C-Sides: Philip Lynott
“Ode to A Black Man” (1980)
“But the people in this town that try to put me down
Are the people in the town
That could never understand a black man,”Phil Lynott, “Ode To a Black Man”
2014 finds the black rock legacy being mined in the most expected of ways, but — as always — we’re forgetting a groundbreaking sociopolitical artist, and insofar as being a straight up rock god, one of the best to ever do it.
This year sees Jimi Hendrix being honored with a film starring Andre 3000, and Prince releasing two albums. But Phil Lynott? The lead singer for the influential Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy (of “Whiskey In The Jar” and “The Boys Are Back In Town” fame)? He’s important, but these days, sadly not prominently mentioned in the black rock conversation. Let’s fix that.
Foremost, I’m probably surprising most of you by telling you that Lynott was a brother. Born August 20, 1949 to an Irish mother and Guyanese father, Lynott’s father and mother separated before he was born, and his mother was unable to handle the strain of being a single parent. Therefore, Lynott was actually raised by his grandmother in Dublin while his mother (the parent of three other children by three different men with various racial backgrounds) moved to Manchester, England.
“Ode to a Black Man” is a single released from Solo in Soho, Lynott’s 1980 solo debut (while the vocalist was still in Thin Lizzy). By 1980, the band had peaked commercially, having released four gold-certified albums in the UK, with two Irish number one singles and four British top 10 hits. Lynott had also begun to abuse heroin and alcohol, the stress of travel, shows and not quite breaking as a major act worldwide (though being critically acclaimed).
Lynott’s non-Thin Lizzy material is inherently personal in subject matter and lyric, and a far cry from the hits he became known for with the Irish quartet. In particular, “Ode to a Black Man” has the strongest political message of them all. In the song, Lynott name drops Stevie Wonder, Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Bob Marley, blues legend Robert Johnson, revolutionary president of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe, Kenya’s first post-independence prime minister Jomo Kenyatta, revered Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie, influential New Orleans blues legend Professor Longhair (of oft-sampled “Big Chief” fame) and yes, the aforementioned Jimi Hendrix. Insofar as a moment where an orphaned, European black child of rock and roll finally could stand free and tall and make his proudest statement, it’s both soulful and incredible, one of the most underrated songs not just on that album, but frankly of its era.
Phil Lynott died on January 4, 1986 of sepsis, a whole body inflammation caused by blood-borne infection. His 11-day stay in the hospital prior to death was linked to him collapsing due to his drug and alcohol dependency. As far as his legacy in Thin Lizzy is concerned, the band’s single “The Boys Are Back In Town” has been covered by everyone from Mötley Crüe to Wilco, and is a ubiquitous classic rock staple. Irish pub song turned Thin Lizzy hit “Whiskey In The Jar” was released by Metallica on its 1998 album Garage Inc., and continues to be beloved by the hard rock community.
“Ode to a Black Man,” though? Much like Lynott’s memory as an iconic black rock star to those outside of the most die-hard rock fans, it’s largely unknown or forgotten. Falling after James Brown’s R&B featuring “Soul Brother Number One” and before say, Afrika Bambaataa or Public Enemy’s rap, it was a prototype for the fusion of black sociopolitical power for the modern era.
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Lead photo courtesy of http://www.eil.com
