Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson – Johannesburg
Gil Scott-Heron
Listen/Download Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson – Johannesburg
Greetings all
I first heard Gil Scott-Heron, and today’s selection at exactly the same time, that being sometime after 11:30PM on Saturday night December 13, 1975.
How – you may ask – am I able to pinpoint the moment?
Well, my inquisitive friends, it is because both of these things entered my consciousness via an early episode of Saturday Night Live, broadcast (thanks to the interwebs for the info) on that very day, wherein the host of the show was none other than Richard Pryor.
I was a young lad of 13, but even then I knew a good groove when I heard it, and ‘Johannesburg’ is a good groove indeed.
Recorded – with his musical partner Brian Jackson – for the ‘From South Africa to South Carolina’ album, ‘Johannesburg’ was a call to arms about the apartheid regime years before it became a major cause celebre.
The performance on Saturday Night Live predated the release of the album by a month but the single had already been out, hitting the R&B Top 30 in October of 1975.
Gil is in rare form and the lyrics really hit home:
They tell me that our brothers over there
are defyin’ the Man
We don’t know for sure because the news we
get is unreliable, man
Well I hate it when the blood starts flowin’
but I’m glad to see resistance growin’
Somebody tell me what’s the word?
Tell me brother, have you heard
from Johannesburg?
Gil lays it down on electric piano and the rest of the band – especially the percussionists – is extra tight.
Scott-Heron placed a number of tunes in the R&B charts between 1975 and 1984, as well as appearing as part of the No Nukes concerts in 1979.
He continued to record, on and off for the rest of his life, spending much of that time in a tragic struggle with addiction and poor health.
He passed away in 2011.
See you on Wednesday.
Keep the faith
Larry
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Themocracy
Yes. I heard it on SNL too, and saw it again recently on DVD. How far in advance of the cutting edge was SNL in the early days? Amazing.
Those early years were amazing as far as the musical guests were considered. All kinds of interesting stuff, often firmly divorced from the Top Ten.
I most likely heard this when it was on SNL as well, but I have to admit I didn’t recognize its genius. My habit was to watch the show with gentle company, and I was frequently distracted. I’m very glad to catch up with the tune now.