Gil Scott-Heron (born April 1, 1949 in Chicago, died May 27, 2011 in New Yo… Read Full Bio ↴Gil Scott-Heron (born April 1, 1949 in Chicago, died May 27, 2011 in New York City) was an American poet and musician, known primarily for his late 1960s and early 1970s work as a spoken word performer, associated with African American militant activists. Heron is perhaps most well known for his poems/songs "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" and "What's the Word - Johannesburg" a movement hit during the 1980's South Africa college and national divestment movement in the United States of America.

He began recording in 1970 with the LP Small Talk at 125th and Lenox with the assistance of Bob Thiele Flying Dutchman Records, co-writer Brian Jackson, Hubert Laws, Bernard Purdie (who later recorded "Delights of the Garden" with The Last Poets), Charlie Saunders, Eddie Knowles, Ron Carter and Bert Jones, all jazz musicians (see 1970 in music). The album included the aggressive diatribe against white-owned corporate media and middle-class America's ignorance of the problems of inner cities in songs such as Whitey On The Moon.

The 1971 Pieces of a Man used more conventional song structures than the loose, spoken word feel of his first, though he didn't reach the charts until 1975 with "Johannesburg". His biggest hit was 1978's "The Bottle", produced by Heron and longtime partner Brian Jackson, which peaked at #15 on the R&B charts (see 1978 in music).

In 2001, Gil Scott-Heron was sentenced to one to three years' imprisonment in New York State for possession of cocaine. While out of jail in 2002, he appeared on the Blazing Arrow album by Blackalicious. He was released on parole in 2003. On July 5, 2006, Scott-Heron was sentenced to two to four years in a New York State prison for violating a plea deal on a drug-possession charge by leaving a drug rehabilitation center. Scott-Heron's sentence was to run until July 13, 2009. He was paroled on May 23, 2007. The reason given for the violation of his plea was that the clinic refused to supply Scott-Heron with HIV medication. This story led to the presumption that the artist is HIV positive.

After his release, Scott-Heron began performing live again, starting with a show at SOBs in New York on September 13, 2007. On stage, he stated that he and his musicians were working on a new album and that he had resumed writing a book titled The Last Holiday, previously on long-term hiatus, about Stevie Wonder and his successful attempt to have the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. declared a federally recognized holiday in the United States.

He was arrested October 10, 2007, the day before a scheduled (but ultimately cancelled) second SOBs performance, on felony possession of cocaine charges. However, he has continued to make live appearances at various US venues during the course of 2008 and 2009, including further appearances at SOBs in New York. He has also stated in interviews that work is continuing on his new album, which will consist mainly of new versions of some of his classic songs plus some cover versions of other artists' work.

Having originally planned to publish The Last Holiday in 2003, before it was put on hold, Canongate Books now tentatively intend to issue it in January, 2011. The book was due to be previewed via a website set to be launched on April 1, 2009, but this did not appear.

Mark T. Watson, a student of Scott-Heron's work, dedicated a collection of poetry to Gil titled Ordinary Guy that contained a foreword by Jalal Mansur Nuriddin of The Last Poets. The book was published in the UK in 2004 by Fore-Word Press Ltd. Scott-Heron recorded one of the poems in Watson's book Black & Blue due for release in 2008 as part of the album Rhythms of the Diaspora by Malik & the OG's on the record label CPR Recordings.

Gil Scott-Heron released his new album I'm New Here on independent label XL Recordings on February 9, 2010. Produced by XL label owner Richard Russell, 'I'm New Here' is Scott-Heron's first album in thirteen years.The pair started recording the album in 2007, with the majority of the record being recorded over the last twelve months with engineer Lawson White at Clinton Studios in New York. In 2009, a new Gil Scott-Heron website, www.gilscottheron.net , was launched with a brand new track 'Where Did The Night Go' made available as a free download from the site.

In 2011, Scott-Heron released "We're New Here" a remix album which was a collaboration with Jamie xx, a member of the British indie band The xx. Scott-Heron died in New York City on May 27, 2011.

Madison Avenue
Gil Scott-Heron Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Pretty pictures in your favorite magazines
span the distance between you and Mr Clean(?)
You can take part in the All-American dream
just fill your house up with a million
products you don't need.

You don't ever have to use them.
Buying is all that's asked of you.

But if it's so Goddamn incredible
that you can't believe it's true
it's Madison Avenue

Make it all commercial
there ain't nothin' folks won't buy
New fuel to fire up the monsters of Free Enterprise
Gizmos and gadgets, and batteries to make them run
Just give your check up at the first of every month

And don't wake up to the uselessness
'till your whole life is overdue.
'Cause if it's so Goddamn incredible
that you can't believe it's true
it's Madison Avenue

They can sell sand to a man livin' in the desert.
They can sell tuna to the chicken of the sea...
You are surrounded and confounded and

dumbfounded by the happenings yes it's true
it's Madison Avenue

Overall Meaning

In Gil Scott-Heron's "Madison Avenue", the singer talks about the over the top materialism and consumerism that is being shoved down the throats of the American people through advertisements on the popular road of Madison Avenue in New York City. The lyrics imply that these ads go to extreme extents to convince people to buy things they don't need, and are so well curated that people are constantly in a state of being bedazzled by the sheer incredibility of these products. The singer urges people to take a closer look at these ads and realize that they are being sold useless items that they won't even end up using. It's a scathing critique of big business and advertising that represents their callous approach to the consumer and the environment, who only care about their bottom line and profit margins than the impact their products have on real people.

The lyrics reflect the time it was written in, the early 1970s, and how the catchy phrases and jingles of Madison Avenue advertisers infiltrated American society to put an unparalleled focus on material possessions. The people who fit the mold created by the ads and happily buy the products are living out the shallow "All-American dream" that has very little substance but relies heavily on advertising. The singer encourages people to be wary of such advertising techniques used to sell goods that are useless and more often than not lead to an undue burden on their lives.

Line by Line Meaning

Pretty pictures in your favorite magazines span the distance between you and Mr Clean(?)
The advertisements in magazines and billboards create a gap from reality with enticing images and messages that showcases a perfect, clean lifestyle that can be achieved by consuming the products advertised.

You can take part in the All-American dream just fill your house up with a million products you don't need.
The consumerist culture in America is advertised as an attainable dream, and to participate in it, one must buy products that are often not necessary.

You don't ever have to use them. Buying is all that's asked of you.
The product manufacturers are not interested in whether the consumers use the products they buy or not; they just want them to buy more and more products.

But if it's so Goddamn incredible that you can't believe it's true it's Madison Avenue
If the portrayal of the product promises something that is too good to be true, then it's purely an advertisement that targets the gullible minds, and it's the work of the Madison Avenue ad agencies.

Make it all commercial there ain't nothin' folks won't buy
Advertisements have made everything, from the most necessary to the most trivial, commercial, and with the right marketing strategy, anything can sell.

New fuel to fire up the monsters of Free Enterprise
Marketing strategies are designed to fuel the already monstrous nature of free enterprise while pushing for an incessant growth in product demand.

Gizmos and gadgets, and batteries to make them run Just give your check up at the first of every month
The products sold are often electronic goods or appliances that need constant power and come with an expiration date. To keep up, buyers must keep purchasing new and improved models with every advance in technology.

And don't wake up to the uselessness 'till your whole life is overdue.
The consumers must remain oblivious to the useless products they have accumulated in their lifetime until it's too late, and they are weighed down by the burden of useless commodities they have bought.

They can sell sand to a man livin' in the desert. They can sell tuna to the chicken of the sea...
The power of advertising and marketing is so immense that it can sell even the most absurd and unnecessary products to people who do not need or cannot use them.

You are surrounded and confounded and dumbfounded by the happenings yes it's true it's Madison Avenue
The impact of advertising and marketing is so powerful that it surrounds, confounds, and surprises people with its effectiveness, and it's all a result of Madison Avenue's influence.

Contributed by Kayla I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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