In The Wall Street Journal last week, my latest "Anatomy of a Song" column was on Earth, Wind & Fire's September (go here). The song was released in late 1978 and became a No. 8 Billboard pop hit in early '79 and climbed to No. 1 on Billboard's R&B chart. The song has three credited songwriters—the band's guitarist Al McKay wrote the music, and the lyrics were by the band's late leader, Maurice White, and Allee Willis. September was Allee's first big hit. She never learned to read music or play an instrument and yet she co-wrote September, Boogie Wonderland, the Friends theme I'll Be There For You, and the lyrics to the Broadway musical The Color Purple (2005), to name just a few. Through my interview with Marilyn White, Maurice's widow, I discovered the true meaning of the 21st of September. Until now, it has been completely unknown to the general public. Not even band co-founder and bassist Verdine White knew its significance when I told him during an interview. Allee, by the way, is intense, wickedly funny and lots of laughs. She's also as smart as a whip.
Here's the September video...
And here's the title track from Allee's sole solo album, Childstar, in 1974. Words and music by Allee...
Also in the WSJ, I interviewed Hollywood producer Brian Grazer for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Brian co-founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with director Ron Howard. Among the films he produced are Splash (1984), Apollo 13 (1995), A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Frost/Nixon (2008). His latest book is Face to Face: The Art of Human Connection. My column focused on a series of incredible events in Brian's early life. Saddled with dyslexia, Brian was mired by F's in school until his Grandma Sonia began taking him on field trips and answering his zillions of questions. She saw potential. Brian was able to turn his grades around and wound up with a scholarship to USC. After college, he overheard a conversation by two guys talking about a cushy job one of them left working for a top executive at Warner Bros. Brian cold called the executive and was given the position. From there, success followed, largely a result of Brian's drive and curiosity. An extraordinary story. [Photo above of Brian Grazer at his Santa Monica, Calif., home by Alex Welsh for The Wall Street Journal]
SiriusXM. On Thursday, I'll be on Feedback (Channel 106) from 9 to 10 a.m. (EDT), with Nik and Lori to talk about my "Anatomy of a Song" column on September. Tune in! Lots of stuff that didn't make the column, and a fabulous 10-track closer to top it off.
Terry Gibbs, the great vibraphonist and band leader, sent along a Facebook missive after reading my post on Steve Allen's Music Room, a six-episode show on the Disney Channel that aired from 1984 to 1986:
Marc, I have had these DVD's that Steve Allen gave me after we did these six shows and came across them a few weeks ago. Now they are all over the place at YouTube. We also did six shows called Steve Allen's Comedy Room. When I learn how to transfer anything to anything, I will put them on my page. The show is like a jam session with Steve and three comedians ad-libbing stories and silly funny lines with the producers throwing in videos of some of their old performances on TV. For example, one show had Sid Ceaser, Shecky Green and Mort Sahl, Another had Milton Berle, Carl Reiner and a young Billy Crystal. I list the shows in my autobiography.
Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes (Eagle Rock Entertainment). Though this new film is more of an infomercial for the label than a documentary, it's beautifully shot and features legendary engineer Rudy Van Gelder, Francis Wolff's storied photo archives (now in the hands of Mosaic founder Michael Cuscuna) and current Blue Note musicians who poetically define what the label has meant to them as African-Americans and artists. Strangely, the film doesn't make much of an effort to put the label in historical context (crickets on the fact that Blue Note single-handedly is responsible for the birth of hard bop) nor is it entirely accurate (at one point, Herbie Hancock says the label was completely committed to the music emerging from the artist, but as fans of the label know, each album included songbook tunes to ensure marketability; not a single question on whether that posed a problem for artists and whether there was push-back over the standards selected and who chose them and why).
All of that aside, the film looks posh, and on-camera interviews with artists such as Lou Donaldson and producer Michael Cuscuna are cogent, colorful and informative. Best of all, the archival footage of Blue Note's legacy artists performing is exceptional. Go here.
Surreal James Bond clips. Here's Tom Jones in 1987 (as Bond) singing the Thunderball Theme in front of a castle defended by lethal runway-model bodyguards...
Here's Shirley Bassey singing the Goldfinger Theme at a London construction site in the early 1960s...
Here's Nancy Sinatra in a series of cool Carnaby Street designs singing the You Only Live Twice to mannequins in the late 1960s...
And here's Shirley Bassey singing the theme to Diamonds Are Forever in 1971. Though this isn't surreal, it's still my favorite Dame Shirley rendition so I thought I'd sneak it in. The sparkly dress and glittery diamonds were a swell touch...
Boston. I was there several weeks ago on a quick vacation and snapped the photo above of my favorite American office building, the John Hancock Tower. Those who know me are aware I'm an obsessive Hancock stalker. Years ago, I went so far as to travel to Boston with the building's architect, Henry Cobb, to stare at the structure for the WSJ (go here). Can't resist taking photos of the building, much to my wife's eye-rolling chagrin, which is usually preceded with a playful, "Oh, no, here we go..."
What the heck. Here's more Dame Shirley, with Michel Legrand in 1979...
Oddball album cover of the week.
Wow, I have no idea how the record label pulled off this one. I'm not sure what was tougher, surrounding the grand piano indoors with tropical foliage or getting the bunnies to sit still, assuming they weren't ceramic. A special thanks to Olivia.
