Category Archives: Funk
WILSON PICKETT IN PHILADELPHIA.
WILSON PICKETT IN PHILADELPHIA. By 1970, when Wilson Pickett released Wilson Pickett In Philadelphia, his recording career was eight years old. He’d released his debut single If You Need Me in 1962, and since then, had enjoyed four number one US R&B singles. The first of these was his 1965 classic In The Midnight Hour, …
FIRST CHOICE-SO LET US ENTERTAIN YOU.
FIRST CHOICE-SO LET US ENTERTAIN YOU. Ever since First Choice signed Stan Watson’s Philly Groove Records, they’d enjoyed commercial success. Guiding their career had been songwriter, guitarist and producer Norman Harris. Stan Watson, owner of First Choice’s label Philly Groove Records, had also played an important part in First Choice’s career. Norman had produced First …
BILAL-A LOVE SURREAL.
BILAL-A LOVE SURREAL. Born in 1979, and raised in Philly, Bilal Oliver Sayeed’s career began when he was just twenty. Having left Philly, Bilal moved a hundred miles to New York, where he began to become a familiar face within the city’s music scene. Soon, he knew artists across the hip and Nu-Soul scene, including …
MUSIC FOR DANCEFLOORS-THE KPM MUSIC LIBRARY (DELUXE EDITION).
MUSIC FOR DANCEFLOORS-THE KPM MUSIC LIBRARY. Ever since the dawn of hip hop, library music has proved a source of inspiration for sample-hungry hip hop producers and crate-digging DJs alike. Library music has also proven popular with music lovers with discerning musical tastes. Little did the founders of Chappell, Bosworth and KPM Music realize the …
DONNA ALLEN-PERFECT TIMING.
DONNA ALLEN-PERFECT TIMING. Donna Allen, whose 1986 debut album Perfect Timing will be rereleased by BBR Records on 25th February 2013, career started ten years before her debut album was released. However, Donna Allen’s career was almost accidental. She’d originally been a cheerleader for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and in 1976, as a favor to …
GEORGE MCCRAE-DIAMOND TOUCH.
GEORGE MCCRAE-DIAMOND TOUCH. For George McCrae, Rock Your Baby, the single that transformed his career was something of a double-edged sword. Commercially, releasing a single that sold over eleven-million copies, reached number one in over eighty countries and was named Rolling Stone magazine’s song of the year in 1974 changed George McCrae’s life forevermore. The …
DELEGATION-DEUCES HIGH.
DELEGATION-DEUCES HIGH. By the time Delegation came to record their fourth album, 1982s Deuces High, which BBR Records will released on 25th February 2013, the group’s lineup had changed several times. It seemed Delegation’s lineup was constantly evolving. Members joined, then left. When Delegation came to record their fourth album, Deuces High, Ricky Bailey was …
THE O’JAYS SHIP AHOY.
THE O’JAYS SHIP AHOY. In August 1972, when The O’Jays’ released Back Stabbers, little did they realize how important an album it would become. Back Stabbers was certified gold, and fourteen years after The O’Jays were formed, were on their way to becoming one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful groups in the …
DISCO LOVE VOLUME 3-EVEN MORE RARE DISCO AND SOUL UNCOVERED (COMPILED BY AL KENT)
DISCO LOVE VOLUME 3-EVEN MORE RARE DISCO AND SOUL UNCOVERED (COMPILED BY AL KENT). Glasgow’s disco don Al Kent is back, and he’s been crate-digging again. Digging deep. Way deeper than he’s ever dug before. The result is his new compilation Disco Love 3, which will be released on BBE Music on 18th February 2013. …
GWEN GUTHRIE-GOOD TO GO LOVER.
GWEN GUTHRIE-GOOD TO GO LOVER. By 1986, when Gwen Guthrie released Good To Go Lover, her first album for Polydor, she was already an established artist and songwriter. Good To Go Lover which will be rereleased by SoulMusic Records on 18th February 2013, marked Gwen’s debut as producer. It seemed that Gwen Guthrie had the …
FREDA PAYNE-SUPERNATURAL HIGH.
FREDA PAYNE-SUPERNATURAL HIGH. Mention the name Freda Payne, and most people will automatically think of her 1970 two-million-selling single Band of Gold. That, however, is doing Freda Payne a huge disservice. Why? Well, Freda Payne’s career has lasted over fifty years, and saw Freda release eleven studio albums. One of these albums was 1978s Supernatural …
STEPHANIE MILLS-I’VE GOT THE CURE.
STEPHANIE MILLS-I’VE GOT THE CURE. By 1984, Stephanie Mills was about to release her ninth album, I’ve Got The Cure. This was her final album on Casablanca Records, and featured Stephanie’s number one single Medicine Song. However, success hadn’t come overnight for Stephanie. Neither Stephanie’s 1974 debut album For The First Time, nor her 1975 …
BLUE MAGIC-MYSTIC DRAGONS.
BLUE MAGIC-MYSTIC DRAGONS. The story of Blue Magic, is far from unique. Their eponymous debut album Blue Magic, released in January 1974, reached number forty-five in the US Billboard 200 and number four in the US R&B Charts. This resulted in Blue Magic being certified gold. Blue Magic featured the million-selling Philly Soul classic Sideshow, …
EDDIE KENDRICKS-GOIN’ UP IN SMOKE.
EDDIE KENDRICKS-GOIN’ UP IN SMOKE. For Eddie Kendricks, hooking up with Norman Harris for his seventh album He’s A Friend had rejuvenated his flagging career. Just three years before He’s A Friend, the future looked a lot brighter for Eddie Kendricks. Eddie had made his commercial breakthrough with his third album Eddie Kendricks, released in …
MARVIN GAYE-TROUBLE MAN.
MARVIN GAYE-TROUBLE MAN. What’s Going On, released on 20th May 1971, marked the second chapter in Marvin Gaye’s career. For many people, What’s Going On marked the start of Marvin Gaye’s career as a serious artist. Indeed, What’s Going On, was far removed from the poppy soul Marvin Gaye had previously been a purveyor of. …
THE DETROIT SPINNERS-YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW.
THE DETROIT SPINNERS-YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW. For The Detroit Spinners, their 1977 album Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow would mark an end of an era for the group. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow was Phillip Wynn’s final album as lead singer of The Detroit Spinners. This wasn’t the only thing to change. Unlike their five previous studio …
CHANGE THE BEAT-THE CELLULOID RECORDS STORY 1979-1987.
CHANGE THE BEAT-THE CELLULOID RECORDS STORY 1979-1987. In 2012, Strut Records released Only For You: The Sound of Cajmere and Cajual Records, which paid homage to Cajmere, one of the innovators of the Chicago house scene and his label Cajual Records. This proved to be one of Strut Records’ most critically acclaimed and commercially successful …
GILES-PETERSON-BLACK JAZZ RADIO.
GILES-PETERSON-BLACK JAZZ RADIO. While there are numerous compilations of music released on jazz labels like Blue Note, Prestige, Columbia, Impulse, Verve and Pacific, one label is often overlooked…Black Jazz Records. Indeed, compilers of compilations often overlook the riches of Black Jazz Records’ back-catalogue. Thankfully, Giles Peterson, one of the UK’s best DJs and crate digger …
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