There’s a long tradition in vocal stylings in which people aspire to being as great in a field as their predecessors. Notably, years of women that birth’d Jazz loved those Blues and Gospel singers that gave them the extra edge over some people that weren’t exactly naturals to the style. Some of those Jazz singers…
Tag: Martha & The Vandellas
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…
Hitsville Vaults ’66: The Top Twenty Motown potential hits you didn’t know existed.
You may or may not know, Motown records in its Golden Years from 1961 through 1968 was a constant hive of activity. The operations worked 24 hours a day each day of the year, some Motown gems were recorded and pressed on major holidays, some efforts saw release on others. Was December 31, 1965 a…
The Ambassador of The Motown Sound: Miss Martha Reeves
Calling out around the world, we have one helluva birthday to celebrate. She’s perhaps that singular and that collective all in one. In a lot of ways, she’s always and always will be “Miss Motown.” We’re talking Martha Rose Reeves. She turns 75 years old this July 18th. Her efforts for Motown and beyond have…
The Magic of Marvin: Sovereign Soul and Sweetness, The Crown’d Prince of Motown
If you don’t have a special connection to Marvin Gaye, immediately I question your humanity. Chances are I’ll never like you. He left this earthly plane with a gunshot shortly before I turned 2 years old 32 years ago today, right before he turned 45. In just over 25 years, he evolved from being one…
Bye Bye ’65: The Golden Girls Golden Anniversary set of 1965
A lot of what I’ve done as a DJ, writer, and even public speaker has been carrying the legacy of R&B, Pop, and Soul female singers. For years, I’ve wanted to highlight the efforts and the narratives around the women in Post-War Popular Music, because they are far too often neglected or overshadowed. When DJ…
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas “Bless You” (Gordy 7110, R&B#29, Pop#53, 1971)
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas “Bless You” (Gordy 7110, R&B#29, Pop#53, 1971) It’s been a remarkably dark past 72 hours if you’ve opened your eyes to anything going on in the world. Not only Paris, but Beirut, Baghdad, bitterness and yet another unjustified Black Death that makes one question whether Black Lives Matter or not….
In An Alternate Universe: Potential Hit Singles From Hitsville U.S.A. from 1965 (Ladies Edition)
If you know your Motown as I know The Sound Of Young America, You’ll know, beyond the bevy of hit records, at the peak of the label the studios cranked out potential hits 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Some records have release dates on Holidays: The Supremes “My World Is Empty Without You” and…
For The Venus Retrograde: A Lover’s Concerto of Love Songs For Your Ears To Endear & Endure The Days Ahead.
If you’ve been following this blog for any extended period of time, you’ll know that I tend to weave what’s going on in the Sky and the Stars. In writing, in lectures, in remembering our R&B legends with us and gone to the Apollo in the sky, I feel Astrology can weave the narratives a…
Martha & The Vandellas “Can’t Break The Habit” (1965, Unreleased. From Never Released Masters From Motown’s Brightest Stars, 1986)
Martha & The Vandellas “Can’t Break The Habit” (1965, Unreleased. From Never Released Masters From Motown’s Brightest Stars, 1986) We’re finishing our Vacation to 1965 through the feminine eye just in time to celebrate Martha Reeves’s 74th Birthday. And who wouldn’t want to end the trip in Motown Studio A, Circa 1965 with the latest…
DJ Larsupreme 