缅怀“大嘴”克拉伦斯·布朗

Remembering Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown

缅怀“大嘴”克拉伦斯·布朗

 

(Music)

 

Brown's deep, growling¹ voice earned him the nickname "Gatemouth", and he put it to good use on more than 30 albums. Blues² Power is a typical offering weaving R&B, Western swing, zydeco, jazz and Texas blues. Throughout his career, Brown maintained that his music went far beyond the blues.

 

Brown: I'm still proving to the world that I'm not just what they want me to be, a blues or jazz player, and this tells a lot about some of the type of music I play.

 

"Gatemouth" Brown was born in Vinton, Louisiana. His mastery of harmonica, violin, drums and guitar landed him work in Houston, Texas. Some of his best recordings³ were with a local Houston label called Peacock. His remakes of classic country, jazz and blues songs led to his own television show in Nashville, Tennessee, where he appeared wearing his trademark⁴ outfit⁵; cowboy boots, cowboy hat and Western-style shirts.

 

As a musical ambassador for the U.S. State Department, Brown picked up new audiences in Europe, East Africa and the former Soviet⁶ Union. He won a Grammy Award in 1982 for his album Alright Again, and was soon working alongside such stars as Eric Clapton and Bonnie Raitt. Brown said he thrived on the friendships he made in the studio.

 

Brown: That's very exciting because you get to know people more. You get to hang out with them and play together. And if a mistake comes up, you stop and start all over again. But when you're dubbing⁷ [mixing music] you better not make any mistakes. And it's hard just working to a machine rather than to 'live' people.

 

(Music)

 

After winning the Grammy Award, "Gatemouth" Brown was on the road almost non-stop. He claimed he enjoyed being in the spotlight⁸, but admitted that, after being away on tour for long stretches at a time, he preferred the tranquility of being at home.

 

Brown: I live right on top of the water. I like to sit and watch the fish and the alligators¹⁰ go by during the summer. And the only time I play any of my music in my house is if you were to come there and say you want to hear something.

 

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown was distraught over losing his home in Slidell, Louisiana, to Hurricane Katrina. He was safely evacuated¹¹ to Texas, but the heartbreak of seeing the destruction around him took its toll¹². He succumbed¹⁴ to heart disease and lung cancer on September 10 at age 81.

 

I’m Doug Levine.

 

注释：

album [5AlbEm] n. 唱片

Western swing 西部摇摆

zydeco 柴迪科舞曲

mastery [5mB:stEri] n. 掌握，精通

harmonica [hB:5mCnikE] n. 口琴

violin [7vaiE5lin] n. 小提琴

trademark [5treidmB:k] n. 标志，特征

thrive [Wraiv] v. 繁荣，茁壮成长

dubbing [5dQbiN] n. 配音

alligator⁹ [5Ali^eitE] n. 产于美洲的鳄鱼

distraught [dis5trC:t] adj. 心情烦乱的

succumb¹³ [sE5kQm] vi. 死亡

1 growling   

n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼

参考例句：

• We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
• The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。

2 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

3 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

4 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

5 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

6 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

7 dubbing   

n.配音v.给…起绰号( dub的现在分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• There are mainly two forms of film translation: dubbing and subtitling. 电影翻译通常主要表现为两种形式：配音和字幕翻译。 来自互联网
• Its auspices, dubbing the program has won national awards in China. 其主持配音的节目多次获得中国全国奖项。 来自互联网

8 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

9 alligator   

n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼)

参考例句：

• She wandered off to play with her toy alligator.她开始玩鳄鱼玩具。
• Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather.鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。

10 alligators   

n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Two alligators rest their snouts on the water's surface. 两只鳄鱼的大嘴栖息在水面上。 来自辞典例句
• In the movement of logs by water the lumber industry was greatly helped by alligators. 木材工业过去在水上运输木料时所十分倚重的就是鳄鱼。 来自辞典例句

11 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

12 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

13 succumb   

v.屈服，屈从；死

参考例句：

• They will never succumb to the enemies.他们决不向敌人屈服。
• Will business leaders succumb to these ideas?商业领袖们会被这些观点折服吗？

14 succumbed   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
• After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。