The Opus Podcast
Bill Withers’ Songs and Booker T. Jones’ Mind Were a Match Made in Soul Heaven
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-06-03T19:30:56+00:00“>June 3, 2021 | 3:30pm ET Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS On the conclusion of Season 14 of The Opus from Consequence and Sony, host Jill Hopkins explores the magic created when Bill Withers entered the studio with Booker T. Jones to record Just as I Am. The production on Just as I Am is just as tight as you’d expect an album made with Booker T. Jones to be. Withers may have been a complete rookie singer-songwriter, but the plates on this record most certainly were not. Nor were the artists who performed with Withers during the sessions (Stephen Stills, Donald “Duck” Dunn, A...
Bill Withers Remains a Voice of Protest for the Disenfranchised
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-20T21:15:48+00:00“>May 20, 2021 | 5:15pm ET Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Presented by Consequence and Sony, Season 14 of The Opus podcast is back to explore the legacy of one of soul music’s most iconic albums: Bill Withers’ landmark debut, Just as I Am. Even as we exited the era of the civil rights movement, the need for protest music was as prevalent as ever when Just as I Am was released in 1971. Fast forward 50 years, and those songs continue to be sung by voices gathering in the streets, most recently by those demanding justice under the Black Lives Matter banner. As our country continues to wrestle with racial inequity, ti...
Bill Withers Went from Blue-Collar Everyman to Soul Legend
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-13T19:45:16+00:00“>May 13, 2021 | 3:45pm ET Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Consequence and Sony are back with Season 14 of The Opus, an exploration of legendary albums and their ongoing legacy. This time out, host Jill Hopkins explores how a “regular guy” like Bill Withers turned into a soul legend with his debut record, Just as I Am. When Withers began recording Just as I Am, he was still working in the Weber Aircraft factory in California; that picture on the album’s cover was literally shot during his lunch break. A year later, after being nominated for three Grammys and winning...
Everybody’s Talkin’ About Bill Withers’ Just as I Am on The Opus Podcast
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-06T21:34:07+00:00“>May 6, 2021 | 5:34pm ET Consequence Podcast Network and Sony’s The Opus podcast is back for a soulful Season 14. Premiering on May 13th, host Jill Hopkins will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bill Withers’ landmark debut, Just as I Am, by exploring the album’s stories and legacy. While recording demo tapes on his own dime or performing at small clubs at night, Withers worked on assembly lines at companies like Ford and Douglas Aircraft. Even after he was finally signed to a label — Sussex Records, in 1970 — he kept his day job. That’s him at Weber Aircraft, lunch pail in hand, on the cover of Just as I Am. But after entering the studio with legendary pro...
Fugees Built New Classics Out of Old Staples
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Consequence of Sound and Sony present The Opus, an exploration of legendary albums and their ongoing legacy. For Season 13, host Jill Hopkins (The Moth Chicago, Making Beyoncé podcast) will explore the Fugees’ second and final album, The Score. So much of hip-hop is built on the notion of creating something from something. Call it covering, call it borrowing, call it sampling, but don’t call it unoriginal. For decades, samples have helped musicians turn some of greatest hits into even greater hits. Fugees are no exception to this. In fact, they built upon this legacy, The samples and covers included on 1996’s The Score range from The Delphonics to Enya — and yet they’re seamlessly woven together to create a distinct, si...
Fugees Put Haiti on the Hip-Hop Map
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Consequence of Sound and Sony present The Opus, an exploration of legendary albums and their ongoing legacy. For Season 13, host Jill Hopkins (The Moth Chicago, Making Beyoncé podcast) will explore the Fugees’ second and final album, The Score. The Fugees were culturally unique in myriad ways. They were a trio comprised of one American-born Black woman and yet also two Haitian immigrants, who both took pride in their heritage. Naturally, this pride was weaved into the fabric of 1996’s The Score, and the album’s success meant that they were able to champion Haitian music in both America and abroad. In this episode, host Jill Hopkins speaks to the trio’s family, friends, and fans about Haiti’s effect on the Fugees and the...
Fugees Scored Big at the Crossroads of Hip-Hop
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Consequence of Sound and Sony present The Opus, an exploration of legendary albums and their ongoing legacy. For Season 13, host Jill Hopkins (The Moth Chicago, Making Beyoncé podcast) will explore the Fugees’ second and final album, The Score. Hip-hop had considerably changed from when the Fugees started recording their first album in 1992 to just three years later when they began working on their second effort. The “Golden Age” was coming to a close, and the genre was at a crossroads. So were the Fugees, though. Coming off their critically and commercially divisive first album, 1994’s Blunted on Reality, the New Jersey trio of Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras Michel were ...
Ready or Not, The Opus to Explore Fugees’ The Score
Consequence Podcast Network and Sony’s The Opus returns for an incredible Season 13. Beginning March 11th, host Jill Hopkins will begin exploring the stories and songs behind the Fugees’ second and final album, The Score. After their criminally underrated 1994 debut, Blunted on Reality, struggled to win over critics and fans, the Fugees needed to make a statement. The trio of Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill, and Pras Michel were granted a second chance in 1995 by Ruffhouse Records head Chris Schwartz, who gave them a $135,000 advance and complete creative control. Their followup was 1996’s The Score, a diamond album that cemented Fugees’ place in hip-hop history. Led by hit singles “Killing Me Softly”, “Fu-Gee-La”, and “Ready or Not”, the LP went on to be certified six-times Platinum by the ...
Charting the Influence of Santana
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Consequence of Sound and Sony present The Opus, an exploration of legendary albums and their ongoing legacy. For Season 11, host Jill Hopkins (The Moth Chicago, Making Beyoncé podcast) will conjure the enduring magic of Santana’s landmark Abraxas. As we’ve already learned this season, the members of Santana all came in with their own eclectic perspectives. From the traditional to the avant garde, they dropped a witch’s cauldron of diverse sonic experimentation. For the third episode, The Opus wants to talk about the power of influence. Not only on the members of Santana, but how they’ve since left their own distinct thumbprint on artists for generations to come. Gro...
The Origin Story of Carlos Santana’s Abraxas
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Consequence of Sound and Sony present The Opus, an exploration of legendary albums and their ongoing legacy. For Season 11, host Jill Hopkins (The Moth Chicago, Making Beyoncé podcast) will conjure the enduring magic of Santana’s landmark Abraxas. For the second episode, The Opus is curious to know the stories behind the liner notes to Abraxas. Sure, Carlos Santana was the face and name of the band, but he wasn’t the voice and he didn’t make up the totality of their signature sound. Of course, a good bandleader knows it’s not always about them, and Santana was no exception to that rule. His crew of players were all virtuosos in reach of their respective areas, and together they cr...
Carlos Santana Truly Arrived After Woodstock
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Consequence of Sound and Sony present The Opus, an exploration of legendary albums and their ongoing legacy. For Season 11, host Jill Hopkins (The Moth Chicago, Making Beyoncé podcast) will conjure the enduring legacy of Santana’s landmark Abraxas. In the Season 11 premiere,… Please click the link below to read the full article. Carlos Santana Truly Arrived After Woodstock CoS Staff You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Whitney Houston’s Historic Billboard Run Contains Multitudes
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS It’s hard to underestimate Whitney Houston’s stardom. For better and for worse, the world knows so much more about the late diva than we do about most artists from her era. Houston’s meteoric rise would eventually place her own personal life under a microscope, and it’s the tragic details that all too often overshadow her unparalleled legacy and groundbreaking influence. Looking back, though, Whitney Houston wasn’t just a pop star. She wasn’t just an incredible voice. No, she was a trail blazer, the first of her kind, who opened the door for so many artists to follow. For its highly anticipated 10th season, The Opus plans to trace those footsteps, and put a spotlight on the star t...
