In John Legend’s song “Ordinary People,” the usual dramatic entry points to a relationship–the moment when love blooms or collapses–are bypassed. Instead, Legend explores the subtler twists and trials of a couple trying to hold steady.
“At times we get sick of love,” Legend sings, “It seems like we argue everyday.” But the couple is determined to get through this rough spot, even though sometimes “we feel like just walking away.”
It’s a glimpse of everyday life, a lyric that captures the emotions that any adult in a long-term relationship might experience. The words stretch out over a plaintive melody, with the anxiety still clinging to Legend’s voice.
The commonplace details that are the foundation of “Ordinary People”–as well as Legend’s million-selling major-label debut, “Get Lifted” (G.O.O.D./Columbia)–are rarely heard in pop or R&B music. But they’re also the key to why Legend has become one of this year’s major success stories.
“I felt there was a gap that needed to be filled,” says Legend, who headlines Monday at House of Blues. “I knew there were other people making soulful records, but most of them didn’t have commercial appeal. I was trying to make something that was soulful and had an old-school feel, but was also current, hip and fresh. I felt there wasn’t anybody really getting that perfect nexus of those things.”
Legend (born John Stephens) grew up in Springfield, Ohio, in a blue-collar family and studied classical piano while singing in church choir, then graduated with an English degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, he pursued music with zeal, venturing into secular territory though his parents played nothing but gospel music at home. The tension between pop temptation and sacred salvation has been the bedrock of soul music ever since Ray Charles moaned like a preacher in heat on “What’d I Say,” and “Get Lifted” plays like an extended conversation between a true believer and a randy sinner.
“I write songs about what life is about, real relationships, the ups and downs people go through,” he says. “That’s not at odds with anyone’s faith to discuss the real things that go on in people’s lives. I’m not writing songs that endorse a certain type of behavior. I write songs as a storyteller, drawn from experiences in my life or my friends’ lives. I don’t feel that’s wrong or contradictory to my upbringing.”
Legend’s talent as a pianist and singer earned him some plum gigs while he was struggling to establish himself as a solo artist. He played or sang on sessions for Lauryn Hill, Janet Jackson, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. But his biggest break came in 2001 when his college roommate DeVon Harris introduced his cousin Kanye West to Legend.
“Kanye was barely known, but I liked his beats,” Legend recalls. “When I first met him, his songs weren’t as good as they are now. I wasn’t convinced of him as an artist. But as I got to know him in that first year, from late ’01 to late ’02, I saw him start to grow more as a lyricist and artist. I started to see how great of a songwriter he could be with `Jesus Walks’ and `Never Let Me Down.’ I was thinking, `Wow, this guy is really good.’ It made me believe in him. I knew we were on to something.”
When West’s multimillion-selling debut album, “The College Dropout,” hit last year, Legend was a featured performer on the rapper’s tour. He also contributed to Common’s recent West-produced album, “Be.” West signed Legend to his G.O.O.D. label, executive-produced “Get Lifted” and co-wrote four tracks on it with the pianist.
“Being around people like that, and [hip-hop] emcees in general, has helped me as a songwriter,” Legend says. “Rappers are more witty, more free, more willing to explore different topics than R&B singers are. That helped open me up as a songwriter.”
The streetwise humor and drive are evident in tracks such as “Used to Love Her” and “I Can Change,” a “pimp’s redemption song,” in the words of Legend, with a scintillating cameo by Snoop Dogg. But the album also refuses to succumb to the outsized fantasies of pimping, partying and gangbanging that dominate the charts. Instead it offers a canny mix of youthful swagger and adult introspection. When Legend sings about “Ordinary People” wrestling with everyday life, he’s talking about himself too.
“Our lives are extraordinary now, but people like Kanye, Common and me came from ordinary backgrounds, middle-class and blue-collar families,” he says. “We’re not gangsters. We write about regular people because that’s what we know. Our songs stem from authenticity and truth. In that sense, we’re kindred spirits, and it’s why we respect each other and work with each other so much.”
John Legend with Common
When: 8 p.m. Monday
Where: House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn St.
Price: $25; 312-923-2000
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gregkot@aol.com
Greg Kot co-hosts “Sound Opinions at 10 p.m. Tuesdays on WXRT-FM 93.1.
