Too much music, too little time! :D

How David Bowie confronted MTV for ignoring black artists in the early 1980s

The Washington Post

By Elahe Izadi January 11 at 3:58 PM 

This photograph taken on May 13, 1983, shows David Bowie during a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival. (Ralph Gatti/AFP/Getty Images file)

All around the world, people are reflecting on the life and legacy of David Bowie — including the time he went on MTV and publicly shamed the network for its lack of diversity.

Rock videos by white musicians dominated the fledgling cable network’s airwaves in 1983 when Bowie sat down with veejay Mark Goodman as part of a press junket for “Let’s Dance,” Bowie’s massive commercial success.

“It occurred to me that, having watched MTV over the last few months, that it’s a solid enterprise and it’s got a lot going for it,” Bowie said in the interview. “I’m just floored by the fact that there are … so few black artists featured on it. Why is that?”

David Bowie criticized MTV for not featuring more black artists

In 1983, MTV interviewed David Bowie who asked host Mark Goodman and asked about the number of black artists featured on the network. (MTV News)

MTV grew out of the world of FM radio, and former radio executives working for the cable channel “perpetuated the segregated playlists they worked with at radio,” said Rob Tannenbaum, co-author of “I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution.”

When MTV launched in 1981, it had only a couple-hundred music videos in its library and few advertisements to fill air time. “On the occasions that MTV was playing black artists, it was only because they had sort of run out of videos,” Tannenbaum said Monday.

Rock musician David Bowie passed away on Jan. 10, after a battle with cancer. The end to his influential, decades-long career sparked hundreds of messages of grief and tribute. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Bowie’s exchange with Goodman is recounted in R. Serge Denisoff’s “Inside MTV.” According to the book, Bowie asked: “Why are there practically no blacks on the network?”

Goodman, who merely introduced the clips and announced the concert dates, explained, “We seem to be doing music that fits into what we want to play on MTV. The company is thinking in terms of narrowcasting.” Bowie pressed on. “There seem to be a lot of black artists making very good videos that I’m surprised aren’t being used on MTV.”

Goodman, placed in the highly uncomfortable position of defending a format totally beyond his control, echoed the company’s demographic policy: “We have to try and do what we think not only New York and Los Angeles will appreciate, but also Poughkeepsie or the Midwest. Pick some town in the Midwest which would be scared to death by … a string of other black faces, or black music.” He went on, “We have to play music we think an entire country is going to like, and certainly we’re a rock-and-roll station.”

The exchange got hotter. Bowie asked: “Don’t you think it’s a frightening predicament to be in?” The intimidated veejay resorted to the radio analogy, “Yeah, but no less so here than in radio.”

The British singer pounced on the reply: “Don’t say, ‘Well, it’s not me, it’s them.’ Is it not possible it should be a conviction of the station and of the radio stations to be fair … to make the media more integrated?”

When MTV did respond to charges of racism, Tannenbaum said, the company’s reasoning was that “black artists aren’t really making a lot of videos — which was kind of true but also completely beside the point. Record companies weren’t giving budgets to black artists to make videos because they knew MTV wouldn’t play those videos.”

The other rationale, echoed in the Bowie interview, was that “MTV was a rock-and-roll network and in their minds rock-and-roll did not include black artists, which made sense to them but didn’t make sense to many people, including David Bowie,” Tannenbaum said.

“And when Bowie had the opportunity to bravely and unselfishly confront MTV about their hypocrisy, he did it.”

On Aug. 1, 1981, MTV aired its first music video, “Video Killed the Radio Star,” by the Buggles.

Goodman reflected on the exchange in “I Want My MTV,” saying that Bowie “asked me why there were so few black faces on MTV. I was in an odd position, because I couldn’t diss the network.

“So when Bowie started in with me, I tried to explain the rock format idea. And Bowie was not having it.

“I was fumpfering around for something to say, and the interview felt like an eternity. The fact was, J.J. [Jackson] and I had been talking about this. He pointed out to me that he was initially down with the rock format, but once MTV started to play Spandau Ballet and ABC — basically, white R&B acts — he felt there was no reason not to play black R&B acts.”

Bowie wasn’t the only music star taking MTV to task. Rick James was the most vocal critical of MTV during this time. As described by Jet magazine in 2006, James, who was black, accused the network of “blatant racism”:

“I’m a crusader without an army,” James said. “All these black artists claim they’re behind me, but when it’s time to make a public statement, you can’t find them. … They’re going to let me do all the rapping and get into trouble and then they’ll reap the benefits.”

Other artists did, however, agree with James and spoke up. During an on-air interview in 1983, music icon David Bowie suddenly asked, “Why are there practically no black artists on the network?” Bowie, the husband of model Iman, who gave the late Luther Vandross his first professional break in 1974 as a backup singer, left VJ Mark Goodman fishing for words.

“Of course, some just thought Rick James is sour grapes because he can’t get his videos on MTV,” Tannenbaum said.

[The strange acting genius of David Bowie]

The optics worked differently for Bowie, a famous white musician beloved by the network and who wielded “influence and power.”

“Here is someone who is on MTV constantly, who was shaming the network,” Tannenbaum said.

#RIP @DavidBowieReal Your life changed my life. Love forever. https://t.co/yQ3NsCesTH pic.twitter.com/sLH2ZyFSE5

— Nile Rodgers (@nilerodgers) January 11, 2016

A friendship with Nile Rodgers also appears to have played a role in the comments Bowie made on MTV about its mostly white playlist.

Rodgers, a legendary musician who co-produced “Let’s Dance,” said Monday:

David listened to me. I remember once explaining to him how, for me, as a black artist, it was very difficult for me to get hits, because we had fewer radio stations to expose our music. So to get attention, a technique of mine was I always started my songs with the chorus: “Ahhh, freak out!” and “We are family!” And then, of course, there’s “Let’s Dance.” So when David gave me this award – for the ARChive of Contemporary Music – he said: “To my friend, Nile Rodgers: the only man who could make me start a song with a chorus.”

1983, when David Bowie blasted MTV for being racist pic.twitter.com/sbE8tXtXh3

— profloumoore (@loumoore12) January 11, 2016

MTV’s color barrier was broken by Michael Jackson’s stardom; the network was essentially forced into playing “Billie Jean,” which became a massive success and helped bolster the struggling network.

As for Bowie’s broadside, it did prompt some media coverage, but it came well before the days of social media and the Internet. Had it happened in today’s world, the video surely would have gone viral, perhaps even forcing immediate change.

But that Bowie was asking such questions wasn’t out of character.

“Among the many other significant accomplishments in his life, Bowie was a great advocate for black music and black musicians,” Tannenbaum said. “This confrontation with Mark Goodman isn’t an outlier in Bowie’s career. It’s something he did pretty often.”

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/...

Hi everyone, well like everyone else, I heard the news today (oh boy)... and I had to post something about the great talent of Mr David Bowie the world lost today. I must say that as a kid, I thought he was intimidating and I didn’t know what to make of him, from his androgynous and just strange-looking videos. Once I got passed that, actually listening to interviews, I started understanding the meaning of the word “artist”. I remember loving his British accent and his soft-spoken  tone that always seemed to utter well thought out  visionary plans. As I was reviewing this blog today, I realized I’d only shared 2 David Bowie videos/songs on here, though there are so many I remember loving, most being his pop hits. Aside from “Wild is the wind” I’ve shared earlier on this blog, one song of his that was burned into my mind was from a movie soundtrack and the mere sound of the music felt simply hypnotic to me. This was my most notable time being impressed that  an English artist was singing in French. :D  So, from the movie “Christiane F”, here is the French version of his song called: “Heroes”, in French “Héros”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcFIj56KL6g

There’s too much I don’t know about him to sum up such a rock and cultural icon, but let me share a wonderful article I’ve found today, in my next post, because I’m afraid it won’t fit here. It’s a terrific article entitled “How David Bowie confronted MTV for ignoring black artists in the early 1980s”,  which supports our own Michael’s beliefs, so I thought it belonged here. Rest in peace Mr Bowie, your music and artistry will live on, God bless. Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, today, I bring you a holiday discovery. During holiday festivities, some names, songs and sounds are perennial favorites and thanks to many holiday movies, I kept hearing the voice of Louis Prima. I decided to borrow a compilation and discovered another voice, the voice of Keely Smith. She and Louis were married for a few years , had 2 kids and had some musical success together including a Grammy for “That old black magic”. The song I want to share with you today is one I’ve posted before by Samn Cooke, called “I wish you love”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPJ-J3NUUyk

It’s a great song and Keely’s voice is nicely showcased on it. She has one of those voices that even if you hear it in the background, the tone and character of it soars above crystal clear: a very nice discovery. I’ll have to check out more of her music. That’s it for now, thanks for  reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hey Kathy, so good to read you on here! You know, the weird thing is I’ve never seen/heard this movie, but just heard the song on TV and fell in love with it. Glad you enjoyed it Kathy. The Michael’s favorite duets article I’d lost when I got my computer fixed, so I’m glad I found it again. Hey, Michael has great taste! :D Take good care sweetie and have a great weekend. Big hugs, sincerely, your friend Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, thanks to someone’s suggestion to Michael for the new CD, I’ll be posting about one of my beloved desert island songs today. I had to double-check because I could not believe I hadn’t posted this gorgeous song before. The suggestion given to Michael was the George Benson version, sung here with Patti Austin. The song is   called “How do you keep the music playing”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lOkCrh69GM

I have to admit it’s a gorgeous version of this song. Well as usual, I had to check other suggestions, other renditions and fell upon this one by Frank Sinatra:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqroti0J82w

I didn’t know he’d recorded it and from the sounds of this video, it must have been late in his career, but I love his phrasing and vulnerability in his delivery. It’s also interesting how he ends it, letting the words do their work and not pushing it.  I first heard this song at the end of the movie “Best friends” starring Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn if I remember correctly. I’ll get to that version in a minute. I was flabbergasted a few years back when I heard it had been previously recorded by Mr Tony Bennett:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPLSY3uBDvI

I found it on his “Artistry of Tony Bennett” box set and just loved it! He has his own phrasing too and you just GOTTA love his ending! This above video is from the 2014 “Cheek to cheek” tour with Lady Gaga, so that’s pretty amazing... All right, here we are, my definitive version of the song, by James Ingram & Patti Austin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7efhUZqb4Y

I don’t know what it is about this version: the mere sound of it, the arrangements, the comfort of the familiarity of my own 80’s memories or what, but it gives me goosebumps and frankly, I get teary-eyed every time just thinking about it. I just want to soak in it with lavender and vanilla-sented candles... XD All right, here’s a special bonus for today, for mine and Michael’s ears, “Baby come to me” live performance by James Ingram & Patti Austin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVo1KZg1xQg

Michael said in a 2011 People interview that this was one of his favorite songs and it’s one of mine too, from the old days of watching Luke and Holly on “General Hospital” in the early 80’s. I knew I’d read it somewhere and it took me all morning, but I found the short transcribed People article where Michael mentioned it.

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.“Michael Bolton Favourite Duets :-

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.

 "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"

 It's got soul and melody and to say no wind, no rain can keep me from you is the ultimate statement.  Tammi had a great voice - and it doesn't get any better than Marvin Gaye.

Celine Dione & Andre Bocelli

"The Prayer"

An absolute masterpiece.  It's basically a mix of classical and pop with an amazing arrangement.

Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers

"Islands In The Stream"

 It's a musical moment with a power unto itself.

 James Ingram & Patti Austin

 "Baby, Come To Me"

 They made it come to life.  James is one of the best singers in the business.

 Stevie Nicks & Tom Petty

 "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"

 To me, it's an unusual pairing, but sometimes a great song will pull people together.

 - Sharon Cotliar.” People magazine July 2011

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Wow, this was nice: I should do this more often! I hope you’ve enjoyed this at least half as much as I did, thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, today’s entry  is a song I’ve been meaning to  add here a while ago, but since I only hear it in the car, I keep forgetting about it. I was reminded of it on the American Music Awards yesterday. So the song is by Charlie Puth featuring Meghan Trainor and is simply called “Marvin Gaye”:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igNVdlXhKcI

I wasn’t sure if I liked it at first, debating whether this guy was riding on Marvin’s coat tails with his style, but then decided this was a tribute. Again,  I was pondering over whether the fact of using Marvin’s name as a verb was respectful, but  I guess this is also an homage to the fact that Marvin’s name is a household name and people should grasp the meaning. I think too much, don’t I? XD Maybe I should stick to name songs like “Barbra Streisand” by Duck Sauce:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp-YTDDyrNI

lol I thought of researching songs with names in their titles, but would then need to research whether the names are of real or fictional people, which sounds like an undertaking so I’ll leave it at that for today. Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, just a mini post for a mini theme of songs for mini people today. :D I realized, poking on YouTube, that some songs, although they’re supposed to be for kids, are beloved  by all kinds of artists. Here’s one of my all-time favorites, from the movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, the song “Hushabye Mountain” sung here by Mr Tony Bennett:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oii_c-dXcg0

Another one of my all-time favorites that will never get old, a sweet and surprising version of the classic “Rainbow Connection” sung here by the Carpenters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYuE2roIkH0

I’m very tempted, but won’t bore you with my favorite Kermit the Frog  version, but I’ll share another one,  featuring Hayley Williams from Weezer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdOSO8kZqZk

Interesting interpretation. This actually reminded me of a CD my daughter got some years ago,, if I remember correctly, it was a chairty CD called “For the kids” and this version of “The letter L” song by the Barenaked Ladies made me smile :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Wauh-XCA4

I’m fairly sure it didn’t chart, lol but it was fun. BTW, a little trivia here, Tony’s single had “Heigh Ho”  from “Snow White” on the flip side. I found that out checking Ebay some time ago. All right, that’s it for now. Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi again all, cleaning out my backlog of entries, I want to share a few songs I’ve gathered from TV commercials in the past few weeks. They’re upbeat and just a lot of fun to hear, even on a regular basis.  Doing research on YouTube, I realized I’d never heard of these bands and guess that’s a good way to get exposure. The first one comes from a Best Buy ad I believe, Farmdale with “Feelin’ all right”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-5mKU0Oq_4

The second one I have no idea, but is possibly from a jingle singer, but just as fun, coming from a tourism commercial,

Follow the Signs to San Diego - Happiness is Calling

https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=2352

The last one comes from a Diet Coke commercial I think, Boom! Bap! Pow! “Suit”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiJ400Smz4w

I seem to have a penchant for punky garage band type ads and happy songs, which would make a great compilation for a power walk playlist. :D Hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3