American Songwriter Book "Song"... Ray Charles.

[giddyup87]

Interview by Kristi Singer, 2002.

Do you like any of the music today?

A lot of the music today, I don't hear any originality, any creativity. I guess I got spoiled with people like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, and Barbra Streisand. People that when they sing one note you know who they are. I don't see that. Or let's say Art Tatum or Oscar Peterson, or Charlie Parker...... these were creators. These people had a sound of their own. You can even go back to Bing Crosby. he could sing two notes and you knew it was Bing Crosby. I don't see that today. I don't see anybody with a sound that i can say, "Wow," they sing one note and I know who they are. I don't see that and I think it's because the record companies just don't let people really do it themselves. I'm not sure about that, but that's what I think. I think the last people who came along that I really liked were Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. I think they were both very talented people and they had a sound of their own. And tha's what I try to preach to youngsters. Get a thing of your own; get a sound that's you. Don't let these people tell you, " Well, this last record was a big hit, they want you to sound like that." That's not creating anything. Or they have what they call these things that they use to...... it's like a copy thing where they take two bars where they repeat them over and over. They might not create the two bars themselves. They might take the two bars from somebody's record.

You can tell by the last bit he doesn't like sampling, lol.


And in a later question he is asked what he's motto is.... which is "Be sincere"

which relates also to the two individuals he mentioned earlier

 

[arXter]

wow, that whole segment is going on my permanent go-to list of quotes. it reminds me of what our Mike himself said:

I don't think people are being experimental and innovative enough. I know people can easily say, 'Well, we don't have the Michael Jackson budget.' Wrong, you can be so creative with almost nothing. And that's usually the best stuff, when you strip it down to the bare minimum and go inside yourself and invent. -- I think there's too much cookie-cutter stuff.

Michael Jackson;
Ebony, Dec 2007

​

and i need to get me that book! what's funny is that i've just gone through 'In Their Own Words' by Bill DeMain and now i'm reading one called The New Blue Music - Richard J. Ripani which also has some fascinating insights into writing. good stuff, mate.

 

[giddyup87]

wow, that whole segment is going on my permanent go-to list of quotes. it reminds me of what our Mike himself said:

I don't think people are being experimental and innovative enough. I know people can easily say, 'Well, we don't have the Michael Jackson budget.' Wrong, you can be so creative with almost nothing. And that's usually the best stuff, when you strip it down to the bare minimum and go inside yourself and invent. -- I think there's too much cookie-cutter stuff.

Michael Jackson;
Ebony, Dec 2007

​

and i need to get me that book! what's funny is that i've just gone through 'In Their Own Words' by Bill DeMain and now i'm reading one called The New Blue Music - Richard J. Ripani which also has some fascinating insights into writing. good stuff, mate.

I got a good scanner... i'lll scan you a few pages if you want

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Song/American-Songwriter-Magazine/e/9781582974248

there is the list of interviews.

 

[arXter]

ah you're a star, but i've just ordered it from Amazon, lol. thanks again for this.

 

[Superstition]

Always a pleasure to see either of those two bolded names come up when speaking about great musicians.

 

[Dr.Feelgood]

Agreed, but there were also enough singers in the past who did not create anything. And whether now or then that isn't always the record company's fault

 

[DuranDuran]

Agreed, but there were also enough singers in the past who did not create anything. And whether now or then that isn't always the record company's fault

Before The Beatles came along, it was uncommon for performers to self-write, except maybe in the jazz & blues fields. And those were never mainstream genres and only sold to small audiences. Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, & Chuck Berry are a few more famous ones. Sam was the only one to have his own publishing. It has been rumored that this and his label SAR had something to do with his death (those around Sam never believed the official story), because Sam wouldn't sell out to the mob who controlled a lot of the acts back then.