Soul, Funk and R&B
4,735 articles
Jimmy Jones Gets Used to Our One-Nighters
Interview by June Harris, Disc, 29 October 1960
IT IS TWO and a half weeks since Jimmy Jones started his British tour, and it was not until last week at the Astoria Cinema, ...
Clarence "Frogman" Henry: 'Frogman' Henry: Made His First Disc Five Years Ago
Profile by June Harris, Disc, 15 July 1961
NEW ORLEANS — the home of jazz since the turn of the century... of Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino and now Clarence "Frogman" Henry. ...
The Drifters, Ben E. King: The Inconsistent Drifters
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 7 October 1961
IN AMERICA, TWENTY-ONE HITS. IN BRITAIN — THREE! NORMAN JOPLING FOCUSES ON... THE INCONSISTENT DRIFTERS ...
Interview by uncredited writer, New Musical Express, 23 February 1962
C'MON EVERYBODY, let's do the twist! Did I hear someone say they don't know how to do it? That's ridiculous. Anyone can do it, I ...
Gene Chandler: Chandler Could Surprise Us All With His U.S. Hit
Profile by June Harris, Disc, 3 March 1962
FROM THE very top of the American charts where he has ousted all versions of the Twist with his sensational debut record 'Duke Of Earl', ...
Ketty Lester: New to the Charts: Ketty Lester Sang 'As Herself' To Notch Hit
Profile by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 13 April 1962
A SUDDEN decision to sing "in my own style" has brought instant success for chart newcomer Ketty Lester, whose 'Love Letters' stands at No. 27. ...
Gene McDaniels... On Those Cover Discs
Interview by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 28 April 1962
GENE McDANlELS is, in a way, a "singer's singer". He goes for the quality material. But he has also come to terms with himself with ...
Ketty Lester: Now Ketty Lester Faces The Big Test
Profile by June Harris, Disc, 7 July 1962
CAN KETTY Lester do it again? Can she sustain the tremendous success she achieved with 'Love Letters' with her next release, 'But Not For Me', ...
Della Reese In London: Gospel Is Very Big Business
Profile and Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 28 July 1962
MOST PEOPLE in Britain think of DELLA REESE as a Gospel singer. But the truth is that she'll sing ANYTHING, working on the theory: "If ...
Ray Charles: Mother Taught Ray Charles To Cope With Blindness
Profile by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 31 August 1962
THOUGH HE has been blind since the age of six, one of Ray Charles' biggest hates is to be treated as a blind person. It ...
Chubby Checker: Chubby Checks In
Report by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 8 September 1962
'TWIST' KING HERE FOR TOUR ...
Sam Cooke: Sam Ploughed Money Into Act
Profile by uncredited writer, New Musical Express, 5 October 1962
SAM COOKE is currently one of America's hottest disc properties. Since he scored his first hit with 'You Send Me', Sam has had a pretty ...
Little Eva Can't Wait To Get Here!
Interview by June Harris, Disc, 1 December 1962
"I'M FIGHTING like mad to get Carole King to come with me on this trip," said Little Eva. "But I think it's going to be ...
Brook Benton: Disappointed Brook
Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 12 January 1963
Peter Jones looks at the Million-Selling Ex-Truck Driver... ...
The Shirelles: The Neglected Shirelles
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 12 January 1963
"I MET HIM on a Sunday" sang Addie, Doris, Shirley, and Beverly. They were heard by a class-mate at Passiac high school during a rehearsal ...
Little Eva: Alan Smith Says 'Welcome, Little Eva'
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 1 February 1963
THE GIRL who put a new twist into the twist – Little Eva – arrives in London today (Friday) for her first tour of Britain. ...
Little Eva: England, That's Something Different says Little Eva
Profile and Interview by June Harris, Disc, 2 February 1963
"I USED to sing whenever I was asked... and sometimes even when I wasn't asked!" recalls Little Eva. "But to be actually invited to sing ...
Ray Charles: A Genius — But He Needs The Right Audience
Report and Interview by June Harris, Disc, 2 March 1963
TOP AMERICAN DJ DICK CLARK TALKS TO JUNE HARRIS ABOUT — RAY CHARLES ...
Overview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 23 March 1963
EVERYONE IS talking about the Rhythm and Blues revival that's going on. But we wondered whether in fact there was a revival. ...
Discography by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 23 March 1963
EVERYONE KNOWS the old story about Chubby Checker and the Twist. ...
Ruby & the Romantics: New to the Charts: Ruby, Romantics Make It At Last!
Profile by uncredited writer, New Musical Express, 12 April 1963
'OUR DAY Will Come' couldn't be a more appropriate disc title for Ruby and the Romantics, who enter the NME Chart this week. Their record ...
The Chiffons: New to the Charts: Tokens aid Chiffons
Profile by Ian Dove, New Musical Express, 19 April 1963
'HE'S SO FINE', the disc by the Chiffons — a coloured, all-girl group with a Shirelles-type sound — looks set to confirm the prophecy of ...
The Drifters, Ben E. King: The Great Unknowns No.4: Ben E. King
Discography by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 20 April 1963
The Latin-Tinged Balladeer Who Never Quite Made It! ...
The Chiffons, Ruby & the Romantics: Romantics and Chiffons Make Their Marks
Profile by June Harris, Disc, 4 May 1963
Five girls, four boys, two hit groups ...
Ray Charles: Welcome to Ray Charles
Interview by Ian Dove, New Musical Express, 10 May 1963
THE GENIUS... Messiah... Prophet... High Priest. Big words, and strange words to apply to a singer! But all have been used with religious fervour describing ...
Dee Dee Sharp: Dee Dee's Not Really Wild!
Interview by June Harris, Disc, 11 May 1963
ON RECORD, Dee Dee Sharp is wild and uninhibited, but in real life, she's delightful, delectable and very STUDIOUS! ...
Ray Charles: Finsbury Park Astoria, London
Live Review by Ian Dove, New Musical Express, 17 May 1963
Too hard a job for Ray Charles? ...
Ray Charles: "I Don't Know What Is The Real Me," Admits Ray Charles
Interview by Ian Dove, New Musical Express, 24 May 1963
"CARY GRANT, the film star. You know, he's a friend of mine and he used to tell me to come to England. He told me ...
The Isley Brothers: Beatles Make Isleys' Hit
Report by Ian Dove, New Musical Express, 28 June 1963
THREE brothers, O'Kelly, Rudolph and Ronald — the surname is Isley — have to be very thankful to Liverpool's Beatles. For if the Beatles weren't ...
Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans, The Crystals, Darlene Love, Phil Spector: The Crystals Mystery
Report by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 29 June 1963
Rumour Has It That The Crystals, Bob B. Soxx And The Blue Jeans, And Darlene Love Are In Fact One Group. Here Are The Facts... ...
Profile and Interview by June Harris, Disc, 6 July 1963
THERE ARE very few way-out, wild rhythm and blues numbers which hit the British charts. 'Twist And Shout' by The Isley Brothers is one of ...
Ray Charles: What Else is Left for Ray?
Profile by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 13 July 1963
Has The Genius Any More Fields To Conquer? ...
Report by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 19 July 1963
THERE'S A long and fascinating story behind the big come-back success of 'Twist And Shout' (now with three versions in the best-sellers) — and it's ...
The Tymes Are Not Just One Hit Wonders
Interview by June Harris, Disc, 3 August 1963
"THEY'RE THE Ink Spots of the future — or The Platters A without the girl," said Frankie Day, manager of the new, swinging hit parade ...
Stevie Wonder: Tribute to Uncle Ray; The 12-year-old Genius Recorded Live (both Oriole)
Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 21 September 1963
LITTLE STEVIE Wonder is largely unknown in Britain. The main fact about him is that he's a 12-year-old American blind Negro who has just had ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 26 October 1963
ALTHOUGH IT'S billed as "The Greatest Record Show Of 1963", the first performance at Finsbury Park Astoria last Sunday didn't exactly bear witness to that. ...
The Ronettes, Phil Spector: The Ronettes
Profile and Interview by June Harris, Disc, 9 November 1963
A two-week British tour is planned for end of January ...
The Crystals, The Ronettes, Phil Spector: The Ronettes hit and Phil's flips
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 7 December 1963
BACK IN 1958 Estella & Ronnie Bennett bought a disc between them called 'To Know Him Is To Love Him'. So did their cousin Nadra ...
1963: Rhythm And Blues Made The News
Overview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 21 December 1963
THIS HAS been THE year for rhythm and blues fans. There is no doubt about it. At the beginning of the year the R & ...
1963: Year Of Rhythm & Blues #2
Overview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 28 December 1963
Part two of a series spotlighting all the important events in the R & B world this year. ...
The Ronettes: We Just Haven't Stopped Buying
Interview by June Harris, Disc, 8 February 1964
Ronettes really dig our clothes ...
The Drifters, Ben E. King: Ben E. King — 'The Drifters and I'
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 15 February 1964
A MUSIC reporters life is not an easy one. But a big consolation is when instead of having to report on music and artistes which ...
The Crystals: Crystals Aim To Hit All Our Shops
Interview by June Harris, Disc, 15 February 1964
Four slick chicks fly starry-eyed into town — in knee-length boots ...
The Crystals' Story: Their Sound, Their Career And Their X-Certificate Disc
Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 29 February 1964
Norman Jopling talks to the group with the hottest U.S. hit sound ...
Cassius Clay: Clay Wins: Columbia Swings
Report by uncredited writer, Billboard, 7 March 1964
NEW YORK — The upset victory of Cassius Clay over Sonny Liston for the heavyweight boxing championship last week (25) also upset the operational procedures ...
Report by uncredited writer, Billboard, 14 March 1964
CHICAGO — Marshall Sehorn, head of his own Seahorn label, last week joined Constellation Records here in a move that brings three strong pop artists ...
Live Review by Guy Stevens, Record Mirror, 4 April 1964
ON STAGE WITH THE R&B LEGENDS ...
Chuck Jackson, Major Lance, Nancy Wilson: In A Mellotone: The Apollo
Report by Michael Lydon, Yale Daily News, 16 April 1964
THE APOLLO Theater has the biggest sign on the biggest street in Harlem. The broad red letters can be seen for blocks on west 125th ...
Dionne Warwick: Going Shopping With Dionne!
Report and Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 30 May 1964
DIONNE WARWICK is tall and willowy — a shapely frame built on the curviest of legs. The dark eyes smoulder. The whiter-than-white teeth flash a ...
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Mary Wells: Motown: Will 'HITSVILLE U.S.A.' Hit Britain Now?
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 June 1964
THEY SAY that there's not much chance for American hits here now. But nevertheless the multi-million dollar American label Tamla has scored its FIRST hit ...
Inez & Charlie Foxx: The Pounding Breakthrough
Profile and Interview by Guy Stevens, Record Mirror, 1 August 1964
ONE OF THE biggest and most interesting breakthroughs in the record industry here in recent months is the appearance of Inez Foxx with 'Hurt By ...
Interview by Dave Godin, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 4 September 1964
by DAVE GODIN as told to Norman Jopling ...
Report by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 4 September 1964
IT LOOKS AS if the Tamla-Motown group have their second big hit in this country with their Supremes discing 'Where Did Our Love Go'. After ...
Gene Pitney, The Supremes: Gene Pitney's 72 Days With The Supremes
Interview by Ian Dove, New Musical Express, 2 October 1964
GENE PITNEY recently took a bus journey with the Supremes. They shared front seat views — FOR 72 DAYS AND OVER 30,000 MILES. Gene, who ...
Mary Wells: A Beatle Number for Mary?
Interview by Bill Harry, Mersey Beat, 22 October 1964
WITH A Jackie Wilson album on her portable record player, Mary Wells was relaxing in her dressing room when we visited her. ...
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: Martha's Mad On Fashion
Profile and Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 14 November 1964
NEXT TO music, probably the most important thing to Martha, of the Vandellas, is fashion. When I saw her in her room at the Strand ...
Marvin Gaye: Marvin — He Never Forgets A Face
Profile and Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 28 November 1964
PETER JONES TALKS TO AMERICA'S SMOOTH-VOICED BLUESMAN, MARVIN GAYE, THE LATEST OF THE TAMLA-MOTOWN STARS TO HIT BRITAIN ...
Sam Cooke: Pop singer shot dead
Report by Ivor Davis, Daily Express, 12 December 1964
Hotel Manageress Fires Three Shots After Girl-In-Chase Drama ...
James Brown, The Rolling Stones: James Brown: The Stones Can't Stop Talking About King James
Interview by Guy Stevens, Record Mirror, 19 December 1964
EVERY NOW and then, a rhythm and blues artist in America breaks through the confines of his own field of music and becomes a giant ...
Report by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 19 December 1964
WITH THE DEATH of Sam Cooke in Hollywood last Friday, the RCA-Victor label lost one of its most consistent hit recording artistes. ...
Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Billie Holiday, The Rolling Stones: From Pop Singers To Rock Bands
Essay by Geoffrey Cannon, unpublished, 1965
Update, March 2019: I KNOW exactly when I wrote the piece below, where I was, and why I withdrew it from publication. It was January ...
James Brown: Sue Hit with 'Night Train'!
Report by Guy Stevens, Record Mirror, 2 January 1965
FIRST STOP No. 1 IN THE CHARTS FOR JAMES BROWN CLASSIC! ...
Betty Everett: At Last Betty Hits Our Charts
Profile by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 15 January 1965
BETTY EVERETT lounged decoratively, elegantly dipping into a bowl of Indian food — her first Press reception on her first visit to Britain. Her trip ...
Sue Records: Not So Much A Label
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 6 February 1965
STORY OF BRITAIN'S STRANGEST RECORD LABEL ...
Ray Charles: Ballad In Blue, Ray Charles (Ardmore Pictures)
Film/DVD/TV Review by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 27 February 1965
Ray's singing makes this film worthwhile ...
Live Review by Mike Gormley, The Ottawa Journal, 27 February 1965
Righteous Sound Shakes 'Frisco ...
Interview by Ian Dove, New Musical Express, 19 March 1965
BRITAIN'S Mr. Tamla-Motown — he's Dave Godin, organiser of the Tamla-Motown Appreciation Society — was walking around warning the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, the ...
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 20 March 1965
IN RETALIATION to the British craze sweeping the States, America launches its biggest-ever campaign to bring back the Yanks into the British charts in the ...
Larry Williams: "I'm No Rock 'N' Roller"
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 3 April 1965
LARRY WILLIAMS talks to Norman Jopling ...
Chuck Jackson: "White Artistes Don't Have The Soul For Blues"
Interview by Richard Green, Record Mirror, 3 April 1965
says CHUCK JACKSON to RICHARD GREEN ...
The Drifters: Lyceum Theatre, London
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 3 April 1965
DESPITE THE attraction of the Queen at an Aldwych theatre and the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon at Covent Garden Opera House, a ...
The Drifters: The Big Daddy Group
Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 3 April 1965
THE MOST interesting thing about the Drifters isn't the fact that they've been singing for ten years, that they've sold millions of records, that they've ...
Doris Troy: The Alias Entertainer
Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 10 April 1965
DORIS HIGGINSON, alias Doris Payne, alias Doris Troy, was tugging happily at a king-size cigarette and wondering if it was possible to get a cup ...
Otis Redding: The Two-Sided Bluester
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 1 May 1965
VERSATILITY is often the sign of greatness on the music scene. The same applies to the blues, and one of its most popular modern exponents ...
The Drifters, Ben E. King: LP's from Ben E. King & Drifters
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 5 June 1965
THE DRIFTERS — The Good Life — 'Quando Quando Quando'; 'On The Street Where You Live'; 'I Wish You Love'; 'Tonight'; 'More'; 'What Kind Of ...
James Brown, Solomon Burke: Solomon Burke: The Burke v. Brown Feud
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 3 July 1965
"TELL ME," I said, "all about you and James Brown. There was a two-second hush, and then Solomon Burke, king of rock & soul, launched ...
Comment by Jerry Wexler, Record Mirror, 21 August 1965
by JERRY WEXLER, Manager of Atlantic Records ...
Booker T & The MGs: College Comes First For Jones
Report and Interview by Ann Moses, Rhythm 'n' News, 27 August 1965
FEW FULL-TIME college students could find enough time, energy or initiative to record and promote a record like the 1964 hit 'Green Onions'. But Booker ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Mother of Four Rocks in Revue
Interview by Ann Moses, Rhythm 'n' News, 10 September 1965
IT ALL HAPPENED by accident. Tina Turner explained it this way: "While watching Ike on stage in St. Louis one night (he played the organ ...
James Brown: Crescendo Tiger's Tail, Hollywood CA
Live Review by Nikki Wine, KRLA Beat, 11 September 1965
Mr. Excitement Stirs Audience With Soul ...
The Beatles, Brenda Holloway: Brenda Holloway Tells Inside Story of Career
Interview by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 25 September 1965
SHE'S REALLY a nice person — one of the nicest in the business. She probably doesn't have any enemies — and that's rare. ...
James Brown: 95 Per Cent of Credit
Interview by Ann Moses, New Musical Express, 1 October 1965
IT COULD have been James Brown, professional boxer or baseball player. Instead he chose to enter the world of entertainment and became a giant, playing ...
Wilson Pickett — Stones, Tom Jones Fan!
Interview by Tracy Thomas, New Musical Express, 1 October 1965
"I WAS SITTING on the front porch picking at my guitar and singing. This neighbour boy came up and asked me to play some more. ...
Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 4 October 1965
Rock-and-Roll Party Bedlam ...
The Supremes: Supreme Supreme: Will Diana Ross Go Solo?
Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 16 October 1965
"NO COMMENT," said Diana Ross of the Supremes, to the perennial question: "Will you be going solo?" "I've just never thought about it. We're too ...
Ramsey Lewis Trio: Basin Street West, San Francisco CA
Live Review by Philip Elwood, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 October 1965
'In-Crowd' Leader Arrives ...
Nina Simone: The Troubadour, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Ann Moses, Rhythm 'n' News, 22 October 1965
Nina Knocks Out With 'Pastel Blues' ...
Ramsey Lewis: 'In Crowd' Left Out
Report and Interview by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 6 November 1965
THERE WAS a slight disagreement between the Ramsey Lewis Trio and the producer of Ninth Street West and Hollywood A-Go-Go last week. ...
Jackie Wilson: Wailing Wilson Fishes, Hunts
Interview by Ann Moses, Rhythm 'n' News, 10 November 1965
JACKIE WILSON'S career (past, present, and future) may be accurately summed up in one word — determination. ...
Fontella Bass: It started in a Church Choir
Profile by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 4 December 1965
Welcome to England with her big Stateside chart hit on Chess ...
Chris Farlowe: The Strange Case of Chris Farlowe
Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 4 December 1965
COLLIDE WITH a deb at a showbiz party and she'll probably say: "Have you heard Chris Farlowe yet? He's simply ripping." ...
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Class and Soul Spell Success For Miracles
Profile and Interview by Carol Deck, KRLA Beat, 11 December 1965
WHEN THE Miracles are performing in a club you don't eat. You don't drink. You don't even think. You just feel. ...
Fontella Bass: Life-Lines of Fontella Bass
Interview by uncredited writer, New Musical Express, 17 December 1965
Real name: Fontella Bass. ...
Otis Redding: Tracy Thomas discovers Stones Knock Otis Out!
Interview by Tracy Thomas, New Musical Express, 31 December 1965
THEY call James Brown, "Mr. Dynamite," Roy Head is known as "Mr. Rubber Legs." But the title "Mr. Soul" belongs exclusively to Otis Redding, one ...
Mel Carter: Swingin' Mel Carter Setting New Goals
Interview by Louise Criscione, KRLA Beat, 15 January 1966
WHEN HIS heart sings it really sings. His name is Mel Carter and he is one of the few remaining ballad singers who continues to ...
Nina Simone: Pastel Blues (Philips BL 7683) ****
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 22 January 1966
Nina goes back to blues on her new LP Pastel Blues ...
Otis Redding: Otis R.: The Man Who Sings As Though He Means It
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 22 January 1966
EVERY SINGER, no matter how good or bad, has one dominating thought in mind when making a record. Simply, will this be the record to ...
Fontella Bass: British Trip Caused Heartaches For Fontella
Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 28 January 1966
AS A RESULT of her recent British visit I found that sensitive "soul" Fontella Bass suffering from a big back-ache and a little heartache just ...
Stevie Wonder: Mr Harmonica Man
Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 29 January 1966
"STEVIE'S GOT A Monster," scream the adverts in American papers. They are referring, of course, to his hit record, 'Uptight (Everything's Alright)' which looks like ...
Stevie Wonder: The In Place, London
Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 29 January 1966
FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD Stevie Wonder is already a mature performer, and no mean raver. He has a far from diminutive voice, great charm, and a lot of ...
Stevie Wonder: 'Uptight' Brings Stevie Back In The Spotlight
Profile by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 29 January 1966
"LITTLE" STEVIE Wonder is no more — now he's just Stevie Wonder. It seems the young blind harmonica player from Michigan is growing up. ...
Stevie Wonder: Stevie Credits Stones For His Hit...
Interview by Richard Green, Record Mirror, 5 February 1966
THOUGH THEY may not know it, the Rolling Stones are getting a large share of the credit for the success of Stevie Wonder's 'Uptight'. It ...
Otis Redding: Otis Blue (Atlantic ATL 5041) ***
Review by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 12 February 1966
Final R&B acceptance for the STONES? (Yes, Otis has recorded 'Satisfaction') ...
Bob & Earl: Bob and Earl Unmasked!
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 19 February 1966
PREPARE yourselves for the most complicated R&B feature of all time! It's the story of the Bob & Earl record 'Harlem Shuffle', currently revived for ...
James Brown: Two Sides of James Brown
Report and Interview by Ann Moses, New Musical Express, 4 March 1966
JAMES BROWN. Such a plain name – they call him Mr. Dynamite. They are one person. But there are two faces to the entertainer. Thousands ...
Film/DVD/TV Review by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 5 March 1966
James Brown arrives In England next week for a couple of concerts and to perform, with his entire troupe, throughout the March 11 Ready Steady ...
James Brown, Tom Jones: Tom Jones: Brown's LP Lacks Live Excitement
Interview by Richard Green, Record Mirror, 5 March 1966
Opines TOM JONES in this exclusive feature ...
James Brown: Brown's A Super-Spectacle: James Brown: Walthamstow Granada, London
Live Review by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 9 March 1966
OUT INTO THE cold streets of Walthamstow, ears ringing and apparently not working properly; eyes definitely out of focus; legs a trifle shaky. ...
Interview by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 12 March 1966
WHEN A pop artiste has that certain Something to make him into a hitmaker then the most vital ingredient in his success or failure is ...
Tammi Terrell: Tammi Terell: From Medicine To Music
Profile and Interview by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 19 March 1966
SOME PEOPLE fade into a crowd and some just naturally stand out. Tammi Terell is one of those who stand out. ...
James Brown: The Soul Of Mr. Brown
Interview by Dave Godin, Record Mirror, 26 March 1966
JAMES BROWN has at last been to Britain. His all too brief stay had just about the maximum impact that it could have had. It ...
James Brown: Madison Square Garden, New York NY
Live Review by Lillian Roxon, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 27 March 1966
He's the singer who puts Elvis to shame ...
Ray Charles: The Man, The Genius, RAY CHARLES
Profile by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 2 April 1966
THE STORY begins in Albany, Georgia in the year, 1932: Ray Charles was born. Six years later, the story — and the Charles family — ...
Don Covay: Blaises Club, London
Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 9 April 1966
DON COVAY is another of the American soul singers at present on our shores. ...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 9 April 1966
SIPPING A CUP of coffee and looking out over the wilds of Shaftesbury Avenue, it was very hard to get Irma Thomas to talk about ...
The Action, Arthur Alexander: Arthur Alexander, London; The Action, Sussex
Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 16 April 1966
Arthur Alexander: Marquee Club, London ...
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: Martha & the Vandellas: Town Hall, Farnborough
Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 16 April 1966
MARTHA AND the Vandellas performed a minor miracle last week. They almost — but not quite — evoked a big response from a dead audience ...
Dionne Warwick: Dionne Has A Smash With 'Message' Song
Profile by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 23 April 1966
A LITTLE OVER two years ago the name Dionne Warwick was virtually unknown to the public. Then she recorded 'Don't Make Me Over' and everything ...
Joe Tex: Successful Singer Texas-Style
Profile by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 23 April 1966
JOE TEX started his career on a gamble with a flourish when he left Texas, after graduating from high school, to try for an audition ...
The Supremes: The Supreme Supremes
Profile by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 23 April 1966
WHAT'S IN A name? Success, that's what. ...
Allen Toussaint, Lee Dorsey: Lee Dorsey: Lee's Back — Thanks To The Talented Mister Toussaint
Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 30 April 1966
YOU PROBABLY first heard of Lee Dorsey after you asked the DJ what that record was he just played with the gun banging in it. ...
Lee Dorsey, Allen Toussaint: Lee Dorsey: Things You Don't Know About Lee
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 30 April 1966
FOR A LONG time Lee Dorsey has been the golden boy of the in-most R&B hippies. His first couple of American hits were 'Ya Ya' ...
The Supremes: The Chic-est Girls In Show Business
Report by Jane Heil, Hit Parader, May 1966
WELL, OF COURSE, their sound: Supreme, tops, five in a row if you're keeping score. But LOOK at them! I mean, those are three swell-looking ...
Edwin Starr: A Record Is Made — with Sweat and Soul
Report by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 20 May 1966
EMOTION FILLED the control room at Golden World Records out on West Davison. Driving, big beat sounds were coming through the four speakers hanging on ...
Percy Sledge: Blues Singer's Gamble Paid Off
Profile by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 20 May 1966
TIME WAS when the biggest stars of show business had names like "Rock Stone" or "Lex Treason" — strong, rugged names that helped to give ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Ike And Tina Deep And High
Profile and Interview by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 21 May 1966
'River Deep, Mountain High', Ike and Tina Turner have signed with Phil Spector and there's no telling what fantastic sounds they'll come out with now! ...
Roy C: NMExclusive: ALAN SMITH has a Transatlantic Interview With ROY C
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 27 May 1966
'Shotgun' ended dire poverty ...
Percy Sledge: The Incredible Hit Story of Percy Sledge
Profile and Interview by Derek Taylor, Disc and Music Echo, 28 May 1966
Hollywood, Tuesday ...
Phil Spector, The Teddy Bears, Ike & Tina Turner: More Spector Magic out of the Hat
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 11 June 1966
PROBABLY, PHIL SPECTOR was the only person in the world who could have produced a record for Ike and Tina Turner that could make the ...
Bobby Freeman: Still In Swim Of Pop Things
Profile and Interview by Mike Gormley, The Ottawa Journal, 2 July 1966
TWELVE YEARS in the business and he is only 25. ...
Percy Sledge: EXHAUSTED! — That's The Price Percy Sledge Is Paying
Profile and Interview by Tracy Thomas, New Musical Express, 8 July 1966
Special from Tracy Thomas in Hollywood ...
Otis Redding: Local Girl Joins Otis Redding Show at the Apollo Theater
Interview by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 9 July 1966
AN ATTRACTIVE 23-year-old blond dancer from Hollywood is currently appearing at the Apollo Theater in New York with the fantastic Otis Redding Show. ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Tina Turner Peels Potatoes as She Raves Over 'River Deep'
Interview by Tracy Thomas, New Musical Express, 15 July 1966
"I WAS knocked out by 'River Deep' the first time I heard it," exclaimed Tina Turner, peeling potatoes over the sink of her Los Angeles ...
James Brown Shined Shoes Here!
Interview by Tracy Thomas, New Musical Express, 22 July 1966
"SHINE, MISTER?" a tiny shoeshine boy called after a passing businessman, who dismissed him with a shake of his head. The young Negro sighed and ...
Report and Interview by Tracy Thomas, New Musical Express, 22 July 1966
THERE WAS excitement both inside and outside of the Los Angeles Sports Arena on Sunday, when the James Brown Show played to an audience of ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Tracy Thomas, in Hollywood, visits the Exciting Turner Family
Interview by Tracy Thomas, New Musical Express, 22 July 1966
THE TINY stage is packed; ten musicians in sleek, blue suits; the three young, pretty Ikettes in pop-art dresses; Ike Turner in more casual, but ...
Dobie Gray Into The Acting Bag
Interview by Rochelle Reed, KRLA Beat, 30 July 1966
THE "LEADER of the 'In' Crowd" came into The BEAT office this week and almost didn't get out. ...
Jackie Wilson: The Trip, Los Angeles
Live Review by Mike Tuck, KRLA Beat, 30 July 1966
Jackie's Knocking 'Em Out With Soul, Rhythm & Blues ...
James Brown — Soul For The Cool
Profile and Interview by Mike Tuck, KRLA Beat, 30 July 1966
HOLLYWOOD — James Brown stood in the corner of the Villa Capri banquet room and began to relax. His first day in Los Angeles had ...
The Temptations — They're The Group With All Lead Singers!
Profile by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 30 July 1966
THE TEMPTATIONS, someone once said, look like football players (American style) but they neither sing nor dance like footballers. Instead, they have the coordinated grace ...
Solomon Burke: America the Brave...
Interview by Richard Green, Record Mirror, 6 August 1966
...crashes back with half of the top fifty and some of the most advanced musical ideas. Now soul King Solomon tells of a seamier side ...
Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 13 August 1966
Dylan rocks through 4 great sides ...
The Temptations: The Trip, Los Angeles, CA
Live Review by Tracy Thomas, New Musical Express, 19 August 1966
Temptations go well at Los Angeles' Trip club ...
The Four Tops: Four Tops Kept Trying and Won!
Profile and Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 26 August 1966
"IF AT FIRST you don't succeed, try, try again." A tired old saying, but it gets new life this week as the Four Tops climb ...
The Temptations: From The 'Perfect Society' Emerge The Temptations
Interview by Eden, KRLA Beat, 27 August 1966
THE TEMPTATIONS are another of the fine Motown groups... but they are not just another group! Five talented and witty individuals involved in the creation ...
The Righteous Brothers: 'We Don't Think Kids Are Following Us For Our Hair'
Interview by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 27 August 1966
THE LAST year and a half in the world of popular music has seen an amazing surge of popularity in the area of rhythm and ...
Dionne Warwick And How They Discovered Her
Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 3 September 1966
GIRL SINGER AT THE TOP ...
Junior Walker & The Allstars: Junior Walker Makes Fans Sit Up
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 9 September 1966
IT DIDN'T mean a thing in Britain ...but a record called 'Shotgun' was the one that blasted Junior Walker and the All-Stars to hit parade ...
Bobby Hebb: 'The Beatles Are An Oak Tree — Mighty'
Interview by Carol Deck, KRLA Beat, 10 September 1966
"IT TAKES ALL kinds of trees to make a forest. And like the Beatles are an oak tree — tall and mighty. And maybe the ...
Lamont Dozier, The Supremes: Holland & Dozier: Motown's Money
Profile and Interview by Carol Deck, KRLA Beat, 10 September 1966
THE SUPREMES strolled into the crowded club where the Temptations were playing and instantly everyone in the room knew they were there. ...
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 10 September 1966
AT LAST TAMLA'S wonder boy Junior Walker, alias Autrey DeWalt, has made our charts, after eighteen months of records which have been revered and worshipped ...
Major Lance: Woe Is Me!...The Major Is Stalked By Many Troubles
Interview by Mike Tuck, KRLA Beat, 10 September 1966
TROUBLE JUST stalks some people. ...
Lee Dorsey: Panel-Beating Gave Him Rhythm
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 16 September 1966
LEE DORSEY is a small, flyweight ex-boxer who always looks as if he doesn't know where his next dime is coming from. ...
Otis Redding: Mr Cool and The Clique From Memphis
Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 17 September 1966
OTIS REDDING is unbelievably cool. Or is it just travel-weariness. Who knows? When he landed on English soil last week to introduce himself and prepare ...
The Supremes: Tamla Blueprints
Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 24 September 1966
WITH THE Supremes at No 6 in the Pop 50 after a rapid climb, all the signs are that we're in for a sustained attack from ...
Janis Ian, Jimmy Ruffin, The Supremes: Who Else but the Supremes Would Pedal a Rickshaw?
Report and Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 30 September 1966
IMAGINE DIANA Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard in Taipei, pedalling rickshaws and letting the regular drivers ride in the seat. Picture Mary falling off ...
Otis Redding at Tiles: 16.09.1966
Live Review by Bill Millar, Soul Music Monthly, October 1966
OTIS SHOULD receive a mention in the Financial Times this year. The attendances on his recent our, especially in the London area, were quite phenomenal. ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Ike and Tina Show Comes To Town — All Nineteen Of Them
Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 1 October 1966
CARRYING a valet, two secretaries, the Ikettes — their three girl backing singers — two male singers Jimmy Thomas and Prince Albert, plus the Kings ...
James Brown Says 'I'm A Dynamo!'
Interview by Rochelle Reed, KRLA Beat, 8 October 1966
Mr. Soul Speaks Out On Himself, His Music, His Points of View... ...
Robert Parker: Hit Making Tenor Man
Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 8 October 1966
'COLTRANE MY INFLUENCE' SAYS ROBERT PARKER ...
Lorraine Ellison: Big Sound With Soul
Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 14 October 1966
NO ONE IS happier that Frank Sinatra married Mia Farrow than Lorraine Ellison. Lorraine's current single, 'Stay With Me', has its big, big sound because ...
Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: The Other Smokey Robinson — Songwriter
Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 14 October 1966
BACK IN 1957 Bill "Smokey" Robinson, then 17, bumped into Berry Gordy Jr. Smokey had a stack of about 100 songs he had written, and ...
Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 15 October 1966
Temptations have got a big seller ...
The Four Tops: NME Chart News Woke Up The Four Tops In Record Time!
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 21 October 1966
THE PHONE rang eleven times in Room 3055 at New York's Hilton Hotel before Lawrence Payton roused himself from his slumbers and dragged it towards ...
The Four Tops: Four Tops On The Four Tops
Interview by Carol Deck, KRLA Beat, 22 October 1966
WHEN FOUR handsome young men from Detroit put out a record that immediately grabs everyone's attention, people soon want to know everything there is to ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Town Hall, High Wycombe
Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 22 October 1966
A SECOND, longer look at the Ike and Tina Turner rhythm and excitement band show at their first appearance off the Rolling Stones tour at ...
Stevie Wonder Advances; No Longer Ray's 'Protege'
Interview by Mike Tuck, KRLA Beat, 22 October 1966
STEVIE WONDER, who plays five different instruments and dances as energetically and rhythmically as he sings, is probably a little more real than most people ...
That Queen of "Soul" Martha Jean
Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 23 October 1966
LORAINE ALTERMAN'S DJ OF THE WEEK ...
Review by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, November 1966
FOR SOME reason, recordings of live rock and roll shows are selling very well. You can hardly hear the music above the enthusiastic audience response ...
Lou Rawls: Greatest Thing Since Black Pepper
Profile and Interview by Louise Criscione, KRLA Beat, 5 November 1966
THEY CALL IT Blues but really it's a large spoonful of mother earth. All heaped up and occasionally spilling over. When it spills over it's ...
Review by uncredited writer, Disc and Music Echo, 12 November 1966
FOR ALL discotheque darlings and soul brothers and sisters Atlantic in Britain have re-released a bumper crop of albums. ...
The Four Tops: Saville Theatre, London
Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 November 1966
TREMENDOUS TOPS SCORE AT SAVILLE ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 19 November 1966
UNIQUE ATMOSPHERE AT TOPS SHOW ...
Lou Rawls: Royal Tahitian, Ontario CA
Live Review by Louise Criscione, KRLA Beat, 7 December 1966
Rawls 'Live' At Tahitian Recalls 'Death' In Florida ...
Jimmy Ruffin: Jimmy Talks of the Tamla Family, Church and Blues Influences, and His Hit
Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 10 December 1966
ALL RATHER gangling, eager to listen and talk... Jimmy Ruffin meandered into London this week for television appearances, showing not one iota of the "Brokenhearted" ...
The Dixie Cups: Dixie's Dream City is Manchester
Interview by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 10 December 1966
RAINY OLD Manchester may not be everybody's idea of adream town but it is the favourite British city of The Dixie Cups — at least, ...
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 17 December 1966
JIMMY RUFFIN is a tall, sad-looking figure, who looks as if he's speaking from experience when he asks: 'What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted?'. He doesn't ...
Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 21 December 1966
Otis Redding — Rhythm and Blues Tidal Wave ...
Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 23 December 1966
TAKING TIME off from rehearsing for Friday's big Motown Revue at the Fox Theatre, Jimmy Ruffin stopped by to say hello the other day. Jimmy ...
Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett: Atlantic '67
Report and Interview by Bill Harry, Record Mirror, 24 December 1966
FRANK FENTER is a tall, tanned, talkative South African who has a way of expression with his hands that would do credit to an Italian. ...
Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 24 December 1966
GENO WASHINGTON'S triumph is not so much a musical one, as a victory over the minds of elderly mods, who have seized upon the Ram ...
The Four Tops: Four Tops Spin Thru Britain
Report by Rochelle Reed, KRLA Beat, 31 December 1966
EPSTEIN BOOKS TOUR ...
Percy Sledge — An Exciting New Soul Star
Profile by Mick Brown, Soulbeat, Summer 1966
IF NOTHING else 1966 has certainly, so far, been a time of exciting new changes and discoveries in the ever-expanding R&B world. At last people ...
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, January 1967
I LIKE TO write songs from true experiences. Things that have actually happened. You can't get away from the truth of everyday life. Sometimes I'll ...
Robert Parker: Shakespeare Hotel, Woolwich, London
Live Review by Bill Millar, Soul Music Monthly, January 1967
THE NUMBER OF blues and blues-based artistes touring the UK in the autumn months is quite absurd and not everybody will have the time or ...
The Temptations Tattle On Each Other
Interview by uncredited writer, Hit Parader, January 1967
MEL FRANKLIN:The four other members of the group are just fantastic performers — I can't think of any four other guys I would rather perform ...
Lee Dorsey: The New Lee Dorsey (Stateside)
Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 7 January 1967
IN CASE you were wondering, the old Lee Dorsey was a boxer. There's nothing new about his music — it's groovy, no messing American pop ...
Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 7 January 1967
A lack of new ideas but another Tops success ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 14 January 1967
Rhythm & Blues galore! ...
Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 21 January 1967
PAUL JONES: 'I've Been A Bad Bad Boy' (HMV). Sounds a bit like Paul Jones. Great — I like this one. I like that 'bad, ...
Don Covay: Quotes by Don Covay
Profile and Interview by Bill Harry, Record Mirror, 21 January 1967
DON COVAY burst on the music scene as a singer in the U.S. in 1964 with a self-penned smash hit called 'Mercy Mercy'. As a ...
Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 28 January 1967
HOLLAND-DOZIER-Holland may sound like a firm of solicitors, but they must rank among the most prolific songwriting teams in history. ...
Marvin Gaye: "The Music Really Saves Me"
Interview by Eden, KRLA Beat, 28 January 1967
THERE ARE some performers who succeed in escaping the boundaries and restrictions normally imposed upon their profession. They somehow manage to go "above and beyond ...
Report by Miranda Ward, Hit Parader, February 1967
WHEN OTIS REDDING was over here, Ready, Steady, Go! built up an entire programme around him, using his own band (only 9 of them came over, ...
Solomon Burke: The Marquee, London, 18th July 1966
Live Review by Bill Millar, Soul Music Monthly, February 1967
JUST OVER a year ago, Solomon Burke made his first appearance at the Marquee and was greeted with incredible scenes of enthusiasm. Before he had ...
The Four Tops: Four Tops Plan a Motown Choir
Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 February 1967
SWINGING London was practically rocked off its hinges the first time the famous Four Tops descended among us last year – the year of 'Reach ...
Live Review by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 4 February 1967
Ball at the Albert Hall ...
Live Review by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 4 February 1967
FOUR TOPS HAD US ALL ON OUR FEET reports Alan Smith ...
Cream, Edwin Starr: Saville Theatre, London
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 11 February 1967
AFTER LAST week's unfortunate non-happening at the Saville, almost everything that happened this Sunday seemed to be in contrast. ...
Kim Weston, Marvin Gaye: Marvin and Kim: Swingin' Twosome!
Profile and Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 11 February 1967
SIX FEET high, aged 27, songwriter, athlete, ballad singer and rock 'n' roller — this is Marvin Gaye. Attractive, intelligent, married to a producer and ...
Maxine Brown: "John Lennon stopped my hit"
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 25 February 1967
MAXINE BROWN has been one of the all-time raves of the Soul Set, both here in Britain and in the States. ...
Otis Redding: The Otis Redding Dictionary Of Soul (Atlantic 587050)
Review by uncredited writer, Beat Instrumental, March 1967
MR. REDDING has notched up many, many sales and he should be O.K.. with this one. For my money there's more to it than his ...
The Four Tops: Drop the Tops in Britain — And the Crowds Go Wild
Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 3 March 1967
WHAT DO you get when you mix the Motor City's Four Tops with the British public? A whole lot of love flowing both ways. ...
Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 17 March 1967
I CAUGHT UP with Stevie Wonder who's constantly on the run performing all over the country. A private tutor travels with him so Stevie keeps ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 18 March 1967
ANY DR. ZHIVAGO "gear" seen in the Savllle last Sunday was not due to a 'fab fad' but to the nippy draughts which whistled through ...
Madeline Bell, Dusty Springfield: Madeline Bell: Demon Phone Calls Drive Dusty Crazy
Interview by uncredited writer, Disc and Music Echo, 18 March 1967
DUSTY SPRINGFIELD and flatmate Madeline Bell are, unhappily, on the move again. ...
Report and Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 24 March 1967
BRENDA LEE, who at age 22 has been in show business for a dozen years, is in town at the Roostertail where there'll be a ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 25 March 1967
STAX SHOW REVIEW — & THE FIRST LP'S ...
Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 25 March 1967
STAX — THE RAVE SHOW TO END 'EM ALL ...
Live Review by Hugh Nolan, Disc and Music Echo, 25 March 1967
Stax sensation ...
Booker T & The MGs, Eddie Floyd, The Mar-Keys, Carla Thomas: Stax Volt
Profile and Interview by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 25 March 1967
Sometimes, fame comes to a label as well as a star — like Tamla Motown. Now here's Stax Volt from America with hot soul discs, ...
The Four Tops, The Temptations: Tamla Keeps Hits Rolling
Report and Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 25 March 1967
Wives taught us to dance — FOUR TOPS ...
Garnet Mimms: Whisky A Go Go, London
Live Review by Bill Millar, Soul Music, April 1967
MANY ENTHUSIASTS feel that Garnet Mimms is the best of the current crop of soul-ballad vocalists and if we pretend that "soul" is an idiom ...
Review by uncredited writer, Beat Instrumental, April 1967
Sam And Dave: Double Dynamite (Stax 589003) ...
Wilson Pickett: Official Sound Report: An Interview with Wilson Pickett
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, April 1967
AS WE WALKED into Wilson Pickett's dressing room at the Apollo in New York, two shady characters were in the process of selling a freshly ...
Live Review by Bill Millar, Soul Music, April 1967
It was perfectly clear that every performer on the Stax show was going to receive the most sympathetic applause should he or she subsequently turn ...
Readers' Letters by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 1 April 1967
RECORD MIRROR'S Norman Jopling went to the very first performance of the "Hit The Road Stax" tour in Britain — first house at Finsbury Park. ...
Review by uncredited writer, Disc and Music Echo, 8 April 1967
Sam and Dave plus a Stax of soul! ...
Otis Redding: A Talk With Otis Redding
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 15 April 1967
BIG OTIS REDDING tugged a comb through his wiry hair, wiped a trickling bead of perspiration from his glistening face, and sat edgily on a ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 15 April 1967
Remarkable sincerity on El's How Great Thou Art album. ...
Otis Redding: The Stax Controversy
Readers' Letters by Norman Jopling, uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 15 April 1967
THE FACTS are these. Record Mirror columnist Norman Jopling reviewed the Stax show. Frank Fenter, manager of Atlantic Records replied. Then, Record Mirror readers wrote, ...
Live Review by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 22 April 1967
BO and BEN: the rock-soul truce men! ...
Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 April 1967
THE AUDIENCE stole the show at London's Saville Theatre on Sunday, presenting their polished performance of Mass Idiocy — the new art form. ...
Eddie Floyd: When's 'Wood' Gonna Lay Down and Die?
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 22 April 1967
ROLY-POLY Eddie Floyd beamed a big banana-sized grin. "Man," he said, "When am I gonna get a chance to get another record in the charts? ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 22 April 1967
Orbison Gibson album — a fine LP but could be depressing... ...
Peaches and Herb — Upholding the 'Soul Sweetheart' Image
Profile and Interview by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 22 April 1967
PEACHES AND Herb, riding high with their great success, Let's Fall In Love, were visiting in Hollywood recently. The duo billed as the Sweethearts of ...
Review by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 22 April 1967
Top class, dramatic newie from Bee Gees, and a not so commercial Tremeloes — slow soul from Sam & Dave, & delicate new P. P. ...
Otis Redding: The Memphis Sound: Otis Leads the Way
Profile by Mike Gormley, The Ottawa Journal, 5 May 1967
FOR A LONG time now, the public has been thrilled by the essence of Otis Redding. His original contribution has conquered the world of music ...
Review by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 6 May 1967
A multitude of newies this week including Presley, Dylan, & Beach Boys ...
The Four Tops: Four Top A Week: Laurence Payton, The Quiet One
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 6 May 1967
LAURENCE the Top has a homely round face, honest, open eyes, and a liking for big shirts with big collars. He sits with his dark ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 6 May 1967
Some sophisticated new Motown albums ...
Geno Washington: The Geno Chant
Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 6 May 1967
GENO WASHINGTON bounced in for a chat with all the energy of a peak-conditioned gymnast. Which isn't surprising as he WAS a gymnastic instructor in ...
The Four Tops: Four Top A Week: How I Got Out Of The Ghetto by Renaldo Benson
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 13 May 1967
TOP RENALDO is the most instantly likeable man I ever met. Happiness was made for Renaldo. It sparkles out of his honest eyes. It gleams ...
Jimi Hendrix, Garnet Mimms: Jimi Hendrix Experience, Garnet Mimms: Saville Theatre, London
Live Review by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 13 May 1967
Hendrix turns on the heat ...
1-2-3, Jimi Hendrix, Garnet Mimms: Jimi Hendrix, Garnet Mimms, 1-2-3: Saville Theatre, London
Live Review by Derek Boltwood, Record Mirror, 13 May 1967
I ALWAYS get the impression that the American Soul Singers visiting this country are graduates of the 'National Soul Factory of America'. Garnet Mimms at ...
Lou Rawls: Carryin' On (Capitol T2632)
Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 May 1967
LOU RAWLS is an energetic singer with a fairly rich voice and a hip sort of style influenced by blues, gospel and old and modern ...
P.P. Arnold, The Nice: New to the Charts: Top Team Gives P.P. Her Debut
Profile and Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 13 May 1967
P.P. ARNOLD, from Los Angeles, makes her NME Chart debut this week with 'The First Cut Is The Deepest' (Immediate), aided and abetted by a talented team ...
The Isley Brothers, The Supremes: Singles from the Supremes and Isley Brothers
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 May 1967
The Supremes: 'The Happening'; 'All I Know About You' (Tamla Motown TMG 607). ...
Sam & Dave: We Started Bugaloo — Curtain Came Down
Report and Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 19 May 1967
SUPER EXCITEMENT on stage. That's what Sam and Dave generate. In fact the two work so hard that by the end of a set their ...
The Four Tops: Four Top A Week: Easy-Going Abdul Fakir
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 20 May 1967
TOP ABDUL is the one the others call Duke — why, he doesn't quite know. Maybe it's his air of royal dignity. ...
James Brown: Cobo Arena, Detroit MI
Live Review by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 23 May 1967
Brown Had The Crowds In His Hand ...
Chuck Jackson: What It's Like When Chuck Jackson Records
Report by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 26 May 1967
WATCHING CHUCK Jackson record is a gas! He's so creative and professional that he can listen once or twice to the band track and then ...
The Four Tops: Four Top A Week: Levi The Leader
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 27 May 1967
MUSTACHIOED LEVI Stubbs is the undoubted leader of the Four Tops — the man in front, the quiet man of influence, and a singer with ...
The Supremes: Copacabana, New York NY
Live Review by Nancy Lewis, Disc and Music Echo, 27 May 1967
Major triumph for Supremes! ...
Lou Rawls: Suddenly in the Big Time: Lou Rawls' Exciting Year
Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 30 May 1967
ASK LOU Rawls, who performed to a full house at Masonic Auditorium Sunday night, to tell you the most exciting point in his career and ...
Brenda Holloway: Violin Trend From Brenda?
Interview by Rochelle Reed, KRLA Beat, 3 June 1967
South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela recently offered Mrs. Holloway 2,000 head of cattle for her daugher, Brenda. ...
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: Martha Turns Reporter and Interviews Fellow Vandellas
Interview by Eden, KRLA Beat, 17 June 1967
ONE OF THE top female recording groups in the country today is Martha and the Vandellas, currently riding high on the national record charts with ...
Report by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 24 June 1967
WE DROVE to London Airport in Animal manager Mike Jeffery's Rolls-Royce while he dictated a few last minute instructions to assistant Tony Garland — "Ring ...
Report by Richard Goldstein, The Village Voice, 29 June 1967
"The West is the best: Get here and we'll do the rest!" — The Doors ...
Joe Tex: The Wonderful Adventures of Joe Tex
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, July 1967
WE'VE HEARD very few Joe Tex songs, even album songs, that we didn't tike. He tops that on stage with his great band. Plus, he's ...
The Supremes: How the SUPREMES stopped worrying and started happening...
Interview by Nancy Lewis, Disc and Music Echo, 1 July 1967
NANCY LEWIS, DISC girl in New York, talking to Tamla's top trio! EXCLUSIVE! ...
Interview by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 15 July 1967
"THIS IS BEAUTIFUL...this is beautiful," Mama Cass laughed over and over again as she sat in the press headquarters on Saturday night at the Monterey ...
The Supremes: The Super Supremes: 'Stop in the Name of Love'
Profile by Richard Goldstein, The New York Times, 23 July 1967
THE BREWSTER Project is one of those redbrick slums donated by the city of Detroit to house its local unwashed. Diana Ross, lead singer in ...
The Supremes: Cocoanut Grove, Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 29 July 1967
Diana Ross: 'Thin Is In!' ...
Aretha Franklin: I Never Loved a Man (Atlantic)
Review by Jim Payne, Crawdaddy!, August 1967
ARETHA FRANKLIN'S come back home. Back home to Boogaloo, Alabama, and Pigeon Pea, Tennessee, back home to Hog Maw, Mississippi, and Chitlins, South Carolina. Back ...
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, August 1967
WHO WILL be the big soul singer, the one to last and last? We have James Brown, Joe Tex, Wilson Pickett and the subject of ...
The Supremes: Supremes' Flo Ballard: It's Said She's Leaving
Report by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 1 August 1967
FLORENCE BALLARD of Diana Ross and The Supremes has temporarily asked to be withdrawn from the group, according to a spokesman for Motown Records. ...
Report and Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 4 August 1967
TO US LULU is the name of a comic strip character, but to the British Lulu is the name of an adorable 18-year-old pop singer. ...
Stevie Wonder: "John Lennon has soul," says Stevie Wonder...
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 5 August 1967
FOR SOME strange reason, Tamla Motown have suddenly started calling Stevie Wonder "The Prophet Of Soul" which seems to be a somewhat corny catch-name for ...
Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 6 August 1967
IN 1946 AT Dwyer Elementary School in Detroit, a six-year-old first-grader, wearing a pasted-on beard and white high-top shoes, played Uncle Remus in a school ...
Gladys Knight & The Pips: Glad Loses Pip!
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 12 August 1967
IT WAS ENOUGH to give Gladys Knight the pip, the tough struggle this attractive Tamla singer had in getting a hit in Britain. For a ...
Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 19 August 1967
VANILLA FUDGE: 'You Keep Me Hanging On' (Atlantic). Oh! I love it. Oh it's great. I didn't recognise the beginning at first. Yeah, Vanilla Fudge. ...
The Supremes: Roostertail, Detroit
Live Review by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 30 August 1967
Cindy Birdsong, the New Supreme: A Detroit Debut ...
Booker T & The MGs, Steve Cropper: The Stax Story: Steve Cropper (part 1)
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, September 1967
This Steve Cropper interview begins a series on Stax Records in Memphis. ...
Carla Thomas: A Lady in Show Business: Carla Thomas, the New Blues Queen
Profile and Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 10 September 1967
SHE'S AN authority on 18th Century drama, a favorite among the GIs in Vietnam and has one of the most caressing voices on records. She's ...
James and Bobby Purify: The Soul Difference in the USA — by James Purify...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 23 September 1967
STROLLING into EMI's James and Bobby Purify reception clutching an EMI handout on the duo, I bumped into James P. who came out with some ...
Nina Simone: Nina Simone Sings the Blues (RCA Victor RD7S33)
Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 23 September 1967
NINA SIMONE'S singing is very much an acquired taste, and I have to confess that it is not my favourite brand. I recognise, though, the ...
Patti LaBelle, The Supremes: Supreme CINDY-ella!
Profile by Nancy Lewis, Disc and Music Echo, 23 September 1967
Reflections on the new girl in the Supremes, Cindy Birdsong, who feels so much like Cinderella... ...
The Righteous Brothers: Greek Theatre, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by June Harris, New Musical Express, 23 September 1967
AS YET ANOTHER of the many examples of how extensive is rock 'n' roll's acceptance by the adult world, the Righteous Brothers are currently packing ...
The Impressions: The Fabulous Impressions (HMV CSD.3631)
Review by uncredited writer, Beat Instrumental, October 1967
AT ALL too rare intervals, the Impressions release an album which showcases their beautiful, and original, vocal sound. The gentlemen responsible — Curtis Mayfield, Sam ...
Booker T & The MGs, Steve Cropper: The Stax Story: Steve Cropper (part 2)
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, October 1967
IN THIS FINAL installment of the Steve Cropper interview, Steve gives some excellent advice to guitarists who want to become studio musicians. We hope you ...
Stevie Wonder: It's Not Such a Drag Being Blind
Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 14 October 1967
STEVIE WONDER, here for a tour of Britain, talks to NICK JONES ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 21 October 1967
IT WAS A 'soul show' at the Saville last Sunday, in the very widest sense of the term. Jimmy Cliff started off, and when he ...
Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 October 1967
GREAT THUNDERING jackanapes! An all-round good show at the Saville: No goofs, no curtains falling down, great music, a nice audience and even, wonder of ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 21 October 1967
ALL SOUL CAN sometimes be a little too much for one whole show. But the Soul Explosion package tour going around at the moment manages ...
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 21 October 1967
MARVIN GAYE AND TAMMI TERRELL: 'Your Precious Love'; 'Hold Me Oh My Darling' (Tamla Motown TMG 625). What a beautiful record this is. A medium-pace, ...
The Supremes: The Smell Of Flower Power
Readers' Letters by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 21 October 1967
Dear BEAT: ...
Arthur Conley: The Prince Of Sweet Soul Music
Interview by Derek Boltwood, Record Mirror, 28 October 1967
THE WORLD of Pop is pretty crazy. And it's pretty crazy when a twenty-one-year-old singer is 'discovered' twice in his twenty-one-year-old life by two of ...
Wilson Pickett: The Humor of… Wilson Pickett
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, November 1967
WILSON PICKETT started his singing career in the spiritual field in the city of Detroit. He and his family moved there when Wilson was in ...
Booker T & The MGs, Booker T. Jones: The Stax Story (part 3): Booker T. Jones
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, November 1967
BOOKER T. JONES was born in Memphis, Tennessee, November 12, 1944. He started playing the organ professionally at the age of fourteen. During his high ...
Carla Thomas: Touring Germany With Carla Thomas
Report by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 3 November 1967
HAMBURG, W. Germany — Hot bright lights. Cameras dollying around. Makeup ladies running to dab powder on the performer's shiny nose. Directors, assistant directors, light ...
Interview by Jacoba Atlas, KRLA Beat, 4 November 1967
GROWING UP in the poorer section of Los Angeles is not one of the easiest things that can happen to a child. Breaking the cycle ...
Aretha Franklin: Philharmonic Hall, New York NY
Live Review by June Harris, New Musical Express, 11 November 1967
ARETHA IS great — Aretha is sensational! Aretha is the finest girl blues singer in this country, bar one, and she proved it beyond any ...
Interview by Derek Boltwood, Record Mirror, 11 November 1967
A DOUBLE Dynamite Duo with a tradition to live up to. That's Sam and Dave – and their tradition is hit records. Hits like 'Soul ...
Lee Dorsey: Soul Explosion! Lee Dorsey
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 11 November 1967
LEE DORSEY is a very interesting looking singer. He looks like a brown Bing Crosby and the effect of Lee's new teeth (which he pointed ...
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 18 November 1967
AMERICA AWAKES, INCORPORATING 'ROCK-SOUL-BLUES REVIEWS' BY NORMAN JOPLING ...
The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes: The Supremes: Psychedelic Tamla!
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 18 November 1967
Brian Holland, one of Motown's famous composing team, speaks to Alan Smith, and tells about PSYCHEDELIC TAMLA! ...
Jackie Edwards: Premature Golden Sands (Island ILP.960)
Review by uncredited writer, Beat Instrumental, December 1967
JACKIE IS one of the "in" singers at the moment, and although still without a hit in this country, this album could make quite an ...
Booker T & The MGs: The Stax Story (part 4): Al Jackson
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, December 1967
BORN NOVEMBER 27, 1935, in Memphis, Tennessee, Al studied drums in high school, and played with his father's band until he formed his own nine-piece ...
Dionne Warwick: Learning To Take Her Time
Interview by Eden, KRLA Beat, 2 December 1967
DIONNE WARWICK has been acclaimed by fans and critics the world over as one of the greatest and most distinctive song stylists in the music ...
Eddie Floyd: Knocking On The Wrong Wood
Profile and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 2 December 1967
EDDIE FLOYD IN A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY ...
Stevie Wonder: 'Understanding Is Very Important' — Stevie Wonder
Interview by Eden, KRLA Beat, 2 December 1967
"I STARTED OUT when I was about nine-and-a-half or ten years old, and my first 'engagement' was on my front porch! My first professional performance ...
Gladys Knight, Alan Price: Gladys Knight & the Pips, Alan Price Set: Saville Theatre, London
Live Review by Lon Goddard, Record Mirror, 9 December 1967
Alan Price and Gladys Knight & the Pips — Saville triumph ...
Gladys Knight and the Pips: Gladys Knight: How It Took Miss Knight 14 Years To Get A Hit
Interview by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 9 December 1967
GLADYS KNIGHT And The Pips have been together for 14 years — a fact made all the more unbelievable when you consider that Gladys herself ...
Otis Redding: Otis, The King Of Soul
Report by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 16 December 1967
OTIS REDDING, voted as the worlds number one male vocalist in this year's MM Pop Poll, died in an air crash on Sunday night. A ...
Obituary by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 23 December 1967
The life and music of Otis Redding — and some tributes... ...
Aretha Franklin: A History Of Soul Queen Aretha Franklin
Profile by Derek Boltwood, Record Mirror, 30 December 1967
WELL, WHAT'S going to happen in 1968? New faces? New stars? Of course. But as we step gingerly over the threshold into the new year, ...
The Temptations: An Investment That Paid Off
Profile and Interview by uncredited writer, Hit Parader Yearbook, Winter 1967
ONE REASON the Beatles "retired" was that they were getting tired of touring. Everywhere they went, they were prisoners in their hotel and they hardly ...
Booker T & The MGs: The Stax Story (part 5): Duck Dunn
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, January 1968
DONALD V. DUNN was born on November 24, 1941, in Memphis, Tennessee and he learned to play the bass in high school. He now resides ...
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 January 1968
THE BIG R & B companies have a habit of LP release lists which make mouths watery with anticipation. Of course the omnipresent financial problem ...
The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Supremes: Tamla's Miracles Break Through At Last!
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 20 January 1968
THE FIRST of the Tamla Motown groups, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, have finally made it big in the British charts with their runaway transatlantic ...
The Supremes: Supremes Live It Up In London
Report and Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 27 January 1968
THE SUPREMES didn't sleep for two days at the weekend, then they flew from the warmth of Cannes to the chill of London, after which ...
The Supremes: Talk of the Town, London
Live Review by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 27 January 1968
A WHO'S WHO of British show business made up most of the audience (note I didn't say sat in the audience; half of 'em were ...
David Porter, Isaac Hayes, Sam & Dave: The Stax Story (Part 6): Porter & Hayes, Producers
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, February 1968
ISAAC HAYES and Dave Porter have written about one hundred and fifty songs together for Stax artists and also produced most of them. So far their ...
Brenton Wood: Brenton, Fastest Man in the Chart
Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 3 February 1968
BRENTON WOOD must be one of the few singers to dance for hours at his own press reception. He outlasted all the journalists and was ...
The Supremes: Supremes Heart Chat!
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 3 February 1968
YOU COULD see it: the Supremes were overwhelmed. They sat there in the room and hit back with answers as best they could. Reporters and ...
The Supremes: Supremes Mobbed at EMI
Report by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 3 February 1968
RM's PETER JONES TRIES TO INTERVIEW THE TRIO'S RETURN ...
The Foundations: Alan Smith Finds Foundations An Unusual 'Bunch'
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 10 February 1968
THE BEATLES had it. So did Gerry "Engelbert Humperdinck" Dorsey, the Four Tops and Tom Jones. I'm talking about faith — an artist's faith in ...
Edwin Starr, Brenton Wood: Edwin Starr and Brenton Wood in Britain
Interview by Derek Boltwood, Record Mirror, 10 February 1968
"AND NOW, ladies and gentlemen, back in Britain for the eighth time... Edwin Starr." ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 17 February 1968
WILSON PICKETT: The Best Of Wilson Pickett 'In The Midnight Hour'; 'I Found A Love'; '634-5789'; 'If You Need Me'; 'Mustang Sally'; 'Don't Fight It'; ...
Eddie Floyd, Steve Cropper: The Stax Story (part 7): Eddie Floyd
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, March 1968
EDDIE FLOYD, born June 25, 1935 in Montgomery, Alabama, grew up with the idea of entertaining as a profession. Eddie idolized Johnny Ace from the ...
Otis Redding: Otis New Hit His Greatest Tribute
Comment by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 2 March 1968
DURING HIS all-too-brief lifetime, Otis Redding was respected by the world of music — and virtually ignored in his own home town of Macon, Georgia. ...
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 9 March 1968
IN AN EFFORT to smash the Tamla domination of the LP market, the rival R&B giant Atlantic have put out a batch of soul and ...
Nancy Wilson: Nancy, Bread and Butter Singer
Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 9 March 1968
IT SEEMS as though Nancy Wilson is always making flying visits to this country in order to appear in television programmes. Once she came here ...
The Four Tops: Four Tops Live Up To Their Name
Profile by Mike Gormley, The Ottawa Journal, 22 March 1968
THEY HAD reached the top — all four of them. ...
The Supremes: Live at London's Talk Of The Town (Tamla Motown 11070)
Review by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 30 March 1968
Sensational Supremes at Talk Of The Town ...
Obituary by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, April 1968
AN AIRPLANE belonging to Otis Redding Enterprises fell into the freezing waters of a Wisconsin lake, Sunday, December 10, and the following day skin divers ...
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Smokey Robinson: The Miracle Of Motown
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, April 1968
BILL "SMOKEY" Robinson, the leader of the Miracles, couldn't decide between athletics and engineering. At Northern High School in Detroit (where all the Miracles were ...
Review by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 4 April 1968
THE DOCK OF THE BAY (Volt) Otis Redding. 'Open the Door', 'Tramp', 'Glory of Love' plus nine other tracks. ...
Arthur Conley, Otis Redding: Conley Cuts Tribute to Otis
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 13 April 1968
A RECORD tracing the deep bond of friendship and artistic respect between Otis Redding and himself has been waxed by Otis' "Soul Protégé" Arthur Conley. ...
Otis Redding: Otis' Ambition Was To Replace Sam Cooke...
Obituary by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 April 1968
ABOUT THREE years ago I wrote a feature on Otis Redding as part of a series called "Great Unknowns". It was based on four records ...
Madeline Bell: "America is Behind the Times"
Interview by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 20 April 1968
Leather-miniskirted Madeline Bell talks to Record Mirror ...
Ike & Tina Turner, Tina Turner: The Ike And Tina Turner Revue: Streatham Locarno, London
Live Review by Bill Millar, Soul Music Monthly, 25 April 1968
IN SEPTEMBER 1966, some seven thousand people saw the Rolling Stones and like & Tina Turner at the Royal Albert Hall and – judging by ...
Gladys Knight and the Pips: Gordy's Gladys Souled Out?
Report by Mike Gormley, The Ottawa Journal, 26 April 1968
THEY RECORD for Soul Records in Detroit. And it's just possible the record label was named for the music the company's top group, Gladys Knight ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Race Riots Drive Ike & Tina to Britain
Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 27 April 1968
THERE'S A good chance the Ike and Tina Turner band and the Ikettes will be spending some time in Europe this summer... because of America's ...
Aretha Franklin: Aretha's Artistry
Profile by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, May 1968
THE YOUNG lady who has probably had more effect on the r&b scene in the U.S.A. than anyone else during the past year, who has ...
Aretha Franklin: Lady Soul in London
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, May 1968
FRIDAY, MAY 10th, marked the long overdue arrival in Britain of America's first Lady of Soul, the remarkable Miss Aretha Franklin: an event which soul ...
Aretha Franklin: Aretha — the True Professional
Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 4 May 1968
IN ONE of the attractive middle-class homes which line the long streets of north west Detroit, passers-by often notice an attractive young woman dusting and ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Hatchett's, London
Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 4 May 1968
WITH NO hesitation at all I report that the Ike and Tina Turner revue with the Ikettes is the most exciting R&B act to visit ...
Otis Redding: A Sad Reminder Of The Great Otis: Otis Redding: Dock Of The Bay
Review by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 11 May 1968
ALMOST EVERY TRACK of Otis Redding's new Dock Of The Bay album is a constant and sad reminder of the sheer soul — there is, ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 11 May 1968
ETTA JAMES Tell Mama — 'Tell Mama'; 'I'd Rather Go Blind'; 'The Love Of My Man'; 'I'm Gonna Take What He's Got'; 'The Same Rope'; ...
Aretha Franklin: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 18 May 1968
America's soul sister Aretha conquers Britain ...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 18 May 1968
SOME PEOPLE are going around saying that Aretha Franklin is the Queen Of Soul, many people are buying her records, and one person (show compère ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 18 May 1968
Loads of R&B albums including Otis' great Dock Of The Bay LP ...
Stevie Wonder: Grand Old Music Man — and Just 17
Profile by Mike Gormley, The Ottawa Journal, 24 May 1968
STEVIE WONDER is 'Uptight'. ...
Aretha Franklin, After Her Hammersmith Odeon Clambake — What Do You Want To Tell Me About That?
Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 25 May 1968
MELODY MAKER EXCLUSIVE BY MAX JONES ...
The Peddlers, Lou Rawls: Lou Rawls, the Peddlers: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 25 May 1968
Lou Rawls — staggered ...
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Smokey and His Associates Work Hit Parade Miracles
Profile by Mike Gormley, The Ottawa Journal, 31 May 1968
MOTOWN'S MOST VERSATILE ACT ...
Otis Redding, Steve Cropper: "The Otis Redding I Knew", by Steve Cropper
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, June 1968
MY ORIGINAL feeling for Otis wound up to be my final feeling for Otis. He was a pure man. Anything you say about him has ...
Albert King: Born Under A Bad Sign (Stax)
Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 June 1968
'Born Under A Bad Sign'; 'Crosscut Saw'; 'Kansas City'; 'Oh, Pretty Woman'; 'Down Don't Bother Me'; 'The Hunter'; 'I Almost Lost My Mind'; 'Personal Manager'; ...
Aretha Franklin: Houseproud Aretha Loves To Get Home
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 16 June 1968
"SIDDOWN," said the Queen of Soul. So I saddown — on a plush settee in a room at the Dorchester — and Lady Aretha excused ...
James Brown, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin: Soul: it's what Negroes have and white men are learning
Overview by Lillian Roxon, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 30 June 1968
THE WORD is "soul" and if white Americans haven't been quite sure what it meant before, they are this week. ...
Interview by Dave Godin, Blues & Soul, July 1968
ONE IS always apprehensive about meeting artists for whom one has a great admiration or burning passion – I deliberately avoided meeting the one and ...
O.C. Smith Fights For Poor People
Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 6 July 1968
THERE was a familiar face at the head of last week's Poor People's March in Washington, USA,the protest on behalf of America's underprivileged classes led ...
The Four Tops, The Supremes: No Mo' Motown?
Comment by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 August 1968
CHRIS WELCH records the demise of a chart influence ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Basin Street West, San Francisco CA
Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 15 August 1968
Like Old Days in Harlem: A Roaring Good Show ...
Report by Ian Dove, Billboard, 17 August 1968
BRITAIN'S SOUL Surge continues. ...
Live Review by Ian Dove, Billboard, 17 August 1968
Motown Acts Draw Near-Capacity Crowd ...
O.C. Smith: The Revolution, London
Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968
And he triumphs, despite all, at the Revolution ...
O.C. Smith: What does O.C. care about? Feeling for other Negroes and gunfire in Watts for a start...
Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968
O.C. SMITH peered over a metal balcony 60 feet from the ground. A steady penetrating drizzle dropped non-stop from a wicked grey sky as he ...
Sly & The Family Stone: Sly Buries Underground And Has Fun!
Profile and Interview by June Harris, New Musical Express, 24 August 1968
YOU'LL JUST love Sly and the Family Stone when you see them next month. They're what I call a fun group, who get a kick ...
Aretha Franklin: Alan Smith Discovers That Aretha (26) Feels She's A Lot Older
Profile and Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 7 September 1968
...because she's lived such a hard life ...
Sly & The Family Stone: Topless Dancers Drove Me Out says Sly of the Family Stone
Profile and Interview by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 7 September 1968
TOPLESS DANCERS and the resultant craze in San Francisco became so too much for a young musician that he left his job, became a record ...
Sly & The Family Stone: BANNED! Top Of The Pops Drop Sly & The Family Stone
Report and Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 21 September 1968
SLY AND The Family Stone, still a chart force with 'Dance To The Music', were supposed to appear on BBC-TV's Top Of The Pops last ...
Ray Charles: Backstage With Ray, 'The Genius'
Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 September 1968
RAY CHARLES, singer and pianist among other things, and his team of 16 musicians, four Raelets, manager Joe Adams and sundry helpers, flew into London ...
Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Smokey Robinson
Profile and Interview by Michael Lydon, Rolling Stone, 28 September 1968
SMOKEY ROBINSON is the reigning genius of Top-40. Since the Beatles and the Beach Boys dropped out of the single-then-follow-up-album pattern aimed at the AM ...
Profile and Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, October 1968
THE IMPRESSIONS have proved that it is possible to become tops in the record field without resorting to the loud, unintelligible sounds that can hardly ...
Live Review by Ian Dove, Billboard, 5 October 1968
Traffic Travel on Bumpy And Separate Musical Road ...
Aretha Franklin: Philharmonic Hall, New York NY
Live Review by June Harris, New Musical Express, 12 October 1968
ARETHA FRANKLIN, the first lady of soul, appeared at Philharmonic Hall last weekend and was the guest of honour at a huge dinner party thrown ...
Sunnyland Slim, Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band: Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band
Profile by uncredited writer, UCLA Daily Bruin, 24 October 1968
THE WATTS 103rd St. Rhythm Band and Sunnyland Slim finish up an entertaining run at the Ash Grove in West Hollywood this weekend. ...
The Chambers Brothers: For Chambers Bros., Time Has Come in a Big Way
Profile and Interview by Mike Gormley, The Ottawa Journal, 1 November 1968
ELECTRIC, PSYCHEDELIC, smooth and professional, they don't depict poor Mississippi-born farmers. But that's where they started. The Chambers Brothers, Willie, George, Lester, Joe and non-brother ...
Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 2 November 1968
Swinging down the aisles ...
The Isley Brothers: For The Isley Brothers Better Late Than Never
Profile by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 9 November 1968
AFTER A tortoise-like two-and-a-half-year journey, the Isley Brothers' 'This Old Heart of Mine' has put the Tamla Motown insignia in the Pop 30 again. ...
Johnny Johnson & the Bandwagon: Johnny Johnson: No Heartache for Rolling Bandwagon
Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 23 November 1968
WHAT HAVE the Bandwagon got in common with their soul sisters the Supremes? ...
Nina Simone: Nina Hits With Hair
Profile by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 23 November 1968
NINA SIMONE provokes mixed reactions from the music critics of the world. Some hail her as a giant of the blues, while others, though grudgingly ...
Diana Ross, The Supremes: Diana Ross: A Talking Instead Of Just A Walking Doll
Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 November 1968
DIANA ROSS is a living doll. But as an all-talking living doll, her new image came as quite a surprise to the pop scene last ...
Review by uncredited writer, Disc and Music Echo, 30 November 1968
Marvin and Tammi: big warm glow! ...
Review by Lon Goddard, Record Mirror, 14 December 1968
'LIVE' LPs FROM CREAM & OTIS. ...
Donnie Elbert: Soul Singer in the Suburbs... Donnie Elbert
Profile and Interview by Wesley Laine, Record Mirror, 14 December 1968
EDGWARE, MIDDLESEX, in the vibrant heart of London'ssuburbia isn't quite where you'd expect to find a soul singer who has had hits all over the ...
Johnny Winter, Sam & Dave: Sam & Dave: Fillmore East, New York NY
Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 16 December 1968
Soul Team Plays 'South of the Border' ...
Nina Simone: The Fantasy World of Nina Simone
Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968
"YES, I'M happy that I've got a hit record. I'm happy because I like the song and because in the future I'll get some time ...
Johnny Johnson & the Bandwagon: "British People Great"
Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 4 January 1969
"THE MOST out-of-sight thing about Britain is the people. They are so warm, they get right down in with you." That's the Bandwagon's reaction to ...
Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, The Supremes, The Temptations: Albums from the Supremes and Marvin Gaye
Review by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 11 January 1969
THOSE TAMLA GOODIES ...
Dusty Springfield: I Fell Flat On My Face — Dusty
Interview by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 18 January 1969
WHEN AN artiste of her stature confesses "I fell flat on my face" it sounds like a major catastrophe. But I'm here to report that ...
Sly & The Family Stone: 'Everyday People' (Direction)
Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 18 January 1969
IT WAS A pity their first British visit was such a mess up, for Sly and Co seem like a most unusual and interesting group, ...
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles: Special Occasion (Tamla Motown Stereo STML 11089)
Review by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 18 January 1969
'Yester Love'; 'If You Can Want'; 'Special Occasion'; 'Everybody Needs Love'; 'Just Losing You'; 'Give Her Up'; 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine'; 'Yesterday'; 'Your ...
The Four Tops: Yesterday's Gone (Tamla Motown Stereo ST ML 11087).
Review by Lon Goddard, Record Mirror, 18 January 1969
SOME UNEXPECTED selections on this long awaited 4 Tops collection. The Tops are classics of The Male Motown list and have certainly put some brilliant ...
Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield: Jerry Wexler: 'Team Work Is Secret Of Atlantic's Soul Success'
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 1 February 1969
Label chief JERRY WEXLER talking to Alan Smith ...
Review by Geoffrey Cannon, The Guardian, 4 February 1969
Muddy Muddy Waters ...
Nina Simone: 'Nuff Said (RCA Victor)
Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 8 February 1969
PROOF TO SILENCE THE CYNICS ...
Tamla Motown: Munch, Munch, Munch
Comment by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 February 1969
Chris Welch discovers what it's like to eat his own words… ...
Interview by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 22 February 1969
The Wicked Pickett's Diet ...
Sam & Dave: Sam and Dave — soul brothers on stage — but not off
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 1 March 1969
SOUL BROTHERS on stage... but not so brotherly in real life. That seemed to be the implication by Sam Moore, of Sam and Dave, when ...
Mack Rice Hopes For a Comeback
Interview by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 14 March 1969
"'MUSTANG SALLY' has definitely been good to me, but you can't live off one big record. You need a string of 'Sally's' to be able ...
STEVIE WONDER explains the latest sound from Tamla... FUNKEDELIC!
Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 15 March 1969
AT THE AGE of 19, Stevie Wonder is something of a soul business veteran. But after meeting and seeing him in action, it's easy to ...
Live Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 15 March 1969
Stevie's a big star now ...
Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 March 1969
BIG BEN, like the Tymes, swings but doesn't say much. At least George Williams, lead singer with the group which is just ticking over in ...
Marv Johnson: Part-time Hitmaker from the Grocery Shop
Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 22 March 1969
THE STORY behind the success of Motown man Marv Johnson — one of the host of Tamla invaders in the chart — reads like a ...
Thelma Houston: The Living Room, New York NY
Live Review by Ian Dove, Billboard, 22 March 1969
Thelma Houston Is the Gospel at Its Musical Best ...
Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell: Marvin Gaye: With The Solo Success Comes A Little Sadness
Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 5 April 1969
MARVIN GAYE PHONES FROM DETROIT AS 'GRAPEVINE' HITS No. 1 ...
Interview by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 8 April 1969
WHAT'S THE magic ingredient that makes popular hit records? If anyone knew for sure he'd have a billion dollar industry rotating around him, at 45 ...
Nina Simone: Nina's The Medium For The Message
Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 19 April 1969
NINA SIMONE, the artist, is the High Priestess of Soul, the blues singer and the jazz pianist. Nina Simone, the person, is compelling, formidable, and ...
Dusty Springfield: Dusty In Memphis (Philips)
Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 26 April 1969
DUSTY'S AMERICAN LP is her best yet! Eleven great tracks most of them beautiful, soulful ballads with Dusty sounding all the better for holding herself ...
Johnny Nash: Wise Guy With A Difference
Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 26 April 1969
POP IS A precarious business as so many artists will tell you. The fame and fortune that arrives overnight can disappear at an even faster ...
Dr. John: Dr John: Babylon (Atco 228 018)
Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 May 1969
Compulsive listening ...
Bob & Earl: Bob and Earl Mystery is Solved
Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 10 May 1969
AS THE ancient 'Harlem Shuffle' made pop history by jumping into the top ten six years late, American due Bob and Earl arrived in Britain ...
Review by Greil Marcus, Rolling Stone, 17 May 1969
IKE AND TINA TURNER have been packing suitcases and riding buses for years, playing the Sportmen's Clubs and the Showcase Lounges, sometimes making it into ...
Junior Walker & The Allstars: 'We're Not Part Of The Tamla Sound' Says Junior Walker
Profile and Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 17 May 1969
OKAY, THE story has been told before. But here goes once again... so this guy Autry deWalt was a school-kid and he walked everywhere. Everyone ...
Overview by Charlie Gillett, Record Mirror, 24 May 1969
THERE WAS a time, not so long ago, when almost all the writing about popular music was descriptive or informative. ...
Aretha Franklin's Gospel Background
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, June 1969
HP: How old were you when you started singing? Aretha: I started singing when I was twelve years old. ...
The Impressions, Curtis Mayfield: Curtis Mayfield: Life With The Impressions
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, June 1969
As told to Jim Delehant ...
Otis Redding: Bound To Be A Big Hit: Otis Redding: The Dock Of The Bay (Atco)
Review by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 7 June 1969
IT'S ALMOST a waste of time to review an Otis Redding album: everybody already knows how great he was. ...
Sam & Dave: Sam and Dave: Double Trouble (Atlantic)
Review by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 14 June 1969
ANYONE who's ever seen Sam and Dave on stage will appreciate just how hard the dynamic duo work. ...
The Foundations: Ups and Downs of the Foundations in America
Interview by Lon Goddard, Record Mirror, 21 June 1969
YOU'VE HEARD of the Original this and the Fabulous that — cases of established names being lifted from top U.S. groups and used on imitation ...
Arif Mardin, The Mar-Keys: Arif Mardin: Glass Onion (Atlantic); The Mar-Keys: Damifiknow (Stax)
Review by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 4 July 1969
GLASS ONION — Arif Mardin. You may not be acquainted with Arif Mardin. For a quick run down, he's from Turkey, got deep into jazz ...
Billy Preston: Billy's a Natural
Profile by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 12 July 1969
IF EVER there was a "natural" for the charts, Billy Preston's 'That's The Way God Planned It' — which enters this week at No. 19 ...
Review by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 26 July 1969
New Sly & Family Stone LP begins where other R&B LP's leave off ...
Ray Charles, Billy Preston: Billy Preston: Forget The Rumours — Billy Will Be Back
Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 2 August 1969
ONE OF the few sure things about the music business is that rumours will fly around it. ...
Chuck Willis: I Remember Chuck Willis
Review by Greil Marcus, Rolling Stone, 9 August 1969
EVERY ONCE IN a while something happens that reminds one of the incalculable contribution Atlantic Records has made to rock and roll and rhythm and ...
Nina Simone: God Bless The Child
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, September 1969
NINA SIMONE was born Eunice Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina, the sixth of eight children. Her mother worked as a housekeeper and her father was ...
Retrospective by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1969
FREDERICK (SHORTY) Long drowned in a boating accident on Sunday, June 29. Also killed in the same accident was Shorty's friend, Oscar Williams, who also ...
Johnny Winter: The Apollo Theatre and the Fillmore East: Black and White Music in NYC
Comment by Loraine Alterman, New York Scenes, September 1969
MORE THAN Central Park and city blocks separate the Apollo Theatre in Harlem and the Fillmore East in the East Village. ...
The Dells: 1953 Doo Wop to 1969 Class
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, September 1969
By Chuck Barksdale of the Dells ...
Live Review by Danny Goldberg, Billboard, 6 September 1969
King of the Blues Courts Fans ...
James Brown: Telling The Natural Truth
Interview by Charlie Gillett, Record Mirror, 6 September 1969
'SAY IT LOUD – I'm Black and I'm Proud' sold 20,000 copies in Britain, although the BBC played it only once. Is James Brown surprised? ...
Live Review by John Mendelssohn, Los Angeles Times, 9 September 1969
Smokey Robinson Crew Performs in Inglewood ...
The Temptations: Can You Put A Name To The Temptations?
Profile and Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 13 September 1969
I'VE ALWAYS had the feeling that although the Temptations have enjoyed good record sales in this country, they've never quite made it as people with ...
Clyde McPhatter: Clyde Mixes Country, Gospel And Blues
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Top Pops, 13 September 1969
EUROPE IN GENERAL, and Britain especially, seems to be exerting an increasingly strong magnetic attraction to coloured American artists. Not only do they like to ...
The Supremes, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder: Motowners have Racial Problems
Report by Ann Moses, New Musical Express, 27 September 1969
SINCE SO many Motown artists are currently in the British charts, I thought I might pass on some things about them that have been circulating ...
Erma Franklin, Wilson Pickett: Wilson Pickett/Erma Franklin: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 27 September 1969
A Vote For Wilson (Pickett That Is!) ...
The Temptations: Making Hits Is As Easy As Pie says Temps Dennis
Interview by Ritchie Yorke, New Musical Express, 4 October 1969
"MAKING HIT records," claims Dennis Edwards, lusty lead singer of the Temptations, "is like making cakes. You just need the right basic ingredients and you're ...
The Four Tops, Diana Ross, The Supremes: Four Tops Hoping For British Tour, Diana Splits Next Year
Report by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 25 October 1969
ALAN SMITH reports the latest views from DETROIT, A CITY PACKED WITH NATURAL MOTOWN TALENT. ...
The Beatles, The Chambers Brothers: The Chambers Brothers: 'They Put Us Up for Sale; People Bought'
Interview by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 31 October 1969
THE CHAMBERS Brothers, who are Willie, George, Joe and Lester Chambers plus Brian Keenan, were dressed in the usual cool clothes they've been noted for ...
Review by uncredited writer, Hit Parader, November 1969
CROSBY STILLS & NASH is an exquisite collection of words from this triumvirate. Steve Stills, the moody ex-Buffalo, seems to be the anchor here, as ...
Dusty Springfield: Dusty In Memphis
Review by Greil Marcus, Rolling Stone, 1 November 1969
A FEW MONTHS AGO I walked into the Rolling Stone office and palely inquired if the journal might possibly be interested in a review of ...
Dennis Coffey: Guitarist Dennis Coffey: "No Room for Temperament in Music"
Interview by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 7 November 1969
WHEN YOU talk to him he impresses you as a confident man. He knows what's going on but chooses to do things his way rather ...
Aretha Franklin, Arif Mardin: Arif Mardin: The Turkish Tycoon of Soul
Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 8 November 1969
HOW DOES a Turkish bebop pianist become one of the world's leading producers of soul music? ...
LeRoi Jones: Black Music (MacGibbon and Kee 36 shillings).
Book Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 8 November 1969
IN HIS writings for Downbeat and Kulchur magazines, LeRoi Jones — poet, playwright, essayist, critic and revolutionary — provided many of the first signposts to ...
Live Review by uncredited writer, The Berkeley Barb, 14 November 1969
WINTERLAND BUMMER ...
B.B. King, Terry Reid, The Rolling Stones, Ike & Tina Turner: The Rolling Stones...
Report by Wayne Robins, The Berkeley Barb, 14 November 1969
... at Oakland Coliseum, November 9, 1969. Featuring Ike & Tina Turner, B.B. King, Terry Reid, with a special appearance by Bill Graham. Written November 9-10, ...
Arthur Conley, Otis Redding: Arthur Conley: Soul's not dead, it's just changed
Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 15 November 1969
OTIS REDDING and Sam Cooke, whose tragic deaths robbed the music world of two of its biggest talents, were both responsible for much of the ...
Holland, Dozier, Holland: This Song Team Wrote 7 Million-Sellers On The Trot!
Interview by Ritchie Yorke, New Musical Express, 15 November 1969
No. 2 IN THE LP CHART THIS WEEK IS MOTOWN CHART BUSTERS, VOL 3. THREE HITS ON THIS ALBUM WERE BY HOLLAND DOZIER HOLLAND ...
Stevie Wonder: Stevie Sees Very Clearly
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 22 November 1969
IN A WORLD of darkness, sound has obviously become almost Stevie Wonder's chief guide and consolation... so I was hardly surprised to hear this week ...
Ike & Tina Turner, Sam & Dave: Felt Forum, New York NY
Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 24 November 1969
Soul Selections Get Sensual Treatment From Tina Turner ...
The Temptations: Mr. D's, San Francisco CA
Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 26 November 1969
The Temptations Get a Soul Transplant ...
Review by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 29 November 1969
THE PERSONABLE Mr. Gaye is in top form on this album, which teams him up with Mary Wells, Kim Weston and Tammi Terrell. Marvin has ...
Thelma Houston: Meet Thelma, the 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' girl
Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 29 November 1969
THIS TIME Thelma Houston did make it. ...
Bobby Bland, Maxayn: Bobby "Blue" Bland, Paulette Parker: Basin Street West, San Francisco CA
Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 3 December 1969
Bobby 'Blue' Bland Is Right On ...
Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 6 December 1969
THREE YEARS ago an unknown singer recorded what was to become one of the greatest soul ballads of all time. ...
Eric Burdon, War: Eric Burdon & War, Elyse Weinberg: Troubadour, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by John Mendelssohn, Los Angeles Times, 11 December 1969
Eric Burdon Back on Scene With War Band ...
Percy Sledge: The Best Of Percy Sledge
Interview by Charlie Gillett, Record Mirror, 13 December 1969
PERCY SLEDGE is here for a three-week tour, and to coincide with it Atlantic have released a single, 'True Love Travels On A Gravel Road', ...
Cold Blood: Cold Blood (San Francisco Records)
Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 24 December 1969
THE FIRST issue of San Francisco records, produced for the Fillmore Corporation by David Rubinson, is a recorded introduction to the soul-rock band, Cold Blood. ...
Wilbert Harrison: Bring Back The Fifties
Column by Charlie Gillett, Record Mirror, 1970
EVERY YEAR, the manager of the Apollo Theatre in Harlem stages an 'oldies' show, in which almost forgotten stars of R&B relive their past for ...
The Temptations Came, Saw And Almost Conquered
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1970
AND SO, it's all over. The Temptations, first ambassadors of Soul and Motown have been and gone again. The question now is whether it was ...
The Temptations: The Talk Of The Town, London
Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1970
ON ENTERING the exclusive surroundings of London's most popular dinner and entertainment club, my mind was engaged on the description that most journalists from the ...
Hamilton Bohannon: Bohannon: "The Band Doesn't Get the Proper Respect"
Interview by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 2 January 1970
MOST MOTOWN groups don't perform on stage while playing their own instruments. It would be rather difficult for The Temptations to go through their dance ...
James Brown, Isaac Hayes, Taste: Albums from Isaac Hayes, Taste and James Brown
Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 10 January 1970
Isaac Hayes: Hot Buttered Soul (Stax) Tremendously successful in the States, this is the first solo album from Isaac Hayes, better known as the hit songwriter with Dave ...
The Supremes, The Temptations: Super Star Diana Right To Quit Supremes Say Temptations
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 17 January 1970
ONLY THE absence of 'flu-bound Eddie Kendricks took the edge off the Temptations' arrival in Britain at the weekend, but the rest of them were ...
The Bar-Kays: Soul Finger (Atco stereo 228 030; 37s 6d)
Review by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 17 January 1970
THE INFLUENCE that Booker T. and the MG's have had on this five-piece outfit is obvious, but the Bar-Kays haven't quite got it together in ...
The Temptations: Temptations...
Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 24 January 1970
...talking to Royston Eldridge ...
Live Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 31 January 1970
IT'S BEEN three years since a soul tour of such importance has been to Britain. Then, in the spring of 1967, it was Otis Redding ...
Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1970
IT STARTED out as a most exciting way to start the 70's for every British Soul lover. But after three weeks on the road it ...
The Miracles: Thank The Beatles
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1970
SMOKEY ROBINSON and the Miracles flew into London specifically to appear on Tom Jones TV show. Even if many Soul fans disapprove of what Mr. ...
The Temptations: Temps Aren't Puppets of Motown
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 7 February 1970
ARE SOME of Tamla Motown's artists "Monkees of Soul"... professional acts who seem so puppet-like and programmed that they hardly come across as real people? ...
Interview by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 8 February 1970
Yes, Holland-Dozier-Holland DID Split with the Giant; Yes, Eddie Holland DID form Invictus Records; Yes, Invictus IS Climbing the Charts ...
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Smokey Robinson, Proving That Miracles Still Happen
Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 14 February 1970
WILLIAM 'Smokey' Robinson is the lead singer of the Miracles, vice president of Motown Records and the man Dylan has described as "America's greatest living ...
Smokey Robinson: "The old ideas are dying just like Vaudeville did"
Interview by Lon Goddard, Record Mirror, 14 February 1970
Smokey Robinson on the current pop scene. ...
Live Review by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 17 February 1970
Sly and Family Survive Rush Down the Garden Paths ...
Steve Cropper: Cropper: The Living Legend from Memphis
Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 21 February 1970
A MELODY MAKER EXCLUSIVE BY ROYSTON ELDRIDGE ...
The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Sly & The Family Stone: Sly Stone: Stone Too Sick to Rock
Report by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 24 February 1970
Refunds Available ...
Doris Troy: Dave Godin Meets Mother Soul
Interview by Dave Godin, Blues & Soul, 27 February 1970
WHEN EDITOR John Abbey asked me if I would do a feature interview with Doris Troy to coincide with her forthcoming single release on Apple, ...
The Showstoppers: The Show Stoppers
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 27 February 1970
'AIN'T NOTHING But A Houseparty' reads the title but there's a lot more to the Show Stoppers first hit than just that! ...
Blue Mink, Booker T & The MGs: Booker T. & the MGs, Blue Mink: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 28 February 1970
BOOKER T. JONES and his group of Memphis musicians don't belong in any bag. You have to forget the categories where they are concerned and ...
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1970
THE HAMMERSMITH Odeon has been the scene of great jubilation and triumph for many top r&b/soul artists in the last few years and soul fans ...
Jimmy Ruffin: I Nearly Became A Temptation
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1970
AND SO, the news is out that the Ruffin brothers, David and Jimmy, could well be linking up in the States as a double act. ...
Chairmen of the Board: 'We Turned Each Other On to Our Talents'
Interview by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 13 March 1970
TIME CAN be dangerous and it can be helpful. The old think of the past and enter depression. The young think of the future and ...
Interview by uncredited writer, Blues & Soul, 13 March 1970
An in-depth interview with Sam Moore, one part of the fantastic Sam & Dave team known everywhere as Double Dynamite. ...
Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 14 March 1970
Guitar ace with Booker T, Stax producer and formerly with Otis Redding's show ...
Richie Havens: Stonehenge (Stormy Forest)
Review by Ben Edmonds, Fusion, 20 March 1970
THE SUBJECT OF Richie Havens is always sure to provoke an argument. Those who tend to dislike him do so with a great deal of ...
Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 March 1970
RECORD OF THE FORTNIGHT ...
Junior Walker & The Allstars: Back To School For Jr. Walker!
Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 4 April 1970
DROP INTO any discotheque you care to mention in any city or holiday resort in Europe and you can bet safely that at least three ...
Jimmy Ruffin Forecasts Motown Sound Chances
Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 4 April 1970
"WITHOUT A doubt there is going to be a big change in the Motown sound as we know it. And many of today's 'happening' names ...
Freda Payne: In Pursuit of Superstardom
Interview by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 5 April 1970
From the Art Institute to Joe Louis To Duke Ellington to the Carson Show ...
Dionne Warwick: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 18 April 1970
DIONNE DAZZLES ...
Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick: Dionne Warwick — The Ability to Communicate an Emotion
Profile and Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 25 April 1970
DIONNE WARWICK'S beautiful performance in concert at London's Royal Albert Hall last week was a demonstration of how a rare talent overcomes any sort of ...
Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 25 April 1970
Miles Davis Stirs Up New Sounds ...
Wilbert Harrison: One Man Band
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1970
ALMOST WITHOUT WARNING, Wilbert Harrison arrived in London during mid-April to appear with Creedence Clearwater at London's Royal Albert Hall concerts. Wilbert was chosen by ...
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 2 May 1970
ALAN SMITH talks to Tamla's most consistent solo hitmaker ...
Dionne Warwick: The Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Dave Godin, Blues & Soul, 8 May 1970
THE "PRINCE Albert Hall" (as Dionne so charmingly referred to it) is the most peculiar venue in London for a recording artist to play. ...
The Temptations: Psychedelic Shack (Gordy 947 U.S.) — (Tamla Motown 11147 U.K.)
Review by uncredited writer, Blues & Soul, 8 May 1970
EXCLUSIVE! THE NEW TEMPTATIONS ALBUM IN DEPTH ...
Shuggie Otis: Here Comes Shuggie Otis (CBS)
Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 16 May 1970
IF SHUGGIE Otis is this good midway through his teens, what's he going to mature into? ...
Isaac Hayes: The Isaac Hayes Movement (Enterprise 1010 — U.S.), (Stax 1032 — U.K.)
Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 May 1970
THE ISAAC HAYES MOVEMENT IN DEPTH ...
Inez Foxx Speaks Frankly To B and S
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1970
...and tells the truth about her first solo tour and its problems ...
Isaac Hayes: The Most Important Soul Man Of Today
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1970
JA: How did you first get together with David Porter, in the very beginning? ...
Aretha Franklin: International Hotel, Las Vegas
Live Review by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 20 June 1970
Aretha's great re-birth ...
Booker T & The MGs: McLemore Avenue (Stax)
Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 20 June 1970
NICE IDEA – they play all the tunes from Abbey Road, and imitate the sleeve of that album by picturing the four MGs crossing McLemore ...
The Temptations: Psychedelic Shack (Tamla Motown)
Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 20 June 1970
SHAME, SHAME, shame... Motown's sold its soul for a spoonful of wah-wah guitar. Actually that's not quite true, because you can't totally obliterate the true ...
Freda Payne: 'Band of Gold' (Invictus 20201)
Review by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 25 June 1970
Thumpthumpthumphumpthumpthumpthumpthump. A drummer practices his part in a Holland-Dozier-Holland song. ...
Merry Clayton, The Rolling Stones: Merry Clayton: She Was Born on Christmas Day
Interview by Todd Everett, Rolling Stone, 25 June 1970
LOS ANGELES — There is a world of confusion in the music press — not to mention that among record companies — about the identity ...
Overview by Charlie Gillett, Record Mirror, 27 June 1970
I'M NOT sure why, but I'm more often moved by men singing than by women. Somehow I can identify with a much larger range of ...
The Flirtations: In Pursuit Of That Elusive Hit
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1970
DESPITE THE fact that the beautiful Flirtations virtually live on our doorstep, the British public has inexplicably ignored their many fine records, despite the fact ...
Booker T & The MGs: Booker T. & the M.G.s: McLemore Avenue (Stax Stereo SXATS 1031).
Review by Rob Partridge, Record Mirror, 4 July 1970
A COVER VERSION of the entire Beatles Abbey Road album — complete with Booker T. and the boys in Beatle-like post on the cover — ...
Diana Ross Doesn't Miss Supremes
Interview by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 4 July 1970
DIANA ROSS is a supremely confident person. She has progressed from being a member of just another Tamla Motown group called the Supremes, to making ...
Sam & Dave: The Split — The Story
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 July 1970
AFTER 10 YEARS, Sam and Dave have finally parted company. They both intend to continue in the business, yet neither is certain of exactly which ...
Syreeta, Stevie Wonder: Stevie & Syreeta: A Perfect Marriage Of Musical Ideas
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 July 1970
THIS YEAR, 1970, Motown are celebrating their 10th anniversary. During their ten very successful years, Stevie Wonder has been virtually an ever present. ...
Aretha Franklin: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1970
WHEN THE second house of Aretha's only London date started half an hour late, it did at first appear a bad sign. However, since the ...
Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1970
THE ARRIVAL in Britain of the Queen of Soul was, naturally, a Red Letter day in the 1970 Soul calendar. After all, this was only ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1970
OUTSIDE OF the States, Bobby Womack does not really mean a great deal. On listening to his current American album, My Prescription, this is indeed ...
Clarence Carter, Candi Staton: Clarence Carter & Candi Staton: Clarence and Candi and Rick Hall
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1970
WHEN WE heard the good news of Clarence Carter's impending marriage to his protege, Candi Staton, we felt we had to get in touch with ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1970
IT WAS ONLY because one member of Atlantic's London office staff had particular faith in Otis Leavill's R&B hit from the States, 'I Love You', ...
Aretha Franklin: The Gospel Truth From Aretha
Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 August 1970
WHENEVER ARETHA Franklin comes to town, which is not all that often, I try to see her. Partly because she is a genuine unhyped star ...
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Smokey and Miracles Used To Record Two Songs in Three Hours
Profile and Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 15 August 1970
BOB DYLAN once referred to Smokey Robinson as "America's greatest living poet," a statement which is not quite so bizarre as it might at first ...
The Voices of East Harlem: The Black Pride Of 13 Hip Kids
Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 22 August 1970
BLACK PRIDE, as a kind of more inner-directed companion to Black Power, is rapidly becoming a force in our musical world. "Black Is Beautiful" was ...
Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band: Express Yourself
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1970
THOUGH THE Watts 103rd St. Band are not yet a big act in Britain, they have established themselves as one of the top attractions in ...
Curtis Mayfield, The Impressions: Curtis Mayfield: Curtis; The Impressions: Check Out Your Mind
Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1970
Curtis Mayfield: Curtis (Curtom) ...
Curtis Mayfield, The Impressions: Curtis Mayfield: No Longer An Impression
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1970
AS EXCLUSIVELY reported in Blues & Soul some 4 months ago, Curtis Mayfield has officially left the Impressions after 12 years. When we finally tracked ...
Freda Payne: The Story Behind Band Of Gold
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1970
"THAT'S REALLY funny, because I was only talking to the office yesterday asking if 'Band Of Gold' had made any charts overseas – especially Britain". ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1970
ONE OF the most promising talents to emerge in the States this year has been R. B. Greaves. His multi-million seller, 'Take A Letter Maria', ...
Shuggie Otis: Shuggie's On His Own
Profile by uncredited writer, Hit Parader, September 1970
HIS FATHER is famous, the people he records with are famous, and now he's on his way as well. His name is Shuggie Otis. If ...
Chairmen Of The Board: The Chairmen of the Board
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1970
FOR MANY YEARS, I have been singing the praise of a certain Norman Johnson, who was the lead voice with the Showmen. ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1970
The Isley Brothers, Ronnie, Rudolph and O'Kelly, have spent well over a decade at the top. Their success culminated in the formation of their own ...
Review by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 1 September 1970
Mayfield, Solo, Comes on Strong ...
Interview by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 4 September 1970
THE WATTS 103rd Street Rhythm Rand is probably best remembered for its million seller 'Loveland'. The group's had several records that have done just as ...
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Smokey Can Do All The Tamla Jobs —
Interview by Ann Moses, New Musical Express, 12 September 1970
– but still finds time for his golf! ...
Eric Burdon, War: Eric Burdon & War: Hyde Park, London
Live Review by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 19 September 1970
BURDON AND WAR: BEST LIVE BAND WE'VE EVER SEEN ...
Sly & the Family Stone: Lyceum, London
Live Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 26 September 1970
Sly and Family Stone send Lyceum ravers berserk ...
Johnny Jenkins: Nothing But The Blues
Interview by Miller Francis Jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 28 September 1970
TON TON Macoute! was recorded in Macon, Georgia at Capricorn Records, at an 8 track studio built "in memory of Otis Redding" by Phil Walden, ...
Aretha Franklin: Spirit in the Dark (SD 8265, Atlantic)
Review by Vernon Gibbs, Columbia Daily Spectator, 29 September 1970
ARETHA FRANKLIN, once the undisputed Queen of Soul, still is the Queen though she doesn't sell million sellers the way she used to, and none ...
Review by Vernon Gibbs, Columbia Daily Spectator, 29 September 1970
MOODY BLUES' Question of Balance (Threshold, THS3)I first heard of the Moody Blues early this year about five minutes before I was scheduled to interview them. A ...
Clarence Carter: Am I A Bit Of A Fraud?
Interview by David Hughes, Disc and Music Echo, October 1970
CLARENCE CARTER is beginning to think perhaps he's a bit of a fraud! So many people are rushing out to buy his first British hit ...
Esther Marrow: Newport News Virginia
Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1970
BRITISH SOUL FANS could be for-given for having never heard of Miss Esther Marrow a month or so ago since Miss Marrow has, to date, ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1970
PERCY SLEDGE made a fleeting visit to London recently on his way to Holland to receive an award. Naturally, B&S got together with him and ...
Sly & The Family Stone: Lyceum Ballroom, London
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, October 1970
THE APPEARANCE in London of the much-heralded exponents and instigators of psychedelic soul – only their second ever British date; the first being at the ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1970
GENERALLY, all forms of American music finally break through in Britain. But, to date, there has been one outstanding exception in that the smooth groups ...
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1970
IN THE FIVE short months that have passed since the last time the Tops came to Britain, a great deal has happened to them. ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1970
ALREADY, Holland-Dozier-Holland have introduced us to Freda Payne and the Chairmen of the Board this year via their Invictus label. It is highly likely that ...
The Mar-Keys, The Memphis Horns: The Memphis Horns
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1970
HOW MANY of you have listened to the Memphis records and thought to yourself how great the brass is? Every Sam & Dave record, or ...
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, October 1970
The Voices That Raised The Roof ...
Eric Burdon, War: War: Carrying A Heavy Burdon For Peace
Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 3 October 1970
EIGHTEEN MONTHS ago in Los Angeles, Eric Burdon, six coloured guys, and a Danish harp player declared war on everything detrimental to mankind, except flesh ...
Review by Vernon Gibbs, Columbia Daily Spectator, 5 October 1970
CHILLING. EVERY note sends raw, nervous bundles of uncertainty racing through your head. Reprise, which originally planned this album to capitalize on the festival furore ...
The Last Poets: Thoughts... and Music: The Last Poets
Comment by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 October 1970
AS EDITOR of Blues & Soul, I have always done my personal utmost to concentrate on the musical content of our music and the artists ...
Swamp Dogg: "Whistle Dixie Out Your Ass": Swamp Dogg
Report and Interview by John Morthland, Rolling Stone, 15 October 1970
SAN FRANCISCO – Swamp Dogg had just finished taping a four-song set for a quadraphonic television show, and now everyone was up in the control ...
The Four Tops: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Royston Eldridge, Sounds, 17 October 1970
THE WORST part of growing up is that your teenage favourites tend to lose their magic as the years pass. Thankfully, whatever the Tops have ...
The Voices of East Harlem: Voices of East Harlem: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 17 October 1970
IF THE Albert Hall had been full to its capacity audience of 8,000 on Friday night then the Voices of East Harlem could well have ...
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Do You Really Know What Soul IS?
Comment by Charlie Gillett, Record Mirror, 24 October 1970
I BELIEVE that the sudden rash of hit records by black singers is a flash in the pan, and doesn't mean anything in the long ...
James Brown — Outrageous Extrovert
Profile and Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 24 October 1970
PERHAPS ONLY the outrageous James Brown could get away with a single like 'Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine', which stands at ...
Candi Staton, Clarence Carter: Clarence Carter: 'Patches' An Ideal Album Track
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1970
OWN UP, all those who didn't give Clarence Carter's 'Patches' even an outside chance of making the U.K. charts; let alone actually make the Top ...
David Porter: Gritty Groovy Now He's Got It
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1970
REMEMBER THE big Soul boom of last year when every second record on the pop chart was a revived Soul sound? Naturally, everyone saw this ...
Patti LaBelle: Pattie Labelle and Bluebelles: Fly-IN High
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1970
IT HAS gone virtually unnoticed in the British musical press that Pattie La Belle (or Patty La Belle or Patti La Belle!) and her Blue ...
Roberta Flack: The Real Roberta Flack
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1970
ROBERTA FLACK sings. In fact, as Les McCann so aptly put it in the liner notes of her first album for Atlantic Records, titled First ...
Tom Dowd: The Reluctant Master
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1970
"COLUMBIA DIDN'T record Aretha badly, it was just that what they did was untimely. Aretha Franklin is incapable of making a bad record." ...
The Raelets, Ray Charles: Ray Charles and The Raelets In Concert
Live Review by Dave Godin, Blues & Soul, 6 November 1970
THE ANNUAL concert featuring Ray Charles, his Orchestra and The Raelets is an event which usually draws S.R.O. crowds and this year was no exception. ...
The Jackson 5: Jackson 5 Still Do Chores At Home
Profile and Interview by Ann Moses, New Musical Express, 7 November 1970
OUTSIDE THEIR back window, the lights from the steel mill flashed as the molten metal poured into the waiting moulds, while the incinerators belched out ...
Sly & the Family Stone: Cobo Hall, Detroit
Live Review by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 24 November 1970
YOU HATE to admit that a man who put you off three times and thus openly displayed his lack of interest in you, turned out ...
Chairmen Of The Board, Mary Wells: Motown: Still Making It?
Comment by Charlie Gillett, Record Mirror, 28 November 1970
FOUR years ago, there were a lot of people who made a point of going into their local record shops and asking, can I hear ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1970
DEE DEE Warwick has been turning out good records now for half a decade and she really hasn't received the acclaim she warrants. However, her ...
Funkadelic: Free Your Mind (Westbound 2001)
Review by Vernon Gibbs, Columbia Daily Spectator, 2 December 1970
Funkadelic's Music Whispers of Madness ...
Garnet Mimms: Reflections On Garnet Mimms
Overview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 4 December 1970
NEW YORK SOUL '64 TO '67 ...
Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 12 December 1970
Sly — Master of Rock-Theater ...
Sly & The Family Stone: Sly Stone: An Obnoxious Great Musician
Report and Interview by Mike Jahn, Baltimore Sun, 20 December 1970
SLY STONE mumbles. This is not unique; many big-name rock stars mumble and are incoherent. ...
Interview by Charlie Gillett, Rock's Backpages Audio, 1971
From his youth as an avid record collector and black music fan, up to signing Ray Charles, Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegün tells the whole story.
File format: mp3; in 4 parts, total file sizes: 103.7mb; total interview length: 1h 53' 29" sound quality: ***
Interview by Charlie Gillett, Rock's Backpages Audio, 1971
From scuffling in the clubs and studios of late-'50s New Orleans, to his reinvention as Dr. John in mid-'60s L.A., Mac Rebennack tells the whole story - the gangsters, the drugs, the hard times and the high times. And, of course, the music, always the music.
File format: mp3; file size: 164.7mb, interview length: 2h 51' 32" sound quality: ***
Report and Interview by Philip Norman, The Sunday Times, 1971
JAMES BROWN will die on the stage one night, on the moving staircase of his own feet in front of a thirty-piece band; and then ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1971
CAROL WOODS made her British debut recently on the Ember label with 'If I Let You' and, whilst this particular record has been unable to ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1971
THERE IS always a curious under-current in Soul music in this country for certain artists who don't mean too much in their own country. ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1971
JERRY WEXLER is without doubt, one of the great producers who revolutionised Rhythm and Blues music in the 50's and 60's. ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1971
THERE ARE numerous vocal groups that never make the Top 10 of the National Chart. Most of these acts simply fade into obscurity or carry ...
Eric Burdon, War: Eric Burdon & War: U.S. campaign to "Curb the Clap!"
Interview by Keith Altham, Record Mirror, 2 January 1971
THAT WELL known Transatlantic commuter Eric Victor Burdon was in town last week with the news that a little light is entering the heavy world ...
Booker T & The MGs: Booker T And MG's: Still Very Much Together
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 January 1971
IN THE British music press of late, there have been numerous rumours that Booker T. and the M.G.s have split up or are about to ...
Report by Dave Godin, Blues & Soul, 8 January 1971
BY SOME miracle I managed to catch the train on time at Euston. Anyone who knows me will gladly confirm that I am a terror ...
Nina Simone: Nine Simone: Super Star For 1971
Report by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 20 January 1971
AS HAS been noted by her many fans and soul people generally, there has been a marked silence from the High Priestess of Soul for ...
Johnny Johnson & the Bandwagon: Johnny Johnson Likes To Feel Lively And Gay When He's On Stage
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 23 January 1971
THE ULTIMATE experience for Johnny Johnson right now would be to appear in cabaret at the Talk of the Town. He's an unashamed seeker of ...
Butterscotch Caboose, Rufus Thomas: Memphis
Report by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 23 January 1971
Richard Williams in the Soul capital of America ...
Booker T & The MGs, Steve Cropper: MM in Memphis: Cropper Soul Picker Supreme
Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971
Richard Williams with the first of a series of profiles from America's soul centre... ...
Donny Hathaway: Everything Is Everything (Atco)
Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971
A USEFUL glossary of soul terms occurs during the title track, a warm, friendly if somewhat meaningless piece of philisophy. ...
Eric Burdon, War: Eric Burdon & War: The Black-Man's Burdon (Liberty stereo LDS 84003/4. 69s)
Review by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 30 January 1971
Burdon whips up a storm ...
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: No Place Like England Says Martha
Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971
"I WANT you to tell everybody what a beautiful audience we had tonight. We haven't been over here in four years. We're professional but I ...
Live Review by James Johnson, New Musical Express, 30 January 1971
THE MAGIC Motown formula, an amalgam of glamour, professionalism and good, driving music brought excitement to dark and dreary Finsbury Park last week when the ...
Stevie Wonder: Stevie Freaks Out
Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971
LAST TIME Stevie Wonder was in Britain he promised that his next album would be the new-style him, with a deeper musical and lyrical feeling. ...
Curtis Mayfield: The Bitter End, NYC
Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1971
Curtis Mayfield's Solo Debut ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1971
"'If I Were Your Woman' is the long awaited follow up to 'Grapevine'" says Gladys Knight ...
Jackie Moore: Precious 8 Months Later A Hit
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1971
BRITAIN HAS always been quick to accept a new Soul sister and, if anything, the respect accorded to a female singer in this country far ...
James Brown: The Sugar Shack Club, Boston
Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1971
The Greatest Showman In Soul ...
The Spinners: Motown's Spinners
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1971
AFTER NEARLY ten years of trying, the Spinners finally achieved their break-through in this country via the first Stevie Wonder production of them. The song ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1971
No U.K. release for 2 years but still a great favourite ...
William Bell: Wow…William Bell
Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1971
WHEN IT comes to be rated as the most under-appreciated man in Soul music, one William Bell must rank as hot favourite. ...
Stevie Wonder: Stevie: British Audiences Prevented Me From Giving Up Singing
Interview by James Johnson, New Musical Express, 13 February 1971
"IN THE PAST I've occasionally thought about giving up singing," said Stevie Wonder. "But what happened at Hammersmith last week was something I'll never forget. ...
Live Review by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 13 February 1971
OVER THREE hundred fans queued for their money back at Brighton's mammoth Big Apple on Saturday night when promoter Brian Mason announced that War would ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Deutches Museum Hall, Munich
Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 February 1971
TO WITNESS the Ike & Tina Turner Revue is an experience in itself but, to make certain that a revue of the show got into ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Workin' Together #1
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 February 1971
Part One ...
Curtis Mayfield: Harding Theater, San Francisco CA
Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 22 February 1971
Curtis Mayfield Warms The Harding Theater ...
Bobby Byrd, James Brown: Bobby Byrd
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1971
IF YOU'VE ever wondered who the second voice is on James Brown's 'Sex Machine', we can put your mind at rest for it is none ...
Chairmen Of The Board: Chairman of the Board: In Session (Invictus)
Review by Dave Marsh, Creem, March 1971
THIS IS REPUTEDLY a live set, recorded in Harlem at the Apollo but I doubt that. But regardless of that little caveat emptor, the Chairmen ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Workin' Together (Liberty)
Review by Colman Andrews, Phonograph Record, March 1971
TINA TURNER ought to be ashamed of her fine self, screaming and shouting and carrying on the way she does. If she isn't the sexiest ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1971
WITH JOE Simon's signature, Spring Records have gained their first real entry into the super-star league. Joe's first for the label, 'Your Time To Cry', ...
Review by Dave Marsh, Creem, March 1971
SAM COOKE HAS always seemed, to me at least, the most underrated (or simply ignored – you don't really rate these people) of all the ...
Vicki Anderson: Ready To Quit Unless Something Big Comes Along
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1971
VICKI ANDERSON made a lot of friends in this country with her part in the James Brown Revue. On record, she is best known for ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Workin' Together #2
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 March 1971
Part Two: The Ike Turner Story ...
James Brown: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 19 March 1971
IF ARETHA is the Queen of Soul and Otis was the King of Soul, James Brown must qualify as the Super-King of Funk! On the ...
The Showstoppers: Second Time Around For The Showstoppers
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 19 March 1971
ONE-HIT WONDERS are far from being an unusual phenomena on the pop scene. Surprisingly, considering the generally higher level of artistic merit required, they are ...
James Brown the Cassius Clay of Music
Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 20 March 1971
JAMES BROWN — broad and stocky — America's Soul Brother Supreme, with a warm smile etched deep into his granite face — perhaps the very ...
James Brown: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 20 March 1971
"I WANNA know... do I you feel alllllrrriiiigggght?" "Yeaaaaahhhh," roared the audience in reply. "Did yaa bring your sex machine with you?" The affirmative cry ...
James Brown: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 20 March 1971
The clockwork king of soul? ...
James Brown: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 20 March 1971
SOUL POWER TO THE PEOPLE... AND HOW! ...
James Brown: The Cassius Clay of Music
Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 20 March 1971
JAMES BROWN — broad and stocky — America's Soul Brother Supreme, with a warm smile etched deep into his granite face — perhaps the very ...
Donny Hathaway: Donny Hathaway
Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1971
WITH THE natural progression of our music, for the first time we are able to claim musical genius within Soul Music. ...
Eddie Kendricks, The Temptations: Eddie Kendricks: A Temptation No More
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1971
A MOTOWN News Release, dated March 19, 1971, confirmed something that we had been hearing about for several weeks – namely that Eddie Kendricks, lead ...
Funkadelic, George Clinton: Funkadelic
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1971
IT'S RARE that a tour by an American R&B group can cause controversy that makes headlines in the more general pop music papers. But that's ...
Margie Joseph Makes A Big New Impression
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1971
FOR THOSE of you who haven't noticed, the fastest rising album on the American chart over the last month or so belongs to one Margie ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1971
WHEN IT comes to female Soul singers, you've got to look south of the Mason-Dixon line. It's in the South that you'll find the girls ...
Freda Payne: The Heart and Soul of Freda Payne
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1971
WITHOUT A DOUBT, the most exciting and worthwhile 'new' discovery of 1970 was Freda Payne. Exciting because she is just that; worthwhile because she will ...
Funkadelic: Lyceum Ban Funkadelic
Report by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 3 April 1971
FUNKADELIC, THE American group banned by London's Royal Albert Hall, have now been banned from the Strand Lyceum. Promoter John Sullivan — offered Funkadelic by ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Ike and Tina Turner: Carnegie Hall, New York NY
Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 4 April 1971
The Turners Shift To a New Category Called Porno Soul ...
Hot Chocolate's Errol Brown owns up... The Lady Is A Nympho!
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 10 April 1971
"NO MESSIN' about," chuckled Errol Brown, that shiny-domed Hot Chocolateer who co-wrote 'You Could've Been A Lady' — "it's a song all about a nymphomaniac." ...
Baby Huey: The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend
Review by Lenny Kaye, Rolling Stone, 15 April 1971
BABY HUEY never made it; not really. At his peak, when he was the stellar attraction of a rhythm and blues circuit that stretched from ...
The Raelets: The Stars Behind The Stars: The Raelets
Profile by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 April 1971
THE ART of vocal back up work – the vocal accompaniment which so often complements and assists the names out front to obtain the exact ...
Freda Payne: After a massive worldwide hit... Freda's looking for love!
Interview by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 17 April 1971
FREDA PAYNE looks all set to repeat her success of last year with her new record. Her ambitions, however, are in another direction... ...
James Brown: Superbad (Polydor 2310 089)
Review by Royston Eldridge, Sounds, 17 April 1971
HAVING ADMITTED that James Brown is the premier entertainer in soul after seeing him in concert at the Albert Hall, I thought that perhaps I ...
Isaac Hayes: Isaac Hayes... To Be Continued
Review by Loraine Alterman, The New York Times, 18 April 1971
The 'Black Moses' Should Move Ahead ...
Report and Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Columbia Daily Spectator, 22 April 1971
WE'RE SITTING there rapping just before camera time. This evening James Brown is taping the Johnny Carson Show and he is in a good mood, having just ...
The Sweet Inspirations: The Sweet Soul Of The Sweet Inspirations
Profile by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 April 1971
IN THE first part of this short series, we covered the role of The Raelets. In this article, the work of the most important group ...
Aretha Franklin: Aretha's Thank You To B&S Readers
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1971
ANOTHER VISIT PLANNED FOR THE END OF THE YEAR ...
Lee Dorsey: Yes We Can (Polydor)
Review by Charlie Gillett, Cream, May 1971
LEE DORSEY's one of the easiest singers to underestimate: he seems to be completely unassuming, apparently equally prepared to sing good blues like 'Get Out ...
Funkadelic, Parliament: Parliament/Funkadelic: A Parliafunkadelicment Thang
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1971
RARELY DOES an R&B act cause any controversy or speculation prior to making a British tour. But the one exception in recent years is Funkadelic, ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1971
"YOU'RE JOKING. It's just like a dream. God, it must have been five...no, six years ago that I made that record." Those were the first ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1971
YOU HAVE probably noticed a record by a group called Fuzz, which has been on the American Top 100 now for some three months or ...
Wilson Pickett: In Philadelphia (Atlantic) and If You Need Me (Joy)
Review by Charlie Gillett, Cream, May 1971
IT SEEMS AS if Wilson Pickett's been the number two soul singer ever since the term was coined. Ray Charles, James Brown, Otis Redding, and ...
Funkadelic: It's Just To Get People's Attention
Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 May 1971
EVER since Keith Emerson set fire to an American flag on the stage of London's Royal Albert Hall, the banning of groups from that particular ...
Nina Simone: Carnegie Hall, New York NY
Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 11 May 1971
Throng Welcomes Nina Simone, Back After Long Absence ...
Brook Benton: Either You Got It Or You Don't Got It
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 May 1971
ONE OF the most pleasing successes of 1970 was Brook Benton with what to me was probably the most soulful record of that year, 'Rainy ...
Ike & Tina Turner: The Stars Behind The Stars: Part Three — The Ikettes and Others!
Overview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 14 May 1971
IN THE last part of this series about vocal back-up girls, we'll deal with the numerous ladies who don't belong to any particular group plus ...
Interview by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 15 May 1971
IT'S NOT been all peaches and cream for Freda Payne since she had a worldwide hit with 'Band Of Gold'. As she says: "Until recently ...
Funkadelic: The Speakeasy/The Roundhouse, London
Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 May 1971
Fun with Funkadelic ...
The Dixie Flyers, Rita Coolidge: The Dixie Flyers
Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 15 May 1971
THEY'VE BEEN called the best rhythm section in the States — don't ask me who called them that, but I figure the guy who did ...
Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 May 1971
Chris Welch talks to a strangely unresponsive Buddy Miles. ...
Buddy Miles: Speakeasy, London
Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 May 1971
BUDDY MILES at London's Speakeasy. All eyes, ears and cheers are on the sweating, grimacing figure stomping his sticks. ...
Nina Simone: Carnegie Hall, New York NY
Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 22 May 1971
Nina the leader ...
Donny Hathaway, Roberta Flack: Roberta Flack: Carnegie Hall, New York NY
Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 22 May 1971
I KNOW I'VE said it all before, but here we go again: Roberta Flack's concert at Carnegie Hall was so enjoyable. Visually, when she starts ...
Baby Washington, The Intruders, Wilson Pickett: Wilson Pickett: Apollo Theatre, New York NY
Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 22 May 1971
EX-TEMPTATIONS man, Eddie Kendricks, now solo, was due to open and debut his act at The Apollo but at the eleventh hour he cancelled out saying "the ...
The Chambers Brothers: New Generation
Review by Ben Edmonds, Rolling Stone, 27 May 1971
AT THE OUTSET, the Chambers Brothers were a warmly exciting gospel act (catalogued on a series of fine albums released by Vault), but they apparently ...
The Jackson 5: Jackson 5: Jacksons Give Teenyblacks Hope
Report by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 29 May 1971
FROM THIS SIDE of the Atlantic it may seem somewhat difficult to appreciate the Jackson-mania — and there is no other word for it — ...
The Elgins: Down Tools, Folks, It's A Lucky Strike
Report and Interview by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 29 May 1971
The dispirited Elgins quit in 1967 and took up humdrum jobs in industrial Detroit. And then it all happened... ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Ike and Tina Turner: Olympia, Paris
Live Review by Geoffrey Cannon, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 1971
Author's note, 2018. The piece below describes the Ike and Tina Turner concert at the Olympia, Paris, in May 1971. I prefer Ike and Tina ...
Aretha Franklin at Fillmore West
Live Review by Jonh Ingham, Creem, June 1971
BILL GRAHAM'S Fillmore West. At one end is a fairly large stage, the sides littered with sound equipment. Behind it hangs the light show scrim. ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1971
ALTHOUGH ARTHUR Conley is acknowledged as being one of the finest young entertainers on today's Soul scene, it's quite a while since his last really ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1971
SIX MONTHS ago, we featured a young lady in our magazine who had just made her British debut on the recording scene; her name was ...
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1971
HAVING HAD three consecutive chart records in this country and with 'Pay To The Piper' gradually edging its way into the Top 30, the Chairmen ...
Garnet Mimms: In Search Of A Record Outlet
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1971
SOME FOUR years ago, Garnet Mimms was just about the hottest R&B entertainer in the States. Then his contract with United Artists Records expired and ...
The Dixie Flyers: The Guys Behind The Hits
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1971
THE FIRST real opportunity that R&B fans had to know of Dixie Flyers collectively was when they turned up on Aretha's Spirit In The Dark/Don't ...
Funkadelic: When The Circus Hit Town
Interview by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 5 June 1971
FUNKADELIC man George Clinton casually made the understatement of the year. There they were, the five front men of the year's most outrageous band, dressed ...
Tami Lynn: Tami Worked Hard For Overnight Success!
Profile and Interview by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 5 June 1971
"IT'S LIKE a Cinderella or Alice in Wonderland story. Just when you think it's all over it starts to happen." ...
Marvin Gaye: A Study of Marvin Gaye's Liberation
Interview by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 12 June 1971
MARVIN GAYE is a mystery man. Most people know him as the singer who made the biggest-selling Motown record ever – 'I Heard It Through ...
Report and Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 12 June 1971
In true Mickey Spillane style, Roy Carr investigates the case of the six-year-old hit. ...
Labelle, Laura Nyro: And Laura Nyro Captivates, Too!
Report by Nancy Lewis, New Musical Express, 19 June 1971
says Nancy Lewis from New York ...
Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 19 June 1971
And ROY (Humphrey) CARR is very glad about it! ...
The Dave Godin Column: Northern Soul
Report by Dave Godin, Blues & Soul, 25 June 1971
THE CALL of the North was getting too strong to resist any longer, and I just had to take some time out and make another ...
Donny Hathaway: The Word Is Out On Donny Hathaway
Profile by Jerry Wexler, Fusion (advertisement), 25 June 1971
A FEW WEEKS ago, the superb composer-singer Carole King picked up eight copies of Donny's first LP (Everything Is Everything, produced by himself) and distributed ...
Curtis Mayfield: The Gentle Genius
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1971
FEW – IF ANY – people have contributed as much to the progression of what is generally regarded as Soul music as has Curtis Mayfield, ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1971
WITH THE initial success of King Floyd's 'Groove Me', Soul music spotlighted the relatively small town of Jackson, Mississippi, and the record's producer, Wardell Quezergue. ...
Bettye LaVette, Esther Phillips: Lelan Rogers
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1971
LELAN ROGERS first sprang to prominence as the man who brought national success to Esther Phillips with 'Release Me'. In the decade that has passed, ...
Profile and Interview by uncredited writer, Hit Parader, July 1971
There's a new, young breed of black singers coming up — a breed that is aware of the roots but doesn't get into the funky-jive-fingerpop-boogaloo ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1971
"NASSAU'S GONE funky; Nassaus's gone Soul" is how the Beginning Of The End bounce into the history-making hit, 'Funky Nassau'. History? This is the best ...
Curtis Mayfield, The Fascinations: The Fascinations
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1971
IT'S ONE of the strange things about the music world when a record that is five years old and is making its third bid for ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 July 1971
FREQUENTLY, we receive letters from readers' asking us to write about the people behind the scenes in our music. For example, the features we did ...
Curtis Mayfield: The Speakeasy, London
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 9 July 1971
THE ALL-too-brief, spur-of-the-moment appearance of Curtis Mayfield at London's Speakeasy club must surely rank as a historic event in the history of soul music in ...
The Four Tops, The Supremes: Supremes and Tops aren't Puppets of Motown
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 17 July 1971
NME's Alan Smith on the phone to Supreme Jean Terrell in Los Angeles. ...
Bill Withers: Bitter End, New York NYC
Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 30 July 1971
Bill Withers Plays In Soul-Folk Style ...
Stevie Wonder: Where I'm Coming From (Tamla Motown STML 11183)
Review by Royston Eldridge, Sounds, 31 July 1971
MOTOWN HAS always had a readily identifiable sound whether the artist be David Ruffin or the Four Tops. Until now, that is. ...
Obituary by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1971
CURTIS OUSELEY – known the world over as King Curtis – was fatally wounded and died on Friday, August 13 only a few yards away ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1971
AFTER less than a year apart, Sam Moore and Dave Prater – alias Sam & Dave, the Dynamic Duo – are back together. The decision ...
Donny Hathaway: Donny Hathaway (Atco)
Review by Loraine Alterman, The New York Times, 1 August 1971
EVER SINCE Otis Redding's tragic death in 1967, record companies have been searching for the great black hope to fill his shoes. Whenever a new ...
Clarence Carter: Slippin' Away With Clarence Carter
Interview by Joel Selvin, Rolling Stone, 5 August 1971
SAN FRANCISCO – Clarence Carter leaves his Holiday Inn room on the arm of his road manager, who looks familiar. It's Rodgers Redding, and it's ...
The Jackson 5: In New York It's Jackson Power: Jackson 5: Madison Square Garden, New York
Live Review by uncredited writer, New Musical Express, 14 August 1971
THE Jackson Five, school exams behind them, are now on tour in America, storming their way round and playing to packed audiences. ...
Obituary by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 21 August 1971
KING CURTIS, whose wailing tenor sax was heard on many hit records over the past decade, was stabbed to death on New York's West Side ...
Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 23 August 1971
An Exciting Show by the Jackson 5 ...
Donny Hathaway, Ian Matthews: Troubadour, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 26 August 1971
THE TROUBADOUR this week is the scene of one of those unfortunate billings, a pairing whose promise as one of the club's most attractive one-two ...
Dionne Warwicke: Is She The Same Girl?
Comment by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 27 August 1971
THE RELEASE of four Dionne Warwicke albums by Decca – Soulful, Motion Picture Hits, Promises Promises and Very Dionne has sparked off some renewed interest ...
Tami Lynn: Tam Lynn's Debut Album
Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 27 August 1971
IT IS very difficult to analyse a debut album from any artist, since an artist's potential is often judged on their first album as opposed ...
The Chi-Lites Are Deep But Not Too Deep
Profile and Interview by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 28 August 1971
WE'RE ALL familiar with the Detroit "sound." Well it seems the next big American industrial city to become famous for its music will be Chicago. ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1971
THE LAST time I talked to Al Green, he was riding high with his adaptation of the Temptations' 'I Can't Get Next To You'. Now, ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1971
IT IS, indeed, very rare for an American artist to make a short visit to this country and immediately score a hit single in the ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1971
CONSIDERING THAT Kool & The Gang have only ever had one British release they have an incredible following. That release – well over a year ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1971
IF YOUR'E looking for an ultra-funky record, then Simtec & Wylie's 'Gotta Get Get Over The Hump' is perfect for you. The record is currently ...
Sonny Til & the Orioles: Sonny Til and the Orioles: Sonny Til and the Orioles (RCA)
Review by Greg Shaw, Phonograph Record, September 1971
BACK IN THE FIFTIES there was something called The New York Sound. It was classed as R&B, but unlike the tough, electrified R&B of Ike ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1971
IT'S ALMOST five years to the day since I first met Clarence Burke Sr., better known the world over as Papa Stairstep. At the time, ...
Ike & Tina Turner: What You Hear is What You Get (United Artists)
Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 18 September 1971
Torrid Tina ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1971
WITHIN EVERY Invictus and Hot Wax group there is a winner. General Johnson showed up with the Chairmen, Steve Mancha turned up singing lead for ...
Booker T & The MGs: Booker T and M.G.'s
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1971
DONALD 'DUCK' Dunn, best known in R&B circles for his invaluable contribution to our music via Booker T. & The M.G.'s, was recently in London ...
Carla Thomas: The Memphis Queen
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1971
RIGHTLY, CARLA Thomas is the Memphis Queen. ...
David Ruffin, The Temptations: David Ruffin
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1971
THE TEMPTATIONS without David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams! Strange, but true – that is the sad situation as of today. There was enough ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1971
IF EVER there was a record destined to become an in-demand oldie, it is the Detroit Emeralds' 'Do Me Right', which somehow managed to avoid ...
Diana Ross, The Jackson 5: Diana Ross
Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, October 1971
MOTOWN'S MUCH-heralded first independent production centred on Diana Ross, proved to be all it was cracked out to be – and more! Screened on B.B.C. ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1971
IN ALL honesty, it was strange to see Fred Cash and Sam Gooden flanking a new "leader" and central figure of The Impressions. Sadly, the ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1971
MABLE JOHN, one of the most charming people in the whole record industry, bounded into London once more as leading lady with the Ray Charles ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1971
THERE ARE a handful of American artists who don't need a current record to provide them with sufficient work in this country. Frequently, this is ...
Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, King Curtis: Soul Kaleidoscope: Aretha at the Fillmore
Special Feature by Michael Lydon, Ramparts, October 1971
IT WAS A night of nights. Even Tower of Power was okay, and then King Curtis and his Kingpins and the Memphis Horns and Billy ...
Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1971
THE DEACON'S Rap, Sam and Fred's superb harmonics, Leroys faultless lead, all combined with Curtis' lyrics gave us what must have been the greatest show ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1971
DESPITE HAVING been one of Soul's leading acts for close on five years now, The Intruders have yet to make any serious impression on the ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1971
THE MOST successful of all of this year's re-issues has undoubtedly been The Tams' 'Hey Girl Don't Bother Me', which, prior to being re-released on ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1971
TROY KEYES had a very successful single in 1967, 'Love Explosions', and has been conspicuous by his absence ever since. "I spent a year with ...
The Coasters: Lecherous, Indolent, Stupid…and Comical: The Coasters
Retrospective by Bill Millar, Record Mirror, 2 October 1971
THERE IS A passage in the Coasters' 'Sweet Georgia Brown' where the lead baritone flies off on the immortal line "she gotta walk that make ...
Al Green, The Bill Black Combo: Al Green: Now Green Smashes The Big Memphis Monopoly
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 16 October 1971
MEMPHIS HAS long been accepted as capital city of rock 'n' soul, but to the casual fan this means just Elvis on the rock side ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1971
ALREADY BEING tipped as a potential giant R&B record in this country is Ann Peebles version of 'Slipped, Tripped And Fell In Love'. The only ...
Review by Greg Shaw, Phonograph Record, November 1971
CLYDE MCPHATTER is one of the best singers to come out of the early 50s vocal group tradition. After a stint with Billy Ward and ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1971
AFTER SIXTEEN years of trying hard, Freddie North has broken through into the proverbial good time – and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1971
FUGI Is a name that will mean absolutely nothing to virtually every reader of B&S. So let's start by telling you that Fugi – pronounced ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1971
IT'S QUITE a few months now since Jimmy Ruffin was last in the British charts following a run of about one year when his name ...
Johnny Otis: Doin' That Hand Jive With His Feet
Interview by John Morthland, Creem, November 1971
When the Johnny Otis Show appears on stage, it brings years and years of rhythm and blues history with it. ...
The Chi-Lites: For God's Sake Give More Power To The People (Brunswick BL 754170)
Review by John Morthland, Creem, November 1971
'(FOR GOD'S SAKE) Give More Power to the People' is one of my favorite singles so far this year. After the opening Moog blast comes ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1971
IN THE States, there is as much confusion over The Platters as there has been over The Drifters with numerous groups touring the country using ...
The Temptations: Introducing Damon Harris and Richard Street
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1971
MUCH HAS been written in B&S lately about the departure of Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams from the Temptations and, in all fairness, a lot ...
William Bell: The Real William Bell
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1971
AFTER MANY years of having a fake William Bell on hand, the real McCoy finally arrived in Britain recently in the form of a suave, ...
Aretha Franklin: Madison Square Garden, New York NY
Live Review by Ian Dove, Billboard, 6 November 1971
IT WAS THE usual Aretha Franklin — which means a whole audience turned on by as impressive a display of controlled, emotional soul singing to ...
James Brown: Hot Pants (Polydor 2425086 £2.15p)
Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 6 November 1971
IF YOUR big turn on is leapin' n' boogalooin' about in stuffy, sweatin' coalbunker discotheques while having your ears and mind blown by a thundering ...
Ann Peebles: Will Princess Ann Be Queen
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 13 November 1971
ON THE distaff side, soul music has produced a long run of superb girl singers and these soul sisters have found it far easier to ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 19 November 1971
WITHOUT DOUBT, Valerie Simpson is one of the most important talents to emerge this year. Her debut album, Exposed made some considerable impression on both ...
Isaac Hayes: Good Hayes music, but a flat film!
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 27 November 1971
"JUST ONE moment please. Mr Hayes will be right with you," said the voice at the other end of the transatlantic phone. Fifty minutes later ...
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Beat Instrumental, December 1971
WITH AL Green's 'Tired Of Being Alone' Decca's subsidiary London label has notched its first chart entry in more than 18 months. It's quite a ...
Aretha Franklin: Greatest Hits – on Atlantic and Columbia
Review by Pete Wingfield, Cream, December 1971
ON ATLANTIC: Greatest Hits illustrates the power that fourteen condensed, concise, definitive musical statements can exert – particularly in the soul/R&B field, totally geared until ...
Denise LaSalle: Denise La Salle
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1971
THE LAST twelve months have been extremely successful for new female Soul artistes. The most recent success belongs to Chicago's Denise La Salle, whose 'Trapped ...
Review by Pete Wingfield, Cream, December 1971
THIS DOUBLE ALBUM set of Etta James' hits from Chess seems uncharacteristically enlightened, despite a commercially suicidal price-tag (£3.99, enough to make even ardent soul ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1971
RCA RECORDS has never had a good reputation as an R&B label. However, quietly they have recently built up quite a roster of good R&B ...
Merry Clayton, Danny Cox: Troubadour, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 2 December 1971
Merry Clayton Tops Lineup at Troubadour ...
The Supremes: Soulfully Supreme
Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 3 December 1971
2008 introduction: The Supremes were in the UK for their first post-Diana Ross tour with Jean Terrell as the group's new lead singer and Motown ...
Curtis Mayfield, The Impressions: Curtis Mayfield: Soul Music's Elusive Dynamo
Interview by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 4 December 1971
CURTIS MAYFIELD is a hard man to catch these days. If he's not locked away in a studio all night recording himself, the Impressions, or ...
Billy Preston: Troubadour, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 9 December 1971
Billy Preston Show Opens at Troubadour ...
Al Green: You're Never Alone With Al
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 11 December 1971
THERE WAS no chance of Al Green getting tired of being alone when Decca Records welcomed him to Britain with a turkey and Christmas pud ...
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 11 December 1971
IF ANY one man personifies the solid beat of Memphis soul then surely it's Willie Mitchell. Not only has he turned out 14 hit albums ...
Doris Troy: This Little Lady Is Miss Troy
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, West Indian World, 17 December 1971
Doris Troy is one helluva woman. Almost, she's the ultimate soul sister, big, bouncing, warm-hearted, sincere and certainly talented. ...
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 17 December 1971
DUE TO lack of publicity, the International Children's Aid Charity concert on Tuesday November 30 at the Royal Albert Hall was not as well attended ...
Al Green: Upstairs at Ronnie Scott's, London
Live Review by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 18 December 1971
DESPITE the counter-attraction of the Buddy Rich big-band downstairs there was a packed house for Al Green "Upstairs" at London's Ronnie Scott's including many big ...
B.B. King, Gladys Knight, Roberta Flack, Stevie Wonder: Soul on Fire
Report by Philip Norman, The Sunday Times Magazine, 1972
STEVIE WONDER crosses the hotel lobby, resting on the elbows of two other people. That he is blind, has been blind from birth, is nonetheless ...
Billy Preston: The Troubadour, Los Angeles
Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Phonograph Record, January 1972
IT'S NOT EASY to be uncompromisingly religious in a den of drugs, drink and iniquity like the Troubadour, but Billy Preston has both the Power ...
Bobby Womack: Communication (United Artists)
Review by Colman Andrews, Phonograph Record, January 1972
I'VE MET Bobby Womack a couple of times, more or less interviewed him, written things about him, etc. He's so strong and sure that he ...
Brenda & The Tabulations: Brenda and The Tabulations
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1972
OVER THE past five years, Brenda & The Tabulations have been Philadelphia's most consistently successful act. Since the first time that she showed up on ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1972
1971 HAS been a remarkable year for group's names and none has been more imaginative than Chocolate Syrup, five young men who are currently enjoying ...
Honey & The Bees: Honey and The Bees
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1972
HONEY and the Bees are four beautiful young ladies from Philadelphia who have just come off their biggest hit to date. 'It's Gonna Take A ...
Isaac Hayes and The Platinum Pirates
Report by Roger St. Pierre, Record Mirror, January 1972
BOOTLEG RECORDS have become a familiar part of the music scene in the past few years but a far more serious problem for record companies ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1972
MILLIE JACKSON has had one of the most meaningful songs of 1971 in her current hit, 'A Child Of God (It's hard To Believe)'. Not ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1972
PEOPLE'S CHOICE 'I Likes To Do It' has been one of the most consistent selling Mojo singles to date – it has never achieved the ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1972
BRITAIN HAS always been a happy hunting ground for Rufus Thomas, right back to his first tour in 1967, not so long after notching up ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1972
IF I HAD to select the most satisfying thing to me personally of 1972 (within the realms of our music!), I would be more than ...
Rufus Thomas: Rufus and The Funky Penguin
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 1 January 1972
RUFUS THOMAS was half-way through a busy tour the last time we met. This time round I caught up with him just two days before ...
Dionne Warwick: "...The Holy Ghost, Of Course."
Overview by Nick Tosches, Fusion, 7 January 1972
ONCE THERE was a little pickaninny girl from East Orange, N.J. She used to play organ and sing in the choir at the church of ...
Doris Troy, The Roy Young Band: Doris Troy, Roy Young Band: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 7 January 1972
Mother Soul at the Rainbow ...
Bloodstone: Diggin' Bloodstone
Interview by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 8 January 1972
IF THE reaction to Bloodstone's first London appearance – at the Rainbow Theatre on a recent Soul concert – is anything to go by, then ...
Sly & The Family Stone: There's A Riot Goin' On (Epic)
Review by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 8 January 1972
SYLVESTER STEWART and Sly Stone (OK so you know they're one and the same but the sleeve credits insist this album was written, arranged and ...
The Chi-Lites Step Out Of The Shadows
Profile and Interview by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 8 January 1972
THANK heaven for the Chi-Lites. This four-man Chicago-based outfit has brought back to soul music two elements missing from it for too long – good ...
Bloodstone: The Bloodstone Sound Spectrum
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 15 January 1972
THERE'S BEEN a growing flood of black American artists to these shores over the past few years, and more and more of them have decided ...
Labelle, Laura Nyro: Laura Nyro and Labelle: Gonna Take a Miracle (Columbia)
Review by Lenny Kaye, Rolling Stone, 20 January 1972
THIS ALBUM comes at the nicest time within Laura Nyro's career, for like most of the other performers that have cut a swath through pop ...
Labelle: Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by John Mendelssohn, Los Angeles Times, 21 January 1972
THE IDEA of wedding an English or other foreign fan's perspective on the idiom with a fading American rhythm-and-blues group looks fine on paper, and ...
Stevie Wonder: Audiences Will Accept New Things From Me, Says Stevie Wonder
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 22 January 1972
MUSICAL BARRIERS are tumbling down – that's the reckoning of Stevie Wonder, currently on another 20-date European tour. "Audiences used to have a pre-conception of ...
Billy Preston: I Wrote A Simple Song (AM AMLH 63507).
Review by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 22 January 1972
WARMTH ...
Isaac Hayes: Black Moses (Stax Super 2628 004)
Review by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 22 January 1972
HAYES HAS got to the stage now where "genius" is a word liberally applied to just about everything he does and, certainly, he has reached ...
Stevie Wonder: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Danny Holloway, New Musical Express, 22 January 1972
STEVIE WONDER is the first artist to make Motown work for him rather than vice-versa. He has full control over his music and has acquired ...
Stevie Wonder: Stevie's Moog Music...
Profile and Interview by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 22 January 1972
"I never did realise it would take me so long to lose that 'Little' Stevie Wonder tag. There are times when I wish I'd only ...
Billy Preston: Billy's Feelin' Real Good
Interview by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 29 January 1972
A BROOKLYN friend of mine who had this uncanny knack of being able to spot a rising star at 100 yards said to me a ...
Bloodstone, Curtis Mayfield: Curtis Mayfield, Bloodstone: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 29 January 1972
CURTIS LOSES BUT WINS ...
Bloodstone, Curtis Mayfield: Curtis Mayfield, Bloodstone: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 29 January 1972
WITH THE Curtis Mayfield/Bloodstone show, the Rainbow Theatre proved conclusively that the Albert Hall has lost its place as the capital city of bad acoustics. ...
Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 29 January 1972
SHE USED to be Dionne Warwick, and before that Dionne Warrick. The extra letter is important. The rules of numerology dictate it. Just as it ...
Donnie Elbert: The Mystery Of The Vanishing Chart Star
Report by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 29 January 1972
Wanted: DONNIE ELBERT to contact numerous, and despairing record company executives ...
Isaac Hayes: Black Moses (Stax — 2 LPs)
Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 29 January 1972
Hayes: Doggone Good ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1972
HERE'S AN unbelievable story – would you believe that Donnie Elbert's 'Where Did Our Love Go' is three years old, was recorded in London and ...
Johnny Otis, The Platters, Jackie Wilson: Johnny Otis, Platters, Jackie Wilson Reissue Albums
Review by Bob Fisher, Cream, February 1972
Johnny Otis: Pioneers of Rock: Vol. 2The Platters: The Best of the PlattersJackie Wilson: Greatest Hits ...
Maceo Parker and All The Kings Men
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1972
MACEO & All The King's Men, currently on the U.K. Singles chart with 'Got To Getcha' and 'Thank You', didn't come into existance until March ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1972
CONTINUING THE success story of former Golden World/Ric Tic artists are The Dramatics, who were recently awarded their first Gold Disc for million-plus sales on ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1972
THE LAST Poets have enjoyed success in the States via two albums, The Last Poets and This Is Madness, both on the Douglas label. However, ...
O'Jays: The O'Jays: Together For More Than A Decade
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1972
OF ALL the so-called lesser known American vocal groups, the O'Jays are one of the most remarkable. Not only have they been together for well ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1972
THE UNIFICS main claim to fame in this country is via their in-demand oldie, 'Court Of Love', a record that sold close on a million ...
Billy Preston: Working The Way God Planned It!
Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 4 February 1972
BILLY PRESTON has been here all the time, yet he's only just arrived; and after many years of building his way up the bumpy road ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 February 1972
SINCE EMERGING as an important solo entertainer, Curtis Mayfield has also emerged as the president of a successful record company, due mainly to his basic ...
The Chi-Lites: Eugene Record: Today's Genius
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 February 1972
IT WAS in February 1970 that my eyes were first really opened to the Chi-Lites. Until then. I had only been able to hear a ...
Stevie Wonder: A Little Too Far Out?
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 4 February 1972
ALL IN ALL, 1971 was not a big year for Stevie Wonder in this country, and his appearances in the chart were, in fact, few ...
Curtis Mayfield In The Talk-In
Interview by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 5 February 1972
WHEN YOU first used strings on your early work with the Impressions it was something of a breakthrough in soul music. Did you find any ...
Edwin Starr: Involved (Tamla Motown)
Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 5 February 1972
THIS ALBUM'S title is Edwin Starr — Involved, but somehow it comes across as being a token gesture. Black white soul at its most blatant ...
Isaac Hayes: Black Moses (Stax)
Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 5 February 1972
HAYES SPREADS IT THIN ...
The Chi-Lites: Roy Carr in Harlem sees the Chi-Lites
Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 5 February 1972
IT HAS TAKEN the Chi-Lites ten years to become an overnight success. A decade of dues playing on the Chitlin' circuit which helped justify their ...
Stevie Wonder, Bags Of Chips And Clapton
Report and Interview by Fred Dellar, New Musical Express, 17 February 1972
NME calls in at all-night recording session ...
Dionne Warwicke: elegance, simplicity and Maplewood, N.J.
Profile and Interview by Lillian Roxon, New York Sunday News, 20 February 1972
THE COFFEE table is marble and kidney shaped with little gilt legs. The bar is a wooden cylinder with a vase of pink feather flowers ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1972
WHEN ATLANTIC recommences battle in this country following the switch from Polydor to Kinney's distribution, one of the records that will receive maximum support is ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1972
AS EXCLUSIVELY reported in B&S, the Chairmen Of The Board are back working but as a trio. ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1972
IT'S FUNNY the way that you run into people by surprise. On planning a quick interview with Curtis Mayfield, I discovered that his road manager ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1972
DESPITE spending a week or so in this country, it is doubtful whether many British citizens had an opportunity to see Hot Wax' successful trio, ...
James Brown: Talking Loud And Saying Something
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1972
JAMES BROWN is renowned for being a leader of his people and never more so than right now. During his long and successful career, he ...
Laura Lee: Women's Love Rights (Hot Wax)
Review by Dave Marsh, Creem, March 1972
LAURA MAY claim she's "startin' a new movement today" but to tell you the truth she's just following in the Holland Dozier Holland tradition of ...
The Persuasions: Streetcorner Music
Profile by Richard Cromelin, Phonograph Record, March 1972
THE MUSIC-BUYING public (which has something – how much or how little is a matter of opinion – to do with determining the trends) can ...
Jackie Moore, Wilson Pickett: Wilson Pickett, Jackie Moore: Copacabana, NYC
Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1972
CAN YOU imagine seeing Wilson Pickett at the Talk of the Town in London, complete with middle-aged folks having a night out, coach parties from ...
The Stylistics: Four Releases, Four Hits!
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 March 1972
FOR SO LONG, the Delfonics were acclaimed as the leading exponents of the Philadelphia Sound and that was the way it stayed until only a ...
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 4 March 1972
TOMMY HUNT is a name you'll be hearing a lot of if the best laid plans of the entertainment business don't go astray. More than ...
Merry Clayton: The Spotlight's on Merry
Profile and Interview by Mike Jahn, Baltimore Sun, 5 March 1972
MICK JAGGER, the satin-pants Satan, is o-o-o-ing ominously through 'Gimme Shelter'. He is doing all right, rocking the boat but not overturning it. But behind ...
Isaac Hayes: The Aloof Mystique of Isaac Hayes
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 11 March 1972
...but he's part of the people in his gold-plated Rolls Royce ...
The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson: Michael Jackson: Schmaltz or Genius?
Comment by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 18 March 1972
In his day perhaps they thought Mozart was a hype ...
Michael Jackson: The One Who Got Away
Interview by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 18 March 1972
THE MOST amazing thing about little Michael Jackson's solo success is how calmly he's taking it all. "I think it's great," is all he says ...
Ben E. King Why Ben Stopped Drifting
Interview by Caroline Boucher, Disc and Music Echo, 25 March 1972
KEEPING abreast of the times, says Ben E. King, is one of the most important and difficult jobs for a singer. He's been singing and ...
Smokey Robinson: An Open Letter to Smokey Robinson
Letters by Jaan Uhelszki, Creem, April 1972
Dear Smokey: ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1972
WHEN 1971 is finally evaluated in years to come, historians will look back and acknowledge Bill Withers as one of the most significant and important ...
Donny Hathaway, Roberta Flack: Donny Hathaway: Aiming High
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1972
AS WAS written in the Bill Withers feature in the last issue of B&S, there have been a handful of new talents in the 70's ...
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: From The Beginning…
Report and Interview by Dave Marsh, Creem, April 1972
SMOKEY IS LEAVING the Miracles. This may mean more to those of us in Detroit, who've watched the Miracles almost, but never quite, make the ...
The Temptations: Temptations Special: Damon Harris and Richard Street
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1972
Rappin' with Damon Harris... ...
The Temptations: Temptations Special: Dennis Edwards
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1972
THE PAST year has seen some traumatic changes for the Temptations, changes that would certainly have wrecked any normal group's career to the point where ...
Review by Dave Marsh, Creem, April 1972
MOTOWN HAS ALWAYS been known for its little ones more than its big ones, and the Jackson Five are no exception. This is undoubtedly their ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1972
OF ALL the stalwart American groups, the most hard done-by title surely goes to the Moments, three young men with a string of hits that ...
Bobby Womack: The Stark Soul of Bobby Womack
Essay by Colman Andrews, Phonograph Record, April 1972
A NEW WOMACK record is at hand. So what? the more unenlightened among you might ask. So plenty, now that you mention it. Plenty and then ...
Al Green: Let's Stay Together (London)
Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 15 April 1972
WHILE SUPER Spade and Mighty Whitey have been down in the alley battling it out to see who has the most soul n' funk, Al ...
Carla Thomas, The Temptations: The Temptations, Carla Thomas: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 15 April 1972
IF ELVIS himself had stepped onstage at the Hammersmith Odeon on Friday he could hardly have created more excitement than the Temptations stirred up with ...
Valerie Simpson: Exposed (Tamla Motown STML 11194)
Review by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 29 April 1972
THIS FIRST solo album by songwriter Valerie Simpson could be subtitled Motown's answer to Carole King. Certainly there are many facts that tie in between ...
Aretha Franklin: Young, Gifted, and Black (Atlantic)
Review by Michael Lydon, Fusion, May 1972
FROM THE shimmering, expectant notes which mark its opening to the brutally final chord of its close, Aretha Franklin's new album, Young, Gifted, and Black,is magnificent. ...
Betty Wright: I Love The Way You Love (Alston)
Review by Dave Marsh, Creem, May 1972
SOMETIME LAST spring, a single appeared called 'I Love the Way You Love'. One of the people I live with bought it; she said, "This ...
Denise LaSalle: Denise La Salle: Trapped By A Thing Called Love
Review by Dave Marsh, Creem, May 1972
IF THIS ISN'T THE best soul album this year, someone is going to have to come up with something really amazing. Denise La Salle is ...
The Beatles, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, The Supremes: Motown Making Millions
Profile by Geoffrey Cannon, The Guardian, 1 May 1972
Author's update, 2019. "The Manchester Guardian? That's the best fuckin' newspaper in the world!" So David Crosby told me in early 1969. He had answered ...
Little Feat, Osibisa: Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles
Live Review by John Mendelssohn, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 1972
FEW INDEED are the groups whose emergence has been heralded by more glowing reviews than Little Feat. It's my guess, though, that few indeed who ...
The Staple Singers: A Staple Diet
Interview by Phil Symes, Disc, 6 May 1972
IT ALL seems to be happening at once for Stax Records, the soul record company in Memphis, Tennessee. At present they hold American chart positions ...
Wilson Pickett On African Soul
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 13 May 1972
WILSON PICKETT is back — as big and brash as ever, and if his press reception this past week at WEA Records (nee Kinney) is ...
The Temptations: Behind The Slick Veneer
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 20 May 1972
TALKING TO the Temptations can at times smack of talking to a tape-recording. So many of the answers are stock phrases, learned in Tamla Motown's ...
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1972
PROBABLY THE MOST eligible superstar to join our ranks over the past twelve months is Al Green, an unpredictable artist and an equally unpredictable man. ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1972
WE'VE SAID it before and we'll no doubt say it again – Britain's soul fans are far more loyal to their favourite girl singers than ...
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1972
"I'M FINALLY going to make it to Europe," an overjoyed Bobby Womack yelled over the phone to me! "My agent just told me that there's ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1972
IT'S BEEN many months since Candi Staton was last featured on the charts in the States. Now, to confound everybody, she has two singles at ...
Frederick Knight: Success From Out Of Left Field
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1972
REGULAR READERS of B&S will already be more than aware of how we occasionally jump on a record right from when it becomes available in ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1972
IT'S NOT very often that a basically Soul single is talked about as being an instant British hit but that's the way Love Unlimited's first ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1972
IF WE had to nominate the most asked after Soul artist who is outside of the super league of the Hayes/Mayfield/James Brown/Motown and ilk, it ...
Stevie Wonder: Music Of My Mind (Tamla)
Review by Vernon Gibbs, Rock, June 1972
A breakaway from restrictive formulas ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1972
REGULAR readers of B&S who follow the U.S. charts have probably noticed that every now and then a record comes on the charts then drops ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1972
IN THE past year or so, we have been blessed with more genuine talent acceptance for our music and those who make it than at ...
The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder: Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder: Winterland, San Francisco CA
Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 7 June 1972
Rolling, Rocking Stones Gather No Moss ...
Frederick Knight: Freak Hit for Knight
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 17 June 1972
PROVIDED HE isn't burdened down with a surfeit of bills and tax demands, the arrival of the postman is one of the brighter moments in ...
The Staple Singers: Soft Sounds That Burn Deep
Profile by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 17 June 1972
JAMAICAN SINGERS have yet to follow up their undoubted success in Britain with a similar impact in the States but neverthelless reggae is making a ...
Little Willie John: Willie John: A Soul Who Died In Jail
Retrospective by Bill Millar, Record Mirror, 17 June 1972
THE DEATH of Little Willie John is chronicled in the June 8th 1968 edition of Billboard. Datelined Walla Walla, Washington, May 27th, the notice reads: ...
The Persuasions: Street Corner Symphony (Island)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, International Times, 19 June 1972
THE PERSUASIONS are a five-strong black vocal group who perform acappella. Their album Street Corner Symphony is just what it says: a set of songs ...
Gladys Knight and the Pips: From the Soul: Gladys Knight
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 24 June 1972
EXACTLY a week after leaving the employ of Music For Pleasure Records, and on the eve of departing for a much needed holiday, I received ...
Gladys Knight: Gladys and Her British Problem
Interview by Phil Symes, Disc, 24 June 1972
"UNDERRATED" is a fond word of Press agents and record companies to explain away lack of success for their artists. So when someone uses the ...
The Chi-Lites: The Windy City Sound
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 24 June 1972
IF ANY outfit holds serious aspirations to usurping the Temptation's crown as the world's leading soul group then it must surely be Chicago's Chi-Lites who ...
Profile and Interview by Andrew Tyler, Disc, 24 June 1972
THE SANCTIFIED Sisters, four beautiful black ladies Joe Cocker collected in the US for his British homecoming, are more than visual relief from all those ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1972
BELIEVE IT or not, this September marks the 20th anniversary of Gladys Knight and the Pips. Before you let your imagination run away with you, ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1972
DESPITE the fact that she has never been properly represented in this country on record, Laura Lee is certainly one of the most requested female ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1972
CURRENTLY ENJOYING his first national success is Little Royal, whose 'Jealous' single currently stands high on the American Soul charts. Although it's his debut on ...
R. Dean Taylor: An Insider's View Of Motown
Interview by Larry LeBlanc, Hit Parader, July 1972
MOTOWN IN the Sixties. The image, if we can narrow it down to one, was slickly packaged blackness. It was Holland-Dozier-Holland producing bump-and-grind jukebox hits. ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1972
"YOU KNOW, we recorded the album for Columbia but they just did not want it. They were too busy with Sly and Chicago; Santana and ...
Ike Turner, Ike & Tina Turner: The Roots of Ike Turner
Essay by Colman Andrews, Phonograph Record, July 1972
IKE TURNER'S roots are blues roots. That's obvious, right? You hardly need some wise-ass young punk kid writer in good old PRM to lay that ...
Labelle: Nona Hendryx of Liberated Labelle
Profile and Interview by Lillian Roxon, New York Sunday News, 2 July 1972
SOUL! NONA Hendryx of Labelle, a group of three young black women that has been together more than 10 years, gets this sweet look on ...
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: Martha Reeves Goes Solo
Report and Interview by Phil Symes, Disc, 8 July 1972
MARTHA REEVES is going solo. After 10 years fronting one of Motown's most successful groups, Martha and the Vandellas, Miss Reeves is stepping out alone. ...
Esther Phillips: Twenty-Five Years A Star
Profile by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 14 July 1972
A MORE apt title could surely not have been found for the initial Kudu set by Miss Esther Phillips. From A Whisper To A Scream ...
Richard Berry: Echoes: Richard Berry
Retrospective by Bill Millar, Record Mirror, 15 July 1972
"They took me to see that friend of mineyeah District court-room two-twenty-ninethe judge said 'your payments are way behind'I said 'Don't worry Daddy it won't ...
Love Unlimited, Barry White: Love Unlimited Bring Deep Soul to Britain
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 15 July 1972
SOUL ENTHUSIASTS used to call it "deep-soul", the kind of sound which usually didn't even get released over here, and when it did, sold in ...
Interview by Danny Holloway, New Musical Express, 15 July 1972
SMOKEY ROBINSON is a hell of a lot more than just a giant of soul or Motown. For more than a decade, his original and ...
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 15 July 1972
FOR MORE than a decade, the Impressions have been a legendary soul name, besides having produced two fine solo performers — Jerry Butler and Curtis ...
Average White Band: Above Average White Band
Profile and Interview by Andrew Tyler, Disc, 22 July 1972
THIS PIECE, unless I serve a personal restraining order and keep my legs firmly crossed, is likely to develop into a hysterical citation of the ...
Sly & The Family Stone: Not Only Sly, But Sometimes Just Plain Damn Evasive
Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 29 July 1972
ROY CARR talks to Sly Stone — why he missed Bardney and other tales ...
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1972
EVERY YEAR, there are only a handful – maybe six – records which go on to become all-time personal favourites, records that get played at ...
Roberta Flack: Young Gifted and Black
Interview by James Johnson, New Musical Express, 5 August 1972
James Johnson talks to the reluctant Queen of Soul ...
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 12 August 1972
WITHIN a year of its composer Bill Withers taking it high up the American chart, 'Ain't No Sunshine' has become firmly established as a soul ...
Curtis Mayfield: Super Fly (Curtom)
Review by Robin Katz, Disc, 12 August 1972
MAYFIELD'S MOVING MESSAGE... ...
Roberta Flack: Flack and Beautiful
Interview by Phil Symes, Disc, 12 August 1972
"THE BEST thing that has happened to London since Hitler missed," is how one ecstatic onlooker described Roberta Flack's first London concert. ...
Sam Cooke: Who Remembers Him Now?
Retrospective by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 19 August 1972
"NOT 'ALF Sam Cooke's been an influence on me," Rod Stewart was saying in his NME interview last week, adding that the inclusion of 'Twistin' ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 25 August 1972
THE OHIO Players started life a decade ago as the Ohio Untouchables and their first real claim to fame is that they were featured vocalists ...
Review by Andrew Tyler, Disc, 26 August 1972
ARETHA MOVING AT SNAIL'S PACE ...
Bill Withers: Leanin' On Bill Withers
Profile and Interview by Phil Symes, Disc, 26 August 1972
THAT OLD saying "never too late" is certainly true in the case of Bill Withers. Withers is just about the hottest male singer in America ...
Cecil Womack, Mary Wells: Mary Wells And Her Guy Still Making Hits
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 28 August 1972
IT WAS PAST five in the afternoon but Mary Wells was still fast asleep, recovering from the rigours of her whistle stop British tour and ...
Profile by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1972
BARBARA LYNN is probably best known for her composition of 'You'll Lose A Good Thing', which she recorded herself in 1962 and gained a Gold ...
Mel & Tim: Starting All Over Again
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1972
SINCE EXPLODING on to the scene some two years ago with two consecutive million sellers, Mel and Tim's recording career fell into a period of ...
Bobby Bland: Spotlighting the Man: Bobby Blue Bland
Comment by Colman Andrews, Phonograph Record, September 1972
THERE'S A new Bobby Bland single out ('I'm So Tired') that is both typically fine and frustrating: fine in that it is another two and ...
The Bar-Kays, Isaac Hayes, Rufus Thomas, The Staple Singers: Wattstax
Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1972
THE whole idea of WATTSTAX '72 was splendid. It enabled more than 100,000 people to attend a seven hour concert at the Los Angeles Coliseum ...
Bill Withers: Morale Music For The People In The Ghetto
Interview by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 2 September 1972
A TELEPHONE CABLE that runs off the edge of Britain, down under the Atlantic, and up again into the heart of North America to St. ...
James Brown: There It Is (Polydor)
Review by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 2 September 1972
WHERE JAMES BROWN IS AT ...
Johnny Otis, Shuggie Otis: 100 Club, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 2 September 1972
DO YOU FEEL all right? I mean, are you ready to put yo' hands together one time and say yeah? Louder, I wanna hear you ...
Interview by Robin Katz, Disc, 2 September 1972
IT WASN'T very long ago that Thelma Houston was on everyone's list as most probable new star. The reasoning was simple. Thelma's first album had ...
Roberta Flack: Sounds for Saturday (BBC-2)
Film/DVD/TV Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 September 1972
Roberta Flack TV Special... deliberately brilliant? ...
Donny Hathaway: Everything Is Everything (Atlantic K40063)
Review by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 9 September 1972
DONNY HATHAWAY, the young black writer/producer/arranger/keyboard player who has worked with Mayfield, Flack, Jerry Butler, Staple Singers and Carla Thomas, comes up here with his ...
Ray Charles: A Message From The People (Probe SPB 1060)
Review by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 9 September 1972
RAY CHARLES has apparently wanted to do an album like this — where the songs reflect a series of ideas, soft protests and pain at ...
Review by Loraine Alterman, The New York Times, 10 September 1972
Stephen Stills: Manassas (Atlantic); The Impressions: Times Have Changed (Curtom); The Staple Singers: Be Altitude: Respect Yourself (Stax); Tom Rush: Merrimack County (Columbia) ...
Doris Troy: Soul/Gospel on T.V.
Film/DVD/TV Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 22 September 1972
ONE COULD quite justifiably be forgiven for assuming that the week of the recent Bank Holiday was television's 'National Doris Troy Week' for the lady ...
Interview by Phil Symes, Disc, 30 September 1972
AL GREEN is top of the American chart again. 'I'm Still In Love With You' makes it four in a row. ...
Curtis Mayfield: Where He's Been And Where He's Going
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Let It Rock, October 1972
AFTER SUCH COMMITTED, socially conscious compositions as 'This Is My Country', 'Mighty Mighty, Spade and Whitey' and 'Choice Of Colours' Curtis Mayfield believes the time ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1972
I MAKE no apologies for stating that Mark IV's 'Honey I Still Love You' is by far my favourite record of the moment. Equally so, ...
The Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1972
WHEN AN act has a million seller first time out, it is highly unusual for the public to have to wait eleven months for the ...
The Delfonics, Thom Bell: The Delfonics
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1972
PHILADELPHIA'S Delfonics are probably the innovators of the city's famed sound, dating back to their earliest Philly Groove hits such as 'La La Means I ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1972
DESPITE BEING relatively cold in the States right now, The Drifters are having their most successful year ever in this country. They currently are on ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1972
THEIR ALBUM sleeve note begins: "Most of us became aware of The Persuaders via their monster single recording of 'Thin Line Between Love And Hate'. ...
Jackie Wilson: The Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 6 October 1972
THERE ARE very few performers whose career can span a good fifteen years and continue to be chart names and still draw crowds, particularly in ...
Bobby Womack: Preacher Bobby's Hour-Long Sermon
Interview by Robin Katz, Disc, 7 October 1972
YOU JUST CAN'T talk to Bobby Womack. Don't misunderstand. It's not that this man doesn't have a thing to say, quite the contrary. ...
Allen Toussaint, Jerry Butler: Jerry Butler and Allen Toussaint: The Spice Of Life
Profile by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 7 October 1972
IT'S NOT so long since soul albums were merely collections of singles, plus a few make-weight tracks. ...
The Marvels, Jackie Wilson: Jackie Wilson, The Marvels, Black Faith: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by David Nathan, Disc, 14 October 1972
CURRENTLY riding the national charts with 'I Get The Sweetest Feeling', Jackie Wilson is something of a veteran of the music scene having enjoyed hits ...
Thelma Houston: Thelma waits...
Interview by Robin Katz, Disc, 21 October 1972
WHEN LAST she graced the British shores, Thelma Houston talked about her strange success story that was lacking in only one aspect. Last week, over ...
Bobby Womack: Understanding (United Artists)
Review by Loraine Alterman, The New York Times, 22 October 1972
ALTHOUGH HE'S one of the most respected rhythm 'n' blues guitarist/songwriters, Bobby Womack hasn't yet hit the big time the way an Isaac Hayes or ...
Chairmen of the Board: Long Wait for a seat on the Board
Report by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 28 October 1972
AFTER WAM-bam-slamming onto the soul scene with a run of hit singles of which 'Give Me Just A Little More Time' was the real biggie ...
Chairmen Of The Board: Night Of The General
Interview by Robin Katz, Disc, 28 October 1972
GENERAL JOHNSON writes stories about people and puts them to music. In three minutes he covers an entire biography where some people take an entire ...
Gladys Knight and the Pips: Gladys and Pips — been together now for 20 years
Profile by Robin Katz, Disc, 28 October 1972
THERE'S AN incredible excitement that one feels when discovering an artist for the first time; especially if it's before most people do. You feel as ...
The Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose: Cornelius Brothers And Sister Rose (United Artists)
Review by Wayne Robins, Creem, November 1972
BASICALLY, THERE ARE two Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose (CB&SR) sounds. One is the basic, upbeat piano sound layered with tight, spiraling harmony, as in ...
Interview by Glenn O'Brien, Interview, November 1972
GLENN O'BRIEN: You were a big hit at the Copa. How did you like playing there? ...
Archie Bell and the Drells: Archie Bell & The Drells: Here They Go Again
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1972
IT'S BECOMING commonplace these days for Britain's pop public to turn on to American soul acts at a time when the artists' career is quiet ...
Profile by Vernon Gibbs, Soul Sounds, November 1972
THERE SEEMS to be a definite increase of interest among young Black and Third World musicians, who are either not technically equipped or deeply enough ...
Junior Walker & The Allstars: Junior Walker
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 3 November 1972
CURRENTLY enjoying very considerable success with his very cleverly put together maxi-single of 'Walk In The Night', 'Right On Brothers And Sisters' and 'Gotta Hold ...
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 3 November 1972
TO QUOTE the title of one of his famous Atlantic recordings, a virtually guaranteed event is the annual visit of the Ray Charles revue with ...
The Stylistics: The Sound Of Sweet Soul
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 3 November 1972
PERHAPS ONE of the most significant 'happenings' this year has been the much-deserved chart success of the sweet-soul-sounding Stylistics who have undoubtedly been hailed as ...
Jerry Butler: Night Affair with Jerry Butler
Interview by Phil Symes, Disc, 4 November 1972
"THE CONCEPT of my album was to capture variety in a record. 'One Night Affair' deals with the feeling I think all men have at ...
The Stylistics: Stylistics' Soulful Romance
Interview by Phil Symes, Disc, 4 November 1972
WHAT MOTOWN did for Detroit, writers like Thom Bell, Gamble and Huff, and groups like the Stylistics are now doing for Philadelphia. With their brand ...
The Stylistics: Stylistics: Who Has The Talent?
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 4 November 1972
IN THIS technological age it's sometimes said producers and arrangers are more important than artists. ...
The Jackson 5: Jacksons Fly In
Report by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 4 November 1972
"AH KISSED Jer-a-maine three times," cried the tall girl as she ran into me, almost pushing me to the ground. "I saw Michael! I saw ...
Dennis Coffey: The White Soul Guitar
Profile by Phil Symes, Disc, 11 November 1972
DENNIS COFFEY is a white man who plays soul music. Ask any soul fan. Regular pop fans might not be acquainted with his name but ...
Bill Withers: Lots of Sunshine for Bill Withers
Profile and Interview by Phil Symes, Disc, 11 November 1972
MOST SONGWRITERS dream of one day writing a standard. Singers dream of establishing one. Bill Withers does both – frequently. You only have to look ...
The Jackson 5: On Tour With The Jackson 5
Report by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 11 November 1972
Robin Katz goes behind the scenes to report on America's top soul group. ...
The Jackson 5: Caroline Boucher Meets The Father Of A Phenomena
Report and Interview by Caroline Boucher, Disc, 11 November 1972
THE TWO rival fan factions swarm round the Churchill Hotel, Osmond Brothers fans to the left waving up to those windows, Jackson Five ones massed ...
The Jackson 5: The Jackson Five: The Talk of the Town, London
Live Review by Caroline Boucher, Disc, 11 November 1972
TWO DAYS after they arrived, the Jackson Five had the unenviable task of doing a 45-minute spot to the British press at a champagne party ...
Tower of Power: Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 11 November 1972
THE POOR Whisky stage has never been made to bear so much weight to so little avail as it must this week. Tower of Power ...
Gladys Knight: Soul Perfection In Person
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 17 November 1972
IT'S A VERY rare treat to meet an artist whose work you admire and whose in-person appearances you find exciting and who on top of ...
Johnny Nash, Billy Paul: The Bitter End, New York NY
Live Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 17 November 1972
JOHNNY NASH HEARD; BILLY PAUL ON BILL ...
Bill Withers: Making Music Till He Drops
Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 18 November 1972
THE QUEST for that intangible magic with which so few of us are blessed, can often entail a very long journey indeed. And whilst Bill ...
The Jackson 5: Don't Treat Them Like Children!
Report and Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 18 November 1972
Robin Katz continues her inside story of the Jackson Five with a frantic interview at the Churchill ...
Bettye LaVette: Betty Lavette: First Album Due After Ten Years…
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1972
BELIEVE IT or not, Betty Lavette is celebrating her tenth year as a recording artist and yet it is only now that she really feels ...
Bob & Earl: Back On The Road Again
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1972
IT'S MORE than three years since Bob & Earl were last here but much has happened for the duo in that time. ...
Memoir by Michael Lydon, Fusion, December 1972
BATTERY FAILING, headlights down to a dull yellow gleam, the gas guage below empty, we roller-coasted over the last range of hills into Berkeley — ...
Bill Withers, Fontella Bass: Bill Withers/Fontella Bass: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 1 December 1972
IN THESE days when it's applied with alarming frequency to practically every new talent that emerges, the word "genius" as with so many other superlatives ...
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 1 December 1972
THE FIRST ever visit of Motown's Jackson Five is something which numerous people won't forget in a hurry: the staff at the hotels that the ...
Gladys Knight: Gladys v Motown
Report by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 5 December 1972
Robin Katz on the likely outcome of a forthcoming battle over contracts ...
Bill Withers: The Raggety Genius
Interview by Robin Katz, Disc, 9 December 1972
"I DON'T want to get dependent on being called a genius to survive. I don't want to get so sucked in by flattery that I ...
Millie Jackson: Millie Jackson (Mojo)
Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 9 December 1972
NO 45 HAS hit me with more power in the last year than Miss Jackson's 'A Child Of God'. An unambiguous exposé of everyday immorality, ...
Millie Jackson: Millie's Mojo Soul
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 9 December 1972
AMONG THE better girl artists to emerge from America's R&B charts of late is Millie Jackson, who's been creating no small action over here in ...
The Jackson 5: The Jackson Five: Five Pranksters Puppets
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 9 December 1972
TAUNTS THAT the Jackson Five are nothing more than carefully manipulated puppets just aren't borne out by the facts. Five minutes in the company of ...
Review and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 15 December 1972
IT'S ALWAYS a very gratifying and rewarding experience to see an artist in whom you have particular faith and in who you strongly believe, finally ...
The Jackson 5 et al: Saving the Children
Report by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 15 December 1972
AS I MENTIONED last week, the Jackson Five are currently appearing in a movie in the States. They're not the stars, and the film is ...
Bill Withers: A Star Now, Shocked By the Shallowness
Interview by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 27 December 1972
THE HUGELY successful singer Bill Withers is a big guy. When he comes through the doorway, he fills it; when he shakes hands, he really ...
Merry Clayton: The Triumphant Acid Queen
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 30 December 1972
MERRY CLAYTON is the girl who stopped the show at the London Rainbow performance of Pete Townshend's rock opera Tommy earlier this month. Even the ...
Isaac Hayes: Live At The Sahara Tahoe
Review by Bob Fisher, Cream, 1973
IGNORING the Shaft soundtrack, Isaac Hayes blew it with the Black Moses double set. This followed three good and original albums, although you could still ...
Gamble-Huff, Thom Bell and the Philly Groove
Overview by Pete Wingfield, Let It Rock, January 1973
On a balmy night in the late summer of ’67, while the world was wearing flowers in its hair, I was sinking into my seat, ...
Stevie Wonder: Man Of Today And Tomorrow
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, January 1973
ONE OF THE most rewarding and exciting aspects of taking any serious interest in any field of music is observing the artistic development and progress ...
The Temptations: Hitler's part in the rise of the Temps
Interview by Phil Symes, Disc, 13 January 1973
IS IT really eight years The Temptations have been with us? It really only seems like yesterday that Motown's senior male group were making a ...
Stevie Wonder: Talking Book (Tamla)
Review by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 13 January 1973
LAST YEAR, Wonder achieved overdue recognition for his first solo album, Music Of My Mind — which was, simply, the most overrated album of '72. ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 January 1973
WITH THE current and phenominal success of the production and songwriting team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, it is only right that Billy Paul ...
Blue Mink: Out of Preaching Bag
Profile and Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 20 January 1973
UNTIL THE advent of Blue Mink and hits like the current 'Stay With Me' and 'Melting Pot' — which established them a couple of years ...
Nina Simone: Emergency Ward (SF 8304)
Review by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 20 January 1973
LOGGING A BIG pop hit sometimes does more harm than good to artists who previously had a rather specialist appeal. ...
Valerie Simpson: Valerie Simpson (Tamla-Motown)
Review by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 20 January 1973
SOME FACTS about Valerie Simpson: yes, she is a good songwriter and has been responsible for such fine numbers as 'And If You See Him', ...
Billy Paul: Nostalgic Chart Topper For Paul
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 27 January 1973
Keep a check on Billy Paul. Before long, he's going to top the British chart, repeating his two million selling number-one in America with the ...
Claudia Lennear: Brown Sugar Lady
Interview by Andrew Tyler, Disc, 27 January 1973
A CLUSTER of fly-bursting, brown-skinned ladies has become pretty much standard roadshow equipment for plenty of white rock bands these past few years. The lead ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, February 1973
2008 intro: Eddie Kendricks had enjoyed critical acclaim with his groundbreaking 1972 People, Hold On album. The former Temptation had to experience a commercial mainstream ...
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: Martha Reeves: A Lady With A Big Future
Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, February 1973
IT WOULD surely be true to say that every fan must have one or two records that they will always treasure – the special one ...
Bobby Womack: Understanding Bobby Womack
Interview by Steven Rosen, Los Angeles Free Press, February 1973
TWELVE YEARS AGO Bobby Womack migrated to California, looking for the riches that he thought were there. "I came out here like the pioneers searching ...
Isaac Hayes: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 3 February 1973
ISAAC HAYES, they tell me, is the leading light of the new black life-style. Black Moses, yet. ...
Roberta Flack: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 3 February 1973
MAJESTIC, CERTAINLY, with a voice as clear as crystal – but I'm afraid to say that Miss Roberta Flack, in concert, is something of a ...
Film/DVD/TV Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 10 February 1973
ISAAC HAYES, ROD STEWART and assorted FACES were at the preview of a new soul film. So was MM's RICHARD WILLIAMS... ...
Isaac Hayes: The Man They Call Moses
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 10 February 1973
IMAGES DON'T come much heavier than that surrounding Isaac Hayes. But take away the dark shades, the heavy chains, the robes, the immense mink coats, ...
Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 10 February 1973
A GROUP like the O'Jays is, to be honest, only as good as the producers and writers it works with. It may have a lead ...
Stevie Wonder: "Hah-the boy is getting MILITANT! You get back to 'Fingertips' now!"
Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 February 1973
Talking Book is already tipped as one of 73's best albums. Here Chris Welch talks to its creator ...
Billy Paul: The Jazz Soul of Billy Paul
Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 10 February 1973
IT'S ODD to hear a black singer from North Philadelphia, who topped the US soul and pop charts a few weeks ago, admit that it ...
Billy Paul: 360 Degrees Of Billy Paul (Epic 653S1)
Review by uncredited writer, Blues & Soul, 16 February 1973
'Brown Baby'; 'I'm Just a Prisoner'; 'It's Too Late'; 'Me And Mrs. Jones'; 'Am I Black Enough For You'; 'Let's Stay Together'; 'Your Song'; 'I'm Gonna Make It ...
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes: Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (CBS 65350 £2.29)
Review by uncredited writer, Blues & Soul, 16 February 1973
'I Miss You'; 'Ebony Woman'; 'Yesterday I Had The Blues'; 'If You Don't Know Me By Now'; 'Be For Real'; 'Let Me Into Your World'; ...
Isaac Hayes: The Day Moses Came To Town
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, West Indian World, 16 February 1973
THE LONDON Hilton's high-speed lift whisked me up 27 floors into the super-soul world of Isaac Hayes, the original "Black Moses". ...
Millie Jackson: Millie Jackson (Mojo Select 2918.005 £2.00)
Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 February 1973
'If This Is Love'; 'I Ain't Giving Up'; 'I Miss You Baby'; 'A Child Of God'; 'Ask Me What You Want'; 'My Man A Sweet Man'; ...
Timmy Thomas: 'Why Can't We Live Together'/'Funky Me' (Glades 2027.012)
Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 February 1973
SOMEBODY RECENTLY described this record as the 'I've Been Lonely For So Long' of 1973 and there are certainly similarities. It is completely out of ...
War: The World Is A Ghetto (LA LAS 29400)
Review by uncredited writer, Blues & Soul, 16 February 1973
'The Cisko Kid'; 'Where Was You At'; 'City, Country, City'; 'Four Cornered Room'; 'The World Is A Ghetto'; 'Beetles In The Bog' ...
Hall & Oates: Nutritious Music: Daryl Hall & John Oates
Report and Interview by Jim Esposito, Zoo World, 17 February 1973
DARYL HALL, one half of Whole Oats, decided that Philadelphia can lay claim to one of the most innocuous music scenes in the entire country. ...
Stevie Wonder: Carnegie Hall, New York
Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 17 February 1973
GODAMN IT! You would think the President of a record company would know better — especially the President of Motown Records. ...
Stevie Wonder: The New Wonder Ingredient
Interview by Tony Norman, New Musical Express, 17 February 1973
BLACK AND PROUD, MUSIC FROM THE SOUL ...
Donny Hathaway: Donny's Return
Interview by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 24 February 1973
NEW YORK — DONNY HATHAWAY hasn't been around for several months, so it was nice to see him back in New York, looking good and recording ...
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 24 February 1973
WHEN THE O'JAYS fly in for an extensive British tour next month it'll be the fulfillment of a longstanding ambition. It will not be their ...
Timmy Thomas: Tomorrow's Golden Oldie
Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 24 February 1973
IT REMINDED me of hearing Booker T's 'Green Onions' for the first time, all those years ago. You know: that fantastic feeling of listening to ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1973
ALTHOUGH AL Green claimed to be a little surprised about being voted No. 1 Male Vocalist in our annual poll. I think that few other ...
Clydie King: Ready Willing And Certainly Able
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1973
I SUPPOSE it's true to say that Clydie King is best generally known in this country for her successful duet hit with Jimmy Holiday, 'Ready. ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1973
GROVER WASHINGTON Jr. became one of Kudu's brightest lights by a complete one in a million accident. "I was called in to do a background ...
Johnny Williams: Slow Motion To The Top
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1973
JOHNNY WILLIAMS and his first release on Philadelphia International provided us with one of the most interesting statistical records of last year. Apart from the ...
Miles Davis: On the Corner (Columbia)
Review by Colman Andrews, Creem, March 1973
IT'S SHORT, punchy, beefy music, taut, untattered (tight) and tautological. Tautological? Yes, because it's internally consistent. It's true to its school. Quel school? Well... ...
Arthur Conley, The Supremes: The Supremes, Arthur Conley: Kilburn State, London
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1973
AWARE OF all the 'changes' that have been going on with the Supremes of late, it was natural to hope that some of the new, ...
Report by Pete Wingfield, Let It Rock, March 1973
THE NAMES Ashford and Simpson should ring a bell with anybody that reads the small print on Motown records: Nicholas and Valerie have chalked up ...
Timmy Thomas: The One Man Band
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 2 March 1973
MOST PEOPLE probably figure that 'Why Can't We Live Together' is the first time they have heard the hypnotic and highly individualistic style of organ ...
Average White Band: Average, Who Says So?
Profile and Interview by Martin Hayman, Sounds, 3 March 1973
AVERAGE WHITE Band — another band of Scottish musicians. OK lads, we've seen Glencoe and they're good. Most of them will be in the audience ...
Average White Band: Marquee, London
Live Review by Martin Hayman, Sounds, 3 March 1973
THE AVERAGE White Band work in a very narrow well-defined area of music, but within that context they excel. Their music is tough and funky ...
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 3 March 1973
IT'S EASY TO detect a strong jazz influence in Billy Paul's vocal on 'Me And Mrs. Jones'. The reason is simple enough. Paul, now 35, ...
Timmy Thomas: The Timmy Thomas One-Man Show...
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 3 March 1973
'WHY CAN'T We Live Together?' asks Timmy Thomas on his sensationally different million-selling American hit. But, ironically, it turns out that the record itself is ...
Curtis Mayfield: Things Go Better With Coke: Curtis Mayfield's Superfly soundtrack
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 3 March 1973
Charles Shaar Murray previews SUPERFLY ...
Azteca, Stevie Wonder: Stevie Wonder: Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica CA
Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 7 March 1973
THERE ARE innovative artists and there are great entertainers, but for one reason or another the twain seldom seem to meet. Stevie Wonder is remarkably ...
Cornell Dupree: The Boss Guitar of Cornell Dupree
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 10 March 1973
CORNELL DUPREE's name will mean nothing to the general public, but those who scan LP sleeve credits will recognise him as one of America's busiest ...
Gladys Knight and the Pips: Help Me Make It Through The Night (Tamla Motown)
Review by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 10 March 1973
THOUGH IT'S packaged to make you think it's that way, this isn't an all-new album, the title track being the only recent cut. The rest ...
James Brown: He Ain't Slowing Down
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 10 March 1973
SOUL BROTHER Number One leaned back in his chair, adjusted his robe, and expounded: "Back in 1969 King Records didn't want to know. They said ...
James Brown: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 10 March 1973
SOUL BROTHER Number One's in town, and the James Brown Revue's gettin' down and gittin' it on at the Rainbow. Bop through to the stalls ...
James Brown: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Martin Hayman, Sounds, 10 March 1973
MR. JAMES BROWN — Soul Brother Number One. Mr. Dynamite. ...
Eddie Kendricks: When Temptation Got The Best Of Eddie Kendricks
Interview by Phil Symes, Disc, 10 March 1973
IT'S A big decision quitting a world-famous group, especially when they're on top, and look like sitting pretty for a long while. So it was ...
Interview by Robin Katz, Disc, 17 March 1973
ONE OF the best ingredients a composer can toss into a song is a dash of universality. Put something in the lyrics that people can ...
Al Green: Philharmonic Hall, New York NY
Live Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 20 March 1973
Green's Distinctive Soul Singing Avoids Reliance on Microphone ...
It's a Beautiful Day, Sylvester & the Hot Band: Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica CA
Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 30 March 1973
IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY GOES ON A TIME TRIP ...
The Temptations: Following Darling David, it's the Temptations Sensation
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 31 March 1973
ROGER ST. PIERRE ON THE BIG SOUL TOUR ...
Barry White: A Potential Superstar
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1973
ANYONE WHO has heard Barry White's first album on 20th Century will undoubtedly concur on the point I am about to make – he is ...
Profile and Interview by Steven Rosen, Music World, April 1973
BOBBY WOMACK HAS been making music for twenty long years, an odyssey that carried him from the working quarters of Cleveland to the rocking corners ...
Isaac Hayes: A Man Of The People
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Beat Instrumental, April 1973
ISAAC HAYES certainly lives up to his 'Super-star' title. During his recent British visit the Black Moses spent £38,000 on jewellery and another £30,000 on ...
Jerry Butler: Everything's Copa-setic
Report and Interview by Wayne Robins, Creem, April 1973
GOING TO see Jerry Butler at the Copa is in some ways like watching Valentino hump a corpse. Merely being at the Copa is a ...
Review by Dave Marsh, Creem, April 1973
SOCIOLOGISTS LIKE TO talk about black people mimicking whites, and I suppose that it is inherent in the presumptions most of us make about black ...
Sylvester: Stardom as Lifestyle
Profile by Richard Cromelin, Music World, April 1973
Of course, there's nothing more ancient or honorable than the old shamanistic transvestite that we see running up and down Greenwich Avenue. There's something very ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1973
OLDIES HAVE always played a major part in the British Soul scene and it is quite amazing how many of these in-demand items come from ...
Average White Band: Marquee, London
Live Review by Andrew Tyler, Disc, 7 April 1973
IT'S SO EASY to be brought down by the gross excesses of what is fondly being referred to as the "pop revival." Much of it ...
Detroit Emeralds: Smooth-Cut Emeralds
Report and Interview by Charlie Gillett, New Musical Express, 7 April 1973
"I DON'T THINK we're what people expect us to be," James Mitchell of the Detroit Emeralds explained after receiving a lukewarm reaction from a music ...
Taj Mahal, Curtis Mayfield: Curtis Mayfield, Taj Mahal: Philharmonic Hall, New York NY
Live Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 9 April 1973
Curtis Mayfeld's Soul Singing Displays His Fluency in Argot ...
Joe South: A Look Inside (Capitol)
Review by John Swenson, The Village Voice, 12 April 1973
BEFORE HE recorded his first album, Joe South spent years honing down his material — from the age of 15 he had been playing steadily, ...
Diana Ross: Rapping with Lady D
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 14 April 1973
THE DISTINGUISHED-looking old gentlemen in the red braided uniform accepts my coat with an expression of mild distaste and ushers me into the Pine Room ...
Don Covay: Are You Reggae For Don Covay?
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 21 April 1973
AMERICA JUST had to catch on to reggae. After all, the roots of Jamaican music lie in the '50s out-put of Fats Domino, Smiley Lewis ...
Roberta Flack And All That Jazz
Interview by Danny Holloway, New Musical Express, 28 April 1973
DANNY HOLLOWAY talks, in New York, to the lady who made the big transition from jazz to mass acclaim. ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1973
AT A time when a lot of talented girls are beginning to surface again, it is also worth noting that there are a few completely ...
Billy Paul: The Age Old Problem Of The Follow Up
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1973
BILLY PAUL exploded on an unsuspecting public with the tale of 'Me And Mrs. Jones', a record that sold more than 2 1/2 million copies ...
Curtis Mayfield, Diana Ross: Black Music
Comment by Dave Marsh, Let It Rock, May 1973
SOMETIME LAST fall, John Percy Boyd, Mark Bethune and Michael Brown, a trio of black college students in Detroit, decided to put an end to ...
Timmy Thomas: Breaking the rules: Timmy Thomas
Report and Interview by Pete Wingfield, Let It Rock, May 1973
IN THE American record business, like any other, it’s the biggies with the bread that rule the roost. But every so often, an obscure record ...
Bunny Sigler: On To A Winning Streak
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1973
THERE ARE honestly very few people within our musical sphere who I really want to interview and who I have missed. But one such person ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1973
IN THESE sceptered isles, of course, Dobie Gray is best known in the Northern disco circuit where 'The In Crowd', 'Out On The Floor' and ...
First Choice: Everybody's First Choice
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1973
IT'S NOT very often that we Europeans get the opportunity to appreciate an American Soul record in advance to the native Americans, but in the ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1973
A NEW page in the seemingly long and successful career of Gladys Knight & the Pips is about to begin with the group's debut release ...
Leon Haywood: The Good Times, The Bad Times And The Times In Between
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1973
IN OUR quest to track down the select band of artistes who are always there in the background but never seem to get the right ...
The Lost Generation: Lost Generation
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1973
THE LOST GENERATION is four young men – two sets of brothers – who exploded to fame two years ago with 'The Sly, Slick And ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1973
IT REALLY wasn't such a surprise to B&S readers that the Stylistics' first album should come out as top album in the annual B&S Poll. ...
Gil Scott-Heron: Pieces Of A Man (Philips 6369 415)
Review by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 12 May 1973
Heron, with the sound of the black revolution ...
Sly & The Family Stone: Fresh (Epic)
Review by Jonh Ingham, New Musical Express, 12 May 1973
SLY IS an interesting enigma. Top soul dj-turned-musician, he singlehandedly influenced the course of soul music with a sound that owed more to acid than ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Tina Turner: Get Your Eyes Off... and Listen
Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 26 May 1973
THE MAKING of Tina Turner — was it the singer or the song? Well, we all know the answer to that one don't we? The ...
Jerry Butler: The Iceman Talking: The Life And Times Of Jerry Butler
Interview by Norman Jopling, Cream, June 1973
BUTLER'S MUSIC Workshop is upstairs in a tatty warehouse building in Chicago's South Side, very near Chinatown and uncomfortably near Lake Michigan so it gets ...
Bobby Womack and Peace: Across 110th Street (UAS 29451)
Review by Martin Hayman, Sounds, 2 June 1973
BOBBY WOMACK has been recording some very acceptable soul records for UA for a little while now without ever making much of a dent on ...
Gladys Knight & The Pips: A Day With Miss Knight
Interview by James Johnson, New Musical Express, 2 June 1973
IF GLADYS Knight took time off to reminisce there's no doubt she could come up with a few interesting tales about the record business. Simply ...
Review by Charlie Gillett, Rolling Stone, 7 June 1973
THE MORE I listen, the less I understand. A year ago Bloodstone was just one of any number of black groups who could excite a ...
Bill Withers: Live At Carnegie Hall (A&M)
Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 9 June 1973
FIRST TIME I saw Bill Withers live he was appearing at the huge Louisiana State Fair in Baton Rouge to a matter of about 20,000 ...
Thom Bell, The Spinners: Detroit Spinners: Memories of the Brown Beatles
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 9 June 1973
SINCE LEAVING Motown the Detroit Spinners have changed considerably, largely because of the recording direction of Philadelphia genius Thom Bell. ...
The Jackson 5, Jermaine Jackson: Let's Hear a Scream For the Jackson Five
Profile by Lillian Roxon, New York Sunday News, 17 June 1973
"Hey, Jackson Five fan! Look at all this outasight J-5 groovy good stuff you can order! Hurry! Send away today! Fast delivery! Money-back guarantee" ...
Profile and Interview by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 21 June 1973
"EVERY DAY for the past 16 years somebody has asked me how I call my lover boy," Sylvia Robinson marveled, referring to the public's memory ...
Bill Withers: Live At Carnegie Hall (A&M — double album)
Review by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 23 June 1973
SOUNDS OF applause, opening bars or lazy stereotyped black funk, then a hoarse voice yelping out "I don't mind you're using me — uh! — ...
First Choice: A return of Choice ladies to the scene
Profile and Interview by Phil Symes, Disc, 23 June 1973
FIRST CHOICE are climbing the charts with a great disco record called 'Armed and Extremely Dangerous'. It is not only their first hit, but when ...
Gladys Knight and the Pips: Gladys Knight & the Pips: Neither One Of Us (Tamla Motown)
Review by James Johnson, New Musical Express, 23 June 1973
SINCE GLADYS Knight and the Pips have now joined the Buddah label this will be their last album released on Motown, unless the company chooses ...
The Jackson 5: J5 Kick Harder Than Ever: Jackson Five: Skywriter (Tamla-Motown)
Review by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 23 June 1973
BOISTEROUS young Charles Shaar Murray wrote a more-than-adequate appraisal of this fine album before it was released and I can only restate his enthusiasm for ...
Jimmy Helms: Helms In Need Of A Direction
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 30 June 1973
JIMMY HELMS is at a cornerstone of his career. 'I'm Gonna Make You An Offer (You Can't Refuse)' wasn't just a hit record — it ...
Sly & The Family Stone: Fresh (Epic)
Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 30 June 1973
I LIKE A little mystery, don't you? 'Course you do. So here's one: the finished version of Sly's new album, in the shops at last, ...
Sylvia Robinson: Not So Much A Debut For Sylvia
Interview by Phil Symes, Disc, 30 June 1973
ONCE IN A while a record comes along that nothing will stop being a hit. Not even the fact that radio producers are frightened of ...
Funkadelic, Parliament: Marking Time with Funkadelic — an interview with George Clinton
Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Soul Sounds, July 1973
THERE IS a hard core of demented maniacs who force their way into people's apartments, with wild looks in their eyes. Usually they can be ...
Roberta Flack, War: Shea Stadium, Queens, New York NY
Live Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 6 July 1973
Harmonica Turns Concert Into 'Party' ...
Sylvester & the Hot Band: Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 1973
Hot Band Sizzles for Fourth ...
Cymande, making it with West Indian "Rasta" soul
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 7 July 1973
WHATEVER BRITISH fans think about homebred groups, blue-eyed or otherwise, it seems Americans are prepared to listen to them with enthusiasm. ...
Live Review by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 7 July 1973
VOODOO CHILE ...
Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 7 July 1973
SEX, DRUGS, VIOLENCE AND THE MAFIA? FORGET IT. THIS GUY'S THE SAVIOUR OF NEW ORLEANS. ROY CARR reports from Montreux. ...
Live Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 10 July 1973
FANS SAY 'LONGER' TO SLY'S 'HIGHER' No Encore After the Glitter — Wild West Show on Bill ...
Al Green: The Soft-Sell World of Al Green
Interview by Lillian Roxon, New York Sunday News, 15 July 1973
IT IS THE HOTTEST, most enervating Sunday in all creation. I am in Manhattan, and it is like a steambath. He is in far off ...
Curtis Mayfield: Back To The World (Curtom)
Review by Wayne Robins, Zoo World, 19 July 1973
WITH ALL courtesy to the self-proclaimed Black Caesar, Curtis Mayfield's Superfly was the musical equivalent to Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather. Both were nearly as ...
Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 21 July 1973
War declared at Shea Stadium. ...
War: The Battle Against 'Unlove'
Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 21 July 1973
THIS IS the story of war declared but not yet unilaterally. Approximately two years ago, when the American 'jazz-rock-blues-soul' band appeared in the U.K. with ...
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 28 July 1973
SOUL MAN Joe Simon has scored a long run of American hits — with country songs. And now his 'Step By Step' currently climbing the ...
Sly & The Family Stone: Sly Stone: Shy Boy Who Had Power
Report and Interview by Martin Hayman, Sounds, 28 July 1973
TAKE A look at that feller in the picture (sorry — RBP ED). Pretty smart, eh? A nice-looking geezer, beautiful soft rubbery face with a ...
The Pointer Sisters: The Pointer Sisters
Review by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 28 July 1973
ANITA, RUTH, JUNE and Bonnie Pointer come to us with the fervent recommendations of seemingly everybody in America. But with the best will in the ...
Sly & The Family Stone: White City, London
Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1973
"SLY STONE to appear at White City Festival". After reading various articles concerning Sly Stone, you imagine the feeling of reading this headline. ...
Smokey Robinson: Miracles And Meditation
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 4 August 1973
IT'S JUST on a year since Smokey Robinson split from the Miracles to spend more time as an executive of the Motown Corporation. Now, he ...
Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 August 1973
WHEN APPRAISING an artist of the stature of Stevie Wonder, there seems nothing worse than to hark back to previous triumphs and make comparisons. ...
Earth, Wind & Fire, Isaac Hayes: Isaac Hayes: Madison Square Garden, New York NY
Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, New Musical Express, 18 August 1973
Brilliant Hayes: the bald facts ...
Manu Dibango: Apollo Theater, New York NY
Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, New Musical Express, 18 August 1973
MANU DIBANGO'S appearance at the Apollo was the capper for a frenzied week of concert-going in New York and the East Coast. ...
The Moments, The Sylvers, The Whispers: The Sylvers, The Whispers, The Moments: Apollo Theater
Live Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 22 August 1973
TV's Soul Train Moves to Apollo ...
Hot Chocolate: Chocolate Brown
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 25 August 1973
THERE IS absolutely no getting away from the fact that it was an excessively hot and sticky afternoon. Sweaterama incarnate. Clothing stuck unpleasantly to the ...
Film/DVD/TV Review by Wayne Robins, Creem, September 1973
SINCE THE black movie bonanza started, its two superheros have manfully avoided each other, respectfully allowing one another to prowl unmolested on their own turf. ...
Review by Bob Fisher, Cream, September 1973
THERE MUST be some crap music coming out of the States, or is it me? Can't I discern between the good, the bad and the ...
Aretha Franklin: Hey Now Hey (Atlantic)
Review by Bob Fisher, Cream, September 1973
IT'S BEEN HIP for mainstream rock critics to knock Miss Franklin for some time now, in much the same way the current vogue is to ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, September 1973
I COULDN'T find the name 'Dobie Gray' in any of the rock encyclopaedias. Presumably after 'The In Crowd' he became one of those half-forgotten names ...
Donny Hathaway: Reassessing His Musical Life
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1973
2008 intro: Donny Hathaway was in London on vacation after completing work on a new album, Extensions Of A Man and took a brief time ...
Manu Dibango: Soul Makossa (Atlantic)
Review by Dan Nooger, Phonograph Record, September 1973
THIS IS the best soul dance record in years. It cuts directly against the grain of most black music today, which strives for that sophisticated, ...
Sly & The Family Stone: Fresh (Epic)
Review by Dave Marsh, Creem, September 1973
Sly Today: Caring, Confident, Contradictions ...
Al Green: Sweet Soul: Al Green
Interview by Vicki Wickham, Rock Scene, September 1973
NEW YORK — AL Green is the man who has put the word "sweet" back into soul music. He's the singer who in the space ...
Diana Ross: Talking With Diana Ross
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1973
PRE-CONCEIVED notions are always hard to forget and when one has been continually conditioned to a particular notion, time makes it that much harder to ...
Willie Hutch: This Brother's Worked It Out
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1973
MOTOWN'S PRESS release on Willie Hutch proudly quotes what Cash Box — the influential American music trade paper — said about his soundtrack to The ...
Billy Preston, The Rolling Stones: Billy Preston: The Way Billy Planned It
Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 1 September 1973
When The Stones hit the road this month BILLY PRESTON goes with them. Here, he talks to MM's MICHAEL WATTS in Los Angeles ...
Funkadelic, Mandrill, Osibisa, Rare Earth: Black 'Woodstock': A Violent Fiasco
Report by Vernon Gibbs, New Musical Express, 1 September 1973
IT COULD have been the biggest event of the summer. For many of us trapped in the iron heart of the city, it promised to ...
Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 8 September 1973
It's a long way from San Diego street corners to gold records. But War are still street people playing street music. MICHAEL WATTS reports... ...
Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 8 September 1973
THREE PLAYS and this record assumes the kind of easy familiarity usually expected from greatest hits albums. Eleven good cuts, and most of them potential ...
Howard Tate, Lou Courtney: Howard Tate and Lou Courtney: The Blues and Dance Men
Profile by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 8 September 1973
TWO ARTISTS of widely different appeal, Howard Tate and Lou Courtney both deserve inclusion in this series because although only modestly successful even in the ...
Hot Chocolate, Stories: Stories and Hot Chocolate: 'Brother Louie'
Report and Interview by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 13 September 1973
"THIS IS NOT what I wanted," Enrol Brown mused over a boiled egg breakfast in his London penthouse. "Tony Wilson and I will still get ...
The Pointer Sisters: Roseland Ballroom, New York NY
Live Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 13 September 1973
Upbeat Nostalgia Tones Scat-Singing Of Pointer Sisters ...
Candi Staton: Foxy Lady Of Soul
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 15 September 1973
RIGHT FROM the days when Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Ida Cox and later the ladies Holliday, Vaughan, Fitzgerald and Washington ruled the blues/jazz roost there ...
Interview by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 15 September 1973
Ex-Miracles leader, brilliant songwriter, Motown boss — Smokey Robinson is that rare thing in music: a legend in his own lifetime. He talks to MM's ...
Billy Preston: God Planned It Good
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 22 September 1973
AFTER YEARS spent as a session man for an astonishing roster of star names the Beatles, the Stones, Barbra Steisand, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Sam ...
The Delfonics, Eddie Kendricks: Eddie Kendricks, The Delfonics: Apollo Theater, New York NY
Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, New Musical Express, 22 September 1973
Hot night at the Apollo ...
Jimmy Hughes: The Great Unknowns: Jimmy Hughes
Profile by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 22 September 1973
"I NEVER FELT more like singing the blues," sang Guy Mitchell and Tommy Steele a long while ago, and both did a lot of business ...
Dr. John: "The Doctor Is In" — A Talk with Dr. John
Interview by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 27 September 1973
MALCOLM JOHN Rebennack is a New Orleans musician who has played on more sessions than he or anyone else can remember. In 1968 his first ...
Review by Lenny Kaye, Rolling Stone, 27 September 1973
THE GREENING OF MOTOWN continues apace, with performers who once flourished under the company's autocratic guidelines (the Four Tops, Gladys Knight) seeking success elsewhere while ...
The Temptations: Temptations' Paul Williams Dead at 34: Suicide
Report by uncredited writer, Rolling Stone, 27 September 1973
DETROIT — Paul Williams, 34, one of the original Temptations, was buried here August 24th. He died anonymously, barely two blocks from the Motown offices ...
Marvin Gaye: Let's Get It On (Tamla)
Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 September 1973
UNLESS A veritable monster soul single rears its head during the final quarter of this year, Marvin Gaye will have the pleasure of having the ...
Diana Ross: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 29 September 1973
DIANA ROSS may be a real superstar, as critics like Derek Jewell assert, but there's altogether too much of the "sooper" in her act for ...
Diana Ross: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 29 September 1973
ANYONE WHO doubts that Diana Ross is a star in the old-fashioned sense of the word should have been at the Albert Hall last Tuesday. ...
Profile by Vernon Gibbs, New Musical Express, 29 September 1973
ANYTIME THE American media welcomes a new act with such an overt display of scraping and bowing for superlatives, it's time to be suspicious. ...
Soul Foundations: Twenty Essential Soul Records
Guide by Pete Wingfield, Let It Rock, October 1973
OH LORD – I'M GONNA GET SHOT down for this. ...
O.V. Wright: Wright Man In The Wrong Place
Retrospective by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 6 October 1973
MANY SUPPOSEDLY great soul singers are, in truth, only as good as their current producer and/or writer. O.V. Wright's reputation however is solidly based on ...
Average White Band: Show Your Hand (MCA)
Review by Dan Nooger, Phonograph Record, November 1973
A LOT OF British heavies on the order of Led Zeppelin, Humble Pie, and even Elton John came out of the soul club tradition, learning ...
Bobby Bland: Bobby Blue Bland: Arrival
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1973
WHEN THE news was announced that the vast ABC/Dunhill Record complex had purchased the Duke-Peacock group of companies, speculation began as to what ABC would ...
Dionne Warwicke: Just Being Herself
Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, November 1973
THAT CERTAIN entertainers decline or prefer not to give interviews is an incomprehensible fact that frequently puzzles both journalists and the public. ...
Billy Preston: Rainbow Theatre, London
Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 November 1973
AFTER A shaky start, Billy Preston tore London's Rainbow Theatre apart on Thursday last week, with a little help from his friends. ...
Manu Dibango: Joining Soul With Its Afro Roots
Interview by Vernon Gibbs, New Musical Express, 3 November 1973
THINGS HAVEN'T improved much in the last few weeks. The Apollo, the main showcase for black talent in the New York area, continues to run ...
Bettye Swann: Still Waitin' for a Swann Song
Profile by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 10 November 1973
IT WAS indirectly through Joe South that I first got turned on to the delectable Miss Bettye Swann. I'd done an interview with the white ...
Sly & The Family Stone: The Palladium, Los Angeles
Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 10 November 1973
HOLLYWOOD: Will he? Won't he? Will he? Won't he? Sly Stone's reputation is too firmly etched for these questions not to be asked when he's ...
Al Green, Laura Lee: Apollo Theatre, New York NY
Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 15 November 1973
I WONDER WHAT the regular Apollo Theatre audience thought when they saw a contingent of 20 or so white writers (limoed all the way from ...
Ashford & Simpson: Alice Tully Hall, New York NY
Live Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 16 November 1973
Pop Music: Twin Talents Of Ashford and Simpson ...
Sly & The Family Stone: The Palladium, Los Angeles
Live Review by Steven Rosen, Sounds, 17 November 1973
IT LOOKS as if Sly Stone has changed his ways. During a rash of appearances here in the Lost City (a TV taping and two ...
Aretha Franklin: Aretha: Supersoulstar
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, December 1973
2008 introduction: Aretha Franklin had just enjoyed major success with the Stevie Wonder composition 'Until You Come Back To Me'. She was in contract re-negotiations ...
Ashford & Simpson: Really Somethin' Else!
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, December 1973
OVER THE last five years, the emergence of producers-turned performers has been a phenomenon which brought into the limelight some of the finest creative forces ...
Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Black Music, December 1973
DON COVAY is a permanent fixture in the music of this era. ...
Ashford & Simpson, Marvin Gaye: Entertainers: Ashford and Simpson
Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Essence, December 1973
"OH, I JUST love Marvin Gaye," Valerie Simpson says, bouncing up and down with all the enthusiasm of an avid fan. "He's such a beautiful ...
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 ...
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 ...
Sylvester and the Hot Band: Bazaar (Blue Thumb)
Review by Richard Cromelin, Phonograph Record, December 1973
WHEN SYLVESTER'S first album came out, his supporters' only defense was to say, "Well, he's a great live act." Now, in his second one, he's ...
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, ...
Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1973
MOST INITIAL comments that I overheard on my way out from the Philly Package concert at London's Hammersmith Odeon theatre were slightly tinged with disappointment. ...
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 ...
Earth, Wind & Fire: Earth Wind & Fire: Memories of Trane & Motown
Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Rolling Stone, 6 December 1973
CINCINNATI — MAURICE White and Phillip Bailey, the two lead singers and percussionists for Earth, Wind and Fire, are sitting in a rented Pontiac parked ...
Interview by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 6 December 1973
THE SMILING face of Diana Ross froze as she answered the question. The gauche bastard had just asked how she felt replacing Tammi Terrell in ...
Clarence "Frogman" Henry: Henry's Back For A Hit
Profile and Interview by John Broven, Melody Maker, 22 December 1973
CLARENCE (Frogman) Henry hasn't had a top-selling record for more than 12 years, but he is still managing to pull the crowds in to hear ...
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 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 ...
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 ...
Essay by Dave Marsh, Let It Rock, January 1974
LET'S GET one thing straight. Otis Redding's posthumous rise to the Kingship of soul is highly suspect. He earned the accolade a little too easily ...
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 ...
Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 January 1974
SOME PEOPLE might call Larry Graham cocky. The 27-year-old soul musician seethes with talent and finally has the means to unleash it. No doubt he ...
Al Green: Livin' For You (import)
Review by Martin Hayman, Sounds, 12 January 1974
AL GREEN: ALIVE AND SO REAL ...
Live Review by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 17 January 1974
"THE NEXT stop that we make will be England" was the cue for 3000 Londoners to get out of their seats and move to the ...
Retrospective by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 26 January 1974
SOUL MUSIC and the blues have boundaries which are largely indefinable — a factor which has allowed many artists to straddle the two. ...
The Pointer Sisters: Pointer Sisters: Rainbow Room, Biba, London
Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 26 January 1974
IF YOU'RE still able to get tickets for any of the Pointer Sisters' concerts I strongly advise you to invest in them. At an LA ...
Review by Wayne Robins, Zoo World, 31 January 1974
IF THERE'S two movie theatres in your town, and one is showing some foreign art movie like Elvira Madigan or The Heartbreak Kid and the ...
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 ...
Stevie Wonder: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, February 1974
IT'S BEEN said before but it's got to be said again: Stevie Wonder is, firstly, one of the most creative talents in the musical world ...
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 ...
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 ...
Linda Lewis, The Staple Singers: The Staple Singers/Linda Lewis: Royal Festival Hall, London
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, February 1974
IF ANYONE ever asked for a definition of soul, the best advice you could give them would be to go to a concert by the ...
The Staple Singers, Pops Staples: MM Staple Singers special: Top of the Pops!
Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 2 February 1974
THE STAPLE SINGERS, who gave one charging show in London on Friday, are one of America's most justly famed gospel groups. They have come a ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 2 February 1974
COME TO THINK about it, I always did rate Gladys Knight very highly. ‘Take Me In Your Arms and Love Me’ especially was one of ...
The Isley Brothers: 3+3 (Epic)
Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 2 February 1974
BLACK MUSIC is currently well entrenched in the process of mixing recent rock forms into the standard sound of soul, a process in which the ...
The Staple Singers: From Gospel to Protest
Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 2 February 1974
IT'S A LONG, long way in space and time, from Drew, Mississippi to the 23rd Floor of the London Hilton. Fourteen years of singing and ...
Al Green: Call Me (London), Livin' For You (London)
Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 23 February 1974
THESE TWO ALBUMS have been released here in the last three months, in uncomfortably close succession, mainly because Decca procrastinated over issuing Call Me by which time Livin' ...
Stevie Wonder Returns With a Synthesized Howl
Report and Interview by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 28 February 1974
LONDON — IT HAD been five months since his auto accident, five months since he had done a complete show onstage, and it was clear ...
Barry White, Love Unlimited: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1974
Triumph at the Rainbow ...
Gloria Jones: Sharing Her Soul
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1974
HOW MANY times, I wonder, do we hear that old worn out cliché from visiting Americans about how much they dig this country and how ...
New York City: Playboy Club, London
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1974
SOMETIMES THE atmosphere or the vibes, whatever you want to call it, can have a profound effect on the performance of entertainers and if you're ...
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 ...
The Real Thing: Gulliver's, London
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1974
MAKING ONE of their rare appearances in London, Liverpool's Real Thing put on an entertaining performance which demonstrated their vocal capabilities but did not show, ...
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 ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1974
PERHAPS MORE than any other female group around today, The Supremes have undergone what seem like almost regular personnel changes and to my mind, it's ...
Manu Dibango: Manu: Breaking Out of Africa
Profile and Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 2 March 1974
Manu Dibango, No. 1 in Africa, has finally broken through in America. Robert Partridge met him in Paris... ...
Kool and the Gang: Kool The Brand Leader In Funky Stuff
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 9 March 1974
KOOL AND the Gang are just about the biggest thing on the Southern (of England that is) soul scene at the monent, and they're even ...
Dr. John: Tell me, Dr. John... Dr. John? Dr. John? Wake up Dr. John!
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 9 March 1974
THE KING OF VAUDEVILLE FUNK NODS OUT ON NICK KENT ...
Aretha Franklin: Apollo Theater, New York NY
Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, New Musical Express, 23 March 1974
Aretha: a Queen with no dignity? ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 23 March 1974
Seven years in the shadow of Diana Ross ...
Live Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 23 March 1974
'I'M DOIN' Fine Now' was a great pop soul single. 'Quick Fast In A Hurry' their current, much played, 45 is a disco and a ...
Profile and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 30 March 1974
BOBBY "BLUE" Bland is on stage now, smiling at Mel Jackson as he takes the microphone from him and swings into 'Reconsider Baby'. Then a ...
Aretha Franklin: Apollo Theatre, New York, NY
Live Review by Dan Nooger, Phonograph Record, April 1974
MUSIC HAS taken its place with dope and women as a reason for coming to Harlem. Especially these bleak days, it's an emotionally regenerative experience ...
Profile and Interview by Bill Millar, Let It Rock, April 1974
THE RAINBOW, July 2nd last. Art Neville saved the show. Didn't he? Dr. John made a gas of an entrance but, from then on – ...
Doris Troy: Stretchin' Out and Gettin' Ahead
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1974
AS WE promised in the last 'TALA', we're gonna be checking out a few of the American artists who have decided to make their home ...
The Dramatics: A Dramatic Experience
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1974
OVER THE past two years, the Dramatics have become established as one of the most consistently successful vocal groups in America. The success streak began ...
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 ...
Profile and Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Black Music, April 1974
Vernon Gibbs in New York reports on the band who hit Britain in April ...
Stevie Wonder: Madison Square Garden, New York NY
Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 6 April 1974
Night of Wonder ...
Bobby Bland: Bobby "Blue" Bland
Profile and Interview by Dan Nooger, Phonograph Record, 11 April 1974
BOBBY BLUE Bland is a big, genial man, born 1931 in Rosemark, Tenn., former vocalist of the legendary Memphis "Beale Street Blues Boys," (along with ...
Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, New Musical Express, 13 April 1974
Central Station soul special ...
The Spinners, The Temptations: The Temptations, The Spinners: Apollo Theater, New York NY
Live Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 14 April 1974
THE ATTRACTION at the Apollo Theater is actually a confrontation between two major soul singing groups, the Temptations, the headliners, and the Spinners. This is ...
Ann Peebles: Hangin' On To Success
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, May 1974
ALL OF a sudden, it seems like the whole world is talking about the talents of a magnificently soulful young woman and she puts it ...
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... ...
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 ...
Jerry Butler: Power Of Love (Mercury)
Review by John Swenson, Zoo World, 9 May 1974
JERRY BUTLER is unquestionably the King of Chicago-style cool R&B (the name Ice Man didn't come for nothing – at a time when Pickett epitomized ...
The Jackson 5: The J5½ at work and play
Interview by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 22 May 1974
THE JACKSON Five are reaching out, consciously trying to relate their music to an older crowd. ...
Dr. John: Dr John: Finally In The Right Place
Interview by John Swenson, Crawdaddy!, June 1974
From Gris Gris to Gumbo to the Top of the Charts, with "goofer dust an' powders an' oils an' sachets an' lotions an' candles an' ...
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 ...
Herbie Hancock: Rollin' & Tumblin': Head Hunting with Herbie Hancock
Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Crawdaddy!, June 1974
After years of high-quality struggle, one black jazzman has finally hit it big. Were the compromises worth it? ...
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 ...
Interview by John Swenson, Zoo World, 6 June 1974
VIBRAPHONE VIRTUOSO Roy Ayers slouches in a scoop chair in a loose fitting tweed coat, talking with great animation about his latest album, Virgo Red. He smiles ...
Sly & The Family Stone: Sly Stone: Super Sly
Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 June 1974
HE EXTENDED A HAND but looked elsewhere. Who could tell where his eyes focused beneath those silver shades? He gripped and I felt pain through ...
Sly & The Family Stone: Sly Weds on Stage
Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 15 June 1974
THE EVER-unpredictable Sly Stone married the mother of his nine-month-old son in front of 20,000 fans at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday evening. ...
Curtis Mayfield, Gladys Knight: Gladys Knight: Claudine (Original Soundtrack)
Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 22 June 1974
IT MUST have seemed a good idea. Amalgamating the talents of Buddah stablemates Gladys Knight and Curtis Mayfield for the sound-track of Claudine. ...
Miles Davis: Big Fun (Columbia)
Review by Vernon Gibbs, Phonograph Record, July 1974
SO MANY expletives have been deleted in praise of this honorable sage, that I feel it necessary to set the record straight. Miles Davis is ...
Oscar Brown Jr.: Man With A Message
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, July 1974
HIT RECORDS are funny things. An artist can go in the studio, work for hours, use the best musicians, spend lots of money and think ...
Rufus & Chaka Khan: Tellin' Something Good
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, July 1974
2008 introduction: The group Rufus had released its first album on ABC in 1973; by the following year, the Chicago-based team was on its second ...
Gladys Knight, O'Jays: Soul Man: "Cholly" Atkins
Profile and Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Crawdaddy!, July 1974
THE MAN who taught the Temptations their strut, the Pips their dip, the Miracles their whip... takes it all in stride. ...
Report and Interview by Robin Katz, 19, July 1974
IT IS 1963. Beehive hairdos, and the Beach Boys are the all-American thing. In the shabby end of Brooklyn sits an old theatre called The ...
Review by Vernon Gibbs, Crawdaddy!, July 1974
THE TRUE TEST of any band is in live performance. Prima donna "entertainers" can escape with sickly back-ups and pass muster simply on the force ...
Live Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 5 July 1974
On L.I., Jazz Takes a Back Seat to Soul ...
Al Green, Laura Lee: Apollo Theatre, Harlem, New York NY
Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, New Musical Express, 6 July 1974
Uptight Green holds it all back ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 6 July 1974
I NEVER COULD understand why so many Rock Critics (sic) couldn't stomach The Supremes. ...
James Brown, Mandrill, George McCrae: Madison Square Garden, New York NY
Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 11 July 1974
GODFATHER'S GROOVE ...
George McCrae's Last Chance – A Smash
Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 20 July 1974
STRANGE how chance plays its part in the record business. If George McCrae hadn't decided to have one last try at making a hit record ...
War: A Street Rod on the Boulevard of Soul
Report and Interview by Barbara Charone, Rolling Stone, 24 July 1974
"SOMETIMES I TELL myself: I'm B.B. Dickerson and I'm in War so I'm going to pull up in front of the Continental Hyatt House in ...
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. ...
Betty Davis: The Bottom Line, New York, NY
Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, Phonograph Record, August 1974
THE FEEBLE-minded walk out in disgust when Betty Davis wiggles her tush at them, the weakhearted go limp with despair while the lusty ready their ...
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 Pointer Sisters: That's a Plenty (Blue Thumb)
Review by Colman Andrews, Creem, August 1974
THE POINTER Sisters are basically the Bettes noires of East Bay jazz-rock jive. ...
Viola Wills: Struggling For The Truth
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1974
IT CAME as something of a surprise to the lady to learn that her name was already familiar to a hard core following of fans ...
Ashford & Simpson: Behind A Painted Smile
Profile and Interview by Robin Katz, Sounds, 3 August 1974
'Ain't No Mountain High Enough', 'You're All I Need To Get By', 'Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing', and 'The Onion Song' were all hits ...
Hot Chocolate: Ghetto Music — Council Estate Style
Interview by Robin Katz, Sounds, 3 August 1974
Robin Katz meets a hot, unified body ...
Profile and Interview by Robin Katz, Sounds, 10 August 1974
JOHNNY BRISTOL'S 'Hang On In There Baby' is currently moving up the American charts. It sounds very much like the Isaac Hayes-Barry White school of ...
The Jackson 5: Madison Square Garden, NYC
Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 10 August 1974
NEW YORK: There's something about Michael Jackson that is almost frightening to behold. How can it be possible for a kid that age to be ...
The Drifters: Drifting With An Endless Identity Crisis
Report by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 31 August 1974
"BELL RECORDS and Henry Sellers Ltd., on behalf of Faye Treadwell, manager of the Drifters, wish to make known that Charlie Thomas and the Drifters ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1974
THERE ARE but a handful of names that seem to have an almost magical effect on soul folk everywhere. For some, the name is held ...
Kool and the Gang, Nancy Wilson: Nancy Wilson, Kool and The Gang: The Apollo Theater, New York NY
Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, Phonograph Record, September 1974
"SING BLACK!," one dissenter shouted at Nancy Wilson who was the headliner at an Apollo show which included the comedy of Dick Gregory and was ...
Sly & The Family Stone: Sly Stone Finds Domestic Bliss with Small Talk
Profile and Interview by Michael Gross, Circus, September 1974
Two years ago, Sly Stone's future looked bleak. Now, after an acclaimed album, a woman, and a son have come his way, Sly's entire life ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1974
LIVING IN the footsteps is a problem which daunts performers from time to time when they come from a successful musical family – we all ...
The Jimmy Castor Bunch, Funkadelic, Parliament: Funkadelic pee in your Afro
Report by Vernon Gibbs, The Village Voice, 5 September 1974
LAST WEEK, Rare Earth punked out of a gig at the Apollo, a rare honor for which Mick Jagger might conceivably give up eyeshadow. The ...
Lorraine Ellison: Lorraine Ellison
Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 7 September 1974
THE STORY so far: in 1966 Lorraine Ellison made one vast contribution to popular mythology with 'Stay With Me, Baby', unquestionably a classic (maybe this ...
Stevie Wonder: Fulfillingness' First Finale (Motown)
Review by Wayne Robins, The Village Voice, 12 September 1974
What's the storeee, Stevie? ...
Billy Preston: The Busiest Soul In Showbusiness
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 14 September 1974
THANKS TO his prodigious session-work, as well as his own tours, Billy Preston is one of the most frequent American soul visitors to our isle; ...
KC & the Sunshine Band: KC & Sunshine Band: Let The Sunshine In
Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 14 September 1974
ALTHOUGH it has yet to register in the US Top 100, 'Queen Of Clubs' by K. C. and the Sunshine Band represents the second big ...
Review by Loraine Alterman, The New York Times, 15 September 1974
A Rising Star Needs a Setting ...
The Jimmy Castor Bunch: Jimmy Castor: The Everything Man
Review by Chris Salewicz, New Musical Express, 21 September 1974
SUBTLE ONE, that title. See, in the centre of the sleeve there's a picture of the dude who is presumably Jimmy Castor wearing a standard ...
The Isley Brothers: Phase Four — Isley Style
Overview by Robin Katz, Sounds, 21 September 1974
YOUR ROVING reporter ROBIN KATZ bought a copy of the Isley Brothers' first album, Shout for a mere quid, and upon her arrival home, it was ...
Johnny Bristol: Hangin' Out with the Other JB
Profile by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 28 September 1974
PRODUCER/SONGWRITERS turned artists are an increasingly common feature of the soul scene. ...
Ann Peebles: Sweet and Soulful
Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, October 1974
David Nathan reports on Ann Peebles' London gigs and talks shop with the delectable lady. ...
LaBelle: Tomorrow's Brightest Stars
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, October 1974
2008 introduction: In person interview conducted by David Nathan in the kitchen of Vicki Wickham's apartment in midtown Manhattan. Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx and Sarah ...
Lorraine Ellison: Heart And Soul
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, October 1974
David Nathan talks to the 'Stay With Me' lady, who's set to unleash her talents and become much more than just a singers' singer ...
Millie Jackson: Sayin' What Comes Naturally
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, October 1974
IF THERE is truly any justice, 1974 will see the final emergence of the magnificent Mille Jackson right at the top of her field, where ...
Retrospective and Interview by Cliff White, Black Music, October 1974
WHEN is a Drifter not a Drifter? That is the question. ...
Allen Toussaint: Introspective Funk
Retrospective and Interview by Joe McEwen, The Real Paper, 2 October 1974
PRODUCER ALLEN TOUSSAINT hunches forward over the expansive 16-track control board and stares impassively through the glass at two singers in the orange studio beyond. ...
Ann Peebles: The Biba Rainbow Room, London
Live Review by Philip Norman, The Times, 5 October 1974
APPLAUSE IN this sybaritic cafeteria is always a little suspect, being related to how far the performer can corroborate the Biba audience's good opinion of ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 5 October 1974
MARTHA AND The Vandellas never really made the grade. ...
Interview by David Rensin, Rolling Stone, 10 October 1974
LOS ANGELES – Along with many of the stars and hopefuls at Chicago's 1971 Black Expo, Minnie Riperton waited patiently backstage to approach the blind ...
Herbie Hancock, Minnie Riperton: Carnegie Hall, New York NY
Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 12 October 1974
Coarse Hancock ...
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 12 October 1974
THOUGH HE had a massive hit here some years back with 'Who's Making Love' and has consistently been one of the top-selling Stax artists, Johnnie ...
Johnny Bristol: Hang On In There, Baby
Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 12 October 1974
HEY, THIS cat's a whole lot better than Barry White. ...
Ann Peebles: Gulliver's, London
Live Review by Ray Fox-Cumming, Disc, 19 October 1974
CONCERTS at the ultra-trendy Biba's Rainbow Room almost invariably, for some reason or other, turn out to be disappointing and, from the reviews I've read ...
Ann Peebles: I Can't Stand The Rain
Interview by Harry Doherty, Disc, 19 October 1974
BRITAIN has been bitten by the Ann Peebles bug and, in a typical reciprocal move, our very own famous bug (commonly known as 'flu) has ...
Curtis Mayfield: Sweet Exorcist (Buddah); Move On Up — The Best Of Curtis Mayfield (Buddah)
Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 19 October 1974
IF CURTIS Mayfield had started out with the intention of riding squarely astride every bandwagon that was rolling he couldn't have done better than 'Sweet ...
Live Review by Philip Norman, The Times, 21 October 1974
THE IKE AND Tina Turner revue is the most constant reminder of what a debt we owe to Phil Spector. Had Specter not produced Tina ...
Stevie Wonder, The Commodores: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale NY
Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, Zoo World, 24 October 1974
'S Wonderful! ...
Review by Fred Dellar, New Musical Express, 26 October 1974
THE COMMODORES, a sextet who compare roughly with Kool And The Gang and the Ohio Players, appeal to me in a limited way. ...
The Meters: Funk From The Crescent City
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 26 October 1974
THERE'S ALWAYS been something unique about New Orleans music, whether it's the jazz of Louis Armstong, the boogie-woogie blues of Champion Jack Dupree, the lopping ...
Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, November 1974
ONE DAY last week I tuned into Noel Edmunds and I heard it – and fell back into bed. ...
Profile by Colman Andrews, Phonograph Record, November 1974
ALL OF A sudden you wake up one morning and find that Herbie Hancock has three albums on the charts. Herbie Hancock, one-time enfant terrible ...
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 ...
Sly & The Family Stone: Sly Stone: Small Talk
Review by Pete Wingfield, Let It Rock, November 1974
BY SLY'S SLUGGISH standards, it's not that long since the last album, Fresh; maybe married life has given him a creative surge. ...
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 ...
Barry White: Can't Get Enough (20th Century)
Review by Gene Sculatti, Zoo World, 7 November 1974
YOU KNOW, I've heard people say that too much of anything isn't good for you. But I don't know about that, 'cause the fact is, ...
Barry White: Can't Get Enough (20th Century)
Review by Vernon Gibbs, The Village Voice, 7 November 1974
Barry White: Love of Lush ...
Marvin Gaye May Not Be Goin' On
Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Zoo World, 7 November 1974
"SOMEBODY PLEASE turn that thing down," Marvin Gaye casts this weary appeal to one of the numerous aides that flitter through his suite in New ...
Eddie Holman: Holman's Recurring Revived 45
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 9 November 1974
REVIVED 45s are a familiar part of the British pop scene, but Eddie Holman's '(Hey There) Lonely Girl' is somewhat special in that it's now ...
Labelle: Dinner and cards with Reggie
Profile and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 9 November 1974
"I REMEMBER the time," says Sarah, "when we toured in England and Bluesology backed us. And Patti used to play cards with Reggie — Elton ...
Stevie Wonder: Further Fulfillingness
Interview by Wayne Robins, Melody Maker, 9 November 1974
STEVIE WONDER had to know: should he, could he, release part two of Fulfillingness' First Finale at the end of November? ...
The Three Degrees: Higher and higher with the rising Degrees
Interview by Giovanni Dadomo, Record Mirror, 9 November 1974
HAVING EXPERIENCED the full force of thelr dynamic and sensual stage act only a few days before, I half expected to find the Three Degrees ...
Blue Magic, Aretha Franklin: Aretha Franklin, Blue Magic: Radio City Music Hall, New York
Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, New Musical Express, 16 November 1974
ARETHA FRANKLIN ascended into the firmament that was always hers by right anyway with a spectacular Radio City Music Hall series of concerts that would ...
James Brown: The Apollo Theater, New York NY
Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, New Musical Express, 16 November 1974
UPTOWN AT the Apollo, an eager audience is wondering when The King of Soul will make his appearance. ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 23 November 1974
CAN AL GREEN recover his credibility and save the world after all?, is the theme of today's programme. ...
The Chi-Lites... too good to be ignored
Interview by David Hancock, Record Mirror, 23 November 1974
EVEN FIVE years ago a few "oohs and aahs" and a bit of harmony would have got any soul record branded as specialist. But things ...
The Miracles: Miracles Never Cease…
Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 23 November 1974
LOS ANGELES: "I really loved touring with the English groups, back in 1963 and 1964. We used to tour with the Rolling Stones and people ...
Aretha Franklin: With Everything I Feel In Me (Atlantic)
Review by Loraine Alterman, The New York Times, 24 November 1974
Aretha, You're the Top ...
The Delfonics: Developments In The Delfonic Dilemma
Profile and Interview by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 30 November 1974
MENTION THE Philly sound, and people will start thinking about The O'Jays, Billy Paul, The Intruders or The Three Degrees. ...
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 ...
Larry Graham: 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 ...
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 ...
The Isley Brothers: Felt Forum, New York, NY
Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, Phonograph Record, December 1974
THE ISLEY Brothers have demonstrated a level of tenacity that can only be considered remarkable in a business marked by overnight successes and instant failures. ...
Cornell Dupree: Teasin' (Atlantic)
Review by Jonh Ingham, New Musical Express, 7 December 1974
THE COVER sums this one up: a comfy sofa and an old electric fan and a Coke machine that's about fifteen years old, with the ...
Larry Graham, The Isley Brothers: Isley Brothers, Graham Central Station: Felt Forum, New York NY
Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 7 December 1974
NEW YORK: Graham Central Station kicked off the show at the Felt Forum last Sunday with their brand of Sly funk They aren't really like ...
The Temptations: Uris Theatre, New York NY
Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 7 December 1974
NEW YORK: The Temptations at The Uris on Broadway should have been an event — but instead it was a backwards step, just like going ...
Thelma Houston: Sunshower (ABC)
Review by Fred Dellar, New Musical Express, 7 December 1974
IF I REMEMBER correctly, this is the third time that Sunshower has appeared in this country — not that I'm complaining, I just think it's ...
Profile by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 14 December 1974
Some things turn me on...like the way you might say a word or the way you wear your hair and have a certain smile on ...
Nosmo King: Disco Demand: Smashes — by demand
Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 14 December 1974
MM looks at a new label that's notching up an impressive track record ...
Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 14 December 1974
"I TELL YOU... England is the most exciting and beautiful country I have ever seen," says George McCrae, now two and a half weeks into ...
Rufus: Going Below The Belt With Rufus
Profile and Interview by David Hancock, Record Mirror, 14 December 1974
YOU KNOW the feelin' — worn out by too much funk, and sweet soul don't make it for you anymore. Well don't despair, Krudde music ...
Stevie Wonder: Forum, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 14 December 1974
Stevie Wonder: painting in rock ...
Otis Redding: A Legend During His Lifetime, Or Only After His Death
Retrospective by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 21 December 1974
The former, argues ROGER ST. PIERRE, in this appreciation of OTIS REDDING, who died seven years ago this month – the Boss Man soul music ...
Edwin Starr: The Thespian Anglophile And The Motown Machine
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 28 December 1974
EDWIN STARR has a rather special place in the British soul scene, since none of America's top soul acts can match his record of some ...
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 ...
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 ...
Stevie Wonder: Fulfillingness' First Finale (Motown)
Review by Danny Goldberg, Hit Parader, January 1975
THERE IS more of the 'Sunshine Of My Life' ballad side of Stevie Wonder on this new LP than the rocking 'Living In The City'. ...
Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 1 January 1975
Black is busting out all over ...
Barry White: Limitless Love — The Maestro's Message
Report and Interview by Joe Nick Patoski, Zoo World, 2 January 1975
"ISAAC HAYES? I defend him now," Barry White smiles confidently in his dressing room, Chivas in hand, dragging on his Benson-Hedges menthol. "People started to ...
Gil Scott-Heron: Survival Kits on Wax
Profile and Interview by Sheila Weller, Rolling Stone, 2 January 1975
NEW YORK – At the age of 25, he has to his credit two published novels, one published collection of poetry and four albums of ...
Review by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 2 January 1975
TWO YEARS AGO, while working for another magazine, I rejected a rambling interview between black poet Nikki Giovanni and singer Gladys Knight. The interview wasn't ...
Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 4 January 1975
RELUCTANTLY, ONE MUST admit that Aretha Franklin has now lost her crown as America's top female singer to Miss Knight. Gladys and her Pips have ...
Cher, LaBelle: LaBelle: It Happened In Hollywood
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 4 January 1975
IT HAPPENED in Hollywood.To be precise it happened on The Cher Show. ...
The Delfonics: Alive And Kicking
Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 4 January 1975
THE REAL SOUND of Philadelphia belongs to the Delfonics, who started not only the Philly sound but almost the whole black vocal-group syndrome back in ...
The Righteous Brothers - Give it to the People
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 4 January 1975
ANOTHER ILLUSION SHATTERED. ...
Booker T. Jones, The Persuasions: Booker T., the Persuasions: Bottom Line, New York NY
Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, The Village Voice, 6 January 1975
Booker T. and the Persuasions: Black Folk Music ...
Report by Mick Farren, New Musical Express, 11 January 1975
That’s SOUL TRAIN, a TV showcase not only for the cream of US soul acts, but for the stuff-struttingest most fashion conscious kids on the ...
Larry Graham, Sly & The Family Stone: Larry Graham: Platform For Station
Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 January 1975
OAKLAND: Few people can ever have listened to a Sly Stone record without experiencing a gut feeling as the bass guitar runs through its paces, ...
Soul (Style): Baggy Trousers Will Not Be Admitted
Report by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 11 January 1975
THE STYLISTIC rivalry between soul fans in the North and South of England has been well publicised. But what magazine odes to regional soul tend ...
Profile by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 January 1975
BY FAR THE biggest ensemble to be visiting Europe on the Warners tour is Tower of Power, the Oakland based blues and soul outfit whose ...
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 25 January 1975
STUDENTS OF the currently emergent Miami Sound will have noticed the proliferation of album credits, both as writer and musician, for one Willie Hale. ...
The Ohio Players: Ohio Players: Ohio Fire
Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 25 January 1975
With an album racing up the US charts, the Ohio Players are big timers. CHRIS CHARLESWORTH in New York meets the tour de force behind ...
George McCrae, Sweet Sensation, The Three Degrees: Soul Single of the Year: 'Rock Your Baby'
Guide by David Hancock, Record Mirror, 25 January 1975
IT WAS the year's summer sound — a sort of black funk Lovin' Spoonful — which for a short time wholly captured the imagination of ...
Johnny Bristol: Hang On in There Baby (MGM M3G 4959)
Review by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 30 January 1975
THIS SONGWRITER/producer's debut as an LP artist frequently bears similarities to the work of Barry White. Vocals are alternately guttural and emotive, then strident and ...
Ashford & Simpson: Ashford and Simpson: Nick and Val
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, February 1975
IT'S PRETTY hard to believe that the young, unassuming couple seated comfortably in their smart New York apartment-and-office are the masterminds behind a whole string ...
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. ...
Syl Johnson: Barbarella's, Birmingham
Live Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, February 1975
MOST OF the soul artists who do the one-nighter round of the UK and USAF bases have some kind of hit going for them, or ...
Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, February 1975
ALMOST INEVITABLY, the one line of questioning that any interviewer takes with Syl Johnson involves Al Green, Willie Mitchell and Hi Records. Which is understandable ...
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... ...
Review by Fred Dellar, New Musical Express, 1 February 1975
IF YOU'RE a pal of Babbling Barry's you gotta have a Theme. Love Unlimited have got one — so has Gene Page — and Jay ...
The Ohio Players: Ohio Players: Fiery, Freaky and Funky
Profile by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 1 February 1975
CURRENTLY THE HOTTEST item on Billboard's album chart is The Ohio Players Fire (Mercury). Phonogram must have burnt their fingers in the rush get it ...
Average White Band: The Average White Band: Let's Get It On
Interview by Robin Katz, Sounds, 1 February 1975
Calling yourselves the Average White Band seemed, even in Britain, to be chancing it a bit. In the States, for slightly different reasons, it almost ...
Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 8 February 1975
THE BIGGEST MISTAKE Don Covay made with this album was in making 'It's Better To Have' track one, side one. ...
Report by Vernon Gibbs, New Musical Express, 8 February 1975
...Look what a hole he's in. From New York VERNON GIBBS reports on the man's present crises, and on funk acts Kool, BT Express, and ...
Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 8 February 1975
SO GRAHAM CENTRAL STATION RUNS TO SCHEDULE... ...
Syl Johnson: Johnson — A Rough Gem
Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 February 1975
AFTER HIS first visit to Britain, guitarist-singer-songwriter Syl Johnson returned last weekend to his home, outside Chicago. His final gigs were at Barbarella's in Birmingham ...
Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 15 February 1975
DON COVAY'S resurrection as an artist was one of the brightest events of last year. His 'It's Better To Have' made number 21 in the ...
Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin: The Age of Atlantic: Jerry Wexler
Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 February 1975
Max Jones talks to Jerry Wexler, famed producer of Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Maggie Bell, among others — and a vice-chairman of Atlantic ...
Kool and the Gang, The Ohio Players: The Ohio Players, Kool & The Gang: From Ohio to Japan
Profile and Interview by Robin Katz, Sounds, 15 February 1975
THE OHIO Players have been America's number one R&B band for the last two years. Kool And The Gang were the first instrumental based band ...
Bobby Womack: I Can Understand It
Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 22 February 1975
CALLED IN America Greatest Hits, this album simply illustrates the unsatisfactory position that Bobby Womack finds himself in in England. Hitless. ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 22 February 1975
ONLY ONE OBJECTION to this album, so let's put it right up front. ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 22 February 1975
THE AVERAGE WHITES broke the ice with their second album and Kokomo will be the first of the beneficiaries. ...
Hamilton Bohannon: South African Man from Georgia: King Hamilton of Discoland
Interview by David Hancock, Record Mirror, 22 February 1975
His Majesty Bohannon grants Our Hancock an audience ...
Interview by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 22 February 1975
IT'S A SOMEWHAT perplexed Chi-Lites who recently embarked on their second and most extensive UK tour of Clubs and Cabaret. ...
Gil Scott-Heron, Donald Byrd & the Blackbyrds: Carnegie Hall, New York NY
Live Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 23 February 1975
Gil Scott-Heron, Poet ...
Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, The Village Voice, 24 February 1975
Progressive Soul: Where Were You? ...
Curtis Mayfield, The Impressions: Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions: Big Sixteen
Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, March 1975
IT'S PLEASING to see Anchor pushing out this classic compilation, as it's been unavailable for several years. It was originally issued on the old HMV ...
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 ...
Dionne Warwicke: Right Back On Top
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1975
ASIDE FROM 'Then Came You', her million-selling, Thom Bell-produced duo with The Detroit Spinners which catapulted to the higher echelons of the pop & soul ...
Review by Tom Nolan, Phonograph Record, March 1975
THIS EXCITING album by a veteran group (so experienced in working together they seem to anticipate each other's moves) is characterized by masterful use of ...
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 ...
Chaka Khan, Rufus: Rufus, featuring Chaka Khan: Rufusized (ABC Dunhill)
Review by Idris Walters, Let It Rock, March 1975
RUFUS DATE back to 1968. They were called the American Breed. They had 'Bend Me Shape Me' for a hit record. The American Breed became ...
The Hues Corporation: The Love Corporation
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1975
'LOVE CORPORATION' really is an apt title for the Hues Corporation's new single because this L.A.-based trio literally ooze love for their fellow men and ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1975
THERE ARE two specific reasons why it is always a pleasure for me to interview and then present a feature on the Tymes. Firstly, because ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1975
IT IS EXCEPTIONALLY refreshing and highly unusual in this world full of phoney and plastic people to meet anyone with the honest, sensitive and just ...
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 1 March 1975
BETTY WRIGHT IS, as they say, a lot more than just a pretty face. She's also got a voice that's stacked with burning southern soul, ...
Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 1 March 1975
Elton gets lost ...
Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 March 1975
AIN'T IT just like the February sunshine to play tricks with the mind? Here I am, sat aboard the Long Island Railroad Express, rattling out ...
LaBelle: Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi Ce Soir?
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 8 March 1975
"THE RE-VO-LU-SHUN...will not be televaaaaaazed," declaims Patti LaBelle, staring into the audience from the stage of the Congressgebouwe in the Hague. ...
Live Review by Philip Norman, The Times, 10 March 1975
LIFE HAS changed for Mickie Most since he appeared as one half of The Most Brothers, "England's answer to the Everly Brothers". Forsaking the duet ...
Interview by David Hancock, Record Mirror, 15 March 1975
LABELLE ARE fashionable. They have a top ten single and album in the States, yet in Britain — nothing. As I said Labelle are fashionable. ...
LaBelle: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London
Live Review by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 15 March 1975
THE PROVERBIAL BREATH of fresh air. ...
The Moments, Shirley & Company: Shirley & Company and The Moments: The Carpenters Are My Real Faves
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 15 March 1975
Al Goodman, A & R man for All Platinum label. So what are you doing on the Soul page with Shirley & Co., Al? ...
The Chambers Brothers, Kokomo: Bottom Line, New York NY
Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 22 March 1975
Kokomo keep the faith ...
Carl Douglas: Kung Fu Fighting (20th Century T-464)
Review by John Mendelssohn, Rolling Stone, 27 March 1975
I WAS GAILY dancing the kung fu (even though I don't, as the song informs us one is supposed to, possess the grace of a ...
Shirley Goodman, Shirley & Company: Shirley & Company: 'Shame' of the Discos
Profile and Interview by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 27 March 1975
A FRIENDSHIP formed backstage at the Apollo Theater 19 years ago is responsible for one of the year's surprise hits. ...
Ann Peebles: "You Never Stop Paying Your Dues," Husband Don tells David Hancock
Interview by David Hancock, Record Mirror, 29 March 1975
ANN PEEBLES IS UNCONCERNED ABOUT HER LACK OF RECOGNITION HERE ...
Al Green: Love, Happiness And Convictions
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1975
2008 introduction: Known as the "Prince Of Soul," Al Green had built up a strong audience thanks to a string of hit singles and best-selling ...
Ann Peebles: Learning To Cope With The Rain
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1975
BEING THE recording artist for a classic can have almost as many pitfalls as advantages. The history of our music is littered with names who ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1975
IT'S BEEN more than a while since we heard from one young lady whose consistently good records seemed to never hit quite as big as ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1975
ONE HARDLY is likely to forget the name of Dooley Silverspoon and that really was the main purpose behind Dooley – whose actual surname is ...
Bill Justis, Roscoe Shelton, Joe Simon, Ella Washington: Echoes: John Richbourg — Southern Soul Man
Retrospective and Interview by Bill Millar, Let It Rock, April 1975
Producer and DJ John Richbourg has been involved with the careers of Bobby Hebb, Joe Simon and many more. ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1975
When 'Swing Your Daddy' exploded on to the scene, everybody was saying they knew the name of Jim Gilstrap – but where from? ...
The Jimmy Castor Bunch: Jimmy Castor: Boogieing To The Top
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1975
JIMMY CASTOR confesses that, right now, he is feeling elated. And one look at the charts or a few hours listening to nearly every r&b ...
LaBelle: Nightbirds (Epic EPC 80566)
Review by Idris Walters, Let It Rock, April 1975
PATTI LABELLE, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash. The Ordettes and Del Capris came together in the early sixties to form Patti LaBelle and the Bluebells ...
Melba Moore: Soulful Sophistication
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1975
LIKE MOST everyone else, you're probably under the impression that the name Melba Moore is more synonymous with Broadway, Las Vegas, supper clubs and Hollywood ...
New York City: A Return Ticket From Philadelphia
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1975
AT A TIME when we should have been welcoming George McCrae back for his second British tour, we are instead featuring that super-talented quartet, New ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1975
ODIA COATES is now a lady with two claims to fame. Her actual discovery as far as the world is concerned is that she was ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1975
"POSITIVE THINKING and a high energy level" are, according to Benny Diggs, what make Revelation what they are. If you ever feel that you want ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1975
THE TRULY amazing dynamism of the four lovely ladies who make up Philadelphia's own SISTER SLEDGE are finally getting the kind of recognition which their ...
Terry Callier, Garland Jeffreys, Booker T. Jones, Linda Lewis: Soul, Man: The New "Black Folk"
Overview by Vernon Gibbs, Crawdaddy!, April 1975
ALL THROUGH the '60s, Booker T. and the MGs were one of the genuine oddities of soul. ...
Review by Simon Frith, Let It Rock, April 1975
I'D BETTER DECLARE myself: I like Philly Sound, the Stylistics, Barry White even (or, rather, sometimes); I don't think Norman Whitfield mangled Motown: I do ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1975
TRYING TO interview the Drifters sometimes proves an almost impossible task but it is one that I relish every time it is made possible because ...
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... ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1975
"TO BE a moon, not just a star" is the collective ambition of five, talented young guys from the City of Brotherly Love. Known as ...
The Moments and All Platinum Records: Moments To Remember
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1975
I'M SURE THE Moments will understand my meaning when I say that I am absolutely dumbfounded to be able to write a feature on them ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1975
IF YOU talk about supergroups these days, it is inevitable that The Spinners will enter your conversation. In the relatively short space of four years, ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1975
VERNON BURCH may be a new name to you but his past is littered with success since he was one of the contributing members of ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1975
TALKING WITH Mr. Walter Heath midway during his recent stay in New York on the bill at the Uris Theatre with Seals & Crofts is ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1975
THE QUESTION that every B&S reader has been asking of late has been: Where is War? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the last War ...
Interview by Robin Katz, Sounds, 5 April 1975
If 'All Platinum' appears an ambitious name for a record label, consider the fact that their first two UK releases, Shirley and Company's 'Shame Shame ...
Gloria Gaynor, Labelle, Barry White: Disco: "Kids Want Something Different — This Is It!"
Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 5 April 1975
...so says Billy Smith, an expert on New York's booming discos. In a country where radio rules, it's an amazing phenomenon. CHRIS CHARLESWORTH reports... ...
James Brown: Reality and Breakin' Bread
Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 5 April 1975
A WORD OF advice. Never attempt to review James Brown product whilst the records are actually playing. It's impossible either to write or type when ...
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 5 April 1975
"WHERE ELSE BUT in America could a person own a Rolls-Royce, an Eldorado Mark IV, a Mercedes limousine, an estate in Long Island, an apartment ...
Allen Toussaint: Southern Nights (Reprise K 54021)
Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 12 April 1975
Testimony to Toussaint ...
Alphonse Mouzon: Meet the Seaside Landlady's Nightmare
Interview by Brian Case, New Musical Express, 12 April 1975
Your delicate NME representative cowers under his seat in the hotel lounge while Alphonse Mouzon ('my real name's Manny Finkelbaum') lives up to his heavy rep as ...
Love Unlimited, Barry White: Barry White, Love Unlimited: Shubert Theatre, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 12 April 1975
Too much love! ...
Lee Dorsey, Labelle, Allen Toussaint: Marshall Sehorn: The Night They Drove Lee Dorsey Down...
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 12 April 1975
MARSHALL SEHORN had to get him out of jail. ROGER ST. PIERRE raps to one of the mainmen of New Orleans soul. ...
Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 12 April 1975
MINNIE RIPERTON is as fizzy as a soda bottle shaken on a hot summer day. Life, it is reassuring to know, can be enjoyed even ...
Minnie Riperton: Perfect Angel In Flight
Interview by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 12 April 1975
As Minnie Riperton hits No. 1 in America Penny Valentine reports from New York ...
The Commodores: Caught In The Act (Motown import)
Review by Pete Makowski, Sounds, 12 April 1975
THERE'S A new breed of soulmongers on the loose, since the emergence of bands like the Isleys, The Ohios and BT Express, funky music has ...
Live Review by Idris Walters, Melody Maker, 12 April 1975
ATLANTIC'S Supersoul On-Tour '75 (direct descendant from the sixties' Stax/Volt Review) hit the Manchester Opera House after a successful opening night at the Liverpool Empire. ...
Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 19 April 1975
Stylistics, Sweet Sensation, Chi-Lites — all top names in the world of sweet soul music. But there's only one boss — AL GREEN. And no ...
Report and Interview by Bob Fisher, Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 19 April 1975
From the great lost soul label of Atlantic it came, writhing with synchronized funk, its many black heads chanting and wailing. Nothing like it had ...
Al Green: Eaten Something Funny Al?
Interview by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 26 April 1975
"L.O.V.E. SPELLS LOVE," says Al Green on his current NME chart rider of the same name, while according to Jimmy Witherspoon's current US hit, it's ...
Allen Toussaint: Southern Nights
Review by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 26 April 1975
IF ALLEN TOUSSAINT ever wants to make the great album he's obviously capable of, he'd be best advised to first take a year's sabbatical from ...
Live Review by Robin Katz, Sounds, 26 April 1975
SOUL IS ALIVE... ALIVE ...ALIVE... ALIVE ...
Bernard Purdie: Purdie's School of Drumming
Interview by Pete Makowski, Sounds, 26 April 1975
Pete Makowski talks to top American session drummer Bernard Purdie ...
Gladys Knight & The Pips: Midnight Train To Harlem
Report by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 26 April 1975
Blowing it at the Apollo means you haven't really made it at all. After a heart-stopping false start, GLADYS KNIGHT went on to prove that ...
J. J. Barnes: The Groovesville Masters
Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 26 April 1975
DESPITE A couple of very successful tours of the Midlands and the North, JJ seems dogged by bad luck. ...
LaBelle: ...How The West Was Won — Nearly
Report by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 26 April 1975
A few days in the life of LaBelle. Penny Valentine reports from America's West Coast where the critics are a harder nut to crack than ...
Syl Johnson: A Whole Lot Of Whiplashes And Scars…
Interview by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 26 April 1975
NOT MANY artists hot on the US Soul charts have had the apprenticeship of Syl Johnson. ...
Profile and Interview by Gene Sculatti, Phonograph Record, May 1975
EXTRAORDINARY OR just plain down to earth great, there's something about the name Ben E. King and his powerful voice that conjures up one hell ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1975
CARL GRAVES is a young man currently making his name on a worldwide basis via a lovely debut solo recording on A&M Records, 'Baby Hang ...
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 ...
The Jimmy Castor Bunch: Jimmy Castor: The Everything Man Really Has Everything
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1975
ON REFLECTION, the two most successful names to emerge from the highly successful Atlantic Super-Soul concert tour were Jimmy Castor and Sister Sledge. ...
Jimmy Jones: Timin' Is The Thing
Retrospective by Penny Reel, Let It Rock, May 1975
What would have happened if you and IHadn't just happened to meet?We might have spent the rest of our livesWalking down misery street. ...
Allen Toussaint, Johnny Bristol: Johnny Bristol and Allen Toussaint: Producers 'N' Performers
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, May 1975
IT SEEMS that it's an increasingly notable fact that more and more producers, after scoring successfully in that field, are turning their attention to the ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1975
IT WOULDN'T take a genius to notice that Loleatta Holloway's delectable US hit, 'Cry To Me', is simply one of my favourite sounds of all ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, May 1975
WHEN WE all take a good reflective look back at 1975, one of the records which will unquestionably stand out as one of the biggest ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1975
IF SHEER beauty could ensure a hit record, then Ms. Tamiko Jones would simply never yield the top spot. However, as well as having something ...
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 ...
The Three Degrees: The International Three Degrees
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1975
THE MOST successful banner carriers on behalf of the Philly Sound are undoubtedly the beautiful and talented Three Degrees, Sheila Ferguson, Valerie Holiday and Fayette ...
The Isley Brothers: 3 + 3 = Super Success
Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Essence, May 1975
UNTIL 3+3, the career of the Isley Brothers had been marked by a strange pattern; after a tremendous hit record, the group would seemingly disappear ...
The Main Ingredient: Reaching Out For New Horizons
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, May 1975
IT IS JUST conceivable that you're one of these people who take The Main Ingredient for granted. They're the kind of group, you figure, who've ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1975
THOUGH THEY bear the name of The Newcomers and this is their Debut Feature in B&S, the trio are in fact far from being a ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, May 1975
THERE CAN be very few self-respecting soul fans around who don't own a record which has featured the name "Van McCoy" somewhere along the way. ...
Allen Toussaint: Southern Nights
Profile and Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 3 May 1975
Way down yonder in New Orleans, ALLEN TOUSSAINT is an ace hitmaker. He's had a hand in such classics as 'Mother-In-Law', 'Land of 1,000 Dances' ...
Interview by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 3 May 1975
IT WAS THE Chairmen of the Board's umpteenth tour of the UK, but this time round, the venues were a little classier, with week long ...
Average White Band: The Spirit is High as The Average White Band Go Out to Haunt the Strip
Report and Interview by Barbara Charone, Sounds, 10 May 1975
Success to these guys means getting better, smoking Rothmans and a few extra patches on their denims. Barbara Charone reports from Los Angeles ...
Barry White: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Philip Norman, The Times, 13 May 1975
RESIGNED AS we are to the gradual dilution and destruction of American soul music, there remains something unearthly in the success enjoyed by Barry White. ...
Barry White: Not Just A Pretty Voice
Profile and Interview by David Hancock, Record Mirror, 17 May 1975
IF YOU ever meet Barry White, don't mention Gene Page. Things could get a little rough. Barry, weighing in at somewhere near 20 stone, is ...
Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind and Fire
Profile by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 17 May 1975
LIKE EVERY OTHER sub genre of soul seems to do, the current blockbuster – jazz-funk, bump-funk, party street-dance, or whatever you care to tag it ...
Gil Scott-Heron: Black Interpreter
Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 17 May 1975
NEW YORK: "I hear they're asking Rockefeller to investigate the CIA. Well now, in my opinion that's stupid. Asking Rockefeller what's wrong with the CIA ...
Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 21 May 1975
'SUPERNATURAL Thing Pt. 1' marks the first occasion on which Ben E. King has hit the American Top twenty since 'Don't Play That Song' in ...
Barry White: Villa Park, Birmingham
Live Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 24 May 1975
THERE'S BEEN some controversy about the prices on Barry White's English gigs – £5 was the top price at Birmingham. ...
'Northern Soul': Excitement In U.K. With U.S. Records
Report by Peter Jones, Billboard, 31 May 1975
LONDON — It is spoken of, in grateful but astonished tones, as Northern Soul. It is a frantic, energetic, money-spinning soul scene, based in the ...
Allen Toussaint: Southern Nights (Reprise)
Review by Phil Hardy, Let It Rock, June 1975
ALLEN TOUSSAINT certainly has an impressive track record: Smiley Lewis, 'Ooh Pa Pah Doo', Lee Dorsey, Ernie K-Doe, Benny Spellman, Irma Thomas, Frankie Miller, the ...
Average White Band: Winterland, San Francisco
Live Review by Mitchell Cohen, Phonograph Record, June 1975
THERE ARE THOSE who have had Average White Band pegged from the start as the best blue-eyed soul band since the Young Rascals, and these ...
Barbara Mason: This Girl Is A Woman Now
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, June 1975
YOUR IMPRESSIONS of Ms. Barbara Mason may well be restricted to the young girl of the tender age of 16 singing her own composition, 'Yes ...
Curtis Mayfield: Love To The People
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1975
I ADMIT THAT I always eagerly look forward to the bi-annual interview time with Curtis Mayfield because it never quite seems like an interview. ...
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. ...
Hamilton Bohannon: Insides Out
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1975
WHEN, BACK in January we became the first British magazine to interview the talented Hamilton Bohannon, I confess I didn't expect to ever have to ...
Joe Simon: The Reluctant Superstar
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1975
IN TERMS of actual record sales and box office figures, Joe Simon has only one or two peers over the past decade or so. Yet ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1975
THE NAME Leonard Caston should already be more than familiar to B&S devotees because he has contributed a good deal to the furtherance of our ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, June 1975
BEING THE daughter of such an internationally famous man as the late Nat King Cole could conceivably pose a problem for any budding star. After ...
The Ohio Players: Ohio Players: Taking Hit Parade Mountain By Strategy
Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Crawdaddy!, June 1975
SATCH SATCHELL, prime mover of The Ohio Players, is standing backstage at Radio City Music Hall mumbling something to himself about "we the #1 group ...
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan: Rufusized (ABCD-837)
Review by Vernon Gibbs, Crawdaddy!, June 1975
AS A LYRICIST, Chaka Khan displays a sensibility and sensitivity that one cannot usually associate with any of the popular branches of Black music. Sly ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1975
SINCE IT'S a proven fact that rare talent cannot stay hidden indefinitely, you really shouldn't be at all surprised that Sister Sledge are currently reaping ...
The Dells, The Dramatics: The Dells and The Dramatics: A New Beginning
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, June 1975
TWO OF America's top vocal groups were in New York recently for a concert at The Felt Forum and we got the chance to talk ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1975
WITHOUT A shadow of doubt, one of the most controversial records of all time within our musical sphere is Valentino's 'I Was Born This Way'. ...
Jackie Wilson: "I'm a singer not a writer," says Jackie Wilson
Interview by Robin Katz, Sounds, 7 June 1975
'JACKIE Wilson Said' is a song by Van Morrison from the St. Dominic's Preview album. Jackie Wilson said he hasn't met Van Morrison yet to ...
Minnie Riperton: Adventures In Paradise (Epic EPC 80803) (49:00)
Review by Robin Katz, Sounds, 7 June 1975
Minnie: rather less than angelic ...
The Exciters - Dark Clouds Over the Black Country
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 7 June 1975
INTERNAL DISSENSION IS the bane of any cult, and though the Northern Sounds soul movement might seem healthy from the outside, in reality it's torn ...
Allen Toussaint: Southern Nights (Reprise)
Review by Jonh Ingham, Sounds, 14 June 1975
Toussaint's Night Flight ...
Candi Staton, Bettye Swann: Candi Staton and Bettye Swann: Broken Hearts, Do Right Women
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 14 June 1975
EVERY TIME I hear Bettye Swann's pained 'Don't You Ever Get Tired Of Hurting Me' I'm so moved I want to go and punch that ...
Curtis Mayfield: America Today
Review by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 14 June 1975
THREE YEARS AGO, Curtis Mayfield was one of the golden boys of New Wave soul, having broken with marketing formats (The Impressions) and joined the ...
Bobby Womack, Ronnie Wood: Now Look Here! This is Bobby Womack
Interview by Barbara Charone, Sounds, 14 June 1975
BOBBY WOMACK is confused. Suffering from an overdose of in-the-studio-excitement and jet lag, he sits on the bed of his hotel room cubicle at Blake's, ...
Smokey Robinson: Smokey's Backatcha
Profile and Interview by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 15 June 1975
MOTOWN announced the retirement of William "Smokey" Robinson in January 1972. ...
Jackie Wilson said... 'Reet Petite'. And the mothers of Harlem said 'No'
Retrospective and Interview by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 21 June 1975
BOB FISHER traces the sometimes controversial career of 'Mr. Excitement,' currently stomping his way across Britain. ...
Hamilton Bohannon: The Great Disco Mystery
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 28 June 1975
H. BOHANNON DISCOVERS WHERE IT'S AT ...
Stax - The Stax Story - Volumes I & II
Review by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 28 June 1975
SINCE THE 32 tracks collected here were cut after the 1968 Stax/Atlantic split it would be unwise to take the over-all title of this two-record ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1975
IT'S STRANGE to think that without Barrett Strong, it is quite conceivable that the whole Motown empire would have never gotten off the floor because ...
Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind & Fire: A Creative Explosion
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, July 1975
TO UNDERSTAND the true power of Earth, Wind & Fire, you have to understand that these are nine people with a message. A universal message ...
Eddie Kendricks: The Hit Man Hits Again
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1975
IF EVER an album was aptly titled it is the new Eddie Kendricks' Tamla set – The Hit Man. ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1975
WITHOUT A shadow of doubt, one of Britain's most played disco sounds of the day is by Ernie Bush. Entitled 'Breakaway', the disco folk are ...
KC & the Sunshine Band: KC and The Sunshine Band: The Miami Innovation
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1975
A GREAT deal has been written about the emergence of the Miami Sound via names such as George and Gwen McCrae, Little Beaver and, of ...
Report and Interview by Robin Katz, Let It Rock, July 1975
1. 'What Can I Do For You?' PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania. November 1974. Breakfast time (10:30). Patti LaBelle, Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx are sitting in one corner of ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1975
ACTUALLY, ALTHOUGH we are acclaiming Ms. Linda Carr as a "B&S Debut Feature", we are being technically incorrect because Linda was featured way back in ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1975
NEW YORK-based group, the Moment of Truth, currently have one of the hottest disco properties in their Roulette outing of 'Helplessly'. The record – their ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, July 1975
CURRENTLY WOWING audiences on their tour with fellow Curtom recording artists, The Impressions, the four-man Natural Four are creating more than a little impact and ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1975
WITHOUT DOUBT, one of the prettiest and classiest ballads currently on the American charts comes from Detroit-based Ronnie McNeir and is entitled 'Wendy Is Gone'. ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1975
ALMOST without notice to the soul community, Rufus arrived and departed our shores towards the end of last month simply to appear on BBC-TV's Top ...
Shirley and Lee, Shirley Goodman: Shirley Goodman: Good Times Roll Again
Profile and Interview by Bill Millar, Let It Rock, July 1975
JET-BLACK RINGLETS and bra-busting cuddliness; nothing about Shirley Goodman tells you that she used to resemble the waif-like teenager on the front of those old ...
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 ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1975
NOW THAT the colour barriers have been well and truly broken down within our music, odds are that at any given moment, you'll find two ...
Curtis Mayfield, The Impressions, Leroy Hutson: The Impressions
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, July 1975
WITHOUT OVERSTATING the fact, you could justifiably say that The Impressions have come a long way! ...
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1975
OVER THE past year or so, I can't think of a group who has made as much impact on our music as the Ohio Players. ...
New Birth: The Re-Birth Of New Birth
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1975
FRANKLY, ANYONE who has not in the past become totally confused with the New Birth, Niteliters and Love, Peace & Happiness triangle should apply immediately ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, July 1975
IT SEEMS that there will always be that small coterie of artists you will always find falling under that elusive category, "the singer's singer". ...
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 ...
Rufus: Chaka: I Feel Sexless on Stage
Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 12 July 1975
CHAKA KHAN is a bit like a furry golly. She flops in front of the telly, cheering for Connors at Wimbledon, giggling and proudly displaying ...
Interview by Giovanni Dadomo, Record Mirror, 12 July 1975
A DRUM beat knock on the door rings out. ...
Dionne Warwick: Worries of the Warwick sisters
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 12 July 1975
WE'RE A LONG way on from 1964 and 'Walk On By' but, despite the profusion of instantly forgetable records Dionne Warwick has turned out since ...
Average White Band: Cut The Cake (Atlantic)
Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 19 July 1975
Hamish Stuart (guitar, vocals), Alan Gorrie (bass, vocals), Onnie Mclntyre (guitar), Roger Ball (keyboards, alto and baritone saxophones), Malcolm Duncan (tenor saxophone), Stephen Ferrone (drums, ...
The Righteous Brothers - Sons of Mrs. Righteous
Review by Mick Farren, New Musical Express, 19 July 1975
IT REALLY DOES seem that the greater part of the Righteous Brothers was their uncle Phil Spector. ...
Bobby Womack - I Don't Know What The World Is Coming To
Review by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 26 July 1975
FROM 1964, FOLLOWING the death of his mentor Sam Cooke, to 1969, when he finally began to record under his own name, Bobby Womack was ...
Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 26 July 1975
IF ANYONE wants to know where the underground is, from which British rock is to get its next and much-needed injection of musical energy, they ...
Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 26 July 1975
A CLUTCH of nubile girls are usefully spending their school holidays hanging around outside the Bell Record Company offices in the hope of a glimpse ...
Hot Chocolate: Top Hat, Spennymoor, County Durham
Live Review by Phil Sutcliffe, Sounds, 26 July 1975
REVIEWING ACTS in nightclubs rather than the usual concert hall is really something else. So much is happening, the band has to work really hard ...
Freda Payne, The Stylistics: The Stylistics, Freda Payne: Cunard International Hotel, London
Live Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 26 July 1975
THE STYLISTICS came onstage around midnight and, judging by the yawns on many people's faces, it wasn't a moment too soon. London's Cunard International Hotel ...
Wilson Pickett: Join Me and Let's Be Free
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 26 July 1975
FIRST OF ALL you have to picture the scene. There he stands, up to his elbows in stagnant water, a faraway look in his eyes, ...
James Brown: Is James Brown Obsolete?
Comment by Vernon Gibbs, The Village Voice, 28 July 1975
Last summer, when I visited Afriac with James Brown for one of his "triumphant" blitzes, I was surprised at the discontent among his employees. The ...
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 ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1975
IT'S FUNNY how some women are genteel yet others may be quite the opposite – yet still manage to retain their femininity. ...
Hamilton Bohannon: Bohannon: Have a Good Day…
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1975
Hamilton Bohannon has words with Tony Cummings... ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1975
YOU CAN never keep a good man down and that old saying certainly applies to ol' Swamp Dogg! Over the past decade, there's hardly been ...
Average White Band: 'Cut The Cake' — AWB Slices Out Chocolate Sounds With White Frosting
Interview by Dan Nooger, Circus, August 1975
The Scots cook like Yosemite and lay down a groove like the Grand Canyon. ...
Esther Phillips: The Time Is Now
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1975
CERTAINLY one of the most gratifying experiences is to see an artiste you've admired over a period of years finally get that long overdue recognition ...
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). ...
Isaac Hayes: Black Moses Back From The Wilderness
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1975
A SIGN OF TRUE GREATNESS in terms of an entertainer is surely the ability to stay. Think about it – how many names can you ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1975
WITH SO much interest in the Philly disco sound, Detroit has been put pretty much into the shadows as far as dance music is concerned ...
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 ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1975
AS BRITAIN gradually develops its own soul character, an ever-increasing list of names are attracting interest on this side of the Atlantic before they break ...
Betty Davis, Miles Davis: Betty Davis: Aisles of Miles
Interview by Robin Katz, Sounds, 2 August 1975
The ex-wife or Miles Davis is now making it on her own account. Robin Katz reports ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 2 August 1975
"WHITE ROCK", OBSERVED CSM last week in his Wailers review, "lays its beat on you; the Wailers' music allows you to find your own rhythm ...
The Four Tops, The Jackson 5, Junior Walker & The Allstars, The Supremes: Tamla albums round-up
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 2 August 1975
FIRST, THE GOOD NEWS. The Supremes' new LP is a winner. ...
The Stylistics: Sing, Baby, Sing!
Profile and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 2 August 1975
ABUSE COMES too easily. The Stylistics are the masters of sweet soul, the kings of lush sentiment, and the lords of overstated romance. Even their ...
Ben E. King: The Ben E. King Story
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 16 August 1975
ATLANTIC, YOU'RE NOT fooling anyone. ...
James Brown: Live at the Apollo Vol.1
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 16 August 1975
EVERY SO OFTEN an album comes along that is more than just another good, bad, or indifferent release from the artist concerned. ...
Junior Walker & The Allstars: Junior Walker
Interview by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 16 August 1975
CONSIDERING THAT THEY'D only checked in at 4 a.m. that morning – that they hadn't been notified of our appointment for an interview – and ...
The Meters: Fire On The Bayou (Reprise K45044)
Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 16 August 1975
Meters set the bayou afire ...
The Supremes: The Supremes (Tamla Motown) (32.16)
Review by Jonh Ingham, Sounds, 16 August 1975
SIX PRODUCERS on one record? Is this some kind of a joke? I've heard of Rick Derringer dreaming of a different producer for each song ...
The Isley Brothers: The Heat Is On (T-Neck)
Review by Vernon Gibbs, The Village Voice, 18 August 1975
The Isleys Play With Themselves ...
Brook Benton: Brook's Bent on a Come Back
Interview by Robin Katz, Sounds, 23 August 1975
BROOK BENTON'S face has just broken into a big grin. When his eyes roll back down from the ceiling and he stops laughing to himself, ...
Interview by Kevin Allen, Record Mirror, 23 August 1975
George McCrae breaks that barrier ...
Stevie Wonder - Blind, Gifted and Loaded
Report by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 23 August 1975
THERE HAS BEEN an official silence about Stevie Wonder's plans since he publicly announced in March last year that he was to retire in 1976 ...
The Brecker Brothers: Everythin's All White
Profile by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 23 August 1975
...
Allen Toussaint: Feel Like Staying Home
Profile and Interview by John Morthland, Creem, September 1975
NEW ORLEANS, LA – Allen Toussaint has moved into the pop spotlight lately via Labelle and Paul McCartney but it's not his first time there. ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1975
WHEN IT comes to disco funk, James Brown is perhaps no longer unrivalled since the arrival of the B.T. Express, who are proving to be ...
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 ...
Faith Hope & Charity: Faith Hope Charity And Success
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1975
THE NAME "Faith, Hope & Charity" may well be familiar to avid soul fans who remember their big hit of a couple of years back ...
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 ...
Jackie Moore: More Precious the Second Time Around
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1975
Jackie Moore is a pleasing young lady who exploded on to the scene back in 1971 with a multi-million worldwide selling single called 'Precious Precious' ...
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 ...
Smokey Robinson: A Quiet Storm
Review by Pete Wingfield, Let It Rock, September 1975
COULD THIS BE Smokey's What's Going On – the album to elevate him, like Marvin Gaye, from a singles-orientated soul veteran to an across-the-board contemporary ...
Smokey Robinson: Building A Quiet Storm
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1975
WILLIAM 'SMOKEY' ROBINSON has been referred to as the "greatest poet of our decade" and when one listens to the unique lyric style that the ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1975
AS FAR as Britain is concerned, the mere fact that you've made a record for the legendary Ric Tic label is sufficient to make you ...
Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, September 1975
"MY NAME is Yum Yum, Gimme some!" ...
Kay-Gee's, Kool and the Gang: The Kay-Gee's
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1975
IF YOU'RE talking of funky disco groups today, you're sure to mention Kool & the Gang, B.T. Express, the Fatback Band – and the Kay-Gees. ...
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 6 September 1975
LEAPING ONTO THE dance floor of American's all-pervasive disco, Simon recovered from a slump in popularity by intoning "Get down, get down" about fifty-nine times ...
The Chi-Lites, The Moments: The Chi-Lites: Half a Love and The Moments: Sharp
Review by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 6 September 1975
IF IT WERE ONLY for All Platinum's second certifiable classic – The Moments' 'Dolly My Love' – this group's new album would need to be ...
Johnny Nash: Tears On My Pillow
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 13 September 1975
ANYONE WHO CAN cheerfully sing "be careful how you hold her, please don't even scold her, she's my cream puff" either deserves a hefty kick ...
Natalie Cole: Meet Nat Queen Cole
Profile by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 13 September 1975
WITH 1975 almost certain to establish itself as a most uneventful year for soul, it's refreshing to come across a 45 by a newish singer ...
Orchestral Soul: So When Was the Last Time You Saw a Black Cello Player?
Overview by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 13 September 1975
SOUL: the emotional part of man's nature, or the seat of the feelings or sentiments.SOULFUL: of, or expressive of, deep feeling or emotion. ...
Earth, Wind & Fire, Santana: Santana, Earth Wind and Fire: Hippodrome, Birmingham
Live Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 13 September 1975
Lift-off on schedule for Santana tour ...
The Chi-Lites at Hammersmith Odeon
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 13 September 1975
AFTER AN HOUR or so of the kind of entertainment that tempts freeloading reviewers to demand their non-existent money back, any halfway-decent act is a ...
The Supremes at Hammersmith Odeon
Live Review by Vivien Goldman, New Musical Express, 13 September 1975
NEXT TIME YOU have the opportunity, check out Motown's Anthology of Diana Ross and the Supremes' Greatest Hits. Unless you're an avid fan whose every ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 20 September 1975
FOR ALL PRACTICAL purposes, Phoenix is Labelle's third album. Forget anything prior to Pressure Cookin': those albums were by some other people and are of ...
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 20 September 1975
EARLIER THIS YEAR Ralph 'Pee Wee' Middlebrook, trumpeter with The Players, admitted in an interview "now we've made it after all that scuffling I suppose ...
Betty Davis: Game is her Middle Name
Interview by Robin Katz, Sounds, 27 September 1975
Betty Davis hits Britain next month and she's BAAAAD, brother. Robin Katz checks out the lady who makes Tina Turner look like the Singing Nun... ...
George McCrae: George McCrae (TK)
Review by John Morthland, Creem, October 1975
GEORGE McCRAE and the TK studio hands don't sell songs on his albums, they sell a mood, an ambience. ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1975
HAILED AS the unrivalled Queen of the Discos, the delicious Ms. Gloria Gaynor has certainly spread her wings on her second MGM album, Experience. ...
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... ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1975
"Let me talk to the Lone Ranger – and pronto!" ...
KC & the Sunshine Band: KC and Sunshine Band
Interview by Richard Cromelin, Phonograph Record, October 1975
"I'd just put out the George McCrae album, and I kept hearing one of my tunes come busting through the wall up there." H.W. Casey ...
Lonnie Liston Smith: Visions Of A New World
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1975
With the tremendous upsurge in jazz over the past couple of years, the strange thing is that remarkably few genuine 'new' names have benefitted. ...
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… ...
People's Choice: The People's Choice
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1975
WITH THEIR 'Do lt Anyway You Wanna' perched atop the world's R&B and pop charts, the Philadelphia band of the People's Choice are literally just ...
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 ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1975
WHEN IT comes to successful vocal groups, the stalwart Temptations really have no peers. For over a decade now, they have reigned virtually uninterrupted over ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1975
Although 'Van McCoy: The Artist' has really only just arrived in terms of commercial acceptance, Van's creative influence has played a major role within the ...
Grover Washington Jr.: Mister Magic (Kudu KU20)
Review by Kevin Allen, Record Mirror, 4 October 1975
POLYDOR HAVE been a little slow in putting this album from jazz-funk maestro sax-man Grover Washington into the marketplace. ...
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 11 October 1975
REMEMBER WHEN YOU were young, listening to Radio Luxembourg under the bedclothes by torchlight? ...
Esther Phillips: Laissez-Faire in Bouffant Hair
Interview by Fred Dellar, New Musical Express, 11 October 1975
ESTHER PHILLIPS doesn't get too knocked out when she scores with a hit single. ...
The Isley Brothers: Isley Brothers: Heat's Still On Isleys
Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 11 October 1975
LOS ANGELES: The Isleys' latest album, The Heat Is On, recently hit number one in America, but for as long as there's been rock and ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Tina Turner: Acid Queen
Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 11 October 1975
"WE TOURED FOR years with all the English groups and I always liked what they were singing about. ...
Betty Davis: Ronnie Scott's, London
Live Review by Brian Case, New Musical Express, 25 October 1975
WITH THE Viking Warrior Case fresh in every mind, punters packed Ronnie's for the Betty Davis exposure. A threat to the moral health of the ...
The Temptations: Moving With The Times
Interview by Kevin Allen, Record Mirror, 25 October 1975
IT'S SURE tough work being a Temptation. Before replacing Damon Harris in soul music's top fivesome, Glenn Leonard not only had to learn the group's ...
Bobby Womack: A Documented History of Bobby Womack
Memoir by uncredited writer, Phonograph Record, November 1975
HE'S WRITTEN hits for Rod Stewart, the Rolling Stones, Wilson Pickett and the J. Geils Band. He's played on countless sessions from Aretha Franklin to ...
Aretha Franklin: You (Atlantic SD18151)
Review by Lita Eliscu, Phonograph Record, November 1975
Aretha's Latest is a Blend of All that has Made Black Music, American Music ...
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 ...
Natalie Cole: Whatever Will Be Will Be
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1975
It's rare, very rare, for the son or daughter of a superstar to make it in his or her own right. The pressures are intense ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1975
Ever since I became interested in our music, I can hardly remember a time when the Impressions have been absent from the charts. ...
The Undisputed Truth: Their Aim Is Higher Than High
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1975
WITH THE increasing use of theatrics within the sphere of our music, it is interesting to note that Motown's Undisputed Truth were just about the ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 1 November 1975
THE IKE and Tina Turner roadshow breezed in and out of London in double-quick time last week, but they managed to stay at the Hammersmith ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Ike and Tina Turner: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, New Musical Express, 1 November 1975
WELL, TO BE quite frank I thought they were fairly dreadful. ...
Gloria Gaynor: Experience (MGM M3G 4997)
Review by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 5 November 1975
DRIVEN BY a three-song montage, Gloria Gaynor's first MGM album was the very model of modern disco production: loud, compact, as hummable as it was ...
Sam & Dave: Sam & Dave: Back At' Cha!
Review by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 6 November 1975
IF ANYTHING SYMBOLIZES the decline of the Stax Records era (recently brought to a probable close with the indictment of president Al Bell for bank ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 8 November 1975
THIS IS IT funk y'allThis is it right hereThis is it do ya hear me girlsAnd well they can't do it forya no nastier than ...
Northern Soul: Fact, Fiction, Faction, Friction
Report by Idris Walters, Street Life, 15 November 1975
IS NORTHERN SOUL DYING ON ITS FEET? ...
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 22 November 1975
ONE THING about Doris, she can't be confused with any of the other soul girls around at the moment. ...
KC & The Sunshine Band: Los Angeles
Live Review by Todd Everett, New Musical Express, 29 November 1975
K.C. AND THE Sunshine Band, operating out of the T.K. Records complex in Hialeah, Florida, are at once one of the oddest and most commercial ...
Rufus: Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan (ABC)
Review by Penny Valentine, Street Life, 29 November 1975
AMERICAN BLACK music (that which is loosely termed 'soul') has been going through a disturbing period. It continues to do so. Where once the arm ...
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 29 November 1975
IT'S COMFORTING TO have a few acts that you can rely on to keep supplying the goods, and The Temps certainly do deliver. ...
Ann Peebles...and the Hi Records Story
Interview by Todd Everett, Phonograph Record, December 1975
THOUGH NASHVILLE, Tennessee, has proclaimed itself "Music City U.S.A.," the traditional center of musical activity in that area of the country, and the city from ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1975
ONE OF the major disappointments in what has otherwise been a very good year for our music was the cancellation of the proposed All Platinum ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, December 1975
WE OFTEN hear tell of child prodogies – those rare breed that begin their careers at some more than tender age! Frequently, in the crazy ...
Dionne Warwick, Thom Bell: Dionne Warwick and Thom Bell: Hitting The Road Together
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, December 1975
WITHOUT ANY question, one of the most significant musical marriages of our decade was the one that brought the team of Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach ...
George McCrae: Growing Pains But It's Worth It All
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1975
IN SOME ways, George McCrae has attained the impossible. Because if you consider the past, you'll find that virtually every artist who literally explodes on ...
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 ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1975
TRYING TO interview Jimmy Bo Horne is a strange mixture of a journalist's idea of paradise and bedlam because whilst for half of the time ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1975
THOUGH IT hasn't developed into being the monster success that we predicted, Mike & Bill's highly commendable (and danceworthy!) 'Somebody's Gotta Go' has established the ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1975
WITH OLIVER Sain's current double headed hunk of disco funk climbing into the British charts at his customary high placing, the timing could not be ...
Chaka Khan, Rufus: Rufus' Chaka Khan: Golden Lady
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, December 1975
IT'S DIFFICULT to believe that much of the power, strength and soul that you hear when you hear Rufus stems from anyone as petite and ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1975
WITH THE interest in home-grown soul now reaching the point where it's acceptable to feature British based artists and groups in the soul charts, one ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1975
IT'S AMAZING how many of today's super-soulstars can be traced back to the Ric Tic-Golden World family for their very first step into showbiz. The ...
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... ...
Kool and the Gang, The Ohio Players: Kool and the Gang: Spirit Of The Boogie; Ohio Players: Honey
Review by Richard Williams, Let It Rock, 1 December 1975
OCCUPYING ROUGHLY the same area in the impressively wide spectrum of contemporary Black music, these two orchestras both play for dancers but nevertheless perform entirely ...
Chuck Jackson: Chuck's Foot Is Back On The Throttle
Report and Interview by Kevin Allen, Record Mirror, 6 December 1975
CHUCK JACKSON, one of the major R&B artists of the '60s, had 23 pop chart entries during his spell with Scepter/Wand Records. He then switched ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 6 December 1975
IF EVERYONE HAD a pair of disco turntables as well as a telly, this record might sell a million. ...
Hot Chocolate: Hot on the Trail
Profile and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 6 December 1975
HOT CHOCOLATE, the faceless men of British pop, leave soon for the real land of hope and glory, America, confident that they will be a ...
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: Martha Reeves: Our Martha Aims Higher And Higher
Interview by Kevin Allen, Record Mirror, 6 December 1975
"IF I won any fans over here on my first trip I still have them. They're so much more devoted than the people back home, ...
Rufus: Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan (ABC)
Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 December 1975
NO DANGER of conveyor-belt soul setting in here, with the incredible Chaka Khan proving that blood and electricity are flowing through her sensual frame. ...
The Staple Singers: Let's Do It Again
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 6 December 1975
IF MAYFIELD'S lyrics are anything to go by, this film must be whole lots of scenes of funky loving in which they do it again ...
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 13 December 1975
WHAT A LETDOWN. ...
Hot Chocolate's Errol Brown (1975)
Interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages Audio, 16 December 1975
The Hot Chocolate frontman/songwriter talks about the good year the band have just had: about never being certain of hits and having no fixed following; working without management support; not rushing to go on the road; singles vs. albums; producer Mickie Most; being an integrated band; not being a soul act per se... and why he shaves his head!
File format: mp3; file size: 32.9mb, interview length: 34' 15" sound quality: ***
Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 18 December 1975
ON HER FIRST two albums, Betty Davis staked out a peculiar brand of kinky, tongue-in-cheek funk that garnered her a cult following in Philadelphia and ...
Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 27 December 1975
BOBBY WOMACK is the kind of guy who lights up a room when he enters, and this suite in the Plaza Hotel is no exception. ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 1976
"This young lady has gusto, tenderness, sweetness, and Soul... all the qualities to make her more that just another singer – a Star!" David Nathan ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1976
FOR EVERY successful sound, there always has to be a pioneer. For Motown and Detroit, I guess it was Smokey Robinson and the Miracles; for ...
David Ruffin, The Temptations: David Ruffin
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1976
IF YOU check your American charts this week, you'll find that David Ruffin – after a break of some two years – is riding both ...
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 ...
Margie Joseph: The Real Divine Miss M
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, January 1976
ONE MAJOR criticism which is frequently levelled at the bigger record companies is how, with a relatively large roster, some of their strongest potential stars ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, January 1976
IT'S ALWAYS a pleasure to run into someone who is as warm and real as they are talented. Ms. Maxayn Lewis is one of that ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1976
THE FIRST really big soul occasion for the year so far has been the recent highly successful concert appearances of Donald Byrd and the Blackbyrds. ...
The Three Degrees: Three Degrees: Universal Stars
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, January 1976
IN THE realm of female groups today, you would be hard put to name any set of ladies who can emulate the current popularity and ...
B.T. Express, Gloria Gaynor: 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 ...
Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 1 January 1976
THIS IS AN encouraging album. After a celebrated re-signing with Motown last year, the ponderous Norman Whitfield-produced Me 'n Rock 'n Roll Are Here to ...
Dionne Warwick, Thom Bell: Dionne Rings The Changes
Report and Interview by Kevin Allen, Record Mirror, 10 January 1976
SINCE IT was the arranging/production and inspiration of Thom Bell which took Dionne Warwick (no final "e" these days) back into the charts after a ...
Johnny Guitar Watson: Beware The Guitar Gangster
Profile and Interview by Kevin Allen, Record Mirror, 10 January 1976
SUPERSTAR? MAYBE not. But despite a lack of any major hits, Johnny 'Guitar' Watson has long been acknowledged as a super-talent of the black American ...
Sheer Elegance: By Sheer Chance?
Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 17 January 1976
From obscurity to a hit in two moves...just luck? Not true, Sheer Elegance tell HARRY DOHERTY ...
Chaka Khan: The Low Down on Chaka
Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 24 January 1976
I DONT know whether you've ever done a phone interview, but they can be bitches. This one was rather that way inclined, owing as to ...
Earth Wind and Fire: Signs Rise for Shining Stars
Interview by David Rensin, Rolling Stone, 29 January 1976
LOS ANGELES – "Music is a sacred thing and we take it very seriously," Earth Wind & Fire founder/percussionist Maurice White offers during a rehearsal ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1976
I'M NOT prone to making rash statements (as most readers of B&S of any long-standing will bear witness) but I am going to predict that ...
D.J. Rogers: Songs Of Love And Hope
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, February 1976
A young man whose West Coast reputation is spreading fast. ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1976
GETTING A record banned by the dear of BBC is as surefire a way of getting a hit as I know of and it's a ...
Eddie Kendricks: The Philly Connection
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, February 1976
B&S undercover agent probes Soul star's defection to another town ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1976
WITH THE Chicago Soul Road-show only weeks away from kicking off its British tour, the timing of 20th Century's Evelyn Thomas could not be better ...
Freda Payne: Wanna Get Re-acquainted
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, February 1976
ACCORDING to the lovely lady herself, "the public is just getting re-acquainted with Freda Payne!" and if her latest album on A.B.C. is anything to ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, February 1976
He's worked with Barry White, Marvin Gaye, Diana & the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Aretha, the J5, Martha Reeves, and many others. Now it's time to ...
Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages Audio, February 1976
The soulful polemicist talks about his and Brian Jackson's Midnight Band; his diverse influences and the Spirit of the Drum; being a successful musician while doing other work; how he started writing prose as a kid; how black artists and writers are not recognised in the USA; 'Johannesburg' and apartheid; the value of correct information, and 'We Almost Lost Detroit'; writing his first novel and starting to record; 'The Bottle' as message and dance groove, and finally he and Brian Jackson explain how they write together...
File format: mp3; file size: 61.8mb, interview length: 1h 02' 01" sound quality: ****
Gil Scott-Heron: Good Evening, Here Is The News
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1976
The 'Jo'burg' man has a reputation for telling it like it is. However, John Abbey had his pre conceived notions of Gil completely and pleasantly ...
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 ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1976
MAKING HER debut in the British soul charts this week is vivacious Jean Plum, whose London release of 'Look At The Boy' has been hotly ...
Johnny Guitar Watson: 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 ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, February 1976
WHEN THE time comes to chronicle the names of some of the top producers and songwriters of the sixties and seventies, there is no question ...
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, ...
The Trammps: Zing Went Bummie And The Bums
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1976
THIS FEATURE could so easily have been devoted to – wait for it! – Bummie & the Bums! Who is this Bummie character I can ...
Profile and Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Penthouse, February 1976
HAVING EXHAUSTED the "Motown Sound" in the sixties, soul music is now dominated by the "Philly Sound" — a triumph of polish and strings. True ...
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Teddy Pendergrass: Is Teddy or David the Real Harold Melvin?
Report by Vernon Gibbs, The Village Voice, 2 February 1976
UNBELIEVABLE AS it may seem, at 9:01 p.m. on the night of January 24, 1976, 10 minutes before Harold Melvin & the new Blue Notes ...
David Ruffin: Riding rough with Ruffin
Interview by Giovanni Dadomo, Sounds, 7 February 1976
"I KNEW IT was a hit record from the time I walked from the microphone up into the control room." David Ruffin on 'Walk Away ...
Earth Wind and Fire: Earth Wind & Fire: Gratitude
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 7 February 1976
PROOF AT LAST that EWF deserve all the acclaim that's been heaped on them in the last couple of years. ...
Gil Scott-Heron: "You Will Not Be Able To Plug In, Turn On, Cop Out"
Profile and Interview by Mick Brown, Street Life, 7 February 1976
IT'S A mystifying truism that perhaps the most surprising thing about Gil Scott-Heron is that he is still standing very much in the shadows as ...
Kokomo: Grown Some Funk Of Our Own
Report and Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, Sounds, 7 February 1976
THE SUBDUED shufflings of a hotel chambermaid were gradually coaxing Alan Spenner, Kokomo's friendly grizzly bear of a bass payer, out of sweet slumber. ...
The Blackbyrds: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 7 February 1976
BETCHA DIDN'T know there's such a thing as Black-byrdomania. Neither did I until this concert, when a quietly slumbering stalls suddenly became a heaving sea ...
Gladys Knight: The Best Of…, A Little Knight Music, Gladys Knight And The Pips
Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 14 February 1976
DON'T BE MISLED – The Best Of... actually refers to the best of Gladys and the 'Pips' Buddah output, but such is the strength of ...
Comment by Kevin Allen, Record Mirror, 14 February 1976
JUST ONE glance at the pop charts over the past decade is sufficient to indicate the domination of black music in general and soul music ...
The Isley Brothers: Twist And Shout, Super Hits
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 14 February 1976
SOME RECORDINGS CRY out to be reissued. In fact they never should have been deleted in the first place. Others should never even have been ...
The Salsoul Orchestra: The Salsoul Orchestra (Epic)
Review by Miles, New Musical Express, 14 February 1976
I ASKED Paul Atkinson, who decides these things at CBS, why he was releasing this album here. ...
David Ruffin: Ruffin Walks Back
Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 21 February 1976
"I ALWAYS believed and prayed that I could express myself and be understood. By having a hit single, a lot of people are hearing me ...
The Fatback Band: Fatbacks Hit Back
Interview by Robin Katz, Black Echoes, 21 February 1976
SOMEONE BLEW the whistle on the Fatback band this week. "The whole show was disappointing" came the critical opinion. "They basically play the same riff ...
Archie Bell and the Drells: Dance Your Troubles Away (TSOP PZ 33844)
Review by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 26 February 1976
Do You Wanna Dance? ...
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes: Wake Up Everybody (Philadelphia International PZ 33808)
Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 26 February 1976
WITH THE rumored schism between Harold Melvin and lead singer Teddy Pendergrass, the current status of the Blue Notes seems to be in limbo. Though ...
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 28 February 1976
IN 1968 IN Memphis, Tennessee, Willie Mitchell succeeded to the board of an ailing record company called Hi. ...
Live Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 28 February 1976
"HEY, BRIAN, it's sold out – there's a line in front of the theatre!" That's one of the Midnight Band's glamorous female entourage calling out ...
Gil Scott-Heron: Manchester University, Manchester
Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 28 February 1976
Gil's the word! ...
Kokomo, The Kursaal Flyers: Kokomo/Kursaal Flyers: Guildford
Live Review by John Tobler, New Musical Express, 28 February 1976
A VERY strange billing, Kokomo as support to the Kursaal Flyers. Now that seems to say something about relative popularity and the length of time ...
O'Jays: The O'Jays: Family Reunion (Philadelphia International)***
Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 28 February 1976
THERE'S A HIT on this record, in case you're interested – 'I Love Music'. I needn't elaborate on that one, as if you're reading this ...
Tina Charles: Tina And A Tale Of A Toothbrush!
Interview by Giovanni Dadomo, Black Echoes, 28 February 1976
IT BEGAN, as these things very often do, with a toothbrush. A brief pause before we continue, lest the unqualified mention of the hygienic appliance ...
Ashford & Simpson: Ashford and Simpson: At Peace With The World And Themselves…
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1976
Ashford and Simpson are back in business after a lengthy sabbatical. Here they expound on their new album – how it reflects the changes they've ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1976
ACTUALLY, I must confess that when you ask me about hat-tricks from Blackpool, the first name to spring to mind would be Stanley Mortenson. But ...
Betty Davis: The Put-On Who Puts Out
Report and Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Penthouse, March 1976
A WOMAN stalks the ruins of what was once a stage. She prowls it relentlessly, legs wide apart seeking out hapless victims in the audience. ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1976
ANY LIST of legendary 'deep soul' sisters would be totally incomplete without the name of a young lady from Detroit whose emotion-packed recordings have been ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1976
ROOT-RAPPIN? Whassat? Well, it's like this...John Abbey got to talking with Bobby and the conversation drifted to his very early days – his roots! ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1976
MS. PHILLIPS feels that new doors have opened up for her since 'Day'. She deeply regrets the cancellation of her Euro tour but looks forward ...
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 ...
Hugh Masekela: Africa's Ambassador To The USA
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1976
Our diplomatic correspondent in Los Angeles talks to Hugh Masekela, one of Africa's favourite sons. ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1976
COMPLETING THE other half of Ian Levine's winning double hand from Chicago, is L.J. Johnson who is comfortably placed in the higher echelons of both ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1976
HALF A Million Hustlers Can't Be Wrong. That's how many buyers Eddie Drennon attracted for 'Let's Do The Latin Hustle' – in the States alone. ...
Thom Bell, The Spinners: Thom Bell & The Spinners: Looking For 'Hudson Bros.' Acceptance
Interview by Ian Dove, Phonograph Record, March 1976
WHEN THE SPINNERS recently celebrated 25 years together as a group, amid all the celebrations the soul quintet were quick to point out the part ...
Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 6 March 1976
IT IS, I GUESS, the third time around for Dobie Gray who, at the present moment, is stretched out full length on a bed on ...
Gladys Knight & the Pips: Gladys Knight and the Pips (DJM)
Review by Simon Frith, Street Life, 6 March 1976
SHE'S JUST GONNA have to get used to it. When you're the greatest pop singer in the world (and she is) and have been together ...
Barry White: The Discreet Charm Of the Black Bourgeoisie: Barry White and Company
Review by Penny Valentine, Street Life, 6 March 1976
WHEN YOUNG American blacks threw off their jeans, gave them to the white kids, and emerged supercool in their three-piece suits, brogues and cashmere sweaters ...
The Fatback Band: Ain't No Such Thing As We Don't Sounds BAAAD
Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 6 March 1976
"WHEN WE get a groove we hate to quit!" shouted out Bill Curtis. His voice carried over inexorable waves of sound, cookin', stampin', and gettin' ...
Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 6 March 1976
NEW YORK: A four-act show always runs the risk of dragging, even when the organisation is as meticulous as it was last Saturday at the ...
Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages Audio, 10 March 1976
After running down Ace's 'How Long' on guitar and offering a post mortem on his British stage debut, the great soul singer-songwriter recalls writing for wicked Wilson Pickett, confesses to hating his recent Safety Zone album, and reminisces about playing with white musicians at Muscle Shoals...
File format: mp3; file size: 58.9mb, interview length: 1h 01' 24" sound quality: ***
Bobby Womack: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 13 March 1976
THIS MUST RANK as the most Perplexing gig I've ever seen. All I was left with at the end was a burning desire to rush ...
Bobby Womack: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 13 March 1976
Womack: it's all over now ...
Evelyn Thomas: Ian Levine: Soul agent for the North
Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 13 March 1976
ABOUT A year ago I was sitting sipping a cup of microwave-defrosted Nescafe in the lavish kitchen of Mr. and Mrs. Levine, in Blackpool, waiting ...
Bobby Womack: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 20 March 1976
POLE-AXED BY SKIN-CRAWLING hot and cold flushes, with a head full of demented panel-beaters, the last thing I wanted to do was travel 50 miles ...
Diana Ross: Breakfast With Lady Diana
Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 20 March 1976
THIS IS the story: it's a champagne breakfast for Diana Ross, being held at a Top London Hotel. Which means that everybody drags in bleary-eyed ...
Funkadelic, Parliament: Parliament-Funkadelic: Mothership Connection
Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 25 March 1976
WITH THE "Parliafunkadelicment thang", leader George Clinton has succeeded in creating two distinct identities for one band—the mystical voodoo of the Funkadelics and the stabbing, ...
Live Review by John Swenson, Sounds, 27 March 1976
YOU WON'T find a better textbook example of what's gone wrong with R&B over the past few years. Ticket prices, scaled from $10.00 down, were ...
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 27 March 1976
IF YOU WANT to do Bobby Womack a favour, you'll ignore this album. ...
Bobby Womack: That's All Y'All
Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 27 March 1976
2010 note: this is the copy as printed. There is a section of text missing (possibly due to subediting error). This is marked by *** ...
Bobby Womack: Who Loves Ya Bobby?
Interview by David Hancock, Record Mirror, 27 March 1976
HE'S HUNG out with the Stones, the Faces, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, oh you name them... the point is, Bobby Womack has never been outside ...
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. ...
Al Jarreau: Look Out, Al Jarreau's On His Way
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1976
IT SEEMS like but a short time since we last spoke to a talented gentleman who has been hailed by many of his peers and ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1976
...AAH, WHERE were we now? Oh, yeah, Bobby and the Valentinos had just got to their first real hit with 'It's All Over Now' on ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1976
AFTER SOMETHING like twenty years of continuous success in the States, Brook Benton looks like finally achieving the breakthrough that has eluded him during the ...
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1976
A special report by David Nathan on the on-stage and behind-the-scenes activities at Warner Brothers' special "California Soul" series of concerts during end of February ...
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 ...
Larry Graham: Graham Central Station: The Graham Standing at Platform 3 Will Call At All Stations
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1976
"Constant change is the key these days," says Larry Graham of Graham Central Station. Having recently made inroads into the 'crossover' market, they're now striving ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1976
Having experienced the whole J5 explosion, how are things with Jermaine Jackson since goin' out on his own? Well, seems things are pretty fine, as ...
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 Crusaders: Crusaders Have Their Fingers On The Pulse Of Crossover Potential
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1976
Since dropping the 'Jazz' tag from their name, the group have made their mark in many musical areas. David Nathan talks to drummer Stix Hooper... ...
The Impressions: Imps In The Mood For Love
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1976
With everyone into disco music, the Impressions concentrated on a love mood for their Loving Power set. And that move seems to have paid handsome ...
The J.A.L.N Band: The J.A.L.N. Band
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1976
IN THE PAST, whenever a British-based band has attempted to create some genuine funky music, it has generally been sneered at and bypassed. But with ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1976
VERY FEW of the soul super-groups break through into the really big time without serving a kind of apprenticeship and, with out wishing to blow ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1976
ONE OF the most welcome sights of recent months has been the re-appearance in the pop and R&B charts of that much-loved and extra-soulful family ...
Al Green: Full Of Fire (London) ****
Review by Barbara Charone, Sounds, 3 April 1976
AL GREEN stands in the middle of the ring, caught in combat between an elastic rhythm section and a resilient horn section. Producer/engineer Willie Mitchell ...
Billy Ocean: The Other Side of the Ocean
Interview by David Hancock, Record Mirror, 3 April 1976
BILLY OCEAN doesn't drink, well at least he didn't, but you know what they say day trips to Holland can be like. ...
Bobby Womack Sings Through Clenched Teeth
Interview by Mick Brown, Street Life, 3 April 1976
IT PROMISED to be, in that time-honoured cliche of showbusiness hyperbole, a 'star-studded occasion'. His publicist said Bobby Womack would be dropping off in the ...
Brook Benton: Brook's No Hero Of The Past
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Record Mirror, 3 April 1976
LIKE RAY CHARLES, Fats Domino and precious few others, Brook Benton's pulling power as one of the father figures of black American music continues despite ...
Archie Bell and the Drells Still Dance All Night
Profile and Interview by John Morthland, Rolling Stone, 8 April 1976
NEW YORK – Archie Bell interrupts his rushed, businesslike replies for a moment and works up the faintest trace of a smile: "I didn't know ...
War: A Walk On War's Wild Side
Interview by Steven Rosen, Sounds, 10 April 1976
FAR OUT Productions, besides being War's Hollywood headquarters, seems to be a favourite hangout for streetwalkers. They seem to think that all the black gentlemen ...
Al Jarreau: Jarreau Gig At La Coupole Goes Molto Bene
Report and Interview by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 10 April 1976
"THERE'S NO reason for my deserving this interview any more than the man out there pouring drinks, except that I try to say something through ...
Al Jarreau: Ronnie Scott's, London
Live Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 17 April 1976
RIGHT NOW I'm reaching for the ol' Thesaurus, trying to find an original way of saying "unique new talent explodes like a comet on the ...
Love Unlimited, Barry White: Barry White, Love Unlimited: Radio City Music Hall, New York NY
Live Review by Toby Goldstein, Sounds, 17 April 1976
FROM THE first moment of the show, when Radio City Music Hall's gigantic Wurlitzer vibrated to the '2001 Theme', one could guess that Barry White's ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Her Man, His Woman
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 17 April 1976
RECORDED AND FIRST released as the Get It, Get It L.P. on the L.A. Cenco label circa 1965, this album was snapped up by Capitol ...
Gladys Knight and the Pips: Gladys Knight & the Pips (1976)
Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages Audio, 22 April 1976
Gladys and the boys talks about choosing songs and working out vocal arrangements; becoming album artists and going Platinum with Imagination; doing the Pipe Dreams soundtrack album; the role of the Pips, their choreography, and being marvellously rude about the Stylistics' stage moves!
File format: mp3; file size: 26.6mb, interview length: 27' 39" sound quality: ***
Brook Benton: This Is Brook Benton
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 24 April 1976
THIS MONTH'S MIND-BLOWER: The Benton basement tapes surface after 18 years in the can and turn out to be a bag of fun for all ...
Diana Ross: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 24 April 1976
WHEN WILL THE real Diana Ross sing up and be counted? ...
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 24 April 1976
THAT THIS ALBUM has already been such an overwhelming success in America must surely be due to US Columbia's marketing techniques rather than the music, ...
Smokey Robinson: Smokey's Family Robinson (Tamla Motown) *****
Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 24 April 1976
"A VOICE on the stereo singing softly, Describing what I feel about you, The singer seems to know all about it, Seems like the writer ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1976
YESSIREEBOB, VENUS and Mars are alright tonight! The past year has been relatively quiet for Edwin Starr but he seems happier than at any time ...
Hampton and Banks Caught In The Act
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, May 1976
'Caught In The Act' happens to be the title of Carl Hampton and Homer Banks' initial single for Warner Bros. When it comes to writing ...
James and Bobby Purify: Their Two-Timing Puppet
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1976
Discerning U.K. record buyers have shown their mettle once again. The Purify boys' recut of 'I'm Your Puppet' has virtually been passed over in the ...
Mandrill: They Did It Their Way
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1976
Hey caramba, the boys are really grabbing some attention with their 'Disco Lypso' cut. And they've proved it never pays to give in. They've continued ...
Melba Moore: Okay Melba This Really Is It
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, May 1976
No messin' this time – the lady means business! Ms. Moore's Peach Melba album paved the way and now she's really cracked it with her ...
The Manhattans: Kiss And Say Hello To The Manhattans
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, May 1976
The Manhattans have been kinda bubbling under for a long time. Now destiny has caught up with them and their new osculatory single is currently ...
Al Jarreau: A Man And His Laundry
Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 1 May 1976
"IT DON'T make no moth a fugging difference what happens to me, Going to be there in my own time, in my own way..."– Al ...
Bootsy Collins, Swamp Dogg, Johnny Guitar Watson: Bootsy's Rubber Band a snappy little number
Report by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 1 May 1976
KEEP YOUR ears pimmed back for Bootsy's Rubber Band, a nifty little album soon to be released by WEA. ...
Marvin Gaye: I Want You (Tamla Motown) ****
Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 1 May 1976
MARVIN GAYE is in the fortunate or unfortunate position of being regarded as a prophet-cum-saviour. ...
Maxine Nightingale: Maxine — Right Back At The Top
Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 1 May 1976
NEW YORK: Maxine Nightingale, who comes from Wembley, seemed neither over-awed nor surprised that her record 'Right Back Where We Started From' was topping the ...
Gallagher & Lyle, Robert Palmer: Robert Palmer, Gallagher and Lyle: Bottom Line, New York NY
Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 1 May 1976
NEW YORK: Looking rather like a male model in a smart grey suit, white shirt and stylishly cropped hair, Robert Palmer brought his brand of ...
Gladys Knight and the Pips: Gladys Knight & the Pips: It's a Family Affair
Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 8 May 1976
And a very friendly one at that. Even though Gladys Knight and the Pips have been through real hard times, they don't tear at each ...
Gladys Knight & the Pips: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 8 May 1976
HORACE SILVER to Brain Case, NME, May 1st 1976. "I'd prefer just reports on concerts rather than a critique." Quite right too, Horace. O.K. then. ...
Gladys Knight and the Pips: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 8 May 1976
HAVING BEEN privileged to see two out-of-London sets of G. K. and the P's, I was rather more picky than most of the London audience. ...
Gladys Knight and the Pips: Gladys Knight: Things happen when you're a disciple of Buddah...
Interview by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 8 May 1976
... but it helps if you're GLADYS KNIGHT AND THE PIPS. Here's how things are going, as told to CLIFF WHITE. ...
Gloria Jones: From Classic Soul to Rock 'N' Roll
Interview by Tamara Jermott, Black Echoes, 8 May 1976
WHAT DO Gladys Knight, Marc Bolan, Edna Wright of Honeycone, Eddie Kendricks, Billy Preston, The Los Angeles cast of Hair, Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye have ...
Gloria Jones, Marc Bolan: Gloria Jones: Keeping Up With The Joneses
Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 8 May 1976
GLORIA JONES is the sultry lady sprawled across the sheets who screams through T. Rex's 'Get It On'. Very Tina Turner, and judging from all ...
Marvin Gaye, The Temptations: Soul Albums Reviewed
Review by Simon Frith, Street Life, 15 May 1976
Temptations: Wings of LoveMarvin Gaye: I Want YouLee Garrett: Heat For The Feets EVEN SOUL musicians grow old and, though black music has never ...
The Temptations: Wings Of Love (Tamla Motown)****
Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 15 May 1976
VERY NEAT structure to the new Temps release. Side one has all the funk, all the dancers, and Side two has what you could call ...
Average White Band: Edinburgh, Scotland
Live Review by Barbara Charone, Sounds, 22 May 1976
"I'VE GOT an announcement to make," Alan Gorrie told a sold out Edinburgh audience the night after Scotland had beaten England. "If there's any dodgy ...
Profile and Interview by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 22 May 1976
Meet the man who put dues-paying into the big league: LEE GARRETT. Born blind into a poor family and a drifter by his teens, Garrett ...
Average White Band: Young Rascals Searching For Your Soul
Interview by Barbara Charone, Sounds, 29 May 1976
Barbara Charone talks to Scotland's most famous sons, the Average White Band'I'm sure people will put us down...I hope they don't put us down but ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1976
ANY LONG-TERM reader of B&S will know what I mean by a "backbone of our music singer". They are the artists who don't attain superstar ...
Archie Bell and the Drells: Archie Bell & The Drells
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1976
ITS AN old saying that you can't keep a good man down, right? Well, that saying has never been better proven than by our old ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1976
"SAY MAN, do you think these shades make me look just a little like Bootsy Collins? Eh?" Well, they ought to. Yep, you guessed it ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1976
WITH THE greatest respect in the world to the delightful Candi Staton, I would have taken virtually any odds against ever seeing her sitting on ...
Luther Vandross: Luther Are Good For The Soul
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, June 1976
2008 introduction: "Luther are three girls and two guys whose debut single for Cotillion is attracting a lot of attention. They are not headliners yet, ...
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 ...
The Isley Brothers: Reflections Of Love And Life
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, June 1976
The Brothers Isley are really tuned in to life around them and this awareness is the prime source of inspiration in their music. Eavesdrop as ...
The Meters: Restless Days In New Orleans
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1976
By rights, the band should be right up there at the top. But, it seems they have hassles and problems to contend with. On their ...
O'Jays: The O'Jays Mind Their Own Business
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1976
At a time when big-name tours have become economically prohibitive, the trio took it on themselves to underwrite their own nationwide tour. Eddie Levert explains ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1976
AT A time when being black and British seems to be in vogue, it is important that we don't forget a group who have been ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, June 1976
WHEN PAT, Angie, Olympia, Edmund, Leon, James, Ricky and Foster (with Charmaine off sick that day) were seated around the table in Capitol's conference room, ...
Al Green, Willie Mitchell: Willie Mitchell: Changing Sounds In Memphis
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, June 1976
Willie Mitchell's distinctive Memphis sound has been the driving force behind many golden hits over the years. Now he feels it's time for a change. ...
Ashford & Simpson: Come As You Are (Warner Bros. K56159) *****
Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 5 June 1976
CELESTIAL STUFF from Nick and Val, illustrious songwriters from the old Motown stable, who're now hitting the solo trail for the third time with Warner ...
The Meters: The World’s First Metric Funk Band
Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 5 June 1976
CISSY STRUT! What a great evocation of the Meters in that title, their second Island album, a kind of Greatest Hits, that’s blasting through the ...
James and Bobby Purify: James & Bobby — The Pure Truth
Interview by David Hancock, Record Mirror, 12 June 1976
JAMES AND BOBBY Purify aren't really James and Bobby Purify. ...
Millie Jackson: Free And In Love
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 12 June 1976
OOWEE, LORD HAVE mercy. This girl just turns me to jelly every time she opens her mouth. ...
Natalie Cole: Natalie (Capitol) 35 mins ***
Essay by Phil Sutcliffe, Sounds, 12 June 1976
IF YOU get right down to it I suppose pop/rock is composed of a set of quite different musical idioms within which almost everyone sounds ...
Sly & The Family Stone: Sly Stone: Sly and the Devil Was Walking Side by Side
Overview by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 19 June 1976
...and on a clear day you could even tell which was which. NICK KENT reads Sylvester Stewart's musical palm and sifts out the rumours behind ...
War: California Ballroom, Dunstable
Live Review by Tim Lott, Melody Maker, 19 June 1976
CLICK, WHIRR. This isn't a group, it's a living disco. The Jukebox is War. The dive is the California Ballroom, Dunstable. Burly evening-suited men flanking ...
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 26 June 1976
The Sorry Stax story ...
Brothers Johnson: The Brothers Johnson: Look Out For Number One (A&M)
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 26 June 1976
TWENTY-YEAR-OLD session bassist Louis "Thunder Thumbs" Johnson and his elder bro, guitarist George "Lightning Licks", leap from the striking cover of this album like two ...
Al Green: Soul Minister Al Aims To Get Next To You
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, July 1976
Right now, Al Green's planning his future lifestyle. He wants more than hit records. He aims to show folks the key to divinity. Heavy stuff? ...
Ted Taylor: Bespoke Soul Taylor Made Hit Steals Up Chart
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1976
Ted Taylor's contribution to Soul goes back further even than the Soul charts themselves – his early experience being gained with the original Mighty Clouds ...
B.T. Express: BT Express: Still Groovin' On The Right Track Baby
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1976
They came from virtually nowhere last year and set the whole world a-dancin'. Now, with the CBS promotion machine behind them, they're making the big ...
Gil Scott-Heron: The Fire This Time
Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Playboy, July 1976
Gil Scott-Heron has been called the black Bob Dylan. He doesn't appreciate it. ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1976
The lowdown on the New York group who have hustled into both the U.S. and U.K. charts. A B&S expose by John Abbey who strongly ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1976
Spotlight on the man who made the classic 'Love Don't Come No Stronger'. Jeff and his four brothers spearheaded a very talented family, as John ...
Marlena Shaw : Marlena Shaw: Let's Hear It For The Good Guys and Gals
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1976
"Who Is This Bitch, Anyway?" Hey man, we're not being abusive...that was the title of Marlena Shaw's breakthrough album and serves to introduce this background ...
Philly Devotions: A Story Of Patience And Dedication
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, July 1976
Everything comes to he who waits, they say. Well, these guys are hanging in there with the confidence that success will come when their talent ...
Barrabas: Rappin' with Barrabas
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1976
IN NEW YORK to finish the mixing on their next album for Atlantic recently were members of Barrabas, the Madrid-based group who've enjoyed success throughout ...
Tavares' Third Era Brings UK Breakthrough
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1976
If Heaven is missing an angel, then that winged spirit must be smiling down on the brothers Tavares. They've really broken through internationally and plans ...
The Crusaders: 26 Years Young And The Best Is Yet To Come
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1976
'Tis strange to think that the Crusaders were laying down their distinctive sounds before some of their fans were even a twinkle in their daddies' ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, July 1976
Happy days are here again for Wanda, Jeanette and Sheila. They learned a lot from the quiet times and that knowledge is serving them well ...
The Ohio Players: The Spirit of '76
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1976
IT HAD to be more than just coincidence. Here I was in Ohio Player Satch Satchell's luxurious hotel suite overlooking Grosvenor Square writing for our ...
Millie Jackson: Free And In Love (Spring/Polydor) ****
Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 10 July 1976
MILLIE JACKSON has purchased a slinky new catsuit for the sleeve of this album, suitable for a liberated courtesan. And she can afford it too, ...
The Crusaders: Crusaders: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Max Bell, New Musical Express, 17 July 1976
THE HELL WITH it, let's be dogmatic and lay down a truth that was already manifest before their historic visit. When it comes to pumping ...
Jerry Butler: The Iceman Cometh, Yet Again
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Black Echoes, 24 July 1976
IT WAS deejay George Wood who originally tagged Jerry Butler "The Iceman" because of his on-stage cool and it's still an especially appropriate nickname, not ...
Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 24 July 1976
Vivien Goldman explains why she's been drooling over Johnny 'Guitar' Watson for the past month. ...
Hamilton Bohannon: Bohannon Boogies Into Phase Two
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1976
Hamilton's free from the pressure he was under following his UK trip, and he's 'bad' no more! He's entering a new era and feels that ...
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 ...
Johnny Guitar Watson: When You're Hot You're Hot
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1976
Johnny 'Guitar' Watson has three singles riding the current chart, but he just couldn't believe that one of them is his old duet with Larry ...
Lou Rawls And The Philly Pay Off
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1976
Lou was beginning to feel he'd never happen big in Britain but his CBS-Philly tie-up has paid a big divvy. Now he's planning a trip ...
Margie Joseph: Haven't I Paid Enough Dues?
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1976
Though Margie Joseph feels she still has a lot more promise to fulfill, she thinks she's already done enough to be up there in the ...
Mark Radice: The Reluctant Disco Star
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1976
Mark recording at the tender age of 7, and was groomed in the pop stakes. However, his new album features back-ups from Brass Construction and ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1976
Okay folks, this is it....the lady gives her views on the music biz, artistic temperament, women in business, hit records, coping with success, and other ...
Silver Convention: Take Three Girls
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1976
...three girls who look good and sound good; dub them Silver Convention; groom them and create for them the perfect disco-soul setting. That's what Silvester ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1976
C. M. Lord offers a diverse range of talent...a little bit of everything. But the little lady aims to avoid being pigeonholed when a hit ...
Don Covay: Travelin' In Heavy Traffic
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 7 August 1976
AN APPRAISAL OF THE VIRTUES OF MR. DON COVAY ...
Sam Cooke: Twistin' The Night Away
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 7 August 1976
BETWEEN 1960 and 1963 more Twist albums hit the market than the total spinoff products from Elvis, The Beatles and Jaws. ...
Clarence Reid (aka Blowfly): Sex and the Single
Comment by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 26 August 1976
TEN YEARS ago, the Kingsmen used to launch, full tilt, into their biggest hit, 'Louie Louie', then stop. "Hey, these guys never heard this song ...
Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 28 August 1976
THOUGH Tavares are scoring for the first time in Britain with 'Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel', the quintet of brothers has been together as ...
Impact: 4 Happy Men Make An Impact
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1976
AFTER WHAT can only be termed a false start with 'Happy Man', the rich promise of new Atco quartet, Impact is reaching fruition rather rapidly ...
Al Wilson: Something For Everybody
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1976
Mr. W. doesn't regret not putting all his eggs in one basket. Because he's been able to adapt, he's kept working, as he explains to ...
B.B. King: Keepin' The Blues Alive
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1976
THE WORD "blues" has become almost synonymous with the word "king", be it Albert, Freddie or B.B. The blues as a musical form has existed ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1976
David Nathan gets the feedback from leader Bill Risbrook on how the band view things now that they're off and running with CBS. ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1976
'Doctor's Orders' created a big demand for Carol in Europe and she still has a heavy working schedule. The lady took time out to bring ...
Roy Ayers: The 35 Year Success Story
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1976
Mr. A's been in the biz for 3 decades and right now he's enjoying more success than ever. Black music is the heart of American ...
Thelma Houston: Thelma's Heading For The Silver Screen
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1976
IT'S BEEN said time and time again but one of the most underrated female vocalists around is Ms. Thelma Houston. When Thelma first hit the ...
George Benson: Mr Bad Makes Good
Interview by Robin Katz, Sounds, 4 September 1976
VETERAN JAZZ guitarist George 'Bad' Benson recently went to school to pick up his young son. Upon arrival, a group of eager young schoolkids clustered ...
Glenn Swings Out — Now It's Funky Shorts
Report by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 4 September 1976
Colin Irwin visits the Lacy Lady in Ilford, where deejay Chris Hill is leading a new disco trend. ...
Interview by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 6 September 1976
THE REAL THING seems to be an apt name for a trio who are determined to succeed on their own merits and not as a ...
Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 9 September 1976
SALVAGED FROM THE debris of the Stax bankruptcy, the Emotions have reemerged with one of the year's most refreshing soul albums. Producer Maurice White, who ...
Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 11 September 1976
I WAS SUFFERING an unprecedented fit of nerves as I stood clutching my dime by the pay phones in Little Lucy's El Adobe Restaurant in ...
Interview by Stephen Demorest, Circus, 13 September 1976
"I Hate The Blues!" Snaps Chaka Khan. ...
Kool and the Gang: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 18 September 1976
THE PAST couple of years have seen the needs of the discotheque exerting ever greater influence on the prevailing direction of much popular music. The ...
Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages Audio, 28 September 1976
The Motown great on touring and performing; on the new I Want You and interviewer Cliff White's bad review of it; on his older material, and the difference between English and American audiences; on the meaning of life and death... and his fear of flying and spiders.
File format: mp3; file size: 36.8mb, interview length: 38' 20" sound quality: ****
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, October 1976
CURRENTLY CREATING much excitement and interest throughout the States with their own brand of music are a group of young men known as Blacksmoke. ...
The Fatback Band: Fatback Band: Givin' The People What They Want
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1976
For their new Night Fever album, the band have concentrated on what the fans seem to like most – happy up 'n' dancin' music. John ...
Junior Walker & The Allstars: Jr. Walker: 'Everybody's Just Ready For Me To Blow.'
Interview by Colman Andrews, Phonograph Record, October 1976
JR. WALKER is the man who, it might be said, invented disco-jazz. Ten years ago or more, he was creating a kind of music Ramsey ...
Report and Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, October 1976
Davitt Sigerson investigates New York's soul music underground ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, October 1976
David Nathan talks of this 'n' that with Henry and Pervis of the Atlantic supergroup... ...
Live Review by Penny Reel, New Musical Express, 2 October 1976
MY LAST VISIT to the quaint, cobbled pavements of Camden Lock was to see Eddie Floyd knocking on wood in standard mid-60s soul routine. Ben ...
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 2 October 1976
IT'S 1 A.M. and I've just about survived a ludicrous Sunday, beginning at some ungodly hour I never knew existed and exercising patience I never ...
Moon: Is This The Dark Side Of The Moon?
Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 2 October 1976
"ARE YOU using Memorex?" asked Moon's Noel McCalla, leaning quizzically over my cassette machine. "You gotta use Memorex for us, you know. Only the best, ...
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 2 October 1976
DAY ONE: can't get past the third track. Before reaching it, 4.08 mins of 'Disco Is The Thing Today' revealed a commercial, characterless leap onto ...
Marvin Gaye: Cool Soul Genius Wows Albert
Live Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 9 October 1976
Marvin Gaye: Royal Albert Hall, LondonTHERE HAS to be a reason for hiring the Albert Hall. It's true that information sometimes gets lost over the ...
Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 9 October 1976
MARVIN GAYE's chosen an interesting stage of his career to re-visit these shores after a 12-year absence. ...
Natalie Cole, Tavares: New Victoria Theatre, London
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 9 October 1976
NATALIE COLE is an MOR sophisticated lady, right? An exceptional singer in the mould of Aretha Franklin who's chosen to, or been persuaded to, don ...
Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life
Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 9 October 1976
RUMOURS THAT the New Musical Express has deliberately pursued a course of hostility towards Stevie Wonder are, of course, utterly without foundation; but (even at ...
Marvin Gaye: The Marvin Gaye Interview: Earthly Fights and Mystic Flights
Interview by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 9 October 1976
"HOW ARE you? I must say you have the patience of Job." ...
Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield: Aretha Franklin: Sparkle (Atlantic)****
Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 16 October 1976
SUBTITLED 'Music From The Motion Picture', Sparkle is a soundtrack album, that plays like a record. It doesn't, unlike most of the genre, hang limply ...
Profile by Vernon Gibbs, The Village Voice, 18 October 1976
THE LINES that stretched around the block welcoming Al Jarreau to his second New York appearance at the Bottom Line were evidence to his devotees ...
James Booker: 100 Club, London
Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 27 October 1976
IT CAN BE argued, with, some conviction, that popular music of this century has had no true main stream, simply a complex network of tributaries ...
Melba Moore: Have You Met Miss Moore?
Profile and Interview by David Hancock, National RockStar, 30 October 1976
NOT IF ALL YOU'VE HEARD IS HER DISCO SMASH, SAYS DAVID HANCOCK ...
Bobby Byrd: Past Present And Future
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, November 1976
WITH MR. Bobby Byrd, currently set for a tour of the U.K. (November 19 thru December 5), it seemed an appropriate time to get with ...
Leon Ware: LA's Most Important New Writer/Producer/Performer
Interview by Colman Andrews, Phonograph Record, November 1976
LEON WARE'S songs have been recorded by an almost bewildering array of performers — including Ike and Tina Turner, Bobby Womack, the Righteous Brothers, Kim ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1976
It's full speed ahead for Ms. Vega, who's being hailed as the most dynamic white female singer around. ...
Tavares: The Supergroup Of All Time
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1976
The five brothers are really buzzin' at this moment in time. Will they go on to become the biggest Soul group of all time? ...
The J.A.L.N Band: The J.A.L.N Explosion
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1976
After a spluttering start, Britain's black explosion is now gathering momentum and the J.A.L.N. Band look set to establish themselves as consistent hitmakers ...
The Whispers're Getting Louder
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, November 1976
CURRENTLY ENJOYING, by their own admission, the most successful period in their career (in fact, as we write this article, radio station WBLS in New ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, November 1976
Wild Cherry used to be into heavy rock. Now they play that funky music and their hit single has gone platinum... ...
The Meters: The Meters: Paul's Mall, Boston
Live Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 4 November 1976
THE METERS may well be the finest performing American band. Without resorting to such modern pop trappings as smoke bombs and gyrating pianos, the Meters ...
The Bee Gees: Bee Gees: Children of the World
Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 4 November 1976
FROM MUSHY pop ballads through late-Sixties psychedelia and low-key rock, the Bee Gees have demonstrated a chameleonlike ability to adapt to disparate pop trends. These ...
Nona Hendryx, Labelle: Labelle: Lady Songwriter Thinks She's God
Interview by David Hancock, National RockStar, 6 November 1976
MORE THAN any other vocal group, CBS's Labelle have thrived on that old cosmic image. They deal with grand themes as deftly as if they ...
Earth, Wind & Fire: Madison Square Garden, New York NY
Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976
Fiery ELP of soul ...
Gil Scott-Heron And Brian Jackson: It's Your World (Arista) ****
Review by Mick Brown, Sounds, 13 November 1976
WITH IT'S Your World – his fourth English but sixth American album – Gil Scott-Heron takes another step in carving out his singular niche as ...
Jerry Butler: The Ice Man cometh
Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 13 November 1976
JERRY BUTLER, throughout his career, has consistently sung with a mollasses smooth voice that's deep, sensitive and sincere. ...
Jackie Wilson: The Trials of Jackie Wilson
Report by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 18 November 1976
CHERRY HILL, New Jersey — Since September 1975, Jackie Wilson has lain in a series of southern New Jersey hospitals, intravenously fed and unable to ...
Johnny Guitar Watson: Newcastle Polytechnic
Live Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 20 November 1976
THE GIG at Newcastle Poly was Johnny Guitar Watson's first British date for a decade. ...
Johnny Guitar Watson: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Maureen Paton, Melody Maker, 27 November 1976
THE GUITAR HERO stakes is such an overworked concept that it seems almost poetic justice to overact it outrageously to the point of parody. Johnny ...
Billy Butler: On The Right Track
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, December 1976
AFTER many years in the background, it seems that Curtis Mayfield has persuaded Billy Butler (brother of Jerry) to step out front and put his ...
Billy Davis and Marilyn McCoo: Very Much Together
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, December 1976
AFTER ALMOST ten years with The Fifth Dimension, Billy Davis and Marilyn McCoo announced in November of last year that they'd decided to go it ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, December 1976
Bobby's now with Columbia Records and he's brim full of confidence to conquer the world. An' the good news for U.K. fans is that he's ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, December 1976
IT WAS with a great deal of anticipation and curiosity that everyone waited patiently for the second Brass Construction album on U.A. Perhaps no one ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1976
John Abbey talks to the dazzling new group who have just hit the top spot on the U.S. singles chart ...
Brothers Johnson, Quincy Jones: Brothers Johnson: Good To Ya, Good For Ya
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, December 1976
ONE OF the success stories of 1976 in terms of 'newcomers' on the scene is concerned must involve George & Louis Johnson. Although they'd worked ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, December 1976
TO TRY and describe Curtis Mayfield's enormous contribution to the music world would take far more adjectives than we have at our disposal. ...
James Wells: First Time Around
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1976
THE LATEST output from the Levine Machine is James Wells, who recently made a lightning trip to London to add some vocals for a new ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, December 1976
AFTER a couple of years working The Impressions, Ralph Johnson decided earlier in the year to move on. Rather than just making a bid for ...
Johnny Guitar Watson: Rappin' With Johnny Guitar Watson
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1976
HIS RECENTLY COMPLETED EUROPEAN TOUR: "It was simply the greatest tour of my life! I don't think I've ever enjoyed myself on the road as ...
Skip Mahoney & the Casuals: Skip Mahoney and The Casuals: Well, Bless My Soul
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1976
QUIETLY MAKING quite a name for themselves in the States and now in this part of the world, too – are Washington's premier vocal group, ...
The Ritchie Family: The Best Ritchie Family In Town
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, December 1976
TRULY IN the vanguard of the disco set of entertainers are the three ladies who make up The Ritchie Family. No, they are not sisters ...
Interview by Joe Nick Patoski, Phonograph Record, December 1976
NEW ORLEANS — Maintaining two separate personalities and record labels for his band Parliament/Funkadelic has been an act of schizophrenic genius on the part of ...
The Originals: Down To Hitsville
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, December 1976
David Nathan talks to Freddie Gorman, once a single act and writer with Ric-Tic, who has been churning out hits with the Originals for 12 ...
The Meters: Troubadour, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 2 December 1976
Hard-Nosed Funk From the Meters ...
Gladys Knight and the Pips: A Knight in Las Vegas Or: Africa Calls, Gladys Answers
Interview by David Hancock, National RockStar, 4 December 1976
If politics and music don't mix, how come in the U.S. you have to be a top r 'n' b seller to get AM radio ...
Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind & Fire: Spirit
Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 16 December 1976
THE SONGS OF Earth, Wind and Fire combine pure urban fantasy with the type of facile brotherhood messages that also crop up in the music ...
Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 16 December 1976
NOW THAT the Staples are unabashed sex merchants, the O'Jays are pop's foremost message mongerers. But the O'Jays don't write or produce their albums, so ...
Bobby Womack: Home Is Where The Heart Is (Columbia)****
Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 18 December 1976
WHEN BOBBY's excursion into country'n'western finally made it into the racks this summer, his long-cherished project met with mixed reviews. ...
Ike & Tina Turner, Phil Spector: Ike and Tina Turner
Profile by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 25 December 1976
THAT THE Tina Turner-Phil Spector combination should have produced one isolated tour-de-force 45 was perhaps not surprising; after all, Tina more than anyone else was ...
Funkadelic, Parliament: Parliament/Funkadelic: Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans
Live Review by Wayne Robins, Rolling Stone, 30 December 1976
A GOLD PYRAMID glitters onstage. Light beams, like giant mutant insect eyes, stare down at the audience. Musicians dressed for a Halloween party in some ...
Barry White: I'm in a Beautiful Mood
Report and Interview by Philip Norman, The Sunday Times, 1977
BARRY WHITE is the singer who turned black Soul music into a product closer akin to soggy white blancmange. ...
Wilson Pickett: Return of the Wicked Pickett
Report and Interview by Michael Lydon, unpublished, 1977
"I’VE ALWAYS WANTED to be a star," said Wilson Pickett. He clapped his hands and fell back into a deck chair behind his house in ...
Boney M: The Newest Darlings Of Euro Disco
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1977
FRANCE: No. 1. West Germany: No. 1. Sweden: No. 3. Switzerland: No 1. ...
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 ...
D.C LaRue: DC LaRue: Gay Clubs Give Birth To Hetero Hit
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1977
PERHAPS THE final bolt in the ages old controversy about soul and colour was nailed in just a month back when D.C. LaRue's 'Cathedrals' topped ...
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. ...
Rose Royce Clean Up With Car Wash
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1977
With Norman Whitfield in the driving seat, the 10-piece outfit currently have two titles in the UK chart, both from the Car Wash movie. ...
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 ...
Tower Of Power: Ain't Nothin' Stoppin' Us Now
Review by Max Bell, New Musical Express, 1 January 1977
THIS IS essentially transitional meat from Oakland, Soul City's finest. ...
James Brown: Git Down! Git Down! Git Down!
Interview by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 8 January 1977
Is Britain ready for the return of the Godfather of Soul? On the eve of JAMES BROWN'S fourth visit to the UK, Cliff White reveals ...
Average White Band: The Average White Band: Person To Person
Review by Tony Stewart, New Musical Express, 8 January 1977
WELCOME BACK the musically credible and eminently excellent Average White Band with this defiant poke in the ear for all those people who seven months ...
Gladys Knight and the Pips: Gladys Knight & the Pips: Glad it's Knight
Interview by Robin Katz, Black Echoes, 15 January 1977
"EVERYBODY'S TALKIN' 'bout the good old days," right? In their 25-year history, Gladys Knight and the Pips have had their share of ups and downs, ...
Gladys Knight & The Pips: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 15 January 1977
THERE IS AN unwritten guarantee with every ticket for a Gladys Knight & The Pips concert. A guarantee of aural, visual and emotional satisfaction. I've ...
Gladys Knight: In A Changing World, There's Always Gladys Knight
Live Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 15 January 1977
Gladys Knight and The Pips: New Victoria, London ...
Jermaine Jackson: My Name Is Jermaine (Tamla Motown)
Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 15 January 1977
COULD BE that marrying the boss's daughter has caused Jermaine Jackson a few problems. Not only is the boss' son-in-law expected to try that much ...
Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 27 January 1977
IF HIS RECORDS ARE ANY indication, Al Green is a troubled, no, haunted man. ...
Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 29 January 1977
'Dock Of The Bay' was never like this! Soul Music shifts a gear ...
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 29 January 1977
Cliff White on recent soul ...
Live Review by Penny Reel, Black Echoes, 29 January 1977
Let's hear it for some real talent ...
Gladys Knight And The Pips: The Family That Eats Together Hits Together
Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 29 January 1977
Since their last visit eight months ago, nothing much has changed for Gladys Knight and the Pips. ...
Kokomo: The Roundhouse, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 29 January 1977
WELL, JOE Cocker wasn't there. At least I don't think he was. After a very hard weekend of various rock 'n' roll activities the strain ...
The Sylvers: Something Special
Review by Lester Bangs, Circus, 31 January 1977
WHAT'S WRONG with disco music? All my friends hate it, so I know there must be something good about it. They say it's inhuman; I've ...
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 ...
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. ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1977
Pssst! Didja hear th' one 'bout th' Polish Kung Fu fans?With 'Kung Fu Fighting', Carl Douglas scored one of the best-selling singles of all time, ...
The Cate Brothers: Cate Bros' Blue Eyed Soul
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1977
ALTHOUGH SCOTLAND'S Average White Band are credited mostly for the pulling down of that old colour barrier that used to segregate white soul acts away ...
Odia Coates: Coates Of Many Colours
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1977
IT'S FUNNY how some people look much better in real life than on photo. To date, I really haven't seen a good, accurate photograph of ...
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 ...
The Bar-Kays: Euro Rumpshakers Get Hip To The Bar-Kays
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1977
The group so nearly made the big Euro breakthrough a decade ago with their 'Soul Finger' anthem. Now 'Shake Your Rump To The Funk' has ...
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 ...
Leon Ware: Motown's Musical Masseur
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1977
Some guys get all the best album sleeve sessions! With his Musical Massage set, Leon Ware has come to the fore of Motown's influx on ...
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 ...
The Blackbyrds: Awright, we're back to settle some unfinished business!
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1977
The Blackbyrds' keyboards ace, Kevin Toney, explains the delay in getting their new album together, and the new directions they're heading in... ...
The Dynamic Superiors: Superiority Complex
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, February 1977
David Nathan raps with the Dynamic Superiors about this, that 'n' the other...an' particularly their new album, You Name It. ...
Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, February 1977
ONE OF the more dramatic announcements of 1975 came when The Jackson Five made it known that they had concluded a new recording pact with ...
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 ...
Report and Interview by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 12 February 1977
"I TELL YA, man, the blacks have sold out. Listen to the music. No meanin', no feelin', it's all about one thing... dance, dance, dance. ...
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 12 February 1977
THEORETICALLY this bout should have provided at least a points-win decision in favour of Harold Melvin's Blue Notes, although, owing to recent personnel upsets in ...
Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 19 February 1977
HEATWAVE, whose 'Boogie Nights' single is moving up the chart, talk to Colin Irwin ...
Maxine Nightingale: "A Rich Hippie"
Interview by David Hancock, National RockStar, 19 February 1977
MAXINE NIGHTINGALE describes herself as "a rich hippie". That's how honest she is. ...
Comment by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 19 February 1977
LOUIS JOHNSON, bass-playing Brother of that ilk, was quoted in a recent Downbeat on the subject of his favourite bassists: "Stanley Clarke... is the baddest ...
Bobby Womack: Bobby Sox It To Ya
Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 26 February 1977
"HELLO LONDON, it's Bobby Womack on the line." Hello Bobby, you friendly soul. How good to hear your voice again. ...
Eddie Kendricks: Kendricks To Quit Motown
Interview by David Hancock, National RockStar, 26 February 1977
EDDIE HENDRICKS is quitting Tamla Motown. ...
Alvin Cash: The Ali Connection
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1977
Alvin's friendship with Muhammad Ali goes way back and 'The Ali Shuffle' is his updated tribute to his good buddy. With the action the disc's ...
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. ...
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes: Harold Melvin and Blues Notes: The Inside Story
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1977
The Blue Notes split was one of the big Soul stories of '76. Harold Melvin talks to John Abbey and gives the lowdown on what ...
Heatwave: The Hardest Working Band In The Land
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1977
"We have always worked hard and that won't change because of a hit record. In fact, we may end up working harder" ...
L.T.D.: LTD: Love Togetherness And Devotion
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1977
David Nathan talks to L.T.D.'s Billy Osborne, who traces the group's history and explains their philosophy ...
Phyllis Hyman: This Lady's Got Star Karma
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1977
"This lady's got star karma...The buzz about Phyllis Hyman started amongst the superstar elite. It hasn't taken long for the word to get around..." ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1977
David Nathan catches up with the lovely lady and reports that she's feelin' on top of the world. And there's news of her upcoming album ...
The Chambers Brothers: High Energy Encapsulated
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1977
AFTER A fairly lengthy absence from the charts – although they've by no means been absent from the music scene in general – The Chambers ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1977
"We're still singin' like we're starvin'"! Starvin' they ain't, but the Dramatics still put every ounce of effort into their work. Over the years, they've ...
O'Jays: The O'Jays' Philly Decision
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1977
'Magic' is how the O'Jays describe their success with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and they want to continue working with them. But they want ...
Walter Jackson: Feelin' Good an' He Does Ya Good
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1977
FOR ALL those deep soul folk who've been treasuring their collection of his Okeh records, the news that Mr Walter Jackson is really back and ...
Eddie Kendricks: Kendricks Tempts The Mind And Body
Profile and Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 5 March 1977
EDDIE KENDRICKS, I'm sorry to say, is not the man he used to be. Thirteen years ago he was one of the Temptations, and was ...
Review by Tony Stewart, New Musical Express, 12 March 1977
STUFF CONSISTS of Cornell Dupree and Eric Gale (guitars), Stephen Gadd and Christopher Parker (drums), Gordon Edwards (bass), and Richard Tee (keyboards). ...
Billy Paul: It's The New Billy Paul, Let 'Im In
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1977
Billy's bubblin' over about his new recordings. He tells B&S about his hopes for them, and about his new act, his production plans, and his ...
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. ...
Bobby Caldwell: The Final Breakthrough
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1977
IF PATIENCE is a virtue, then TK's Bobby Caldwell is a virtuous being. ...
Ronnie Spector: Cleveland International Records: Ronnie Spector Breaks Cleveland!
Report and Interview by Marty Cerf, Phonograph Record, April 1977
CLEVELAND — It's a freezing night in mid-February for this city that knows no excess in terms of its insatiable hunger for pop. Indisputably, this ...
Deniece Williams: This Really Is Niecy
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1977
Spotlight on a charismatic new star, Ms. Deniece Williams ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1977
CURRENTLY ENJOYING their first major nationwide success is the five-man vocal group from Detroit, Enchantment, and though they appear under the Roadshow banner (via United ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1977
PERHAPS ONE of Motown's most underrated artists must be Mr. G. C. Cameron. With the release of several singles and now with two albums firmly ...
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 ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1977
You can't keep the good guys down and the Moments have popped up again with their 'Jack In The Box' monster. They talk to B&S ...
Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages Audio, April 1977
The trilling songthrush talks about playing Las Vegas; about live arrangements; about her collaborators; her stage background; on relationships and self-awareness; on songwriting, and at some length on her struggle with breast cancer, and winning the American Cancer Society's Courage Award.
File format: mp3; file size: 42.1mb, interview length: 44' 54" sound quality: ***
The Miracles: Miracles 'Spy' Sensation
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1977
Uncle Sam has taken exception to the group's 'Spy For Brotherhood' and it's being withdrawn. "Rebellious", "Sacrilegeous", say the men in high places. "We're innocent", ...
The Manhattans: Rappin' With The Manhattans
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1977
AT THE end of their recent highly successful debut British tour, we managed to corner the genial quartet of Manhattans just long enough to bring ...
Tavares: Kickin' Up A Storm Internationally
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1977
The guys say a big thank you for their B&S award and talk about their hectic schedule in coming months...records, tours, a movie. They've really ...
Spider's Webb: The Soulful Saga Of Spiders Webb
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1977
How a one-time Hully Gully exponent met and wed a Motown sessioness, and how as the frontrunners of Spiders Webb they wooed and won the ...
The Spinners: Today and Tomorrow
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1977
David Nathan talks to the boys as they unfurl the dawning of a new era with the addition of John Edwards to replace lead singer ...
The Trammps: Disco Inferno (Atlantic)
Review by John Morthland, Creem, April 1977
If Where the Happy People Go showed the Trammps moving perilously close to routine disco, this followup is proof positive that good things can still ...
Timmy Thomas: The Sweet Smell Of Success Revisited
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1977
Timmy Thomas is back in chart business with his 'Stone To The Bone' disco giant. He reflects on his previous success and how he's learned ...
Edwin Starr: Under Rated Super Starr
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1977
Edwin Starr consistently makes the charts, yet he's still somewhat underrated. He talks to B&S about his new album recorded at Chipping Norton and how ...
Latimore: Roxy, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 1 April 1977
Latimore: Simple, Earthy Approach ...
Ronnie Spector: Hi There, Big Boy! Wanna "Interview" Me?
Interview by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 9 April 1977
Mmm-mm. Eighty-eight pounds of compact yumminess on parade for all you heavy guys out there. CLIFF WHITE, hot from New York, on delectable RONNIE SPECTOR's ...
Kool and The Gang: The Gang's Still Kool Baby
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, May 1977
Kool & the Gang have been through a period of transition recently and undergone personnel changes. But in continuing with their Disco-Funk material they're still ...
Earth Wind and Fire: Maurice White of Earth Wind and Fire
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1977
JUST AS their American run of successes seems to be on a temporary wane, so supergroup Earth Wind & Fire achieve their British breakthrough – ...
Michael Henderson: Here There And Everywhere
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, May 1977
ALTHOUGH YOU'RE probably totally unaware of it, there's probably been some point in your musical 'life' when you've heard Michael Henderson! ...
Brass Construction: The Brains Behind Brass Construction
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1977
B&S SuperEd, John Abbey, goes a-rappin' with BC's Superleader, Randy Muller... ...
Teddy Pendergrass: The Whole Town's Talking 'Bout Teddy
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, May 1977
...Mr. Pendergrass, that is. B&S's John Abbey began whistlin' the toons from Teddy's album within minutes of first hearing it, an' that's the most accurate ...
Rufus: They're Rufusizing Buckingham Palace
Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, May 1977
....and Chaka Khan's going down with Alice! Or, to be less obscure, June 11 will see Rufus and Chaka Khan playing one of the Queen's ...
Junior Walker & The Allstars: Time Out With Junior Walker
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, May 1977
ONE OF the most consistently popular Motown artists of all time has to be Jr. Walker. His ratio of chart records may not be what ...
Interview by Michael Lydon, Rock's Backpages Audio, May 1977
Michael Lydon meets wicked Wilson Pickett at home in Englewood, New Jersey, and asks him about his gospel roots, the Falcons, Atlantic Records, and recording in Memphis and Muscle Shoals.
File format: mp3; file size: 44.3mb, interview length: 46' 08" sound quality: ***
The Meters, The Neville Brothers: It's Hard to Read the Meters
Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 May 1977
"IF WE'RE SO good, how come we ain't rich?" reads the caption in The Figaro, New Orleans' underground newspaper, accompanying the story detailing the demise ...
The Trammps: Roseland Ballroom, New York NY
Live Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 5 May 1977
A YEAR AND a half ago, the Trammps were a band of promise. They were also a lot of fun. Presided over by MFSB drummer ...
The Chi-Lites: Theatre Royal, London
Live Review by Paul Rambali, New Musical Express, 7 May 1977
THE HOUSE LIGHTS dimmed and the musicians took their places. There was a buzz of activity on the darkened stage for a minute or so ...
The Jacksons, Wild Cherry: Convention Arena, Fort Worth, Texas
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 7 May 1977
A LABEL CHANGE and a substitution of brothers doesn't seem to have harmed the famous five some's charisma any. Michael's still up front and he, ...
George Benson: Benson Hedges His Bets...
Interview by Brian Case, New Musical Express, 28 May 1977
When 'jazz guitar' rises on the Dow-Jones Index you know there's been a crossover. GEORGE BENSON made the switch from beret to broader base but ...
Joe Tex: Back to the grind for a bump man
Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 28 May 1977
"WHEN I had a hit with 'Skinny Legs And All' I had a lot of hassles from women's libbers," recalled a hoarse Joe Tex on ...
Joe Tex: The Soul Of An Underdog
Profile and Interview by Joe McEwen, The Boston Phoenix, 31 May 1977
THE SHOW was held at South Philadelphia's Spectrum, still a brand-new facility in 1969, but it could well have been the fare at North Philly's ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, June 1977
ANGLO-SAXON Brown. A brand of shoes? A new company brewing beer? Tailors? No, just eight very talented people who, after several years of standing in ...
Arthur Prysock: Arthur Socks It To Ya
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, June 1977
AS RECENTLY noted in B&S' review of Mr. Arthur Prysock's 'When Love Is New', the time seems right for a number of gentlemen who've been ...
Bo Kirkland & Ruth David: Bo and Ruth Get Next To You
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1977
PROBABLY THE biggest selling import single of all time is Bo Kirkland & Ruth Davis' epic 'You're Gonna Get Next To Me'. ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, June 1977
Ms. Staton was well pleased with her B&S award for '76's Record Of The Year. She's very self-critical and tries to look at everything she ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, June 1977
IT'S UNLIKELY that anyone would disagree that the soul world has seen its fair share of changes in recent times. Not only the music itself ...
James and Bobby Purify: The Purified Anglophiles
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1977
"Audiences? British are best...." Who says so? Messrs. James and Bobby, the Purify Brothers. Read on folks... ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, June 1977
Stints with the likes of EW&F, Norman Connors and Duke Ellington provided Jean with a wealth of experience. Now, with Gamble and Huff in Philadelphia, ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1977
BRITAIN HAS always been a happy hunting ground for the more soulful American singers and though they may not all see their name in lights, ...
Simon Soussan: Simon's 'Uptown Festival'
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1977
THE NAME of Simon Soussan is synonymous with the authentic British Northern disco scene/sound. Before joining the "brain drain" and defecting to America (Los Angeles, ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, June 1977
IT WOULD hardly take much research to see that there is a whole new core or breed of musicians and groups who are breaking through ...
Detroit Emeralds: The Detroit Emeralds: Resurrection
Report by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1977
Abe, James and Ivory are back in harness and the Detroit Emeralds are riding high again. B&S gets together with the guys and catches up ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1977
The brothers have graduated with honours from their teeny bopper image. They still retain the respect and adulation of their younger fans but now the ...
Wild Cherry: Roxy, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 1977
TEN YEARS ago, a blue-eyed soulster like Mitch Ryder filled the role that Wild Cherry occupies today with its funk-rock. Basically a Midwest bar band ...
Review by Phil Sutcliffe, Sounds, 11 June 1977
THERE'S NOT much doubt that Elkie Brooks is going to be around for ever and ever. Elkie's a singer, simply as that. But there's still ...
George Benson: It's A Man's Man's Man's Man's World
Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 11 June 1977
"YOU'RE SAYING that women are equal to men and all that crazy stuff!" George Benson laughed in astonishment.Hold on a second I must be hallucinating ...
Funkadelic, Parliament: Parliament: Live: The P-Funk Earth Tour
Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 11 June 1977
"THEY SAY the bigger the headache the bigger the pill!" Dr. Funkenstein shouts. ...
Heatwave: Birth of the Doodle Boogie
Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 18 June 1977
THERE'S A fascinating relationship that goes on behind the scenes between Heatwave's founder Johnnie Wilder Jr. and the group's resident songwriter and keyboard player Rod ...
Archie Bell and the Drells: Archie Bell & the Drells: Good time Bell
Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 25 June 1977
ARCHIE BELL doesn't leap on to his feet, jump around or give you a 'hip' rap as you walk into a room. ...
Johnny Guitar Watson: A Real Mother for Ya (DJM DJLPA-7)
Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 30 June 1977
JOHNNY GUITAR Watson has been around. Twenty years ago he recorded a frantic, B.B. King-styled blues for R.P.M.called '3 O'clock in the Morning' that helped ...
The Floaters: "We're Floating along on the crest of a wave…"
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1977
'Float On', the Floaters' disco monster was planned as an instrumental. But James Mitchell of the Detroit Emeralds dreamed the guys should ad-lib some vocals. ...
Aretha Franklin: Aretha Still Rules Okay
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, July 1977
A rare and exclusive interview with David Nathan. Aretha tells B&S about her new album, her movie and tour plans, and life on the West ...
Jerry Butler: The Return The Ice Man
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1977
There were those who felt Jerry Butler might fade into obscurity. But, you can't keep a good man down and he's back with a vengeance...a ...
Jimmy Bo Horne: Seems To Me This Man's Gonna Happen
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1977
John Abbey talks to cyclist-cum-Soulman, Mr. Jimmy Bo Horne ...
The Supremes: New Supremes Will Spearhead New Motown Era
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1977
The rumours suggested that the Supremes might soon be no more. But, though Mary is leaving to go solo, Susaye and Scherrie will continue with ...
George McCrae: Okay George Diamonds Are Forever But
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1977
In search of a new sound, George McCrae moved to New York to record his Diamond Touch album. But U.S. sales ain't been all they ...
Ralph MacDonald: King Of The Skins
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, July 1977
Ralph McDonald, the leading session percussionist and now a recording star in his own right. ...
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 ...
Evelyn Thomas: Some Enchanted Evelyn
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1977
Evelyn Thomas, a recent visitor to Britain, talks to B&S about her new album sessions. ...
The Facts of Life: The B&S Guide To The Facts Of Life
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, July 1977
Hey, hold on friends, we ain't about to explain all about naughty parts! No, no....this is the Facts Of Life group who are currently burnin' ...
Brainstorm: UK Soulcharts Have A Brainstorm
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1977
Although Brainstorm did well enough in the States with their debut single, Britain woke up to them first and they established themselves to a greater ...
The Platters: When Is A Platter Not A Platter
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1977
When he leaves the group, it seems Herb Reed says he's been unable to use the name even though he first thought of it. But ...
The Jacksons, Michael Jackson: The Jacksons: In Town Tonight
Report and Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 2 July 1977
On the last night of The Jacksons visit to London, Michael Jackson realised he hadn't seen the sights. Robin Katz (an American of all people) ...
Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 14 July 1977
I KNOW, I know. I'm not supposed to admit liking a record by the Sylvers, much less write about it. Even my girlfriend, who prefers ...
Sylvester: Old Waldorf, San Francisco CA
Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 21 July 1977
Sylvester: A turn in the right direction ...
Review by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 28 July 1977
IN NEW Orleans it is easier to perceive an American musical tradition than anywhere else; the city is the fount not just of jazz, but ...
Allen Toussaint Listens to New Orleans
Profile and Interview by Joe Nick Patoski, Rolling Stone, 28 July 1977
NEW ORLEANS — Allen Toussaint is the Crescent City's premier composer/producer, and his success behind the scenes is obvious: he's written ten gold records and produced ...
Average White Band, Ben E. King: Ben E. King/Average White Band: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 30 July 1977
THIS ISN'T an original thought but it bears repeating: Ben E. King is an excellent singer, and highly individual with it – unmistakeable in a ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1977
Maze are recognised as Capitol's premier jazz band; but they really cut right across the board and sell to disco, funk, pop and rock fans ...
Aretha Franklin: Queen Aretha #1 – From Detroit to The Columbia Years
Retrospective by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1977
An appreciation of the career of Aretha Franklin ...
Aretha Franklin: Queen Aretha #2 – The Golden Years
Retrospective by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1977
"THERE WAS a great zest, love and feeling for the music," states Jerry Wexler and when pressed further on the subject of that first session ...
Aretha Franklin: Queen Aretha #3 – Into the '70s
Retrospective by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1977
1969 IS GENERALLY acclaimed as the year that saw something of a decline on Aretha's part. The decline was, in a sense, inevitable. The ridiculous ...
The Trammps: Best Dressed Trammps You Ever Did See
Interview by John Abbey, David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1977
"WE FEEL that maybe this one is going to go straight to the top!" exclaims Harold 'Doc' Wade, one member of the five-member Trammps who ...
Bob James: A Profile Of Mr Low Profile
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1977
FIRST, there was One. Then Two. Naturally, then, Three And now there's Four. ...
Brothers Johnson: Those Prolific Brothers Johnson
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1977
With their 'Strawberry Letter 23' smash, George and Louis have consolidated their sensational breakthrough of last year. David Nathan caught up with them in New ...
Deniece Williams: No Free Time For Niecy
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1977
THE SUCCESS story of 1977 certainly belongs to Deniece Williams. ...
Garnet Mimms: Mr. Mimms Comes Truckin' On Back
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1977
Garnet Mimms, already assured of a place in Soul's Hall of Fame, is back in business after a two-year lay-off spent cooling out and reflecting ...
Hall & Oates: Confessions Of An Odd Couple
Interview by Jaan Uhelszki, Creem, August 1977
THE PHONE RANG and an unfamiliar voice said: "Is this Jaan Uhelszki?" Assuming that the caller was a bill collector or someone of like obnoxiousness, ...
Idris Muhammad: The Mountain Comes To Muhammad
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1977
Turn This Mutha Out brought runaway success to Idris Muhammad, but his roots go back 20 years when he was drummer in Larry Williams' band. ...
Kenny Gamble: Kenny's Gamble Pays Off
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1977
John Abbey talks to Kenny Gamble about the success of the Philadelphia International project which spearheads the whole 'Clean Up The Ghetto' campaign. ...
Marlena Shaw …and happy days (aaaaay!)
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1977
AND SHORTLY after arriving back at her Las Vegas home, Marlena Learned that CBS were inviting her to their annual conference – held this year ...
Marlena Shaw : Marlena Shaw: Sweet Beginnings
Interview by John Abbey, David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1977
Re-united with producer Bert deCoteaux at Columbia, Ms. Shaw has really started to blossom. David Nathan and John Abbey gather th' fax from th' lady… ...
Minnie Riperton: 'Minnie Bird': The 5 - Octave Soprano Is Back
Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1977
MINNIE RIPERTON'S press bio reads: "The lady with the five and a half-octave coloratura soprano voice is a star". Without taking away from her talent ...
Randy Crawford: The Coming Of Age Of A Star
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1977
PROVIDING ONE of the highlights for a recent sell-out concert in New York which featured Grover Washington Jr., was a young stylist who is quickly ...
Shirley Brown: Counting Her Blessings
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1977
ALL THOSE folk who dug the soulfully classic sound of Ms. Shirley Brown when the lady literally broke the charts up in 1974 (yes, it ...
Smokey Robinson: Smokey Hits The Big Time
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1977
Smokey Robinson talks about his movie projects, recording and tour plans....and of his intention to visit Britain soon! ...
Danny Williams: The Ensign's flyin' and Danny's back with a bang!
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1977
AS JUST about anyone will readily inform you, the current hit single of 'Dancin' Easy' is a parody of the well-known TV advert, for the ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1977
WITH THE increased number of albums being released by record companies generally and with so many of the albums being of such an increasing high ...
T-Connection: The Nassau Connection
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1977
Meet T-Connection, another slab of talent from funky Nassau. Their 'Do What You Wanna' is disco dynamite, but they plan to develop the serious side ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1977
David Nathan traces the background of the rock, roots and reggae duo. ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 6 August 1977
SO I PICKED through the albums lying in Master Barton's dusty drawer and there, amongst the dross, was a name I recognised. The Gap Band. ...
Bootsy Collins: Space Bass Reveals Plans for Planetary Domination
Report by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 13 August 1977
Bootsy's Rubber Band, Funkadelic: On video, from... Houston, Texas ...
Betty Wright, KC & the Sunshine Band, Latimore: The Miami Transfer: Florida Soul
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 13 August 1977
AFTER SEVERAL year's of British release through President Records, earlier this year Henry Stone's Miami-based TK conglomerate switched outlets to RCA who have ...
Betty Wright: The Rhythm & Blues Gospel According To Betty Wright
Interview by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, 25 August 1977
NEW YORK — Just a few years back, Betty Wright was a candidate for Aretha Franklin's Queen of Soul crown. But now the brassy singer ...
Aretha Franklin: Queen Aretha #4 – The Brand New Aretha
Retrospective by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1977
Part 4 of an appreciation of the career of Aretha Franklin, by David Nathan... ...
Aretha Franklin: Queen Aretha #5 – The Future
Comment by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1977
David Nathan concludes his in-depth appreciation of Aretha Franklin ...
Betty Wright: The Final Ascent To Those Dizzy Heights
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1977
David Nathan gets up-to-date with the lady and prophesises big success for her in coming months ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1977
That risque sleeve: "I hadn't even thought of it that way," says Boney M's Marcia! ...
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 ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1977
Exclusive inter-galactic communication with the Star Wars victor ...
Nona Hendryx: Nona's Found Her Piece Of The Rock
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1977
Nona Hendryx talks about her first solo album since the break-up of Labelle ...
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Teddy Pendergrass: Teddy Pendergrass
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1977
CURRENTLY fulfilling all the promise he's ever shown when with Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes with a flourishing solo career, we took a little ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1977
David Nathan hears from Keith Kilgo and Joe Hall how the group plan to pass on their hard-earned experience to newer up-and-coming acts...B&S got a ...
The Emotions: Those Flowering Emotions Are Now In Full Bloom
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1977
The young ladies have finally cracked Britain, and with their single snuggled at the top of the B&S chart the way now looks clear for ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1977
John Abbey talks to Van McCoy who has just signed with MCA Records in a move to satisfy his desire to grow, as an artist ...
Latimore: Benny Knows Where He's Going
Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 3 September 1977
"IF MY MUSIC is suggestive, it's a coincidence," says Benny Latimore with a silken smooth voice. "I don't aim to be too explicit. ...
The Moments: The Moments Greatest Hits (Stang)
Review by Joe McEwen, The Village Voice, 5 September 1977
The Moments Move Into the Bedroom ...
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: In The Wright Place
Profile and Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Crawdaddy!, October 1977
NEW YORK — America needs a new Queen of Soul. Aretha has abdicated, Natalie Cole is a pretender; Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Millie Jackson and ...
The Drifters: Ex Drifter Bill Chooses The British Way Of Life
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1977
THE BRITISH soul colony – an ever expanding group of ex-patriot Americans who have chosen the British way of life – has had a goodly ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, October 1977
David Nathan talks to Gary Byrd, one of New York's top deejays, lyricist for Stevie Wonder, and a young man with a mission or two ...
Larry Graham: Graham Central Station: Undiscovered Pioneers
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, October 1977
David Nathan talks to a true innovator, Mr. Larry Graham ...
Hodges, James & Smith: Hodges James and Smith: A Soulful Sound And A Bit Of Razzle Dazzle
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1977
The ladies dislike any comparison with the Supremes and the Three Degrees but they have the charisma to take them right to the top. ...
Rose Royce: How Total Concept became Rose Royce
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1977
It was as Total Concept that the Rose Royce combo came to London a few years ago. There followed a spell on the road with ...
Eddie Henderson: Soul Transfusion Brings success To Doc Henderson
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1977
Eddie Henderson is a doctor of medicine and psychiatry, but currently he also has the hottest jazz-based album in the U.K. ...
The Stylistics: Stylistics Plead Guilty To Recent Lack Of Direction
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1977
The guys feel they have been out of tune with the market for a while now but they are planning steps to get their career ...
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, October 1977
WHEN the sun shines, it shines on everybody. Similarly, that's what the group bearing the same name want their music to do... ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, October 1977
Go For Your Guns Amigo: Them thar Isleys are due back in town with a new album... ...
War: The Latest News From The War Front
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1977
John Abbey talks to War's keyboard maestro, Lonnie Jordan, about their recent signing with MCA. ...
Jon Lucien: The Unique Mr Lucien
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, October 1977
"IT'S IN a developing stage. My career is moving to another level," are Jon Lucien's opening remarks the day before his New York appearance with ...
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 1 October 1977
ALTHOUGH THIS is the seven-piece group's first album as Maze they've each paid dues in various guises for years. It shows. With one concerted effort ...
Patti LaBelle: Patti LaBelle (Epic PE 34847)
Review by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, 6 October 1977
IF THIS record is any indication, the solo albums prompted by LaBelle's dissolution are going to make everyone forget about the trio. Patti LaBelle's solo ...
Rose Royce Find Success The Norman Whitfield Way
Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 8 October 1977
"IT'S KJLH, the station of Kindness, Joy, Love and Happiness," the deejay smoulders on the car radio, and goshdarn if you couldn't almost believe all ...
Brothers Johnson: The Brothers Johnson: Johnsons Baby Power
Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 8 October 1977
"WE ALWAYS have enough material lying around to complete another seven albums," asserted George Johnson, the senior member of the funky, guitar-toting twosome. ...
Brothers Johnson: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 15 October 1977
AS BONES OF contention go, there is currently none more fat and juicy than the one being wrestled between the main pack of legit music ...
Deniece Williams / Lenny Williams: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 15 October 1977
REGULAR PATRONS of theatre gigs in Britain have become so wary, not to say weary, of suffering rent-a-stooge warm-up acts that many now don't bother ...
Rose Royce: In A Class Of Their Own
Profile and Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 15 October 1977
HOW DO you make an album into a collectors' item only weeks after its release? ...
James Brown: Mutha's Nature (Polydor PD-1-6111)
Review by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, 20 October 1977
ELVIS' DEATH exploded the myth of his senescence with the fury of a surprise eruption from a long-dormant volcano. It had been easy to laugh ...
Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 22 October 1977
IF IT was Clive Davis, head of Arista, who's responsible for the release of Shirley Brown, I'd like to invite him to hold his next ...
Millie Jackson: Feelin' Bitchy
Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 29 October 1977
HEY, MILLIE? This is Vivien.I'm writing to you 'cos I dig the way you move onstage. I saw you foolin' round with that guy onstage ...
Cameo: Still Going Strong After Rigor Mortis Has Set in
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, November 1977
B&S raps with the funky, funky 9-man band who play some pretty arresting music ...
Tamiko Jones: John Abbey and Tamiko Jones: A Soulful Wedding In Atlanta
Report by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, November 1977
CERTAINLY one of the most exciting events of this year (might even qualify for the decade!) was the soulful wedding of our esteemed editor, Mr. John Abbey to the ...
Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1977
WHEN IT comes to our music, the fish-famed Scottish city of Dundee isn't exactly rivalling Detroit, Memphis or Philadelphia, is it? ...
Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages Audio, November 1977
Smokey goes disco! The great singer-songwriter on producing and recording the soundtrack to the Big Time movie; giving the public what they want; his changing role at Motown; why he left the Miracles; his renewed love of performing; the uniform results of Motown's artist development department... and his current live show.
File format: mp3; file size: 36.2mb, interview length: 37' 45" sound quality: ****
Roy Ayers: The Ambidexterous Mind Of Roy Ayers
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, November 1977
IN AMONGST that unending list of people who've been patiently waiting in the wings for that catapult into the realms of superstardom is a gentleman ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, November 1977
Twenty-five years continuous success… and with the original line-up still intact. Dave Nathan files this exclusive interveiw with Chuck Barksdale. ...
Lamont Dozier: Lamont's Laments
Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 12 November 1977
Songwriter, producer and now singer LAMONT DOZIER tells his heart-rending story to ROBIN KATZ ...
Barry White: On The White Line To Barry
Interview by Rosalind Russell, Record Mirror, 19 November 1977
Barry cools down a heavy breathing Rosalind Russell, a bit more than arms length away ...
Patti LaBelle: Pantages Theater, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 30 November 1977
THE RECENTLY disbanded Labelle was a one-of-a-kind musical experience, and there would be little point in its members trying to duplicate its theatrical, space-age R&B ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1977
Q. When is a Philly group not a Philly group?A. When they're a bunch of Texans known as Archie Bell & the DrellsJohn Abbey talks ...
Bobbi Humphrey: Bobbi Means Business
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, December 1977
Ms. Humphrey knows that talent isn't always enough to achieve success. Thus, she's formed her own management company and now stands or falls on her ...
Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind & Fire: Musical Giants
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, December 1977
ONE OF the gratifying success stories of this musical decade belongs unquestionably to a group who have literally become giants in the music world. We ...
Lamont Dozier: The Hitmaker Supreme Who Can't Read Or Write Music
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, December 1977
....but he's got a good ear and keeps cookin' up the goodies! David Nathan investigates the art of culinary composing, according to Lamont Dozier. ...
Barry White: Look Out For Barry In '78
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1977
Barry White struck gold with his last single and album but he's set to surpass himself with his plans for next year ...
Funkadelic: Scifi Funkiness: Triple Threat Guitar From Funkadelic
Interview by Steven Rosen, Guitar Player, December 1977
ALMOST 20 YEARS AGO, a group of singers organized themselves from a rather large barbershop group into a pop/soul conglomeration called Parliament. They moved from ...
The Temptations: The Revitalised Temptations
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1977
Some felt that the Temps wouldn't survive outside of Motown but the guys are happy with their initial tracks for Atlantic and plan to fight ...
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 3 December 1977
So this is Christmas: The Voice of Young Amerika! ...
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 ...
Brenda & The Tabulations: Brenda and The Tabulations: Coming Back For More
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, January 1978
After five years of turning out soul classics, Brenda 'retired' to become a housewife. But now she's back in business and rarin' to go.... ...
Cissy Houston In Her Own Right
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, January 1978
Cissy has sung behind countless superstars, from Elvis to Aretha, particularly during her stint as leader of the Sweet Inspirations. She's now out front again ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1978
FAT LARRY'S SLIMMING DOWN (BUT GETTING BIGGER!)Larry's losing weight, so he may be fronting Not-So-Fat-Larry's Band soon! Bat with their new Stax affiliation, he and ...
The Fatback Band: Fatback Band: The Master Dance Combo
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1978
John Abbey talks to Bill Curtis about the band that's not strictly a 'band' anymore ...
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1978
VIRTUALLY everything that Earth, Wind & Fire touches turns to gold. One of the group's latest protegees consists of an eight-man aggregation known as Pockets. ...
Johnny Guitar Watson: The Ups And Downs Of Success
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1978
Johnny has come up with 3 gold albums in little more than a year but it seems that life at the top isn't always one ...
Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages Audio, January 1978
The disco diva on her forthcoming Queen of the Night album; on singing ballads and dance tracks; on how she works a crowd; on her gospel background and playing clubs with the Mighty Clouds of Joy... and how difficult she found the transition from gospel to secular music.
File format: mp3; file size: 22.4mb, interview length: 23' 21" sound quality: ***
Millie Jackson: In Tune With The People
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, January 1978
Soul's upfront lady makes sure she stays on target by taking time and trouble to talk to the people and staying in touch with what's ...
T-Connection Make It 3 In A Row
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1978
THOUGH THE disco boom of the past two years will no doubt have its negative after-effects, there can be no disputing the fact that it ...
The Commodores: Come Funk With Us! (But Bring Your Led Zep Records)
Interview by Howie Klein, Creem, January 1978
"NOW YOU take a group like Fleetwood Mac or the Zep," offered Benny. "It's another thing that the audiences get off into. I don't understand ...
The Controllers: Four Young Men With A Soulful Message
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, January 1978
ALMOST EVER since the term "soul music" was coined – and it might be interesting to find out just who coined it first! – there ...
The Drifters: We haven't sung soul since Clyde McPhatter left!
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1978
GROUPS COME, groups go. One day it'll rain, next day it'll be sunny. But one thing that you can rely upon is the fact that ...
The Fantastic Four Are Back With A Bang
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, January 1978
Courtesy of the disco boom, the Fantastic Four are back in business and scoring their biggest hit of all time... ...
Hot: When You're Hot You're Hot
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, January 1978
ONE OF the biggest international hits of 1977 belongs to three, very attractive, very intelligent young women who go by the name of Hot. ...
ZZ Hill: ZZ and The Making Of A Soul Classic
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, January 1978
'Love Is So Good When You're Stealing It' is one of '77's most soulful sides. David Nathan talks to ZZ Hill about his earlier days ...
Review by Paul Rambali, New Musical Express, 7 January 1978
DID THEY really get what they wanted? They being black Americans. Gil Scott-Heron doesn't think so. He thinks that what they got came only on ...
George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Funkadelic, Parliament: The Creation of Dr Funkenstein
Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 7 January 1978
The scene: Maggotropolis, Hollywood. The target: the infamous Mr. GEORGE CLINTON High Priest of a Black Unholy Trinity. Enter a reporter clutching a clove of ...
Millie Jackson: Stand up for the Queen
Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 14 January 1978
MILLIE JACKSON is eating away at my defences again. On her album Feelin' Bitchy Jackson is once more dealing with the cause and consequences of ...
Parliament: Funkentelechy vs. The Placebo Syndrome
Review by Paul Rambali, New Musical Express, 14 January 1978
Clinton's Clones Hit Ass & Funny Bone ...
The Last Poets: Wake Up Limeys, The Last Poets Are Among You
Profile and Interview by Mick Farren, New Musical Express, 14 January 1978
"Wheat's characteristics and nature make it wheat. It differs from barley because of its nature. Wheat perpetuates its own characteristics just as the white race ...
Roy Ayers, Idris Muhammad: Avery Fisher Hall, New York NY
Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 17 January 1978
Ayers/Muhammad: funk in the snow ...
Slave and the Freedom of Musical Expression
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 January 1978
The group are young and impatient to show their total musical prowess. Their second album shows a change of approach and is another attempt at ...
Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 21 January 1978
PATTI AUSTIN tells why she prefers shoe polish to the bright lights ...
Review by Andy Gill, New Musical Express, 28 January 1978
SO NOW the whole Toussaint catalogue is available again, enabling listeners of taste to trace for themselves the development of the New Orleans man's approach, ...
George Benson: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London
Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 30 January 1978
A BLACK AMERICAN musician, the leader of a band which sold several million records in 1977, told me last week that the blues are dead. ...
Brass Construction: Brass Construction III (United Artists UAS 30124)
Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 January 1978
WELL, THE question in hand for this album is simply this — are you fed up with the Brass Construction sound yet? If so, you'll ...
Dee Dee Sharp: Dee-Dee Sharp Gamble: What Color Is Love (Philadelphia Int. PIR 82433)
Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 January 1978
DEE DEE'S second album since coming out of retirement and the biggest puzzle in my mind is simply why this superlative set didn't make the ...
Earth, Wind & Fire: Earth Wind & Fire: All 'N' All (CBS 86051)
Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 January 1978
ANY ALBUM that can go straight into the American charts at No. 1 and sell more than two million in its first month can't be ...
Fat Larry's Band: Fat Larry's Slimming Down (But Getting Bigger!)
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 January 1978
Larry's losing weight, so he may be fronting Not-So-Fat-Larry's Band soon! But with their new Stax affiliation, he and the guys are getting bigger every ...
Gil Scott-Heron: Bridges (Arista SPARTY 1031)
Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 January 1978
'Hello Sunday, Hello Road'; 'Song Of The Wind'; 'Racetrack In France'; 'Vildgolia'; 'Under The Hammer'; 'We Almost Lost Detroit'; 'Tuskegee'; 'Delta Man'; '95 South'. ...
Michael Henderson: Goin' Places (Buddah BDLH 5018)
Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 January 1978
BEST KNOWN for his work with Norman Connors — he sang lead on 'You Are My Starship' — Michael is vocally similar to Marvin Gaye ...
The Commodores: Live (Motown TMSP 6007)
Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 January 1978
'Won't You Come Dance With Me'; 'Slippery When Wet'; 'Come Inside'; 'Just To Be Close To You'; 'Funny Feelings'; 'Fancy Dancer'; 'Sweet Love'; 'Zoom'; 'Easy'; ...
Eddie Kendricks: The Two Sides of Eddie Kendricks
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 31 January 1978
There's the man who goes on stage to work and the guy off-stage who's just a member of the public. "It's important those two people ...
Deniece Williams, Earth Wind and Fire, The Emotions: Earth Wind & Fire: Maurice White
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1978
WITHOUT A shadow of doubt, Earth Wind & Fire is the most successful group that our music has ever given the world. In fact, after ...
Patti Austin: The Jingle Queen Breaks Out
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, February 1978
David Nathan talks to a soulful lady whose dulcet tones can also be heard on numerous American TV commercials ...
The Commodores: Hot At Home An' Zoomin' In Europe
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1978
SO, FOR the good news for European fans. The Commodores will definitely be touring Europe this April, and that is confirmed! ...
Detroit Emeralds: The Emerald Behind The Floaters Gem
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1978
HAVING FOUGHT their way back to prominence, the Detroit Emeralds are now set to consolidate themselves – not only in their own right but also ...
The Imperials: Old Doo Waps Never Die
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, February 1978
The Imperials discover that Britain love 'em ...
Gladys Knight: The Pips: A Solo Album But No Split With Gladys
Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, February 1978
After twenty-five years together, Gladys Knight and The Pips have become virtually a musical institution. Now, a new chapter is opening in the history of ...
Millie Jackson: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 1 February 1978
ONE IS SO accustomed to the sexual boastfulness of male rock and soul singers that it comes as an instructive change to witness the same ...
Deniece Williams is Here to Stay
Interview by Fred Schruers, Circus, 2 February 1978
Songbird Album Showcases Ex-Wonderlove Singer ...
Millie Jackson: Mille Jackson: The Primal Scream Therapist Of Soul
Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 4 February 1978
MILLIE JACKSON yanked me over to her side of the fence the first moment I heard her belting out some juicy slice of angst on ...
Millie Jackson: Odeons Birmingham And Hammersmth
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 4 February 1978
Millie's preoccupations, said The Guardian, are sex, sex and more sex; can't argue with that. ...
Ralph MacDonald: The Sound of a Syndrum
Interview by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, 9 February 1978
RALPH MACDONALD has done for percussionists what McDonald's did for hamburgers. In a short time his collection of congas, bongos, cowbells, shakers, triangles and countless ...
Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'n All
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 11 February 1978
CBS HAVE A problem. To be sure, it's the sort of ticklish little teaser that most record companies would be glad to scratch, but a ...
Millie Jackson: Another Day, Another Dollar
Report and Interview by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 11 February 1978
A COLLEAGUE FROM another paper and I were swopping reactions about Millie Jackson. He'd interviewed her in London; I'd caught up with her a couple ...
Earth, Wind & Fire: How does he do it?
Report and Interview by Barry Cain, Record Mirror, 18 February 1978
Barry Cain doesn't know either ...
Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind & Fire: Flying Sorcerers
Report and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 25 February 1978
Earth, Wind & Fire are the biggest soul group in the world – their albums now go platinum. But Britain will have to wait until ...
Al Green: The King Is Dead Long Live The King
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1978
Al Green: the Logical successor to the title of King of Memphis... ...
Biddu's Planning For The Future
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1978
WHEREAS MOST producers and artists are satisfied with concentrating on today, our old buddy. Biddu, is firmly trying to forge a new sound for the ...
Confunkshun: Memphians With California Bloodlines
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1978
The Magnificent Seven hail from the West Coast, but the band was born in Memphis ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1978
"Success can be the emptiest place in the world," says Freda..."Having a husband and now a son makes me realise just how empty my life ...
Joe Simon: Mr Consistency That's Joe Simon
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1978
"I may not make more than one gold record a year," he says, "but every release sells about 300,000...and that's what keeps me going to ...
Parliament: Funkentelechy vs. The Placebo Syndrome (Casablanca)
Review by Richard Riegel, Creem, March 1978
AND SO it came to pass that Parliament-Funkadelic became the Great Black Hope of all the honky rock critics, became the champion musical force that ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, March 1978
Roberta Flack – the Star who likes to hang out just like everyday folks ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1978
The Bar-Kays put the city back on the world's musical map..."Shake your rump to the funk", the guys suggested, and the world tuned in to ...
The Blue Notes wanna be the black Beatles!
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1978
The original Blue Notes, having endured the splits with Harold Melvin and Teddy Pendergrass, are aiming for versatility and the kind of musical freedom that ...
Judd Phillips: The Memphis Mercury Connection
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1978
NO, IT ISN'T a devious underworld operation; rather, it is the efforts of the Chicago-based Mercury organisation to be the first major to capitalise on ...
Al Green, Ann Peebles, Willie Mitchell: Willie Mitchell: Gettin' Hi High Again
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, March 1978
Willie Mitchell has virtually forsaken his own career in favour of running Hi Records and putting the label back up there... ...
George Duke Reaches for the Sky
Interview by John Swenson, Circus, 2 March 1978
Crossover Success Comes Easily for Keyboardist ...
Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages Audio, April 1978
Ms Wright on her upcoming live album (and road band); how her daughter has changed her life; her latest album This Time For Real; the freedom she has on TK Records to do what she wants, and her upcoming recording plans.
File format: mp3; file size: 13.5mb, interview length: 14' 02" sound quality: ****
Harvey Mason: Have Funk Will Travel
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, April 1978
ONE OF the most interesting developments in recent years on the contemporary music scene has been the recognition and attention paid to those folk who ...
Betty Wright: Interview: Betty Wright
Interview by Cliff White, unpublished, April 1978
This is a transcription of Cliff's audio interview with Betty. Hear it on the site here. ...
Kellee Patterson: Kellee Gets Fitted With Gold
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1978
WELL, IT has taken a full six month cycle but Kellee Patterson has finally won her Gold disc for the interestingly titled 'If It Don't ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1978
It took Maze around nine months to go gold with their debut album but their second set has equalled that feat in just six weeks ...
Ralph MacDonald: The Percussive Roots Of Ralph McDonald
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, April 1978
Ralph's new album traces his musical roots from Africa to the Islands and America. Here he talks about his dual roles as artist and producer, ...
Hot Chocolate: City Hall, Newcastle
Live Review by Phil Sutcliffe, Sounds, 1 April 1978
IT WAS the funniest ending to a concert I've ever seen. Hot Chocolate said their goodbyes, walked off and, I imagine, stood in the wings ...
Joe Sample: Rainbow Seeker (ABC Import)
Review by Max Bell, New Musical Express, 1 April 1978
SEARCH AND DEPLOY ...
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 15 April 1978
ANGELA IS a slim, pretty, 16-year-old blonde with the kind of Camay complexion and wide-eyed innocent appeal that drives randy old journalists into that wretched ...
Bootsy Collins, Raydio: Bootsy's Rubber Band, Raydio: Felt Forum, NYC
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 29 April 1978
SELF-STYLED Player Of The Year, Bootsy Collins is hip to the dynamics of Showtime. As his music is a fantastic flight from bases built by ...
Funkadelic, Parliament: Parliament/Funkadelic
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, May 1978
After nearly twenty years together under the able guidance of Mr. George Clinton, Parliament and Funkadelic and associated entities have finally begun to receive the ...
Lee Dorsey: Night People (ABC AA-1048)
Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 4 May 1978
DECAY AND decline are never simple in pop music. Take New Orleans R&B as a case in point. A once-flourishing scene had just about sputtered ...
The Manhattans: There’s No Good In Goodbye; It Feels So Good
Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 18 May 1978
IN A FIELD ONCE glutted with heavyweights, lightweights and pretenders, the Manhattans stand almost alone, a throwback to an era when an orange sharkskin suit, ...
Cuba Gooding Comes In From The Cold
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, June 1978
The former lead singer with The Main Ingredient has been away from the recording scene for just a year. In between, he's been busy preparing ...
Gene Chandler: The Duke Of Earl Is Back
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1978
Having grown tired of working the chittlin' circuit, Gene went off the road to concentrate on the business side of things...and scored some notable successes. ...
The Trammps: How Chaplin Helped Give Birth To The Trammps
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1978
The re-release of 'Disco Inferno', by way of its success in Saturday Night Fever, could give Trammps their first gold disc. B&S talks to Earl ...
Joe Tex: The Gut Feeling For A Hit
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1978
Joe stays close to the streets and the people who buy the records. Thus, he has a good instinct for what's a likely hit and ...
Mandre: 'Soular' Soul From Outer Space
Profile by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, June 1978
ACCORDING TO Motown Records' press release: "Unknown to but an enlightened few until now, we have been visited many times by denizens from the other ...
The Manhattans: Manhattans Are Planning A Doo Wop Album
Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1978
The guys started out as a street-corner group and have always maintained an interest in the old doo-wap style. Now there's talk of them cutting ...
Sweet Thunder: Versatility Is The Name Of The Game
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1978
AS THEIR biography says, the name of Sweet Thunder does sound like a paradox but if you listen to their new and charted album – ...
The Originals: A New Chapter Begins
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, June 1978
Until recently, the Originals had spent their career at Motown, and enjoyed great success. But, they felt it was time to move on and now ...
Village People: The Macho Answer To Women's Lib
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, June 1978
With a debut album that proved to be a big disco item in 1977 and a new album already making strong headway, the six guys ...
Brass Construction, Rokotto: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 3 June 1978
...CLIFF WHITE sounds his Funky horn about what he sees as a lack of critical perspective... ...
Bunny Sigler: Let Me Party with You (Gold Mind GZS-7502)
Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 15 June 1978
FOR CLOSE to a decade, Bunny Sigler has been one of Philadelphia's best-kept secrets. His five-year association with Philadelphia International netted just two albums (though ...
Heatwave: West Runton Pavilion, Norfolk
Live Review by Ian Penman, New Musical Express, 17 June 1978
Waiting for the Getdown gestalt ...
Donna Summer: Universal Amphitheater, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 1978
Donna Summer's Debut at Universal ...
Bootsy Collins: 'Don't Leave Home Without Your F.U.N.K!'
Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 24 June 1978
"I WANNA PLAY with the kids", Bootsy Collins said, yearning. Walking down the gravel path winding past the white neoclassical pillars of Kenwood House, Highgate, ...
Bootsy Collins: Bootsy: Developments in the Popcorn Industry
Interview by Paul Rambali, New Musical Express, 24 June 1978
...a.k.a. A Visit To The funk Factory a.k.a. A Meeting With A Black Man In Daft Glasses a.k.a. PAUL RAMBALI talks to superfunkster BOOTSY COLLINS ...
Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 24 June 1978
MOTOWN GETS on its good foot again. ...
Bootsy Collins: Bootsy's Rubber Band: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 29 June 1978
A MESSAGE from the Mothership: "If you ain't gonna get it on, take your dead ass home." Some did...some of those dead asses...they couldn't cope ...
Cissy Houston, Singers' Singer, Steps Out
Profile and Interview by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 29 June 1978
Legendary background vocalist ...
Bobbi Humphrey: Bobbi's Jam with Stevie
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1978
Bobbi Humphrey tells B&S how Stevie Wonder came to play harmonica on her 'Home Made Jam' single in return for help she had contributed to ...
Dexter Wansel: The Message In His Music
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1978
IF YOU take a look at virtually any album that comes out of Philadelphia International these days, you are almost certain to see Dexter Wansel's ...
Evelyn "Champagne" King: Bubblin' Over
Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, July 1978
Currently the recipient of numerous accolades and predictions is the young lady known as Evelyn "Champagne" King. She certainly deserves all the praise she's getting. ...
Faze-O Repay Ohio Player's Faith In Them
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1978
...and get SHE label off the ground! ...
Idris Muhammad: Idris Boogies On Up
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1978
Idris Muhammad's new album is a deliberate attempt to widen his horizons and is set to surpass all that his Mutha album achieved. B&S examines ...
The Jimmy Castor Bunch: Jimmy Castor: Bertha Butt Meets Darth Vader
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1978
WHEN IT comes to novelty disco tunes, Jimmy Castor has proven himself to be irresistible. ...
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: Martha Reeves: Martha's Happier Than Ever Before
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1978
WE MEET AGAIN is the apt title for Martha Reeves stunning debut album for Fantasy Records because it reunites her with one of the men ...
Millie Jackson Rings The Changes
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1978
Millie's new album is far more uptempo than any album she's ever done. Ironically, the track that most people are picking up on is a ...
Quincy Jones: Feelin' Great In '78
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1978
Quincy Jones finds that the ideas and his music are just flowing these days, he feels like a man on the sea, just going with ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1978
John Abbey talks to lead singer Eddie Levert and newest member Sammy Strain, and reports on just why and how the O'Jays have remained in ...
The Soul Children: Back On A Good Thing
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1978
The threesome are back in business with David Porter and their 'Can't Give Up A Good Thing' single is lighting the way for the Stax ...
Boney M: By The Rivers (well…sands, beaches, coves, quays and bays) Of Babbacombe
Report by Penny Reel, New Musical Express, 8 July 1978
TORBAY OR NOT Torbay – that is the question! I am standing at the barrier of Platform 2, Paddington, one chilly Saturday morning expressing Brandoesque ...
Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages Audio, 12 July 1978
Etta takes us from 'Roll With Me Henry' to the present day: Johnny Otis; Modern Records and the Biharis; the move to Chess Records and hitting with 'All I Could Do Was Cry'; the end of Chess and working with Rick Hall, and the almost complete absence of royalties in her hit-making days.
File format: mp3; file size: 73.1mb, interview length: 1h 16' 08" sound quality: *****
Etta James: Interview: Etta James
Audio transcript of interview by Cliff White, unpublished, 12 July 1978
This is a transcription of Cliff's audio interview with Etta. Hear it on the site here. ...
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 22 July 1978
THEY PROBABLY don't realise it but The Who once dedicated an album to Etta James. Meaty, Beaty, Big And Bouncy it was called, and by ...
Taste Of Honey: A Taste Of Honey: Funky Unky Unky
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1978
Boogie Oogie Oogie has shot A Taste Of Honey to international stardom, but John Abbey discovers they are more than just pretty faces! ...
Average White Band: AWB Aim To Spread Their Wings
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1978
Having signed an international deal with RCA records, the band plan to take their music around the world ...
Margie Joseph: Margie's Feeling Her Way To The Very Top
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1978
Margie Joseph is using her God-given talent to the full. "My dream is to be a superstar," she says, "and I just don't want anyone ...
The Ohio Players: Ohio Players Come Out Of Hibernation
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1978
John Abbey talks to Satch Satchell, the Ohio Players' spiritual leader. ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1978
For her new album, Tasty, Patti has adopted a whole new approach. She tells David Nathan how she accepted the challenge of showing people another ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1978
The 8-piece outfit spent most of their time in the studio until recently but with their fourth Fantasy album taking off they are currently on ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1978
The man himself talks to John Abbey about his second Fantasy album, his attitudes, and his aims for the future. Another B&S exclusive... ...
The 5th Dimension: The Fifth Dimension
Overview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, August 1978
AFTER A period of time out of the recording limelight, The Fifth Dimension are back – with a new album ("Star Dancing"), a new record ...
Raydio: Raydio & A Moon In June Reality
Interview by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 5 August 1978
RAY PARKER Jr., creator and main man in Raydio, the American sextet who recently toured with Bootsy and are just scoring their second British hit ...
Interview by John Morthland, Rolling Stone, 10 August 1978
IT IS A cruel irony that had she not been a junkie for thirteen of her forty years, Etta James would probably still be working ...
Etta James: Soul Punk Etta: Superstardom the Hard Way on a Dollar a Day
Profile and Interview by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 19 August 1978
"THANKSGIVING DAY in November will be my silver anniversary: 25 years since I cut my first record and I haven't become a superstar yet. It ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1978
In one of the very rare interviews she grants, Lady Soul gave this in-depth story to B&S' David Nathan at her beautiful Encino, California home. ...
Candi Staton: Disco Confuses Candi
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1978
As long as she can remember, people have been dancing to Candi Staton's records. "It's just a new word for an old style," she says ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1978
Having licked a serious drug problem, Etta is climbing to the top again and has been delighting audiences on the road with the Rolling Stones, ...
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1978
The Queen of the Dancefloors, the inimitable Grace Jones ...
Johnny Bristol: Still Hangin' In There
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1978
'HANG ON In There Baby' remains to this day one of the best selling R&B based records of all time. It carried its creator, Johnny ...
Atlantic Starr: Meet Atlantic Starr
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1978
John Abbey talks to the 9-piece outfit who are storming the U.S singles and albums charts ...
Prince Phillip Mitchell: Prince Phillip's Makin' It But Good
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1978
As a songwriter, Phillip Mitchell has penned hits for such diverse talents as Millie Jackson, Candi Staton, Ben E. King and Joe Simon. Now he's ...
Rick James: The Punk Funk Of Rick James
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1978
Rick's style has been dubbed Punk Funk in some quarters. He himself agrees the term might be apt as it signifies the rebellious aspect of ...
Rose Royce: The Golden Success Story
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1978
The band's three albums have all gone gold, and then platinum – some achievement! Percussionist Terry Santiel tells B&S of the debt they owe to ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, September 1978
WITH THE acceptance and success of Teddy Pendergrass' second solo album for Philly International Records, it seems that he has established himself in the forefront ...
The Stylistics: Back 'In Fashion'
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, September 1978
In Fashion just happens to be the title of the group's debut album for the Mercury label and it looks like giving them their biggest ...
The Commodores: Motown's Black Beatles
Profile by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 2 September 1978
HOW'S about it, Expressways Moosik? We're broadcastin' at ya from the command module, Commodore Steamship, Commodore Country, sitting right down town, Tuskogee, Alabama, modulatin', right ...
Crown Heights Affair: Crown Princes of Disco!
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 12 September 1978
WHEN IT comes to disco acceptance, few groups have attained the peaks that New York's Crown Heights Affair have managed over the past three years. ...
Profile and Interview by Bill Millar, Melody Maker, 23 September 1978
YOU CAN ENJOY Etta James as a throwback to the rockin' Fifties. You can admire her as the apotheosis of Sixties soul performing ghetto clubs ...
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, October 1978
Thirteen years on in her career, Betty Wright has finally begun to gain acceptance outside of just R&B circles. David Nathan reports... ...
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 ...
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1978
WHENEVER you think of the Miama Sound, the name of K.C. & the Sunshine Band immediately springs to mind. Via a long string of golden ...
Randy Jackson: Solo Randy Will Always Be Part Of The Jacksons
Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1978
THIS MONTH sees the release of the debut single by the latest of the super-talented children of Joe Jackson. Collectively, they are known to the ...
The Impressions: The Impresssions
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, October 1978
After more than 20 years as a group, the guys are now bigger than ever in Europe. Recordwise, plans are afoot for them to record ...
Rose Royce, Stargard: Odeon, Birmingham
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 7 October 1978
IT SURE WUZ A GREAT PAAAARTY... ...
Interview by Barry Cain, Record Mirror, 7 October 1978
I THOUGHT I TAW A PUDDYTAT A creepin' up on me. I DID! I TAW A PUDDYTAT As plain as he can be. ...
Sylvester: Step II (Fantasy FT549)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 October 1978
I'LL BET Sylvester loves being called outrageous, but that description fits his appearance far better than his music. Not that his album is unremarkable; it ...
The Crusaders: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 7 October 1978
ON STAGE, as on record, The Crusaders an elusive synthesis of assorted musical elements which, although generally bonded in a cohesive sound that is unmistakably ...
The Jacksons: No Signs Of Any Slackening
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 October 1978
'Blame It On The Boogie' may not be the Jacksons most exciting single, but it's doing the trick again. PAUL SEXTON talks to Michael Jackson ...
Profile by Vernon Gibbs, The Village Voice, 9 October 1978
HOT ON THE gold certification of his first single, 'You and I', Rick James has been going around making the preposterous claim that he is ...
Interview by Howie Klein, Rock's Backpages Audio, 10 October 1978
Just having left Rufus, Chaka talks about making her solo debut (featuring 'I'm Every Woman'), her Chicago roots, her dislike of disco and her surprising love of punk rock.
File format: mp3; file size: 33.9mb, interview length: 36' 59" sound quality: ***
Rose Royce: Socio/Political Conscience? Waal, Ah'm Rilly Into Chutney
Interview by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 21 October 1978
"SO HOWS about up at number two, we have the one and only Rose Royce with 'Love Don't Live Here Anymore'...goodness gracious yes..." ...
Crown Heights Affair: Vice on Ice
Interview by Barry Cain, Record Mirror, 28 October 1978
Drink, drugs. Who needs them, say Crown Heights Affair ...
Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 28 October 1978
IT'S RARE FOR any artist to re-emerge successfully from a long period of musical sterility. Harder still, somehow, for black musicians, whose problems &