MUSICAL LOCATION STOP-OVERS' - 2018
As part of my 'Musical Mystery Tour' radio shows, I often 'park up' and have a brief 'Musical Location Stop-Over', focusing upon some musical relationship to a particular place or location. This has included:
‘ODETTA’ - 2nd December 2008:
On the 2nd December 2008, American singer, songwriter, actress, musician & civil rights activist, ‘Odetta’, sadly died. She was Often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement", with her music consisting largely of American Folk music, Blues, Jazz & Spirituals. As an important figure in the American folk music revival of the 1950s & 60s, she influenced many other musicians, with civil rights activist, "Rosa Parks”, supposedly her No.1 fan, and ‘Martin Luther King Jr’ called her the “Queen of American folk music”.
But in November 2008, Odetta's health began to decline. Although she hoped to perform at ‘Barack Obama's’ Presidential inauguration on 20th January 2009, she sadly died of kidney failure & heart disease on 2nd December 2008, in New York City, at the age of 77.
At a memorial service, many well-known personalities & performers attended & gave tribute to her. Previously, ‘Carly Simon’ & ‘Harry Belafonte’ had cited her as a key influence on their musical careers; and ‘Bob Dylan’ once said that "The first thing that turned me on to folk singing was Odetta”; with ‘Joan Baez’ saying that "Odetta was a goddess. Her passion moved me. I learned everything she sang". ‘Janis Joplin’ also claimed that she spent much of her adolescence listening to Odetta, who was also the first person she imitated when she started singing.
One reviewer, once wrote that: “the moment you saw and heard Odetta, there was no way you could forget her. She stood on the stage like a lioness. One moment, she'd grimace like something was hurting. Then suddenly, Odetta would smile. And you'd melt.”
For almost a hundred years after the abolition of slavery, convicts (mostly African American), were leased to work as forced labour in the mines, railroad camps, brickyards, farms, and then on road gangs of the American South; and one of ‘Odetta’s’ most significant songs is “Take This Hammer” - a prison, logging & railroad work song, probably dating from the late 19th century, with musician ‘Lead Belly’ recording it in 1940; and ‘Odetta’ with her version of of it from 1957.
MICHAEL JACKSON'S Death (25th June 2009):
On 25th June 2009, in Los Angeles, USA, American musical artist, ‘Michael Jackson, sadly died, after stopping breathing while attempting to sleep under the care of his personal physician, who reportedly gave Jackson an array of medications, and then following repeated attempts to resuscitate him failed.
The news of Michael Jackson's death spread very quickly, ignited by the Internet & social media, triggering a global outpouring of grief, and widespread coverage of Michael Jackson’s music, with MTV showing hours of Jackson's music videos, with live news specials.
Michael Jackson's memorial, with eulogies & performances by many star names, was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, with tickets being distributed via lottery, with over 1.6 million people applying; and 8,750 names being drawn at random, with the memorial service becoming one of the most watched events in streaming history, with an estimated US audience of over 31 million.
Having become one of the most successful & popular entertainers ever, often called the "King of Pop", what can be said about ‘Michael Jackson’ that hasn’t been said so many times over his impressive career, but also his often difficult controversial private life….with many millions of words that have been written & spoken about him. But his music & performances will live on.
‘52nd ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS (31st January 2010):
On 31st January 2010, the ‘52nd Annual Grammy Awards’ were held in Los Angeles, California, and it was a big year for “Beyoncé”, who won a record breaking 6 ‘Grammys’ in one night, including ‘Song of The Year’ for ‘Single Ladies’; with ‘Taylor Swift’ winning 4 ‘Grammys’, including ‘Album of The Year’ for ‘Fearless’.
‘WHITNEY HOUSTON” - Death: 11th February 2012:
On 11th February 2012, the American singer, actress, producer & model, “Whitney Houston” was found dead, at the age of 48, in her guest room at the ‘Beverly Hilton’, in ‘Beverly Hills’, California, USA. The official coroner's report showed that she had accidentally drowned in the bath, with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors. The news of her death coincided with the 2012 ‘Grammy Awards’, and featured prominently in American and international media.
During her career, she released seven studio albums and two soundtrack albums, all of which have had mega-sales; with many awards and setting many records for musical achievement; and ‘Whitney Houston’ becoming one of the best-selling music artists ever. The ‘Guinness World Records’ in 2009 cited her as the most awarded female act of all time, with two ‘Emmy’ Awards; six ‘Grammy’ Awards; 30 ‘Billboard Music Awards’; 22 ‘American Music Awards’; among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010.
She also acted. Making her screen acting debut in the romantic thriller film, “The Bodyguard”, performing the song "I Will Always Love You", which received the ‘Grammy Award’ for ‘Record of the Year’ and became the best-selling single by a woman in music history. After her death, the writer of the song, “Dolly Parton”, said: "I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song, and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed.'"
“KIKI DEE”: 50 years in music – 2013:
A landmark year for English singer-songwriter, ‘Kiki Dee’, was in 2013, when she celebrated 50 years in music, having established herself as one of the great British singers.
Born in Bradford in 1947 as ‘Pauline Matthews’, under her stage name of ‘Kiki Dee’ she started singing with local dance bands and also gained a respectable reputation as a backing session-singer, working with many artists, such as ‘Dusty Springfield’ and performing on two of Dusty’s early hits, “Little By Little” and the Carole King song, “Some Of Your Loving”; and then she was soon signed as a solo artist to ‘Fontana Records’, releasing her first single and début album in 1963.
Then in 1970, she became the first British artist to be signed by ‘Tamla Motown’, releasing an album on the label in the same year; and in 1974 she was riding high on both the UK & US charts with “I’ve Got the Music in Me”. Then in 1976, she had the world-wide smash hit with ‘Elton John’ with “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”.
In 2018, at the age of 71, she is still going strong, and since the early 1990’s, 'Kiki Dee' has been working with songwriter, producer & guitarist ‘Carmelo Luggeri’, taking on a new musical direction together, playing acoustic concerts.
Over those 50 years, ‘Kiki Dee’ has released 39 singles, three EPs & 12 albums and toured the UK and Europe; as well as featuring in many television shows; and she's also worked as an actress in the West End and throughout the country, initially in the American show, “Pumpboys and Dinettes” which starred 'Paul Jones', 'Brian Protheroe', 'Carlene Carter', and others; and then especially as the lead in ‘Willy Russell’s’ sensational musical, “Blood Brothers”.
‘SALLY BARKER’ - ‘The Voice’ - 2014:
The year 2014 was quite a good year for Leicestershire singer-songwriter, “Sally Barker” who entered the BBC talent content, “The Voice” in 2014.
She had been writing & performing for some time. Starting at the early age of 10, and then by her late teens, she was performing folk & blues in pubs and folk clubs in the Midlands, with bass player, 'Chris Watson'; and later supporting 'Steeleye Span', 'Gordon Giltrap' & 'Roy Harper'.
In 1986, she entered and won the 1986 Kendal Song-search Competition, and as a solo artist, she supported acts such as 'Richard Thompson', 'Richard Digance' & 'Fairport Convention'; and around the same time, she began the all-female folk group, 'The Poozies'.
In the early 90's, she also opened for both 'Bob Dylan' and 'Robert Plant' in Germany….and toured consistently in Europe, both solo and with the 'Poozies', releasing albums along the way.
But her work was interrupted somewhat, particularly due to 2 pregnancies and her husband's illness & sad death, which caused her to lose the desire to perform her own songs, focusing upon bringing up her two sons and studying for a degree in Music Technology instead. But eventually, she did start performing again, and in 2006 rejoined the 'Poozies'.
By then, as teenagers, it was her two sons who persuaded her to enter 'The Voice' in 2014, where she came second with her mentor, Tom Jones, and she did well, and it certainly helped her career, which was good news, although after 'The Voice', she supposedly turned down a large advance and the opportunity to record a covers-album for 'Universal', choosing instead to finish a 'Poozies' album and work on songs for her own new album, whilst continuing to tour both solo and with the 'Poozies' and working on other projects.
“CILLA BLACK” - 1st August 2015:
It was on 1st August 2015, at her holiday home in Spain, that English singer, television presenter, actress & author, “Cilla Black”, sadly died, at the age of 72, from a stroke following a fall in her Spanish villa.
Born “Priscilla Maria Veronica White” in 1943, she was best known by her stage name “Cilla Black”, who was championed by her friends, the Beatles, beginning her career as a singer in 1963, with her singles "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "You're My World", both reaching No.1 in the UK in 1964, with eleven Top Ten hits between 1964 and 1971.
She also had her own TV shows; worked as a comedy actress; and then became a hugely popular & prominent television presenter with shows such as ‘Blind Date’ & ‘Surprise Surprise’. Celebrating 50 years in show business two years before her death.
Her funeral in Liverpool had ‘Cliff Richard’ with ‘Paul O’Grady’ giving a eulogy...with other tributes being given by her sons, and by ‘Jimmy Tarbuck’ & ‘Christopher Biggins’, with ‘The Beatles’ song, "The Long and Winding Road", being played as the coffin left the church.
The day after her funeral, “The Very Best of Cilla Black”, a compilation album of her hit songs, went to No.1 on the UK Albums Chart.
“GEORGE MICHAEL” - 25th December 2016:
Another mega-performer who sadly died in 2016 was ‘George Michael’, who first rose to fame as a member of the pop music duo, ‘Wham!, and then as one of the most successful solo artists of all time, but with many up-and-downs along the way! But sadly, it was in the early hours of Christmas morning, 20-16, that ‘George Michael’ died at his home in ‘Goring-on-Thames’, aged 53.
"DUA LIPA" - 2017:
The year 2017 was a good one for young English singer-songwriter & previous model, “Dua Lipa”, who grew up listening to music, especially by her father, a Kosovan-Albanian rock singer. Then around the age of 14, she started posting covers of her favourite songs on ‘YouTube’ by artists, such as ‘Christina Aguilera’ and ‘Nelly Furtado', and was also one of the acts on the 'BBC Sound of 2016' list.
Then in 2017, she won the ‘EBBA Public Choice Award’ as a big emerging artist, with her debut album being released in June, with seven singles, including two UK top-10 singles and a UK No.1 song, and in 2018 she went on to win two ‘Brit Awards’ for ‘British Female Solo Artist’’ and ‘British Breakthrough Act’….and her first UK No.1, ‘New Rules’, also reached No.6 in the USA, with the video for it having over 1Billion views on ‘YouTube’.
As part of my 'Musical Mystery Tour' radio shows, I often 'park up' and have a brief 'Musical Location Stop-Over', focusing upon some musical relationship to a particular place or location. This has included:
‘ODETTA’ - 2nd December 2008:
On the 2nd December 2008, American singer, songwriter, actress, musician & civil rights activist, ‘Odetta’, sadly died. She was Often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement", with her music consisting largely of American Folk music, Blues, Jazz & Spirituals. As an important figure in the American folk music revival of the 1950s & 60s, she influenced many other musicians, with civil rights activist, "Rosa Parks”, supposedly her No.1 fan, and ‘Martin Luther King Jr’ called her the “Queen of American folk music”.
But in November 2008, Odetta's health began to decline. Although she hoped to perform at ‘Barack Obama's’ Presidential inauguration on 20th January 2009, she sadly died of kidney failure & heart disease on 2nd December 2008, in New York City, at the age of 77.
At a memorial service, many well-known personalities & performers attended & gave tribute to her. Previously, ‘Carly Simon’ & ‘Harry Belafonte’ had cited her as a key influence on their musical careers; and ‘Bob Dylan’ once said that "The first thing that turned me on to folk singing was Odetta”; with ‘Joan Baez’ saying that "Odetta was a goddess. Her passion moved me. I learned everything she sang". ‘Janis Joplin’ also claimed that she spent much of her adolescence listening to Odetta, who was also the first person she imitated when she started singing.
One reviewer, once wrote that: “the moment you saw and heard Odetta, there was no way you could forget her. She stood on the stage like a lioness. One moment, she'd grimace like something was hurting. Then suddenly, Odetta would smile. And you'd melt.”
For almost a hundred years after the abolition of slavery, convicts (mostly African American), were leased to work as forced labour in the mines, railroad camps, brickyards, farms, and then on road gangs of the American South; and one of ‘Odetta’s’ most significant songs is “Take This Hammer” - a prison, logging & railroad work song, probably dating from the late 19th century, with musician ‘Lead Belly’ recording it in 1940; and ‘Odetta’ with her version of of it from 1957.
MICHAEL JACKSON'S Death (25th June 2009):
On 25th June 2009, in Los Angeles, USA, American musical artist, ‘Michael Jackson, sadly died, after stopping breathing while attempting to sleep under the care of his personal physician, who reportedly gave Jackson an array of medications, and then following repeated attempts to resuscitate him failed.
The news of Michael Jackson's death spread very quickly, ignited by the Internet & social media, triggering a global outpouring of grief, and widespread coverage of Michael Jackson’s music, with MTV showing hours of Jackson's music videos, with live news specials.
Michael Jackson's memorial, with eulogies & performances by many star names, was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, with tickets being distributed via lottery, with over 1.6 million people applying; and 8,750 names being drawn at random, with the memorial service becoming one of the most watched events in streaming history, with an estimated US audience of over 31 million.
Having become one of the most successful & popular entertainers ever, often called the "King of Pop", what can be said about ‘Michael Jackson’ that hasn’t been said so many times over his impressive career, but also his often difficult controversial private life….with many millions of words that have been written & spoken about him. But his music & performances will live on.
‘52nd ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS (31st January 2010):
On 31st January 2010, the ‘52nd Annual Grammy Awards’ were held in Los Angeles, California, and it was a big year for “Beyoncé”, who won a record breaking 6 ‘Grammys’ in one night, including ‘Song of The Year’ for ‘Single Ladies’; with ‘Taylor Swift’ winning 4 ‘Grammys’, including ‘Album of The Year’ for ‘Fearless’.
‘WHITNEY HOUSTON” - Death: 11th February 2012:
On 11th February 2012, the American singer, actress, producer & model, “Whitney Houston” was found dead, at the age of 48, in her guest room at the ‘Beverly Hilton’, in ‘Beverly Hills’, California, USA. The official coroner's report showed that she had accidentally drowned in the bath, with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors. The news of her death coincided with the 2012 ‘Grammy Awards’, and featured prominently in American and international media.
During her career, she released seven studio albums and two soundtrack albums, all of which have had mega-sales; with many awards and setting many records for musical achievement; and ‘Whitney Houston’ becoming one of the best-selling music artists ever. The ‘Guinness World Records’ in 2009 cited her as the most awarded female act of all time, with two ‘Emmy’ Awards; six ‘Grammy’ Awards; 30 ‘Billboard Music Awards’; 22 ‘American Music Awards’; among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010.
She also acted. Making her screen acting debut in the romantic thriller film, “The Bodyguard”, performing the song "I Will Always Love You", which received the ‘Grammy Award’ for ‘Record of the Year’ and became the best-selling single by a woman in music history. After her death, the writer of the song, “Dolly Parton”, said: "I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song, and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed.'"
“KIKI DEE”: 50 years in music – 2013:
A landmark year for English singer-songwriter, ‘Kiki Dee’, was in 2013, when she celebrated 50 years in music, having established herself as one of the great British singers.
Born in Bradford in 1947 as ‘Pauline Matthews’, under her stage name of ‘Kiki Dee’ she started singing with local dance bands and also gained a respectable reputation as a backing session-singer, working with many artists, such as ‘Dusty Springfield’ and performing on two of Dusty’s early hits, “Little By Little” and the Carole King song, “Some Of Your Loving”; and then she was soon signed as a solo artist to ‘Fontana Records’, releasing her first single and début album in 1963.
Then in 1970, she became the first British artist to be signed by ‘Tamla Motown’, releasing an album on the label in the same year; and in 1974 she was riding high on both the UK & US charts with “I’ve Got the Music in Me”. Then in 1976, she had the world-wide smash hit with ‘Elton John’ with “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”.
In 2018, at the age of 71, she is still going strong, and since the early 1990’s, 'Kiki Dee' has been working with songwriter, producer & guitarist ‘Carmelo Luggeri’, taking on a new musical direction together, playing acoustic concerts.
Over those 50 years, ‘Kiki Dee’ has released 39 singles, three EPs & 12 albums and toured the UK and Europe; as well as featuring in many television shows; and she's also worked as an actress in the West End and throughout the country, initially in the American show, “Pumpboys and Dinettes” which starred 'Paul Jones', 'Brian Protheroe', 'Carlene Carter', and others; and then especially as the lead in ‘Willy Russell’s’ sensational musical, “Blood Brothers”.
‘SALLY BARKER’ - ‘The Voice’ - 2014:
The year 2014 was quite a good year for Leicestershire singer-songwriter, “Sally Barker” who entered the BBC talent content, “The Voice” in 2014.
She had been writing & performing for some time. Starting at the early age of 10, and then by her late teens, she was performing folk & blues in pubs and folk clubs in the Midlands, with bass player, 'Chris Watson'; and later supporting 'Steeleye Span', 'Gordon Giltrap' & 'Roy Harper'.
In 1986, she entered and won the 1986 Kendal Song-search Competition, and as a solo artist, she supported acts such as 'Richard Thompson', 'Richard Digance' & 'Fairport Convention'; and around the same time, she began the all-female folk group, 'The Poozies'.
In the early 90's, she also opened for both 'Bob Dylan' and 'Robert Plant' in Germany….and toured consistently in Europe, both solo and with the 'Poozies', releasing albums along the way.
But her work was interrupted somewhat, particularly due to 2 pregnancies and her husband's illness & sad death, which caused her to lose the desire to perform her own songs, focusing upon bringing up her two sons and studying for a degree in Music Technology instead. But eventually, she did start performing again, and in 2006 rejoined the 'Poozies'.
By then, as teenagers, it was her two sons who persuaded her to enter 'The Voice' in 2014, where she came second with her mentor, Tom Jones, and she did well, and it certainly helped her career, which was good news, although after 'The Voice', she supposedly turned down a large advance and the opportunity to record a covers-album for 'Universal', choosing instead to finish a 'Poozies' album and work on songs for her own new album, whilst continuing to tour both solo and with the 'Poozies' and working on other projects.
“CILLA BLACK” - 1st August 2015:
It was on 1st August 2015, at her holiday home in Spain, that English singer, television presenter, actress & author, “Cilla Black”, sadly died, at the age of 72, from a stroke following a fall in her Spanish villa.
Born “Priscilla Maria Veronica White” in 1943, she was best known by her stage name “Cilla Black”, who was championed by her friends, the Beatles, beginning her career as a singer in 1963, with her singles "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "You're My World", both reaching No.1 in the UK in 1964, with eleven Top Ten hits between 1964 and 1971.
She also had her own TV shows; worked as a comedy actress; and then became a hugely popular & prominent television presenter with shows such as ‘Blind Date’ & ‘Surprise Surprise’. Celebrating 50 years in show business two years before her death.
Her funeral in Liverpool had ‘Cliff Richard’ with ‘Paul O’Grady’ giving a eulogy...with other tributes being given by her sons, and by ‘Jimmy Tarbuck’ & ‘Christopher Biggins’, with ‘The Beatles’ song, "The Long and Winding Road", being played as the coffin left the church.
The day after her funeral, “The Very Best of Cilla Black”, a compilation album of her hit songs, went to No.1 on the UK Albums Chart.
“GEORGE MICHAEL” - 25th December 2016:
Another mega-performer who sadly died in 2016 was ‘George Michael’, who first rose to fame as a member of the pop music duo, ‘Wham!, and then as one of the most successful solo artists of all time, but with many up-and-downs along the way! But sadly, it was in the early hours of Christmas morning, 20-16, that ‘George Michael’ died at his home in ‘Goring-on-Thames’, aged 53.
"DUA LIPA" - 2017:
The year 2017 was a good one for young English singer-songwriter & previous model, “Dua Lipa”, who grew up listening to music, especially by her father, a Kosovan-Albanian rock singer. Then around the age of 14, she started posting covers of her favourite songs on ‘YouTube’ by artists, such as ‘Christina Aguilera’ and ‘Nelly Furtado', and was also one of the acts on the 'BBC Sound of 2016' list.
Then in 2017, she won the ‘EBBA Public Choice Award’ as a big emerging artist, with her debut album being released in June, with seven singles, including two UK top-10 singles and a UK No.1 song, and in 2018 she went on to win two ‘Brit Awards’ for ‘British Female Solo Artist’’ and ‘British Breakthrough Act’….and her first UK No.1, ‘New Rules’, also reached No.6 in the USA, with the video for it having over 1Billion views on ‘YouTube’.