Bob Marley and the Wailers Albums and History

Bob Marley is the most famous figure in the history of reggae music and the first “Third World” music superstar. Marley was not the first star of the indigenous Jamaican music, reggae, but he is largely responsible for it becoming internationally-known.

Marley was born in Nine Mile, Saint Anne Parish, Jamaica, and lived in the rough Trench Town part of Kingston. At the age of eighteen, he formed the band that would forever be associated with his name, “The Wailers.” The Wailers consisted of Marley as vocalist and guitarist, Bunny Livingston as singer and percussionist, and Peter Tosh as singer and guitarist. Livingston and Tosh would leave the Wailers in 1973 to pursue solo careers and would become reggae stars themselves. The band featured numerous other supporting musicians who came and went during the subsequent years. Guitarist Junior Murvin was a notable member during the final incarnation of the band.

During the Sixties, the Wailers recorded a number of hit singles in Jamaica including “Simmer Down,” “Love and Affection,” and an early version of “One Love,” the song that would become an international anthem in the Seventies. When these songs were released, the term, “reggae,” hadn’t been coined, and this jaunty dance music was referred to as “ska, and was later dubbed, “rocksteady.”

During the Seventies, the Wailers began to record albums on Upsetter Records with Lee “Scratch” Perry as producer. It was under Perry’s direction that the band began to distinguish itself from its ska/reggae competitors.

In 1971, the band released its first classic album, “Soul Revolution.” Another classic album followed in 1973, with “Catch a Fire,” containing the well-known Marley song, “Stir it Up.” By this time, the Wailers had been signed to Island records. The following year, 1974, saw the release of “Burnin,’” another solid effort containing the classic songs, “Get Up, Stand Up” and “I Shot the Sheriff,” a song that would soon become a chart hit in a version by Eric Clapton.

By this time, Bunny Livingston and Peter Tosh had left the band to pursue solo careers, and Bob Marley was left in full control. Marley was beginning to attract international acclaim, aided greatly by Eric Clapton’s success with “I Shot the Sheriff.” He would try to build on this foundation by adding rock record production and studio polish to his successive albums, but he never lost the gritty, soulful essence of his music. The Wailers’ next four albums, “Natty Dread,” Live,” “Rastaman Vibration,” and “Exodus” would see Marley at the height of his creative powers. It was during this run of albums that Marley would achieve international stardom.

“Exodus” (1977) is generally regarded as Marley’s finest original album with its catchy songs, fine arrangements, and its pop production values. Marley had practically made reggae a crossover genre with this album by rendering reggae palatable to pop music fans. Exodus contained a bevy of classic songs such as the song, “Exodus,” “Jammin’,” “Three Little Birds,” “Waiting in Vain,” and an updated version of “One Love.” Marley titled the album “Exodus” in recognition of his flight to sanctuary in England following an attempt on his life in Jamaica.

Another solid live album, “Babylon by Bus” followed in 1978, and then his final studio release, “Uprising,” appeared in 1981. “Redemption Song” from the latter album is especially haunting as it is the last song on the last album that Marley recorded.

Marley died at age 36 in 1981.

Charlie Poole You Ain't Talking To Me

Charlie Poole was one of a handful of individuals recording country music in the days before The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers made the music popular in the late Twenties. Poole and his band, “The North Carolina Ramblers,” were one of the most popular and prolific of the “hillbilly” bands to record in the mid-Twenties. Traditional country was rich and colorful, and Poole was one of the best from its early days.

Poole was born in Eden, North Carolina, in 1892. He was a banjo player, and he and his band, the North Carolina Ramblers, made their first recording, “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down.” in 1925. Poole wrote songs that reflected the harsh realities of life for the southern poor and his own struggles with alcoholism, a disease which would eventually kill him.

Songs such as "You Ain't Talking To Me," “Can I Sleep in your Barn Tonight Mister,” “Take a Drink on Me,” and “All Go Hungry Hash House” paint vivid pictures of that life. Poole even dabbled in the political arena with his classic, “White House Blues.”

Several compilations exist with these songs and many more.

Frankie Trumbauer Recordings and History

Frankie Trumbauer, born in Carbondale, Illinois, in 1901, is one of the first great jazz saxophonists. He became famous as a player of the rare C-melody saxophone, an instrument with a pitch that falls between an alto and tenor saxophone. Trumbauer was a saxophonist of considerable influence who is credited by many later greats of the instrument as an inspiration. Trumbauer was often referred to by the moniker, “Tram.” 

Trumbauer began his career with the Paul Whiteman Band in the early twenties. When he switched to the Jean Goldkette Orchestra, he met the great cornetist Bix Beiderbecke with whom he would later become a close friend and collaborator.

In 1927, Trumbauer formed his own orchestra and with Beiderbecke, Eddie Lang and Jimmy Dorsey produced some of the best jazz ever recorded. In a series of legendary sessions, the Frankie Trumbauer Orchestra would record, “Singing the Blues,” “Clarinet Marmalade,” “For No Reason at all in C,” “Riverboat Shuffle,” Ostrich Walk,” and others. Bix Beiderbecke’s work on these recordings is considered to be his best ever work. On the brilliant side, “Trumbology,” Trumbauer delivers one of the first true saxophone tour de forces in recorded jazz. Trumbauer died in 1956.

Trumbauer’s recordings can be found on the “Chronological Classics” series of jazz compilations and his recordings with Beiderbecke were considered good enough to warrant inclusion on the venerable collection of early jazz recordings, “The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz” (1973).

James Brown Albums and History

James Brown, born in Macon, Georgia, in 1938 was known by a number of titles including “The Godfather of Soul,” “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business,” “Soul Brother Number One,” and “Mr. Dynamite.” Brown is considered one of the most influential figures in the history of American popular music. In addition to being a major figure in the creation of funk music, Brown was a businessman and an inspirational leader in the American civil rights movement.

A number of musicians spent time in his back-up bands before finding success as solo artists including, Bootsy Collins, Maceo Parker, and Hank Ballard. Brown is frequently cited as an influence by hip hop artists, and he may be the single most sampled artist by hip hop producers.

James Brown was born in Barnwell, North Carolina, in 1933. He was born into abject poverty and was sent to live with an aunt. He dropped out of school in the seventh grade and began working odd jobs such as shoe shining and singing for the World War Two troops that were stationed at Camp Gordon near his aunt’s home. During this time, Brown taught himself to play the harmonica and received guitar lessons from the legendary bluesman, Tampa Red.

When he saw a film of the great jump blues master Louis Jordan performing his hit, “Caledonia,” Brown resolved to pursue a professional music career. However, when he was sixteen, Brown was charged with armed robbery and sent to a juvenile detention center. While serving a three-year sentence in a detention center, Brown became acquainted with Bobby Byrd, a future R&B star whose family arranged for Brown’s release from the center. After stints as a semi-professional baseball player and boxer, Brown focused his attention back on music.

In 1955, Brown joined his friend Bobby Bird as a member of Byrd’s singing group, the Avons. With Brown now a member, the Avons changed their name to the Flames and signed to Federal Records. Brown’s first recording, “Please. Please, Please” would come as a member of the Flames and present him as a soul singer of great depth and intensity.

Brown would record several more singles with the Flames during the Fifties, and the group would eventually become known as “James Brown and the Famous Flames.” Among thier big hits were the songs, “I’ll Go Crazy,” “Think,” “Lost Someone,” “Night Train,” and “Caledonia.” In 1965, Brown, in the opinion of many, would invent funk music with his hit, “Papa’s got a Brand New Bag.” For its recording, Brown told his band to “play it on the one,” transforming the traditional 2/4 beat heard in R&B recordings and giving the world something new.

Brown continued recording hit singles and albums consistently until the Nineties. Among Brown’s later hits were the songs, “I Got You (I Feel Good),” “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” “Licking Stick,” “Say it Loud-I’m Black and I’m Proud,” “Cold Sweat,” “Sex Machine,” and “Living in America.”

Brown died on Christmas Day, 2006, leaving behind him an awesome catalogue of recorded work.

Among Brown’s best studio albums and compilations are: “Please Please Please” (1956), “Live at the Apollo” (1963), “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” (1965), “I Got You (I Feel Good)” (1966), “James Brown Live at the Garden” (1967), “I Can’t Stand Myself When You Touch Me” (1968), “Say it Loud-I’m Black and I’m Proud” (1969), “Sex Machine”(1970), “Revolution of the Mind” (1971), “The Payback” (1974), “Love Power Peace, Live at the Olympia, Paris1971” (1992), “James Brown Soul Classics” (1972), “Solid Gold 30 Golden Hits” (1977), “In the Jungle Groove” (1986), “Star Time” (1991), and “Gold” (2005)

Led Zeppelin Albums and History

Led Zeppelin was one of the first hard rock supergroups, and a band which enjoyed unprecedented popularity in the hard rock arena. The band came together from the ashes of the last incarnation of the Yardbirds, which featured the young guitar hero, Jimmy Page. Page teamed up with bassist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham, but the new band needed a lead singer to round out its line-up. Terry Reid was considered at first, but when he proved to be unavailable, Robert Plant was brought in.

The new band was initially called, “The New Yardbirds,” but changed their name to “Led Zeppelin” as a response to one observer who predicted their doom by stating, “They’ll go down like a lead balloon.” Like most other early hard rock bands, Zeppelin had a solid grounding in the electric blues of Chicago, especially where Hubert Sumlin, Otis Rush and Howlin’ Wolf were concerned.

The band’s debut album, “Led Zeppelin” (1968), clearly revealed that influence as the band recorded revolutionary takes on a number of Chess standards such as “You Shook Me,” “I Can't Quit You,” and “How Many More Times” with over-amplified bass, guitar and drums and the banshee-like vocals of Robert Plant. The album remains today one of the all-time classics of hard rock.

Their next effort, the superb “Led Zeppelin 2” (1969), contained fewer covers and moved more toward a mainstream hard rock sound with classic tracks such as “Heartbreaker,” “Whole Lotta Love,” and “Ramble On.” Their third release, “Led Zeppelin 3” (1970), was a more eclectic affair featuring several acoustic performances by Page and the hard-driving, “Immigrant Song.”

The band’s next release, “Led Zeppelin 4” (1971), would ultimately become their masterpiece due in large part to the presence of one of the most popular rock tracks ever, “Stairway to Heaven.” In addition to this hard rock anthem, there were other gems such as the folk-rock of “The Battle of Evermore,” featuring a vocal duet between Plant and former Fairport Convention lead singer, Sandy Denny. This album remains one of the best-selling and most-praised rock albums in history.

The first Led Zeppelin album to actually bear a proper title, “Houses of the Holy” (1973), followed next. It was yet another outstanding offering, containing the standout tracks, “The Song Remains the Same,” and “Over the Hills and Far Away.” The double album, “Physical Graffiti,” was next and continued Led Zeppelin’s almost unprecedented run of fine albums. Another diverse release, the album contained the epic track, “Kashmir.”

The very solid, “Presence,” was released in 1976, followed by the somewhat disappointing, “In Through the Out Door,” in 1979. An excellent live album of material from the Seventies, “How the West was Won,” would appear out of the blue in 2003.

Fats Waller: Handful of Keys

Jazz singer/songwriter/pianist Thomas “Fats” Waller was born in New York City, in 1904. While he is not a household name to the extent of fellow jazz legends, Armstrong, Ellington, Basie, and Goodman, Fats Waller was no less important or influential. In the opinion of his fellow musicians, especially Louis Armstrong, he was a giant among giants.

As a youth in New York City, Waller sought out the Harlem stride piano legend, James P. Johnson, and became the great pianist’s understudy. Soon thereafter, Waller was one of the best stride pianists in the city. The stride style is sort of the jazz version of boogie-woogie, and as such, it is quite palatable to the ears of rock music fans. Waller would eventually become one of the very best pianists that jazz ever produced. Only the likes of Art Tatum, Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson and Oscar Peterson could match his virtuosity.

In addition to being one of the finest musicians in early jazz, Waller was one of the best and most prolific songwriters in jazz, penning the standards, “Honeysuckle Rose” and “Ain't Misbehavin.” Many of Waller’s compositions are humorous, and display his penchant for writing clever lyrics laden with double-meanings.

Waller’s first recording was made as early as 1922, with the sides, “Muscle Shoals Blues” and “Birmingham Blues” recorded for the General Phonograph Company. After a few more recording sessions in 1923, Waller’s recording career would begin in earnest in 1927 with a solid string of classic sides that would continue until his death in 1943.

Waller’s first big hit, “Ain’t Misbehavin,’” appeared in 1929, and was followed by scads of others including, “African Ripples,” “Honeysuckle Rose,” “Viper’s Drag,” “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter,” It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie,” “S’Posin’,” “You’re Feets Too Big,” “All That Meat and No Potatoes,” “The Joint is Jumpin’,” and “A Good Man’s Hard to Find.”

These recordings and more can be found on several excellent compilations of Waller’s music such as the multi-volume “The Complete Fats Waller,” “The Very Best of Fats Waller” (2000), and “The Centennial Collection” (2004).

Jazz singer/songwriter/pianist Thomas “Fats” Waller was born in New York City, in 1904. While he is not a household name to the extent of fellow jazz legends, Armstrong, Ellington, Basie, and Goodman, Fats Waller was no less important or influential. In the opinion of his fellow musicians, especially Louis Armstrong, he was a giant among giants.

As a youth in New York City, Waller sought out the Harlem stride piano legend, James P. Johnson, and became the great pianist’s understudy. Soon thereafter, Waller was one of the best stride pianists in the city. The stride style is sort of the jazz version of boogie-woogie, and as such, it is quite palatable to the ears of rock music fans. Waller would eventually become one of the very best pianists that jazz ever produced. Only the likes of Art Tatum, Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson and Oscar Peterson could match his virtuosity.

In addition to being one of the finest musicians in early jazz, Waller was one of the best and most prolific songwriters in jazz, penning the standards, “Honeysuckle Rose” and “Ain't Misbehavin.” Many of Waller’s compositions are humorous, and display his penchant for writing clever lyrics laden with double-meanings.

Waller’s first recording was made as early as 1922, with the sides, “Muscle Shoals Blues” and “Birmingham Blues” recorded for the General Phonograph Company. After a few more recording sessions in 1923, Waller’s recording career would begin in earnest in 1927 with a solid string of classic sides that would continue until his death in 1943.

Waller’s first big hit, “Ain’t Misbehavin,’” appeared in 1929, and was followed by scads of others including, “African Ripples,” “Honeysuckle Rose,” “Viper’s Drag,” “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter,” It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie,” “S’Posin’,” “You’re Feets Too Big,” “All That Meat and No Potatoes,” “The Joint is Jumpin’,” and “A Good Man’s Hard to Find.”

These recordings and more can be found on several excellent compilations of Waller’s music such as the multi-volume “The Complete Fats Waller,” “The Very Best of Fats Waller” (2000), and “The Centennial Collection” (2004).