Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.
The American, or Caribbean, musical expatriate in Europe has been a constant since travel between the continents has been easy. From the Jazz Age to the present day, some artists prefer to ply their trade on the European continent rather than the American one.
Each individual had their own reasons for their move. Pianist Hazel Scott was a huge success in the US, becoming the first Black American woman to host a network TV show, but the McCarthy witch hunts chased her out of America. Others were trying to escape drug or alcohol problems, or vindictive individual drug dealers, or, in the case of Chet Baker, were hoping that the authorities in Europe might take a more lenient view of their drug habits, which they had no intention of curbing.
A significant theme from many African American artists, from Josephine Baker onwards, was that the segregation policies and lack of appreciation of Jazz or Rhythm and Blues as art forms in their home country made Europe an enticing prospect. They could feel more appreciated in their art, and love who their heart wanted to love rather than who society was willing to let them love. This has been eloquently described by Sonny Rollins, and features in all the biographies of Miles Davis. Artists who had been to Europe fighting in the Second World War on behalf of their country, contrasted their acceptance as heroes in the lands they helped liberate, with their status back home.
This world is beautifully captured in one of the greatest movies about music ever made, Round Midnight. In the movie, saxophonist Dexter Gordon (who spent many years himself in Copenhagen) plays jazz musician Dale Turner. His alcohol problems have made him unwelcome in his favorite playing spots in the US, and so he takes a residency in Paris. There he finds a supportive community of post-bop musical superstars, and people who lionize him as a person and support him in his craft. The story itself is based on the life of Bud Powell. Through love, nurturing and appreciation as an individual, Turner/Gordon refinds his muse and his mojo. The Oscar-winning soundtrack albums, curated by Herbie Hancock, are exquisite works of art.
Marvin Gaye’s time in Europe followed one of the tropes. Creatively, emotionally and financially broken by years of drug abuse, he had lost his marriage, record deal and reputation, and moved to Europe in the late ’70s. His relocation to the port town of Ostende, Belgium in 1981 was an attempt to get away from his problems. It seemed to work, and Gaye was able to start recording after curbing his drug use, and getting fit both physically (by running) and spiritually. Forced by circumstances to be innovative with his music, he learned how to use the Roland TR-808 and Jupiter 8 synthesizers (then mainly used as drum machines) to create a whole sound. From that the album Midnight Love and its biggest hit, “Sexual Healing,” emerged.
Recovery from cocaine addiction can awaken all sorts of things in the addict. In Gaye’s case his libido returned. He was still a young man. He used that energy and creativity to create one of the great songs about sex. It also gave Gaye one of his biggest hits and led to receiving his only two Grammy Awards.
One of the biggest risks the expatriate faces is when he thinks he is over the worst and can return across the Atlantic to face his demons, with greater strength. It does not always work out as they hope. In the same way that Dale Turner/Bud Powell struggled when they returned to the US, Gaye’s potentially triumphant return to musical stardom and his family home soon ended in disaster.
The universality of the message and success of the song has meant that there have been many covers over the years. Here are five of the best.
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I confess I didn’t quite know how to approach Amos Lee’s My Ideal: A Tribute To Chet Baker Sings–with excitement and delight, or merely admiration. I get that this sounds grudging, but in my book Chet was not only one of the best two jazz trumpeters who ever strode this earth, he was also one of the very best singers. Alas, outside jazz circles, he never quite became the household name he could have been. Rock circles knew him best, perhaps, as the horn player on Elvis Costello’s own original version of “Shipbuilding,” arguably a quarter century past his peak. So anyone who can raise his profile, well, that’s fine by me.
