Obit of the Day: Gave Shaft Its Bass
When Isaac Hayes was recording his Oscar-winning “Theme from Shaft” he was looking for a distinct sound. He thought adding a keyboard might be the way to go, until he heard Skip Pitts playing around on his bass guitar with a “wah wah” pedal. That was it. “Theme from Shaft” would not only with the 1972 Academy Award for Best Original Song but it would reach #1 on the Billboard charts in the U.S. and hit #4 in the U.K.
Charles “Skip” Pitts learned bass in Washington, D.C. where he would get playing tips from local resident Bo Diddley. After starting in gospel, Pitts found himself playing with some of the greatest rock and R&B artists of the 1960s including Sam & Dave and The Isley Brothers. The Isley’s hit “It’s Your Thing” featured Pitts’ distinctive guitar riff throughout.
Pitts, who would tour with Isaac Hayes for decades, colloborated with him on the soundtrack for the animated series South Park. (Hayes played the character “Chef.”) Pitts passed away at 65 years old.
(“Theme from Shaft” is copyright 2009, Concord Music Group)
(Quelle: Guardian)
Final Retribution by John Zorn
(Quelle: micah-meowza)
(via philphys)
“Finally, the [US backed Pinochet] military brought Victor Jara and other political prisoners to the Stadium of Chile, the place where the concert for Allende has previously been held. There the military men tortured and killed many people. They broke Victor Jara’s hands so that he couldn’t play his guitar, and then taunted him to try and sing and play his songs. Even under these horrible tortures, Victor Jara magnificently sang a portion of the song of the Popular Unity party. After this, he received many brutal blows, and finally was brutally killed with a machine gun and carried to a mass grave.”
