Bob Dylan has a godawful singing voice. Nails on a chalkboard

1sotrue said:

daPrettyman said:

She didn't get a solo. Madonna wouldn't have either. There are several people in that choir that had questionable voices...Jackie Jackson, Randy Jackson, John Oates, the other band member of Huey Lewis and the News, Little Steven, Dan Akyroid and others.

People forget to mention Bette Midler being there she was deserving of a solo part than Kim Carnes. To me it was nothing more than a popularity contest. If your career was hot you got a solo if not you were part of the choir. Does anyone know if Barbara Streisand was invited?

I think she was, but for some reason couldn't participate.

Kim Carnes was definitely not hot by that point in time

SoulAlive said:

chamber said:

Madonna was still becoming "Madonna" when that thing was being assembled. My guess is that she wasn't invited. if she cared about being snubbed, then I'm sure she got a kick out of the fact that "Crazy For You" bumped "We Are the World" out of the #1 spot.

there's the answer

What's amazing to me is,how many 'big' names either weren't invited or chose not to be a part of it...

Aretha Franklin

Luther Vandross

Patti LaBelle

Donna Summer

Rick James

QUincy Jones was the producer....you know why Donna wasn't there! I was thinking it might have had something to do with the fact that she was taking a break to raise a family, but she was likely in the middle of "Cats Without Claws" still.

scriptgirl said:

Kim Carnes was definitely not hot by that point in time

She kinda was still hot at the time. Her solo albums were not doing well, but she had 2 hit AC singles in 84. "What About Me" with Kenny Rogers and James Ingram (went to number one on the AC chart) as well as "Make No Mistake, He's Mine" with Barbara Streisand (which went to number 8 on the AC chart.

Kim dueted with James Ingram-say what?

Were Quincy and Donna not getting along?

^ Recording sessions during the Donna Summer album production was reportedly rough.

Timmy84 said:

^ Recording sessions during the Donna Summer album production was reportedly rough.

Aside from 2 cuts, that album is a hot mess. I sold my copy last year for some big bucks on Amazon!

MidniteMagnet said:

Timmy84 said:

^ Recording sessions during the Donna Summer album production was reportedly rough.

Aside from 2 cuts, that album is a hot mess. I sold my copy last year for some big bucks on Amazon!

Yeah it's not strong enough for me from the cuts I heard. Only "Protection" and "Finger on the Trigger" stood out.

Timmy84 said:

^ Recording sessions during the Donna Summer album production was reportedly rough.

The problem was...Donna was pissed because her I'm A Rainbow 2-LP set was rejected by her label.So she feels that she was forced to go back into the studio to make a 'replacement album' with a producer that she wouldn't have chosen.She was also pregnant at the time.This crazy situation created alot of drama in the studio.For the first time in her career,Donna didn't have alot of control over her own album.She basically had to sit back and allow Quincy to make all the decisions.

SoulAlive said:

Timmy84 said:

^ Recording sessions during the Donna Summer album production was reportedly rough.

The problem was...Donna was pissed because her I'm A Rainbow 2-LP set was rejected by her label.So she feels that she was forced to go back into the studio to make a 'replacement album' with a producer that she wouldn't have chosen.She was also pregnant at the time.This crazy situation created alot of drama in the studio.For the first time in her career,Donna didn't have alot of control over her own album.She basically had to sit back and allow Quincy to make all the decisions.

Donna also felt trapped by her record label. I think it's crazy because while her life was controlled while on Casablanca she was at least allowed to be creative in the studio, with Geffen, since she was one of the first artists there, they didn't really know what to do with her. In fact I bet they dissed Moroder as old news and was the reason Donna kept being tagged as a "disco artist" when technically Moroder was producing dance-infused pop for her. Relegating her to the R&B format - something Donna herself wasn't entirely comfortable with (like Tina later on) - was not the right decision.

Neither was that country music dude John Denver and neither were Run DMC Travesty!

Timmy84 said:

MidniteMagnet said:

Aside from 2 cuts, that album is a hot mess. I sold my copy last year for some big bucks on Amazon!

Yeah it's not strong enough for me from the cuts I heard. Only "Protection" and "Finger on the Trigger" stood out.

I think it's Donna's best album of the 80s It was refreshing to finally hear her in an R&B setting."Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)" is the funkiest single she ever did.It sounded right at home on R&B stations alongside Cameo,Rick James and others.I love the frantic,relentless production,which forces Donna to hang on for dear life.

"(If It) Hurts Just A Little" is excellent.I would have chosen this to be the second single.Catchy and infectious,this is pure Quincy Jones.

"Love Is Just A Breath Away" recalls the work she did with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte.It's moody and mesmerizing with a stunning vocal by Donna.The production is intentionally cold and robotic.Great song!

"Protection" (written by Bruce Springsteen) is the most convincing rock song that Donna has ever done.Under different circumstances,this would have been a Top 10 pop smash.

"Mystery Of Love" and "The Woman In Me" (which is a truly sexy song) are also great.The only clunker on the album is "Livin' In America".It has a wonderful message but it sounds silly and overblown with that kid's choir at the end.

daPrettyman said:

1sotrue said:

daPrettyman said: People forget to mention Bette Midler being there she was deserving of a solo part than Kim Carnes. To me it was nothing more than a popularity contest. If your career was hot you got a solo if not you were part of the choir. Does anyone know if Barbara Streisand was invited?

I think she was, but for some reason couldn't participate.

Didn't Kim's career peak by that point? I don't recall her having a big hit as big as Bette Davis Eyes.

SoulAlive said:

Timmy84 said:

Yeah it's not strong enough for me from the cuts I heard. Only "Protection" and "Finger on the Trigger" stood out.

I think it's Donna's best album of the 80s It was refreshing to finally hear her in an R&B setting."Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)" is the funkiest single she ever did.It sounded right at home on R&B stations alongside Cameo,Rick James and others.I love the frantic,relentless production,which forces Donna to hang on for dear life.

"(If It) Hurts Just A Little" is excellent.I would have chosen this to be the second single.Catchy and infectious,this is pure Quincy Jones.

"Love Is Just A Breath Away" recalls the work she did with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte.It's moody and mesmerizing with a stunning vocal by Donna.The production is intentionally cold and robotic.Great song!

"Protection" (written by Bruce Springsteen) is the most convincing rock song that Donna has ever done.Under different circumstances,this would have been a Top 10 pop smash.

"Mystery Of Love" and "The Woman In Me" (which is a truly sexy song) are also great.The only clunker on the album is "Livin' In America".It has a wonderful message but it sounds silly and overblown with that kid's choir at the end.

lol I'm kinda shocked how little R&B radio plays her. I think off the top of my head the only songs they play from her nowadays is "Love to Love You Baby" (guess because that song got some funk elements in it), "Last Dance", "Bad Girls" and "She Works Hard". But it's odd they don't play "Finger on the Trigger" anymore or even her straight funky R&B number, "Dinner with Gershwin" (the first Donna song I ever heard) anymore.

Timmy84 said:

SoulAlive said:

The problem was...Donna was pissed because her I'm A Rainbow 2-LP set was rejected by her label.So she feels that she was forced to go back into the studio to make a 'replacement album' with a producer that she wouldn't have chosen.She was also pregnant at the time.This crazy situation created alot of drama in the studio.For the first time in her career,Donna didn't have alot of control over her own album.She basically had to sit back and allow Quincy to make all the decisions.

Donna also felt trapped by her record label. I think it's crazy because while her life was controlled while on Casablanca she was at least allowed to be creative in the studio, with Geffen, since she was one of the first artists there, they didn't really know what to do with her. In fact I bet they dissed Moroder as old news and was the reason Donna kept being tagged as a "disco artist" when technically Moroder was producing dance-infused pop for her. Relegating her to the R&B format - something Donna herself wasn't entirely comfortable with (like Tina later on) - was not the right decision.

Donna was the first artist signed to Geffen Records and I think she made a mistake.The label was brand new,just starting out and they didn't have alot of experience/success with someone like Donna.Most of the other acts were pop and rock.In 1980,she was the hottest female artist in the business.She could have went with Motown,Arista,Warner Bros....any other label.I still wonder why she chose Geffen.

SoulAlive said:

Timmy84 said:

Donna also felt trapped by her record label. I think it's crazy because while her life was controlled while on Casablanca she was at least allowed to be creative in the studio, with Geffen, since she was one of the first artists there, they didn't really know what to do with her. In fact I bet they dissed Moroder as old news and was the reason Donna kept being tagged as a "disco artist" when technically Moroder was producing dance-infused pop for her. Relegating her to the R&B format - something Donna herself wasn't entirely comfortable with (like Tina later on) - was not the right decision.

Donna was the first artist signed to Geffen Records and I think she made a mistake.The label was brand new,just starting out and they didn't have alot of experience/success with someone like Donna.Most of the other acts were pop and rock.In 1980,she was the hottest female artist in the business.She could have went with Motown,Arista,Warner Bros....any other label.I still wonder why she chose Geffen.

I wonder if anyone has her biography. Maybe leecappella can explain it...

Timmy84 said:

daPrettyman said:

I think she was, but for some reason couldn't participate.

Didn't Kim's career peak by that point? I don't recall her having a big hit as big as Bette Davis Eyes.

that's why she only got to sing "...WHEN WE!!!"

NDRU said:

Timmy84 said:

Didn't Kim's career peak by that point? I don't recall her having a big hit as big as Bette Davis Eyes.

that's why she only got to sing "...WHEN WE!!!"

Timmy84 said:

daPrettyman said:

I think she was, but for some reason couldn't participate.

Didn't Kim's career peak by that point? I don't recall her having a big hit as big as Bette Davis Eyes.

Check my post 94. Kim's peak was with "Betty Davis Eyes," but she was still pretty popular at that time.

"Betty Davis Eyes" was her biggest hit, but her 2nd biggest hit was the remake of The Miracles "More Love."

Probably Jealousy by the other Artists lol plus didn't Madonna's Crazy for You knock "We Are the World" off the top spot.So justice was served

If I was Donna, I would have gone to Warners. And whoever said it was right re about black radio not playing Donna. Why that is, I don't know. maybe she was seen as more of a "White" artist due to disco? You never hear any class her in with the great, rnb divas.

scriptgirl said:

If I was Donna, I would have gone to Warners. And whoever said it was right re about black radio not playing Donna. Why that is, I don't know. maybe she was seen as more of a "White" artist due to disco? You never hear any class her in with the great, rnb divas.

To those not in the know about Donna's background, they assume she was a foreigner from Germany when she was really a Bostonite from the Dorchester district. Plus her voice was not easily classified - no matter what the American Music Awards said - as a typical "R&B/soul" voice for some reason though like many R&B/soul musicians, she was vocally raised in church.

SoulAlive said:

Timmy84 said:

Donna also felt trapped by her record label. I think it's crazy because while her life was controlled while on Casablanca she was at least allowed to be creative in the studio, with Geffen, since she was one of the first artists there, they didn't really know what to do with her. In fact I bet they dissed Moroder as old news and was the reason Donna kept being tagged as a "disco artist" when technically Moroder was producing dance-infused pop for her. Relegating her to the R&B format - something Donna herself wasn't entirely comfortable with (like Tina later on) - was not the right decision.

Donna was the first artist signed to Geffen Records and I think she made a mistake.The label was brand new,just starting out and they didn't have alot of experience/success with someone like Donna.Most of the other acts were pop and rock.In 1980,she was the hottest female artist in the business.She could have went with Motown,Arista,Warner Bros....any other label.I still wonder why she chose Geffen.

She was being told she was being ripped off by her record company, and everyone in the music biz knew David Geffen. Casablanca was kind of waning by then anyway. It's like asking why John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Peter Gabriel decided to sign (Neil had a well publicized falling out with Geffen).

Supposedly Justin Timberlake is signing on to play Casablanca exec Neil Bogart.

dalsh327 said:

SoulAlive said:

Donna was the first artist signed to Geffen Records and I think she made a mistake.The label was brand new,just starting out and they didn't have alot of experience/success with someone like Donna.Most of the other acts were pop and rock.In 1980,she was the hottest female artist in the business.She could have went with Motown,Arista,Warner Bros....any other label.I still wonder why she chose Geffen.

She was being told she was being ripped off by her record company, and everyone in the music biz knew David Geffen. Casablanca was kind of waning by then anyway. It's like asking why John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Peter Gabriel decided to sign (Neil had a well publicized falling out with Geffen).

Supposedly Justin Timberlake is signing on to play Casablanca exec Neil Bogart.

I think Donna had heard through the grapevine that John was gonna sign with them so she wanted to sign on those premises. I'm almost sure she admired the Beatles growing up.

scriptgirl said:

If I was Donna, I would have gone to Warners. And whoever said it was right re about black radio not playing Donna. Why that is, I don't know. maybe she was seen as more of a "White" artist due to disco? You never hear any class her in with the great, rnb divas.

Island would have been the best label to go to. David Geffen threw a bunch of money towards the artists to sign up. Chris Blackwell made a deal that if they agreed to take less money in royalties for the recordings, they would own their master tapes. They wound up owing U2 money, and U2 wound up with 10 percent stake in the company, plus a 60 million dollar signing bonus to stay on. Blackwell had sold the company off by then, so U2 were in a really good position.

Didn't Geffen offer Donna like $5 million? That was the most lucrative deal then until Diana's $20 million deal with RCA the next year.

if you havent noticed in the past, gee, 30 years, M hasn't really seemed to enjoy performing with TALENTED, UNIQUE, ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT, KILLER VOICES, OR EXCEPTIONALLY YOUNGER FEMALE CONTEMPORARY STARS (bar Britney and Xxxtina's tongues in her mouth)

she doesn't perform with her peer superstars. unless MJ were still alive, that's the only one she would have (as a collaboration, not as part of a chorus)

it's just never been her thing to want to perform musically in the company of "musician's musicians" as they say...

NDRU said:

Was she at the American Music Awards that year? I think WATW happened partly because all those artists were there for that show or the Grammys or whatever it was.

BUt yeah in retrospect, having La Toya and Randy--not to mention Dan Akroyd!!--and not Madonna seems a bit of a mistake

As far as I know Prince was the only one who was invited and said no. Madonna might not have even been invited. They've written that people were turned away. It was at what's now the Jim Henson studio, the same facility Charlie Chaplin built.

The way the music was, it made sense they were going to pick a mostly older crowd to sing on the single.

badujunkie said:

if you havent noticed in the past, gee, 30 years, M hasn't really seemed to enjoy performing with TALENTED, UNIQUE, ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT, KILLER VOICES, OR EXCEPTIONALLY YOUNGER FEMALE CONTEMPORARY STARS (bar Britney and Xxxtina's tongues in her mouth)

she doesn't perform with her peer superstars. unless MJ were still alive, that's the only one she would have (as a collaboration, not as part of a chorus)

it's just never been her thing to want to perform musically in the company of "musician's musicians" as they say...

I agree. It's not her style at all.