Greg Mitchell has authored more than a dozen books (see most of them here) and directed four recent PBS films. Subscribing to this newsletter is still FREE—so if you want to help fund, maybe purchase one of my books, thanks!
John Oliver is off until February but he posted an online segment last night, returning to his “Air Bud” obsession, after reminding folks they still had one more day to bid in his special wacky auction to benefit public TV and radio.
Trump’s latest ratings via new Ipsos/Reuters poll, but his attitude below that, via Bill Bramhall.
But stop the presses for this:
Jimmy Cliff, Reggae Icon, Dies at 81
The Grammy Award-winning singer died of pneumonia, his wife said. His 1972 starring role in “The Harder They Come” helped bring reggae to a wider audience.
The best music trend of the ‘70s (sorry, punk) was Reggae and it can can be said that Jimmy Cliff, more than any artist, brought it from Jamaica to America. Well, it’s more complicated than that, but no question that the cult (then popular) film “The Harder They Come” had enormous impact among musicians and hipsters starting in 1972 and then nearly everyone was introducing a reggae-ish feel to their own music. The movie was also great, starring Jimmy and with the title song and “You Can Get It If You Really Want” among the best of the decade.
Reggae had been bubbling under for awhile, with Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now” and Jimmy’s own “Wonderful World, Beautiful People,” we even predicted a breakthrough at Crawdaddy, but it was far from a “thang” until the movie got hot. I remember the shock of seeing it in a small theater in Woodstock, N.Y. in the summer of ‘73, although I think Boston and Cambridge had already provided the early momentum. I got to see Jimmy live twice at his peak. Yes, Bob Marley was a greater songwriter and band leader and political icon but it was Jimmy and the film that paved the way for his stardom in the USA (not to mention for Toots, Third World, Burning Spear and others).
Anyway, a few Jimmy highlights follow. First, “The Harder They Come” right from the movie:
Many years later, “You Can Get It.’”
His top ballad, “Many Rivers to Cross,” also in the movie.
But he had already gotten some notice back in ‘69 with “Wonderful World, Beautiful People.”
Also from same year, not a hit in USA, protest song “Vietnam.”
From Tunes to Toons
Bramhall:
Wuerker:
Goris:
Horsey:
Brodner:
Not an original line from me, but this Jimi at Monterey takeoff still an annual Thanksgiving hoot:
“Excuse me—while I baste this guy….”
Photo Finish
Our new feature, from my camera, let me know what you think, today: “Lincoln Center, NYC.”
Thanks for the Jimmy Cliff!
Loved the music. Photo is dramatic with the silhouettes.