Stevie Wonder “I Gave Up Quality For Quantity” (1965, Unreleased. From Cellarful of Motown, Volume 2, 2005) Motown has two Taurus legends that celebrate birthdays on May 13th, so we’re gonna take a full 48 hours to pay proper tribute to both. First up, we’re paying tribute to Stevie Wonder on the eve of his…
Author: Laurence Jones
Time Capsule or actual human being, who knows. Laurence Jones has been sifting through ephemera of the past seemingly forever, spinning vinyl for you, taking film photography and entertaining you with instagram posts of the decrepit old cars they own. You can find previous writing by them at djlarsupreme.com and medium.com
The Reasons “Window Shopping” (United Artists 961, 1965)
The Reasons “Window Shopping” (United Artists 961, 1965) Well in the process of getting ready for Sugar Town’s annual pride party, I’ve spent a bit of money on 45’s these last 10 days, and for most other consumer choices, I’ll probably be holding off until next paycheck for any great splurges. In the meantime, I…
Jimmy Ruffin “On The Avenue” (1965, Unreleased. From Cellarful of Motown, Volume #1, 2002)
Jimmy Ruffin “On The Avenue” (1965, Unreleased. From Cellarful of Motown, Volume #1, 2002) Today we celebrate the Senior Brother Ruffin on what would have been his 78th Birthday. Like his brother David, he found his way by serendipity to be a part of the Motown machine (kind of like how Joe Stubbs followed brother…
Jackie Moore “Dear John” (Shout 232, 1968)
Jackie Moore “Dear John” (Shout 232, 1968) I’m delighted that the above linked clip gives us a look at a fresh faced 22 year old Jackie Moore debuting her fiery first single for Shout records in 1968. Although it would take her 2 more years to chart with her classic “Precious, Precious” all of the…
The Dells “Open Up My Heart” (Cadet 5657, R&B#5 Pop#51, 1970)
The Dells “Open Up My Heart” (Cadet 5657, R&B#5 Pop#51, 1970) Some of the most underrated men in Soul Music are The Dells. Even during their time of recording, it took them a long laboring 13 years before they scored a significant chart entry. But in that time they crafted some of the most rich…
Lesley Gore “Happiness Is Just Around The Corner” (1966, Unreleased. From Lesley Gore – The Mercury Anthology, 1995)
Lesley Gore “Happiness Is Just Around The Corner” (1966, Unreleased. From Lesley Gore – The Mercury Anthology, 1995) It’s been one of the more devastating deaths this year when it comes to Queer Icons, but the sparkle and light of Lesley Gore still shines on. Starting with her understandable petulant #1 debut and continuing for…
Mitty Collier “Got To Get Away From It All” (Chess 2050, 1968)
Mitty Collier “Got To Get Away From It All” (Chess 2050, 1968) One of the points of me even writing about soul music is to expand the narrative beyond what is already known and cherished. Today’s post is brought to you by the weird fetish around Nina Simone, which tends to be something of the…
Tammi Terrell “My Heart” (1966 Unreleased, From Cellarful of Motown Volume 2, 2005)
Tammi Terrell “My Heart” (1966 Unreleased, From Cellarful of Motown Volume 2, 2005) It was a little hard to think of a choice for celebrating Tammi Terrell’s 70th Birthday. Surprisingly, although she didn’t have a super huge Solo catalog like a number of her contemporaries, she did record for a healthy portion of the 1960s…
Francine Barker “Don’t You Know Love When You See It” (Columbia 44614, 1968)
Francine Barker “Don’t You Know Love When You See It” (Columbia 44614, 1968) It shouldn’t be surprising that back to back are two birthdays of the two most prominent R&B Duet partners of the late 1960s. And, of course, chances are you know little about their own careers away from their duet partners. Francine Hurd…
The Radiants “The Clown Is Clever” (Chess 2021, 1967)
The Radiants “The Clown Is Clever” (Chess 2021, 1967) In a long line of declarative gems, you’d think The Radiants would be a bit better known beyond their few entries into the Billboard Hot 100. Alas, for whatever reason they could never break through in a huge way like The Impressions or The Dells did….
DJ Larsupreme 