I’ve been working out at a gym three times a week religiously for the first time in years. I started out just running at the local high school track. I’d load up my iPod with 35-40 minutes of upbeat tunes or classical symphonies and ran laps until the cold weather kicked in.
That’s when I discovered a class run by this amazing woman named Anna, who I can only describe as a bilingual Marine Drill Sergeant who laughs & dances while putting her class through an hour of full-body workout. The class mixes “TRX” with dumbbells, kettle-bells, yoga mats, weighted bars, jump ropes & elastic bands. She has us going from one killer exercise to another with no breaks in between. If you grab a gulp of water while you’re gasping for breath, you have to run back in order to catch up with the rest of the class (which is always full.) The best thing is that no two classes are the same. There are variations for every muscle group. I never miss a class. I’m completely addicted. I plan my weeks around them.
The truly hysterical part to me ( and clearly no one else in the class) is that the music Anna blasts throughout the hour is the exact same music Best Kept Secret would be playing for a killer dance set at a great wedding. I think I can actually tell you the order of tunes, all set to this intense dance-club drum beat. I know the mix includes “Sexyback,” “Let’s Dance,” Pokerface,” “Disturbia,” “Raise Your Glass” & “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger.”
I know this musical mix would seem pretty random to anyone who wasn’t a wedding-band member or an experienced wedding-guest over the past 5 years, but it does crack me up every single time. I guess these songs are/were played for a reason. They are all hard-driving, thumbing-bass, dance tunes motivating you to either keep dancing in your “Black Tie” wedding apparel, or keep pushing yourself for a couple of extra “reps” in sweaty gym clothes.
Just thought I’d share my daily dose of musical wisdom. Whether playing the music myself at weddings, or working out to the same tunes, it’s got me reading my fourth biography of Leonard Bernstein, just for a dose of remembering why I really love music.
When I was very young, I was introduced to the world of theater. My father was an amateur “leading man” actor, playing the roles of Henry Higgins in “My Fair Lady” & The King in “The King & I.” Of course, he was gone by the time I was six….but till this day, I can sing every single lyric from both of those shows. Never really having the confidence, opportunity, (or perhaps talent) to follow the path the eluded my father, I tried to instill that feeling of joy of creating a work of art for others to share in. Suffice it to say, when he made his debut as a playwright & director this year at the Off-Broadway 59E59 Theatres, I knew all the years of driving him to auditions as a child actor had paid off. Being a “fly on the wall” at each of his performances was always a brand new highlight of my life. Whether acting in Ryan Gosling’s first movie “The Believer,” being on “All My Children,” “Law and Order” were always wonderful for me.
Most child actors come to auditions or performances with their mothers, or nannies. I was always the only father at these auditions, so the Assistant Director would invariably welcome me to sit with him with a set of headphones and watch Frank perform on a monitor. My favorite of these is when we spent a full week shooting just an awful pilot called “Radio Free Nutley.”
All of this is to say that having spent a great deal of my life writing music as well as being a musical director is as close as it gets to that feeling of being “on the inside” of the “process” of rehearsing, and fine-tuning a single song in preparation for it’s theatrical debut. I found this gem on YouTube, showing a rehearsal for a beautiful song from the original musical production “Wicked.” In addition to seeing musical veterans Kristen Chenoweth and Idena Menzel (who coincidentally both made memorable guest-starring appearances on the painfully unwatchable “Glee.”
My favorite part of this clip is seeing Stephen Schwartz who wrote “Godspell” when he was 24 years old, working with Winnie Holtzman (who wrote the book for “Wicked.” as well as being one of the principle writers on my favorite television show, “thirtysomething.”
I’ve always enjoyed seeing truly gifted people going through the process of creating something beautiful. If anybody knows of any other clips similar to this one, I’d love to see it. Can you imagine being in the room during the brainstorming of “West Side Story,” with Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Robbins and Artur Laurents?
As a young singer-songwriter priming himself for superstardom, John Mayer introduced James Taylor at an awards show as “The Blueprint.” I thought there was never a more adept description of a musician who truly defined the ultra-personal freedom given to someone with the musical talent and poetic soul with the gift of being able to tap into the tragic depths of his oft-tortured soul without ever being self-pitying or maudlin. I think the classic example would have to be “Fire and Rain.” Here is one of the most iconic American songs ever written. A song about a young man opening up about his heroin addiction, as well as the failure of his first rock band. “Sweet dreams and Flying Machines in pieces on the ground,” isn’t about a plane crash, but the break-up of his band “The Flying Machines” because of his heroin use. The second line is him begging Jesus to help him simply to “make it through another day.” The famous “Suzanne” was a fellow addict at McLean Hospital in Boston, who committed suicide.
These are subjects usually saved for “Beat” poets and depressive novelists, not a singer-songwriter who has personally sold over 100 million albums worldwide. Everyone has their own take on “Fire and Rain,” but I, and I suspect many others related to “I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, but I always thought I’d see you again.” For most of us, it’s the lonely feeling following the break-up of a loving relationship. But it’s James’s unique self-taught guitar sound, and gentle, soothing baritone voice that draws you in, before getting (or needing) the chance to analyze the lyrics. It’s the exact same sound that he uses to sing “You’ve Got A Friend” or “Sweet Baby James” or “Sunny Skies” or hundreds of other songs that have nothing to do with heroin addiction or suicide.
James Taylor might possibly be the most unique musician in the era since recording “pop” songs began. He has not changed his style of acoustic guitar sound, or deeply soulful vocals for the past 42 years. Even Bob Dylan had an electric phase. James Taylor has not changed one thing about what he does, or who he is, since his first album in 1970, that amazingly enough was produced by Apple Records with Paul McCartney and George Harrison playing on “Carolina In My Mind.”
I am convinced there is not another performer/composer who has maintained the purity of his art while freely exposing his personal demons of his insular (pre-TMZ) personal life. Tony Bennett did come to mind, but his brilliance is as an interpreter of other people’s songs, not a composer. James is also responsible for what I consider to be the most perfectly crafted “pop” song ever written, “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight.”
If you mention virtually any contemporary musician, author, playwright, actor or director and you’d get as many detractors as fans. But nobody dislikes James Taylor. He’s untouchable. His songs are one of the most iconic, indestructible forces in American culture. What I always find amusing and a great unspoken tribute to the place James Taylor has in the pantheon of pop/rock culture, is James Cameron’s “Almost Famous.” He cast Billy Crudup as an up-and-coming rock guitarist, who just happens to be a dead ringer for a young James Taylor. The homage is brilliant. I’ve included a picture of the young James Taylor.
James Taylor is one of the few people in “pop” music that I would call a true artist. Establishing himself in an era when most rockers were showing off their virtuosic skills at deafening decibel levels, screaming their vocals, smashing their guitar when not setting them on fire, wearing makeup, trashing hotel rooms, this unique self-taught homesick musician from North Carolina found a way to let you into his troubled, tortured, addicted life without asking any help in carrying his load.
.
Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, but I’m gonna start to post 3-4 times a week, if not every day. But that means you’re going to have to deal with some movie reviews as well. Or stories about my genius son who’s written and is directing a show Off-Broadway (in Manhattan) opening February 21st.
But I want to share a story that happened about a month ago.
Back in 1986, Hugh Hefner decided he was going to re-open the Playboy Club in New York. So he held auditions for a Musical Director from NY to Chicago. I got the gig, as well as a First Class ticket to Chicago (1st time,) a suite at The Drake Hotel on Chicago’s Gold Coast (1st time,) and a Platinum American Express Card with the Playboy logo on it (1st platinum anything.) My first job was to help choose which bikini-clad young women would be chosen to be “Bunnies” at the new Manhattan Club. That was definitely a first, and sadly the last time for that treat. I promise, I’m a feminist, but c’mon….sitting next to Hef?
Anyway, Hef and Christie (Hefner) leave with my job being to put together a 13-piece band, making me a very popular guy among aspiring young musicians, instrumental and vocal. My first call was my friend Robbie Mathes, who I had known since he was 16. We had a rock ‘n roll band together singing tunes we wrote together and lots of Doobie Brothers covers. Next was a young sax player named Andy Snitzer, who I first heard when I accompanied my mentor, Bob James, to the University of Miami. Starting with those two I started the audition process, which was really fun, I’ve got to admit. Which leads me to the point of this diatribe. One of the people I found on the first day of auditions (actually brought in by Andy) was a baby-faced young trumpet player named Chris Botti.
To make a long story short, the club only stayed open for a little more than a year, and there I was with this amazing band and nothing to do with it. So I started Best Kept Secret. None of us owned tuxes or had even been to black tie weddings or corporate parties. But I started calling every major law firm, advertising firm, you name it, until we were established. Then the weddings started rolling in. So if you were a lawyer at Skadden Arps, Shearson Lehman, etc., or had Best Kept Secret at your wedding from 1989-1993, you had Chris at your party.
Using BKS as a jumping off point, Chris has gone on to be the number one selling jazz artist in the world, selling over 3 million albums worldwide, having 3 albums ranked No 1 on Billboard’s Jazz Charts, a bunch of Grammys, etc. Oh, and his best friend and mentor is Sting. Undoubtedly the best resume of anyone who used to play weddings for a living.
So 25 years after I hired Chris, I went to hang out with him before a show he booked at the Tarrytown Music Hall before his annual 2-week gig at The Bottom Line. After a pre-show cup of cappuccino with Chris and my wife Sari, he took the stage and we took the seats he gave us in the audience. In the middle of the show, he stops and I feel a spotlight on me. Chris begins to talk to the crowd…… “When I came to New York, I was a broke musician for one day, then I heard about these auditions for the new Playboy Club….” “Hey Doug, when exactly was that, without giving away our ages?” (He actually remembered the exact date, July 3rd, which was pretty impressive.) Then he asks me to stand up and tells the audience that I was the one who discovered him, giving him his first job. I’ve got to say I was speechless, which is very rare for me. And that he said it with my wife of 27 years sitting next to me meant the world to me.
It was the kind of gratifying moment that rarely ever happens in front of an audience. After the show, I was surrounded by people who thought that Chris was only in Westchester because of me. It was pretty damn cool. Way back when we were doing the nightly Playboy Club, I used to have the band play a couple of ballads I had written and always managed to have Chris come down and solo during each song. Believe it or not, each performance was videotaped and I would kill for those tapes now.
I felt the same way in 1986 that I feel now. Chris Botti has the warmest, most beautiful sound to come out of a horn since John Coltrane. I’m truly proud to call Chris my friend. And thanks for the “shout out.” Here’s just a sample of his sound. He walks off the stage to sing to “My Funny Valentine” to Sting’s wife, Trudy. Enjoy!
I wanted to introduce you to, or hopefully reintroduce you to, the single best “pop” song ever produced. The song is called “In The Stone” by Earth Wind & Fire. If you’re listening for the first time, or for the hundredth time, start by being instantly captivated by the triumphal Earth Wind & Fire horn section (which are really a bunch of L.A. studio horn players led by Jerry Hey & Chuck Findley) opening the song with the confidence of a Beethoven Symphony. The rest is self-explanatory. Quite simply the most powerful song ever produced.
The song was not even close to being the best selling hit of the Earth Wind & Fire library. As a matter of fact it never broke the No. 58 spot on the Billboard Top 100. This one album “I Am” also produced the mega-hits “After The Love Is Gone” as well as the classic “Boogie Wonderland,” so it’s not surprising that In The Stone got a little lost in the shuffle. I just believe on some visceral level that this song represents all the power, confidence and full-out production values that were so prevalent in the late seventies R ‘n B music.
I just got off the phone with one of my clients who told me about a song he wants to walk down the aisle to at his wedding. The song is “Blue Sky” by The Allman Brothers, and this very sophisticated, successful groom simply called it his “Happy Song.” So I guess for all it’s musical magisty, “in The Stone” along with it’s album brother “Boogie Wonderland” would have to be my “Happy Songs.”
Interestingly enough, 30 years after this 1979 album came out with both of these songs, “Boogie Wonderland” was used to encapsulate all that was great and fun about 1970s “R ‘n B” music in the movie “Happy Feet;” and a full out marching band arrangement was used in the seminal (guilty pleasure) movie (which introduced Nick Cannon and Zoe Saldana) to celebrate, once again, by the old school hard-edged horn bands of the late 1970s.
This, my friends is one badass song. Don’t miss the first few seconds. It just kills me. Let me know what you think.
-Doug
Dear Doug, I’ve written this recommendation of your work to share with other LinkedIn users.
Details of the Recommendation: “Doug Winters and his highly skilled musicians were recommended to us from a friend. Once we met Doug and had the chance to see his work we we’re blown away. Doug Winters and his amazing musicians are the BEST band, musicians, singers and entertainers you can possibly find in the Tri State and they made our wedding more special than we ever imagined. All anyone said after the wedding was” Who the hell was that band, they are AMAZING!!! Thanks for the memories Doug!” Service Category: Entertainment Year first hired: 2009 Top Qualities: Great Results, Personable, High Integrity
This is one of my all-time favorite songs from the first note to the last. It starts out with a screaming guitar solo over a thumping bass repeating a single note over and over punctuated by one of the best horn sections ever put together. playing impossibly short, powerful staccato hits. Then the lead singer bursts in, accompanied by this already established unstoppable rhythm section with the horns playing even longer lines accentuating every vocal line.
Allow me to introduce you to one of the best thing to come out of the 1970s, Tower Of Power, and their near-iconic pop hit, “What Is Hip?”
There’s nothing astonishingly profound about the lyrics. They simply state that too many people try way too hard to be what other people consider “hip.” It’s not a very deep, esoteric concept, but isn’t everyone trying to keep up with the latest fashion trends, go to the “right” clubs where the “cool” people hang out? Before I try to bleed all the “hipness” out of this song, give it a listen and see why it made my list.
Stranded on our proverbial desert island, you need a combination of fun songs and contemplative ballads. If you’ve never heard “What Is Hip?” before, listen carefully. This is some great stuff. Check out what sounds like the ending, with a crashing horn chord at the 3:30 mark, only to open back up with a great, yet subtle organ solo that continues throughout the rest of the song, along with the horns and the repetitive vocals.
And if you want to hear the best ending ever written to a pop song, just go to the 4:43 point and listen to how it continues to build with those same short horn hits that we heard in the opening…..eventually coming to a snap ending punctuated by the horns as they jump a full octave. It’s still the best ending to any pop song….ever.
“So you wanna jump out yo trick bag, ease on into a hip bag.
But you ain’t just exactly sure what’s hip.
So you start to let your hair grow, spent big bucks on your wardrobe.
But somehow you know there’s much more to the trip.
What is hip? Tell me tell me, if you think ya know.
What is hip? And if you’re really hip, the passing years will show,
You into a hip trip, maybe hipper than hip. But what is hip?”
“So you became part of the new breed, been smoking only the best weed.
Hanging out with so-called hippest set.
Been seen in all the right places,seen with just the right faces.
You should be satisfied,but still it ain’t quite right.
Hipness is what it is! Sometimes hipness is what it ain’t!
You done went and found you a guru,in an effort to find you a new you.
And maybe even managed to raise your conscience level.
As you’re striving to find the right road,there’s one thing you should know,
What’s hip today might become passe.”
OK, it doesn’t exactly read like a Shakespearean sonnet, but it does, repetitively, get its point across. No one knows what hipness is. And the more you do what you think other people’s idea of what “hip” is, you become less and less hip. I can’t believe I just attempted to analyze the lyrics to “What Is Hip? But one listen and I’m sure you’ll see what I always found irresistible about this “R & B” classic. From the first note to the last crashing horn ending, Tower Of Power created a genuinely iconic piece of music that represents the best of the 1970s “horn bands” that included such heavyweights as Earth Wind & Fire, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Chicago and of course, the Average White Band.
Just remember, “hipness is..what it is. But sometimes hipness is…what it ain’t.”
Till my next post just remember, “what’s hip today, may become passe.”
Listen and enjoy.
-Doug
Sticking to my word to post at least once a day, we enter day three. Now please remember. This list is specifically my personal favorite pop tunes that I’d want with me if I was ever stranded on a desert island. This whole “list-making” concept is the brainchild of Tom Stoppard in his play “The Real Thing” in which he was the first to coin the phrase “Desert Island Discs.” So in keeping with the original concept, if I were truly trapped on a desert island (with the presumption there would be a power source to keep my iPod charged) I’d want some fun songs that I’d be able to dance around wearing nothing but an “Adam & Eve” style fig-leaf.
This song is near and dear to my heart because it was prominently featured in a movie called “Hardball” that I first watched with my son Ben when it first came out in 2001. The movie starred Keanu Reeves as a self-destructive gambler who owes money to some “leg-breakers.” (So far, not exactly a brand new concept.)
So what happens is the Keanu borrows money from his corporate lawyer friend in exchange for Reeves coaching the Little League team that he had been volunteering to coach. Skip the part where his team can barely play and he ends up taking them to winning the League Championship, and go straight to the part where he has to find one kid who can actually pitch. Oh, I left out that the team is made up of all-African American kids literally in the shadows of the worst projects in the country (Chicago’s Cabrini Greens.) So there’s this one tall gawky, glassed wearing kid who volunteers to pitch. He wears head phones and before he throws each pitch he raises his hands over his head clearly in time to the music. It’s not until Coach Keanu asks the adorable kid who’s too young to play “What’s he listening to” that we hear the strains of “Big Poppa.”
Not being a big rap fan, mostly because I can never hear the words, they play this song over and over throughout the course of the movie. At one point Keanu and his white pal go into the neighborhood bar (in which Keanu owes the money to) singing “…and I see some ladies here tonight who should be having my baby, baby” (one of the many catchy lyrics in “Big Poppa.”
Suffice it to say that if became my and my 9 year old son’s favorite song. Not that it’s so great. But it represented the first “grown-up” song we could both relate to. To this day, we can both sing the whole song through and through.
So if “I Gotcha” reminds me of one of the great sexiest moments in my life. “Big Poppa” will always represent the one of the classic moments of true bonding with my son.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Let me know what you think.
Day two of my 90 day guarantee to post daily. I was working on my first official list. This one being my Top 5 Pop Tunes Not exactly wedding wisdom as my blog title suggests. But all the tunes on this list are definitely terrific dance songs. So I’m moving straight to one of my favorite composers matched with arguably the best interpreter of contemporary popular music since Frank Sinatra, Luther Vandross.
The song is “A House Is Not A Home.” It’s a relatively simple song that Luther manages to squeeze every last drop out of every note by Bachrach and lyric, by his longtime musical collaborator, Hal David. The song was originally recorded by Dionne Warwick in 1964 and never reached more that #74 on the Pop Charts. But Luther manages to turn a simple, lovely tune about a broken heart into a six and 1/2 minute soulful aria.
Luther, like Sinatra, was a master of taking songs other people had recorded, adding a lush arrangement, and make you forget anyone had ever sung it before. Check out what he does with “Creepin,” written by the incomparable Stevie Wonder.
In making this list, I knew I had to have at least one Luther gem. Here it is. Watch and listen to the performance until the very end. It’s only 6 & 1/2 minutes, but worth every second. I promise to keep this blog about dispensing as much “wedding wisdom” as possible, but I want you to start to understand my musical sensibilities. As always, I welcome your input. Enjoy this live performance, and watch how he barely moves, allowing his incredible vocal instrument to create this amazing performance.
Wedding Wisdom 