John Richards

Ahhh....the Friday song. (Thanks, Henry!) That's Posdnuos of De La Soul (the previous artist) that you're hearing! -- Happy Friday and welcome to The Morning Show with John Richards and Eva Walker! It’s Six Degrees Week, July 29th through August 4th! All week, each DJ has featured an artist of their choice and linked each song to the next, making their way to the next DJ’s artist pick for one continuous mix for 168 straight hours. John and Eva are beginning with Mint Royale’s “Show Me,” or, as everyone knows it, “the Friday song”! We’re so glad you’re here!

"Rocket Fuel" is a collaboration between DJ Shadow [Joshua Paul Davis] and De La Soul. -- The song features a sample from The Belmonts and another from Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye). " -- Read about how DJ Shadow discovers these samples: read more on DJ Shadow's web site: djshadow.com

This is DJ Shadow's live version of the UNKLE song, featuring Richard Ashcroft of The Verve.

Richard Ashcroft of The Verve was the lyricist and singer for the previous song "Lonely Soul." -- This song was originally a gospel spiritual, "This May Be the Last Time." The Staple Singers recorded it in in 1955, the Stones turned it into "The Last Time," and Richard Ashcroft heard it, too.: www.theringer.com

The Andrew Oldham Orchestra, a side project of Rolling Stones manager and producer Andrew Loog Oldham, are doing an orchestral version of The Stones' "The Last Time." You heard The Verve sampling it in the previous song. -- The Stones, of course, were sampling The Staple Singers' 1955 song, "This May Be the Last Time."

The Andrew Oldham Orchestra covered this Stones song for The Rolling Stones Songbook in 1965. -- The Stones were inspired by a 1955 gospel song called "This May Be The Last Time" by The Staple Singers. Here's that Staples Singers song, for your edification: www.youtube.com

In 1948, Roebuck Staples formed a gospel group with his family called The Staples Singers. In 1955, they released this version of a traditional gospel song. (The Stones heard it!)

For "The Last Waltz," The Staple Singers sang "The Weight" on an M.G.M. soundstage in front of an audience of two hundred and fifty people. As the song finishes up, the camera settles on the Staples family—Roebuck (“Pops”), out of focus in the background, and his daughters, Cleotha, Yvonne, and Mavis. Mavis, closest to the camera, throws her head back, leans toward the mic, and says, almost inaudibly, “Beautiful.” -- Mavis Staples remembered: "It was so beautiful to me. I was surprised that was caught on tape, you know, because I thought I was whispering. It wasn’t rehearsed to go like that. It was just a feeling that brought that on. The excitement of being with our friends—Levon and Danko and those guys were such good friends of ours—to be singing with them, and knowing that this is going to be on the big screen, the silver screen, it was just a moment in time for me. You could probably, had you been there, you would have heard my heart pounding....": www.newyorker.com

The Band gained recognition for backing Bob Dylan in the 1960's. -- "‘I Want You’ will go down as a classic Bob Dylan song. Released in June of 1966, it made up the tracklisting of the freewheelin’ troubadour’s seminal album and instilled a few more pop sensibilities into his work. Having “gone electric” the year prior, shocking his diehard folk fanatics, who yelled “Judas” as he plugged in for his audience, Dylan made a conscious choice to choose rock and roll and compete with the growing roster of guitar heroes." Read the story of this song and hear a rare first recording: faroutmagazine.co.uk

Watch Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash perform this song live on The Johnny Cash Show in 1969: www.facebook.com -- When Cash sadly died in 2003, Dylan paid a touching tribute to the memory of his friend. “In plain terms, Johnny was and is the North Star; you could guide your ship by him — the greatest of the greats then and now,” he said. “Truly, he is what the land and country is all about. The heart and soul of it personified and what it means to be here, and he said it all in plain English. I think we can have recollections of him, but we can’t define him any more than we can define a fountain of truth, light and beauty.”

Since the song's release by Ned Sublette in 1981, "Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other" has perplexed and delighted listeners... including Willie Nelson who enjoyed playing the tune on his tour bus for decades. In 2006, Nelson finally released his own cover — on the lucrative heels of Brokeback Mountain fever. That popular version is generally considered the first mainstream LGBT-themed country song. : www.wideopencountry.com

This is Karen O and Willie Nelson's marvelous cover of Bowie and Freddie's duet. --- O added that the cover was “meant to be more intimate but just as saturated with the power of love.” She continued: “I can’t listen to this song without tearing up every time Willie comes in, one of the purest voices which of course reflects a pure heart, and I get to sing alongside it. I never knew if it was actually going to happen but you must dare to dream. I hope the song brings as much light to the listener as it has to me in dark times.”

You just heard a version of Freddie Mercury and David Bowie's "Under Pressure." And now, here's Freddie Mercury himself.... -- "Confronted with everything in such quick succession, the tragedy and speed of his death a few years later seemed only to amplify the potency of Mercury’s most glorious performance. It felt as though having been allotted his finite portion of life, he had spent it in lavish, outrageous bursts, sharing delightedly with that crowd on July 13, 1985." Here's a great tribute to that extraordinary live performance: www.cnn.com -- Here's that entire 21-minute performance: www.youtube.com

George Michael performed the song with Queen's remaining members at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in April 1992. -- "The performance most well known in my career," Michael said in the documentary Freedom, "was sung to my lover who was dying." Anselmo Feleppa had just been diagnosed with AIDS, but Michael wasn’t publicly out – so his relationship with Feleppa was a secret. That left Michael to take the stage while enduring a very personal pain, even as he honored another of the disease's victims. “I went out there knowing I had to honor Freddie Mercury and I had to pray for Anselmo,” Michael said in the film, which was produced before he passed away in 2016. “I just wanted to die inside. I was so overwhelmed by singing the songs of this man I had worshiped as a child, who had passed away in the same manner my first living partner was going to experience.” : ultimateclassicrock.com

David Bowie covered this Pixies song on his Heathen album in 2002. -- See Bowie in a 2002 live performance of this song, written by Frank Black: www.youtube.com

“The Holiday Song” plays a pivotal role in the development of the Pixies as a band – it’s one of the first songs Black Francis wrote with guitarist Joey Santiago and it’s the song that convinced Kim Deal to join the band. She said, "There was no audition, believe me. […] I heard Charles play ‘The Holiday Song, I said cool, and I was in. There was not even a “You’re in.” -- Here's a live performance from Brixton in 1991: www.youtube.com

"This is a song about a superhero named Tony It's called "Tony's Theme" Here are the lyrics to this song, srittten by Frank Black and produced by Steve Albini: genius.com

"'Debaser' opens with a single, throbbing bass line from Kim Deal, before Santiago’s blazing riff and the throaty yelp of Francis: ‘Got me a movie/I want you to know/Slicing up eyeballs/I want you to know/Girlie so groovy/I want you to know/Don’t know about you/But I am un chien Andalusia.’ It’s enough to make your scalp tingle.": www.loudersound.com

This song was a a tribute to jazz cool cat Mose Allison. Here's his 2016 NY Times obituary: www.nytimes.com -- Here are Pixies performing it live in 1991: www.youtube.com

A smashing cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain song, originally recorded for the group's 1989 album Automatic. Trompe Le Monde was released between the band's brief hiatus and initial breakup (though they did reunite in 2004), where front man Black Francis became known as "Frank Black" and bassist Kim Deal went full time with The Breeders, arguably marking the end of a significant era in Pixies' history.

Kim Deal was the former bassist for Pixies before becoming frontwoman for The Breeders. -- Enjoy a 2018 feature on the artist: thegentlewoman.co.uk

This song sampled The Breeder's "Cannonball." Shad also pulled bits of "Top Billin'" by Audio Two and "La Di Da Di" by Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick. -- Shad (Shadrach Kabango) is a Canadian alternative hip hop recording artist and broadcaster ...and is featured on The Morning Show theme song!

Also part of the "Snatch" soundtrack. -- In his book The Stranglers Song By Song, Hugh Cornwell said that "'Golden Brown' works on two levels. It's about heroin and also about a girl. Essentially the lyrics describe how both provided me with pleasurable times.": www.smoothradio.com

Steve Churchyard was the engineer on both this song and the previous one by The Stranglers. - Here's an interview with the producer, mixer, and engineer who has been nominated for 15 Grammys: www.songchecks.com

INXS was on the rise when they toured America for the first time in 1983. On that trek, they listened to a lot of music Nile Rodgers created, especially his solo album released that year, Adventures In The Land Of The Good Groove. They convinced Rodgers to produce a track on their next album called "Brand New Day," which INXS primary songwriters Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence had written. The band had done all their recording in their native Australia, but Rodgers had them work at Power Station Studios in New York City. The song was re-titled "Original Sin," and infused with Rodgers' signature funk. It also featured a special guest: Daryl Hall, who Rodgers brought in to bolster the vocals.

Daryl Hall provided background vocals on INXS's "Original Sin." He was the writer of "Rich Girl," which was actually written about a boy, the son of a fast-food chain executive.

Michael Jackson confessed that this greatly influenced his hit song "Billie Jean." Daryl Hall recalls that when they were both recording "We Are The World," Jackson told him he hoped Hall didn't mind that he copped the groove. Hall told him he did a good job of stealing it because he didn't even notice.

"On Hold" sampled Daryl Hall and John Oates' "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)." -- Daryl Hall has commented on the band’s use of his work. “It’s always interesting to hear what somebody does with my songs,” he said. “After a song is written, it belongs to the world and can be interpreted anyway they want. As long as I get paid, of course. Have fun and pay me.”

James Thomas Smith, known professionally as Jamie xx, is a member of The xx. Here, he remixes Gil Scott-Heron's "NY Is Killing Me." --

Gil Scott-Heron wrote this poem and song when he was 21 years old. The original, spoken word version of "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" was released in 1970 on his debut album "Small Talk at 125th and Lenox," on which he recited the lyrics, accompanied by congas and bongo drums. In 1971 Gil Scott-Heron and musical partner Brian Jackson re-arranged the song. Jackson jammed on the flute while warm, jazzy rhythms added depth to the previously sparse track. These elements, when added to Scott-Heron's calm and intelligent vocal delivery, earned the song radio airplay across the US. -- Vocals from this song were used in Common's "The 6th Sense."

Labelle, the trio of Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, turned the music world on its head, with their seamless vocalizing (honed singing doo wop in Philadelphia in the 1960s), wild ‘Space Deco’ costumes and extravagant stage shows. : pleasekillme.com -- This is their version of the Gil Scott-Heron song.

Patti LaBelle sang lead vocals on "Lady Marmalade" with backing vocals being contributed by bandmates Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash. -- The song was originally recorded by the group Eleventh Hour for their greatest hits album. LaBelle’s producer Allen Toussaint decided to record the song for Labelle’s album "Nightbirds." Patti LaBelle spoke about the song’s lyrics (about a prostitute in New Orleans), saying: I didn’t know what it was about. Nobody, I swear this is God’s truth. Nobody told me what I’d just sung a song about.“

"Kinky Afro' sampled LaBelle's "Lady Marmalade." -- Watch the iconic video for "Kinky Afro": www.youtube.com

This is Happy Mondays' cover of the Bee Gee's 1977 classic. "Staying Alive" was written by Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb and Robin Gibb.

Speaking of the Bee Gees... -- John Travolta prepared for the "Saturday Night Fever" movie by practicing his dance moves to this song. When he was told by the producers that "Night Fever" would be used for the sequence for which he was practicing, Travolta insisted that "You Should Be Dancing" be used instead.

This 1977 disco instrumental was an adaptation of Beethoven's 5th Symphony for the soundtrack album of "Saturday Night Fever." -- Walter Murphy was an orchestral leader who studied both classical and jazz music piano at the Manhattan School of Music. At one time he was the arranger for Doc Severinsen and The Tonight Show orchestra. Murphy played nearly every instrument on this song -- The rattle that starts shaking up the mix around the one-minute mark was created using a vibraslap, a popular percussive sound of the '70s.

“Eight ferocious notes open one of the most explosive pieces of music ever composed. Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony Number Five premiered in 1808, and quickly won acclaim. Its central motif and raw emotionality have continued to resound through the ages." -- The kids (and adults, too) should see this animated story about the secrets of the world's most famous symphony: thekidshouldseethis.com

Mr. Beethoven, composer of the 5th Symphony, is the subject of this little ditty. Originally a hit for Chuck Berry in 1956, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ was sung by George Harrison on The Beatles’ second album. “If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry.’” --John Lennon

Paul McCartney wrote most of this song was the only Beatle to sing on this. Like "Yesterday," it is one of just a few Beatle songs with only one vocalist. George Harrison came up with the acoustic guitar intro that made the song instantly recognizable. "I think that song wouldn't be anything without that," McCartney said in 2018. "He just made up that riff, and you think about that song without that riff, it wouldn't be half as good."

We made it to Death Cab for Cutie!! Thanks for being with us through this six degrees journey! -- Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service are going on tour this fall for the Transatlanticism & Give Up Anniversary Tour. They will be playing in Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena on October 7, 2023.