A tribute to George Martin, 1926-2016

1926-2016

News has swept the world this week of the sad passing of George Martin at the age of 90. As could only happen with a man of such talent and influence, tributes have been shared some of the greatest names in music including two particularly friends. It was Ringo Starr who announced his death of his Twitter profile, and Paul McCartney in a blog post on his website said the following: "From the day that he gave The Beatles our first recording contract, to the last time I saw him, he was the most generous, intelligent and musical person I’ve ever had the pleasure to know."

Everyone knows George Martin as "The fifth Beatle", and the man who produced, arranged, composed and even played on songs throughout the Fab Four's career. Although he reportedly described their tape that he was given by Beatles manager Brian Epstein "rather unpromising", it was Epstein's enthusiasm and Lennon and McCartney's vocals that convinced him to sign the unknown band in 1962. From that date on, Martin produced endless hits for The Beatles, including 19 number ones. Even in the decades after the band's break up, he produced McCartney's solo career and duets, Beatles anthologies and the Cirque du Soleil Beatles show, Love.

But it wasn't just The Beatles that Martin produced. The day after his death, Forbes Magazine announced on their website that Martin has the most number ones of any music producer, working with artists such as Cilla Black, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Elton John, Celine Dion and The Who. Martin also composed for film, winning an Oscar for A Hard Day's Night, and producing both Goldfinger and Live And Let Die. So, yes, in a way, it always comes back to the Beatles, but in my book, that's not a bad thing to come back to.

Now to pick a song to record by way of a tribute. I thought it would be hard to pick at first; do I go for a number one, or be completely controversial and go non-Beatles? I contemplated trying to track down what Martin's favourite track was, though I'm sure as such a private man, you wouldn't have been able to get the answer out of him. Instead, I went against all of those options, and opted for one of my favourite tracks which, on reflection, seems the only choice. In My Life was a hit for The Beatles in 1965, and appears on Rubber Soul, with a certain George Martin playing the Mozart-inspired piano solo in the middle. It was never released as a single so therefore never even had a chance at a number one spot, but ranked 5th in The Rolling Stone's list of the bands greatest ever songs. I have very strong personal connections to the song, meaning it will always be special to me, but in time of loss, it is simply the perfect track.

A tribute to Glenn Frey, 1948-2016

1948-2016

Yesterday, Don Henley confirmed that the Eagles' performance at the Grammy's last month was to be their last. At the ceremony, Henley was joined by Eagles members Bernie Leadon, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit, and singer Jackson Browne to perform what Henley described as "appropriate farewell" to the late, great Glenn Frey.

Although terrible sad news, I have to admit that this doesn't come as a surprise to me, at least for the time being. After seeing The Eagles in August 2014, I was blown away by their singing, their playing, and most of all, their sense of camaraderie. They played the hits chronologically, and as each member of the band came out onto the stage, they were greeted by their companions and the crowd like retired American football players at the Superbowl. And who was on the stage from the very beginning? Of course, it was Frey, who along with Henley founded The Eagles in 1970 after they met supporting Linda Ronstadt on tour.

To me, Frey represents classic, country Eagles. Although his name is on nearly all of the Eagles tracks, he is responsible for singing tracks including Take It Easy, Tequila Sunrise, Lyin' Eyes and Heartache Tonight. They stayed actively performing and producing until 1980, in which time Frey had hits in the pop world with song like You Belong To The City and The Heat is On, written for Miami Vice and Beverly Hills Cop respectively. The Eagles reformed in 1994 and carried on performing and touring for the next twenty two years.

Like most of us, I'm sure, I was completely unaware that since 2000, Frey had been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. The medication that he was taking led to further complications of colitis and pneumonia which later took his life whilst recovering from intestinal surgery.

The song I've chosen to record in tribute to Glenn Frey is Take It Easy, a track that is so upbeat, you can't help but feel better after hearing it. Jackson Browne originally wrote the song but found difficulty when trying to finish it. This was when he drafted in Frey, who added the classic image of a girl (my Lord!) in a flatbed Ford, as well as rearranging the track to something that even Browne admits is far superior to what he could have achieved. I thought the track was most fitting for this passing, as it teaches us all that no matter whatever might be weighing our mind down, we should focus on the moment, and just climb on in to whatever adventure is facing us. Rest in peace, Glenn Frey, and thank you for the words of wisdom.

Happy 70th Birthday, Dolly Parton!

Today, Dolly Parton is celebrating her 70th birthday, and music has been in her life for pretty much all of those years. Growing up as a singer in church, she started playing a homemade guitar at the age of seven, performing on TV and radio at ten, and signed to her first label when she graduated school at eighteen. From there, nothing was going to stop her.

Of the 3,000 songs that she has composed throughout her career, there have been some exceptional stand-outs – 9 to 5, Jolene, and of course, I Will Always Love You, which hit No.1 when she released it in 1974 and of course again in 1992 when Whitney Houston did her own version. Parton reportedly turned down Elvis’ request to record the song, as his manager wanted half the publishing rights. It’s been said that the decision to refuse this deal is what has helped Dolly make her millions in royalties from the song ever since.

This isn’t, however, millions that she's kept to herself. Dolly Parton has used her money to build foundations, a theme park, restaurants, become co-owner of a film and television production company and also a literacy program which provides a book a month for children from the time of birth until kindergarten in over 1600 communities across the world. That’s almost 850,000 children supported every month, and more than 10 million free books given away every a year.

Whatever your opinion on country music, no one can deny that this woman is queen of her empire. I can’t admit that I’m a big fan of the genre myself, but when I hear her sing or watch footage her perform, be it on video or live, I can’t help but smile. Dolly Parton beams goodwill and sweetness with every note she sings.

A tribute to David Bowie, 1947-2016

A week ago today, on the morning of the 11th January English time, not only did the world lose a superstar, but this girl lost her idol. Bowie has been in my life from the word go, my interests in his music stemming solely from my mother. 

In 1972, at the age of 13, my mum was sitting in front of the TV watching Top Of The Pops when suddenly, as she puts it, her whole life changed. There, on stage, was David Bowie, dressed in a jumpsuit, platforms and glitter, with a flash of orange hair, oozing not only glamour but unbelievable masculinity. It was a shock to so many when he and Mick Ronson put their arms around each other to belt out the chorus of Starman through a shared microphone; it wasn't that they were saying they were gay, but they were certainly letting the world know that they were in charge of their lifestyles, their fashion and their sexuality, whatever they might choose that to be. As an early teen, feeling abandoned and alone in a gloomy boarding school, David Bowie taught my mum that it was ok to be an outsider... In fact, it looked pretty damn good indeed.

Flash forward 41 years and she's watching the footage again - at the David Bowie Is retrospective, held at the V&A. She has one arm around me and one around Suzy, a friend of hers from boarding school days who had a mutual love of Bowie (the two of them used to go into town at the weekends, with little lightning bolts drawn over their eyelids with liner). All three of us are transfixed to the screen and bawling our eyes out as we watch it.

I may not have been born until 1991, but that song and that man still have to ability to draw that kind of emotion out of me. I'd been hearing his songs my whole life, it's true, but it wasn't until I turned 13 that I "found" Bowie (I'd like to point out that the age was coincidentally the same as my mother's, although I would wholly approve of this kind of coming-of-age family ritual...).

The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars. I listen to that album from start to finish and it was unlike anything I had ever heard before. It connected to me in a way that no other music had done previously and I got it! I got what Bowie was saying! Except... What is it that he's actually talking about?! The world's ending? Is Ziggy a guitarist or an alien? It took a few more tries and some reading of the lyrics until it all started to sink in.

But that's the wonderful thing about Bowie. Only one man can actually be him, so even as a mega fan, it's alright to get it a little bit wrong. His lyrics can change everything for you, without you actually being 100% sure what they are! I was witness to a brilliant debate between my mum and a friend of hers, who had been adamant most of his life that in Diamond Dogs, Bowie was singing about a "tennis pump". Really, it's all about the feeling - the feeling of the lyrics and music, and the fashion too.

I was in awe of Bowie's looks, which has sparked a lifelong love for all things Glam Rock for me. How could it be that I thought David and Marc Bolan were the sexiest men I'd ever seen, but at the same time I wanted to look like them too? Again, it's all about being in control of yourself.

I've said in a previous post that if given the choice of only listening to one artist for the rest of my life, picking Bowie would kind of be cheating, as you get all the versions of Bowie along with him. Unlike other artists who are a bit more black and white, with Bowie you're allowed to like folk, psychedelic rock, glam rock, blues, soul, even techno, if you're that way inclined... Listen to Pin Ups and Bowie's technically saying "Hey, these are my mates' songs, and they're pretty good!”.

I was going to spend this blog post talking about the day that Bowie died. How it felt getting the news just after I woke up, right the way through to the end of the day, standing on a street corner in Brixton, singing Rebel Rebel at the top of my lungs with two guitars, a violin, a tuba, and a crowd full of people who felt kind of like family, although nearly all complete strangers. I say nearly all because my friend Sally was there, singing along too and, of course, my mum. I can’t tell you how weird the sensation was, phoning her that morning and telling her what had happened. As for the sensation that I have even today regarding his passing, I think all Bowie fans will know what I mean when I say that I feel a part of me has left. 

David Bowie, the megastar, lived his entire stage life as an actor, playing out different scenes across six different decades, and in true Bowie fashion, his final act, Blackstar, is everything we could hope it to be - the perfect goodbye.

So, belt Heroes out with pride, look up to the night sky and sing Starman and, as I read this week, “if you’re ever sad, just remember the world is 4.543 billion years old and you somehow managed to exist at the same time as David Bowie."