Music Notes 10-6-24
This week we are joined again by our wonderful band. Since it’s World Communion Sunday, we’re going to celebrate the world with songs like Heal The World, We Are The World and What A Wonderful World. To wrap up the service, our fabulous pianist, Jeff Colella, will play a piece from one of his albums, which you can explore, and purchase, at http://jeffcolella.com/music/ .
On the east side of La Brea Blvd, between Sunset and De Longpre, sits the venerable Charlie Chaplin Studios, begun in 1917 and opened in 1918. Chaplin filmed most of his great movies there. When he left Hollywood in 1952, he sold the studio, and it was used to film the Adventures of Superman. In 1960, it was sold to Red Skelton, who shot his shows there, then in 1962 it was sold to CBS, who used it to shoot Perry Mason. In 1966 it was sold to Herb Alpert to be used as the headquarters for A&M Records. In 2000, it was sold to the Jim Henson Company, where today it is used for shooting various Muppet-related adventures and is a registered historical landmark.
It was on Monday, January 28, 1985, 9:00 p.m. that limos began to arrive at the Chaplin Stage at A&M Records to record a historic event – dozens of music stars contributing their voices to a song, the proceeds of which would go towards relieving hunger in Africa, especially Ethiopia. A pet project of Harry Belafonte, the song was written by Lionel Ritchie and Michael Jackson, and produced and conducted by Quincy Jones. The stars, some of whom came directly there from the American Music Awards, were greeted by a sign at the door that said “Please check your egos at the door”, and by Stevie Wonder, who promised that if the recording was not done in one take, he and Ray Charles (both blind) would personally drive them all home.
The final recording of We Are The World began at 10:30 p.m. and was completed at 8 a.m. More than 45 of America’s top musicians took part, with over 50 that had to be turned away. The project ultimately raised $63 million (over $150 million today) and was eventually named the biggest selling single in both US and pop music history, becoming the first single ever certified multi-platinum with global sales surpassing 20 million copies.
What A Wonderful World was written in 1967 by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss, and was intended to be an antidote for the racially charged atmosphere in the U.S. at that time. It has an optimistic view of the world, making reference to babies being born and having so much to look forward to. It was originally offered to Tony Bennett, who turned it down, so it was offered to Louis Armstrong. George Weiss later said that he had written the song for Louis Armstrong, inspired by Satchmo’s ability to bring people of different races together. Ironically, it was not a hit in the U.S. until much later, becoming instead a huge hit in the U.K., where it was #1 on the U.K. Singles Chart and was proclaimed the top selling single in the U.K. in 1968. It was featured in the closing scenes of the BBC Radio cult hit Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and, in a funny continuity error, was featured in Good Morning, Vietnam, where a DJ played it on the radio – the date of that radio program would have been 1965, 2 years before the song was written!
Born August 29, 1958, the 8th of 10 children, Michael Joseph Jackson went on to become one of the most influential figures in the world of entertainment. Dubbed the “King Of Pop”, he made his debut at the age of 6 performing with his brothers as a member of the Jackson Five, first playing congas and tambourine, then starting to share lead vocals with Jermaine in 1965. He began his solo career in 1971, releasing 4 studio albums between 1972 and 1975. His film career began in 1978, when he moved to New York to star as the Scarecrow in The Wiz. The movie was a box office flop, but the film’s musical arranger, Quincy Jones, agreed to produce Michael’s next solo album. In 1979, he broke his nose during a complex dance move, bringing about the first of his famous nose jobs (the first was a failure, and he complained that he had trouble breathing). His 5th solo album, Off The Wall, was released in 1979, had 4 hit singles, and provided him with 3 awards at the American Music Awards: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough. Thriller was released in 1982, won 7 Grammys and 8 American Music Awards, and spawned 3 major music videos – Thriller, Billie Jean and Beat It, all of which helped to solidify the fledgling entertainment channel MTV. Thriller is the only music video to have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
In 1983 he performed at the Motown Records 25th anniversary concert at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, where he debuted what was to become his signature dance move, the moonwalk – taught to him by former Soul Train dancer and Shalamar member Jeffrey Daniel 3 years earlier. We Are The World happened in 1985 (becoming one of the best-selling singles in history – 20 million copies, generating $63 million for charity), and Bad was released in 1987 (his first solo album in 5 years). Bad generated 7 singles that charted and 5 became #1 hits (the record for any album), and became the best-selling album in history (over 45 million copies to date). Dangerous was released in 1992 and included this Sunday’s offertory, Heal The World. That year he also founded the Heal The World Foundation which sent millions of dollars around the world for children’s charities. Many of the rumors pushed by the tabloids were actually disseminated by Jackson himself, who saw them as free advertising. But when the rumors became increasingly sensational, he stopped, forcing the tabloids to make up their own rumors which became increasingly silly and divorced from reality. His death in 2009 brought to an end a remarkable life that, despite the turmoil, was larger than life and brought untold millions to children’s charities around the world. Personally, I remember meeting him backstage at Disneyland one summer afternoon (around 1988) while singing with the Dapper Dans (Disneyland’s barbershop quartet). The word came down that he was visiting and wanted to see Mickey and Minnie. So, the characters put on their heads and went over to cavort for him. I’ll never forget seeing him standing there in a trench coat and fedora (in August!) and giggling at the antics of Mickey and Minnie.