Greetings!
This last week has been a bit strange. For a long time now I’ve wanted to try the saxophone. So I’ve hired one and booked a place on a sax taster course. We spent ages trying to get the reed in place. I managed to get a sound out of it, though to grace that with the term “music” would be a bit of a stretch. I have spent around two hours on the thing and not managed to produce anything approaching a tune. I’m almost ready to pack it in. But I realise I’m terribly impatient, and I’m working on that fatal flaw. I can’t wait till I’ve overcome it!
This is a shorter “Start the Week” than usual because I spent yesterday reading and reviewing three books. My eyes have gone square from staring at a screen. I trust you will understand.
But enough of this persiflage! On with the newsletter.
Terry
Part of a cycle ride
London is festooned with many cycle ways that are intended to get cyclists from A to B with as little contact with road traffic as possible. The C16 is one of those routes, and this video shows about five minutes of my time on it. The camera had slipped down, so you see more road than scenery, but it will give you an idea of what it’s like. It took me 38 minutes getting to my destination, but that included spending five minutes getting lost right at the end. The previous day I had travelled to the same destination by public transport, and that took 30 minutes. The public transport here is brilliant, but goes all round the houses. The cycle route is direct.
A spot of magic
If you enjoyed Nathan’s article about magic, you might enjoy this clip of Tommy Cooper. He was a British magician famous for fluffing all his tricks — except when he didn’t!
Ain’t no stoppin’ us now
I thought I must share this video. I love the song, love the lyrics — such positive energy! — love the dancing. Hope you enjoy this too.
While on the subject of music…
I hope you enjoyed my article about jazz:
Brad Kyle of Front Row and Back Stage have collaborated. Brad has taken my article and added extra information about the players. His “extras” have really enriched my original. I hope you like the “enhanced” version. It will be appearing on Brad’s site at 1pm British time, 7am CT today (Monday 3rd July).
Are you superstitious?
The reason I ask is that Thomas Bevan has collated a number of pieces on the topic of superstition (including my own) for the Soaring Twenties Social Club. Enjoy!
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I liked the tour on your bike. But don't tell me this. You pulled a Rebecca and got lost?
Fun stuff, Terry! I hope your readers enjoy our collab! It was fun doing it, especially as I felt we were improvising in much the same way the jazz players about whom we wrote, do! "Isn't Any Stopping Us Now!"
I love that McFadden & Whitehead tune! Did you know that song was never intended to be a social commentary anthem? Gene McFadden and John Whitehead were both "house songwriters" at Philadelphia International Records (--PIR, about whom I've written a couple times before...it was a CBS Records subsidiary) in the '70s.
They wished to "get out there," themselves, as singers/performers, though, beginning with "Ain't No Stopping Us Now." Kenny Gamble (in particular) and Leon Huff (heads of PIR) wanted them to remain songwriters, and continue to write hits for the O'Jays (including giving this one, co-written with Jerry Cohen, to them!) and other label acts, and not start competing with them as recording and performing artists.
As Whitehead once said in an interview, "If anything, the song was a declaration of our independence from Gamble." M&W got the last laugh, though, as the song got to #13 on the U.S. pop charts, and #1 on our R&B chart, as well as #5 in the UK!