All Blog Posts (458)

Art Porter..Gone Too Soon

You talkin' about devastated...that's how I felt upon hearing of this talent's demise. A horrible, horrible thing. I had just discovered Mr. Porter and ran out to buy everything I could find by him. I went nuts in the beauty behind his sound. I still can't bring myself to approach the pain I felt when he became the victim of drowning.…

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Added by SmoothJazzWorld on May 16, 2008 at 6:30pm — 5 Comments

The Long-awaited book

Coming in June!!!

Cover Design by Cynthia Marie

Added by saraphen on May 15, 2008 at 7:58am — 3 Comments

Truly Inimitable ...

Nicholas Brothers

Amazing Feet: The Nicholas…

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Added by Edie Antoinette on April 29, 2008 at 3:00am — 3 Comments

Classical Zen

A DAY WITHOUT RAIN

I stand in the open window

with my face to the sea

contemplating the similarities

between his breath

the wind, and... me.

Throwing my head back gently

upon my thoughts

while hugging the sun's rays

leaning upon his caring shoulder

dizzy..'dizzy' in want's haze.

Feeling the mist of the wave's foam

as it twinkles softly

against my cheeks

while contemplating how I…

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Added by Edie Antoinette on April 16, 2008 at 12:30am — 1 Comment

The Isley Brothers On The Clay Cole Show...1959

For the past few days i have been listening to The Isley Brothers, not the 1970's on up Isley Brothers, but the late 50's early 60's Isley Brothers and of course after doing all that listening, i had to look around on Youtube and see what i could find...

The feature video on this blog is them singing Stagger Lee on The Clay Cole Show in 1959, but… Continue

Added by Shelley "SoleMann" King on April 11, 2008 at 1:21pm — 13 Comments

Smokey and Claudette Robinson

From the 1980 Album Warm Thoughts...Smokey and Claudette Robinson singing Wine, Women, and… Continue

Added by Shelley "SoleMann" King on April 11, 2008 at 6:35am — 10 Comments

Glance Into The Past

Have you ever gone for a walk in the evening

In the cool of a twilight blue

And thoughts of the past came floating back

Like they so often do.

You thought of the good and bad things

That had happened in your life to you

The times you laughed, the times you cried

As though your heart was breaking into.

You remember the days of your childhood

And fairy tales that seemed… Continue

Added by gmack on April 9, 2008 at 12:00pm — 1 Comment

I promised Solemannking I would dance with him. Since he don't know Jack about oldschool, I thought these would update his babyface, haaaa, lol. Lets get to stepping Solebrother. THE SLOP (_X_)...(_X…

I promised Solemannking I would dance with him. Since he don't know Jack about oldschool, I thought these would update his babyface, haaaa, lol. Lets get to stepping Solebrother. THE SLOP (_X_)...(_X_)..., N TURN...

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Added by JACK-OF-HEARTS (AKA WIN) on April 8, 2008 at 11:00am — 3 Comments

50 ROCKS!

Out of the past was fifty years ago for me on 3/21. I was visiting my Auntie Johanna's page and she shared this email. Sure enough, it expressed my sentiments exactly as I head into the Future. So I shall share them with you here.

Old Age, I decided, is a gift.

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy… Continue

Added by JACK-OF-HEARTS (AKA WIN) on April 6, 2008 at 12:27am — 2 Comments

You Go To My Head

And you linger like a haunting refrain

And I find you spinning round in my brain

Like the bubbles in a glass of champagne.

You go to my head

Like a sip of sparkling burgundy brew

And I find the very mention of you

Like the kicker in a julep or two.

The thrill of the…

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Added by Edie Antoinette on April 1, 2008 at 10:00pm — 1 Comment

Harlem Shuffle

Bob & Earl had already recorded under a myriad of pseudonyms during their careers before they were a duo; both "Bob"s (the first was Bobby Byrd, aka Bobby Day, and his replacement was Bobby Relf) and "Earl" (Earl Nelson) were key players in L.A.'s doo wop and R&B vocal scene in the mid-to-late '50s. Today, Bob &…

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Added by Edie Antoinette on March 30, 2008 at 7:00pm — 9 Comments

My Son-Evan Christian

Guitar Aficionado

Flamenco guitarist Evan Christian performs solo at The Jazz Estate on Monday nights and Jackalope Lounj on Thursday nights. "I’m doing traditional flamenco, and my own material, which is blues, soul. Some of it’s in Spanish," Christian…

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Added by Edie Antoinette on March 30, 2008 at 12:30pm — No Comments

I Remember Jimmy Smith

http://i467.photobucket.com/albums/rr37/Spooky_Sheena/jimmy-smith-hammond-b3-jazz-legend.jpg

My precious Momma bought me a Hammond B3, and I tried to jam just like Mr. Smith in the 60's. I even taught my 'Birdie', Evan a few tricks when I could. Jimmy made the organ

famous to me and had that distinctive soul sound like no other.

It is one of the…

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Added by JazzWorld on March 27, 2008 at 10:00am — 3 Comments

Shadows

Black and silver shadows

hang on my window sill

...light dripping from a rainy sky

I lay upon my pillow...still

...as the clouds thunder lazily...by.

Willowy figures dance across…

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Added by JazzWorld on March 27, 2008 at 9:30am — 3 Comments

Dr. Yusef Lateef

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Added by JazzWorld on March 26, 2008 at 10:39pm — 1 Comment

Ethel Ennis

Ethel Ennis

Photo Credit: Tim Owens

Ethel Ennis

Ethel Ennis' voice possesses a smooth, buttery tone heavily vested in swing, and versatile enough to deliver from the classic songbook, original material…

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Added by JazzWorld on March 26, 2008 at 10:30pm — No Comments

The Man: Sonny Rollins

Biography

Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930 in New York City) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Sonny Rollins has had a long, productive career in jazz, beginning his career at the age of 11 and playing with piano legend Thelonious Monk before reaching the age of 20.…

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Added by JazzWorld on March 26, 2008 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Thelonious Sphere Monk -Truly Genius

Thelonious Sphere Monk

((October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was a jazz pianist and…

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Added by JazzWorld on March 26, 2008 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Johnny Hartman-The Man With The Voice

Johnny…

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Added by JazzWorld on March 26, 2008 at 10:00pm — 1 Comment

My Daughter Eboni

Her eyes were jewels of immeasureable beauty,

Pure--like peering into marbles from heaven,

Kaleidoscopically changing to match the

colors of paradise..the "Eden of Blue Island"

where she was born.

The softness of her skin exuded delicate…

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Added by Edie Antoinette on March 26, 2008 at 5:00pm — 10 Comments

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Remembering Q

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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.