美国国家公共电台 NPR--This song is nearly 5 decades long but its subject still hits home

This song is nearly 5 decades long but its subject still hits home

Transcript¹

The Planet Money team got a cassette tape in the mail with a 47-year-old song about a timely topic: inflation.

How does the music industry work? Planet Money started a record label to find out

PLANET MONEY

How does the music industry work? Planet Money started a record label to find out

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The other day, NPR's Planet Money podcast team got a cassette in the mail. A cassette? You know what that is, right? Anyway, it had a word on it that they're very interested in, and the word was inflation. This cassette tape got reporters Sarah Gonzalez and Erika Beras tangled² up in the music industry.

SARAH GONZALEZ, BYLINE³: We wanted to see what this cassette was about.

ERIKA BERAS, BYLINE: So we put it in a cassette player and...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "INFLATION")

SUGAR DADDY AND THE GUMBO ROUX: You know...

GONZALEZ: It's a song...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "INFLATION")

SUGAR DADDY AND THE GUMBO ROUX: ...With the food and rent going up daily...

GONZALEZ: ...A cool one about inflation. And it's good - right? - a little funky⁴.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "INFLATION")

SUGAR DADDY AND THE GUMBO ROUX: You see, inflation and taxation⁵ has taken over our great nation.

GONZALEZ: This song was actually recorded 47 years ago in 1975, when inflation was 9% - about the same as now. But the song was never released.

BERAS: The band that recorded it was called Sugar Daddy and the Gumbo Roux.

EARNEST JACKSON: Yeah, Sugar Daddy and the Gumbo Roux (laughter).

BERAS: This is the singer, Earnest Jackson.

JACKSON: You see, it takes a lot of ingredients to make a good gumbo.

GONZALEZ: You can't make a good gumbo without a roux. It's, like, a butter and flour base. Earnest Jackson is kind of like the roux to this song. He wrote it and is the lead singer.

JACKSON: A lot of people say I sound like Satchmo, you know, even when I talk - Satchmo, Louis Armstrong.

GONZALEZ: The guy who sings "What A Wonderful World."

BERAS: I kind of hear that. Yeah.

JACKSON: Yeah.

GONZALEZ: And everyone from this band went on to make it in the music industry, except the guy who wrote the song. Earnest has dreamt of stardom for almost 70 years.

JACKSON: Of course. Yes, indeed, 'cause that's been my dream since I was a little boy. I've always wanted to be a superstar. I feel like I had the potential. And, you know, I haven't given up my dream.

GONZALEZ: Listen, there are millions of artists and songs like this that no one ever discovers. And just because a song is good and of the moment doesn't mean it'll be a hit or make anybody any money. But we're going to try. We're going to take this long-lost song from the '70s and resurrect it.

BERAS: Because to us, Earnest's story is like a classic music industry story. He started singing when he was 5 years old. By 14, he's performing in nightclubs.

JACKSON: That's how it was down deep South here in Louisiana, baby.

GONZALEZ: (Laughter).

JACKSON: We could do our thing in the night club at 14.

BERAS: This is when Earnest recorded his first song with a friend.

JACKSON: Let's see. (Singing) Give me your love and all your time. Don't ever leave me 'cause I'd lose my mind.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OUR LOVE WILL ALWAYS BE THE SAME")

JACKSON: (Singing) Give me your love and all your time. Don't ever leave me 'cause I'd lose my mind.

GONZALEZ: This is 14-year-old Earnest.

JACKSON: Fourteen - yeah, 14.

GONZALEZ: In college, he's with a band called Black Blood & the Chocolate Pickles⁶ and, of course, Sugar Daddy and the Gumbo Roux. And all this time, he's just trying to land a record deal. And he gets close. He had a hit once.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOVE AND HAPPINESS")

JACKSON: (Singing) Love and happiness.

GONZALEZ: This is Earnest doing a cover of an Al Green song. If you've heard this song on an old jukebox, chances are, you've heard Earnest's version, not Al Green's.

BERAS: His cover peaks at No. 22 on the Billboard⁷ Magazine Hot 100 Charts. He's on the radio. But Earnest never got any royalties⁸ for this song.

GONZALEZ: He got a flat fee, $150 one time.

BERAS: Then he gets an idea for a new song. It's the '70s. Inflation is going up. Everyone felt the pinch.

JACKSON: Yeah, it was hard back then, I'm going to tell you the truth. Money could only go so far, you know? It's just like today.

GONZALEZ: He decides to write about inflation.

JACKSON: (Imitating drum kit) (Singing) Inflation is in the nation, and it's about to put us all away. You see?

BERAS: Sugar Daddy and the Gumbo Roux, the band - they like the song. They decide to record it. They made a demo, that cassette. But then they don't do anything with it.

JACKSON: Nobody else has heard that song except the people who recorded it.

GONZALEZ: Earnest was sort of scared to play it for anyone because he thought anyone could just hear it and say it's theirs. He didn't know how to register a copyright for a song.

JACKSON: That's right. I didn't know. I did not know.

BERAS: "Inflation," like, regular inflation, eventually goes down. So this song kind of misses its moment. The rest of the band, they go on to play with famous people in famous bands. The bass⁹ player is actually a very young Randy Jackson, original judge on "American Idol¹⁰." But Earnest, he stays in Baton¹¹ Rouge¹² waiting tables for 33 years at nice restaurants, the kind where you serve the drinks from the right, food from the left.

JACKSON: I made a very good living. I raised all my children.

BERAS: Today, Earnest is a grandpa and a great-grandpa. He's retired¹³, but he still sings. He has shows here and there. He's just never been discovered.

JACKSON: I've never been signed by a label. That's my hope and dream.

GONZALEZ: Still is at 74 years old. So we've decided¹⁴ we are going to try to become like a record label ourselves, just to get this one song out there and try to figure out how the music industry works because inflation is back, so "Inflation," the song, might have a second shot.

BERAS: Earnest says making it, for him, would be getting in the car and hearing himself on the radio like he used to.

JACKSON: Yeah - Q106.5.

GONZALEZ: Q106.5? You want to be on Q106.5?

JACKSON: Yeah.

BERAS: So we pick up Earnest one day for a highly orchestrated car ride.

(SOUNDBITE OF CAR HORN HONKING)

JACKSON: I'm in.

GONZALEZ: We asked Q106.5 if they could play his song.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DJ INCREDIBLE: It's DJ Incredible. Today, we're shining a light on a song sung by one of Baton Rouge's own, Earnest Jackson. Here's "Inflation" on Q106.5

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "INFLATION")

SUGAR DADDY AND THE GUMBO ROUX: You know...

GONZALEZ: Earnest says nothing for almost a full minute.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "INFLATION")

SUGAR DADDY AND THE GUMBO ROUX: It's becoming a day-to-day hassle just to survive. You see, inflation...

GONZALEZ: He's just kind of smiling and shaking his head like, no, no, no, no, no, no.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "INFLATION")

SUGAR DADDY AND THE GUMBO ROUX: (Singing) And listen to what I have to say.

JACKSON: Oh, this is blowing my mind. Is this actually - that's Q106, right?

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

JACKSON: How did they get that?

(LAUGHTER)

BERAS: How do you think they got it? We sent it to them.

JACKSON: Oh, man, that's out of sight. I mean, I can't believe this.

GONZALEZ: So we got one station in one city to play the song. Next up, the world.

Wait, can we be a label?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Sure, why not?

GONZALEZ: Like, what do we have to do to be a label?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Say you're a label.

GONZALEZ: All right. We're a label. I'm Sarah Gonzalez.

BERAS: I'm Erika Beras.

GONZALEZ: Our label, Planet Money Records.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "INFLATION")

SUGAR DADDY AND THE GUMBO ROUX: (Singing) What I have to say 'cause inflation...

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 funky   

adj.畏缩的，怯懦的，霉臭的；adj.新式的，时髦的

参考例句：

• The kitchen smelled really funky.这个厨房有一股霉味。
• It is a funky restaurant with very interesting art on the walls.那是一家墙上挂着很有意思的绘画的新潮餐馆。

5 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。

6 pickles   

n.腌菜( pickle的名词复数 )；处于困境；遇到麻烦；菜酱

参考例句：

• Most people eat pickles at breakfast. 大多数人早餐吃腌菜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I want their pickles and wines, and that.' 我要他们的泡菜、美酒和所有其他东西。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

7 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

8 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

9 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

10 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

11 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

12 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

13 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。