http://www.efficionconsulting.com/Articles.aspx A blog from Efficion Consulting on DotNetNuke, asp.net, design, and other things relating to web development. Influential R&B star Gerald Levert is getting the 'Best of' treatment this week. The 16-song compilation features the 'Casanova' singer, whose untimely death in 2006 shocked the music world, singing solo, with supergroup LSG (comprised of Levert, Keith Sweat and Johnny Gill), and with his father, O-Jays' member Eddie Levert. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=320 SuperUser Account Sat, 04 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT Gerald Levert / Biography A contemporary soul singer whose smooth yet robust vocals brought energy and emotion to even his most serene recordings, Gerald LeVert grew up in the shadows of his father, Eddie LeVert, Sr., of the O'Jays. As a child, his father's status in the music industry nurtured and helped prepare Gerald for his prosperous music career as a writer, arranger, producer, and performer. As Gerald was entering his adulthood, he, good friend Marc Gordon, and his brother Sean formed the trio LeVert. They recorded their first single, entitled "I'm Still," on the independent Tempre label. Even though Gerald was still maturing as a vocalist, his powerful, stirring delivery on the single is worthy of praise. Peaking on the Billboard R&B charts at number 70, it survived for eight weeks. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=319 SuperUser Account Sat, 04 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT Soul man Gerald Levert had an auspicious childhood as the son of R&B legend Eddie Levert, the lead singer of the O'Jays, and the choice gene pool seemed to kick in at an early age. While still a teenager, Levert joined with brother Sean and friend Marc Gordon to form the soul group LeVert and, after one independent release, signed with Atlantic Records in 1985. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=318 SuperUser Account Sat, 04 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT The Supremes were the most successful female vocal group in history. Of the three original members--Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard--two have told their life stories in bestselling books. Only Florence Ballard, the spunky teenager who founded the group, has remained silent. Until now. Florence Ballard, known to her friends as Flo or “Blondie,” died in 1976. Diana and Mary attended her tumultuous funeral. But in the months before she died, Flo told her own side of the Supremes story---and the story of her entire life---to Peter Benjaminson, who recorded Flo’s words on tape. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=315 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Singer Florence Ballard was a founding member of The Supremes. On what would have been her 68th birthday, we look back on her life and career tragically cut short when she was just 32 years old. Born in Detroit as the ninth of fifteen children, young Florence Ballard moved all around the city as her father struggled to support the large family while working at General Motors. When she was fifteen, the family settled in the Brewster-Douglas housing project. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=314 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The fan club's approach to Florence is in stark contrast to the media accounts of her life. For the most part, the media tends to portray Florence in a manner that overemphasizes the tragedy in her life. These media stories and references often cause Florence to be remembered for all the wrong reasons. The fan club provides a balanced view of Florence's life. This balanced view is shown through interviews and articles in "FLORENCE BALLARD," the fan club's newsletter. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=313 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT After  40+ years of performing,  The Dramatics'  dedication to the music and their many  fans continues even today.  During the 60s, Detroit had more talent than its record companies could handle.  Since not all of the city's gifted vocal groups could be accommodated by Motown,  The Dramatics  initially recorded for a series of small labels before ending up on Wingate Records.  When Motown purchased Wingate, Motown staff producer, Don Davis went south to Stax/Volt and took the group with him.  http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=312 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Born in Detroit, Michigan, on May 10, 1951.  <div style="display: inline !important;"> <div style="display: inline !important;">His full name is Ronald Dean Banks. </div> </div> <div style="display: inline !important;"> <div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important;"> <div style="text-align: left; display: inline !important;"> <div style="display: inline !important;">Despite his age, the others looked to him for leadership. </div> </div> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important;"> <div style="text-align: left; display: inline !important;">Born in Detroit, Michigan, on May 10, 1951.  <div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important;"> <div style="text-align: left; display: inline !important;"> <div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important;"> <div style="text-align: left; display: inline !important;">His full name is Ronald Dean Banks. </div> </div> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important;"> <div style="text-align: left; display: inline !important;"> <div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important;"> <div style="display: inline !important;"> <div style="text-align: left; display: inline !important;"> <div style="display: inline !important;"> <div style="display: inline !important;">Ron founded the Dramatics at a very young age. He attended Cleveland Jr. High at the time. Despite his age, the others looked to him for leadership. </div>  </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> &l http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=311 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT One of the defining rock ‘n roll songs of the 1960s – a song notable for its role in advancing a new sound that changed pop music – is the Ronettes’ 1963 blockbuster, “Be My Baby.”  It was sung by three young girls from New York’s Spanish Harlem who came be known as the Ronettes – sisters Estelle and Ronnie Bennett, and their cousin, Nedra Talley.  More on the ladies in a moment. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=310 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In 1954, at a high school party in Detroit, Stubbs, Fakir, Benson and Payton were urged by partygoers to provide some impromptu entertainment. The synergy was obvious, immediate and strong. The quartet decided to start performing, and called themselves The Four Aims (Aiming for the Top). The group’s popularity grew as they performed at small clubs all over Detroit, honing their act while singing jazz and standards. So as not to be confused with the Ames Brothers, The Four Aims changed the name of their group to the Four Tops and recorded their first single, “Kiss Me Baby,” with Chess Records in 1956. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=309 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT One day in the early 1970s, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, who has died of lung cancer aged 68, saw the San Francisco police attacking a crowd of hippies. A founder member of the seminal Motown group, the Four Tops, Benson had already been thinking a lot about the social and political unrest in black America. He was also, at the time, branching out as a songwriter. Enraged by the incident, he wrote, in collaboration with arranger Al Cleveland, the lyrics for 'What's Goin' On?', a song about such a controversial subject that the rest of the group refused to record it. So Benson offered it, unsuccessfully, to Joan Baez, with whom the Four Tops were appearing on British television. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=308 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Obie Benson was the bedrock of the Four Tops during the legendary Motown group's decades-spanning career, singing bass and choreographing their smooth-as-silk dance routines. Heard to brilliant effect behind lead vocalist Levi Stubbs on classic singles like "Reach out, I'll Be There" and "Standing in the Shadows of Love," Benson was also a celebrated songwriter in his own right, most famously authoring Marvin Gaye's landmark "What's Goin' On." http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=307 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The story of a Georgian who rose from poverty to become a cultural icon, as told by the people who knew him best. To describe the sheer electricity James Brown generated on stage in his prime is virtually impossible to anyone who wasn't there to witness it firsthand. You might as well try to describe jazz. He was the most physical singer who ever lived. The best dancer. The master of funk. But there also was something feral and unrestrained, a hint of danger. To watch James Brown sing was to watch Muhammad Ali fight. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=306 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The Brown Family Children Foundation, Inc. began in April of 2007 to continue a legacy of charitable giving begun by James Brown. Maintaining the Turkey and Toy Giveaways founded by James Brown, was extremely important to James Brown’s children. On November 19, 2007, after Mr. Brown’s passing, his children held the first Annual BFCF Turkey Giveaway, in his memory. The first BFCF Annual Toy Giveaway was held on December 21, 2007. Both events have become a day of reflection but, also a day of helping those in need. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=305 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT James Brown had more honorifics attached to his name than any other performer in music history. He was variously tagged “Soul Brother Number One,” “the Godfather of Soul,” “the Hardest Working Man in Show Business,” “Mr. Dynamite” and even “the Original Disco Man.” This much is certain: what became known as soul music in the Sixties, funk music in the Seventies and rap music in the Eighties is directly attributable to James Brown. His transformation of gospel fervor into the taut, explosive intensity of rhythm & blues, combined with precision choreography and dynamic showmanship, served to define the directions black music would take from the release of his first R&B hit ("Please Please Please") in 1956 to the present day. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=304 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT He spent the early ’70s trying to make a name and a living, knocking out top-40 covers in District nightclubs and cabarets. One night, in an attempt to keep the dance floor from thinning out, he told his band to fill the dead air between songs with a beat. So his drummer kept the sticks moving. His percussionist kept slapping at the conga. His audience kept their heels on the parquet. His beat connected the songs. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=303 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The name Chuck Brown might not mean a whole lot to people outside the Washington, D.C., area. That would be their loss. In D.C., Brown is widely known, even revered, as the Godfather of Go-Go, a title he's held since the late '70s. Though he started out as a jazz guitarist, Brown invented go-go, a style that incorporates funk, jazz, R&B, hip-hop and dancehall, and has mostly stuck with it ever since. No one in D.C. can really explain why go-go hasn't traveled beyond the city's environs — we love it here, it's all over our commercial R&B and hip-hop radio stations and, at least when I was in high school, a go-go in a school's gym was the most packed party of the weekend. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=302 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Apollo Records signed me for my gospel ability. But we didn't have the financial structure, like the right attorneys, the right managers, the right accountants, and we were going against the grain of what black entertainers is supposed to do. I didn't need to borrow money from the record company, because if I had my own publishing company, and I had my own writers, I'd have enough to get and do whatever I wanted to do. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=301 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT While Solomon Burke never made a major impact upon the pop audience -- he never, in fact, had a Top 20 hit -- he was an important early soul pioneer. On his '60s singles for Atlantic, he brought a country influence into R&B, with emotional phrasing and intricately constructed, melodic ballads and midtempo songs. At the same time, he was surrounded with sophisticated "uptown" arrangements and was provided with much of his material by his producers, particularly Bert Berns. The combination of gospel, pop, country, and production polish was basic to the recipe of early soul. While Burke wasn't the only one pursuing this path, not many others did so as successfully. And he, like Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett, was an important influence upon the Rolling Stones, who covered Burke's "Cry to Me" and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" on their early albums. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=300 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Burke had most of the standard accoutrements of the soul musician – a warm, throaty bass voice, numerous children by different women and a penchant for snacking on whole roasted chickens (he tipped the scales at 300lb). But he also had more unexpected accomplishments: he was a doctor of mortuary science, and, still more surprisingly, was the bishop of an evangelical church with 40,000 adherents that had been founded by his grandmother after she dreamed of his birth 12 years before the event. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=299 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT As you’ve seen – if you checked out Monday’s post – Prestige and I did some quality digging down in DC and Virginny, and I managed to cross a couple of longtime wants off of my list, today’s selection being one of them. If you stop by here on the reg you know that I worship at the church of the One Mighty James Brown, but like many followers (in many religions)I was for a long time but a dilettante, focused only on the the big picture, unaware of the many strange and wonderful things hovering on the periphery. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=298 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Bobby Byrd formed the Gospel Starlighters in the late 50's. He also played in the Gospel group the 3 Swanee's with James Brown and Johnny Terry. Bobby met James in Toccoa, where he was serving time in a juvenile facility for burglary. James pitched for the prison baseball team, and his team played against Mr. Byrd's team. During the early '50s, Bobby and his family sponsored James Brown's parole from prison. Bobby recorded with Earl Nelson as Bob And Earl before forming the group The Avons, a band later to enlist James Brown upon his release from prison. The Avons then changed their name to The Flames, who became James Brown And The Famous Flames during the '60's. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=297 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT As a long-running right-hand man, Bobby Byrd performed an invaluable function in the James Brown show, warming up the crowds as a solo singer, then retreating to the sidelines as a member of the Famous Flames, Brown's backup vocal group. Indeed, without Byrd, James Brown may have never made it out of Georgia: in the early '50s, Byrd and his family sponsored Brown's parole from prison, and Byrd gave Brown a spot in his vocal group, the Flames (which, of course, Brown eventually took over and relegated to the background). Like many of Brown's close associates and support musicians, Byrd got a chance to record his own work under Brown's direction, releasing numerous Brown-produced singles between the early '60s and early '70s. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=296 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Nell doesn't mince words.  The girl from Birmingham, Alabama, who began her career singing in coffehouses, would eventually be kicking up her heels in the hit Broadway musical <em>Aint' Misbehavin'.</em>  In the early '80s she moved on to television, starring in the sitcom <em>Gimme a Break.</em>  She is forceful, steadfast, and heartfelt this afternoon.  We are meeting at the offices of one of her favorite organizations, Project Angel Food, located in Hollywood, California.  Founded in 1989 by spiritualist author Marianne Williamson, it delivers daily meals with love at no cost to people living with HIV/AIDS all around megalopolis Los Angeles.  And every meal that is delivered has "love" handwritten on the box.  http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=295 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Nell Carter’s life was a study in extremes. She endured personal tragedies and chronic health problems, yet she achieved a level of success that most young singers and actors only dream of. She knew both the pain of addiction and the triumph of successfully kicking her habits. And, while she made great money during her award-winning career, she also knew what it was like to lose everything. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=294 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Her trademark sass complimented by a distinctively adenoidal voice that could out-snarl Eartha Kitt and Fran Drescher put together, short (4'11"), round, and robust Nell Carter was one indomitable, in-your-face firecracker...and it made her a star. She was born Nell Ruth Hardy in 1948 in Birmingham, Alabama and raised there, one of nine children born to Horace and Edna Hardy. She grew up listening to the sounds of Dinah Washington and Elvis Presley and developed an early interest in singing that led to performances in various youth groups, her church choir, on local radio and even the gospel circuit. This was a positive distraction from the major traumas suffered during her early life which included the tragic death of her father, who was electrocuted when he accidentally stepped on a live power line, and a rape at gunpoint when she was a young teenager. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=293 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Ray Charles Robinson was born September 23, 1930, in Albany, Georgia. His father, a mechanic, and his mother, a sharecropper, moved the family to Florida when he was an infant. One of the most traumatic events of his childhood was witnessing the drowning death of his younger brother. It was soon after his brother’s death that he gradually began to lose his sight. By the age of seven, he was fully blind. His mother sent him to the state-supported school for the blind and deaf in St. Augustine. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=292 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT They call him the “genius” and they call him the “father of soul.” With perfect pitch and an expressive voice, he combines worlds as diverse as jazz, country, rhythm and blues, and gospel to break your heart or make you dance. His name is Ray Charles, and if you turn your radio to any station you will hear the influence of his ground-breaking music. Ray Charles was born into a poor family on September 23, 1930 in Albany, Georgia, though he was raised in Florida. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=291 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In the summer of 1971, when an ambitious Shore rat named Bruce Springsteen was playing at an Asbury Park bar called the Student Prince and writing songs for his first album, a band called Norman Seldin and the Joyful Noyze was playing at the Wonder Bar down the road. The tenor saxophone player was a huge ex-football player with a King Curtis sound named Clarence Clemons. The story, oft-repeated, is that one stormy night, between sets, Clemons wandered into the Student Prince and sat in, playing “Spirit in the Night.” http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=290 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Filmmaker Nick Mead will premiere the extended version of his Clarence Clemons documentary Who Do I Think I Am?: A Portrait of a Journey at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center (NCC). The premiere is the latest in a series of special events scheduled around the NCC’s ongoing exhibition of From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen. The film documents Clarence's travels to China from 2005 through 2010. Consciously challenging his own perceptions of himself, the Big Man repeatedly journeyed to a land where he wasn't famous at all, a place where he could "just be myself." http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=289 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT "Clarence lived a wonderful life. He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage. His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly forty years. He was my great friend, my partner, and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music. His life, his memory, and his love will live on in that story and in our band." http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=288 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Despite a relatively brief career (he first came to notice as a sideman at age 29 in 1955, formally launched a solo career at 33 in 1960, and was dead at 40 in 1967), saxophonist John Coltrane was among the most important, and most controversial, figures in jazz. It seems amazing that his period of greatest activity was so short, not only because he recorded prolifically, but also because, taking advantage of his fame, the record companies that recorded him as a sideman in the 1950s frequently reissued those recordings under his name and there has been a wealth of posthumously released material as well. Since Coltrane was a protean player who changed his style radically over the course of his career, this has made for much confusion in his discography and in appreciations of his playing. There remains a critical divide between the adherents of his earlier, more conventional (if still highly imaginative) work and his later, more experimental work. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=287 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Merely mention the name John Coltrane and you’re likely to evoke a deeply emotional, often spiritual response from even the most casual jazz fan. Born September 23, 1926 in Hamlet, North Carolina, John Coltrane was always surrounded by music. His father played several instruments sparking Coltrane’s study of E-flat horn and clarinet. While in high school, Coltrane’s musical influences shifted to the likes of Lester Young and Johnny Hodges prompting him to switch to alto saxophone. He continued his musical training in Philadelphia at Granoff Studios and the Ornstein School of Music. He was called to military service during WWII, where he performed in the U.S. Navy Band in Hawaii. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=286 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT One of the most acclaimed and widely imitated American jazz artists, saxophonist John Coltrane was a beloved performer, a devoted mentor and a revolutionary trendsetter. Despite his success, Coltrane lived in a modest 1952 ranch-style house in the Dix Hills section of Huntington, N.Y. Coltrane and his wife Alice purchased the one and a half story brick house at 247 Candlewood Path in 1964, and shortly after they moved in, their first son was born. Determined to spend time with his young family, Coltrane curtailed his tour schedule and worked at home, turning the basement into a recording and rehearsal studio and converting a guest room into a composition space where he would write his iconic masterpiece, ”A Love Supreme.” In 1967, just three years after moving into the home, Coltrane died at 40. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=285 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Conley was just 12 years old when he joined the Evening Smiles, a gospel group that appeared regularly on local radio station WAOK. By 1963 he was leading his own R&B outfit, Arthur & the Corvets, which over the next two years issued three singles -- "Poor Girl," "I Believe," and "Flossie Mae" -- for the Atlanta label National Recording Company. Despite Conley's graceful yet powerful vocals (which owed an immense debt to his idol, Sam Cooke), the NRC singles earned little attention, and he dissolved the group to mount a solo career, releasing "I'm a Lonely Stranger" on the Ru-Jac label in late 1964. Label owner Rufus Mitchell then passed a copy of the single to soul shouter Redding, who was so impressed he invited Conley to re-record the song at Memphis' Stax Studios. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=284 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT He was born Arthur Lee Conley in 1946 in McIntosh, Georgia and raised in Atlanta. He first recorded as Arthur & the Corvets. In 1958 he joined the group the Evening Smiles, an otherwise all-female gospel group that regularly performed on Atlanta's WAOK radio. The group released three singles, 'Poor Girl', 'I Believe' and 'Flossie Mae'. In 1964, Arthur joined musical forces with his father in Baltimore and recorded 'I'm A Lonely Stranger'. During 1965 promoter Rufus Mitchell passed a copy of the single to Otis Redding after a concert at the Baltimore Theatre. Impressed, Otis asked Arthur to go to Memphis to re-record the song at Stax Studios. Jim Stewart produced the session with arranging assistance from Booker T. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=283 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT By 1965, soul shouter Otis Redding’s career was at a crossroads. Rumored to be unhappy with Stax Records, Redding established Jotis Records with managers Alan and Phil Walden and producer Joe Galkin (the “J” in Jotis). With Jotis, Redding hoped to break and produce new talent. That year, Redding discovered Arthur Conley, a singer who sounded remarkably like Otis. Redding became Conley’s mentor; the second release on Jotis was Conley’s “I’m a Lonely Stranger,” which Otis produced. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=282 SuperUser Account Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Everybody in Martoni’s Italian restaurant had their eye on Sam Cooke. In his Sy Devore suit, the 33-year-old R&B singer cut a dashing figure. With his recent Live at the Copa album climbing the charts, Sam was on the brink of stepping up to the big leagues, a crossover figure on par with Nat King Cole and Sammy Davis, Jr. He was having dinner with producer Al Schmitt and Schmitt’s wife, Joan. Well-wishers kept stopping by the table, interrupting their conversation. Sam, who’d already had three or four martinis, eventually got pulled away to the bar. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=281 SuperUser Account Fri, 13 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Sam Cooke first began publically performing at the age of 9 when he formed the gospel trio The Singing Children with two of his sisters. This was followed by the group The Highway Q.C.'s and then, when Sam was 19, by The Soul Stirrers, a group that also included two of his sisters and one of his brothers. By 1951, Cooke had been promoted to lead singer for the Stirrers; by 1956, while still performing with the group, he released his first solo pop single Loveable -- but under the name of Dale Cooke to avoid conflicts with his gospel background. The effort to disguise himself failed, and a backlash from gospel audiences forced the expulsion of Cooke from the Soul Stirrers. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=280 SuperUser Account Fri, 13 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Considered by many to be the definitive soul singer, Sam Cooke blended sensuality and spirituality, sophistication and soul, movie-idol looks and gospel-singer poise. His warm, confessional voice won him a devoted gospel following as lead singer for the Soul Stirrers and sent “You Send Me,” one of his earliest secular recordings, to the top of the pop and R&B charts in 1957. It was the first of 29 Top Forty hits for the Chicago-raised singer, who was one of eight sons born to a Baptist minister. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=279 SuperUser Account Fri, 13 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Our hearts are heavy today following the news that Soul Train creator and host Brother Don Cornelius has died at the age of 75. To honor Don’s legacy and the lasting impact he made on music and pop culture (and to cheer ourselves up), we’re taking a look back at our favorite Soul Train line dances. So strap on your highest platform shoes, tease out that ‘fro (with Afro-Sheen, of course) and boogie down along with us http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=278 SuperUser Account Fri, 13 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Patricia Davis is one of the original members of the Soul Train Gang who danced on the show from nearly its very beginning. A dance icon as well as a fashion icon, she was noted for her 1940s-style outfits and the flowers and butterfly hair pieces she wore in her hair which earned her the nickname “Madame Butterfly.” She was featured in numerous issues of Right On! magazine, had her own monthly column in Rock & Soul magazine, and made an appearance on the television show “The Dating Game”. She also appeared in plays and on TV specials on major networks, had an autobiography written about her and was voted “Soul Train’s Original All Time Diva” at the first annual Soul Train Gang reunion. Indeed, her popularity during and after her time as a Soul Train dancer was unprecedented. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=277 SuperUser Account Fri, 13 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The significance of Don Cornelius to American culture — and to the American culture business — is told nowhere more eloquently than in one brief exchange between Cornelius and singer James Brown, a story that Cornelius himself recalls in VH-1's excellent 2010 documentary Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America. It was the Godfather of Soul's first appearance on Cornelius' then-nascent syndicated TV show — designed to do for soul music and black audiences what American Bandstand had long done for pop music and mainstream audiences. Brown marveled at the professionalism of the production, the flawlessness of its execution. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=276 SuperUser Account Fri, 13 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The Soul Train dancers, known originally as the Soul Train Gang, are what helped to make the show popular worldwide. Viewers didn’t just watch the show to see the recording artists, but to see the dancers–to see what dance moves and steps they were doing and what outfits they were going to wear. Indeed, the dancers were vital to the popularity and durability of the show and served as a catalyst in the eventual widespread hip-hop dance phenomenon. Several of the dancers had the opportunity to work with Don Cornelius outside of the Soul Train television show and he was a mentor to many of them. Here are tributes by some of the many people who danced on Soul Train over the years and helped to make the show the phenomenon it became. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=275 SuperUser Account Fri, 13 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT If Dick Clark's American Bandstand was Saturday morning's placid place to play, Soul Train, with its driving music and innovative dancers rooted in the urban scene, was the coolest party you could hope to crash. Its minimalist stage played host to everyone from the Jackson 5 to Elton John. "That show was the centerpiece of my Saturdays," says hip-hop artist Terius "The-Dream" Nash, who co-wrote the Beyoncé hit Single Ladies (Put A Ring on It) and performed on the program in 2005. "Don reminded me of my old band teacher. He could look you in the eye and you felt like he knew what you were going to be." http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=274 SuperUser Account Fri, 13 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT When the news of Tyrone Davis' stroke September 9 th of last year it has been a prayerful time for those who loved this legend. But on the afternoon of Wednesday February 9 th the Lord called our beloved Tyrone home. While he slumbered he entered into his final rest and took his place at the feet of the master. He succumbed at Chicago area Hinsdale Hospital surrounded by family and friends. His wife Ann was an ever present force as she stood vigil by his side throughout the duration of his illness.  http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=273 SuperUser Account Fri, 13 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Like his first idol Bobby Bland, Tyrone Davis is an underacknowledged, underrecognized giant of American popular music. During the period of his greatest popularity, beginning with his first hit for Dakar in 1968, "Can I Change My Mind" and extending into the early 1980s, Davis scored hit after chart-topping hit. Yet despite both the commercial success and the unparalleled artistry of his classy Chicago-soul recordings, Davis remains far less well known than many of his less-successful and less-talented peers. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=272 SuperUser Account Fri, 13 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Soul singer Tyrone Davis discusses being the valet for Freddie King. Davis recalls his adolescence in Mississippi during the 1950s and his desire to move to Saginaw, Michigan. Davis discusses his urban transformation and, also, of his trip back to Mississippi to visit his family. Additionally, Davis discusses his decision to move to Chicago, Illinois in 1957 and his eventual desire to pursue an entertainment career. Davis talks about singing at Chicago local clubs and working for Willie Barney of Barney's Record Shop and Four Brothers Records. Finally, Davis remembers the sudden death of his mentor, Harold Burrage. Soul singer Tyrone Davis discusses how he was affected by the death of his mentor, Harold Burrage. He further discusses working with Monk Higgins and meeting his manager, Wally Roker. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=271 SuperUser Account Fri, 13 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Davis is also a ladies' man. Many women enjoyed his singing. The women around him gave him lots of popularity. Davis is a great soul entertainer who has spent the past thirty years performing on the "Chitin Circuit.". Most of Davis's songs are about love and relationships.  In 1998 Davis was given a prestigious R&B Foundation award for his lifetime of works (Stiles).  Today Davis is still a great R&B Blues singer,  and many people still love him (Barnes&Mobile). http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=270 SuperUser Account Fri, 13 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Willie produced the first Smokey Robinson album without The Miracles, and when Sisters Love had a cameo role in 'The Mack', the group's manager suggested Willie record the soundtrack. The result was 'The Mack', including 'Brother's Gonna Work It Out' and 'Slick', Willie's first album for Motown in 1973. (Willie also worked with Sisters Love on 'Mr Fix-it Man'.)<br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=225 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT While R&B singer Luther Ingram remains best remembered for the piercing 1972 ballad "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right," he was also a gifted songwriter, teaming with Mark Rice to co-write the Staple Singers' classic empowerment anthem "Respect Yourself." Born November 30, 1944, in Jackson, TN, Ingram spent the majority of his adolescence in Alton, IL, launching his singing career in a group featuring his siblings. As a teen he also began writing songs, and later ventured out as a solo act, most notably opening for Ike Turner in East St. Louis. Ingram eventually migrated to New York City, where according to legend he briefly roomed with a then-unknown Jimi Hendrix.<br /> <div style="display: inline !important; text-align: center;"> <div style="display: inline !important; text-align: left;"> <div style="display: inline !important; text-align: center;"></div> </div> </div> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=217 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Of all the song-and-dance entertainers of the 1950s and '60s, Sammy Davis Jr. is the one whose recording career most deserves to be reconsidered. A performer of boundless energy, Davis was known for plowing over audiences with flim-flam and razzle-dazzle. But in the studio, the diminutive don of the Rat Pack was, at times anyway, a serious singer. His discography doesn't reflect this from top to bottom: There's a fair amount of goopy schmaltz and novelty stuff under his name, alongside such sparkling outings as 1960's I've Got a Right To Swing, which features Count Basie's uncredited big band.<br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=269 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Sammy learned how to dance from his father and his uncle, Will Mastin. At the age of four, Sammy joined his father and uncle in an act, "Will Mastin's Gang, featuring Little Sammy." Later the three became known as the "Will Mastin Trio." Sammy served in the United States Army during World War II, but was confronted by strong racial prejudice. This racial prejudice continued throughout his career, but he learned that being in the spotlight removed some of the prejudice. He once said, "My talent was the weapon, the power, the way for me to fight. It was the one way I might hope to affect a man's thinking."<br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=268 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Born on December 8, 1925, in New York City, Sammy Davis Jr. overcame prevailing racism to become an entertaining legend. As part of the Rat Pack, with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, Davis was known for his films and his partying ways. As his fame grew, his refusal to appear in any clubs that practiced racial segregation led to the integration of several venues in Miami Beach and Las Vegas. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=267 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT After beginning his career as a boxer, where he received the sobriquet "Bo Diddley", the singer worked the blues clubs of Chicago with a repertoire influenced by Louis Jordan, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters. In late 1954, he teamed up with Billy Boy Arnold and recorded demos of "I'm A Man" and "Bo Diddley". Re-recorded at Chess Studios with a backing ensemble comprising Otis Spann (piano), Lester Davenport (harmonica), Frank Kirkland (drums) and Jerome Green (maracas), the a-side, "Bo Diddley", became an R&B hit in 1955. Before long, Diddley's distorted, amplified, custom-made guitar, with its rectangular shape and pumping rhythm style became a familiar, much-imitated trademark, as did his self-referential songs with such titles as "Bo Diddley's A Gunslinger", "Diddley Daddy" and "Bo's A Lumberjack". http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=266 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT He only had a few hits in the 1950s and early '60s, but as Bo Diddley sang, "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover." You can't judge an artist by his chart success, either, and Diddley produced greater and more influential music than all but a handful of the best early rockers. The Bo Diddley beat -- bomp, ba-bomp-bomp, bomp-bomp -- is one of rock & roll's bedrock rhythms, showing up in the work of Buddy Holly, the Rolling Stones, and even pop-garage knock-offs like the Strangeloves' 1965 hit "I Want Candy." Diddley's hypnotic rhythmic attack and declamatory, boasting vocals stretched back as far as Africa for their roots, and looked as far into the future as rap. His trademark otherworldly vibrating, fuzzy guitar style did much to expand the instrument's power and range. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=265 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The musician the world knows as BO DIDDLEY has, over the past five decades, indelibly stamped his mark on rhythm 'n' blues, rock 'n' roll and popular music. His innovative trademark rhythm, his electric custom-built guitars, his use of female musicians, his psychedelic guitar sounds, his wild stage shows, and his on-record and on-stage rapping, pre-date all others. His influence on other musicians, both black and white, is immeasurable. We think it's time to set the record straight....BO DIDDLEY put the Rock in Rock 'n' Roll. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=264 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Bernard Edwards' supple, big bottom bass lines powered platinum hits by Chic, the '70s dance/pop band that he co-founded with guitarist/songwriter/producer Nile Rodgers. The group scored three gold singles and one platinum single including two number one pop/R&B singles, "Le Freak" and "Good Times"; two platinum albums, C'est Chic and Risque; and one gold album, Chic. A Chic live recording, Live at the Budokan, was released February 23, 1999, through Rodgers' Sumthing Distribution. The bassist co-wrote and produced all of Chic's records as well as those the duo produced for Diana Ross, Sister Sledge, and others. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=263 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In Greenville, NC on October 31, 1952 Bernard first saw the light of the day. He later grew up to be one of the greatest bass players ever. He inspired lots of people to choose the bass instead of the guitar. Among the ones he turned to play the bass was John Taylor of Duran Duran. He just had to play the bass when he had heard Edward's playing in "Good times". Sadly Bernard died far too early by the age of 43. On April 18, 1996 Nile Rodgers found his friend dead in his hotel room in Tokyo. Bernard had been complaining 'bout stomach pains the night before and he had high fever when playing the gig at the Budokan. He died in his sleep because of a very bad pneumonia. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=262 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Eighties soft-toned vocalist Richard "Dimples" Fields topped the R&B charts with the world weary-toned mid-tempo groover "If It Ain't One Thing, It's Another" with its everyman spoken section. Fields is also known for "She's Got Papers on Me," a radio-aired track from his Dimples LP (issued as a promotion-only single), which featured a harpy-ish monologue by Betty Wright. Owner of the Cold Duck Lounge in San Francisco, CA, Fields began putting out his own albums in the late '70s. Garnering attention and sales in the Bay Area, he was signed to Neil Bogart's Boardwalk Records. His first charting single was a cover of the Penguins' million-selling 1954 hit "Earth Angel," which peaked at number 81 R&B in summer 1981. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=261 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Dimples was the owner of a San Francisco nightclub for years and was a popular regional act when he was signed by former Casablanca Records Neil Bogart for his fledgling Boardwalk Records label. Dimples was already 36 years old by the time he was signed, and he created a sound definitely aimed at a more adult crowd. Neither a great singer nor musician, Dimples appeared to breeze through his material purely on personality. His light, wispy voice was perfect for the musically lightweight songs he released about his views on life and love (mostly illicit). http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=260 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT All it takes is one spin of King Floyd's classic 1970 hit “Groove Me” to appreciate that the New Orleans soul singer was a great talent, with some of the same qualities as obvious influences such as Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson and James Brown. Yet today, he is all but forgotten by the public at large. He came onto the scene a little late to have the impact of the big Stax (and Motown) singers, and his sound was perhaps a tad dated for a black music scene that was rushing headlong toward social and political relevance at the dawn of the '70s. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=259 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT "See, Groove Me was funky," says Floyd. "I always conceived of it as being funky, raw like. But, he (Bobby Freeman) had it all pretty with the flutes and all of that in it and I told Harold Batiste that I was not going to record it that night. I told Harold I wasn't going to record the song because that wasn't the arrangement I gave Bobby." Discouraged, Floyd continued to try and get his song recorded but to no avail until he was introduced to Elijah Walker who took his song and recorded it. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=258 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT King Floyd’s career was launched at the Bourbon Street Sho-Bar in his home town. Floyd served in the army, and afterwards went to California, where he began working with Harold Baptiste, a renowned producer. A Man in Love, his debut album, was soon released, but it failed to do well on the charts. Floyd decided to go back to New Orleans, where he got a job at the post office. Then, in the year 1970s, Floyd was convinced to record “Groove Me” by the rhythm and blues arranger Wardell Quezergue. At the same session in Jackson, Mississippi, Jean Knight would also record her famous track “Mr. Big Stuff.” http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=257 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT What's Going On is a song written by Marvin Gaye, Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Al Cleveland. Written in 1971 and a song from the first album Marvin Gaye produced, Rolling Stone Magazine listed it as the fourth greatest song of all time in 2004. The inspiration for the song came from Gaye’s brother Frankie, who told him stories of his service during the Vietnam War. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=256 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Marvin Gaye's contribution to Black Music over the past five decades is immeasurable. Marvin was named after his father, a minister in the Apostolic Church. The influence of the church in his early years played a formative role in his musical career, particularly from the 70's onwards, when his songwriting shifted back and forth between mainstream and religious topics. Marvin abandoned a place in his father's church choir and in 1957, he joined the Marquees, who recorded for Chess under the guidance of Bo Diddley. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=255 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Marvin Gaye made a huge contribution to soul music in general and the Motown sound in particular. As one of Motown’s renaissance men, Gaye could do it all. He wrote, produced and played a variety of instruments. Most of all, Gaye possessed a classic R&B voice that was edged with grit yet tempered with sweetness. A musical visionary, he conceived of albums as something more than individual songs, whether it be his early collections of show tunes and standards or later thematic masterworks about the state of the world (What’s Going On?), sexual politics (Let’s Get It On) and marriage<br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=254 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In 1979, veteran soul vocal group the Moments discovered that, by departing Stang Records, they had lost the rights to their name, and they were forced to bill themselves as (Harry) Ray, (Al) Goodman & (Billy) Brown. Happily, Ray, Goodman & Brown made a triumphant debut on Polydor Records with "Special Lady," which hit number one on the R&B chart and the Top Five of the pop chart, while going gold. The Best of Ray, Goodman & Brown, an entry in Universal Music's mid-priced 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection series, samples from the group's four-album tenure on Polydor, 1979-1982. There are four more Top 40 R&B hits, "Inside of You," "My Prayer" (a revival of the Platters song), "Happy Anniversary," and "How Can Love So Right (Be So Wrong)." ("Shoestrings," a minor R&B chart entry, is not included.) http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=253 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The first Stang album release by "The Moments" pictured Brown, Goodman and Morgan on the cover, though various members' voices existed on the different tracks recorded between 1968 and 1969. Before the original members of The Moments left All Platinum, they recorded their big breakthrough song "Love On A Two Way Street", which reached one on the R&B chart and three on the pop chart in the spring of 1970. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=252 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Clearing the air of all that funk; black-pop has finally returned to its roots-lyricism, full-bodied arrangements, and singing so finely meshed it evokes a deep response. Ray, Goodman, & Brown, together for 25 years has never left it. No amount of freakish good luck, no series of promotional blitzes, and no repertoire of management ploys: can by themselves keep performers on the top scene for that long (most get three to four years if they’re lucky). It takes exceptional talent and changing styles to suit the whims of music fashion. Over the years there have been no hard-rock, punky, funky or disco Ray, Goodman, & Brown. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=251 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Donny Hathaway died in 1979, but his warm, suave soul has never been more influential. He's been name-checked in songs by Amy Winehouse, Nas, Common and Fall Out Boy (the new "What a Catch, Donnie"), and Justin Timberlake calls "(Another Song) All Over Again," from FutureSex/LoveSounds, "my homage to Donny Hathaway." It's easy to hear why Hathaway still appeals to modern-pop and neo-soul singers alike. He was equally comfortable with smooth ballads ("The Closer I Get to You") and rolling funk ("The Ghetto"). He was a master of melisma (while never overdoing it), and his smoky voice wrapped superbly around his female duet partners, most notably Roberta Flack. No wonder Timberlake calls him "the best singer of all time." http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=250 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Few artists in Soul music incorporated the rhythms, technological interventions, and spiritual ethos of American jazz more fully than the late Donny Hathaway. Over the course of his recording career, the Chicago soul legend produced music which reminded many listeners of the fusion work of Donald Byrd, Bobbi Humphrey, Archie Shepp, Alice Coltrane, and Yusef Lateef. Connecting Hathaway with these and other jazz artists of the late sixties and seventies was his efforts to provide an aural landscape of black inner city life, his explicit spirituality, and his embrace of various musical genres. An ambitious artist constantly searching for new ways to articulate musically the complexity of the human spirit, Hathaway was never afraid to stretch rhythm and blues into previously unheard shapes, textures, and sounds. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=249 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT With just one exception, Donny Hathaway's second full-length is a covers album, featuring one of the most pop-averse artists in soul music surprisingly offering interpretations of contemporary hit material like "A Song for You," "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," "Magnificent Sanctuary Band," and (most effectively) "Put Your Hand in the Hand," a laidback yet rolling, gospel-choir version of the song he was born to sing. In striking contrast to his debut, Donny Hathaway is a very dark record, and it opens on a particularly low note, with "Giving Up" (a 1964 R&B hit for Gladys Knight & the Pips). Most of Hathaway's performances are slow, piano-led laments, powerfully delivered but with little melodic sway to convert listeners. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=248 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Singer-composer-arranger Donny Hathaway is perhaps best known for his duets with singer Roberta Flack, but the body of solo work he left behind when he died 30 years ago is part of the foundation of American soul music. His songs have influenced performers from R&B singer Alicia Keys to rapper Common to singer-guitarist George Benson. Hathaway's voice was clear and powerful, and his piano-playing was remarkable in its own right. He exercised uncanny control over both of his instruments. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=247 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT I can tell you that Hayes is in no position to have quit anything. Contrary to news reports, the great writer, singer and musician suffered a stroke on Jan. 17. At the time it was said that he was hospitalized and suffering from exhaustion. It’s also absolutely ridiculous to think that Hayes, who loved playing Chef on "South Park," would suddenly turn against the show because they were poking fun at Scientology. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=246 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Prologue In the spring 2003, one year after his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame and a celebrated move back home to Memphis, the public persona of Isaac Hayes is surging forward with a momentum usually associated with teen popstars and visiting royalty. In fact, Hayes is resident royalty for more than a decade, a coronated King of the Ada coastal district of Ghana in western Africa where he is a member of the Royal Family. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=245 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Isaac Hayes started as an anonymous session keyboardist at Stax/Volt, then grew into a hit songwriter (with David Porter) for Sam & Dave, and finally came into his own as a top-selling soul/funk innovator. His calling card is his extended, orchestrated approach to both ballads and uptempo funk, crossed with a gritty Southern sensibility - he had a big influence on contemporaries like Norman Whitfield, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, and the Ohio Players. His low-key vocal style, without any pop softness or gospel inflections, made no effort to accomodate white sensibilities - his shaved head and beard pushed the envelope even further - but his records soared onto the pop charts anyway. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=244 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The five young men who would become the Spinners started making doo-wop music together in 1957, under the name The Domingos, while attending Ferndale High School near Detroit. The Spinners never reached the heights attained by other Motown artists during the label's heyday in the 1960s, but the group continued to tour and record, releasing a string of hits in the 1970s. "The Spinners distinguished themselves with memorable melodies, rich harmonies, and a musical delivery full of spirit and feeling," according to the African American Encyclopedia. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=243 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Back in 1971, when the Spinners left Motown for Atlantic Records, it wasn't exactly an event that shook the music world. But why would it? The group had toiled in virtual obscurity for nearly a decade as one of Motown's "forgotten" groups. While Motown star groups like the Temptations and Four Tops were headlining shows around the world and were choosing from the top songs of Smokey Robinson, Norman Whitfield and Holland-Dozier-Holland, the Spinners were recording infrequently and charting even more rarely, working with Motown's second tier producers and catching opening act gigs where they could. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=242 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Billy Henderson: “We were at amateur shows and stuff like that. We were kids. We were getting our repertoire together. We all kinda led in those days, but C.P. Spencer was our main lead.” Bobbie Smith joined the group as the new fifth member in 1956. Bobbie: “I loved music and cars. I became a car collector, also. I had seventeen classic cars, when I lived in Michigan (until 1985). When I was in high school back in the 50s, kids would take those old cars – most of them were ’49 Mercurys – and they would turn them into hot rods and they had some Cadillac hub caps and they called them ‘spinners’.” http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=241 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT I'll miss seeing Billy "The Rubberband Man" Henderson perform with The Spinners. I knew something was wrong when The Spinners were on The David Letterman Show last year, and Billy & John wasn't there. Because, through the changes of the Line-up, Billy, Pervis, Bobby & Henry were always there. It was good seeing G.C. back with Billy & the Spinners on PBS in '03 before G.C. joined The Temptations. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=240 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT On March 8, 1988 James "Al" Hendrix, father and sole heir to the estate of his late son Jimi Hendrix, created the "Commission" naming and identifying the "James (Jimi) Marshall Hendrix Foundation" as his non-profit charitable organization. In his Commission, he provided the Foundation with the legal basis and protection to insure its perpetual rights to accomplish its purpose. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=239 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT André 3000 (or as he's known when acting, AndréBenjamin) always seemed like the perfect choice to portray legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix in the biopic we always knew was coming, "All Is by My Side." He passionately campaigned for the film to get made, and there's at least a resemblance between Hendrix and the Outkast member. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=238 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT More than any other musician, Jimi Hendrix realized the fullest range of sound that could be obtained from an amplified instrument. Many musical currents came together in his playing. Free jazz, Delta blues, acid rock, R&B, soul, hardcore funk, and the songwriting of Bob Dylan and the Beatles all figured as influences. Yet the songs and sounds generated by Hendrix were original, otherworldly and virtually indescribable. In essence, Hendrix channeled the music of the cosmos, anchoring it to the earthy beat of rock and roll. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=237 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT A left-hander who took a right-handed Fender Stratocaster and played it upside down, Hendrix pioneered the use of the instrument as an electronic sound source. Players before Hendrix had experimented with feedback and distortion, but he turned those effects and others into a controlled, fluid vocabulary every bit as personal as the blues with which he began. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=236 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Bobby Brown says he isn't to blame for Whitney Houston's deadly drug habit ... claiming, "That was part of her life BEFORE we got together." Brown just appeared on the "Today" show ... and told Matt Lauer, "I didn't get high [on narcotics] before I met Whitney ... I smoked weed and drank beer ... but no, I wasn't the one that got Whitney on drugs ... I'm not the reason she's gone."Clearly, Brown doesn't consider marijuana to be a narcotic ... even though the U.S. Govt does. <br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=235 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT With more than 140 million albums sold worldwide, icon Whitney Houston is the most awarded woman in music history. Her powerful presence filled the screen in The Bodyguard, which made more than $400 million worldwide. The film's soundtrack remains the best-selling of all time. But behind her megastar success, Whitney hid the intense personal pain of her tumultuous 14-year marriage to R&B star Bobby Brown and a battle with drug abuse.  http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=234 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT At her peak, Ms. Houston was the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world’s best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen. She had the perfect voice and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=233 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT With over 170 million combined album, singles and videos sold worldwide during her career with Arista Records, Whitney Houston has established a benchmark for superstardom that will quite simply never be eclipsed in the modern era. She is a singer's singer who has influenced countless other vocalists female and male. Music historians cite Whitney's record-setting achievements: the only artist to chart seven consecutive #1 Billboard Hot 100 hits ("Saving All My Love For You," "How Will I Know," "Greatest Love Of All," "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)," http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=232 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT His first major break occurred when he was invited, by his idol Grover Washington, Jr. to join him on tour in 1979. And by the early 80’s he found himself actually recording under his own name. According to George, ”playing with Grover gave me a real hunger.” “As far and learning the ropes and watching Grover, who is a consummate professional, I learned a whole lot of stuff from being in that environment.” “It really fired up my hunger, for having my own thing.” http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=231 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Howard began his musical career in the late '70s. He received his first break when Grover Washington, Jr., one of his musical idols, invited him on a tour in 1979. The tour helped establish Howard's name, and in 1982 he released his debut album, Asphalt Garden, on Palo Alto. The record was a moderate hit, as was its follow-up, 1984's Steppin' Out. It wasn't until the 1985 release of Dancing in the Sun that Howard earned a large audience. The album reached number one on the contemporary jazz charts. Following the release of Dancing in the Sun, he moved to MCA, where he issued A Nice Place to Be, Reflections, Personal, and Love Will Follow. All four records were considerable successes on the charts. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=230 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Freddie Hubbard first played and recorded in Indianapolis with the Montgomery brothers. After moving in 1958 to New York he began a series of brief associations with established jazz musicians, including Philly Joe Jones (1958-59, 1961), Sonny Rollins (1959), Slide Hampton (1959-60), J.J. Johnson (1960), and Quincy Jones, with whom he toured Europe (1960-61). In 1961 he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, but left in 1964 to lead his own group. He also played as a sideman with Max Roach (1965-66). http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=229 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In sports and in dance, performers often "play through" injuries, attempting to put mind over matter in order to get through an important date. In years past, Hubbard, like other trumpeters, relied on sheer willpower to downplay a bothersome lip or some other impediment. This time, the obstacle proved too great. He's been off the road for 18 months, and it was only with much effort that he managed to complete sessions for his current album, MMTC (Monk, Miles, Trane, & Cannon), his first studio date in 10 years. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=228 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Frederick Dewayne Hubbard was born April 7th 1938, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Freddie played mellophone and then trumpet in his school band, studying at the Jordan Conservatory with the principal trumpeter of the local symphony. He worked as a teenager with Wes and Monk Montgomery, and eventually founded his own first band, the Jazz Contemporaries, with bassist Larry Ridley and saxophonist James Spaulding. Moving to New York in 1958 at the age of 20, he quickly astonished fans and critics alike with the depth and maturity of his playing working with veteran jazz artists Philly Joe Jones (1958-59, 1961), Sonny Rollins (1959), Slide Hampton (1959-60), J.J. Johnson (1960), Eric Dolphy, his room-mate for 18 months, and Quincy Jones, with whom he toured Europe (1960-61). http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=227 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In the pantheon of jazz trumpeters, Freddie Hubbard stands as one of the boldest and most inventive artists of the bop, hard-bop and post-bop eras. Although influenced by titans like Miles Davis and Clifford Brown, Hubbard ultimately forged his own unique sound – a careful balance of bravado and subtlety that fueled more than fifty solo recordings and countless collaborations with some of the most prominent jazz artists of his era. Shortly after his death at the end of 2008, Down Beat called him “the most powerful and prolific trumpeter in jazz.” Embedded in his massive body of recorded work is a legacy that will continue to influence trumpeters and other jazz artists for generations to come.<br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=226 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Willie produced the first Smokey Robinson album without The Miracles, and when Sisters Love had a cameo role in 'The Mack', the group's manager suggested Willie record the soundtrack. The result was 'The Mack', including 'Brother's Gonna Work It Out' and 'Slick', Willie's first album for Motown in 1973. (Willie also worked with Sisters Love on 'Mr Fix-it Man'.) http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=223 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Willie Hutch grew up in Dallas where he sang with The Ambassadors.He was a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas. He first came to the attention of the music business in 1964 when his debut single 'Love Has Put Me Down' was released by the Soul City Records label. His songs attracted the attention of The Fifth Dimension who recorded a number of them. Willie himself recorded with Venture prior to two albums in the early 70's with RCA (including 'Let's Try It Over'). In 1970, he received a phone call from producer Hal Davis who urgently needed a song written to a backing track he had entitled 'I'll Be There'. By 8 am the next morning, The Jackson 5 were in the studio recording it. Willie later co-arranged vocals on 'Got To Be There' and 'Never Can Say Goodbye' for the group, impressing Berry Gordy who employed him at Motown on a more permanent basis. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=222 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In the modern world's expansive history of women singing, Phyllis Hyman offered a stylish personal chapter, performing with a compelling blend of warmth and cool which few artists of her time could rival. And if it goes without saying that she died too soon, her work - the art Hyman developed as she passed this way - is well worth mentioning as a tribute to her presence and stature among music's most notable champions. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=221 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The time is September 1979 and Phyllis Hyman has been invited to perform for the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Awards Dinner in Washington DC. The dinner was on the 23rd, but she came to town on the 12th for some special visits and for record promotions. During this period she was on the Arista record label with a new record " You Know How To Love Me", produced by Mtume and Reggie Lucas. André Perry was the executive that came on the road with her for these two days. There was a visit to Children’s Hospital, lunch with Congressman Dellums from California, a visit with Mayor Marion Barry, and just having fun hanging out visiting radio stations. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=220 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In 1977 when I first saw Phyllis I was looking at a truly Sophisticated Lady: she was tall , hip and beautiful. I was into her music from the time she sang a duet with Michael Henderson on the Norman Connor’s album "You are my Starship" in 1976. On that same album she sang "Betcha by Golly Wow" with the horn player Gary Bartz, which introduced her to the world as a singer with great potential. Her solo album was introduced the following year and that’s when I took the photo you have at the introduction of your newsletter. I worked with her on many occasions but the time I’d like to share with your readers is the time when she visited the Duke Ellington High School of the Performing Arts. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=219 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Devoted fans of the late singer Phyllis Hyman describe her as a songstress extraordinaire with a no-nonsense attitude, and a lavish, larger than life stage persona. Deep-voiced and statuesque, Phyllis sang with a life affirming energy and emotional intensity found in few other female vocalists. Born in Pittsburgh and raised in Philadelphia, her professional career began in New York city where, during an engagement, she was spotted by producer Norman Connors and contemporaries Jean Carne and Roberta Flack among others. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=218 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Ingram chased show biz success in New York City, and made his first recording “I Spy for the FBI” there. The notorious Johnny Baylor met Ingram in 1964 in the city, and groomed Ingram. The two formed a partnership based around Baylor’s KOKO Records label. When Baylor came to Memphis to aid Al Bell in spring 1968, he brought Ingram along. Ingram’s early numbers included “Ain’t That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One),” “My Honey and Me, and “I’ve Been Here All the Time.” In 1971, Ingram expressed the goal of the Baylor-Ingram team. “We want to go to the top of the whole musical affair- to the height of the musical world.” He nearly made it the next year with the hit “If Loving You is Wrong (I Don’t Want to be Right).” http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=216 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT This singer/songwriter's professional career began in New York with work for producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Several unsuccessful singles followed, including I Spy For The FBI, which failed in the wake of Jamo Thomas's 1966 hit version. Luther then moved to Koko Records, a tiny independent label later marketed by Stax. Ingram's career flourished in the wake of this arrangement. With Mack Rice he helped compose Respect Yourself for the Staple Singers, while several of his own releases were R&B hits. The singer's finest moment came when his 1972 recording of the classic Homer Banks, Raymond Jackson and Carl Hampton song, (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right.<br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=215 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT It's a sad, sad day here at MTV News. Even as we all recover from last night's Movie Awards, we're forced to confront the cold, harsh reality of another talented artist leaving us too soon. Marvin Isley, The Isley Brothers' bass player, died yesterday in Chicago at the age of 56. The Isley Brothers were one of the premiere pop funk-soul groups of the '70s, responsible for a range of hits that include "It's Your Thing," "That Lady," "Between the Sheets" (which Notorious B.I.G. famously sampled for Big Poppa) and, of course, "Shout," among many others. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=214 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The youngest of six boys, Marvin grew up knowing the power that comes from a strong family and the positive elements born out of healthy competition between siblings. Despite tremendous talent as a bass guitarist, Marvin was too young to participate in the original Isley Brothers group and joined in the early 70’s after proving himself to his older brothers via a trio made up of Marvin, his brother Ernie, and brother-in-law Chris Jasper. With Marvin providing bass, Chris on keyboard, and Ernie playing lead guitar, the older brothers had to give credit where it was due and welcomed them into the larger group.<br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=213 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Marvin Isley, 56, the bassist who helped the rhythm 'n' blues vocal trio the Isley Brothers reinvent themselves as a self-contained band and was featured on such hits as "That Lady," "Fight the Power," "Choosey Lover" and "Between the Sheets" died June 6 at a hospice in Chicago from complications of diabetes. Marvin joined the Brothers in 1972 when they were already well established as one of the most influential acts in soul and rock. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=212 SuperUser Account Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT "I grew up on Michael Jackson. I used to think I was Michael Jackson. My grandmother is real famous in the dance world. My grandmother had a famous dance business [The Bernice Johnson Dance School]. Her business and Alvin Ailey were the two top black dance companies out of New York. Bernice Johnson and Alvin Ailey. So I grew up around that type of shit. Michael Jackson... the people that my grandmother taught, her students, created the dances for the videos for "Thriller," "Beat It"... all the dances you see Mike doing and all those moves? http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=211 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=210 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Mike was born a cute African-American guy. "Normal", if you will, and very talented. Despite the current, sad stories about his lonely, sad childhood, Mike grew up surrounded by famous people and an adoring public. At age 5, Mike and his brothers were the amazing 'Jackson 5'. They played locally, then in New York and Philly. They were "discovered" by Gladys Knight and pianist Billy Taylor at the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem. By age 11, Mike was a Superstar. At age 13 he went solo and had his first #1 hit at 14 with "Ben" (a touching love song to a rat). http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=209 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The crispy locks – up for grabs in an online auction – were singed during filming for a 1984 Pepsi advert. The fire, which quickly spread across his head, was ignited by stray sparks from a pyrotechnics display. Tragedy was averted when Ralph Cohen, the executive producer of the advert, rushed on stage and flung his Armani jacket over Jackson’s head, smothering the flames. But some of Michael’s fried hair stuck to the lining and is now being auctioned by a private owner. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=208 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT During his extraordinary career, he sold an estimated 750 million records worldwide, released 13 No.1 singles and became one of a handful of artists to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Jackson as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time and "Thriller" as the Biggest Selling Album of All Time. Jackson won 13 Grammy Awards and received the American Music Award's Artist of the Century Award. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=207 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT When James was not yet 16, he dropped out of school permanently. To avoid being drafted, he joined the U.S. Naval Reserves. The bimonthly, weekend trainings were difficult to keep up with due to the increasing success with his first band, the Duprees. James was soon told to report for active duty in 1964. Instead, he fled to Canada. James continued his music career in Toronto and formed his first band called the Sailor Boys but they soon changed their name to the Mynah Birds. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=206 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT This was the biggest hit for James. He didn't have tremendous success as a solo artist, but was a prolific producer and innovator of Funk. Explaining how he came up with this song, he told Musician magazine in 1983: "I wanted to write a silly song. I was in the studio and everything else for the album (Street Songs) was done. I just put 'Super Freak' together really quickly. I wanted a silly song that had a bit of new wave texture to it. So I just came up with this silly little lick and expounded on it. I came up with the bass part first. Then I put a guitar on it and keyboards, doing the 'ehh ehh,' silly keyboard part. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=205 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The third in a family of eight children, James Johnson, Jr. was born in Buffalo and raised primarily by his mother, a strict Catholic who made ends meet by running numbers for the mob. At the age of 15 he ran away from home and joined the Navy, but quickly discovered that military life conflicted with his musical ambitions. After being reported AWOL as a result of skipping out on weekend training, James fled to Toronto where he established The Mynah Birds, a band that featured future Buffalo Springfield founders Neil Young and Bruce Palmer, as well as Goldy McJohn who later became part of Steppenwolf; helped by James' family connections (his uncle was Melvin Franklin of The Temptations), a deal was secured with Motown Records, but little was recorded and nothing ever released. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=204 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Though best known for unstoppable funk jams like "Super Freak" and "Give It to Me, Baby," his impact is evident not only in the chart stats, but in his artistic contributions as a composer and songwriter. James authored a fleet of irresistible tracks, from club bangers to sumptuous ballads, all delivered with passion and verve. Onstage he was a sequined dynamo and engaged the audience with energetic, theatrical, sexually charged performances, commanding the stage with ferocious authority. And while his own excess ultimately consumed him, hampering the final act of his career and claiming his life, Rick James is now remembered less for his feet of clay than for his grooves of gold. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=203 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT James began her long career as a singer early, singing doo-wop as a teenager in the 1950s. She has endured highs and lows, hampering her own success at times through a reckless existence that included heroin abuse, but she ultimately conquered her addiction, redirected her struggles back into her music, and became an R&B legend. She has enjoyed equal success crooning blues ballads, belting out rhythm and blues and rock and roll, or interpreting jazz. While the ease with which she can navigate these various styles demonstrates her impressive skill, it has also served to confound the music industry as to how to categorize her. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=202 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Etta James was an American singer. Her style spanned a variety of music genres including blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, gospel and jazz. Starting her career in the mid-1950s, she gained fame with hits such as "Dance With Me, Henry", "At Last", "Tell Mama", and "I'd Rather Go Blind" for which she wrote the lyrics. She faced a number of personal problems, including drug addiction, before making a musical resurgence in the late 1980s with the album The Seven Year Itch. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=200 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Etta James was a gospel prodigy. In 1954, she moved to Los Angeles to record The Wallflower. By 1960, her career began to soar. Despite her continued drug problems, she earned a Grammy nomination for her 1973 eponymous album. In 2006, she released the album All the Way. She is considered one of the most dynamic singers in music. After signing with Chicago's Chess Records in 1960, James' career began to soar. Chart toppers included duets with then-boyfriend Harvey Fuqua, the heart-breaking ballad "All I Could Do Was Cry," "At Last" and "Trust in Me." http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=199 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT They started performing together while they were still children and had a record deal with GM Records initially in 1968. They gained little recognition for this music at this time and spent considerable time as backing singers on the records of other artists. While touring with artists such as The Four Tops, Little Richard and The Impressions they met Curtis Mayfield. Mayfield was impressed enough to take them to his Curtom label where they recorded some songs such as "I Turn To You." http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=198 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The Jones Girls consisted of sisters Brenda, Valorie and Shirley Jones. They served as backup singers for Lou Rawls, Teddy Pendergrass, Aretha Franklin, and Le Pamplemousse. They worked with Diana Ross from 1975–78 and were the backup singers on Linda Clifford's 1978 album If My Friends Could See Me Now. Their biggest hit was "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else". The song broke the Billboard Magazine Top 40 at #38 in May 1979. The song was also a Top 5 R&B hit. An additional hit followed in 1980, with the single "I Just Love The Man", charting at #9 in January 1981. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=197 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Ask anyone who knows their soul "what is your favourite female group of all time", and don't be surprised if they answer "The Jones Girls". Why? Because this is a group that has produced some of the tracks that defined a generation of soul music, and technically are as good as anyone in the business. The group that started its career as support for none other than Diana Ross forged a superlative career to become one of the all time girl-group-greats. In fact, we would say THE Girl group of all time.<br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=196 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The daughters of Detroit-based gospel singer Mary Francis Jones, one of RCA Records' first gospel artists. Shirley and her middle sister Brenda began singing with their mother and were later joined by younger sister Valerie. During their teenage years, the sisters turned to secular music. Hooking up with manager Dick Scott, they began opening for acts such as The Four Tops and Little Richard. The trio first tried making their own records for the tiny Fortune label in Detroit during the 1960's, with no success. They moved to Hot Wax-Invictus, the company formed by Holland-Dozier-Holland, during the later part of the decade, but sales of those records weren't much better.  http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=195 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Known for both his years with the Temptations and his major solo hits of the 1970s, Eddie Kendricks was among the many soul legends who did his part to put Motown Records on the map. The expressive vocalist (who often sang in a falsetto) grew up in Birmingham, AL, but it was Motown's original home of Detroit that made him a star. Kendricks was still living in Alabama in the late '50s, when he formed the Primes with Kell Osborne and Temptation-to-be Paul Williams. After moving from Alabama to Detroit, the Primes caught the attention of a Motor City group known as the Distants (whose members included Tempations-to-be Otis Williams, Elbridge Bryant, and Melvin Franklin).  http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=194 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Eddie Kendrick, lead vocalist and founding member of the Temptations, suffered terribly before succumbing to lung cancer at the age of 52. In an interview earlier that year, Kendrick expressed how he'd been suprised at learning the news of his fate. He stated, "I went to have a check up and the doctor told me that I had a carcinoma, which is lung cancer. I was shocked at first because I had no symptoms that I knew of". In 1991, doctors removed his right lung in a effort to save his life. The surgery seemed to improve his health, and he was able to tour in Europe and Japan in the summer of 1992. Kendricks had been receiving liquid oxygen treatments, but he soon developed complications and was hospitalized at the Baptist Medical Center-Princeton on September 25th and would remain there until his death 10 days later. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=193 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Eddie Kendricks, we all have our favorite Temptation, and Eddie Kendricks certainly was mine. The sweetest and silkiest of tenors, quiet and cool, with a voice that made the woman drool. The tall, lean and handsome tenor from Union Springs, Alabama was little more than eighteen when he arrived in Detroit, the town where he would eventually find fame as a member of the Motown supergroup, The Temptations. Eddie arrived in Detroit along with childhood friends Paul Williams and Kell Osborne. Together they had formed a classic vocal group they called The Primes. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=192 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Influential R&B star Gerald Levert is getting the 'Best of' treatment this week. The 16-song compilation features the 'Casanova' singer, whose untimely death in 2006 shocked the music world, singing solo, with supergroup LSG (comprised of Levert, Keith Sweat and Johnny Gill), and with his father, O-Jays' member Eddie Levert. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=191 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Gerald Levert / Biography A contemporary soul singer whose smooth yet robust vocals brought energy and emotion to even his most serene recordings, Gerald LeVert grew up in the shadows of his father, Eddie LeVert, Sr., of the O'Jays. As a child, his father's status in the music industry nurtured and helped prepare Gerald for his prosperous music career as a writer, arranger, producer, and performer. As Gerald was entering his adulthood, he, good friend Marc Gordon, and his brother Sean formed the trio LeVert. They recorded their first single, entitled "I'm Still," on the independent Tempre label. Even though Gerald was still maturing as a vocalist, his powerful, stirring delivery on the single is worthy of praise. Peaking on the Billboard R&B charts at number 70, it survived for eight weeks. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=190 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Soul man Gerald Levert had an auspicious childhood as the son of R&B legend Eddie Levert, the lead singer of the O'Jays, and the choice gene pool seemed to kick in at an early age. While still a teenager, Levert joined with brother Sean and friend Marc Gordon to form the soul group LeVert and, after one independent release, signed with Atlantic Records in 1985. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=189 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Today marks the tenth anniversary of Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes’ unexpected departure from this earth, and it just wouldn’t be Thought Catalog if we missed an opportunity to bust our load over one of the ’90s greatest female performers. In vaguely chronological order: 1. TLC releases their first single, “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg.” This is almost too much swag for one video. We’ve got Left Eye rapping both the chorus and her own verse; we’ve got outfits that look like wedding photographer props; and perhaps most importantly, we’ve got the immortalization of the condom eye patch. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=188 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, who had four No. 1 hits with the Grammy-winning ’90s girl group TLC, died 10 years ago today when the car she was driving went off the road in Honduras and crashed. She had been filming a documentary that VH1 eventually aired as The Last Days of Left Eye. The singer-rapper hit it big with TLC, whose big hits included "Waterfalls" and "No Scrubs." THR looks back at her career on the 10th anniversary of her death in a Honduras car crash. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=187 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Hugely successful girl band TLC will reunite for the first time in nearly a decade to tour the US with Lisa 'Left Eye; Lopes, who died in a car accident in 2002 in Honduras, joining them via hologram. It comes hot on the heels of the late Tupac Shakur joining his old buddies Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre at the Coachella Festival in California. Given the success of that appearance, there has been speculation that the feat will be repeated but TLC are the first to follow suit. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=186 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT With Tuff Gong and the Bob Marley Museum only a twenty-minute drive from Norman Manley International Airport (Kingston), make Kingston your Jamaica base camp. If you're a recording artist, producer, or a spirited tourist, Kingston has many pleasures to offer to make your stay comfortable and enjoyable. Like most international cities, Kingston has great dining, activities, and night life all within close proximity to relaxing and affordable accommodations. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=185 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The Bob Marley biography provides testament to the unparalleled influence of his artistry upon global culture. Since his passing on May 11, 1981, Bob Marley's legend looms larger than ever, as evidenced by an ever-lengthening list of accomplishments attributable to his music, which identified oppressors and agitated for social change while simultaneously allowing listeners to forget their troubles and dance. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=184 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Unlike mere pop stars, Bob was a moral and religious figure as well as a major record seller internationally. To whom does one compare him? In a recent Sunday New York Times Arts and Leisure lead story, Stanley Crouch makes a compelling case for Louis Armstrong as the century’s “unequaled performer,” excelling not just in his instrumental inventiveness but in his vocal style as well, transforming the way music was made and listened to, and influencing performers of all stripes right down to this very day. But you don’t see thousands of Maori and Tongans and Fijians gathering annually to pay honor to Louis Armstrong; you don’t witness phalanxes of youth wandering the world sporting Louis Armstrong t-shirts. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=183 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Curtis Lee Mayfield was an African-American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is 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. Curtis Mayfield is a winner of both the Grammy Legend Award (in 1994) and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (in 1995), and was a double inductee into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted as a member of The Impressions into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, and again in 1999 as a solo artist. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=182 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Curtis Mayfield first came to prominence as a member of the Impressions, a smooth soul vocal group formed in Chicago in 1956. After one early hit in 1958 ("For Your Precious Love"), original lead singer Jerry Butler went solo, and Mayfield soon became the group's primary vocalist, composer, guitarist and all-around mastermind. Starting with "Gypsy Woman" in 1961, the group - signed to ABC-Paramount - rang up a string of hits including classics of the era like "People Get Ready." In 1970 Mayfield left for a solo career and changed his sound radically, dropping vocal harmonies and sweet melodies in favor of stripped-down funk jams, which contrasted with his pure, clear tenor. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=181 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Mayfield sang in several short-lived gospel groups before quitting high school after tenth grade to focus on music. He teamed up with the Roosters, a vocal group from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the group soon changed their name to the Impressions. The Impressions signed their first record contract with a subsidiary of Vee Jay records in 1958 and recorded their first single, "For Your Precious Love," which sold 150,000 copies in two weeks. Mayfield was sixteen years old when the Impressions sold out New York's Apollo Theater in Harlem for a week. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=180 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Curtis Mayfield is among an elite few members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame who have been inducted more than once. Mayfield was first inducted with the Impressions in 1991 and then as a solo artist in 1999. His solo career, which began in 1970, is significant for the forthright way in which he addressed issues of black identity and self-awareness. He has been cited as an influence by such latter-day performers as Lenny Kravitz, Ice-T, Public Enemy and Arrested Development. Mayfield’s ability to voice hard truths through funky, uplifting music has rendered him one of the great soul icons. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=179 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Gene McFadden and John Whitehead wrote this song along with Leon Huff, who along with Kenny Gamble produced the track and released it on their Philadelphia International label. The song was inspired by problems Whitehead faced with his family and friends. This song starts with a piano roll that Leon Huff played. He explained in an interview with National Public Radio: "'Back Stabbers sounds like something eerie, so that roll was like something horrible, because that's what back stabbers are. It reflected that type of drama." http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=178 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT He was half of the hit-making duo McFadden and Whitehead. John Whitehead was shot and killed outside his Philadelphia home in May 2004. His slaying remains unsolved. As teenagers, McFadden and Whitehead formed the soul group the Epsilons. The band toured with Otis Redding, who managed them until his death in 1967. Frustrated by their relative lack of success as performers, McFadden and Whitehead turned to songwriting and eventually wrote 400 songs together. They became songwriters for Philadelphia International Records, a soul music powerhouse. The first song they wrote for the label, "Back Stabbers," took the O'Jays to the top of the R&B charts in 1972.<br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=177 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In the early 1970s, the first song Gene ever wrote, entitled Backstabbers , bulleted up the pop charts, earned platinum status, turned the fresh young artists, THE OJAYS, into superstars, and proclaimed Gene McFadden as a naturally gifted songwriter. His excellence as a producer unfolded as he used his affable personality and wit to identify and groom his artists' unique vocal style, and couple it with his own dramatic musical inclination. Customizing an artist to deliver the truth in his true-to-life lyrics was his forte. Thus, he became labeled a ìmessage writer. His hit-making formula resulted in all-time favorites like, Wake Up Everybody , Bad Luck , and Somebody Told Me To Deliver This Message , all of which captured the enrapturing soul of the debut featured singer of HAROLD MELVIN & The BWE Notes, Teddy Pendergrass http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=176 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT A Philadelphia songwriting, production, and performing duo who were prominent at Philadelphia International during the ’70s, Gene McFadden and John Whitehead also scored a number one R&B hit as vocalists. Their single “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” was number one R&B in 1979 and peaked at number 13 pop. The two were members of the Epsilons as teens, a band that toured with and were managed by Otis Redding until his death in 1967. They later signed with Stax and had a moderate hit in 1970 with “The Echo.” When Lloyd Parkes left, McFadden & Whitehead changed their name to Talk of the Town and began working with Gamble & Huff. Although they were being primed to record for North Bay, when Gamble & Huff discovered the duo’s writing talents, they decided instead to employ them in that capacity at their label, Philadelphia International. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=175 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The Blue Notes were formed over thirty five years ago in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During those years they succeeded in their goal to reach the highest of heights in the world of music. They went on to become superstars by attaining national as well as international recognition. They have performed at Carnegie Hall, The Forum, Hollywood Bowl, Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Palladium in London . Their vocal talents and choreographic genius have always marked them 'specialists' in the trade. Among their credits, they have recordings of singles and albums that have reached Gold and Platinum status "If You Don't Know Me By Now" was nominated for a Grammy Award, "The Love I Lost" "Bad Luck" "Wake Up Everybody" the list of hits become endless. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=174 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Harold Melvin was one of the driving forces behind Philadelphia soul, leading his group the Blue Notes to the top of the charts during their stint on Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International label. Despite Melvin's billing out front, the Blue Notes' focal point was lead singer and onetime drummer Teddy Pendergrass, whose surging baritone graced the Blue Notes' recordings during their glory years of 1972-1975 and gave them a truly distinctive sound. Their output ranged from sweeping, extended proto-disco dance tracks to silky, smoldering ballads, all wrapped up in Gamble and Huff's lushly orchestrated production. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=173 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The group, originally known as “The Charlemagnes” was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the early 1950s. However in the 1960's the name was changed to Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, which soon went on to record several hits on Gamble & Huff’s Philadelphia International label between 1972 and 1976. After Harold Melvin’s, the founder and lead singer, untimely death in 1997, the Blue Notes regrouped and went on to perfect something that was already perfected. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=172 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Harold Melvin was born in Philadelphia and started his singing career at high school functions, on street corners and in local nightclubs. Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes signed with Philadelphia International Records in 1971 and recorded a string of Platinum and Gold hits, including Bad Luck, If You Don't Know Me By Now, I Miss You, Where Are My Friends, and Wake up Everybody. During the years, Harold has launched the careers of many artists, including Teddy Pendergrass, Billy Paul, Bunny Siegler and Sharon Paige. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=171 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT So im at my first Grammys. Radio City Music hall, feb 98. my label president Jay Boberg gave me his tickets so i can bask in the Grammy glory of one of the first non-Roots albums i helped produce that one big that night: Baduizm. it was a surreal night: my tix were prime seats smack dab in the middle of royalty. Aretha Franklin just did a LAST MINUTE (!!!!)` fill in of “Ava Maria” for an ailing Luciano Pavarotti. this crazy “SOY BOMB” incident just went down with Bob Dylan, and of course Erykah shoutin me out for her winning album of the year (“we did it, Ahmir!”)<br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=170 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The track concurrently bows atop the Yahoo! Videos list with 73,000 streams. After reaching No. 11, "Love" wrapped its Hot 100 chart run exactly 20 years ago this week. The song was Heavy D's biggest single on the tally, where he notched four other hits through 1995. On the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, he posted 14 entries between 1986 and 1994. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=169 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT His personal trainer - named only as Tony - told the gossip website Myers diversified his routine with boxing and hiking. Staff at Ultra Body Fitness have now erected a small memorial in his honour in the wake of this week's sad news. Tributes for the lead rapper of Heavy D and the Boyz have flooded out thick and fast from members of the Entertainment industry. U Can't Touch This singer MC Hammer tweeted: 'We had a lot of great times touring together. He had a heart of gold. He was a part of what's good about the world.' http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=168 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT There was once a time in music when the word “legend” was thrown around like thin, multicolored double dutch ropes on a warm Sunday. Everyone bestowed the word— which has become waterless, easily digestible, and as familiar as a catchphrase. And really, what makes a legend? Is it the effortless embodiment of a particular thing? The longevity? Impact? A body of work that boasts powerful praise? http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=167 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The Ohio Players are a funk and R&B band whose heyday was in the mid- to late 1970s. They formed in Dayton, Ohio in 1959 as the Ohio Untouchables, and initially included members Robert Ward (vocals/guitar), Marshall “Rock” Jones (bass), Clarence “Satch” Satchell (saxophone/guitar), Cornelius Johnson (drums), and Ralph “Pee Wee” Middlebrooks (trumpet/trombone). The Ohio Untouchables broke up in 1963, with Ward leaving for a solo career, but the core members of the group returned to Dayton and added Gary Webster (drums) and Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner (guitar) in 1964. The group added two more singers, Bobby Lee Fears and Dutch Robinson, and became the house band for New York City-based Compass Records in 1967. They soon became one of the better known R&B bands of the 1970’s. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=166 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The brainchild of guitarist Robert Ward, the group began as the Ohio Untouchables in Dayton, Ohio, in 1959. Bassist Marshall Jones, saxophonist and flutist Clarence "Satch" Satchell, and trumpeter Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrook comprised the unchanging core of the group over the decades. Apart from this trio, the band’s membership changed countless times over the course of almost four decades. Guitarist and vocalist Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner, keyboardist and percussionist William "Billy" Beck, conga player Robert "Kuum-ba" Jones, trumpeter Marvin "Merv" Pierce, percussionist James "Diamond" Williams, and rhythm guitarist and vocalist Clarence "Chet" Willis completed the band in the 1990s.<br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=164 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Originally dubbed "The Ohio Untouchables," and initially comprised of singer/guitarist Robert Ward, bassist Marshall "Rock" Jones, saxophonist/guitarist Clarence "Satch" Satchell, drummer Cornelius Johnson, and trumpeter/trombonist Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks, the group was formed in Dayton in 1959. The original lineup knocked around for a while during the 1960's as studio musicians before signing with Detroit-based Westbound Records. The newly christened "Ohio Players" made their debut with the single "Pain," reaching the R&B Top 40 in late 1971. An album, also titled "Pain," appeared that same year, and was followed in 1972 by "Pleasure," which launched the absurd smash "Funky Worm." "Ecstasy" appeared in 1973, and after 1974's "Climax," the Players signed to Mercury Records. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=165 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT With the Electric Flag's horn section in tow, Miles split to form his own group, the similarly eclectic Buddy Miles Express. Signed to Mercury, the group issued its debut album, Expressway to Your Skull, in 1968, with Miles' fellow Monterey Pop alum Jimi Hendrix in the producer's chair. In turn, Miles played on Hendrix's Electric Ladyland album, and later took part in an all-star jam session that resulted in Muddy Waters' Fathers and Sons album. Hendrix also produced the Miles Express' follow-up, 1969's Electric Church, and disbanded his backing band the Experience later that year; shortly afterward, Hendrix, Miles, and bassist Billy Cox formed Band of Gypsys, one of the first all-black rock bands. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=163 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Easily one of the most popular and best known musicians ever to come out of Omaha Nebraska – Buddy Miles was inducted into the Nebraska Music Hall of Fame in the summer of 2004 at his appearance at the Omaha (NE) Blues & Jazz Festival. Buddy Miles' musical career spans over 30 years and includes over 40 albums, six world tours, television specials, and TV commercials. He has performed with many of the biggest names in music during his career as a singer, drummer, and band leader. Buddy got his start in music performing with his father, George Miles and his band, The Bebops, at the age of twelve, and played drums for the jazz-influenced combo for several years. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=162 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Buddy Miles, the rock and R&B drummer, singer and songwriter whose eclectic career included stints playing with Jimi Hendrix and as the lead voice of the California Raisins, the animated clay figures that became an advertising phenomenon in the late 1980s, has died. He was 60. Miles died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at his home in Austin, Texas, according to an announcement on his website. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=161 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT David 'Fathead' Newman’s warm tone, occasionally terse phrasing, and always heartfelt delivery placed him in high demand by artists as diverse as B.B. King, Herbie Mann, Jane Monheit, and Gregg Allman. With over twenty recordings to his name, I Remember Brother Ray stands as an understated highlight, a record that doesn't so much jump out at you as it does gently sidle up beside you and ingratiates itself with its warmth and affability. Newman got his first big break with Ray Charles in the early '50s, playing in his band from '54 through '64 and subsequently making numerous guest appearances over the years. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=160 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT David "Fathead" Newman is seated in the ballroom of the Sheraton Hotel, waiting for his moment in the spotlight. It is the night of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Awards ceremony and the veteran saxophonist and former sideman for Ray Charles is one of its 12 honorees. Legends such as Screamin' Jay Hawkins and Bobby Byrd, who once led James Brown's Famous Flames, give high-octane performances that work the audience into a frenzy. But when Mr. Newman takes the stage, the wild-man antics, fancy footwork and soulful shouts are temporarily on hold. Cool is in session and it's time to settle down. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=159 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT David "Fathead" Newman was raised in Dallas, where he was mentored by alto saxophonist Buster Smith, who was one of the fathers of Texas saxophone and also a great influence on Charlie Parker. Newman eventually left Smith for a 12-year stint with Ray Charles, who encouraged Newman to make his own records while still working in Charles' band. In fact, for "Cellar Groove," recorded in 1962, Newman recruited some of his colleagues from the Ray Charles Band to perform with him, most notably (in this song) trumpeter Marcus Belgrave. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=158 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT David “Fathead” Newman was born in Corsicana, Texas on February 24, 1933. His family soon moved to Dallas, where they settled and David stayed through graduating Lincoln High School. After school, David found gigs in local bands. He received a scholarship to Jarvis Christian College where he studied theology and music. After two years of college, David decided to go on the road full time with Buster Smith (Charlie Parker's mentor). The band played lots of one-nighters and dance halls, touring Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and sometimes California. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=157 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Teddy's mother who discovered his voice when he was only 2 1/2 years old when he began singing in church. At age 6 he was chosen for the All-City Elementary School Boys Choir. His love for performing grew when he would accompany his mother to work at a Philadelphia supper club (Sciolla's) where he would sneak into the dining room and watch performers ranging from Connie Francis to Chubby Checker to Bobby Darin. It was at the supper club that he also discovered another side of his musical talent: drumming. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=156 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In the early '80s, Teddy Pendergrass could do no wrong. Nicknamed Teddy Bear by adoring fans who fought over his sweat-soaked towels at ''For Women Only'' concerts, the robust, husky-voiced singer was at a peak. As the former lead singer of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, then as a solo artist, the Philadelphia-born Pendergrass had sold more than 10 million records in a decade-long stretch. But his life and career almost came to an end in the early hours of March 18, 1982, in Philadelphia, when his Silver Spirit Rolls-Royce hit a guardrail and crossed over into the opposite lane before hitting two trees. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=155 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Teddy Pendergrass started singing gospel music in Philadelphia churches, becoming an ordained minister at ten years old. While attending public school, he sang in the citywide McIntyre Elementary School Choir and in the All-City Stetson Junior High School Choir. A self-taught drummer, Pendergrass had a teen pop vocal group when he was 15. By his late teens, Pendergrass was a drummer for local vocal group the Cadillacs. In the late ’60s, the Cadillacs merged with another more-established group, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=154 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT "When Wilson Pickett screamed, he screamed notes," producer Jerry Wexler once said. "His voice was powerful, like a buzz saw, but it wasn't ever out of control. It was always melodic." Pickett's signature shout served as the climax for many of his 38 hit singles. "You can feel it comin'," said Pickett, "and you don't let go until the moment is exactly right." The man known as "the Wicked Pickett" and the "Midnight Mover" was soul's purest badass: Immortal songs like 1965's "In the Midnight Hour" and 1966's "Mustang Sally" brought a new level of ferociousness to R&B belting. But Pickett's good friend Solomon Burke notes that Pickett had another side. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=153 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Wilson Pickett was sent to Memphis to write with Otis Redding's collaborator, and the result was a smash single, “In the Midnight Hour” (1965). From that moment on, Pickett was a star. With his dazzling good looks and confident demeanor, he stood as a leading exponent of the Southern-fried school of soul singing. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=152 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Raw! Passionate! A Real Screamer! Those are just some of the shouts from audiences who witnessed and celebrated with a true icon of American Rock and Roll and Rhythm and Blues…the one and only Wilson Pickett. More than 50 of his songs made it to the R&B charts in the United States during one of the most pivotal times in American music history. The Sixties. Pickett’s music crossed genres, from rock and roll, to R&B to pop. His songwriting and performances earned him the distinction of being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. Wilson was the fourth of 11 children. Born in Prattville, Alabama on March 18, 1941, he grew up singing in Baptist church choirs. He moved to Detroit in 1955 where other entertainers such as Little Richard influenced him. His breakthrough release was when he recorded “In The Midnight Hour” at Stax Records. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=151 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Hundreds of colleagues, friends, family members, and music fans turned out at the Sheraton Hotel to help singer Bill Pinkney celebrate his 75th birthday at a formal banquet and a concert with many of America's top rhythm and blues and beach music stars. Friends flew in from as far away as Germany to attend the event. Alan Freed Foundation president Tony Belmont brought personal greetings from President Clinton. Representatives from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Hallelujah Productions, Cammy Awards, and others "roasted" Pinkney, while Harvey Fuqua gave a prayer http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=150 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT “The best act of its genre on the music scene today...”, the Bill Pinkney legacy group still reflects the entire Legendary Drifters presence in the music industry and weaves a blend of nostalgic magic with on-stage excitement. With today’s informed music lovers rejecting generic imitations, the group remains in demand.Music’s Drifters represent more than the story of a single group’s success. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=149 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Music’s Drifters represent more than the story of a single group’s success. Changes in personnel and management have led over the years to the sprouting of many Drifters permutations since organizer CLYDE MCPHATTER first went to the Atlantic Recording Company. When Atlantic rejected McPhatter's initial singers (The Mt. Lebanon Gospel Singers), he recruited versatile gospel singers BILL PINKNEY from the Southern Knights, and brothers GERHARDT and ANDREW THRASHER from The Thrasher Wonders to join forces with him. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=148 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Right after a show at the beginning of 1958, bass Bill Pinkney was once again fired from the Drifters. As road manager he had a better grasp of the financial situation than any other member of the group, and was always fighting with management for more money for the singers. Pinkney wasted no time getting back into the studio, cutting a single for Sam Phillips' Phillips International label: "After The Hop"/"Sally's Got A Sister," with a studio group called the Turks (not the West Coast group) subsequently overdubbed by bandleader Bill Justis. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=147 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In early 1969, Anita joined June and Bonnie to form The Pointer Sisters. Ruth joined her sisters in 1973, completing this quartet of unmatched angelic harmony. June's voice has been described as unrestrained, exuberant, soulful, wicked, wild and truthful. With her sisters, for the next 37 years, June toured America and the world bringing joy to millions and recorded 17 albums, in addition to two solo albums. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=146 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT June Pointer was the youngest of the Pointer Sisters – and she was the first (and only, as of now) of the sisters to die, six years ago today. At the height of their fame in the 1970s and '80s, the Pointer Sisters electrified the world with their perky, catchy songs. Years later, we still love listening to them. So today, in honor of June Pointer, we're sharing a few of our favorites. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=145 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT June, known by some fans as the energetic rock & roller, has stepped out on her own many times, even posing in Playboy magazine. In 1983 she contributed the song "Little Boy Sweet" to the soundtrack for National Lampoon's Vacation, starring Chevy Chase. That same year, her solo recording career debuted with the release of the album Baby Sister on Planet Records. The album was co-produced by Richard Perry and Norman Whitfield. The single "Ready for Some Action" reached the Top 30 on the R&B charts. Another great song from the album "New Love, True Love" was written by June with sister Anita and Trevor Lawrence. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=144 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Art Porter, Jr. was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1961. At the age of 9 Porter joined his father's band as a drummer and played with them into his teenage years. Soon after this, Porter began to be drawn to the saxophone after noticing it's melodic abilities, and began to play it during shows with the band, "The Art Porter Trio". Porter is a 1979 graduate of Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School in Little Rock, where he also played in the marching and jazz bands. When Porter turned 16, he began to be barred from clubs because he was under 21. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=143 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Porter was born in Little Rock on August 3, 1961, to an extraordinary musical family. Art Jr. became a premier saxophone player and composer. His father, Art Porter Sr., was an outstanding musician and jazz pianist, much in demand in the local music venue. The death of Art Porter Sr. in 1993 was a great loss for Little Rock and the jazz community. Many recall hearing Art Jr. playing a poignant Amazing Grace on saxophone at his fathers funeral in 1993. Reminiscent of that, Eric Struthers offered a heartfelt performance of that song on electric guitar at Art Jr.'s funeral service. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=142 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT To commemorate Porter's life and work,Art Porter Music Education Inc., a nonprofit that provides scholarships to budding musicians, will present a week's worth of music and events to celebrate the virtuoso musician's life, which was cut far too short. Porter's father, Art Porter Sr., was also a renowned jazz musician, as well as an educator, entertainer and television producer. Initially, Porter Jr. got his start playing drums in his dad's band. By his mid teens, he was drawn to the saxophone, and proved to be a prodigy. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=141 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Samuel Moore and David Prater were both raised in the Southern United States, where they sang in church as children. During the '50s, they performed in soul and R&B clubs with the gospel groups The Melionaires and The Sensational Hummingbirds, respectively, before meeting each other in at the King of Hearts club in Miami in 1961. Moore was hosting an amateur-night contest where Prater was singing. Once, Dave forgot the lyrics to Jackie Wilson's "Doggin' Around," Sam coached him through the song. Following that night, the singers agreed to work as a duo and soon became a popular local Miami act and signed with Roulette Records, releasing a handful of unsuccessful singles before being signed to Atlantic Records in 1965. Atlantic persuaded their Memphis affiliate, Stax Records, to produce them. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=140 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT When Sam Moore and Dave Prater were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, it was largely in recognition of their hard-driving soul hits of the 1960s. Songs like "You Don't Know Like I Know," "Hold On, I'm Comin'," "Soul Man," and "I Thank You" made the duo one of the most popular soul acts of the era. Sam and Dave were part of the Memphis Sound, which revolved around the Stax and Volt family of record labels and included soul stars such as Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett, songwriters like Isaac Hayes, and songs that featured backup musicians like Booker T and the MGs and the Memphis Horns. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=139 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Sam Moore and Dave Prater's string of soul and pop hits made them the '60s' most successful black vocal duo. Both had grown up singing in church, and each was a regular solo performer in Southern clubs before they met in 1961 at Miami's King of Hearts club: Moore was emceeing an amateur-night show, and when Prater forgot the words to a Jackie Wilson song, "Doggin' Around," Moore coached him the rest of the way. The pair became a popular club attraction in the Miami area and soon signed to Roulette. They moved to Atlantic in 1965, though executive Jerry Wexler arranged for their records to be recorded at and released by Stax Records.<br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=138 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The greatest of all soul duos, Sam (Moore) and Dave (Prater) brought the sound of the black church to pop music with their string of call-and-response hits for Stax Records from 1965 to 1968. The pair usually worked with the songwriting and production team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter, using Booker T. and the M.G.’s as backing musicians. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=137 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT <p>The great singer-songwriter and performer <strong>Billy Preston</strong>, the real "Fifth Beatle," has died after a long illness as a result of malignant hypertension that resulted in kidney failure and other complications. As a result of a medical insult, he'd been in a deep coma since last November 21, but was still struggling to recover. He died at Shea Scottsdale Hospital in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he'd lived for the last couple of years.</p> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=136 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Preston was an American rhythm and blues musician from Houston, Texas: raised mostly in Los Angeles, California. In addition to his successful, Grammy Award-winning career as a solo artist, Preston collaborated with some of the greatest names in the music industry, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Band, Nat King Cole, Little Richard, http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=135 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Before Billy fell ill he participated in the recording of this version of his great Billy Preston authored composition, "You Are So Beautiful," with his dear friend Sam Moore for Sam's newly released (Aug 29, 2006) album "Sam Moore Overnight Sensational." His sudden coma moved Sam, Joyce and the album's producer Randy Jackson to find a way to complete the track as a loving and respectful tribute to their Billy P that includes vocals from both Preston and Moore and the rarely recorded second verse of the song. (The verse Joe Cocker never tracked.) http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=134 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Louis was raised on the South Side of Chicago by his grandmother, he was a member of his Baptist church choir when his was seven. As a teenager, his horizons expanded with trips to the Regal Theatre to see Billy Eckstine, Arthur Prysock and Joe Williams. "I loved the way they could lift the spirit of the audience," he remembers. Influenced too by doo-wop, he'd harmonize with high school classmate Sam Cooke, and they joined groups such as the Teenage Kings Of Harmony. In the Fifties, Rawls ventured to Los Angeles and was recruited for the Chosen Gospel Singers, with whom he was first heard on record. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=133 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Established in 2007, the mission of the Lou Rawls Scholarship Foundation (LRSF) is to provide academic scholarships to qualified minority students and assist these students in obtaining a college education. The objective of the Lou Rawls Scholarship Foundation is to invest in the lives of underprivileged students and encourage their education, as well as their personal and professional development. The Foundation's ultimate goal is that these students will be equipped with the tools necessary to make a meaningful contribution to their communities and to society. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=132 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Born on the rough South side of Chicago in the mid 1930s, Rawls cut his musical teeth on Gospel music. But the '50s secular stylings of the rising doo-wop movement as well as jazz artists such as Billy Eckstine and Joe Williams appealed to him, and as a teen he joined classmate Sam Cooke in the group Teenage Kings of Harmony. After a stint in the Army, he moved back to Gospel, working as part of the Pilgrim Travelers in Los Angeles. He was sidelined for several months in the late 50s by a tragic auto accident that almost killed him, and after recovering he left the Travelers and became a solo secular artist on the L.A. jazz nightclub scene. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=131 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Lou’s voice is as distinctive and instantly recognizable as any in music. It all began on December 1, 1933, in Chicago with the birth of a boy, who would become the legendary Lou Rawls. From Lou’s early days in gospel, his collaborations with Sam Cooke, “The Dick Clark Show” at the Hollywood Bowl in 1959, the opening for The Beatles in 1966 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, his monologues in the 1970s that presaged rap music to becoming a “crossover” artist before the term was invented, there has been one constant in Lou Rawls’ career––a voice that one critic proclaimed was “sweet as sugar, soft as velvet, strong as steel, smooth as butter.” http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=130 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT JR2 Better known as Joshua & Joseph Record, grandchildren of Mr. Record are spotlighted on the remake & sampled CD out July 22nd 2012. Produced by B.A. Record, son of the Late Great Eugene Record, has a hand full of surprises in store for the old school as well as the new school fans of Record's music. Kaleo Record, Michelle Protho Record, & Michael Record (M-JUDA) are among the family members that have gotten together to finally pull this one out of their hat http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=129 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Originally called the Hi-Lites, they consisted of Marshall Thompson (birthday 24th Aug), Creadel "Red" Jones, Eugene Record, Robert Lester (birthday 16th August) and Clarence Johnson. As the Hi-Lites they released a number of singles on local labels then in 1964 they changed their name to Marshall & the Chi-Lites; the 'C' being added to reflect the name of their hometown, Chicago. By the end of 1964 Clarence Johnson had left the group and they truncated their name to simply the Chi-Lites. During the ensuing four years Eugene Record slowly emerged as the group's lead singer, songwriter and producer. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=128 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Famous as lead singer with the Chi-Lites - who had more than 40 R&B hit singles in America between 1969 and the late 80s. Eugene Record had a much broader range of talents than many of his contemporaries. His career was greatly enriched by his own song writing and production skills, in addition to his distinctive tenor/falsetto lead vocals with the Chi-Lites. His overtly commercial brand of soul was a little saccharine in some cases but his creative talents and contributions to contemporary music have long been widely acknowledged. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=127 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT A turning point in Otis Redding's career came when he drove Johnny Jenkins to Memphis for a recording session. The session was held at a new studio known as Stax and although it was Jenkins who had initially attracted the attention of the record producers, Otis was able to do some recording of his own at the end of the session. He managed to get a song that he had written titled These Arms Of Mine released and it made the top twenty on the R&B charts in 1963. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=126 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In his youth, Redding was influenced by both Little Richard and Sam Cooke, and early in his career he was a member of Little Richard's backing band, the Upsetters. In the late '50s, he met Johnny Jenkins, a local guitarist, who invited him to join his group, the Pinetoppers, who were managed by Phil Walden. Feeling that he'd gone as far as he could go in Macon, Redding moved to L.A. in 1960. There he cut a handful of singles, including the Little Richard-esque "Gamma Lamma." Upon returning to Macon in 1961, he recorded "Shout Bamalama" and garnered some local attention. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=125 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Although his career was relatively brief, cut short by a tragic plane crash, Otis Redding was a singer of such commanding stature that to this day he embodies the essence of soul music in its purist form. His name is synonymous with the term soul, music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, secular testifying. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=124 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In 1962, Redding recorded a song he had written,"These Arms of Mine" at a Johnny Jenkins session at Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee. The song became a major R&B hit and a minor pop hit in early 1961 on the newly form Volt subsidiary of Stax, to which he was quickly signed. Now recording in Memphis with the Stax house band Booker T. and The MGs, Redding had a number of crossover hits for Volt that included "That's What My Heart Needs," "Pain In My Heart," and "Chained and Bound." His first moderate hit was "Mr. Pitiful" in early 1965. Redding toured regularly through 1967, accompanied by Booker T. and The MGs or The Bar-Kays, developing a greater initial following in Europe than in the U.S. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=123 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT With a startling five-octave vocal range, Minnie Riperton was one of the most technically accomplished singers in R&B history. Unfortunately, with the exception of the delicate 1975 single "Loving You," Riperton never achieved the commercial success she deserved. The Chicago native first recorded as part of the girl group The Gems. Later, under the name Andrea Davis, she became the lead singer of the psychedelic soul group Rotary Connection. In the early '70s, Riperton joined Stevie Wonder's backing group, Wonderlove; Wonder secured a solo contract for Riperton and produced several of her records. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=122 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Riperton grew up on Chicago's South Side. As a child, she studied music, drama, and dance at Chicago's Lincoln Center. In her teen years, she sang lead vocals for the Chicago-based girl group, The Gems. Her early affiliation with the legendary Chicago-based Chess Records afforded her the opportunity to sing backup for various established artists such as Etta James, Fontella Bass, Ramsey Lewis, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, and Muddy Waters. While at Chess, Riperton also sang lead for the experimental rock/soul group Rotary Connection, from 1967 to 1971. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=121 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The tragic 1979 death of 31-year-old Minnie Riperton silenced one of soul music's most unique and unforgettable voices -- blessed with an angelic five-octave vocal range, she scored her greatest commercial success with the chart-topping pop ballad "Lovin' You." Riperton was born in Chicago on November 8, 1947; as a youth she studied music, drama, and dance at the city's Lincoln Center and later contemplated a career in opera. Her pop career began in 1961 when she joined the local girl group called the Gems, signing to the famed Chess label to release a handful of singles as well as lend backing vocals to acts including Fontella Bass, the Dells, and Etta James. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=120 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Max Roach is a renowned American percussionist and composer. He was born in the year of 1925 in New Land, North Carolina, but he began his extensive career at the age of ten when he began playing drums in Brooklyn, New York for gospel music groups. These gospel groups proved to contribute the most significant influence to his musical style. He also studied at the Manhattan School of Music. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=119 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Roach was born on January 10, 1924 in a poor North Carolina town called New Land. Seeking better opportunities, his parents moved the family to New York City. During the 1930’s, New York was teeming with outstanding bands and musicians, and Roach saw stars like Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington and Jimmie Lunceford on a regular basis. He recalls what powerful role models these great musicians and bandleaders were to the youth of his day. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=118 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Max Roach's death last Wednesday, at age 83, marks another step toward the end of the modern jazz world's greatest generation. Only a few remain among the giants who were present alongside Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie as they created the harmonically adventurous, rhythmically turbulent postwar music called bebop. There's still Sonny Rollins, 76; Roy Haynes, 82; Hank Jones, 88. A few of their immediate successors remain active as well: Lee Konitz, 79; Ornette Coleman, 77. But there aren't many more. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=117 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Jimmy was on tour as part of the Motortown Revue, a bill which also included The Temptations. He heard they needed a new tenor and encouraged David to give it a shot (though he also tried out for the band himself). Impressed with his showmanship, the band gave David Ruffin the job in 1964. The next three years would be the most successful in Ruffin’s life and in the band’s history. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=116 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Ruffin was born Davis Eli Ruffin on January 18, 1941 in the rural unincorporated community of Whynot, Mississippi, the son of Eli, a Baptist minister, and Ophelia Ruffin (née Davis). His father was strict and at times violently abusive. Ruffin's mother died just months after his birth and his father married a schoolteacher, Earline, in 1942. As a young child, Ruffin, along with his other siblings (older brothers Quincy and Jimmy, and sister Rita Mae), traveled with their father and their stepmother as a family gospel group opening shows for Mahalia Jackson and The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi among others. He also had an older sister Rosetta who died as a child. Ruffin sang in the choir at Mount Salem Methodist Church, talent shows, and wherever else he could. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=115 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT David Ruffin, a native of Whynot, Mississippi, made his musical reputation as the lead singer for the pop group The Temptations with such hits during the 1960's as "My Girl," "Ain't Too Proud To Beg," "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep," and "I Wish It Would Rain." The Temptations scored major hits in 1967 and 1968 with Ruffin leading the way, propelling him toward a solo career with Motown records throughout most of the 1970's. During the 1980's, Ruffin teamed up with former Temptations Eddie Kendricks and Dennis Edwards. Ruffin and Kendricks performed with Hall & Oates at the renovated Apollo Theatre in Harlem, then at the Live Aid concert for African famine victims and on the anti-apartheid record Sun City. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=114 SuperUser Account Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The Ohio Players, Ohio Players, The American funk and pop band from Dayton, Ohio, that put an indelible stamp on black music from the urban Midwest in the 1970s. The principal members were Clarence (“Satch”) Satchell, Leroy (“Sugarfoot”) Bonner, Greg Webster, James (“Diamond”) Williams, Dayton, Ohio), Marshall Jones , Ralph (“Pee Wee”) Middlebroo , Marvin (“Merv”) Pierce, Walter (“Junie”) Morrison, and Billy Beck. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=113 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The original lineup knocked around for a while during the 1960's as studio musicians before signing with Detroit-based Westbound Records. The newly christened "Ohio Players" made their debut with the single "Pain," reaching the R&B Top 40 in late 1971. An album, also titled "Pain," appeared that same year, and was followed in 1972 by "Pleasure," which launched the absurd smash "Funky Worm." "Ecstasy" appeared in 1973, and after 1974's "Climax," the Players signed to Mercury Records. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=112 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Today would be Clarence Satchell’s birthday, had we not lost him in 1995 to a brain aneurysm. Satch, as his friends called him, was a member of the Ohio Players, and played saxophone and guitar for the group. The Ohio Players had eight Top-40 hits in the seventies, two of them reaching #1! Check out the great video of them doing their biggest hit live on The Midnight Special TV show… http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=111 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Scott-Heron was somewhat of an icon in my hometown; I grew up in Michigan and was chilled by his song "We Almost Lost Detroit." In this new studio session, he sings movingly about the mining industry. His health may be shaky, but his convictions remain rock-solid. Since writing poetry as a teenager and making his first foray into songs on 1970's Small Talk at 125th & Lenox, Gil Scott-Heron's fusion of message and music has influenced countless activists and artists. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=110 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Gil Scott-Heron won fame with his funky spoken-word piece "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." To this day, the subjects of Scott-Heron's soulful piano tunes range from civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer to coal mining towns in Tennessee. But what people may not know is that Scott-Heron played an instrumental role in getting an official national holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. In the summer of 1980, Scott-Heron went on tour with Stevie Wonder. They rallied people in Washington to support the Black Congressional Caucus' proposal for a King holiday. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=109 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT On 8th /9th February 2010, Gil Scott-Heron will release his new album “I’m New Here” on groundbreaking independent label XL Recordings. Produced by XL label owner Richard Russell, “Im New Here” is Scott-Heron’s first album in thirteen years. “I’m New Here” sees Scott-Heron reflecting on his life with his trademark vocal power and insight, sharing his visions among Russell’s flickering, electronic soundscapes. The pair started recording the album in 2007, with the majority of the record being recorded over the last twelve months in New York at Clinton Studios. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=108 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Dubbed the “Godfather of Rap,” Scott-Heron has become a ubiquitous and practically de rigueur influence for everyone from hip hoppers and indie rockers to aging literati and dyed-in-the-wool academics. As the author of dozens of distinctive poems and songs including “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” “Save the Children,” “The Bottle,” “Home Is Where the Hatred Is,” “Johannesburg,” “Angel Dust,” and “Re-Ron,” Scott-Heron has cultural cache to spare. And for good reason: his recordings gave voice to the progressive cultural and identity politics that shaped postwar America. From Watergate to Apartheid, the Bicentennial to Reaganomics, and the Gulf War to gang wars, Scott-Heron has framed the issues for fellow political activists around the world. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=107 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT "Live 2 Tell," a script he wrote in 1995 about an inner-city black youth who becomes a drug kingpin and later goes straight, was acquired by Insomnia Media Group, which plans to begin production next March, company Chairman Bret Saxon and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bowler said Tuesday. Insomnia acquired the rights from Tupac's mother, Afeni Shakur, who will be a producer on the film, which has not yet been cast. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=106 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation (TASF) is home to the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts, just outside of Atlanta in Stone Mountain, Georgia. TASF was founded in 1997 originally as the Shakur Family Foundation by Afeni Shakur, mother of multi-talented Tupac Amaru Shakur. Since its inception TASF has offered performing arts camps, essay competitions, youth book clubs, visual arts workshops, community development projects, and scholarships to students pursuing undergraduate degrees. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=105 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Tupac Shakur's life supposedly ended in September of 1996, a gangster who died a gangster's death, the victim of a drive-by shooting. But in the years since, fans and friends of the rapper/actor have kept rumors alive that the star might not have died at the hands of an anonymous gunman that warm September night. It's here, at the supposed end of Shakur's life, where our journey begins. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=104 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT A convicted killer has stepped forward to say he was behind the 1994 robbery and shooting of Tupac Shakur that fueled the bloody rivalry many blame for the rapper's murder two years later. Dexter Isaac, now serving a life sentence, told AllHipHop.com that he robbed Shakur outside the Quad Studio in Manhattan in November 1994 on the orders of hip hop mogul James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=103 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT While 2Pac was most famous for his rap career, he was also a gifted actor, poet and thoughtful while outspoken advocate for the poor and the overlooked in America. During his life, he produced an immense amount of artistic work, which included studio albums, major Hollywood feature films, and published works. He was most prolific in the music industry, selling over 75 million albums. 2Pac’s unapologetic lyrics were relevant, important, and reflective of the hard lives led by many. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=102 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Three days after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, performer Nina Simone and her band played at the Westbury Music Festival on Long Island, N.Y. They performed "Why? (The King of Love is Dead)," a song they had just learned, written by their bass player Gene Taylor in reaction to King's death. Simone's brother, Samuel Waymon, who was on stage playing the organ, talks with Lynn Neary about that day and reaction to the civil rights leader's assassination.<br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=101 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The Eunice Waymon—Nina Simone Memorial Project (NSP) exists to honor the remarkable life and legacy of a native Tryon, North Carolina daughter, who achieved international recognition for her unique talent and her formidable contribution to the musical arts. The musical talent of Eunice Waymon, who was born in 1933, evidenced itself early on. By age 4 she had begun to play piano; by age 7, she had begun to play organ as well—each of which she did for St. Luke’s C.M.E. Church. Waymon’s formal musical training began shortly thereafter under the tutelage of Muriel Mazzanovich, wife of noted artist Lawrence Mazzanovich. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=100 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT A year following its re-launch, NinaSimone.com has managed to feature exclusive content from the iconic singer including unreleased songs, video performances, interviews and guest commentary. Serving as the executor of her mother's estate, Simone (Lisa Simone Kelly) admitted that the newly revamped site stems from her “perspective.” http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=99 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT I discovered Nina Simone’s music when I was walking down the hall in my dorm at Webster College in St. Louis. I heard Nina’s voice coming from my friend’s room – it was “Four Women.” I stood in the hall transfixed and then went out and bought all of Nina’s albums. She was so raw and seemingly unafraid — but something in me sensed great vulnerability beneath her boldness. Years later I finally met her. My dear friend Attallah Shabazz brought her to see me in “The Diva is Dismissed,” the one-woman show I was performing at The Hudson Theatre in Los Angeles. I knew she was in the audience and gave her my best performance! http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=98 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Of all the major singers of the late 20th century, Nina Simone was one of the hardest to classify. She recorded extensively in the soul, jazz, and pop idioms, often over the course of the same album; she was also comfortable with blues, gospel, and Broadway. It's perhaps most accurate to label her as a "soul" singer in terms of emotion, rather than form. Like, say, Aretha Franklin, or Dusty Springfield, Simone was an eclectic who brought soulful qualities to whatever material she interpreted. These qualities were among her strongest virtues; paradoxically, they also may have kept her from attaining a truly mass audience. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=97 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Born James Oscar Smith in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA. Smith was influenced by both gospel and blues. He first achieved prominence in the 1950s where his recordings became popular on jukeboxes before there were commonly used terms to describe his unique musical flavor. In the sixties and seventies he helped create the jazz style known as 'funk' or 'soul jazz'. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=96 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Once described as an "excitement merchant" for his soul-stirring sound, Jimmy Smith brought the Hammond B-3 organ to the forefront of the jazz community. The virtuosic keyboard man was the first to use the unwieldy instrument extensively in jazz, leading bassless trios, fronting powerful big bands and pioneering a path for every organist who followed. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=95 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT It is one of the classic injustices of the music business that credit is not always given where credit is due. The past few years have seen a huge resurgence in the popularity of the Hammond B3 organ. Artists like Medeski, Martin and Wood are now bringing the B3 back into the public eye especially to a younger audience. A mass of wood, pedals, stops and keys, the B3 is not an easy instrument to play but its sweet distinct sound is unmistakable. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=94 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Nineteen ninety-four marks forty years for Jimmy Smith on the Hammond organ. Although he made the switch from the piano in 1953, Jimmy did not really find his voice on the organ until the following year. Woodshedding took place in the warehouse where he and his father worked as plasterers. Jimmy recalls: "I got my organ from a loan shark had it shipped to the warehouse. I stayed in that warehouse, I would say, six months to a year. I would do just like the guys do--take my lunch, then I'd go and set down at this beast. Nobody showed my anything, man, so I had to fiddle around with my stops." http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=93 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Rightly revered for the storming protest classic "War," Edwin Starr didn't really need another hit to achieve legendary status in soul circles, so electrifying was that single performance. Starr first made his name as "Agent Double-O-Soul," and when his contract was transferred to Motown, he instantly became one of the roughest, toughest vocalists on the crossover-friendly label, with his debt to James Brown and the Stax soul shouters. Even if nothing else ever matched the phenomenon of "War," Starr had several Top Ten hits on the R&B charts over the late '60s and early '70s, and also enjoyed a brief renaissance during the disco era. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=92 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Motown hitmakers Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong wrote this song. Starr began his career recording for Ric-Tic Records, a Detroit label that was a rival to Motown. In 1968, Motown bought Ric-Tic, which gave Starr access to their writers and producers. This is a protest song about the Vietnam war, although it makes a broader statement of the need for harmony in our everyday lives. This was one of the first Motown songs to make a political statement. The label had always been focused on making hit songs, but around this time Motown artists like The Temptations and Marvin Gaye started releasing songs with social commentary, many of which were written by Whitfield. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=91 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In 1957, Starr formed a doo-wop group, The Future Tones, and began his singing career. Starr lived in Detroit, Michigan, in the 1960s and recorded at first for the small record label Ric-Tic, and later for Motown Records after the latter absorbed Ric-Tic in 1968. The song which began his career was "Agent Double'O'Soul" (1965), a reference to the James Bond films popular at the time. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=90 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Edwin Starr was an integral part of the soul and dance floor scene since the mid-fifties and the formation of his first band The Future Tones in 1956. He was on the road right to the end. In 1962, after completing two years of military service in the USA and Germany he moved to Detroit, the automobile city. By the middle of the decade he was a member of the artistes on the up-and-coming RicTic label under Ed Wingate. Together they released one immortal Northern Soul hymn after another. Songs like "Agent 00 Soul", S.O.S (Stop her On Sight)" and "Headline News" laid the foundations for Edwins' continuing world-wide fame. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=89 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT One of Motown's most consistent hitmakers and its longest lived lineup (40 years), the Four Tops were the most stable and consistent vocal groups to emerge from Motown Records in the '60s, charting with scores of upbeat love songs featuring Levi Stubbs' rough hewn lead vocals. The Four Tops were products of Detroit's North End. Levi Stubbs and Abdul "Duke" Fakir sang together in a group while attending Pershing High School. Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton were boyhood friends and attended Northern High together in Detroit who. It was while singing at a friends birthday party in 1954 they found they were good at it. They began practicing the next day and soon began calling themselves the Four Aims. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=88 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Though he was the lead singer of The Four Tops, his name isn’t as well known as those of others who have fronted Motown acts, like Smokey Robinson or Diana Ross. The reason is not that Stubbs was uncharismatic or unable to handle fame – it was that he chose not to overshadow his bandmates. Over the years, he declined to take top billing and turned down several offers at a lucrative solo career. The Four Tops began when four friends – Stubbs, Duke Fakir, Obie Benson and Lawrence Payton – got together to start a singing group Stubbs wanted them to remain always a group of equals and friends.<br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=87 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT For a few hours on Monday afternoon, some of the Motown family was reunited in grief, remembrance and song at the funeral of Levi Stubbs, lead singer of the Four Tops. Mr. Stubbs, 72, died Oct. 17 at his home here, eight years after he stopped performing with the group, which had more than 40 top hits on the Billboard charts over the years, including “Standing in the Shadows of Love” and “Baby, I Need Your Loving.” http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=86 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Deep-voiced singer Levi Stubbs began his professional singing career in his hometown when he and friends Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, and Lawrence Payton formed the Four Aims vocal group in 1954 (some accounts put the date a year earlier). The group worked as a supper club act for a couple of years, changing their name to the Four Tops and, following unsuccessful recording stints with Chess and Columbia, signed to Berry Gordy's then-fledgling Motown Records in 1963. They completed a debut LP for Motown in their polished and jazzy supper club style but it wasn't really what Gordy was looking for and he switched their style to a harder, more pop-flavored R&B sound, wisely placing them in the hands of the in-house Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=85 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Donna Summer may be best remembered as the Queen of Disco, but she became an enduring artist whose legacy extends to some of today's biggest pop stars. "When you talk about Beyonce, who wants to be known for several things, Donna Summer made that possible," Billboard editor Joe Levy told ABCNews.com. "She was a dance artist and a disco artist, but she also wanted to do rock songs and Broadway-like ballads. She continued to work well beyond her prime and remained relatively active throughout her life. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=84 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The single and remixes. On her latest single "To Paris With Love", Donna brings to life the feelings, the passions, the love affair she has for the the City of Lights, the dazzling world capital of romance, culture, fashion and style. Audiences will be taken on a musical journey into the seductive sounds and flavors of that versatile and ever-evolving city, Paris.With this track, Donna has returned to the influences that have helped shape her career, which began in Europe and where she has always felt at home.<br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=83 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Most people know about her hits. Great songs like "Last Dance", Hot Stuff", "On The Radio" and "She Works Hard For The Money." What most people don't know is that Donna started off as Donna Gaines in a rock band called The Crow. And that when the band broke up, she left school to be in the German production of the the musical Hair. Once in Germany, there was no stopping Donna. She was active in musical theater, playing in such shows as Showboat, Porgy And Bess, and The Me Nobody Knows, and in 1971 she cut her first solo record, "Sally Go 'Round The Roses" http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=82 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT A memorial service for Donna Summer Sudano was held Wednesday, May 23rd at Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, TN. Summer Sudan was a Nashville resident since 1995. The private service, officiate by Pastor Tim Johnson, was attended by her family and close friends. I began with an intimate time of worship lead by Kim Walker-Smith and Chris McClarney, which included the songs "Be Lifted High: and " How He Loves Us." http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=81 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT "My dad had an ear for harmony that was unbelievable. So he taught us all these Frank Sinatra songs." -Charmaine Sylvers "Music is my life. I think about it all the time. I'm always into it in someway, singing or writing." -Leon Sylvers III(1973) "There's no one star in the group. We all get a crack at taking over the audience's attention." -Ricky Sylvers "I was up front a lot because I had the most commercial voice, but there was never any one lead." -Edmund Sylvers "We like to think that it's our voices and choreography that draw a lot of our fans, but I think our most important selling point is that we're a close family." -James Sylvers http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=80 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Formed in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, and originally known as the Little Angels, the Sylvers were a family act tutored by their former opera singing mother, Shirley Sylvers. Her children, Leon Frank III, Charmaine, Olympia-Ann and James, started performing at local talent shows in Memphis, before moving to Harlem, New York - providing a more sympathetic audience for their pop R&B. Tours followed with Ray Charles and Johnny Mathis during school holiday breaks, until in the early 70s they relocated from east coast to west coast, taking up residence in Watts, Los Angeles, and calling themselves the Sylvers. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=79 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT When Larkin Arnold, then vice president for Capitol Records, signed them in 1975, he hired Motown veteran Freddie Perren to produce them. Perren helped write and produce three #-1 singles for The Jackson Five and one for Michael Jackson. The first time Perren heard The Sylvers, he knew he would be working with 24-carat material. The group had many of the same strengths as the early Jacksons, including a lead singer (Edmund) who was beginning to mature, but still had a youthful flavor to his voice. Lyricist Keni St. Lewis, one of Perren's oldest friends and collaborators, came to rehearsals and suggested they come up with a song using one of the popular words of the day, "boogie." The funky tune that emerged, "Boogie Fever," featured all nine Sylvers, including the youngest sisters Angelia and Pat. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=78 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The 70's American rhythm and blues band the Main Ingredient was founded in Harlem, New York City in the year 1964, although they would not achieve much prominence until the following decade. The Main Ingredient band's original line up included Tony Sylvester, Donald McPherson, and Luther Simmons, Jr. Originally, they called themselves the Poets. Soon after, they changed their names to the Insiders and were swiftly picked up by RCA Records. By the end of the 1960s, the group had changed their name for a third and final time to the Main Ingredient, the name under which they would come to be known. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=77 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Hailed from New York, Cuba Gooding Sr., who once worked as a door to door salesman and a debt collector, began his musical career by teaming up with Tony Sylvester, Luther Simmons Jr., and Donald McPherson in a group called The Poets during the 1960’s. Later, the band became The Insiders and then became The Main Ingredient. In 1971, when the lead vocalist McPherson became too ill to tour, he took on the position, an alteration that led to a fruitful performing career. Within three years, The Main Ingredient had produced such major hits as” Everybody Plays the Fool” (1972) and the remake of the Ronnie Dyson melody “I Just Don’t Want To Be Lonely” (1974). Cuba departed the group in 1978 to chase a solo career. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=76 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The harmonic convergence that pumped out such still-played '70s hits such as 'Everybody Plays The Fool,' 'Spinning Around (I Must Be Falling In Love),' 'I'm So Proud,' 'You've Been My Inspiration,' 'Just Don't Want To Be Lonely,' and 'Happiness Is Just Around The Bend' returns with its first new album in 12 years, 'PURE MAGIC,' on New York-based Magnatar Records owned and founded by Yusef H. Shabazz. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=75 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The original members were; Tony Williams, the lead vocalist (Tony died in 1992), David Lynch, tenor (David died in 1981), Alex Hodge, baritone, who was soon replaced by Paul Robi (Paul died in 1989), Herb Reed, bass,and Zola Taylor. Their manager and producer Buck Ram (Buck died in 1991). Here is their story: http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=74 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT From the child hood Zola was interested in music, after education she was struggling to be a singer. She was spotted by Herb Reed a Founding Platters member. Zola Taylor was the first female member of the 1950s R&B group The Platters who broke gender barriers and was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Because of Zola Platter group gave best albums to the audiences after that other groups started hiring female singers for them. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=73 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In the mid-80s, three women, each one claiming that she is Frankie Lymon‘s widow, are fighting in a trial. One is a music star, former member of the Platters (Zola Taylor), one is a petty thief (Elizabeth Waters) and the other is a school teacher in a small Georgia town (Emira Eagle). They want their part of estate, which was never shared by Lymon’s manager, Morris Levy. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=72 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The lone female member of the immortal Platters, Zola Taylor contributed lead and backing vocals to some of the most influential and enduring recordings in R&B history, lending glamour and romance to her colleagues' rich harmonies. Born in Los Angeles on March 17, 1943, Taylor began her recording career as a solo act, cutting "Make Love to Me" for the RPM label in 1954. That same year, she joined the girl group Shirley Gunter & the Queens, recording with them a series of singles for the Flair label. In the interim, producer Buck Ram assembled the first incarnation of the Platters, seeking to create a vocal group with more elegance and sophistication than the average R&B act. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=71 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The funeral was a mixture of church ceremony and house party. At 1 p.m., when the service started, more than 1,000 mourners who couldn't fit in the church milled about outside, either standing by the velvet-roped front walk or under a large tent next door, where two TV monitors broadcast the service. Cars lined the streets for blocks. At least 3,500 people crowded into the church, including a star-studded guest list that included Ms. Franklin, Mr. Green, Bobby Womack and Millie Jackson, Ms. Kennedy said. In the adjoining chapel, another 1,000 watched on television. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=70 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Despite Johnnie Taylor's awesome run of hit records, he remains somewhat of an enigma, perhaps the most underrated recording artist of all time. Never-the-less, over the past twenty-five years, this 48-year old singing sensation has been one of the most versatile and durable recording artists of the era. With a career than embraced Gospel, Pop, Blues, Doo Wopp, Memphis Soul, and even Disco, Taylor has proven he can handle any piece of music. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=69 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT When R&B legend, Johnnie Taylor dies without a will, leaving his six children to split the estate evenly. However, his children are in for a shock when three additional children appear with claims to Taylor's estate. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=68 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT At first the duets were recorded separately. For sessions of their first recording, the Ashford & Simpson composition, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", both Gaye and Terrell recorded separate versions. Motown remixed the vocals and edited out the background vocals, giving just Gaye and Terrell vocal dominance. The song, originally written for Dusty Springfield, became a crossover pop hit in the spring of 1967, reaching number nineteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the R&B charts, making Terrell a star. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=67 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Tammi Terrell was born Thomasina Montgomery on April 29 th 1945 in Philadelphia. Performing was in her blood; she won numerous talent shows and local competitions. She would later perform in nightclubs and theaters. In 1960 she was spotted by a talent scout and signed to Scepter Records. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=66 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In 1965 she signed with Motown and became romantically involved with David Ruffin of the Temptations. Ludie confirms that Tammi received abuse from both Brown and Ruffin. Contrary to popular belief (CTPB), she was never married to boxer Ernie Terrell (although she was engaged during the last year of her life to one Dr. Ernest Garrett). Instead, she adopted the last name Terrell because it was shorter than Montgomery. Then, in 1967, she met the man on whose coattails she rode into fame--Marvin Gaye. Their duets include "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Your Precious Love" (both from their first album together, United). Also CTPB, they were not lovers in real life; however, they were as close as people who are just friends can be. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=65 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Soul singer Joseph Arrington, better known as Joe Tex, was born at Rogers, Texas, on August 8, 1935. He was the son of Joseph Arrington, Sr., and Cherie (Jackson) Arrington. He moved to Baytown at age five with his mother after her divorce from his father and attended school there. While in Baytown, Arrington performed song and dance routines to enhance his business as a shoeshine and paper boy. He also sang in the G. W. Carver school choir and the McGowen Temple church choir. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=64 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The professional career of this popular singer began onstage at the Apollo. He won first place in a 1954 talent contest and duly secured a record deal. Releases on King Records, Ace Records and the Anna labels were derivative and disappointing, but Tex meanwhile honed his songwriting talent. James Brown’s version of ‘Baby You’re Right’ (1962) became a US R&B number 2, after which Tex was signed by Buddy Killen, a Nashville song publisher, who in turn established Dial as a recording outlet. Although early releases showed promise, it was not until 1965 that Tex prospered.<br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=63 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Joe Tex's early career is emblematic of black musicians of his era. Raised in Texas, he began by singing in the church choir, then won talent shows, first in nearby Houston, then later at the famed Apollo Theater Amateur Night (which he won four times!). All of this activity got him signed to King Records in 1955, but the right combination of producer and song eluded him for a decade as he recorded over 30 sides on the Ace, Anna, Parrot, and Checker labels without scoring one hit. However, rising soul star James Brown had a hit with Tex' own "Baby You're Right" in 1962, which led to his signing with Dial. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=62 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Rufus Thomas is best known as the Memphis soul singer who, along with daughter Carla Thomas, helped the fledgling Stax label rise to fame in the ‘60s and ‘70s. His biggest hits-”Do the Funky Chicken” and “Walking the Dog“–not only became his signature songs, but established Thomas as a consummate entertainer. Not surprisingly, he first honed these skills as a vaudeville performer and emcee for shows down on Beale Street. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=61 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT He was the baby of five children born to Rufus Thomas. Sr. (Yes, Rufus was a Junior). His remarkable sense of humor was picked up from all the members of his family. Sisters Elizabeth, Willie, Eva and Dorothy were all natural comics but big brother Morris was the clown prince of all the siblings and influenced his little brother more than he (Rufus) probably realized. The family packed up and moved to Memphis when Rufus was about 2 years old. His childhood was filled with all the normal thoughts of small boys...with one exception. He wanted to be a tap dancer in the Negro (the newly adopted descriptive term of the times) minstrel shows. By the time he entered Booker T. Washington High School, the desire had crystallized. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=60 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT A singer, dancer and entertainer, Thomas learned his trade as a member of the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, a vaudeville-inspired touring group. By the late 40s he was performing in several Memphis nightclubs and organizing local talent shows. B.B. King, Bobby Bland and Junior Parker were discovered in this way. When King’s career subsequently blossomed, Thomas replaced him as a disc jockey at the black-owned radio station WDIA and remained there until 1974, fronting the influential shows House Of Happiness and Special Delivery and acting as a mentor to many of the city’s blues, soul and rock musicians. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=59 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Thomas attended one semester at Tennessee A&I University, but due to economic conditions left to pursue a career as a professional entertainer, joining up in 1936 with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, an all-black revue that toured the South. He then worked for twenty-two years at a textile plant and didn't leave that job until about 1963, around the time of his hits. He started at WDIA in 1951 (despite biographies placing his start a year earlier). At WDIA, he hosted an afternoon show called Hoot and Holler. WDIA, featuring an African-American format, was known as "the mother station of the Negroes" and became an important source of blues and R&B music for a generation, its audience consisting of white as well as black listeners. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=58 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In the late 1940s, Memphis radio station WDIA became the first black-operated station in the country, and Rufus Thomas took a job as a disc jockey, where he helped to break the careers of such musicians as Bobby "Blue"Bland, B.B. King, Ike Turner, Roscoe Gordon and Junior Parker. All while still performing himself. In 1953, Rufus recorded the single, "Bear Cat" for the Memphis Recording Studio, later to be known as Sun Records. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=57 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Coach K says: “If you can help in the fight against cancer, or can help build a children's hospital, or have a community center in inner-city Durham — like I do with the Emily Krzyzewski Center — those are things you should do.” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was in Oklahoma City on Monday to receive the Wayman Tisdale Humanitarian Award, which recognizes “an individual involved in college basketball who has made a significant positive impact on society.”<br /> http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=56 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Even during his best basketball years, he declared that music was his real love. This triggered a reflexive roll of the eyes. This was the age of Shaq Diesel, when many NBA players wanted to prove that they could replicate their success and virtuosity in basketball in front of a microphone. "Crossing over" was the voguish term for these ambitions, these delusions of grandeur. It soon came to mean that the athlete would blow a boatload of money recording a demo album (sometimes even buying a studio) and hosting a lavish debut party. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=55 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected five outstanding first-year players as finalists for the 2012 Wayman Tisdale Award, to be presented to the men's National Freshman of the Year at a gala banquet on Mon., April 16 at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. The announcement of the winner will come at the USBWA College Basketball Awards Breakfast on Fri., March 30 in New Orleans in conjunction with the NCAA Men's Final Four. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=54 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT If there’s one thing NBA star-turned-musical giant Wayman Tisdale learned from his former career, it’s that there’s no substitute for hard work. Emerging as one of the most consistent and admired players during his 12 years in the league--segueing from the gold-winning Olympic team to stints with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns--his towering frame, exceptional strength and relentless work ethic made him one of the game’s most dominating power forwards. Tisdale still lives and breathes this work ethic as a musician. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=53 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT St. Louis-born singers Billy Davis Jr., Lamonte McLemore and Ron Townson joined with Marilyn McCoo and Florence LaRue to create the lush “champagne Soul” sound of The 5th Dimension. The group’s first top ten hits “Up, Up and Away” (1967) and “Stoned Soul Picnic” (1968) were followed in 1969 by the #1 hits “Aquarius” and “Wedding Bell Blues”. Between 1967 and 1976 the group recorded over 20 top forty singles, won six Grammy awards, and produced two network television specials. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=52 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Think "The 5th Dimension" and harmonious images so readily fill the mind that you can't help but smile. It's hard to believe this hiply elegant quintet first entered our collective consciousness over 4 decades ago. And with the invincible Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr. always surprising us with new endeavors on their kaleidoscopic musical adventure and the vivacious Florence LaRue continuing to lead the current 5th Dimension in sold-out concerts globally, the sunshine never ends! In fact, survey fans both old and new, and "The 5th Dimension essence" seems to mean just as much today as in the group's heyday. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=51 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The group formed because of a beauty contest winner and a photographer. Lamonte McLemore was a photographer and his subject was Miss Bronze America of 1963, Marilyn McCoo. They decided to merge their gospel singing interests and form a group with fellow Los Angeles residents Harry Elston and Floyed Butler. The foursome hooked up with Ray Charles for a six-month tour but Elston and Butler left to form a separate group, the Friends of Distinction (RCA). Lamonte went back to picture-taking and Marilyn became an executive trainee at a department store. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=50 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT They sang about the Age of Aquarius. Clad in some of the “mod”-est clothes this side of Carnaby Street and effortlessly belting out seamless harmonies, The Fifth Dimension soared through the airwaves from 1967 - 1973 -- receiving 6 Grammys and claiming 14 Gold Records. But their songs are rarely played today. Here's the story of one of the brightest (and now oddly neglected) groups of the late 60s. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=49 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Ron Townson, born in St. Louis, Missouri, started singing at the age of 6 and was a featured soloist on various choirs throughout his years in school. He owes a great deal to his grandmother, who realized his vocal talent early on. His parents arranged for him to have private singing and acting lessons. During high school, he won third place in the Missouri State trials for the Metropolitan Opera. He also appeared for three seasons in productions of Bloomer Girl, Annie Get Your Gun and Show Boat. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=48 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Roger Troutman was the lead singer of the band Zapp who helped spearhead the Funk movement and heavily influenced West Coast hip hop due to the scene’s heavy sampling of his music over the years. Troutman was well known for his use of the talkbox, a device that is connected to an instrument (frequently a keyboard) to create different vocal effects. Roger used a custom-made talkbox—the Electro Harmonix “Golden Throat,” as well as a Yamaha DX100 FM synthesizer. As both lead singer of Zapp and in his subsequent solo releases, he scored a bevy of funk and R&B hits throughout the 1980s. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=47 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Funkster and creative genius, Roger Troutman was born on 29th November 1951 in Hamilton Ohio. Roger was master of the vocoder voice-distortion box, a keyboard synthesiser that created robotic sounding vocals for which he later became renowned. What had previously been used for gimmicky effects, Troutman often used to take along with him to radio interviews, entertaining the listeners with his amazing skills on the instrument. Roger formed a group with his brothers Lester, Larry and Tony and called it the ‘Zapp & Roger Group’ with whom he had success through Warner Brothers & it’s subsidiary label Reprise in the 70’s and the 80’s. The group were greatly influenced by their hometown heroes the Ohio Players as well as other funk groups. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=46 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Known for his masterful use of vocoder (or talk box), an instrument that utilizes a keyboard to manipulate vocals, Troutman, who was shot and killed by his brother and Zapp bandmate Larry in 1999, gained the appreciation of a number of hip-hop artists throughout the '90s. Perhaps most notably, his "So Ruff So Tuff" was sampled by Tupac Shakur on "California Love" and his "More Bounce to the Ounce" was used on EPMD's "You Gots to Chill." http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=45 SuperUser Account Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Ike Turner played a profound role in shaping American music. His band’s1951 single “Rocket 88” is often regarded as the first rock & roll record. As a talent scout and A&R man, he discovered or recorded many blues legends, including Elmore James, Buddy Guy and Howlin’ Wolf. Turner moved to East St. Louis in 1954, and his Kings of Rhythm became a top rhythm & blues act in St. Louis. In the 1960s the group’s sound evolved into the pulsating rock and roll of Ike & Tina Turner. Famous for his boogie-woogie piano and whammy-bar guitar signatures, http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=44 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The Ike and Tina Turner Revue was one of the highest energy ensembles on the soul circuit in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Ike Turner had begun as a bandleader and talent scout in the ‘40s for blues and R&B performers. He recorded “Rocket 88,” considered by many the first rock ‘n’ roll recording, under the name of his baritone sax player, Jackie Brenston, in 1951. Turner and his band, the Kings of Rhythm, found a young singer named Annie Mae Bullock in 1956. Eventually, the singer was renamed Tina Turner and the two married. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=43 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Ike Turner is one of the best-known performers of the early 60's and 70's. A talented and successful musician, Ike Turner was born November 5, 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. As a teenager Ike played the piano and was a disc jockey on radio station WROX. In 1951, he joined a Rhythm and Blues group called the Kings of Rhythm. The Kings of Rhythm had one major hit song called "Rocket 88." Then Ike became a talent scout. and discovered Annie Mae Bullock. In 1956 Annie Mae and Ike feel in love and soon got married. Annie later changed her name to Tina Turner. Ike added Tina to their group's horn section and also added some backup singers. The group was later renamed The Ike and Tina Turner Revue. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=42 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT 2001 marked the Golden Anniversary of a GOLD Record from an Era when Fifty-thousand 45’s was a BIG Seller. That 500K-selling single cut the edge of a new style before deejay Alan Freed named it: ROCK & ROLL. Sam Phillips, Sun Studios founder, tagged that Billboard #1 R&B Smash as the very first “Rock & Roll Recording”. Every hell-raiser, hip-shaker, and hit-maker owes a nod to that teenager recognized by Rock historians as the “Father of Rock & Roll”. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=41 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT This week on 12th Street Jump we celebrate the birthday of Big Joe Turner (May 18, 1911 - Nov. 24, 1985). Big Joe was born Joeseph Vernon Turner Jr. in Kansas City Missouri. He first discovered his love of music through the Church and started singing in clubs at the age of 14. He was known as the Singing Barman. Turner was an important part in the beginning of Rock and Roll. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=40 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Known variously as The Boss of the Blues, and Big Joe Turner (due to his 6'2", 300+ lbs stature), Turner was born in Kansas City and first discovered his love of music through involvement in the church. Turner's father was killed in a train accident when Joe was only four years old. He began singing on street corners for money, leaving school at age fourteen to begin working in Kansas City's club scene, first as a cook, and later as a singing bartender. He eventually became known as The Singing Barman, and worked in such venues as The Kingfish Club and The Sunset, where he and his piano playing partner Pete Johnson became resident performers. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=39 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Turner, whose powerful physique certainly matched his vocal might, was a product of the swinging, wide-open Kansas City scene. Even in his teens, the big-boned Turner looked entirely mature enough to gain entry to various K.C. niteries. He ended up simultaneously tending bar and singing the blues before hooking up with boogie piano master Pete Johnson during the early '30s. Theirs was a partnership that would endure for 13 years. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=38 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Big Joe Turner was the brawny-voiced “Boss of the Blues.” He was among the first to mix R&B with boogie-woogie, resulting in jump blues - a style that presaged the birth of rock and roll. Indeed, Turner’s original recording of “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” cut for Atlantic Records in 1954, remains one of the cornerstones numbers of the rock and roll revolution. Turner’s lengthy career touched on most every significant development in popular music during this century, taking him from the big bands of the Swing Era to boogie-woogie, rhythm & blues, and rock and roll. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=37 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The songs that sit atop my list of Luther favorites shift, constantly. Sometimes it’s “The Glow of Love” (from his early days with Change) and other times, it varies between “Busy Body” and “Creepin’” and his chill-inducing, live version of “Superstar.” When I’m in a good mood, it’s “Bad Boy” or “Take You Out,” but when I’m feeling somber, I think of his rendition of “The Impossible Dream.” That last one usually brings me to tears. Oh, and then there’s “Since I Lost My Baby” and “There’s Nothing Better Than Love.” The list just goes on and on… http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=36 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Luther Vandross was one of the most successful R&B artists of the 1980s and '90s. Not only did he score a series of multi-million-selling albums containing chart-topping hit singles and perform in sold-out tours in the U.S. and around the world, but he also took charge of his music creatively, writing or co-writing most of his songs and arranging and producing his records. He also performed these functions for other artists, providing them with hits as well. He was, however, equally well known for his distinctive interpretations of classic pop and R&B songs, reflecting his knowledge and appreciation of the popular music of his youth. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=35 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT He started his singing career in the 1970s as a session vocalist, and eventually making his breakthrough as a guest singer with the group Chic. The first instant hit from him was 'Searching.' It was only in the 1980s that Vandross' career skyrocketed, with albums such as Forever, for Always, for Love and Give Me The Reason. When Vandross produced his 1989 greatest hits album, The Best of Luther Vandross...The Best Of Love, he ended up hitting the Top Ten for the first time with the power ballad Here And Now. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=34 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Biography LUTHER VANDROSS Photo by Kevin Westenberg Celebrating the extraordinary artistry and impact of the legendary superstar, J, Epic, and Legacy Records will join in the release of The Ultimate Luther Vandross on August 22nd. A first-of-its-kind, career spanning collection, the eighteen-track album is drawn from the multi-talented singer/songwriter and producer’s recordings for both J Records and Epic Records. The CD will include two previously unissued cuts, “Shine” (produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis), the first single from the album and “Got You Home.” “Shine” is already being blasted on the airwaves as radio stations across the country have jumped the gun and added it prior to its official impact date of June 19th. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=33 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Stevie Ray Vaughan, who died just 36 days short of his 36th birthday, played with blistering, note-bending intensity, a gut-wrenching vibrato and tons of soul. His all-too abbreviated legacy-five albums as a leader and a number of powerful sideman stints - ended with a longoverdue collaboration with older brother Jimmie Lee Vaughan, on the posthumously released Family Style. A well-balanced mixture of driving rock and roll, smooth r&b, earthy funk and heartfelt blues, the album took SRV full circle, back to his South Dallas days, paying tribute to the music the Vaughan boys listened to and loved in the Sixties and Seventies. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=32 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT When blues guitarist and vocalist Stevie Ray Vaughan released Texas Flood in 1983, he introduced Texas blues to a much broader audience than it had previously known. His impact was great enough that even today, 21 years after his death, if you ask a music lover to name a Texas blues guitarist, he or she will probably reply, "Stevie Ray Vaughan." http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=31 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT With his astonishingly accomplished guitar playing, Stevie Ray Vaughan ignited the blues revival of the '80s. Vaughan drew equally from bluesmen like Albert King, Otis Rush, and Muddy Waters and rock & roll players like Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie Mack, as well as the stray jazz guitarist like Kenny Burrell, developing a uniquely eclectic and fiery style that sounded like no other guitarist, regardless of genre. Vaughan bridged the gap between blues and rock like no other artist had since the late '60s. For the next seven years, Stevie Ray was the leading light in American blues, consistently selling out concerts while his albums regularly went gold. His tragic death in 1990 only emphasized his influence in blues and American rock & roll. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=30 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Stevie Ray Vaughan was an electric blues/rock guitarist. He began his recording career in 1983 and after 7 short years he had conquered the music world, winning 3 Grammy Awards, and had succeeded in conquering his greatest foe, substance abuse. Though Stevie's genre of choice was blues, © Ebet Robertshe could play anything. In an all-too-short career, he had proven to many that he was not only the greatest electric guitarist alive, but of all times. In 1990, at the paramount of his career, Stevie was tragically killed in a helicopter accident. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=29 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT With his astonishingly accomplished guitar playing, Stevie Ray Vaughan ignited the blues revival of the '80s. Vaughan drew equally from bluesmen like Albert King, Buddy Guy, and Albert Collins and rock & roll players like Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie Mack, as well as jazz guitarists like Kenny Burrell and Wes Montgomery, developing a uniquely eclectic and fiery style that sounded like no other guitarist, regardless of genre. Vaughan bridged the gap between blues and rock like no other artist had since the late '60s. From 1983 to 1990 Stevie Ray was the leading light in American blues, consistently selling out concerts while his albums regularly went gold. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=28 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Moments before, he had finished the third of three sold-out concerts at the Apollo Theater and, wearing the same brown leather Army jacket and pants and beige Kangol cap he had worn on stage, he then slipped out the back door of the theater. At the corner, he relaxed in the middle of a circle of friends but soon heard his own voice booming back at him from the radios of cars as they stopped at or cruised slowly through the intersection. As the rapper surveyed the scene, he found himself being inadvertently saluted by his own song "Big Papa." http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=27 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Can it really be 15 years since the brutal murder of Brooklyn’s own Christopher Wallace (aka The Notorious B.I.G., aka Biggie Smalls)? March 9 marks the sad day when one of the most narratively attuned rappers of all time lost his life at age 24. It only makes it worse that his slaying remains unsolved. Of course, his voluminous stories live on. Besides the slyly distinct nasality of his tone, B.I.G. impressed millions with the detail in his writing. His stories helped move hip-hop to the next level of narrative during his commercial peak in the early '90s. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=26 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Hailed by many as the greatest MC of all time, the Notorious B.I.G. was Bad Boy's flagship artist. From his early verses on Craig Mack's "Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)" and "Real Love" by Mary J. Blige, it was clear to the hip-hop world that a new king had been crowned. Biggie solidified his position with his classic 1994 debut album, "READY TO DIE." Through the combination of Sean Combs' powerful production and B.I.G.'s vivid rhymes, the disc brought Bad Boy Records to the forefront of East Coast hip-hop and went to sell over four million copies. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=25 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT They came from Massachusetts, Florida, and Canada, and from Flatbush, Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy. There were fur coats and fedoras, shades and patterned Coogi sweaters, and enough extra poundage to tip a Mack truck. On Saturday, nearly 100 people turned up on a quiet street in Chelsea to audition for their chance to be B.I.G. Arriving on foot, by Escalade or late-model sedan, men of all ages and backgrounds — but mostly one body type — came for the open casting call for “Notorious,” a biopic of the rapper Christopher G. Wallace, better known as Biggie Smalls or Notorious B.I.G. The hunt for the unknown star began online in August, when the Fox Searchlight studio invited would-be Biggies to send audition tapes. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=24 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT A tribute concert to reflect and celebrate the legendary and influential saxophonist, Grover Washington Jr., held at the school of his namesake. Former bandmates of the late musician and talented youth of the Grover Washington Jr. Middle School will join on one stage for a jam session showcasing the contemporary smooth jazz medleys of one of Philadelphia’s greatest artists. For his dedication to the Philadelphia community and its children, proceeds of the tribute will benefit the music department at Grover Washington Jr. Middle School. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=23 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Washington made some of the genre's most memorable hits, including "Mr. Magic," "Black Frost," and "The Best is Yet to Come." In addition, he performed very frequently with other artists, including Bill Withers on "Just the Two of Us" (which is still a popular hit on the radio today) and Phyllis Hyman on "A Sacred Kind of Love." He is also remembered for his take on a Dave Brubeck classic, called "Take Another Five." http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=22 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Ed Hamilton remembers his encounters with the saxophonist from 1973. How do Johnny Hammond, Curtis Amy, and Grover Washington, Jr. connect with Carole King? Her album Tapestry won her ‘Album of the Year’ & ’Song of the Year’, “It’s Too Late”, containing Amy’s blistering standout soprano solo introduced him to the listening medium; “Breakout”, Hammond’s first KUDU endeavor showcased Grover’s scintillating debut arrival to the jazz scene. And later winning a Grammy for his 1985 album Wine Light and getting an invitation to play with newly elected President Clinton at his inauguration.ball. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=21 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT On the funky side of things is the Grover Washington Jr. compilation Discovery (Prestige PRCD-11020-2; 69:09). The late tenor-sax great originally recorded these tracks between 1970 and 1971 in his first commercial recording sessions as a sideman for producer Bob Porter and Prestige Records. The seven dates that Grover participated in during that time span were led by organists Charles Earland, Leon Spencer and Johnny "Hammond" Smith and guitarists "Boogaloo" Joe Jones and Melvin Sparks. The 27-year-old saxophonist definitely makes his presence felt on the nine tracks here with his big, rich tone and aggressive horn attack. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=20 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. was a crossover artist who did have hits in the pop and R&B charts, due to his willingness to play over light funk arrangements and use vocalists. He can be credited with virtually inventing the style of smooth jazz that later became so prevalent, and in that way he has been highly influential. Grover Washington, Jr.'s love of music began a a child growing up in Buffalo, New York; his mother (who sang in church choirs) and father (collector of jazz 78s) bought him a saxophone at age ten. “After I started playing,” Grover says, “I'd sneak into clubs to watch guys like Jack McDuff, Harold Vick and Charles Lloyd. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=19 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his rich bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s with The Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring hit soul, funk, and disco songs. Worldwide, White had many gold and platinum albums and singles, with combined sales of over 100 million, according to critics Ed Hogan and Wade Kergan. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=18 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Barry White says the sweetest things. "You're my everything." "I'll take good care of you." "I've never felt like this." "Forever and ever, going to see you through." He says them in a deep baritone croon or a deeper bass recitation, like someone pouring massage oil on troubled waters. For the audience on Wednesday night at the Paramount -- mostly nuzzling couples and groups of women -- it was the soothing, virile sound of an endlessly renewed seduction http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=17 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT If you've paid any attention to reporting on the science of what humans find attractive and why, you won't be surprised to learn that studies consistently show that deeper voices are associated with stereotypically manly-man characteristics such as hairier bodies and taller height, that men with these voices and characteristics are judged as being more attractive, and that deep-voiced dudes seem to get more action from more ladies. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=16 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Barry Eugene White was born on 12 September 1944, in Galveston, Texas, the eldest of two children. His birth at Galveston was entirely due to his mother visiting relatives and extending her stay there. Back home in California, he was raised in Watts, Los Angeles, along with his brother Darryl who was born thirteen months later. Darryl was to be murdered in a meaningless Gangland killing on 5 December 1983 which devastated Barry who later remarked "Believe me, life is very cheap in that world. It's crazy, but he only died over two dollars." http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=15 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Gene McFadden and John Whitehead were songwriters and producers who were working with some Philadelphia Soul bands in the '70s. Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, who wrote many of the songs that defined the "Philadelphia Sound," suggested McFadden and Whitehead record a track as a duo. This was the result. McFadden & Whitehead wrote and produced this with keyboard player Jerry Cohen. McFadden And Whitehead also wrote "Bad Luck" for Harold Melvin and "Back Stabbers" for the O'Jays. This was their only hit as a duo. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=14 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT John Whitehead, a prominent R&B artist best known for the 1979 hit song “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now,” was shot dead outside his home, police said. Whitehead, 55, and another man were working on a vehicle Tuesday when they were shot by two gunmen, police said. Whitehead was shot in the neck and collapsed. Ohmed Johnson, who was shot in the buttocks, was in good condition Wednesday, a hospital spokeswoman said. “Why did they do this to my dad?” Dawn Whitehead, 33, asked at the scene. “I just talked to him yesterday ... He was a fun person. Who would want to kill him?” Investigators said Wednesday that Johnson, not Whitehead, may have been the target of the shooting. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=13 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT McFadden and Whitehead came from the same poor Philadelphia neighbourhood. They went to the same high school and formed a vocal group called the Epsilons with Whitehead's cousin Ronald "Roame" Lowry (later a member of Maze) and their friend Allen Beatty. When Otis Redding came to Philadelphia in 1966, the group attended his concert and met and sang for their favourite soul singer backstage. The Stax star offered them a gig doing backing vocals on tour with him and they jumped at the chance. They sang background on Arthur Conley's smash "Sweet Soul Music", a song Redding had originally earmarked for them, but, when he died in a plane crash in December 1967, the Epsilons floundered. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=12 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT It was John Whitehead's love of music that kept him going in the industry for years. At age sixteen, he toured with Otis Redding, who also managed him along with his group, "The Epsilons". After Otis' death, John was managed by Guilda Woods, the wife of popular Philadelphia disc jockey Georgie Woods. John and his group made his first recording on the Stax label entitled, "The Echo," a record that brought the group local fame. Gene McFadden and John Whitehead were the remaining members of The Epsilons, whose name later changed to the "The talk of the Town". John then became affiliated with the production team of Gamble and Huff and the "Sound of Philadelphia". http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=11 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Though their time in the spotlight was relatively short, Heatwave remains one of the most beloved groups of the 70s. That they even made it as far and as long as they did was the result of an amazing ability to overcome even the most horrific obstacles, including the death of one member and two incidents that left other members paralyzed or severely injured. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=10 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT What we know about Paul Williams? Well, we very aware that along with Elbridge Bryant,Eddie Kendricks, Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, they was the nucleus of the original Temptations. What we know Paul Williams? Well, he has been described, as the soul of the group. But, seriously, he was the original lead vocalist that along with the others men of the group trying to make it in show busines. Just by visiting the earlier recordings of the Temptations, you realize the group was molding themselves into being a romantic style group. They best luck was not being available to record "Do You Love Me" that many states Berry Gordy wrote personally for the group. Just imagine, what they would have become after that? Probably, a novelty act. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=9 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Milan B. Williams came from Mississippi and began playing the piano after watching his older brother Earl, who was a multi-instrumentalist. Prior to joining The Commodores, Milan did his keyboard-wizardry in a rivaling band called The Jays. When The Jays disbanded, Milan was recruited. He was in the very first edition of The Commodores and in 1969 traveled with the group to New York, where they recorded a single called "Keep On Dancing" on Atlantic Records. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=8 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT These are just a few of the rave reviews about the versatile artist Al Wilson. Music is his life, a self portrait, revealing the many facets of the man -- from grade-school plays, talent contests, and art shows in Mississippi-- to the U.S. Navy -- to singing and playing drums with vocal and instrumental groups in California. The “big break” was his hit recordings of “The Snake” and “Do What You Gotta Do” for Johnny Rivers’ Soul City Records. Al’s recording of “Show and Tell,” which sold over two million copies, was Cashbox Magazine’s #1 Single of The Year! http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=7 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Winans also had a thriving career as a solo artist, recording a series of CDs called Ron Winans Family & Friends, (numbered I-V). Each recording contained at least one song that became a commercial radio hit. Examples include songs such as "Abundant Life" with BeBe (Benjamin) Winans on lead vocals) which won a Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance 1989, "Stand" (which featured Donnie McClurkin on lead vocals) and "But God" (which featured Ron's younger brother BeBe (Benjamin) Winans on lead vocals). http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=6 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The world is blessed with many tallented song stylists, but only a few great voices. Ali Ollie Woodson is recognized as one of the most distinguished voices in the music world today. Woodson loves what he does... and that's just about everything. He has captured the attention of audiences' worldwide. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=5 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The human face of the suffering meted out by hurricane Katrina hit especially close to home on Friday night, September 23, when the displaced and now destitute blues diva of the Crescent City, Marva Wright, sang at her own benefit at Baltimore’s 8 X 10 club, ably backed up (and without the aid of a rehearsal) by the jazz oriented Greg Hatza Organization. “I had to even borrow the clothes on my back for that evening,” said Marva, who once possessed a wide selection of elegant, custom-tailored gowns for such occasions. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=4 SuperUser Account Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT The Spinners were the greatest soul group of the early '70s, creating a body of work that defined the lush, seductive sound of Philly soul. Ironically, the band's roots lay in Detroit, where they formed as a doo wop group during the late '50s. Throughout the '60s, the Spinners tried to land a hit by adapting to the shifting fashions of R&B and pop. By the mid-'60s, they had signed with Motown Records, but the label never gave the group much consideration. "It's a Shame" became a hit in 1970, but the label continued to ignore the group, and dropped the band two years later. Unsigned and featuring new lead singer Phillipe Wynne, the Spinners seemed destined to never break into the big leagues, http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=3 SuperUser Account Mon, 02 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Sugar Bar was established in 1996 by Nickolas Ashford, one half of the songwriting and performing sensation, Ashford & Simpson. Co-owned with his wife Valerie Simpson, the Sugar Bar offers an intimate and elegant ambiance, with the feel of an old country village, on the trendy Upper West Side of Mahatten. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=2 SuperUser Account Tue, 26 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson started writing and recording together in 1964, and two years later wrote their first hit song - "Let's Go Get Stoned", recorded by Ray Charles. They then took up staff positions at Motown, where they wrote and produced hits for Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross. During their stay at Motown, Valerie released a couple of solo albums which flopped, prompting her and Ashford to leave in 1973. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=1 SuperUser Account Tue, 26 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT As songwriters and performers, Ashford & Simpson have long ranked among the most acclaimed and admired creative couples in contemporary music. Their award-winning collaborations began, incredibly, over four decades ago in 1964. After meeting in New York at the White Rock Baptist Church, they recorded an original song, “I’ll Find You,” calling themselves “Valerie & Nick.” Nickolas Ashford had just moved to New York from Detroit in pursuit of a theater career, having completed a course in modern dance at the University of Michigan. Homeless upon arrival, he happened upon Bronx native Valerie Simpson, who had studied piano since the age of five, and was playing and singing with the Harlem church’s legendary choir. http://www.efficionconsulting.com/articles.aspx?ItemID=0 SuperUser Account Tue, 26 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT