E205: Tony Cummings on soul music + The Sound of Philadelphia
In this episode we welcome the great soul scribe Tony Cummings to Hammersmith to discuss the subject of his classic 1975 book The Sound of Philadelphia.
Tony travelled all the way down from his adopted Stoke-on-Trent to answer our questions about his earliest musical passions in his native Plymouth and the launch of his pioneering '60s fanzines Soul, Soul Music and Shout. He goes on to talk about his contributions to (and editorship of) Black Music magazine – and his deep immersion in the "Philly Soul" sound patented by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Thom Bell. We hear about the extraordinary stable of musicians who performed on timeless hits by acts such as the O'Jays, the Three Degrees and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.
Clips from audio interviews with Kenny Gamble and – from 1976 – the Stylistics' Herb Murrell prompt reflections on the lavish sound and sophistication of R&B classics by everyone from the Delfonics and Jerry Butler to Teddy Pendergrass and McFadden & Whitehead.
Many thanks to special guest Tony Cummings.
Pieces discussed: Inside the Philly Sound, MFSB, TCB, The Stylistics, Gamble-Huff, Thom Bell and the Philly Groove, Hit Producer Thom Bell: Philly Soul & the R&B Flugelhorn, "Philadelphia was the party with a tormented soul", Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff audio, The Stylistics' Herb Murrell audio, Why are we so hard on our music press? and Linkin Park.
--------
1:22:54
--------
1:22:54
E204: Chris Bohn in Europe + Sly Stone & Brian Wilson R.I.P.
For this episode we're joined in our Hammersmith lair by the highly respected Chris Bohn, known better these days by his alias Biba Kopf (cue a nod to Berlin Alexanderplatz author Alfred Döblin...) The veteran NME contributor and sometime editor-in-chief of The Wire talks about his long career as a Europhile connoisseur of extreme and out-there music.
We start by asking our guest about his mother's experience as a teenage refugee fleeing her native Silesia after the advance of the Red Army in 1945 – and her subsequent settling in the English Midlands. We learn about Chris' journalistic training on the Sutton Coldfield News and his subsequent travels around Europe, where he reconnected with relatives in West (and East) Germany.
Chris reminisces about his first London job as a press officer for Polydor Records, for whom he chaperoned Siouxsie & the Banshees to tapings of Top of the Pops. He then talks us through his writing career from Melody Maker and NME to decades-long association with The Wire. Among the articles mentioned are his 1979 live review of Joy Division, his groundbreaking 1981 on-the-road piece "Trans-Europe Express", and his interviews with Nina Hagen (1979) and Einstürzende Neubauten (1983). Discussion of The Wire leads us into clips from an audio interview with Wire icon Ornette Coleman … by Wire mainstay David Toop.
We conclude the episode by paying heartfelt tribute to two Californian geniuses who left us this week: Family Stone funk pioneer Sly Stone and the Beach Boys' "pocket symphonist" Brian Wilson. We shall not see – or hear – their like again.
Many thanks to special guest Chris Bohn a.k.a. Biba Kopf. Visit the Wire's website at thewire.co.uk to subscribe digitally and in print.
Pieces discussed: Nina Hagen: West Is Best, Einstürzende Neubauten: Let's Hear It For The Untergang Show, Ornette Coleman (1995), Sly & The Family Stone: Sly Buries Underground And Has Fun!, Not Only Sly, But Sometimes Just Plain Damn Evasive, Sly Stone's Higher Power, Some Producers' Hints From Beach Boy Brian, Brian Wilson, Brian Wilson: Beach Boy, Pop Visionary, Wounded Soul, The Devil and Jerry Lee Lewis and Group Home: Supa Group.
--------
1:37:40
--------
1:37:40
E203: Jonathan Gould on Talking Heads + Otis Redding + Richard Manuel
For this episode we're joined – all the way from Brooklyn – by acclaimed author and sometime drummer Jonathan Gould.
The native New Yorker recalls his early musical epiphanies, his introduction to the drums and his studying under famed jazz drummer Alan Dawson in mid-'70s Boston. He also reminisces about his years in Woodstock, N.Y., and his association with The Band's Richard Manuel.
Our very personable guest explains his conversion to writing about music and the long gestation of his epic Beatles book Can't Buy Me Love (2007). From there we jump to 2017's equally praised Otis Redding: An Unfinished Life, an excuse not just to talk about The Big O but to hear clips from audio interviews with Stax Records/Booker T. & the M.G.'s legends Duck Dunn and Steve Cropper.
Finally, we get to the subjects of his latest enormo-tome Burning Down the House: Talking Heads. Jonathan talks about his experience of writing the book, the band's unique brilliance and internal frictions, and their complicated relationship with producer/"collaborator" Brian Eno.
After we've paid our respects to beloved EMAP Metro writer-publisher Barry McIlheney and to fomrer McCoy/Johnny and Edgar Winter sideman/All-American Boy Rick(y) Derringer, Jasper talks us out with his thoughts on pop's most misunderstood songs.
--------
1:34:40
--------
1:34:40
E202: Paul Gambaccini on the radio + Rolling Stone + Beyoncé audio
In this episode we welcome the great Paul Gambaccini into RBP's world and ask him about his 50+ years as one of Britain's best-loved broadcasters.
"The Great Gambo" tells us about his early radio days at Dartmouth College's WDCR station and explains how he slipped his foot in the door at Rolling Stone in 1970. He then recounts his first meeting with "underground deejay" John Peel (plus his BBC producer John Walters) while still an Oxford postgraduate fleeing Richard Nixon's America,
We ask our guest about his famous Stone interviews with Elton John (and Bernie Taupin) and Paul McCartney, then hear about his Radio 1 debut in 1974. Paul discusses his sexuality, his winding up on the Beeb's "Christmas tree" list, and his nightmare year of being witch-hunted without evidence by the sleuths of Operation Yewtree.
After offering his thoughts on the constitutional crisis in his homeland, our guest expresses his approval of Beyoncé ahead of her "Cowboy Carter" tour's London leg in June. We listen to clips from a 2003 audio interview with "Queen Bey" by The Observer Music Monthly's Simon Garfield.
After Mark quotes from newly-added interviews with Elvis Presley (1969) and Roxy Music's (Brian) Eno (1973), Jasper talks us out with his thoughts on pieces about the Roots (2005) and Beyoncé's sister Solange (2007).
Many thanks to special guest Paul Gambaccini. Hear his radio shows on the air, including the Paul Gambaccini Collection on BBC Radio 2.
Pieces discussed: Paul Gambaccini's writer's page on RBP, The Rolling Stone Interview: Elton John, Paul McCartney, Beyoncé audio, Elvis the Husband talks about Elvis the Pelvis, The Strange World of Roxy Music, The Roots: Growing Underground, Romanthony: A Prince Among Men and Why Solange Matters.
--------
1:05:08
--------
1:05:08
E201: Bob Merlis on Warner Bros. + Little Feat + Neil Young audio
For this episode we're joined – all the way from L.A. – by special guest Bob Merlis. The former head of publicity at Warner-Reprise Records in Burbank talks us through his musical odyssey from his Brooklyn childhood to his continuing PR work for the likes of ZZ Top and Carlene Carter.
We hear about Bob's start at Record World in late '60s New York and the early '70s pieces he wrote for that trade publication and for Warners' short-lived Words & Music. Our guest then talks about his brief stints at RCA and Albert Grossman's Bearsville Records before touching on key acts and moments in the nearly three decades he spent in Burbank: Little Feat's Lowell George, Jerry Wexler producing Etta James and Warners president Joe Smith roasting the infamous Morris Levy. Clips from Dave Zimmer's 1988 audio interview with Neil Young prompt discussion of that quintessential Reprise artist (and his comrades in CSNY).
After Mark quotes from pieces about Elektra Records dropping the MC5 and free-improv guitarist Derek Bailey, Jasper talks us out with reflections on the musical passions of footballer Rio Ferdinand and Houston rapper Chamillionaire.
Many thanks to special guest Bob Merlis. For info on Bob's PR work, visit https://mfhpr.com/m-f-h-at-20.
Pieces discussed: R&B is B(l)ack and Involved, Jerry Wexler Crosses Tracks for Tony Joe, Todd Rundgren Warps Time, Lowell George Talks About Little Feat, Little Feat Keeps On Truckin', Little Feat: How To Construct a "Critics' Band", Neil Young audio, Elektra Records Kicks Out MC5, Derek Bailey: Themes on Improvisation, The Record Doctor: Rio Ferdinand and Chamillionaire: Change.
Tales from the world's largest archive of music journalism: entertaining interviews with luminaries such as Neil Tennant, Billy Bragg, Pamela Des Barres, Gary Kemp, Vashti Bunyan, Midge Ure, Nick Hornby and Robyn Hitchcock. Thoughtful and informative conversations about all aspects of popular music history, interspersed with clips from exclusive audio interviews that date back to the mid-'60s.
The RBP podcast is hosted by Barney Hoskyns and Mark Pringle and co-hosted & produced by Jasper Murison-Bowie. We're a proud part of Pantheon — the podcast network for music lovers.
Ireland