Recording prolifically and almost exclusively for Blue Note Records (as both leader and sideman) Green performed well in hard bop, soul jazz, bebop and Latin-tinged settings throughout his career. Critics Michael Erlewine and Ron Wynn write, "A severely underrated player during his lifetime, Grant Green is one of the great unsung heroes of jazz guitar ... Green's playing is immediately recognizable -- perhaps more than any other guitarist." Critic Dave Hunter described his sound as "lithe, loose, slightly bluesy and righteously groovy". He often performed in an organ trio, a small group with an organ and drummer.
Apart from Charlie Christian, Green's primary influences were saxophonists, particularly Charlie Parker, and his approach was therefore almost exclusively linear rather than chordal. The simplicity and immediacy of Green's playing, which tended to avoid chromaticism, derived from his early work playing rhythm and blues and, although at his best he achieved a synthesis of this style with bop, he was essentially a blues guitarist and returned almost exclusively to this style in his later career. Green used a Gibson ES-330, then a Gibson L7 with a Gibson McCarty pickguard/pick-up, an Epiphone Emperor (with the same pick-up) and finally had a custom built D'Aquisto. George Benson said he would turn all the bass and treble off the amp, and max the midrange. This way he could get his signature punchy, biting tone.
Green was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He first performed in a professional setting at the age of 12. His influences were Charlie Christian, Charlie Parker, Ike Quebec, Lester Young, Jimmy Raney, Jimmy Smith and Miles Davis, he first played boogie-woogie before moving on to jazz. His first recordings in St. Louis were with tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest for the Delmark label. The drummer in the band was Elvin Jones, later the powerhouse behind John Coltrane. Grant recorded with Elvin again in the early Sixties. Lou Donaldson discovered Grant playing in a bar in St. Louis. After touring together with Donaldson, Grant arrived in New York around 1959-60.
Lou Donaldson introduced Grant to Alfred Lion of Blue Note Records. Lion was so impressed with Grant that, rather than testing Grant as a sideman, as was the usual Blue Note practice, Lion arranged for him to record as a bandleader first. Green's initial recording session went unreleased until 2001, however, owing to a lack of confidence on Green's behalf.
Despite the shelving of his first session, Green's recording relationship with Lion and Blue Note was to last, with a few exceptions, throughout the Sixties. From 1961 to 1965, Grant made more appearances on Blue Note LPs, as leader or sideman, than anyone else. Grant's first issued album as a leader was Grant's First Stand. This was followed in the same year by Green Street and Grantstand. Grant was named best new star in the Down Beat critics' poll, 1962, and, as a result, his influence spread wider than New York. He often provided support to the other important musicians on Blue Note, including saxophonists Hank Mobley, Ike Quebec, Stanley Turrentine and Harold Vick, as well as organist Larry Young.
Sunday Mornin' , The Latin Bit and Feelin' the Spirit are all loose concept albums, each taking a musical theme or style: Gospel, Latin and spirituals respectively. Grant always carried off his more commercial dates with artistic success during this period. Idle Moments (1963), featuring Joe Henderson and Bobby Hutcherson, and Solid (1964), featuring the Coltrane rhythm section, are acclaimed as two of Grant's best recordings.
Many of Grant's recordings were not released during his lifetime. These include Matador, in which Grant is once again in the heavyweight company of the Coltrane rhythm section, and a series of sessions with pianist Sonny Clark. In 1966 Grant left Blue Note and recorded for several other labels, including Verve. From 1967 to 1969 Grant was, for the most part, inactive due to personal problems and the effects of heroin addiction. In 1969 Grant returned with a new funk-influenced band. His recordings from this period include the commercially successful Green is Beautiful and the soundtrack to the film The Final Comedown. Grant was also a huge influence on guitarists, from George Benson to Stevie Ray Vaughan. Still to this day guitarists try to get his signature sound, Idle Moments is considered one of the top 100 jazz albums of all time.
Grant left Blue Note again in 1974 and the subsequent recordings he made with other labels divide opinion: some consider Green to have been the 'Father of Acid Jazz' (and his late recordings have been sampled by artists including US3, A Tribe Called Quest and Public Enemy), whilst others have dismissed them (Michael Cuscuna wrote in the sleeve notes for the album Matador that "During the 1970s he made some pretty lame records").
Grant spent much of 1978 in hospital and, against the advice of doctors, went back on the road to earn some money. While in New York to play an engagement at George Benson's Breezin' Lounge, Grant collapsed in his car of a heart attack in New York City on January 31, 1979. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, and was survived by six children. Since Green's demise, his reputation has grown to legendary status and many compilations of both his earlier (post-bop/straight ahead and soul jazz) and later (funkier/dancefloor jazz) periods, exist.
Back in Your Own Back Yard
Grant Green Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hoping ev'ry cloud will be silver lined.
But we all return as we live wo learn,
That we left our happiness behind.
When they sing you "Look for the Silver Lining,"
It is silver dollars they're looking for.
You will find my friend that the rainbow's end,
The bird with feathers of blue, is waiting for you,
Back in your own back yard,
You'll see your castle in Spain, through your window pane,
Back in your own back yard.
Oh you can go to the East go to the West,
But someday you'll come weary at heart back where you started from,
You'll find your happiness lies, right under your eyes,
Back in your own backyard.
The song "Back in Your Own Backyard" is a nostalgic and reflective tune about the concept of home and happiness. The first verse describes how people often leave their homes with high hopes and expectations, only to realize that they have left their happiness behind. The second verse focuses on the idea of looking for silver linings and rainbows, suggesting that perhaps happiness is not found in these external factors, but rather within one's own home and daily life. The refrain emphasizes the theme of homecoming, encouraging listeners to return to their own backyards and rediscover the happiness they may have been searching for elsewhere.
Overall, the song offers a message of perspective and appreciation for the simple things in life. It acknowledges that the journey towards happiness can be a complicated and winding one, but ultimately suggests that it is often waiting for us in the familiar and comfortable surroundings of home.
Line by Line Meaning
We leave home expecting to find a blue bird,
We venture out into the world with high hopes, expecting to find happiness and good fortune around every corner, much like searching for a rare and beautiful bird with blue feathers.
Hoping ev'ry cloud will be silver lined.
We hope that everything we encounter in life will have a positive outcome, like the silver lining on a cloud that indicates good weather.
But we all return as we live wo learn,
As we live and gain more experience in the world, we come to realize that our initial hopes and expectations are often misguided and that we must return to our roots to find true happiness.
That we left our happiness behind.
We often forget that our own happiness is within our control and that it cannot be found by constantly seeking external validation or material success.
When they sing you "Look for the Silver Lining,"
The popular phrase "Look for the Silver Lining" may be interpreted as seeking out and valuing monetary gain, rather than true happiness.
It is silver dollars they're looking for.
The singer suggests that those who only seek monetary gain are missing out on the true beauty and richness of life.
You will find my friend that the rainbow's end,
However, the true rewards and treasures of life are not found at the end of a colorful or elusive rainbow, but rather in your own backyard.
Is somewhere around your kitchen door.
The happiness and contentment that people seek is often found in the simple things in life, such as spending time with loved ones, enjoying home-cooked meals, and appreciating the beauty of nature on one's doorstep.
The bird with feathers of blue, is waiting for you,
The elusive bird with blue feathers that people search for represents the happiness and contentment that is within reach, waiting for them to simply return home and find it in their own backyard.
You'll see your castle in Spain, through your window pane,
The extravagant and elusive castles in Spain that people dream of possessing represent the material and superficial desires that we often chase after in life, only to find that true happiness was within our reach all along.
Oh you can go to the East go to the West,
No matter how far and wide we travel and search for happiness, we will eventually realize that our true happiness has always been at home, waiting for us in our own backyard.
But someday you'll come weary at heart back where you started from,
Once we have exhausted all other avenues and realized that our search for happiness has led us nowhere, we will inevitably return home, weary but wiser, and find that the happiness we were seeking was always within our reach.
You'll find your happiness lies, right under your eyes,
We will realize that our happiness was always present, right in front of our eyes, in the simple things in life that we often overlook in our quest for greater things.
Back in your own backyard.
In the end, true happiness and contentment is found by returning to one's roots and appreciating the simple pleasures of home and family, found right in one's own backyard.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Al Jolson, Billy Rose, Dave Dreyer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind