RIP Frankie Knuckles

Frankie Knuckles passed away on March 31 at the age of 59. The pioneering DJ had an honorary street named for him in Chicago, acknowledging his role as the Godfather of House Music. As a DJ, he doesn't have a lot of recorded output available commercially that our library could add to its collection, but there has been plenty written about him.

5 Magazine: House Music from Chicago offers a tribute:

This Entire Scene Was Frankie's Dance Floor

You'll find discussion of him in several of our books:

Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton wrote about Knuckles in Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey (ML3470 .B74 2000) and The Record Players: DJ Revolutionaries by  (ML406 .B74 2010)

The Evolution of Electronic Dance Music edited by Peter Kirn (ML3540.5.E96 2011), in a chapter taken from Rule, Greg. "Dance Music History: The Fathers of Chicago House." Keyboard Aug. 1997: 64-67, available electronically in the International Index to Music Periodicals or in print our periodical collection, but you'll need to request it from the Annex.

Some other articles on Knuckles available via our e-Resources:

"Frankie Knuckles: The Godfather of House." Mixmag 09 2013: 82-3.

Paoletta, Michael. "The House that Frankie Built." Billboard May 15 2004: 30.

Remembering Philip Seymour Hoffman as Lester Bangs

With the untimely passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman, veteran music journalist Jaan Uhelszki recalled how uncannily the actor captured her friend and former coworker Lester Bangs, the legendary rock critic. She wrote a piece for Spin about her recollections. Hoffman played Bangs in Almost Famous, but the resemblance carried over to his off-screen activities.

Remembering Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lester Bangs, and 'Almost Famous,' by Jaan Uhelszki

See Hoffman's performance in Almost Famous (DVD 400). To get more of a feel for the character he played, see our materials by Bangs and Jim DeRogatis's book about him, Let it Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, America's Greatest Rock Critic (ML243.B245 D47 2000).

RIP Pete Seeger

Pete Seeger, who died January 27, was so much more than a folk singer that President Obama released a statement honoring his passing.

Once called 'America's tuning fork,' Pete Seeger believed deeply in the power of song. But more importantly, he believed in the power of community -- to stand up for what's right, speak out against what's wrong, and move this country closer to the America he knew we could be. Over the years, Pete used his voice -- and his hammer -- to strike blows for worker's rights and civil rights; world peace and environmental conservation. And he always invited us to sing along. For reminding us where we come from and showing us where we need to go, we will always be grateful to Pete Seeger. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayer to Pete's family and all those who loved him.

Martin Luther King, Pete Seeger, Charis Horton, Rosa Parks, and Ralph Abernathy at Highlander Institute in 1957. (Photo from http://zinnedproject.org)

Some highlights from our collection of materials by and about Seeger:

• American Industrial Ballads (CD 23395)
• Where Have All the Flowers Gone: The Songs of Pete Seeger (CD 18837 - 18838) 
• How to Play the 5 String Banjo: A Manual for Beginners (MT562.S445 H6)
• Pete Seeger: The Power of Song (DVD 3433)
• The Protest Singer: An Intimate Portrait of Pete Seeger by Alec Wilkinson (ML420.S445 W55 2009)

You will find addition streaming audio by Seeger in American Song.

RIP Jim Hall

Revered jazz guitarist Jim Hall died December 10 at the age of 83.

As the National Endowment for the Arts noted in naming him a Jazz Master in 2004:

Jazz guitarist Jim Hall's technique has been called subtle, his sound mellow, and his compositions understated; yet his recording and playing history was anything but modest. He recorded with artists ranging from Bill Evans to Itzhak Perlman and performed alongside most of the jazz greats of the 20th century. The first of the modern jazz guitarists to receive an NEA Jazz Masters award, his prowess on the instrument put him in the company of Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, and Django Reinhardt.

NPR Jazz's A Blog Supreme has a full obituary:

Remembering Jim Hall, A Different Sort Of Guitar God

A few highlights from his works in our collection:

•  Jim Hall Live! (CD 22994) Grove Music Online calls it "an example of his most fertile work."
• The Bridge, Sonny Rollins (CD 2685) From the NEA: "The interplay between Rollins' fiery solos and Hall's classic guitar runs make this one of jazz's most essential recordings."
• Jim Hall Jazz Guitar Master Class: Principles of Improvisation (LVD 475)
• Exploring Jazz Guitar (MT580 .H27 1990)
• Jazz Guitar Environments: Jim Plays 5 of His Unique Compositions, Fully Transcribed (MP126 .H355 J5 1994)

Remebering Nelson Mandela

As the world morns the death of Nelson Mandela, our library might not be the obvious place to turn to take in the full impact of his legacy. But a look at works in our collection related to Mandela highlight how influential he was as well as the breadth of our collection.

Start with The Winds of Change: A Journey Through the Key Music and Moments That Gave Birth to a Free, Democratic South Africa (CD 31547-31548). It includes both music and spoken words, such as Hugh Masekela's protest song "Bring Him Back Home" and Mandela's inauguration speech. Masekela's song and other apartheid protest songs appear on Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony (CD 21529), the soundtrack to the documentary Amandla! (DVD 966) about the role of music in the fight for freedom in South Africa.

Hear from the man himself in Long Walk to Freedom with Connections: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela (DT1974 .A3 2000).

46664 was Mandela's prison number, and after his release he gave it to a global HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness campaign as a reminder of the sacrifices he made for a cause he believed in. We have recordings of several concerts to benefit the campaign:

• 46664: The Concert (DVD 1205-1206)
• 46664. Pt. 2: Long Walk to Freedom (Annex CD (Box 67))
• 46664. Pt. 3: Amandla (Annex CD (Box 67))

Some other highlights:

• Key Events in African History: A Reference Guide by Toyin Falola (eBook) includes the chapter "The Fall of Apartheid and the Advent of Nelson Mandela’s Government, 1994–99."
• 33 Revolutions per Minute: A History of Protest Songs, from Billie Holiday to Green Day by Dorian Lynskey (ML3780 .L96 2011) includes a section on "Nelson Mandela" by the Special AKA.
• Although The African Typic Collection (CD 24051) is a collection of music from Cameroon and Cape Verde, Koko Ateba's track is entitled "Nelson Mandela (Will Never Give Up)."

RIP Lou Reed

"Her life was saved by rock & roll," is a sentiment felt by many of us at Berklee, which makes the October 27 death of Lou Reed, who penned those lyrics, particularly poignant.

The Velvet Underground, Reed's band with John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen "Moe" Tucker and Nico, created the concept of the permanent underground in popular music, a destination unto itself rather than as a way station to mainstream fame. Reed sang overly of drugs ("Heroin") and sex ("Venus in Furs") when others had merely alluded to it. Brian Eno famously observed that few people bought their 1967 debut The Velvet Underground & Nico (CD 241), but “everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band.” Their intentional minimalism set the stage for punk, earning Reed the designation as a godfather of the genre. "Sweet Jane" from Loaded (CD 11410) contains the riff that launched a thousand ships. Their influence can be heard in every band that glorifies droning or that harnesses feedback, m b v (CD 35402) by My Bloody Valentine being just one of the most recent examples.

As a solo artist, Reed would have his biggest hit with "Walk on the Wild Side" from his 1972 album Transformer (CD 13384). 1975's Metal Machine Music (CD 23521) was notoriously unlistenable but showed his willingness to experiment. Reed continued to earn acclaim later in his career with albums such as New York (CD 219), which celebrated the grittiness of his home, Songs for Drella (CD 23523), his reunion with John Cale to pay homage to their deceased mentor Andy Warhol, and Magic & Loss (CD 464), a moving rumination on mortality inspired the cancer deaths of close friends.

Dive into our collection for more materials by and about the Velvet Underground or by and about Reed.