TEDDY P AS REMEMBERED BY HIS SON

As great as it is to read about how people remember music artists for their art and its inspiration, it's easy to get lost in the mix that these people were family men and women, too.

I read this great piece by Teddy Pendergrass' son over at CNN today. Not one word was uttered about how music's role at their home. Instead he talks about a trip to Chuck E. Cheese and driving in his father's fast cars.

In reality, it's these simple things that truly matter.

SO LONG TEDDY P

Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes: Bad Luck
From To Be True (Philadelphia International/Epic, 1975)

In another week's time, another soul legend has passed on. Last week Willie Mitchell, and now Teddy P. Each left their indelible marks on popular music. Teddy really hit his high point with his Ladies Only concerts that wouldn't have been made possible without that bedroom baritone delivered with such raw energy whether on a dance number or a slow song.

His professional training ground was with the popular Philly group Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes for which he used to play drums. Incidentally, when Gamble and Huff heard him sing, he was asked to do lead vocals during their most fruitful period in the early to mid-70s.

Around my house growing up, my mom was (and still is) a huge fan of disco. We listened to “Bad Luck” so many times that the cassette it was on is probably in shreds by now. It wasn't the group's only foray into disco as another album they released within the same year had the original version of “Don't Leave Me This Way” that is better known to most through the Thelma Houston version.

His solo career saw equal, if not greater, success with songs such as “Love TKO” and “Close The Door” - songs that could get anyone in the mood, even Sherman Klump from “The Nutty Professor.” The minister of love has left us, but not before making some beautiful sermons through music during the last 35 years.

“POPPA” WILLIE MITCHELL, YOU'LL BE MISSED

It's so sad to see another legend of the soul scene pass away. We're watching a generation of great singers, writers, producers, arrangers, session members – of which Willie was most of these – being wiped away in front of our eyes, slowly but surely, while the grim reaper plays a life-and-death Duck-Duck-Goose, the next victim unsuspecting that s/he is next. All we can do is appreciate them while they're here. Mitchell, who had his own solo career, before taking the producer/arranger chair at Hi was a mastermind of music, soul in particular, of songs that have defined the genre and are worthy of a place in a time capsule of popular music.

Al Green: I'm A Ram
From Gets Next To You (Hi, 1971)

Only a couple nights ago I was listening to the Reverend Green's “Gets Next To You” album, perhaps my favorite full length of his. The pleading in “Are You Lonely For Me Baby” is an exercise in sexual tension being released. “I'm A Ram,” a sweatbox of soul, boils under the surface with its slowed tempo that pops with horn stabs throughout. Al was the force that helped to gain the Hi Sound popularity nationwide, but he wasn't the only one that Mitchell was working with...

Ann Peebles: If We Can't Trust Each Other
From I Can't Stand The Rain (Hi, 1974)

Ann Peebles (who may be most familiar to people by way of the sample of “I Can't Stand The Rain” in Missy Elliott's “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” thanks in large part to one Mr. Tim Mosley), who had married Don Bryant – a songwriter for Hi, also worked closely with Mitchell. “If We Can't Trust Each Other” is a sweet bit of mid-70s soul punctuated by the Hi Sound, notably the crisp snare and its simple, yet effective, associated backbeat and affectionate horns. Her voice is markedly sweet, simply hitting the notes that need to be hit, without overly expressing anguish but still hitting on the emotions tapping into the core of the song. Very well performed and produced.

O.V. Wright: Let's Straighten It Out
From The Complete O.V. Wright On Hi Records, Vol. 1 (Hi, 1999)

O.V. Wright, on the other hand, has more of a longing in this song, capitulating to the anguish that Peebles wouldn't quite relent to. It almost sounds like it could be either the beginning or the end of the conversation that Peebles was singing about above. While at times resorting to a tickling of 16th-notes that suggest a nervousness, as in flicking a cigarette's ashes, provide a contrast to the driving chords that permeate the verses. More bluesy in nature, it has some nuances like the aforementioned piano work and some drum fills that segue into new sections of the song providing a palatable breaking up of sorts, not unlike where the characters in the song itself may be heading.

Willie Mitchell: Bootleg
From Ooh Baby You Turn Me On/Live At The Royal (Hi, 1968)

Lastly, a song as performed by Poppa Willie himself is “Bootleg” that is a different sound altogether from those above. With its party vibe that defines what a juke joint should sound like, it's enhanced by crowd noises heard in the background, which some have speculated were overdubbed, thus not making it a true live recording, but that provide another level of atmosphere. In much the same way that the soul classic “Shotgun” by Jr. Walker And The All Stars does, perhaps its soulful American cousin, “Bootleg” provides a glimpse into time when dancing and good music – and perhaps a drink in hand – trumped all else on a Saturday night.

Poppa Willie helped provide the soundtrack for many of those parties, and their associated afterparties in the bedroom or back of a car. Not a bad way to define your legacy. Thanks Poppa.

To read even more about this underappreciated legend, check out WaxPoetics issue 9.

RIP Mr. Magic

A bit late on this, but Mr. Magic, a hip hop pioneer who helped bring rap music to mainstream radio died on October 2nd. This NY Times article sums up his contributions nicely.