Don Bryant’s career resurgence is not so much a case of second chances, but more a victory lap.
The 77-year-old soul music pioneer received one of many rapturous receptions as part of his comeback tour, which stopped over in Morocco for the Jazzablanca Festival on Friday. Bryant was accompanied by his tight backing band, the Bo-Keys, and a camera crew piecing together footage that will eventually become the documentary Your Own Land. "The man is a legend and deserves to be documented," says director Andrew Fleming, as he prepares to record The National's exclusive interview with Bryant.
Which brings us to the man himself. How does Bryant feel about all the newfound attention? "Man, I can tell you that it tastes even better the second time around," he says, with a glint in his eye. "I am enjoying myself a whole lot and going to new and some other interesting places that I have already been. The audiences have been really good. The way I see it is that if you have something to give them, they will always react to it."
Behind a legendary soul music sound
To say Bryant made a welcome return to the music world with 2017's superb album Don't Give Up on Love is an understatement. The release follows his debut album, Precious Soul, released back in 1969, and shows that age hasn't diminished his rich voice.
Critical acclaim aside, the power of the album lies in its ability to capture a sound described as Hi Rhythm – taken from the legendary in-house band of Memphis soul music label Hi Records – thought to have been permanently retired to the annals of soul music. The band Hi Rhythm's tight guitar and bass grooves and authoritative drumming, coupled by plaintive horn arrangements (also known as the Memphis Horns) provided a lush and winning sound that artists such as Al Green and Ann Peebles took to the top of the charts. Behind many of these tunes was Bryant, who started at Hi Records as an aspiring singer before settling into the role of songwriter, chiefly for Peebles, who he went on to marry.
While acknowledging that it has been a while, Bryant says the 48-year gap in between his two albums has been creatively fulfilling. "I was still working and writing tunes all the time. That is something you just don't turn off," he says. "A lot of it was gospel songs for me and some other singers. I did a couple of gospel albums as well. I still had that energy to create, but I just realised that the road I was on was more as the writer and not the singer."
It was Scott Bomar from Bryant's backing band, as well as album producer Bruce Watson, who convinced him to return to secular music. Their aim was to resurrect the Hi Rhythm, but as Bryant tells it, the idea of returning down memory lane wasn't particularly enticing at first. He was living in semi-retirement in Memphis and content with being one of the many under-appreciated footnotes in popular music history. "But then we discussed getting together and doing some shows with the band and just see what happens," he says. Those shows were played in 2016.
“And then we started talking about me recording an album and that was a good challenge for me, too,” he says. I work best when there is a deadline.”
It was an approach he refined during his time with Hi Records. Bryant joined the label in the late 1950s as a singer-songwriter for the band The Four Kings, which at the time scored the hits Tell it to Me Baby and Walking at Your Will.
However, with Hi Records eventually welcoming other young and hungry singers such Green and Peebles, the label's in-house music producer Will Mitchell made them his priority and Bryant settled into the role of songwriter.
While he managed to release his vibrant debut album Precious Soul, Bryant harbours no misgivings regarding the label's change of focus. "I never felt that way at all, because as far as I was concerned writing the songs was just as important as singing them," he says. "You had all these artists there relying on me. I was in the thick of it and I was just happy to be part of that studio environment."
With that era of popular music renowned for its "song-writing factories," Bryant – who wrote more than 150 songs for various artists such as late soul music legends Etta James and Solomon Burke – doesn't totally regard that period as a sweatshop.
“It was good and steady work, man,” he says. “Particularly since I was realising that I wasn’t going to be the singer. Instead, you had all these artists coming in and they wanted a few songs to finish their album or whatever and I was happy to do it.”
One of these young artists was the little-known Al Green. While he remains Hi Records's crowning achievement, Bryant recalls that he wasn't an immediate success. "He also needed some time to develop," he says. "But he had a spirit to him and that eventually moved people. But the biggest star at the time was Ann."
A successful relationship
He's referring to Peebles, to whom he has been married for 45 years. Bryant agrees that it was their professional and personal chemistry that resulted in him producing some of his best work. In addition to the minor 1971 hit 99 Pounds (lyrics include: "Good things come in small packages / you'll have to agree to that"), the duo struck gold with 1974's I Can't Stand The Rain. As well as cracking the Top 5 in the US charts, the song topped a slew of European charts four years later, thanks to the disco remake by British group Eruption. The song also went on to be re-recorded by the likes of Michael Bolton and Seal, as well as sampled by rappers Missy Elliott and Talib Kweli.
Bryant says Peebles remains his biggest inspiration. He admits to hearing her voice when penning many of the passionate tracks that pepper Don't Give Up on Love. The message of the album lies in its title, Bryant says. When it comes to all matters of the heart, from love itself to the creative process, he urges people to just keep going. "That is what I learnt. I never thought that I was going to be a big singer, but I always felt that I could have been. But so many great artists came through and they got bigger and bigger," he says.
“I always felt I did good things in my life and now it is a joy to go out and share it with the people. And it seems to me that it is really catching on.”
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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The specs: Hyundai Ionic Hybrid
Price, base: Dh117,000 (estimate)
Engine: 1.6L four-cylinder, with 1.56kWh battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 105hp (engine), plus 43.5hp (battery)
Torque: 147Nm (engine), plus 170Nm (battery)
Fuel economy, combined: 3.4L / 100km
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,600hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.4seconds
0-200kph in 5.8 seconds
0-300kph in 12.1 seconds
Top speed: 440kph
Price: Dh13,200,000
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,500hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.3 seconds
0-200kph in 5.5 seconds
0-300kph in 11.8 seconds
Top speed: 350kph
Price: Dh13,600,000
57%20Seconds
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HEADLINE HERE
- I would recommend writing out the text in the body
- And then copy into this box
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Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test India won by innings and 53 runs at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
Disability on screen
Empire — neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis; bipolar disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues
24: Legacy — PTSD;
Superstore and NCIS: New Orleans — wheelchair-bound
Taken and This Is Us — cancer
Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)
Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg
Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety
Switched at Birth — deafness
One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy
Dragons — double amputee
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
RESULT
Manchester City 1 Sheffield United 0
Man City: Jesus (9')
SCHEDULE
Saturday, April 20: 11am to 7pm - Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Festival and Para jiu-jitsu.
Sunday, April 21: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (female) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Monday, April 22: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (male) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Tuesday, April 23: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Masters Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Wednesday, April 24: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Thursday, April 25: 11am-5pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Friday, April 26: 3pm to 6pm Finals of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Saturday, April 27: 4pm and 8pm awards ceremony.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
Specs
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A German university was a good fit for the family budget
Annual fees for the Technical University of Munich - £600
Shared rental accommodation per month depending on the location ranges between £200-600
The family had budgeted for food, books, travel, living expenses - £20,000 annually
Overall costs in Germany are lower than the family estimated
As proof that the student has the ability to take care of expenses, international students must open a blocked account with about £8,640
Students are permitted to withdraw £720 per month
Company profile
Name: One Good Thing
Founders: Bridgett Lau and Micheal Cooke
Based in: Dubai
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 5 employees
Stage: Looking for seed funding
Investors: Self-funded and seeking external investors
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