Song writer Norman Whitfieldpassed away today and he will be greatly missed around the YASR offices. He wrote some of the greatest R&B songs ever and was responsible for the psych-R&B trip that The Temptations went on in the late '60s and early 70's. In particular, I absolutely love "Ball of Confusion"...get yourself a good pair of headphones, put that song on, and turn it up as loud as you can stand and just listen to all that is going on on that track...if for nothing else you will understand that the problems we face today in America are from original.
We here at YASR are interested in politics, music, and where those two wonderful vices come together...and what better example of that is there is political campaign songs? Until Election Day '08 we will examine the songs that the political campaigns from both party are using...
Let's start with Hillary Clinton and her ground breaking decision to allow her supporters (or not in some cases) to select her main campaign song for her. This is an astonishing bit of political theatre as a campaign giving up control of any aspect of their image is something rare.
The initial group included songs by The Temptations, Smash Mouth, U2, and the Dixie Chicks. When the votes were tabulated...the song that might sweep the first female American President into office is....a song by a Canadian. Celine Dion's "You and I," specifically.
The song itself is an unusual selection as it is not apart of Dion's standard cannon of greatest hits and I seriously doubt my sister (a devout Celine Dion fan who will serve as the standard by which I judge all Celine Dion songs) could sing this song. It is relatively new and appears only on a CD that honors her extended stay on the Las Vegas strip. Let's put it this way, this isn't "My Heart Will Go On."
Song writer Norman Whitfield passed away today and he will be greatly missed around the YASR offices. He wrote some of the greatest R&B songs ever and was responsible for the psych-R&B trip that The Temptations went on in the late '60s and early 70's. In particular, I absolutely love "Ball of Confusion"...get yourself a good pair of headphones, put that song on, and turn it up as loud as you can stand and just listen to all that is going on on that track...if for nothing else you will understand that the problems we face today in America are from original.