Topic: Seminal Influences - Innovation
Lighnin’ Hopkins’ version of "Needed Time" allowed for possible innovation because he did not always play it the same way. Taj Mahal added another blessing for change when he transposed the song to the banjo at the end of Sounder.
Eric Bibb introduced three changes in the many performances uploaded to YouTube that did not obscure the outlines of Hopkins’ version. First, he converted it into an audience participation song like Pete Seeger did with "Kumbaya." Some of the longer videos included his introduction that invited the audience to sing. Most just showed them singing the "needed time" lines.
Not all audiences responded the same. The one in Thailand would not sing, or if it did, the camera microphone didn’t pick up their voices. [1] Fewer responded to his request to clap during the instrumental interludes. The only audiences that were able to sing and clap at the same time were in Amsterdam [2] and Hannover, Germany. [3]
Bibb, like the Fourth Street Gospel Band discussed in the post for 14 February 2018, was able to use different instrumental configurations. Starting around 2008 he began appearing with a drum set, string bass, and an electric guitar played by Staffan Astner. [4] A few times he appeared with Michael Jerome Browne playing a slide-style guitar. [5] In these performances he and his backup musicians played as a group.
On some videos he appeared with local musicians. In Italy, Fabrizio Poggi played harmonica, [6] and in Stockholm, Ale Möller played a horizontal member of the flute family. [7] In that Hannover show Bibb appeared with mandolin and dobro players. [3] In these performances, Bibb usually took turns with the others on solo passages.
Bibb went a step farther and wrote his own introduction to "Needed Time." In addition, when he introduced Habib Koité to "Needed Time" the African guitar player added his own verses in Bambara. [8]
Performers
Vocal Soloist: Eric Bibb
Vocal Group: audience
Vocal Director: Eric Bibb
Instrumental Accompaniment: acoustic guitar, often electric guitar
Rhythm Accompaniment: sometimes drum set and string bass
Credits
Bibb always credited Taj Mahal with introducing him to "Needed Time"
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Verses: needed time, bended knee, if you don’t stay long
Vocabulary
Pronoun: I
Term for Deity: Lord, Jesus
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: open-ended with "needed time" treated as a burden
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: Lightnin’ Hopkins
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: alternated between sung sections and instrumental ones. The latter were introduced by the invitation to "think of someone you love" between 2008 and 2011, and with the announcement "it’s praying time" since 2010.
Singing Style: Bibb’s style was unornamented; the audiences sang in unison.
Solo-Group Dynamics: Bibb sang the verses and the audience sang the burden. He often just sang a few words in each line of the burden and let the audience carry the melody.
Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: the accompanying instruments were subdued during the singing.
Instrumental-Rhythm Dynamics: Bibb told Keith Shadwick "having a percussionist will allow the sound of the guitar, which was my first love and something I still love, to come through." [14]
Notes on Performance
Occasion: Bibb appeared alone in remote areas like Ontario, [15] Australia, [16] and Thailand, [1] but more often appeared with other musicians.
Location: the videos ranged from small, indoor clubs to outdoor festivals. Some festivals were in tents.
Microphones: floor microphones in most places.
Clothing: Bibb dressed informally in a colored shirt that was open at the neck. He sometimes added a sports jacket and always appeared in a flat-brimmed hat.
Notes on Movement
Bibb might sit or stand while performing, but was always in motion. He used his feet to set the rhythm. In Östersund, Sweden, Astner tapped his toe twice as often as Bibb moved his feet. [4] Koité used his foot less often that Bibb, and one time crossed his ankles. Later he lifted one heel to mark time. [8]
Audience Perceptions
YouTube comments ran the gamut from praise to religious comments to questions about technique. Some recalled other concerts where they saw him perform, and add their memories of singing with him. Typical was Lani Dundore’s comment: "We needed you Eric and you played. We sang along at Laxon Chico World Music Fest." [17]
More specific was the memory of Nevada Cato, who sang backup on Bibb’s 1994 album, Spirit and The Blues. [18] He wrote:
"Awesom guy! Awesom music! Cant forget when he pulled me out out the crowd to join him on this song in Stockholm. Long live Erik Bibb." [19]
Notes on Performers
Bibb was born in New York in 1951. [20] His father, Leon Bibb had moved from Louisville, Kentucky, to New York where he performed in Broadway musicals, before turning to the folk-revival circuit. The elder Bibb was friends with Paul Robeson. [21] After Leon moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Eric went to Paris where he worked with Mickey Baker. [22] He was the Louisville-born musician mentioned in the post 17 August 2018 who worked with John Littleton.
The diversity of Bibb’s relations with other musicians like Astner was partly the result of his life in Europe. From Paris, he settled in Sweden. Around 1980, he returned to the States, but found the congenial atmosphere he remembered from Greenwich Village had been replaced by one of rugged individualism. [23] He returned to Sweden. Then, after recording for an English company, Bibb moved to London in 2003. After his marriage to Sari Matinlassi, he moved to Helsinki, Finland in 2011. [24]
Availability
I found nearly 30 concert videos on YouTube on 31 January 2018 with the search parameters "Eric Bibb Needed Time." Some are mentioned in the End Notes.
End Notes
1. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by Ed Vaughan on 31 October 2009. Phuket International Blues Rock Festival, Thailand, 2009.
2. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by DeKuijp on 28 April 2012. Staffan Astner, electric guitar. Amstel Kerk, concert, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 27 April 2012.
3. Eric Bibb and the North Country Far. "Needed time." Uploaded by snory66 on 16 December 2013. Bluesgarage Isernhagen, club, near Hannover, Germany, 15 December 2013. Petri Hakala, mandolin; Ollie Haavisto, Dobro guitar.
4. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by dreamingtree72 on 19 April 2010. Gamla Teatern, hotel, Östersund, Sweden, 2010. Staffan Astner, electric guitar.
5. Eric Bibb and Michael Jerome Browne. "Needed Time." Uploaded by randallstaffordcook on 21 January 2016. Hugh’s Room, club, Toronto, Canada, 20 January 2016.
6. Eric Bibb. "Needed time." Uploaded by Alberto Polito on 2 August 2016. Fabrizio Poggi, harmonica; Guy Davis, electric guitar. Liri Blues Festival, near Rome, Italy, 2016.
7. Ale Möller, Eric Bibb, and Knut Reiersrud. "Needed Time." Uploaded by sssler on 18 September 2010. Concert, Stockholm, Sweden, 17 October 2010. Reiersrud, electric guitar.
8. Eric Bibb and Habib Koité. "Touma Ni Kelen/Needed Time." Uploaded by Gudi0510 on 13 November 2012. Harmonie, club, Bonn, Germany, 11 November 2011. Mamadou Kone, shakers.
14. Eric Bibb. Interviewed by Keith Shadwick. "Eric Bibb: Blues with a Pedigree." [London] Independent website. 21 February 2003.
15. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by Opeongolad on 18 July 2011. Festival, Perth, Ontario, Canada, 2011.
16. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by SilkySkillsUnited on 24 December 2011. The Basement, club, Sydney, Australia.
17. Lani Dundore. Comment, 2008, on Eric Bibb and Brian Kramer. "Needed Time." Uploaded by zekezement on 30 June 2007. California club, 1999.
18. Eric Bibb. Spirit and The Blues. Opus 3 Records 19401. Sweden, 1994. (Discogs entry for the album.)
19. bangoutaorda. Comment, 2009, on Eric Bibb and Brian Kramer. (See #17 above.)
20. Wikipedia. "Eric Bibb."
21. Joshua D. Farrington. "Bibb, Charles Leon." The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia. Edited by Gerald L. Smith, Karen Cotton McDaniel, and John A. Hardin. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2015. Robeson was mentioned in the post for 17 August 2018.
22. Wikipedia.
23. James M. Manheim. "Eric Bibb Biography - Steered Toward Blues by Jazz Musician, Moved to Sweden, Influenced by Taj Mahal." JRank website.
24. Wikipedia.
Showing posts with label Taj Mahal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taj Mahal. Show all posts
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
4th Street Gospel Band - Needed Time
Topic: Seminal Influences - Innovation
Taj Mahal laid the foundation for non-blues versions of Lightnin’ Hopkins’ "Needed Time" when he used a lively version at the end of the film Sounder in 1972. [1] While the credits rolled by, he played the song on a banjo with a double handclap rhythm.
A generation or so later, the Fourth Street Gospel Band of Saint Charles, Missouri, sang the verses in the close harmony style associated with country music and used Western Swing instruments in 2010. The fiddle played the melody once in every instrumental interlude. The keyboard player introduced more variations in his two solos; the second was jazzier than the first. The electric guitar played stayed within the rhetoric of country and country-rock musicians.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: man
Vocal Group: two and at least one other man
Instrumental Accompaniment: electric guitar, fiddle, keyboard
Rhythm Accompaniment: electric bass, drum set
Credits
"Lightning Hopkins’ classic, gospel blues song."
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Verses: won’t you come by here, down on my knees, if you don’t stay long, needed time
Vocabulary
Pronoun: I
Term for Deity: Jesus, Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: "needed time" treated as burden
Verse Repetition Pattern: AB-CB- DB-BC
Ending: repeat last line once
Unique Features: treated "come by here" and "come down here" as interchangeable
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: Lightnin’ Hopkins
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: Alternated vocal and instrumental verses; instrumental verses mirrored verse-burden format with two instruments each playing three lines of the six-line melody (AAABBB).
Singing Style: unornamented with unison or timbraic harmony
Solo-Group Dynamics: male soloist sang the first line; woman and possibly other men began a measure later in second line and continued the line with him; same pattern in third line.
Instrumental Style: modern western swing. On Facebook, one member wrote: "We come from backgrounds of gospel, country, blues, and rock and roll to produce a unique sound." [2]
Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: subdued during sung verses.
Vocal-Rhythm Dynamics: drum set beat but only played flourishes in the introduction.
Notes on Performance
Occasion: concert
Location: they were on a stage with a brick wall in back.
Microphones: floor mikes were set at mouth level in front of all the instrumentalists except the drummer; female singer had a hand mike.
Clothing: casual. Most of the men were wearing blue jeans and button-front shirts. She was wearing white slacks with a shirt and cerise over shirt.
Notes on Movement
Drummer and keyboard player were seated; fiddle player knelt; the others were standing. As soon as the drum began, the woman began tapping her foot. The guitar player tapped his foot and the keyboard player raised and lowered one knee.
Notes on Audience
Applauded at end.
Notes on Performers
Facebook said the Fourth Street Gospel Band was organized in 2009 in Saint Charles, Missouri. It listed the following members: Scott Adair, Danny Mills, Randy Shields, Glenn Uhls, and Glynelle Wells. [3] Elsewhere, one member wrote "4 of us are from the nazarene church in bridgeton (yes that is the one that was leveled by a tornado) 2 from Church of Christ, and 1 from evangelical free." [4]
On a website where it advertised its availability, a spokesman wrote:
"play and sing gospel music for Church Concert, event, tent meeting, fund raiser, picnic. Play lot of old time gospel/ hymns some contemporary christian. With a St. Louis Style of Blues/ country mix you will love." [5]
On Facebook, a spokesman added "We can bring from 1-8 musicians to you for your event." [6] He or she assured potential customers "we can play quiet with brushes" instead of drums. [7]
Availability
YouTube: uploaded by Scott Adair on 10 March 2010.
End Notes
1. Taj Mahal’s version was discussed in the post for 10 February 2018.
2. "4th Street Gospel Band." About page, Facebook.
3. Facebook.
4. "4th street Gospel band." Gig Salad website
5. Gig Salad.
6. Facebook.
7. Gig Salad.
Taj Mahal laid the foundation for non-blues versions of Lightnin’ Hopkins’ "Needed Time" when he used a lively version at the end of the film Sounder in 1972. [1] While the credits rolled by, he played the song on a banjo with a double handclap rhythm.
A generation or so later, the Fourth Street Gospel Band of Saint Charles, Missouri, sang the verses in the close harmony style associated with country music and used Western Swing instruments in 2010. The fiddle played the melody once in every instrumental interlude. The keyboard player introduced more variations in his two solos; the second was jazzier than the first. The electric guitar played stayed within the rhetoric of country and country-rock musicians.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: man
Vocal Group: two and at least one other man
Instrumental Accompaniment: electric guitar, fiddle, keyboard
Rhythm Accompaniment: electric bass, drum set
Credits
"Lightning Hopkins’ classic, gospel blues song."
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Verses: won’t you come by here, down on my knees, if you don’t stay long, needed time
Vocabulary
Pronoun: I
Term for Deity: Jesus, Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: "needed time" treated as burden
Verse Repetition Pattern: AB-CB- DB-BC
Ending: repeat last line once
Unique Features: treated "come by here" and "come down here" as interchangeable
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: Lightnin’ Hopkins
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: Alternated vocal and instrumental verses; instrumental verses mirrored verse-burden format with two instruments each playing three lines of the six-line melody (AAABBB).
Singing Style: unornamented with unison or timbraic harmony
Solo-Group Dynamics: male soloist sang the first line; woman and possibly other men began a measure later in second line and continued the line with him; same pattern in third line.
Instrumental Style: modern western swing. On Facebook, one member wrote: "We come from backgrounds of gospel, country, blues, and rock and roll to produce a unique sound." [2]
Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: subdued during sung verses.
Vocal-Rhythm Dynamics: drum set beat but only played flourishes in the introduction.
Notes on Performance
Occasion: concert
Location: they were on a stage with a brick wall in back.
Microphones: floor mikes were set at mouth level in front of all the instrumentalists except the drummer; female singer had a hand mike.
Clothing: casual. Most of the men were wearing blue jeans and button-front shirts. She was wearing white slacks with a shirt and cerise over shirt.
Notes on Movement
Drummer and keyboard player were seated; fiddle player knelt; the others were standing. As soon as the drum began, the woman began tapping her foot. The guitar player tapped his foot and the keyboard player raised and lowered one knee.
Notes on Audience
Applauded at end.
Notes on Performers
Facebook said the Fourth Street Gospel Band was organized in 2009 in Saint Charles, Missouri. It listed the following members: Scott Adair, Danny Mills, Randy Shields, Glenn Uhls, and Glynelle Wells. [3] Elsewhere, one member wrote "4 of us are from the nazarene church in bridgeton (yes that is the one that was leveled by a tornado) 2 from Church of Christ, and 1 from evangelical free." [4]
On a website where it advertised its availability, a spokesman wrote:
"play and sing gospel music for Church Concert, event, tent meeting, fund raiser, picnic. Play lot of old time gospel/ hymns some contemporary christian. With a St. Louis Style of Blues/ country mix you will love." [5]
On Facebook, a spokesman added "We can bring from 1-8 musicians to you for your event." [6] He or she assured potential customers "we can play quiet with brushes" instead of drums. [7]
Availability
YouTube: uploaded by Scott Adair on 10 March 2010.
End Notes
1. Taj Mahal’s version was discussed in the post for 10 February 2018.
2. "4th Street Gospel Band." About page, Facebook.
3. Facebook.
4. "4th street Gospel band." Gig Salad website
5. Gig Salad.
6. Facebook.
7. Gig Salad.
Saturday, February 10, 2018
Taj Mahal, Eric Bibb, Clive Barnes - Needed Time
Topic: Seminal Influences - Tribute
In the United States today, the ultimate tribute for an artist is a reference in a film. Lightnin’ Hopkins’ "Needed Time" was played during the opening credits of Sounder in 1972. At the end, a banjo version by Taj Mahal was played while the final credits scrolled across the screen. During the film, it was alluded to several times.
Mahal began learning blues guitar from friends when he was an adolescent, but developed what he called his "basic building blocks" when he heard the older bluesmen play at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles. In 1964 he formed the Rising Sons with Ry Cooder and Jessie Lee Kincaid. While their single did not sell well, it led to their becoming an opening act for some of the older men. [1] By 1970, he was touring with Hopkins. [2]
One artist who was inspired by Sounder was Eric Bibb, the son of folk-revival musician Leon Bibb. He paid his first tribute to Mahal in 1994 when he recorded "Needed Time" with a backup group he called Needed Time." [3] Once, when he as touring in France with Clive Barnes, [4] he had a chance to play "Needed Time" with Mahal. The video posted by Barnes showed how tradition was perpetuated: Mahal had worked with Hopkins, Bibb had worked with Mahal, and Barnes was working with Bibb.
The three were sitting backstage and had just finished playing something referred to as "Cool on John." One of them suggested "Needed Time." After debating whether to use the key of E or E flat, Mahal played the melody through once in E. Then the other two began playing an accompaniment with Bibb sometimes singing some lines. During the instrumental breaks, the men took turns playing lead, but during the verses, Mahal transposed the music into jazz and then blues variations.
Mahal said when they started, he had never heard Hopkins play "Needed Time." I haven’t seen anything that indicated why it was selected as the theme song for Sounder, or, for that matter how Mahal became involved in the project. Another composer, Alex North, wrote an initial score that was rejected. [5]
Performers
Vocal Soloist: Eric Bibb
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Accompaniment: Taj Majal, Eric Bibb, acoustic guitars; Clive Barnes, acoustic slide guitar.
Rhythm Accompaniment: none
Credits
None provided
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Verses: fragments of "come if you don’t stay long" and "now is the needed time"
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: Lightnin’ Hopkins
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: repetition of basic melody with variations
Notes on Performance
Occasion: Clive Barnes was touring with Eric Bibb in France.
Location: back stage following a performance
Microphones: none
Clothing: casual
Notes on Movement
The three were seated on folding chairs. Taj Mahal either tapped his left foot or nodded his head to mark time.
Audience Perceptions
Sounder introduced Hopkins and "Needed Time" to a new audience. Marc Nerenberg, a Toronto banjo player, wrote:
"learned this from Taj Mahal’s playing of this tune in the soundtrack of the movie ‘Sounder’ in 1972. His version showed up on the radio for a few days. Imagine that: clawhammer banjo on pop music radio! I actually learned it from the radio - the only song I’ve ever done so with." [6]
A couple people who learned the song from Daddy Stovepipe commented they were motivated by Sounder, [7] [8] while another discovered the song was more widely known than a film tribute. He remembered:
"First heard this on the ‘Sounder’ film soundtrack. Much later, playing it on a blues harp on a late night Cambridge MA subway platform, a Bahamian preacher approached me, telling me he knew that tune (with different words) from his own gospel tradition. Amen!" [9]
Notes on Performers
Mahal was born in 1942 in Harlem. His father, Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, was a West Indian jazz musician who moved his family to Springfield, Massachusetts. Young Fredericks adopted his stage name around the time he entered the University of Massachusetts to study agriculture. [10]
In 2008, Jimmy Leslie asked him what was "the most interesting guitar culture?" He responded
"Recordings by Lightnin’ Hopkins, Skip James, and John Lee Hooker are amazing because two-thirds of what they’re playing is in the African mold, and one-third articulates the American experience. The density of African music without blues notes is incredible, because it wasn’t disconnected by slavery." [11]
When Leslie asked him how he felt about becoming an elder statesman for the blues, he answered:
"None of that means anything. What matters is that I can pick up my instrument and use it to go wherever I want with the music. There was a time when some nights the music would play me, and I couldn’t do anything wrong. There were other nights when I couldn’t buy a vibe. Now it’s consistent. The instrument sings every time I pick it up because I stopped wrestling over who’s in charge. It’s the music. She is in charge." [12]
Availability
Film: Sounder. Directed by Martin Ritt. Twentieth Century Fox. 24 September 1972.
Album: Sounder. Columbia S31944. 1972.
YouTube: Sounder album. Lightnin’ Hopkins. "Needed Time." Uploaded by Sony Music Entertainment on 13 February 2017.
YouTube: Sounder album. Taj Mahal. "Needed Time (Hummin’ and Pickin’)." Uploaded by Sony Music Entertainment on 25 August 2016.
YouTube: Sounder album. Taj Mahal. "Needed Time (Guitar)." Uploaded by Sony Music Entertainment on 13 February 2017.
YouTube: Sounder album. Taj Mahal: "Needed Time (Banjo and Hand Clapping)." Uploaded by Sony Music Entertainment on 25 August 2016.
YouTube: Clive Barnes, Eric Bibb, and Taj Mahal. "Needed Time." Uploaded by Clive Barnes on 16 March 2010.
End Notes
1. Wikipedia. "Taj Mahal (Musician)."
2. Alan B. Govenar. Lightnin’ Hopkins: His Life and Blues. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2010. 194.
3. Eric Bibb and Needed Time. Spirit and The Blues. Opus 3 Records CD 19401. Recorded and released in Sweden in 1994. (Discogs website)
4. Clive Barnes was an Irish guitarist who worked with Bibb in 2005 and 2006. (Press release for Clive Barnes’ The Ghost Country. 2009.)
5. Alex North Music uploaded part of his score for Sounder to YouTube on 11 July 2014.
6. Marc Nerenberg. "Needed Time." Uploaded to YouTube on 20 September 2014
7. Pelu Maad commented on the first Daddy Stovepipe lesson discussed in the post for 4 February 2018. In 2011 he asked: "Didn’t anyone see ‘Sounder’ with Taj Mahal’s soundtrack? I’ve wanted to learn this song ever since. Thanks Daddy..."
8. In 2009, HOTROD74GremlinX wrote on Daddy Stovepipe’s first lesson "Fantastic sir.Thank you so much for posting this lesson.This is a song I’ve ALWAYS loved from the movie ‘Sounder’ and from one of my fav Blues musicians ‘Lightnin Hopkins’."
9. Comment by MrMusicguyma uploaded to this video in August 2017.
10. Wikipedia.
11. Taj Mahal. Quoted by by Jimmy Leslie. Guitar Player website. 31 October 2008.
12. Taj Mahal, quoted by Leslie.
In the United States today, the ultimate tribute for an artist is a reference in a film. Lightnin’ Hopkins’ "Needed Time" was played during the opening credits of Sounder in 1972. At the end, a banjo version by Taj Mahal was played while the final credits scrolled across the screen. During the film, it was alluded to several times.
Mahal began learning blues guitar from friends when he was an adolescent, but developed what he called his "basic building blocks" when he heard the older bluesmen play at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles. In 1964 he formed the Rising Sons with Ry Cooder and Jessie Lee Kincaid. While their single did not sell well, it led to their becoming an opening act for some of the older men. [1] By 1970, he was touring with Hopkins. [2]
One artist who was inspired by Sounder was Eric Bibb, the son of folk-revival musician Leon Bibb. He paid his first tribute to Mahal in 1994 when he recorded "Needed Time" with a backup group he called Needed Time." [3] Once, when he as touring in France with Clive Barnes, [4] he had a chance to play "Needed Time" with Mahal. The video posted by Barnes showed how tradition was perpetuated: Mahal had worked with Hopkins, Bibb had worked with Mahal, and Barnes was working with Bibb.
The three were sitting backstage and had just finished playing something referred to as "Cool on John." One of them suggested "Needed Time." After debating whether to use the key of E or E flat, Mahal played the melody through once in E. Then the other two began playing an accompaniment with Bibb sometimes singing some lines. During the instrumental breaks, the men took turns playing lead, but during the verses, Mahal transposed the music into jazz and then blues variations.
Mahal said when they started, he had never heard Hopkins play "Needed Time." I haven’t seen anything that indicated why it was selected as the theme song for Sounder, or, for that matter how Mahal became involved in the project. Another composer, Alex North, wrote an initial score that was rejected. [5]
Performers
Vocal Soloist: Eric Bibb
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Accompaniment: Taj Majal, Eric Bibb, acoustic guitars; Clive Barnes, acoustic slide guitar.
Rhythm Accompaniment: none
Credits
None provided
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Verses: fragments of "come if you don’t stay long" and "now is the needed time"
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: Lightnin’ Hopkins
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: repetition of basic melody with variations
Notes on Performance
Occasion: Clive Barnes was touring with Eric Bibb in France.
Location: back stage following a performance
Microphones: none
Clothing: casual
Notes on Movement
The three were seated on folding chairs. Taj Mahal either tapped his left foot or nodded his head to mark time.
Audience Perceptions
Sounder introduced Hopkins and "Needed Time" to a new audience. Marc Nerenberg, a Toronto banjo player, wrote:
"learned this from Taj Mahal’s playing of this tune in the soundtrack of the movie ‘Sounder’ in 1972. His version showed up on the radio for a few days. Imagine that: clawhammer banjo on pop music radio! I actually learned it from the radio - the only song I’ve ever done so with." [6]
A couple people who learned the song from Daddy Stovepipe commented they were motivated by Sounder, [7] [8] while another discovered the song was more widely known than a film tribute. He remembered:
"First heard this on the ‘Sounder’ film soundtrack. Much later, playing it on a blues harp on a late night Cambridge MA subway platform, a Bahamian preacher approached me, telling me he knew that tune (with different words) from his own gospel tradition. Amen!" [9]
Notes on Performers
Mahal was born in 1942 in Harlem. His father, Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, was a West Indian jazz musician who moved his family to Springfield, Massachusetts. Young Fredericks adopted his stage name around the time he entered the University of Massachusetts to study agriculture. [10]
In 2008, Jimmy Leslie asked him what was "the most interesting guitar culture?" He responded
"Recordings by Lightnin’ Hopkins, Skip James, and John Lee Hooker are amazing because two-thirds of what they’re playing is in the African mold, and one-third articulates the American experience. The density of African music without blues notes is incredible, because it wasn’t disconnected by slavery." [11]
When Leslie asked him how he felt about becoming an elder statesman for the blues, he answered:
"None of that means anything. What matters is that I can pick up my instrument and use it to go wherever I want with the music. There was a time when some nights the music would play me, and I couldn’t do anything wrong. There were other nights when I couldn’t buy a vibe. Now it’s consistent. The instrument sings every time I pick it up because I stopped wrestling over who’s in charge. It’s the music. She is in charge." [12]
Availability
Film: Sounder. Directed by Martin Ritt. Twentieth Century Fox. 24 September 1972.
Album: Sounder. Columbia S31944. 1972.
YouTube: Sounder album. Lightnin’ Hopkins. "Needed Time." Uploaded by Sony Music Entertainment on 13 February 2017.
YouTube: Sounder album. Taj Mahal. "Needed Time (Hummin’ and Pickin’)." Uploaded by Sony Music Entertainment on 25 August 2016.
YouTube: Sounder album. Taj Mahal. "Needed Time (Guitar)." Uploaded by Sony Music Entertainment on 13 February 2017.
YouTube: Sounder album. Taj Mahal: "Needed Time (Banjo and Hand Clapping)." Uploaded by Sony Music Entertainment on 25 August 2016.
YouTube: Clive Barnes, Eric Bibb, and Taj Mahal. "Needed Time." Uploaded by Clive Barnes on 16 March 2010.
End Notes
1. Wikipedia. "Taj Mahal (Musician)."
2. Alan B. Govenar. Lightnin’ Hopkins: His Life and Blues. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2010. 194.
3. Eric Bibb and Needed Time. Spirit and The Blues. Opus 3 Records CD 19401. Recorded and released in Sweden in 1994. (Discogs website)
4. Clive Barnes was an Irish guitarist who worked with Bibb in 2005 and 2006. (Press release for Clive Barnes’ The Ghost Country. 2009.)
5. Alex North Music uploaded part of his score for Sounder to YouTube on 11 July 2014.
6. Marc Nerenberg. "Needed Time." Uploaded to YouTube on 20 September 2014
7. Pelu Maad commented on the first Daddy Stovepipe lesson discussed in the post for 4 February 2018. In 2011 he asked: "Didn’t anyone see ‘Sounder’ with Taj Mahal’s soundtrack? I’ve wanted to learn this song ever since. Thanks Daddy..."
8. In 2009, HOTROD74GremlinX wrote on Daddy Stovepipe’s first lesson "Fantastic sir.Thank you so much for posting this lesson.This is a song I’ve ALWAYS loved from the movie ‘Sounder’ and from one of my fav Blues musicians ‘Lightnin Hopkins’."
9. Comment by MrMusicguyma uploaded to this video in August 2017.
10. Wikipedia.
11. Taj Mahal. Quoted by by Jimmy Leslie. Guitar Player website. 31 October 2008.
12. Taj Mahal, quoted by Leslie.
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