Showing posts with label rhythm and blues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rhythm and blues. Show all posts

10/26/2008

More 70s

ABBA
Voulez Vous

The Name of the Game

Knowing Me, Knowing You

Money, Money, Money

Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)

S.O.S.

Fernando

Take a Chance on Me

Dancing Queen

ALBERT HAMMOND
It Never Rains in Southern California

ANDY GIBB
I Just Wanna Be Your Everything

Don't Throw it All Away (Our Love)

ANITA WARD
Ring My Bell

BACHMAN TURNER OVERDRIVE
You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

BEE GEES
How Deep is Your Love

Night Fever

BILLY PAUL
Me and Mrs. Jones

BLONDIE
Heart of Glass

BREAD
Make it With You

If

Baby I'm-a Want You

Everything I Own

Guitar Man

Aubrey

CAT STEVENS
Father & Son

Wild World

Moon Shadow

Peace Train

Oh Very Young

Sad Lisa

Lady d'Arbanville

CHICAGO
25 or 6 to 4

Saturday in the Park

Feelin' Stronger Every Day

Just You 'n' Me

If You Leave Me Now

Baby, What a Big Surprise

No Tell Lover

CREAM
White Room

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL
Have You Ever Seen the Rain

Up Around the Bend

Who'll Stop the Rain

Lookin' Out My Back Door

CROSBY, STILLS & NASH
Teach Your Children

DENIECE WILLIAMS
Free

DENIECE WILLIAMS & JOHNNY MATHIS
Too Much Too Little Too Late

DONNA SUMMER
Love to Love You Baby

I Feel Love

Last Dance

MacArthur Park

Heaven Knows
w/Brooklyn Dreams

Hot Stuff

No More Tears (Enough is Enough)
w/Barbra Streisand

On the Radio

EAGLES
Peaceful Easy Feeling

Best of My Love

One of These Nights

Lyin' Eyes

Take it to the Limit

Hotel California

The Long Run

I Can't Tell You Why

Rocky Mountain Way

EARTH, WIND & FIRE
Boogie Wonderland

September

Let's Groove

FLEETWOOD MAC
Go Your Own Way

Sara

Dreams

GILBERT O'SULLIVAN
Alone Again

Claire

GLORIA GAYNOR
I Will Survive

GRANDMASTER FLASH & THE FURIOUS FIVE
The Message

HALL & OATES
Sarah Smile

Rich Girl

HARRY CHAPIN
Cat's in the Cradle

HUES CORPORATION
Rock the Boat

JEFFERSON STARSHIP
Miracles

KANSAS
Dust in the Wind

KOOL & THE GANG
Jungle Boogie

Hollywood Swinging

Ladie's Night

Too Hot

LED ZEPPELIN
Stairway to Heaven

LINDA RONSTADT
Blue Bayou

Long Long Time

LIPPS INC.
Funkytown

MARY MACGREGOR
Torn Between Two Lovers

MUSICALS
Life is a Cabaret

Mein Herr

OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN
Have You Ever Been Mellow

Hopelessy Devoted to You

PATRICK HERNANDEZ
Born to Be Alive

RARE EARTH
Get Ready

ROBERTA FLACK & DONNY HATHAWAY
Where is the Love

SANTA ESMERALDA
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

SLY & THE FAMILY STONE
Family Affair

Sly on Dick Cavett

STEVIE WONDER
Superstition on Sesame Street

SUGARHILL GANG
Rapper's Delight

TAVARES
Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel

It Only Takes a Minute

She's Gone

Never Had a Love Like This Before

TERRY JACKS
Seasons in the Sun

THE BAND
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

THE BEATLES
The Long & Winding Road

Let it Be

THE BROTHERS JOHNSON
I'll Be Good to You

Strawberry Letter 23

Stomp

THE CRUSADERS
Street Life

THE DOOBIE BROTHERS
What a Fool Believes

Minute by Minute

Long Train Running

Listen to the Music

Black Water

THE FOUR SEASONS
December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)

THE HOLLIES
Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress

The Air That I Breathe

THE PERSUADERS
Thin Line Between Love & Hate

THE ROLLING STONES
Angie

THE TRAMMPS
Disco Inferno

TODD RUNDGREN
Hello It's Me

VAN McCOY
Do the Hustle

10/08/2008

Chaka Khan

Tell Me Something Good
Rufus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P23WCKgZGgo

Sweet Thing
Rufus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqzIArLPDDA

Do You Love What You Feel?
Rufus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg1OSK1nXDc

Hollywood
Rufus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2vrcrbPm7Q

Once You Get Started
Rufus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldRl9UqJEV8

Little Boy Blue
Rufus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4n8QLXOBUc

I'm Every Woman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnXRI1Ce19Q

Clouds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CTf8OAZqv8

What Cha' Gonna Do For Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixLCJkmgOp4

Night In Tunisia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emR8gVhntEI

Ain't Nobody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeKFA-IWTp0

I Feel For You
no audio avail. on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgE4qOxW8kU

Through The Fire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNLQ_hvWQh4

I'll Be Good To You
w/Ray Charles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rDHFXdUPLQ

Love You All My Lifetime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdZR5Vw-okk&feature=related

It Ain't All Good
w/De La Soul
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhFHn5wB3s

What's Going On
w/The Funk Brothers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZTRUpALajc

The National Anthem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSfff2H-jY8&feature=related

Walk With Me Lord
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EICxKhtC_TY

I'm Still Here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezsndnHTixM&feature=related

The End of a Love Affair
w/Herbie Hancock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9PSpZOnXTo&feature=related

Hey Big Spender
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI3FWJCgWGk

Reading Rainbow theme song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABOVPcTMrWQ



FYI

Chaka Khan (born March 23, 1953) is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American singer known for hit songs such as "I'm Every Woman", "I Feel For You" and "Through the Fire". She also sung the theme song for the hit children's TV show, Reading Rainbow.

She was first featured as a member of the funk band Rufus before beginning her solo career.

Though regarded as an R&B singer, she has performed numerous musical genres including funk, disco, jazz, ballads, hip hop, adult contemporary, pop and blues standards.
Her contributions to funk and soul music in her early career earned her the title of the "Queen of Funk Soul"

Kahn is known for her perfectly pitched contralto vocals.

Chaka Khan was born Yvette Marie Stevens. She adopted the African name "Chaka" while working as a volunteer on the Black Panthers' Free Breakfast for Children program in Chicago.

At the age of 11 she formed her first group, the Crystalettes.

Chaka's fortunes changed when she teamed with ex-American Breed member Kevin Murphy and Andre Fischer to form Rufus. In the meantime, she married bass guitarist Hassan Khan.

By decade's (70s) end, Rufus was among the most successful funk groups, rivaling the popularity of Earth Wind & Fire & The Commodores, among others.
With the help of Stevie Wonder, Rufus broke into both the pop music and R&B charts in 1974 with the gold-selling hit "Tell Me Something Good".

Rufus earned eight platinum albums and three gold singles before Khan went solo full time in 1980.

On December 3, 2004, Chaka Khan received an honorary doctorate degree from Berklee College of Music. She is also active in the autism community, as she has family members who have been diagnosed with this condition.

For more on Chaka Khan: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaka_Khan

9/17/2008

More 70s Soul Singers

DONNY HATHAWAY
Song For You (live)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnkl-YQ-XWU&feature=related

This Christmas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJO_kdkrj1g

Someday We'll All Be Free
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t__T_b3_ro

Donny Hathaway (October 1, 1945January 13, 1979) was an American soul musician. He signed with Atlantic Records in 1969, and with his first single "The Ghetto, Part I" (1970), Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music."
His collaborations with Roberta Flack took him to the top of the charts and won him the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the duet "Where Is the Love" in 1973.
On January 13, 1979, his body was found outside the luxury hotel Essex House in New York City; his death was ruled a suicide.


CURTIS MAYFIELD
Move On Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTY6Nbl12ek

Freddie's Dead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCbogJVKyo8

Superfly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSYnn5B0C68

Give Me Your Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxOCoJeqB-Q

Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942December 26, 1999) was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions and composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly. From these works and others, he was highly regarded as a pioneer of funk and of politically conscious African-American music. He was also a multi-instrumentalist who played the guitar, bass, piano, saxophone, and drums.


BOBBY WOMACK
Woman's Gotta Have It
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF_TRdqTij8

That's The Way I Feel About 'Cha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLYNWSyti6o

Across 110th Street
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOg_8hCC4u4&feature=related

If You Think You're Lonely Now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naRIH5F9sz0

Bobby Womack (born Robert Dwayne Womack, March 4, 1944, in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Working in the soul and R&B genres, he achieved his greatest success in the 1970s and 1980s.

Taking after their father, who sang gospel music, Bobby Womack and his brothers formed their own group. Sam Cooke took an interest in the Womack Brothers, and they recorded for Cooke's SAR record label in the early 1960s. Renamed the Valentinos, and encouraged by Cooke to go in a more secular and commercial direction, they scored a hit with Womack's "It's All Over Now" in 1964; the Rolling Stones' version of the song became a major hit, earning Womack generous royalty payments.

He was a session guitarist in the 60s and began to record a string of classic soul-music singles all of which featured his elegant, understated rhythm-guitar work and his impassioned vocals. During this period he became known as a songwriter, contributing many songs to the repertoire of Wilson Pickett.

After moving to the United Artists label in the early '70s, he introduced his song "Breezin'," which later became a hit for George Benson. He also became known for his interesting taste in cover versions, including James Taylor's "Fire and Rain'" and "California Dreamin'."
Among his most well-known works from this period, his appearance as guitarist on Sly & the Family Stone's 1971 There's a Riot Goin' On and on Janis Joplin's Pearl, which features a song by Womack and poet Michael McClure, Trust Me.

He continued to have hits into the '70s; all are excellent examples of burnished yet gritty 1970s soul music, and reveal a pop-music sensibility akin to that of Marvin Gaye or Curtis Mayfield.

Bobby Womack's 1981 album The Poet was a surprise hit and contained the hit single "If You Think You're Lonely Now."

Film director Quentin Tarantino used Across 110th Street (which, in a different version, had been the title song of the 1972 movie) in the opening and closing sequences of his 1997 film Jackie Brown. His work has been used in several other popular films including Meet the Parents (2000), Ali (2001) and American Gangster (2007).

A 2003 Saab commercial used Womack’s interpretation of "California Dreamin'".

As of 2006, Womack continues to record and to make live appearances.

(Wikipedia)

9/10/2008

More 70s Soul Groups

THE DELFONICS
La La Means I Love You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaUX_D1UZtY

Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZtHehptprc

Hey Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXt47-XRB5I

The Delfonics are a Philadelphia soul singing group, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their most notable hits include "La-La (Means I Love You)", "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)," "Break Your Promise," "I'm Sorry," and "Ready Or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide From Love)".

Their songs are written by lead vocalist and founder William Hart and have been used extensively in numerous film soundtracks, the most notable being Quentin Tarantino's movie, "Jackie Brown" in which their music ("La-La (Means I Love You)" and "Didn't I Blow Your Mind") are used as a pivotal part of the plot to underscore the relationship between Robert De Niro, Pam Grier & Robert Forster. The film helped create a border-line cult following for the songs and this group.

Their songs have been sampled extensively by various Hip-Hop & Rap artists including: The Fugees (Ready Or Not), Lauryn Hill (for which she won a '97 Grammy), Nas, Boyz II Men, Missy Elliott and DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince.

William Hart songs have been recorded by numerous performers including: Aretha Franklin, The Jackson 5, Patti LaBelle, New Kids on the Block, Todd Rundgren, Prince and Manhattan Transfer, among others.

THE CHI-LITES
Oh Girl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCT0VHdlc5g

Have You Seen Her
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTKRTO1BSeQ

The Chi-Lites (pronounced "SHY-lights") are a Chicago-based smooth soul vocal group, best known for their early 1970s hits, "Oh Girl" and "Have You Seen Her".

The Chi-Lites were from Chicago, a town better known for its gritty urban blues and driving R&B.

Led by vocalist Eugene Record, the Chi-Lites had a lush, creamy sound distinguished by their four-part harmonies and layered productions. During the early 1970s, they racked up 11 Top Ten R&B singles. All the songs featured Record's warm, pleading tenor and falsetto, and the majority of the group's hits were written by Record, often in collaboration with other songwriters like Barbara Acklin.

The Chi-Lites were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2005.

BLUE MAGIC
Sideshow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERtwe8iU-Jo

Spell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZx4yrkAl-s

Stop to Start
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KP0cFHwdU8

Blue Magic is an American R&B soul vocal quintet best known for their 1974 hit song, "Sideshow."

Blue Magic was formed in Philadelphia in 1972 when former member of The Delfonics, Randy Cain brought singer-songwriter Ted Mills in to do some writing with the Philly-based WMOT production company.

The Group became popular in 1974 with their first million-selling US Top 10 hit single Sideshow, co-written by guitarist Bobby Eli. They became known mostly for their smooth ballads.

With the rise of disco and the group making the mistake of changing their style for the Halloween-oriented album 'Mystic Dragons', which was centered around the single 'Freak-N-Stein,' the group became less popular.

THE MAIN INGREDIENT
Everybody Plays The Fool
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dvHogknHyI

Just Don't Want to Be Lonely
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYpmB2dPlq4

The Main Ingredient is an American soul and R&B group best known for their 1972 hit song, "Everybody Plays the Fool".

The group was formed in Harlem, NY in 1964 as a trio called the Poets. After a couple of singles, they changed their name once again in 1966, this time permanently to the Main Ingredient.

Nothing much happened until the Main Ingredient hooked up with producer Bert DeCoteaux, who had an excellent sense of the lush, orchestrated direction soul music would take in the early '70s. Under his direction, the Main Ingredient reached the R&B Top 30 for the first time in 1970 with "You've Been My Inspiration." Things grew steadily from there; a cover of the Impressions' "I'm So Proud" broke the Top 20, and "Spinning Around (I Must Be Falling in Love)" went Top Ten. They scored again with the Donald McPherson-penned black power anthem "Black Seeds Keep on Growing," but tragedy struck in 1971: McPherson, who had suddenly taken ill with leukemia, died unexpectedly. Stunned, Silvester and Simmons regrouped with new lead singer Cuba Gooding, Sr., who'd served as a backing vocalist on some of their previous recordings and had filled in on tour during McPherson's brief illness.

The Gooding era began auspiciously enough with the million-selling smash "Everybody Plays the Fool," which hit number two R&B and number three pop to become the group's biggest hit ever.
They peaked at number eight on the R&B chart in 1974 with "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely," which sold over a million copies and also reached number ten on the pop chart.

Gooding's son is, of course, Cuba Gooding, Jr., the actor best known for his Oscar-winning performance in Jerry Maguire.

THE MANHATTANS
Kiss and Say Goodbye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1e6RK4aMWI

Shining Star
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_VpjSv_4QM&feature=related

The Manhattans are a popular R&B vocal group with a string of hit records over three decades, but best known for their million-selling songs "Kiss and Say Goodbye" and "Shining Star" in 1976 and 1980, respectively.

The Manhattans, originally from Jersey City, New Jersey, formed in 1962.

They hit it big in 1976 with "Kiss and Say Goodbye". The song, with an impassioned vocal by Gerald Alston and a memorable opening rap by Winfred Lovett, quickly became a #1 chart-topper on both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts. It also became only the second single ever to go platinum.

The group hit it big again in March of 1980, with the release of "Shining Star", which reached #5 on the Billboard pop charts and #4 on the R&B chart; it received a Grammy award the following year.

HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES
If You Don't Know Me by Now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_Kf1ATjl9A

The Love I Lost
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2axbXDjYqA

I Miss You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh8fZLjt5Uc

Hope That We Can Be Together Soon
w/Sharon Paige
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4E-k09o2eg

Don't Leave Me This Way
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5tqAIY-TzA

Wake Up Everybody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVVKP3Gh8CI

Bad Luck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR8KfMTmPRQ

Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes were an American singing group, one of the most popular Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. The group's repertoire included soul, R&B, doo-wop, and disco. Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the early 1950s as The Charlemagnes, the group is most noted for several hits on Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International label between 1972 and 1976. Despite group founder and original lead singer Harold Melvin's top billing, the Blue Notes' most famous member was Teddy Pendergrass, their lead singer during the success years at Philadelphia International.

The group formerly known as The Charlemagnes took on the name "The Blue Notes" in 1954.

In 1970, the group recruited drummer Teddy Pendergrass as the drummer for their backing band. Pendergrass had been a former member of The Cadillacs, and was promoted to lead singer.

Among the Blue Notes' most important and successful recordings are love songs such as "If You Don't Know Me By Now" (1972, their breakout single), "I Miss You" (1972), "The Love I Lost" (1973), and "Don't Leave Me This Way" (1975), and socially conscious songs such as "Wake Up Everybody" and "Bad Luck" (both 1975).
"Bad Luck" holds the record for longest-running number-one hit on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart: eleven weeks.
A 1976 cover of "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Motown artist Thelma Houston was a number-one hit on the US pop chart; both it and the Blue Notes' originals are considered defining recordings of the disco era.

While at the top of their success in 1976, Pendergrass quit the Blue Notes, after unsuccessfully lobbying to have Melvin rename the act "Teddy Pendergrass & the Blue Notes".
Pendergrass went on to a successful solo career, cut short by a paralyzing 1982 car accident, although he made a brief comeback at the historic Live Aid concert in 1985.

Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes are arguably the most-covered Philly soul group in history: many of their hits have been re-recorded by other artists, including Simply Red, David Ruffin, Jimmy Somerville and Sybil, while dance music DJ Danny Rampling cites "Wake Up Everybody" as his favorite song of all time.

For his album This Note's for You, singer Neil Young named his back-up band The Blue Notes without permission from name rights holder Harold Melvin. Melvin took legal action against Young over use of the Blue Notes name, forcing the singer to change the name of the back-up band to "Ten Men Workin'" during the balance of the tour that promoted the This Note's for You album.

(Wikipedia)

8/21/2008

Al Green

Look What You Done For Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTlOE1XX3Gc

I'm Still in Love With You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mJerMmmX8Y

Simply Beautiful
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo1i69D7cRI

Tired of Being Alone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg4dnFx6JW0

Here I Am (Come & Take Me)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZahWZ8T0xsc

Love & Happiness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsU6_eSG4k4

For the Good Times
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBmhokPDZik

For the Good Times (live)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybh_qmve968

Livin' For You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKR7Rm9Wz6s

People Get Ready
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8NWqO85P6Y

God Blessed Our Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwT7rKTqQbk

Let's Stay Together
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAOOFk549fw

Let's Stay Together (live)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Knw4wsp-NF8

How Do You Mend a Broken Heart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzitOsxKJNY

Put a Little Love in Your Heart
w/Annie Lennox
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHuGyuwvPLg

Albert Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer who received great acclaim in the 1970s.

The LP, Al Green Gets Next to You (1970), was a massive success that included four gold singles as Green developed his vocal and songwriting talents. Let's Stay Together (1972) was an even bigger success, as was I'm Still In Love With You (1972). Call Me was a critical sensation and just as popular at the time; it is one of his most fondly remembered albums today. Al Green Explores Your Mind (1974) contained the song "Take Me to the River", later covered by the Talking Heads on their second album.

On October 18, 1974, Mary Woodson, a girlfriend of Green's, assaulted him before killing herself at his Memphis home. Although she was already married, Woodson reportedly became upset when Green refused to marry her. At some point during the evening, Woodson doused Green with a pan of boiling hot grits while he was showering causing third-degree burns on Green's back, stomach and arms. Woodson then shot herself with Green's gun.

Green cited the incident as a wake-up call to change his life. He became an ordained pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis in 1976. Continuing to record R&B, Green saw his sales start to slip and drew mixed reviews from critics.

In 1979, Green was injured while performing, and interpreted this accident as a message from God. He then concentrated his energies towards pastoring his church and gospel singing.

His first gospel album was The Lord Will Make a Way. From 1981 to 1989 Green recorded a series of gospel recordings, garnering eight "soul gospel performance" Grammys in that period.

In 1984, director Robert Mugge released a documentary film, Gospel According to Al Green, including interviews about his life and footage from his church.

After spending several years exclusively performing gospel, Green began to return to R&B. He released a duet with Annie Lennox, "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" for Scrooged, a 1988 Bill Murray film.

His 1994 duet with country music singer Lyle Lovett blended country with R&B, garnering him his ninth Grammy, this time in a pop music category. Green's first secular album in some time was Your Heart's In Good Hands (1995), released to positive reviews but disappointing sales, the same year Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 2000, Green published Take Me to the River, a book discussing his career. Green received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.

In 2004, Green was inducted into the Gospel Music Association's Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Also in 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him #65 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2008 BET Awards on June 24, 2008.

Green still continues to tour, and to preach at the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2006, Green worked on his latest studio album for Blue Note Records with The Roots' Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson. The album, Lay It Down, was released May 27, 2008 and includes tracks featuring John Legend, Corinne Bailey Rae and Anthony Hamilton.

(Wikipedia)

8/15/2008

The Isley Brothers

Shout!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL9xOLpwI0I

Twist & Shout
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPivnegGtgg

This Old Heart of Mine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGyszX-Hs30

It's Your Thing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v2-DSKx3Eg

Love the One You're With
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1y4OatoR6s

Pop That Thang
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0UemPDkGww

I'll Always Come Back to You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ66GVuIPc4

That Lady
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1DDgNCLD84

Hello It's Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHp1Tr_4_A8

Summer Breeze
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl0g1y7irKk

Fight the Power
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmAkHRK2pI8

For the Love of You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd2sOqbIcaM

Harvest for the World
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz_OsEISBGo

Footsteps in the Dark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DLnUwUpnb8

It's a Disco Night
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyLptdeApq8

I Wanna Be With You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE8KsX5fqiI

Don't Say Goodnight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl2v9GrU35U

Between the Sheets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glhdcJ7K3XM

Smooth Sailin'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFW3TtBh6kE

Caravan of Love
(by Isley-Jasper-Isley)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ARl3dUyAyc

The Isley Brothers are a Grammy-winning American R&B/soul group who are one of the few groups to have long-running success on the Billboard charts placing a charted single in every decade since 1959 and as of 2006 was still charting successful albums performing under a repertoire of doo-wop, R&B, rock 'n' roll, soul, funk, disco, urban adult contemporary and hip-hop soul in the last six decades with a variation of lineups ranging from a quartet to a trio to a sextet to finally a duo.

Originally raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, the original group consisted of the four elder sons of O'Kelly Isley, Sr. and Sally Mae Isley: Kelly, Rudy, Ronnie and Vernon Isley originally singing nothing but gospel music starting in 1954.
The group disbanded in 1955 shortly after a road accident claimed the life of Vernon Isley and reformed in 1957 with Kelly, Rudy and Ronnie, who recorded with small labels singing doo-wop and rock 'n' roll.
After modest success with singles such as "Shout", "Twist and Shout" and the Motown single, "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)", and a brief tenure with Jimi Hendrix as a background guitar player, the group settled on a brand of gritty soul and funk defined by the Grammy-winning smash "It's Your Thing", in 1969.
After reforming the group as a six-member lineup in 1973 featuring younger brothers Ernie and Marvin and brother-in-law Chris Jasper, they became known to fans as 3 + 3 and charted gold and platinum success with albums such as 3 + 3, The Heat Is On, Go For Your Guns and Between the Sheets, while charting a succession of hit singles such as "That Lady", "Fight the Power", "For the Love of You", "Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time For Love)" and "Between the Sheets", between 1973 and 1983.
After the younger brothers splintered from the group in 1984, the remaining trio continued recording until Kelly's death from a cancer-related heart attack in 1986.
Rudy left the group for a career in the ministry in 1989 disbanding the group once again with Ron releasing solo records, sometimes performing under the Isley Brothers name.
In 1991, Ron reformed the group with Ernie and Marvin returning to the lineup.
In 1992, the group was inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Since 1997, after diabetes forced Marvin into retirement, the lineup has been Ron and Ernie, now on hiatus due to Ron's current prison sentence after a tax evasion conviction in 2006.

During his court case, it was revealed Ron Isley, now 66, has kidney cancer and failing organs. Isley's lawyers have tried pleading with the judge to give leniency to the singer, who was sentenced to serve 37 months (at least three years) in prison but have been denied. Isley is currently serving his sentence and will be released on a tentative date of April 2010.

In 2000 Michael Bolton unsuccessfully tried to buy the Isley Brothers' catalogue after the Isleys won a lawsuit alleging that Bolton's song "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" plagiarized their 1966 Motown track of the same title.

The Isley Brothers were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003.

Much like The JB's, Parliament-Funkadelic, DeBarge and Zapp, the Isleys are among one of the most sampled groups in hip-hop history with their recordings sampled by the likes of 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G.,Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg among others.

(Wikipedia)

8/11/2008

The O'Jays

Back Stabbers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVC2j_Kdw8c

Love Train
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhdQyuN9ktE

Sunshine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSxrc0gujrE

For the Love of Money
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4xKlbeHLf4

Stairway to Heaven
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erZmWwDKwrU

I Love Music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5vYj-WOen0

Let Me Make Love to You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIanH3AzFzI

Use ta Be My Girl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c46FD9Idwhs

Brandy (I Really Miss You)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb7Zc3aAZd4

Forever Mine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uahUqX_lE4Q

The O'Jays are a Philadelphia soul group, originally consisting of Walter Williams , Bill Isles, Jerome Pierson, Bobby Massey, William Powell and Eddie Levert.

The O'Jays (now a trio) had their first hit with "Lonely Drifter" in 1963. In spite of its success, the group was considering quitting the music business until Gamble & Huff, a legendary team of producers and songwriters, took an interest in the group. With Gamble & Huff, the O'Jays emerged at the forefront of Philadelphia soul with Back Stabbers (1972), a huge pop hit.

The O'Jays formed the group in Canton, Ohio in 1958 while attending high school. The friends began recording in 1961.

They took the name "the O'Jays", in tribute to radio disc jockey Eddie O'Jay.

In 1972, they finally scored with their first million-seller, "Back Stabbers", from the gold album of the same name. This album also produced several more hit singles, including "Sunshine" & the #1 Pop smash, "Love Train".

During the remainder of the 1970s, the O'Jays continued releasing chart-topping singles, including "For the Love of Money" , "Let Me Make Love To You" & "I Love Music".

Original member William Powell died of cancer in 1977.

1978's "Use ta Be My Girl" was their final Top Five hit.

Later in the 90s, the group did little recording, though they remained a popular live draw.

The O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004 and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

"For the Love Of Money" is the theme song to the hit reality TV show The Apprentice, which is ironic considering that the lyrics warn of the evil people will do for the love of money.

(Wikipedia)

The song "Brandy" is about a dog.
(YouTube)

8/09/2008

Old School Music

Comedian Steve Harvey riffs on 70s soul music in The Original Kings of Comedy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4rLHwPy8hk

8/08/2008

The Spinners

It's a Shame
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDKq1clukmU

How Could I Let You Get Away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wflF6nUQQYE

I'll Be Around
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mgZZ3og1g0

Could It Be I'm Falling in Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-ivz2RUdXY&feature=related

One of a Kind (Love Affair)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKpyBt6iz7w

Then Came You
http://missdelite3.blogspot.com/2008/07/then-came-youdionne-warwick-spinners.html

Mighty Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXnslL-_Xww&feature=related

Love Don't Love Nobody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzfKoaRvRGA

Games People Play
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGxYKJXOxFk

Sadie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_nKAZSVeUw

The Rubberband Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce8nfWyX7P4

Working My Way Back to You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SugEgGQ_3vc

Cupid/I've Loved You for a Long Time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4x7szPy7BI

The Spinners are a Detroit, Michigan-based soul vocal group (active since 1954), and most popular during the 1970s. The group still tours as of 2008. The band is also listed occasionally as The Motown Spinners, or (after they left the Motown label) The Detroit Spinners. These were their monikers in the UK to avoid confusion with a British group called The Spinners.

In 1954 a group of friends in Ferndale High School in Ferndale, Michigan, just outside Detroit, came together to make music and called themselves The Domingoes.The group renamed themselves The Spinners in 1961. This name was chosen after looking at popular car hubcaps and noting how they spun around on a car's wheel.

In 1964, they made their debut at the Apollo Theater and won instant acclaim, a rare feat at the time. But success mostly eluded them during the 1960s. During much of this decade the Spinners would be used by Motown as road managers, chaperones and chauffeurs for other groups, and even as shipping clerks.

In 1970, after a five-year chart absence they hit #14 with writer/producer Stevie Wonder's composition, "It's A Shame".

Legend has it that Atlantic Records recording artist Aretha Franklin suggested the group finish out their Motown contract, and sign with Atlantic. The group made the switch in 1972. Under the helm of producer and songwriter Thom Bell, The Spinners would chart five top 100 singles (and two top tens) from their first post-Motown album, The Spinners (1972), and would go on to become one of the biggest soul groups of the 1970s.

The Spinners were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.

Today, the quintet is actively touring with three of its original members (Jackson, Fambrough and Smith).

(Wikipedia)


8/04/2008

Aretha Franklin

See previous post: http://missdelite3.blogspot.com/2008/07/amazing-gracearetha-franklin.html

The Shoop Shoop Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAueAEO8Abk

Night Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTXpXO6jQHg

Chain of Fools
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kK-g4ye7nmI

Respect
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6C83lwwxJ8

(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbYOKKyz3Qg

I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDoO9s73jV0

I Say A Little Prayer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STKkWj2WpWM

Don't Play That Song For Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAa8vwmeewU

Until You Come Back to Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDtWm4rRaq8

Call Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlPtCv66LVg&feature=related

I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)
w/George Michael
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuU0cJ_iW8w

O Happy Day
w/Mavis Staples
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvlEOldamEw

Precious Lord
(she's 14 yrs old)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgTnA9FseWw&feature=related

Aretha Franklin is the second most honored female singer in Grammy history (after Alison Krauss). She has won twenty Grammy Awards, which includes the Living Legend Grammy and the Lifetime Achievement Grammy. Aretha won eight consecutive awards between 1968 and 1975,during which time the category of Best Female R&B Vocal Performance was nicknamed "The Aretha Award".

Franklin has had a total of twenty number-one singles on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart. Two of them became #1 hit songs on the Billboard Hot 100 as well, "Respect" in the 1960s and her 1980s duet with George Michael, "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)".

(Wikipedia)

The Staple Singers

I'll Take You There
(live clip)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKj72gJrROY

I'll Take You There
(recording)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXvKRZRofDE

Respect Yourself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsW4vk9uP8o

Let's Do It Again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoz0foGQyBk

The Weight
(w/The Band)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYQWCB4rkDI

The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples (1914-2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha (born 1934), Pervis (b. 1935), Yvonne (b. 1936), and Mavis (b. 1939). They are best known for their 1970s hits "I'll Take You There", "Respect Yourself", and "Let's Do It Again".

In 2005, the group was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

(Wikipedia)

8/03/2008

Ray Charles

Georgia on My Mind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnaUP2n9swk

Ring of Fire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhGZdSkX6IM

America The Beautiful
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOHoN-8ibsY

Till There Was You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7FB7yKmW0Q

A Song For You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXGc0OoZEsM

Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930June 10, 2004), known by his stage name Ray Charles, was an American pianist and singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues. He brought a soulful sound to country music, pop standards, and a rendition of "America the Beautiful" that Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes called the "definitive version of the song, an American anthem — a classic, just as the man who sung it."

Frank Sinatra called him "the only true genius in the business" and in 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Charles #10 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

(Wikipedia)

8/02/2008

James Brown

Please,Please,Please
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5aVhLjT7UE

Papa's Got a Brand New Bag
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqdYBT-b2aI

It's a Man's Man's Man's World
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2RdEJb156k

Good Foot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DAfBZbz3tI

Sunny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui-PZtAfNbk

James gives dancing lessons
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdz88MBWomo

Eddie does James
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7kP35jI7Go

Rollins on Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn1UdYsKOcI

James Joseph Brown, Jr. (May 3, 1933December 25, 2006), commonly referred to as "The Godfather of Soul", "King of Funk", and "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business", was an American entertainer. He is recognized as one of the most influential figures in 20th century popular music and was renowned for his shouting vocals, feverish dancing and unique rhythmic style. As a prolific singer, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer, Brown was a pivotal force in the evolution of gospel and rhythm and blues into soul and funk. He left his mark on numerous other musical genres, including rock, jazz, disco, dance and electronic music, reggae and hip hop. Brown's music also left its mark on the rhythms of African popular music, such as afrobeat, jùjú and mbalax, and provided a template for go-go music.

Brown began his professional music career in 1953, and rose to fame during the late 1950s and early 1960s on the strength of his thrilling live performances and string of smash hits. In spite of various personal problems and setbacks he continued to score hits in every decade through the 1980s. In addition to his acclaim in music, Brown was a presence in American political affairs during the 1960s and 1970s, noted especially for his activism on behalf of fellow African Americans and the poor. During the early 1980s, Brown's music helped to shape the rhythms of early hip-hop music, with numerous groups looping or sampling his funk grooves and turning them into what became hip hop classics and the foundations of the music genre.

Brown was recognized by numerous titles, including Soul Brother Number One, Sex Machine, Mr. Dynamite, The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, Minister of The New New Super Heavy Funk, Mr. Please Please Please, The Boss, and the best-known, the Godfather of Soul.

(Wikipedia)

8/01/2008

Stevie Wonder

Fingertips
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIfgwNJkCMI

I Was Made to Love Her
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsLWiJVdWkU

One Little Christmas Tree
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDWkqD1JP5w&feature=related

Someday At Christmas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ1-duv_zNk&feature=related

For Once in My Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vxVyaYuGYE

Superstition
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDZFf0pm0SE

Living for the City
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSRyf5G2uI8

I Wish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYKYka-PNt0

Sir Duke
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmUvVj2mxnY

Send One Your Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMvVYCV-d8E

Lately
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWYfRSfG8uA

Ribbon in the Sky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO2-kIqsGL4

Stevie Wonder (born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13, 1950, name later changed to Stevland Hardaway Morris) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. A prominent figure of 20th century popular music, Wonder has recorded more than thirty top ten hits, won 26 Grammy Awards (a record for a solo artist), plus one for lifetime achievement, won an Academy Award for Best Song and been inducted into both the Rock and Roll and Songwriters halls of fame. He has also been awarded the Polar Music Prize.

Blind from infancy, Wonder signed with Motown Records as a pre-adolescent at age twelve, and continues to perform and record for the label to this day. He has nine U.S. number-one hits to his name and album sales totaling more than 150 million units. Wonder has recorded several critically acclaimed albums and hit singles, and writes and produces songs for many of his label mates and outside artists as well. Wonder plays the piano, synthesizer, harmonica, congas, drums, bongos, organ, melodica, and clavinet. In his early career, he was best known for his harmonica work, but today he is better known for his keyboard skills and vocals.

(Wikipedia)