2 thoughts on “Friday Jams Fest”

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   1. The Guardian, R.I.P. Billy Paul:

      This is sort of a mash-up before the age of mash-ups – and arguably one of the most profound that’s existed. Take one of Paul McCartney’s most poignant post-Beatles songs and add horn stabs, strings and hard drums: what emerges is Billy Paul’s unapologetic spin on the sweet original. He takes a melodic number and transforms it into a battle-cry anchored by gutsy production. Malcolm X dialogue is sampled and references to slain civil rights hero Medgar Evers are heard, while jazz icon Louis Armstrong also gets referenced. At the song’s end, Billy’s voice raises to an apex sided with passages from Dr Martin Luther King’s I Have A Dream speech. The outcome is both dramatic and effective, proving Billy can not only sing with gusto, but also completely alter a song’s narrative with heartfelt lyrical substitutions.

       

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