Episodes
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This weekâs case study -- the final episode of our first season -- began life as a soulful ballad entitled âOne Step Aheadâ by the one and only Aretha Franklin. Released on the Columbia label in 1965, the record scarcely made a splash. In 1999, more than 30 years after its initial release, the rapper known as Mos Def wrote a sexy and thoughtful little composition he called âMs. Fat Bootyâ to some funky music that sampled a significant taste of Arethaâs âOne Step Ahead.â The dozens of new versions since then include one that links Mos Defâs rhymes to the music of Marvin Gaye (not Ms. Franklin) to cover versions of Arethaâs original recording by Lauryn Hill and Ledisi, to rocksteady, dub, and drumânâbass remakes, and finally to a very recent hardcore rap version by Atlantaâs J.I.D. thatâs inspired tens of thousands of TikTokers to make 20-second dance videos pegged to a single bootylicious line spit by J.I.D.
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Episode five is devoted to âWatermelon Man,â the first song on the first album by the pianist Herbie Hancock, released when he was just 22 years old. In 1963, less than a year later, the adventurous Cuban bandleader and conga player Mongo Santamaria cut an irresistible Latin-esque version of it, which became a gigantic pop hit in 1963 and has spawned over 200 cover versions in the decades since. Ten years later, Herb recorded a jazz-rock remake of âWatermelon Man,â and, ten years after that, nearly a hundred rappers began to sample the jazz-rock version.
Its musical appeal aside, this upbeat little song by a Black composer in tribute to a watermelon man casually overturned 150 years of the racist lampooning of Black folks for their love of watermelonâŠwhich may help to explain why a number of singers -- including Jon Hendricks, Gloria Lynne, and Big Mama Thornton â were inspired to write lyrics to a composition that was born as an instrumental. Itâs a rich story.
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Episodes manquant?
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Episode four of âThe Singer and the Songâ is devoted to âTequila.â Released into the world as catchy little rock instrumental in 1958, that songâs astonishing elasticity over the last six decades has generated flavorful jazz, r&b, rap, ska, cumbia, movie soundtrack, and marching band versions by notable performers including Pee Wee Herman, Joeski Love, and Wes Montgomery and by lesser known devotees including Perez Prado, Los Bitchos, Ska Cubano, the Reverend Horton Heat, and the University of Washingtonâs Husky Marching Band. Drink up!
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Episode three of âThe Singer and the Songâ is a two-fer, devoted not only to âIâm in the Mood for Love,â which debuted in 1935, but to âMoodyâs Mood for Love,â King Pleasureâs 1952 vocalese version of James Moodyâs ground-changing 1949 instrumental interpretation of the original song. âIâm in the Mood for Loveâ was quickly embraced by Alfalfa and Darla in an early âOur Gangâ comedy, then by Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino, and the reggae artist Lord Tanamo during the succeeding decades. âMoodyâs Moodâ was covered by Esther Phillips and Amy Winehouse even as it rolled into the hip-hop era with Slick Rick, MC Lyte, and Digital Underground all building tastes of it into their recordings. And there's more! Itâs a rich history.
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The second episode of "The Singer and the Song" is devoted to the curious history of "Red Red Wine," a song written and first recorded by Neil Diamond in 1968. It was not a hit. A year later, the Jamaican singer Tony Tribe cut a groovy reggae version of the song...which inspired the English band UB40 to cut their own reggae version of it in a tribute to Tribe, which became a global hit in 1988. Eventually, even Diamond himself got the message and started performing it in a reggae style. And there's much more, including a 21st Century update of "Red Red Wine" entitled "Green Green Weed." Check it out.
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A singer or instrumentalist performing a song is like an actor bringing a script to life or a cook working from a recipe â every interpretation is going to have its own flavor. And the vast and unpredictable range of those interpretations is of enduring interest to Bill Adler, the host of this podcast.
Episode one tracks the twists and turns to which a great song entitled âThe Three Bellsâ has been subjected over the course of the last 80 years. We start w/ Ray Charles in 1971, travel back to the treatment accorded it by a country music trio known as The Browns in 1958, then blast back to the song's birth in French under the name âLes Trois Clochesâ as performed by Edith Piaf in 1946. Reversing our steps, we shoot forward to a jaunty reggae version by the Jamaican singer Ken Parker in 1972, then to a post-disco dance version in French by Tina Arena in the year 2000, and ultimately to a present-day hip-hop version inspired by the rejiggering on YouTube of the soundtrack accompanying the scene of a murder depicted on the âThe Sopranosâ tv show.
We invite you to sit back and enjoy the trip. And if youâd like to listen to all of the episodeâs songs in their entirety, kindly check out our playlist on Spotify.
