A Phil Asher Tribute. This weekend in London (UK) has been a celebration of the life of Phil Asher, a year after he passed on. I could preface that by saying DJ Phil Asher but he was much much more. Phil was a light of a human-being to literally thousands of people over the years he played and shared his love of music as a DJ, a producer, remixer, record shop owner and promoter. He wore all those caps happily whilst freely sharing his knowledge with any interested new 'apprentice' asking him for guidance. Some people have three letters added to their name from Buckingham Palace for the recognition of their work in a chosen path of life, and that is all good, however, like David Bowie, Phil Asher had the people's recognition, their real love and respect, which is from the heart. Given the choice I believe he would have chosen the people option every single time because all the evidence says he was that kind of generously gregarious man. Of all the glorious people I have met in my life I have never met Phil and I deeply wished I had, I lost that chance by being mostly based full time in Los Angeles these last 17 years. I listened to his last ever show on 1BTN Radio over a year ago and knew immediately that he was musically a kindred spirit with the broadness of artists selected. What was also evident in the 2 hour show was that you could hear a man doing what he loved, at peace with life, with a sense of freedom and serenity in his voice.
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BILL WITHERS - Born on the 4th July and most definitely an independent man with 3 Grammys from a relatively short creative period in songwriting when he totally retired from the active artist side of music in 1985 and yet 35 years later his songs are still so beautifully entrenched in our consciousness around the world. To write a song like "Lovely Day", that has never got tired and maybe will never lose its sheen of brilliance when we need a good start to the day. It's up there as one of the greatest songs of all time. The first song/record I ever bought was Michael Jackson's poignantly soulful cover of "Ain't No Sunshine" (the opening 4 bars drum loop intro was sampled on so many early Hip Hop records). From Soul, Funk, Jazz, R&B and even Disco Dance music Bill Withers songs have warmly wrapped around us for a lifetime. An incredible body of work from a one-off original. Thank you for your songs, long may they reign in our hearts..
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