June 2009 Blog Posts (20)

INTERNET SAYS GOODBYE TO MICHAEL JACKSON IN PICTURES ..

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I was looking on the web for pictures people had created to honor MJ, or just reposted pics that they found elsewhere.

I thought I would share some of them with you. Feel free to post any of your own that you`ve run across.…

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Added by KnightD12 on June 29, 2009 at 2:00am — 2 Comments

Remembering Little Michael

The song "Big Boy" was the first single ever released by The Jackson 5, in January 1968, through Steeltown Records. The group produced and played instruments on many of their Steeltown compositions, including "Big Boy". The song was neither a critical or commercial success, but the Jackson family were delighted with the outcome nonetheless.

The Jackson 5 would… Continue

Added by Edie Antoinette on June 26, 2009 at 9:00pm — 4 Comments

In Memory of Michael

I am five years older than Michael. We were both born in the month of August. His last name is Jackson and My last name is Jackson. That's really not where the similarities end, anyway... When he came on the seen as a child star I saw him as my famous little brother even though we were not blood relatives. He was an inspiration to my generation and several generations to come.

It's hard to believe that the people in his life didn't… Continue

Added by Lydell Jackson on June 26, 2009 at 2:28pm — No Comments

SOJP presents "Jazzetry & Versatudes ALLSTARS"

Bigtrigger and SOJP have a wonderful program on tap!

Spotlight On Jazz And Poetry is very proud to present a sneak peek at it's upcoming "LIVE" show, JAZZETRY & VERSATUDES. SOJP is equally proud to have been able to assemble a very diverse group of artists to entertain, enrich and enlighten as you will hear on this program.

Enjoy the Jazzetry & Versatudes "ALLSTARS"

At SOJP, we've got it all… Continue

Added by Clayton "Bigtrigger" Corley on June 22, 2009 at 9:00am — No Comments

Rap Pioneers Then & Now

The other week Tone-Loc was hospitalized in Florida after passing out during a concert. He's 43 now, and his collapse begs two questions: can dudes rap into their forties, and... people go to hip-hop shows in Florida?

Actually, the whole hip-hop generation is approaching middle-age. I'm sure we could argue all day long about the first hip-hop moment, the first hip-hop single, or the moment when hip-hop's spark was truly ignited. I'm…

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Added by Edie Antoinette on June 21, 2009 at 2:30pm — 1 Comment

Frankie Valentine

I have found a treasure! Oh my goodness!

Frankie Valentine is a well known DJ and producer but information about him has been one of the best-kept secrets in the British music industry so far! As one of the pioneering club DJ's during the dance music revolution in the eighties, Frankie's love for new sounds quickly established him as one of the major British…

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Added by Edie Antoinette on June 12, 2009 at 11:00pm — 8 Comments

Executive Suite

Executive Suite was the Philly group that Daryl Hall contributed vocals to on their first single ("Christine," for Jubilee Records) in 1970. The members were Vincent Unto, Henry Tuten, William Tyler, and Charles Conyers. Their next release, a smooth, Philly ballad named "I'm a Winner Now" from 1972, remains the jewel of their career. Babylon Records picked it up for national distribution in 1973, but the move didn't help much as the record never… Continue

Added by Shelley "SoleMann" King on June 12, 2009 at 8:25pm — 3 Comments

The Legacy Of Chicago’s Bandit Records

Chicago Magazine

Saturday, April 30, 2005

By Mark Guarino

A tree, unlike any other tree, stood in front of the greystone at 4114 S. Martin Luther King Drive. Kids painted and repainted its trunk colors — red, black and green of the African flag. A red bench beside it had a speaker attached with a cord running to the house. So on a steamy Saturday afternoon in the summer of 1971, maybe when the Bud Billiken parade marched… Continue

Added by Shelley "SoleMann" King on June 9, 2009 at 4:35pm — 7 Comments

Arrow Brown...The Godfather Of King Drive

Arrow Brown wanted badly to be a player--he wore a black hat, packed heat even in church, and exploited a houseful of wives and concubines to finance a record label. But his tiny empire wouldn't last.

Author: Bob Mehr Date: April 22, 2005

It looked as if a tornado had passed through the house, picked up the remnants of Arrow Brown's strange, sordid life, and dumped them in the alley.

September 1990: Brown had… Continue

Added by Shelley "SoleMann" King on June 7, 2009 at 8:07pm — 18 Comments

The Smith Connection

A sublime bit of east coast soul -- and the only full album ever cut by this heavenly-voiced trio! The group have a sound to rival the best of their contemporaries on the harmony soul scene -- one that floats along on a light pillow of strings and soul, with just the right amount of heavier touches to give the record a bit more of the HDH depth. The falsetto bits are especially nice -- drifting out in front of the deeper vocals -- and the whole… Continue

Added by Shelley "SoleMann" King on June 7, 2009 at 6:31pm — 2 Comments

Majestic Arrows...The Magic Of Your Love

This is all i could find on this group, the story was wayyyyy to long, so i just added the parts where the group was talked about....Mannnn i love this stuff....LOL

For a decade or so beginning in the late 60s, Arrow Brown was the head of Bandit Records. Although he never sang or played a note, he was the undisputed star of the label, tapping the talent, writing and producing the songs, and putting his imprimatur on everything from… Continue

Added by Shelley "SoleMann" King on June 7, 2009 at 4:45pm — 9 Comments

PUT SAUCE ON IT!!! BUAHAHAHAHAA!!

This one got me yall… Continue

Added by Old School C on June 7, 2009 at 5:02am — 8 Comments

Smoke...Risen'

Album Review by Trakbuv

“Move over O’J’s, Spinners and Temps. The fire may be comin’, but ‘Smoke’ is here” boasts the sleeve notes. This heralds the male quartet’s first and only album, ‘Risin’. The ensemble consisted of Ernest and Arthur Malone, Melvin Manning and Larry Brown, all hailing from Kansas City, and all very capable of taking centre stage. If only for this reason, the opening claim holds some water. Personally, the band… Continue

Added by Shelley "SoleMann" King on June 6, 2009 at 6:06pm — 15 Comments

The Eight Minutes

The Eight Minutes (members Ricky Goggins, Hank Goggins, Ronald Goggins, Hedda Sudduth, David Sudduth,Wendel Sudduth, Juwanna Glover and Carl Monroe)

This is the answer to Black Ivory tune I'll find a way (Loneliest Man In Town). This group hailed from Chicago and worked with James L. Porter, with the label Perception was the sister subsidiary to Today records with B-I on their roster. This group recorded on other small labels before… Continue

Added by Shelley "SoleMann" King on June 4, 2009 at 7:40pm — 9 Comments

Moodymann

Real Name: Kenneth Dixon Jr. Profile: An outspoken voice in the normally non-confrontational world of electronic dance music, Moodymann (given name: Kenneth Dixon Jr.) is committed to keeping a distinctly black imprint on techno and house. While he may frustrate people with his refusal to be interviewed and insistence on reminding people of the genre's origins, the soulfulness of his output is unquestioned. Utilizing classic…

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Added by Edie Antoinette on June 4, 2009 at 7:00pm — 18 Comments

Larry Levan

Lawrence Philpot, aka Larry Levan, legendary disc jockey of the Paradise Garage, record producer and remixer died Sunday, November 8, 1992 at Beth Israel Hospital from heart failure due to endicarditis: he was 38. Larry is revered primarily as the DJ and driving force of the famous gay disco Paradise Garage. With engineer…

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Added by Edie Antoinette on June 4, 2009 at 6:30pm — No Comments

The True Reflection

This is an excellent group from the 70s East Coast scene -- with a heavy harmony sound that should have made them famous! Philly greats like Norman Harris, Ronnie Baker, and Vince Montana, all working here in a mode that's similar to that applied to The Spinners after they made their move to Atlantic.

It's the band's harmonies that really take the cake, though -- as they mix together deep-rooted Temptations-esque righteous vocals with… Continue

Added by Shelley "SoleMann" King on June 3, 2009 at 5:47pm — 3 Comments

This Made Me Think.......

It also made me pose the question, does a Black man really have to go this far to make it in… Continue

Added by Old School C on June 2, 2009 at 4:07am — 8 Comments

Rest In Peace Henry "Brikks" Brown IV

I know this is not my usual oldies blog, but i felt the need to do this blog in this young brothers honor...When will the violence stop?

Tennessee Rapper Brikks Murdered in Home Robbery

Chattanooga, Tenessee rapper Brikks was killed on Saturday after three men invaded his home and shot him to death. A friend that he was with, Josquin Jackson, also sustained gun wounds and lies in critical condition at Erlanger… Continue

Added by Shelley "SoleMann" King on June 1, 2009 at 5:44pm — 7 Comments

Greetings! We're the Monitors

The Monitors were a minor Motown act from the 1960s. The group, which consisted of lead singer Richard Street, Sandra Fagin, John "Maurice" Fagin, and Warren Harris, had only one minor hit, a cover of the Valadiers' "Greetings (This is Uncle Sam)", which reached number 21 on the Billboard R&B chart, and number 100 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. "Greetings (This is Uncle Sam)" explores the feelings felt by many young African American… Continue

Added by Shelley "SoleMann" King on June 1, 2009 at 5:12pm — 8 Comments

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Remembering Q

E.FM Radio Spotlight

Quincy Jones is thoroughly entwined in the musical background of my young adulthood. A genius of unique quality. I have been posting blogs and music throughout the years and decided to embark on the arduous but satisfying task of gathering some of it to remember the excellent legacy that he left.

Maze Feel That You're Feelin
Maze Somebody Elses Arms
Maze Southern Girl
Cant Get Over You
Maze Golden Time Of Day

The history of the Butlers/Raw Soul is dense, but for all of us music nerds, that's normal. It is not totally clear what year the Butlers actually formed but they released their first single in 1963 on Liberty Records. That single was "She Tried To Kiss Me" and another single followed on Guyden entitled "Lovable Girl." After the Guyden single the Butlers took a break not recording another record until the single "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" was released on the Phila label in 1966. The group also backed Charles Earland and Jean Wells on one Phila single ("I Know She Loves Me").

As you might be noticing, the Butlers were doing a fair amount of recording but not achieving much success. The group's recordings sold regionally but never had the promotion to make an impact on the national scene. After the single with Phila, the Butlers moved to the Fairmount label (part of the Cameo-Parkway family) and released a handful of singles, some being reissued singles of the past. The Butlers were with Fairmount for 1966-67 and then moved to Sassy Records. Sassy released the group's greatest single (in my opinion) "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" b/w "If That's What You Wanted." A copy of that 45 sold for just under $500 last summer on eBay. Even though that isn't that much in the world of record collecting--it's still a hefty sum. The Butlers released another single on Sassy ("She's Gone" b/w "Love Is Good") that appears to be even

harder to come by then the "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" single.

The true history become a bit blurred here as the AMG biography states that the Butlers last record was released on C.R.S. in 1974 (". However, between 1971 and that single, Frankie Beverly formed a group called Raw Soul and released a number of singles. Some of the songs recorded by Beverly during this period are "While I'm Alone," "Open Up Your Heart," (both on the Gregor label) and "Color Blind." "Color Blind" was released by the Eldorado label and rerecorded by Maze. Beverly's big break came when Marvin Gaye asked Raw Soul to back him on a tour. Gaye helped Beverly/Raw Soul get a contract at Capitol. Beverly decided to take the group in a different direction, a name change occurred, and Maze was created.

The above isn't the most complete history of Beverly but hopefully someone will know a way to get in touch with the man or his management because a comprehensive pre-Maze history needs to be done on Frankie Beverly (his real name is Howard, by the way). Below you'll find every Frankie Beverly (pre-Maze) song available to me right now ("Color Blind" will be up soon).

If you have a song that is not included below, shoot it over to funkinsoulman (at) yahoo.com and it will go up in the next Frankie Beverly post (later this week--highlighting Maze). Also, if you have any more information please share your knowledge. The Butlers material has been comp-ed sporadically (usually imports) but the entire Maze catalog has been reissued and is available.

Enjoy. "She Kissed Me" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967)

"I Want To Feel I'm Wanted" (not sure which label or year) "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" (Phila, 1966) "Because Of My Heart" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967)

"Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" (Sassy, 1967)

"If That's What You Wanted" (Sassy, 1967)

Frankie Beverly is one of those cats that has lasting power. He started in the music business doing a tour with doo wop group the Silhouettes and then formed his own group called the Blenders. The Blenders never recorded a single, Beverly wouldn't appear on wax until forming the Butlers a few years later. Along with Beverly, the Butlers included Jack "Sonny" Nicholson, Joe Collins, John Fitch, and Talmadge Conway.

Beverly would later enjoy great success fronting Maze and Conway would become a

well-known penning Double Exposure's

"Ten Percent" and the Intruders' "Memories Are Here To Stay."

While Maze is a phenomenal group, Beverly's work before that group will always stand out as his best (imo).

The Butlers produced tunes that most Northern Soul fans would kill for and Raw Soul gave the funksters something to pursue. The Butlers recorded their first single in 1960 titled "Loveable Girl". Left to right John Fitch, T Conway, Frankie Beverly, Sonny Nicholson and Joe Collins.