Berry Gordy was slightly notorious for being adverse to seeking outside material for hit songs for his singers. Very rare during the Motown classic hit era were any of the major hits for artists from the pens of someone that wasn’t attached to the Motown Family. I can only think of two off the top…
Tag: Gladys Knight & The Pips
Don’t Trust The Weatherman, And Always Carry Your Umbrella: 35 Tunes For That Rainy Day Feeling
Nobody really warned me that summer ends right after Labor Day in the Pacific Northwest. After a long (short) Summer of 2 months, it’s been mostly rain, rain (please go away) in the Portland Metropolitan area. This is truly bizarre to me, living in the Bay Area, splendid, vaguely summery weather lasts all the way…
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…
Forgotten Pearls, Unpanned Gold: Even More Motown Lady Tunes
They say Atlantic Records was The House That Ruth (Brown) Built. We never ever really give credit to the women who built an empire for Berry Gordy in the conjoined houses at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit. He Started with the business savvy of his sisters Anna, Gwen, Loucye and Esther. Early signings like Claudette…
Strings And Things Pt.1: 36 Orchestral Soul Gems
I’ve been told by fellow DJs on the soul scene, quite derisively sometimes, that the soul music that I spin is too *sweet.* Not Funky, nitty or gritty, I tend towards pretty melodies, and… frankly, string sections. Violins? Cellos? Upright Bass? Why?!?! As I try to lean back into live DJing in a new town,…
Movin’ On Blues: Gentrification and Relocation Inspired Jams From Your Relocated DJ
Did what I had to do. This is the first thing I’ve written as DJ Larsupreme of Portland, Oregon. After 35 years of calling the Bay Area home (if you’re keeping record, that’s been my whole life) I packed up a Cadillac full of records, clothes and cameras to give life another go in a…
The Weight for ’68: 50 Tunes from The Tumultuous Year 50 previous
When one takes into account how ridiculous the past year has been, it’s hard to put into reference or frame of mind that the world has always been a bit bent out of shape. One of the preferred ways of coping is turning one’s stress about strife to the songs and singers that keep us…
Languishing On An LP: 33 Revolutions Not Found In Your Platter Pack
Vinyl DJs swear by the portability of the 45 rpm single. In a platter pack or any sundry 45 carrier, you’ve got up to 100 tunes, since most of those boxes can accommodate 50 of those little plastic discs. Most of my fellow DJs decry LPs, especially Soul LPs of the 1960’s as full of…
Sylvia’s Work: Sister Soul Songwriter Standing In The Shadows of Motown 1964-1975
The music industry isn’t a kind place to women. Even now, there’s more hurdles that keep women mostly out of control of their artistic output rather than giving them the full creative reign of their male counterparts. The situation is more heightened for Women of Color, especially Black women. Often, and yet still, you are…
The Telephone Game: 30 Gabbing Soul Classics From The Land Before Text Messaging
What is a telephone in this modern world of 2017? Most of us use them as Cameras, Newspapers and Western Union Telegrams. What we rarely use them for at this stage of evolution is to actually directly talk to people. Rare it seems for people born after the Baby Boom to engage with the ritual…
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