HOW MUSIC CHANGED, PART 135e - THE END OF MARVIN GAYE

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Our final episode on the life and music of Marvin Gaye is certainly destined to be one of the saddest shows we ever expect to do. The show begins with Gaye in his prime, at the top of his game and his fame. It ends with him dealing with addiction, paranoia bankruptcy, and ultimately, murder at the hands of his own father.

            Here’s a list of songs featured in today’s program;

1)    My Mistake (Was to Love You)

2)    Distant Lover (live)

3)    I Want You

4)    After the Dance

5)    Got to Give It Up – Pt. 1

6)    Here, My Dear

7)    When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You

8)    Funk Me

9)    Sexual Healing

ALBUMS VS. SINGLES IN FEBRUARY 1988 – NO CONTEST

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By 1988, the singles charts had deteriorated so badly that is was laughable – well, it wasn’t laughable if you were living through it and listening to top 40 radio. Thank goodness for the album tracks that saved the day.

            Here’s a list of music covered in today’s program;

1)    Tunnel of Love – Bruce Springsteen

2)    I Saw HIM Standing There- Tiffany

3)    Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay – Michael Bolton

4)    If I Had a Boat – Lyle Lovett

5)    Give Back My Heart – Lyle Lovett

6)    Everybody Knows – Leonard Cohen

7)    I’m Your Man – Leonard Cohen

8)    Tall Cool One – Robert Plant

9)    Father Figure – George Michael

HOW MUSIC CHANGED, PART 135 d – MARVIN GAYE, “WHAT’S GOING ON?”

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Last week, I mentioned that there were two specific phases of Marvin Gaye’s career that separate Gaye from all others. The first was his work with Tammi Terrell, which we featured in last week’s program. The second phase is the work he created after she passed away, most notably the albums “What’s Going On” and “Let’s Get It On.” Thematically, the two albums could not be more different. “What’s Going On” is a rueful reflection on man’s careless behavior, and how that behavior affects the environment and ultimately, other men, while “Let’s Get It On” is a shamelessly hedonistic collection of sex-inspired music. While the topics are poles apart, the music and the voice conveying these themes are consistently inspired. If Marvin Gaye recorded nothing but these two albums – and our series of shows proves that he did so much more - he would still qualify as one of the most influential artists of all time.

            Here’s a list of songs featured in today’s program;

1)    Yesterday

2)    What’s Going On

3)    What’s Happening, Brother

4)    Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)

5)    Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)

6)    Trouble Man

7)    Let’s Get It On

8)    Distant Lover

9)  You Sure Love to Ball

10)  Come Get to This

AMERICAN HIT RADIO - FEBRUARY 1968 – ON THE ‘FM’ SIDE

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Last week, we dedicated our program to a few of the better 45-RPM singles from February 1968. This week, we look at the long players. While the singles from this period in time were quite excellent, the albums did just as good of a job representing the changing styles of the times. Each of the four albums featured in today’s program debuted in February 1968. For Fleetwood Mac and Blood, Sweat, & Tears, it marked the debut albums of their career. Some albums hold up better than others, but that’s the purpose of our show, right? All in all, it was an interesting time, and here’s a list of the albums featured in today’s program;

            Aretha Franklin – Lady Soul

            Jimi Hendrix – Axis: Bold As Love

            Blood, Sweat & Tears – Child Is Father to the Man

            Fleetwood Mac – Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac

HOW MUSIC CHANGED, PART 135c - MARVIN GAYE FINDS THE PERFECT PARTNER…AND LOSES HER

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            To some, it may seem like overkill to spend so much time focusing on the career of Marvin Gaye, but if you let yourself open up to the various facets of his career, it becomes obvious just how important his music was to the world. There are two specific phases that of his career that separate Marvin Gaye from virtually all other singers. The first of those two phases is documented in this program.

            To date (and that includes the forty-plus years that have passed since then), the emotional passion of the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell duet recordings remain the yardstick by which all subsequent duets are measured. So far, nobody else has even come close to conveying such warmth and tenderness. If you listen at all, it is nearly impossible to imagine that these two were not lovers. Gaye denied any such involvement until his own death, but the love conveyed in these songs belies the truth of the matter. Simply put, today’s show contains some of the most beautiful love songs ever recorded by a male/female duo.

            Here’s a list of songs from today’s show. All are by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell unless indicated otherwise;

1)    I Couldn’t Help Falling for You – Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston

2)    Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

3)    Your Precious Love

4)    If I Could Build My Whole World Around You

5)    If This World Were Mine

6)    Without You My World Is Lonely – Marvin Gaye

7)    Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing

8)    You’re All I Need to Get By

9)    Keep On Lovin’ Me Honey

10) I Heard It Through the Grapevine – Marvin Gaye

11) Too Busy Thinking About My Baby = Marvin Gaye

12) That’s the Way Love Is – Marvin Gaye

13) What You Gave Me

February 1968 - The Most Diverse Era for Pop Music Ever?

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I was alive in 1968, and yet I still cannot believe the amount of versatility that the charts exhibited back then. In the intervening years, radio became more and more stratified, while styles became ostracized from one another. Back in ’68, you might have heard any pair of these songs back to back on commercial radio – a minor miracle by today’s standard. The songs featured in today’s show are virtually a random sample of pop music from 1968, and they cover heavy rock, pop rock, love songs, Philly soul, psychedelia, orchestrated instrumentals, country music, and a few that are difficult to categorize at all. I may have been only nine years old, but it’s no wonder that this music left such a strong impression on me.

            Here’s a list of songs featured in today’s show;

1)    Words – The Bee Gees

2)    Sunshine of Your Love – Cream

3)    La La Means I Love You – The Delfonics

4)    Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding

5)    Just Dropped In (To See What Condition Mt Condition Was In) – Kenny Rogers & the First Edition

6)    Love Is Blue – Paul Mauriat

7)    Skip a Rope – Henson Cargill

8)    Some Velvet Morning – Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood

9) Theme from ‘Valley of the Dolls’ – Dionne Warwick

10) Baby Now That I Found You – The Foundations

11) I Can Take or Leave Your Loving – Herman’s Hermits

HOW MUSIC CHANGED, PART 135b – MARVIN GAYE GETS HIS GROOVE

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Last week we began our coverage of Marvin Gaye by playing some of his earliest material. That show amply demonstrated the dichotomy of Marvin’s personality and its effect on his art, by conveying the tension between how he saw himself and how his audience (and his record label) saw him.  Marvin resisted the pressure to present himself as a pop/soul singer icon, but his efforts were constantly thwarted by the success of his pop hits. Today’s show portrays the stage where the artist decided to succumb to the inevitable, and recorded a remarkable run of memorable hits. For most of today’s show, we can let the music do the talking.

Here’s a list of songs covered in today’s program;

1)    Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home)

2)    I Wonder

3)    You’re a Wonderful One

4)    Try It Baby

5)    Baby Don’t You Do It

6)    How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved by You)

7)    Ramblin’ Rose

8)    I’ll Be Doggone

9)    Pretty Little Baby

10) Ain’t That Peculiar

11)  One More Heartache

12)  Little Darling (I Need You)

13)  What Good Am I Without You

14)  It Takes Two

15)  Your Unchanging Love

CLASSIC ROCK AND ROLL (AND MORE) FROM FEBRUARY 1958

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If you’re looking for classic rock and roll, then you’ve tuned in to the right show. Today, we turn the clock back to February 1958, and what a time it was. Rock and roll music was at its peak, with legendary artists dropping some of the best material of their career. In the midst of it all, Frank Sinatra released a classic album, as if he could personally stem the tide of floodwaters that were rising about him. He fought an impossible battle, but judging from today’s perspective, you gotta admit that Frank did one heck of a job at trying.

            Here’s a list of songs covered in today’s program;

1)    Sweet Little Sixteen – Chuck Berry

2)    Good Golly Miss Molly – Little Richard

3)    Ballad of a Teenage Queen – Johnny Cash

4)    Ballad of a Teenage Queen – Cowboy Jack Clement

5)    Big River – Johnny Cash

6)    Short Shorts – The Royal Teens ( as a ‘Great Miss’_

7)    Boney Maroney – Larry Williams

8)    Don’t Let Go – Roy Hamilton

9)    Come Fly With Me – Frank Sinatra

10)  Let’s Get Away from It All – Frank Sinatra

11)  Deep Feeling – Chcuk Berry

12)  Brown Eyed Handsome Man – Chuck Berry

HOW MUSIC CHANGED, PART 135a - MARVIN GAYE - A STUBBORN KIND OF FELLOW

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Marvin Gaye could easily qualify for the title of ‘America’s Most Enigmatic Vocalist. Throughout his life, he was full of contradictions, both in his personal life and in his art. By the time of his passing, it became fairly obvious to the general public that Gaye was a troubled soul, but the confident nature of his vocal stylings kept most of these impressions at bay.

            We start our coverage of Marvin Gaye by looking at a few of his earliest recordings, particularly the contradictory nature of what he wanted versus what worked for him (and what sold). Judging from the evidence, Marvin was indeed a “Stubborn Kind of Fellow.”

            Here’s a list of songs featured in today’s program. All are by Marvin Gaye, unless otherwise specified;

1)    Sincerely – The Moonglows

2)    Witchcraft

3)    Never Let You Go

4) Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide

5)    Mr. Sandman

6) Soldier's Plea

7)    Stubborn Kind of Fellow

8)    Hitch Hike

9)    Pride and Joy

10)    When I’m Alone I Cry

11)  Once Upon a Time (with Mary Wells)

12)  What’s the Matter with You, Baby (with Mary Wells)

13)  What Kind of Fool Am I?

14)  This Is the Life

15) Can I Get a Witness?