Bobby Bland “Poverty” (Duke 407, R&B#9, Pop #65, 1966) I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise that some of the most prominent voices I grew up hearing on roadtrips have birthdays right new to each other. As music informed family stories told to me as a child, hours smothered in pillow top velour seats, voices…
Tag: Soulful Birthday
Anita Baker “Same Ole Love (365 Days A Year)” (Elektra 7-69484 R&B#8, Pop #44, 1987)
Anita Baker “Same Ole Love (365 Days A Year)” (Elektra 7-69484 R&B#8, Pop #44, 1987) It’s quite a shock to the format around these parts. However, Anita Baker is one of those artists so monumentally important to my appreciation of music that we can’t let her Birthday pass. We’re 30 years on from her massive…
Etta James “Payback” (Argo 5445, Pop #78, 1963)
Etta James “Payback” (Argo 5445, Pop #78, 1963) When you’re dealing with a catalog as extensive and exhaustive as Etta’s, you don’t play favorites. You just select a tune that reflects your mood of the day. You say a prayer of thanks to those wonderful souls that give you little hints that take care of…
Righteous Rage and Rhythm: This is dedicated to Etta James
I’ll say, one of my biggest regrets of my concert going life was not seeing Etta James perform live before she succumbed to Leukemia 4 years ago. There’s many soul singers so omnipresent in the crafting of the adult I’ve become as my life spins its LP year (I hate Christ Year, and 33 &…
Sam Cooke “Everybody Likes To Cha Cha Cha” (Keen 3-2018, R&B #2, Pop #31, 1959)
Sam Cooke “Everybody Likes To Cha Cha Cha” (Keen 3-2018, R&B #2, Pop #31, 1959) It’s weird, as a non-baby boomer to think some of our legends have more than a half century old legacy. Sam Cooke crossed from Gospel to Secular Music 59 years ago this Spring, and by 1959, the handsome Crooner at…
Barbara Lynn “Don’t Spread It Around” (Jamie 1286, R&B #35 Pop #93, 1964)
Barbara Lynn “Don’t Spread It Around” (Jamie 1286, R&B #35 Pop #93, 1964) First out the door: Barbara Lynn is a bad-ass. The Beaumont born Singer, Songwriter and Electric Guitarist celebrates her 74th Birthday today. A true R&B pioneer, she was one of the women that was determined to do it her way. Be that…
Ruth Brown “Help A Good Girl Go Bad” (From the LP Ruth Brown ’65, 1965)
Ruth Brown “Help A Good Girl Go Bad” (From the LP Ruth Brown ’65, 1965) Miss Rhythm, The House That Ruth Built, Ruth Brown is that legend that always fought for her face time. 65 years after her debut on Atlantic Records, 70 years after she ran off and started her performing career, we celebrate…
Doris Troy “I’ll Do Anything (He Wants Me To Do)” (Calla 114, 1966)
Doris Troy “I’ll Do Anything (He Wants Me To Do)” (Calla 114, 1966) It’s of amazing wonder that Doris Troy actually qualifies as a One Hit Wonder. Her 1963 debut for Atlantic Records was her only entry into the Billboard Hot 100. For what would have been her 79th Birthday, we look at some of her…
Patti Drew “Mirror, Mirror” (Quill 107-B, 1966)
Patti Drew “Mirror, Mirror” (Quill 107-B, 1966) On the penultimate day of the year, we continue to intention set. Maybe a bewitching spell to cast? Had I been more on top of things this week, I’d be on the birthday game a bit better. Yesterday, the 29th, was the 71st Birthday of Chicago Cult Soul…
Esther Phillips “Too Much Of A Man (To Be Tied Down)” (Roulette 7059-B,1969)
Esther Phillips “Too Much Of A Man (To Be Tied Down)” (Roulette 7059-B, 1969) As we draw back the light as a resource close to Christmas in the early days of Capricorn season, we continue to knock out Birthday Wishes. Today we celebrate the 80th Birthday of Capricorn Princess of Soul, Esther Phillips. Although she’s far often…
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