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February 24th, 2013
thesmithian
'Listen to Barry Manilow ballads, then listen to Whitney Houston ballads. Check, as we used to say in hip-hop, the technique. If it wasn't broke Clive Davis saw little need to fix it. The songs Davis made with Manilow and Houston are the songs I loved. Besides, what other way had I to judge? My mother, after all, had to tell me when I was 13 who Booker T. Jones III's dad was. I thought like I used to think about all songs when I was young—that every artist's song was purely autobiographical, and so 100 percent meaningful. And if I categorized at all, it was based on what radio station played what. So I thought Barry was rock 'n' roll—and not rock in a "white" frame. Rock in a frame marked "real."'

disclosure: i wrote the piece for @nprmusic

18 notes
barry manilow danyel smith Music whitney houston clive davis pop music culture hip hop families radio rock Long Reads Artists on Tumblr
  1. letslaughatlifetogether reblogged this from thesmithian
  2. llifeisworththeliving reblogged this from thesmithian and added:
    this is absolutely true!
  3. This was featured in #Music
  4. brazenwussy said: Loved this. So glad you tumblred it or I’d have missed it. Your writing is so evocative of time, place, feeling. Though I’m younger than you and lived in Miracle Mile many years later, I feel like I understand and relate to everything you’re saying here.
  5. smartyartysneak reblogged this from thesmithian
  6. thesmithian posted this
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@danamo

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