What is a Ballad?
In the classic sense of the word, according to “wikepedia.org”
“A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. They originally derive from medieval French chanson balladee or ballade, which were originally “dance songs” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballad)
The term has broadened extensively, which has come to include a wide range of genre’s from “Ballad Operas” to “Blues” to “American Ballads Standards”. To understand how my company was formed and why I have chosen to call it “Ballads by LDK”, I must simply explain that the type of ballads performed in my studio, are sentimental in the form of R&B or Jazz ballads.
Such ballads have become known in the African-American community, as a kind of “Songtrack to Our Lives”. You see, the love songs that have been made popular by so many of the great R&B legends, spanning multiple generations, which we heard played on vinyl recordings from our parent’s generation, over and over again, are timeless. They tell stories of unrequited love, falling in love for the first time, and even heartbreak when love has failed to flourish and endure.
If you attend any concert of some of the greats, take for example, the incomparable Ms. Gladys Knight, and you hear just the beginning melody of “Neither One of Us”. The audience is able to detect very quickly from the melody having been indelibly imprinted in their hearts, that they are going to be melted by her singing this song. Then they are able to mouth or sing along to every word.
You say, don’t forget the new generation of songs. Well, all right then. Take these words…”We belong together, and you know that I’m right. Why do you play with my heart, why do you play with my mind”? It becomes quickly recognized as one of the most beautiful ballads by the great Boyz II Men, entitled “End Of The Road”. This is nowhere near the tip of the iceberg of how far we could go with this article, in laying out a plethora of R&B ballads, which fill our ears and hearts, every time we hear them.
It may be a group, such as The Mighty O’Jays, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Whispers, The Manhattans, etc., that stirs one’s emotions to think of their favorite tunes. It could also be a single artist, such as Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, Jill Scott, and how many more I could name. You get the point by this juncture for sure. Ballads encompass more than a one or two page write-up could capture. Keep in mind that I haven’t even covered the jazz classics, sung by artists such as Nancy Wilson, Natalie Cole, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen Mcrae, Arthur Prysock, Joe Williams and so many more beautiful singers who graced the stages across the world.
All I can say to finish my point about why I have a ballads company, and why that is the type of music that I sing the most from my studio, is because this is where my heart and soul lives musically. And I believe that the ballads that have been performed by so many of these great artists, deserve to continue breathing through other voices that are able to carry them. So it is with great honor and humility, that I use my gift in Ballads by LDK Studios, to carry these beautiful stories forward to the next generation of music lovers.
