June Is Black Music Appreciation Month. Post Your Favorites

Seeing: "Love's Been Rough on Me," by Etta James brought back a reminisce of long ago. A dear lady, who sadly passed away far too young, was a musical talent. She sang in a band, played piano and when she wasn't doing that, she organised and ran burlesque shows.

When we were dancing Latin & Ballroom, it was fun to digress from the mainstream, that was how we came to do gymnastic rock & roll. Our dance teacher was a lady who, when younger, had danced ballet. Using some of that experience that dance teacher taught us a sultry routine whereby we would dance with a hand on the coccyx of each other, locked in, crotch to crotch, and seriously raise the dance floor temperature.

The lady that I mentioned previously, who ran the burlesue shows, saw our eyebrow raising routine and got us to show it off at one of her shows. So glad Youtube wasn't around back then, what would you all think of me?

I won't just leave it there, what you might enjoy is the music that had the audience whooping and hollering. Etta James, who else?

 

horseless carriage said:
Seeing: "Love's Been Rough on Me," by Etta James brought back a reminisce of long ago. A dear lady, who sadly passed away far too young, was a musical talent. She sang in a band, played piano and when she wasn't doing that, she organised and ran burlesque shows.

When we were dancing Latin & Ballroom, it was fun to digress from the mainstream, that was how we came to do gymnastic rock & roll. Our dance teacher was a lady who, when younger, had danced ballet. Using some of that experience that dance teacher taught us a sultry routine whereby we would dance with a hand on the coccyx of each other, locked in, crotch to crotch, and seriously raise the dance floor temperature.

The lady that I mentioned previously, who ran the burlesue shows, saw our eyebrow raising routine and got us to show it off at one of her shows. So glad Youtube wasn't around back then, what would you all think of me?

I won't just leave it there, what you might enjoy is the music that had the audience whooping and hollering. Etta James, who else?

Click to expand...
Re: your first paragraph: I didn't know those things about her! I have to sign in to view the video here. That sometimes happens when people posts videos here and it's a pain. ; I'll find it and view it using my Google account.
 
After determining I had to have this song, I remember looking for it in the record store. I just knew it was Luther (nobody has a voice like his), but couldn't find it on any of his albums. The record store clerk told me the song was on Change's album and featured Luther. I knew my ears didn't deceive me. :)

 

Deya said:
And then, Jimmi that didn't bother to convert his guitar for the left hand. He just learned to play with it upside down.

Click to expand...
He's playing a right-handed Fender Stratocaster, and he's got the guitar strapped upside down, but he'd restrung it so the string order is standard. The lower-note strings are up top, the high strings are down below. As you watch him play, his fingering makes it evident.
 
JBR said:
He's playing a right-handed Fender Stratocaster, and he's got the guitar strapped upside down, but he'd restrung it so the string order is standard. The lower-note strings are up top, the high strings are down below. As you watch him play, his fingering makes it evident.
Click to expand...
Sorry to disagree, but if you know how to play Purple Haze, then you can see he plays the bass notes on the lower strings in this video. Listen to the treble notes he plays at the top of the fretboard about 2:35. Read the story of how his father made him play right handed, but when his dad wasn't around, he flipped it around and played left handed. He didn't reverse the strings, put on a different nut, and adjust the intonation back then. He couldn't have hidden that from his dad.

Also note - to get his sound a right handed guitarist has to pick up on notes instead of down.

Photos of some of his later guitars show strings, nut, and intonation changed so he could play left handed using the same chord patterns as right, however it is still debated if he really did this. I am not sure who wrote this, but it agrees with what I have seen him do in every old video.

The way Jimi played his guitar upside-down was truly remarkable. Unlike most conventional lefties who would restring their guitars to match the usual right-handed setup but backwards (with the low E string on top), Hendrix didn’t do that. He kept the strings as they were: essentially playing a right-handed guitar upside down. This unusual arrangement impacted how he fretted chords – indeed many traditional chord shapes became impractical or impossible due to this inverted setup.

  • For example, where most guitarists would use their thumb to mute the sixth string when playing certain chords, Hendrix could instead use his thumb overtop of the neck to fret notes on this string – adding bass lines while concurrently playing rhythm parts.
  • This unique approach also changed up scale patterns and note arrangements which became mirrored because highest pitched strings were now at bottom against lower-pitched ones at top.
  • Furthermore, since volume/tone control knobs were above strumming hand rather than below – it gave him convenient access allowing for swift adjustments mid-performance without missing any beats or disrupting flow in solos.
While doing so required immense skill & precision – these unconventional techniques helped shape Jimi’s signature raw, expressive sound that continues to inspire guitarists worldwide.
 
Last edited:
OneEyedDiva said:
Re: your first paragraph: I didn't know those things about her! I have to sign in to view the video here. That sometimes happens when people posts videos here and it's a pain. ; I'll find it and view it using my Google account.
Click to expand...
Humble apologies Diva, my slovenly grammar is the cause of ambiguity. It wasn't Etta James that I was describing, but a lady who was a very dear friend. Re-reading my post, I can see my error. What would my English teacher have said?
 
While there are photos of Jimi playing a right handed guitar simply flipped upside down not restrung for left hand, the video I posted of Purple Haze was played on a modified guitar and according to my Hubs, Jimi got the high notes when playing at the top, which were really bass strings, by using an electronic device that reproduced that bass note an octave higher making it appear to be like a note played on a treble string. So @JBR was correct, in the video I posted Jimi was using a restrung and modified guitar. My apologies.

Jimi's famous sound was a lot of electronics. He did have great skills and I enjoyed this video where he plays on acoustical right hand guitar, restrung and fitted for left hand playing. This has a blues feel to it and is my favorite video of Hendrix. I am not a fan of a lot of electronic produced sound and I love the Delta blues.

 
Last edited:
OneEyedDiva said:
"The month of June is set aside to appreciate the contributions of African-American musicians, composers, singers, and songwriters in American culture."
The contributions of my people to the music industry whether with R & B, Gospel, Blues, Latin, the Classics and Opera are priceless. Many famous Pop and Rock artists including Mick Jagger, the Beatles and Elvis have been inspired by and even copied the styles of Black artists. There have been notable collaborations, as well.

One of my Facebook friends issued a challenge...post one song per day of your favorite songs by Black artists. I'll start with one of my favorite oldies. I love the leader's voice and background vocals, as well as the words and orchestration.
Click to expand...
Love the beat!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top