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Friday, February 1, 2019

The Writings Life 2/1 - Hitting High & Low Notes

As the cliché goes: "You learn somethin' new every day." As I was scanning youtube for funny wrestling clips, I came across one of a musician I'd never heard of, whose work I've heard thousands of times. Born in 1935, Carol Kaye has had a phenomenal career behind the scenes. She is one of the most prolific and widely heard bass guitarists in rock and pop, having played on an estimated 10,000 recordings. She began playing guitar in her early teens, and performed regularly on the Los Angeles jazz and big band circuit. She started doing sessions in 1957, and worked with the likes of Phil Spector and Brian Wilson. After a bassist failed to show up to a session in 1963, she switched to that instrument, quickly making a name for herself as one of the most in-demand players of the '60s. She moved into playing on film soundtracks later in the decade, particularly for Quincy Jones and Lalo Schifrin. (Facts from Wiki) Here are her top ten personal favorites, compiled at musicradar.com:
The Beach Boys - Sloop John B (1966) (One of the most brilliantly produced records of all time. She also played on the uncannily inventive Good Vibrations.)
Nancy Sinatra - These Boots Are Made For Walkin' (1968) (I bet most people of a certain age can conjure the bass line in their minds.)
Sam Cooke - Summertime (1957)
Ray Charles - America The Beautiful (1972)
Ray Charles - In The Heat Of The Night (1967)
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman (1968)
Lou Rawls - A Natural Man (1971)
Barbra Streisand - The Way We Were (1973)
Frank & Nancy Sinatra - Somethin' Stupid (1967)
Joe Cocker - Feelin' Alright (1969)
I'll add another that boomers would easily conjure: Sonny & Cher - The Beat Goes On  (1967)
And here is this wonderful talent in her heyday:


Most folks, including yours truly, are stupid about love at some point in their lives. A 14-year-old Florida girl has joined the legions of the crazed, as reported in the Weird But True column in today's NY Post. Hot to get to a rendezvous, she hatched a novel scheme. She had a pizza sent to her neighbors, and while the delivery guy approached the house, she emerged from a hiding place, hopped into the car, and took off. She was busted awhile later and faces a charge of grand larceny. The "I did it for love" defense probably won't hold up in court. As Rod Stewart famously sang in Passion: "Once in love you're never out of danger/ One hot night spent with a stranger..."

The Knicks, terrible for so long, were supposed to be building around Kristaps Porzingis. Suddenly they've changed course, dealing him to the Mavericks in a blockbuster move. I laughed when I heard the news. Sports is always about "What have you done for me lately." Although the seven-foot-three Latvian seems to have enormous potential, he has been injury prone and his play, when he managed to get on the court, was erratic. And he seemed a prima donna in the making. I believe the team made the right move. The contracts of two of the players they've received in return will expire at the end of the season, which will give them enormous cap space to acquire free agents. And the two number one draft picks that were part of the package are valuable even if management chooses to trade them. And maybe Porzingis will benefit playing with Germany's Dirk Nowitzki, future Hall of Famer, greatest player ever to come out of Europe. Then again, what do I know commenting on a sport I don't even watch?

I respect Dr. Ben Carson, now head of Housing and Urban Development, but I expect only disaster whenever the federal government steps in to fix a problem, as it has with NYCHA, which by the accounts in the papers seems a real mess. Some people in city-owned buildings have been going without heat during this cold snap, a disgrace. I hope Carson proves me wrong.

Too cold for the book shop. After two days on the shelf, I'm eager to get back at it manana.

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