Stories behind memorable albums of the 1970s as told by the artists

Tag: Mutlu

The class of Darlene Love plus the comedy of Cheech & Chong equals vinyl magic

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Darlene Love will be featured in The Vinyl Dialogues Volume II: Dropping the Needle.  (Photo by Mike Morsch)

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Darlene Love will be featured in The Vinyl Dialogues Volume II: Dropping the Needle.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Lou Adler was looking for some help. He was producing Cheech & Chong’s third comedy album, Los Cochinos, in 1973 and the duo was in the recording studio ready to make the song “Basketball Jones.”

Since it was an actual song and not a comedy bit, Adler needed some real musicians to sit in on the recording session, which was being done at A&M Records on North La Brea Avenue near Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.

In addition to managing the careers of Cheech & Chong, Adler also managed a veritable All-Star lineup of other artists: Sam Cooke, Carole King and The Mamas and The Papas, among them. So Adler started making calls to some of those artists asking them to come on down to the studio and participate in the recording of “Basketball Jones.”

The day of the recording session, Adler also went through the A&M studio seeing who else was recording that day and asking them to be part of “Basketball Jones.” That list included Ronnie Spector, Billy Preston, Klaus Voormann, Jim Karstein, Jim Keltner and a pretty famous guitarist named George Harrison. That’s Harrison playing the intro to “Basketball Jones.”

Also in the studio that day were The Blossoms – Darlene Love, Fanita James and Jean King. By 1973, they had developed a reputation of being the best backing vocalists in the business and had performed on many of the biggest hits of the 1960s.

Adler thought the vocals of The Blossoms, along with those of Michelle Phillips of The

Philadelphia singer-songwriter Mutlu was part of an "All-Star Tribute to Marvin Gaye" on March 28, 2015, in Ewing, N.J. (Photo by Mike Morsch)

Philadelphia singer-songwriter Mutlu was part of an “All-Star Tribute to Marvin Gaye” on March 28, 2015, in Ewing, N.J.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Mamas and The Papas and Ronnie Spector, would be perfect as “cheerleaders” for “Basketball Jones.”

“That was a lot of fun,” said Ms. Love in a recent telephone interview. “Lou would say, ‘OK, come on girls, what are we gonna do here?’ The first hour of the session was laughing and talking. And then we’d come up with little things and four or five hours later, we were still trying to do the song.”

Ms. Love will be featured in The Vinyl Dialogues Volume II for her role in the 1972 album “Billy Joe Thomas” by B.J. Thomas. She and The Blossoms provided backing vocals on Thomas’ big hit off that album, “Rock and Roll Lullaby.”

She was recently in the area on Saturday, March 28, 2015, as the headliner for an “All-Star Tribute to Marvin Gaye” as part of the Candlelight Concerts for Epilepsy Awareness, an ongoing nonprofit epilepsy awareness series held at Trinity United Methodist Church in Ewing, N.J.

The event was organized by Eric Miller, whose wife died from an epileptic seizure, as a way to bring awareness to the issue. You can get information about Miller’s Candlelight Concerts by going to www.CandlelightConcerts.org and more about the affliction by going to the Epilepsy Foundation of New Jersey’s website at www.efnj.com.

In addition to Ms. Love, a 2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, other artists featured at the event included Dawn Robinson, formerly of En Vogue; Sarah Dash of LaBelle; Cory Glover of Living Colour; Hopewell’s Danielia Cotton; Philadelphia singer-songwriter Mutlu; and Kerrion Upshur, a 14-year-old from Ewing High School with a big voice.

Mutlu, a frequent opener for Hall & Oates shows as well as solo gigs for both Daryl Hall and John Oates, also has also toured extensively with his friend and fellow Philly artist Amos Lee.

It was a great night of Marvin Gaye music played to a packed church for a good cause. And yes, there were a few jokes made about the fact that two of Gaye’s biggest hits, “Let’s Get It On” and “Sexual Healing” were performed in a church.

The backing band for the evening was outstanding, under the musical direction of bassist Doug Wimpish, also of Living Colour. It included guitarist Paul Pesco, who has worked with Hall & Oates and Madonna; Calvin Weston on drums, David Dzubinski on piano with Allison Polans and Imani Roach provided backing vocals.

The next two Candlelight Concerts will pay tribute to the music of Paul McCartney and Joni Mitchell. If you’re in the northeast part of the country, you should check them out.

Daryl Hall, Amos Lee and Mutlu: ‘I’m in a Philly Mood’

Philadelphia singer-songwriter Mutlu brought some Philly soul to the Pastorius Park Free Summer Concert Series June 25, 2014, in Chestnut Hill, PA.

Philadelphia singer-songwriter Mutlu brought some Philly soul to the Pastorius Park Free Summer Concert Series June 25, 2014, in Chestnut Hill, PA.

There are a lot of cool things about living in Philly, especially for a guy who spent the first 40 years of his life in and around the cornfields of Illinois and Iowa.

Cheesesteaks (yes, they’re that good), Phillies baseball, cheesesteaks, the Liberty Bell, cheesesteaks, Independence Hall, cheesesteaks, the Jersey Shore right next door and . . . cheesesteaks (Wiz, witout: Philly people will know what that means.)

But the coolest of the cool for me is the music scene here, specifically the Philly sound, also known as Philly soul. And for me that means Hall & Oates, The O’Jays, The Stylistics, Lou Rawls and the next generation that includes Amos Lee and Mutlu.

If you’re a Hall & Oates or Amos Lee fan, you likely know Mutlu. He’s the next generation of Philly singer-songwriters and he’s collaborated with both Hall & Oates and toured extensively with Lee providing backup vocals. Dude can sing, man.

The first time we saw Mutlu was several years ago when he was the opener for a Daryl Hall solo show at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside, PA. After his set, my wife and I looked at each other and said, “Hey, that guy is really good.”

And we’ve followed his career ever since. We’ve seen him headline the World Cafe Live in Philadelphia a couple of times (and here’s a behind-the-scenes tip for you Philly folks: at Mutlu solo gigs, it’s not unusual for Amos Lee to pop up out of the crowd and get on stage to sing a few songs with Mutlu.)

So when we heard that Mutlu was one of the featured artists at the Pastorius Park Free Summer Concert Series presented by the Chestnut Hill Community Association, we were thrilled. Chestnut Hill is a wonderfully hip and artsy community north and west of Philadelphia and one of many communities in our area that offer summer concert series. Forget that they’re free, which is nice. The musical talent at these presentations, which normally are outdoors, is off the charts.

But Mother Nature wasn’t cooperating the night of the concert (June 25, 2014) – she’s obviously never heard Mutlu sing, and besides, she can be a ratfink when it comes to many of my outdoors entertainment choices – so the concert was moved to one of the local elementary schools in Chestnut Hill.

And that didn’t deter Mutlu. Did I mention that the dude can sing? He did a lot of his original stuff, but also covered songs like “Crazy Love” by Van Morrison; “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King; “I Wanna Love You” by Bob Marley; and “My Cherie Amour” by Stevie Wonder.

The highlight for me, though, was the Mutlu song “Caramel.” It’s got a Marvin Gaye “Let’s Get It On” vibe. Check out the video that accompanies this story. And check out Mutlu’s solo stuff as well at www.mutlusounds.com. Dude can sing, man.

Then go to this link, https://www.livefromdarylshouse.com/currentep.html?ep_id=81, and see the “Live From Daryl’s House” episode No. 66 featuring Amos Lee and Mutlu. Watch as the three artists pour the Philly soul all over “Caramel.”

This week, I’m in a Philly mood, baby. And you will be, too.

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