Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
JOHNNIE TAYLOR-TAYLORED IN SILK.
JOHNNIE TAYLOR-TAYLORED IN SILK. In a previous article, I reviewed Shirley Brown’s album Woman To Woman, which was one of the last albums released on the legendary Stax label. It’s one of a series of albums that have recently, been remastered by Joe Tarantino. His remastering totally transformed the sound of Shirley’s 1974 album, bringing …
TERRY CALLIER-FIRE ON ICE.
TERRY CALLIER-FIRE ON ICE. One of my favorite artists of all time is Terry Callier, who I’ve previously written about before. In these articles, I’ve featured What Color Is Love, the second of the three albums he recorded on Cadet, a subsidiary of the famous Chicago label Chess. This is one of my favorite of …
ROSIE GAINES-WELCOME TO MY WORLD.
ROSIE GAINES-WELCOME TO MY WORLD. Many people reading this article may be thinking that they recognize the name Rosie Gaines, but can’t quite place her. They’ll have heard of her, but can’t quite remember where. To save you wracking your brains any more, I’ll tell you where you might have heard of her. Rosie used …
JERRY BUTLER-NOTHING SAYS I LOVE YOU LIKE I LOVE YOU.
JERRY BUTLER-NOTHING SAYS I LOVE YOU LIKE I LOVE YOU. Unlike many people, I disregard who successful an album was when I buy it. Experience has taught me that a successful album is no guarantee of a good album. Conversely, an album that wan’t a success, doesn’t mean that it’s a bad album. Sometimes, it’s …
SHIRLEY BROWN-WOMAN TO WOMAN.
SHIRLEY BROWN-WOMAN TO WOMAN. For many years, I’ve been a huge fan of the music on Stax. Since I bought my first album bearing Stax’s clinging fingers logo, I’ve literally bought hundreds of the albums, compilations and box sets that have been released. Over the years, I’ve explored the albums released during the various stages …
CHIC-CHIC.
CHIC-CHIC. Back in 1977, when I was growing up, one of the many sounds that immediately, grabbed my attention, was Chic. Not for me the angry, desolate sound of punk, that to me was a depressing, ugly sound, the anathema of what music should sound like. Instead, I’d become accustomed to The Sound of Philadelphia, …
HAROLD MELVIN AND THE BLUENOTES-BLACK AND BLUE.
HAROLD MELVIN AND THE BLUENOTES-BLACK AND BLUE. One of my favorite labels of all time is the Philadelphia International label, founded by Gamble and Huff in 1971. For many years, Gamble and Huff sprinkled their magic on many artists that went on to become soul legends. These included Billy Paul, The O’Jays, Lou Rawls, Teddy …
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 …
THE TEMPTATIONS-PSYCHEDELIC SHACK.
THE TEMPTATIONS-PSYCHEDELIC SHACK. When people think of The Temptations music, they think of singles like My Girl, People Get Ready and Ain’t To Proud To Beg, their early songs, released on the Motown label. This was among some of the greatest music Motown ever released, it truly was sweet soul music. However, there was much …
dereksmusicblog
dereksmusicblog 