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MUSIC
HUFFINGTON
12.08.13
Dog Ears: Born in December
In which we spotlight music from a diversity of genres and
decades, lending an insider’s ear to what deserves to be heard.
BY THE EVERLASTING PHIL RAMONE AND DANIELLE EVIN
EARL “FATHA” HINES MARIANNE FAITHFULL JOAN ARMATRADING
Jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer
Earl “Fatha” Hines was born near Pittsburgh in 1903 into a musical family.
His early professional life began in the
1920s when he moved to Chicago and
befriended Louis Armstrong. A breakthrough year came for Hines in 1928,
when he was composing, recording and
working with Armstrong and debuting
his first big band at the Grand Terrace
ballroom (co-owned by Al Capone). By
1940, Billy Eckstine became the band’s
crooner, and joining later were legends
Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.
Hines’ piano style was likened to that
of a trumpet. The maestro died in 1983
and leaves behind the eternal classic
1942 No. 1 Hines/Eckstine hit “Stormy
Monday Blues,” from the Earl Hines
Masterpieces collection.
BUY: iTunes.com
GENRE: Jazz
ARTIST: Earl “Fatha” Hines
SONG: Stormy Monday Blues
ALBUM: Earl Hines Masterpieces
’60s icon/“it” girl and songwriter and
performer Marianne Faithfull was born
into an aristocratic English-Austrian
family in postwar-era Britain. Faithfull’s
early career began on the coffeehouse
circuit, and she started recording pop
hits amidst the heyday of the British Invasion. After surviving a stormy
stretch of the ’70s, she emerged as a
New Wave diva at the precipice of the
’80s. Faithfull’s issued scores of albums
through to the aughts as well as marking film and stage credits, netting a loyal
following among rock ’n’ roll nobility as
an adored muse and inspiration. Her
collaborations include Angelo Badalamenti, Daniel Lanois, Mick Jagger, Jack
Bruce, the Vienna Radio Symphony, Billy
Corgan, Beck, PJ Harvey, Jon Brion and
Tom Waits. Revisit Faithfull’s delicate
and haunting “Tomorrow’s Calling,” from
Marianne Faithfull’s Greatest Hits.
Singer/songwriter and guitarist Joan
Armatrading is one of our most compelling 20th-century soundmakers. The
West Indian native, born in 1950, grew
up in England from the age of 7. By 20,
she launched her career on the London
stage in the musicalHair. In 1972, she
signed her first record deal, and by 1975,
she signed with A&M Records and later
became the first British female artist
to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard blues
charts. Her collaborations include Glyn
Johns, Steve Lillywhite, Sly and Robbie, The Faces, Thomas Dolby, and Chris
Wood. Accolades for Armatrading, a
three-time Grammy nominee, include
the Ivor Novello Award and countless
platinum, gold, and silver records. Armatrading continues to record and is
currently conducting her farewell tour.
The title “The Weakness in Me,” from
her 1981 album Walk Under Ladders, is
heart-wrenching perfection.
BUY: iTunes.com
GENRE: Rock
ARTIST: Marianne Faithfull
SONG: Tomorrow’s Calling
ALBUM: Marianne Faithfull’s
Greatest Hits
BUY: iTunes.com
GENRE: Folk/Rock
ARTIST: Joan Armatrading
SONG: The Weakness in Me
ALBUM: Walk Under Ladders