The Exciters “Something To Shout About” (From The LP The Exciters, 1966) Although they truly fit the One (Top 40) hit wonder title, numerous record companies, and Burt Berns in particular had a lot of faith in The Exciters. The direct visceral lead vocals of Brenda Reid in particular kept them favorites of brill building…
Tag: Song of the day
Irma Thomas “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand) (Imperial 66041, Pop #52, 1964)
Irma Thomas “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand) (Imperial 66041, Pop #52, 1964) There’s no mystery, yet still a mystery in Irma Thomas’s voice. The Soul Queen of New Orleans has been delighting audiences for 57 years, and today we applaud the fact that this soul survivor still sells out and serenades us…
Barbara Lewis “Come Home” (Atlantic 2255-B, 1964)
Barbara Lewis “Come Home” (Atlantic 2255-B, 1964) It took a while for Barbara Lewis to move away from her steady perch of organ driven cuddly early 60’s R&B. Like any a number of her peer Soul Chanteuses, she had a streak of fondness for soft Jazz-Pop ladies of a generation before her. Those women last named…
Florence Ballard “Forever Faithful” (ABC 11144-B, 1968)
Florence Ballard “Forever Faithful” (ABC 11144-B, 1968) Had she not been like, “I’m not doing this singing thing on my own,” there’d never be the complex, rich history of The Supremes. Perhaps Diana Ross *might* have become a singer, but it’s the plucky Florence Ballard that got The Supremes off the ground as The Primettes….
Jackie Moore “Dear John” (Shout 232, 1968)
Jackie Moore “Dear John” (Shout 232, 1968) I’m delighted that the above linked clip gives us a look at a fresh faced 22 year old Jackie Moore debuting her fiery first single for Shout records in 1968. Although it would take her 2 more years to chart with her classic “Precious, Precious” all of the…
Mitty Collier “Got To Get Away From It All” (Chess 2050, 1968)
Mitty Collier “Got To Get Away From It All” (Chess 2050, 1968) One of the points of me even writing about soul music is to expand the narrative beyond what is already known and cherished. Today’s post is brought to you by the weird fetish around Nina Simone, which tends to be something of the…
Tammi Terrell “My Heart” (1966 Unreleased, From Cellarful of Motown Volume 2, 2005)
Tammi Terrell “My Heart” (1966 Unreleased, From Cellarful of Motown Volume 2, 2005) It was a little hard to think of a choice for celebrating Tammi Terrell’s 70th Birthday. Surprisingly, although she didn’t have a super huge Solo catalog like a number of her contemporaries, she did record for a healthy portion of the 1960s…
Francine Barker “Don’t You Know Love When You See It” (Columbia 44614, 1968)
Francine Barker “Don’t You Know Love When You See It” (Columbia 44614, 1968) It shouldn’t be surprising that back to back are two birthdays of the two most prominent R&B Duet partners of the late 1960s. And, of course, chances are you know little about their own careers away from their duet partners. Francine Hurd…
The Radiants “The Clown Is Clever” (Chess 2021, 1967)
The Radiants “The Clown Is Clever” (Chess 2021, 1967) In a long line of declarative gems, you’d think The Radiants would be a bit better known beyond their few entries into the Billboard Hot 100. Alas, for whatever reason they could never break through in a huge way like The Impressions or The Dells did….
Kim Weston “Fancy Meeting You Here” (1966, Unreleased. From The Motown Anthology, 2005)
Kim Weston “Fancy Meeting You Here” (1966, Unreleased. From The Motown Anthology, 2005) The complications of the Motown release and promotional schedule putting The Supremes first, and just about everyone else second-to-never really did a disservice in getting audiences some rather wonderful performances by a host of Motown artists. The most wonky in stories would…
