Letter from the editor: Press play, and smile
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.We don’t talk about music enough. Three sad stories in today’s paper got us all humming. The subsequent discussions got decidedly heated.
There is of course the news that a post-mortem examination has found that Amy Winehouse died with no trace of illegal drugs in her system – though there was some alcohol. Her genius has been much discussed here. No need to say more, just play her music.
Yesterday brought the sad news that two of the finest songwriters of the pop era had died: Nick Ashford and Jerry Leiber. You may not know the names, but you will – like all of us at i – have hummed and karaoke’d the tunes.
Ashford and his wife Valerie were impressive enough as Ashford and Simpson – think of “Solid (As A Rock)” – but in truth their contribution to the Motown lexicon is immortal. “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)” remains my favourite from a list that includes “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, “You’re All I Need (To Get By)”, “I’m Every Woman”, and so many more. Press play, and smile.
Leiber and his co-writer Mike Stoller broke through a decade before Ashford with “Hound Dog”. Elvis Presley picked it up and “Jailhouse Rock” was to follow. Other hits ranged widely from “Yakety Yak” to “Poison Ivy”, but my personal Leiber favourite was the massively influential 1961 Ben E King smash “Stand By Me”.
It’s funny, as I write I am aware of how old-farty I sound. Many readers will primarily know some of these tracks through TV ads. You know what? That’s fine – if the ads lead you to their work. But, just as I encourage young readers to download and play the music of these two extraordinary writers, I would recommend older music fans to try Winehouse’s “Tears Dry on Their Own” – with a writing credit for Leiber and Stoller.
Happy listening.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments