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Breaking Down Donny Hathaway's GREATEST Song
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- čas přidán 15. 08. 2024
- #music #analysis #history #breakdown #soulmusic #paulthompson
Breaking down Donny Hathaway's masterpiece from 1973's EXTENSION OF A MAN (Atco): "Someday We'll All Be Free" (lyrics by Edward Howard) and why it's his greatest song. I'll analyze the music, dig into the lyrics, examine some individual performances on the track (including Marvin Stamm on trumpet and Willie Weeks on bass), and talk about some of the amazing techniques Donny used to make this a perfect song! Let's celebrate the genius of Donny Hathaway on the 50th anniversary of this timeless anthem.
00:00 Intro
01:16 Analysis
05:32 Trumpet Solo
6:20 That Bass Fill
07:27 Outro
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You are truly a blessing to bring forth the source of such great music and there origins.
Thank you, Mr. Jemmott!! I’m standing on YOUR shoulders! 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
AMEN,JERRY-BLESS YOU BOTH....
He's my favorite of all time and it's not even close
Agreed!
Donny is the GOAT. Nobody...I mean, NOBODY could sing like this man. Stevie Wonder said after the "Songbook" album he changed his voice to sound like Donny. Luther said Donny's vocal range & changes were unattainable. THANK YOU PDBASS FOR THIS REVIEW!!! Please more Donny!!
Donny is my all-time favorite male singer
Sleep tight Uncle Donny. Your mu8sic packed with encouragement and love still brings us hope in our hearts and minds. Long live uncle Donny. Love you all.
I totally hear Stevie in this track! And it sounds like SW liked the F Sharp too.
Phillipe whynne and Luther vandross is there.
@@redbrave Respectfully, I dont' think Donny was going for a "Stevie" sound, if anything it would be the other way around, though I'm sure DH had nothing but ultimate respect for SW the musician; DH the singer simply was in his own class.
I met Donny, Earth Wind & Fire , walked in the Club ,we talked briefly ,A True Genius that had A very tradgic end ,RIP Sir !
I literally put this song on when I need to cry
You did a great job of deconstructing this song. I was in Leesburg, VA on Sunday morning January 14, 1979 when I turned on the radio and a local station in the DC area -- I think it was WPGC -- announced that Donny Hathaway had died the night before. The deejay played "Someday We'll All Be Free" and I remember how sad but moved I felt when I heard it, with its intricate chord changes. And you're absolutely right -- "Someday We'll All Be Free" was Donny's masterpiece. It's just a shame it got buried on a B-side at the time it was first released.
This song brings me to tears... A true genius. One of my very favorites. I used to study this album for hours on end. Amazing...
I can really understand what you mean. Fortunately, I was exposed to him by a close family friend, and former SNL musical director Katresse Barnes. She transitioned a few years ago, but I remember walking through the house, and hearing her listen, aa well as play his music on the piano. Her brother, Jerry Barnes, is currently bassist for Nile Rodgers, of CHIC. Katresse was simply a child prodigy, in my opinion. You can find her work online with Roberta Flack, Chaka Kahn, Sting, and so many others. Be blessed, my fellow musical friend.✨🦁💎🦁✨
"This song brings me to tears..." me too brother, me too.
Man, I have to dig through my vinyl and listen to this album. You mentioned one of Hathaway's influences was Debussy, which was pianist Bill Evans also. Evans introduced Modalism used by Debussy and Ravel to jazz on Miles Davis's immortal album "Kind of Blue." On Hathaway's "Live" album he gives the highest praise to Willie Weeks. The song "Everything is Everything," before Week's solo he proclaims, " The Baddest Bass Player in the Country." Man, PD, we jammed hard on this album in 72 and 73. Thanks for bringing light to an obscure but significant piece of music.
Donny Hathaway's rendition of For All We Know is also musical perfection. Simply beautiful.
When ever I play this song loud at work , folks come out and just stand quietly until the end! Almost as if they’re showing their reverence to the totality of words, music,feeling, love and hope. Thank you for for this wonderful breakdown!
Every musical analysis you do on your channel is full of love and deep respect for the subject. You consistently offer succinct, yet deep investigations of your topic of choice, a sort of pithy, 360° snapshot, full of useful information and insights that almost always give us a peek at the broader context in which the music was conceived, created, and performed.
Thank you for yet another gem!🙏🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽🤗
Amen.
Beautifully stated. 💕💎🌹🌠
Outstanding analysis. Thank you🎶🎶🎶🙏🏽 🙏🏽🙏🏽
Wow what a wonderful comment. I agree.
Wow, so beautifully and eloquently stated!
This song still brings me to my knees in tears.. I always hear every memory I had with my parents in the car trying to keep hope alive while my mother, as joyful and beautiful as she was singing her heart out, had cancer, and the heart crushing,palpable, completely relatable pain Donny felt in his life 💗
Great breakdown!
Donny H. wasn't just a great singer...he was a BEYOND, OFF the charts singer.
🙏👍🙏👍
Truly one of the greatest ever! Between Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Donny I could be set for life if I just had their catalog of works stranded as a hermit on the proverbial "Dessert Island ".
I guess I‘d take chocolate mousse if I were stranded on a dessert island.
Don't forget Curtis.
@namakudamono Omg! Curtis! Heck yeah! How could I have not mentioned him. Yeah..He is a huge influence on my own guitar playing as he was to many ,many others including Jimi, Cornell Dupree and Bobby Womack. I love Curtis Mayfields music and all the ones he's influenced too. Bill Withers , Sam Cooke and Bobby Womack are others whom I forgot .. Beautiful voices and vastly talented songwriters.
@mv11000 Lol! That would be tougher to get than an album collection, turntable, speakers and electricity. 😆
Я очень люблю Донни Хэтуэй. Он у меня на первом месте
I swear I had a feeling that it must have been "Someday We'll All Be Free" that was featured in this video before I even clicked. This is the song that got me truly hooked on his music and soulfulness. What a legend. Many thanks for creating and sharing this video for us to see.
This is such a jam, I can't believe I've never listened to Donny Hathaway. Thanks for bringing him to my attention.
The Hathaway rabbit hole you must now enter. 😆
I guarantee "This Christmas" is about to be your Fav Christmas song, at least for this year!
How is that possible?
@@jonsmith848 I'm sure I'd heard the name and heard the hits in passing. But, I never dug in. He was before my time, and while I listen to lots of old stuff, Hathaway just never bubbled into my awareness. There's plenty of great music you've never dug into, as well, I'm sure. Most of us will never hear most of the best music, but I'm gonna try anyway.🤷♂
youtube his second album. a lot of great songs on that one. "she is my lady" is one of those great recordings.
One of my all-time favorites! I literally grew up on this record and I still play my dad's original vinyl record regularly! One thing you didn't mention, the lead-up to this song by "I Love the Lord, He Heard My Cry" and its orchestral arrangement really elevates this song even higher than it already is! You can almost say that "from the highest blues, to the lowest symphony" is contained within this album! I would play this song regularly at a monthly event called the Jazz Vinyl Club at a local wine bar here. It always moved people!
Right?
Extensions of a man, donny hathaway live, what's going on, innervisions, songs in the key of life, that's the way of the world were some of the greatest musical statements ever made! The composers of these gems were on the same musical frequency in their pursuit of musical and artistic excellence!
So true 🙌🏾
One of the closest tunes to my heart, thank you for showing a young bassist like myself the history of this instrument, family tree.
This is one of those songs (very few) that I can’t listen to in public because I can’t help crying uncontrollably when I hear it.
The absolute best to ever do it. Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye changed up their styles after Donny founded his style.
🌼☀️👑☀️🌼
F sharp is a Gospel key!!! He had delay on that Rhodes too! I adore this song and love performing it!!
First time on your channel. Wonderful commentary on this great song. I’m not a musician. My musical tastes are all over the place. I’m a 65 year old white kid from a small Northern California city. In 1972 my mother bought me Donny Hathaway Live after reading a review. I bought this album a couple of years later. In my humble opinion, Donny Hathaway was the greatest musician of the 20th century, bar none. I can listen to him any time of day or night, for a little over 50 years now, and continually be amazed and moved. Thank you for sharing this song!
Only. A. Black. Man. Can. Sing. Like. Donnie. Hathaway!!!
I remember hearing that song being played on my parents clock radio as a child and it stopped me in my tracks. I rediscovered it yesterday and it blew me away and moved me to nostalgic tears.
What a beautiful analysis. It's always wonderful to hear professional musicians talk about music. This is one of my favorite songs---and artists---of all time; and now I can appreciate even more just how exquisite the instrumentation is. Hathaway = musical genius. Thanks for a great video.
Someday We’ll All Be Free & A Song for You will forever be 2 of favorite songs, lyrics, melodies, chord changes, vocals, moods, recordings, productions, mixes, and emotions. They’re are the standard by which I internally judge my own music.
I have to admit that even as a pretty big soul music fan, I know very little about Donny Hathaway. Until recently I’d only ever heard This Christmas, even though I knew he had a much bigger body of work. This was a moving breakdown and commentary, especially given the tragedy he went trough. I’m definitely going to be adding some of his music to my collection.
Listen to a live version he does of Lennons, 'Jealous Guy'. It'll blow your mind.
His live stuff is outstanding, but his 3 studio albums are all superb. My favorite is the aforementioned "Extension of A Man" album, which is very eclectic musically, but so musically dense. "Lord Help Me" is a bonus track on that album, and it is for me a top 5 favorite Donny song ever. The bookend songs of that album are devastatingly moving and incredible...Happy digging! 🙏🏽😊
Thank You for that great segment on Donny Hathaway!! I remember being in a band back in 75 trying to learn Love, Love, Love from the same album. Our keyboard player (and the rest of us) we're going crazy trying to figure out all those unbelievable changes that were going on!!!
@PDBass - I saw an interview with a singer who knew Mr. Hathaway. He said Donnie could hear a song and play it back to you... backwards. He said he also saw Donnie composed for a full orchestra with only pen, paper, and his ears at his disposal. Genius indeed. This is ur best vlog yet. Thank you. God bless you.
Love "Extension of a Man" so much. I was mildly surprised to learn that "Flying Easy" was written as a commercial jingle, but he still put somethin on that too. And his rendition of "I Know It's You" (Leon Ware) always leaves me shaking my head--in wonder, in amazement, in remembrance. A superlative talent was he. Thank u for this review.
Wow - what an informative analysis - hope your students know how lucky they are!
While Someday is brilliant, A Song For You may perhaps be his most powerful recording - there's no one south of heaven with a more divine voice!
Also love his popular colaborations with Roberta Flack.
Beautiful that his daughters continue in his musical legacy.
Conscientious of you to insert the hotline number at the end.
What?!? Never a hit or charted. That is unbelievable. Such a great song. It could have been a hit a capella or instrumental. I'm glad they chose to put it together for us. Thank you for the info in this video.
That song was magnificent. Also loved Valdez In The Country. 🔥
Your musical knowledge is too great to limit yourself to bass. Do more of these. I’ve seen similar channels but you are more real and relaxed, this felt like a live stream, or just a conversation at times. I don’t know Donny Hathaway’s music which is a sin but this is a great song and I’ll have to check out more. Great video maestro.
Amen! Tell me something I don’t know? This is the song when it comes to Donny Hathaway. You did a great job on this one Paul and I’m really happy you chose it. It’s one I’ve played ever since I was young and sang, because it is so spiritual and full of hope! as you pointed out. the message really reaches right into the heart. This song will always be special to me and I’m so glad you shared this with others. Donny Hathaway was a genius! Great arranger, great pianist absolutely incredible vocalist! Willie Weeks - watch out! You knock this one out of the park Paul! My favorite so far. Keep it going!
'Extension of a Man' is truly Donny's masterpiece, and that is coming from a man who had released one of the greatest live albums of all time just a year before. What saddens me is how little Donny is talked about in comparison to his contemporary geniuses (I don't not apply that term often), Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. Thank you for showing some love for Donny here.
The beauty of this song brings me to happy tears. I feel it so profoundly everytime I listen to it.
F sharp major is a beautiful key. I love it. Your video's always influence me to look into these folks and their music either for the first time or in more depth. Thank you, Sir.
Love…Love…Love…Donny Hathaway!
I appreciate this special tribute to Donny Hathaway's music, and this tune in particular, he was a truly gifted musician and vocalist. As a youngster I was always attracted to his album covers and when he dropped "The Ghetto" and "Giving Up", I could relate to the darkness that was part of his style but he could write uplifting tunes also. His instrumentals were just as strong as his vocal tunes ! Donny could do it all! RIP Donny Hathaway .
"Whatever you feed, will grow"
Aside from the subject of this video, I just want you to know that those words have impacted my life on a level that few others have. I am not a tattoo guy, but those words get really close to being worthy enough to be carved into my body for life. 48 years into my journey, I feel like I finally have some kind of true mantra I can get behind. It's something I have shared, and will continue to share with people I care about.
I just want to take a moment to publicly acknowledge you for this, and thank you from my heart, man. Cheers.
Could it be... The most beautiful song in the World ? Thank you, those chords are History !
"Someday We'll All Be Free" Donny Hathaway - You just made my Christmas with this Bro! Thanks for putting in the time to break this down for us. WOW!!!
Another great analysis! Really is one of Donny's greatest. I always felt as though you can feel his yearning desire to "be free" and that he was even singing the lyrics to make *himself* believe this. The song lives on because his sentiment aligns with the human experience and expressed in a way we all can relate to without even trying to identify relatability. As musicians we can learn so much from him so I'm ecstatic that you analyzed this one!
Thank you so much for this video. As bass players it's important to go beyond our Instrument. Yes, this is still a bass channel, and a very special one.
I love how you played Wilton Felder's version of this song in your outro. Brilliant.
Right. I was like, I know that tenor sound.
My brotha my brotha! You've done Donny Hathaway a great service paying homage to him on this song that we all aa Black folks love so very much. I used to be the backup Bassist for a DC Go-Go Band named Rare Essence back during 1982-'83. We had a great vocalist Mike Muse who put a very tasty sound to that song as well as This Christmas. The late Drummer Quentin Davidson AKA Footz & the band's Bassist Michael Neal AKA Funky Ned (a bassist you really want to check out) these two held down the pocket on those as well as every other track the band has ever played as if they were trained by the late great James Brown himself. Ned is still my best friend in the world today. He inspired. not only me, but MéShelle N'degeÓcello as well.
Any way thanx for another great podcast. And you & your family have a very Merry & Blessed Christmas Holiday Season.
-BiG Pluck
Agreed 100%! Donny's spirit and genius created a works that have stood the test of time. Personally I experience the same emotion now as I did over 50 years ago; elevated and empowered! That's Art!
Your channel is dope!
Donny s music is really great.
His voice is so smooth, his low register sounds so sweet. I can hear him listening to his daughter Lalah who has the same beautiful lows in her voice. A donny s song that I really like as a bassist is "je vous aime beaucoup". Great bassline in 12/8 feel.
Thank you for sharing your passion and knowledge about music.
Always want to play music after watching your videos so it s a good thing!
This was always my favorite song by Donny Hathaway
When I was in my late 20's I was a huge Stevie Wonder fan (and am still), but i was working with an older guy at the time who told me about Donny Hathaway and how his stuff measured up to that of Stevie in the 70's. I didn't really take it seriously at the time cuz I only knew DH from his duet with Roberta Flack, but lately I've been going down the rabbit hole. What a talent! His phrasing, interpretation, instrumentally and vocally, arrangement wise, everything. Thanks for this great breakdown!
His song "I Love The Lord, He Heard My Cry" is another one of his greatest tracks!
Yes, great music never dies! I enjoyed this homage to Donny. I don’t think he’s celebrated enough ❤ so, I get really excited when I see someone celebrating his art.
I cried as I watched this video. I knew instinctively this was some of my favorite music of all time. But you put it into words so well. Thank you.
Beautifully done. Donnie Hathaway, one of the greatest voices of all time; he is truly missed.
I can’t listen to Donny. I just often starts to cry. Seriously, he touches my soul like no other. Listening to his music makes me reminisce and I get all emotional, thinking of the people I’ve lost and people I rarely see anymore. Family, break ups, marriage, having kids… Life.
Hathaway keeps me whole as a person. I was six years old when I first heard him, not knowing he had less than 1 year to live. Through the subsequent years, I fell in love with him (and Roberta!) more and more. Just pure, epic, soulfulness. I'm so happy we have Lalah's deep voice to remind us of her very loved, very missed, very cherished father.
Thanks so much for the history of this song. Don't forget George Benson's version with Marcus Miller.. So amazing scat solo... À bientôt.
man I use to love when he and Roberta Flack would corroborate especially on that " back together again "!! Classic r&b!
My favorite male vocalist of all time
Back in the 90s I was getting into bass players. I was introduced to a 19 year old bass player and I shared the bass players I liked. A couple of years later he asked me why I didn't tell him about Willie Weeks, I had to tell him I didn't know of him. I have since found out that he was with Donny and that he was from my home state of North Carolina. Donny came out when the only bass player I knew by name was Larry Graham, I was about 14.
Me again.👀 after a life of absorbing black classic/spiritual musics, fr. 50’s jazz, 🤷🏿♂️N’orleans traditions👨🏾🏭, Memphis soul,☝️ Chicago blues👈🏽, 🇯🇲caribe reggae/ska/rock steady/ 🇬🇾lovers rock, and the mother root.. 💥gospel.. as a white guy from the Gibson clan, I’ve always heard certain offerings as godly, as there is no other explanation of the creation of heavenly sounds. Got me..!🇲🇱
I still miss him. Thank you for this reminder of his genius. Now....I must go do a deep dive into Donny's discography. 🙏🏾🌞
Oh man- first time I heard this I was in floods of tears. Same again today.
Thank you for covering the maestro and his masterpiece.
I'm always amazed at the forgotten treasures you keep digging up and sharing, treasures that it's heart breaking these keep slipping into obscurity with each passing year were it not for people like you introducing new audiences to it.
I was an extreme late-comer to Donny Hathaway, only having discovered his brilliant work by way of Lala Hathaway's unbelievable performance with Snarky Puppy ("Something"). Donny's work is inspiring, and even though his story doesn't go as we would have hoped, from his challenges some lovely music grew.
.......... thanks for the great tribute to Donny Hathaway.........he was beyond great.......his influence on music can still be heard in the new artist music today........he was the King of neo soul before it was called neo soul....
When a song despite never reaching chart success keeps reappearing, in movies, in the form of a cover, etc. It transcends what we consider a hit. Someday We'll All Be Free, is such a song, ageless and timeless.
This made my day. I still listen to his live album 🔥
Donny was/is a master of his craft. Also on that album is Love, Love,Love. And you said Stevie, he wrote "Your are my heaven" and on one of Donnys live album he sung Stevie's Super Women. You've touched many of the truly greats how bout a little Bootsy either solo or w/James. And Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man another classic that needs to be examined
Incomparable. Just.... Incomparable ✨️✨️✨️
Beautiful song. Donnie is a legend. His voice, range, lyrics, the soul of the man…….unparalleled. Thanks Paul.
What a terrific analysis. Thank you for this!
My favorite vocalist ever.
Key centers, are fixing oscillation vibration,and as a guitar player, I had to learn why, wow.
Donny is my all-time favorite, and this is my favorite offering from him. This song ALWAYS moves me, and I was even more moved while watching this incredibly moving tribute. Your love for the man and his music is undeniably palpable! I recorded a cover "Someday" several years ago, and have performed it so much that it's become a staple in my sets. Such a powerful and beautifully complex composition, much like the man who arranged it. Thank you so much for this! Brilliant!
From a White as snow guy from Brasil...thank you so much for introducing me to this album. I knew him, but no this fantastic album. Thank you, bra
His musical integrity and intensity ... hands up i surrender ...
Donny Hathaway was incredible , doesn’t matter about the charts he was off the chart and more . Love his music and have since 1989 . Saw Chico Freeman live then with Delmar Brown on keys/vocals . I knew he had played with Jaco but when me and him chatted about bloody Mary’s and the inclusion of Worcestershire sauce I held back . Cheers anyway, bottom’s up .
Love Delmar Brown.
My mind is blown right now. Im a 41 year old who grew up playing and singing Stevie Wonder. Stevie was helocentric. But when i listened to Donny for the first time, i felt where he might go in the song. So crazy thought.., but it feels like Stevie was incredibly influenced by Donnie
One of my favorite compositions ever
You're opening proves a point that's been argued before. Stevie received a great deal of musical influence from Donny Hathaway.
#replay - Value Bomb - Brother, you brought tears to my eyes, yet joy to my heart discussing this one. Let’s not forget the opening orchestral price that segued into this track. If you grew up being really exposed to the music and artists of this time, (1970’s), you also probably wonder where & how did we go wrong musically today?…
Your commentary is impeccable. Donny’s voice was like no other
I wasn't sure we were gonna agree. But when you said the title it was a sigh of release. Perfect song in every way.
Great show, Donny is one on the best to ever bless the mic.
Thank you! My mother was my best friend and mentor. Donny inspired me to know that love from the heart is powerful. In 1979, we lost some beautiful artists and my mother.
This song already brought tears to my eyes but to know that part about Ed Howard writing the lyrics for Donny, that took me to a new level. Thank you for this very inspirational, educational and impactful video.
Ah, The Don that was Donny (and those hats!). I adore his live version of Gaye’s What’s Going On. I love DH so much. What a voice. What a keys player, and what a composer/arranger. I wrote a song dedicated to him, ‘cause he’s just broken me to pieces (of a man!) so many times. Kind of sad his life ended the way it did - similar mental health struggles to Gaye - but, again like Marvin, so beautiful the musical legacy he’s left us. Great video.
I made “Little Ghetto Boy” my personal anthem 🥲💕
Wow! This was so Heartfelt ❤️
I knew it was someday we’ll all be free🙏🏾
You right , i always love that song the most , someday we be free
I wondered what Stevie would say . Thank you for the clarification! Donny was the man.
3.56 'that's jazz y'all.. ' 💪
I dig your analysis, it made me understand even more what kind of genius this man was.
Much love.
I feel like a young girl in music class for the first time with a great educator I admire. Just poured so much inspiration in my heart.
Thanks once again for this. So many talk about his passionate vocals and rightly so, he's one of the greatest, but not enough is being said about his prowess for incredible arrangements. They're great examples on all his albums. I have to double check when i realise when this album was made, but I think everyone was pushing themselves to do fantastic albums, especially in R&B. Marvin, Stevie, Al, Isley's, Aretha, Roberta etc. Cheers.
I agree about the arrangements. I still get goosebumps when I listen to music from that era. Another one who's arrangements thrilled me was Isaac Hayes.
Literally remember the first time I heard this song I said to my partner at the time ‘I didn’t know music could DO this!!!’
Mr Hathaway was such a musical genius that some of us will never forget....well..... Let All of Us here..Keep spending his greatness...💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
F, F# and G always gave me this nostalgic, yet hopeful feeling. Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder and Debussy are my biggest influences with this feeling and these keys. ♥️😩
Love Donny Hathaway's lesser known cuts, especially the song She is My Lady!
Thanks for this! I mean it.
This song changed me. Fun story about when I heard this song for the first time - I was a boy of 12 doing musical theatre in Canada. The director of the show was Joni Mitchell's teacher. On the same day she showed up one of the cast members was also a teacher made me a mix tape of something I'd never heard - which was jazz,. Donny blew my mind.
I met Joni in person, but Donny's work just set me back.
Meh, he still does to this day.