Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles “Danny Boy” (Parkway 935 Pop#76, 1965) It seems appropriate for St. Patricks day to post this song long associated with “Irishness” or whatever, and take a glimpse into the long road that is Patti LaBelle (and her fellow BlueBelles) career. There’s numerous covers of this song, and it’s not too…
Category: Soul Song Of The Day
The Fascinations “Mama Didn’t Lie” (ABC Paramount 10387, Pop #108, 1962)
The Fascinations “Mama Didn’t Lie” (ABC Paramount 10387, Pop #108, 1962) We’re just about halfway through our Women’s History Month tour through soul music, so it’s perhaps time to score one of the best advice songs that made it to the airwaves during the 1960’s. But not the best known version. The Fascinations were actually another…
The Honey Bees “She Don’t Deserve You” (Fontana 1939, 1964)
The Honey Bees “She Don’t Deserve You” (Fontana 1939, 1964) Of all Girl Groups that were quite thoroughly the same group of women, The Cookies had the most diverse set of names. One has to wonder what the reasoning was, given that they had 3 Top 40 hits under their most consistent name. But as…
The Gems “I Can’t Help Myself” (Chess 1908, 1964)
The Gems “I Can’t Help Myself” (Chess 1908, 1964) I mentioned yesterday that there was a plethora of girl groups that served behind your favorite regional hits of the 1960s. 20 Feet From Stardom went a long way to ignore those who worked in a primarily African American milieu, however. What you might have…
The Blossoms “My Love, Come Home” (Reprise 0475-B, 1966)
The Blossoms “My Love, Come Home” (Reprise 0475-B, 1966) I think so far, appropriately, 10 days into Women’s History Month (as much as I loathe segregating history off to one month of the year), that the month of March will be “Women Of Soul” themed around here. One group of Soul Survivors are The Blossoms. The group…
Mable John “Bigger & Better” (Stax 215-B, 1967)
Mable John “Bigger & Better” (Stax 215-B, 1967) She was the first woman signed to Motown, who at her Saturn Return following her brother Little Willie John to secular music has made history for 60 years. She’s Mable John. At 84 years old she still gives you all of herself as a performer and more….
Barbara McNair “Here I Am, Baby” (Motown 1106, 1966)
Barbara McNair “Here I Am Baby” (Motown 1106, 1966) This is the absolute best single Motown released for Barbara McNair. I can even say it’s the best record she ever recorded with confidence. Because in a lot of ways it summed up what kind of woman Barbara McNair was: Independent, Powerful, Successful, Pioneering and (though…
The Glories “(I Love You Babe, But) Give Me My Freedom” (Date 1571, 1967)
The Glories “(I Love You Babe, But) Give Me My Freedom” (Date 1571, 1967) The Glories are one in a number of Girl Groups of the 1960’s that, despite churning out a long line of wonderful material, saw little pay off in terms of recognition or chart success. This seems a tad bit ridiculous in…
Brenda Holloway “Don’t Stay Away” (1964 Unreleased)
Brenda Holloway “Don’t Stay Away” (1964, Unreleased) Brenda Holloway continues to reign supreme in her title as”Queen of The Basement.” The latest excavation of the Motown vaults find her swimming in a surplus of unreleased goodies either intended for singles or for her next album. Indeed, fewer artists at Motown saw so much promising material…
Don Gardner and Dee Dee Ford “Son My Son” (Ludix 104, 1963)
Don Gardner and Dee Dee Ford “Son My Son” (Ludix 104, 1963) I sit here on a foggy Sunday Morning, and this song echoes in my mind, as it has for the past few weeks. My mother said yesterday that in my life I never asked for much of anything, a source of pride for…
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