The Musical Memories of John Simkin: Part II

(1) Billie Holiday, Strange Fruit (1939)

In 1937 Abe Meeropol, a Jewish schoolteacher from New York, saw a photograph of the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith. Meeropol later recalled how the photograph "haunted me for days" and inspired the writing of the poem, Strange Fruit. Meeropol, a member of the American Communist Party, using the pseudonym, Lewis Allan, published the poem in the New York Teacher and later, the Marxist journal, New Masses.

The sociologist, Arthur Franklin Raper was commissioned in 1930 to produce a report on lynching. He discovered that 3,724 people were lynched in the United States from 1889 through to 1930. "Over four-fifths of these were Negroes, less than one-sixth of whom were accused of rape. Practically all of the lynchers were native whites. The fact that a number of the victims were tortured, mutilated, dragged, or burned suggests the presence of sadistic tendencies among the lynchers. Of the tens of thousands of lynchers and onlookers, only 49 were indicted and only 4 have been sentenced."

After seeing Billie Holiday perform at the club, Café Society, in New York City, Meeropol showed her the poem. Holiday liked it and after working on it with Sonny White turned the poem into the song, Strange Fruit. The record made it to No. 16 on the charts in July 1939. However, the song was denounced by Time Magazine as "a prime piece of musical propaganda" for the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP).

Meeropol remained active in the American Communist Party and after the execution of Ethel Rosenberg and Julius Rosenberg in 1953 he adopted their two sons, Michael Meeropol and Robert Meeropol. He taught at the De Witt Clinton High School in the Bronx for 27 years, but continued to write songs, including the Frank Sinatra hit, The House I Live In. (1945). A song that is still relevant to the United States today.

(2) Jacque Brel, Ne Me Quitte Pas (1959)

Jacque Brel was born in Belgium but became a big star in France in 1950s. He was married to Therese Michielsen and she was the mother of his three children. However, he also had a mistress, the singer, Suzanne Gabriello. In 1959 Gabriello became pregnant and after Brel refused to leave his wife, left him. Brel responded by writing a song, Ne Me Quitte Pas (Do Not Leave Me).

In a 1966 interview, Brel said that "Ne me quitte pas" was not a love song, but rather "a hymn to the cowardice of men", and the degree to which they were willing to humiliate themselves. He knew, he said, that it would give pleasure to women who assumed it was a love song, and he understood that. Brel died aged 49 in 1978.

(3) Nat King Cole, The Way You Look Tonight (1991)

In 1936 Jerome Kern was asked to write the music for the film Swing Time (1936). Dorothy Fields was commissioned to write the lyrics for the songs. It was extremely unusual for a woman to be given this opportunity. She later wrote about the first time Kern played the melody of The Way You Look Tonight on the piano for her she thought it so beautiful that she broke down and cried. Kern and Fields received the Academy Award for Best Original Song of 1936. It was the first time a woman songwriter had won this award.

It is my favourite love song as the lyrics captures that feeling at the beginning of a relationship that you know is going to last. The feeling of elation that takes place just as you are going out for the night, knowing that you will be coming back and sharing the same bed. (Eric Clapton uses the same theme for the song You Look Wonderful Tonight). Some people might argue that Fields' song is sexist as it places too much emphasis on physical attraction. However, when she writes: "Yes, you're lovely, with your smile so warm... Lovely, never, never change; Keep that breathless charm; Won't you please arrange it? Because I love you. Just the way you look tonight." It is a recognition that the body is just a reflection of the person's personality.

Other songs by Dorothy Field include: I Can't Give You Anything But Love (1928), Exactly Like You (1930), On the Sunny Side of the Street (1930), Don't Blame Me (1933), I'm in the Mood for Love (1935), A Fine Romance (1936), Pick Yourself Up (1936), You Couldn't Be Cuter (1938), Look Whose in Love (1959), If My Friends Could See Me Now (1966), Sweet Charity (1966), The Rhythm Of Life (1966) and Big Spender (1966).

Fred Astaire originally sang the song in the film and it reached number one in the charts in 1936. I am not a great fan of Astaire's voice and is nearly completely devoid of passion. Billie Holliday jazz version recorded in 1936 is very good but although written by a woman, it is really a man's song. I don't like the version by Frank Sinatra who had a hit with it in 1961 as he sings it with a flippant tone. Tony Bennett 1958 version is not too bad but I have chosen it being sung by one of my favourite singers, Nat King Cole.

(4) Barbara Cook Losing My Mind (1985)

I am a great lover of the music of Stephen Sondheim. He burst onto the scene in 1957 when he wrote the lyrics for West Side Story. He followed this with a series of shows where he wrote the music and lyrics. I have chosen the song, Losing My Mind, from his show, Follies (1971). It the original production it was sung by Dorothy Collins. However, my favourite version is by the great Barbara Cook who appeared in the 1985 production. Cook was a star in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals Plain and Fancy (1955), Candide (1956) and The Music Man (1957).

Unable to deal with her success she struggled for many years with depression, obesity, and alcoholism. Eventually she stopped drinking and returned to a starring role in the revival of Follies in 1985. The song is about the madness of love and the problems caused when that love is not returned. "You said you loved me. Or were you just being kind. I want you so. It's like I'm losing my mind."

(5) Randy Crawford, Everything Must Change (1976)

Everything must change appeared on Randy Crawford's debut album. It was written by the jazz singer, Benard Ighner, and he sung it on Quincy Jones album Body Heat in 1974. Crawford has had only one top 40 hit in the USA when she was a guest vocalist on The Crusaders's top 40 hit Street Life. However, she has had five Top 20 hits in the UK, including One Day I'll Fly Away (1980), You Might Need Somebody (1981) and Rainy Night in Georgia (1981). She also had six UK Top 10 albums. Despite her American nationality, she won Best British Female Solo Artist in recognition of her popularity in the UK at the 1982 Brit Awards.

(6) Dusty Springfield, The Look of Love (1967)

I have been a fan of Burt Bacharach and Hal David since I first heard The Story of My Life by Marty Robbins (1957) Other great songs by this pair include I Wake Up Crying by Chuck Jackson (1959), Another Tear Falls (1962) by Gene McDaniels (1962), Make It Easy on Yourself by Gerry Butler (1962), Don't Make Me Over by Dionne Warwick (1962), Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa by Gene Pitney (1963), Reach Out for Me by Lou Johnson (1963), Wives and Lovers by Jack Jones (1963) and Walk on By and Anyone Who had a Heart by Dionne Warwick (1963) and What the World Needs Now Is Love by Jackie DeShannon (1965).

Hal David has always been underrated as a lyrist and this is reflected in The Look of Love (1967). There have been several great recordings of the song. It was first recorded as an instrumental by Stan Getz. Other good recordings are by Gladys Knight and Isaac Hayes. However, the best version is the one that appeared on the Casino Royale soundtrack by Dusty Springfield. It starts off with "The look of love is in your eyes. A look your smile can't disguise. The look of love is saying so much more than just words could every say." It is written about a couple meeting for the first time: "You've got the look of love. It's on your face. A look that time can't erase. Baby be mine, tonight. Let this be just the start of so many nights like this."

(7) Janis Ian, At Seventeen (1975)

Janis Ian wrote and recorded her first hit single, Society's Child at the age of 14. The song's theme of interracial relationships was considered taboo by some radio stations, who withdrew or banned it from their playlists accordingly. As a result of the song she received hate mail and death threats as a response to the song and a radio station in Atlanta that played it was burned down. In the summer of 1967 the song reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, having sold 600,000 copies and the album 350,000. The version I have included is the one where she performed it with an introduction by Leonard Bernstein.

Although her albums sold well she was considered a one hit wonder until the release of At Seventeen in 1975 when it reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. She was inspired to write the single after reading a The New York Times article about a young woman who believed her life would improve after a debutante ball and her subsequent disappointment when it did not. It reminded her of her experiences as a teenager.

I learned the truth at seventeen
That love was meant for beauty queens
And high school girls with clear skinned smiles
Who married young and then retired
The valentines I never knew
The Friday night charades of youth
Were spent on one more beautiful
At seventeen I learned the truth
And those of us with ravaged faces
Lacking in the social graces
Desperately remained at home
Inventing lovers on the phone

The song was a major hit as it charted at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, hit number 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and won the 1976 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance. The album Between the Lines also reached number 1 on Billboard′s album chart. The album would be certified platinum for sales of over one million copies sold in the US. On Valentine's Day 1977, Ian received 461 valentine cards, having indicated in the lyrics that she never received one as a teenager.

(8) Judee Sill, The Pearl (1973)

Judee Sill had a troubled childhood. Her father died young and she never got on with her step-father. Her rebellion included taking part in six armed robberies. She was eventually arrested and spent nine months in reform school, where she served as church organist and "learned a lot of good music" including gospel music. By her late teens she was taking drugs. In 1966 she married pianist Robert Harris but both became heroin addicts. She resorted to prostitution and robbery to support her habit. This resulted in another prison sentence but on her release she immediately set to work on becoming a full-time performing artist.

Sill encountered Graham Nash and David Crosby and toured with them for a time as their opening act. Nash introduced her to David Geffen who offered her a contract with his new Asylum label. Nash produced her first album's first single, Jesus was a Cross Maker, which was released in October, 1971. The album, Judee Sill, and the single were not a commercial success. Her second album, Heart Food, also sold poorly, but she lost her contract with Geffen when she outed him as being gay.

Sill commented that her songs were written to make people feel better although they were often written when she was depressed. She admitted that she had been given several breaks, but she had squandered them and did not deserve to be given anymore. Sill was therefore resigned to her fate. Sill's friends have said that she lacked the resilience to cope with failure. Sill dropped out of the music scene. She died of a drug overdose, or "acute cocaine and codeine intoxication," on 23rd November, 1979, at her apartment. No obituary was published, and for many years a number of her friends were unaware she had died. A radio documentary, entitled The Genius of Judee Sill, was broadcast in 2014.

Judee Sill's music does not really reflect her life history. There is no self-pity or anger in her voice. Instead there is an intense gentleness that appears to be accepting her fate. Every track on the two albums are worth experiencing but here are some suggestions: Crayon Angels, The Kiss, Lady-O, My Man on Love, The Archetypal Man, I'm Over, The Lamb Ran Away With The Crown and the The Donor. I have chosen The Pearl which is about her search for a drug (the pearl) that will take the pain away.

I've been lookin' for someone
Who sells truth by the pound
Then I saw the dealer and his friend
Arrive, but their gifts looked grim
Now I'm tired of hanging on,
Waitin' for a showdown
Don't y'see I gotta ride 'em out
Cuz the pearl's just around the bend
Beautiful pearl, oh when will you reappear?
Mysteries unfurl and become so clear,
When I feel you near...
I found a way outside myself
To make my spirit climb,
And I coulda shinnied on up
But my rope was made of wind

(9) Nick Drake, Riverman (1969)

Nick Drake, a talented songwriter was signed to Island Records when he was 20, while a student at the University of Cambridge, and released his debut album, Five Leaves Left, in 1969. He went on to make two further albums, Bryter Layter (1971) and Pink Moon (1972). They all received poor reviews in the music press and only John Peel and Bob Harris played it on radio. None of the albums sold more than 5,000 copies on initial release. His reluctance to perform live or give interviews contributed to his lack of commercial success.

Drake suffered from depression and in 1972 withdrew from performance and retreated to his parents' home in rural Warwickshire. He resented the regression, he accepted that his illness made it necessary. "I don't like it at home," he told his mother, "but I can't bear it anywhere else." John Martyn wrote the song, Solid Air, about Drake, and described him as the most withdrawn person he had ever met.

At the age of 26, Drake died from an overdose of 30 amitriptyline pills, a prescribed antidepressant. His cause of death was determined as suicide. It was only with the release of his retrospective album Fruit Tree in 1979 that his work was appreciated. Since his death around 2.5 million Nick Drake albums had been sold in the UK and the US. I have selected Riverman, a song that Joe Boyd, his producer, considered to be the centrepiece of his first album.

(10) Corinne Bailey Rae, Like a Star (2005)

Corinne Bailey Rae released her debut album, Corinne Bailey Rae, in February 2006, and became only the fourth female British act in history to have her first album debut at number one. In 2007, Bailey Rae was nominated for three Grammy Awards and three Brit Awards, and won two MOBO Awards. The album sold over four million copies worldwide.

However, in 2008 her husband, fellow musician, Jason Rae, died of a drug overdose. This badly affected her career and her follow-up album, The Sea did not appear until 2010 and only sold 156,000. Her first single, Like a Star, reached the position of 40 in the top 100. Her second release, Put Your Records On, was more successful and achieved second place in the charts. The song earned a Grammy Award nomination for Song of the Year in 2007. A third single, Weather in My Head, also did very well. I have chosen her first single that she wrote about Jason Rae.

(11) Bat for Lashes, Daniel (2009)

Natasha Khan, was born to an English mother and Pakistani father. Khan was subject to racial abuse during secondary school for being Pakistani, played truant, and was suspended after swearing and throwing a chair at a teacher. She later recalled: "I was an outsider at school. When I came back from being suspended they had told the small group of friends that I did have there that they weren't allowed to talk to me because I was a really bad influence. Then it got quite lonely."

In 2000 Khan moved to Brighton and studied music and visual arts at the University of Brighton. After finishing her degree, Khan completed an NVQ in play work and childcare, and worked as a nursery school teacher, dedicating her spare time to developing songs, recording demos and gigging in Brighton. She released her first album, Fur and Gold in 2006. It received widespread acclaim from music critics but made little impact on the public. I especially like Sad Eyes from this album.

Two Sons released in 2009 was much more successful selling 250,000 copies worldwide and a single, Daniel , from the album, reached 34 in the charts. The Haunted Man followed in 2012. It debuted at number six on the UK Albums Chart, selling 13,334 copies in its first week but quickly went into decline. The single, Laura, released to support the album reached 144 in the charts. The Bride was released in 2016 and debuted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart with 8,242 copies sold in its first week. Once again it got good reviews but failed commercially. I thought that she would have a career like Kate Bush, but I got it wrong.

(12) Show of Hands, Country Life (2009)

Show of Hands are an English acoustic folk duo formed in 1986 by singer-songwriter Steve Knightley (guitars, mandolin, mandocello, cuatro) and composer and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer (vocals, guitars, violin, viola, mandolin, mandocello). Sometimes they perform with singer and double-bassist Miranda Sykes. Their songs often deal with contemporary social issues and often illustrate current concerns through historical narratives. Knightley has been described as the "gravel voiced spokesman of the rural poor".

Show of Hands have a created a different business model. They publish their own records based on their close relationship with their growing and devoted fanbase, to create a completely self-contained way of working. They have a very large following in the West Country and in 2006 were voted "Greatest Devonians Ever" in a poll run by Devon Country Council beating Sir Francis Drake and Agatha Christie.

Roots, was released as a single in 2008. It was written as a response to a remark by Kim Howells (when Under Secretary of State for Culture and Sport), that "the idea of listening to three Somerset folk singers sounds like hell". The song calls for a celebration of British culture in its diversity. However, they were forced to take legal action against the British National Party to stop using the track at rallies. Show of Hands helped to establish Folk Against Fascism. Other songs include Country Life (about the rural poor), The Keeper (soldiers in the First World War) and The Bristol Slaver (the British slave trade).

In 2009 Show of Hands released Arrogance Ignorance And Greed. It was a song that gave voice to the public outrage with bankers and the ensuing crisis that included the words.

All I wanted was a home
And a roof over our heads
Somewhere we could call our own
Feel safer in our beds
There was a storm of money raining down
It only touched the ground
With a loan I took I can't repay
And the crock of gold you found
At every trough you stop to feed
With your arrogance, your ignorance and greed
I never was a cautious man
I spend more than I'm paid
But those with something put aside
Are the ones that you betrayed
With your bonuses and expenses
You shovelled down your throats
Now you've bit the hand that fed you
Dear God, I hope you choke
At every trough you stop to feed
With your arrogance, your ignorance and greed
You're on your yacht, we're on our knees
For your arrogance, your ignorance and greed