Sister Side of ’66 – 40 Gems For Your Summer Spirit

Y’all. A long time goal of mine is starting to wrap up as we close out the second decade of this century. If you’ve been with me, following and listening, you know that heart & soul of what I love doing is highlighting the efforts by women, primarily Black Women, that crafted and created music…

Not Too Late for more 1968: A Riot of Righteous Women

Today, November 17th 2009, is when I started the journey towards being a Vinyl DJ and a more serious music blogger. So in a measure of thanks, I’m speeding up my normal as of the past year trying to post a new mix and accompanying blog as we head into Thanksgiving week so you’ll have…

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…

The Real McCoy: The All Too Real Hustle of Van McCoy

It’s really telling as I searched the wide web of inter that I couldn’t seem to find an image of a Pre-1970’s Van McCoy.  Given his parity in age, and his extensive catalog of works he created, it’s a sign that he remained much the constructor behind the scenes, not really becoming of note until…

Girls Trip ’64 – Swinging Sixties Divine Diva Delights

I’ve mined the territory of checking in with women were doing in the recording studios through some random assortment of years during the 1960s. I started with 1965, jumped to 1961 and then did 1963. 1964 is an interesting year to ponder. Of course it’s mostly remembered as the beginning of the British Invasion that…

In Envy Of The Motor City: More Motown Femme Soul Soundalikes Vol. II

When you’re as large a cultural phenomenon as Motown Records, the depth of imitation as flattery is quite vast. I’ve explored this pool of influence before. After sitting with the topic for even longer, I decided, just in time for Pop Culture Summer, it was time to look at how The Sound Of Young America breathed…

Queen Bee of The Brill: Ellie Greenwich and 35 of her cha-cha-charms

In general, the creators of popular music rarely get the credit that they deserve. Although we all have dozens of tunes that we (un)controllably hum in our heads due to the genius of composers forever having something memorable tunewise to offer, we oft deride such content as fluff. When you’re one of the rare women…

Better Luck Next Time: 40 Hits that happened for someone else

Sometimes, it’s like, with a song, dust yourself off and try again. The perfect moment for a tune to become a success entrenched in the Pop Culture lexicon sometimes isn’t its first time up to bat. Sometimes it takes competition and revision to get things right. With this, I’ve gone a bit overboard, giving you…