Naples
Daily News
April 17, 2003
By
Nancy Stetson
I
picked up an intriguing CD the other week: "The Heart
and Soul of Bert Berns."
No,
he's not a new artist.
Berns
was in the music industry in the early-to-mid-'60s.
But
even those familiar with rock 'n' roll may not recognize
his name.
And that's a shame, because Bert Berns was responsible for
writing many songs we consider classics today: "Twist
and Shout," "Piece of My Heart," "Under
the Boardwalk," "Brown Eyed Girl," "Cry
Baby," "Hang On Sloopy," "A Little Bit
of Soap," "Baby Come On Home," "Gloria,"
"I Want Candy."
His
music's been recorded by artists such as The Isley Brothers,
Solomon Burke, LaVern Baker, The Drifters, Ben E. King,
Esther Phillips, Lulu, Otis Redding, Them, Wilson Pickett,
The Shangri-Las, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Patti
LaBelle and the Bluebelles, Van Morrison and Janis Joplin.
As
Doug Morris, CEO of Universal Music Group, writes in the
liner notes, Berns "has been all but ignored by the
industry he helped to create," but says, "there
was nothing in music Bert Berns couldn't do: write, play,
sing, arrange, record, hustle or sell. The songs he wrote
were like bulging suitcases, jam-packed with emotion, songs
that could feel at home on both sides of the racial line.
'Bert was a great cross-over writer because he had both
markets inside him,' soul pioneer Solomon Burke said matter-of-factly.
'He had an inner soul.'"
Morris
lists the unique mix of disparate factors that made Berns
who he was, describing his as "a tough street kid from
the Bronx who had studied classical piano. A child of Jewish
Russian immigrants who had a natural affinity for American
gospel and soul."
Berns
died of heart failure when he was just 38 years old.
In
the snapshot of him on the CD cover, Berns is standing in
a recording studio, possibly in the middle of listening
to a song. With his rolled-up shirtsleeves and sideburns,
he looks like someone who'd write and play rockabilly, not
the kind of down-and-dirty soul music he created.
But
somehow, he tapped into that soul groove, expressing the
heart's deepest longings and fears in a musical language
that spoke to millions. It's music that makes you want to
slow dance in the shadows. The songs are as raw as a love
letter with emotions flooding the page.
The
CD is a tribute to him and his work, with 10 songs by a
variety of artists, including The Isley Brothers' 1963 recording
of "You'll Never Leave Him" and "Twist and
Shout," Solomon Burke singing "Everybody Needs
Somebody to Love" and "Cry to Me," and Aretha
Franklin's older sister, Erma Franklin, singing "Piece
of My Heart."
The
music is gritty, roll-around-in-the-dirt, get-on-my-knees-and-beg-you,
no-holds-barred soul music. (Morris quotes Cissy Houston
in her autobiography: "Bert's songs were howled or
shouted or screamed. They were songs of someone living on
the edge, so far out that only a prayer —howled or
cried— could bring deliverance.")
And
the singers on this CD hold nothing back. The emotions are
real, the sound isn't sanitized but gritty and authentic.
People
may not know Berns' name, but they surely know the songs
he created. Maybe this CD will be a first step to giving
him the posthumous recognition he deserves.
-
Naples
Daily News April 3, 2003
