nancy, for allowing me to share another song on The Rhythm Section: Be Our Guest. I’m sure that you would agree there are certain songs that transport you to a specific time in your life and bring about many memories. That is why I chose this particular song.
Today’s tune is another one that you have probably never heard before. It’s from a 1991 album that got bad reviews from the critics. That’s the thing about music â we each have our own tastes and not everyone is going to agree on what’s “good” or what’s “bad”. I happen to really like this album and play it often in the car. Here’s the story of how I discovered it; I hope you’ll find it interesting and different.
Ludington
In 1991, I had broken up with a girl I had been dating for three years. I was working part-time in radio at the time. An old radio buddy called me with a full-time opening for an afternoon shift and wanted to know if I would be interested. Since the relationship with my girlfriend was over, I decided maybe it was time to move. I took the job and moved to the west side of Michigan. It didn’t really pay well but it was a full-time job. It was April of 1991 and here I was in Ludington, MI …. about to settle down in unknown territory.
As a 20 year old guy who had never been away from home, it was a bit scary. I won’t lie to you; my first night away I heard every noise inside and outside my apartment! I really hated being away from my friends and family. I knew a few of the people at the station but that was the extent of it.
I worked from noon till 8:00 PM; my on-air shift was 2:00-7:00 PM. I ran a satellite show until 8:00 PM and was relieved by someone who came in to keep the station on the air until midnight. I lived about 10-15 minutes from work and when I got home, I just watch TV. I’m sure the internet was around at the time but I didn’t have a computer (if I did, it would have been dial up!!).
I only had three or four stations because I couldn’t afford cable TV at the time. It was during this time that I began watching a lot of Johnny Carson and David Letterman and gained an appreciation for late-night TV. One night Carson had Pat Benatar on as a musical guest. I was familiar with her music as it was a big part of my childhood. “Love is a Battlefield” “We Belong” and “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” were huge hits in the 80s. When Johnny introduced her, I was waiting for some kind of rock guitar lick …. but it never came.
The song opened with a very bluesy bass line and I was completely thrown for a loop. Pat’s vocal was sultry, smooth and sexy! I was totally digging this song! It was a HUGE departure from what she was known for. Word is that she had always wanted to do a “jump blues” album and this was it. The album featured some covers (BB King and Wynonie Harris) as well as originals. The song “True Love” was an original. (Jump blues is a style of blues that emerged in the late 1930s from the cross-pollination of blues, particularly Boogie Woogie, and jazz styles popular at the time, such as Swing and Big Band.)
Remember when folks got all excited about Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga singing jazz with Tony Bennett? Both were out of their comfort zone and singing a genre that seemed odd for them, yet they both knocked their vocals out of the park! To me, that is exactly what Pat Benatar does with this album and the title track. It is one of those songs I can listen to over and over again. I just love her vocal and the arrangement. Give it a listen â
So, what did you think? Hope you love the song as much as I do!
Thanks again to you, Nancy, and the team at The Rhythm Section for having me guest post. And thanks to YOU, the readers, for tuning in, reading and listening!
Thanks, Keith! It’s always great to have you join us. What a terrific story and song you shared today!
Now, I hope you’ll indulge me as I reminisce for a moment or two. I’m going back just a few years to the early 1970s when Pat Benatar performed at an amateur night at the comedy club Catch a Rising Star in New York. If you’ve ever been to any of these places you know the crowd can be brutal. I happened to be there that night with friends when Pat Benatar walked out on the stage and began singing the standard “Someone to Watch Over Me”. That moment was like something you see in a movie; everyone from the busboys to the celebrities in the audience stopped what they were doing and the whole place fell silent at the sound of Pat’s voice. The crowd loved her but it was her rendition of Judy Garland’s “Rock-a-Bye Your BabyWith a Dixie Melody” that earned her a call back by club owner Rick Newman, who became her manager. True story and it was Keith’s post today that jogged my memory.
Today we have a treat for you: Keith is in the house!
Keith Allen, AKA âThe Nostalgic Italianâ, has written another guest post which weâre sure youâll find entertaining, interesting and enlightening. Itâs guaranteed to brighten up your back-to-work Monday. Enough talking by me; Iâm going to hand the reigns over to Keith for another edition of Be Our Guest in The Rhythm Section. Take it away, Keith!
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Thanks, Nancy, for once again allowing me to share music with you.
Are you all in the mood for a little Blues today? I’ve got just the ticket!
Todayâs song was originally done by a guy born in Arkansas but has a connection to my home state of Michigan (He moved to Detroit when he was 4.). Little Willie John recorded Sonny Thompsonâs song “Let Them Talk” in 1960. His version is backed by a beautiful string arrangement, but his rendition is not the one I wanted to share.
Many know award-winning actor Hugh Laurie for his role as Dr. Gregory House on âHouse, MDâ. His American accent always blew me away as I watched; I knew he was English but you sure couldnât tell when he spoke! His credentials are impressive, far too many accomplishments to list but here are a few: He was half the comedy duo of âFry and Laurieâ with Stephen Fry. He appeared on the show âJeevesand Woosterâ, and many films including âSense and Sensibilityâ, â101 Dalmatiansâ, and âStuart Littleâ. Laurie portrayed the devious Richard Roper in the British TV series âThe Night Managerâ and George, the Prince in the BBC sitcom “Blackadder”. He is the author of the novel âThe Gun Seller.â
He is also an extremely talented musician.
Todayâs tune is the title track from Laurieâs first album âLet ThemTalkâ. The album is subtitled âA Celebration of New Orleans Bluesâ and is just fantastic. His piano work is marvelous and he sings with incredible feeling. The period instruments and guest vocalists add to the feel of some great blues music.
I picked this song for a few reasons. First, I love the attitude of the song â âLet them talk!â Recently in my life there are way too many people who are talking about me, my life, and whatâs going on in it. It is easy to get caught up in wondering what people think but in reality, who cares?! LET THEM TALK! Maybe they are talking because they see how much better things are for me now. Maybe they are jealous. Maybe they are unhappy with their own lives and arenât happy unless they are talking smack about others. I donât know. Whatever the case, LET THEM TALK!
Another reason I love this song is that it is a guy singing about just how wonderful it is to be with his special someone. I feel the same way. I want to yell at the top of my lungs how much I love my wife! I want the world to know how remarkable she is and how special our relationship is!
The final reason I love this song is the simplicity of it musically. A voice and a piano (and a few minor instruments). A song so stripped-down and yet it carries you away. Give a listen and enjoy:
Let Them Talk
Just let them talk If they want to Talk donât bother me Iâm gonna keep on to the whole wide world knows That I really love you I really love you so
Let them whisper For they know know Whatâs between you and I Iâm gonna keep on Iâm gonna keep on loving you âtill the day that I die
They tried to break up our romance They didnât stay a chance We have the kind of love thatâs so strong Weâll be together from now on
They say that gossip comes from the devilâs workshop And only true love can make it stop Iâm gonna keep on Iâm gonna keep on loving you âtill the day that I die
Oh theyâre envious of everything that we do But I wanna say itâs wonderful When you love someone And that someone And that someone, really loves you
And that someone And that someone, really loves you
Yeah that someone And that someone, really loves you
Yeahhh
And that someone Yeah that someone, really loves you
Thanks so much for joining me today in The Rhythm Section and thanks again to Nancy, The Sicilian Storyteller. Please leave me a comment; it’ll be a pleasure to read them.
Today I am featuring works from the solo career of the extremely prolific Paul McCartney.
Iâd like to share with you two McCartney songs which really impressed me. The first one is called âDonât Let the Sun Catch You Cryingâ which is done very much in the style of a jazzy Billy Joel. This is NOT the Gerry and the Pacemakers’ hit we all know and love. Written in 1946 by Joe Greene, this number is included on the 1990 LP by McCartney called âTripping the Live Fantastic.“
The second song is a piece entitled âUsed To Be Badâ which harkens back to the sounds of The Steve Miller Band and ZZ Top (not surprising since it was co-written by McCartney and Miller). This one is a bluesy number which keeps going from start to finish and can be found on McCartney’s 1997 âFlaming Pieâ LP. Upon its release, the time was ripe for McCartney to deliver an album steeped in Beatles lore and thatâs exactly what he claimed âFlaming Pieâ was all about.Â
For your listening enjoyment, here now is the one and only Macca with two very different-sounding pieces.
So, whatâd you think of the ex-Beatle turned jazzy blues piano man?
The only question for today is which one of these songs you liked the best.
I hope you enjoyed hearing a little Macca today; in all honesty, I’m really not a fan of Paul’s solo work but I did like these two. I’m casting my vote for the funky blues sound of “Used to Be Bad”.
Please join me next week for another edition of In The Groove. Enjoy the rest of your week and all the upcoming music here on The Rhythm Section!
Do you think Janis Joplin ever once contemplated the possibility that 53 years after her death people like me would be writing about her and millions more would be listening to her music? It seems highly unlikely to me yet here we are.
Janis was a loner, a misfit who marched to the beat of her own drum. As a teenager, she befriended a group of outcasts, one of whom had albums by blues artists Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Lead Belly which she later credited with influencing her decision to become a singer.
In 1966, Joplin’s bluesy vocal style attracted the attention of the San Francisco-based psychedelic rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company which had gained some renown among the hippie community of Haight Ashbury; she was recruited to join the group.
And the rest is history.
I was fortunate to see Janis Joplin perform in person several times; itâs difficult to compare her to any other performer Iâve ever seen; she was two different people when on stage. She had a powerful and commanding voice. She was focused and uninhibited. She was a dynamic force to be reckoned with. But when her song was over she was transformed into a little girl who was surprised and delighted that people liked her and her songs. For a few seconds “Pearlâ was gone … the nickname Joplin gave herself for the hard-talking, ballsy barfly image she so often took on as her protective strategy against feeling vulnerable … and Janis was back.
As many of us are now going through the dog days of Summer, I thought it would be appropriate to play Janis Joplinâs well-known interpretation of George Gershwinâs âSummertimeâ from âPorgy and Bessâ. Let’s listen.
Another lost soul searching for answers. As always, I’m happy to read your comments so please share your thoughts.
Thanks for spending this dog day afternoon of summer with me getting your groove on. I look forward to catching up with you next week. Until then, let’s just call it a wrap.
The Elephant's Trunk 