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Ain't Supposed To Die A Natural Death (album)
''Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death'' is a 1971 album by Melvin Van Peebles, featuring mostly spoken word poetry over music written by Van Peebles. Some of its material was used in later projects such as the stage musical of the same name and ''Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song''. Note that this is an album of original material, not to be confused with the soundtrack LP released for the musical itself. Track listing All music and words by Melvin Van Peebles Side One #"Three Boxes of Longs Please" #"You Ain't No Astronaut" #"Come On Feet Do Your Thing" #"Funky Girl On Motherless Broadway" #"Put a Curse On You" Side Two #"I Got The Blood" #"You Gotta Be Holdin Out Five Dollars On Me" #"Heh Heh (Chuckle) Good Morning sunshine" #"Salamaggi's Birthday" Personnel * Melvin Van Peebles - Vocals * Warren Smith - Drums, Percussion * Bross Townsend - Piano, Organ, Electric Harpsichord * Herb Bushler - Bass, Electric Bass, Violin, Tambourine *Carl Lynch - Guitar, Bass Guitar *Nat Wood ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melvin Van Peebles
Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the 2000s. His feature film debut, ''The Story of a Three-Day Pass'' (1967), was based on his own French-language novel ' and was shot in France, as it was difficult for a black American director to get work at the time. The film won an award at the San Francisco International Film Festival which gained him the interest of Hollywood studios, leading to his American feature debut '' Watermelon Man'', in 1970. Eschewing further overtures from Hollywood, he used the successes he had so far to bankroll his work as an independent filmmaker. In 1971, he released his best-known work, creating and starring in the film ''Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'', considered one of the earliest and best-regarded examples of the blaxploitation genre. He followed this up with the musical, '' Don't Play Us Cheap'', based on hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spoken Word
Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of recitation and word play, such as the performer's live intonation and voice inflection. Spoken word is a "catchall" term that includes any kind of poetry recited aloud, including poetry readings, poetry slams, jazz poetry, and hip hop music, and can include comedy routines and prose monologues. Unlike written poetry, the poetic text takes its quality less from the visual aesthetics on a page, but depends more on phonaesthetics, or the aesthetics of sound. History Spoken word has existed for many years; long before writing, through a cycle of practicing, listening and memorizing, each language drew on its resources of sound structure for aural patterns that made spoken poetry very different from ordinary discourse and easier to commit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A&M Records
A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distributing releases from Polydor Ltd. from the UK. Throughout its operations, A&M housed well-known acts such as Alpert himself, Squeeze, Gin Blossoms, Dishwalla, Joe Cocker, Procol Harum, Captain & Tennille, Sting, Sergio Mendes, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Supertramp, Bryan Adams, Burt Bacharach, Liza Minnelli, The Carpenters, Paul Williams, Quincy Jones, Janet Jackson, Cat Stevens, Peter Frampton, Elkie Brooks, Carole King, Styx (band), Styx, Dennis DeYoung, Extreme (band), Extreme, Amy Grant, Joan Baez, The Police, Jann Arden, CeCe Peniston, Shanice, Blues Traveler, Soundgarden, Duffy (singer), Duffy, Phil Ochs, Sheryl Crow, Yellow Magic Orchestra, and Nazareth_(band), Nazareth. PolyGram was acquired by Seagram and dissolved into Un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brer Soul
''Brer Soul'' is the debut studio album of Melvin Van Peebles. Released in 1968, the album introduced Van Peebles as a recording artist, following his work as an independent filmmaker, playwright and novelist. It is notable for its use of sprechgesang, a vocal style which lies between speaking and singing. Unlike later albums, which are more varied in style, ''Brer Soul'' features an experimental spoken word style, with soul jazz instrumentation. Van Peebles' unconventional songwriting style has since been cited as an influence on hip hop music and rapping. Background While living in France, Van Peebles began to write plays in French which were intended to express the ghetto's turmoil and pathos. Van Peebles used the sprechgesang vocal style in these plays as a form he could tell stories in. This style formed the basis of his debut as a recording artist, ''Brer Soul'', which was categorized as a spoken word album. Style ''Brer Soul'' features Van Peebles delivering spoken ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
As Serious As A Heart-Attack
''As Serious as a Heart-Attack'' is a 1971 spoken word album by Melvin Van Peebles. This is Van Peebles third studio record. The album's cover can be briefly glimpsed on the bathroom door in Van Peebles' 1973 film '' Don't Play Us Cheap''. Track listing All tracks composed by Melvin Van Peebles Countryside 1 #"Rufus & Ruby" #"Mothers Prayer" #"The Country Brother & The City Sister" #"Chippin" Cityside 2 #"Just Don't Make No Sense" #"Dearmistuh" #" Love, That's America" #"I Remember" #"My Pal Johnny" Personnel Musicians *Rhetta Hughes - guest vocalist on "Mother's Prayer" *Doug Carn - keyboards *John Boudreaux Jr. - drums * Tom Scott, Albert Hall, Jr. - horns *William Henderson - strings *Clydie King, Venetta Fields, Rhetta Hughes, Jessica Smith - backing vocals Engineers *Robert Appère - recording and mix *Dick Burns - mix *Produced And Conceived By Melvin Van Peebles *All Words And Music By Melvin Van Peebles *All Selections Published By Almo Music Corp./Yeah Inc., Ascap, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ain't Supposed To Die A Natural Death
''Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death (Tunes from Blackness)'' is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Melvin Van Peebles. The musical contains some material also on three of Van Peebles' albums, '' Brer Soul'', ''Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death'' and ''As Serious as a Heart-Attack'', some of which were yet to come out. The musical is a series of 19 politically outspoken, darkly comic, and sexually charged musical monologues that explore the negative aspects of African-American street life and the ghetto experience. Each character has a painful story to tell in funk, soul, jazz and blues-inflected songs. The innovative piece, presented in a confrontational, "in your face" style, is a precursor to choreopoem, spoken word, and rap music. It "contributed to the growing black presence on Broadway." In 1970, Van Peebles decided to transform some of the albums he had recorded between 1968 and 1970 into a musical. According to Van Peebles, "The songs were mirroring th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
''Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'' is a 1971 American blaxploitation film written, co-produced, scored, edited, directed by, and starring Melvin Van Peebles. His son Mario Van Peebles also appears in a small role, playing the title character as a young boy. The film tells the picaresque story of a poor black man fleeing from the white police authorities. Van Peebles began to develop the film after being offered a three-picture contract for Columbia Pictures. No studio would finance the film, so Van Peebles funded it himself, shooting it independently over 19 days, performing all of his own stunts and appearing in several sex scenes, some reportedly unsimulated. He received a $50,000 loan from Bill Cosby to complete the project. The film's fast-paced montages and jump-cuts were unique features in American cinema at the time. The picture was censored in some markets, and received mixed reviews. However, it has left a lasting impression on American cinema. The musical score of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim McCrary
Jim McCrary (August 31, 1939 – April 29, 2012) was an American photographer known for his 1970s album covers, most notably Carole King's ''Tapestry'', The Carpenters' '' Ticket to Ride,'' and Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...'s '' Mad Dogs and Englishmen''. References External links Obituary 1939 births 2012 deaths American photographers Album-cover and concert-poster artists {{US-photographer-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1970 Albums
Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * February 19 – Battle of Lugdunum: Emperor Septimius Severus defeats the self-proclaimed emperor Clodius Albinus at Lugdunum (modern Lyon). Albinus commits suicide; legionaries sack the town. * Septimius Severus returns to Rome and has about 30 of Albinus's supporters in the Senate executed. After his victory he declares himself the adopted son of the late Marcus Aurelius. * Septimius Severus forms new naval units, manning all the triremes in Italy with heavily armed troops for war in the East. His soldiers embark on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melvin Van Peebles Albums
Melvin is a masculine given name and surname, likely a variant of Melville and a descendant of the French surname de Maleuin and the later Melwin. It may alternatively be spelled as Melvyn or, in Welsh, Melfyn and the name Melivinia or Melva may be used a feminine form. Of Norman French origin, originally Malleville, which translates to "bad town," it likely made its way into usage in Scotland as a result of the Norman conquest of England. It came into use as a given name as early as the 19th century, in English-speaking populations. As a name Given name Academics *Melvin Calvin (1911–1997), American chemist who discovered the Calvin cycle *Melvin Day (1923–2016), New Zealand artist and art historian *Melvin Hochster (born 1943), American mathematician *Melvin Konner (born 1946), Professor of Anthropology *Melvin Schwartz (1932–2006), American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1988 * Melvin Alvah Traylor, Jr. (1915–2008), American ornithologist Busines ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
