I found this in the liner notes of the Mink DeVille compilation Cadillac Walk: The Mink DeVille Collection. It was written by Ben Edmonds, a Capitol Records A&R man. He describes how Mick Jagger dropped by the Hollywood recording studio where Jack Nitzsche was mixing the Mink DeVille song "Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl" (from the band's album Cabretta, recorded in 1977):

"Jack (Nitzsche) put on a reel to show off his present work. Jagger listened to a couple of songs with polite disinterest, nodding approvingly to 'Cadillac Walk.' But when 'Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl' came rolling out of the playback monitors, Jagger was immediately out of his seat and moving to its bittersweet mid-tempo rhythms. He danced with a grace one seldom sees in his herky-jerk stage performances, enveloped in the music and oblivious to the rest of us in the room... It couldn't have been more perfect if I'd dreamed it."

Here's the song:

It's a little like Fool To Cry.

Of course, it's the 'new' Boz Scaggs single off the album released in March too, i just listened to it on Soundcloud, Willie would approve of the slightly faster, fuller version I'm sure

i heard him sing this in the back alley behind cbgb once- street corner style, with david johansen - it was incredible - love this song

He was promoted as sort of the new wave Springsteen, and with good reason.
Good songs. The problem was (I saw him back then in a little club in Mpls)
was that he was one of those performers who sings only to the microphone, not
to the audience. There's only so far you can go with that. Unless maybe you're
Van Morrison.

Just now reading his wikipedia article. Wow, I can't believe how much more there
was to this artist's career. Sounds like a lot of it would appeal to Stones fans.

* * * * *

About his legacy, DeVille told an interviewer, "I have a theory. I know that
I'll sell much more records when I'm dead. It isn't very pleasant, but I have to
get used to this idea."

Jack Nitzsche said that DeVille was the best singer he had ever worked with.

Critic Thom Juric about him, "His catalog is more diverse than virtually any
other modern performer. The genre span of the songs he's written is staggering.
From early rock and rhythm and blues styles, to Delta-styled blues, from Cajun
music to New Orleans second line, from Latin-tinged folk to punky salseros, to
elegant orchestral ballads—few people could write a love song like DeVille. He
was the embodiment of rock and roll's romance, its theater, its style, its
drama, camp, and danger."

His sometime collaborator Mark Knopfler said of DeVille, "Willy had an enormous
range. The songs he wrote were original, romantic and straight from the heart."

Singer Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band said about him, "He had all the roots of
music that I love and had this whole street thing of R&B — just the whole
gestalt... He was just a tremendous talent; a true artist in the sense that he
never compromised. He had a special vision and remained true to it."



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013-01-17 09:22 by superrevvy.

keith played with him one night at trax

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superrevvy
Just now reading his wikipedia article. Wow, I can't believe how much more there
was to this artist's career. Sounds like a lot of it would appeal to Stones fans.

Here's a 2012 IORR thread about Deville. Surprised there aren't more such threads.

[www.iorr.org]

update: here's the 2009 thread, upon his passing

[www.iorr.org]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013-01-17 09:35 by superrevvy.

For some reason, I've never really checked him out.

Now, he comes across (with this tune) as very inspired by van Morrison, both in terms of how he sings, but also regarding how this song is written.

Nice!

....Willy's main man is Ben E King .....



ROCKMAN

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Rockman
....Willy's main man is Ben E King .....

A even harder voice to resemble...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-01-17 12:40 by DandelionPowderman.

Reminds me of "Waiting On A Friend"

that's a really good song
now i have to play it over and over

Quote
hbwriter
i heard him sing this in the back alley behind cbgb once- street corner style, with david johansen - it was incredible - love this song

That's brilliant.

Quote
hbwriter
i heard him sing this in the back alley behind cbgb once- street corner style, with david johansen - it was incredible - love this song

Incredible; that story alone..

Sorry if it has been posted before -bv I always try to use the search button before posting an article ,but ya know,sometimes.... -



In a more perfect world, Willy DeVille (August 25, 1950 – August 6, 2009) would have been a huge star. He had the voice, the look, the chops and the charisma.

I remember seeing Mink DeVille perform at Trax in New York City in 1977.
Mick Jagger was sitting at a table near the stage when Willy and his band came out. DeVille was dressed to kill, in snakeskin boots and gravity-defying pompadour. They tore into “Spanish Stroll” and I looked over at Jagger. Mick looked awestruck and, to my eyes, a little bit scared. It was as if he were watching a harder core version of himself. I wondered in that moment if Jagger was thinking that Mr. DeVille might dethrone him as rock and roll’s Satanic Majesty. The band played a scorching set and Jagger’s eyes never left the stage.


I knew Willy and the guy was the real deal. His whole being radiated a downtown Manhattan vibe that was mythic, romantic and dark. A badass with a sweet side and a sardonic smile, DeVille walked the walk - rock and roll poetry embodied.

DeVille had to leave his beloved New York in order to make a living in Europe. He couldn’t sell records in the States. People just couldn’t figure him out. Punker than punk, but not really a part of any scene, Deville was his own animal, modern and yet rooted in old-school r&b, as comfortable with the music coming off the Bowery as he was with the sounds of Fifties Harlem, doo-wop and Louisiana zydeco. He was a musical shapeshifter that confounded record companies in his pursuit of his own vision and style. The fact that he never “made it” in the States is a commentary on the parochial nature of the American music business and mainstream rock audiences complete lack of curiosity and taste





[dangerousminds.net]



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

BTW , what is an <<Louisiana zydeco << ?
Anyone ? Skippy ? Lee ?

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SwayStones
BTW , what is an <<Louisiana zydeco << ?
Anyone ? Skippy ? Lee ?

Zydeco is a danceable musical genre of American folk music roots.

[en.wikipedia.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-01-18 14:57 by dead.flowers.

Quote
SwayStones
BTW , what is an <<Louisiana zydeco << ?

It usually goes/sounds something like this....
(I used to see these guys play a lot,they were FUN!)

and bunches more here... [www.youtube.com]
check it out, it is good times music

Still playing that song. Love it.

Quote
Max'sKansasCity

Quote
SwayStones
BTW , what is an <<Louisiana zydeco << ?

It usually goes/sounds something like this....
(I used to see these guys play a lot,they were FUN!)

did you notice the drummers "Charlie style" of playing? skipping the right hand when playing the left ?!!! amazing !

Quote
hbwriter
i heard him sing this in the back alley behind cbgb once- street corner style, with david johansen - it was incredible - love this song

I would love to have been there to hear that.

Nice song, reminds me a bit of "Sweethearts Together" too...I remember him getting quite a push in France in the early/mid 80s and I gave him a good listen but dunno, never got into his music, the production was lacking a bit possibly, a bit too sparse, not enough guitars...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-01-22 01:18 by gotdablouse.