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Why is Bill Withers Black, while Ray Davies is White? Don't they sing great songs, equally well, and in almost the same way?


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Dear Friends,

 

Both Bill Withers and Ray Davies compose and sing songs which are a bit more introspective, than most.

 

And so, why is Withers black?

And why is Davies...so white?

 

Have you ever wondered why?

 

Such a question is the type of inquiry that I have spent most of my life pondering.

 

In this case, the answer is, of course, two-fold:

 

a. Ionizing radiation from the Sun, as it affects damage to DNA

b. Vitamin-D production

c. Avoidance of Rickets

 

image.jpeg.ce3b4ffc1b241ebe24a2450e3c49fb52.jpeg

 

Some guys might say that Davies sings better than Withers, but I do not agree.

Both guys are amazingly amazing.

 

Another question here, a deeper question: 

 

a. Does the Sun create Soul Brothers?

b. Does the lack of Sun, in the UK, detract from guys creating and singing great songs?

 

I think not.

 

 

 

 

Therefore, is Ray Davies not just another Bill Withers, but with less sun?

 

Both are amazing and interesting people, at least, they are amazing on stage, if not in real life.

 

Regards,

 

Globby.

 

Note:  Don't go out in the noonday sun without sunscreen.

 

 

 

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23 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

To the thread title, no, they don't sing the same way.  Both talented though and I enjoy them both.

Both sing from the heart.

Both have something to say.

So, both are the same in this way.

One black.

One white.

And both, Soul Brothers.

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Are you really bringing this up as a thread.  Do you know anything about music.    You need to get out and enjoy a nice walk on the beach or go for a beer with a bit of grub. I  know you do start a lot of threads about subjects and It is funny when people start to bite and get upset.  But as Khun la Said they don't both sound the same withers and Ray Davies both talented singers. Don't start waffling on about the sun and soul brothers nonsense. And if you mention Davies and Jagger you got to mention a little feller from Manor Park East London  Mr Steve Marriot of the small faces. Humble pie etc  he had terrifick voice anything as good as Jagger and Davies.  Who knows how far  small faces would  of gone if they weren't managed by Sharon Osbourns thieving dad.  

My old mum bless her went to school with Marriot and was a groupie. ????

I'm not having a dig at you but leave out the waffle about sunlight and stupid charts. And soul brothers in the sun.  I know you write a lot of things I find interesting but leave out the white soul brothers stuff.  Enjoy the music chill out. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by DaveE13
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19 minutes ago, DaveE13 said:

Are you really bringing this up as a thread.  Do you know anything about music.    You need to get out and enjoy a nice walk on the beach or go for a beer with a bit of grub. I  know you do start a lot of threads about subjects and It is funny when people start to bite and get upset.  But as Khun la Said they don't both sound the same withers and Ray Davies both talented singers. Don't start waffling on about the sun and soul brothers nonsense. And if you mention Davies and Jagger you got to mention a little feller from Manor Park East London  Mr Steve Marriot of the small faces. Humble pie etc  he had terrifick voice anything as good as Jagger and Davies.  Who knows how far  small faces would  of gone if they weren't managed by Sharon Osbourns thieving dad.  

My old mum bless her went to school with Marriot and was a groupie. ????

I'm not having a dig at you but leave out the waffle about sunlight and stupid charts. And soul brothers in the sun.  I know you write a lot of things I find interesting but leave out the white soul brothers stuff.  Enjoy the music chill out. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK.

 

Nice reply.

 

Thank you, in fact.

 

Maybe, the point was...

 

Back in the day, going "down" to Harlem, to get a bit of jazz, was seen as a bit risque.

 

And, the roots of rock come from places like Harlem, and the South, maybe.

 

Humble Pie was something we enjoyed, simply because listening to it was better than eating it.

 

As Dickens stated:  I ate 'umble pie with an appetite.

 

===

By the way, if it were not for the Sun, then we would all be the same color, right?

And, if we were all the same color, then how would we know who were Soul Brothers, and who were just a white band pretending to be Soul Brothers?

 

 

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One more thought about Humble Pie, if this might be allowed....

 

Although the Humble Pie band was very well known, around 1970, and even though we listened to this band on 8-track tape, still, Humble Pie was not a winner, and neither was it some sort of great underground band.

 

Humble Pie was just....out there, and something we could listen to.

 

No matter what anyone's MOTHER might say, Humble Pie was not much, especially compared to the other bands we were listening to during those years.

 

How do I know?

 

Because:

 

a. In 1969, I used to have a VW Bug, a blue Bug, just like this one. Exactly the same.  Ok?

image.jpeg.2c18822838d312e7a28178d9d86f2fe3.jpeg

 

b. I mounted huge JBL speakers in the back seat area which left no room for anything but sound.

 

image.jpeg.ed8cbbe7bbb17edae5230067decb05d9.jpeg

 

c. At that time, I had purchased some sort of high-powered Hitachi tape deck, but not much by today's standards.  Maybe about 100 watts RMS.  Rather costly.

 

d.  I had both an 8-track deck, as well as a cassette (tape) deck.

image.jpeg.caf8658d34c8e51b10448b53ec90793f.jpeg

Please check with Hitachi in Japan for the correct photos because even Google cannot find them.

 

e.  So, I am just saying...

 

I listened to a lot of music in this bug.

 

And, with the JBL studio speakers turned up full blast, this bug was hopping.

 

Much louder than anything I have heard, these days.

 

f.  Surprisingly, the best tune to listen to in a car of this size, IMHO, was Chicago....6-2-4...

 

 

g.  Unfortunately, such good things could not last forever...

 

In the end, during a driving lesson one evening, while teaching my GF how to use my shift, after buying a large pizza, my GF froze trying to work the clutch, but not the brake, and we hit an oak tree at 35 mph.  She had never touched the brake.  She was too busy pushing on the clutch.

 

Pizza flying all around the car.

 

 

 

h.  That evening, while my GF was in the ER, I had a chance to eat a bit of Humble Pie as her father walked in.

 

All that I could say, as soon as I saw him, was, "I was not driving".

 

Anyway, things reached a happier ending, a year later, when my GF's younger sister asked me to drive her up to Quebec City, and we pleasured ourselves along the way, all throughout Maine, until we ended up at the image.thumb.jpeg.a0d23262636ee737bc0453d3f7b41fc8.jpeg

 

Château Frontenac.

 

We would have kept driving north, but the Saint Lawrence River was complete frozen, and no easy way over it.

 

Yeah.

 

Far Out, Man!

 

Of course, we were nothing but teens, really, at that time.

 

These days, I hardly ever think of the crazy things I did in my callow youth.

 

I NEVER listen to Humble Pie.

 

But, from an acoustics point of view, the bug is good!

Put some giant speaker in the back seat, and then sit in the front seat.

This is the best way to listen to music, my friends.

 

==========

 

But, how did I get to Château Frontenac if the Bug had been totaled after hitting the oak tree?

 

image.jpeg.c709d6b9003c68d4e9aac359c4f7fd17.jpeg

 

I had a 1971 Lemans.

=========== 

What did my GF say when she learned that I had driven her younger sister over 1000 miles from a mid-Atlantic to Quebec City?

 

I do not know.

I never heard from her after this trip.

 

===========

 

So, anyway, my friends,

 

I know that you think I am nutzo for being so committed to being celibate.

 

However, after listening to so much great music, and after having so much fun at places like Château Frontenac, I really need a break from my former ways.

 

I know what is best for me.

 

Please do not sit in judgment concerning my celibacy pledge.

 

Quebec is a beautiful province, by the way.

 

I have many fond memories of my times in Canada.

 

 

 

Please pass me another Molson.

(Not today's Molson!)

 

 

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I think there is something in the vocal timbre of black singers that the majority of white singers simply don't have. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of superb white singers out there. But when it comes to soul, blues, and perhaps even gospel music the vocal expression of black singers seems to come from the core of their being, oftentimes seeming to spring from a well of experience going back generations. The delivery of emotion just seems to resonate more. It goes beyond the issue of who has the most street credibility of having lived a tough life.

 

I hear it here:

 

And, perhaps surprisingly, even here:

 

 

Edited by Gecko123
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22 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Back in the day, going "down" to Harlem to get a bit of jazz, was seen as a bit risque.

You didn't go down to Harlem you went UP to Harlem.

 

You must take the "A" train
To go to Sugar Hill, way up in Harlem
If you miss the "A" train
You'll find you missed the quickest way to Harlem

 

-- 'Duke' Ellington and Billy Strayhorn Take the "A" Train (1941)

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In my opinion black people generally have a better sense of rhythm. Always enjoy watching those youtube videos of Africans with like 1 rusty string left on their junk guitars and sounding absolutely fantastic. Stuff like this, the lad's dying of aids(RIP) hasn't got a pot to pee in but his music has such joy and heart. 10/10

 

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