Edwin L. Birdsong (August 22, 1941 – January 21, 2019) was an American keyboardist and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

, known in the 1970s and 1980s for his experimental funk/ disco music. Birdsong did not achieve much chart success, but developed a strong fan base, and has also been

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

by other artists many times, most famously by

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

who sampled "Cola Bottle Baby" in "

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" is a song by French duo Daft Punk, released in October 2001 as the fourth single from their second studio album ''Discovery''. A live version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was released as a single from ...

", and

Gang Starr Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Texas record producer DJ Premier and Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: ...

who sampled his single "Rapper Dapper Snapper" for their song "Skills".

Biography

Birdsong was the son of a minister and grew up in a strict

fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishin ...

environment. He joined the Los Angeles Community Choir for a period before serving in the army during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

era. While in the army, he was stationed in Germany. He went on to play in clubs in Germany, and then moved to New York City to pursue his music career. There he headed a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and blues trio but experienced little success. While in New York he attended the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

as well as

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most e ...

as a composition major. In 1971 he signed a record deal with

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. Under Polydor, he issued his first two full-length albums, ''What It Is'' and ''Supernatural''. Birdsong then issued one album for Bamboo, ''Dance of Survival'', in 1975, and recorded ''Edwin Birdsong'' for

Philadelphia International Philadelphia International Records (PIR) was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff along with their longtime collaborator Thom Bell. I ...

in 1979, which included the single "Phiss-Phizz". Birdsong also worked extensively with

Roy Ayers Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Po ...

, co-producing three of his albums and writing "Running Away" and "Freaky Deaky" with him. Birdsong slowly stopped making his own music but carried on playing session work for many well known artists including

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, sou ...

. Birdsong served as a mentor early in the career of hip-hop artist/producer

Funkghost Funkghost (born Alvin Augustus Harris on June 26, 1972) is an American hip-hop artist/producer from Tampa, Florida. Biography Funkghost was born in Newport News, Virginia, on June 26, 1972. In 1986, his family relocated to Tampa, Florida. After ...

Discography

Albums

* ''What It Is'' (1972, Polydor) * ''Supernatural'' (1973, Polydor) * ''Dance of Survival'' (1975, Bamboo) * ''Edwin Birdsong'' (1979, Philadelphia International) * ''Funtaztik'' (1981,

Uni Records Uni Records (short for the label's legal name Universal City Records and rendered as UNI) was a record label owned by MCA Inc. The brand, which long featured a distinctive UNi logo, was established in 1966 by MCA executive Ned Tanen and develop ...

Salsoul Salsoul Records is an American New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre (the Cayre brothers). Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco/post-disco 12-inch releases ...

)

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Birdsong, Edwin 1941 births 2019 deaths American jazz organists American male organists Jazz-funk organists Musicians from Los Angeles Juilliard School alumni Manhattan School of Music alumni Polydor Records artists Philadelphia International Records artists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania Jazz musicians from California Military personnel from California American male jazz musicians United States Army soldiers