Here we are, winding down the mixes and the decade that brought them to life. For the penultimate mix in the old format, we’re gonna go with voices that have brought me the most joy over the years. In our current world, people aren’t really allowed to ‘play favorites.’ I’m sorry. But not. I do….
Tag: Marie Knight
Suddenly It’s 1960! 40 Lively Lady Jams From The Heart of The Mid Century
It’s interesting to ponder the world of nearly 60 years ago, especially since we still hold such an era in high regard. 1960 brought us the first glimpse of the Neoliberalist optimism that no longer serves us more than a half century later alongside with such advents like Birth Control & The Flintsones. Music critics look…
Never Has It Been So Good As Ashford & Simpson (and sometimes Armstead)
New York of the 1960’s brought us the power of love in the writers booth in a profound way. The Brill Building gave young Jewish Newlyweds like Goffin & King, Greenwich & Barry and Mann & Weil lots of money and respect as they churned out hits for people coast to coast and even overseas….
What’s New for ’62? Forty Femme Gems For Cosmopolitan Consumption
In terms of Pop Culture, 1962 is an interesting year. In a lot of ways, it’s the first full fledged year of “The Sixties” as we currently conceptualize it. Out were tailfins on cars, up were beehives. Lucille Ball returned to television minus Desi Arnaz. And, as a little nugget, two Aries superstars battled it…
Gone Uptown To Box With Dionne: 35 more challenges to the Queen of Uptown Soul’s Throne
I’ve stated before, and provided evidence, that the impact that Dionne Warwick’s influence on popular music was extremely vast during the 1960’s and Early 70s. The previous time we spent on this topic nearly 2 years ago, seemingly only skims the surface of elegant pop/soul confections that not only emerged from the United States, but…
Pride & Allies – A Queer Mid Century Celebration Mix
I’m a firm believer in having to remember where you’ve been to see where you’re going. To root and meditate on our history is to build for a stronger future. As a society, the United States tends to make our collective memory disposable. This includes the evolution we’ve managed around sexuality in the last 50…
Ingenue, You Too? 33 Femme Fatale Fineries From The Late 50’s
One of my favorite styles of mixes to create is to jump around throughout sub-genres and eras of female singers. Probably the majority balance of the things I’ve uploaded to Mixcloud are in this bag. Since 2015, I’ve jumped from the swinging soul of 1965, through the Mid 1970’s and then back as far as…
So You Wanna Be Dionne Warwick? 30 Tribute Tunes To The Titan Of Sophisticated Soul
The influence of Dionne Warwick is one of the most underappreciated in 1960’s Soul Music. Her smooth, sophisticated work on Scepter Records, especially with Burt Bacharach and Hal David showed a mature, nuanced and complex way that many soul stars imitated. Coast to Coast after she flew in on the spaceship that was “Don’t Make…
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…