Laurence Jones

Guys Gone Uptown: 32 Sophisticated Soul Tunes from Stylish Gents

I definitely spend more time in terms of creating mixes that explore the vast contributions that women, particularly Black women, have made to popular music. Every once in a while tho, I feel a bit guilty for ignoring the legacy of the legions of handsome men that worked tirelessly in the studio and stage crafting…

Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff: Brotherly Love In The Recording Booth

Picture it, Philadelphia. 1963. Okay, it’s Leo season, and time for me to round up another pioneering set of songwriters. Given the season of the lion, I had to pay tribute to one member of Royal Soul. But you can’t really go into the spectacle that is the influential career of Kenneth Gamble (born August…

Gone Uptown To Box With Dionne: 35 more challenges to the Queen of Uptown Soul’s Throne

I’ve stated before, and provided evidence, that the impact that Dionne Warwick’s influence on popular music was extremely vast during the 1960’s and Early 70s. The previous time we spent on this topic nearly 2 years ago, seemingly only skims the surface of elegant pop/soul confections that not only emerged from the United States, but…

The Real McCoy: The All Too Real Hustle of Van McCoy

It’s really telling as I searched the wide web of inter that I couldn’t seem to find an image of a Pre-1970’s Van McCoy. Given his parity in age, and his extensive catalog of works he created, it’s a sign that he remained much the constructor behind the scenes, not really becoming of note until…

Girls Trip ’64 – Swinging Sixties Divine Diva Delights

I’ve mined the territory of checking in with women were doing in the recording studios through some random assortment of years during the 1960s. I started with 1965, jumped to 1961 and then did 1963. 1964 is an interesting year to ponder. Of course it’s mostly remembered as the beginning of the British Invasion that…

Pride & Allies – A Queer Mid Century Celebration Mix

I’m a firm believer in having to remember where you’ve been to see where you’re going. To root and meditate on our history is to build for a stronger future. As a society, the United States tends to make our collective memory disposable. This includes the evolution we’ve managed around sexuality in the last 50…

Pride, Portland & Problematics

I’ve had an increasingly wonky relationship with “Pride” Season the older I get. It’s gotten more complicated with the public facing weight of Vinyl DJing. There’s few instances in terms of intersectionality that someone Black, under 50, Queer identified actually spins 1960’s Soul Music. Over the last few years that’s lead to calls to dust…

Let Me Tell You About A Gemini Genius From Chicago Named Curtis

Let’s be honest these days, the sign of Gemini gets a real bad wrap. From the person stinking up the oval office and some of his support staff to whatever the hell Kanye West is tripping on, it’s not a kind period of history for the sign of the twins. How can I, a Gemini…

In Envy Of The Motor City: More Motown Femme Soul Soundalikes Vol. II

When you’re as large a cultural phenomenon as Motown Records, the depth of imitation as flattery is quite vast. I’ve explored this pool of influence before. After sitting with the topic for even longer, I decided, just in time for Pop Culture Summer, it was time to look at how The Sound Of Young America breathed…

Spring Fling – A Playlist For Frisky, Frolicsome Fun

Welcome to the heart of Spring and Taurus Season! It’s rare that these playlists have a simple objective these days. This one, however, sort of arrived out of my own aroused interest in Springtime. Ready to hit the garden, plow some fields and plant some seeds, I thought of some of the most fun, coy…