E-Mac (interlude) to Early Morning Wanderings

"E-Mac (interlude)"  Outkast  Speakerboxx/The Love Below
"E Is For Estranged"  Owen Pallett  Heartland
"E.S.P."  Deee-lite  World Clique
"Each and Everyday"  Best Coast  Crazy For You
"Each Coming Night"  Iron & Wine  Our Endless Numbered Days
"Each Day"  Sister Wynona Carr  Dragnet For Jesus
"Each Step I Take"  Deanie Parker  The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968
"Early In The Mornin'"  Cyndi Lauper  Memphis Blues
"Early In The Mornin'"  Johnny Lee Moore & prisoners  Southern Journey Vol. 5: Bad Man Ballads
"Early Morning Wanderings"  Chris Joss  You've Been Spiked

  Women dominate this set - Best Coast's neo-surf rock with its doo-wap chorus and fuzzy guitars, Lady Miss Keir's feel-good funk, Cyndi Lauper trying on the blues, Sister Wynona Carr's joyous gospel, and a lost gem from Stax.

  On Memphis Blues, Cyndi Lauper brings a whole album to the covers discussion.  Throughout the album, she avoids the question of "What can I add?" by surrounding herself with musicians more talented in the style.  Here, B.B. King and Allen Toussaint provide guitar, keyboards and additional vocals.  Cyndi's vocal is a part of the success of this song in the same way "Frosted Flakes are a part of this nutritious breakfast."  You could replace it with a pop-tart, jello, or a punch in the face at little cost.  That said, the song (like the breakfast) is all right on its own.  (despite the same title, the chain gang sings a completely different song.  Cyndi's covering a Charlie Spand song which I have found under the title "Soon This Morning Blues." - by my count we will get to it here in about 10 years.)

  The debt soul owes to gospel is so well-documented as to be axiomatic.  However, here it is side-by-side.  Sister Wynona Carr and Deanie Palmer sing a pair of songs virtually identical in theme.  With each move and each passing day they get closer to the one they love.  For one, it is God.  For the other, it is more secular.  With slight rewording the songs could be reversed.

  Deanie Parker was a singer and house songwriter during Stax/Volt's early period, and co-wrote this song with Steve Cropper.  She did not sing any of the label's largest hits - I could only find references to 4-5 songs listing her as the performer at all.  Of course, the bulk of the references to her on the internet don't talk about her as a singer.  Instead she seems to have been the driving force behind the revitalization of the Stax/Volt studios and the creation of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and its associated Music Academy.  She served as director and CEO for the Soulsville Foundation until 2007, and again in an interim role until last April.  She has received numerous awards (including an honorary doctorate from , and appears to be a tireless advocate for Stax's legacy, and Memphis generally.

  The efforts to get the museum built is a reminder of the confluence of talent and energy that was Stax records.  That the label survived as long as it did, despite a litany of tragedies (the deaths of Otis Redding and Martin Luther King), and unfortunate business deals (the loss of their back catalog to Warner, a failed relationship with CBS), is a testament to the abilities and motivations of the people behind the label.  That the original location has been restored and turned into a first-class museum and you music program, after sitting fallow for years, further adds to that.  Since I have approximately 250 songs by Stax/Volt artists, I will not run on too long about this, but be warned.  Extended rants in this vein may recur at any point.