'He Loved Him Madly' by Miles Davis

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Is there any 'story' behind the title of 'He Loved Him Madly' by Miles Davis? It's an astonishing piece of music, but I was wondering if there is any kind of narrative association with the title - who loved whom madly?

General 'In praise of...' comments on Get Up With It in general are greatly welcome too!

― M Carty (mj_c), Friday, 23 January 2004 11:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Duke Ellington/ Billy Strayhorn?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 23 January 2004 11:43 (twenty-two years ago)

It is an elegy for Duke.

― bugged out, Friday, 23 January 2004 11:58 (twenty-two years ago)

also see:
Brian Eno insert liner notes for Ambient 4: On Land
and several Lester Bangs pieces:
"Miles Davis: Music For The Living Dead"
"Notes On PiL's Metal Box"
"A Reasonable Guide To Horrible Noise"
(shoutout to Lester & Eno friend Robert Quine too)

― Paul (scifisoul), Friday, 23 January 2004 12:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Excellent, Paul, ta very much. Are the three Lester Bangs pieces in that new (ish) collection of his?

― M Carty (mj_c), Friday, 23 January 2004 12:22 (twenty-two years ago)

the Miles one is in Mainlines, t'uthers are in Psychotic Reactions

― Paul (scifisoul), Friday, 23 January 2004 13:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Wasn't it written after Miles heard Duke had died?

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Friday, 23 January 2004 13:56 (twenty-two years ago)

OK, I'm ashamed! I have a copy of Psychotic Reactions somewhere, so I'll have to dig it out again and re-read those. Thank you.

― M Carty (mj_c), Friday, 23 January 2004 14:10 (twenty-two years ago)

On the cover it says "For Duke" and I think this is the song dedicated.

― Mark (MarkR), Friday, 23 January 2004 14:11 (twenty-two years ago)

very different to Stevie Wonder's tribute

― Paul (scifisoul), Friday, 23 January 2004 14:16 (twenty-two years ago)

The title (according to one of the Miles books cluttering my house) comes from a Christmas card Davis got from Duke in the summer. It was signed "Love you madly." Ellington was sending out Christmas cards to friends in the summer because he wasn't expecting to see Christmas. So when he did die, Miles gave the piece that title.

― Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Friday, 23 January 2004 14:52 (twenty-two years ago)

And more simply, there is 'Love You Madly' the Ellington tune.

― Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 23 January 2004 14:59 (twenty-two years ago)

"We love you madly" was what Ellington would say to audiences at the end of a show - I suspect the tune post-dates the catchphrase.

― Andrew Norman, Friday, 23 January 2004 15:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Perfect Sound Forever last month published an old Lester Bangs interview of Brian Eno that never made it to press. It is a good read, even if you know Eno quite well.

http://www.furious.com/perfect/bangseno.html

― earlnash, Friday, 23 January 2004 16:11 (twenty-two years ago)

well done for dedicating a thread to this...

which I have always thought was miles' greatest track

― geeg, Friday, 23 January 2004 18:34 (twenty-two years ago)

I read somewhere (maybe that book about electric Miles that came out a few years ago?) that the title was supposed to be "We Loved Him Madly" but there was a typo. I like the typo better, though. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the track.

― M Matos (M Matos), Friday, 23 January 2004 18:52 (twenty-two years ago)

I've always thought if "Get Up With It" had been released as a single album, with "He Loved Him Madly" on one side and "Calypso Frelimo" on the other it would be as highly regarded as "Jack Johnson." (Not that the stuff on the other sides isn't good.)

― Not That Chuck, Friday, 23 January 2004 19:31 (twenty-two years ago)

You're probably right, Chuck.

It's going to be tonight's pre-gig listening, for sure.

― Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 23 January 2004 19:52 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd rather have a single album with "He Loved Him Madly" on Side 1, and a Macero-created suite of "Rated X" and "Mtume" on Side 2.

― Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Friday, 23 January 2004 19:53 (twenty-two years ago)

I said this on another thread, but I think there's a vinyl out with "He Loved Him Madly" on side A and "Circle in the Round" on side B, which would be a great combo.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 23 January 2004 20:00 (twenty-two years ago)

"Calypso Frelimo" has one of the best basslines of all time

― Paul (scifisoul), Friday, 23 January 2004 20:02 (twenty-two years ago)

twenty years pass...

Parts of this song and some of the vibe reminding me of Led Zeppelin's No Quarter. That underwater vibe of the wah-wah trumpet and the mellotron very similar.

― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Friday, 16 August 2024 02:06 (one year ago)

Did Broadcast sample the beginning of this or am I tripping?

― brimstead, Friday, 16 August 2024 02:25 (one year ago)

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