BILL WITHERS (1938 - 2020)

Bill Withers, the smooth-voice behind the hit songs, "Lean On Me" and "Lovely Day", has sadly passed away at the age of eighty-one. The gifted folk-soul singer/songwriter died from heart complications on March 30th. Withers had kept a low profile over the years (with recent appearances in a 2009 documentary, "Still Bill" and during his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 which he disappointingly did not perform) and hadn't recorded any new music in the last thirty-five years.

William Harrison Withers Jr. was the youngest of six children born in the small coal-mining town of Slab Fork, WV. He had a stutter as a child which made it difficult for him to fit in. At seventeen, Withers joined the Navy where he would begin to become interested in singing and songwriting. After serving for nine years, he moved to Los Angeles to try a career in music in 1967. Withers made demos and performed in clubs around town for a number of years before he got a chance to audition for Clarence Avant, owner of Sussex Records.

Withers was signed to the label with musician, Booker T. Jones assigned to produce his debut album. "Just as I Am" was released in 1971 and was an immediate success thanks to the singles, "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Grandma's Hands" which Withers had written. This would lead to him becoming a popular performer and sought-after writer and producer. Not long after his acclaimed live album recorded at Carnegie Hall was released, Sussex Records folded and Withers would sign with Columbia Records in 1975.

However, this was not a smooth pairing as the label would continuously not approve songs he would write for his albums, causing friction between the artist and Columbia. Withers released three albums (with only "Lovely Day" from "Menagerie" in 1977 was a significant hit) and would release one last album in 1985, "Watching You Watching Me" after an eight year hiatus between records. With some of the rejected songs he had written back in 1982 approved for what would ultimately be his final album (and were actually released as singles), Withers was done butting heads with label executives and refused to re-sign with Columbia Records and would leave the music business.

Withers was married to actress, Denise Nicholas in 1973, while she co-starred on the sitcom, "Room 222". After her claims of domestic violence, the couple divorced the following year. He is survived by his second wife, Marcia Johnson, who he married in 1976, and they had two children, Todd and Kori.

NUMBER ONE FLASHBACK

The number one song in the U.S. during this week back in 1990 was "Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles. This would become the only major hit for the Canadian singer with this bluesy rock tune paying loving tribute to the King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley.

She was born Alannah Byles in 1958 on Christmas Day in Toronto, Canada and the daughter of William Douglas Byles, an early pioneer in the country's broadcasting industry. Her childhood was focused on learning to write and play music. At eighteen, Byles began to pursue a career in music, performing with bands doing rock covers and polishing up her own original material. After changing her surname to "Myles", she managed to get her demos in the hands of executives at Atlantic Records and was signed to the label in 1987.

While working on songs for her debut album, songwriter, Christopher Ward (who was Myles' boyfriend at the time) was inspired during his trip to Memphis by a bus filled with Elvis Presley fans riding to Graceland. He brought a song idea to Myles' producer, David Tyson and made a demo with Myles. However, the record label would give the song to American country singer, Robin Lee to record. Myles still went ahead and made her own version of "Black Velvet" for her album.

"Black Velvet" by Myles was released first in Canada in 1989, reaching the top-ten on the pop chart. After the song was released to the rest of the world by 1990, "Black Velvet" become a major international top-ten hit, peaking at number one in four countries, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US. Myles would win the Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for the song and the Canadian Juno Award for Single of the Year. Robin Lee's version of "Black Velvet" was released two months after Myles' and also found some success, charting at number twelve on the Billboard Hot Country Songs.

This song has remained the biggest hit for Myles in the US although she would later have three more top-ten singles in her native Canada including her first number one song there, "Song Instead of a Kiss" in 1992.



And as a bonus, here is Robin Lee's more country version of "Black Velvet":

2020 NATIONAL RECORDING REGISTRY

"The Chronic", the debut solo album from rapper/producer and member of N.W.A., Dr Dre; a blues classic, "Me and My Chauffeur Blues" from guitarist, Memphis Minnie, Dusty Springfield's iconic soul album, "Dusty In Memphis", Whitney Houston's mesmerizing cover of Dolly Parton's song, "I Will Always Love You" from "The Bodyguard" soundtrack, the original cast recording of the Broadway musical, "Fiddler On The Roof" and the disco-anthem-turned-wedding reception staple, "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People are some of this year's selections to be inducted in to the National Recording Registry.

The Recording Registry is an extension of the passage by Congress in 2000 of the National Recording Preservation Act. Each year the Library of Congress oversees the selection of 25 recordings, which must be at least 10 years old at the time of induction, and deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" and this latest group brings the total number of recordings in the registry to 550.

Here is the complete list of the twenty-five selections entered in to the 2020 Recording Registry:

"Whispering" (single) - Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra (1920)
"Protesta per Sacco e Vanzetti" (singles) - Compagnia Columbia (1927)
"Sacco e Vanzetti" (single) - Raoul Romito (1927)
"La Chicharronera" - Narciso Martinez and Santiago Almeida (1936)
"Arch Oboler’s Plays" - episode from “The Bathysphere.” (November 18, 1939)
"Me and My Chauffeur Blues" (single) - Memphis Minnie (1941)



"The 1951 National League tiebreaker: New York Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers" — Russ Hodges, announcer (October 3, 1951)
Puccini’s "Tosca" (album) - Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Angelo Mercuriali, Tito Gobbi, Melchiorre Luise, Dario Caselli and Victor de Sabata (1953)
"Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" (single) - Allan Sherman (1963)



"WGBH broadcast of the Boston Symphony on the day of the John F. Kennedy assassination" - Boston Symphony Orchestra (1963)
"Fiddler on the Roof" - original Broadway cast album (1964)
"Make the World Go Away" (single) - Eddy Arnold (1965)



"Hiromi Lorraine Sakata Collection of Afghan Traditional Music" - (1966-67; 1971-73)
"Wichita Lineman" (single) - Glen Campbell (1968)



"Dusty in Memphis" (album) - Dusty Springfield  (1969)



"Mister Rogers Sings 21 Favorite Songs From ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’" (album) - Fred Rogers (1973)
"Cheap Trick at Budokan" (album) - Cheap Trick (1978)
“"Holst: Suite No. 1 in E-Flat, Suite No. 2 in F / Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks / Bach: Fantasia in G" - Frederick Fennell and the Cleveland Symphonic Winds (1978)
"Y.M.C.A." (single) - Village People (1978)



"A Feather on the Breath of God" - Gothic Voices; Christopher Page, conductor; Hildegard von Bingen, composer (1982)
"Private Dancer" (album) - Tina Turner (1984)



"Ven Conmigo" (album) - Selena (1990)
"The Chronic" (album) - Dr. Dre (1992)



"I Will Always Love You" (single) - Whitney Houston (1992)
"Concert in the Garden" (album) - Maria Schneider Orchestra (2004)
"Percussion Concerto" (album) - Colin Currie (2008)

I'M ALIVE

When Norah Jones appeared on the scene in 2002 with her debut album, "Come Away With Me", she managed to make smooth, easy-listening music commercially viable again in pop music which hadn't been done in quite a long time. The album's merging of folk, blues and a heavy leaning of jazz along with the single, "Don't Know Why" helped the singer/songwriter win eight Grammy Awards including Album of The Year and, to date, sell an incredible twenty-seven million copies worldwide.

After all of this immediate success, Jones resisted being labeled a "jazz artist" and set out to prove she was much more than that. Her subsequent albums included country, rock, indie pop and she teamed-up to record with a variety of performers from all genres of music.

Last year, Jones worked with musicians/producers, Jeff Tweedy and Thomas Bartlett on "Begin Again", a collection of eclectic singles that were created in the moment with minimal preparation and time in the studio. With many demo tracks not used, this lead to Jones preparing to release another album, "Pick Me Up Off The Floor" which is due in May. The first single, "I'm Alive" was co-written with Tweedy and his son, Spencer plays drums on the track. The song may give off a breezy vibe yet it deals with a darker subject involving women trying to stay empowered and optimistic while coping with oppression from a male-dominated society. Check out the music video for "I'm Alive":

XANADU

After her acting debut in the incredibly successful film adaption of the Broadway musical "Grease", Olivia Newton-John became an in-demand commodity in cinema. The Australian singer was the Taylor Swift of her day, having transitioned from popular country crooner to a major pop performer and now had become a freshly anointed movie star. Newton-John had her choice of projects and decided to accept a role in another musical, "Xanadu" which was loosely based on the 1947 Rita Hayworth musical comedy, "Down To Earth". Michael Beck, hot off of his role in "The Warriors", and screen legend, Gene Kelly filled out the rest of the cast in this movie about a mythological muse who helps a frustrated artist and a former big-band clarinetist open a roller disco.

It was not a good sign when Universal Studios cancelled the press screening for "Xanadu" before it was released in 1980 and the film would ultimately become a notable critical and commercial flop. This would effectively bring an end to Newton-John's burgeoning movie career, cool down Beck's rise as a film star and would sadly be Kelly's final appearance on screen. And "Xanadu" (along with another screen musical that came out that year, the completely unwatchable, "Can't Stop The Music" which starred the Village People) would become the inspiration for the creation of the Golden Raspberry Awards (or as they would later be known as the Razzies) which are given for "failure in cinematic achievements".

But there would be one bright spot and that was the soundtrack for the movie. Part of the record featured ONJ with songs written by her long-time producer, John Farrar with the British art-rock group, Electric Light Orchestra filling out the rest of the album. With the release of Newton-John's singles, "Magic" (which went to number one in the US for four weeks), "Suddenly" (a duet with Cliff Richard) and Electric Light Orchestra's "I'm Alive", "All Over The World" and the title track (which ONJ and ELO teamed-up), these popular songs helped the soundtrack become a best-selling sensation, with millions of copies sold across the globe.

Now I would never say that "Xanadu" was actually a good film but I did find moments of  blissful joy in some of it's silly musical numbers and appealing cast. And many others eventually did as well with "Xanadu" over time becoming a crowd-pleasing, cult classic. This lead to "Xanadu" inspiring a stage musical in 2007 that was a fun parody of the movie, earning Tony Award nominations for Best Musical and Book. Enjoy some highlight clips from "Xanadu" which perfectly displays how these numbers work better as a music video and far less than a part of an entire movie:

KENNY ROGERS (1938 - 2020)

Kenny Rogers, a gifted musician who found his greatest success as a country singer who crossed over to the pop charts throughout the 1980's, has passed away on March 21st at the age of eighty-one. "The Gambler", the song which would become Rogers' signature tune, was written by Don Schlitz and had shopped it around for an artist to record it. After several singers taking a stab (including Johnny Cash), it would be Rogers's version that would became a worldwide smash in 1978. It would reach number one on the country chart, crossed over to the pop chart and would win the singer a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. Even a series of television movies starring Rogers was inspired by the character of this song.

Rogers was born in Houston, TX, the fourth of eight children to Edward and Lucille Rogers. He learned to play the bass guitar and formed his first band as a teen in high school with a doo-wop group called the Scholars. Rogers found his first taste of commercial success in 1957 with the single, "That Crazy Feeling", a minor solo hit, with him making an appearance on the television show, American Bandstand. With not much happening for him after that, he would join the jazz outfit, the Bobby Doyle Three playing bass and later became a part of the folk group, The New Christy Minstrels in 1966.

Not content with his place in this band, Rogers, along with several other members, Mike Settle, Terry Williams, and Thelma Camacho left to form, the First Edition the following year. The band's sound merged country, rock and pop and scored their first hit, "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)", a psychedelic pop song with Rogers singing lead vocals that reached number five on the pop chart. More hits followed including "Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town", "Reuben James", "Something’s Burning" and "Tell It All Brother" until The First Edition ended in 1976. After going to work again as a solo artist, Rogers had his first major commercial success with "Lucille" which reached number one on the country chart and number five on the US pop chart in 1977.

Following "The Gambler, Rogers became one of the hottest artists of the '80's with hits on the pop and country charts. Some of his popular songs include "Coward of the County", "Through The Years", "She Believes In Me", "You Decorated My Life" and "Lady", the singer's only number one song on the pop chart as a solo artist which was written and produced by Lionel Ritchie. He also had crossover hits with duets with Dolly Parton ("Island In The Stream", written and produced by the Bee Gees), Kim Carnes ("Don't Fall In Love With a Dreamer") and Sheena Easton (a cover of Bob Seger's, "We've Got Tonight").

While Rogers' career did slow down in the 1990's, he did reach the top of the country charts for a final time in 2000 with "Buy Me a Rose". He recorded his last studio album, "You Can't Make Old Friends" in 2013 with the title track, a duet with Dolly Parton, earning a Grammy Award nomination.

25 SONGS THAT MATTER NOW

For the annual New York Times magazine music issue, the focus is on twenty-five songs that matter right now. People are well known to be notoriously fickle; a hot song can swiftly become an inescapable earworm that reaches the top of the global pop charts by a compelling, newly discovered artist who is considered "the real deal". But that song and the performer can just as quickly be easily forgotten by a mass audience in a matter of a year. Sometimes even less.

The songs that have been selected for this issue which range from wildly popular ("Truth Hurts", "Hot Girl Summer", "Old Town Road") to far more obscure ("Ricky", "Stupid Horse", "953") all have something in common. Each track is from musicians who are less concerned about mainstream success (which some of them still have managed to find) and much more centered on creating fresh, bold sounds which clearly express their unique vision. I think it's safe to say that many of these artists will be around for quite awhile.

With this year's edition, you will not only be able to read about these songs but you can now listen to them at the same time. All you will need to do is open Google Lens on your phone, pointing your camera at each tune in this issue and you will be able to hear the music as well as see video and animation. Or you can also click below for the NYT music issue interactive experience online:

NYT magazine: 25 Songs That Matter Now