Your Daily Song Fix

Howdy, y’all. I’m Danny. Our gracious host asked me to do some guest posts for Your Daily Song Fix, and I’m happy to oblige. Lately, my tastes have tended toward old blues and country music, so I’ll be delivering that pre-war flavor you’ve been looking for. I hope you enjoy my first pick.

Booker T. Washington “Bukka” White was a blues guitarist born in Houston, Mississippi in 1906. Between 1930 and 1940, he recorded for the Victor and Vocalion labels, as well as for folklorists John Lomax and Alan Lomax. A young Bob Dylan covered this song, “Fixin’ to Die Blues,” for his debut album in 1961. That recording prompted John Fahey and Ed Denson to contact White (by sending a letter to “Bukka White (Old Blues Singer), c/o General Delivery, Aberdeen, Mississippi”), and White continued to record until his death in 1977.

“Fixin’ to Die Blues” was recorded in 1940 for the Vocalion label (which later became the OKeh label; thanks to Stefan Werz’s extensive Bukka White Discography). Robert “Washboard Sam” Brown accompanies White on (you guessed it) the washboard. Brown’s washboard and White’s alternating bass picking pattern create a chugging, locomotive rhythm that supports White’s trainwhistle slide guitar licks and his powerful singing. Check out some of White’s performances on YouTube to get better idea of his strength as a performer.

This song is about a relationship between two best friends. Stephanie and Paulette are references to characters in Grease 2. From what I have read, everyone fights over Stephanie whereas Paulette tries hard and craves approval from the other characters. I guess that says something about the friendship described in this song…

I previously posted “Sleepyhead” by Passion Pit and have another great one to share. “Little Secrets” is another great song off their album, Manners, released on 2009.

This great post about “Genius Of Love” by Tom Tom Club was written by Taylor Rock, a music enthusiast who has been powering some of the greatest Daily Song Fix picks. Feel free to say hello in the comments!

Tina Wymouth and Chris Frantz of Talking Heads founded Tom Tom Club in 1981. Later that year, their hit song “Genius of Love” appeared on the band’s self-titled debut album. It was originally recorded in the Bahamas with Tina and Chris laying down drum and bass tracks, respectively. Tom Tom Club features an extremely talented patchwork of musicians including Tina’s sisters, veterans of Talking Heads’ tours and young Bahamians and Jamaicans. “Genius Of Love” gained breakthrough fame in the clubs when a 12-inch version was released in 1982. This particular version of “Genius of Love” was recorded live and appears on the re-release of the Talking Head’s album, Stop Making Sense.

Tom Tom Club is credited as a pioneer of new age, fresh funk and freestyle music as their beats have been sampled by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Ziggy Marley, Mariah Carey (random!) and many others. It is rumored that Chris Frantz persuaded Tina Wymouth to learn bass for the formation of the Talking Heads with David Byrne when the trio moved from Providence, Rhode Island to Manhattan in 1974. Both graduates of Rhode Island School of Design, the couple continues to play music and record today from their Connecticut studio, The Clubhouse.

The world lost two great musicians yesterday. Teddy Pendergrass, a Grammy award winning R&B/soul singer and songwriter, died after a long battle with colon cancer at age 59. Jay Reatard, garage punk musician and leader of the Reatards, died in his sleep from unknown causes at the age of 29. I am posting a song from each artist in memorial of the great music they contributed to this world.

Jay Reatard – It Aint Gonna Save Me

Teddy Pendergrass – Close The Door

I think everyone knows who Radiohead is but here is a great song my sister, Neekole, recommended. Enjoy!

Temple of the Dog was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1990. It was conceived by vocalist Chris Cornell of Soundgarden as a tribute to his friend, Andrew Wood, lead singer of Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone. Andrew Wood (January 6, 1966 – March 19, 1990), born in Columbus, Mississippi, was the lead singer of Mother Love Bone, and earlier the singer and bassist of Malfunkshun. He was only 24 when he died of a heroin overdose coupled with a cerebral hemorrhage just before the release of Mother Love Bone’s debut album Apple.

Asha Bhosle is an Indian singer whose career started in 1943 and spanned over six decades. Her wide repertoire includes film music, pop, ghazals, bhajans, traditional Indian Classical music, folk songs, qawwalis, Rabindra Sangeets and Nazrul Geetis. She is believed to have sung over 12,000 songs while her sister controversially held the record for the most songs sung in the world in the Guinness Book Of World Records from 1974-1991.