Posted on 10/27/2018 11:47:34 AM PDT by CaliforniaCraftBeer
He joined the Motown house band, the Funk Brothers, in 1968 and later played on one of the Temptations’ most iconic singles, “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” which incorporates long, flickering funk riffs, bluesy excursions and pointillistic solos. The shimmery, lingering guitar part after the line “it was the third of September” is a perfect demonstration of the wah wah pedal effect. Ragin went on to appear on both Marvin Gaye’s sensual masterpieces, Let’s Get It On and I Want You, Quincy Jones’ most successful solo LP, Body Heat, Rose Royce’s breakout album, Car Wash, Smokey Robinson’s criminally underappreciated Love Breeze, disco classics from Gloria Gaynor (“I Will Survive”) and Michael Jackson’s solo starmaking LP Off the Wall...
(Excerpt) Read more at rollingstone.com ...
RIP.
I liked the Temptations, but most Motown CDs sound like crap. Or, at least, they did. I don’t know if it’s because of the quality of the original recordings or their transfer to digital.
Motown’s recording studio was the basement of a house.
A lot of remixing has gone on and seems like nothing sounds like the original anymore. I believe the Funk Brothers may have played on more number 1’s than any studio band. I love watching the studio band history videos of the “Wrecking” Crew, Motown, Muscle Shoals, and Chess records, to name a few. I remember staying up late listening to my radio picking up stations out of New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati, and Detroit. I love the music from the 50’s and 60’s mostly, although the band I play in does plays music from the 20’s - 40’s (which I like, also).
The Atlantic Records R&B recordings from 1947-1974 are mostly awesome and transferred exceptionally well to digital. I got them used and used to play them often. The sonics range from solid to spectacular. Highly recommended.
thanks!
I just listened to that song the other day, Papa Was a Rolling Stone and found it so poignant it actually made me tear up a bit for a min there. Pretty thoughtful song.
What a beautiful back sound too.
RIP Wah Wah Watson.
One of my favorite songs!
from allmusicguide.com:
‘...[Universal Music Group] had its own Internet-only label, Hip-O Select, which finally provided an avenue for the release of The Complete Motown Singles, which was launched after a long, long wait in early 2005 with the six-disc set Vol. 1: 1959-1961. It was the first installment of a planned 12-volume series of box sets that would cover all Motown singles, including all variations of the singles and all of the label’s subsidiaries, from 1959 to 1972, when the label moved its home office from Detroit to Los Angeles. All the songs would be presented in their original single form (usually meaning a mono mix), transferred from vinyl if necessary (since master tapes for many of the rarities have vanished), and each box would be packaged as a deluxe hardcover book, with a reproduced 45 of an original Motown hit incorporated as part of the cover artwork, while the inside would contain rare photos and contain a wealth of information in the track-by-track notes by Bill Dahl and Keith Hughes. In short, it’s a lavish, ambitious series, and a pricey one as well...’
One of the younger Brothers...RIP sir and thanks for the wonderful music.
Hall Of Fame American Music.
“transferred from vinyl if necessary (since master tapes for many of the rarities have vanished),”
I would definitely want to hear that before purchasing it.
It reminds me of Simon and Garfunkel’s original master tapes disappearing. The CDs have suffered for it.
http://www.wahwah.com/ - One can press the pedals to hear his sound. One I recognize, I think played during “it was the 5th of” but can’t remember which song.
I love Motown music. RIP.
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