Lightnin' Rod : Doriella Du Fontaine [Participation]

Artiste : Lightnin' Rod
Titre : "Doriella Du Fontaine" (1984)





Novembre 1969, au Record Plant.

"Nous avons aussi enregistré plus de matériel [avec The Last Poets], comme le titre à la gloire de Doriella Du Fontaine, la fameuse pute, avec Jimi. J'étais en train d'enregistrer avec Jimi un jour et Jalal [a.k.a. Lightnin' Rod] est venu. Je l'avais montrant le truc à Buddy [Miles], et Buddy s'est impliqué dans le projet et a commencé à jouer avec lui. Jimi est rentré et a dit : "attendez-moi", et il a plongé dedans. Ils ont improvisé 13 minutes d'affilée. C'était superbe."
(Alan Douglas)

C'est en 1984 que le producteur décidera de sortir "Doriella Du Fontaine" en maxi 45 tours. Le single était crédité à Lightnin' Rod et Jimi Hendrix, mais c'est bien un titre du rappeur de The Last Poets, un des groupes fondateurs du genre.
Le rap de Lightnin' Rod est accompagné de la batterie de Buddy Miles et de la guitare de Jimi. Buddy Miles enregistrera une partie d'orgue en overdubs, et Jimi la ligne de basse.
Les premières écoutes risquent d'être difficiles aux auditeurs dont l'intérêt pour le rap est proche du zéro. Pour autant, le titre gagne à être connu, et ce n'est qu'avec les écoutes successives que, paradoxalement, l'apparente monotonie s'évapore.

Ce titre ne fait bien sûr pas de Jimi un des pionniers du rap, mais force est de constater que l'accompagnement guitare/basse qu'il propose est incroyablement moderne : il est en effet plus proche du hip hop à venir que du funk de l'époque ! La façon dont il joue ses boucles et joue sur les tensions, notamment en fin de morceau souligne parfaitement la performance de Lightnin' Rod.
Rythmiquement, le titre est un tour de force. Le débit de Lightnin' Rod est un véritable moteur. Mais la manière dont Jimi et Buddy font groover le tout est un vrai plus : le rythme obsessionnel s'emballe par moment, parfois se casse, toujours au service du texte.

Etonnant.



En bonus, voici les paroles de "Doriella Du Fontaine"

Source : http://www.me.umn.edu/~kgeisler/afont.html

I was standing on the corner in the middle of the square,
Tryin' to make me some arrangements
to get some of that dynamite reefer there.
Now, I was already high,
and dressed very fly,
just standin' on the corner
watchin' all the fine hoes
When up drove my main man big money Vann
in his super ninety-eight Olds
Now as Van stepped out
and he looked about to me
He began to speak.
(...)
Came his real fine freak

She wore a black chemise dress
considered to be one of the very best.
Hair was glassy black
Eyes a deep see green-blue,
Her skin boss dark hue.
Man! She was some kind of fine!
Now, as I spoke to Vann, and I shook his hand,
and I asked him "Is that your honey?"
Without no jive
This was the dude's reply,
"Like she's anybody's. who wants to make some money."

"She's really down
And known all around
As Doriella Du Fontaine.
She plays her stick,
mind you, she's slick,
She's one of the best in the game.
This girl's no jerk
I've seen her work,
She's nice and she can use her head
And she's good with her crack
From a long way's back,
And she's done made me a whole lot of bread."

Now, Vann was sporting a Panama Straw,
had a Corona-producto stuck out the side of his jaw,
He wore a beige silk suit
That looked real silky,
And my man was dressed like to make Rockefeller feel guilty.
Now I was pressed, I must confess,
Although I couldn't compare with Vann,
It's not that his taste is better than mine.
Just that he is the big money man.

"Hey, fellows," Doriella said,
"I'm starving as can be.
How about a bite to eat?"
So we all agreed
on a fabulous feed,
down at the Waldorf
Now the Waldorf was blowing
in bright neon light,
Although this was my first flight,
We were all clean as the board of health.
Three players, that's true,
in rainbows of blue,
And we painted a picture of wealth.

Now as we were dining,
Vann started unwinding,
He began to run his mouth off to me.
But as we left,
I dug his woman, Doriella Du Fontaine,
Was standing pinning on me
"Hey fellow," Doriella said,
"Since we met I'm glad,
So here's the address to my pad."
So next Saturday
I got real fly.
And I went to see Miss Du Fontaine.
I stopped off at my main man Jaws,
he dealt in snow,
And I copped me some cocaine.

Now I got to her pad,
Jim it was some kind of bad.
It was really a bar set.
She had a 5-inch carpet,
which was limited in a market
Somewhere from the far-East Orient.
The high file was sailin'
And I wasn't failing,
But I just couldn't rap to this queen.
She dug my feet was cold
and took a tigh hold
And gave me some pot, Chicago Green.
She said "You be my man.
And together we'll trick the land,
And I'll be your true-blue bitch,
Although you'll have to show me to those other squares,
I'll take their dough and make you rich."

Now you know where I'm at!
I really went for that.
And I put this fine ho in her bed.
Me and this queen made love supreme,
and I flipped when she gave me some head

Now, next Saturday round one,
We were out having fun,
at the club known as the Island of Joy,
When in walked Dixie Fair,
Drugstore millionaire,
International playboy.
"Hey, fellow," Dixie said, "
How's that fine model in red?
Why I'll give you a fee, if you introduce her to me."
So I did, and my woman, D, she did the rest.
"Next morning in bed horse honey she said,
I can beat Dixie for all his bread.

But like you have to wait patiently,
like a hustler on the sunny lands of New Mexico,
Because I don't want you around
When I take off this clown,
and I get him hung up in my den,
But when I pull through
I'll come straight to you,
And you'll never have to hustle again."

So the next morning,
I jumped in my $500 dollar grey silk vine
Downed me an ice cold pint of vine
I snatched my bank book
And I made reservations on TWA airline.
Now, my stay wasn't bad.
I had a fabulous pad.
I pulled plenty of fabulous hoes.
I pulled Miss Carmen Vista
Who was huge in the Keister,
And first cousin to Mexicaly Rose.

The climat was hot,
And there was plenty of pot,
And the tequila's were dynamite.
As I laid in my shack, on top of Carmen's back,
I had her on her knees all night.

Now one morning,
As I patiently waited,
I got a telegram that stated,
It said, "Papa daddy,
I made a real grand slam.
I'm on my way. TWA.
Comin' number 3.
Be in New Mexico by four.
Can't say no more. Love, your fine woman, D."

Comin' then gave me a bath in ice cold milk,
and I jumped in my $500 dollar grey silk,
and downed me a pint of ice-cold wine,
when I dug the New York news,
That shook me in my shoes,
with its bold daring headline...
It read Bulletin. Last night, Dixie Fair...

Drug store millionaire..
Committed suicide..
Left all his fame
To Miss Du Fontaine,
And stated to be his bride."

So Jim I made a B line on down to the airport,
Just in time to hear the announcer say,
"Attention in the lobby,
Attention in the Lobby:
Relatives and friends
All passengers on comin' number 3,
Wait no longer,
For fate's cruel hands
The good comet has crashed
Off the coast of Chili Sands

But wait! The rescuers said there was a woman alive!
Age 25...
Hair glassy black..
Eyes deep see green-blues
Skin a boss dark hue,
She said she was on her way
To her fine man in grey,
Stated to be his bride.
She would have been his true-blue bitch,
And made him rich,
but then she caughed up her blood and died."

Man! I pulled through,
Like all damned stud's due,
But I know I'll never be the same.
Cause there'll never be another Miss Doriella Du Fontaine.
That's her name Miss Du Fontaine
I'll never be the same
Cause there'll never be another Miss Doriella du Fontaine

Citation :

In the booklet to that album, the following is listed as the lyrics to DDF, which aren't all that accurate, but interesting. There are several omissions and glaring mistakes like "Comin' # 3" instead of "Comet #3". It's not I laid my "Shack" on top of Carmen's back. Its I laid my "SHOT" on top of Carmen's back. And its "YOU DON'T EVEN have to show me to those other squares, like I'll take their dough and make you rich". NOT 'Although you'll have to show me to those other squares"

Lightnin' Rod  :

Jimi first got hip to me through Alan Douglas, owner and President of his self-named independant record label, Douglas Records.

Four months earlier, my group, The Last Poets, had recorded our first album, the self-titled: The Last Poets, with Douglas acting in the capacity of "executive producer"; which meant that he provided the finance and the facilities, and we provided the artistry.

Douglas had been sounding out the album, by playing It for various people within the music industry, to gauge their reaction to it, and amoung them was Jimi Hendrix.

The first Last Poets album was rich in revolutionary thought content, with a tapestry of profound poetry, within enlightning mind metaphors, and backed by traditional african percusion, and it sounded like voices that had come from straight out of the drums.

Upon hearing this, Jimi became intrigued. Now suddenly, here was a record that set the record straight, and it hadn't even been released yet.

Douglas had been in close contact with Jimi, and had artistic and business interest, and by turning him on to the Last Poet, had managed to impress Jimi, as well as everybody else, and had set himself up in the alternative music market, with his independant label.

Jimi, like a lot of other black artists,within the blues and jazz genre, saw Douglas as the key to expand into other areas of music in collaboration with other black artists that were respected and admired by the public.

Douglas had acquired a reputation, for being affiliated with black artists which had been enhanced by his association with the Last Poets, and later on from his release of two Malcolm X albums , containing his speeches, which he had negociated in a contract with the late Betty Shabazz, the widow of Malcolm X.

Over a period of decades, Douglas had accumulated a formidable catalog, on some of the premier jazz and blues musicians of their times, such as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, featuring Max Roach and Charlie Mingus in a trio, which was called "Money Jungle."

He also put out albums on Kenny Durham, Art Blakey, and Muddy Waters, plus Eric Dolphy, and later on after Jimi's death, he posthumously released two albums on Jimi.

Courtesy of our managers, "The East Wind Associates", he now had the Last Poets in his repertoire. The problem was though, was that he didn't know what to do about it, and so the album hadn't been released yet.

Nevertheless, he proceeded to assure me that the album would be released. Eight months later, in the following year during the spring of 1970 I called him up to ask about the album, and he told me that Jimi had heard the album, and it knocked him out, and that he wanted to meet me, and had proposed that we do a track together.

I had mixed feelings about it at first, because although I had heard of him, at that time I was not exactly a fan of his, in as much as I was busy developing my own art, and my personal interest was my involvement in black music, which was more into Bebop, Blues, Rhythm & Blues, Doo Wop and Afro-Cuban Jazz, with Gospel as my harmonic source point.

But Jimi was rockin' it with a whole new old-roll/role, and he was like a new blues all by himself. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that he had become an instant fan, and yet at the same time, considering the economy of the Last Poet's music at the onset of our first album, I didn't think our music was turning him on, so I figured it must be the message.

Although I wasn't a fan of his music then, I knew that when I got a minute I'd have to check him out, and see what all the fuss was about, because I was a fan of his rebelious image at that time, that he was projecting, in breaking the then conventional modes of artistic expression, and he confirmed that he was a fan of my message, and dug the way I rapped. At that time, Jimi's music was more popular with the white youth, than the black youth in America as well as England, and Jimi wanted to expand his fan base within the black community.

A lot of this was due to the type of music he played, which struck me as rock based in the blues. But to the black community at that time, rock was associated with famous white rock groups, who had separated rock from roll, such as The Grateful Dead, Black Sabbath, Jim Morrison "The Doors, The Byrds, The Mamas and Papas, Frank Zappa, The Beach Boys and other artists of that genre.

The black community for their part, were into James Brown, The Jackson Five, The Funkadelics, The Spinners, Harold Melvin and The Bluenotes, The Vibrations, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder and Sly "The Family Stone, Dick Gregory & Richard Pryor, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Aretha Franklin, and many, many more dynamic black artist of the day, including The Last Poets.

Plus heavy metal was becoming known as the hardness within the rock, like bebop became the hardness within jazz.

So Jimi was considered a black artist playing rock music, the way that rock musicians wished they could play. But the black community had witnessed rhythm and blues, give birth to rock n' roll, only to see rock jettison roll, and become just rock, which was played primarily by white musicians, and they weren't sure if Jimi was playing white music in a black way, or black music in a white way, or both, and at that time at the end of the sixties, and the beginning of the seventies, they weren't sure about his music.

Thus they were happy for his success, but ambivalent about his art at the time, and attributed his success to his popularity amongst the white youth, in particular the hippie generation of that era, who brought most of his albums.

I wondered if Jimi wanted me to help bridge that gap with my rap, so that the black community could dig the roots of his music. I knew that he was a revolutionary artist, who had revolutionized the way the electric guitar was played, and how, and would influence generations to come, long after he was gone.

But outside of his art and reputation, I had no idea where Jimi was coming from until I met him in person. At that time, the black revolution in America was in progress, and the black community in general, wanted to know where Jimi stood on the issue of the revolution.

But Jimi felt misunderstood, or not understood at all, and focused his attention on making his position known, in regards to the Vietnam war, which was raging at the time, and he did it primarily through his music, rather than his lyrics.

Since both black and white youths were against the war, it was a central theme, that everybody could identify with.

Muhammad Ali, had already set a precedent for the black community, by refusing to be inducted into the army, and he was a hero in the black community, as well as being admired by many whites for his stand against the war.

Jimi accomplished this with his rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner". I now knew that Jimi liked the Last Poet's recitations, and my poetry in particular, which meant that he was more hip to my work, than I was to his, at the time.

I figured that he identified, with the reality of our situation on a ground level, and I at least knew for certain that he was a rebel, and against injustice of any kind. Douglas arranged for me to meet Jimi, along with Buddy Miles, at his penthouse suite, on West 54th Street, in mid-town manhattan, at the end of July of 1969, and I showed up expecting Jimi to be an out-going personality, only to find him shy and introverted, humble and quiet, except when he was playing.

Jimi smiled like he was glad to meet me, more so than I was him, he looked earnest and sincere, and gave me maximum respect. I returned the compliment, but he didn't want any, and said he was too interested in what I was doing with words, and he wanted to put some music to words with me.

I became impressed with his straight forwardness Douglas then introduced me to Buddy Miles, who also gave me a big smile, and then slapped me five, saying: "Yeah man, that stuff y'all ran down is right on! And Jimi and I, dig the shit out of it, so Jimi wants to work with you, you heard him for yourself, and Jimi can play anything on his axe, that brother is bad!" I looked over at Jimi, who was grinning and nodding his head up and down in agreement, just then Douglas, who had been standing by and listening, put both of his arms around Buddy's shoulders, who was sitting down at the time, and said: "Buddy's my funk machine."Buddy smiled and said: "How funky do you want it!" And began moving his hands, which had been clutching his drum sticks, and started tapping out an imaginary beat in the air.

Douglas laughed, but I didn't like the sound of it. I realized that Jimi and Buddy were part of the living music, that was their way of life, and it encompassed their lives. They lived and breathed it, and it was a testimony of their soulfulness, which ran the gauntlet of emotions.

Up to that point, I had been silent, just takin' it all in. Finally I said: "Sounds like y'all got it all figured out. They all laughed, and Douglas said: "I can get the studio time, anytime you guys are ready, we can use the "Electric Lady land "(Jimi's Studio) Jimi chimed in saying: "And I don't want no money for this, I just want to have fun and jam, so if their is any money to be made off the track, you and Douglas can work it out."Douglas said: "We'll split it man, Jimi will keep the music, and you keep the publishing on the lyrics, I just want to see it happen."

Source : http://www.grandfatherofrap.com/gfor_jimmy_1.htm

C'est un des titres qui figurent dans le magazine Mojo d'avril 2020.



YM