Edwin L. Birdsong (August 22, 1941 – January 21, 2019) was an American keyboardist and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

, known in the 1970s and 1980s for his experimental funk/ disco music. Birdsong did not achieve much chart success, but developed a strong fan base, and has also been

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

by other artists many times, most famously by Daft Punk who sampled "Cola Bottle Baby" in "

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" is a song by French duo Daft Punk, released in October 2001 as the fourth single from their second studio album ''Discovery''. A live version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was released as a single fro ...

", and

Gang Starr Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Texas record producer DJ Premier and Massachusetts rapper Guru. For the entirety of their association, they were based out of Brooklyn, New York. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 2 ...

who sampled his single "Rapper Dapper Snapper" for their song "Skills".

Biography

Birdsong was the son of a minister and grew up in a strict

fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishi ...

environment. He joined the Los Angeles Community Choir for a period before serving in the army during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

era. While in the army, he was stationed in Germany. He went on to play in clubs in Germany, and then moved to New York City to pursue his music career. There he headed a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and blues trio but experienced little success. While in New York he attended the Manhattan School of Music as well as

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

as a composition major. In 1971 he signed a record deal with

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States ...

. Under Polydor, he issued his first two full-length albums, ''What It Is'' and ''Supernatural''. Birdsong then issued one album for Bamboo, ''Dance of Survival'', in 1975, and recorded ''Edwin Birdsong'' for

Philadelphia International Philadelphia International Records (PIR) was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff along with their longtime collaborator Thom Bell. ...

in 1979, which included the single "Phiss-Phizz". Birdsong also worked extensively with

Roy Ayers Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Po ...

, co-producing three of his albums and writing "Running Away" and "Freaky Deaky" with him. Birdsong slowly stopped making his own music but carried on playing session work for many well known artists including Stevie Wonder. Birdsong served as a mentor early in the career of hip-hop artist/producer Funkghost.

Discography

Albums

* ''What It Is'' (1972, Polydor) * ''Supernatural'' (1973, Polydor) * ''Dance of Survival'' (1975, Bamboo) * ''Edwin Birdsong'' (1979, Philadelphia International) * ''Funtaztik'' (1981,

Uni Records Uni Records (short for the label's legal name Universal City Records and rendered as UNI) was a record label owned by MCA Inc. The brand, which long featured a distinctive UNi logo, was established in 1966 in music, 1966 by MCA executive Ned Tanen ...

Salsoul Salsoul Records is an American New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre (the Cayre brothers). Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco/ post-disco 12-inch releas ...

)

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Birdsong, Edwin 1941 births 2019 deaths American jazz organists American male organists Jazz-funk organists Musicians from Los Angeles Juilliard School alumni Manhattan School of Music alumni Polydor Records artists Philadelphia International Records artists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania Jazz musicians from California Military personnel from California American male jazz musicians United States Army soldiers