Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
JOHNNIE TAYLOR-EARGASM.
JOHNNIE TAYLOR-EARGASM. By the time Johnnie Taylor released Eargasm in 1976, he was one of music survivors, capable of adapting with the ever-evolving musical landscape. During Johnnie Taylor’s career, he’d sung gospel, blues, soul, funk, R&B and by 1976, disco. Johnnie’s career had spanned three decades, and much had changed in music. Indeed, just the …
KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND-PART 3.
KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND-PART 3. Imagine you’re a member of a band whose just released a triple-platinum album. Not just any triple-platinum album, but one featured two number one singles. How do you follow this up? This was the problem facing Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch, or as they’re better known, KC and …
OLIVIA DE LANZAC-UNCUT.
OLIVIA DE LANZAC-UNCUT. For Olivia De Lanzac, whose new digital album Uncut has just been released by BBE Music, her musical journey has seen her cross two continents and live in three countries. Olivia was born in the Congo, brought up in Greece and now, is based in London. This journey has influenced Olivia’s musical …
JOE MCALINDEN-BLEACHED HIGHLIGHTS.
JOE MCALINDEN-BLEACHED HIGHLIGHTS. In the past few years, the way people buy music has changed beyond all recognition. Long gone are the days when buying new music involved a trip to your local record store. Now record stores are disappearing on an almost daily basis, with even the large chains vanishing from high streets. Replacing …
FANGA AND MAALEM ABDALLAH GUINEA-FANGNAWA EXPERIENCE.
FANGA AND MAALEM ABDALLAH GUINEA-FANGNAWA EXPERIENCE. As someone whose been a champion of African music for twenty-five years, I’ve recently been really enjoying Andy Kershaw’s autobiography No Off Switch. I’ve enjoyed his stories of traveling through Africa discovering new music. Having discovered artists that previously were unheard of outside of their own country, he gave …
NANCY WILSON-KEEP YOU SATISFIED AND FORBIDDEN LOVER.
NANCY WILSON-KEEP YOU SATISFIED AND FORBIDDEN LOVER. Some artists almost become synonymous with one label. That was the case for Nancy Wilson. Having released her debut album Something Wonderful in 1960, she spent twenty-four years at Capitol Records, releasing close to forty albums. It almost seemed unthinkable that Nancy Wilson would leave Capitol Records. However, …
BILLY PAUL-WAR OF THE GODS.
BILLY PAUL-WAR OF THE GODS. A year after the release of Billy Paul’s most commercially successful album 360 Degrees of Billy Paul in 1972, an album that featured the Grammy Award winning number one single Me and Mrs Jones, Billy released his follow-up album War of the Gods. By this time, Philadelphia International Records had …
BODDHI SATVA-NANKOUMANDJAN.
BODDHI SATVA-NANKOUMANDJAN. For Boddhi Satva, 2012 has been a huge successful and important year. 2012 started with the release of Invocation on BBE Music in March. Not only was Invocation one of the most beautiful albums of 2012, but one of the best. When the lists of 2012’s best albums are released, surely Invocations will …
JOHN CAREY-FAMILY.
JOHN CAREY-FAMILY. It seems hardly a month goes by without John or Gina Carey releasing a new single or album. So far this year, Gina has released three albums, Love Letters, Love Letters 2 and Live, Love and Laugh. John seems to be determined to keep up with the pace set by Gina, by releasing …
THE BRECKER BROTHERS-BACK TO BACK.
THE BRECKER BROTHERS-BACK TO BACK. During the seventies, The Brecker Brothers were the go-to guys for anyone looking for a horn section. This wasn’t any horn section though. Quite the opposite. The Brecker Brothers were one of the hottest horn sections of the seventies. Their services and sound was constantly in demand. No wonder. Michael …
GEORGE DUKE-A BRAZILIAN LOVE AFFAIR.
GEORGE DUKE-A BRAZILIAN LOVE AFFAIR. By 1979, when George Duke released A Brazilian Love Affair, he was one of the hardest working men in music. Not only had he released fifteen solo albums, but had moved into production. Then there was George’s work as a sideman. The list of musicians George has played with reads …
INNER LIFE-INNER LIFE 2.
INNER LIFE-INNER LIFE 2. By 1982, when Inner Life released their their second album for Salsoul Records, Inner Life 2 not only was the changing of the guard complete, but Salsoul as a record label had been transformed. Nearly all of Salsoul’s founding father’s were gone and the legendary Salsoul Orchestra was a shadow of …
LOLEATTA HOLLOWAY-LOVE SENSATION.
LOLEATTA HOLLOWAY-LOVE SENSATION. There’s a certain symmetry that in return for Loleatta Holloway adding a vocal on what became one of Dan Hartman’s biggest hit singless, Relight My Fire, that Dan returned this favor by writing one of Loleatta’s most successful singles, Love Sensation. This story starts back in 1979, when Dan Hartman was …
TERRY CALLIER-FAREWELL, BUT YOUR MUSIC LIVES ON.
TERRY CALLIER-FAREWELL, BUT YOUR MUSIC LIVES ON. It was late Sunday night when the news came through that Terry Callier had passed away. He was aged just sixty-seven and had lost an eighteen month battle with throat cancer. Straight away, memories came flooding back for me. It was the late-nineties, and I’d headed to …
RY COODER-ELECTION TIME.
RY COODER-ELECTION TIME. For roughly a hundred years, American music has a history of producing some of greatest protest singers in the history of music. Woody Guthrie, Joe Hill, Josh White, Pete Seeger, Burl Ives and Billie Holliday. A later generation protest singers included Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs and Joan Baez. Unlike America, British singers …
DR. JOHN-LOCKED DOWN.
DR. JOHN-LOCKED DOWN. One of the great survivors of music is Dr. John. It seems be’s been around since the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll. He was at the peak of his creativity between 1969 and 1974. During that time, Dr. John was on a roll that people thought would never end. Critically acclaimed albums …
PSYCHEMAGIK PRESENTS MAGIK CYRKLES.
PSYCHEMAGIK PRESENTS MAGIK CYRKLES. Sometimes, when you buy a compilation, the first time you play it, you’re blown away by its sheer eclecticism and totally smitten by the music. That was me, when I came across Leng Records’ latest compilation, Psychemagik Presents Magik Cyrkles. This is a double-album, compiled by the prolific UK production team …
THE THREE DEGREES-MAYBE.
THE THREE DEGREES-MAYBE. Way before Gamble and Huff sprinkled their magic over The Three Degrees, they were signed to Roulette Records, where they a series of singles and their 1970 album Maybe. Then, five years later, when The Three Degrees were at the height of their popularity, Roulette released So Much Love, a collection of …
THE MIRACLES-MIRACLES.
THE MIRACLES-MIRACLES. Having done the unthinkable and left Motown after fifteen years, twenty albums and several changes of lineup, The Miracles signed to Columbia and released Love Crazy in 1977. When Love Crazy was released in 1978, it reached number 117 in the US Billboard 200 and number nine in the US R&B Charts. While …
dereksmusicblog
dereksmusicblog 