Artists United Against Apartheid
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| Sun City | ||
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| Studio album by Artists United Against Apartheid | ||
| Released | 1985 | |
| Genre | Various | |
| Length | 45:18 | |
| Producer(s) | Steven van Zandt | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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Artists United Against Apartheid was a protest group founded by activist performer Steven van Zandt to protest the existence of apartheid in South Africa.
Contents |
[edit] Sun City
Van Zandt, who had parted with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band at the height of their success to go out on his own, traveled to South Africa to research his next record. He was interested in South Africa because he had read that the apartheid system was actually modeled after America's system of Indian reservations, an issue that was his major passion. While in South Africa, he was distressed by a place called "Sun City", an interracial gambling resort located in a "bantustan", a nominally independent area supposedly ruled by black Africans, in the middle of an impoverished rural homeland.
[edit] The song
Van Zandt was interested in writing a song about Sun City to make parallels with the plight of native Americans. Danny Schechter, a journalist who was then working with ABC News' 20/20, suggested turning the song into a different kind of "We Are the World", or as Schechter explains, "a song about change not charity, freedom not famine."
As Van Zandt was writing it, Schechter suggested that he include the names of the artists who had played Sun City in defiance of a UN-sanctioned cultural boycott. "I was probably still thinking of [20/20's] exposé of conservative Africanists fifteen years earlier," says Schechter. Van Zandt wasn't sure that was wise, but did it anyway, asking in one of the original lyrics, "Linda Ronstadt, how could you do that?" and singling out Julio Iglesias, Queen, the O'Jays, Ray Charles and Rod Stewart. Van Zandt wasn't enthusiastic about writing those lyrics and soon dropped them to avoid offending those artists. Musically speaking, the song was a cutting edge fusion of hip-hop (which was still in its early development), r&b, and hard rock.
[edit] The recording
When Van Zandt was finished, he and Schechter spent the next several months searching for artists to participate in recording it. Van Zandt initially declined to invite Springsteen, not wanting to take advantage of their friendship, but Schechter had no problem asking himself; Springsteen accepted the invitation. Van Zandt was also shy about calling legendary jazz artist Miles Davis, whom Schechter also contacted; with minimal persuasion, Davis also accepted. Eventually, Van Zandt and Schechter would gather a wide array of artists, including Bob Dylan, Herbie Hancock, Ringo Starr, Lou Reed, Run DMC, Peter Gabriel, Darlene Love, Afrika Bambaataa, Kurtis Blow, Jackson Browne, U2, George Clinton, Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Bonnie Raitt, Hall & Oates, Jimmy Cliff, Big Youth, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Michael Monroe, Peter Garrett, and Joey Ramone.
It was under the aegis Artists United Against Apartheid that these internationally-known entertainers recorded the 1985 song "Sun City", and vowed never to perform at "Sun City", because to do so would in their minds seem to be an acceptance of apartheid.
Schechter had also taken on the job of documenting the sessions on video and producing a behind-the-scenes documentary. He invited MTV to get involved and asked a friend, Hart Perry, to film the sessions. During the course of the film, Schechter asks the artists to explain their involvement in the project in their own words: "Sun City's become a symbol of a society which is very oppressive and denies basic rights to the majority of its citizens," said Jackson Browne. "In a sense, Sun City is also a symbol of that society's 'right' to entertain itself in any way that it wants to, to basically try to buy us off and to buy off world opinion."
Recalls Schechter, "I was surprised that many of the best-known rock 'n rollers were so publicity shy. Most of them had publicists who staged their media appearances. They weren't used to cameras poking them in the face. Bruce Springsteen at first turned down my request for an interview, but just as I was walking away from him dejected, he ran after me and agreed to say a few words for the documentary.
"When Miles started improvising in the studio...Steven and Arthur [Baker] insisted I not approach him with a camera. 'It's Miles, man," Baker said. "He's erratic, idiosyncratic, explosive. Wild. Don't mess with him when he's playing...' I barged into the booth while Davis was setting up, introduced myself and asked if we could videotape him. Through the glass I could see Steve and Arthur, heads in hands, convinced that I had blown it. Miles smiled. 'Bring it on,' he ordered, 'bring it on.' And we did, getting priceless footage in the bargain."
303 tracks were mixed-down to create "Sun City," possibly a record for a pop single. A music video directed by Jonathan Demme with Godley and Creme was also produced. A book, study guide, and the aforementioned documentary would also be released to coincide with the single.
In addition to "Sun City," a number of other songs were recorded, completing an album's worth of material. Drummer-musician Keith LeBlanc and Schechter came up with "Revolutionary Situation," an audio-collage set to music that took its title from the words of South Africa's then-interior minister Louis Nel condemning the state of the country. Amid a background of yapping police dogs, sounds of mayhem and revolt in the township, LeBlanc and Schechter mixed in angry declarations by activists like Alan Boesak, Bishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela's daughter Zindzi, looped with what was at that time the most recent interview with her father, recorded in 1961.
Inspired by his meetings with several of other artists who volunteered, Bono went back to his hotel room and wrote the song "Silver and Gold" that very evening. The song was quickly recorded for inclusion on the compilation, with Keith Richards and Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones. Ron Wood's guitar work is notable for using Keith's switchblade as a slide. "Silver and Gold" was also issued separately as a promotional single. (U2 would later re-record it for the B-side of their 1987 single, "Where The Streets Have No Name." A live U2 performance would also appear on their double-LP, Rattle and Hum.)
[edit] The release
For a time, they were making the record without a record company or any outside financial support. Van Zandt financed much of it while producer Arthur Baker (notable for his work with Afrika Bambaataa and New Order) donated studio time. Manhattan Records, under Bruce Lundvall's direction, came on board, acquiring the record and enabling them to pay some of the bills. A committed record company attorney, the late Rick Dutka, also donated his time, as well as Van Zandt's assistant, Zöe Yanakis.
Schechter's connections with ABC News posed some risks. "I couldn't tell ABC what I was doing on the side," recalls Schechter. "They would not have approved. I knew I couldn't propose a story about Sun City either, because I had stepped over the line and become part of the story. I tried and mostly succeeded in keeping my name out of the papers and my mug out of the video. I was terrified that 20/20 would dump me if they knew what I was doing, especially if my affiliation with ABC was dragged into it, even though the network had nothing to do with the project. I worked even harder at ABC, producing more stories than many of my colleagues, so I couldn't be accused of slacking off."
The record never achieved the financial success of "We Are the World," although Oliver Tambo and the ANC's school in Tanzania "was sure happy when we gave them a big check," according to Schechter. "Sun City" was picked as record of the year by many of the most influential music critics, topping the prestigious Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for best single of the year (it gained 101 votes; second place was Aretha Franklin's "Freeway Of Love" with 59 votes). That same year, the album Sun City reached #5 on the Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for albums, right behind Tom Waits' Rain Dogs and just ahead of Hüsker Dü's Flip Your Wig.
[edit] The reaction
Unfortunately, only about half of American radio stations played "Sun City," with some objecting to the lyrics' explicit criticism of President Ronald Reagan's policy of "constructive engagement." R&B stations felt it was too rock-oriented, while rock stations considered it too steeped in hip-hop and R&B. Not surprisingly, the song was banned in South Africa.
Van Zandt and Schechter also struggled to get the documentary seen. PBS refused to air the non-profit film The Making of "Sun City" even though it won the International Documentary Association's top honors in 1986; PBS claimed the featured artists were also involved in making the film, and as a result, by their logic, were "self-promoting." (It's worth noting that PBS chose to broadcast The Making of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", which was made as a promotional exercise by the for-profit Paramount Pictures and Lucasfilm Ltd..)
Regardless of these objections, the album and single raised more than a million U.S. dollars for anti-apartheid projects. It premiered at the United Nations, thanks to the Special Committee Against Apartheid and UN officers such as Aracelly Santana.
In South Africa, "Sun City" would later inspire musician Johnny Clegg to create a local organization similar to Van Zandt's, and "Sun City" also became the catalyst for the South Africa Now TV series. In 1993, Sun City was issued on CD by Razor & Tie, but after the end of apartheid, the album eventually went out of print, becoming a highly-sought collectible item.
[edit] Post-apartheid
With the end of the apartheid regime in 1994 and the reintegration of Sun City and other former nominally-independent regions into the South African state, "Sun City" ceased to be a contemporary protest and became a historical document; any pledge to boycott Sun City or other similar places in South Africa became superfluous.
In 1997, in a somewhat bizarre twist of history, the man who created Sun City, Sol Kerzner, came to America to build the Mohegan Sun, an Indian gambling casino.
[edit] Track listing
Side A:
- "Sun City" – 7:26
- "No More Apartheid" – 7:07
- "Revolutionary Situation" – 6:07
Side B:
- "Sun City (Version II)" – 5:42
- "Let Me See Your I.D." – 7:29
- "The Struggle Continues" – 7:01
- "Silver And Gold" – 4:41
"Sun City" – 7:09
Artists Against Apartheid, featuring: Zak Starkey, Ringo Starr - drums
full credit listing: (covers entire lp)
Little Steven (vocals, guitar, drum programming)
Ray Barretto (vocals, conga)
Peter Wolf, Kurtis Blow, Duke Bootee, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendrick, Joey Ramone, Jimmy Cliff, Daryl Hall, Lou Reed, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Nona Hendryx, Kashif, Big Youth, Peter Garrett, Malopoets, Sonny Okosuns, Gil Scott-Heron, Afrika Bambaataa, Ruben Blades, Bono, George Clinton, Peter Gabriel, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Bonnie Raitt, Run DMC, Bruce Springsteen, John Oates, Michael Monroe, Darlene Love (vocals), Zak Starkey, Tony Williams, Ringo Starr (drums), Sonny Okosuns (talking drums); Keith LeBlanc(drums, drum programming); Benjamin Newman (drum programming), Pete Townshend, Stanley Jordan, Keith Richards, Ron Wood (guitars), Shankar (double violin); Clarence Clemons (saxophone); Miles Davis (trumpet), Herbie Hancock, Richard Scher, Robbie Kilgore, Zoe Yanakis, (keyboards), Doug Wimbish (bass); Ron Carter (acoustic bass), Jam Master Jay, DJ Cheese (scratches), Daryl Hannah, B.J. Nelson, Lottie Golden, Tina B., Kevin McCormick, The Dunnes Stores Strikers, Annie Brody, Dutka And The I.D., Robert Gordon, Steve Walker (background vocals)
"No More Apartheid" – 7:09
Peter Gabriel and Shankar
"Revolutionary Situation" – 6:07
Rap Artists from Artists Against Apartheid, compiled and edited by Keith Le Blanc and The News Dissector
"Sun City (Version II)" – 5:42
Artists Against Apartheid, see title track credits
"Let Me See Your ID" – 7:29
Rap and Jazz Artists from Artists Against Apartheid
features: Gil Scott-Heron, Miles Davis, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Peter Wolf,Sonny Okosuns, Malopoets, Duke Bootee, Ray Baretto, Peter Garrett
"The Struggle Continues" – 7:01
Jazz Artists from Artists Against Apartheid
features: Miles Davis, Stanley Jordan, Herbie Hancock, Sonny Okosuns, Ron Carter, Tony Williams, Richard Scher
"Silver And Gold" – 4:41
Bono with Keith Richards and Ron Wood.
"Sun City (The Last Remix)" – 9:35
Artists Against Apartheid
Bonus track - only on Razor & Tie CD re-issue (previously only available on the 12" single) see title track credits
[edit] References
↑ The More You Watch, The Less You Know by Danny Schechter
