← Leading Organizations That Matter
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- [00:07]
A
She don't stay long.
- [00:12]
B
Hi. You're listening to the sweet, soulful sounds of Eddie Dalton, and this is leading organizations that matter. I'm Ray Spadoni, and today's topic is My brother tricked me and why you should care.
- [00:26]
A
She walks in late hair falling loose she don't look twice but they sure do she says I just came for one or two but you can tell that ain't the truth she don't stop, she don't wait she lets the night decide her face she don't stay long she don't slow down Gone when the last song comes around Drips right in and heads on out Makes you wonder what she's about and if it's for one night then that's all right she says she don't live that kind of life so I ain't trying to hold on.
- [01:22]
B
What a voice. Soulful, raspy, and reminiscent of otis Redding and B.B. king. And you just have to love the rhythm section. And I'm always a sucker for horns. Yes, this is Eddie Dalton, and he's taking the music streaming platforms by storm. My brother sent me a link to his album and told me to take a listen, so I did, and I was pulled in from the opening notes. I even put the album on repeat one day while on a long drive. Who is this Eddie Dalton, I wondered. And where's he been all my life? Well, you may have guessed it already. If you don't know, Eddie isn't real. He's the creation of Dallas Ray Little, and you guessed it is 100%. AI generated the voice, the instrumentation, and even the visual representation of him singing in videos. It's all AI. Eddie has gained viral success by charting on itunes. In fact, as of this recording In April of 2026, his album, entitled the Years between, has multiple songs in the top 100, including a number one spot. Number one AI generated. Let that sink in for a minute. To me, since I've ranted before on AI check out episode 98. I'm not all that surprised by this, by just how good AI Is getting. I think what does surprise me is the reaction, which ranges from outrage to indifference. There are those out there who feel that this is the beginning of the end of our society and culture and all life as we know it. And there's a case for that and others who feel this is simply the logical progression we've been on since humans began figuring out faster and better ways of doing things. And maybe for me personally, the biggest surprise is that I don't know where I stand on this. I am feeling a strange blend of outrage and indifference altogether. At the same time, it annoys me that a computer network, properly prompted, can produce something so good, so compelling, just by studying us, following our patterns and everything we've created as a species. And I have no doubt that there is some otis Redding and B.B. king mixed in there with Eddie's bits and bytes. But if I'm being totally honest, once I found out that Eddie wasn't real, I didn't erase him from my Apple music library. Nope. I kept listening. Yep, I did. I know that producers and engineers have been using things like auto tune and Melodyne for years to make human voices sound better, and synthesizers have taken the place of string and horn sections and more. Lady Gaga, Evangelis, Hans Zimmer and many others have pioneered synthesized instrumentation for a while and we don't blink. Isn't Eddie Dalton the natural extension of all that? If so, then what's the problem here? Well, I'm going to quote my other brother, a longtime film professor who a few years ago, well before AI was a household name, told me that he worried about the effect of AI on human creativity. He said something to the effect of we need to stare at a blank sheet of paper. Many great works have been created by those who struggled with that. Well, AI essentially eliminates the blank sheet of paper. Many people I know have become quite accustomed to starting writing projects using AI, which is why I have instituted a no AI policy on one of my own writing platforms. I want readers of the blog on that page to know that good old fashioned imperfect blank sheet of paper staring humans wrote the words they find there. To me, that's worth something. But now music. Someone can, sitting in front of a computer keyboard, create music that sounds good and is popular and which charts legitimate musical artists are using this tool, I'm sure, to write songs. And I get that. It's a tool. It's a jumpstart. It's no different from what writers are doing. But think about what would have happened if there were no blank sheets of paper for Lennon and McCartney, for Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Elton and Bernie, Smokey Robinson or Carole King? Where would we be without those songs? And for our kids and grandkids, Will the soundtracks of their lives be filled with songs from artists such as Eddie Dalton? Will the next generation of Joni Mitchell's and Smokey Robinsons default to bits and bytes sampled from past legends instead of struggling to jot dots down on staff paper, handwritten lyrics on coffee stained notebooks Will they take the easy way out? Choose the jumpstart instead of the struggle? It's the struggle that makes us create and I believe prompts us to search for things like beauty and meaning. It's a big part of what makes us human. When it's this easy, then what? Long ago, I bought an expensive camera, learned how to use it, carried it with a bunch of lenses to beautiful places, captured breathtaking scenes, learned how to develop in a darkroom, and then when digital came along, how to post process using expensive and complicated software. It was hard. But when that image hung on my living room wall, I had a sense of pride that was indescribable. Today, everyone carrying a decent cell phone can grab a snap. The computer will fix it up automatically, and then, voila, they can print it out and hang it on their living room wall too. And it will look darn good. The struggle is gone. And so for me, I wonder, why even bother? Photography as an artistic pursuit is largely vanished. Is that happening with music? Is that happening with all of creativity? Well, I for one say no, let's not let that happen. Let's adapt and find new ways to express what we're feeling, hoping for, fearing, wanting and seeing. Let's search for and find the next struggle. Let's stay one step ahead. Let's choose authenticity, beauty, and let's create. Let's be human. Thanks for listening. Leaving a positive review and letting others know about this podcast will help a great deal. My mission is to help empower organizations that matter by supporting those who lead them. I offer coaching, mentoring and consulting services. You can learn more about me and my work@racetedoni.com. Sam.