Melvin Van Peebles
Melvin Van Peebles' status as a pioneering African-American filmmaker likely obscures the fact that he also busted barriers and blazed trails as one of the forebears of rap music. If there's anyone who could draw from a large pool of life experiences, it was Van Peebles, a supremely creative individual who could also list Air Force bombardier, cable car driver, postal worker, portrait painter, journalist, novelist, playwright, and actor to his résumé. Not only that, but he lived in several locations throughout the U.S., Mexico, France, and Holland. Most of the attention aimed at Van Peebles over the years came through the films he had written, directed, and scored -- including The Story of a Three-Day Pass (1968), The Watermelon Man (1970), and Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971) -- but he also revolutionized Black music with several albums that combined rapping with out-there jazz and funk.
Just after Van Peebles completed his direction of The Story of a Three-Day Pass, he signed a recording contract with A&M. The result was 1968's Br'er Soul; with its back-cover sleeve work simply stating "Free Huey," the grooves within consisted of the artist's streetwise raps with free jazz accompaniment. 1971's Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death, a Broadway production helmed by Van Peebles, yielded an original Broadway cast double LP -- like Br'er Soul, it was released on A&M. That same year saw the release of the revolutionary Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which also featured a soundtrack recording with each track penned by the director. One of his finest recording moments without ties to cinema or Broadway came that same year; As Serious as a Heart Attack took his eclectic mishmash of soul, funk, jazz, and rapping even further and featured backing from Doug Carn, Albert Hall, and Tom Scott.
Van Peebles' prolific run continued with the double album for the 1972 musical Don't Play Us Cheap, which was a little lighter in tone than its predecessor. The director wasn't able to get it on the big screen, so he took it to Broadway. He landed on Atlantic for 1974's What the...You Mean I Can't Sing, another studio album that built on his prior non-film/non-stage work. 20 years went by before he returned to recording. Ghetto Gothic, released in 1995 by Capitol, was a characteristically Van Peebles record, filled with stylistic curveballs, Broadway-like compositions, and his animated verbal delivery. Melvin Van Peebles died at his home in Manhattan on September 21, 2021; he was 89 years old.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
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Diskografie
14 Album, -en • Geordnet nach Bestseller
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The Last Transmission
The Heliocentrics, Melvin Van Peebles
Jazz - Erschienen bei Now Again Records am 07.10.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (An Opera) (The Original Cast Soundtrack Album)
Original Soundtrack - Erschienen bei Stax am 01.01.1971
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Don't Play Us Cheap (Original Cast And Soundtrack Album)
Original Soundtrack - Erschienen bei Stax am 01.01.1972
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Watermelon Man
Original Soundtrack - Erschienen bei Beverly Hills Records am 27.01.1970
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Watermelon Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soul - Erschienen bei Beverly Hills Records am 27.01.1970
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (An Opera) (The Original Cast Soundtrack Album)
Original Soundtrack - Erschienen bei Stax am 01.01.1971
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ain't Supposed To Die A Natural Death
Hörbücher - Erschienen bei A&M am 01.02.1970
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
What The...You Mean I Can't Sing?!
Funk - Erschienen bei Rhino Atlantic am 12.02.2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (An Opera) (The Original Cast Soundtrack Album)
Original Soundtrack - Erschienen bei Stax am 01.01.1971
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Identity Crisis
Melvin Van Peebles, Mario Van Peebles
Funk - Erschienen bei Compose Records am 27.05.2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Confessionofa Ex-Doofus-Itchyfooted Mutha
Soul - Erschienen bei YEAH INC - MAGIC CITY RECORDS am 03.08.2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Love, That's America
Funk - Erschienen bei Beverly Hills Records am 02.07.1970
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo