phil upchurch

musicology #488

SoulBoy #7

(Donny Hathaway – Giving Up)

Slowwwwwwwwww toooooooooday. Was out on the tiles last night and didn’t ‘get me nut down’ until the break of dawn…QUALITY night though, (in a club beneath the Ritz)..good friends birthday bash. Saw a few faces that I haven’t seen in a while and met some new ones…All Good. So I’m just going to lay down the cut without further delay as I’m tired. This one is courtesy of the sublime Donny Edward Hathaway a troubled Cat who despite his trials and tribulations still delivered some of the finest Soul yet recorded.  Highlighted from his second LP ‘Donny Hathaway’ Released in 1971 on the Atco label, written by Van McCoy and featuring legendary musicians King Curtis, Al ‘The Human Timekeeper’ Jackson Jr, Phil Upchurch and Cornell Dupree.

musicology #98

sixartist, sixtune, sixweekspecial #21

(Jerry Butler&Curtis Mayfield – Find Yourself Another Girl)

round 3 of the Curtis Mayfield selection.as well as hard hitting lyricist and social commentator Curtis’s love songs are beyond compare. a genuine poet whose ability to tap into affairs of the heart deserves mention.

singing lead on this is original Impressions lead singer Jerry ‘The Ice Man’ Butler whose nickname is reported to have come from a performance where the p.a cut out and rather than stop Jerry continued to sing, (that and the way in which he performed emotion drenched soul scorchers without breaking sweat)

it was Jerry that insisted on Curtis replacing Phil Upchurch when he left Jerry’s touring band in 1961 to chase fame on the back of his Mod/R&B classic ‘You Can’t Sit Down’

Curtis was only sixteen at the time which is amazing considering the songs he went on to write over the following two years. this is one of those foundation soul cuts from that year..Curtis not only co-wrote it but it’s also him harmonizing and playing guitar.

musicology at it’s finest from two of Soul’s vanguards in perfect harmony

musicology #97

sixartist, sixtune, sixweekspecial #20

(Curtis Mayfield – Hard Times)

one of the tunes that convinced me to ‘play-out’ back in London’s Rare Groove days of 1985/6, utilising Curtis as messenger for how it felt growing up on the streets of London at the time.

back then Curtis didn’t figure too tough on the capitals wheels of steel, James Brown, (and related), was the DJ’s choice, (along with a host of others), Curtis didn’t get much of a look in as he wasn’t considered danceable..obviously he was very highly regarded but was mainly enjoyed at home in moments of contemplation.

taken from his 1975 critique ‘There’s No Place Like America Today’

the spoken intro has been added by themusicologist to provide an insight on and from the man himself.