Wes and Liza

[brownie]

In 1967...

[Bright Moments]

ah brings me back! liza like i remember her and shake -a puddin!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pete C]

A while back I DL'd a dvd of the full Hollywood Palace show (A&M night) that clip is from.

[JSngry]

If Dionne Warwick would have been signed to A&M instead of Scepter...you might have to rewrite history!

[AllenLowe]

not exactly a career highlight for Wes, musically speaking. If it was Kenny G we'd all be saying how sad it is.

the only noteworthy thing about that clip, historically speaking, is that she's actually touching him - which was still a problem in the '60s for black and white performers. Remember when Pet Clark wasn't allowed to touch - can't remember - was it Harry Belafonte?

[JSngry]

But Bob Hope got all over Diana Ross...

[AllenLowe]

interesting - the Pet Clark/Belafonte thing happened in '68. Good for Bob Hope. It's amazing how much things have changed.

[JSngry]

interesting - the Pet Clark/Belafonte thing happened in '68. Good for Bob Hope. It's amazing how much things have changed.

Dude - white woman w/black man and white man w/black woman do not equate in the mind of the American Racist.

[AllenLowe]

good point. Still, I'll bet that in the minds of '60s tv networks as they saw the Southern audience and sponsors, they were not as far apart as you might think.It was one thing to express the private persona of master and black woman slave; another to flaunt it on TV.

Edited January 14, 2012 by AllenLowe

[JSngry]

The only reason I remember that clip to this day was because it was aired one evening when we had people over, coworkers of my dad, one of them one of the most hideous and vile slopehead racist I've ever encountered.

What he had to say about Bob Hope hugging Diana Ross was not exactly "pissed off", I'll put it that way... He got some really, really nasty looks from everybody in the room, back at which he just grinned.

Hate to say it, but I took great pleasure as that man died a slow painful death from lung cancer, divorced from his wife and estranged from his gay son and gold-digger bitch daughter, shacked up with the town tramp.

So maybe I'm not always a nice guy. Oh well.

Edited January 15, 2012 by JSngry

[Pete C]

the only noteworthy thing about that clip, historically speaking, is that she's actually touching him - which was still a problem in the '60s for black and white performers. Remember when Pet Clark wasn't allowed to touch - can't remember - was it Harry Belafonte?

There was also flak about Sinatra and a young Natalie Cole on one of his specials in the '60s.

In Brazil, although there's plenty of racism, those same constraints didn't exist. Elis Regina and Jair Rodrigues had a great TV show together.

And here's Elis with Wilson Simonal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvJt59HrA3Q

These days Colin Powell isn't allowed to touch Harry Belafonte.

Edited January 15, 2012 by Pete C

[ValerieB]

i never remembered Wes being so cute nor Liza being so skinny!! LOL

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

wtf. wes n liza? whats the first song liza does, "forever, and ever, etc" thats a good song, i like that

oh, and i really want some puddin right now

[brownie]

The song is Burt Bacharach's 'I Say a Little Prayer for You'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75lAZuzOEwk

A major hit back then!

[Pete C]

Three greatest versions of Say a Little Prayer:

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Aretha Franklin

Al Green

[JSngry]

A major hit and a major work of trans-cultural genius in every way.

That intro still give me goosebumps.

Three greatest versions of Say a Little Prayer:

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Aretha Franklin

Al Green

Nothing tops the original. Nothing.

[John L]

Yes, the original is pretty special.

I hardly listened to Dionne Warwick back in the day. I didn't have any of her albums. Now I am a fan, and listen to her regularly.

[JSngry]

I hardly listened to Dionne Warwick back in the day. I didn't have any of her albums. Now I am a fan, and listen to her regularly.

Same here.

[Mark Stryker]

RE: black-white, women-men, etc.

Frank and Ella, 1960 -- he puts his arm around her when tney go to the bridge for the last half chorus in their duet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQyf1BeWmYs

Kirk and Uhura kiss, 1968

Edited January 15, 2012 by Mark Stryker

[Pete C]

I think Aretha's version is much better than Warwick(e)'s. Warwick has done respectable versions of Brazilian music, including a duet with Chico Buarque.

[JSngry]

I don't really care too much for Aretha's version. She exponentially bettered the original on "Natural Woman" but greedily slamfucked "I Say A Little Prayer".

Which might mean nothing more than Carole King's version wasn't already there, and Warwick's/Bacharach's was. But Aretha over-iced the cake.

Dionne's work from those days holds up quite well. The soulfulness is nowhere near as "raw" as Aretha's but it's no less abundant. What she & Bacharach/David pulled off over those relative few years is nothing short of miraculous.

[danasgoodstuff]

I believe Loretta Lynn gave Charlie Pride a big ol' hug and a kiss on some C&W awards show specifically because someone told her not to even touch him (surest way to make sure she did, on purpose?). Later than some of the other examples here, but no less significant in context.