Jackie Ross “Be Sure You Know” (From the LP Full Bloom, 1964) Chicago gives us a bulk of our early Aquarians. Also, Jackie Ross got her big jump towards stardom with the boost of Sam Cook and his SAR label. Although she’s best known for her Fall of ’64 triumph “Selfish One,” she’s one of…
Category: Chess Records
Etta James “Payback” (Argo 5445, Pop #78, 1963)
Etta James “Payback” (Argo 5445, Pop #78, 1963) When you’re dealing with a catalog as extensive and exhaustive as Etta’s, you don’t play favorites. You just select a tune that reflects your mood of the day. You say a prayer of thanks to those wonderful souls that give you little hints that take care of…
Righteous Rage and Rhythm: This is dedicated to Etta James
I’ll say, one of my biggest regrets of my concert going life was not seeing Etta James perform live before she succumbed to Leukemia 4 years ago. There’s many soul singers so omnipresent in the crafting of the adult I’ve become as my life spins its LP year (I hate Christ Year, and 33 &…
Billy Stewart “Strange Feeling” (Chess 1868, R&B #25, Pop #70, 1963)
Billy Stewart “Strange Feeling” (Chess 1868, R&B #25, Pop #70, 1963) As the veil gets thinner between Libra and Scorpio, the days draw down more rapidly and the night expands, things get a little strange indeed. So it seems the perfect time to track down some more magical, mystical soul songs to feature these next…
Jackie Ross “You Really Know How To Hurt A Girl” (Chess 1929, 1965)
Jackie Ross “You Really Know How To Hurt A Girl” (Chess 1929, 1965) Jackie Ross is in some weird way, is a tangent in the Mary Wells story. Her big debut record for Chess Records, “Selfish One” sounded more like a sequel to “My Guy” than Wells did herself at 20th Century Fox in the…
Little Miss Cornshucks “So Long (1961 Version)” (From the LP The Loneliest Girl In Town, 1961)
Little Miss Cornshucks “So Long (1961 Version)” (From the LP The Loneliest Girl In Town, 1961) Gemini Roll Call heralds today one of the most forgotten influences in the transition years from Blues to Soul that happened between the 1940s and the 1960s. Born 92 years ago today, the persona Mildred Cummings crafted as Little Miss…
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…
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 