Eugene McDaniels's guest appearances

Eugene McDaniels

Pullin from the Stacks

Getting to Know You with Susan McCray

Heat Rocks

Accolades

Chris Ryan

Sean Fennessey

Jason Concepcion

Shea Serrano

Lindsay Zoladz

Bernie Sanders

Raphael Saadiq

Janelle Monae

Emily Yoshida

Jeff Weiss

Jesse Thorn

Curtis Mayfield

Quincy Jones

Joni Mitchell

Jeff Parker

OwlTail

In episode 60 I talk to Rachid Fakhre (Spang Sisters) about Eugene McDaniels, an indelible stamp on the face of modern music. His career as an artist, songwriter, and producer not only spanned decades and genres, but entire generations, weaving its way through the work of fellow artists, often marking their successes as well as taking its own trailblazing path. Eugene McDaniels always arrived in the first wave - seeking then finding new, and sometimes strange, territories. He will always be known as one of the pioneers, wherever his work and words take him. Even from its inception, his career was destined to rattle the establishment. His first Billboard hits as Gene McDaniels, “A Hundred Pounds of Clay,” and “Tower of Strength,” shot to the Billboard Top 10 on the mainstream pop charts in an era where music by black artists was relegated to “race music.” A decade after his initial successes, Eugene planted a flag for the emerging black consciousness movement, reclaiming his name, his identity as an artist, and declaring a new purpose for the socially explosive Outlaw and Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse albums. 

In episode 60 I talk to Rachid Fakhre (Spang Sisters) about Eugene McDaniels, an indelible stamp on the face of modern music. His career as an artist, songwriter, and producer not only spanned decades and genres, but entire generations, weaving its way through the work of fellow artists, often marking their successes as well as taking its own trailblazing path. Eugene McDaniels always arrived in the first wave - seeking then finding new, and sometimes strange, territories. He will always be known as one of the pioneers, wherever his work and words take him. Even from its inception, his career was destined to rattle the establishment. His first Billboard hits as Gene McDaniels, “A Hundred Pounds of Clay,” and “Tower of Strength,” shot to the Billboard Top 10 on the mainstream pop charts in an era where music by black artists was relegated to “race music.” A decade after his initial successes, Eugene planted a flag for the emerging black consciousness movement, reclaiming his name, his identity as an artist, and declaring a new purpose for the socially explosive Outlaw and Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse albums.

Ep 60: Rachid Fakhre (Spang Sisters) on Eugene McDaniels | Accolades 

The second monthly episode of the Knowledge Breaks series is dedicated to the great Eugene McDaniels aka the Left Rev McD. McDaniels took a turn in the late 1960s from singing more straight-ahead jazz and soul singing to much more politically-themed works, both song by himself as well as written for others, such as the song "Compared to What" made famous by Les McCann and Eddie Harris. I think many beat-heads and record fiends know about McDaniels' epic "Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse" album for the samples and its rarity, but the songs on the album scared the U.S. power structure so much that McDaniels was essentially blacklisted by his own record label. This didn't stop him however from setting up his own publishing company, which allowed him to survive on the royalties from his song writing, which includes the classic "Feel Like Making Love." There wasn't a tremendous amount of interview or vocal snippets available but I found a few great ones that I recommend listening to in full below. Since many of the breaks on "Headless Heroes" are well-known, I tried to mix in a few of his other works as well as covers and more obscure songs. His music and words are HIGHLY recommended and I hope everyone checks out his songs if you haven't before. Clips on this mix are from some great videos linked on my Soundcloud page. Please share!

Knowledge Breaks - Eugene McDaniels

Bardo Martinez

When we approached Bardo Martinez of Chicano Batman, we figured he'd go with a left-field album choice and he did not disappoint. Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse was a cult LPs for years, one of the most overtly political albums of the entire '70s (least of all on Atlantic Records!) and might have been wholly forgotten if not for '90s hip-hop producers rediscovering it and using it as sample fodder. However, all groovy groove aside, Headless Heroes is also an astonishing album in regards to McDaniels' explicit politics regarding everything from the U.S. treatment of Native Americans to blue eyed minstrels to Watergate. It was supposedly blacklisted by no less than the Vice President of the U.S. (Spiro Agnew). As Chicano Batman are no strangers to merging message and music, it was the perfect LP for Bardo and us to dig into, least of all in this current political moment. More on Eugene McDaniels and Headless Heroes  The late McDaniels website Mark Anthony Neal on McDaniels' legacy Testimonials about Headless Heroes  More on Bardo Martinez and Chicano Batman  Alex Piveysky's interview with Bardo Oliver's review of Chicano Batman's Freedom is Free Band Website | Twitter | Bardo's Instagram  Show Tracklisting (all songs from Headless Heroes unless indicated otherwise):  “Jagger The Dagger” Chicano Batman: “Freedom is Free” Freedom Is Free “The Parasite” “Supermarket Blues” “Lovin Man” John Lennon: “Instant Karma” Gene McDaniels: “Tower of Strength” Tower of Strength Eddie Harris &amp; Les McCann: “Compared to What” Swiss Movement Eugene McDaniels: “Cherrystones” Outlaw “Susan Jane” “Freedom Death Dance” Eddie Harris: “Freedom Jazz Dance” The In Sound “The Lord Is Back”  If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

When we approached Bardo Martinez of Chicano Batman, we figured he'd go with a left-field album choice and he did not disappoint. Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse was a cult LPs for years, one of the most overtly political albums of the entire '70s (least of all on Atlantic Records!) and might have been wholly forgotten if not for '90s hip-hop producers rediscovering it and using it as sample fodder. However, all groovy groove aside, Headless Heroes is also an astonishing album in regards to McDaniels' explicit politics regarding everything from the U.S. treatment of Native Americans to blue eyed minstrels to Watergate. It was supposedly blacklisted by no less than the Vice President of the U.S. (Spiro Agnew). As Chicano Batman are no strangers to merging message and music, it was the perfect LP for Bardo and us to dig into, least of all in this current political moment. More on Eugene McDaniels and Headless Heroes <ul> <li>The late McDaniels <a href="http://eugenemcdaniels.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a></li> <li>Mark Anthony Neal on <a href="http://www.newblackmaninexile.net/2011/08/trying-to-make-it-real-remembering.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">McDaniels' legacy</a></li> <li><a href="http://eugenemcdaniels.com/headless-heroes/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Testimonials</a> about Headless Heroes</li> </ul> More on Bardo Martinez and Chicano Batman <ul> <li>Alex Piveysky's <a href="http://www.passionweiss.com/2011/07/29/question-in-the-form-of-an-answer-bardo-martinez-of-chicano-batman/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">interview with Bardo</a></li> <li>Oliver's <a href="https://www.npr.org/2017/02/23/516630938/first-listen-chicano-batman-freedom-is-free" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">review of Chicano Batman's Freedom is Free</a></li> <li><a href="http://chicanobatman.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Band Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/chicanobatman?lang=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | Bardo's <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bardomartinezart/?hl=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li> </ul> Show Tracklisting (all songs from Headless Heroes unless indicated otherwise): <ul> <li>“Jagger The Dagger”</li> <li>Chicano Batman: “Freedom is Free” Freedom Is Free</li> <li>“The Parasite”</li> <li>“Supermarket Blues”</li> <li>“Lovin Man”</li> <li>John Lennon: “Instant Karma”</li> <li>Gene McDaniels: “Tower of Strength” Tower of Strength</li> <li>Eddie Harris &amp; Les McCann: “Compared to What” Swiss Movement</li> <li>Eugene McDaniels: “Cherrystones” Outlaw</li> <li>“Susan Jane”</li> <li>“Freedom Death Dance”</li> <li>Eddie Harris: “Freedom Jazz Dance” The In Sound</li> <li>“The Lord Is Back”</li> </ul> If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/heat-rocks/id1290971833?mt=2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">do it here!</a>

Bardo Martinez on Eugene McDaniels' "Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse"