BLACK PARIS BLUES

MIGHTY MO RODGERS
SONGWRITER: MIGHTY MO RODGERS
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: BLACK PARIS BLUES
GENRE: BLUES
LABEL: ISABEL RECORDS
YEAR: 2003
 
         Mighty Mo Rodgers(born July 24, 1942) is an American electric blues musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, who has released six albums to date. He has been influenced by the work of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Bland, Eddie Boyd, Jimmy Reed, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Willie Dixon.
               Bonnie Raitt noted that "Mo Rodgers' music is a breath of fresh air in the blues/R&B world. He combines sly social commentary with a great funky sound… I love his voice. He's a welcome original.
       Maurice Rodgers was born in East Chicago, Indiana, He studied classical piano, but was more influenced by witnessing the blues acts that performed at his father's nightclub. In the mid-1960s, the music produced by the American record label Stax also affected his musical ambitions. In high school, Rodgers formed his first band, the Rocketeers. After entering Indiana State College, he fronted the Maurice Rodgers Combo. His love of playing keyboards led Rodgers to leave college and relocate to Los Angeles, California, becoming a full-time musician.
     He played the Farfisa electronic organ on Brenton Wood's 1967 hit "Gimme Little Sign".
          In 1973, Rodgers co-produced the album Sonny & Brownie(A&M Records), by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. He also played keyboards on the album's cut. Following a spell as a session musician, Rodgers moved into songwriting for Motown and Chappell & Co. He also worked as a record producer before returning to education and obtaining a philosophy degree from California State University, Northridge. His first solo album, Blues Is My Wailin' Wall, was released in 1999 by Blue Thumb Records. The lyrics of several of the songs on the album present Rodgers's philosophical views of mankind.
        In 2000, Rodgers performed at the Notodden Blues Festival. His European excursions have included concerts at the New Morning nightclub in Paris. In 2001, he performed on the album Memphis, recorded by Jean-Jacques Milteau, which also included contributions from Little Milton and Mighty Sam McClain. His own recordings continued with Red, White & Blues(2002); Black Paris Blues, a live album issued in 2004; and Redneck Blues(2007). His most recent release was Cadillac Jack in 2012.
               Rodgers appeared at the 22 Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival in August 2014.
       In 2019, he toured with Baba Sissoko and performed at several European blues festivals. In 2017, they had jointly released the album, Griot Blues. 
Walking in the twilight hour
Looking for that magic light
I go to the Left Bank
To feel what is right
So far away from home
What can I do?
With these black Paris blues
I see the ghost of the past
They always thought they would last
Black Americans coming here
Freedom that was clear
So far away from home
What can you do?
With the black Paris black Paris blues
 
Walking in the twilight hour
Looking for that magic light
I go to the Left Bank
Try to feel what is right
So far away from home
What can you do?
With these black Paris blues
 
Blue Moon done the one
Said Sidney Bechet
Listen to the music
It will show the way
 
I see Brick Top's
Josephine Baker too
I see Chesfer Himes
Richard Wright
With their blues
I see Dexter Gordon
I see Miles and Diz
I see Memphis Slim playin’ slim
I see so many ghosts
From my black past
You know they thought it would last
What can you do?
With these Black Paris Blues
Parlez-vous Francais?
Can you hear me say?
I feel lost, it is true
Parlez-vous Francais?
I've lost my way
I can't get back home, it is true
Here’s where I'm gonna stay
For my blues I will play
What can you do?
With these black Paris blues
What can you do?
With these black Paris blues
Ride them through
I will always will know it' true
In the black Paris blues
What can you do?
Black Paris blues
But ride them through
Hey hey
Black Paris blues.

 BRING IT ON HOME TO ME

SAM COOK
SONGWRITER: SAM COOK
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: FOREVER 32 HITS
LABEL: RCA RECORDS
GENRE: SOUL
YEAR: 1975
 
            Samuel Cook(January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distinctive vocals, notable contributions to the genre and significance in popular music.
            Cooke was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi and later relocated to Chicago with his family at a young age, where he began singing as a child and joined the Soul Stirrers as lead singer in the 1950s. Going solo in 1957, Cooke released a string of hit songs, including "You Send Me", "A Change Is Gonna Come", "Cupid", "Wonderful World", "Chain Gang", "Twistin' the Night Away", "Bring It On Home to Me", and "Good Times". During his eight-year career, Cooke released 29 singles that charted in the Top 40 of the Billboard Pop Singles chart, as well as 20 singles in the Top Ten of Billboard's Black Singles chart.
        In 1964, Cooke was shot and killed by the manager of a motel in Los Angeles. After an inquest and investigation, the courts ruled Cooke's death to be a justifiable homicide. His family has since questioned the circumstances of his death.
           Cooke's pioneering contributions to soul music contributed to the rise of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Billy Preston, and popularized the work of Otis Redding and James Brown. AllMusic biographer Bruce Eder wrote that Cooke was "the inventor of soul music", and possessed "an incredible natural singing voice and a smooth, effortless delivery that has never been surpassed".
         Cooke was also a central part of the civil rights movement, using his influence and popularity with the White and Black populations to fight for the cause. He was friends with boxer Muhammad Ali, activist Malcolm X and football player Jim Brown, who together campaigned for racial equality.
        Cooke was born Samuel Cook in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1931 (he added the "e" to his last name in 1957 to signify a new start to his life). He was the fifth of eight children of the Rev. Charles Cook, a minister in the Church of Christ(Holiness), and his wife, Annie Mae. One of his younger brothers, L.C. (1932–2017), later became a member of the doo-wop band Johnny Keyes and the Magnificents.
       The family moved to Chicago in 1933. Cook attended Doolittle Elementary and Wendell Phillips Academy High School in Chicago, the same school that Nat "King" Cole had attended a few years earlier. Cooke began his career with his siblings in a group called the Singing Children when he was six years old. He first became known as lead singer with the Highway Q.C.'s when he was a teenager, having joined the group at the age of 14. During this time, Cooke befriended fellow gospel singer and neighbor Lou Rawls, who sang in a rival gospel group.
If you ever
Change your mind
About leaving
Leaving me behind
Baby, bring it to me
Bring your sweet loving
Bring it on home to me
Yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)
 
I know I laughed
When you left
But now I know
I only hurt myself
Baby, bring it to me
Bring your sweet loving
Bring it on home to me
Yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)
 
I'll give you jewelry
And money too
That ain't all
That ain't all I'll do for you
Baby, if you bring it to me
Bring your sweet loving
Bring it on home to me
Yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)
 
You know
I'll always be your slave
Till I'm buried
Buried in my grave
Oh honey, bring it to me
Bring your sweet loving
Bring it on home to me
Yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)
 
One more thing
I tried to treat you right
But you stayed out
Stayed out at night
But I forgive you
Bring it to me
Bring your sweet loving
Bring it on home to me
Yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)
Yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)
Yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)
Yeah (yeah).

EVENING

TIN PAN
SONGWRITERS: MITCHELL PARISH & HARRY A. WHITE
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: THE HOME BARTENDER’S SONGBOOK
LABEL: TIN PAN
GENRE: JAZZ
YEAR: 2011
 
     Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in the Flower District of Manhattan; a plaque (see below) on the sidewalk on 28th Street between Broadway and Sixth commemorates it.
      In 2019, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission took up the question of preserving five buildings on the north side of the street as a Tin Pan Alley Historic District. The agency designated five buildings (47–55 West 28th Street) individual landmarks on December 10, 2019, after a concerted effort by the "Save Tin Pan Alley" initiative of the 29th Street Neighborhood Association. Following successful protection of these landmarks, project director George Calderaro and other proponents formed the Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project to continue and commemorate the legacy of Tin Pan Alley with various advocacy and educational activities.
         On April 2, 2022, 28th Street between Broadway and 6th Avenue was officially co-named “Tin Pan Alley” by the City of New York in a celebration featuring NYC City Councilmember Erik Bottcher, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and representatives from the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership and the Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project which advocated for the co-naming.
        The start of Tin Pan Alley is usually dated to about 1885, when a number of music publishers set up shop in the same district of Manhattan. The end of Tin Pan Alley is less clear cut. Some date it to the start of the Great Depression in the 1930s when the phonograph, radio, and motion pictures supplanted sheet music as the driving force of American popular music, while others consider Tin Pan Alley to have continued into the 1950s when earlier styles of music were upstaged by the rise of rock & roll, which was centered on the Brill Building. Brill Building songwriter Neil Sedaka described his employer as being a natural outgrowth of Tin Pan Alley, in that the older songwriters were still employed in Tin Pan Alley firms while younger songwriters such as Sedaka found work at the Brill Building.
Evening, every night you come and you find me
Why must you always remind me, that my baby's gone
Evening, you got me deeper in your power
Every minute seems like an hour
Since my baby's gone
Shadows fall upon the wall
That's the time I miss your kisses most of all
Even though I try, how can I go on
Oh evening, let me sleep 'til the glow of dawn is breaking
I don't care if I don't awaken
Since my baby's gone
Shadows fall upon the wall
That's the time I miss your kisses most of all
Even though I try, how can I go on
Oh evening, let me sleep 'til the glow of dawn is breaking
I don't care if I don't awaken
Since my baby's gone.

TENNESSEE WHISKY

CHRIS STAPLETON
SONGWRITERS: DEAN DILLON & LINDA H. BARTHOLOMEW
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: TRAVELLER
GENRE: COUNTRY
LABEL: MERCURY NASHVILLE RECORDS
YEAR: 2015

           Christopher Alvin Stapleton (born April 15, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and grew up in Staffordsville, Kentucky. In 2001, Stapleton moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue an engineering degree from Vanderbilt University but dropped out to pursue his career in music. Subsequently, Stapleton signed a contract with Sea Gayle Music to write and publish his music.
        As of 2018, Stapleton has amassed credits writing and co-writing over 170 songs. He has co-written six number-one country songs, including Kenny Chesney's five-week number-one "Never Wanted Nothing More", Josh Turner's "Your Man", George Strait's "Love's Gonna Make It Alright", and Luke Bryan's "Drink a Beer". His songs have appeared on many artists' albums including Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, and Taylor Swift. He has co-written with several artists as well including Vince Gill, Peter Frampton, Sheryl Crow, and Ed Sheeran.
           As a vocalist, Stapleton sang lead in two bands before he started recording as a solo artist including a bluegrass ensemble from 2008 to 2010 called the SteelDrivers and the Jompson Brothers. After that, he released his solo debut: the critically acclaimed studio album titled Traveller (2015), which reached number one on the US Billboard 200 and was certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA). His version of "Tennessee Whiskey" was certified Diamond by the RIAA. His second studio album From a Room: Volume 1 was released in May 2017, and earned him a second CMA Award for Album of the Year and also a Grammy Award for Best Country Album. From a Room: Volume 2 was released in December 2017. Stapleton released his fourth studio album Starting Over in 2020, for which he won his third Grammy for Best Country Album. The title track was issued as its lead single.
       Stapleton has been recognized with several awards including eight Grammy Awards, 10 Academy of Country Music(ACM) Awards, and 14 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards. He was named the ACM's Artist-Songwriter of the Decade.
        Traveller is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton. The album was produced by Dave Cobb and Stapleton, and was released on May 5, 2015, through Mercury Nashville.
         Described by music publications as an old-school country, Southern rock record, Traveller received critical acclaim and earned Stapleton several awards. It was named Album of the Year at the 2015 Country Music Association Awards. Furthermore, it received a nomination at the 58th Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and a win for Best Country Album. The song "Traveller" also won Best Country Solo Performance. At the 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards it won Album of the Year, with the song "Nobody to Blame" also winning Song of the Year. It won the Billboard Music Award for Top Country Album in 2016 and 2017.
      Traveller reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart after the 2015 Country Music Association Awards, during which Stapleton and Justin Timberlake performed a well-received duet. The album has been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA) and has sold over 2.6 million copies in the United States by November 2019. It was eventually ranked by Billboard as the bestselling country album of the 2010s. It generated three singles: "Traveller", "Nobody to Blame", and "Parachute". "Nobody to Blame" reached the top 10 on the Country Airplay chart. The album track "Fire Away" was accompanied by a music video. Though not released as a radio single, album track "Tennessee Whiskey" garnered popularity following its performance at the aforementioned CMA awards, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and number 20 on the Hot 100.

Used to spend my nights out in a barroom
Liquor was the only love I've known
But you rescued me from reachin' for the bottom
And brought me back from being too far gone
 
You're as smooth as Tennessee whiskey
You're as sweet as strawberry wine
You're as warm as a glass of brandy
And honey, I stay stoned on your love all the time
 
I've looked for love in all the same old places
Found the bottom of a bottle's always dry
But when you poured out your heart I didn't waste it
'Cause there's nothing like your love to get me high
 
You're as smooth as Tennessee whiskey
You're as sweet as strawberry wine
You're as warm as a glass of brandy
And honey, I stay stoned on your love all the time
 
You're as smooth as Tennessee whiskey
You're as sweet as strawberry wine
You're as warm as a glass of brandy
And honey, I stay stoned on your love all the time
 
You're as smooth as Tennessee whiskey
Tennessee whiskey
Tennessee whiskey
 
You're as smooth as Tennessee whiskey
Tennessee whiskey.