Public Enemy charted with “Fight the Power”

Fight the Power Public Enemy

Writer(s): Carlton Ridenhour, Eric Sadler, Hank Boxley, Keith Boxley (see lyrics here) Released: July 4, 1989 First Charted: June 24, 1989 Peak: 20 RB, 29 UK (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 11.0 video, 35.29 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: With two albums, Public Enemy had established themselves as a poltically-charged rap group, making them the perfect go-to group for director Spike Lee when he was seeking a song for his 1989 movie Do the Right Thing. The movie explored racial tension in a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. He told Time magazine, “I wanted it to be defiant, I wanted it to be angry, I wanted it to be very rhythmic. I thought right away of Public Enemy.” WK Chuck D wrote most of the song while flying over to Italy while on tour. He said, “I wanted to have sorta…the same theme as the original ‘Fight the Power’ by the Isley Brothers and fill it in with some…modernist views of what our surroundings were at that particular time.” WK Bass player Brian Hardgroove said the song “is not about fighting authority…it’s about fighting abuse of power.” WK The Bomb Squad, Public Enemy’s production team, incorporated multiple samples into the song alongside saxophone work from Branford Marsalis and scratches from Terminator X, the group’s DJ and turntabalist. WK As Chuck D said, “we put loops on top of loops on top of loops.” WK He said there were “17 samples in the first ten seconds.” SF The samples are largely drawn from some of the most important figures in the development of African-American music in the late 20th century. They included Afrika Bambaataa’s hugely influential 1982 rap song “Planet Rock” and James Brown’s 1970 song “Funky Drummer,” one of hip-hop’s most sampled rhythmic breaks. WK The song did reach the top of Billboard’s rap chart, but only peaked at #20 on the R&B chart and didn’t even knick the pop chart. Time magazine’s Janice C. Simpson called it “an anthem for millions of youth,” WK which fit Spike Lee’s vision for the song “to be an anthem that could express what young black America was feeling.” SF Salon’s Laura K. Warrell said it “captur[ed] both the psychological and social conflicts of the time.” WK The Village Voice named “Fight the Power” the best single of 1989. It has since become Public Enemy’s best-known song. Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 10/10/2021; last updated 10/29/2022.

Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe release album

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe

Released: June 20, 1989 Peak: 30 US, 14 UK Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, -- UK, 0.75 world (includes US and UK) Genre: progressive rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Themes [5:58] i. Sound ii. Second Attention iii. Soul Warrior Fist of Fire [3:27] Brother of Mine [10:18] (6/3/89, 63 UK, 2 AR) i. The Big Dream ii. Nothing Can Come Between Us iii. Long Lost Brother of Mine Birthright [6:02] The Meeting [4:21] Quartet [9:22] i. I Wanna Learn ii. She Gives Me Love iii. Who Was the First iv. I’m Alive (1989, --) Teakbois [7:39] Order of the Universe [9:02] (8/21/89, 24 AR) i. Order Theme ii. Rock Gives Courage iii. It’s So Hard to Grow iv. The Universe Let’s Pretend [2:56] Total Running Time: 59:05 The Players: Jon Anderson (vocals, production) Bill Bruford (drums) Rick Wakeman (keyboards) Steve Howe (guitar) Tony Levin (bass)

Rating: 3.217 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings)

About the Album: The law firm album. It isn’t just that this project bore such an unwieldy name. It also stirred up legal activity. Even though these four guys formed the core of the classic ‘70s Yes, they didn’t have rights to the name. That belonged to the ‘Cinema’ lineup (the original name for the project before it became Yes) for 1983’s 90125 and 1987’s Big Generator, which included Anderson along with guitarist Trevor Rabin, bassist Chris Squire, drummer Alan White, and keyboardist Tony Kaye. After feeling boxed in by the Cinema-era Yes, Anderson revived the classic Yes lineup with Bruford, Wakeman, and Howe. Bruford brought along bassist Tony Levin – they’d been band mates in King Crimson. The result is “a pedestrian effort for these veterans, not as bombastic as some of their stuff, not as inspired as others, but it definitely has the ‘Yes’ sound. She Gives Me Love even refers to ‘Long Distance Runaround’.” WR “Jon Anderson’s tenor wails through spacy lyrics, Rick Wakeman constructs cathedrals of synthesized sound, Steve Howe rips high-pitched guitar leads, and Bill Bruford makes his drums sound like timpani.” WR “The song Birthright concerns the British nuclear tests at Maralinga.” WK “Many of the tracks on the album (specifically Teakbois) carry Latin and Caribbean influences. Let’s Pretend was co-composed by Vangelis in 1986” WK in his collaborative years with Jon Anderson. “The artwork for the album was created by artist Roger Dean, known for designing album covers for Yes in the 1970s. It features two paintings, the front titled ‘Blue Desert’ and the back titled ‘Red Desert’. Most releases of this album represent only a truncated version of ‘Blue Desert’. There was, however, a special release with a gatefold cover, though ‘Blue Desert’ was horizontally inverted in that version.” WK “The album was one of the first original recordings to take advantage of the extended time limit on compact discs clocking at almost 60 minutes.” WK Notes: A 2011 reissue added a bonus CD which included alternate versions of songs as well as the bonus track “Vultures in the City,” originally the B-side of “Brother of Mine.”

Resources and Related Links: WR William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide WK Wikipedia First posted 6/7/2011; updated 7/25/2021.

 

Indigo Girls charted with “Closer to Fine”

Closer to Fine Indigo Girls

Writer(s): Emily Saliers (see lyrics here) First Charted: June 17, 1989 Peak: 52 US, 48 AC, 48 AR, 26 MR, 53 CN, 57 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 6.7 video, 35.76 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Amy Ray and Emily Saliers met in elementary school in the Atlanta, Georgia area. As the duo Indigo Girls, they walked “the musical line between R.E.M. and Tracy Chapman” SG and were signed to Epic Records. Their 1989 self-titled sophomore album, but major-label debut, was a two-million seller which nabbed them a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album and a nomination for Best New Artist. Blues singer Michelle Malone, who knew the duo “up-close and early on” SG said the album “captured the essence of that thing Amy and Emily have always done so well: vocal harmony weaving through well-written, sincere songs.” SG On one hand, there was Ray’s “husky alto…digging through the rubble of she was” SG while Saliers’ “lighter touch [served] as a counterweight to Ray’s fiery passion.” SG The album kicked off with “Closer to Fine,” a song featuring a penny whistle, a reference to Rasputin, and the Hothouse Flowers. SG It became “much more than just a folk song: it is joy, hope, and validation set to music.” SG The duo have played it at every concert since its release, eventually making it their show closer. Singer Matt Nathanson calls it a “magical unicorn of a song wrapped up in these campfire chords that anyone can play.” SG Saliers wrote the song sitting on the front porch of a cabin in Vermont while on vacation with her family. As she said, “whenever you’re in such a bucolic setting, it can make you feel very philosophical.” SF As a recent college graduate, she was wrestling with the impact of academia and, essentially, the purpose of life. In the song’s lyrics she “looked to the children” and “drank from the fountains” in search for answers, only to conclude that “the less I seek my source for some definitive / The closer I am to fine.” It served as “a testament to the spiritual notion that we each have all the truth and wisdom we need right here inside of us.” SG Resources: SF Songfacts SG Kelly McCartney (2/28/2019). Stereogum “Closer to Fine at 30: The Legacy of Indigo Girls’ Spellbinding Singalong” Related Links: First posted 10/20/2020; last updated 9/22/2022.

Bette Midler “Wind Beneath My Wings” hit #1

Wind Beneath My Wings Bette Midler

Writer(s): Jeff Silbar, Larry Henley (see lyrics here) Released: November 22, 1988 (on Beaches soundtrack) First Charted: February 18, 1989 Peak: 11 BB, 12 CB, 4 GR, 3 RR, 2 AC, 5 UK, 3 CN, 12 AU, 5 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.1 UK, 3.58 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 6.0 radio, 99.55 video, 96.87 streaming

Awards (Gary Morris): Click on award for more details. Awards (Bette Midler):

About the Song: Larry Henley first found success as the lead singer of the Newbeats, who had a #2 hit in 1964 with “Bread and Butter.” After that group broke up, he formed a songwriting team with composer Jeff Silbar. They found success with “He’s a Heartache Lookin’ for a Place to Happen,” a #1 country hit for Janie Fricke. While working on a song for Bob Seger, WK Silbar was taken with the title “Wind Beneath My Wings,” a poem Henley had written for his wife. Silbar said, “We ended up using none of the poem” FB but used the basic concept, although they changed it from “a regular romantic love song” SG into a “sort of hymn to friendship.” SG They kept the title of the poem, but none of the original words. They created a demo of it in 1982. Bob Montgomery, the duo’s publisher, SG recorded the song, slowing it down from a mid-tempo song to a ballad. RC They struggled for a year to get someone to record the song, FB getting turned down by Kenny Rogers and Barry Manilow. SG Australian singer Kamahl recorded the song, but his version was never released because he didn’t think it fit his country and western style. WK Eventually it was recorded by a slew of artists including Perry Como, Sheena Easton, Lee Greenwood, Gladys Knight & the Pips (as “Hero”) (1983, 64 RB, 23 AC), Gary Morris (1983, #4 CW), Lou Rawls (1983, 65 BB, 60 RB, #10 AC), B.J. Thomas, and Roger Whittaker. Whittaker was the first to release the song commercially on his 1982 studio album, also called The Wind Beneath My Wings. WK Australian artist Colleen Hewett was the first to release the song as a single (1982, #52 AU). It was the Bette Midler version, however, which became a classic. At this point, Midler was 43 years old who’d already been around two decades as “an all-around entertainer” SG who’d been nominated for an Oscar and won two Grammys, a couple of Golden Globes, a Tony, and an Emmy. She first reached the top ten with a cover of the Andrews Sisters’ “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” in 1972 (#10 BB). She reached the top ten again in 1980 with “The Rose” (#3 BB). Midler recorded “Wind Beneath My Wings” as “a grand, sincere show-stopper” SG for the movie Beaches in which she starred alongside Barbara Hershey. The song is featured at the end of the movie after the death of Hershey’s character. A UK poll in 2002 ranked the “tearjerker melodrama” SG as the most-played song at British funerals. WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Bette Midler FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 731. RC Rod Couch (2015). The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era: 1955-2015. Pages 224-5. SG Stereogum (7/19/2021). “The Number Ones” by Tom Breihan WK Wikipedia First posted 4/18/2024.