The Four Tops “Is There Anything That I Can Do?” (From the LP The Four Tops Second Album, 1965) I don’t have to tell you that Gemini Roll Call rolls mighty with talent, but today we’re celebrating one of the giants of Classic Motown. With towering vocal power and devastating ferocity, Levi Stubbs gave us…
Category: Soul Birthday
Ronnie Dyson “Do What Your Heart Tells You To Do” (From the LP (If You Let Me Make Love To You Then) Why Can’t I Touch You? 1970)
Ronnie Dyson “Do What Your Heart Tells You To Do” (From the LP (If You Let Me Make Love To You Then) Why Can’t I Touch You? 1970) On this Gemini Roll Call I celebrate my own birthday and the 65th Birthday of a fellow June 5th-er that’s a shadow Queer Icon. Ronnie Dyson’s gender…
Deneice Chandler “Mama, I Wish I Stayed At Home” (Lock 600, 1968)
Deneice Chandler “Mama, I Wish I Stayed At Home” (Lock 600, 1968) Part two of our Gemini Roll Call Chicago trip brings us to the 65th Birthday of Niecey. Born today as June Deniece Chandler in Gary, Indiana; post dropping out of Nursing school found the 18 year old working as a Chicago Hospital Clerk…
The Impressions “I’m The One Who Loves You” (ABC Paramount 10386, Pop #73, 1963)
The Impressions “I’m The One Who Loves You” (ABC Paramount 10386, Pop #73, 1963) At the center of Gemini Roll Call, I’m hitting up Chicago twice today. Two soul legends that appropriately sprang forth from the Windy City are Geminis that we get to celebrate today! First up is the poet laureate of 1960’s Soul,…
Marie Knight “You Lie So Well” (Musicor 1128, 1965)
Marie Knight “You Lie So Well” (Musicor 1128, 1965) Today’s Gemini Roll Call celebrates a voice that had a really splendid time blurring the lines between the secular and the spiritual. Marie Knight, like a number of singers of her generation, practiced her craft in the confines of Gospel in the 1930s and 1940s. Eventually…
The Marvelettes “Little Girls Grow Up” (1965, Unreleased. From Cellarful of Motown Volume 3, 2007)
The Marvelettes “Little Girls Grow Up” (1965, Unreleased. From Cellarful of Motown Volume 3, 2007) It shouldn’t be surprising, as we pull into the heart of Gemini Roll Call there’s a bit of twin factor in the stories I’m telling. Another influential Gladys Gemini has been with me for a long long time. She’s Gladys…
Gladys Knight & The Pips “I’ll Be Here (When You Get Home)” (From the LP All I Need Is Time, 1973)
Gladys Knight & The Pips “I’ll Be Here (When You Get Home)” (From the LP All I Need Is Time, 1973) This particular Gemini Roll Call needs probably very little introduction. Since her debut on The Ted Mack Amateur Hour some 63 years ago, Gladys Knight has been dazzling audiences with her rich and full…
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…
Patti Labelle And The Bluebelles “All Or Nothing” (Atlantic 2311, Pop #68, 1965)
Patti Labelle And The Bluebelles “All Or Nothing” (Atlantic 2311, Pop #68, 1965) Gemini Roll Call continues today with one of the most versatile singers from the sign of the twins. For 55 years, Patti LaBelle has morphed from mere Girl Group lead singer to legend. Not only a singer, she’s an author, advocate and…
Blinky “I Wouldn’t Change The Man He Is” (Motown 1134, 1968)
Blinky “I Wouldn’t Change The Man He Is” (Motown 1134, 1968) Perhaps the most overlooked, poorly treated woman in Motown’s later golden years was Sondra “Blinky” Williams Oakland born, L.A. raised and recording almost exclusively in gospel settings through 1966, Blinky brought a visceral fire to most every recording she laid down for the Motor…
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