The Doo Bop Song

Album: Doo Bop (1991)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The Doo Bop album was released shortly after Davis' death. Unlike jazz musicians like Al Hirt ("Java") and Hugh Masekela ("Grazing In The Grass"), Davis never had a pop hit. George Cole, author of The Last Miles: The Music of Miles Davis, 1980-1991, explains: "If there's one thing Miles would have loved, it would have been to have had a pop hit! Unlike some jazz fans – who think that the only good music is that which is appreciated by a small number of people – Miles always wanted to be popular. That's why he hated the term "jazz," which he felt put his music in a ghetto. Miles did consider making an album of pop tunes (during the mid 1980s, his band recorded dozens of pop tunes from artists that included Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, DeBarge, Kenny Loggins and Dionne Warwick) but the idea was scrapped. However, he did record and perform two pop tunes – 'Human Nature' from Michael Jackson's Thriller album and Cyndi Lauper's 'Time After Time.'

    Miles felt that with better marketing, the latter could have been a huge pop hit. Later on, he recorded half a dozen tunes that combined jazz and hip-hop, and a couple of these ('Blow' and 'The Doo-Bop Song') were released as singles after his death, but didn't chart. I think it was partly poor marketing that stopped Miles having a hit, but it was also the fact that Miles's music contained an element of jazz sensibility, and that made his music less commercial in terms of garnering significant radio play – jazz stations didn't consider it proper jazz (whatever that is) while rock and pop stations thought it wasn't really for their audiences. Miles even made some music videos, but they got little broadcast time." (For more on Miles Davis, read our interview with George Cole.)

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Harold Brown of War

Harold Brown of WarSongwriter Interviews

A founding member of the band War, Harold gives a first-person account of one of the most important periods in music history.

Dwight Twilley

Dwight TwilleySongwriter Interviews

Since his debut single "I'm On Fire" in 1975, Dwight has been providing Spinal-Tap moments and misadventure.

Gary Numan

Gary NumanSongwriter Interviews

An Electronic music pioneer with Asperger's Syndrome. This could be interesting.

Curt Kirkwood of Meat Puppets

Curt Kirkwood of Meat PuppetsSongwriter Interviews

The (Meat)puppetmaster takes us through songs like "Lake Of Fire" and "Backwater," and talks about performing with Kurt Cobain on MTV Unplugged.

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary MachineSong Writing

Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.

Charlotte Caffey of The Go-Go's

Charlotte Caffey of The Go-Go'sSongwriter Interviews

Charlotte was established in the LA punk scene when a freaky girl named Belinda approached her wearing a garbage bag.