Category: Music

Sly Stone is Homeless

Sly Stone The New York Post reported this week that music legend Sly Stone has fallen on hard times and is homeless and living out of a van. Stone blames his money problems on his former manager and has sued him. The article implies that Stone may be suffering from some mental illness, perhaps related to his history of drug abuse, noting he is disheveled and paranoid, believing the FBI is after him.

It is sad to hear that someone so talented who was on top of the world is living this unfortunate life. Stone says he has new songs, and he did release an album of his songs re-recorded by other artists earlier this year. But even at a Grammy performance in 2007, one could see he was not in top form. At that tribute performance with other artists playing his songs, he came out onstage, played briefly, and then walked off before the song was over. (He appears at around the 6:30 mark in the video at the link.) Similarly, check out this April 2010 performance of “Dance to the Music.”

In the 1960s and into the 1970s, Sly and the Family Stone made some great music. In the book Mystery Train (1975), Greil Marcus focuses one of his essays on Sly Stone, connecting his career to the ancient folk song “Stagger Lee,” to race, and to the changing culture and music of the early 1970s. Noting the impact of Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin on (1971), Marcus calls it “a quiet, bitter, open act of rebellion.”

In the essay, Marcus writes about the war and the lack of trust in political leaders in the days leading up to Watergate, and how such a time may lead to either a culture of cynicism or one that is fake and safe. But Stone “was clearing away the cultural and political debris that seemed piled up in mounds on the streets, in the papers, in the record stores; for all the darkness of what he had to say and how he said it, his music had the kind of strength and the naked honesty that could make you want to start over.”

I wonder how much Stone’s sense of the insanity of those times led to his own personal madness. His current condition is unfortunate for us as well as for him. During these times featuring worldwide fears when we are still too often faced with a choice between cynicism and make-believe, we need artists with strength and naked honesty.

What do you think led to Stone’s current situation? What is your favorite Sly and the Family Stone song? Leave a comment.

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    Shannon Hoon & Blind Melon

    Blind Melon Bee Girl Shannon Hoon, the former lead singer of Blind Melon was born on September 26, 1967. Hoon was a great talent, but he was haunted by drug problems throughout his life.

    Unfortunately, he died at the young age of 28 on October 21, 1995, unable to defeat his addiction, dying of a drug overdose. He was found dead on the tour bus when a roadie went to wake him for a sound check for a performance at Tipitina’s in New Orleans.

    Most of us remember Hoon fondly, partly because of his great and unique voice. But I think we connect to him in a special way because we associate him with the themes of the video for his band’s biggest hit, “No Rain,” off the band’s 1992 self-titled debut CD.

    That video features “the Bee Girl,” who is an outcast struggling in a world where she does not fit in, and then she eventually finds a welcoming crowd where she fits. The story is so sweet, we cannot help but love the hippie-looking guy with the odd voice singing the song. Of course, the band and Hoon were much more than this song and video, but it reminds us that it is too bad that he did not get to make a lot more music.

    Heather DeLoach appeared as the “Bee Girl” in the above Blind Melon music video for “No Rain.” She became an actress but does not hide from her early fame as the “Bee Girl,” even having a Facebook page devoted to the striped little girl.

    The album cover, however, features someone who is not DeLoach. The girl on the album cover is Georgia Graham, the sister of Blind Melon drummer Glen Graham. In 2006, Blind Melon reformed with a new lead singer, Travis Warren.

    Be sure to celebrate Hoon’s birthday by being kind to all the Bee Girls and Bee Boys out there. Of course, that includes you too.

    What are your memories of Blind Melon and “No Rain”? Leave a comment.


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    First Day of Autumn: Eva Cassidy & “Autumn Leaves”

    The late Eva Cassidy singing “Autumn Leaves” is a perfect way to start the new season.

    autumn leaves

    Fall begins here in the Northern Hemisphere when the autumnal equinox occurs. The word “equinox” comes from the Latin word for “equal night,” because the night and day today are equal in length as we go toward winter and the days shorten. One sad reminder of summer’s end is that here in the Northeast U.S., I have probably eaten my last good peach, sweet corn on the cob, and flavorful red tomato for the year.

    But, as we move on, we can look forward to fresh flavorful crisp apples and everything pumpkin. And of course, there are those beautiful autumn leaves and some beautiful music of autumn. Speaking of which, below is Eva Cassidy’s recording of the classic “Autumn Leaves,” which was originally a French song with music by Joseph Kosma. English lyrics were added by Johnny Mercer.

    Eva Cassidy grew up in Maryland and was well known in the Washington, D.C. area for her outstanding interpretations of music ranging from folk to blues to jazz. She died at the young age of 33 from melanoma, but her fame has continued to grow since her death. Awhile ago, there even were rumors that a movie would be made about her life.

    Cassidy suffered from Seasonal Affective Disorder, and once stated that she had difficulty enjoying autumn knowing that winter was around the corner.  One may only speculate how she used that feeling to bring more emotion and compassion to singing “Autumn Leaves.”

    One should check out the entirety of her Live at Blues Alley CD, which includes “Autumn Leaves.”  The band, including  Lenny Williams playing a piano solo, knows how to complement Cassidy’s voice while staying mostly in the background.

    So, as the nights get cooler and the leaves begin to fall, watch the video below of Cassidy singing “Autumn Leaves” at the Blues Alley jazz club in Georgetown, DC, on January 3, 1996. And think of the end of the summer and the loss of a great artist.

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    R.E.M. Calls It a Day

    R.E.M. announced today on their website that they are breaking up the band:

    R.E.M.

    “To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening.” R.E.M.

    The website also has short messages from each of the surviving band members Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills. Peter Buck notes, “Mike, Michael, Bill, Bertis, and I walk away as great friends. I know I will be seeing them in the future.”

    I’m going to be obvious and post one of the band’s biggest hits rather than be cool and go for something more obscure. But one is hard to find a better song than “Losing My Religion,” a perfect pop song about obsession and being on the verge of losing control of oneself, all wrapped up in a memorable mandolin riff. The official video is close to perfect too, but here is a live performance from MTV. Au revoir R.E.M.

    “Losing My Religion” is from their album Out of Time (1991). Was the song really released twenty years ago? Check out Past Magazine’s ranking of the top twenty R.E.M. songs.

    What is your favorite R.E.M. song or memory? Leave a comment.

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    The Whipoorwill of Freedom & Billie Jean King

    Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs

    On today’s date in 1973, Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in a celebrated “battle of the sexes” tennis match. Riggs, who was 55, claimed that men were superior to women and that even at his age he could beat the 29-year-old King. Although he had won a match against top-ranked Margaret Court earlier in the year, he was wrong about King, as she beat him in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. At the time, King’s win was seen as a victory for women’s tennis, women’s sports, and women’s rights in general.

    King had an outstanding tennis career, but I suspect that many like me know her primarily from her match against the showman Riggs. Both Riggs and King had a sense of humor, which made the promotions and the match fun to watch. And King’s professionalism and skill made it it easy for us to root for her as a great champion.

    After King’s match with Riggs, she started a professional tennis league and became coach of the Philadelphia Freedoms team. Not long after that, her friend Elton John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin worked to write a song about King, called “Philadelphia Freedom.” Taupin realized that a song about tennis probably would not work, so the song’s lyrics have little to do with tennis: “Shine a light won’t you shine a light / Philadelphia freedom I love you, yes I do.”

    After the song was released in 1975 as a single, it became a big hit. I remember hearing the song on the radio constantly. At the time, I did not know it was about King, and like most people I associated the tune with the upcoming bicentennial. During that year leading up the bicentennial, anything red, white & blue was big, along with things like Bicentennial Minutes. So it was not much of a surprise that a catchy song that sounded patriotic would be a hit. Little did many people know, though, that the song was inspired by the great American Billie Jean King.

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