what you just heard is an outake of Jimi Hendrix doing his tribute to the gospel guitar stylings of Curtis Mayfield's Impressions records.
i don't know where to start honestly.
Spanky is the unsung silent hero of practically any musician in the urban field who is serious about his craft. even this weekend as i left florida i made sure i gave Hov's band (Mary's too) all the treats i can muster. i mean just for all of them to tell me how in grade school Voodoo changed their lives and whatnot....man that was beautiful to hear. and really i took this job not to teach them the parts but to sorta just give the baton out. the same way i was coming back from Japan with all those Soul Trains and Concert treats for the 1997 Voodoo recordings
i befriended guitarist Shon Hinton (plays for Mary) the past two weeks and man....with the exception of the great Mike Feingold and Hov's Shawn Carrington--i can't think of better hands to carry on a legacy.
i met Spanky kinda the way the industry met him: by accident.
most of us just assumed that old time gospel guitar playing was a tradition kept alive by Rapheal Sadiq based on the sound of the "Tony" projects. (hence why we wanted to work with Rae on Illadelph Halflife)---once there he introduced us to his secret weapon:
Spanky.
our jaws dropped to the floor....cause you could hear the YEARS of experience in his chops. im mean you'd be like "YO IS THE TAPE RUNNING?!!?!?!?!??!!??" to your engineer as he would sit in the corner and play stuff like this
his history goes way way back even before meeting Rae: on classic albums from The Mighty Clouds Of Joy, Gospel Keynotes, Canton Spirtuals, Shirley Ceasar, James Cleveland, The True Tones. This man's gospel quartet chops runs deep.
and for some of us newbies it runs deep too: all the post Sons Of Soul Rapheal associated projects are Spankafied.
of course we too used Spank with awesome results on Things Fall Apart (before we hired a full time guitarist in Ben Kenny and Kirk Douglas). not to mention any project within 6 degrees like Erykah, Common, Eric Benet, Joss Stone, Bilal, Musiq and even he can claim honorary YEssir status for he was a big part of that album too....so so so so so much more can be added to this list ("send it on" "thinking of you" etc etc)
Spank first had diabetic complications during the last half of the Voodoo sessions. He was our spiritual guide that entire project. leading us in prayer before every session and giving "benediction" before we left too. while we were besides ourselves when his left leg was amputated he was strong enough for the 12 of us. and even when right before his final 3 years losing his right leg ....he never let that stop him. which in turn never stopped us.
most of you got the "Thought It Out The Other Day" mp3 treat in which even Al himself had to scream and laugh because of Spanky's undeniable charmed playing on that cut. Spanky was a KEY ingredient to making that record sound authentic and true to the direction that James and I wanted to go with it. much to the chagrin of blue note imma break the law in the name of my fallen brother and give you two treats
the second single You Got The Love I Need with Anthony Hamilton
we wanted Philly soul to meet Memphis on this one. Monster work again from Spank.
as im writing this....Mike Feingold IM'd me his top 5 Spanky Gospel performances for those who are interested in his history as the greatest gospel quartet guitarist.....
ever.
#1 I came to Jesus....Mighty clouds of joy...Live And Direct #2 Clean Heart...The Gospel Keynotes...Gospel Keynotes At Their Best #3 Show Me The Way...e Gospel Keynotes...Gospel Keynotes At Their Best #4 Jesus You've Been Good To Me.Gospel keynotes...dunno the record #5 America The Beautful...Harvey Watkins JR..It's In My Heart: Live In Raymond MS
NO! LIST Tom Petty M J Zeppelin Springsteen Neil Young Eagles Ray Charles Madonna Chuck Berry South Park TV Songs Justin Timberlake "Food Glorious Food" "Twilight Zone" theme "A Boy Named Sue" "Night Moves" "The Situation" "Superbowl Shuffle"
"We resolutely oppose the U.S....pointing fingers at other countries' human rights. It never reflects on its own human rights, so it cannot justify itself."
uniqueterror Member since Aug 08th 2003 3906 posts
Mon Mar-24-08 01:35 PM
3. "Was he the "Spanky" that played on A Tribe Called Quest's "4 Moms"?" In response to Reply # 0
When I read about his passing on the main page, that song popped into my head. I wondered for the longest time who the guitarist was on that song. Am I right or just delusional?
57. "You Don't Know How Many Tymez I've Been Wonderin' Who Dat Waz" In response to Reply # 3 Wed Mar-26-08 01:33 AM by Grand_Styles
All it said in da creditz waz Spanky but they never said hiz entyre name but I uze to have dat interlude on repeat cauze I knew dat couldn't have totally be a sample da way da guitar lickz were juz goin' on & on on some soulful shit.
Many Blessings on his soul and to his family and loved ones.
This is very sad. I truly love his playing and style. Very grateful for being introduced to his talent and name through quest's projects and through tonys of course (though i didnt know it).
17. "RE: The greatest gospel quartet guitarist ever. RIP Spanky Chalmers Alfo..." In response to Reply # 16
RIP, i don't mean this question in a bad way whatsoever, I know he contributed mightily to Voodoo and other projects, but was Spanky the one playing the crazy solo on ''the root?''
18. "RE: The greatest gospel quartet guitarist ever. RIP Spanky Chalmers Alfo..." In response to Reply # 0
Wow. so so sad. In the couple of years of I was in Philly, you could not play music without hearing about Spanky. Young or old, guitarist or not, every musician I worked with that grew up in Philly playing in church revered him like no other.
damn fam, the guitar solo on the homepage is beautiful...... and then the links posted kinda got me a little more familliar with his work, so on that note R.I.P.
and beyond that it makes me appreciate the actual musician just that more, not only for developing a craft not everyone is meant to emulate, but just the mere fact that in most genre's outside of live performing, they are very under appreciated, well at least until that sample needs to be interpolated for that hit song to clear.........
R.I.P. to another artist and hope the leniency of his music is deferred in the personal time warp those who knew him best call "memories"
29. "?UESTO, thanks for the intro to a legend....R.I.P. Spanky" In response to Reply # 0
Funny, i remember hearing you rave about him when Voodoo came out I was like dude is a beast he gon' be serious not realizing dude already all through not only my collection but my parents and my grandparents stuff.
Dude was already serious...gone but immortalized forever.
"A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns"...Mario Puzo
30. "This makes me very sad. Peace and Blessings to his fam/friends." In response to Reply # 0
Just the work he did in the '90s-'00s makes him legendary. When you include his gospel quartet work...he should be looked at as a master guitarist/musician.
my favs R.Kelly Michael Jackson Bee Gees Steely dan ,Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder,Smokey Robinson Gladys Knight,Jackie wilson, Sam Cooke, crusaders, Rick James, Shaq,EWF, Isley Brothers,Bobby Womack Tiger Woods Ba
anytime i heard him on a song, i knew it was 100% certified He MADE 3T's House of Music one of my favs and when i heard he was on the Al project, my worries were eased rip brother spank!
51. "I can't believe this." In response to Reply # 0 Tue Mar-25-08 09:41 AM by bski
Spanky was my favorite guitar player, just based on the Tonyies stuff and Illadelfonic contributions. Any time I wanted that real authentic gospel/R&B sound, I would play him for my guitarist.
I had no idea he was even ill. Shows how little I know.
What a tremendous loss. Thank you ?uest for the touching tribute. R.I.P. Chalmers "Spanky" Alford. Your beautiful work inspired legions. Peace be with you.
Edit-Now someone please instruct me on how I can get my hands on some of this gospel work he did.
I'm tired of the "worst song I've ever heard" being something new every month. -okp simpsycho
i remember me and my friend vanessa (r.i.p.) met him after the d'angelo show in A.C. in august and he was soooo nice.. we joked around with him a lil bit while we waited to sign that Levi's wall...
I don't post often but when I heard this news I was devastated like a mutha... I'm an aspiring guitarist and Spanky was the FIRST studio guitarist I ever heard and proceeded to track down anything I could hear him on. I first heard him on voodoo and house of music, and like previously mentioned Let me Know on House of Music is some of THE most beautiful guitar playing I've EVER heard. Definitely some of the most impeccable melodic and rythmic sense I've ever heard also. He was like a teacher I never met and I'm definitely saddened by his passing, but he WILL live on through that beautiful music...
Thanks for the treats and retrospective... he is already missed, but the legacy remains and lives on in the legions he influenced, whether they knew it or not.
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