In honor of Les McCann’s passing earlier this week, today’s classic song of the day is his only mainstream hit, “Compared to What.” The song, recorded live at the 1969 Montreux Jazz Festival, was released as an album track on Swiss Movement, a live LP by McCann and saxophonist Eddie Harris.
“Compared to What” is a protest song written by Gene McDaniels, who had several hits as a performer in the early 1960s, including “A Hundred Pounds of Clay,” “Tower of Strength,” and “Chip Chip.” He wrote “Compared to What” in 1966 as a protest against the establishment in general and the Vietnam War in particular. Dig these lyrics:
The President, he’s got his war
Folks don’t know just what it’s for
Nobody gives us rhyme or reason
Have one doubt, they call it treason
We’re chicken-feathers, all without one nut. God damn it!
Tryin’ to make it real, compared to what?
The song was first released by Roberta Flack as the first single from her 1969 First Take album. It was a slower cooking, simmering take on the tune that unfortunately didn’t make much of a dent in the charts.
McCann and Harris performed the tune as part of their set at the Montreux Jazz Festival in June of that year. Theirs was a fiery interpretation that, released as a single, sold more than a million copies and reached #35 on the Billboard R&B chart. It also inspired dozens of other artists to cover the tune, including Brian Auger, Ray Charles, and others.
Les McCann was a jazz pianist who first burst onto the scene in the late ’50s, helping to pioneer the emerging soul jazz movement. The success of “Compared to What” showed off his vocal chops and enabled him to emphasize his singing along with his keyboard skills. McCann was sidelined by a stroke in the mid-1990s but returned to performing in 2002. He passed away on December 29, 2022, of pneumonia, age 88.
For your enjoyment, here’s live footage of Les McCann and Eddie Harris (accompanied by Benny Bailey on trumpet, Leroy Vinnegar on bass, and Donald Dean on drums) performing “Compared to What” at the 1969 Montreux Jazz Festival. They’re keeping it real, man.
