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…
Tag: Soulful Birthday
A Girl Named Gladys: The Marvelous Marvelette Gladys Horton
I originally wrote this post 5 years ago when Gladys Horton passed away at the age of 65 in 2011. Horton’s voice on Marvelettes singles had been a profound link into me digging deeper into my experience as an outsider observing the inside, taking no shit from no one, and living a life from steadfast…
The Empress:The Gilded Hickory of Gladys Knight
Gladys Knight’s voice is much like a “Linus blanket” I carry with myself. From childhood to now in my mid 30’s, her voice still offers comfort, safety and understanding. Few other voices feel so essential, interwoven into the fabric of my existence. I’m pretty sure, minus her Fury, Vee-Jay and Maxx years, her discography with…
The Myth and Magic of Mary Wells
It’s oft the story that Mary Wells is the forgotten Queen of Motown. She is that, for sure, but there’s a lot to be said about her career that spanned nearly 30 years past her exit from the label as well. She’s sort of the mythological Lilith of Motown in that way. She made the…
The Four Seasons “Marlena”(Vee Jay 539-B, Pop# 36, 1963)
The Four Seasons “Marlena”(Vee Jay 539-B, Pop# 36, 1963) It might seem weird to feature a group of White men on this blog.In reality, R&B music has always been a rather intersectional venture that’s welcomed other outsiders. I’d make the statement that Italian wasn’t fully accultured into whiteness even by the early 1960’s. In addition,…
Taurus Talent at its finest: The Too Short Times of Tammi Terrell
I think of Tammi Terrell’s short 24 years on this planet, nearly 34 years old, and think I’m really wasting time. It didn’t exactly take that much time for her to establish herself as a legend. I don’t know whether her early death elicits moments of sadness, because she fought up until she went into…
I’ll Try Anything: The Master Vocal-Cultural Intersection Class as Taught by Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield, older I get, is someone that I love more, although she causes some grand complications being a fan of hers. She’s *that* Blue-eyed soul singer that reigns over all others. She’s *that* early queer icon that at least publicly identified as Bisexual far ahead of anyone else. She’s that British Invasion artist wholly…
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…
Sarah Vaughan “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most” (From the LP Snowbound, 1963)
Sarah Vaughan “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most” (From the LP Snowbound, 1963) *Happy Birthday Sarah Vaughan* The Divine, Sassy, Sailor was born 92 years ago today. Through a career that spanned every acre of popular music, Sarah Vaughan is yet another timeless voice that shaped the concept of Popular music for ages. From Jazz…
The Supremes “Too Hurt To Cry, Too Much In Love To Say Goodbye” (1965, Unreleased. From Never-Released-Before Masters, 1987)
The Supremes “Too Hurt To Cry, Too Much In Love To Say Goodbye” (1965, Unreleased. From Never-Released-Before Masters, 1987) I’m like a number of people. When we look back on Diana Ross’s success as a performer for the past 57 years, I’m prone to put the metric of that squarely on her charisma and unstoppable…
DJ Larsupreme 