Roberta Flack: unable to sing after MND diagnosis

Roberta Flack: Legendary soul singer left unable to sing after MND diagnosis

It was sad to read that Grammy-winning musician Roberta Flack has been left unable to sing after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease. The Killing Me Softly with His Song performer is also having difficulty speaking, her manager said on Monday.

Flack, 85, has won four Grammy awards and received 14 nominations. A documentary about her life is set to premier next week in New York. She also has plans to publish a children's book in January.

In addition to Killing Me Softly - which was later covered by musician Lauryn Hill - Flack is known for songs including The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, which launched her to stardom after it was used in Clint Eastwood film Play Misty for Me. Speaking to Rhino in 2021, she said, ‘Clint Eastwood has always been a musical visionary among his many talents.  He told me that he heard my version of "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" while he was driving down a Los Angeles freeway and had to stop his car.  He called me out of the blue and said, "I'd like to use your song in this movie about a disc jockey with a lot of music in it." He said that he would 'use it in the only part of the movie where there's absolute love." I was floored, then agreed.  He said, "Anything else?" I said, "I want to do it over again.  It's too slow." He said, "No, it's not."  That’s the version of the song that you know, and that gives you a snapshot of his ability to see the beauty in simplicity and to use music to convey emotion.

Her condition - motor neurone disease (MND) - "has made it impossible to sing and not easy to speak," her management said in a statement.

"But it will take a lot more than MND to silence this icon," they said, adding that she "plans to stay active in her musical and creative pursuits".

There is no known cure for MND. It is caused by the death of the nerves that carry messages from the brain to people's muscles. It affects their ability to move, talk and even breathe. The timing of Flack's film and book release next year coincide with the 50th anniversary of her fourth album Killing Me Softly With His Song, which was released in 1973.

After the singer suffered a stroke in 2016, she told the Associated Press news agency that wants her songs to be remembered as "classics" and and not just an "old hit".

"I could sing any number of songs that I've recorded through the years, easily, I could sing them, but I'm going to pick those songs that move me," Flack said.

Peter Tevis Pastures of plenty: The evolution of a theme

Peter Tevis Pastures of plenty: The evolution of a theme

Peter Tevis - Pastures of plenty is a track with a genuine, historical story behind it. It was originally written in 1941 by folk legend Woody Guthrie, but its roots date even further back to around 1927 when the song began life as a banjo tune called Pretty Polly. The song is actually a murder ballad, and tells the story of a young woman lured into the forest where she is killed and buried in a shallow grave. 

Guthrie’s lyrics moved away from the darker subject matter, although the tune is still based on the ballad of "Pretty Polly", it was more evocative of the world described in John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939). In 1962 American folk singer and part time actor Peter Tevis recorded a version of Woody Guthrie's "Pastures of Plenty'' that was arranged by Ennio Morricone. A couple of years later, during a meeting between Morricone and film director Sergio Leone over the music for his forthcoming film, Morricone played a recording of Tevis's Pastures of Plenty. Leone loved the quirky nature of the music, but didn’t take a liking to the vocals. Subsequently, the vocals were dropped and the music became the opening title "Titoli" for A Fistful of Dollars (1964). 

Although the original RCA Tevis single does come up occasionally it does tend to demand a rather hefty asking price, no doubt because of its significance relating to A Fistful of Dollars. The original vocal version was later included on a deluxe CD soundtrack as a bonus track - which really went a long way in filling the much ‘wanted’ gap. I was recently going through my ‘dollar’ singles which encouraged me to look at the record markets again. To my surprise I discovered that the Tevis single was actually re-released on the Trunk Record label in September 2020. After a bit of searching and research, I soon found out that the single quickly sold out and was now out of print - which hardly surprised me. I did notice a few on Ebay, but the prices seem to be climbing quicker than a current energy bill! However, I did manage to get a lucky break and secured one today - courtesy of one of my old North London haunts in Islington who provided me with one for £8.00.

I’m not sure if there was some sort of licensing problem concerning the artwork for the single, as it comes in a clear plastic sleeve with a colour header. Nevertheless, I felt it was still vital and worthy enough for the collection. It was during the research that I also found out that this was a very limited edition, so I doubt that there were a great number pressed. The single also comes with the original 1962 B side, Notte Infinita. 

                     

               

              

              

Clint Eastwood Photo Opportunity #31

Clint Eastwood Photo Opportunity #31

For our November Photo Opportunity I thought I’d pull this 70’s picture taken in the kitchen of the Hog’s Breath Inn, Carmel. Clint is pictured tucking into a Dirty Harry burger, one of the regular meals served at the restaurant back in the day. There were a number of photos taken for this shoot which was taken circa 1977. While not visible in this particular shot, Clint’s belt featured the famous, and rather cool Josey Wales buckle which he was wearing regularly around this period. 

A farewell to Silver Screen Legends?

 A farewell to Silver Screen Legends?

I just wanted to put a little something together in regards to a story that broke earlier in the year, and in regards to David Zaslav who became Chief Executive Officer and President of Warner Bros. David Zaslav immediately turned heads right out the gate, chastising executives over green lighting Clint’s neo-Western Cry Macho. 

Warner Bros. executives conceded they had doubted the movie would turn a profit, people familiar with the meeting said. Why, Mr. Zaslav asked, was ‘Cry Macho’ made if they had reservations? When they replied that Mr. Eastwood had given the studio many hits and never delivered a movie late or over budget, he answered: We don’t owe anyone any favours. ‘It’s not show friends, it’s show business,’ he told them.

Yes, making tough calls is why Zaslav was placed in the top seat. But aiming his fire at Eastwood, of all people, strikes numerous industry observers as odd and rather short-sighted. Whilst it’s not my thing, the entire scrapping of the Batgirl project still baffles me - I thought superhero cinema was still in favour? 

But lately, people have aired their opinions to me, and the general feeling seems to be one and the same - let him do what he does best. I doubt very much that Clint has too many projects left before giving it up completely and retiring, and (considering his track record) the chances are whatever he chooses to do will probably turn a profit. 

But I just wonder if Clint is having second thoughts? It’s been a while, and still there is no word of any new project. And of course, it was only last month that legendary actor/ director Woody Allen announced that his latest film (currently in production) will indeed be his last before retiring. I just wonder if the business has changed to such an extent that the entire process of film-making has simply become far less ‘appealing’, even to such seasoned directors as Eastwood and Allen. 

It was heavily rumoured that Clint had pitched a new movie to the Zaslav-headed Warners and was quickly rejected. It was further rumoured that a leaked conference call implied that, despite their five-decade allegiance to Clint, Warners actually didn’t owe him any favours. 

Eastwood has been making movies with Warners for over 50 years now and it’s proven to be one of the most trust-worthy and long-lasting director/studio partnerships in the industry. But I have to say, it’s the attitude of the suites that have really shifted the dynamics. If this is what it’s become, I’d say take the business elsewhere. I still have enough faith and truly believe that many other studios would be only too pleased to pick up an Eastwood project and run with it. 

But I’m seriously wondering if Clint, at this stage of his life, has finally had enough - does he really need it? If that is the case, then I’d suggest walking away from it and enjoy your time on the golf course. 

I really wouldn’t blame him at all. 

DVDvision le mook Clint Eastwood & Dirty Harry

 

DVDvision le mook Clint Eastwood & Dirty Harry

We are very happy to announce that The Clint Eastwood Archive will be contributing and working with the upcoming DVDvision le mook Clint Eastwood & Dirty Harry.

This promises to be a very high quality publication with French text and 132 pages. 

Being familiar with DVDvision’s previous publication devoted to the Mad Max movies, I felt incredibly honoured to be asked to be part of their next project. 

For more information and pre-orders, follow the link HERE - Go ahead, make your Day. 

A Little something for the weekend...

A Little something for the weekend...

A few of us found this little slice of vintage humour rather amusing. Kind thanks to our friend Lee Pfeiffer for kick-starting our weekend.

  

Clint Eastwood Photo Opportunity #30

Clint Eastwood Photo Opportunity #30

For the month of October our Photo Opportunity features a rarely seen shot of Clint with co-star Vonetta McGee, disusing the script during the filming of The Eiger Sanction (1975) while on location in Switzerland. 

McGee landed her first role alongside Jean-Louis Trintignant and Klaus Kinski in Sergio Corbucci's Spaghetti Western The Great Silence (1968), and made her first released film appearance that same year as the eponymous character in the Italian comedy Faustina, which was released before the former film. She later became well known for her parts in the 1972 Blaxploitation films Melinda and Hammer. In the action thriller Shaft in Africa (1973), McGee took the role of Aleme, the daughter of an emir, who teaches John Shaft (Richard Roundtree) Ethiopian geography. Earlier that year she had appeared in a supporting role as an occult priestess in The Norliss Tapes. In 1974, McGee appeared as Thomasine, alongside Max Julien as Bushrod, in the western action film Thomasine & Bushrod, which was intended as a counterpart to the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. The next year, she starred alongside Clint in the action thriller The Eiger Sanction (1975). She also appeared in an episode of the TV series Starsky & Hutch named "Black and Blue" in 1979.

McGee died of cardiac arrest on July 9, 2010, at the age of 65.