Although my recent vacation took me through Baltimore and New York City, the sounds of Chicago’s soul music has been on my mind for a few weeks now. I’m a big fan of how once our R&B music was so regional, influenced by the cultures established in cities plus the migrant populations that made each…
Tag: Chess Records
Jackie Ross “Be Sure You Know” (From the LP Full Bloom, 1964)
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…
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 &…
The Meditation Singers “Stand Up And Be Counted” (Checker 5046, 1968)
The Meditation Singers “Stand Up And Be Counted” (Checker 5046, 1968) It’s a year after Darren Wilson was absolved of all charges in his murder of Michael Brown. It’s been a year filled with numerous murders of people on our own soil. The level of rage a conscious individual has to sustain these days isn’t…
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…
Marlena Shaw “Looking Thru The Eyes Of Love” (Cadet 5618, 1968)
Marlena Shaw “Looking Thru The Eyes Of Love” (Cadet 5618, 1968) You know her for extolling all of the virtues of the Soulfulness of California in so many commercials (now for Ram Trucks), but Marlena Shaw was so much more than that. This evening, we pour a strong cocktail and celebrate Shaw’s 73rd Birthday through…
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…
The Dells “Open Up My Heart” (Cadet 5657, R&B#5 Pop#51, 1970)
The Dells “Open Up My Heart” (Cadet 5657, R&B#5 Pop#51, 1970) Some of the most underrated men in Soul Music are The Dells. Even during their time of recording, it took them a long laboring 13 years before they scored a significant chart entry. But in that time they crafted some of the most rich…
