Eugene McDaniels (February 12, 1935 – July 29, 2011) — vocalist, lyricist, fearless social commentator, and composer of massive hits such as “Compared to What” and “Feel Like Makin' Love”—is back. Sample-hungry DJs have been snapping up 30+ year-old vinyl copies of his Joel Dorn-produced, futuristic folk/funk/gospel/jazz fusion LPs (Outlaw and Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse) for quite some time now. Besides offering sweet soul, unusual arrangements, and seriously funky beats, McDaniels' raw nerve approach to socio-political matters on tunes such as “Love Letter To America,” “Supermarket Blues,” “Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse” and “Freedom Death Dance” made him a charter member of Tricky Dick's Enemies List. Sadly, the lyrics he wrote 35 years ago still ring true today. The 30-odd years between McDaniels' last commercial release as a featured vocalist (he produced movie soundtracks, and several jazz, funk, and R&B artists through the late '70s and '80s, and collaborated with Carri Coltrane on three CDs in the late '90s) have not dulled his impassioned, liquid tenor voice one iota. From Wikipedia: Gene McDaniels (born Eugene Booker McDaniels, February 12, 1935 in Kansas City), Missouri, is an American singer and songwriter who had his greatest recording success in the early 1960s. McDaniels grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. McDaniels had six Top 40 hits. The two that went into the top five were 1961's "Tower of Strength" and "A Hundred Pounds of Clay," the latter reaching #3 on the U.S. pop charts. McDaniels did, however, reach the top spot on the charts as a songwriter. In 1974, Roberta Flack reached #1 with McDaniels' "Feel Like Making Love." (This is not to be confused with the Bad Company song of the same name.) Other songs that McDaniels recorded included "Point Of No Return" and "Spanish Lace." In the early 1970s, McDaniels recorded on the Atlantic Records label, which released the McDaniels albums, Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse and Outlaw. McDaniel's "Jagger the Dagger" was featured on the Tribe Vibes breakbeat compilation album, as it had been sampled by the musical group, A Tribe Called Quest. In the late 1960s, McDaniels turned his attention to a more black consciousness form of song. His best-known song in this genre was probably "Compared to What," a jazz-soul protest song made famous (and into a hit) by Les McCann and Eddie Harris on their album Swiss Movement and also covered by Roberta Flack. McDaniels also appeared in movies on the strength of his early 1960s hits. They included the 1962 film, It's Trad, Dad!, (released in the United States as Ring-A-Ding Rhythm). The movie which was directed by Richard Lester. He also appeared in 1963's The Young Swingers. McDaniels is briefly seen singing in the choir in the 1974 Sidney Poitier-Bill Cosby film Uptown Saturday Night. Partial Discography Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse - Atlantic (1971) Natural Juices - Ode (1975) [edit]US Hit singles "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" - #3, 1961 "A Tear" - #31, 1961 "Tower of Strength" - #5, 1961 "Chip Chip" - #10, 1962 "Funny" - #99, 1962 "Point of No Return" - #21, 1962 "Spanish Lace" - #31, 1962 "It's a Lonely Town (Lonely Without You)" - #64, 1963 "River" - #115, 1972 (released under the name Universal Jones) Film Appearances: It's Trad, Dad! (a.k.a. Ring-A-Ding Rhythm) (1962) The Young Swingers (1963) Categories: Missouri musicians | 1935 births | Living people | American male singers
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