Monthly Archives: October, 2011
JAMES BROWN-THE PAYBACK.
JAMES BROWN-THE PAYBACK. During his career, The Godfather of Funk, James Brown produced many albums, hence the nickname “the hardest working man in show business,” but The Payback his 1973 album is one of the high points in his long and illustrious career. It’s no exaggeration to say, that nowadays, The Payback is perceived by …
BETTYE SWANN-THE SOUL VIEW NOW.
BETTYE SWANN-THE SOUL VIEW NOW. It never ceases to amaze me how hugely talented singers never achieve the success their talent deserves, whilst people with only a modicum of talent have long and successful careers. Like life, the music industry isn’t fair, and can be totally unforgiving. Many times, I’ve come across albums from artists …
ROBERTA FLACK-KILLING ME SOFTLY.
ROBERTA FLACK-KILLING ME SOFTLY. In a previous article about Donny Hathaway, I mentioned how closely he had worked with Roberta Flack during his tragically, short career. I also mentioned how the pair were recording an album of duets just before his death. Ironically, the album that preceded Killing Me Softly, was an album of duets …
STEVIE WONDER-FULFILLINGNESS’ FIRST FINALE.
STEVIE WONDER-FULFILLINGNESS’ FIRST FINALE. Sometime, I revisit artists I’ve previously written about before, because of the amount of great albums they’ve released. One such person who deserves more than one article written about them, is Stevie Wonder. Between 1972 and 1976, he released five great albums, starting with Music of My Mind and Talking Book …
RUFUS FEATURING CHAKA KHAN-RUFUSIZED.
RUFUS FEATURING CHAKA KHAN-RUFUSIZED. By 1974, Rufus had come a long way from their humble beginnings as a Chicago bar band. The previous year 1973, Rufus had released their eponymous debut album Rufus, which only reached number 175 in the US Billboard 200. It was hardly the most successful debut album in music history, but …
CURTIS MAYFIELD-CURTIS.
CURTIS MAYFIELD-CURTIS. By 1970, Curtis Mayfield had left The Impressions, and decided to become a solo artists. This wasn’t the only major change in his life at this time. The other change was his founding of Curtom Records, an independent record label. Curtom Records released albums by Leroy Hutson, The Impressions, Donny Hathaway and The …
CANDI STATON-STAND BY YOUR MAN.
CANDI STATON-STAND BY YOUR MAN. Many people who regularly read this music blog will have realized that I’m a great lover of Southern Soul music. Two labels in particular, were the home to some of my favorite artists who during the sixties and seventies, released some of the greatest Southern Soul music ever recorded. These …
DR JOHN-GRIS GRIS.
DR JOHN-GRIS GRIS. Imagine the scenario that I’m going to describe, because it really happened, and it demonstrates that even the most experienced people in the music industry get things wrong. In January 1968, Dr John had completed his debut album Gris Gris, but when Ahmet Erteghun at Atlantic Records heard the record, he disliked …
BILLY PAUL-LET ‘EM IN.
BILLY PAUL-LET ‘EM IN. Mention the name Billy Paul to most people, and the response is to say the least predictable, with most of them saying oh yes, he recorded Me and Mrs Jones. This is true, and provided Billy with best known hit single, from his critically acclaimed and commercially successful second album on …
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