Song:The Bottle
Album:Best Of Gil Scott-Heron
With his spoken word social and politically aware lyrics and funky backbeat, Gil Scott-Heron is one of the most important influences on hip hop and rap. Of course he's never had commercial success so here's your chance to learn more about him. He was born Apr. 1, 1949 in Chicago. His father Giles Heron was the first black to play for Glasgow's Celtic Football Club in the 50s. His mother sang with the New York Oratorial Society. His parents split up and Scott-Heron was sent to live with his grandmother in Lincoln, TN. She taught him music and when she died, he moved to New York to live with his mother at age 13. Scott-Heron first published his poetry in 1968. He attended Lincoln University outside Philadelphia and that's where he met Brian Jackson. Scott-Heron's writing started getting exposure in black magazines and that got the attention of veteran music producer Bob Thiele. Thiele signed Scott-Heron to his Flying Dutchman label in 1970 and Scott-Heron recorded several albums including classics like The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. At the time, Scott-Heron's mix of jazz, funk and spoken word was ground breaking. He left Flying Dutchman in 1973. Of course The Bottle is about alcohol abuse. It's from the 1974 album Winter In America and credited as Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson on Charles Tolliver's Strata East label. Scott-Heron soon became the first artist signed to Clive Davis Arista label and he released several albums until he was dropped in 1985. This budget comp is a very good intro to his music. He stopped recording but returned in 1993. As I said, he's a major hero to rappers. Since 2001, Gil Scott-Heron has been in and out of jail due to cocaine issues. He says he's working on a new album. Here's the video of The Bottle by Gil Scott-Heron.
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