Carmen McRae “I’m Always Drunk In San Francisco” (Atlantic 2485-B, 1968) Always glamorous with a slightly gutsy glide to her voice, Carmen McRae blurred the lines of what it meant to be a Jazz vocalist in a very Queer way. Today would have been her 95th Birthday, but she left behind a rather epic catalog…
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
A Spring Fling Easy and Breezy Playlist Courtesy of Forever Hamilton
Being a music geek means you make everlasting friendships based on joint music appreciation. One of the greatest sonic soul bounds that I have is with John Hamilton, who has been a tune tale teller for Chart Rigger and Instinct Magazine. If there’s anyone that gets the emotion behind the soul/pop hunt, he, alongside with DJ Action Slacks (Shannon…
Marvin Gaye “For The Both Of Us I’ll Be Concerned” (1971, Unreleased. From Love Starved Heart: Rare And Unreleased, 1994)
Marvin Gaye “For The Both Of Us I’ll Be Concerned” (1971, Unreleased. From Love Starved Heart: Rare And Unreleased, 1994) It’s perhaps the more bittersweet soulful moments of Spring. Perhaps the most everlastingly cruel April Fools Joke. A Day before his 45th Birthday, the complex relationship between Marvin Gaye Jr. and Sr. was cemented forever…
Dionne Warwick “The April Fools” (Scepter 12249, R&B#33 Pop#37, 1969)
Dionne Warwick “The April Fools” (Scepter 12249, R&B#33 Pop#37, 1969) I think sincerely, the biggest joke I can think of this morning is that this holiday referencing Dionne Warwick record was actually released in May of 1969, not in April as would literally make sense. Anyways, what stands here is one of the prettier and more…
Anita Humes “Just For The Boy” (Roulette 4575-B, 1964)
Anita Humes “Just For The Boy” (Roulette 4575-B, 1964) She’s perhaps one of the most innocent and earnest voices in Soul Music. So it’s no surprise that Anita Humes got singled out to give audiences some of the most angst-ridden pop perfections of the early 1960s. Balancing the strife of love, affections and societal expectations…
Diana Ross “Surrender” (Motown 1188, R&B#16 Pop#38, 1971)
Diana Ross “Surrender” (Motown 1188, R&B#16 Pop#38, 1971) Icon, legendary, mystery and controversy, where would the world be without Diana Ross, who celebrates her 71st Birthday today. 56 years of performing and still touring strong and gracefully, she has a remarkably vast catalog of popular song that one can barely begin to dissect and analyze and…
Uranus-Pluto & The Girl Group Explosion: A Playlist
As you may know, this past Sunday I presented at the Queer Astrology Conference on Girl Group archetypes during the before and culminating with Uranus/Pluto Conjunction in Virgo years culminating in 1965-66. In the afterglow of that, and waiting for the audio recording of that talk to surface in the next month, I’ve culled the…
Martha & The Vandellas “No More Tear Stained Make – Up” (From the LP Watchout! 1966)
Martha & The Vandellas “No More Tear Stained Make – Up” (From the LP Watchout! 1966) Where would I exactly be in making a presentation on girl groups without thinking of Martha & The Vandellas? Pretty much nowhere, since, after the super obvious case of The Supremes, Martha Reeves and her singing partner’s catalog is…
The Marvelettes “Learning To Forget You” (1965, Unreleased. From The Marvelettes: Forever More, 2011)
The Marvelettes “Learning To Forget You” (1965, Unreleased. From The Marvelettes: Forever More, 2011) The Marvelettes are in heavy rotation as the hours wind down to me taking the microphone at the 2nd ever Queer Astrology Conference where their songs and story will figure prominently in the proto-feminist discussions of the Astrology of the early to mid-1960s….
The Shirelles “What Is Love?” (From The Shirelles Greatest Hits Vol II, 1967).
The Shirelles “What Is Love?” (From the LP The Shirelles Greatest Hits Vol II, 1967). As I get ready for my first ever lecture on girl groups, I’m combing through powerpoint slides and notes and MP3 of who and what mattered most in the girl group era, and I’m humbled that I get to bring Women’s…
DJ Larsupreme 