James Baldwin’s Record Collection

In 2020, Hammer Museum curator Ikechúkwú Casmir Onyewuenyi compiled a Spotify playlist of 484 songs that catalog James Baldwin’s record collection found at his home in France after his death in 1987.

Since we’re in the final stretch of the bracket I thought this might be a new, fun project for us to take on. I remember enjoying doing the 500 Greatest Albums Rolling Stone list way back when on AP and although I wasn’t able to participate as much as I’d have liked, really enjoyed the yearly listening threads that led to the bracket. I was thinking one album a week but we can do something different or everyone can just listen around however they want.

 

Tagging the usual suspects, sorry if I miss anyone!
@cshadows2887 @phaynes12 @Craig Manning @irthesteve @Aaron Mook @George @OhTheWater

 

Very cool, I'll read into this more after work. Thanks for tagging!

 

Yes please

 

Adding it to the original post but there are 484 songs here. There are a few 7”s sprinkled but it’s mostly full albums. We’d be busy with it for a while, which in my opinion is good. The list is split pretty evenly for me between things I’ve heard and things I haven’t, as well as a some artists I had never even heard of

 

I’d jump in on this

 

While this sounds fun and great, I can't take on a project right now . Barely finding time to listen to anything new these days

 

sounds neat

 

I guess an infant is a decent reason

 

Sounds fun! Is there a non Spotify link to the collection list for reference?

 

Going to take some sorting here, too. Like there's a not particularly notable Nina Simone comp in here, for one.

 

There isn't but I can put it together tonight

 

At least he's cute because I'm getting mad fomo anxiety from all the new albums I haven't heard yet

 

I’m gonna get the list all written out and then see if any of the comps are greatest hits or whatever and are made up of songs covered in other albums in the collection. I don’t think it should be too bad!

 

Might be cool to pair the listening with some of his writing

 

I wish they posted the original list. I don't think he had the Nina Simone comp Ne Me Quitte Pas from 1999 considering it's never been on vinyl and he had been dead for 12 years at the time. He probably had the budget-line live album that cannibalized Live in Europe.

 

The next thing I was going to bring up is that there's a playlist of every song he ever mentioned in his writing. I thought it could be good to go through that one book by book. Can definitely pair it for readings with this though, never mad at the suggestion to read Baldwin

Yeah I'm not entirely sure what to do with stuff like that? We can either omit them or tack them on at the end or something. I'm up for whatever everyone else wants

 

This sounds awesome, will definitely bookmark.

 

Bassey, Shirley - Something Else 1971 3
Charles, Ray - Sweet & Sour Tears 1958 3
Charles, Ray and Milt Jackson - Soul Brothers 1964 4.5
Crawford, Randy - Nightline 1983 3
Flack, Roberta - Quiet Fire 1971 4.5
Franklin, Aretha - Amazing Grace 1972 4.5
Franklin, Aretha - Lady Soul 1968 5
Franklin, Aretha - Aretha 1980 3
Franklin, Aretha - Jump to It 1982 3
Hathaway, Donny - Live 1972 4.5
Houston, Cissy - Cissy Houston 1977 4.5
Knight, Gladys (and The Pips) - About Love 1980 4.5
LaBelle, Patti - It's Alright with Me 1979 2.5
LaBelle, Patti - Released 1980 3
Lynne, Gloria - Try a Little Tenderness 1960 2.5
Lynne, Gloria - Happy and in Love 1970 4
McRae, Carmen - Sings Lover Man and Other Billie Holiday Classics 1962 4.5
Phillips, Esther - From a Whisper to a Scream 1971 4
Pointer Sisters, The - The Pointer Sisters 1973 4
Rawls, Lou - When the Night Comes 1983 1.5
Ross, Diana - An Evening with Diana Ross 1977 4.5
Simone, Nina - Silk and Soul 1967 3
Simone, Nina - Here Comes the Sun 1971 3
Simone, Nina - Forbidden Fruit 1961 3
Simone, Nina - Baltimore 1978 2.5
Sinatra, Frank - Songs for Swingin' Lovers 1956 5
Summer, Donna - Love to Love You Baby 1975 4.5
Turrentine, Stanley - Pieces of Dreams 1974 2
Vaghan, Sarah - I Love Brazil 1978 2.5
Vaughan, Sarah - How Long Has This Been Going On? 1978 4.5
Washington, Dinah - What a Diff'rence a Day Makes! 1959 5
Washington, Dinah - For Those in Love 1955 3
Washington, Dinah and Malcolm Addey - Back to the Blues 1963 4.5
Williams, Deniece - When Love Comes Calling 1979 3.5
Wilson, Nancy - A Touch of Today 1966 2.5
Withers, Bill - Menagerie 1977 4.5
Wonder, Stevie - For Once in My Life 1968 3
Wonder, Stevie - Innervisions 1973 5
Wonder, Stevie - Talking Book 1972 5

Comps:
Charles, Ray - The Atlantic Hits 2019
Nightengales, The - The Best of King Gospel 2003 3.5
Ross, Diana - Motown's Greatest Hits 1992 3
Simone, Nina - Ne Me Quitte Pas 1999
Smith, Bessie/James P. Johnson - Classic Sessions 2015

 

Kind of embarrassed to say I didn't know who James Baldwin was until I got home yesterday, but very happy to know now. If anyone has a favorite of his or recommended starting point, it will absolutely be my next read.

 

Go Tell It on the Mountain is amazing.

 

Said this to Eva last night, but this list doesn't appear to be an overly curated collection. A lot of just whatever album legendary black artists released in like '77-'80.

But that kind of grab-bag does have an attraction of its own. It's always great to discover that a deep cut in the discography is underappreciated, etc.

 

Would recommend reading this for more context on the playlist.

https://hyperallergic.com/606491/listening-to-the-joy-in-james-baldwins-record-collection/

 

For me personally, I like the idea that it's just like pulling a record out of his specific collection. We can also just leave it as an open discussion thread and not do the same album a week or whatever. People can talk about whatever records in there they'd like to talk about. I can also post the playlist I mentioned earlier about every song mentioned in his works and it can just be one big group journey of James Baldwin through music. And obviously encouraging everyone to pair it with some reading as well. I really enjoyed the early yearly music threads where everyone was talking about their favorite older records and discovering some new stuff. I think anytime we get to go a little deeper musically on Chorus the better.

I'm fine with however anyone would like to approach it. I'll probably do an album a week or something. If anyone has ideas for approaching it as a group I'm absolutely down to talk about it and figure something out!

 

I'll update the first post whenever we come to some sort of consensus but this is the other playlist. I'll get it all written out sometime today for anyone not on Spotify