Friday, August 29, 2008

R.I.P. Jerry Wexler, 1917-2008



Another sad post here on From the Dark End of the Street. The music giant, Jerry Wexler passed away a couple of weeks ago. There's no way I can come close to summing up the broad influence of his big ears on American Music. From the early days of R&B to the heyday of Southern Soul, the world wouldn't have been the same without him.

This show is made up of many of the hits from the golden era of Atlantic R&B. I forgot the set list at the station, so just sit back and enjoy the fruits of Jerry's hard work.


Rolling Stone has written a good obituary here.

Friday, August 15, 2008

R.I.P. Isaac Hayes: From the Dark End of the Street, 08/15/2008


The great Isaac Hayes passed away last Sunday at the young age of 65. While there are a lot of very fitting tributes out there to this immensely talented man, this show focusses on his songwriting while at Stax. The first two sets of the show are all songs written by Isaac. While there, Issac Hayes wrote over 200 songs with longtime collaborator David Porter, the breadth and depth of which are simply hard to come to grips with. His legacy is a huge one, and that's not even to mention the piano playing, session work, arrangements and solo performances.


The set list:

Aretha Franklin; Do Right Woman - Do Right Man; I Never Loved a Man The Way I Love You; Atlantic

Ruby Johnson; Left Over Love; I'll Run the Blues Away; Stax
Johnnie Taylor; I Had a Dream; Stax 186
Mable John; Same Time, Same Place; Stax 215
William Bell; It's Happening All Over; Soul of a Bell; Stax
Carla Thomas; Something Good (Is Gonna Happen For You); Stax 207
(Sir Isaac & the Do Dads; Blue Groove; Volt 129)

Homer Banks; Lad of Stone; Minit 32030 (Hooker on Love; Stateside)
Judy Clay; You Can't Run Away From Your Heart; Stax 230
The Astors; Twilight Zone; Stax 179
Wilson Pickett; Toe Hold; Hey Jude; Atlantic
Sam & Dave; Hold On, I'm Comin'; Stax 189
Danny White; Keep My Woman Home; Natural Soul Brother (Kent)
(Booker T. & the M.G.s; Winter Snow; Stax 236)

Isaac Hayes; I Don't Know What To Do With Myself; The Isaac Hayes Movement; Enterprise
Geater Davis; I'll Play the Blues For You; House of Orange Recordings; Soulscape
Bettye LaVette; Your Turn To Cry; Let Me Down Easy in Concert; Munich
Don Varner; Here Come My Tears Again; Down Beat 102 (Finally Got Over; Shout!)
Arthur Conley; Sleep On Otis; Soul Directions; Atco

James Carr; Stronger Than Love; Complete Goldwax Singles (Kent)
Dwight Yoakam; Stayin' Up Late; Population Me; Koch
Tony Borders; Headman; Cheaters Never Win; Soulscape
Chuck Jackson; Any Other Way; Wand (Mr. Emotion; Kent)
Jimmy Donley; Just a Game; Born to Be a Loser; Crazy Cajun/Edsel

Chris Kenner; That's My Girl; Instant
Clarence Murray; Dancing to the Beat; SSS 778
Chuck Mitchell; Let Me Be Myself; The Birmingham Sound: The Soul of Neil Hamphill, volume 2
Bill Wright; You've Got a Spell On Me; Eccentric Soul: The Tragar and Note Labels; Numero Uno
Sir Douglas Qunitet; Sixty Minutes; 1+1+1=4; Mercury


This show does not way come close to the genius of Isaac Hayes, but I hope y'all enjoy it.

I got an email on my way up the stairs to the radio station that Jerry Wexler had passed away during the night. Next week, I'll do a show on his giant legacy. Red Kelly has already done a great tribute here.

Thanks for listening and I've got a back log of shows (that aren't memorials thankfully) and some posts started which I'll finish up someday.