AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Gil Scott-Heron

Artist:Gil Scott-Heron f/Brian Jackson

Song:Angel Dust

Album:The Best of Gil Scott-Heron

The 1978 single Angel Dust was a top twenty R&B hit. It was gil Scott-Heron's biggest commercial success though I wouldn't say it was his best known song. But early in his career he was on a jazz label. Flying Dutchman Records owner Bob Thiele had no illusions about the possibility of Scott-Heron being a mainstream success. He wasn't selling to that audience. Of course in retrospect, we know how influential Scott-Heron was on black music in general and hip hop in particular. But when Clive Davis signed him to his new label Arista, Scott-Heron seemed like a square peg in a round hole. Remember, Barry Manilow was also on Arista. Davis went to see Scott-Heron live in New York. Davis had just left Columbia Records and was planning to start his own label. He went backstage after the show to meet Scott-Heron. Though Davis acknowledged Scott-Heron's cultural significance, he also thought Scott-Heron could be commercially successful. Considering Davis' track record at Columbia, it's not surprising that Davis believed this. It was probably misguided. But at the time, he was just starting Arista. And he wanted to show the record business that he wasn't messing around. So he convinced Scott-Heron that he had something special. He was the first new Arista signing. Remember Davis bought Bell Records so he had their roster including Manilow. Ultimately Davis didn't get the results he wanted because Scott-Heron was never a commercial artist. The single Angel Dust reached #15 on the R&B Singles chart. That was Scott-Heron's biggest hit. It was from the 1978 album Secrets which was the fifth album he recorded with pianist Brian Jackson. This comp covers Scott-Heron's Arista recordings. The bottom line is that Scott-Heron's Arista recordings weren't as good as his Flying Dutchman recordings. And the Arista recordings weren't commercially successful which was the whole point of Davis signing him in the first place. It doesn't change Scott-Heron's influence on black music. After he left Arista in 1985, Scott-Heron recorded sporadically because he was a cocaine addict and was in and out of prison. XL Recordings owner Richard Russell revived Scott-Heron's career with the 2010 album I'm New Here. Scott-Heron died on May 27, 2011 at age 62. Here's Gil Scott-Heron performing Angel Dust 1978.