Song of the Day 10/31: Santana and Peter Green, “Black Magic Woman”
A song in honor of our modern celebration of the Celtic pagan harvest festival Samhain.
Peter Green, the founder and original guitarist for Fleetwood Mac, wrote it about his girlfriend. Carlos Santana and his eponymous band made it a classic rock staple. On only one occasion did they play it together.
By coincidence, or perhaps not given the twin trusses of bias and commercialism that undergird the Rock Hall of Fame, Santana and Fleetwood Mac both were inducted into the institution in 1998. By then the all-star Super Jam, kicked off by the late Jerry Lee Lewis at the inaugural event, had become a tradition, so it was only natural that the reclusive Green join Santana to play what had become a signature tune for both. Green, considered one of the best guitarists of the British blues revival, died in 2020.
Fleetwood Mac’s recording, released as a stand-alone single in 1968, made No. 37 on the UK charts. The band kept it in their concert list long after drugs and mental illness forced Green to leave the band for good in 1971. By the late ’80s John McVie insisted they stop playing it because it was too strongly associated with Santana.
Santana’s arrangement differed from the original, not least because of the Latin-flavored percussion that marked the band’s classic lineup. The song appeared on their second LP, 1970’s”Abraxas,” and as a single reached No. 4 on the Hot 100 in 1971.
Al – Thought of you when I read this:
https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2022/10/the-shock-of-the-old
According to MRC Data, old songs now represent 70% of the US music market.
Those who make a living from new music—especially that endangered species known as the working musician—have to look on these figures with fear and trembling. . .
Consider these other trends:
– The hottest area of investment in the music business is old songs—with investment firms getting into bidding wars to buy publishing catalogs from aging rock and pop stars.
– The song catalogs in most demand are by musicians in their 70s or 80s (Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, etc.)—if not already dead (David Bowie, James Brown, etc.).
– Even major record labels are participating in the shift, with Universal Music, Sony Music, Warner Music, and others buying up publishing catalogs—investing huge sums in old tunes that, in an earlier day, would have been used to launch new artists.
– The hottest technology in music is a format that is more than 70 years old, the vinyl LP. There’s no sign that the record labels are investing in a newer, better alternative—because, here too, old is viewed as superior to new.
– In fact, record labels—once a source of innovation in consumer products—don’t spend any money on research & development to revitalize their businesses, although every other industry looks to innovation for growth and consumer excitement.
– Record stores are caught up in the same time warp. In an earlier day, they aggressively marketed new music, but now they make more money from vinyl reissues and used LPs.
– Radio stations are contributing to the stagnation, putting fewer new songs into their rotation, or—judging by the offerings on my satellite radio lineup—completely ignoring new music in favor of old hits.
– When a new song overcomes these obstacles and actually becomes a hit, the risk of copyright lawsuits is greater than ever before. The risks have increased enormously since the “Blurred Lines” jury decision of 2015—with the result that additional cash gets transferred from today’s musicians to old (or deceased) artists.
– Adding to the nightmare, dead musicians are now coming back to life in virtual form—via holograms and deepfake music—making it all the harder for a young, living artist to compete in the marketplace
I think these are bad investments, because I don’t think rock music will much outlive Gen X.
Greetings from another old musician: Love the song but classic rock will die with we Boomers, Gen X may keep it limping along. Music trends tend to live a thirty to forty year life and then are replaced, rap has reached that point and just like rock will fade with time. Me? I’m really stuck in the past and listen to classical, jazz and opera.
I don’t think classic rock will die with the boomers at all. In fact my anecdotal experience tells me quite the opposite. My daughter, niece and nephew are all gen z and they buy the 60’s and 70’s stuff on vinyl and have extensive playlists of songs on their devices that this gen xer has mostly forgotten. My grandson, a gen alpha indulges in the classic rock like AC/DC, post Syd Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin too so maybe the investor class knows what they are doing after all. I rarely indulge in the classic rock anymore as it doesn’t really do anything for me. When I do listen to music it is classical. My musician millennial son however listens and plays pretty much what was circulating outside the pop charts when he was coming up…..Green Day, Dave Mathews, etc, music almost none of which I’m familiar with.
Same with my young relatives, but they tell me their tastes are not widely shared.
It will survive, but it’s not commercially dominant anymore, and I don’t think it ever will be.