Gil Scott-Heron

Gil Scott-Heron

Gil Scott-Heron is an American poet and musician from Chicago, known for spoken word performance, funk, jazz, soul, soul jazz, jazz-funk and political writing. Born in 1949 and dying in 2011, he is closely associated with the late 1960s and early 1970s wave of African American militant activism in music and poetry.

Early work and breakthrough

He begins recording in 1970 with Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, released with support from Bob Thiele’s Flying Dutchman Records. The sessions involve co-writer Brian Jackson and jazz musicians including Hubert Laws, Bernard Purdie, Charlie Saunders, Eddie Knowles, Ron Carter and Bert Jones. The album includes sharply political material such as “Whitey On The Moon”, aimed at white-owned corporate media and middle-class indifference to inner-city problems.

His 1971 album Pieces of a Man uses more conventional song structures than his earlier, looser spoken word style. He does not reach the charts until 1975 with “Johannesburg”, and his biggest hit is 1978’s “The Bottle”, produced with Brian Jackson, which peaks at number 15 on the R&B chart.

Key songs and themes

He is widely known for “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” and “What’s the Word - Johannesburg”. The latter becomes associated with the anti-apartheid divestment movement in the United States during the 1980s. His work often combines music, poetry and direct political commentary.

Later career

In 2001 he is sentenced in New York State for possession of cocaine. He appears on Blackalicious’ Blazing Arrow while out of jail in 2002, and is later released on parole in 2003. In 2006 he is sentenced again in New York State after violating a plea deal on a drug-possession charge by leaving a rehabilitation centre, and is paroled in 2007.

After his release, he returns to live performance, including a show at SOBs in New York in September 2007 and further appearances there and at other US venues in 2008 and 2009. He also says he is working on a new album made up mainly of new versions of older songs and some cover versions, and resumes writing The Last Holiday, a book about Stevie Wonder and the campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a federal holiday in the United States.

Later releases and collaborations

His 2010 album I’m New Here is released on XL Recordings and produced by Richard Russell. It marks his first album in thirteen years, and recording begins in 2007 at Clinton Studios in New York with engineer Lawson White. In 2011 he releases We’re New Here, a remix album made with Jamie xx of The xx.

His work also connects him to a range of collaborators and supporters over time, including Brian Jackson, Blackalicious, and the artists involved in projects built around his poems and songs.