MUSIC MONDAY: Meet “Fever”‘s Susan Whitall! (Pt. 1 of Q&A)

MUSIC MONDAY: Meet “Fever”‘s Susan Whitall! (Pt. 1 of Q&A)

Fever: Little Willie John, A Fast Life, Mysterious Death and the Birth of Soul by Susan Whitall with Kevin John

Welcome to MUSIC MONDAY! I have a special treat for you – a two-part Q&A with author and music critic SUSAN WHITALL. I worked with Susan at The Detroit News in the early ’90s. She was a fantastic writing mentor to me, and we would have very long phone and email chats about how much we loved music!

Susan’s latest book is Fever: Little Willie John, A Fast Life, Mysterious Death and the Birth of Soul (Titan Books 2011). In our two-part Q&A, we’ll be chatting with Susan about the iconic Little Willie John, the music industry, music journalism, and how Little Willie John’s influence led to the birth of soul music.

Part 1 of our Q&A with Susan is posted today. Part 2 will be posted next Monday October 10, 2011. We are also hosting a signed book giveaway contest. A winner will be chosen at random to receive a signed copy of Susan’s book FEVER! To participate, please post a comment in either Music Monday blog or email me at paula at paulayoo dot com to have your name included in the drawing. Winner will be announced on Monday October 24, 2011. Good luck!

To find out more about Susan, please visit her website here: http://www.susanwhitall.com/

(Keep reading after the jump for Part 1 of our Q&A with “FEVER” author/music critic SUSAN WHITALL!)

Meet music critic/author SUSAN WHITALL!

Part 1 of Q&A with SUSAN WHITALL

Susan Whitall’s bio (from her website http://www.susanwhitall.com/): 

Susan Whitall was one of a handful of women on staff at the brash, irreverent Creem Magazine in the mid-1970s, the rock journal immortalized in Cameron Crowe’s film “Almost Famous.” In the late ’70s she became one of the first women to edit a national rock magazine when she took over the top editor’s job.

She is the author of “Fever: The Fast Life and Mysterious Death of Little Willie John and the Birth of Soul” (Titan Books, June 2011), a biography of one of the greatest R&B singers to come out of Detroit, a favorite of Marvin Gaye, B.B. King and Aretha Franklin, best friends with Levi Stubbs and Jerry Butler.

“Women of Motown,” numerous feature articles for magazines and newspapers, and liner notes for albums, including the booklet essay in the “Chrome Collection” Spinners box set.

Since the 1980s Susan has been a feature writer for the Detroit News, writing about pop culture, music and radio, often returning to stories about the R&B and soul music that came out of the Motor City.

Joined by jazz writers Lars Bjorn and Jim Gallert and R&B expert S.R. Boland, Susan gives talks on the history of Detroit music. Most recently the foursome were featured speakers in the Jazz Talk Tent at the Detroit International Jazz Festival.

Q&A – Part 1 of 2

— Q: Little Willie John’s short life (he died at age 30) was filled with great musical inspiration and also great tragedy (including his original 1966 conviction of manslaughter). There was a lot about his life that is still culturally and musically relevant for today’s young people. Steve Wonder, in his introduction to your book, discussed his influence on today’s singers such as Usher. What music do you hear today that you feel has been influenced by Little Willie John? Do you think there will ever be a  resurgence of popularity for his music for today’s new generation of music fans?

— A: There are more than a few younger artists who you can link to Little Willie John because of his profound influence on Marvin Gaye, especially…Marvin is cited by singers like Justin Timberlake and has never lost his cool factor. He described Willie once as the “soul singer’s soul singer.” Marvin was a lot more laid back in his vocal style, but as a lifelong jazz buff he appreciated Willie’s musicality and the emotional intensity of his voice. Probably the performer of the modern age most profoundly influenced by Little Willie John is one of the most famous: Michael Jackson. Michael’s father Joseph was a big Little Willie John fan — ’50s R&B was his era, and the Jackson boys grew up on Joe’s LWJ, Jackie Wilson and Little Richard records.

When he had them do a vaudeville-type skit to “Fever” in Las Vegas, with Janet and La Toya, Jermaine described it in his recent memoir as “Peggy Lee’s ‘Fever.'” Uh uh, Jermaine. Peggy Lee’s wasn’t the version Papa Joe heard in the ’50s. But the most direct link was expressed by Joe Hunter of the Funk Brothers. As Joe pointed out, Willie influenced James Brown in all aspects of his professional life and James Brown totally rocked MJ’s world, when he was a boy. Michael imitated everything about JB. Ironically, Willie was a child when he first performed professionally so there’s even more of a comparison between he and MJ. Both slight, dazzling dancers, sharply dressed, with expressive high tenor voices and a strong magnetism. A lot of JB’s showmanship, the way he presented himself, the sob in his voice, he picked up from Willie…and it went directly to Michael.

— Q: I love the original recording of “Leave My Kitten Alone” by Little Willie John. It’s so interesting that the song was later covered by The Beatles! He obviously influenced many musicians of that era as well as singers of today. But what makes him unique, musically, and what sets him apart from other sings of that era? What appeals to you, personally, about his voice and the way he approached singing and music? Is there one song in particular that really speaks to you? (For example, I love his recording of “Fever” because it’s so emotional – he’s not showboating like other singers who sing that song. Instead, he’s really making an appeal for the woman he’s singing to, you can hear the desire and honesty in his voice. It’s wonderful.)

— A: What I like about Willie’s voice is what you pointed out, in  his version of “Fever,” the sheer emotion in every note. His son Keith, who sings backup for Stevie Wonder, says that as well, that you can’t fake or learn in school that kind of emotional expressiveness. You can be coached and encouraged to dig deep within and try to tap it, but it’s not a given.

That emotion gives Willie’s vocals a kind of electricity, an excitement that you can feel even on these recordings from 50 plus years ago. As charged up as the recordings are, I can only imagine what it was like to see him sing live. His vocals aren’t dated too, he wasn’t stylized in a bad way. There are a few Jackie Wilson performances on record that might make me cringe, as dated or corny. Willie was so influenced by jazz, I think he had the jazz musician’s sense of sophistication, of what was appropriate.

— Q: What Little Willie John song would you love to have re-interpreted by one of today’s artists and why? For example, I think it would be awesome if The Heavy did a remake of “Leave My Kitten Alone.” 🙂

— A:  I’d love to hear Adele do “Need Your Love So Bad.” Can I pick somebody who just died? (Sigh). I would have loved to hear Amy Winehouse do “Fever,” inspired by Willie’s version, not the hokier Peggy Lee rendition.

I’d like to hear Bruno Mars do “Leave My Kitten Alone”…or he could go all ballad-y and do “Talk to Me.”

There’s a singer named Jessica Hernandez, from southwest Detroit, who does a killer version of Willie’s “I’m Shakin’,” but I don’t think she’s recorded it… http://jessicahernandezthedeltas.bandcamp.com

A lot of younger bands picked up on The Blasters’ version of “I’m Shakin'” … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB2kogSjyQU

Dave Alvin told me he and Phil Alvin used to have fistfights, literally, while arguing about a drum solo on an obscure Little Willie John record.

They didn’t rest until they found the original drummer to set the record straight.

— Q: You’ve written other non-fiction books about music, including Women of Motown. Given that you have written about a wide variety of musicians in all different genres (heavy metal, punk rock, pop music, blues, hip hop etc.), it seems as if with your books you are especially drawn to the 1950s/60s era of Detroit soul and Motown. What draws you back to this particular point in musical history? What emotionally resonates for you when you listen to this music?

— A: I think I’m drawn to R&B and soul because my first 10 years were spent in Philadelphia, where black and white music were equally heard on the radio, then Detroit where that was also the case. I was lucky to live in two great music cities. Also, my parents were big jazz fans, my mom especially used to get rides up to New York City from Penn State, and catch acts like Billie Holiday on “Swing Street.” They would nurse a fifty cent glass of beer all night and listen to Lady Day…what a life. My dad took me to see Benny Goodman, for which I’m eternally grateful. So there has to be some emotional depth and musicianship in a musivcal genre; for that reason I’d scratch heavy metal from the genres you mentioned, I can’t find much there to grab me.

— Q: Music is obviously your passion. What drew you to music in the first place? Did you ever play an instrument or want to be in a band? Why did music speak to you so strongly that you wanted to devote a career to analyzing this industry and writing about it? Are there any music critics or music journalists who influenced you?

— A: Growing up in the ’60s, music was really revolutionizing society, and vice versa…to be a kid and immersed in it to such an extent that the latest Beatles or Temptations album mean standing in line for hours outside a record store, there was an intensity there that I think may not exist today. Having said that, if there had been a hip, exciting magazine about film in Detroit, or books…I may have drifted there. But in the ’60s music was the top form of expression, so to have a magazine about music in almost my back yard, was too tempting. Really, Creem was more than a music magazine too, we had stories of cultural interest, on movies, books etc. There really were few limits, as long as it was entertaining, so it was a great laboratory of writing.

I never wanted to be in a band, I think that’s a common misperception about music writers. I think if a writer is more drawn to music than to writing, there’s a problem. Perhaps the writer needs to change their focus, to a musical career. But, I think as a society we’ve gotten too far away from the idea of people playing musical instruments in a non-professional way, at home, for the pleasure of it. Earlier generations did that. I grew up playing the piano, but all pop and classical, I wish I’d learned more of a jazz style. Aretha Franklin is now taking classical piano lessons in the Juillard technique (by Skype no less), but I think her jazzy-gospel style is already perfect.

I still have fun playing with Hammond B3 sounds on electronic keyboards, pretending to be Stevie Winwood or Earl Van Dyke of Motown’s band.

My most extensive musical background is probably singing, I sang in the church choir of the Presbyterian Church and it was quite taxing and inspiring. I can still muster up both second soprano and alto parts of the “Hallelujah Chorus” and I probably ask vocalists too many detailed questions about how they hit certain notes, or what their natural range is, etc. But it got me a great quote from Paul McCartney, when I said it was usually guys with higher voices who lost the top notes, he said Elvis Costello told him his bandleader father’s mental trick, you “look down” on the note and then just sing it. (Uh…OK!)

— Q: When it comes to Motown, soul, and other forms of “classic soul” music, today’s generation is being introduced to via shows like American Idol or from the latest young Brtitish female singer who mixes these generational influences with a contemporary pop sound (like Adele, Amy Winehouse, and Corinne Bailey Rae). For today’s teenagers and young 20somethings who are interested in discovering the original “old school” musicians who influenced today’s pop stars, what bands or singers or seminal albums would you recommend as good starting points for their musical education? What albums or songs of Little Willie John would you recommend they listen to?

— A: One great thing younger music fans have today is youtube, it’s a great way to familiarize yourself with cool old music. As far as R&B, it’s good to start with the titans; James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye…and then see what videos are similar to or related to it, on the side. Often you’ll find great stuff that way. Friending people on Facebook who have knowledge of older musical genres is a good idea, then you can follow up their musical posts and gain a lot of knowledge that way. With Willie, younger fans like to go with “I’m Shakin'” and “Leave My Kitten Alone,” it’s fun to then listen to the Beatles and Elvis Costello’s version of “Kitten”…They  have to listen to “All Around the World,” his first hit, keeping in mind that he was only 17 years old. Amazing.

From there, check out his “Country Girl” for the jazz turn he took in 1966, and would have pursued if he hadn’t died in prison.

— Q: Who are your favorite new bands/singers? 

— A: I love Adele, who I mentioned before, and Amy Winehouse, and Duffy and I’m a little embarrassed to say, Justin Timberlake…So as you can see I like all these female British neo soul singers with one foot in soul, while keeping an eye on the cute guys …

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Thanks Susan for a fantastic Q&A! Please come visit us for next week’s MUSIC MONDAY blog where I will post Part 2 of our Q&A with Susan Whitall (Monday October 10th). And please comment on this blog so you can be automatically included in our signed book giveaway contest. Or you can email me at paula at paulayoo dot com and request your name be included in the drawing. Winner will be announced on Monday October 24th.

And here’s the rest of this week’s blog schedule:

WRITER WEDNESDAY (10/5/11): Winner of signed book contest drawing with poet/author SONYA SONES!

FOODIE FRIDAY (10/7/11): Part 1 of our two-part Q&A with food critic/author/cook DOMENICA MARCHETTI and her latest book, “The Glorious Pasta of Italy.” Yum! (We’re also hosting a signed book contest with Domenica too, so check out details in our blog this Friday).

Until the next blog… remember… Happy Writing! WRITE LIKE YOU MEAN IT! 🙂

 

2 Responses

  1. This is just a really exciting interview. I’ve been a fan of Little Willie John for years, so I’m going to need to read this book. Looking forward to part two next week. (I have to say how jealous I am that Susan got to see Benny Goodman in concert. I would have killed for that honor.) Thanks! -MLC

  2. Michael,
    I know how lucky I was to see Benny G in concert. It was late in his career, and he sat down for the entire concert, which was at the Meadow Brook Music Festival in Rochester, north of Detroit, but how amazing it was to see him. I could experience the excitement of “Sing, Sing Sing” as my dad must have, in his youth.
    Funnily enough, when I was at Creem Magazine, Lester Bangs called “Sing, Sing, Sing” the first rock ‘n’ roll record. There’s a point to that!
    I’m glad you’re a Little Willie John fan…–Susan W.

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