A column dedicated to great songs, old and new.
January 31, 2006
Written by Shuggie Otis
From Right on Time, A&M Records, 1977
"Strawberry Letter 23" is one of my favorite songs from childhood. At the time, I simply liked the sounds I heard in the song (courtesy of producer Quincy Jones in one of his finest moments), but retrospectively, I now understand it as my first encounter with blissed-out psychedelic imagery in a soul-music context. Looking back, the song was also an apt introduction to Louis Johnson's fluid bass style, and George Johnson's laid-back croon, both of which became an influence on my own music-making.
Right on Time
Brothers Johnson
The song begins with a semi-ominous keyboard figure, instantly identifiable to those of us who grew up listening to R&B radio in the 70s. Soon after, a tight funk groove kicks in, riding on Louis's slippery bass, Harvey Mason's drums, and some cool percussive sounds. Quincy really outdoes himself here, achieving a kind of funk-elegance in the production which makes the whole thing a very hypnotic listen. The setting for Lee Ritenour's guitar solo is particularly memorable. Those of you who are more familiar with Quincy's outright pop productions would do well to check out his work with the Brothers (as well as his solo records) to get an idea of the breadth of his skills.
"Strawberry Letter 23" was written by Shuggie Otis, son of the great bandleader Johnny Otis and a fine, maverick R&B artist in his own right. The lyrics are a trip; to this day, I'm not exactly sure what they're all about. Dig the first couple of stanzas:
Hello my love, I heard a kiss from you
Red magic satin playing near, too
All through the morning rain, I gave
The sun doesn't shine
Rainbows and waterfalls run through my mind...
In the garden I see
West purples shower, bells and tea
Orange birds and river cousins
Dressed in green
I remember as a young boy staring at the bright blue lyric sheet from the Brothers Johnson album, reading and re-reading the lyrics to "Strawberry Letter 23" and trying to imagine what "Red magic satin playing near" would look like. As a kid, I didn't have have knowledge of the Lysergic support materials which may or may not have inspired some of these lyrics, so they simply seemed very imaginative and interesting to me.
Though I read the lyrics a little differently now, I still very much like a clever device Otis used, which is the reference to a "Strawberry Letter 22" in the lyric:
A present from you:
Strawberry Letter 22
The music plays
I sit in for a few
The backstory I invented for these lines was that there was a series of "Strawberry Letters" flying back and forth between two lovers, all of them characterized by wonderful, colorful, freaky imagery. The song "Strawberry Letter 23", in my mind, was then the latest in this series of letters, one that happened to be set to funky-ass music. Truth be told, I've often considered writing "Strawberry Letter 24", though I fear a classic pcm take on the situation (poisoned strawberries, waterfalls of guilt) might bring the whole series to a shockingly sad and mournful ending; I doubt if Shuggie would approve.
Inspiration Information
Shuggie Otis
A few years ago, Luaka Bop records re-issued Shuggie Otis's album Inspiration Information and included the original version of "Strawberry Letter 23" as a bonus track (it originally appeared on Shuggie's album Freedom Flight). Inspiration Information also contains a fistful of interesting R&B/pop tasties with Shuggie on all instruments. It's worth checking out. Shuggie currently lives in the Bay Area, and can occasionally be seen performing in the area.
One of these days, I'm gonna ask him about those other 22 Strawberry Letters.
pcm
Purchase:
Right on Time
$6.98 at Amazon.com
$7.99 at Tower
Records
Purchase:
Inspiration Information
$11.99 at Amazon.com
$18.99 at Tower
Records