Category Archives: Soul
BETTY HARRIS-THE LOST QUEEN OF NEW ORLEANS SOUL.
BETTY HARRIS-THE LOST QUEEN OF NEW ORLEANS SOUL. Betty Harris’ recording career lasted just eight years. It began in 1962 with the release of Taking Care of Business, and was over by 1970. After just three minor hit singles, Betty Harris called time on her career. The Florida born singer decided to retire from music, …
TED COLEMAN BAND-TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS-VINYL EDITION.
TED COLEMAN BAND-TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS-VINYL EDITION. It was in 1921, that the Leedy Manufacturing Company first began marketing the vibraphone in America. Since then, the distinctive sound of the vibraphone has featured on albums by Gary Burton, Milt Jackson, Roy Ayres, Bobby Hutcherson, Tito Puente and Cal Tjader. They’re among just a few of the …
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ALICE CLARK?
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ALICE CLARK? Far too often, hype and image has triumphed over talent. Meanwhile, commercial success and critical acclaim eludes truly talented artists. Chastened by the experience, many of these artists turn their back on the music industry. They’re content to return to civvy street, free from a world populated by A&R executives, …
SAM DEES-SOUL MUSIC’S BEST KEPT SECRET.
SAM DEES-SOUL MUSIC’S BEST KEPT SECRET. For many artists their career is a case of what might have been. That’s the case with Sam Dees. He had the talent and potential to become one of the biggest names in soul music. Sadly, Sam Dees didn’t enjoy the commercial success and critical acclaim they deserve. Instead, …
TIM MAIA 1971.
TIM MAIA 1971. Larger than life, charismatic and hugely talented describes Brazilian singer Tim Maia. He was also someone who lived life on the edge, and was determined to do things his way. Tim Maia also lived life to the full. Especially, after the success of his groundbreaking eponymous debut album. It was the first …
JAMES LUTHER DICKINSON-DIXIE FRIED.
JAMES LUTHER DICKINSON-DIXIE FRIED. All too often, artists spend days, weeks and sometimes even months recording their debut album. Eventually, the album is complete, and it’s delivered to the record company. Nervously and expectantly the artist awaits as the record company plan a marketing campaign. If the artist is signed to a major label, it …
EDWIN SANZ-OVERFLOW.
EDWIN SANZ-OVERFLOW. There aren’t many six year olds that leave home to become a dancer. That’s apart from Edwin Sanz. He was only six when he joined the Grupo Madera dance group, which promotes Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Venezuelan culture through dance and music. For the next twelve years, Edwin Sanz toured Venezuela and traversed South America and Europe. …
MARY AFI USUA-AFRICAN WOMAN.
MARY AFI USUA-AFRICAN WOMAN. When Mary Afi Usuah released her sophomore album African Woman on Clover Music in 1978, very few people outside of Nigeria heard the album. That was despite Mary Afi Usuah having performed in front of hundreds of thousands of music fans. Mary Afi Usuah had spent thirteen years touring Europe with …
SPACE ECHO-THE MYSTERY BEHIND THE COSMIC SOUND OF CABO VERDE FINALLY REVEALED!
SPACE ECHO-THE MYSTERY BEHIND THE COSMIC SOUND OF CABO VERDE FINALLY REVEALED! In the spring of 1968, dockers in Baltimore, loaded cargo onto a ship bound for Rio De Janeiro, in Brazil. For the dockers, it was just another day at the “office.” This was what they did, day in, day out. No longer did …
TIM MAIA: WORLD PSYCHEDELIC CLASSICS 4: NOBODY CAN LIVE FOREVER: THE EXISTENTIAL SOUL OF TIM MAIA.
TIM MAIA: WORLD PSYCHEDELIC CLASSICS 4: NOBODY CAN LIVE FOREVER: THE EXISTENTIAL SOUL OF TIM MAIA. Tim Maia was unlike most singers. Not only was he hugely talented and charismatic, but each day, he lived life on the edge. Defiantly, Tim Maia lived each day as if it was his last. By then, he was a cult hero in …
WILLIAM ONYEAEBOR MUSICIAN AND MAN OF MYSTERY.
WILLIAM ONYEAEBOR MUSICIAN AND MAN OF MYSTERY. Enigmatic. That’s the perfect word to describe synth funk pioneer, William Onyeabor. He is, without doubt, one of the most mysterious and elusive musicians. There’s a good reason for this, Much of William Onyeabor’s life is shrouded in mystery. After releasing eight albums between 1978 and 1985, William Onyeabor became …
JAY STRONGMAN PRESENTS POPCORN HEARTBREAK 1958-1964.
JAY STRONGMAN PRESENTS POPCORN HEARTBREAK 1958-1964. Throughout musical history, songwriters always revisit certain subjects. Especially, angst, betrayal, heartbreak and love lost. Countless songs have been written about these subjects. That has been the case since the birth of popular music. However, for many music lovers, the late fifties and early sixties was a golden age …
ALICE CLARK THE COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS 1968-1972.
ALICE CLARK THE COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS 1968-1972. The cream always rises to the top. This may be the case in some industries, but sadly, not in the music. Far too often, hype and image triumph over talent. Meanwhile, commercial success and critical acclaim eludes truly talented artists. Chastened by the experience, many of these artists …
THE AROCK, SEROCK, SYLVIA SOUL STORY CONTINUED.
THE AROCK, SEROCK, SYLVIA SOUL STORY CONTINUED. Al Sears’ career began in the 1928, when he replaced Johnny Hodges in Chic Webbs’ band. This was the start of a long and successful career. In 1931, Al Sears joined Elmer Snowden’s band. He was the tenor saxophonist right through until 1932. Then in 1933, Al Sears …
MODERNISM.
MODERNISM. Ever since the birth of rock ’n’ roll, youth cults have come and gone. Some have been nothing more than passing fads. Others have lasted longer. None of the youth cults of the past sixty years have enjoyed the same longevity as the modernists. Their longevity is unrivalled, and is celebrated on Modernism, a new compilation …
PHIL’S SPECTRE-A WALL OF SOUNDALIKES.
PHIL’S SPECTRE-A WALL OF SOUNDALIKES. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So it must have seemed to Phil Spector, as producers on both side of the Atlantic tried to replicate his famous Wall Of Sound. These producers looked enviously at Phil Spector, and wanted to enjoy the same commercial success and critical acclaim that …
THE INDEPENDENTS-JUST AS LONG-THE COMPLETE WAND RECORDINGS 1972-74.
THE INDEPENDENTS-JUST AS LONG-THE COMPLETE WAND RECORDINGS 1972-74. When Charles Jackson first met Marvin Yancy at Chicago’s Black Writer’s Workshop in 1971, he was already twenty-six, and had been working as an art director for Playboy magazine. That was why Charles Jackson had moved to the Windy City in the late sixties. However, Charles had …
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