Library Rock's Backpages

Black Music

Black Music

Launched in 1973, Black Music (renamed Black Music & Jazz Review from April 1978) was a monthly British music magazine aimed mostly at fans of soul and reggae music. In July 1984, it was absorbed by Blues & Soul.

113 articles

List of articles in the library

By date | By artist | Most recently added

Jimi Hendrix: Jimi Hendrix (Dir. Joe Boyd, John Head and Gary Weis; Warner Bros.)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Cliff White, Black Music, December 1973

IN THE heady atmosphere of swinging London it was often overlooked that Hendrix was Black. Musically he was pigeonholed in a multi-colour no man's land, ...

Don Covay: Super Dude!

Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Black Music, December 1973

DON COVAY is a permanent fixture in the music of this era. ...

The Fatback Band: Fatback Band: People Music (Perception 43)

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1973

"GOOD EVENING ladies and gentlemen we would like to welcome you to a studio discotheque with the Fatback Band. We want you to sit back ...

Grover Washington Jr: Grover's Bringing Jazz Back to the Charts

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1973

"IT ALL HAPPENED so fast. One day people weren't listening to jazz — they'd look at an album and say 'This is jazz, this is ...

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes: Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes: Black And Blue (Philadelphia International)

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1973

WELL THEY didn't quite make it with another killer. There's probably some slyly subtle reason why it was felt appropriate to put 'Cabaret' on the ...

Limmie & Family Cookin': Even Pop Soul Has Roots!

Profile by uncredited writer, Black Music, December 1973

"YEAH I'M A little put down havin' a smash here and still being stone cold in the States... We're American ain't we?" ...

The Jackson Sisters: New Blood: The Jackson Sisters

Profile and Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1973

"THERE'S FIVE of us in the group. Me (Jackie — 17), Lyn (15), Pat (14), Rae (13) and Gennie (aged eleven)," says the young lady ...

The Isley Brothers

Retrospective and Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1973

Beginning a series of definitive studies of the giants of black music. This month: Tony Cummings traces the astonishing 15-year history of the brothers Isley... ...

The Isley Brothers: 3 + 3 (T-Neck/Epic)

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1973

YEP, HERE'S one folks. A "classic" is claimed by some publicist somewhere everytime a disc is a hit. But 'That Lady' is the genuine article, ...

O'Jays: The O'Jays: Ship Ahoy (Philadelphia International)

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1973

POWER TO the O'Jays for a daring album concept. A slave ship packed with misery is a heavy sleeve design for any group to surround ...

The Spinners: From Ghetto to Gold

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1973

Tony Cummings talks to the DETROIT SPINNERS ...

Billy Paul: Philly Billy

Profile by Tony Cummings, Black Music, January 1974

'ME & MRS. JONES' is an instant recall disc. When it slides provocatively out of a car radio or a super hi-fi the listener will ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Bland: This Time He's Here for Good

Retrospective by Tony Cummings, Black Music, January 1974

"HE'S HAD more Hot 100 entries than the Beatles." That's the claim — a totally accurate one — in the Bobby Bland adverts being scattered ...

O'Jays are Okay

Profile by Tony Cummings, Black Music, January 1974

IN 1958 IN every high school in every state of America, students (some with talent, some without) were forming themselves into would-be doo-wop groups. Two ...

Philadelphia Special: Gamble and Huff

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, January 1974

ONCE, FOR A fleeting blink of times' eye, Philadelphia was the centre of it all. When the world danced the twist with Chubby Checker... everybody ...

Thom Bell, The Delfonics, The Spinners, The Stylistics: Philly Special: The Thom Bell Story

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, January 1974

THOM BELL smiles a lot. And it isn't only his natural good humour which creases his handsome, bearded face into another explosion of laughter. Over ...

Kool and the Gang: Kool & The Gang: Street Gang

Profile and Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Black Music, February 1974

KOOL & THE GANG got that jitterbug move, got the spirit. Got that easy ride, got that cool energy. Got that diddley/daddy chenka chenk guitar ...

Al Green: The Al Green Story

Profile and Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1974

AROUND THE time 'Let's Stay Together' was becoming the biggest selling single of all time for London Records in the USA (beating the Stones' 'Satisfaction'), ...

Dobie Gray: The Country Soul of Dobie Gray

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1974

CAN A WHITE man sing the blues? Now there's a cliché guaranteed to remove the enamel from a purist's teeth. Would say a purist: how ...

The Intruders, O'Jays, Billy Paul: The O'Jays, Billy Paul, the Intruders: Philly Tour, Fairfield Hall, Croydon, and Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1974

THE GEOGRAPHICAL luck of being able to catch the Philly package twice (at Croydon's Fairfield Hall and Hammersmith's Odeon) had its disadvantages too. Large chunks ...

Stevie Wonder: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, March 1974

THE RETURN of the magus. Stevie Wonder at the first house at London's Rainbow. Squint and you can see the aura of genius glowing from ...

Linda Lewis, The Staple Singers: The Staple Singers, Linda Lewis: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, March 1974

IT WAS great, but then we knew it would be. Linda Lewis won the cool crowd first, soft and gentle, then hard and funky, a ...

The Staple Singers: The Staples Story

Retrospective and Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, March 1974

IT ISN'T hard to imagine. A concert hall staging an "Authentic Blues Festival". Paul Oliver would make the introduction for the adoring crowd of earnest ...

Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Profile by Cliff White, Black Music, April 1974

IN 1965 Nina Simone strengthened her newly-won acclaim as the High Priestess of Soul with a dramatic reworking of a unique echo from the fifties. ...

The Bar-Kays, The Fatback Band, Funkadelic, The Ohio Players, Skull Snaps: The Sound of the Streets

Overview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, April 1974

IN A HAPPIER world, pigeon-holes would be strictly for pigeons. Yet the fact remains that terms like "R and B" and "Soul" are no longer ...

War: War Games

Profile and Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Black Music, April 1974

Vernon Gibbs in New York reports on the band who hit Britain in April ...

Ashford & Simpson: Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing

Interview by Vicki Wickham, Black Music, May 1974

NICKOLAS ASHFORD and Valerie Simpson have, of course, been writing great songs for years. Songs like 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough', 'Reach Out And Touch ...

Mickey & Sylvia, Sylvia Robinson: Sexy Soul: Another Big One for Sylvia!

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, May 1974

She had a big hit with the sexy 'Pillow Talk' and she's doing it again with 'Sweet Stuff'. Sylvia purrs to a heavy-breathing Tony Cummings... ...

The Stylistics Story

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, May 1974

AIRRON LOVE, spokesman for the Stylistics, didn't seem to realise he was announcing something guaranteed to reduce thousands of the group's loyal following to hand ...

Mel & Tim: Good Guys Sometimes Win

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, June 1974

MEL AND TIM'S 'Starting All Over Again' was one of THE records of last year. When that wistful hopeful voice sang: "Starting all over again ...

Syl Johnson: Different Strokes

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, June 1974

From Chicago blues sideman to Memphis soul star: the story of Syl Johnson ...

Arthur Alexander: Remembering

Profile by Cliff White, Black Music, August 1974

EIGHTEEN MONTHS ago Warner Brothers issued an album that re-introduced a name from the early sixties. Arthur Alexander (BS.2592) had been a long time coming. ...

MFSB, TCB

Profile by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1974

MFSB GREW as the Philly soul scene grew. As, in the sixties, recording activity escalated in the city, a hard core of musicians, some black ...

The Drifters

Retrospective and Interview by Cliff White, Black Music, October 1974

WHEN is a Drifter not a Drifter? That is the question. ...

Tower of Power, Lenny Williams: Lenny Williams: a Tower of Vocal Power

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, November 1974

"YEAH, IT was that same old gospel thing. Fact is I sang in the same church as Sly Stone and Edwin Hawkins. I was really ...

The Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose, KC & the Sunshine Band, Paul Kelly, King Sporty, Latimore, Little Beaver, George McCrae, Gwen McCrae, Robert Moore, Clarence Reid (aka Blowfly), J.P. Robinson, Helene Smith, Timmy Thomas, Betty Wright: The Miami Sound

Special Feature by Tony Cummings, Black Music, November 1974

George McCrae, KC And The Sunshine Band, Little Beaver, Latimore, Betty Wright, Clarence Reid... They're all hot and they're all from Miami, the city that's ...

Ann Peebles: Rain and Shine

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974

THREE ENCOUNTERS with Ann Peebles: the first painful, the second enjoyable, the third revealing. ...

Denise LaSalle: Doin' it Right

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974

DENISE LASALLE is a mass of contradictions. She prefers her music "mean, down-home and funky" but would "like to do a session in Philadelphia". She ...

Graham Central Station: Release Yourself (Warner Bros. K 56062). ****

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974

AN ANOMALY: a funky band which is difficult, often impossible, to dance to. The extraordinary spiralling rhythms produced by the Arps, synthesizers and funk-boxes of ...

Latimore: More More More Latimore (President 1062) ****

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974

'Ain't Nothin' You Can Do'/'Snap Your Fingers'/'That's How It Is'/'Let's Straighten It Out'/'Ain't Nobody Gonna Make Me Change My Mind'/'I Don't Know'/'Put Pride Aside'/'Everyday'. ...

Love Unlimited: In Heat (20th Century)***

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974

YOU'D BE hard put to find a music journalist who'd ADMIT to liking this album. Those insecure defenders of "integrity" obviously view the plastic Love ...

Eddie Holman: Natural High: The second coming of Eddie Holman

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974

WHEN EDDIE Holman sings his voice soars from a rich, vibrant tenor into one of the most heart-stopping falsettos in black music. But when the ...

Syreeta: In Her Own Wright

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974

BACK IN 1967 Motown decided to give a break to one of their secretaries who was busting for a recording break. Nick Ashford and Val ...

Solomon Burke: The Solomon Burke Story

Retrospective by Cliff White, Black Music, 1975

IT'S ALWAYS good to see neglected talent straighten up and fly right after seemingly falling by the wayside, especially when the talent is as undeniable ...

Herbie Hancock: "I've already broken down a lot of barriers. Now I'm stamping them into the ground..."

Profile and Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, January 1975

Herbie Hancock — voted top jazz artist of 1974 by Black Music readers — talks to Tony Cummings ...

Lamont Dozier: Black Bach (ABC) ***; The New Lamont Dozier/Love And Beauty (US Invictus XS98) ****

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1975

WHEN, AFTER all those years languishing in the background boy's shadows, things started to move for Lamont as an artist, they moved with lightning speed. ...

Al Green, Willie Mitchell, Ann Peebles: Willie Mitchell: Memphis Maestro

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1975

Tony Cummings talks to WILLIE MITCHELL, man behind Al Green and that Memphis sound... ...

Dionne Warwicke: I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself...

Retrospective by Tony Cummings, Black Music, March 1975

Dionne Warwicke is one of the great voices of black music. Back in the 60s she and maestro Burt Bacharach pioneered the sophisticated soul sounds ...

James Brown, The J.B.'s, Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley: James Brown at the Crossroads

Comment by Cliff White, Black Music, March 1975

Is the Sex Machine slowing down? Can the Godfather Of Soul keep getting down now that he's over 40? Cliff White caught the man's recent ...

The Ohio Players: The Funk Masters #1: The Ohio Players

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, April 1975

The Ohio Players and Kool & the Gang hit town last month, and suddenly dreary ol' London town became Bump City. Tony Cummings reports... ...

Kool and the Gang: The Funk Masters #2: Kool & the Gang

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, April 1975

The Ohio Players and Kool & the Gang hit town last month, and suddenly dreary ol' London town became Bump City. Tony Cummings reports... ...

The Jimmy Castor Bunch: Castor's Last Stand? No Way!

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, May 1975

From 50s doowop to 70s superfunk... this man has done it all. And he's still doin' it. TONY CUMMINGS on the rise of Jimmy Castor ...

Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, Brother To Brother, Dave "Baby" Cortez, Donnie Elbert, Linda Jones, George Kerr, The Moments, Ponderosa Twins Plus One, The Rimshots, Sylvia Robinson, Shirley & Company, The Whatnauts, Lonnie Youngblood: The All Platinum Sound

Overview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, May 1975

Moments, Whatnauts, Shirley And Company, Sylvia... the chartbusting music they're calling the "New Jersey Sound" comes from just one source: All Platinum Records. Tony Cummings ...

Gloria Gaynor & the Disco Boom

Overview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, June 1975

"WE'RE PRODUCTION-orientated sure, but I can't agree that we're cynical in our approach. We simply carry our production techniques one stage further than the competition. ...

Love Unlimited, Barry White: The Barry White Story

Profile by Tony Cummings, Black Music, July 1975

Everything you ever wanted to know about the giant of sexy soul ...

Van McCoy, The Stylistics: Van McCoy: The Hustler

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, July 1975

Disco hero of 'Hustle' fame... man behind the Stylistics' current success... and writer, producer, arranger whose hits go back 15 years. The legendary VAN McCOY ...

Allen Toussaint: Southern Nights (Warner Bros. K 54021)***

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1975

THE FRUSTRATION of unfulfilled potential is never more strongly felt than when listening to the recordings of Allen Toussaint. As a producer for others he ...

Hamilton Bohannon: Bohannon: Have a Good Day…

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1975

Hamilton Bohannon has words with Tony Cummings... ...

Charlie & Ray, Frankie "Half-Pint" Jaxon, Valentino: Gay Soul

Overview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1975

Valentino's 'I Was Born This Way' is probably the most upfront "gay" record ever to get played in the discos (where it's a big hit). ...

The Isley Brothers: The Heat Is On (Epic) ****

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1975

BLACK MUSIC generally chooses not to join the rock musicians' never-ending search to find new styles and influences — a search which usually ends up ...

Johnny Nash: The Johnny Nash Story

Retrospective and Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1975

POPULAR MUSIC is crammed with bizarre change-arounds: of pop singers who "go soul" of rock groups who "discover" the blues, even of R&B singers who ...

Average White Band, Biddu, The Olympic Runners, Pete Wingfield: Blue-eyed Soul

Overview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, September 1975

Once it was just a pale imitation of the real thing. But now, with the Average White Band, Kokomo and Pete Wingfield high in the ...

Brian Jackson, Gil Scott-Heron: Gil Scott Heron, Brian Jackson: Midnight Band: The First Minute Of A New Day (Arista Arty 103)

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, September 1975

THE REVOLUTION will not be televised... but then, neither will it be recorded. Gil Scott-Heron, the singer/composer/poet whose angry eloquence has gradually found the attentive ...

Rance Allen Group: Sanctified (Stax)

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, September 1975

THERE DOESN'T exist the vocabulary to do justice to this album. In an age when soul's countless sub-divisions (sweet soul, sophistisoul, disco music and pop ...

Sam Dees: The Show Must Go On (Atlantic K50142) *****

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, September 1975

THAT THE soul album of the year should be made by a vocalist whose voice is patently unsensational — albeit gritty and eloquent — and ...

Joe Tex: Roots of the Rapper

Retrospective by Cliff White, Black Music, October 1975

Joe Tex, the greatest rapper of em' all, has made yet another (!) comeback. Cliff White traces his 20-year history... ...

Archie Bell and the Drells, People's Choice: Philly's Dance Masters

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, October 1975

People's Choice and Archie Bell are disco hot! Tony Cummings reports… ...

The Supremes

Retrospective by Tony Cummings, Black Music, October 1975

THE LEGENDARY Supremes are back in Britain. Showbusiness cannot exist without legends. Be it a crackvoiced Sinatra, or a drawling Dylan, a cool crooner or ...

Get Arp And Get Down!

Overview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, November 1975

Arps, Moogs, Rhythm Boxes... the sounds of black music have never been more complex. DAVITT SIGERSON explains all. ...

Crispy And Company, MFSB: Krispi And Company, MFSB: More Disco Madness

Profile by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, November 1975

What kind of madness is it when two bands adopt different names to record versions of a 30s showtune called 'Brazil'? Just put it down ...

Millie Jackson: Gettin' Her Piece

Interview by John Morthland, Black Music, November 1975

MILLIE JACKSON raps. That's what her fans come to see her for, she figures, and she'll rap about anything—though, nowadays, she raps most often about ...

Thom Bell, Blue Magic, The Delfonics, First Choice, Kenny Gamble, MFSB, O'Jays, Billy Paul, People's Choice, Bunny Sigler: Inside The Philly Sound

Report and Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1975

In the States, and in Britain, the insidious sweet beat of the Philly Sound continues to conquer the best selling charts. The whooping passion of ...

Swamp Dogg: The "Swamp Dogg" Story

Retrospective and Interview by Joe McEwen, Black Music, December 1975

Joe McEwen talks to soul's most successful failure... ...

The Fatback Band: Fatback Band: Keepin' it Rootsy

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, January 1976

"Through that door". A grinning Charlie Mullen is standing in the dressing room of the Burlesque club, Farnborough, and gesticulating towards the end of a ...

B.T. Express, Gloria Gaynor, Tom Moulton: Tom Moulton, Father of the Disco Mix

Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, January 1976

TOM MOULTON is the behind-the-scenes figure of disco music. His name has appeared on the credits of discs by Gloria Gaynor, B.T. Express, Bobby Moore, ...

Faith Hope & Charity, Van McCoy, The Stylistics: Van McCoy: The World's Oldest Disco Kid

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, January 1976

VAN McCOY has crossed the ten million sales mark with 'The Hustle', a dance tune which will rank in influence with 'The Twist'. Yet the ...

Donna Summer: Love To Love You, Baby (Reprise) (GTO 008) ***

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, February 1976

'Love To Love You Baby'/'Full Of Emptiness'/'Need-A-Man Blues'/'Whispering Waves'/'Pandora's Box'/'Full Of Emptiness' ...

Caroline Crawford, Gerri Granger, Instant Funk, Prince Johnny Robinson, The T.N.J.s: Inside the Philly Sound

Report and Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1976

The Philly Sound isn't just the O'Jays, Three Degrees or the Bluenotes. In this, the second part of our feature complimenting Tony Cummings' recently published ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: Givin' the Blues a Shot

Retrospective and Interview by Cliff White, Black Music, February 1976

'I Don't Want To Be A Lone Ranger' recently hit the top ten of the U.S. soul charts and heralded yet another return for a ...

The Stylistics: You Are Beautiful (Avco 9109 00S) **

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1976

OLD LOYALTIES die hard. As one whose heart still flutters when recalling an onstage version of 'You Are Everything' done in the purest a cappella, ...

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes: Wake Up, Everybody (Philadelphia Int.)

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, March 1976

'Wake Up Everybody'/'Keep On Lovin' You'/'You Know How To Make Me Feel So Good'/'Don't Leave Me This Way'/'Tell The World How I Feel About 'cha ...

Shirley Goodman: Shirley Goodman: Remember Shirley and Lee? Now it's Shirley and Jesus!

Profile by Cliff White, Black Music, April 1976

The 23-year tale behind Shirley and Company's 'Shame Shame Shame' smash. ...

Gil Scott-Heron: You Won't Be Able to Tune In, Turn On and Cop Out...

Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, April 1976

Davitt Sigerson goes to New York to rap with the angry poet of revolution, Gil Scott-Heron ...

The Blackbyrds: Get Off Your Ass and Jam!!!

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, April 1976

"SHIT! GODDAMN! Get off your ass and jam!! Shit! Goddamn! Get off your ass and jam!!" Four hundred voices ball into the steaming heat of ...

The Spinners: The Detroit Spinners: Spinners Wynner

Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, June 1976

The Detroit Spinners have recently celebrated twenty years in the music business. Their leader, Philippé Wynne, talked to Davitt Sigerson in New York about his ...

Candi Staton: I'd Rather be a Disco Sweetheart than a Southern Soul Fool

Profile and Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1976

"NO... 'YOUNG Hearts Run Free' wasn't cut with no discos in mind. I just did it, and when it came out we found the clubs ...

Stuff et al: The 'Citteh'

Report and Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, October 1976

Davitt Sigerson investigates New York's soul music underground ...

George Chandler: Anatomy of a Soul Record

Report by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, November 1976

George Chandler in the studio at Chipping Norton ...

Brass Construction: Brass Construction II (United Artists) ****

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, January 1977

JEFF LANE'S BC passed the BTs in sales with their first, platinum, album. They did it with compulsive, highly syncopated and relentless disco music which ...

Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band

Profile and Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, January 1977

Davitt Sigerson Probes Into The Mind Of Stony Browder Jr. ...

Art Neville, The Meters: The Meters: Twenty Years on the Funk Meter #1

Retrospective and Interview by Cliff White, Black Music, January 1977

THE METERS' ART NEVILLE gives his personal account of New Orleans R&B in the first part of a mammoth feature by CLIFF WHITE ...

Al Green: Have A Good Time (London SHU 8505) ****

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, February 1977

AL, WE WERE told, would have a completely new sound for this album. Full Of Fire was a commercial failure; the last big single had ...

Archie Bell and the Drells: Archie Bell & the Drells: Where Will You Go When The Party's Over (Philadelphia International PIR 81567) ****

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, February 1977

ALTHOUGH IT doesn't scale the polyrhythmic peaks of their last perpetual player, Archie's guys' second set for PIR is far more consistent than their first. ...

Boney M: Take The Heat Off Me (Atlantic K50314) **

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, February 1977

ATLANTIC OBVIOUSLY felt that they should hop onto the German disco camel before the hump drains, and they've done it in a fairly competent way. ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Spirit (CBS 81451) ****

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, February 1977

A PLATEAU album for Maurice White's group, and with the death of co-producer Charles Stepney, that raises a few questions for the future. On the ...

Johnny Bristol: Bristol's Crème (Polydor Super 2383 430) ****

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, February 1977

BRISTOL'S BEEN searching for a hit since 'Hang On In There', and 'Do It' is about the closest he's come. Although not a collection of ...

The Pointer Sisters, Rose Royce: Rose Royce (and guests): Car Wash (MCA MCSP278) ****

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, February 1977

WRITTEN AND produced for the film by Norman Whitfield, arranged by Paul Riser, performed by Rose Royce with some help from Wah Wah Watson, The ...

The Salsoul Orchestra: Salsoul Orchestra: Christmas Jollies (Salsoul SZS 5507) ****

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, February 1977

AFTER THE disappointing Nice & Naasty album, Vince Montana has come through with an uncompromisingly vulgar yuletide commercialisation, and it's simply splendid. On the first ...

Art Neville, The Meters: The Meters: Twenty Years on the Funk Meter #2

Retrospective and Interview by Cliff White, Black Music, February 1977

THE METERS Story told in Part Two of Cliff White's mammoth interview with ART NEVILLE ...

George Benson, The Blackbyrds, Donald Byrd, Norman Connors, Hank Crawford, The Crusaders, Miles Davis, Lou Donaldson, Herbie Hancock, Eddie Harris, Ahmad Jamal, Earl Klugh, Ramsey Lewis, Wes Montgomery, Jimmy Smith, Stuff, Stanley Turrentine, Miroslav Vitous, Grover Washington Jr, Weather Report, Reuben Wilson: Blow for Love and Money: Crossover Jazz in the Seventies

Overview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, March 1977

In the first part of a detailed investigation Davitt Sigerson chronicles how "jazz" found its way back to the commercial big league. ...

Roy Ayers, Gato Barbieri, Brothers Johnson, Norman Connors, Eumir Deodato, John Handy, Michael Henderson, Bob James, Quincy Jones, Ronnie Laws, Herbie Mann, Harvey Mason, Lee Ritenour, Lalo Schifrin, Lonnie Liston Smith, Gabor Szabo, Grover Washington Jr, Wah-Wah Watson: Blow for Love and Money part 2: Since The Explosion

Overview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, April 1977

In part two of his analysis of crossover jazz, Davitt Sigerson looks at developments during the last three years. ...

James Brown: After 21 Years, Still Refusing To Lose...

Report and Interview by Cliff White, Black Music, April 1977

A MONTHLY magazine cannot attempt to match the ephemeral topicality of a weekly news-sheet, particularly a monthly magazine that works within the rigid structure of ...

The Cadillacs, The Miracles, O'Jays, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Cholly Atkins: The Man Who Put Pep In Soul's Step

Interview by Tom Vickers, Black Music, May 1977

Choreographer Cholly Atkins is the most important figure in the history of black music stage presentation. The choreographer who conceived all those unison spins and ...

The Dramatics, Rufus: Rufusized

Report and Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, July 1977

Casting an appreciative eye at Chaka Khan, Davitt Sigerson updates the Rufus Story ...

The Isley Brothers: Ernie Isley: Pride of the Isleys

Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, September 1977

"THE ALBUM, 3+3, featuring 'That Lady', was in '73, but since 1969, we've been more or less involved with the Isley Brothers. My father was ...

Ben E. King: The Chimes of Big Ben

Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, October 1977

An album and a successful tour with the Average White Band has lifted soul veteran Ben E. King back to the top. He tells Davitt ...

Betty Wright: This Time For Real…

Interview by John Morthland, Black Music, January 1978

The "Clean Up Woman" cleans up — a report by John Morthland ...

Etta James: James The First

Profile and Interview by Cliff White, Black Music, October 1978

Etta James, a star of this year's Montreux Jazz Festival, visited London after her show there en route for her American home. While here, she ...

Ashford & Simpson, Michael Henderson: Constitution Hall, Washington D.C.

Live Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, December 1978

NICKOLAS AND Valerie were the head-liners at this elegant gig (and deservedly so, after years of writing hits for others they're riding their second consecutive ...

Latimore: Benny Latimore: Diggin' Deeper

Interview by Cliff White, Black Music, December 1978

FROM THE earliest days of this supergroovalistic megamag we have brought you some of the most comprehensive black music inter/over-views ever published on a broad ...

The Temptations Revisited

Interview by Cliff White, Black Music, December 1978

Is rejuvenation just around the corner for the Temptations? Cliff White asked the questions during their brief British visit. ...

Millie Jackson - Rappin' with Millie J

Interview by Gary Sperrazza!, Black Music, September 1980

"So now ladies and gentlemen it is star time...ARE YOU READY FOR STAR TIME!!!...(yells, applause)...Thank you and thank you very kindly...It is indeed a great ...

Michael Jackson: Thrills, Spills & Dollar Bills: Making Michael Jackson's Thriller

Film/DVD/TV Review by Lloyd Bradley, Black Music, May 1984

LLOYD BRADLEY drops a dissenting opinion into the torrent of hyperbole surrounding Making Michael Jackson's Thriller ...

back to LIBRARY

COPYRIGHT NOTICE