Orange Clockwork!

Remembering dance music icon Sylvester (born Sylvester James in Los Angeles, CA) - September 6, 1947 - December 16, 1988

But in two different centuries - all at the same time!

Jazz vocal legend Nancy Wilson (born Nancy Sue Wilson in Chillicothe, OH) - February 20, 1937 - December 13, 2018, RIP

Born on this day: December 8, 1925 - Entertainer extraordinaire Sammy Davis, Jr. (born Samuel George Davis, Jr. in Harlem, New York City, NY) Happy Birthday to this entertainment icon on what would have been his 93rd Birthday.

Prince Outfit Appreciation: Headwraps

Giveaway Contest: We’re giving away fifteen paperback classics that were hand-picked by you! Won’t this collection look lovely on your shelf? :D To win these classics, you must: 1) be following macrolit on Tumblr (yes, we will check. :P), and 2) reblog this post. We will choose a random winner on December 29, at which time we’ll start a new giveaway. And yes, we’ll ship to any country. Easy, right? Good luck!

Prince

Prince

On this day in music history: December 5, 1969 - “Let It Bleed”, the eighth UK (tenth US) album by The Rolling Stones is released. Produced by Jimmy Miller, it is recorded at Olympic Studios in London and Elektra Studios in Los Angeles, CA from November 1968, February - November 1969. After the critical and commercial success of “Beggar’s Banquet”, The Rolling Stones begin work on the follow up. The first track recorded is “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” in November 1968, first surfacing as the B-side of “Honky Tonk Women” in July of 1969. After a brief break, the main sessions get underway in February of 1969 in London. However, with Brian Jones largely sidelined by drugs and alcohol, he only plays on “You Got The Silver” and “Midnight Rambler” before he is fired. His replacement is Mick Taylor, who becomes a major asset to The Stones for his exemplary musicianship. Originally scheduled for release in the Summer, numerous delays result in the album not being completed until later in the year. Recording part of the project in L.A., Jagger and Richards decide that the song “Gimme Shelter” requires a little something extra. Background vocalist Merry Clayton is brought into the studio, very pregnant at the time, dressed her nightgown, hair in rollers in a scarf and wearing a fur coat. Clayton records her highly memorable vocals in just a couple of takes, making it a highlight of that classic. “Bleed” also features guest appearances by Ry Cooder, Nicky Hopkins, Al Kooper, Doris Troy, Madeline Bell, Leon Russell and Bobby Keys, the latter of whom becomes a sideman for The Stones both in the studio and on tour for the next forty years. The albums’ iconic cover is designed by artist Robert Brownjohn, and features a photo of the LP being played with the tone arm of a vintage phonograph, with numerous items including a film can, a bicycle tire, a clock, a pizza and a cake with figurines of the band stacked on top of a turntable spindle. The back cover reveals the aftermath when a slice of cake is cut out, with the record smashed and other items in disarray. Original copies of the LP come with a full color poster and an application for The Stones fan club. No singles issued are from it in the US, though several become rock radio staples, and is widely regarded as one of their best albums. It is remastered and reissued on CD in 2002 as a hybrid SACD, after the initial pressing goes out of print, it is issued as a standard redbook CD. The vinyl LP is reissued in 2013, with a high resolution Blu-Ray disc released in 2014. The mono version of the album, released only in the UK and other foreign territories, is remastered and reissued as part of “The Rolling Stones In Mono” box set on CD and 180 gram vinyl in September of 2016. “Let It Bleed” spends one week at number one on the UK album chart, peaking at number three on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified 2x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.

On this day in music history: December 5, 1973 - “Band On The Run”, the third album by Paul McCartney & Wings is released. Produced by Paul McCartney, it is recorded at EMI Studios in Lagos, Nigeria, ARC Studios in Ikeja, Nigeria, and AIR Studios in London from August - September 1973. McCartney wanting to change locales to record his next album, chooses the EMI recording studio in Lagos, Nigeria. Prior to and during the trip to Africa, they suffer a series of setbacks, which include band members Denny Seiwell and Henry McCullough quitting on the eve of the trip, barely adequate recording facilities, inclement weather, being held up at knife point, and McCartney having a minor health scare. In spite of this, recording goes very well with the basic tracks being completed in Lagos. Vocals, overdubs and final mixing are completed in London in the following weeks. The albums’ iconic cover photo (taken by photographer Clive Arrowsmith) features a shot of Paul, Linda and Denny Laine caught in a prison searchlight with television host Michael Parkinson, actor James Coburn, boxer John Conteh, actor Christopher Lee, singer and actor Kenny Lynch, and columnist and British Parliament member Clement Freud. The album receives great critical praise and commercial success from critics and fans alike, spinning off three singles including “Jet” (#7 Pop) and the title track (#1 Pop). The US version of the album adds the previously released single “Helen Wheels” (#10 Pop), at the suggestion of then Capitol Records executive Al Coury. It is widely regarded as Paul McCartney’s best post-Beatles album. “Band” also wins a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus in 1975. The album is remastered and reissued in 2010, winning a Grammy Award for Best Historical Album for the Deluxe Edition release in 2012. In and out of print on vinyl since the late 80’s, it is most recently reissued as a limited edition pressing on white vinyl in 2017. “Band On The Run” spends four weeks (non-consecutive) at number one on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified 3x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.

On this day in music history: December 5, 1984 - “Sugar Walls” by Sheena Easton is released. Written by Alexander Nevermind (aka Prince), it is the thirteenth US (sixteenth UK) single release for the pop vocalist from Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Making a conscious effort to shed the “sweet and innocent good girl” image cultivated by her record company and the press, Sheena Easton looks to shake things up with her sixth album “A Private Heaven”. While working on the album with her producer Greg Mathieson, Easton receives an unexpected message from Prince. At the time, he is Los Angeles putting the final touches on the “Purple Rain” soundtrack and film. On January 20, 1984, Prince records the basic track for a new song he has written titled “Sugar Walls” at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, CA. The track is originally intended for singer Jill Jones, but the musician changes his mind when he sees Sheena Easton that same night on television, performing on The Tonight Show. Impressed by her performance on the show, the musician will say to himself, “Ya, I gotta write something for that girl”. The next day, Prince contacts Easton through recording engineer David Leonard, whom both are working with at the time. Sheena likes the track immediately, and agrees to work with Prince on the song. Easton records her vocals at Sunset Sound’s sister studio The Sound Factory on January 22, 1984. Getting on well immediately, Easton and Prince finish recording the vocals in one session. Following up the sexy first single “Strut” (#7 Pop), the even more provocative “Sugar Walls” is issued as the follow up. The poppy and undeniably funky track, laced with Sheena’s equally sexy vocals, draws immediate attention from fans and radio. Credited to the pseudonym “Alexander Nevermind”, it doesn’t take long for the public to realize that Prince, is the one behind this sexy musical confection. It also doesn’t take long for listeners to figure out the title is a euphemism for a woman’s privates. However, it doesn’t stop the record from becoming an across the board smash on pop and R&B radio, as well on club dance floors. “Sugar Walls” enters the Billboard Hot 100 at #60 on December 22, 1984, peaking ten weeks later at #9 on March 2, 1985. It’s an even bigger hit on R&B stations, peaking at #3 on the R&B chart on March 9, 1985, and topping the Club Play chart for one week on February 23, 1985. After the song peaks on the charts, “Sugar Walls” is the subject of further controversy and infamy, when it is singled out by the PMRC (Parents Music Research Center), as one of its “Filthy Fifteen” along side Prince’s “Darling Nikki”. The success of the collaboration between Sheena Easton and Prince, leads to future musical collaborations. Easton later appears on the hit “U Got The Look” (#2 Pop, #11 R&B), co-writing the “Sign ‘O’ The Times” B-side “La, La, La, He, He, Hee”, and “The Arms Of Orion” on the “Batman Soundtrack”.

David Rose: A Face Journey

On this day in music history: November 24, 1979 - “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)” by Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 2 weeks, also peaking at #20 on the R&B singles chart on January 5, 1980. Written by Paul Jabara and Bruce Roberts, it is the fourth pop chart topper for Streisand and Summer. Having previously written the Oscar winning smash “Last Dance” (#3 Pop, #8 R&B) for Donna Summer and the pop/disco hit “The Main Event/Fight” (#3 Pop) for singer and actress Barbra Streisand, songwriter Paul Jabara sets his sights on writing a song pairing the two divas. A joint production between Summer’s producer Giorgio Moroder and Streisand’s producer Gary Klein, the basic track for “Tears” is recorded at Rusk Sound Studios in Hollywood, CA and features musicians James Gadson (drums), Neil Stubenhaus (bass), Greg Mathieson (keyboards), Jay Graydon, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (guitars), and is arranged and conducted by Mathieson. The vocals are recorded at Village Recorders in Los Angeles on August 28, 1979. The track also features background vocals by Maxine & Julia Waters and Luther Vandross (also the vocal arranger). Though the record is an instant smash, it effectively ends Summer’s working relationship with Casablanca Records label head Neil Bogart. Summer is infuriated when she discovers that Bogart has leaked the song to radio early while her then current single “Dim All The Lights” is still climbing the charts. Donna is anxious to see her single reach number one on the pop chart as it would be her first completely self written song to hit number one. She asks her label boss to hold back the new single for a couple weeks, until her record peaks. Bogart agrees, and then goes back on his word leaking “No More Tears”. Radio stations begin playing it immediately, forcing it to be rush released. When this happens, several major stations drop “Dim All The Lights” from their playlists in favor of the new song, causing it to stall at number two, while the duet rockets past it to number one. The uptempo dance track is simultaneously released on Streisand’s album “Wet” and Summer’s greatest hits album “On The Radio”. “Tears” is released with differing mixes on each singers’ album, featuring one or the other more prominently in the mix. Entering the Hot 100 at #59 on October 20, 1979, it rockets to the top of the chart five weeks later. Selling more than two million copies between the 7" and 12" single releases, it is one of the biggest selling singles of 1979. The song is later parodied by comedian Eddie Murphy on his self-titled debut album in 1982. “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)” are certified Platinum in the US by the RIAA.