R. I. P. Gene McDaniels

Filed in National by on August 1, 2011

Yes, this was the guy who sang ‘A Hundred Pounds of Clay’:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r30Uf_bPRpE[/youtube].

You may not know that he penned two huge hits among his many compositions.

You do now:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzvlivbptXk[/youtube]

Les McCann/Eddie Harris: “Compared to What”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWzaEy_LGjQ[/youtube]

Roberta Flack: “Feel Like Makin’ Love”

About the Author ()

Comments (2)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

  1. Costen Shockley says:

    Those early hits – “…Clay”, “Point of No Return”, “Tower of Strength” – were so playful and pop-py, it’s hard to believe he could write something as nasty as “Compared To What”, which is my kind of protest song: a driving beat, heated improvisation, occasional profanity, and nary an acoustic guitar to be heard. Thanks for posting the full performance.

  2. I LOVE a good Costen Shockley reference. Shockley was from Georgetown and played briefly with the Phillies and, I think, the Angels.

    Anyway, I used to umpire Little League ball. One year, I was umping in one of the state finals, either Little League or Senior League, I can’t remember. The downstate team was from Georgetown, and their coach was…Costen Shockley.

    This song (it’s really cool, give it a listen) might well have been written for Shockley:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20FhOZcHlGc