la dimension de trastos: gospel

Showing posts with label gospel. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

THE GODMOTHER (SLIGHT RETURN)

Man, it's kind of disheartening how many younger kids can't name a single Rolling Stone or even one of the Beatles, let alone knowing who Muddy Waters or Chuck Berry were. Even with the internet at their disposal, they seem to lack the interest in looking backward to find their favorite musicians early influences. That kills me. I had to wait for the internet to arrive to find out who Sister Rosetta Tharpe was. If you don't know who she is, she's one of the few musicians that Chuck Berry had cited as a guitar influence. Before the internet I had no clue who she was. That occurred to me yesterday as I happened to run across a sidebar link to a Sister Rosetta Tharpe documentary. I checked, I'd posted it nine years ago, but the link to it no longer functioned. It was about time for a refresher anyway. So here it is again, along with a few songs. I also ran across a compilation clip of her guitar solos from various films and live clips. As you'll see, she really was a link between gospel and rock 'n' roll. Consider her essential. If you don't know who any of the Rolling Stones are, go back to square one.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Didn't It Rain mp3 at Keep the Coffee Coming
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Up Above My Head mp3 at More Things
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Strange Things Happen Every Day mp3 at More Things
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Rock Daniel mp3 at Internet Archive
Watch:
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Guitar Solos in Motion Pictures at YouTube

Sunday, November 17, 2019

IT'S SUNDAY SOMEWHERE

I've been meaning to mention these two gospel songs for the past several weeks but I wanted to post them on Sunday Morning. Problem was I was getting up too late to get them posted on a Sunday Morning. I have to fittle fart around for a couple hours before I do stuff like that. So guess what? Tonight it finally dawned on me, to post these Sunday morning songs on a Saturday night (technically early Sunday morning) before I go to bed. Duh. So here are two kick ass gospel songs.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Pastor T.L. Barrett & The Youth For Christ Choir - Ever Since mp3 at Art Decade
Pastor T.L. Barrett & The Youth For Christ Choir - Nobody Knows mp3 at Art Decade Go there to get it

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

THE HOLY SHIT

After just a passing mention of the Staple Singers yesterday, it occurred to me that there some of you may not be familiar with them. If you're older, I know. You probably remember their stuff well. After all, "I'll Take You There" and "Respect Yourself" were big hits, as in Top 40 hits, so if you're in that particular age group, you'd have to have tried to to be ignorant to have missed them. To you younger folks, I need to point out something. You've probably heard that gospel music has at times made it's way into popular music. Never was that as evident as in the Staples' music. Lest you thing that having a gospel thing going on robs music of its vitality or relevance to a secular mob, think again. The Staple Singers were funky, soulful and tight. I mean it. I remember hearing "I'll Take You There" and wondering why it was that I liked this song that wasn't at all like the other stuff I listened to. It bugged me, and no matter what, as the years passed, I still couldn't figure it out. So, I relaxed, and just went with it. The Staple Singers were just on a different plane all together, Different than rock, different than soul, different even than their label mates at Stax. It was a deep family groove, with Pops Staples's wickedly cool understated swamp type guitar punctuating the beautiful voices of his progeny.

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Sunday, April 13, 2014

"I'LL LIFT THAT" SAID MICK

"Brother" Sullivan and Lola Pugh had some mighty pipes. I mean, they bellow. Listen to the song below and consider that it's two voices and one guitar. I didn't even realize it until I listened to it a few times. Now it's locked in my head and I'll never be able to hear the pilfered version in the same way again. Check out the video too. Poor quality but goosebump good.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
The Consolers - It May Be the Last Time mp3 at Jukebox Mafia
Watch:
The Consolers - Three songs at YouTube

Sunday, March 2, 2014

THE GODMOTHER

Whenever you hear about some early rock 'n' roll artist being influenced by gospel music, and wonder where the tangible connection is, you don't have to look any further than Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Holy shit, was she ever the package: a gospel singer who ignored the traditional boundaries, and a red hot guitarist, good enough that Chuck Berry was taking notes. Having hit her stride a decade or two earlier, she was already in her forties when rock 'n' roll hit, but when your fans include Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Elvis, it's pretty evident there's something going on. You already know the blues connection with rock 'n' roll, and the rhythm and blues connection. If you don't know the gospel connection, here's lesson one.

Dig the solo at 1:24

Rather than rehash other stuff online, let me just direct you to the documentary linked below, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. The Godmother Of Rock and Roll. If you don't have time for it, it's making the rounds on PBS stations so check your listings. At the very least visit YouTube and Wikipedia. There's tons of stuff out there, so you have no excuse for missing this chapter...wait, this essential chapter.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Didn't It Rain mp3 at Keep the Coffee Coming
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Up Above My Head mp3 at More Things
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Strange Things Happen Every Day mp3 at More Things
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Rock Daniel mp3 at Internet Archive
Watch:
Sister Rosetta Tharpe. The Godmother Of Rock and Roll at PBS
Sister Rosetta Tharpe. The Godmother Of Rock and Roll at YouTube
Visit:
Sister Rosetta Tharpe at Wikipedia
Sister Rosetta Tharpe at PBS

Sunday, March 20, 2011

NO HATRED WILL BE TOLERATED

It's been quite a couple months, eh? Severe weather, revolutions, earthquake, tsunami, nuclear disaster, and now what looks like may become another war. Know what? It's high time for the Staple Singers. It took me a while (years) to warm up to the Staples. When I finally did, there was no ignoring their unique role in the lineage of soul. They somehow managed to get gospel influenced music on AM radio. That's a feat in itself. But the gospel thing is only a part of it. Their funky relaxed grooves make you move, or at least do some swaying of some sort. (Come to think of it, reggae seems to have the same effect.) And that Pop Staples guitar! It's total understated swamp guitar, a sort of stealth "Polk Salad Annie." On top of all that, you have the vocals. They're understated as well. almost Isaac Hayes like in their laid back-ness. And they are beautiful, not sexpot beautiful, more like tree beautiful. Mavis Staples' in particular. But the backing vocals are just as important, and key to the Staples sound.

The first two down there you should know. Those were the big hits. "Masters of War" is a Dylan cover. "Samson & Delilah" was covered by the Blasters. The title track from their 1959 LP, "Uncloudy Day," has some really cool guitar by Pops. Then there's a Buffalo Springfield cover down there, and after that, a Talking Heads cover (which sounds very 80's, but is cool nonetheless). (They also covered the Talking Heads "Life During Wartime," but I couldn't find an mp3. You can hear it streaming here.) The last song, "Wade In the Water," is an audio only thing at YouTube, which I wouldn't ordinarily post, but it's an early Staples cut, and it smokes. Way more gospel than their later stuff.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

TESTIFY!

Fuck yeah! Pardon my French, it's just my real world way of saying "hallelujah!” Rev. Tom Frost from Spread the Good Word has done it again. The guy from South of Hell has a knack for posting really great stuff that either I've never gotten to, or am woefully ignorant of. Most of it is roots music, be it surf, rockabilly, R & B, country, or rock n' roll, and just about everything he posts is worth a listen.

I confess. I'm a gospel nincompoop. If you too are lacking in the gospel category, there can't be a better place to start than with the Blind Boys of Alabama. Believe it.

Blind Boys of Alabama - Swingin on the Golden Gate mp3 and two others at Spread the Good Word

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

And You Will Know Us By the Breadth of Our Scope

Mahalia Jackson and the Anti-Nowhere League in back-to-back posts at Spread the Good Word