The Winds Twist My Hips (1968) was released just two years before Woodstock and her work was so fresh, it is often overlooked, even though it is considered by many to be a classic. But Woodstock wasn’t about music. It was about a people’s movement. It was about community, love and acceptance, equality and racial harmony. That is the message of many of her recordings.
The year 1968 was full of revolution and upheaval. Woodstock seemed to echo the times.
The Summer Of Love inspired everyone who was alive in those days, but a few people decided to put it into music, and that is where Ann Woodson comes in. Her songs have a freedom about them that just doesn’t leave you alone. There is a magic to her singing and song writing that just seems to make you feel good. Her songs are fun, upbeat and downright groovy. But most of all, they are honest. In a world where truth is rare, music should make truth accessible and fun.
Like the music of her time, Woodson’s work is a mixture of the sounds that are popular at the time. Many of her songs were done in the style of Motown and Philly Soul. But there is a raw, and downright earthy edge to some of her songs, which seem to be influenced by the blues and R&B.
Her first two albums are fun and upbeat. They can be likened to the sounds of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.
In 1968, when she recorded the album Up In The Air (1968), some of her songs had the effect of today’s rap music, but in a more uplifting way.
From the opening track, Up In The Air, to the closing tune, When She Comes Back, Woodson sings about getting your groove on. Her vocals carry you along as you listen.
The album’s title song, Up In The Air, comes from the perspective of an employee who is forced to move every few years to a new location as the company continues to expand.
“She don’t know where to go,” says Woodson on the song. “Her plans have got no more place to go.” But Woodson’s voice floats over the sound, so full of hope that we forget about her problems and take her journey to heart.
The song The Winds Twist My Hips is a fun tune with a laid-back, grooving sound. Woodson’s voice, which has a little bit of a jazzy sound in it, runs smoothly and effortlessly.
Woodson’s songs also touched on the issues of the Vietnam War. On How Would You Feel? She asks if you would feel anything if you found yourself in an orphanage or prison, in a place you could never find yourself. In The Time It Takes, she asks if it is alright to try to get something from someone before you are willing to give.
Of course, Woodson’s songs also touched on more positive things. She sang about “Love Will Make The World Go Round” on the song I Could Always Know. She described making love as “making me feel that I’m somebody.” The song I Like Him, the opening track, talks about a man who makes her feel good, but she’s not sure she wants to accept his advances.
Even the title track, I Like Him, is a joyous song that celebrates the joy of falling in love and makes it sound easy. It has a swing to it that you can’t help but dance to. And the song I Know The Feeling features an upbeat sound, with a swing that will just have you tapping your foot.
Some of Woodson’s recordings are more fun and lighthearted, but her music has a raw energy to it that made it hard for her to sit still. Her voice is full of energy and determination. I Know the Feeling and Can I Tell You Why? (Are You Sorry, Yes I’m Blue) speak of love, sex and freedom.
That freedom is celebrated in other songs such as You Are, It’s Getting Better and When It’s A Nice Day You Got No Reason To Go To Work.
What’s even more impressive is the number of hits her songs had. They are classics, full of soul and swagger.
Her songs were covered by dozens of artists, including the Allman Brothers, John Fogerty, Carly Simon, Celine Dion, Willie Nelson, Bette Midler and more. She was also the subject of a song by the great folk rock artist Bonnie Raitt.
AllMusic says that one of Woodson’s songs “remains one of the rarest and most coveted releases from the Woodstock heyday of the late 60s,” and that it has sold for as much as $3,000 a copy. I Like Him, Can I Tell You Why? and Woody were included in Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”
The single I’m Not Feeling It At All was included in “The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock & Roll.”
Of course, her hits made Woodson wealthy. But the reason she became wealthy, according to NPR, was because of her insistence on royalty payments for the songs she recorded. She gave $35,000 back to the original singers of her songs, which was enough to make them happy and rich.
Woodson was also an actress and director. She appeared in The Graduate and in a number of TV shows.
One of her biggest hits was The Legend Of A Tree, which was released in 1972. The song topped Billboard’s pop chart, and it crossed over to the R&B chart.
Woodson was honored at her death in 2005 at age 63. Her recording career spanned nearly 20 years. In 2008, she was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.
It was only fitting that a band call themselves, The Woodson, in tribute to Ann Woodson’s legacy.
Ann Woodson will be remembered as the singer of some of the most memorable songs of the late 1960s, songs that are as relevant today as they were at the time. The Woodson were a popular country band whose music was fun and filled with joy and a sense of adventure.
At the time they were formed, they played on the college circuit and were a popular act on the radio. The band members were named Ann Woodson, Barbara Woodson, Bonnie Lee, and Maryann Gwinn.
On stage, the band was called The Woodson Band.
Their first album, I Got A Story To Tell (1971), was credited to Ann, Barbara, Bonnie and Maryann. But on the album, they were credited as Maryann, Barbara, Ann and Bonnie.
The album featured their most popular single, How Do You Know, which was a Top 40 hit. The band recorded another song by the same name later. In the 1960s, the band had been called Mary Ann and the Pendletones, but in 1971, they became The Woodson Band.
The single got a boost when it was played on a popular game show, Match Game. The show featured a panel of celebrities, one of whom was Bob Eubanks of the game show The Newlywed Game. They began playing the song in January 1972. That helped their single rise to the Top 10 on the charts.
They also recorded their song I Got A Story To Tell.
In 1971, the band played at the International Country Fair in Miami. It was a part of Woodson’s career when she became famous in the 1970s, and The Woodson are featured in her biographical film, Ann Woodson and Her Friends (1978).
In 1972, the Woodson had their own radio show on KGFJ, a San Diego station. It was called The Woodson and His Friends. The Woodson were a favorite on this program as well.
On July 11, 1972, in San Diego, The Woodson played to a capacity crowd of 6,000 at Balboa Stadium. It was their first big concert.
On August 17, 1972, the band started their radio show at KGFJ, which was called The Old Time Radio Show with the Woodson. In March 1973, they began a weekly program called Sing Along With The Woodson. They continued with this show until their final appearance on August 26, 1976.
In March 1973, Ann Woodson appeared on the game show The $10,000 Pyramid. She later said of her appearance, “Playing the Pyramid was a life-changing experience. It changed my whole life for the better. For the first time in my life I felt that I was getting paid for something that I’d done.”
The Woodson played over 200 gigs between 1970 and 1976, including appearances in Palm Springs, Long Beach and Anaheim. They played more than 200 shows on New Year’s Eve.
On July 4, 1973, they were booked to play a concert at the National Sports Arena in Los Angeles. A few weeks before the concert, though, they were involved in an accident that left guitarist Maryann Gwinn dead.
Gwinn, who was driving when the accident happened, went off the road and crashed into a tree. She had been the only passenger in the band
