Free Pass #2: Ned Doheny

It's been a long time coming getting back to this "reoccurring series", but let me assure you it's well worth the wait. For those of you who aren't familiar with the concept, there exists a cadre of caucasian-persuasion musicians that Stevie Wonder might inaccurately refer to as his soul brother or sister. In other words, they pass for Black sonically. They also qualify if they're known to be White, but are nonetheless adored by the darker than blue demographic. Some examples: Phil Collins or Average White Band. Actually, tt was thanks to those pale Scottish soul-ders that I learned of Soul Spectrum's second ever Free Pass recipient.
Ned Doheny's 62nd birthday was just a few days ago (March 26th) as I found out just now doing some research. He was born on Doheny Drive in Beverly Hills, CA the grandson of oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny. Like many children of privilege of the time, Ned became a hippie. A Laurel Canyon hippie, to be exact. Ned was part of the extended Asylum records/David Geffen family as you can see from the photo above (from left to right: Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Cass Elliot, David Geffen & Ned Doheny: Venice, California, Easter Sunday, 1972)

As you can see from the photo, David & Ned were close. David's recently minted Asylum Records signed Ned as the very first artist and Ned's self-titled LP came out in 1973. I haven't heard that one yet, but I understand its more in that Laurel Canyon hippie-country style (this blog sure seems to like that kinda stuff). And finally, we get back to the Average White Band story . . . so Hamish Stuart, the falsetto crooning AWB songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is out in L.A. and starts writing songs with Ned. Ned's next album on CBS from 1976 featured the quiet storm classic "A Love of Your Own" which Average White Band also recorded. Ned recorded a follow-up for CBS in 1977, but the label only released the album, "Prone" in Japan in 1979. The single from that album, "To Prove My Love", was released more widely on 12" and 7" formats. A friend recently told me that the legendary DJ David Mancuso of "The Loft" parties played the 12" at the 40th anniversary of the "Love Saves the Day" party.

Ned Doheny - Give it Up for Love
Ned Doheny - A Love of Your Own
Ned Doheny - I've Got Your Number








Ned Doheny - To Prove My Love

O Som Dos Blacks

I'm a big fan of Brazilian DJ records from the 1970s. Taking a look at the tracks that were picked and all of the pictures and documentation of that era is like a secret window into a scene that is long gone. Sure, the Baile Funk parties that continue to rage in the same neighborhoods of Rio owe alot to their precursors such as the the parties thrown by Luizinho Disc Jockey Soul and his cohorts. This particular LP is from 1977 and shows what the height of the Black Rio DJ scene was all about. This album has got some serious funk on it and most of it is pretty deep. I've picked my favorite four cuts from here, but there are some other great ones to sample. If this scene is interesting to you and you wanna learn more, check out Thomas Fawcett's excellent website - Brazil Soul Power. Further down, I embedded a clip from the film "City of God" otherwise known as "Cidade de Deus" which has a scene depicting a favela soul baile. If you haven't seen the movie, check it out (the music is SUPERB!) or just peep the video to get a taste of what one of these 1970s soul parties must have been like. You gotta love the cover of this album. You just couldn't do this in the US! But Brazilian racial politics are different and being a "white" guy who DJs "black" music you could legitimately dress up as a half-black-face uncle sam. God Bless Brazil!


Hudson County - Bim Sala Bim
This is a rare one that's been comped here and there. Killer track.

Brother Soul - Cookies
Love it. That opening must have been sampled somewhere. This should have been my theme song from my cookie-stealing adolescence.

Zulema - Wanna Be Where You Are
A great cover of this tune done in a really upbeat style.

Chocolate Milk - Never Ever Do Without You
I've always liked Chocolate Milk for their work with producer and songwriter Allen Toussaint, but I had never heard this uptempo number until Luizinho introduced me.

And here's the "City of God" video. Skip ahead to 14:00 for the beginning of the party. I recognized the following songs in this sequence:
1) Dance Across the Floor - Jimmy 'Bo' Horne
2) So Very Hard To Go - Tower of Power
3) Kung-Fu Fighting - Carl Douglas.

Also, Seu Jorge's character is getting down at this party, towards the end.

La cité de dieu partie 4
Uploaded by zouz90

The following are all images from the back of the LP. The miracle of modern technology is that I can take pictures and blow them up. These are the best of the bunch. I particularly like Luizinho's "O Som Dos Blacks" logo!

Bobby Caldwell Gets an Upgrade

As I described in the first post in the "Free Pass" series, to receive a "free pass" you need to be White and play music in a traditionally "Black" or R&B/SOUL/FUNK/JAZZ style with such success that Black listeners might not even know that the musician/singer is White and even if they know, they don't care because it fits right in with other more "authentic" musicians or singers.

So, when I first posted Bobby Caldwell's "What You Won't Do For Love" I suggested that Bobby might not qualify for a "Free Pass", but merely a "Day Pass" that one song. Thankfully, I was wrong. Bobby's second album "Cat in the Hat" is equally dope and features this song, which was sampled to great effect on Common's classic jam "The Light." Congratulations Bobby!

Bobby Caldwell - Open Your Eyes

Free Pass #1: Bobby Caldwell

Being a certifiable record-nerd there are many occasions when I sit, stand, smoke around with like-minded individuals. One of the more frequent sessions takes place on the back porch area of my all-time favorite bar in Brooklyn, or anywhere for that matter, Black Betty, where the night's DJ and I can shoot the shit, talk about records for from the din of the sound system. The other night i was back there with DJ Greg Caz of Brazilian Beat Brooklyn fame and I don't know how we got to talking about this, but what I remember is this concept of "Free Pass" - all credit to Greg for this idea. Basically, the "Free Pass" means that an otherwise fair-skinned singer/musician gets respect from Black fans as if this individual were actually Black themselves. The names thrown out that night were Hall & Oates, Michael McDonald, Michael Franks and even Kenny Loggins. This is not say that these artists' entire body of work is exempted from ridicule by the R&B crowd, but maybe for a few songs or an album, they get a "Free Pass."

I already discussed one such artist in the early days of Soul Spectrum, when I profiled Heatwave leading man and Quincy Jones prodigy, Rod Temperton. I like the "Free Pass" concept and I'm gonna make an amendment and allow some artists to only receive a "Day Pass", while others get more leeway with with a "Free Pass."

Today we're gonna start with Bobby Caldwell, who's a classic example of a "Free Pass", though he might only qualify for the "Day Pass" . . . I'm still figuring this guy out and he may indeed have more to offer than this sublime tune off of his debut album, released in 1978 on the T.K. subsidiary, Clouds label. Word just in . . . evidently he's got another gem on his second album, Cat in the Hat, called "Open Your Eyes." I'll have to track it down and post it here soon to see if Bobby gets more than a "Day Pass" . . . until then the jury is out.

Bobby Caldwell - What You Won't Do For Love
This track is just a perfect slice of smooth soul and stands up on its own in addition to its credentials in the sample-game: Aaliyah, Guru, Kool G Rap, Master P and Tupac. Most white R&B singers reveal their true melatonin deficiency in their vocal delivery in very subtle ways, but Bobby is an exception to the rule along with Michael McDonald and maybe Darryl Hall, but we'll get to these guys later . . .