Monthly Archives: July, 2013
AURRA-A LITTLE LOVE.
AURRA-A LITTLE LOVE. It was in 1975, that Steve Washington formed his first band with his school friends Mark Hicks and Tim Dozier. Born in Newark, Steve was brought up in East Orange, New Jersey. Steve was from a musical family. His uncle was The Ohio Players’ Ralph “Pee Wee” Midlebrooks. During his holidays, Steve …
LOGG-LOGG.
LOGG-LOGG. In 1979, disco was breathing its last breath. The last rites were being read to a musical genre that provided the soundtrack to the seventies. What had started off as an underground musical scene, had become of the most popular musical genres of the past twenty years. Artists jumped onboard the disco bandwagon, trying …
MUTAZIONE-ITALIAN ELECTRONIC AND NEW WAVE UNDERGROUND 1980-1998-COMPILED BY WALLS.
MUTAZIONE-ITALIAN ELECTRONIC AND NEW WAVE UNDERGROUND 1980-1998-COMPILED BY WALLS. While Walls haven’t released an album since the blissed out, dreamy and ethereal beauty of Coracle, released in 2010, Allessio Natalizi of Walls hasn’t been taking things easy. Not at all. Instead, Alessio has been busy compiling an eclectic and compelling compilation for Strut Records. Entitled …
GLORIA GAYNOR-PARK AVENUE SOUND.
GLORIA GAYNOR-PARK AVENUE SOUND. When Gloria Gaynor released her 1975 debut album Never Can Say Goodbye, it turned out to be a landmark album. Indeed Never Can Say Goodbye is one of the most important albums in the history of disco. Produced by the Disco Corporation Of America, remixer Tom Moulton transformed Side One of …
FIRST CHOICE-HOLD YOUR HORSES.
FIRST CHOICE-HOLD YOUR HORSES. By the time First Choice signed to Gold Mind Records in 1976, they’d already released three albums since forming in Philadelphia 1972. First Choice would go on to release three albums for Gold Mind Records, a subsidiary of Salsoul Records. Their first release was 1977s Delusions, which contained two tracks that …
END OF NEIL-MY GAMES.
END OF NEIL-MY GAMES. Ever since the late-seventies, Scotland has produced some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful bands in British music. Scottish bands have lead the way. Other bands have followed in their path. It’s no exaggeration to say Scottish bands have been trailblazers, producing music that’s innovative and ahead of the musical …
THE SALSOUL ORCHESTRA-NICE ‘N’ NASTY.
THE SALSOUL ORCHESTRA-NICE ‘N’ NASTY. Regular readers of this blog will have realized that two of my favorite labels are Philadelphia International Records and Salsoul Records. To me, both labels represent everything that’s good about music. This is real music, music played my real musicians, music that’s soulful and timeless. There isn’t a sampler, sequencer …
KON-ON MY WAY.
KON-ON MY WAY. For self-confessed crate-digger Kon, his raison d’etre is the pursuit of music with the perfect beat or break. He’ll leave no stone unearthed in his search for vinyl. He’s searched dusty basements, backstreet record shops, flea markets, charity shops and nowadays, online auctions looking for vinyl. They’re among his favorite haunts in his …
BANG-MIXED AND COMPILED BY TERRY HUNTER.
BANG-MIXED AND COMPILED BY TERRY HUNTER. Some singles are destined to be commercially successful and referred to as a “classic.” It’s as if it’s written in the stars. That was the case withTerry Hunter’s 2007 single Wonderful, which featured the soulful strains of Terisa Griffin. This was the start of another chapter in Terry Hunter’s …
LOVE COMMITTEE-LAW AND ORDER.
LOVE COMMITTEE-LAW AND ORDER. Gold Mind Records was subsidiary of Salsoul Records, run by legendary Philadelphia guitarist, songwriter, arranger and producer, Norman Harris. Norman was responsible for running the label, discovering the talent and with some of his Philly friends, writing, recording and producing these acts. Loleatta Holloway, First Choice and Double Exposure are just …
PEABO BRYSON AND ROBERTA FLACK-BORN TO LOVE.
PEABO BRYSON AND ROBERTA FLACK-BORN TO LOVE. Collaborations between successful solo artists don’t always work. Musical history proves this. There’s all sorts of pitfalls involved. Then there’s the fact that two egos are involved. So, what looks like being a musical marriage made in heaven, can quickly, turn into a nightmare. Rather than the album …
TAVARES-HARD CORE POETRY.
TAVARES-HARD CORE POETRY. Most groups have just one lead singer, two if they’re really lucky. Not many groups however, have five lead singers. Tavares did. Ralph, Pooch, Chubby, Butch and Tiny each took turns of delivering the lead vocal on each of their albums, including Hard Core Poetry, their 1975 sophomore album, album which was …
BAKER, HARRIS, YOUNG-B-H-Y.
BAKER, HARRIS, YOUNG-B-H-Y. By 1979 Ron Baker, Norman Harris and Earl Young were still the hardest working and most in-demand rhythm section in music. They were currently part of The Salsoul Orchestra and accompanying artists like the undisputed Queen of Disco, Loleatta Holloway, First Choice and Double Exposure. They’d done everything, from writing, arranging and …
IRMA THOMAS-IN BETWEEN TEARS.
IRMA THOMAS-IN BETWEEN TEARS. There’s not many artists whose career spans six decades. Irma Thomas’ does. The Soul Queen of New Orleans released her debut single (You Can Have My Husband But) Don’t Mess With My Man on the Ron label in 1960. Since then, Irma has recorded for some of the best know soul …
SYREETA-SYREETA.
SYREETA-SYREETA. Syreeta had come a long way since she first joined Motown. Back then, she was a receptionist and part-time demo singer at Motown, who had dreams of becoming a successful solo singer. Sometimes, dreams come true. They certainly did for Syreeta Wright. Having started work as a reception at Motown in 1965, she worked …
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