Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 27, No. 11
Live meetings are Cancelled due to CoronaVirus.
However, we will be having on-line Zoom meetings.
The next zoom feedback session will be November 6th.
We will send details under a separate e-mail,
and an announcement on the Facebook group page.
If you want the zoom meeting details,
please e-mail us at isgorlando@gmail.com
Hopefully we will soon be meeting in person again.
Please stay tuned for more info.
Any Details not in this newsletter are at:
If you wish to join our Facebook group, please check us out at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/831814850193553/
WebChatter
by CyberToad
We are asking members to renew their dues for 2022. It costs only $5 per year,
and it helps us to defray costs for the zoom meetings.
We have 2 methods of payment. Either paypal to our treasurer Asli Goncer's
paypal account. The paypal access is at aslivision@gmail.com
or you can mail a $5 check to
Asli Goncer
2849 Babylon Court
Oviedo, FL 32765
Either way, we appreciate your continued support.
Stax Facts
by Jackie Mason
Last month I talked about Stax Records and how a convoluted thread had led me to research this topic. The coincidence of two songs becoming a part of my musical landscape. Both songs were written by Stax vocalist, producer, engineer and songwriter William Bell. He was someone I had not been aware of other than seeing the songwriter credits beneath these songs. I wrote about “Any Other Way” and “You Don’t Miss Your Water.” I have always been struck by the simple wisdom of the line “You don’t miss your water till your well runs dry.” I am impressed that William Bell was a young man when he wrote this line. William Bell is now 83 and still writing and recording both for himself and younger artists. He has amassed a considerable portfolio of songs and song credits in his life.
https://secondhandsongs.com/artist/6516/works
Stax began with a set of ethics that I respect and like. When one stepped into the old Capitol Theatre, the movie theatre on Maclemore Ave, Memphis, Tennessee, skin color did not matter. The only things that mattered were family and music. The theatre’s concession stand became the Satellite Record Shop and paid the rent. It also drew people to talk music and some would eventually record in the studio. People like Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, the multi racial Booker T and the MGs, Sam and Dave, Eddie Floyd, Albert King, Steve Cropper, William Bell, Dave Porter and Isaac Hayes. You may learn about the history of Stax or Soulsville at the following web site.
https://staxrecords.com/history/ I had always assumed that the name Stax was a reference to a stack of 45 rpm records and the record label did have a logo of a stack of records on it. Yet here is my first Stax Fact: “Est. 1957, includes Volt Records and other subsidiary labels) Stax Records is synonymous with Southern soul music. Originally known as Satellite, the Memphis company was founded in 1957 by Jim Stewart and co-owned with his sister, Estelle Axton, and took its new name in 1961 from the first two letters of their last names.”
Otis Redding arrived at Stax in 1962. He would become the main male singer on the Stax label until his untimely death in an airplane crash in 1967. Ray Davies of The Kinks expressed surprise that Redding had written “Respect.” Later covered by Aretha Franklin. Otis actually did write a lot of songs, many with guitarist Steve Cropper. These would include the monster hit “Sitting On The Dock of the Bay.” Here is a list of songs that he wrote or co-wrote. https://secondhandsongs.com/artist/388/works
One of my main goals in these articles is to ferret out the composer’s approach to writing. I think this statement explains his methodology at that time “He arranged his songs as he wrote them, singing horn and rhythm parts to the musicians and, in general, sculpting his total sound. That sound, the Stax signature, would resonate for decades to come.”
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Otis-Redding I think at the beginning William Bell employed the same approach.
This loose creative approach illustrates the difference between Stax and Motown. The musicians at Stax were “head musicians.” They didn’t use sheet music. They wrote, composed, arranged and created on the fly. The control booth was open to the musicians. I don’t think that was the case at other studios. I think that approach created a looser, more flexible sound.
I have always wondered what the MG in Booker T and the MGs stood for. Here’s my second Stax Fact. I had thought it may be for the British car manufacturer Morris Garages. “At first, their name was thought to be in tribute to producer Chips Moman’s car. Then, it was said to stand for Memphis Group. Bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn would later laughingly tell people it was an abbreviation for “musical geniuses.” So we don’t really know for sure. I prefer Duck’s explanation.
Stax is still around. There’s a Stax museum in Memphis. William Bell still contributes. I will leave you with this link to a fine interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYzVzI1zE7A
I am still roaming the winding passages of The Tower of Song.
ISG Bulletin Board
Meeting space graciously provided by Central Florida Musicians Association,
Local 389. You are invited to join the largest union in the world, representing the
interests of the professional musician. Visit their website at afm389.org for more
information. You may reach them by phone at: 407-894-8666.
Why isn't your gig or live stream announced here? Members in good standing call SusieCool
with your appearance schedule! 407-760-2153 or e-mail her the details at isgorlando@gmail.com
If you are interested in open mics in the Central Florida area, SusieCool has compiled a list.
Steve Hodak hosts several newly listed open mics on the East coast.
https://sites.google.com/site/susiecoolsongs/Home/open-mic-directory-central-florida
SusieCool is the admin for a Facebook group called "Orlando Creative Music Network"
where we give out info on songwriter meetings, playing circles, open mics, workshops and concerts.
We have a Facebook page for this group if you want to join.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/274152179716552/
No Critique scores for October, since no live meeting.
New members and guests are always welcome!
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