Phelps (Catfish) Collins (66) rhythm and blues guitarist, a veteran of James Brown’s J. B.’s, Parliament-Funkadelic, and his younger brother William (“Bootsy”) Collins’ Rubber Band. Catfish Collins died of cancer in Cincinnati, Ohio on August 6, 2010.
Travis Harrelson (80) considered one of the world’s best ukulele players. Harrelson performed, taught, and was a collector of ukuleles. He died of cancer two weeks short of his 81st birthday, in Seal Beach, California on August 1, 2010.
Bobby Hebb (72) singer whose 1966 pop music classic “Sunny” reached No. 2 on the Billboard pop chart. The song was recorded by many other singers, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Dusty Springfield, Wilson Pickett, José Feliciano, and Cher. Hebb died of lung cancer in Nashville, Tennessee on August 3, 2010.
Richie Hayward (64) Iowa-born drummer and founding member of the Little Feat band in 1969. Hayward also was a session drummer and performed live with artists including Eric Clapton, the Doobie Brothers, Bob Dylan, Peter Frampton, and Arlo Guthrie, among others. He was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2009 but died of pneumonia caused by untreated adult respiratory fibrosis, in Canada on August 12, 2010.
Abbey Lincoln (80) singer whose voice and songs made her a unique figure in jazz. Lincoln’s career included outspoken civil rights advocacy in the ‘60s, and for a time she acted in films with Sidney Poitier. Long recognized as one of jazz’s most striking singers, she gained stature as a songwriter only over the last 20 years. She died eight days after her 80th birthday, in New York City on August 14, 2010.
Jack Parnell (87) British jazz drummer, behind-the-scenes bandleader on Jim Henson’s The Muppet Show (1976-81); the onscreen bandleader was pop-eyed Muppet conductor, Nigel. As musical director at British broadcaster ATV from the late ‘50s, Parnell oversaw the music for the long-running variety show Sunday Night at the London Palladium, produced specials featuring Tom Jones and Barbra Streisand, and was musical director of The Benny Hill Show. He died of cancer in Southwold, eastern England, on August 8, 2010.
Michael Been (60) singer, songwriter, guitarist, and founding member of the northern California modern rock band The Call, which broke out with the 1983 MTV hit “The Walls Came Down." Been died of a heart attack at the Pukkelpop festival in Hasselt, Belgium, where he had been serving as a sound engineer for his son Robert’s band, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, on August 19, 2010.
Charles Haddon (22) lead singer of British pop band Ou Est Le Swimming Pool. Haddon jumped to his death from a telecommunications mast behind the main stage after playing at the Pukkelpop music festival in Hasselt, Belgium on August 20, 2010. Belgian police were treating the death as a suicide.
Robert Wilson (53) bassist for the funk and rhythm-and-blues group the Gap Band who had a string of hits including “You Dropped a Bomb on Me.” The group also included Wilson’s two brothers, Charlie and Ronnie. Robert Wilson died of an apparent heart attack in Palmdale, California on August 15, 2010.
George David Weiss (89) songwriter who had a hand in some of the biggest hits of mid-20th century pop music, recorded by some of the biggest stars. Among Weiss’s most famous numbers were “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” recorded by Elvis Presley; “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” recorded by the Tokens; and “What a Wonderful World,” recorded by Louis Armstrong. Weiss died in Oldwick, New Jersey on August 23, 2010.
"The Washington Memorial March,"
It was on this day in 1929 that a new march by John Philip Sousa was played for the first -- and last -- time until almost 60 years later. The "Foshay Tower Washington Memorial March" was commissioned by Wilbur Foshay, a high-flying Minneapolis businessman of the Roaring 20's who fell victim to the stock market crash and criminal charges of mail fraud.
Wilbur Foshay
One of his extravagant projects was the Foshay Tower he built in downtown Minneapolis. An office building shaped like the Washingon Monument, it was for many years the tallest structure in the city. It still stands, with Foshay's name carved in huge letters on all sides of the obelisk, now renovated as a historic site. For many years the Tower's elegant lobby displayed Wilbur Foshay's portrait, along with the score of Sousa's march, which the March King himself conducted in Minneapolis on August 30, 1929. Just two months after the Tower doors swung open, Wilbur Foshay's empire of public utilities, factories and banks crumbled to dust. A year and a half later he was convicted of fraud, and spent two years and eleven months in Leavenworth prison.
Not surprisingly, John Philip Sousa never got paid for his commission. He considered giving it a new name: "The Washington Memorial March," but then decided to withdraw the piece completely, and the music was not published or performed again officially until 1988.
Composers Datebook for August 30, 2010
Duly Noted in Music April 2010
Alan Rich (85) longtime classical music critic for a variety of newspapers and magazines such as Los Angeles Weekly, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Variety, the New York Times, and the New York Herald Tribune, and magazines including Newsweek, New West, and California. Rich also was the first music critic of New York magazine, which he helped to found. He died in his sleep in West Los Angeles, California on April 23, 2010.From Life in Legacy.Com
William Walker (78) baritone who appeared dozens of times on TV’s Tonight Show and in more than 350 performances at the Metropolitan Opera. Walker died in Fort Worth, Texas on April 10, 2010.From Life in Legacy.Com
Gene Lees (82) Canadian-born jazz historian and critic known for his essays and biographies of such jazz greats as Oscar Peterson, Woody Herman, and Johnny Mercer. Lees had struggled for many years with heart disease. He died in Ojai, California on April 22, 2010. From Life in Legacy.Com
John Bunch (88) jazz pianist whose style led to prominent sideman posts with Benny Goodman and Tony Bennett and an accomplished solo career. Bunch died of melanoma in New York City on March 30, 2010. From Life in Legacy.Com
Herb Ellis (88) jazz guitarist whose bluesy playing won him critical acclaim as an outstanding soloist and worldwide recognition as a member of pianist Oscar Peterson’s trio. Ellis died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in Los Angeles, California on March 28, 2010. From Life in Legacy.Com
Mike Zwerin (79) New York-born trombonist who got his break jamming with Miles Davis and later became the Paris-based jazz critic for the International Herald Tribune. Zwerin died in Paris, France on April 2, 2010.From Life in Legacy.Com
William Walker (78) baritone who appeared dozens of times on TV’s Tonight Show and in more than 350 performances at the Metropolitan Opera. Walker died in Fort Worth, Texas on April 10, 2010.From Life in Legacy.Com
Gene Lees (82) Canadian-born jazz historian and critic known for his essays and biographies of such jazz greats as Oscar Peterson, Woody Herman, and Johnny Mercer. Lees had struggled for many years with heart disease. He died in Ojai, California on April 22, 2010. From Life in Legacy.Com
John Bunch (88) jazz pianist whose style led to prominent sideman posts with Benny Goodman and Tony Bennett and an accomplished solo career. Bunch died of melanoma in New York City on March 30, 2010. From Life in Legacy.Com
Herb Ellis (88) jazz guitarist whose bluesy playing won him critical acclaim as an outstanding soloist and worldwide recognition as a member of pianist Oscar Peterson’s trio. Ellis died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in Los Angeles, California on March 28, 2010. From Life in Legacy.Com
Mike Zwerin (79) New York-born trombonist who got his break jamming with Miles Davis and later became the Paris-based jazz critic for the International Herald Tribune. Zwerin died in Paris, France on April 2, 2010.From Life in Legacy.Com
From Mozart
His breath-taking musical gifts were said to have sprouted from nowhere, and his own father promoted him as the 'miracle which God let be born in Salzburg. The reality about Mozart turns out to be far more interesting and far less mysterious. His early achievements - while very impressive, to be sure -actually make good sense considering his extraordinary upbringing. And hislater undeniable genius turns out to be a wonderful advertisement for the power of process. Mozart was bathed in music from well before his birth, and his childhood was quite unlike any other.
His father, Leopold Mozart, was an intensely ambitious Austrian musician, composer, and teacher who had gained wide acclaim with the publication of the instruction book A Treatise on the Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing. For a while, Leopold had dreamed of being a great composer himself. But on becoming a father, he began to shift his ambitions away from his own unsatisfying career and onto his children - perhaps, in part, because his career had already hit a ceiling: he was vice-kapellmeister (assistant music director); the top spot would be unavailable for the foreseeable future.
"Uniquely situated, and desperate to make some sort of lasting mark on music, Leopold began his family musical enterprise even before Wolfgang's birth, focusing first on his daughter Nannerl. Leopold's elaborate teaching method derived in part from the Italian instructor Giuseppe Tartini and included highly nuanced techniques. Then came Wolfgang. Four and a half years younger than his sister, the tiny boy got everything Nannerl got - only much earlier and even more intensively. Literally from his infancy, he was the classic younger sibling soaking up his big sister's singular passion. As soon as he was able, he sat beside her at the harpsichord and mimicked notes that she played. Wolfgang's first pings and plucks were just that. But with a fast-developing ear, deep curiosity and a tidal wave of family know-how, he was able to click into an accelerated process of development.
"As Wolfgang became fascinated with playing music, his father became fascinated with his toddler son's fascination - and was soon instructing him
with an intensity that far eclipsed his efforts with Nannerl. Not only did Leopold openly give preferred attention to Wolfgang over his daughter; he also made a career-altering decision to more or less shrug off his official duties in order to build an even more promising career for his son. This was not a quixotic adventure. Leopold's calculated decision made reasonable financial sense, ... Wolfgang's youth made him a potentially lucrative attraction. ...From the age of three, then, Wolfgang had an entire family driving him to excel with a powerful blend of instruction, encouragement, and constant practice. He was expected to be the pride and financial engine of the family,and he did not disappoint. In his performances from London to Mannheim between the ages of six and eight, he drew good receipts and high praise from noble patrons. ...
"Still, like his sister, the young Mozart was never a truly great adult-level instrumentalist. He was highly advanced for his age, but not compared with
skillful adult performers. The tiny Mozart dazzled royalty and was at the time unusual for his early abilities. But today many young children exposed to
Suzuki and other rigorous musical programs play as well as the young Mozart did - and some play even better. Inside the world of these intensive, child-centered programs, such achievements are now straightforwardly regarded by parents and teachers for what they are: the combined consequence of early exposure, exceptional instruction, constant practice, family nurturance, and a child's intense will to learn. Like a brilliant souffle, all of these ingredients must be present in just the right quantity and mixed with just the right timing and flair. Almost anything can go wrong. The process is far from predictable and never in anyone's complete control."
David Shenk, The Genius in All of Us
Doubleday
uoted from delanceyplace.Com
Rag Time
"Ragtime might have been percolating throughout the black ghettos since the mid-1890s, but the style's first million-seller was achieved by Irving Berlin, with his 1911 hit 'Alexander's Ragtime Band.' It took a white man to really sell black music, as previously subterranean styles hit the mainstream as exploitable crazes. That was the deal: the new method of exchange.
"Ragtime's crossover success excited unfavorable comment, not the least because of its appeal to youth. The Musical American thought that ragtime was like an addictive drug. In 1913, the Musical Courier stated that America was 'falling prey to the collective soul of the Negro through the influence of what is popularly known as 'rag time' music.' This was nothing less than 'a national disaster,' as ragtime was 'symbolic of the primitive morality and perceptible moral limitations of the Negro type. With the latter sexual restraint is almost unknown, and the wildest latitude of moral uncertainty is conceded.'
"Ragtime might have been percolating throughout the black ghettos since the mid-1890s, but the style's first million-seller was achieved by Irving Berlin, with his 1911 hit 'Alexander's Ragtime Band.' It took a white man to really sell black music, as previously subterranean styles hit the mainstream as exploitable crazes. That was the deal: the new method of exchange.
"The link between music, race, and sexuality was confirmed in the moralists' eyes by the 'animal dances' that flooded the inner cities after the success of 'Alexander's Ragtime Band.' Beginning with the success of the turkey trot, a very fast and animated dance that evolved out of the nineteenth-century communal cakewalk, a whole bestiary erupted onto the nation's dance floors to the accompaniment of ragtime: dances like the bunny hug, the grizzly bear,the monkey glide, the possum trot, the kangaroo dip. As Irving Berlin noted in his 1911 hit, 'Everybody's doing it now.'
"In the animal dances, participants made up their moves as they went along. Instead of decorously holding each other at arm's length in the formality of the waltz and the polka, dancers whirled around the floor with their arms and legs intertwined. In the turkey trot, the lower half of the woman's body, from waist to knee, was enfolded in the legs of her male partner. The grizzly bear involved a total-body hug that went way beyond previous standards of propriety. This gliding and shimmying was an activity associated with burlesque performers and Negroes, not proper young whites. America's young didn't care. ...
"The craze went uptown. Life magazine reported in February 1912 that animal dances were flourishing 'above, below, and between. The dancing set in our town must be half a million strong.' ... Headlines like 'Movement Begins to Bar 'Turkey Trot' and 'Grizzly Bear' from Fifth Avenue' tapped into a wider panic about plummeting moral standards.
"This was summarized by a hysterical article in the August 1913 issue of Current Opinion, which seethed, 'It has struck Sex O'Clock in America: a wave of sex hysteria and sex discussion seems to have invaded this country.' Animal dances were associated with the increase in blatant prostitution and the prevalence of the white slave trade: the kidnapping and drugging of young girls for sexual purposes. ...
"The reformers and the authorities did their best to police the craze. Unable completely to close down the halls or to extirpate this dancing mania, they began to target the urban zones from which all this vice had originated. Just at the time when black American music was finding a greater national and international audience, red-light districts in San Francisco and St. Louis were segregated and then totally shut down.
"But it was too late as, in defiance of the reformers and the legislators, thousands of American youths continued to throng the dance halls every night of the week."
Author: Jon Savage, Teenage, Viking ,Pages: 124-126
"Ragtime's crossover success excited unfavorable comment, not the least because of its appeal to youth. The Musical American thought that ragtime was like an addictive drug. In 1913, the Musical Courier stated that America was 'falling prey to the collective soul of the Negro through the influence of what is popularly known as 'rag time' music.' This was nothing less than 'a national disaster,' as ragtime was 'symbolic of the primitive morality and perceptible moral limitations of the Negro type. With the latter sexual restraint is almost unknown, and the wildest latitude of moral uncertainty is conceded.'
"Ragtime might have been percolating throughout the black ghettos since the mid-1890s, but the style's first million-seller was achieved by Irving Berlin, with his 1911 hit 'Alexander's Ragtime Band.' It took a white man to really sell black music, as previously subterranean styles hit the mainstream as exploitable crazes. That was the deal: the new method of exchange.
"The link between music, race, and sexuality was confirmed in the moralists' eyes by the 'animal dances' that flooded the inner cities after the success of 'Alexander's Ragtime Band.' Beginning with the success of the turkey trot, a very fast and animated dance that evolved out of the nineteenth-century communal cakewalk, a whole bestiary erupted onto the nation's dance floors to the accompaniment of ragtime: dances like the bunny hug, the grizzly bear,the monkey glide, the possum trot, the kangaroo dip. As Irving Berlin noted in his 1911 hit, 'Everybody's doing it now.'
"In the animal dances, participants made up their moves as they went along. Instead of decorously holding each other at arm's length in the formality of the waltz and the polka, dancers whirled around the floor with their arms and legs intertwined. In the turkey trot, the lower half of the woman's body, from waist to knee, was enfolded in the legs of her male partner. The grizzly bear involved a total-body hug that went way beyond previous standards of propriety. This gliding and shimmying was an activity associated with burlesque performers and Negroes, not proper young whites. America's young didn't care. ...
"The craze went uptown. Life magazine reported in February 1912 that animal dances were flourishing 'above, below, and between. The dancing set in our town must be half a million strong.' ... Headlines like 'Movement Begins to Bar 'Turkey Trot' and 'Grizzly Bear' from Fifth Avenue' tapped into a wider panic about plummeting moral standards.
"This was summarized by a hysterical article in the August 1913 issue of Current Opinion, which seethed, 'It has struck Sex O'Clock in America: a wave of sex hysteria and sex discussion seems to have invaded this country.' Animal dances were associated with the increase in blatant prostitution and the prevalence of the white slave trade: the kidnapping and drugging of young girls for sexual purposes. ...
"The reformers and the authorities did their best to police the craze. Unable completely to close down the halls or to extirpate this dancing mania, they began to target the urban zones from which all this vice had originated. Just at the time when black American music was finding a greater national and international audience, red-light districts in San Francisco and St. Louis were segregated and then totally shut down.
"But it was too late as, in defiance of the reformers and the legislators, thousands of American youths continued to throng the dance halls every night of the week."
Author: Jon Savage, Teenage, Viking ,Pages: 124-126
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