Library Rock's Backpages

Soul, Funk and R&B

6,034 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, ...

Miriam Makeba, Nina Simone: Carnegie Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 22 May 1961

TWO FOLK SINGERS PRESENT CONCERT ...

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 ...

Quincy Jones: "Bandleading... enough to make grey hair grow on my eyeballs... but I'm not quitting jazz"

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 10 February 1962

QUINCY JONES — in London for a flying visit — grabs a word with MAX JONES ...

Chubby Checker, Joey Dee & the Starliters: As Twist Hits the Chart Top Chubby Checker and Joey Dee Reveal How They Started To Do It — And Why!

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 ...

Aretha Franklin: Aretha (UK Fontana TFL 5173)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 3 March 1962

'Won't be Long'; 'Over The Rainbow'; 'Love Is The Only Thing'; 'Sweet Lover'; 'All Night Long'; 'Who Needs You?'; 'Right Now'; 'Maybe I'm A Fool'; ...

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: Putting On The Squeal — It's Like Cooking Rice

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 21 July 1962

IN AMERICA today, the sound to make is a coloured sound. The pop scene is riddled with young men aping Ray Charles, but they don't ...

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 ...

Sam Cooke: When you're well-read and dress like wham!

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 20 October 1962

WE HAD the wireless on throughout. Sam Cooke wore red-patterned pyjamas, a black dressing-gown and a beaten gold ring, which he wears because he doesn't ...

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 ...

A Year of R&B

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. ...

Chubby Checker: Norman Jopling Views Chubby Checker's Teen Dance Hits and Finds He's the Commercial Dance King

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, Margie Hendrix, The Raelets: I'll Stick To Ray, Says Margie Hendrix

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 18 May 1963

Why? Because Mr. Charles is nice ...

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 ...

Oscar Brown Jr.: A Very Cheerful Man Is Oscar Cicero Brown

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 29 June 1963

OSCAR BROWN JR. is an extremely cheerful person. From his riotously checked shirt to his shoes with funny little thongs at the side, he exudes ...

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... ...

The Beatles, The Isley Brothers: The Beatles did it on an LP, now the Isley Brothers and Tremeloes make the 30

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? ...

The Beatles, The Isley Brothers, The Tremeloes: The 'Twist And Shout' Battle Hots Up! (And How The NME Helped)

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 ...

Chubby Checker: What 3 years of Twisting have done for Chubby

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 17 August 1963

CHUBBY CHECKER is one of the nicer people you meet in this business. He looks nicer for a start. He has a brown friendly face ...

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 ...

Brook Benton, Dion, Lesley Gore, Trini Lopez, Timi Yuro: Brook Benton, Trini Lopez, Timi Yuro, Dion, Lesley Gore: "The Greatest Record Show Of 1963", Finsbury Park Astoria, London

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. ...

Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans, The Crystals, The Ronettes, Phil Spector: Now the Ronettes... get the girls screaming, too

Profile and Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 11 January 1964

IT WAS A bad idea, perhaps, to interview them in a canteen. A great number of suet rolls and custards never got digested that day ...

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 ...

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Temptations: The Temptations: Hit Was Written in a Car

Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 6 March 1964

IT TOOK the help of a "miracle" for the Temptations to come up with their first big hit, 'The Way You Do the Things You ...

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 ...

Gene Chandler, Lee Dorsey, Wilbert Harrison, Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs: Marshall Sehorn Joins Constellation

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 ...

Solomon Burke, Dee Clark, Freddie King, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Tymes, Dionne Warwick: The Tymes, Freddie King, Dionne Warwick, Dee Clark, Solomon Burke, The Miracles: Regal Theatre, Chicago IL

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: Inez and Charlie Foxx: Gospel Voice and Lunatic Gestures...

Profile and Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 11 July 1964

CHARLES AND Inez Foxx are a handsome pair. To the initiated and fortunate few in this country who have heard them, they are known as ...

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 ...

Marvin Gaye, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, The Supremes, Mary Wells: A Great Visit To Hitsville U.S.A.

Interview by Dave Godin, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 4 September 1964

by DAVE GODIN as told to Norman Jopling ...

The Supremes: Motown Success

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 ...

Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Stevie Wonder: Mr. Gordy has a formula for success — 'It is Love'

Profile and Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 10 October 1964

THE BEATLES have done terrible things to the American record industry. Nobody knows what to record any longer. Should they try to reproduce what is ...

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: Top Tunes: Martha and the Vandellas

Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 17 October 1964

MARTHA AND the Vandellas decided it was time for a change in pace. All their records were beginning to sound alike. ...

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. ...

The Isley Brothers: The boys who put OOOOHHHH! into Pop

Profile by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 24 October 1964

THE ISLEY Brothers — Rudolph, Ronnie and O'Kelly Jr., but chiefly Rudolph — put the high-pitched, train noise OOOOHHHH into British pop music. The importance ...

The Impressions: Top Tunes: The Impressions

Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 7 November 1964

WHOEVER CAME up with the advertising slogan, "often imitated but never duplicated," must have been thinking about the Impressions. ...

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 ...

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Claudette: Alone among the Miracles

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 5 December 1964

CLAUDETTE MUST be one of the few women who got the job when she stood in for her brother. She has been standing in now ...

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 ...

Sam Cooke Tragedy

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 ...

The Righteous Brothers: The strange thing about the Righteous Brothers is that they're white...

Profile and Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 16 January 1965

THE RIGHTEOUS Brothers are not brothers at all; nor indeed are they more than ordinarily righteous. Their names are Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley, and ...

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 ...

The Beau Brummels, Bobby Freeman, Dobie Gray, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, The Righteous Brothers, The Shangri-Las, Del Shannon, Sonny & Cher, Phil Spector, The Supremes, The Temptations, The Vejtables, Dionne Warwick: The Supremes, the Righteous Brothers, the Beau Brummels et al: Cow Palace, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Mike Gormley, The Ottawa Journal, 27 February 1965

Righteous Sound Shakes 'Frisco ...

Junior Walker & the All Stars: Top Tunes: Junior Walker's 'Shotgun' Is His First Big Hit

Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 27 February 1965

JUNIOR WALKER and the All Stars can thank a couple of teenagers from Benton Harbor, Mich., for the inspiration that's led to their first major ...

The Contours, Earl Van Dyke, Kim Weston, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, The Marvelettes, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes: A Warning To The Tamla-Motown Visitors From Their Biggest Fan!

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 ...

Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Supremes, The Temptations, Mary Wells, Stevie Wonder: America Hits Back With Tamla Motown Attack

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 ...

Solomon Burke, Bob Dylan: Solomon Burke: Can Dylan Be Beaten?

Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 12 June 1965

The answer is probably no — but all the stops are being pulled out for Solomon Burke's version of the Dylan number 'Maggie's Farm'. ...

Solomon Burke: Cost of Solomon's Cadillac: a couple of songs and two good funerals...

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 19 June 1965

THE LARGE, smiling, splendid man in the picture is called Mr. Solomon Burke. He is 25. His wife is called Dolores Othello and they have ...

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 ...

Nina Simone: Daddy And Momma Always Wanted Her To Play At Carnegie Hall... Nina Simone Finally Made It, Too — Only She Wasn't Playing Bach

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 10 July 1965

GROWN-UPS, it seems, squabble just as boringly over labels, like jazz and blues, as do the younger fry over rock 'n' roll and the genuine ...

James Brown: Top Tunes: James Brown Explains About 'Papa's Bag'

Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 7 August 1965

YOU MIGHT say that July 23 to 29 was a sort of James Brown Week in Washington. ...

The Animals, The Beatles, The Byrds, Bob Dylan, The Supremes: The Beatles Will Make the Scene Here Again, but the Scene Has Changed

Overview by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 11 August 1965

JOHN, PAUL, George and Ringo are bringing it all back home. That means the Beatles are returning to the United States. They will arrive Friday ...

Georgie Fame: After many years Georgie realises an ambition...

Interview by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 14 August 1965

GEORGIE FAME'S latest hit ('Like We Used To Be') represents an important step forward in the career of this 22-year-old singer-bandleader-pianist-organist. It's his first composition. ...

Hand-Me-Down R&B

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. ...

The Beau Brummels, The Byrds, Glen Campbell, Roy Head, Little Anthony and the Imperials, The Lovin' Spoonful, Sonny & Cher, The Toys: Sonny & Cher, Beau Brummels, The Byrds, Glen Campbell et al: Cow Palace, Daly City CA

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. ...

Fontella Bass: Top Tunes: Fontella Bass

Profile and Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 6 November 1965

FONTELLA BASS may have been a "sad girl" about two months ago, but now she's one of the happiest people in the world. ...

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 ...

Wilson Pickett: Master of Beat and Soul

Interview by Kevin Swift, Beat Instrumental, January 1966

THE WILD sound of Wilson Pickett is still fairly new to our hit parade. 'Midnight Hour' and 'Don't Fight It' have put him in the ...

Dee Dee Warwick, Dionne Warwick: Dee Dee Warwick: 'Dionne encouraged me to go solo' says Dee Dee

Interview by Richard Green, Record Mirror, 8 January 1966

TWO SISTERS used to do the backing tracks on other people's records. Then one of them made her own discs and became a star. Her ...

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 ...

Otis Redding: Top Tunes: Otis Redding

Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 29 January 1966

WHEN OTIS Redding sang his last big hit, 'Respect', he must have been talking about his fans. ...

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 ...

James Brown Live

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 ...

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, The Rising Sons: Martha & the Vandellas, the Rising Sons: The Trip, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 12 March 1966

Martha and Vandellas True to Motown Sound ...

Ramsey Lewis — Prediction '66

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 ...

Ramsey Lewis: Music for Anywhere from The In Crowd

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 March 1966

CHESS Records VP MARSHALL CHESS in Britain to bang the drum for the RAMSEY LEWIS TRIO, talks to the MM's Max Jones ...

James Brown: Brown's A Super-Spectacle: James Brown: Walthamstow Granada, London

Live Review by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 19 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. ...

James Brown: Four days that shook the British pop world: The Brown Bomb!

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 March 1966

James Brown brought something that has been missing... ...

James Brown: Ready Steady Go! (Rediffusion Television)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Richard Green, Record Mirror, 19 March 1966

AND TELE VIEWER RICHARD GREEN SAYS... ...

James Brown: James Earns $20,000 a Day in U.S.

Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 19 March 1966

THE RECEPTION laid on for the purpose of meeting up with America's James Brown was timed for 6 p.m., to finish at 7.30 p.m. James ...

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 ...

Otis Redding, the Rising Sons: Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 2 April 1966

Otis Redding's Southern-Style Blues Band Lets Off Steam ...

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. ...

Irma Thomas

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 ...

The Animals, Cilla Black, Jackie Edwards, Marianne Faithfull, Barry Fantoni, Freddie & The Dreamers, Billy Fury, The Roulettes, Ike & Tina Turner, The Yardbirds: Singles by Ike & Tina Turner, the Animals, the Yardbirds et al

Review by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 28 May 1966

Subdued Animals — smash hit! ...

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 ...

The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Ray Charles, The Marvelettes, The McCoys, Stevie Wonder: Ray Charles, Little Stevie Wonder, The Beach Boys, the Byrds, the Marvelettes, the McCoys: Yankee Stadium, the Bronx NY

Live Review by Richard Goldstein, The Village Voice, 16 June 1966

Pop Eye: Soundblast '66 ...

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. ...

Dionne Warwick, the Youngbloods: Rheingold Music Festival, Wollman Memorial Skating Rink, Central Park, New York NY

Live Review by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 2 July 1966

FESTIVAL IN PARK OPENS BRIGHTLY Overflow Audience at Rink Hears Dionne Warwick ...

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. ...

Vikki Carr, Aretha Franklin, Gale Garnett, The Mothers Of Invention, The Rolling Stones: Albums by the Mothers of Invention, Rolling Stones et al

Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 1966

POPULAR RECORDS: PASS ASPIRIN, PLEASE ...

Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick: Composer Burt Bacharach Avoids Pop Music Pitfall

Interview by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 1966

BETWEEN BITES of eggs Benedict in an elegantly subdued lunchery, Burt Bacharach, the gold-fingered composer of 'What's New Pussycat?', 'Wives and Lovers', 'What the World ...

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 ...

James Brown: Brown Excitement

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 ...

The Temptations, Band of Gold: The Trip, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 6 August 1966

Rock Group Packs 'Em In at Trip ...

James Brown, Bob Dylan, Jackie Edwards, Bert Kaempfert, Arthur Lyman, Wayne Newton, Otis Redding, The Righteous Brothers, Marty Robbins, Ruby & the Romantics, Norma Tanega, Junior Walker & the All Stars, Andy Williams: Bob Dylan, James Brown, Otis Redding et al: Album Reviews

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 13 August 1966

Dylan rocks through 4 great sides ...

Chubby Checker, The Isley Brothers, Little Richard, Robert Parker, Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, Sam & Dave, Billy Stewart, Joe Tex: Joe Tex, Little Richard, Robert Parker, the Isley Brothers et al: the Village Theater, New York NY

Live Review by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 15 August 1966

KEY TO THE BLUES IS SHOWMANSHIP Dancing and Costumes Add Dash to 30 Singing Acts ...

Otis Redding: Rheingold Music Festival, Central Park, New York NY

Live Review by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 18 August 1966

OTIS REDDING STARS IN 2 PARK CONCERTS ...

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 All Stars: 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. ...

Junior Walker & the All Stars: Junior Walker: Autrey (De Walt, not Gene) Aids Tamla's British Chart Invasion...

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. ...

James Brown: Brown Arrives in His Own Style

Report and Interview by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 15 September 1966

JAMES BROWN, who will appear at the Hollywood Bowl for a concert Friday night, has built up a 10-year momentum which catapulted him out of ...

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: Otis in England: a big, dynamic voice

Interview by uncredited writer, Disc and Music Echo, 17 September 1966

"BRITISH AUDIENCES," Otis Redding said after his debut in this country at Colston Hall, Bristol, "are the greatest." He went on, "But they didn't hear ...

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 ...

Phil Spector, Ike & Tina Turner: Ike & Tina Turner: Ike...

Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 8 October 1966

...tells, among other things, why he wants to change the act's name, and why he dislikes 'River Deep' ...

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 ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Sammy Davis Jr., Marvin Gaye, The Temptations: Albums from The Temptations, Butterfield Blues Band, Marvin Gaye and Sammy Davis Jr.

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 15 October 1966

Temptations have got a big seller ...

The Supremes: Supremes smash phone records!

Interview by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 15 October 1966

NO MATTER where they happen to be — Japan or Germany, Australia or Andalusia — a phone call is put in to Mrs. Ross, of ...

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 ...

Lee Dorsey: Rhythm 'n' Roll

Interview by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 29 October 1966

Lee Dorsey and Marshal Sehorn talk about their definition of soul… ...

Big Joe Williams, Chuck Berry, Duke Ellington, James Brown, John Lee Hooker, Lightnin' Hopkins, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Sonny Rollins: Tempo: R&B and Jazz Album Reviews

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 ...

The Alan Bown Set, James Brown, Solomon Burke, The Four Tops, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, The Move, Robert Parker, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, The Righteous Brothers, The Supremes, Ike & Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder: The Soul Parade

Overview by Maureen O'Grady, Rave, November 1966

RAVE's Maureen O'Grady puts on parade some of the greatest and the latest singers of "soul". The sound the "in" crowd said would happen. ...

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 ...

Ben E. King, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding: Otis Redding & Wilson Pickett: For Soul Brothers — A Bumper Crop Of LPs

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. ...

Lorraine Ellison, Haydock's Rockhouse, Jonathan King, Alan Price, Otis Redding, Sandie Shaw, The Small Faces, Truth, The Who: Singles from the Who, Otis Redding, Small Faces, Lorraine Ellison and more

Review by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 12 November 1966

WHO PLUS BATMAN: A MINI BONANZA! ...

Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, The Easybeats, The Four Tops: Blowing their TOPS! The Four Tops, Easybeats, Cliff Bennett: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 19 November 1966

The 'Reach Out, I'll Be There' boys hit town and cause a sensation among the stars and fans at their concert ...

Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, The Easybeats, The Four Tops, Bob Miller & the Millermen: The Four Tops: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 19 November 1966

UNIQUE ATMOSPHERE AT TOPS SHOW ...

The Four Tops: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 November 1966

TREMENDOUS TOPS SCORE AT SAVILLE ...

Ray Charles: Ray's Moods (HMV CLP 3574)

Review by uncredited writer, Beat Instrumental, December 1966

OVER THE years, apparently, many people have suggested to Ray Charles that he record certain songs and this album is the result. ...

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, ...

Jimmy Ruffin: Profile in Words (by Alan Smith) and Picture (by Barry Peake) of JIMMY RUFFIN, Former Rootes Car Worker

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 ...

Grateful Dead, The Teddy Neeley Five, Otis Redding: Otis Redding, Grateful Dead: Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 21 December 1966

Otis Redding — Rhythm and Blues Tidal Wave ...

Jimmy Ruffin Talks on England

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. ...

The Creation, Sounds Incorporated, Geno Washington: Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band, The Creation, Sounds Incorporated: Saville Theatre, London

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 ...

Joe Tex: The Old Philosopher

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 ...

Kenny Ball, Max Bygraves, The Four Seasons, The Four Tops, Bobby Goldsboro, Jay & The Americans, The Knickerbockers, Vera Lynn, The Mindbenders, The Nashville Teens, The Riot Squad, Percy Sledge: Singles From the Four Tops, Percy Sledge et al

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 7 January 1967

A lack of new ideas but another Tops success ...

Madeline Bell, Ken Dodd, The Four Seasons, The Four Tops, The Mindbenders, The Nashville Teens, The New Vaudeville Band, The Rolling Stones, The Royal Guardsmen: Blind Date: Paul Jones

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 14 January 1967

NOW IT'S psychedelic Blind Date. At least, that's what Paul Jones' session in the hot seat seemed like at the time. First of all, the ...

Booker T & The MGs, The Mar-Keys, Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, Sam & Dave, The Vibrations: Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Percy Sledge et al: New Albums Reviewed by Norman Jopling and Peter Jones

Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 14 January 1967

Rhythm & Blues galore! ...

Adam Faith, Marvin Gaye, Paul Jones, John Mayall, The McCoys, ? and the Mysterians, Otis Redding, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Rolling Stones, Kim Weston: Blind Date: Dave Dee

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 ...

Aaron Neville: Top Tunes: Aaron Neville

Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 21 January 1967

BECAUSE HE "tells it like it is," both on record and off, Aaron Neville finally is making a name for himself in the popular music ...

Lamont Dozier, The Four Tops, The Supremes: Holland-Dozier-Holland: This Tamla Trio Top The Hitmakers Chart

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 ...

Otis Redding In London

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 ...

Madeline Bell, The Four Tops, The Merseys, The Remo Four: The Four Tops, Madeline Bell, the Merseys, the Remo Four: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 4 February 1967

Ball at the Albert Hall ...

Madeline Bell, The Four Tops, The Merseys: The Four Tops, The Merseys, Madeline Bell, Remo Four: Royal Albert Hall, London

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 ...

Buffalo Springfield, The Fabulous Fakes, The Mamas and The Papas, The Monkees, Ike & Tina Turner: Pop Eye — Ike & Tina Turner: 'River Deep, Mountain High' et al

Review by Richard Goldstein, The Village Voice, 23 February 1967

PHILLERS ...

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: Four Tops 'Live' (Tamla Motown TML 11041, Stereo STML 11041)

Review by uncredited writer, Beat Instrumental, March 1967

GREAT! THAT'S the only way to describe the Four Tops' performance on this "live" album. And it really is "live", too. Recorded at the Upper ...

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. ...

The Everly Brothers, Marvin Gaye, Herman's Hermits, Kim Weston: Marvin Gaye Is The Nicest Tamguy

Interview by Tracy Thomas, New Musical Express, 11 March 1967

MARVIN GAYE has got to be one of the nicest performers to come out of Motown headquarters in Detroit, which is famous for sending out ...

Stevie Wonder

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 ...

Duane Eddy, The Lomax Alliance, The Senate, Edwin Starr: Duane Eddy, Edwin Starr, The Senate, Lomax Alliance: Saville Theatre, London

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. ...

Brenda Lee, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs: On the Pop Scene in Detroit: Brenda Lee

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 ...

Booker T & The MGs, Arthur Conley, Eddie Floyd, The Mar-Keys, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas: Otis Redding, Sam & Dave et al: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 25 March 1967

STAX SHOW REVIEW — & THE FIRST LP'S ...

Booker T & The MGs, Arthur Conley, Eddie Floyd, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas: Otis Redding, Sam & Dave et al: Stax/Volt Revue Tour, Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 25 March 1967

STAX — THE RAVE SHOW TO END 'EM ALL ...

Booker T & The MGs, Arthur Conley, Eddie Floyd, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas: Otis Redding, Sam and Dave et al: "Hit the Road Stax", Finsbury Park Astoria, London

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 ...

Chet Atkins, James Brown, The Mothers Of Invention, Sam & Dave: LP Reviews: Sam & Dave, James Brown, Chet Atkins, and the Mothers of Invention

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 ...

Booker T & The MGs, Carla Thomas, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave: Stax-Volt Review: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

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 ...

Booker T & The MGs, Arthur Conley, Eddie Floyd, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas: R.M. Stax Show Review Row — Label Manager Replies To Criticism

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. ...

The Temptations: Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 1 April 1967

THE TEMPTATIONS, who probably are the best rhythm 'n' blues performing act of the '60s, are pulling in crowds to the Whisky a Go Go ...

Booker T & The MGs, Eddie Floyd, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas: Various Artists: Hit The Road Stax; Sam and Dave: Double Dynamite (both Stax)

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 ...

Aretha Franklin, King Curtis, The Marvelettes, Peaches and Herb, Billy Stewart: Albums from Aretha Franklin, the Marvelettes et al

Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 15 April 1967

Blues Singers Make Comeback ...

Judy Collins, Eddie Floyd, Bert Kaempfert, James Last, The Magic Lanterns, The Mindbenders, Elvis Presley, Otis Redding, The Smothers Brothers: Albums from Elvis Presley, Judy Collins, Eddie Floyd et al

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, ...

The Alan Bown Set, Bo Diddley, Ben E. King: Bo Diddley, Ben E. King, Alan Bown Set: Saville Theatre, London

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. ...

The Alan Bown Set, Bo Diddley, Ben E. King: Bo Diddley, Ben E. King, Alan Bown Set: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 22 April 1967

BO and BEN: the rock-soul truce men! ...

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? ...

The Doors, James Brown, Joe Tex, Lonnie Mack, McKinley "Soul" Mitchell, Petula Clark, Roy Orbison, Sonny & Cher: New Albums From The Doors, Roy Orbison, Sonny & Cher et al

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 ...

The Bee Gees, Booker T & The MGs, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, P.P. Arnold, Prince Buster, Sam & Dave, The Tremeloes, The Who: Who, Prince Buster, Bee Gees et al: New Singles Reviewed

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 ...

The Beach Boys, Val Doonican, Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, Bob Dylan, Chris Farlowe, Clinton Ford, Jimi Hendrix, Vince Hill, John's Children, The Kinks, Manfred Mann, The New Vaudeville Band, Elvis Presley, Percy Sledge, Them: Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Them, Beach Boys, Kinks et al: Singles Reviews

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 ...

The Byrds, Marvin Gaye, Gerry & The Pacemakers, John Lee Hooker, Mantovani, The Modern Jazz Quartet, The Olympics, Roy Orbison, Prince Buster, Jimmy Ruffin, The Supremes, Jackie Trent: Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston, John Lee Hooker, Byrds, Prince Buster et al Album Reviews

Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 6 May 1967

Some sophisticated new Motown albums ...

P.P. Arnold: P.P. can bridge that soul gap

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 6 May 1967

IS THERE room for another little female barrel of dynamite on the English pop scene? ...

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. ...

The Impressions: Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 1967

Impressions Win a Warm Welcome ...

The Supremes: Cocoanut Grove, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 1967

Standing Ovations for the Supremes ...

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 ...

The Animals, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Electric Flag, Jefferson Airplane, Beverley Martyn, Steve Miller, Moby Grape, The Paupers, Otis Redding, Simon & Garfunkel: At Monterey Fairgounds: 1st Pop Music Festival Draws Large Crowds

Report by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 1967

MONTEREY — Thirty thousand people swelled the city of Monterey over the weekend for the first International Festival of Pop Music, held in the outdoor ...

The Animals, The Association, Big Brother & The Holding Company, The Blues Project, Booker T & The MGs, Buffalo Springfield, Electric Flag, Richie Havens, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, The Mamas and The Papas, Lou Rawls, Otis Redding, Ravi Shankar, Simon & Garfunkel, The Who: Keith Altham Planes West to Cover America's Monterey Pop Festival and Cables This Day-By-Day Report

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 ...

The Animals, The Association, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Country Joe & The Fish, Electric Flag, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, The Mamas and The Papas, Hugh Masekela, Moby Grape, Laura Nyro, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Lou Rawls, Otis Redding, Johnny Rivers, Ravi Shankar, Simon & Garfunkel: Monterey Pop Festival: The Hip Homunculus

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! ...

The Four Seasons, Jimi Hendrix, Sam & Dave: The Four Seasons: Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica; Sam & Dave, the Jimi Hendrix Experience: Whisky A Go Go, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 1967

Two Pop Groups in Los Angeles Debuts ...

James Brown: the Royal Tahitian, Ontario CA

Live Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 1967

JAMES BROWN has sustained 12 years of rock solid solid rock popularity, carving his career scream by scream, frantic performance after frantic performance, building a ...

The Mamas and The Papas, Otis Redding: Monterey: KRLA Picks Up On The Action At Outasite Pop Festival

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 ...

Aretha Franklin: I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You (Atlantic)

Review by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 22 July 1967

IT'S TAKEN time for Miss Franklin to break through here, though her reputation has been boosted by such as D. Springfield. But this satisfying set ...

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 ...

Arthur Conley, Aretha Franklin: Aretha Franklin: I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You (Atlantic); Arthur Conley: Sweet Soul Music (Atlantic)

Review by uncredited writer, Disc and Music Echo, 29 July 1967

Soulful ARETHA turns on the heat ...

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 ...

Otis Redding: "Soul Survivor"

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. ...

Terry Knight & the Pack, Lulu, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, The Temptations, Tammi Terrell: Britain's Lulu Looks at America and the Hemlines

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 ...

Wayne Newton, Sonny & Cher: Ray Charles: Invites You To Listen (ABC); The Canned Heat Blues Band: Canned Heat (Liberty)

Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 6 August 1967

The Comeback of a Potent Singer ...

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: The Miracle They Call Smokey And How He Climbed from the Ghetto To the Top of His Musical World

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 ...

The Beach Boys, Ken Dodd, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, The Herd, Albert King, Jimmy Ruffin, Vanilla Fudge: Beach Boy Bruce Johnston reviews new singles in Blind Date

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. ...

Bill Cosby, Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band: Bill Cosby & Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band: Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 22 August 1967

Bill Cosby Begins Career as Singer ...

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 ...

The Animals, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Captain Beefheart, Aretha Franklin, Bobbie Gentry: Albums from Bobbie Gentry, Aretha Franklin, Big Brother, Captain Beefheart and the Animals

Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 10 September 1967

New Album From Bobbie Gentry ...

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 ...

Jimmy Cliff, Freddie King, Junior Walker & the All Stars: Junior Walker & the Allstars, Freddie King, Jimmy Cliff: Saville Theatre, London

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 ...

Jimmy Cliff, Freddie King, Junior Walker & the All Stars: Junior Walker and The All-Stars, Jimmy Cliff, Freddie King: Saville Theatre, London

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 ...

Arthur Conley, Linda Carr, Percy Sledge, Sam & Dave: Sam & Dave, Arthur Conley, Percy Sledge et al: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

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 ...

Lee Dorsey, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell, Stevie Wonder: Singles from Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, Aretha Franklin, Lee Dorsey and Stevie Wonder

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 ...

Brenton Wood — Success Sign

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 ...

Sam & Dave: Soul Explosion!

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 ...

The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, J.J. Jackson, Parliament, Wilson Pickett, Edwin Starr, Joe Tex: Singles from the Beach Boys, the Parliaments, Wilson Pickett et al

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 ...

Eddie Floyd: Greentree — Eddie Floyd To You — Is Back In Town!

Interview by uncredited writer, Disc, 2 December 1967

KNOCK ON wood and raise your hand, 'cos things get better baby on a Saturday night and Greentree's back in town! ...

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 ...

The Chambers Brothers, Otis Redding, The Who: Albums from the Who, Otis Redding and the Chambers Brothers

Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 17 December 1967

Biggest Happening in Album Covers ...

Otis Redding: To Otis

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 ...

The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Spinners, The Supremes, Tammi Terrell, Stevie Wonder: Major LP Release from Tamla

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." ...

Brenton Wood: Brenton — Jazz Fan

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 17 February 1968

BRENTON WOOD digs jazz. Back home in Hollywood, the singer whose 'Gimme Little Sign' has crept steadily higher and higher in its slow journey to ...

James Brown, Patti LaBelle, Wilson Pickett, The Sweet Inspirations: Soul LPs... including Wilson Pickett and James Brown

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. ...

Blue Cheer, Aretha Franklin: Aretha Franklin: Lady Soul (Atlantic); Blue Cheer: Vincebus Eruptum (Philips)

Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 3 March 1968

Aretha Just Keeps Rolling Along ...

Solomon Burke, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Joe Tex: Bonanza Atlantic LP Issue: Solomon Burke, Aretha Franklin, Joe Tex et al

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 ...

Nina Simone: Troubadour, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 14 March 1968

ONE OF Nina Simone's songs contains the line "He'll find her waiting like a lonesome queen." Though she is accompanied by a quartet and though ...

The 5th Dimension, Etta James, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, the Fifth Dimension, Etta James: Long Beach Arena, Long Beach CA

Live Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 19 March 1968

Long Beach Hosts Pop Music Concert ...

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 ...

Otis Redding — Fare Thee Well

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 ...

The Rascals, Otis Redding, Vanilla Fudge: Albums from Otis Redding, the Young Rascals and Vanilla Fudge

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, ...

1910 Fruitgum Company, Eddie Cochran, Sammy Davis Jr., Bo Diddley, Lee Hazlewood, Etta James, Little Walter, Cliff Richard, Nancy Sinatra: Albums from Nancy Sinatra, Etta James et al

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 ...

Aretha Franklin: Lady Soul

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 ...

Albert King, Big Joe Turner, Booker T & The MGs, The Box Tops, The Dells, Jackie Wilson, James Brown, Lou Rawls, Merrill Moore, Otis Redding: James Brown, Box Tops, Albert King, Otis Redding et al, Album Reviews

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 ...

Booker T & The MGs, B.B. King, The Mothers Of Invention: Mothers of Invention, B.B. King, Booker T. & the MGs: Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 7 June 1968

America's Musical Soul Shines Through ...

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. ...

Nina Simone

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 ...

David Ackles, Cream, Aretha Franklin: Albums from Cream, David Ackles and Aretha Franklin

Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 1968

Second Thoughts on Cream Album ...

James Brown: Oakland Auditorium, Oakland CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 30 July 1968

Music World's Soul Brother: James Brown Deserves Title ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Sly and Family Stone... in a crazy world of their own!

Profile and Interview by uncredited writer, Disc and Music Echo, 3 August 1968

THEY BLEND PSYCHEDELIA WITH RHYTHM AND BLUES ...

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 ...

Britain Is Soul Country

Report by Ian Dove, Billboard, 17 August 1968

BRITAIN'S SOUL Surge continues. ...

Shorty Long, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder: Diana Ross and the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Shorty Long: Forest Hills Stadium, Queens NY

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 ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Sly To Put a Core in the Apple

Interview by Lon Goddard, Record Mirror, 31 August 1968

TO STAMP OUT MUSICAL DEFICIENCY COME SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE ...

Big Maybelle, Arthur Conley, B.B. King, Sam & Dave, Stevie Wonder: Stevie Wonder, Sam & Dave, Arthur Conley, B.B. King, Big Maybelle: Downing Stadium, Randalls Island, NY

Live Review by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 2 September 1968

Top Pop Concert Draws Only 2,000 To Randalls Island ...

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 ...

Spooky Tooth, The Staple Singers: The Staple Singers: What the World Needs Now Is Love (Epic BN 26373); Spooky Tooth: Spooky Tooth (Bell 6019)

Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 22 September 1968

Still Undiscovered: Gospel Truth ...

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 ...

The Impressions

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 ...

Crome Syrcus, The Staple Singers, Traffic: Traffic, Staple Singers, Crome Syrcus: Fillmore East, New York NYC

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 ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Sly and the Family Stone: Dance to the Music (Direction)

Review by uncredited writer, Disc and Music Echo, 12 October 1968

SLY AMD FAMILY — THE NEW LEADERS ...

The Drifters, Aretha Franklin: Aretha Franklin, the Drifters: Philharmonic Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 14 October 1968

ARETHA FRANKLIN IN TWIN CONCERTS ...

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 ...

Horace Silver, Joe Simon, The Stars of Faith, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters, Horace Silver, Joe Simon, Stars of Faith: Hammersmith Odeon, London

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. ...

James Brown, Count Basie, Ramsey Lewis: James Brown, the Count Basie Orchestra, Ramsey Lewis Trio: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 23 November 1968

James Brown Scores Knockout With Soul Music at the Garden ...

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 ...

Blue Cheer, John Fahey, Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell: New LPs from Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, Blue Cheer and John Fahey

Review by uncredited writer, Disc and Music Echo, 30 November 1968

Marvin and Tammi: big warm glow! ...

Cream, Otis Redding: Otis Redding: Otis Redding in Person at the Whisky A Go Go; Cream: Live At The Fillmore

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 ...

The 5th Dimension: 5th Dimension - looking forward to a British tour

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 18 January 1969

"I DON'T know why we haven't done a tour in Britain," said gorgeous Marilyn McCoo of 5th Dimension, "I guess the bookers haven't been able ...

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 ...

Creedence Clearwater Revival, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight and the Pips: Creedence Clearwater Revival: Bayou Country (Fantasy 8387)

Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 19 January 1969

Second Album for Clearwater ...

Booker T & The MGs: Booker T. puts hits before tours

Profile and Interview by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 25 January 1969

SOUL is a much maligned word which tends to bring a sneer to the lips of the musical cynics, probably because there has been so ...

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 ...

The Crystals, The Righteous Brothers, The Ronettes, Phil Spector, Ike & Tina Turner, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters: Electric Mud (Chess); Various Artists: Demand Performance (Decca)

Review by Geoffrey Cannon, The Guardian, 4 February 1969

Muddy Muddy Waters ...

Geno Washington: "Underground Music Is Dead" — Geno

Interview by Val Mabbs, Record Mirror, 8 February 1969

THE LAST time we met, Geno Washington was looking forward to a chart entry with 'Bring It To Me Baby', and contemplating the changes that ...

Nina Simone: 'Nuff Said (RCA Victor)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 8 February 1969

PROOF TO SILENCE THE CYNICS ...

Stevie Wonder: Two Sides of the Great Stevie Wonder

Profile by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 8 February 1969

Stevie champions the under dogs; Musically he's only at the beginning ...

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… ...

Wilson Pickett: "I'm tired — I ain't doing no TV"— but he does!

Report and Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 15 February 1969

Alan Smith welcomes to England an unhappy WILSON PICKETT ...

Wilson Pickett: Why Wilson dropped the "la-la-la" bit

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 15 February 1969

WHEN WILSON Pickett landed at London's Heath Row airport two hours late last Thursday after flying from Rome, all he wanted to do was sleep. ...

Wilson Pickett's Gin & Coffee

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 ...

Smokey Robinson & the Miracles: Mr. D's, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 6 March 1969

The Soul Shows Through ...

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 ...

The Flirtations, The Foundations, Stevie Wonder: Stevie Wonder, The Foundations, The Flirtations: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 15 March 1969

Stevie's a big star now ...

The Tymes they are a—

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: Marv still works as Tamla clerk

Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 22 March 1969

And he gave label its first ever hit! ...

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 ...

Richard Pryor, Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band: Richard Pryor, the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band: Basin Street, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 31 March 1969

Opening Night Crowd Cheers Watts Band ...

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 ...

Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band: Watts 103rd Street Band: Band May Be Wattless, but Powerful

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 ...

Junior Walker & the All Stars: Junior Walker: A Hit For Junior — Because He Couldn't Sit Still

Profile and Interview by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 19 April 1969

AROUND THE Tamla Motown offices, Junior Walker became something of an oddity. Instead of sitting around, biding his time like the rest of the artists, ...

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 ...

Bob & Earl Are Many Stars

Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 26 April 1969

WHEN BOB and Earl fly into Britain next week I'll be fascinated to find out if they now call themselves Bobby Garrett, Bobby Day or ...

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 ...

Mary Wells, Cecil Womack: Mary Wells: Mother-To-Be Mary Comes Back

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 10 May 1969

MARY WELLS, onetime Beatles' favourite and million-seller singer, is back in Britain to prove she's still one of the world's most talented female vocalists. ...

Bettye Swann, The Temptations: Bettye Swann: The Soul View Now! (Capitol ST 190); The Temptations: Cloud Nine (Gordy GS 939)

Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 1969

Bettye Swann's "Soul" ...

Gladys Knight and the Pips: Gladys Knight & the Pips: Mr D's, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 14 May 1969

Gladys Knight Show Solid, Exhilarating ...

Ike & Tina Turner, Ike Turner, Tina Turner: Ike & Tina Turner: River Deep-Mountain High; Outta Season

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 ...

Bob & Earl: The real Bob & Earl finally stand up...

Interview by Val Mabbs, Record Mirror, 17 May 1969

I ARRIVED at the Mandeville Hotel rather harassed after having spent twenty minutes in a taxi for a journey that would normally take five! I ...

Junior Walker & the All Stars: '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 ...

Allen Toussaint, Fats Domino, Lee Dorsey: Made in New Orleans: Record Production Techniques and the Land Of Dreams

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. ...

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Question-Time with Smokey of the Miracles

Interview by Ritchie Yorke, New Musical Express, 21 June 1969

KNOWING THAT Smokey Robinson is one of the five vice-presidents of the fabulously successful Tamla Motown label, I expected him to be a bustling businessman, ...

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 ...

Booker T & The MGs, Carla Thomas: Stax Horns Into the Pop Market for Sound Success

Profile and Interview by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 1969

MEMPHIS — A run-down movie theater in a threadbare black neighborhood is the home of Stax Records, a label whose 40 employees and 10 or ...

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 ...

Herb Alpert, Burt Bacharach, Sandy Bull, Lonnie Donegan, Jose Feliciano, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Sly & the Family Stone, The Vibrations: New albums from Sly & the Family Stone, Quicksilver et al

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. ...

The Isley Brothers, John Peel: Isleys and Peel 'Do Their Thing'

Interview by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 2 August 1969

THERE IS no obvious connection between John Peel and the Isley Brothers. Both are in a different "bag," yet both have one thing in common ...

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 ...

Shorty Long

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 ...

Ike & Tina Turner Revue: Basin Street West, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 4 September 1969

Turning On With Tina ...

The Chambers Brothers, Albert King, Poco: Albert King, Poco, the Chambers Brothers: The Pavilion, Flushing Meadows, Queens NY

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? ...

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Stevie Wonder: Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Stevie Wonder, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas: Inglewood Forum, Los Angeles CA

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 Modern Jazz Quartet, Sly & the Family Stone, Tony Williams: Sly & the Family Stone, Tony Williams Lifetime, Modern Jazz Quartet et al: 12th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival, County Fairgrounds, Monterey CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 20 September 1969

Sound Troubles: Monterey Opens Weirdly ...

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 ...

Steve Cropper, Crosby Stills and Nash, Kaleidoscope, Albert King, Pops Staples, Muddy Waters: Platter Chatter: albums from Crosby Stills & Nash, Muddy Waters & more

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 ...

Isaac Hayes, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin, Wolfgang, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Isaac Hayes: Winterland, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 7 November 1969

Led Zeppelin Has a Rare Magic ...

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 ...

B.B. King, The Rolling Stones, Ike & Tina Turner: The Rolling Stones, Ike & Tina Turner, B.B. King: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 10 November 1969

Rolling Stones End With an Uproar ...

Isaac Hayes, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin, Isaac Hayes, Rahsaan Roland Kirk: Winterland, San Francisco CA

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 ...

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 ...

Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell, Mary Wells, Kim Weston: Marvin Gaye, Kim Weston, Tammi Terrell, Mary Wells: Marvin Gaye and his Girls (Tamla-Motown, mono and stereo TML 11123; 37s 5d)

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 "Blue" 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 ...

Percy Sledge: Have Percy!

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 ...

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 ...

The Temptations Came, Saw And Almost Conquered

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 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, 30 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 ...

Clarence Carter, Arthur Conley, Sam & Dave, Joe Tex: Clarence Carter, Arthur Conley, Joe Tex, Sam & Dave: Royal Albert Hall, London

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 ...

Cold Blood, Lorraine Ellison: Lorraine Ellison: Stay With Me (Warner Bros.-7 Arts WS 1821); Cold Blood: Cold Blood (San Francisco SD 200)

Review by John Morthland, Rolling Stone, 7 February 1970

ON THE surface, Lorraine Ellison and Cold Blood's lead singer Lydia Pense seem to have a lot in common. Both have fine, soulful voices, and ...

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? ...

Chairmen Of The Board, Freda Payne: Eddie Holland: A Musical Magician, Once of Motown, Bidding for His Own 'Detroit Sound'

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. ...

Grand Funk Railroad, Sly & the Family Stone: Sly & the Family Stone, Grand Funk Railroad: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

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, ...

Arthur Conley, Jimmy Ruffin, Sam & Dave: Sam & Dave, Arthur Conley, Jimmy Ruffin: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 February 1970

Soul together — so untogether! ...

The Miracles: Thank The Beatles

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 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 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 ...

Blue Mink, Booker T & The MGs, Jimmy Ruffin: Booker T And The MGs/Blue Mink/Jimmy Ruffin: Hammersmith Odeon, London

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. ...

Doris Troy and the Marriage of Music

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 7 March 1970

DORIS TROY is ready. After ten months of plotting and planning and working and having a ball in the depths of Apple's Savile Row Studios, ...

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 ...

Sam & Dave: Inside Sam Moore

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. ...

Booker T & The MGs, Steve Cropper: ROY CARR, who joins NME this week, conducts an Ask-in with... STEVE CROPPER

Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 14 March 1970

Guitar ace with Booker T, Stax producer and formerly with Otis Redding's show ...

The Four Tops: Tamla's senior citizens

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 14 March 1970

THE SUCCESS of the Four Tops was instrumental in making the Motown sound of major importance in the development of rock music during the mid-Sixties. ...

The Voices of East Harlem: At Play With the Voices of E. Harlem

Profile and Interview by Lenny Kaye, Rolling Stone, 19 March 1970

NEW YORK — It was just an old red and white striped stuffed dog, but at least for now, it held the center of attention. ...

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 ...

The 5th Dimension, Allman Brothers Band, Aretha Franklin, Betty Everett, Bob & Earl, Chuck Jackson, The Delfonics, The Dells, Eddie Floyd, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight, Lou Rawls, Mary Wells, Rufus Thomas, The Supremes, The Temptations: On Disc: Singles Reviewed By John E. Abbey

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 March 1970

RECORD OF THE FORTNIGHT ...

Joe Cocker, Rita Coolidge, Claudia Lennear, Leon Russell: The Joe Cocker Show... Mad Dogs And Englishmen

Report and Interview by Dave Marsh, Creem, April 1970

THE DISCOVERY OF CANINA, A MOST SPECIAL PET (AND, COINCIDENTALLY, LEON RUSSELL, A MOST SPECIAL MUSICIAN) ...

Junior Walker & the All Stars: 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 ...

Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis, Roberta Flack, Charles Mingus: Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Cannonball Adderley Quintet, Roberta Flack: UC Jazz Festival, Hearst Greek Theater, Berkeley CA

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 ...

Stevie Wonder: Invite Me To Britain pleads "homesick" Stevie Wonder, who says he may marry in six months!

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? ...

The Beatles, Booker T & The MGs: Booker T-MGs Invade Beatle Land

Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 13 June 1970

THINK YOU recognise the album cover on the right? Well, just look again! It's the sleeve to Booker T & the MG's new album McLemore ...

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 ...

Sexy Soulful Women

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 ...

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. ...

The Flirtations: In Pursuit Of That Elusive Hit

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 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 ...

Martha Reeves & the Vandellas: Martha's 10 years at Motown...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, August 1970

THIS YEAR is the tenth anniversary of Motown Records and to celebrate it in London, Martha Reeves and her Vandellas spent one week meeting the ...

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 ...

Aretha Franklin: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 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 ...

Aretha Franklin: Our Queen

Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 14 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 ...

Clarence Carter, Candi Staton: Clarence Carter & Candi Staton: Clarence and Candi and Rick Hall

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 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 ...

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 ...

Bobby Womack

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 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 ...

Bobby Womack: My Prescription (Minit LP 24027 U.S. only; No British release scheduled)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 August 1970

THE ALBUM opens with one of Bobby's own compositions, 'How I Miss You Baby', a mid-tempo song with a sad sounding chorus. The heavy guitaring, ...

Otis Leavill

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 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', ...

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 ...

Joe Cocker, Curtis Mayfield, Leon Russell: Curtis Mayfield: Curtis (Curtom); Joe Cocker: Joe Cocker, Mad Dogs and Englishmen (A&M)

Review by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 1 September 1970

Mayfield, Solo, Comes on Strong ...

Bill Cosby, Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band: Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band: Cosby Was Never the Boss

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 ...

Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band: Express Yourself

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 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 ...

R.B. Greaves

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 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', ...

The Isley Brothers

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 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 ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Sly Slips The Questions

Interview by Roy Carr, Richard Green, New Musical Express, 12 September 1970

Put to him by Richard Green and Roy Carr ...

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! ...

Mose Allison, Chet Baker, Ramsey Lewis: Ramsey Lewis: Basin Street; Chet Baker: El Matador; Mose Allison: Jazz Workshop, all San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 17 September 1970

Cool Times On Broadway ...

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 ...

The Impressions, Curtis Mayfield: Curtis Mayfield: Curtis; The Impressions: Check Out Your Mind

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 25 September 1970

Curtis Mayfield: Curtis (Curtom) ...

The Impressions, Curtis Mayfield: Curtis Mayfield: No Longer An Impression

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 25 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, 25 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". ...

Chairmen Of The Board: The Chairmen of the Board

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 25 September 1970

FOR MANY YEARS, I have been singing the praise of a certain Norman Johnson, who was the lead voice with the Showmen. ...

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 ...

Richard Brautigan, Aretha Franklin, The Moody Blues: The Moody Blues: A Question of Balance; Listening To Richard Brautigan; Aretha Franklin: Spirit In The Dark

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 ...

Isaac Hayes, Sly & the Family Stone: Coke-and-lemon beat and smiles for one whole hour

Live Review by Charlie Gillett, Record Mirror, 3 October 1970

Having moaned so long about the failure of British radio, TV, and record buyers to give the due recognition to black singers, I suppose I ...

Hot Chocolate: Hot — Bet Yer Life They Are!

Interview by Lon Goddard, Record Mirror, 3 October 1970

HOT CHOCOLATE'S 'Love Is Life' looks like the third giant hit for Mickie Most's new Rak label — and one of those three nearly went ...

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 ...

Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding: Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix Experience: Historic Performances Recorded Live at Monterey (Reprise MS2029)

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 ...

Esther Marrow: Newport News Virginia

Retrospective by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 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, ...

Sly & The Family Stone: Lyceum Ballroom, London

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 9 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 ...

The Delfonics: Sexy Soul

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 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 ...

The Four Tops: Changing Times

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 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. ...

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 ...

Hot Chocolate, Music Chocolate!

Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 10 October 1970

Just the job for a cold night indoors ...

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 ...

Percy Sledge

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 23 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 ...

The Glass House

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 23 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, 23 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 ...

Esther Marrow, The Voices of East Harlem: The Voices Of East Harlem/Estha Marrow: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 23 October 1970

The Voices That Raised The Roof ...

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 ...

Marshall Hooks & Co.: Hooks — determined to reach the top

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 31 October 1970

MANY BLUES singers arrive from the States in a storm of publicity and a considerable reputation, but then fail to justify themselves — either because ...

Clarence Carter, Candi Staton: Clarence Carter: 'Patches' An Ideal Album Track

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 6 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 ...

Patti LaBelle: Pattie Labelle and Bluebelles: Fly-IN High

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 6 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 ...

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 ...

David Porter: Gritty Groovy Now He's Got It

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 20 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 ...

Roberta Flack: The Real Roberta Flack

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 20 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, 20 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." ...

Merry Clayton: Gimme Shelter (A&M Ode 70 series, stereo, AMLS 995, 39s 11d)

Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 21 November 1970

OVER THE last year or so Merry Clayton has graduated in status to the almost royal ranks of the fashionable clique of international sessioneers. Her ...

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 ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 29 November 1970

RHYTHM AND SOUL FILL ROCK WEEKEND ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Sly Stone NEVER Cancels!

Report and Interview by uncredited writer, Creem, December 1970

DETROIT —SLY was due in for a concert November 15 and the word was out that he was gonna show. Not an unusual word, to ...

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 ...

Rufus Thomas: The Dog... The Funky Chicken... now for The Push & Pull

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 December 1970

DURING RUFUS Thomas' 20 years recording career, he has directly started two dance crazes in the States. In the early '60s he was responsible for ...

Pacific Gas & Electric, Sly & the Family Stone: Sly & the Family Stone, Pacific Gas & Electric: Winterland, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 12 December 1970

Sly — Master of Rock-Theater ...

Dee Dee Warwick

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 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 ...

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. ...

Ahmet Ertegün (1971)

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: ***

Dr. John (1971)

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: ***

James Brown: Mister Messiah

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 ...

Allman Brothers Band, Otis Redding: Phil Walden (1971)

Interview by Charlie Gillett, Rock's Backpages audio, 1971

It's 1971, and the Allmans are on the rise, Jimmy Carter is in the Governor's Mansion, and Otis is four-years-dead: Capricorn man Phil Walden and pals look back at Otis, the MGs, and discuss race and the South with remarkable frankness.

File format: mp3; file size: 100.9mb, interview length: 1h 45' 03" sound quality: **

Carol Woods

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 ...

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 ...

Doris Troy: Doris Troy Sings Just One Look & Other Memorable Selections (Atlantic 8088); Doris Troy (Apple ST3371)

Review by Metal Mike Saunders, Rolling Stone, 7 January 1971

AH! QUITE simply, Doris Troy is a gas. A moderate one, to be sure, but she carries a lot of nostalgia. Her initial big hit ...

Billy Preston: That's The Way God Planned It (Apple ST 3359); Billy Preston: Encouraging Words (Apple ST 3370)

Review by Metal Mike Saunders, Rolling Stone, 7 January 1971

BILLY PRESTON'S first album, That's the Way God Planned It, was almost all gospel-oriented, and the second side was generally good. But the material that ...

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 ...

Land Of A Thousand Dances

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 ...

Homer Banks

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 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. ...

Ray Charles, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, Wilson Pickett, Jerry Wexler: Jerry Wexler: Aretha, She's Just Unbelievable

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 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. ...

Mad Lads

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 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 ...

Nina Simone: Nine Simone: Super Star For 1971

Report by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 22 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 ...

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Stevie Wonder: Stevie Wonder, Martha & the Vandellas: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

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. ...

Oscar Toney Jr

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. ...

Gladys Knight and the Pips: "'If I Were Your Woman' is the long awaited follow up to 'Grapevine'" says Gladys Knight

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 February 1971

THE NEW Year is only a month old yet already something of great note has occurred in the chart stakes in the States. Gladys Knight ...

Curtis Mayfield: The Bitter End, NYC

Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 February 1971

Curtis Mayfield's Solo Debut ...

James Brown: The Sugar Shack Club, Boston

Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 February 1971

The Greatest Showman In Soul ...

The Spinners: Motown's Spinners

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 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 ...

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. ...

War: Big Apple, Brighton

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 ...

Jackie Moore: Precious 8 Months Later A Hit

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 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 ...

Buddy Miles: We Got To Live Together (Mercury, stereo, 6338028; £2.15)

Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 20 February 1971

YOU CAN'T be non-committal about that big black boogalooin' buddah of rock... Buddy Miles; you either dig him or you don't. It's as simple as ...

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 ...

War: Papa's gone to War

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 27 February 1971

SOON after meeting Dee Allen (real name Thomas Sylvester Allen), and comparing him quickly with the rest of War, you are likely to guess why ...

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 ...

Sam Cooke: This Is Sam Cooke

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 ...

Ike & Tina Turner: Workin' Together #2

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 March 1971

Part Two: The Ike Turner Story ...

Aretha Franklin, King Curtis & the Kingpins: Fillmore West, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 6 March 1971

Aretha Commands RESPECT ...

James Brown, Bobby Byrd: Bobby Byrd

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 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 ...

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 ...

Joe Simon

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 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', ...

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 ...

Vicki Anderson: Ready To Quit Unless Something Big Comes Along

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 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 ...

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 ...

George Clinton, Funkadelic: Introducing Rozetta Johnson

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 2 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, 2 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 ...

Rozetta Johnson: Funkadelic, What's It All About

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 2 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 ...

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 ...

Donny Hathaway Is A Genius

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 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, 16 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 ...

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 ...

James Brown IS Super Bad

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 ...

Freda Payne: The Heart and Soul of Freda Payne

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

George Harrison, The Ronettes, Phil Spector, Ronnie Spector: Ronnie — the voice that brought Spector back

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 1 May 1971

BACK in 1963, the Ronettes were three highly-coiffeured teenage girls who swept up the charts on a furious wave of Spector sound. Their lead singer, ...

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 ...

Aretha Franklin: Aretha's Thank You To B&S Readers

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 May 1971

ANOTHER VISIT PLANNED FOR THE END OF THE YEAR ...

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 ...

Eddie Kendricks: All By Myself (Tamla)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 May 1971

WHEN WE first reported the fact that Eddie Kendricks had recorded a solo album, we never imagined that the album would in fact be the ...

Funkadelic, Parliament: Parliament/Funkadelic: A Parliafunkadelicment Thang

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 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, ...

Tami Lynn

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 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 ...

The Staple Singers: The Staple Swingers (Stax 2034)

Review by Gary Kenton, Fusion, 14 May 1971

IT'S ALL A bad idea except for the music. It's The Staple Singers — you know them — they couldn't make lousy music if they ...

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 ...

Freda Payne: Freda Speak

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 ...

Buddy Miles: Miles Away

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 Fuzz

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

Steve Alaimo, Eddie Bo, Isaac Hayes, George Kerr, Allen Toussaint: Producer's soul

Overview by Tony Cummings, Record Mirror, 5 June 1971

ISAAC HAYES has really turned the world of soul production upside down. ...

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." ...

Roberta Flack: Community Theater, Berkeley CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 7 June 1971

Roberta Knocks Them Out ...

Arthur Conley debuts on Capricorn

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 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 ...

Chairmen Of The Board

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 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, 11 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, 11 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 ...

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 ...

Tami Lynn Hit Cost £5 A Copy

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 ...

Tami Lynn Is All Woman

Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 19 June 1971

And ROY (Humphrey) CARR is very glad about it! ...

Carol Woods: Get High on Carol

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 25 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 ...

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 ...

Roberta Flack, The Last Poets, Leon Thomas: Roberta Flack, the Last Poets and Leon Thomas: New Breed Comin' Up

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 ...

Harold Battiste, Sam Cooke, Lee Dorsey, Dr. John, Barbara George, Tami Lynn, Prince La La, Sonny & Cher, Allen Toussaint: Behind the Scenes with Harold Battiste

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 Gentle Genius

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 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, ...

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 Fascinations, Curtis Mayfield: It's third time lucky for the Fascinations

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 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 ...

Jean Knight: another Malaco Studios success

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 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. ...

The Beginning Of The End

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 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 ...

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. ...

Bettye LaVette, Esther Phillips: Behind the scenes with Lelan Rogers

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 23 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, ...

Marvin Gaye: What's Going On (Tamla-Motown)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 23 July 1971

An in-depth review of Marvin Gaye's chart-topping American album, What's Going On. ...

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. ...

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 ...

Sam & Dave: Together again: Sam & Dave

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 6 August 1971

AFTER less than a year apart, Sam Moore and Dave Prater – alias Sam & Dave, the Dynamic Duo – are back together. The decision ...

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. ...

King Curtis Dead

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 ...

The Commodores, Yvonne Fair, The Jackson 5: The Jackson 5, Yvonne Fair, the Commodores: Cow Palace, Daly City CA

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 ...

King Curtis: a Tribute

Obituary by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 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 ...

Tami Lynn: Tam Lynn: Love Is Here And Now You're Gone (Cotillion)

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 ...

Pamela Motown — a home-grown hit-maker

Interview by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 28 August 1971

PAMELA SAWYER is one of Motown's most successful songwriters. And as such is unique. She's the only English staff writer the company has. ...

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. ...

Chairmen Of The Board, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Junior Walker & the All Stars: Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Jr. Walker & the All-Stars, the Chairmen of the Board, Martha & the Vandellas: Olympia Stadium, Detroit MI

Live Review by Dave Marsh, Creem, September 1971

The Motown Variations ...

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 ...

Al Green - Superstar

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 10 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, ...

Ike & Tina Turner: What You Hear is What You Get (United Artists)

Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 18 September 1971

Torrid Tina ...

Curtis Mayfield talks to B&S about his new album

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 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 ...

Kool and the Gang: Introducing Kool And The Gang

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 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 ...

Simtec & Wylie: Introducing Simtec & Wylie

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 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 ...

The Five Stairsteps: the Stairsteps revisited

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 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, ...

Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: The Miracle of Smokey Robinson

Profile and Interview by Charlie Gillett, Record Mirror, 25 September 1971

ABOUT twelve years ago, Berry Gordy told Smokey Robinson how to write songs: "Every song should have an idea, tell a story, mean something." Smokey ...

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 ...

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 ...

Carla Thomas: The Memphis Queen

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 October 1971

RIGHTLY, CARLA Thomas is the Memphis Queen. ...

David Ruffin, The Temptations: David Ruffin

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 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 ...

The Jackson 5, Diana Ross: Diana Ross: Diana! (BBC 2)

Film/DVD/TV Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 8 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. ...

Leroy Hutson: The Impressions: Introducing Leroy Hutson

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 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 ...

Troy Keyes: back in the swing with VMP

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 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 ...

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 ...

8th Day

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 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: Do Booker T and M.G.'s still exist?

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 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 ...

Mable John: in love with Hawaii (amongst other things)

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 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 ...

Oscar Toney Jr

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 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 ...

Detroit Emeralds: The Detroit Emeralds

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 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 ...

The Intruders

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 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 ...

The Tams

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 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 ...

Clyde McPhatter: Welcome Home

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 ...

Fugi

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 ...

Jimmy Ruffin

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 ...

Ann Peebles

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 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 ...

The Temptations: The best Temptations of them all?

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 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 ...

The Platters: The real Platters!

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 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 ...

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 ...

Curtis Mayfield: Roots (Curtom)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 November 1971

A PREVIEW OF CURTIS MAYFIELD'S SECOND STUDIO-RECORDED SOLO ALBUM ...

Freddie North: the magnetic North

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 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. ...

The Emotions

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 November 1971

CONSISTENCY IS what has kept two sisters and their cousin, the Emotions, to the fore of the numerous female groups who come and go. Since ...

Valerie Simpson: Underexposed

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 ...

William Bell: The Real William Bell

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 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, ...

Echoes: Soul Civil War!

Comment by Tony Cummings, Record Mirror, 20 November 1971

...the feud that rages between North and South ...

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 ...

Al Green: The Soul Story

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 ...

Etta James: Peaches

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 ...

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 ...

Denise LaSalle: Denise La Salle

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 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 ...

The Main Ingredient: A two-year run of hits

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 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 ...

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 ...

The Bill Black Combo, Al Green, Willie Mitchell, Ann Peebles, Bill Withers, O.V. Wright: Willie Mitchell: Sounds like it's Memphis

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. ...

The Four Tops, The Supremes: The Magnificent Seven Live: The Supremes and the Four Tops live at the Royal Albert Hall, London

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Chocolate Syrup: Introducing Chocolate Syrup

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 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: Introducing Honey and The Bees

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 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 ...

Millie Jackson

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 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 ...

Rufus Thomas: Funky Rufus

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 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 ...

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 ...

Billy Preston: I Wrote A Simple Song (A&M AMLH 63507, £2.29)

Review by David Hancock, Disc, 15 January 1972

SOLO BILLY AT HIS FUNKIEST ...

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 ...

Isaac Hayes: Black Moses (Stax Super 2628 004, £4.50) ****

Review by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 15 January 1972

The real test for Hayes ...

The Last Poets: This Is Madness (Douglas SDGL 69102, £2.49)

Review by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 15 January 1972

THIS ALBUM has had tremendous success in America over the last year and practically become the testament of the Black American. It's not hard to ...

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 ...

Brenda & The Tabulations: Brenda and The Tabulations

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 21 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 ...

People's Choice: Introducing People's Choice

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 21 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 ...

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 ...

The Staple Singers

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 21 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 ...

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. ...

Dionne Warwicke: Dionne

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 ...

Donnie Elbert

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 ...

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 ...

Curtis Mayfield

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 ...

Bloodstone, Curtis Mayfield: Curtis Mayfield, Bloodstone: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 4 February 1972

CONFUSION OVER the starting time of the first Curtis Mayfield performance at a British theatre did not auger well for the evening and the additional ...

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 ...

Unifics, The : The Unifics

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 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 ...

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 ...

Maceo Parker & All The Kings Men

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 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 ...

The Dramatics

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 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 ...

The Last Poets

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 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, 18 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 ...

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 ...

Labelle, Laura Nyro: Laura Nyro, Labelle: Community Theatre, Berkeley CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 28 February 1972

Laura Nyro's Murky Depths ...

Don Gardner

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 ...

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 ...

Betty Wright

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 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 ...

Honey Cone: The Honey Cone...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 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, ...

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 ...

Tommy Hunt: A Black Tom Jones

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 ...

Honey Cone: The Honey Cone: Three Gals with a Past!

Interview by Pete Wingfield, Record Mirror, 11 March 1972

EX-MOTOWN men Holland, Dozier and Holland may have fallen short in their aim of making a second Diana Ross out of Freda Payne, but their ...

Art Ensemble of Chicago, Fontella Bass: Fontella Bass: Holding on this time

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 March 1972

FONTELLA BASS has had just one hit record in this country and that was with 'Rescue Me' back in 1965. However, ever since, every record ...

Chairmen Of The Board: General Johnson & the Chairmen: back to basics

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 March 1972

AS EXCLUSIVELY reported in B&S, the Chairmen Of The Board are back working but as a trio. ...

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 ...

Curtis Mayfield, Dionne Warwick: Dionne Warwicke, Curtis Mayfield: Circle Star, San Carlos CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 22 March 1972

Dionne Warwicke Sings to the Rescue ...

Aretha Franklin: Young, Gifted & Black (Atlantic)

Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 25 March 1972

THIS NEW album once again illustrates Aretha as one of the finest interpretive artists of this era and the diverse material — beautifully arranged by ...

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 ...

Wilson Pickett: Don't Knock My Love (Atlantic)

Review by Tony Stewart, New Musical Express, 25 March 1972

SINCE THE mid '60s when Pickett came up with such goodies as 'Midnight Hour' and 'Mustang Sally' his voice has changed very little. And now ...

James Brown: Talking Loud And Saying Something

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 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 ...

Smokey Robinson: An Open Letter to Smokey Robinson

Letter by Jaan Uhelszki, Creem, April 1972

Dear Smokey: ...

Bill Withers

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 ...

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 ...

Smokey Robinson: The Way You Do The Things You Do

Profile by Charlie Gillett, Creem, April 1972

ABOUT TWELVE YEARS AGO, Berry Gordy told Smokey Robinson how to write songs. "Every song should have an idea, tell a story, mean something." Smokey ...

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 ...

The Jackson 5: Greatest Hits

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 ...

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 ...

Ashford & Simpson, Valerie Simpson: Valerie Simpson: Valerie's Black and Proud

Interview by Phil Symes, Disc, 1 April 1972

THE HERALDING of one more female songwriter-singer may make you want to throw your hands in the air and mutter something along the lines of ...

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 ...

James Brown: Revolution Of The Mind (Polydor Double-Album).

Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 22 April 1972

SOMETIMES IT'S hard to separate James Brown the entertainer from James Brown the social voice of the down-trodden American negro, but in Brown's case he ...

Valerie Simpson: Exposed (Tamla Motown)

Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 22 April 1972

THIS DEBUT album is one of those rare and very beautiful moments when an artiste is completely successful. ...

Donny Hathaway: Donny Hathaway Live! (Atlantic K40369 £2.09) ****

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 April 1972

DONNY HATHAWAY has quietly established himself as one of the most successful of the newer acts. His great strength seems to lie in his knowledge ...

Donny Hathaway: Live! (Atlantic K40369 £2.09)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 April 1972

DONNY HATHAWAY has quietly established himself as one of the most successful of the newer acts. His great strength seems to lie in his knowledge ...

Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway: Donny Hathaway: Aiming High

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 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 ...

The Moments: Moments with the Moments

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 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 ...

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 ...

Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway: Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack: Community Theater, Berkeley CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 6 May 1972

Soulful, Powerful Show ...

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 ...

Michael Jackson: Got To Be There (Tamla Motown STML11205).

Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 May 1972

Are Tamla stretching Michael? ...

Stevie Wonder: Music Of My Mind (Tamla Motown STM A 8002)

Review by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 13 May 1972

Stevie matures — and he did it all himself ...

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 ...

Al Green's Free Music: A Groove Instead of a Hustle

Profile and Interview by Bob Merlis, Words & Music, June 1972

AL GREEN is a rare commodity in today's music marketplace — he's a third (maybe fourth) generation bluesman, although he doesn't admit as much. A ...

Stevie Wonder: Music Of My Mind (Tamla)

Review by Vernon Gibbs, Rock, June 1972

A breakaway from restrictive formulas ...

Bettye Swann

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 2 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 ...

Frederick Knight: Success From Out Of Left Field

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 2 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 ...

Love Unlimited

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 2 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 ...

The Manhattans

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 2 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 ...

Electric Flag, Jimi Hendrix, Wilson Pickett, Santana: Buddy Miles: Big black hunk of funk

Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 3 June 1972

BUDDY MILES ON SANTANA, HENDRIX ...

Arthur Conley, Inez Foxx: From The Soul: Inez Foxx and Arthur Conley

Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 3 June 1972

INEZ FOXX is currently engaged on her 18th British tour — the fifth of sixth since she split from brother Charlie. ...

Marvin Gaye: Washington's Week Of Marvin Gaye

Report by Phil Symes, Disc, 3 June 1972

AFTER A self-imposed exile lasting almost four years, Marvin Gaye, whose What's Going On album was one of the most acclaimed of 1971, returned to ...

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 ...

Byzantium, Buddy Miles, Nazareth: Buddy Miles Express, Byzantium, Nazareth: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 10 June 1972

I MAKE NO apologies for the fact that I was fast asleep during the first number of Buddy Miles' set at the Lyceum's Midnight Court. ...

The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, The Stylistics: Stylistics sock it out sweetly

Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 10 June 1972

THOUGH THE music of Detroit, Memphis and Muscle Shoals receives more publicity over here, the East Coast city of Philadelphia, just over 100 miles south ...

Major Lance

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 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 ...

The Stylistics

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 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 ...

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 ...

Al Green, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Whispers: Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Al Green, the Whispers: Cow Palace, Daly City CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 17 June 1972

Smokey Fans Spoil Farewell ...

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 ...

Honey Cone, The Temptations: The Temptations, The Honey Cone: Circle Star, San Carlos CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 21 June 1972

Temptations Have Never Been Better ...

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 ...

Roberta Flack: First Take (Atlantic)

Review by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 24 June 1972

AFTER BEING around for three years, this suddenly shot to number one in the American charts in the wake of the single cut 'The First ...

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 ...

Viola Wills

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 ...

Al Green: Superstar

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 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. ...

Bobby Womack

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 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 ...

Candi Staton

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 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 ...

James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, Isaac Hayes, Melvin Van Peebles, The Staple Singers: R&B is B(l)ack and Involved

Comment by Bob Merlis, Words & Music, July 1972

WE'VE BEEN experiencing a remarkable phenomenon in recent months; the re-emergence of rhythm and blues as an important force in American popular music. Since it ...

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. ...

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. ...

Bill Withers: Music Makers: Bill Withers

Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 8 July 1972

IN JUST over a year, Bill Withers has gone from manufacturing toilets for airplanes to writing and singing hit songs like 'Ain't No Sunshine' and ...

The Jackson 5: Jackson 5: Black and Talented

Report by Lillian Roxon, New York Sunday News, 9 July 1972

I THOUGHT I was going; to die. There was just me, them — and him. Not a soul over 16 in sight, just me entirely ...

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 ...

Gladys Knight and The Pips

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 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, ...

Laura Lee

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 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 ...

The Jimmy Castor Bunch

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 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 ...

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 ...

Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Smokey Robinson: Motown And Mafia, And Why He's Quitting The Miracles

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 ...

The Impressions

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 ...

Billy Ward and The Dominoes, The Drifters, Clyde McPhatter: Personal Recollection: Clyde McPhatter & the Drifter Years

Memoir by Jerry Wexler, Rolling Stone, 20 July 1972

(Jerry Wexler is Executive Vice-President at Atlantic Records, the most significant of the early independent labels that recorded R&B. He and Ahmet Ertegun produced the ...

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 ...

The Impressions: Making an Impression

Interview by Phil Symes, Disc, 22 July 1972

THE IMPRESSIONS are now into the fourteenth year. And everything is fine. Like a small number of other acts around they've become an institution. Over ...

Esther Phillips, Part Two

Profile by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 28 July 1972

IN LATE 1965, came the American release of her second Atlantic album, simply called Esther, with arrangements by veterans Oliver Nelson and Ray Ellis as ...

Little Royal: Introducing Little Royal

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 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 ...

Love Unlimited: Love Unlimited (Uni UNLS 24 £2.00)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 July 1972

THREE YOUNG Californian ladies who have enjoyed an international hit first time out with 'Walkin' In The Rain', here in its entirety of four minutes ...

Billy Preston: Man at the Top

Interview by Andrew Tyler, Disc, 29 July 1972

THE FORMIDABLE hand of fate has moved in to give Billy Preston his first American No. 1 hit — something he's clamoured for since turning ...

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 ...

Swamp Dogg: "Maybe I'm doomed to obscurity." The Jerry William, Jr. Story — the R&B Genius Nobody Knows

Profile and Interview by Bob Merlis, Words & Music, August 1972

"I'M STILL paying dues I don't have to pay," says producer-arranger-musician-singer-promotion man Jerry Williams, Jr. on the eve of his thirtieth birthday. "I should have ...

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 ...

Bill Withers, Superstar

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' ...

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 25 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 ...

The Ohio Players

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 ...

Rev. James Cleveland, Aretha Franklin: Aretha Franklin: Amazing Grace (Atlantic SD 2-906 0996, £3.69)

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 ...

Bobby "Blue" 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 ...

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 ...

Thelma Houston: Happy Houston

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 ...

Mel & Tim: Starting All Over Again

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 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 ...

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? ...

The Bar-Kays, Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Rufus Thomas: Wattstax 72: Seven Hours of Soul

Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 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 ...

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 ...

The Impressions, The Staple Singers, Stephen Stills, Tom Rush: Stephen Stills, The Impressions, The Staple Singers, Tom Rush albums

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) ...

Barbara Lynn

Profile by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 22 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 ...

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 ...

The Staple Singers, Tower Of Power, Bobby Womack: Cow Palace, Daly City CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 26 September 1972

Strenuous Evening At the Cow Palace ...

Al Green: Al Never Forgets

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 ...

Allen Toussaint: Toussaint: Life, Love And Faith

Review by Pete Wingfield, Let It Rock, October 1972

TO PUT THIS album in its proper perspective, I’d need to rhapsodize at length over New Orleans R&B and the neglected talents of Allen Toussaint, ...

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 ...

Mark IV: Protegees of Roy C

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 6 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 Drifters

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 6 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 ...

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 ...

Curtis Mayfield: Superfly (Buddah Super 2318.065 £2.25) *****

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 20 October 1972

CURTIS, THE Gentle Genius, joins the ranks of Black music-men who have supplied their musical talents towards film scores. However, Curtis surpasses all of them, ...

The Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 20 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 ...

Thom Bell, The Delfonics: The Delfonics

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 20 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 ...

The Persuaders

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 20 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'. ...

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 ...

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, O'Jays: The O'Jays: Back Stabbers (Philadelphia International); Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes: I Miss You (Philadelphia International)

Review by Danny Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 26 October 1972

KENNETH GAMBLE and Leon Huff are the current grandmasters of R&B production, having delivered not only dozens of hit singles during the last several years ...

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 ...

David Bowie, Flo & Eddie, Sylvester: David Bowie & the Spiders from Mars, Phlorescent Leech and Eddie, Sylvester: Winterland, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 28 October 1972

Bowie Band Fails To Arouse Crowd ...

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 ...

Al Green

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? ...

Earth, Wind & Fire, Funkadelic, Kool and the Gang, Malo, Mandrill, Osibisa, War: The Black-Latin-Jazz-Rock-Vocal Bands

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 ...

The Staple Singers: Pop Staples Looks Back

Retrospective and Interview by Bob Merlis, Words & Music, November 1972

THE STAPLE Singers will occupy a unique spot in American musical history, when that work is finally written. Their combination of those antithetical forms of ...

Junior Walker & the All Stars: Junior Walker: Still as popular as ever

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 ...

Ray Charles

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 ...

Elvis Presley, the Sweet Inspirations: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 13 November 1972

Elvis' Groove May Be Wearing Into a Rut ...

Archie Bell and the Drells: Archie Bell & The Drells: Here They Go Again

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 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 ...

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 ...

Ike & Tina Turner: The Ike and Tina Turner Revue, Fanny: Empire Pool, Wembley, London

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 17 November 1972

SEXY OR SEXLESS? ...

The Independents, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes: The Independents, Harold Melvin: Whither soul?

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 November 1972

THE INDEPENDENTS and Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes are two of a handful of talented groups who have managed to break through in this ...

O'Jays: The O'Jays: Back Stabbers (CBS 65257 £2.29)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 November 1972

THE O'JAYS' success with 'Back Slabbers' has been one of the high spots for Soul of 1972. Hot on the heels of the hit single ...

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 ...

Curtis Mayfield: Curtis the Crusader

Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 18 November 1972

FIGHTING A DRUG MENACE IN AMERICAN GHETTOES ...

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 ...

Ray Charles: Rockin' Chair

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 — ...

Ray Charles, B.B. King: B.B. King, Ray Charles: Circle Star, San Carlos CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 1 December 1972

Let's Call Him King of the B-B-Blues ...

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 ...

The Jackson 5, The Sisters Love, Junior Walker & the All Stars: The Jackson 5, Junior Walker, The Sisters Love: Empire Pool, Wembley

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 ...

Bettye Lavette: First Album Due After Ten Years…

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 December 1972

BELIEVE IT or not, Bettye 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, 15 December 1972

IT'S MORE than three years since Bob & Earl were last here but much has happened for the duo in that time. ...

Esther Phillips

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, ...

Syreeta, Stevie Wonder: Syreeta... Lady Wonder

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 January 1973

I HONESTLY wonder how many people have listened to Syreeta's first Mowest album, entitled simply Syreeta, and compared it to the last record that this ...

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 ...

Marvin Gaye: Trouble Man (Tamla Motown)

Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 13 January 1973

THE GAYE JAMES BOND ...

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. ...

Billy Paul

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 ...

Archie Bell and the Drells: Archie Bell & the Drells: Here I Go Again (Atlantic)

Review by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 20 January 1973

BELL HAS been not a little embarrassed by the rather belated success here of 'Here I Go Again'. Not that he isn't extremely pleased with ...

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', ...

Stevie Wonder: Talking Book (Motown)

Review by John Swenson, The Village Voice, 25 January 1973

STEVIE WONDER possesses a unique vision that has enabled him to encompass a wide range of influences without being controlled by any of them. Coming ...

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 ...

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 ...

The Jackson 5: How NOT to interview the Jackson 5!

Report and Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 3 February 1973

NOW, FOR the express purpose of this article, let's assume you've already interviewed the J5 in a serious press call. Like the other journalists, you ...

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 ...

Rance Allen, The Bar-Kays, Isaac Hayes, Luther Ingram, Albert King, The Staple Singers, Little Johnny Taylor, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas: Wattstax (dir. Mel Stuart, Stax)

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, ...

O'Jays are Okay

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'; ...

Stevie Wonder: Man Of Today And Tomorrow

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 February 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 ...

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' ...

Daryl Hall & John 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 ...

The Temptations: The Tempts! On a nine-year winning streak

Interview by Robin Katz, Sounds, 17 February 1973

ROBIN KATZ talks to OTIS WILLIAMS ...

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 ...

O'Jays: The O'Jays

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 ...

Cornell Dupree, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, King Curtis: Cornell Dupree: "Mean N' Greasy"

Interview by uncredited writer, Beat Instrumental, March 1973

"IT'S HIGH time that session musicians were given greater recognition. After all, it's often their playing which makes a hit record, rather than the singing ...

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... ...

Valerie Simpson

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 ...

Eddie Kendricks: Holding On

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 2 March 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 ...

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 ...

Billy Paul

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 ...

Cymande Music

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 March 1973

FACTUALLY, CYMANDE is one of the hottest acts in the States right now with a Top 10 single in 'The Message' and an album tucked ...

Billy Paul: Brown Baby

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 ...

Al Green: Poll '72's Top Male Vocalist

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 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, 30 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. ...

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 ...

Arthur Conley, The Supremes: The Supremes, Arthur Conley: Kilburn State, London

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 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, ...

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 ...

Bobby Womack: Gettin' To It

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 ...

Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye: Marvin Gaye: Trouble Man (Motown); Diana Ross (And Others): Lady Sings the Blues (Motown)

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 ...

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, ...

Grover Washington Jr.

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 April 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, 13 April 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 ...

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 ...

Dobie Gray: Singles: Dobie Gray — 'Drift Away' (Mentor Williams), (Decca 33057 MCA)

Interview by Judith Sims, Rolling Stone, 26 April 1973

DOBIE GRAY, a member of 'The In Crowd' eight years ago, has returned to the airwaves with 'Drift Away', on a new label, MCA, with ...

Barry White: A Potential Superstar

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 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 ...

The Artistics

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

Gladys Knight and the Pips: 'Neither One of Us': Gladys Knight and the Pips

Interview by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 10 May 1973

GLADYS KNIGHT and the Pips have left Motown the same way Ted Williams left the Red Sox, with a home run. 'Neither One of Us' ...

Barbara Jean English

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 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, 11 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 ...

Bunny Sigler: On To A Winning Streak

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 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 ...

The Lost Generation: Lost Generation

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 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 ...

The Stylistics: on poll success... Thom Bell... the Supper Club Scene

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 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 ...

The Miracles, Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: No stop for Old Smokey, all ready to go

Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 12 May 1973

LOS ANGELES: If we hadn't been formally introduced by a super cool hip slingin' secretary I very much doubt that I'd have recognised Smokey Robinson. ...

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 ...

Dobie Gray

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 25 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, 25 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 ...

Gladys Knight And The Pips: a new chapter

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 25 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, 25 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 ...

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 ...

The Jackson 5: Papa Joe's Family Music Plan...

Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 2 June 1973

HOW MUCH does your father influence you? How would you feel if he insisted that you spend at least four hours everyday after school learning ...

Bloodstone: Natural High

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 ...

Al Green, Margie Joseph, Oscar Toney jr.: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 8 June 1973

Al Green is a Killer! ...

Esther Phillips: Ronnie Scott's Club, London

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 8 June 1973

NO MATTER which aspect of the music appeals to you everyone has one or two artists who they hold up with great reverence against the ...

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, Diana Ross: The J Five Slot: Diana Ross opens the door...

Retrospective and Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 9 June 1973

WHEN LAST I left you the J5 had been formed (in 1965; the other date was my mistake) and the group had played an impressive ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Fresh (Epic Records KE 32134, $5.98)

Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 13 June 1973

Sly's New Album ...

The Stylistics, The Temptations: The Temptations, the Stylistics: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 16 June 1973

Night Was Right, Thrill Wasn't There ...

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" ...

Sylvia Robinson: Singles: 'Pillow Talk', Sylvia (Sylvia Robinson & Michael Burton) Vibration 521 (All Platinum)

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 ...

The Jackson 5: The J Five Slot: Kimonos and a tea ceremony as the Jacksons tour Japan

Report by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 23 June 1973

SOME GROUPS cause pandemonium the moment they come on stage, but it seems that the J5 are one of pop music's few groups who cause ...

The Temptations: Masterpiece (Tamla-Motown).

Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 23 June 1973

AND SO it came to pass, dat one day de Nazz summoned Norman Whitfield — de man dat dotted de most funkiest of crotchets — ...

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 ...

Dr. John: 'Right Place, Wrong Time' (Atco 6914)

Interview by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 5 July 1973

"I HAD THAT line in my songbook since about 1959, but I could never get anything together for it," Mac Rebennack remembered in his Los ...

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 ...

Average White Band: Show Your Hand (MCA)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 7 July 1973

Well-above Average ...

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. ...

Dr. John, The Meters, Allen Toussaint: Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, the Meters: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 7 July 1973

VOODOO CHILE ...

Dr. John's Casebook

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. ...

Sly & The Family Stone, Leslie West's Wild West Show: Louis Armstrong Memorial Stadium, Flushing Meadows, Queens NY

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 ...

Bobby Womack Says He Could Be a Superstar

Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Rolling Stone, 19 July 1973

NEW YORK — Bobby Womack was in the midst of a highly successful tour with Santana. His single, 'Harry Hippie', had just been certified gold, ...

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 ...

Roberta Flack, Freddie Hubbard, War, Jimmy Witherspoon: War, Roberta Flack, Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Witherspoon: Shea Stadium, New York NY

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 ...

Diana Ross: Touch Me In The Morning (Motown — import)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 28 July 1973

Diana and that touch of drama ...

Joe Simon: Country Joe

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. Pretty smart, eh? A nice-looking geezer, beautiful soft rubbery face with a sleepy, foxy smile that ...

Smokey Robinson: Smokey (Tamla import)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 28 July 1973

Smokey: a solo set to cherish ...

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: Impressions of Sly Stewart

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 August 1973

WHEN ONE interviews Sly Stewart, it's not so much an interview — it's more a case of throwing a question into a computer and coming ...

Sly & The Family Stone: White City, London

Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 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 ...

Stevie Wonder: Innervisions

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 ...

Curtis Mayfield: Back To The World (Buddah Super 2318.085 £2.15)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 August 1973

THE INSTANTLY recognisable voice and music of Curtis Mayfield has successfully carried him once more to the top of the American charts with this somewhat ...

Manu Dibango: The Originator Of 'Soul Makossa'

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 August 1973

THERE IS absolutely a no contest when it comes to the most recorded song of the year in soul circles. It is simply 'Soul Makossa' ...

Dr. John, The Meters, Aaron Neville: The Mighty Meters

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 August 1973

WITH VIRTUALLY no publicity, the mighty Meters recently came into London as part of the Dr. John entourage. We were fortunate enough to catch up ...

The Staple Singers: Be What You Are

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 August 1973

AN IN-DEPTH REVIEW OF THEIR NEW ALBUM BE WHAT YOU ARE ...

Willie Hutch: This Brother's Worked It Out

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 August 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 ...

Superfly T.N.T. Directed by Ron O'Neal (Paramount); Shaft In Africa Directed by John Guillermin (MGM)

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. ...

Afrique, Don Covay, The Independents: Afrique: Soul Makossa; The Independents: The First Time We Met; Don Covay: Super Dude 1

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 ...

Dobie Gray: Drift Away

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

War: Declaring War

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... ...

Dobie Gray: Drift Away (MCA)

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 ...

Donny Hathaway: Reassessing His Musical Life

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 14 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 ...

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 ...

Smokey Robinson: Holy Smokey

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 ...

Louis Jordan, The Pointer Sisters: The Pointer Sisters, Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five: Roseland Ballroom, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 20 September 1973

THE FALL is upon us at last, and the theme for the season, the dreary, greasy '50s having run their course, is the revival of ...

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 ...

Stevie Wonder: Innervisions

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: Talking With Diana Ross

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 28 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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

Roberta Flack, The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, The Isley Brothers, Etta James, Louis Jordan, The Pointer Sisters, War: The Pointers: Sign of a Wasted Rock Culture

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. I mean, who am I, P.W., a mere mortal of 25, irrevocably bound to one ...

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 ...

Bert Berns, Aretha Franklin, Erma Franklin, Jerry Ragovoy: Erma Franklin: If It Wasn't For Bad Luck...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 12 October 1973

SOME GUYS (so the latest Persuaders' single on Atlantic would have you believe) have all the luck and that goes for the gals too. In ...

James Carr: The Great Unknowns No. 9: James Carr, the Memphis Master

Retrospective by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 13 October 1973

JAMES CARR has never had a hit record in this country and has now disappeared from the scene. Yet at one time he was seriously ...

Bill Withers One of Today's Most Talented Singer-Songwriters

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 26 October 1973

IN CASE you are wondering — as was I — just what has been happening to Bill Withers since he was in Britain over a ...

Marvin Gaye: Let's Get It On (Tamla Motown STMA 8013 £2.38)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 26 October 1973

IN A MINIMUM of words, this is THE album of the year! After the gem album, What's Going On, everyone has been wondering if marvellous ...

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 ...

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 ...

Bill Withers: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 November 1973

POSSIBLY BECAUSE most major soul people only make one trip over here every year or every other year, it's true to say that most of ...

Thom Bell, The Delfonics, Ronnie Dyson, Johnny Mathis, New York City, The Spinners, The Stylistics: Thom Bell: Creator of Classical Soul

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 November 1973

IF YOU study Thom Bell's creative work, there is an undeniable classical influence in everything he does. The easy explanation to this is that the ...

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 ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Blue Bland: Arrival!

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 23 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 ...

The Isley Brothers: The Isleys: first time winners again!

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 23 November 1973

THE SUCCESS of 'That Lady' keeps up quite a remarkable record for the stalwart three brothers, the Isleys. Over the years, the brothers have been ...

Eddie Kendricks: Success is a Temptation

Profile and Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 24 November 1973

IT TAKES a lot of courage to leave a successful group and go solo. Sitting on top of the American charts with the year's hottest ...

Don Covay: Super Dude!

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 ...

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

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1973

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

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

Profile by uncredited writer, Black Music, December 1973

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

The Jackson Sisters: New Blood: The Jackson Sisters

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

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

Stevie Wonder: Innervisions (Tamla)

Review by Dave Marsh, Creem, December 1973

I WASN'T very impressed when Stevie played the songs from Innervisions live at the Newport Jazz Festival in July. When, later that month, his publicists blindfolded members ...

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 ...

The Isley Brothers

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

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

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

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1973

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

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

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1973

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

The Spinners: From Ghetto to Gold

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1973

Tony Cummings talks to the DETROIT SPINNERS ...

War: Deliver the Word (United Artists)

Review by Wayne Robins, Creem, December 1973

WAR IS A people's band, the black urban counterpart of Grand Funk's white midwest. Like Funk, or the Grateful Dead, they have their fingers on ...

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 ...

Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross: Singles: 'You're a Special Part of Me', Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye (Berry Gordy), G. Wright, H. Johnson, A. Porter

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 ...

Mel Carter, Sam Cooke, The Pilgrim Travelers, Billy Preston, Lou Rawls, The Sims Twins, The Soul Stirrers, Johnnie Taylor, The Valentinos, Clara Ward, Bobby Womack: Behind The Scenes With J.W. Alexander

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 December 1973

J.W. is the man who took Sam Cooke from his gospel background and helped mould him into the very first Soul superstar. He performed a ...

Dionne Warwicke: Just Being Herself

Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 7 December 1973

THAT CERTAIN entertainers decline or prefer not to give interviews is an incomprehensible fact that frequently puzzles both journalists and the public. ...

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes: Black & Blue (Philadelphia International 65859 £2.17) ****

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 December 1973

HAROLD MELVIN & the Blue Notes are the masters of the long tracks — as they proved on their hugely successful first album, from whence ...

O'Jays: The O'Jays: Ship Ahoy (Philadelphia International PIR 65860 £2.17)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 December 1973

THE O'JAYS have emerged as the most serious competition that the Temptations have had during their four year reign as undisputed top soul group. And ...

Average White Band: Academy of Music, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 13 December 1973

ONE OF the pleasantest surprises of the musical year awaited those B. B. King and ZZ Top fans who arrived at the Academy of Music ...

Billy Preston: Singles: 'Space Race' — Billy Preston

Interview by Judith Sims, Rolling Stone, 20 December 1973

AFTER BILLY Preston's first Number One single last June (and a gold record, too) of 'Will It Go Round in Circles', it was inevitable that ...

Aretha Franklin: Aretha: Supersoulstar

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 21 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, 21 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 ...

The Intruders, O'Jays, Billy Paul: The O'Jays, Billy Paul, The Intruders – Philadelphia International Tour: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 21 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. ...

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 ...

Linda Lewis: Fathoming Out Linda Lewis

Interview by uncredited writer, Beat Instrumental, 1974

THE FACT that a British girl got high up in the charts with her own self-penned song a few months ago seemed to pass unnoticed ...

Billy Paul: Philly Billy

Profile by Tony Cummings, Black Music, January 1974

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

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

Retrospective by Tony Cummings, Black Music, January 1974

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

O'Jays are Okay

Profile by Tony Cummings, Black Music, January 1974

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

Otis Redding

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 ...

Graham Central Station, Sly & the Family Stone: Larry Graham Has Left the Shadow of the Family Behind

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 ...

Al Green, Willie Mitchell, Ann Peebles: Willie Mitchell: Mr. Memphis

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 January 1974

WHILST THE Philadelphia Sound has undoubtedly been the top sound of 1973, the nearest rival to it has been the Memphis Sound as carried out ...

The Intruders, O'Jays, Billy Paul: O'Jays, Billy Paul, The Intruders: Philadelphia International Soul Show, Hammersmith Odeon, London

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 ...

Little Milton

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 ...

The J.B.'s, Kool and the Gang: The J.B.'s: Doing It To Death (People); Kool & The Gang: Wild And Peaceful (D-lite)

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 ...

Al Green: The Al Green Story

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

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

Dobie Gray: The Country Soul of Dobie Gray

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1974

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

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

Live Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1974

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

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 ...

Gladys Knight: Imagination

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 ...

The Three Degrees: The Three Degrees (Philadelphia Int PIR 65858)

Review by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 9 February 1974

Degrees of heat ...

Stevie Wonder: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 12 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 ...

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

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 12 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 ...

Dr. John, Gary Farr: Bottom Line, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 21 February 1974

DR. JOHN AND his Revue and Gary Farr gave the Bottom Line, Allan Pepper and Stanley Sandowsky's new 450-seat cabaret-theatre, a rousing inaugural send-off last ...

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' ...

The Stylistics: Rockin' Roll Stylistics

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 26 February 1974

IT WAS indeed a pleasure to greet Stylistic Airrion Love with the news that the groups current single, 'Rockin' Roll Baby', had just attained No. ...

The Supremes

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 26 February 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 ...

Ann Peebles: "You're My Idol": Ann Peebles Is Next

Profile and Interview by Judith Sims, Rolling Stone, 28 February 1974

MEMPHIS — The track may be pure chooglin' Memphis: There's that Willie Mitchell/Al Green horn arrangement easing in midway, and there's that easy glide in ...

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 ...

Stevie Wonder: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, March 1974

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

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

Live Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, March 1974

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

The Staple Singers: The Staples Story

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

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

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 ...

Love Unlimited, Barry White: Barry White, Love Unlimited: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 12 March 1974

Triumph at the Rainbow ...

Gloria Jones: Sharing Her Soul

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 12 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, 12 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 ...

The Real Thing: Gulliver's, London

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 12 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, ...

Aretha Franklin: Apollo Theater, New York NY

Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, New Musical Express, 23 March 1974

Aretha: a Queen with no dignity? ...

Gladys Knight: Anthology

Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 23 March 1974

Seven years in the shadow of Diana Ross ...

New York City: Birmingham

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 ...

MFSB: A Family Affair

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 26 March 1974

SO, THE time has arrived when we can have anonymous soul artists topping the charts. Already this year, the Love Unlimited Orchestra has topped both ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Bland: Blue Eyed Soul

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 ...

Art Neville: Meter Man

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 – ...

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 ...

War: War Games

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

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

Stevie Wonder: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 6 April 1974

Night of Wonder ...

Doris Troy: Stretchin' Out and Gettin' Ahead

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 9 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 ...

Manu Dibango: The Soul Makossa Man

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 April 1974

HIS FRIENDS call him Dibbs but to the rest of the world his name is Manu Dibango, and he is the creator of one of ...

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 ...

Lamont Dozier: Out Here on My Own (ABCX-804)

Review by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 11 April 1974

FAMOUS WRITER-producer Lamont Dozier neither wrote nor produced this album, so it represents a break from his Motown and Invictus work. There isn't much novelty ...

Sly & the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder: Stevie Wonder: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by John Swenson, The Village Voice, 11 April 1974

In synch with the shaman ...

Ashford & Simpson, Graham Central Station, The Spinners: Graham Central Station, the Detroit Spinners, Ashford & Simpson: Academy of Music, New York NY

Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, New Musical Express, 13 April 1974

Central Station soul special ...

The Pointer Sisters: That's A Plenty (Blue Thumb)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 April 1974

Pointers victory! ...

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 ...

Herbie Hancock, Return to Forever: Carnegie Hall, New York NY

Live Review by John Swenson, The Village Voice, 25 April 1974

Casting pearls before whines ...

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

Interview by Vicki Wickham, Black Music, May 1974

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

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

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, May 1974

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

The Stylistics Story

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, May 1974

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

MFSB: set for a smash despite the slagging?

Profile by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 4 May 1974

A NUMBER one album and single in the American pop charts, with strong chances of rivalling the success of 'Love's Theme' in the UK, make ...

Ann Peebles: Hangin' On To Success

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 7 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 ...

Eddie Kendricks, The Temptations: Eddie Kendricks: The Son of Sagittarius

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 May 1974

THE BRIGHTEST star on the horizon at the end of 1973 and beginning of 1974 was undoubtedly Eddie Kendricks, one-time lead vocalist with the world's ...

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Edwin Starr, Junior Walker & the All Stars, War: Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes: Hammersmith Odeon; War: Rainbow Theatre; Jr Walker, Edwin Starr: Rainbow Theatre, all London

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 7 May 1974

The thrill is gone ...

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 ...

Ray Charles: The Empire Room at the Waldorf Astoria, New York NY

Live Review by John Swenson, The Village Voice, 9 May 1974

Falling on swank ears ...

Tower of Power: Back To Oakland (Warner Bros. BS 2749)

Review by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 9 May 1974

THE FUNK burner bubbles constantly in the background, but it doesn't compensate for the lack of good material. Even the token ballad, 'Time Will Tell,' ...

Captain Beefheart, Fats Domino, Harry Nilsson, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Ringo Starr, Barbra Streisand, Tiny Tim, Andy Williams: Richard Perry: It's not difficult to record both Captain Beefheart and Andy Williams

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 18 May 1974

Producer Richard Perry talks to Robert Partridge ...

Millie Jackson: Sayin' What Comes Naturally

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 21 May 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 ...

Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, The Stylistics: The Stylistics, Jimmy James & the Vagabonds: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 21 May 1974

AS PART of their first major tour of the UK. Avco's Stylistics performed at the Odeon, Hammersmith on Saturday May 4th to a pretty full ...

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. ...

Daryl Hall & John Oates: Abandoned Luncheonette (Atlantic SD 7269)

Review by John Swenson, Crawdaddy!, June 1974

ATLANTIC RECORDS has the habit of taking original material and placing it in the context of an incredible array of session musicians. When they're working ...

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, The Headhunters: 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 ...

Kool and the Gang: Kool & the Gang: Wild And Peaceful (Polydor 2310.299)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 June 1974

THE MASTERS of funk, Kool and the Gang, offer what has to be one of the funkiest albums of all time. Kool fans will already ...

The Delfonics: Very much alive and kicking

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 June 1974

WITH ALL of the current interest in the Philly Sound, now is a very apt moment to consider the group that started it all, the ...

Roy Ayers

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 ...

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. ...

Stevie Wonder

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 ...

Earth Wind and Fire, War: War: War Live (United Artists UALA193-J2); Earth Wind & Fire: Open Our Eyes (Columbia KC 32712)

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 ...

Etta James

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 2 July 1974

THE WELCOME revival in the musical fate of Etta James is highlighted by the release of a fine new album, produced by Gabriel Mekler and ...

War: A Street Rod on the Boulevard of Soul

Report and Interview by Barbara Charone, Rolling Stone, 4 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 ...

Donald Byrd, Billy Eckstine, Gladys Knight, Kool and the Gang, O'Jays: Gladys Knight & the Pips, the O'Jays, Kool & the Gang, Billy Eckstine, Donald Byrd: Nassau Coliseum, Long Island NY

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 ...

The Supremes: Anthology

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, Gwen McCrae: George & Gwen McCrae: Mr. & Mrs. Soul!

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 July 1974

IN EUROPE, we are quite used to discos being a major force behind the establishing of R&B hits but it's a medium that hasn't been ...

Oscar Brown Jr.: Man With A Message

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 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 ...

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 ...

Arthur Alexander: Remembering

Profile by Cliff White, Black Music, August 1974

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

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 ...

MFSB, TCB

Profile by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1974

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

The 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. ...

Ann Peebles: Soul Train Club, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 2 August 1974

Ann Peebles — a major soul talent in S.F. debut ...

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 ...

Johnny Bristol

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 ...

Rufus & Chaka Khan: Tellin' Something Good

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 13 August 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 ...

Viola Wills: Struggling For The Truth

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 27 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Syreeta: Spinnin' To The Top

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 10 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 ...

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 ...

Lorraine Ellison, Tracy Nelson: Lorraine Ellison: Lorraine Ellison (Warner Bros.); Tracy Nelson: Tracy Nelson (Atlantic)

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 ...

Doris Duke: The Other Woman

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 24 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 ...

Rare Earth

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 September 1974

A look at a rather special group — the first white act to headline an Apollo show in many a long year... and they won ...

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. ...

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 ...

The Drifters

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 ...

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Junior Walker & the All Stars: Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: Anthology/Junior Walker & The All Stars: Anthology

Review by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 5 October 1974

MARTHA AND The Vandellas never really made the grade. ...

Lorraine Ellison: Heart And Soul

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 8 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 ...

Johnny Bristol, Jerry Butler, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Tammi Terrell, Junior Walker & the All Stars: Rappin' With Johnny Bristol

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 October 1974

THOUGH JOHNNY Bristol has been involved with recording success for years now, his past track record stems from his career as a record producer. But ...

Minnie Riperton: S'Wonderlove

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 ...

Johnnie Taylor

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 ...

Cockney Rebel, Ike & Tina Turner: Ike and Tina Turner: Hammersmith Odeon, London; Cockney Rebel: Rainbow Theatre, London

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 ...

Ann Peebles: Sweet and Soulful

Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 22 October 1974

David Nathan reports on Ann Peebles' London gigs and talks shop with the delectable lady. ...

Mose Allison, Syreeta: Bottom Line, New York NY

Live Review by Ian Dove, Rolling Stone, 24 October 1974

SYREETA WRIGHT'S exhortations were built around Stevie Wonder, whose name was mentioned often and with reverence throughout the performance. Syreeta left no doubt that she ...

Stevie Wonder, The Commodores: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale NY

Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, Zoo World, 24 October 1974

'S Wonderful! ...

Minnie Riperton, Stevie Wonder: Minnie Riperton: From a whisper to a scream

Profile by Giovanni Dadomo, Record Mirror, 26 October 1974

WHEN A RECORD company brings the release date of an album forward by almost three months it's a sure sign that the artist involved is ...

The Commodores: Machine Gun

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 ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Bland: Dreamer

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. ...

Herbie Hancock Sells In

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. ...

Sly & the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder: Stevie Wonder: Fulfillingness' First Finale (Tamla T6 332S1); Sly & the Family Stone: Small Talk (Epic PE 32930)

Review by John Swenson, Crawdaddy!, November 1974

Stevie & Sly: Invention and Pretension ...

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

Special Feature by Tony Cummings, Black Music, November 1974

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

B.T. Express: Introducing The B.T. Express

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 November 1974

CURRENTLY SCORING with their very first nationwide release is the Brooklyn based band, the B.T. Express. The group's first Scepter release, 'Do It ('Til You're ...

Average White Band Member ODs

Report by Judith Sims, Rolling Stone, 7 November 1974

LOS ANGELES — Robbie McIntosh, 24, drummer with the Average White Band, died in his North Hollywood hotel room September 23rd of an overdose of ...

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. ...

Blue Magic, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and the Pips: Aretha Franklin, Blue Magic: Radio City Music Hall; Gladys Knight & the Pips: Empire Room, Waldorf Astoria, New York NY

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 19 November 1974

The first ladies of Soul: Aretha and Gladys ...

Graham Central Station, Sly & the Family Stone: Introducing Graham Central Station

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 November 1974

Leader Larry Graham, bass player with Sly's original Family Stone, outlines the formation and progress of this happening group. ...

The Dells, The Main Ingredient: The Dells, Main Ingredient: The Latin Casino, Cherry Hill, New Jersey

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 19 November 1974

THE LATIN Casino in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, is a fairly plush affair — in some ways like a larger version of London's Talk Of ...

Al Green: Explores Your Mind

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 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 ...

George Benson: Keystone Korner, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Tom Vickers, Midnight Sun, 28 November 1974

Some things of funk and feet ...

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. ...

Ann Peebles: Rain and Shine

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974

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

Denise LaSalle: Doin' it Right

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974

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

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

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974

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

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

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974

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

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

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974

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

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

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974

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

Syreeta: In Her Own Wright

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974

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

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. ...

Latimore: Time to Straighten It Out

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 December 1974

WHENEVER YOU look at the higher echelons of the American singles chart, you'll always find at least one good, straight and clean Blues record. Right ...

Barry White: The Bear is Back

Profile and Interview by David Hancock, Record Mirror, 7 December 1974

THE BEAR is elusive... that's what they're saying of ex-roadie Barry White who in two years has carved a name for himself as the world's ...

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 ...

Graham Central Station, 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 ...

Barry White

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 ...

George McCrae: Soul Lib

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 Giovanni Dadomo, Record Mirror, 14 December 1974

YOU KNOW the feeling — worn out by too much funk, and street soul don't make it for you anymore. Well don't despair, Krudde music ...

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 ...

The Delfonics, The Four Tops, The Tymes: Four Tops, Delfonics, Tymes: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 December 1974

THIS WAS probably the soul event of a fairly inconspicuous year for our music as far as concerts in the capital are concerned Without thinking ...

The Meters: Rejuvenation (Reprise K54027)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 December 1974

NEW ORLEANS' most celebrated musicians progress here to the point where they seem to be on the verge of really breaking through. The album is ...

Average White Band: White Band with Soul

Interview by Judith Sims, Rolling Stone, 19 December 1974

LOS ANGELES — Their name has a nice sense of irony and confidence, because the Average White Band plays music that is anything but white; ...

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 ...

Billy Paul: Got My Head On Straight (Philadelphia International KZ 33157)

Review by Tom Nolan, Phonograph Record, 1975

TYPICALLY SMOOTH and lavish Gamble-Huff production highlights this very commercial collection by the 'Me and Mrs. Jones' man. ...

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 ...

Willie Hutch, Van McCoy, Melba Moore, Wayne Shorter, War: Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony: Hustling Up The Charts

Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Essence, 1975

EVEN THOUGH he has been writing, arranging and producing hit records since 1961, Van McCoy is still technically a newcomer. He is of that breed ...

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

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

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

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'. ...

New Soul Compilation Albums

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 ...

Gladys Knight: I Feel a Song

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 ...

Syreeta the Wonder Woman

Interview by Judith Sims, Rolling Stone, 2 January 1975

LOS ANGELES — Her name means "sweet singer" in India; in Swahili it means "one of uniqueness, or something like that," but Syreeta Wright claims ...

Gladys Knight: I Feel a Song

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 ...

Blaxtravaganza: Soul Train

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 ...

Graham Central Station, 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 ...

Tower Of Power

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 ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, B.B. King: B.B. King, Bobby Bland: Winterland, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Tom Vickers, Midnight Sun, 16 January 1975

North Beach walk ...

Labelle: Tomorrow's Brightest Stars ★ ★ ★ ★

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 21 January 1975

ONCE UPON a time, just about fourteen years ago, four foxy young ladies met up and decided to embark on the path that proverbially leads ...

Shirley Brown: Woman to Woman (and men too!)

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 21 January 1975

ONE OF 1974's really great soul records was undoubtedly Shirley Brown's 'Woman To Woman', the million selling single that launched Stax' new Truth label and ...

Graham Central Station: "By Graham Central station I got up and got funky"

Interview by Giovanni Dadomo, Record Mirror, 25 January 1975

YOU HAVE to admit it, Graham Central Station are just about the meanest, toughest, tightest funk outfit in the whole wide world. ...

Little Beaver: Beaver's Blues

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 ...

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

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1975

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

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

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1975

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

Jay Dee: Come On In Love

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 ...

Ashford & Simpson: Ashford and Simpson: Writin' On

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 4 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 ...

Graham Central Station, Larry Graham: Graham Central Station: Platform Two

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 February 1975

THE WARNER Brothers Music Show concert package that is currently touring Europe marks the arrival of the six-piece Californian band, Graham Central Station's at platform ...

Tower of Power: Power From The Tower

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 February 1975

THAT OLD adage that you have to be Black to be a soul band has been firmly buried over the past couple of years. You ...

Don Covay: Hot Blood

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. ...

B.T. Express, Ecstasy, Passion & Pain, Kool and the Gang, Sly & the Family Stone: If You Don't Believe Sly's Sinking...

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 ...

Kool and the Gang: Kool & the Gang: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Giovanni Dadomo, Record Mirror, 8 February 1975

HAVING BEEN informed in advance that the concert was being recorded for a forthcoming live album, coupled with the fact that it was their first ...

Graham Central Station, Sly & the Family Stone: Larry Graham: With Sly as a friend you don' need enemies

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 ...

Millie Jackson: "Ah'll meet ya tonite — after you're through with the wife." Two-timing with Millie Jackson

Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 15 February 1975

  WHILE RADIO and club exposure sells a whole lot of records, it's easy to overlook the importance of word-of-mouth recommendation, which is the medium likely ...

Don Covay: Hot Blood

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 ...

Minnie Riperton: Following The Perfect Angel... Minnie's adventures in paradise

Interview by Giovanni Dadomo, Record Mirror, 15 February 1975

IT'S A WARM and very happy voice that reaches across the Big Puddle from a warm California afternoon to a decidedly chilly London evening. ...

Syl Johnson: Barbarella's, Birmingham

Live Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 15 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 ...

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 ...

Tower of Power: Confessions of an East Bay greaser

Interview by Giovanni Dadomo, Record Mirror, 15 February 1975

Tower of Power vocalist spills the beans on those big bad boys from Oakland. ...

Cymande, Kool and the Gang, Oscar Toney Jr: Kool & The Gang, Oscar Toney Jr., Cymande: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 18 February 1975

THEY USED to say that the day that funky music would grab any kind of attention on this side of the Atlantic would be as ...

Kool and the Gang: Kool & The Gang: Bringing Funk To The Folks

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 February 1975

IT WAS sad to stand there at the Rainbow Theatre in London's Finsbury Park area (five minutes from the Arsenal football ground for geography lovers!) ...

The Ohio Players: Ohio Players: Funk & Fire

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 February 1975

AS ANYONE who witnessed the one and only Ohio Players concert in London will gladly testify, they rank as one of the most colourful and ...

The Ohio Players: Ohio Players: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 February 1975

THE AIR of expectancy that preceded the Ohio Players was thick with excitement as the capacity-filled theatre buzzed with atmosphere. Suddenly, the rhythm started and ...

Syl Johnson: Truth Teller

Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 18 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 ...

The Chi-Lites: The Brightest Lites

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 February 1975

EUGENE RECORD, Marshall Thompson and Robert Lester, known affectionately the world over as Squirrel. They are the Chi-Lites, currently midway through a tour of Britain ...

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. ...

Dionne Warwick: Best Of

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. ...

Kokomo: Kokomo

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 ...

The Chi-Lites

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 ...

Funkadelic, Graham Central Station, The Ohio Players: Ohio Players, Graham Central Station, Funkadelic: Radio City Music Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, The Village Voice, 24 February 1975

Progressive Soul: Where Were You? ...

Curtis Mayfield: Got to Find a Way (Curtom CRS 8604)

Review by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 27 February 1975

CURTIS MAYFIELD'S dilemma remains the same with each album. Each of his albums since Superfly has seemed uninspired, static, overreaching, an attempt to make a ...

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 ...

Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes featuring Theodore Pendergrass: To Be True (Philadelphia International KZ 33148)

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 ...

Betty Wright: Do Me Wright

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, ...

David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Donovan, The Goodies, George Harrison, Elton John, Janis Joplin, Kenny, Diana Ross, The Rubettes, Ringo Starr, The Three Degrees: Singles from Elton John, David Bowie et al

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 1 March 1975

Elton gets lost ...

Betty Wright: Danger High Voltage (RCA SF 8408)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 March 1975

'Everybody Was Rocking'; 'Love Don't Grow On A Love Tree'; 'Show Your Girl'; 'Come On Up'; 'Shoorah Shoorah'; 'Where Is The Love', 'That's When I'll ...

Betty Wright: Hoorah! Hoorah!

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 March 1975

Betty Finally Cleans Up In Britain ...

Dionne Warwicke: Right Back On Top

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 4 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 ...

Average White Band

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: Nightbirds (Epic 80566)

Review by Giovanni Dadomo, Record Mirror, 8 March 1975

RELEASED TO coincide with their English tour, this is the album that should establish Labelle as the world's leading female vocal group. ...

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. ...

Rufus: Raising the Rufus in Stoke...

Interview by Giovanni Dadomo, Record Mirror, 8 March 1975

RUFUS KICKED off their first British tour last weekend high on the news that they'd just been given a Grammy award for their single, 'Tell ...

Labelle, Suzi Quatro: Suzi Quatro: Rainbow Theatre, London; Labelle: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London

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 ...

LaBelle: La Belle Revolution

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 Hues Corporation: The Love Corporation

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 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 ...

Rufus: The Rufus Story: The Two Faces of Chaka Khan

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 March 1975

IN A WORLD of mass-production, it is comforting to occasionally come across something that is truly original. Something that has not been begged, borrowed or ...

The Tymes: A Tyme Piece

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 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 ...

Zulema: Zulema For Real

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 18 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 ...

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 ...

Funkadelic, Graham Central Station, The Ohio Players, Parliament: Ohio Players, Graham Centra! Station, Parliament-Funkadelic: Radio City Music Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Wayne Robins, Rolling Stone, 27 March 1975

ONLY TWO weeks after Sly Stone scaled his decline by falling on his face at Radio City Music Hall, two of his most popular heirs ...

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

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. ...

The Chi-Lites: (For God's Sake) Give More Power To The People/Greatest Hits/A Lonely Man/A Letter To Myself/Toby

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 ...

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... ...

Carol Douglas

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 April 1975

WITH THE continued success of the disco in America, we are constantly getting a steady flow of new talent hitting the charts. Carol Douglas is ...

Dooley Silverspoon

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 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 ...

The Jimmy Castor Bunch: Jimmy Castor: Boogieing To The Top

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 1 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 ...

Sister Sledge: A Dynamic Delight

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 1 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 ...

The Spinners: The Detroit Spinners: Living & Laughing

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 1 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, ...

The Moments, Sylvia Robinson, Shirley & Company, The Whatnauts: All Platinum Records: A Few Moments With Shirley & Company

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 ...

Swamp Dogg

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 ...

Millie Jackson: Caught Up (Spring SPR 6703)

Review by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 10 April 1975

THIS REMARKABLE exposition of a lover's triangle told from the perspectives of wife and adulteress is the high point of Millie Jackson's career to date. ...

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. ...

Minnie Riperton

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 ...

The Fatback Band — Bringing Home The Bacon

Profile by Giovanni Dadomo, Record Mirror, 12 April 1975

BEANS AND fatback... It's as American as Kentucky chicken. And fatback, in case you didn't know, is the rich, thick bacon that comes, as the ...

The Jimmy Castor Bunch, Ben E. King, Sister Sledge, The Spinners: The Spinners, the Jimmy Castor Bunch, Ben E. King, Sister Sledge: Manchester Opera House

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. ...

Revelation: B&S debut feature: Revelation

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 15 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 ...

The Futures: B&S debut feature: The Futures

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 15 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 ...

Walter Heath: B&S debut feature: Walter Heath

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 15 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 ...

Ann Peebles: Learning To Cope With The Rain

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 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 ...

Jim Gilstrap: Wonder Man

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 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 Drifters: Still Drifting

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 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 Moments and All Platinum Records: Moments To Remember

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 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 ...

Al Green: Green Light!

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 ...

Ben E. King, The Jimmy Castor Bunch, Sister Sledge, The Spinners: Sister Sledge; Jimmy Castor; Ben E. King; The Spinners: Return of the Soul Package

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 ...

Little Feat, Allen Toussaint: Beacon Theater, New York NY

Live Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 21 April 1975

LITTLE FEAT HEARD IN RELAXED BLUES ...

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 ...

The Jimmy Castor Bunch, Ben E. King, Sister Sledge, The Spinners: Ben E. King, The Jimmy Castor Bunch, The Spinners, Sister Sledge: Hammersmith Odeon, London

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. ...

Choice Four: B&S debut feature: Choice Four

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 April 1975

WITH VAN McCoy currently riding the crest of a wave as a producer and songwriter via his work with The Stylistics – and his own ...

Odia Coates: B&S debut feature: Odia Coates

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 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 ...

Vernon Burch: B&S debut feature: Vernon Burch

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 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 ...

Al Green: Love, Happiness And Convictions

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 29 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 ...

Dee Dee Warwick: Back in your life

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 29 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 ...

Grover Washington Jr: Grover Washington: Mister Magic

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 April 1975

IN JAZZ circles, Grover Washington Jr. is even unique because though he has been commercially successful in a big way, he still appeals to the ...

Herbie Hancock, The Headhunters, Passport: Herbie Hancock, Headhunters, Passport: Zellerbach Auditorium, University of California, Berkeley CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 29 April 1975

Herbie Hancock's marathon ...

New York City: A Return Ticket From Philadelphia

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 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 ...

Sam Dees: The Show Goes On

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 April 1975

AS any reader of B&S will have already perceived, the new Sam Dees album – The Show Must Go On – ranks as one of ...

War: War and Peace

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 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 ...

Ben E. King: That Voice

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 ...

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 ...

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. ...

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

Overview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, May 1975

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

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 ...

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' ...

Chairmen of the Board

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 ...

Labelle: Harkness Theatre, New York NY

Live Review by Dave Marsh, Newsday, 7 May 1975

Silver birds ...

Little Feat, Allen Toussaint: Little Theatre, New York NY

Live Review by Penny Valentine, Record Mirror, 10 May 1975

LITTLE THEATRE — once a rather seedy showcase home for acts that couldn't make the bigger circuits — has undergone a recent facelift and is ...

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 ...

Tamiko Jones: B&S debut feature: Tamiko Jones

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 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 ...

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. ...

Melba Moore: Soulful Sophistication

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 13 May 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 ...

The Three Degrees: The International Three Degrees

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 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 Main Ingredient: Reaching Out For New Horizons

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 13 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 ...

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 ...

Ben E. King: Supernatural

Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 17 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 ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Earth, Wind and Fire: 'Turn on the funk motor'

Profile by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 17 May 1975

...ordered Godfather James Brown, and the welter of street-funk bands has been unstoppable. EARTH WIND AND FIRE are this month's chart faves. BOB FISHER examines ...

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 ...

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. ...

Carl Graves: B&S debut feature: Carl Graves

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 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: Jimmy Castor: The Everything Man Really Has Everything

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 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. ...

Johnny Bristol, Allen Toussaint: Johnny Bristol and Allen Toussaint: Producers 'N' Performers

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 27 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 ...

Loleatta Holloway

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 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 ...

Major Harris

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 27 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 ...

Shirley Brown: Woman To Woman (Stax STX 1031)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 May 1975

AS WELL as being one of the most soulful sounds of '74, Shirley Brown's 'Woman To Woman' was also one of the year's best-selling singles. ...

Newcomers, The : The Newcomers

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 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 ...

Van McCoy: The Disco Man

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 27 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. ...

Herbie Mann: Discotheque (Atlantic)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 31 May 1975

THE STANDARD of musicianship in New York is really quite frightening at times. This is an Atlantic studios session in which Herbie, the flute playing ...

'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 ...

Gil Scott-Heron

Interview by Richard Harrington, Unicorn Times, June 1975

"I'VE BEEN doing what I'm doing for five years on records and for longer in my life," says Gil Scott-Heron, who seems to be approaching ...

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. ...

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 ...

Smokey Robinson: Quiet Stormbringer

Interview by Judith Sims, Rolling Stone, 5 June 1975

LOS ANGELES — During the three years since Smokey Robinson retired from the Miracles and the road, he's released three solo albums — Smokey, Pure ...

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 ...

Curtis Mayfield: Love To The People

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 10 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. ...

Hamilton Bohannon: Insides Out

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 10 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 ...

Leonard Caston

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 10 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 ...

Sister Sledge: Sisters

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 10 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 ...

Tavares: Soulful Brothers

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 10 June 1975

INCREDIBLE AS it may seem, Tavares are only just achieving total record acceptance with their current super-hot smash, 'Remember What I Told You To Forget' ...

The Dells, The Dramatics: The Dells vs The Dramatics

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 10 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 ...

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. ...

Earth, Wind & Fire, Ramsey Lewis: Earth, Wind & Fire: Sonic Elements

Report and Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Downbeat, 19 June 1975

PHILADELPHIA IS a violent town. In the hotel where Earth, Wind and Fire are staying, an enraged woman (who has been given a passkey by ...

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. ...

Barbara Mason: This Girl Is A Woman Now

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 24 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 ...

Joe Simon: The Reluctant Superstar

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 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 ...

Valentino

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 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'. ...

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 ...

Barry White: Just Another Way To Say I Love You (20th Century T-466)

Review by Vernon Gibbs, Crawdaddy!, July 1975

The Barry White Overload ...

LaBelle

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 ...

Robert Palmer: Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley (Island ILPS 9294)

Review by Sam Sutherland, Phonograph Record, July 1975

ENGLISH REVERENCE for rhythm & blues hasn't stopped with urban and country models of past decades, and as increasing numbers of Britons emulate contemporary R&B ...

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 ...

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 ...

Barrett Strong: Stronghold

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 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 ...

Ernie Bush

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 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 ...

Linda Carr & the Love Squad

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 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 ...

Moment Of Truth

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 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 ...

Rufus: Today and Tomorrow

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 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 ...

The Brecker Brothers

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 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 ...

New Birth: The Re-Birth Of New Birth

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 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 ...

Yvonne Fair: Foxy, Funky and Funny

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 8 July 1975

IN RECENT times, Motown's roster of artists has undergone several changes — with the departure of some of the performers who had been previously closely ...

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 ...

Rufus in Transit

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. ...

Eddie Kendricks: The Hit Man Hits Again

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 July 1975

IF EVER an album was aptly titled it is the new Eddie Kendricks' Tamla set – The Hit Man. ...

KC & the Sunshine Band: KC and The Sunshine Band: The Miami Innovation

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 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 ...

Natural Four: Naturally together

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 22 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 ...

Ronnie McNeir

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 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'. ...

Leroy Hutson, The Impressions, Curtis Mayfield: The Impressions: Sooner or later and right now!

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 22 July 1975

WITHOUT OVERSTATING the fact, you could justifiably say that The Impressions have come a long way! ...

The Ohio Players: Ohio Honey

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 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. ...

Thelma Houston: The Star's Star

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 22 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". ...

Betty Davis: Betty and the Boops

Interview by Giovanni Dadomo, Record Mirror, 25 July 1975

"I'M SCHIZOPHRENIC!" says the voice on the end of the transatlantic cable. ...

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 ...

Cymande, The Drums of Rasta, Rico Rodriguez: Drums of Rasta, Cymande, Rico & the Undivided: The Roundhouse, London

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 ...

Hot Chocolate: Choc's Away

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 ...

Johnny Ace, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, Junior Parker, Elvis Presley, Big Mama Thornton: Obituary: Don D. Robey, R&B Pioneer, Dead at 71

Obituary by Joe Nick Patoski, Rolling Stone, 31 July 1975

HOUSTON — DON D. Robey, a leading figure in rhythm & blues and gospel recordings in the Fifties and Sixties, died early Monday, June 16th, ...

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

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1975

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

Hamilton Bohannon: Bohannon: Have a Good Day…

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1975

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

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. ...

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

Overview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1975

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

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

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1975

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

Johnny Nash: The Johnny Nash Story

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

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

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 ...

The Commodores, Hamilton Bohannon, James Brown: James Brown: Sex Machine Today, Hamilton Bohannon: Insides Out, The Commodores: Caught in the Act

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, The Supremes, Junior Walker & the All Stars: 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 ...

Betty Davis: Filthy But Funky

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 August 1975

IT'S FUNNY how some women are genteel yet others may be quite the opposite – yet still manage to retain their femininity. ...

Esther Phillips: The Time Is Now

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 5 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 ...

Isaac Hayes: Black Moses Back From The Wilderness

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 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 ...

Jeannie Reynolds

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 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 ...

Natalie Cole

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 5 August 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 ...

Thom Bell, The Stylistics: Bell rings the Stylistics

Profile and Interview by Robin Katz, Sounds, 16 August 1975

THEY CAN'T dance, they do sing and they sell records like anything. But lets face it, how can they miss? The songs are written for ...

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 All Stars: 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 ...

KC & the Sunshine Band, Junior Walker & the All Stars: KC & the Sunshine Band, Jnr. Walker & the All Stars: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 16 August 1975

YOU KNOW when you're frantically searching for a specific waveband on a cheap pocket transistor radio, and no matter how hard you try to tune ...

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 ...

Charlie Whitehead

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 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 ...

The Rimshots

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 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 ...

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, ...

George McCrae: Rhythm Appeal

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

...

Dancing Madness

Report by Ed McCormack, Rolling Stone, 28 August 1975

In which a suburban prole decadent does battle with a hot midtown Manhattan discotheque — two out of three falls, no curfew ...

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. ...

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

Overview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, September 1975

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

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

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, September 1975

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

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 ...

The Fatback Band: Yum Yum

Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, September 1975

"MY NAME is Yum Yum, Gimme some!" ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: A Creative Explosion

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 2 September 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 ...

Faith Hope & Charity: Faith Hope Charity — And Success

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 2 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 ...

Joe Simon: Get Down

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 ...

Hamilton Bohannon: Leicester

Live Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 13 September 1975

WHY IS it that audiences will dance all night to records, but stand round and drum their fingers to the real thing even when it ...

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 ...

Eddie Kendricks: Kendricks, the hit man

Interview by Kevin Allen, Record Mirror, 13 September 1975

TAMLA MOTOWN have dubbed him "The Hit Man" and it's no misnomer. For while 'Keep On Truckin'' is the only cut to have made the ...

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 ...

B.T. Express-ions

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 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 ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Bland: Moving Ahead

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 September 1975

IN RETROSPECT, when the historians or whoever decide to document the music of the fifties, sixties and seventies, the omission of the name Bobby Bland ...

Jackie Moore: More Precious the Second Time Around

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 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' ...

Quincy Jones: Mellow Genius

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 September 1975

AFTER TWENTY years of giving others success, Quincy Jones is only now finally getting his just deserts — borne out by the rapid rise up ...

Labelle: Phoenix

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 ...

The Ohio Players: Honey

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 ...

B.T. Express: Non-Stop (EMI International)

Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 27 September 1975

SIX MONTHS ago, with an album called Do It — Till You're Satisfied, The B.T. Express produced the major work to emerge from the ongoing ...

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... ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Earth Wind and Fire

Book Excerpt by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 September 1975

SO BRITAIN has finally tasted the elements. Earth Wind & Fire, nine piece California-based self-contained band/group, have been described by most American music journalists at ...

Smokey Robinson: Building A Quiet Storm

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 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 ...

The Commodores: In Total Command

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 September 1975

CERTAINLY ONE of the most successful teams to grace the Motown stable in recent times has been the Commodores, a group who must take the ...

The Fantastic Four

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 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 ...

Kay-Gee's, Kool and the Gang: The Kay-Gee's

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 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. ...

Betty Davis, Miles Davis: Betty Davis: Putting the Miles behind her

Interview by Robin Katz, Let It Rock, October 1975

BETTY DAVIS is the amazon-sized, raucous, screeching ex-wife of Miles Davis who has copped (unofficially) this year's award for best B-side of a flop single. ...

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. ...

Joe Tex: Roots of the Rapper

Retrospective by Cliff White, Black Music, October 1975

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

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 ...

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

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, October 1975

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

The Supremes

Retrospective by Tony Cummings, Black Music, October 1975

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

Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes: Lowman's Westside Club, Detroit MI

Live Review by John Sinclair, The Ann Arbor Sun, 1 October 1975

THE SKYROCKETING popularity of the premier black vocal groups — the O'Jays, the Spinners, Gladys Knight & The Pips, the Four Tops, Harold Melvin & ...

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. ...

Al Green: Al Green Is Love

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. ...

Al Green: Al Green Is Love (London SHU 8488)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 October 1975

IF YOU'RE an Al Green fan already, this album will certainly ensure that you stay that way because this talented creator has one of the ...

Gloria Gaynor: Experience Gloria Gaynor

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 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. ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: Johnny Guitar Watson

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 October 1975

"Let me talk to the Lone Ranger – and pronto!" ...

Lonnie Liston Smith: Visions Of A New World

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 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. ...

People's Choice: The People's Choice

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 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 ...

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 ...

The Temptations: Still temptin'

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 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 ...

Van McCoy: The Real McCoy

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 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 ...

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 ...

Get Arp And Get Down!

Overview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, November 1975

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

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

Profile by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, November 1975

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

Millie Jackson: Gettin' Her Piece

Interview by John Morthland, Black Music, November 1975

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

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. ...

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 ...

Gloria Gaynor: Experience (MGM M3G 4997)

Review by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 6 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 ...

Graham Central Station: Ain't No 'Bout-a-Doubt It (Warner Bros. BS 2876)

Review by Tom Vickers, Rolling Stone, 6 November 1975

LARRY GRAHAM and company create infectious, commercial funk that may grab but doesn't hold. Graham is a competent bass player and singer but lacks depth ...

Labelle: Paramount Theater, Oakland, CA

Live Review by Tom Vickers, Rolling Stone, 6 November 1975

Climax Lacks at Glittering Labelle Premiere ...

Betty Davis: Nasty Gal

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 ...

The Impressions: Lasting Impressions

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 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. ...

Natalie Cole: Whatever Will Be Will Be

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 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 ...

Northern Soul: Fact, Fiction, Faction, Friction

Report by Idris Walters, Street Life, 15 November 1975

IS NORTHERN SOUL DYING ON ITS FEET? ...

The Ohio Players: Money, 'Honey': Ohio Players on the Royalties Road

Profile and Interview by John Morthland, Rolling Stone, 20 November 1975

NEW ORLEANS — It's midafternoon as the limousine containing the Ohio Players is swallowed up by the giant, saucerlike shell known as the Louisiana Superdome, ...

KC & the Sunshine Band, George McCrae: Sunshine Band Sees Daylight — That's the Way K.C. Likes It

Profile and Interview by Tom Vickers, Rolling Stone, 20 November 1975

SAN CARLOS, CALIFORNIA — K.C. and the Sunshine Band threw a down-home dance party on the Circle Star Theatre's usually sedate stage. Whistles turned to ...

Doris Duke: Woman (Contempo)

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. ...

The Undisputed Truth: Their Aim Is Higher Than High

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 25 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 ...

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 ...

The Temptations: House Party

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 ...

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

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

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

Swamp Dogg: The "Swamp Dogg" Story

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

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

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 ...

Eric Gale et al: Negril

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 ...

George McCrae: Growing Pains But It's Worth It All

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 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 ...

Jimmy Bo Horne

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 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 ...

Oliver Sain: The Disco King

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 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, 9 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 ...

Tamiko Jones: the Spellbinder

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 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 ...

The Miracles: City Of Angels

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: ***

Betty Davis: Nasty Gal

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 ...

Chuck Jackson: The need to succeed

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 23 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 ...

Darrow Fletcher: try something new

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 23 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 ...

Thom Bell, Dionne Warwick: Dionne Warwick and Thom Bell: Hitting The Road Together

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 23 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 ...

Mike & Bill: Mike and Bill

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 23 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 ...

Sheer Elegance

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 23 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 ...

Bobby Womack: Safety First

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. ...

Allman Brothers Band, Bonnie Bramlett, Charlie Daniels, Dobie Gray, The Marshall Tucker Band, Travis Wammack, Wet Willie: Capricorn Records' Phil Walden (1976)

Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages audio, 1976

The Capricorn boss talks about his disillusion with soul music after management client Otis Redding's death; his move into white rock with the Allman Brothers Band; the attention brought to southern music as a result; the current state of the Allman Brothers Band; brother Gregg's problems; the Atlanta Rhythm Section; dropping Travis Wammack; Dobie Gray... and Bonnie Bramlett's new album Lady's Choice.

File format: mp3; file size: 25.6mb, interview length: 26' 38" sound quality: **½

Stephanie Mills: The Wiz Kid!

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 ...

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 ...

Pete Wingfield: The Wheel Goes Full Circle

Interview by John Tobler, ZigZag, January 1976

IN THE EARLY DAYS of ZigZag, when Frame and I were young lads, Childs wasn't even born, and San Francisco was where it was at ...

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

Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, January 1976

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

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

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, January 1976

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

Bill Withers: Making Music (Columbia PC 33704)

Review by Tom Vickers, Rolling Stone, 1 January 1976

BILL WITHERS' metier is middle-of-the-road soul. On Making Music, Withers has traded in his earlier, sparse sound for a muted lushness. The browns and deep ...

David Ruffin: Who I Am

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 ...

James Brown, Silver Convention: Disco: "Who's that on the jukebox?" "Who cares?"

Overview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 10 January 1976

ROGER ST. PIERRE considers what the disco boom has done for soul, and reviews forthcoming action on the soul scene. ...

David Ruffin, The Temptations: David Ruffin: Ruffin's Ready

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 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 Blackbyrds, Donald Byrd: Donald Byrd

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 January 1976

THE THING that most interests me with the new wave of Funk-Jazz giants is that they all have a tale of interest to tell. Whereas ...

Margie Joseph: The Real Divine Miss M

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 13 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 ...

Maxayn: Ready For Action

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 13 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 ...

Kenny Gamble, O'Jays: The O'Jays: Loving the Music with Gamble & Huff

Report and Interview by Tom Vickers, Rolling Stone, 15 January 1976

LOS ANGELES — Walking by what used to be a restaurant at the Beverly Comstock Hotel in Beverly Hills, one wonders why they keep playing ...

George Benson, Grover Washington Jr: George Benson, Grover Washington, Jr.: Paramount Theatre, Oakland CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 17 January 1976

A concert of funk and syncopation ...

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 ...

Betty Wright: Ms. B. in S.A.

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 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 ...

The Blackbyrds

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 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, 27 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 ...

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 ...

Gil Scott-Heron (1976)

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 (1976) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages transcripts, February 1976

This is a transcript of Cliff's audio interview with Gil. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1976

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

Chocolate Milk, LaBelle, The Meters, The Pointer Sisters, Allen Toussaint: Toussaint's New Orleans: a New Home for R&B?

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 ...

Donna Summer: Long Hot Summer

Interview by David Hancock, Record Mirror, 7 February 1976

AS THE purring of the telephone becomes a definite ring Donna Summer reaches blindly across crumpled sheets to silence the damn thing. ...

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 ...

Freda Payne: "Wanna Get Re-acquainted?"

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 10 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 ...

Jean Plum

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 10 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 ...

The Jimmy Castor Bunch: Jimmy Castor: Portrait of an Angry Young Man

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 10 February 1976

Jimmy Castor's out to revolutionise the business... ...

Lamont Dozier: S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n' o-u-t...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 10 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 ...

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 ...

The Future Of Rock 'N' Soul

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. ...

D.J. Rogers: Songs Of Love And Hope...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 17 February 1976

A young man whose West Coast reputation is spreading fast. ...

Donna Summer: Prima Donna!

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 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 ...

Evelyn Thomas: Introducing Evelyn Thomas

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 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 ...

The Trammps: Zing Went Bummie And The Bums...!

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 February 1976

THIS FEATURE could so easily have been devoted to – wait for it! – Bummie & the Bums! Who is this Bummie character I can ...

The Fatback Band: Fatback Band: Keep On Dancing

Interview by David Hancock, Record Mirror, 21 February 1976

YOU CAN be forgiven for thinking the Fatback Band would come on as pure street — y'know gettin' down with it, plenty of jive talk, ...

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 ...

Brass Construction got Disco-Power!

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 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 ...

Gene Page In His Own Right

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 24 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 ...

The Fatback Band: Fat 'N' Funky... with a touch of sophistication!

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 February 1976

You wan' 'em, you got 'em... the Fatback Band are back again, to acknowledge the support of their British followers. Boogie on... ...

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 ...

Ann Peebles: Tellin' It

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. ...

Gil Scott-Heron: London

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

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 ...

Gil Scott-Heron: Good Evening, Here Is The News on Gil Scott-Heron

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 2 March 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 ...

L.J. Johnson

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 2 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 ...

Eddie Kendricks: The Philly Connection starring Eddie Kendricks

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 2 March 1976

B&S undercover agent probes Soul star's defection to another town ...

Dobie Gray: Capricorn Rising

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' ...

Eddie Drennon, The Fatback Band, M & O Band, Van McCoy: The Hustlers

Report by David Hancock, Record Mirror, 6 March 1976

TAKE A WALK down New York's bustling "barrio" and the chances are that some Puerto Rican will start hustling you. They can't help it, they've ...

Archie Bell and the Drells, Donna Summer, The Temptations, Bobby Womack: The Temptations, Donna Summer, Bobby Womack, Archie Bell & the Drells: Radio City Music Hall, New York City

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 ...

Hugh Masekela: Africa's Ambassador To The USA

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 9 March 1976

Our diplomatic correspondent in Los Angeles talks to Hugh Masekela, one of Africa's favourite sons. ...

Bobby Womack (1976)

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 Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 13 March 1976

Womack: it's all over now ...

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 ...

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 ...

Barbara Pennington: And now, the voice of them all, Barbara Pennington

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 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 ...

Bettye LaVette: Underrated talent of out time

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 March 1976

Soulful lady. 14 years experience, 23 singles and several gems to her credit, seeks opportunity to cut her first album. Apply to: Bettye Lavette ...

Grover Washington Jr.: "Funk-Jazz" Personified!

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 March 1976

Grover Washington Jr. is top of the tree of the new wave musicians who have merged Jazz and Soul. But he aims to branch out ...

The Mighty Clouds Of Joy: Hey, you, get into these Clouds

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 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. ...

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 ...

Bobby Womack: Root-rappin' with Bobby Womack

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 23 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! ...

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, ...

The Fatback Band, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, Smokey Robinson, The Sylvers: Smokey Robinson/Mighty Clouds of Joy/Sylvers/Fatback Band: Los Angeles

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 ...

Bobby Womack: Safety Zone

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 ...

Detroit Emeralds: Bailey's, Watford

Live Review by Kevin Allen, Record Mirror, 27 March 1976

WHEN YOU'VE pulled a big crowd out on a Monday night, as the Emeralds did at Bailey's, Watford, you've got to give 'em something special ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: Johnny Guitar Watson: Beware The Guitar Gangster

Profile and Interview by Kevin Allen, Record Mirror, 27 March 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 ...

Ashford & Simpson: Ashford and Simpson: At Peace With The World And Themselves…

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 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 ...

Esther Phillips: what a difference a disco hit made

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 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 ...

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

Profile by Cliff White, Black Music, April 1976

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

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

Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, April 1976

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

The Salsoul Orchestra: Salsoul Orchestra: Salsoul Hustlers (Salsoul SZS 5501. $6.98)

Review by Mike Jahn, High Fidelity, April 1976

MORE THAN forty performers participated in the creation of this album, which nominally contributes to the current salsa trend but which in this case is ...

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 Dells: A Living Legend

Retrospective and Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Essence, April 1976

ASK MOST PEOPLE to name their favorite record by the Dells and among them you will always hear two titles: 'Oh, What a Night', originally ...

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 ...

Brook Benton: Bartender Benton sets 'em up for Britain

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 6 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 ...

Ashford & Simpson, Graham Central Station, Larry Graham, Leroy Hutson, The Impressions, Al Jarreau, The Staple Singers, Dionne Warwick: California Soul Hits The Big Apple

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 6 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 ...

The Crusaders: Crusaders have their fingers on the pulse of crossover potential

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 6 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... ...

Al Jarreau: Look Out, Al Jarreau's On His Way

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 6 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 ...

The Crusaders: Crusaders Have Their Fingers On The Pulse Of Crossover Potential

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 6 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... ...

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 ...

The Sylvers: Boogie fever turns Sylver to gold...

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 April 1976

FEVER IS never a very appetising thought but the way that the Sylvers family enthuse over the 'Boogie Fever', it sounds like it might be ...

The Softones: From the streets of Baltimore... The Softones

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 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 ...

Curtis Mayfield, The Staple Singers: The Staple Singers: doin' it again with Mister Mayfield

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 13 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 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 ...

The Three Degrees: Three Degrees: Palladium, London

Live Review by Rosalind Russell, Record Mirror, 17 April 1976

THREE DEGREES UNDER ...

Graham Central Station: The Graham Standing at Platform 3 Will Call At All Stations

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 20 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 ...

Jermaine Jackson: Just Jermaine!

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 20 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 ...

Bobby Womack: Root-rappin' with Bobby Womack

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 20 April 1976

Part 2 of an exclusive feature in which Bobby drifts back to his early days... his roots! ...

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: ***

Dr. John, The Meters, Professor Longhair, The Wild Magnolias, The Wild Tchoupitoulas: Special Report: Running The Streets Of The Crescent City

Report by John Sinclair, The Ann Arbor Sun, 22 April 1976

Well I'm going to New Orleans,  I wanna see the Mardi Gras  When I see the Mardi Gras,  I wanna know what the carnival for. ...

Ashford & Simpson: Perfect Harmony

Interview by Kevin Allen, Record Mirror, 24 April 1976

A COUPLE OF years ago the names Ashford and Simpson meant little more to British soul fans than credits in the small print on Diana ...

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? ...

Johnnie Taylor: Eargasm

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 ...

Smokey Robinson: Felt Forum, New York NY

Live Review by Susin Shapiro, The Village Voice, 26 April 1976

On Top With Old Smokey ...

The J.A.L.N Band: Anglo Soul... The J.A.L.N. Band

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 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 ...

The Impressions: Imps In The Mood For Love

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 27 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 ...

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 in bloom. The Pips in harmony

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 May 1976

The lovely Ms. Knight is presently infanticipating, but she and the boys will not be idle over the next few months. There are several exciting ...

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 and the Pips: Gladys Knight & the Pips: New Victoria, London

Live Review by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 8 May 1976

THE ATTENTION which goes into the fundamentals of Gladys Knight's sound, is the key to the tremendous success she's had on her current tour. Which ...

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 ...

Hampton and Banks caught in the act!

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 11 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, 11 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 ...

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 ...

Edwin Starr: Starr in ascendency!

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 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 ...

Melba Moore: Okay Melba, this really IS it...!

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 18 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 ...

Archie Bell and the Drells, Thom Bell, Kenny Gamble, O'Jays: Gamble & Huff: It's Got a Good Beat, and You Can Pray to It

Report and Interview by Tom Vickers, Rolling Stone, 20 May 1976

The only way for our music to go is the way the world goes. And where it goes negative, we're going to show where it ...

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 ...

Lee Garrett: Born A Loser

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 ...

Dorothy Moore: Misty Lady

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 25 May 1976

I the beginning, there were the Poppies. Dorothy Moore spent 2½ years with that trio. Bow, with her beautiful 'Misty Blue' smash, she's carved her very ...

Mandrill: They Did It Their Way...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 25 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 ...

The Manhattans: Kiss And Say Hello To The Manhattans

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 25 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Archie Bell and the Drells: Archie & The Drells: here they go again

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 June 1976

Mr. Bell an' the guys had a somewhat lean spell after leaving Atlantic. Now they're reunited with Messrs Gamble and Huff and dancin' up the ...

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 ...

David Essex, The Real Thing: The Real Thing haven't souled out

Interview by David Hancock, Record Mirror, 5 June 1976

HOW MANY British black groups can you name? Still counting on one hand eh? Well you can now add the Real Thing to that list ...

The Isley Brothers: Reflections Of Love And Life

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 8 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, 8 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, 8 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 ...

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 ...

The Real Thing: Anglo Soul... The Real Thing

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 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 ...

George Benson: Breezin' (Warner Bros. K56199)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 June 1976

ALTHOUGH GUITAR star George has been around for some years and is acknowledged by most jazz musicians to be the number one guitarist of them ...

The Sylvers: Rappin' with the Sylvers

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 15 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, ...

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 ...

Candi Staton: Candi's running free

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 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 ...

Marvin Gaye, the Sylvers: Westchester Premier Theatre, Tarrytown NY

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 22 June 1976

Marvin in top form... ...

Al Green, Willie Mitchell: Willie Mitchell: Changing Sounds In Memphis

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 22 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. ...

William Bell, Margie Joseph, Frederick Knight, Mavis Staples, Little Johnny Taylor: Albums from Frederick Knight, William Bell, Margie Joseph, Mavis Staples and Johnny Taylor

Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 26 June 1976

The Sorry Stax story ...

Gonzalez, Gloria Jones, Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley & the Wailers, Gloria Jones, Gonzalez: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Giovanni Dadomo, Sounds, 26 June 1976

The roar of a BMW ...

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 ...

Bootsy Collins: "Say man, do you thnk these shades make me look just a little like Bootsy Collins? Eh?"

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 June 1976

Well, they ought to. Yep, you guessed it kids, it's Bootsy himself – he of incredible Rubber Band fame. Our man's been around some and ...

Al Wilson: Is this your idea of a Palyboy pin-up?

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 June 1976

Al Wilson, Playboy's first major soul signing, poses for B&S. Sorry we couldn't make it the centrefold, Al. ...

Bootsy Collins, Funkadelic, Parliament: Countdown on Parliament, from launchpad to mothership connection... We have lift-off!

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 June 1976

An intergalactic communication from Space Commander George Clinton aboard the starship Parliafunkadelicment... ...

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. ...

The Ohio Players: The Spirit of '76

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 6 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, ...

Al Green: Soul Minister Al Aims To Get Next To You

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 13 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? ...

Candi Staton: Young Hearts Run Free (Warner Bros. K56259)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 July 1976

WELL, IF ever an artist(e) was deserving of success, then that role belongs to the ever-lovely Ms. Candi Staton. Over the past half decade, she ...

Hidden Strength Uncovered...

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 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 ...

Jeff Perry: A Family Affair

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 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 ...

Luther Vandross: Luther Are Good For The Soul

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 13 July 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 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 ...

Ted Taylor: Bespoke Soul Taylor Made Hit Steals Up Chart

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 20 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 ...

Marlena Shaw : Marlena Shaw: Let's Hear It For The Good Guys (and Gals!)

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 20 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 ...

Barrabas: Rappin' with Barrabas

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 20 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 ...

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 ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: Johnny Guitar Watson albums

Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 24 July 1976

Vivien Goldman explains why she's been drooling over Johnny 'Guitar' Watson for the past month. ...

B.T. Express: BT Express: Still Groovin' On The Right Track Baby

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 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 ...

Philly Devotions: A Story Of Patience And Dedication

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 27 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 ...

Tavares' Third Era Brings UK Breakthrough

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 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, 27 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' ...

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 ...

Hamilton Bohannon: Bohannon Boogies Into Phase Two

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 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 ...

Melba Moore: Rappin' with Melba Moore...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 3 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, 3 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 ...

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. ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Soul & Inspiration

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 10 August 1976

Earth, Wind & Fire is all about inspiration, says bass player Verdine White... about saying something relevant to the people. And, despite their huge success, ...

Mark Radice: The Reluctant Disco Star

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 10 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 ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: Johnny Guitar Watson: When You're Hot You're Hot

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 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, 17 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, 17 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 ...

Bobby Womack: BW Goes C&W (United Artists UAS 29979) ***

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 August 1976

SO, BOBBY'S Country-Western album finally hits the streets after several delays and not bearing the original tag, which was "Move Over Charlie Pride And Give ...

George Benson: By George No. 1 R and B, Jazz and Pop

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 August 1976

Music history was made recently when George Benson topped the R&B, jazz and pop charts with his debut album for Warner Bros. The guitar man ...

The Emotions: Happiness Is…

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 24 August 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 ...

C.M Lord: This Lord's A Lady

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 24 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 ...

George Clinton, Funkadelic, Parliament: A Journey to the Center of Parliament/Funkadelic

Report and Interview by Tom Vickers, Rolling Stone, 26 August 1976

They're Coming to Take You Away, Ha-Ha ...

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 ...

Tavares: Sky High Tavares

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 ...

Average White Band: Crisis At Cobo Hall

Interview by Frank Bach, The Ann Arbor Sun, 3 September 1976

Alan Gorrie Talks to The Sun ...

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. ...

The Real Thing

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 ...

Impact: 4 Happy Men Make An Impact

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 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 ...

B.B. King: Keepin' The Blues Alive

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 7 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 ...

Thelma Houston: Thelma's Heading For The Silver Screen

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 7 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 ...

The Emotions: Flowers

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 ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: Have you seen this man? the Gangster of Love, alias the Lone Ranger, alias Johnny Guitar Watson

Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 11 September 1976

Last seen: breaking into the charts with 'I Need It'. Previous convictions: playing with Frank Zappa. Former occupation: legendary R and B man; unknown composer ...

Rufus: The Truth About Rufus

Interview by Stephen Demorest, Circus, 13 September 1976

"I Hate The Blues!" Snaps Chaka Khan. ...

Leon Thomas: Baker's Keyboard Lounge, Detroit MI

Live Review by Frank Bach, The Ann Arbor Sun, 17 September 1976

VOCALIST LEON Thomas has seen work with everybody from Count Basie to Pharoah Sanders in the last twenty years and is probably one of the most innovative singers alive today. As ...

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 ...

Roy Ayers: The 35 Year Success Story

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 21 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 ...

Marvin Gaye (1976)

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. Read a transcript of Cliff's interview.

File format: mp3; file size: 36.8mb, interview length: 38' 20" sound quality: ****

Marvin Gaye (1976) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 28 September 1976

This is a transcript of Cliff's audio interview with the Motown legend, conducted in London the day after he played the Royal Albert Hall. Listen ...

Daryl Hall & John Oates: The Odd Couple — Hall & Oates: Blue-Eyed Philadelphia Soul

Interview by Kris Nicholson, Circus, 28 September 1976

AT FIRST glance these two characters look like rock's answer to the Odd Couple. Daryl Hall is the cool picture of a detached intellectual, with ...

Junior Walker & the All Stars: 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 ...

Stuff et al: The 'Citteh'

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

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

Ben E. King: Camden Lock

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 ...

Dorothy Moore, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds: Dorothy Moore, Jimmy James & Vagabonds, Wild Honey: The Palladium, London

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, ...

Stevie Wonder: The Selling of Stevie

Report by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 2 October 1976

MAYBE I'M just a cynic... but from where I'm standing it appears that, in terms of pushing as much product as humanly possible, the 13 ...

The Meters: Trick Bag

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 ...

Blacksmoke

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 5 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, 5 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 ...

Brothers Johnson, Quincy Jones, Lou Rawls: Quincy Jones, Brothers Johnson, Wattsline Singers, Lou Rawls: Felt Forum, New York NY

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 5 October 1976

Mr. Q hits the spot! ...

The Spinners: Rappin' with the Spinners

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 5 October 1976

David Nathan talks of this 'n' that with Henry and Pervis of the Atlantic supergroup... ...

The Spinners: The Spinners: Breakin' The Barriers

Interview by Frank Bach, The Ann Arbor Sun, 8 October 1976

EVER SINCE the beginnings of radio broadcasting in this country, the programming policies of most of the large white-owned stations have made it difficult, if ...

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 ...

Marvin Gaye: Soul Searching

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 ...

Wild Cherry: White boys play that fruity funk

Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 16 October 1976

LOOKING AT the title you'd think 'Play That Funky Music' by Wild Cherry was just another danceable disco record — off that never-ending factory line. ...

Al Jarreau Composes, Too

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 ...

Al Wilson: Something For Everybody

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 19 October 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.T. Express: Rappin' with B.T. Express

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 19 October 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. ...

Carol Douglas: The much-travelled Ms. Carol Douglas

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 19 October 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 ...

Funkadelic, Parliament: Parliament: The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein (Casablanca); Funkadelic: Tales of Kidd Funkadelic (Westbound)

Review by Joe McEwen, The Village Voice, 25 October 1976

Parliament-Funkadelic: Bummer in the City ...

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 ...

Tata Vega: Tata For Now

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 ...

Wild Cherry: Ripe 'n' Funky

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 ...

Brian Jackson, Gil Scott-Heron: 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. ...

The Chi-Lites: Top Rank, Brighton

Live Review by Barry Cain, Record Mirror, 13 November 1976

EIGHTEEN YEARS on... and the Chi-Lites can still do the seaside shuffle. ...

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: 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. ...

Brian Jackson, Gil Scott-Heron: Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson: It's Your World (Arista AL 5001)

Review by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 27 November 1976

GIL SCOTT Heron is the black Rob Dylan. What he has to say is important, eloquent and unusually effective in making everyone else sound trite. ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: 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 ...

James Booker: A winner never quits, a quitter never wins...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 November 1976

'THE BLACK LIBERATCHI' That's what it says on the card and you can tell that it's going to be one of those interviews when you ...

Johnnie Taylor: The Original Johnnie Taylor!

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 November 1976

Originality is the thing that succeeds above all else according to Mr T. He's currently working on a number of diverse projects which will spotlight ...

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 ...

Bobby Womack

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 ...

Brass Construction

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 ...

Brick: An Introduction

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 ...

Aretha Franklin, Leroy Hutson, Curtis Mayfield, The Staple Singers: Curtis Mayfield: The Creative Mastermind

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 ...

Ralph Johnson

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 ...

Robert Palmer: Some People Can Do What They Like (Island)

Review by Radio Pete, Rocky Mountain Musical Express, December 1976

ROBERT PALMER'S latest release, like his first two solo L.P.'s Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley and Pressure Drop is based on rhythm. And that's good. ...

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 ...

Funkadelic, Parliament: The Bizarre World of George Clinton (Parliament/Funkadelic Drop The Funk-Bomb On America)

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

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 December 1976

IT HAS taken a mighty, mighty album to knock Stevie Wonder off the top spot in the States — albeit for one week because Stevie ...

Earth, Wind & Fire, the Emotions: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 14 December 1976

EW&F: simply magnifico! ...

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 ...

O'Jays: Message 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 ...

Brothers Johnson, Quincy Jones: Brothers Johnson: Good To Ya, Good For Ya

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 28 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 ...

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 ...

War (1976)

Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages audio, Summer 1976

Howard E. Scott and Harold Ray Brown of the funk formation War on their two-year recording hiatus; collaboration with harmonica player Lee Oskar; commercial success versus be-your-natural-self approach; the American economic ethos: investment versus bank savings, capitalist society and its effect on War, and the dreams and myths it triggers; the necessity of cooling your mind on tour, and Baptism and salvation.

File format: mp3; file size: 79.5mb, interview length: 1h 22' 47" sound quality: ***

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 ...

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

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, January 1977

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

Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band

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

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

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

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

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

Gladys Knight and the Pips, Rose Royce, The Temptations, The Undisputed Truth: Norman Whitfield: a gambler with some sure bets

Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 1 January 1977

NORMAN WHITFIELD has always been a ghost-like character in terms of his presence to music. As a producer and writer he has always been a ...

Stuff: Bottom Line, New York NY

Live Review by Stephen Demorest, New York Daily News, 1 January 1977

The Stuff stars are made of ...

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 ...

Dionne Warwick is never less than perfect... always incapable of awkwardness

Profile by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 15 January 1977

MANY'S THE time that contemporary pop record producers have been compared, in function and power, to film directors. There are, of course, many different kinds ...

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 ...

The Jacksons: The Jacksons (Epic/Philadelphia International); Joyful Jukebox Music (Tamla Motown)

Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 15 January 1977

The red carpet, but no heat treatment ...

The 5th Dimension, Blue Magic: Blue Magic, Fifth Dimension: Westbury Music Fair, Westbury NY

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 18 January 1977

OPENING MID-week at a sparsely-filled Westbury Music Fair, Blue Magic gave a good if somewhat average show as opening act for The Fifth Dimension. ...

Boney M: The Newest Darlings Of Euro Disco

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 January 1977

FRANCE: No. 1. West Germany: No. 1. Sweden: No. 3. Switzerland: No 1. ...

D.C LaRue: DC LaRue: Gay Clubs Give Birth To Hetero Hit

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 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 ...

Rose Royce Clean Up With Car Wash

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 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.   ...

Al Green: Have a Good Time

Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 27 January 1977

IF HIS RECORDS ARE ANY indication, Al Green is a troubled, no, haunted man. ...

Bootsy Collins, The Undisputed Truth: Bootsy's Rubber Band: Ahh... The Name Is Bootsy, Baby! (Warner Bros); The Undisputed Truth: Method To The Madness (Warner Bros)

Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 29 January 1977

'Dock Of The Bay' was never like this! Soul Music shifts a gear ...

The Blackbyrds, Earth, Wind & Fire: Earth, Wind & Fire: Spirit (CBS); The Blackbyrds: Unfinished Business (Fantasy)

Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 29 January 1977

Cliff White on recent soul ...

Black Slate, Light of the World: Errol Gentle, A. Campbell, Sandra Andrews, Light Of The World: Phebes Club, Stoke Newington, London

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. ...

The J.A.L.N Band: J.A.L.N. Band: Life Is A Flight (Magnet)

Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 29 January 1977

THIS BRITISH based band are closer to the mark than our previous two contestants, especially on stage where they cut a deeper groove than many ...

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 ...

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

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, February 1977

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

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

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, February 1977

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

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

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, February 1977

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

Funkadelic, Frank Zappa: Frank Zappa: Zoot Allures (Warner Bros. BS 2970); Funkadelic: Hardcore Jollies (Warner Bros. BS 2973)

Review by Bruce Malamut, Crawdaddy!, February 1977

FRANK ZAPPA GREETS THE MOTHERSHIP ...

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

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, February 1977

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

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

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, February 1977

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

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

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, February 1977

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

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

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

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

The Cate Brothers: Cate Bros' Blue Eyed Soul

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 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 ...

The Jacksons: Look out! The Jacksons are back!

Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 1 February 1977

The Jackson boys take time out from recording their TV series to talk to B&S U.S. scribe, David Nathan ...

Thelma Houston: Rappin' with Thelma Houston

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 1 February 1977

YOU'VE HEARD it before so we'll spare the space and time it takes to tell you that for as long as she's been recording, Ms ...

The Blackbyrds: Awright, we're back to settle some unfinished business!

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 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... ...

George Benson: Breezin' with Benson

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 5 February 1977

"HE (MILES Davis) was one of the first smart guys in this industry. I love him a lot and every time I speak to him ...

"Brother" Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, 'Big' John Patton, Jimmy Smith: Record Shops and Hammond B3s

Memoir by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 5 February 1977

RICHARD WILLIAMS Writing every week in the MM ...

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Teddy Pendergrass: Teddy Pendergrass: Teddy's not so blue

Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 5 February 1977

AMUSINGLY RELEVANT to this week's Soul Mirror is an old song by the Cadillacs. ...

Has Disco Soul Sold-Out?

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. ...

The Manhattans, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes: The Manhattans vs The Blue Notes: Hammersmith Odeon, London

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 ...

Carl Douglas

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 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, ...

Odia Coates: Coates Of Many Colours

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 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 ...

The Bar-Kays: Euro Rumpshakers Get Hip To The Bar-Kays

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 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 ...

Leon Ware: Motown's Musical Masseur

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 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 Dynamic Superiors: Superiority Complex

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 15 February 1977

David Nathan raps with the Dynamic Superiors about this, that 'n' the other...an' particularly their new album, You Name It. ...

Heatwave: Phewhattascorcha!

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. ...

Brick, Bootsy Collins, Funkadelic, Parliament, Rose Royce: Underneath Apparent Mindlessness Lurks Astonishing Musicianship

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. ...

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

Overview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, March 1977

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

Alvin Cash: The Ali Connection

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 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 ...

Bootsy Collins: Bootsy's Rubber Band: Ahh... The Name Is Bootsy, Baby (Warner Bros. K 56302) *****

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 March 1977

AS WELL as offering a very visual show, Bootsy and the rest of the Rubber Band also turn in a rather strange musical potpourri, too! ...

George Benson: In Flight (Warner Bros. K56327)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 March 1977

GEORGE IS joined by Phil Upchurch (rhythm guitar), Ronnie Foster (keyboards), Ralph McDonald (percussion), Harvey Mason (drums), Stanley Banks (bass) and Jorge Dalto (piano and ...

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes: Harold Melvin and Blues Notes: The Inside Story...

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 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, 1 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, 1 March 1977

David Nathan talks to L.T.D.'s Billy Osborne, who traces the group's history and explains their philosophy ...

Syreeta today!

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 1 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, 1 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 ...

The Dramatics: "We're still singin' like we're starvin'!"

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 1 March 1977

Starvin' they ain't, but the Dramatics still put every ounce of effort into their work. Over the years, they've scored heavily with singles but now ...

Walter Jackson: Feelin' Good an' He Does Ya Good

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 1 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 ...

Stuff: Stuff (Warner Bros)

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). ...

Les McCann: Musical philosophy and stimulation for the walking dead...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 15 March 1977

Les McCann feels strongly about the apathy and inadequacy that engulfs people today. His River High, River Low album pinpoints a lot of human problems, ...

Willie Hutch: Rabbiting with Mister Hutch

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 15 March 1977

David Nathan talks to an all-round talent with that special human touch ...

O'Jays: The O'Jays' Philly Decision

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 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 ...

The Moments: Magic Moments

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 March 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 ...

The Miracles: Miracles 'Spy' Sensation

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 March 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, 29 March 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 ...

Spider's Webb: The Soulful Saga Of Spiders Webb

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 March 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 ...

Edwin Starr: Under Rated Super Starr

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 March 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 ...

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

Overview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, April 1977

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

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 ...

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 ...

Minnie Riperton (1977)

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: ***

Syreeta Wright: One To One (Motown t6-349ST)

Review by Tom Vickers, Phonograph Record, April 1977

MOST FEMALE singer-songwriters are prisoners of producers, and Syreeta Wright is no exception. Her most popular release, Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta Wright, came out in ...

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 ...

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 ...

Ashford & Simpson, New York Mary: Bottom Line, New York NY

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 12 April 1977

So, so satisfyin' ...

The Spinners: Today and Tomorrow

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 12 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 ...

Timmy Thomas: The Sweet Smell Of Success Revisited

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 12 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 ...

Billy Paul: It's The New Billy Paul, Let 'Im In

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 26 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 ...

Carl Davis: Doing His Own Thing

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 26 April 1977

WHEN YOU talk about Chicago in a musical way, there are some names that spring to mind instantly. Curtis Mayfield, Chess Records, The Chi-Lites, Chaka ...

Deniece Williams: This Really Is Niecy

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 26 April 1977

Spotlight on a charismatic new star, Ms. Deniece Williams ...

Enchantment: Introducing Enchantment

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 26 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 ...

GC Cameron: Rappin' with G.C. Cameron

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 26 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 ...

Tavares: Kickin' Up A Storm Internationally

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 26 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 ...

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

Interview by Tom Vickers, Black Music, May 1977

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

Wilson Pickett (1977)

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 ...

Brass Construction, The Spinners: Detroit Spinners, Brass Construction: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 7 May 1977

A FIASCO is when you put too much showbiz into soul biz. ...

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, ...

Kool and The Gang: The Gang's Still Kool Baby

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 10 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 ...

Michael Henderson: Here There And Everywhere

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 10 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! ...

Grover Washington Jr: The importance of being Grover...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 10 May 1977

The Life, Times and Philosophy of Grover Washington Jr. "Communication is the key," he says... ...

Teddy Pendergrass: The Whole Town's Talking 'Bout Teddy

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 10 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 ...

Junior Walker & the All Stars: Time Out With Junior Walker

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 10 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 ...

Pat Metheny, Marlena Shaw : Marlena Shaw: The City, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 20 May 1977

A singer with everything ...

Dexter Wansel: Wansel's Dexterity!

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 24 May 1977

OVER A relatively short period of time — "a year", the gentleman actually suggests, Mr. Dexter Wansel's name has appeared on the credits of several ...

Phyllis Hyman: This Lady's Got Star Karma

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 24 May 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..." ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Rappin' with Maurice White (of Earth, Wind and Fire)

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 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 – ...

Brass Construction: The Brains Behind Brass Construction

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 May 1977

B&S SuperEd, John Abbey, goes a-rappin' with BC's Superleader, Randy Muller... ...

Rufus: They're Rufusizing Buckingham Palace

Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 24 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 ...

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 ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: A Real Mother (DJM DJF20505)

Review by Barry Cain, Record Mirror, 28 May 1977

AWARD NO One: the worst album cover of the year so far. Mr Watson thumbs up in Cadillac BABY CARRIAGE! and guitar sticking up with ...

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 ...

Marvin Gaye Insight

Interview by Tom Vickers, Phonograph Record, June 1977

COMPLEX, MYSTERIOUS, INSPIRED & STUBBORN KIND OF FELLOW ...

Arthur Prysock: Arthur Socks It To Ya

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 7 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 ...

Candi Staton: sweet as ever, but "I van run producers up the wall!"

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 7 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 ...

James and Bobby Purify: The Purified Anglophiles

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 June 1977

"Audiences? British are best...." Who says so? Messrs. James and Bobby, the Purify Brothers. Read on folks... ...

Jean Carne: Jean Carn: Philly's First Lady

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 7 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, ...

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 ...

Elkie Brooks: Two Days Away

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. ...

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 ...

Anglo-Saxon Brown: Evolving

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 21 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 ...

Bo Kirkland & Ruth David: Bo and Ruth Get Next To You

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 21 June 1977

PROBABLY THE biggest selling import single of all time is Bo Kirkland & Ruth Davis' epic 'You're Gonna Get Next To Me'. ...

Philippe Wynne: Philippe solo: he's a Wynner

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 21 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 ...

Ruby Andrews: A Precious Gem

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 21 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, ...

Shalamar, Simon Soussan: Simon's 'Uptown Festival'

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 21 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, ...

Slave: Chained To The Charts

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 21 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, 21 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 ...

The Jacksons: Graduation days

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 21 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 ...

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: 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 Dramatics, Rufus: Rufusized

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

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

The 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) ...

Aretha Franklin: Aretha Still Rules Okay

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 5 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 ...

The Supremes: New Supremes Will Spearhead New Motown Era

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 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 ...

Ralph MacDonald: King Of The Skins

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 5 July 1977

Ralph McDonald, the leading session percussionist and now a recording star in his own right. ...

Evelyn Thomas: Some Enchanted Evelyn

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 July 1977

Evelyn Thomas, a recent visitor to Britain, talks to B&S about her new album sessions. ...

Archie Bell and the Drells: The State Visit by Archie Bell and the Drells

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 July 1977

John Abbey talks to the man who was making disco records before Disco was even invented... ...

Hamilton Bohannon: This Smile Belongs To Hamilton Bohannon

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 July 1977

The Disco Man has the fastest-moving album of the day; that's why he's radiating happiness and joie de vie. ...

Brainstorm: UK Soulcharts Have A Brainstorm

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 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, 5 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 Sylvers, Tavares: The Sylvers: Something Special (Capitol ST 11580); Tavares: Love Storm (Capitol ST AO-11628)

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 ...

Jerry Butler: The Return The Ice Man

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 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, 19 July 1977

John Abbey talks to cyclist-cum-Soulman, Mr. Jimmy Bo Horne ...

George McCrae: Okay George, Diamonds Are Forever But

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 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 ...

The Facts of Life: The B&S Guide To The Facts Of Life

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 19 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' ...

The Floaters: "We're Floating along on the crest of a wave…"

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 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. ...

Tony Etoria And The 'X' Factor

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 July 1977

Tony's currently climbing both pop and Soul charts and seems to have that certain somethin' which could establish him as the first Black British Superstar... ...

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 ...

Lee Dorsey, Professor Longhair, Irma Thomas, Allen Toussaint: Mardi Gras in New Orleans (Mardi Gras MG 1001); New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival 1976 (Island 1SLD 9424)

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 ...

Daryl Hall & John Oates: 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, ...

Aretha Franklin: Queen Aretha #1 – From Detroit to The Columbia Years

Retrospective by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 2 August 1977

An appreciation of the career of Aretha Franklin ...

The Trammps: Best Dressed Trammps You Ever Did See

Interview by John Abbey, David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 2 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 ...

Garnet Mimms: Mr. Mimms Comes Truckin' On Back

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 2 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 ...

Marlena Shaw …and happy days (aaaaay!)

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 2 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, 2 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… ...

Shirley Brown: Counting Her Blessings

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 2 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 ...

The Hitchhikers: These Hitchhikers are motorin' along...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 2 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 ...

The Gap Band: The Gap Band

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 ...

Maze: A Maze In Grace

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 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 #2 – The Golden Years

Retrospective by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 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 ...

Bob James: A Profile Of Mr Low Profile

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 August 1977

FIRST, there was One. Then Two. Naturally, then, Three And now there's Four. ...

The Brecker Brothers, The Crusaders, Les McCann: Crusaders, Brecker Brothers, Les McCann: Palladium, New York NY

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 August 1977

Jazz Reigns ...

Smokey Robinson: Smokey Hits The Big Time

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 August 1977

Smokey Robinson talks about his movie projects, recording and tour plans....and of his intention to visit Britain soon! ...

George Duke, Shotgun, Stuff: Stuff: Bottom Line; George Duke: Bottom Line; Shotgun: Barney Google's, New York NY

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 August 1977

NO, THE three above-named acts did not appear together in any kind of mammoth concert but we lumped them together because our reviews on each ...

T-Connection: The Nassau Connection

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 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 ...

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 ...

Jean Carne: Jean Carn: Cellar Door, Washington DC

Live Review by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 26 August 1977

Carn's Stunning Vocals ...

Aretha Franklin: Queen Aretha #3 – Into the '70s

Retrospective by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 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 ...

Brothers Johnson: Those Prolific Brothers Johnson

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 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, 30 August 1977

THE SUCCESS story of 1977 certainly belongs to Deniece Williams. ...

Idris Muhammad: The Mountain Comes To Muhammad

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 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, 30 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. ...

Minnie Riperton: 'Minnie Bird', The 5 - Octave Soprano Is Back

Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 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, 30 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 ...

Danny Williams: The Ensign's flyin' and Danny's back with a bang!

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 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 ...

Tornader: Blowin' Up A Storm

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 August 1977

David Nathan traces the background of the rock, roots and reggae duo. ...

Al Jarreau

Interview by Radio Pete, Rocky Mountain Musical Express, September 1977

AL JARREAU leaps on stage wearing a Schlitz T-shirt (a nod to his Milwaukee roots) and with the graceful assistance of his hot Jazz quartet, ...

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 ...

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 ...

Aretha Franklin: Queen Aretha #4 – The Brand New Aretha

Retrospective by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 13 September 1977

Part 4 of an appreciation of the career of Aretha Franklin, by David Nathan... ...

Vernon Burch, Betty Wright: Betty Wright, Vernon Burch: Bottom Line, New York NY

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 13 September 1977

Betty Wright: super soul! ...

Betty Wright: The Final Ascent To Those Dizzy Heights

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 13 September 1977

David Nathan gets up-to-date with the lady and prophesises big success for her in coming months ...

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Teddy Pendergrass: Rappin' with Teddy Pendergrass

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 13 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 ...

Boney M: That risqué sleeve: "I hadn't even thought of it that way," says Boney M's Marcia!

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 September 1977

SO, I asked the lovely Marcia Barrett, of Boney M., whether a sleeve that depicts virtually naked ladies and a gent wrapped up in chains ...

Van McCoy: The New McCoy

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 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 ...

Average White Band, Marvin Gaye: Marvin Gaye, Average White Band: Radio City Music Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Wayne Robins, Newsday, 17 September 1977

Body and soul singer ...

Aretha Franklin: Queen Aretha #5 – The Future

Comment by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 27 September 1977

David Nathan concludes his in-depth appreciation of Aretha Franklin ...

Meco Has Lift Off

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 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, 27 September 1977

Nona Hendryx talks about her first solo album since the break-up of Labelle ...

The Blackbyrds

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 27 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... ...

The Emotions: Those Flowering Emotions Are Now In Full Bloom

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 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 ...

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 ...

Maze: Maze (Capitol)

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. ...

D.J. Rogers: Love, Music & Life (RCA PL12218)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 October 1977

THERE CAN be no disputing the fact that D.J. Rogers is one of the few relatively new names to actually come through with a distinctive ...

The Drifters: Ex Drifter Bill Chooses The British Way Of Life

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 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 ...

Graham Central Station: Undiscovered Pioneers

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 11 October 1977

David Nathan talks to a true innovator, Mr. Larry Graham ...

Rose Royce: How Total Concept became Rose Royce

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 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, 11 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 Emotions, Gloria Gaynor, Thelma Houston, Grace Jones, The Salsoul Orchestra, Andrea True Connection: The Billboard Disco Convention: Disco Is Here To Stay

Report by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 11 October 1977

David Nathan reports from New York on the Billboard Disco Convention 1977. ...

War: The Latest News From The War Front

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 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, 11 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 ...

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? ...

Gladys Knight and the Pips: Cholly Atkins, dancing machine

Interview by Deanne Stillman, Rolling Stone, 20 October 1977

DETROIT — I find Cholly Atkins, R&B dance master, in the basement of Gladys Knight's mother's Tudor mansion, rehearsing the Pips in a new routine ...

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 ...

Shirley Brown: Shirley Brown

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 ...

Gary Byrd: The Communicator

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 25 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 ...

The Isley Brothers: Go for your guns, amigo. Them thar Isleys are due back in town with a new album...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 25 October 1977

Go For Your Guns Amigo: Them thar Isleys are due back in town with a new album... ...

Hodges, James & Smith: Hodges James and Smith: A Soulful Sound And A Bit Of Razzle Dazzle

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 25 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. ...

The Stylistics: Stylistics Plead Guilty To Recent Lack Of Direction

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 25 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 ...

Sun A Shining

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 25 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... ...

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 ...

Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Smokey Robinson (1977)

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: ****

Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Smokey Robinson (1977) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages transcripts, November 1977

This is a transcript of Cliff's interview with Smokey. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Cameo: Still Going Strong After Rigor Mortis Has Set in

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 8 November 1977

B&S raps with the funky, funky 9-man band who play some pretty arresting music ...

Rokotto

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 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? ...

Roy Ayers: The Ambidexterous Mind Of Roy Ayers

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 8 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 ...

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 ...

Tamiko Jones: John Abbey and Tamiko Jones: A Soulful Wedding In Atlanta

Report by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 22 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 ...

The Dells' Silver Jubilee

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 22 November 1977

Twenty-five years continuous success… and with the original line-up still intact. Dave Nathan files this exclusive interveiw with Chuck Barksdale. ...

Donny Hathaway: The Last Hurrah, Washington DC

Live Review by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 24 November 1977

Pop-Soul Vocalist Donny Hathaway At The Last Hurrah ...

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 ...

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 ...

Grace Jones: Graceful Jones

Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 3 December 1977

SHE'S SIX feet of slinking black tigress, a red hot property amid the beautiful jet-setting people and a smart cookie to boot. Her name is ...

The Commodores: Live (Motown)

Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 3 December 1977

So this is Christmas: The Voice of Young Amerika! ...

Dorothy Moore: More gold from Ms.Moore

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 6 December 1977

David Nathan catches up with chart-topper, Dorothy Moore, a very happy lady ...

Archie Bell and the Drells: Q. When is a Philly group not a Philly group? A. When they're a bunch of Texans known as Archie Bell & the Drells

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 6 December 1977

John Abbey talks to the group who found success in Philadelphia way before the whole Philadelphia thing happened... ...

Bobbi Humphrey: Bobbi Means Business

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 20 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 & Fire: Musical Giants

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 20 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, 20 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, 20 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 ...

The Temptations: The Revitalised Temptations

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 20 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 ...

Al Green: The Belle Album (Hi)

Review by Joe McEwen, The Village Voice, 26 December 1977

Al Green: Between Time and Feeling ...

Billy Paul, the Philadelphia Story: Cellar Door, Washington DC

Live Review by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 27 December 1977

Better Never Than Late ...

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 ...

Loleatta Holloway (1978)

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: ***

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 Fatback Band: Fatback Band: The Master Dance Combo...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 January 1978

John Abbey talks to Bill Curtis about the band that's not strictly a 'band' anymore ...

Pockets: Gold-lined Pockets

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 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: Johnny Guitar Watson and the ups and downs of success...

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 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 ...

ZZ Hill: ZZ and The Making Of A Soul Classic

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 3 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 ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Earth, Wind and Fire: All 'n All (CBS 80051)

Review by Barry Cain, Record Mirror, 7 January 1978

Smooth as their sequined shirts ...

Gil Scott-Heron: Bridges

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 ...

Earth, Wind & Fire, Maurice White: Maurice White: From Sessionman To Producer

Interview by Sam Sutherland, Record World, 7 January 1978

EVEN IF Maurice had chosen to retire as a musician in the early '70s, his mid-decade emergence as a producer would guarantee him prominence: White's ...

Parliament: Funkentelechy Vs the Placebo Syndrome (Casablanca CALH 2021)

Review by Barry Cain, Record Mirror, 7 January 1978

I GUESS you could describe Parliament as an ethnic funk band if indeed such an animal exists. Apart from the occasional extra-terrestrial skullduggery which no ...

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 ...

Millie Jackson: In Tune With The People

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 17 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 ...

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 ...

The Controllers: Four Young Men With A Soulful Message

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 17 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, 17 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 ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: Johnny Guitar Watson: Funk Beyond The Call Of Duty (DJM)

Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 21 January 1978

NUMBER THREE in an open-ended set of however many the market will take before the law of diminishing return starts operating. ...

Patti Austin: Jingle tills

Interview by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 21 January 1978

PATTI AUSTIN tells why she prefers shoe polish to the bright lights ...

Allen Toussaint: Toussaint

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 ...

Brenda & The Tabulations: Brenda and The Tabulations: Coming Back For More

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 31 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, 31 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 ...

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!)

Profile and 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! Bat with their new Stax affiliation, he and the guys are getting bigger every ...

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 ...

T-Connection Make It 3 In A Row

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 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: 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'; ...

The Fantastic Four Are Back With A Bang

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 January 1978

Courtesy of the disco boom, the Fantastic Four are back in business and scoring their biggest hit of all time... ...

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 ...

Hot: When You're Hot You're Hot

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 31 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. ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Earth Wind & Fire: All 'n All (Columbia JC 34905)

Review by Bruce Malamut, Crawdaddy!, February 1978

EARTH WIND & Fire have come a long way from the jazzed-out horns, elasticized rhythms and coolness (unique for avant-soul) of their first album. ...

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 ...

Fat Larry's Band: Off The Wall (Stax STX 3004)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 February 1978

WHATEVER RECOGNITION Fat Larry James' Band has gained came via the disco world's unanimous support of their only previous album and, more especially, the 'Center ...

Mandrill Plan Operation World

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 February 1978

Following a highly successful tour of major American cities, Mandrill are now anxious to become a truly international act. Plans are underway for them to ...

Patti Austin: The Jingle Queen Breaks Out

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 14 February 1978

David Nathan talks to a soulful lady whose dulcet tones can also be heard on numerous American TV commercials ...

Detroit Emeralds: The Emerald Behind The Floaters Gem

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 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, 14 February 1978

The Imperials discover that Britain love 'em ...

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 & Fire, Pockets, Deniece Williams: Earth, Wind and Fire, Deniece Williams, Pockets: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale NY

Live Review by Wayne Robins, Newsday, 22 February 1978

Earth, Wind and Fire puts on a flashy show ...

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 ...

Earth, Wind & Fire, The Emotions, Deniece Williams: Earth Wind & Fire: Maurice White

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 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 ...

The Commodores: Hot At Home An' Zoomin' In Europe

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 February 1978

SO, FOR the good news for European fans. The Commodores will definitely be touring Europe this April, and that is confirmed! ...

Gladys Knight and the Pips: The Pips: A Solo Album But No Split With Gladys

Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 28 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 ...

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 ...

George Duke Reaches for the Sky

Interview by John Swenson, Circus, 2 March 1978

Crossover Success Comes Easily for Keyboardist ...

Natalie Cole: A Thoughtful, Thankful Sophisticated Lady

Interview by Fred Schruers, Circus, 2 March 1978

Natalie Cole's Career Soars after Two Grammys, Three Hits ...

Al Green: The King Is Dead Long Live The King

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 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, 14 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 ...

Con Funk Shun: Confunkshun: Memphians With California Bloodlines

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 March 1978

The Magnificent Seven hail from the West Coast, but the band was born in Memphis ...

Parliament: Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome (Casablanca CALH2021)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 March 1978

I DON'T REALLY believe that there is a funkier band in the whole world than the Parliament brigade and this latest offering is all the ...

The Bar-Kays: Bar-Kays put the city back on the world's musical map...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 March 1978

"Shake your rump to the funk", the guys suggested, and the world tuned in to the new Memphis era ...

Judd Phillips: The Memphis Mercury Connection

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 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, Willie Mitchell, Ann Peebles: Willie Mitchell: Gettin' Hi High Again

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 March 1978

Willie Mitchell has virtually forsaken his own career in favour of running Hi Records and putting the label back up there... ...

Freda Payne

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 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, 28 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 ...

Roberta Flack: Flack's Back

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 28 March 1978

Roberta Flack – the Star who likes to hang out just like everyday folks ...

The Blue Notes wanna be the black Beatles!

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 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 ...

Betty Wright (1978)

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: ****

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. ...

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 ...

Maze: The Golden Days Of Maze

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 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, 11 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, ...

Tavares: City Hall, Newcastle

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 ...

Kool and the Gang: Kool & the Gang: Kool's Nasty Silly

Profile by Joe McEwen, The Village Voice, 24 April 1978

YOU'D NEVER know it from their last couple of albums, but there was a time when Jersey City's Kool and the Gang had a real ...

Kellee Patterson: Kellee Gets Fitted With Gold

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 25 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Al Green: Crosstalk With Al Green

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 9 May 1978

HE'S NOW acquired the tag "Minister of Soul" and "Love And Happiness" continues to be his message. He's racked up several millions in sales world-wide ...

Harvey Mason: Have Funk Will Travel

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 9 May 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 ...

Peabo Bryson: the sky's the limit...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 9 May 1978

With Reaching For The Sky as his newest album on Capitol, it's obvious that Mr. Peabo Bryson has lofty ideas! Fortunately, everyone seems certain that ...

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, ...

Evelyn "Champagne" King: Broady's, New York NY

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 23 May 1978

Evelyn "Champagne" King: promising start... ...

The Floaters: Floaters serve up a little piece of Magic

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 23 May 1978

With their all-important second album, the guys are intent on proving they are far more than just one-hit wonders... ...

Funkadelic, Parliament: Parliament/Funkadelic

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 23 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 ...

Funkadelic, Mother's Finest, Parliament: Parliament/Funkadelic, Mother's Finest: Capitol Center, Landover MD

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 23 May 1978

Parliament tear the roof off Washington ...

Raydio: Tune in to Raydio

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 23 May 1978

One of the biggest records of 1978 belongs to a new group known simply as Raydio. With 'Jack & Jill' topping charts across both sides ...

Bootsy Collins, Funkadelic: Bootsy Collins (1978)

Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages audio, June 1978

Bootsy takes us back to Cincinnati in 1968, and he and brother Phelps' band the Pacesetters; from there it's to James Brown and 'Sex Machine'; then via the House Guests it's on to George Clinton and P-Funk: America Eats Its Young and Cosmic Slop; his Space Bass; forming the Rubber Band; new Funkadelic album One Nation Under a Groove; producing Roger Troutman; the people who make up P-Funk, including Bernie Worrell, and on current black music.

File format: mp3; file size: 50.1mb, interview length: 52' 09" sound quality: ***

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... ...

Cuba Gooding Comes In From The Cold

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 6 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 ...

Mandre: 'Soular' Soul From Outer Space

Profile by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 6 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 ...

Village People: The Macho Answer To Women's Lib

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 6 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 ...

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 ...

Norman Connors, Phyllis Hyman, Patti LaBelle: Patti Labelle, Norman Connors' Starship Orchestra: Carter Barron Amphitheater, Washington DC

Live Review by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 17 June 1978

Superb Ballads Of Patti Labelle ...

Donna Summer: Universal Amphitheater, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 1978

Donna Summer's Debut at Universal ...

Gene Chandler: The Duke Of Earl Is Back

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 20 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, 20 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, 20 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 ...

The Manhattans: Manhattans Are Planning A Doo Wop Album

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 20 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, 20 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, 20 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 ...

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 ...

The Commodores, Platinum Hook: The Commodores: Natural High (Motown); Platinum Hook: Platinum Hook (Motown)

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 ...

Eddie Hinton, Frankie Miller: Eddie Hinton: Very Extremely Dangerous (Capricorn)

Review by Joe McEwen, The Village Voice, 3 July 1978

Blue-Eyed Soul ...

Bobbi Humphrey: Bobbi's Jam with Stevie

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 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, 4 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, 4 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. ...

Idris Muhammad: Idris Boogies On Up

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 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 ...

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: Martha Reeves: Martha's Happier Than Ever Before

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 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 ...

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 ...

Etta James (1978)

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 (1978) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 12 July 1978

This is a transcription of Cliff's audio interview with Etta. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

The Jimmy Castor Bunch: Bertha Butt meets Darth Vader... courtesy of Jimmy Castor, of course!

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 July 1978

WHEN IT comes to novelty disco tunes, Jimmy Castor has proven himself to be irresistible. Right from 'Hey Leroy, Your Mama's Calling You', through the ...

Faze-O repay Ohio Player's faith in them

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 July 1978

...and get SHE label off the ground! ...

Millie Jackson rings the changes

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 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, 18 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 ...

O'Jays: The O'Jays Interview

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 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 to a good thing

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 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 ...

Etta James: Dingwalls, London

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 ...

Etta James, Allen Toussaint: Jerry Wexler: Producer with a Fan's Passion

Interview by Sam Sutherland, High Fidelity, August 1978

ON A BLEAK, sunless afternoon, Jerry Wexler sits comfortably in the shadows of a recording studio control room, listening to the playback of a vocal ...

Margie Joseph: Margie's Feeling Her Way To The Very Top

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 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, 1 August 1978

John Abbey talks to Satch Satchell, the Ohio Players' spiritual leader. ...

Patti LaBelle: Going Straight

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 1 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 ...

Pleasure To Meet You

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 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 ...

The 5th Dimension: The Fifth Dimension

Overview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 1 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 ...

Etta James' long search for stardom

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 ...

Taste Of Honey: A Taste Of Honey: Funky-unky-unky

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 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, 15 August 1978

Having signed an international deal with RCA records, the band plan to take their music around the world ...

Sylvester: The Second Step

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 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... ...

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 ...

Etta James: Betta than evva!

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 August 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, ...

Prince Phillip Mitchell: Prince Phillip's Makin' It But Good

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 August 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 ...

Teddy Pendergrass

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 29 August 1978

Teddy talks to David Nathan about his professional plans and personal philosophies ...

Aretha Franklin: The Aretha Franklin Interview...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 29 August 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. ...

The Commodores: Do these men look like black Beatles?

Interview by Barry Cain, Record Mirror, 2 September 1978

Barry "Phoner" Cain gets a Commodore connection with Walter "Sweet" Orange in Tuskegee, Alabama ...

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 ...

Candi Staton: Disco Confuses Candi

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 12 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 ...

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. ...

Grace Jones: Amazing Grace

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 12 September 1978

The Queen of the Dancefloors, the inimitable Grace Jones ...

Johnny Bristol: Still Hangin' In There...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 12 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 ...

Rick James: The Punk Funk Of Rick James

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 12 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 ...

The Stylistics: Back 'In Fashion'

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 12 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 ...

Etta James: Payin' The Cost

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 ...

Foxy Get Off On That Groove

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 26 September 1978

The all-white chart-toppers don't try to sound black – it's their natural way. "We just want to play that groove,'' they say. "If there isn't ...

Atlantic Starr: Meet Atlantic Starr

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 26 September 1978

John Abbey talks to the 9-piece outfit who are storming the U.S singles and albums charts ...

Rose Royce: The Golden Success Story

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 26 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 ...

Etta James: James The First

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

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

Rose Royce, Stargard: Odeon, Birmingham

Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 7 October 1978

IT SURE WUZ A GREAT PAAAARTY... ...

Sylvester the slinky cat

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. ...

Rick James's Punk Funk

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 ...

Betty Wright: Wright on

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 10 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... ...

Chaka Khan (1978)

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: ***

KC & the Sunshine Band

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 10 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 ...

Loleatta Holloway, Bunny Sigler: Loleatta Holloway: Queen Of The Night (Salsoul SSLP 1509)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 10 October 1978

THE LONG awaited second Gold Mind album from Loleatta and this time the lady is caught up with a myriad of production units. The whole ...

Sylvester: Step II (Fantasy F549)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 10 October 1978

SYLVESTER HAS carved a niche for himself in the disco world and his second Fantasy album will certainly consolidate his following around the nation's dancefloors. ...

The Emotions: Sunbeam (Columbia)

Review by Ariel Swartley, Rolling Stone, 19 October 1978

THE EMOTIONS don't just sing on Sunbeam — they bounce. They'll spring back from a note as soon as they land on it, giving it ...

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..." ...

Charo: Disco Comedienne

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 October 1978

The lady's natural wit made her a runaway success on America's chat shows and her debut album was an international winner. Now she feels she's ...

Randy Jackson: Solo Randy Will Always Be Part Of The Jacksons

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 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: Lasting Impressions

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 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 ...

Crown Heights Affair: Vice on Ice

Interview by Barry Cain, Record Mirror, 28 October 1978

Drink, drugs. Who needs them, say Crown Heights Affair ...

Ray Charles: Love And Peace

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 – brought ...

George Clinton, Parliament: George Clinton (1978)

Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages audio, November 1978

A splendidly rambling conversation in which the P-Funk mastermind looks back at the early days of Parliament; fondly remembers Screaming Jay Hawkins and Louis Jordan; the rise of P-Funk; punk v funk; Hendrix and Sly as pioneers; gives a definition of what Funkadelic is, and the birth of 'One Nation Under A Groove'.

File format: mp3; file size: 32.7mb, interview length: 34' 05" sound quality: ***

Donna Summer: Felt Forum, New York NY

Live Review by Wayne Robins, Newsday, 4 November 1978

Safe at the Forum ...

Gloria Gaynor: The First Lady of Disco

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 7 November 1978

Although she may not have been scoring as consistently on the charts in recent times, Ms. Gloria gaynor — the acknowledged "Queen of Disco" — ...

The Sylvers: Golden Sylvers Look To The Silver Screen

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 7 November 1978

Edmund Sylvers tells David Nathan about the group's new record affiliation, their aims in the film world and plans for a European tour.   ...

Jerry Butler: The Ice Man Returneth Home

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 November 1978

Jerry talks to B&S about his reunion with Gamble and Huff and his plans for the future... ...

Loleatta Holloway: Queen Of The Night

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 7 November 1978

The 'Cry To Me' lady talks to B&S about her new disco following... ...

Mtume: Not Just Funnin', Mtume Mean Real Business

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 7 November 1978

Mtume's jumping off point came when two of the guys wrote a hit for Roberta Flack, but they are more than just a songwriting team ...

Chic, Norma Jean Wright: Norma Jean: The girl from Chic with that certain something...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 7 November 1978

One of the brightest new stars on the horizon is a young lady whose voice has already been heard across the world. As lead singer ...

Timmy Thomas: The Gospel Freak

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 November 1978

The 'Why Can't We Live Together' man now has a dual role – as head of TK's Gospel division and leader of the Freak dancefloor ...

O'Jays: The O'Jays: So Full Of Love (Philly Int PIR 86066)

Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 11 November 1978

THIS IS an album that's already had two tracks pulled off as singles. Yet the real prize is lurking on the last track of side ...

Dr. John: Interview: Dr. John (Mac Rebennack), November 14, 1978

Interview by Peter Stone Brown, unpublished, 14 November 1978

THIS INTERVIEW TOOK place on Dr. John's tour bus right before a show at the Bijou Café in downtown Philly.  I'd been a fan of ...

Funkadelic, George Clinton: Funkadelic: The Noble Art of Rhythm'n'Biz

Profile and Interview by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 18 November 1978

WARNER Brothers' New York Office on East 54th is only two blocks across and three up from the Taft Hotel on West 51st; close enough ...

Dan Hartman, Edgar Winter: Hartman's Heartland

Interview by Barry Cain, Record Mirror, 18 November 1978

BARRY CAIN meets former Edgar Winter Band member Dan Hartman — the man who made 'Instant Replay' one of the most instant of this year's ...

Heatwave: Heating Up the Disco Crowd

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 18 November 1978

TO COME back from a very successful American tour to see your new single shoot into the chart at No 36 while making healthy strides ...

Isaac Hayes: Chronicle/For The Sake Of Love

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 18 November 1978

IT'S MY CONTENTION that, whatever bizarre circumstances caused the flurry of lawsuits circulating round Isaac Hayes prior to the demise of Stax Records, and the ...

The Brides of Funkenstein, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Funkadelic, Parliament: P-Funk: Free Your Mind — Your Accountant Will Follow

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 25 November 1978

Pretty soon, the whole Parliafunkadelicment troupe arrives in Britain — led by their founder, the black surrealist George Clinton. VIVIEN GOLDMAN witnessed Clinton's Clones on ...

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

Live Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, December 1978

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

Latimore: Benny Latimore: Diggin' Deeper

Interview by Cliff White, Black Music, December 1978

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

The Temptations Revisited

Interview by Cliff White, Black Music, December 1978

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

James Brown: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 2 December 1978

The Sex Machine winds down ...

The Jacksons: Destiny

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 2 December 1978

THIS IS AN important album for the Jacksons – now five again, with a small letter at least, Jermaine's defection having been balanced by lil' ...

Odyssey: The Native New Yorkers Hit The Road

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 5 December 1978

Odyssey held back from touring after their 'Native New Yorker' smash. But now, with their new single and album, they are eager to get out ...

George Clinton, Funkadelic, Parliament: Parliament Funkadelic: Watch Out The Mothership Is Coming

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 December 1978

Beware, Britain – the Mothership is coming! George Clinton and those extra-terrestial beings, Parliament-Funkadelic, are about to descend on to your cities. It will be ...

Boney M: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Ronnie Gurr, Record Mirror, 8 December 1978

THE CIRCUS IS HERE ...

Chic: C'est Chic

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 9 December 1978

DISCO, THE People's Music, is the modern blues: the truest expression of a generation's thoughts, bitter sweetness with a backbeat. The old blues celebrated the ...

Patrick Adams, Musique: Patrick Adams: The Invisible Dance Master

Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 9 December 1978

PATRICK ADAMS rides by night as SINE, Cloud One, the Universal Robot Band and Musique. He's a young New Yorker with ineffable self-confidence and a ...

Art Bears, Funkadelic, Rush: Rush: Hemispheres (Mercury); Art Bears: Hopes And Fears (Re Records); Funkadelic: One Nation Under A Groove (Warner Brothers)

Review by Ian Penman, New Musical Express, 9 December 1978

Systems of resonance ...

Denise LaSalle: Under the Influence (ABC)

Review by Joe McEwen, The Village Voice, 11 December 1978

Denise LaSalle: on Top of the Influence ...

Chaka Khan: The Risk Pays Off

Interview by Howie Klein, BAM, 15 December 1978

LOS ANGELES – In the stately Beverly Hills suite of offices which houses B and B Associates, Chaka Kahn's prestigious management firm, the air is ...

The Brides of Funkenstein, Funkadelic: Funkadelic: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 16 December 1978

FUNK CAN never be rendered; only worked through. It's simple and irreducible, a tempo and a feeling that have to be, and have to put ...

The Brides of Funkenstein, Funkadelic, Parliament: Parliament/Funkadelic/Parlet/Brides Of Funkenstein: Bellevue Kings Hall, Manchester

Live Review by Mick Middles, Sounds, 16 December 1978

THE WORLD funk extravaganza circus comes to Manchester. ...

Sylvester: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 16 December 1978

SYLVESTER, DISCO'S hermaphrodite darling, delivered one of the best shows in world history last weekend. ...

Sylvester: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Barry Cain, Record Mirror, 16 December 1978

WHAT A DRAG ...

The Brides of Funkenstein, Parliament: The Brides of Funkenstein: Funk Or Walk; Parliament: Motor Booty Affair

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 16 December 1978

IF ROCK stars had the kind of union that insisted on overtime bans and frowned on over-productivity, George Clinton would undoubtedly be the subject of ...

Bernie Worrell: P-Funk: Bernie Worrell, The Keyboard King

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 December 1978

THE LATEST Parliafunkadelicment member to shoot solo shots is Bernie Worrell, the keyboard king of Funkadelia. Entitled All The Woo In the World, the album ...

Funkadelic: P-Funk: Mike Hampton – Kid Funkadelic

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 December 1978

REPRESENTING the younger generation of Funkadelicans is Mike Hampton, a long-haired extrovert who plays perhaps the meanest guitar within our musical sphere. "I am not ...

Quazar: Outta The Woodshed An' Into The Charts

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 19 December 1978

The group spent some 6 years woodshedding (preparing themselves to face the public.) Now, as David Nathan reports, their hard work is paying handsome dividends... ...

The Brides Of Funkenstein: The Solo Talents Within The Parliafunkadelicment Thang…

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 December 1978

AS ONE would imagine, monogamy isn't in keeping with Dr. Funkenstein's image and so I guess it was only natural that when he launched his ...

George Clinton, Funkadelic, Parliament: The George Clinton Interview: Part 2

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 December 1978

Coinciding with the arrival of the whole Parliafunk-adelicment entourage in Britain for concert dates, B&S concludes its exclusive interview with the mastermind of the whole ...

Chaka Khan: Chaka (Warner Bros.) ****

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 23 December 1978

NOW THEN, an album which the whole team involved has obviously spent a good deal of time thinking about. Chaka Khan needs songs which exploit ...

The Brides of Funkenstein, Funkadelic, Parliament: Parliament, Funkadelic, the Brides Of Funkenstein: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 23 December 1978

AND LO, when the silver spaceship settled on the Odeon stage, the faces of the assembled glowed like kids when the fairy lights twinkle for ...

The Brides of Funkenstein, Funkadelic, Parliament: Parliament/Funkadelic/Parlet/Brides Of Funkenstein: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Ian Penman, New Musical Express, 23 December 1978

THE "MOTHERSHIP" arrives. Everybody gets on out of it and has a "party". And I dance. And slump. And dance and slump. ...

Sylvester: Roxy, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 23 December 1978

Sylvester: Disco, Soul at the Roxy ...

Tavares: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 23 December 1978

TAVARES SEEM assured of fairly attentive, appreciative concert audiences for some time to come because they've managed to compile quite a sizeable catalogue of hits ...

Nona Hendryx, Labelle: LaBelle's Nona Hendryx (1979)

Interview by Ian Ravendale, Rock's Backpages audio, 1979

Ms Hendryx looks back at the formation, encouraged by Vicki Wickham, of LaBelle from the ashes of the Bluebelles; their new image, stage show, and groove. She also talks about going solo and her first album.

File format: mp3; file size: 9mb, interview length: 19' 42" sound quality: *****

Nona Hendryx, Labelle: LaBelle's Nona Hendryx (1979) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Ian Ravendale, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 1979

This is a transcript of Ian's audio interview with Nona. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Sylvester Steps Out...

Profile by Cliff White, Smash Hits, January 1979

THE READER who wrote to us last month asking whether Sylvester is male or female may be forgiven for his or her confusion. One of ...

Al Green: Soulful Al's not so Green in the disco stakes, either...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 2 January 1979

Mr. Green's first album in a year leans more towards disco than anything else he's released. But, he explains, it wasn't a deliberate move to ...

Cheryl Lynn: Cheryl's Trip Down The Yellow Brick Road

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 2 January 1979

"I'M JUST excited about the whole thing!" bubbles Ms. Cheryl Lynn and she has every reason for feeling that way. Her debut Columbia album and ...

Grover Washington Jr: Grover's Motown Seed Is bearing fruit a-plenty

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 2 January 1979

ALTHOUGH on odd occasions they have varied their musical direction – notably into Country & Western for a minute and via the Rare Earth Rock-Pop ...

Jean Carne: Jean Carn: Happy Is The Only Way To Fly...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 2 January 1979

Jean's second album, Happy To Be With You, is winning friends with R&B and jazz fans alike...and happy also sums up the way she feels ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: Johnny Guitar Watson: Guitar Giant!

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 2 January 1979

AFTER THE comparative failure of Funk Beyond The Call Of Duty, Johnny Guitar Watson is back with a vengeance. ...

Mother's Finest: one group under two grooves

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 2 January 1979

I DON'T know about you, but the image that I had always had of Mother's Finest was that they were a sort of Osmonds-type pop ...

Sarah Dash: Putting It Together Again

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 2 January 1979

After 16 years with the now legendary team of Patti Labelle & The Bluebelles (who after selling their hearts to the junkmen and disappearing over ...

Marvin Gaye: Here, My Dear

Review by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 6 January 1979

I SUPPOSE I should be grateful to the new Marvin Gaye album for something – I did a very surreal drawing in pencil while wading ...

Hot Chocolate: Everyone's a Moneyspinner

Profile and Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 13 January 1979

GREAT POPULAR music is generally not a cynical or synthetic product, but something personal to one individual that many, many others find appealing. ...

The Jacksons: Destiny (Epic)

Review by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 13 January 1979

EACH YEAR, when the popularity polls roll around, way down in the best vocalist section we can find Bowie, Dylan and even Cornwall whilst my ...

Cameo: Ugly Ego (Casablanca CAL 2040)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 January 1979

NINE PIECE, self-contained group have established themselves a little bit more with every release since their arrival on the scene more than two years ago. ...

Dobie Gray Is Driftin' Back...

Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 January 1979

"PEOPLE TEND to think that if you're not on the top of the charts, you fall flat on your face," states Dobie Gray. "Well, I've ...

Cerrone: Golden Cerrone

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 January 1979

As his new album implies, Marc Cerrone surely has that Golden Touch...in fact, the album reportedly shipped gold in seven countries! ...

Heatwave: International Heatwave

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 January 1979

LONDON, England, is hardly renowned for its temperate climate but it can boast one long and consistent Heatwave because it is – and probably always ...

Peaches and Herb: On A Groove Thing...

Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 January 1979

THEY'RE BOTH agreed: Peaches and Herb state almost unanimously that working on their latest album with producer Freddie Perren (the album is on Freddie's own ...

The Temptations: Temptations Thrive On Their New Found Freedom...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 16 January 1979

AFTER A rather disappointing first year with Atlantic Records, it looks as though 1979 will see the mighty Temptations searching in earnest to regain their ...

Marvin Gaye's Here, My Dear: A Masterpiece after all?

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 20 January 1979

EDITOR'S NOTE: A couple of weeks ago, Vivien Goldman trashed Marvin Gaye's new album in these columns. A dissenting voice pleads to be heard – ...

Marvin Gaye: Stand Up For Your Rights, My Brothers: Marvin Gaye’s Here, My Dear

Report and Interview by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 20 January 1979

WHILE TOURING Britain last September, the Temptations were not shy about slagging off their former record company, Motown. Numerous quotes from my interview with the ...

War: Youngblood (MCA)

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 20 January 1979

WAR WAS a multi-platinum album act in America with such classic Top 40 streetfunk singles as 'All Day Music', 'Cisco Kid', 'The World Is A ...

Chic: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 27 January 1979

Cheers for Chic ...

The Pointer Sisters: Pointers To The Future

Report and Interview by Max Bell, New Musical Express, 27 January 1979

NOSTALGIA, so the old song hath it, ain't what it used ta be. ...

Al Jarreau: Days Of Future Past...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 January 1979

Since the release of his debut album three years ago, Al Jarreau has firmly established himself as a creative talent of the first order. He ...

Cameo: Sitting Pretty With Their Ugly Ego

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 January 1979

If the group's second album was two steps ahead of their debut set, then the new one is five steps ahead of either, they feel. ...

Chanson: There's No Holdin' 'Em Back

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 January 1979

James and David have worked as session musicians on countless hits but now, with their debut on Ariola, they've become an instant success in their ...

Chic: C'est Chic (Atlantic K50565)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 January 1979

THE FIVE piece Chic outfit have become one of disco's hottest properties and their 'Le Freak' hit is just about the most played record around ...

Peabo Bryson Comes Into His Own...

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 January 1979

With his debut album for Capitol, already certified as gold, Mr. Peabo Bryson is truly "reaching for the sky". His newest album, 'Crosswinds' looks set ...

The Staple Singers: Muscle Shoals Revisited...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 January 1979

IT CAN'T be coincidence that the minute the Staples return to Muscle Shoals, they come away with their best selling album since the last time ...

Alicia Bridges: Alicia Bridges (Polydor Super 2391 364) ****

Review by Garry Bushell, Sounds, 3 February 1979

"IT'S A joke I've learned to live with/Being different from the crowd/They'd like to polish me up/Give me a trim/Water me down/And make me like ...

Ronnie Laws: Flame (United Artists UA-LA881-H)

Review by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 4 February 1979

LAWS' FLAME SET ON LOW ...

Roy Ayers: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 10 February 1979

THE WITTY, sham-fundamentalist introductions of trumpeter John Mosley were not the only examples of crowd manipulation at Roy Ayers' packed Hammersmith appearance. Despite no sets ...

Donny Hathaway: A Tribute to Donny Hathaway

Obituary by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 13 February 1979

THE TRAGIC news of the death in mid-January of Donny Hathaway no doubt shocked the gifted singer-songwriter's many admirers across the world and it was ...

Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers: Chuck Brown and The Soul Searchers: Bustin' Loose

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 February 1979

1979 HAS been acclaimed as the year that Funk would fight back. Proof of the truth of that statement can be found by simply looking ...

Instant Funk: The return of Funkkkkk

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 February 1979

Into the winner's circle with a three year old recording, Instant Funk now look set to become 79's major funk success. Read on... ...

Brass Construction: Randy Muller: Dance To The Music

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 February 1979

"The new Brass Construction album will have the same kind of rhythm pulse and good groove as the first one..." ...

T-Connection: Out To Kill

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 February 1979

AFTER TWO rather varied albums, T-Connection have made up their minds that their about-to-be-released third album will be the one to kill the discos. ...

The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, The Jacksons: The Jacksons: Ten Golden Years

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 February 1979

The guys recently celebrated ten years as a headlining act and B&S took the opportunity to talk to them individually and gather their thoughts on ...

The Neville Brothers: A Family Affair

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 February 1979

THE NAME of Neville is synonymous with the whole New Orleans sound. The eldest brother, Art, has invested more than twenty years into the music ...

Van McCoy Comes Out Of Retreat...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 February 1979

Having now emerged from a somewhat less fruitful period, following his huge international smash, 'The Hustle', Van McCoy talks of his recent creative and emotional ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: One Nation Under a Groove

Interview by Sylvie Simmons, Sounds, 24 February 1979

COSMIC KARMA QUESTIONNAIRE COMPILED BY SYLVIE SIMMONS ...

Chaka Khan: B&S award is more meaningful says Chaka...

Report by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 February 1979

ON THE face of it, the most surprising Poll winner this year was Chaka Khan's victory in the Female Vocalist division – where she edged ...

Celi Bee Spreads Her Wings

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 February 1979

WE GOT the opportunity to spear with Celi Bee (of Celi Bee & the Buzzy Bunch disco fame) on one of the lady's rare stopovers ...

Gene Chandler: The Duke Is Back

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 February 1979

RIGHT NOW, Gene Chandler's 'Get Down' is just about the biggest disco record in the country. Presently, Gene is touring the country promoting his biggest ...

Rose Royce: A Very Satisfying Year

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 February 1979

UNDOUBTEDLY, 1978 was The Year Of The Groups. Earth Wind & Fire, the Commodores and Rose Royce almost held a monopoly on the awards. Though ...

Earth, Wind & Fire's Maurice White (1979)

Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages audio, March 1979

Mr. White waxes philosophical about uplifting consciousness; contributing to the musical community; Philip Bailey and himself as singers; his fantasy lyrics and metaphysical lyrical vibrations; perfecting rawness; EW&F's over-the-top stage show; and society's problems.

File format: mp3; file size: 36.1mb, interview length: 37' 34" sound quality: ***

Cameo: Ugly Ego (Casablanca CAL 2038)

Review by Ronnie Gurr, Record Mirror, 3 March 1979

CAMEO, ACCORDING to my tattered old Webster's, in the literary sense is — quote — "a piece of detailed writing in polished style." In the ...

Peabo Bryson: Crosswinds (Capitol ST-11875)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 3 March 1979

THE NAME doesn't mean much to you, does it? Peabo Bryson's been in this game for quite a while and he's been digging his way ...

Sister Sledge: We Are Family (Cotillion U.S. import)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 3 March 1979

I WAIT for new work by Chic's Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers in the way that I once waited for the latest items from Phil ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind and Fire: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Hancock, Evening News, London, 5 March 1979

Down to Earth... the Fire is dying ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 10 March 1979

WOW!!! SHEER excellence!!! You weren't there? You are square!!! (you thought it was the other way round? You still living to those snobby chic guidelines? ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind & Fire: Maurice White's Band of Hope

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

There's more to America's biggest soul band than bread and circuses. VIVIEN GOLDMAN followed them to Staffordshire to talk about the Bible, spinal fluid, reincarnation, ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind & Fire: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

PITY THE poor reviewer covering a show of the astonishing calibre of Earth, Wind & Fire's weekend extravaganza at the Empire Pool. ...

Eddie Floyd, Isaac Hayes, David Porter, Sam & Dave, Johnnie Taylor: Stax: The Soul of a City

Interview by Richard Wootton, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

RICHARD WOOTTON talks to David Porter about the life and tempos of Stax ...

Rick James: Bustin' Out Of L Seven (Motown STML 12104)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 March 1979

WITHOUT A shadow of doubt, Canadian Rick James was one of the most significant discoveries of 1978. His 'You And I' and 'Mary Jane' singles ...

Sylvester: Step Three...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 March 1979

The man triumphed in both Disco sections of the annual B&S Poll but, surprisingly, tells us that his next album might actually be his last ...

Sylvester: War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 13 March 1979

Disco at the Opera House ...

ADC Band: The ADC Band: All Fired Up...

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 March 1979

THEIR BIOGRAPHY calls them a "funky renaissance band" and I guess that does just about sum up the ADC Band, Detroit's own band who have ...

The Commodores: 3 Times a Winner

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 March 1979

Lionel Ritchie and the Commodores triumphed in 3 sections of the recent B&S Poll. Here Lionel, who won the award as Best Songwriter, tells why ...

Tina Turner: The Willpower Way From Square One

Interview by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 14 March 1979

Tina Turner, now singing alone, is back in Britain. She talks to Mick Brown ...

Boney M: A hit almost everywhere but here

Profile and Interview by Wayne Robins, Newsday, 18 March 1979

THEY'VE BEEN No. 1 in Germany and Japan, Israel and Kuwait, France, Peru, Portugal, Kenya and dozens of other countries. One of their singles recently ...

Evelyn "Champagne" King: Evelyn Champagne King: A Bubbling Bundle Of Talent

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 March 1979

From office cleaning to record stardom, the 'champagne' lady uncorks her story...and cites producer T. Life as the Rat in her life!!! ...

Switch: Talent In Depth

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 March 1979

Lead vocalist Greg Williams explains how a chance meeting with Jermaine Jackson led to the guys achieving their big breakthrough. Now they're readying their second ...

The Blues Brothers: The Horrifying True Story!

Special Feature by Robert Duncan, Creem, April 1979

(or, Ain't Got No Love, Don't Want No Starch) ...

Chaka Khan, Earth Mother

Interview by Fred Schruers, Rolling Stone, 5 April 1979

NEW YORK — "I can read your thoughts right now, every one from A to Z," sings Chaka Khan in her current hit, 'I'm Every ...

Gloria Gaynor: Palladium, London

Live Review by David Hancock, Evening News, London, 6 April 1979

Oh no Gloria .... you won't survive ...

Chic, Sister Sledge: Sister Sledge: We Are Family (Cotillion K50587)***

Review by David Hepworth, Sounds, 7 April 1979

THE SNAP on the front may be Janet Reger boudoir and the one on the back corn row ethnic, but such image upgrading doesn't alter ...

Tavares: Madame Butterfly (Capitol)

Review by Simon Frith, Melody Maker, 7 April 1979

MADAME Butterfly opens with the familiar dance floor sounds – brass riff, flowing strings punched out guitars, tightly strung percussion – but this isn't really ...

Bunny Sigler: A Disco Believer

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 10 April 1979

After 12 years, writer, producer, singer Bunny Sigler finally has the creative freedom to pursue all avenues to his own satisfaction. ...

Chaka Khan, Rufus: Chaka Khan: Chaka Really Is Every Woman

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 10 April 1979

OVER THE years, we have covered just about every possible facet of Chaka Khan's career. So, during a break whilst recording a new album with ...

Creme D'Cocoa: Philly Versatility

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 10 April 1979

VENTURE RECORDS was launched last fall and immediately attained its initial breakthrough with 'Do What You Feel', the debut release on a new quartet from ...

Edwin Starr Makes Contact

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 10 April 1979

After a lengthy absence from the charts, Edwin's back with a vengeance. And he's well tuned in to disco as some folks acclaim 'Twenty Five ...

Rufus: Best of Both Worlds

Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 10 April 1979

Still maintaining their link with the departed Chaka Khan – Rufus now find their diverse talents sprouting in all directions.... ...

Sister Sledge: Family Breakthrough

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 10 April 1979

WHOEVER CAME up with the idea of putting that beautiful family quartet, Sister Sledge, together with platinum Chic hitmakers, Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, is ...

Percy Sledge: The Venue, London

Live Review by John Pidgeon, Melody Maker, 14 April 1979

THE SIMPLISTIC idea that the fundamental difference between country and soul in the Sixties was that one music was made by poor whites in the ...

Bill Withers, Soul Singer

Profile by Vernon Gibbs, The Village Voice, 16 April 1979

SINCE NO one else has had the nerve to say it, I might as well. Bill Withers is a great soul singer. Some purists might ...

Chic is less than meets the ear

Interview by Jim Farber, Rolling Stone, 19 April 1979

NEW YORK — The Barnum Room is a disco where any man who dresses like a woman can feel like a star. Even on this ...

J. Geils Band, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes: J. Geils Band, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes: Boston Garden, Boston

Live Review by Ariel Swartley, Rolling Stone, 19 April 1979

The J. Geils Band puts on the ritz ...

Bloodstone: Shining brightly, six years on...

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 April 1979

WOULD YOU believe that it's six years since Bloodstone hit the world's record charts with their haunting 'Natural High' ballad – probably one of the ...

GQ Present 'Gentlemen's Funk'

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 24 April 1979

David Nathan talks to the GQ quartet, currently scoring with their 'Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)' opus and finds that they label their music as 'gentlemen's funk'. ...

Lakeside's talent survives the knocks...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 24 April 1979

HAVING THE strength and belief to stay together as a unit in the face of adversity is surely one of the tests that determines exactly ...

Natalie Cole: The Natalie Cole interview

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 April 1979

IN THREE short years, Natalie Cole has risen to the point where today she is a household name. In the past few months, Natalie has ...

Labelle, Patti LaBelle: The real, raw Patti LaBelle

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 April 1979

Patti is happier with her latest album than with anything she has ever done before, and feels that producer Skip Scarbrough has captured the real, ...

Light of the World, Players Association: Players Association, Light Of The World: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 28 April 1979

"HOW CAN we refuse? We don't do this often — we're studio cats, you know what I mean!... ...

Raydio: Rock On (Arista)

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 28 April 1979

IN A YEAR already generous with good R&B albums comes Ray Parker's second release, and it may be the best of all. ...

The Brides of Funkenstein, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Funkadelic, Parliament: George Clinton & The Funk Mob

Report and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Unicorn Times, May 1979

GARY SHIDER and Mike Hampton held the stage at the Capital Centre in the fiercest rock'n'roll guitar duet in any local hall recently. Shider's fingers ...

War: Luther Rabb: War's new bass man...

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 May 1979

War's newest member is rarin' to go...as part of a very enthusiastic band, and as a solo act ...

Maze: The 'Inspiration' Behind Maze

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 May 1979

B&S raps to Maze leader Frankie Beverly who reveals the formula behind their 'rapid' rise to stardom. ...

Tavares: Tired Of That Flip Flop Music...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 8 May 1979

UNTIL THEY got caught up in the mad disco scramble – though admittedly they were one of the trendsetting groups in that category – the ...

The Manhattans zoom back...

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 8 May 1979

'Kiss And Say Goodbye' provided the Manhattans with a global hit, and now the enduring quartet look forward to continued success with their new album. ...

Jerry Wexler: Muscle Shoals Sound Studios: Jerry Wexler on Years in 'Boogaloo Country'

Interview by Sam Sutherland, Record World, 19 May 1979

WALK THROUGH the lobby of Muscle Shoals Sound Studios and, hanging near all those gilded singles and albums, you'll see the face of veteran producer ...

Muscle Shoals: A Look at Who Makes It Cook

Profile by Sam Sutherland, Record World, 19 May 1979

THE MUSICAL traits that have earned the Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section the respect and admiration of artists and producers around the world aren't obvious ...

Millie Jackson: A few moments pleasure with Millie Jackson

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 May 1979

John Abbey talks to Millie about her new album, and her forthcoming set with Isaac Hayes... ...

Bell and James

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 22 May 1979

CURRENTLY PROVING to be one of 1979's hottest records is a tune which has literally exploded on the pop and r&b charts almost simultaneously. ...

Joe Simon: The new Joe Simon

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 May 1979

I DON'T know about you, but my impression of Joe Simon has always been of a sober, conservative character. Maybe it was his clean approach ...

Bobby Womack: Roads Of Life (Arista)

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 26 May 1979

THE FORTUNES of gravel-voiced soul vet Bobby Womack have taken a dip of late. ...

Donna Summer: Bad Girls (Casablanca CALD 5007)***½

Review by Sandy Robertson, Sounds, 26 May 1979

Open wide (Knoworramean?) ...

Albert King, Booker T & The MGs, The Emotions, Pop Staples, Steve Cropper: Stacks of Stax: Stax Releases

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 26 May 1979

Steve Cropper/Pop Staples/Albert King: Jammed Together (Stax 3009) Booker T & The MGs: Time Is Tight — The Best Of… (Stax STX 3007) The Emotions: ...

Earth, Wind & Fire

Profile by Cliff White, Smash Hits, 31 May 1979

Would you believe that this lot are out to improve your minds? Gosh, and here were we thinking that they'd come just to boogie! ...

Bruce Hawes: Bruces Hawes: Young Gifted Determined

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, June 1979

Perhaps one of the most encouraging signs in the black music field right now is the slow but sure emergence of a whole crop of ...

Patti LaBelle: It's Alright With Me (Epic)

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, June 1979

I GUESS it's all of eighteen years since I first heard 'Down The Aisle' by Patti Labelle and the Bluebelles – and when I put ...

Amii Stewart: Amii's knockin' on stardom's door

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 5 June 1979

B&S talks to the very talented Ms. Amii Stewart ...

Black Music Association: A Singular Voice For The Black Music Industry

Comment by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 5 June 1979

The Black Music Association has just celebrated its first anniversary. B&S outlines its concept and success as a vehicle to preserve, project and further Black ...

Eddie Henderson: doctor at the crossroads

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 June 1979

With the music world making so many demands on his time, Eddie feels he may have to phase out his medical practice completely... ...

Grover Washington Jr: The Man

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 5 June 1979

By way of many fine recordings and countless live performances, Grover has become acknowledged as one of the decade's most talented musicians. But what of ...

James Brown: The original Disco Man

Report by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 5 June 1979

'People are doing what I was doing ten years ago and calling it Disco' ...

Lamont Dozier: Lamont Takes To The Road

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 June 1979

Lamont Dozier is putting together a show to promote his new album and these will be his first live gigs for some 20 years! ...

Taste Of Honey chase more sweet success

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 June 1979

It ain't easy emulating the huge success of a record like 'Boogie Oogie Oogie' but the hit group are setting out to do just that. ...

The Beck Family

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 June 1979

The family group explain how the Jacksons inspired them to switch from gospel to contemporary music. ...

Randy Crawford, The Crusaders: The Crusaders: Street crusade

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 June 1979

B&S catches up with the Crusaders who have campaigned for jazz all over the world and whose new album is centred around 'street life'... ...

The Isley Brothers: Winner Takes All

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 16 June 1979

3 + 3 DON'T MIND they just keep on jamming. Strings and horns? Uh-uh. They just go up to Bearsville. Ernie puts down the drums ...

The Jimmy Castor Bunch: Jimmy Castor: Home

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 June 1979

AFTER AN absence of one album, the Jimmy Castor Bunch are back within the Atlantic family – this time on the Cotillion label. ...

Kleeer

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 June 1979

KLEEER IS another of the new signings that Atlantic has come up with of late. The sextet's debut record, 'Keeep Your Body Working', has already ...

Mary Wells: Back On The Right Track

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 19 June 1979

Showing every sign of being ready to get right back into the swing of things, we recently had the opportunity to rap with Ms. Mary ...

McFadden and Whitehead: Ain't No Stoppin' Gene and John Now

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 June 1979

The McFadden and Whitehead story began back in the 60's when they toured with Otis Redding as members of the Epsilons. Then, in the early ...

Minnie Riperton, Stevie Wonder: Minnie Riperton: How Minnie's cooking tempted Stevie Wonder

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 19 June 1979

2008 introduction: This interview was David's second face-to-face conversation with Minnie; at the time, she was dealing with health challenges – in 1976, she had ...

Prince Phillip Mitchell: Atlantic Crossing

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 June 1979

AFTER TEN years of giving his best songs to other acts – notably 'Starting All Over Again' for Mel & Tim, 'Hurt So Good' for ...

Sister Sledge: 'We really are family'

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 June 1979

THERE IS a certain closeness, a certain warmth about a family unit that is totally indestructible. It positively glows and when you are lucky enough ...

Tasha Thomas: The Glamor of Disco

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 June 1979

AS WE have so often said, one of the great things about the disco boom is that it has brought to the surface a whole ...

Narada Michael Walden: The Disco Awakening of Narada Michael Walden

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 June 1979

ALTHOUGH he has just come off of one of Atlantic's biggest ever disco records – 'I Don't Want Nobody Else' – Narada Michael Walden wants ...

The Brecker Brothers: Brecker Brothers: The Studio And Its Discontents

Interview by Steve Bloom, Downbeat, 21 June 1979

It would be nice if we're going to do this to say some shit. I don't know what, but I'd really like for once to ...

McFadden and Whitehead: The Rise and Rise of McFadden, Whitehead and Ward (Anita)

Report and Interview by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 23 June 1979

EVEN THE Johnny Pearson Orchestra on Top Of The Pops couldn't ruin a song as strong as 'Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now'. ...

Anita Ward: Emergency Ward

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 30 June 1979

Anita Ward rings PAUL SEXTON'S bells ...

Gloria Gaynor, Village People: Village People, Gloria Gaynor: Greek Theatre, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Sylvie Simmons, Sounds, 30 June 1979

TONIGHT I learnt why discos are held indoors. The Beautiful People look a bit silly with water splashing around in their transparent sandals and rain ...

Alton McClain & Destiny: Alton Meets Her Destiny

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1979

ONE OF this year's giant left field records comes from three absolutely beautiful young ladies, Alton McClain and Destiny (D'Marie Warren and Robyrda Stiger). ...

Chic: An Interview with Nile Rodgers

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, July 1979

David Nathan talks to Nile Rodgers, co-founder of the fabulously successful Chic, whose new album is being tipped as another world-beater. ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind & Fire: Progress Is The Key

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, July 1979

THERE SEEMS TO BE absolutely no question that in terms of consistency, universal and international acceptance and popularity, Earth, Wind & Fire have no peers. ...

The Emotions: Emotions Laid Bare

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, July 1979

The girls divulge how they came to duet with EW&F on 'Boogie Wonderland' and talk at length about their songwriting activities... ...

The Spinners: Eternal Spinners

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1979

TIMING AND distinctive sound are two of our favourite comments when it comes to reviewing music in B&S. Timing (and the inborn knowledge when to ...

The Floaters: Floating Into The Future

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, July 1979

WE'VE MADE this point on numerous occasions before – sometimes, a blockbuster hit can be the worst thing that can happen to a new act. ...

Anita Ward: Anita rings chart bell

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 July 1979

'RING MY BELL' is just about the hottest dance property in the land right now and it introduces to the world a young lady from ...

Gene Chandler: Number One

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 July 1979

ENCOUNTERED Gene Chandler, fresh from his European trek, where he was awarded a Silver Disc in London for sales exceeding 250,000 in the U.K. ...

Mass Production: Purest Mass Production

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 July 1979

ALTHOUGH THEY don't actually top the charts with their every release, Mass Production have established themselves over their three year recording stint with Cotillion as ...

Mike Theodore: High On Success

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 July 1979

WITH HIS second album on Westbound – High On Mad Mountain – seasoned producer/arranger, Mike Theodore is further consolidating on the success of his first ...

The Ohio Players: Up An' Dancin'

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 July 1979

"Arista are famous for their pre-programming scheme and they could afford us!" ...

Dionne Warwick: The real Dionne Warwick

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 3 July 1979

David Nathan provides a penetrating and objective insight into the evergreen Dionne Warwick – an artiste of undisputed pedigree and longevity... ...

Bootsy Collins: Bootsy's Rubber Band: This Boot Is Made For Fonk-n (Warners)

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 7 July 1979

THE WORLD'S zaniest bass-player is back, whatever the truth of reports about a nervous breakdown; or, as he tells us himself: "I dug the concern ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: Johnny 'Guitar' Watson: What The Hell Is This ****½

Review by Phil Sutcliffe, Sounds, 7 July 1979

THIS IS a real mutha for ya, from the first seconds of the title track which go for your vitals with a rivet gun of ...

McFadden and Whitehead: Startin' 'N' Stoppin'

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 July 1979

PAUL SEXTON winds up old phillybusters McFadden and Whitehead ...

Sylvester: No Business Like Show Business

Essay by Simon Frith, Melody Maker, 7 July 1979

ON HIS RECORD sleeves, Sylvester is definitely svelte. A pink shirt and a red rose. Spectacles and a cool look, like Arthur Ashe. My favourite ...

Ashford & Simpson, Diana Ross: Diana Ross: The Boss (Motown STML12118)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 14 July 1979

Ross stops the rot ...

Van McCoy, Minnie Riperton Cut Down in Their Prime

Obituary by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 21 July 1979

WHEN LOWELL George died, a kind of half-hearted black joke about 'the season starting' was popular on many lips. In the brief space since his ...

Van McCoy: In Memory of Van McCoy

Obituary by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 July 1979

JULY HAS been a devastating month for our music because of the tragic, sad deaths of Minnie Riperton and Van McCoy. Both were highly creative ...

The Jones Girls: Keeping up with the Jones Girls

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 July 1979

Diana Ross and Gamble & Huff are useful people to have in your corner, and the talented trio openly acknowledge their gratitude and the belief ...

The Commodores Story

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 July 1979

THE COMMODORES have attained a peak that no black group before them has ever been able to attain. For 1978, they were the fourth best ...

Minnie Riperton: Minnie (Capitol) ****

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 4 August 1979

THIS WAS going to be a happy, triumphant comeback album... ...

Chic: Risqué (Atlantic K50634)****

Review by Peter Silverton, Sounds, 11 August 1979

Chic at twice the price ...

James Brown: The Original Disco Man (Polydor Import)

Review by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 11 August 1979

THERE HE SITS, a sly grin splitting up his face to show a set of teeth worthy of a prize nag, his hair dixie-peached to ...

Barry White: The Message Really Is Love...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 August 1979

IT'S an old criticism that so few people practice what they preach. But, in the case of Barry White, the title of his new album ...

Shirley Brown stretches out...

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 August 1979

After her huge success with 'Woman To Woman', people expected Shirley to carry on rapping. Now she's resigned with Stax and her new album gives ...

Taka Boom: An Undisputed Talent

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 August 1979

Taka spent a year and a half with Undisputed Truth and now she's capitalising on that experience with her solo career... ...

The Commodores Story part 2

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 August 1979

Commodore William King concludes this exclusive interview talking about the group's new album, the prospect of solo albums, touring plans, and a possible full-length movie... ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Earth Wind & Fire: I Am

Review by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 23 August 1979

MAURICE WHITE, Earth, Wind and Fire's presiding genius, ranges across popular music like a robber baron, selecting only the tastiest artifacts for his collection. ...

Al Green: The Record Mogul In The Sky

Interview by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 25 August 1979

WHO CAN DENY that the Lord moves in mysterious ways? In this week of Mammon in hyperdrive – Quadrophenia, the rejuvenation of mods v. rockers ...

Al Green: Tired Of Being Alone

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 25 August 1979

Al Green's London concerts last week were a puzzling mixture of the brilliant and the banal – and VIVIEN GOLDMAN discovered that his verbals are ...

Doris Jones And The British Link

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 August 1979

BECAUSE OF the nature of the music business, situations occasionally arise that go totally against the usual course of events. ...

Double Exposure: Secrets From The Locker Room

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 August 1979

B&S investigator probes behind the scenes and unearths the concept of the quartet's startling new album... ...

Carol Douglas: Get Into Carol's Life

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 August 1979

WITH THE release of her fifth album for Midsong International, Carol Douglas has reached a new stage in her career. ...

Michael Jackson's Peacock Music

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 August 1979

INTERVIEWS with Michael Jackson are few and far between. However, after the Jacksons' Platinum Party, at which the whole family was presented with platinum awards ...

Sun Destination Superstardom

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 August 1979

Pax Amantis?...the Custos Warriors?...Sun spokesman Byron Byrd explains all and then some... ...

Terry Callier's Poetry In Music

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 28 August 1979

Terry Callier is currently reaping the rewards of his considerable talents. But, save for a series of telephone calls from Elektra Records, it might have ...

The Trammps: Disco's Favourite Sons

Report and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 August 1979

IF THERE is such a thing as disco-land's favourite group, then that would surely have to be Trammps – five young men from Philadelphia who ...

Earth Wind and Fire, Teddy Pendergrass: Earth, Wind & Fire: I Am (ARC/Columbia); Teddy Pendergrass: Teddy (Philadelphia International)

Review by Robot A. Hull, Creem, September 1979

Dear brothers and sisters: If you are interested in being a part of the Universal Community of Mellow Truth, sip a glass of wine and please pay attention. In ...

Al Green: The Venue, London

Live Review by Dave McCullough, Sounds, 1 September 1979

FA FA fa fa love song! Al Green used to be a soul singer and now he's An Entertainer. Fa fa fa fa, goodbye! ...

Curtis Mayfield: Heartbeat (RSO)

Review by Fred Dellar, New Musical Express, 1 September 1979

IT'S ALWAYS been my contention that Curtis Mayfield doesn't really sing but rather squeezes his voice out over a song. And because I'm a squeeze ...

Candi Staton: The Four Phases Of Candi

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 11 September 1979

"It's about time that people realized that we can do more than change diapers and wash up dishes!" ...

Five Special: Something Special

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 11 September 1979

THERE'S NO doubt that having a famous brother as your producer can certainly help you get the foot in the door, but these days with ...

L.T.D.'s Devotion To Quality

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 September 1979

WITH THE disco boom now officially on the wane, maybe we can get back to normal business! But before we write off that whole dance ...

Mary Wilson: No One Can Sing "Baby Baby" Like Mary...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 11 September 1979

"I'D REACHED a point where, in order to maintain the level we had reached with the original Supremes, I'd have to do something myself. I ...

Michael Jackson: Off The Wall (Epic 83468)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 September 1979

THE FIRST solo album from Michael Jackson in many years and he has enlisted the productions support of Quincy Jones to produce a first class ...

The Crusaders: In Their Prime

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 11 September 1979

With 25 successful and productive years already accomplished, the Crusaders have only just begun! Drummer, Stix Hooper explains their formula for success and longevity, and ...

James Brown: Get Up, I Feel Like Being A Rap Machine

Interview by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 15 September 1979

JAMES BROWN is late for our appointment. But then it would almost be heresy on his part were he not a regal 45 minutes behind ...

Michael Jackson: Off The Wall (Epic FE 35745)****

Review by David Hepworth, Sounds, 15 September 1979

IF ANYONE was worried whether Michael Jackson could keep his act in one piece in the face of the inexorable march of the years (the ...

Nina Simone: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 22 September 1979

NINA SIMONE has never been a comfortable musician to see live. A powerful performer, she is formidably dedicated to her art. It's hardly surprising, then, ...

The Crusaders: It's A Street Life In The Crusaders

Profile and Interview by Max Bell, New Musical Express, 22 September 1979

IT'S THE MID-1950s in Houston, Texas, east of Galveston Bay and west of the River Colorado, and some of the local folks are having themselves ...

Bonnie Pointer: Pointer view

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 25 September 1979

Leaving a successful group for a solo career can prove to be a daunting challenge, but Bonnie Pointer looks to have made the right decision. ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Earth, Wind and Fire: When you feel the feeling you're feeling

Interview by Barry Cain, Record Mirror, 29 September 1979

BARRY CAIN gets that feeling when he meets Earth, Wind and Fire's Maurice White ...

Nina Simone: Lady Trashes The Blues

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 29 September 1979

Nina Simone's concerts are almost as nerve-racking as her turbulent personal life, which makes it easy to see her as a weird, tragic mixture of Billie Holiday and Judy Garland. KARL ...

Dynasty, Lakeside, Carrie Lucas, Shalamar, The Whispers: Solar Records: Pretty People, Pretty Music, Pretty Vacant

Report and Interview by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 29 September 1979

THE MUSIC BIZ BLACK AMERICAN STYLE — DANNY BAKER NAMES THE FACES OF FACELESS DISCO ...

Teddy Pendergrass: The Sex Symbol Of Seventy Nine

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, October 1979

Teddy continues to fill the major stadiums across the States and now he tells David Nathan what it'll take to tempt him to Europe... ...

Teddy Pendergrass: Teddy (Philadelphia International)

Review by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 4 October 1979

TEDDY PENDERGRASS transcends the Philadelphia pop-soul confections of his production-machine material so effortlessly that it's a little frightening. He makes lightweight erotic sermonettes like 'Life ...

Billy Preston: No Longer Going Round In Circles!

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 October 1979

B&S talks to Billy about his early days with Little Richard and Ray Charles, his development as a solo talent and his recent pacting with ...

Candido: Technicolor Yul Brynner

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 October 1979

IT TOOK the advent of disco to allow percussionists to come to the fore, and challenging Ralph McDonald for the leading role in commercial percussionists ...

Deniece Williams: A portrait of Niecy...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 9 October 1979

David Nathan takes a look behind the public image of Deniece Williams and reveals other aspects of the diminutive songstress... ...

Chic: The Art of Being Chic

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 9 October 1979

On the eve of their departure for their British concert dates, David Nathan talked to Chic about the chemistry that makes up their hit sound ...

Walter Murphy: Louie's Yer Uncle

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 October 1979

ONE OF the most unusual records currently climbing the lists is 'Full Tilt Boogie' by the even more strangely named group, Uncle Louie. ...

Gladys Knight & the Pips: Memories of the Way We Were (Buddah); 20 Golden Greats (Motown)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, Melody Maker, 11 October 1979

GLADYS KNIGHT has been turned into the spinster of soul. Her generous face seems to invite desertion. Yet with almost maternal dignity, she translates this ...

Sister Sledge: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Ian Penman, New Musical Express, 13 October 1979

Shrink-wrapped cabaret ...

Chic: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 20 October 1979

HAVING BEEN present at more disco live shows than any one mortal is entitled to or deserving of, I naturally feared the worst. ...

Brothers Johnson: The Brothers Johnson

Interview by Steven Rosen, Guitar Player, November 1979

'PLATINUM' IS THE perfect word to precede 'record' when you’re a musician today. And with a three-for-three tally, the Brothers Johnson are decorating their walls ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Sly Stone: Back On The Right Track/Sly & the Family Stone: Ten Years Too Soon

Review by Paul Rambali, New Musical Express, 3 November 1979

FILED SIDE by side, those titles read like the bookends of a wasted decade. In their predictably loud, plain language they seem to say that ...

Ashford & Simpson, Diana Ross: Ashford & Simpson: Nick and Valerie's Hit Cure

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 6 November 1979

With the success of their recent albums and the ensuing singles hit, Ashford and Simpson have truly arrived. David Nathan finds out what makes them ...

Wilson Pickett: Land Of A Thousand Libels

Interview by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 10 November 1979

IN GUY PEELAERT'S Rock Dreams tome of some six autumns back, one of the artist's strongest slices of visualized popular music imagery went under the ...

Chic: Perfection In Planning

Interview by Robin Katz, Smash Hits, 15 November 1979

Or Wolves in Chics' Clothing? Robin Katz finds out. ...

Fern Kinney: Fern's In The Right Groove

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 20 November 1979

POPPY SEEDS have been the source of at least one good thing in this world. In the 60's there was a group called the Poppies ...

Ronn Matlock: Introducing Mr. Ronn Matlock

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 20 November 1979

RONN MATLOCK is the latest in an endless line of new talents who seem to be constantly emerging again from Detroit. Though his Hot City ...

Lenny Williams: Mr Consistency

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 20 November 1979

"It isn't time to start abandoning disco or anything as drastic as that. It's just that people want their music more varied these days." ...

Tamiko Jones: Tamiko's Intercity Hit

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 20 November 1979

New York, Detroit, Atlanta, back to Detroit, on to Nashville. Those were the ports of call for Tamiko Jones. ...

Prince: The Roxy, Los Angeles

Live Review by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 29 November 1979

IT MUST BE A daunting prospect for anyone to make his or her performing debut, save for a couple of hometown Minneapolis tuneups, before an ...

George Clinton: Mutiny On The Mothership — Uncle Jam Wants Out

Report and Interview by Richard Grabel, New Musical Express, 1 December 1979

Drummer Jerome Brailey and Horny Hornsman Fred Wesley have already quit Funkadelic – and now George Clinton is giving up live performances. Richard Grabel reports ...

Nature's Divine

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 December 1979

TAKE A tip from me...Nature's Divine are going to be a supergroup! This ten-piece ensemble from Detroit are already well on their way with their ...

Rick James

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 December 1979

"TO ME, a punk is someone who says what's on his mind and who doesn't take no shit!" So says Rick James, one of our ...

Rufus and Chaka Khan: The Beat Goes On

Report and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 4 December 1979

ANY CONFUSION you may have had about the exact status of the group Rufus should now be pretty much clarified in your mind – we ...

Shalamar Hit A Sylvers Lining

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 4 December 1979

JEFFREY DANIEL, Jody Watley and Howard Hewett have quite a few good reasons to feel good right now. As the members of hit group Shalamar, ...

Dan-I, Dynasty, Electric Light Orchestra, Kool and the Gang, Sheila B. Devotion, The Sugarhill Gang: Singles Charts: Quick! Before They Vanish!

Overview by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 8 December 1979

DANNY BAKER checks out the singles charts. ...

Dynasty claim their piece of the rock

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 December 1979

CURRENTLY ENJOYING their first major taste of success with 'I Don't Want To Be A Freak' is Dynasty, two young ladies and a young man ...

Gloria Gaynor: Come What May, '79 Was Going To Be Gloria's Year!

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 18 December 1979

SO YOU thought Gloria Gaynor was still just the original Queen of Disco? You figured she might not be able to repeat the phenomenal success ...

Jupiter Beyond Another Philly Breakout David Nathan

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 18 December 1979

CURRENTLY CAUSING quite a stir on the U.K. soul singles' chart is a record that's literally come out of left field to make a strong ...

Michael Jackson (1980)

Interview by John Pidgeon, Rock's Backpages audio, January 1980

John Pidgeon, via a 13-year-old Janet, hears from the King of Pop about how he linked up with Motown, learned about the studio, how he sees his future and his defense of disco

File format: mp3; file size: 9.2mb; Interview length: 35' 32"; sound quality: ****

Michael Jackson (1980) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by John Pidgeon, Rock's Backpages transcripts, January 1980

This is a transcript of John's audio interview with Michael. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

War Effort

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 January 1980

John Abbey talks to the Music Band's harmonica ace, Lee Oskar ...

Chaka Khan, Rufus: Rufus and Chaka Khan: Masterjam (MCA MCG4007) **½

Review by Phil Sutcliffe, Sounds, 5 January 1980

CHAKA KHAN is known for the biggest mouth and the funkiest abdominal scar on the soul scene and what's more there was a time when ...

KC & The Sunshine Band: Still KC After All These Years

Interview by Robin Katz, Smash Hits, 24 January 1980

Robin Katz traces the career of Harry Casey & The Sunshine Band ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Sly Stone: Ten Years Too Soon (Epic); Sly and the Family Stone: Back on the Right Track (Warner Bros.)

Review by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 24 January 1980

It's too late to stop now ...

Billy Preston, Syreeta: Billy Preston & Syreeta: Rebirth? A Fast Break is all it Takes...!

Interview by Lloyd Bradley, Blues & Soul, 29 January 1980

Lloyd Bradley talks to Billy Preston and Syreeta, the latest in a select line of classic hit pairings ...

Stacy Lattisaw, Narada Michael Walden: Narada's Awakening Continues...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 29 January 1980

Narada's 1979 chartbusting Awakening album paved the way for 1980 success. Now, the talented performer reveals his plans for continued acceptance and his aspirations for ...

Stevie Wonder: Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants (Motown)

Review by Richard C. Walls, Creem, February 1980

LET'S ASSUME that you didn't think that Songs in the Key of Life was a total bust. It was over hyped for sure, overblown in ...

Melissa Manchester, Tower of Power: Tower Of Power: Pro Blowing Section

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Downbeat, February 1980

THE BASIC tracks were cut in Atlanta, Georgia. The strings were arranged and overdubbed by Gene Page, and Melissa Manchester put down the lead vocal ...

Bobby Rush: Rush Hour (Philly International Import)

Review by Paul Rambali, New Musical Express, 2 February 1980

WITH A FEW honourable exceptions, the satin sounds of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's branded Philadelphia International label usually leave this writer's mojo idling. But ...

Defunkt: Trax, New York

Live Review by Roy Trakin, Melody Maker, 9 February 1980

EVEN THE decidedly old-wave, uptown industry water-hole Trax has caught the Funk Flu that's hit this borough like an epidemic. People are dancing to progressive, ...

Dan Hartman: Relight My Fire (Blue Sky) *

Review by Rosalind Russell, Record Mirror, 16 February 1980

DAN HARTMAN has obviously learned all he knows from listening to TV theme music. Shame he didn't pay more attention to the master — Aaron ...

Don Armando's Second Avenue Rhumba Band, Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band: Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band: ...Goes To Washington (Elektra); Don Armando's Second Avenue Rhumba Band (ZE)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 16 February 1980

Recherchez le chic ...

Hank Ballard and the Midnighters: Interview: Hank Ballard at the Locust, Theater, Philadelphia, PA. February 23, 1980

Interview by Peter Stone Brown, unpublished, 23 February 1980

THERE WAS THIS company in Philadelphia called Sherjam and in the winter of 1979-1980 and maybe the following year they put on a series of ...

Shalamar, The Whispers: Sex and the Solar People

Report and Interview by Tim Lott, Record Mirror, 1 March 1980

TIM LOTT goes to LA to watch the glitter and tinsel of the biggest thing happening in black music at the moment ...

Patrice Rushen: Rushen Invasion!

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 March 1980

BY THE TIME she was twelve, Patrice Rushen was a highly accomplished keyboard player and she developed into one of the highest regarded instrumentalists long ...

James Chance, Defunkt, The Raybeats, James White and The Blacks: Defunkt, the Raybeats, James Chance: Funky, Punky and Chic

Report and Interview by Roy Trakin, Melody Maker, 15 March 1980

The Raybeats and Joe Bowie's Defunkt are working on New York's newest fusion: a post-No Wave music in which James Chance's punk meets George Clinton's ...

Chic, Sister Sledge: Sister Sledge: Love Somebody Today (Cotillion K506639)****

Review by Dave McCullough, Sounds, 15 March 1980

STRANGE ONES, to be sure, are the disco misfits that emerge from (ahem) the Chic Organisation Ltd, aka plain ole Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, ...

Aretha Franklin: La Diva (Atlantic)

Review by Fred Schruers, Rolling Stone, 20 March 1980

IT'S NO news that, during the last several years, Aretha Franklin has regressed from being one of our most powerful R&B performers into a mere ...

Chic, Sister Sledge: Sister Sledge: Sisters In Soul

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 25 March 1980

Just a year or so back, the sisters Sledge were considering going their separate ways. Happily, 1979 was a fantastic year for the girls and ...

The Commodores: 'Easy' like $60 Million

Profile and Interview by Steven X Rea, High Fidelity, April 1980

TOMMY McCLARY, his white Adidas pressed up against the sound-booth glass, sits in an insulated cubicle adjoining the studio control room eliciting a succession of ...

Sister Sledge: We Are Family (Entertainment)

Report by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 5 April 1980

Greatest dancer: DANNY BAKER ...

The Gap Band: Rap with the Gap

Profile and Interview by Lloyd Bradley, Blues & Soul, 8 April 1980

What we got here, folks, is speech from the breach, as Lloyd Bradley traces the rise and rise of the Gap Band from the main ...

Etta James: L.A.'s Soul Queen

Interview by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 17 April 1980

A YEAR AGO, Etta James stopped time as surely as if she had point-blanked a Timex with a .357. ...

Chaka Khan, Rufus: Chaka Khan: Chaka's Naughty Bits

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 22 April 1980

Naughty is the title of Chaka Khan's new album, but she denies trying to project a 'naughty' image. However, she confesses to being naturally impish ...

Patti LaBelle: Patti Kicks Out!

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 22 April 1980

David Nathan catches up with Patti LaBelle, and finds she has plenty to say about the state of her career... ...

War: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Lloyd Bradley, Blues & Soul, 22 April 1980

WAR(RIORS) COME OUT TO PLAY-AY ...

War: Slippin' Back to Darkness...

Interview by Lloyd Bradley, Blues & Soul, 22 April 1980

JOHN MILTON (1608-1674), probably ranked among England's top five poets, once said "For what can war, but endless war, still breed?" I don't think me ...

Dexys Midnight Runners: Hearts Full Of Soul: Dexy’s Midnight Runners

Interview by Mike Stand, The Face, May 1980

Dexy's Midnight Runners are working towards (cue fanfare) The End Of Rock As We Know It. Punk, heavy metal, ska, country & western, reggae, everything ...

The Blues Brothers, Booker T & The MGs, Steve Cropper, The Mar-Keys: Steve Cropper: The Man Who Wrote The Book

Interview by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 1 May 1980

THE LATE sixties were a time for guitars, and five musicians — fifty fingers — appeared to naturally jump to the center of attention: Jimi ...

The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, The Jacksons, Quincy Jones: B&S World Exclusive with Pollwinner Michael Jackson! Michael's building his destiny on strong foundations...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 6 May 1980

TO GET some measure of Michael Jackson's success during 1979, you only have to look at the B&S Poll results because Michael walked off with ...

Jermaine Jackson: Let's Get Serious (Motown STML 12127)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 17 May 1980

MEANWHILE, BACK at Motown... as Michael Jackson prepares to take over the cosmos with his Epic epic, big brother Jermaine launches his counterplot. ...

Grace Jones: Starplex Armory, Washington DC

Live Review by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 26 May 1980

HOW GRACE Jones spent Saturday night at the Starplex Armory building: one entrance, many exits for costume changes and not much show in between. ...

Smokey Robinson: Warm Thoughts (Tamla)

Review by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 12 June 1980

FIRST LOVES die hard, if they ever do. So I'll always remember the first moment I heard Smokey Robinson's voice come over the radio, on ...

The Neville Brothers: Roxy, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 13 June 1980

Neville Brothers: The fire this time ...

Diana Ross, Jermaine Jackson: Diana Ross: Diana (Motown); Jermaine Jackson: Let's Get Serious (Motown)

Review by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 14 June 1980

The hit factory calls in the new technology ...

Marvin Gaye: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 16 June 1980

MARVIN GAYE'S music, which in his early days epitomized the high-octane energy so consistently produced by that greatest of all pop factories, Motown Records, moved ...

Chic, Diana Ross: Diana Ross: Diana (Motown 8033)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 June 1980

'Upside Down'; 'Tenderness'; 'Friend To Friend'; 'I'm Coming Out'; 'Have Fun (Again)'; 'My Old Piano'; 'Now That You're Gone'; 'Give Up'. ...

Stephanie Mills: Sweet Sensation (20th Century Fox T603)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 June 1980

'Sweet Sensation'; 'Try My Love'; 'I Just Wanna Say'; 'Wish That You Were Mine'; 'D-a-n-c-i-n''; 'Still Mine'; 'Never Knew Love Like This Before'; 'Mixture Of ...

Stephanie Mills: The Stephanie Mills interview... The Sweet Sensation of Wizdom

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 June 1980

AT THE tender age of just twenty-three, Stephanie Mills has starred on Broadway, earned two Gold albums and a Gold single and headlined concerts in ...

Chic, Diana Ross: Diana Ross: Diana (Motown STMA 8033)

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 21 June 1980

WITH THE combined forces of the Chic Organization Ltd on the record, and with all the songs written, arranged, and produced by the Organization's Dynamic ...

Marvin Gaye: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Rosalind Russell, Record Mirror, 21 June 1980

MARVIN GAYE'S show on Sunday was pure class. A bit schmaltzy in places, but still classy. When he arrived onstage in a conservative dark jacket, ...

Teena Marie: Lady T (Motown STML12130)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 28 June 1980

IT MUST be a while since Motown Records had two singles in the same Top 10, but Jermaine Jackson and Teena Marie cracked it for ...

Gary Bartz, Miles Davis, Phyllis Hyman, Reggie Lucas, Stephanie Mills, Mtume: Mtume and Lucas on song...

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 1 July 1980

Having first met as members of the Miles Davis Band, Mtume & Lucas immediately sparked a mutual creative change which has resulted in a plethora ...

The Three Degrees: Wembley Conference Centre, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 5 July 1980

IF YOU'VE got it, flaunt it, someone once said. The Three Degrees flaunt it, but I'm not sure they've got it. Well... if you like ...

The Blues Brothers, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Rev. James Cleveland, Aretha Franklin: Various artists: The Blues Brothers Soundtrack (Atlantic SD16017)

Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 1980

DESTRUCTION OF THE BLUES ...

Con Funk Shun's Golden Spirit...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 July 1980

"It's a cold business," claim Con Funk Shun, but the seven piece funk aggregation couldn't be hotter right now... ...

Marvin Gaye: The Gaye-ity and Pain of the Love Man…

Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 15 July 1980

In this B&S exclusive, Marvin Gaye tells Roger St. Pierre about his problems and his search for a soulmate, and runs through his next album, ...

Millie Jackson: For Men Only (Polydor 2391460)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 July 1980

'This Is Where I Came In'; 'This Is It'; 'If That Don't Turn You On'; 'I Wish That I Could Hurt That Way Again'; 'A ...

Randy Crawford: Now We May Begin (Warner Bros.)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 15 July 1980

'Last Night At Danceland'; 'Tender Falls The Rain'; 'My Heart Is Not As Young As It Used To Be'; 'Now We May Begin'; 'Blue Flame'; ...

Grace Jones: New Wave for a Disco Diva

Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 1980

Grace Jones' new LP tailors the music to fit her flamboyant visual concepts. ...

Smokey Robinson: Berklee Performance Center, Boston

Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 29 July 1980

CAROLE GARDINER first saw Smokey Robinson in 1965, when he and his group, the Miracles, went to London as part of a Motown Revue. Since ...

Dexys Midnight Runners: Searching For The Young Soul Rebels (Parlophone)

Review by David Hepworth, The Face, August 1980

YOU WON'T go short of excuses for snickering at Dexys Midnight Runners from behind your hand. There's the lofty self-esteem, the leather uniforms, the missionary ...

Smokey Robinson: Warm Thoughts

Review by Robot A. Hull, Creem, August 1980

"The fireside, the lamplight intimate and low, reverie with finger at the brow, and eyes that lose themselves in answering looks..."– Paul Verlaine, ‘La Bonne ...

The Commodores: Six Part Harmony: The Commodores' Sweet Sound of Success

Profile and Interview by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 1 August 1980

AT 10 A.M. IN Clyde's Omelette Room, William King, Thomas McClary and Milan Williams — half of the Commodores — were splitting their attention between ...

Odyssey Get Even

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 9 August 1980

PAUL SEXTON gets worn out by ODYSSEY. ...

Chic, Diana Ross: Chic Speak

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 12 August 1980

Chic's Bernard Edwards talks about the frustrations of being underestimated outside of the disco sphere; about the problems of producing the Diana Ross album; and ...

Odyssey: Hang Together (RCA 13526)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 12 August 1980

'Hang Together'; 'Never Had It At All'; 'Don't Tell Me, Tell Her'; 'Down Boy'; 'Follow Me'; 'Use It Up And Wear It Out'; 'If You're ...

Teena Marie: T's Ready!

Interview by Lloyd Bradley, Blues & Soul, 12 August 1980

ON THE west side of Los Angeles lies Venice, situated between LA proper and the ocean. Most of it is beach. ...

Tom Browne: Love Approach (Arista/GRP 5008)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 12 August 1980

'Funkin' For Jamaica (N.Y.)'; 'Her Silent Smile'; 'Forever More'; 'Dreams Of Loving You'; 'Nocturne'; 'Martha'; 'Moon Rise'; 'Weak In The Knees' ...

George Benson, Randy Crawford: George Benson: Give Me The Night (Warner Bros K56823); Randy Crawford: Now We May Begin (Warner Bros K56791)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 30 August 1980

SOME WORDS of praise, late in the day, for a Warner Brother and a Warner Sister. 1980 is already George Benson's year, his commercial breakthrough. ...

Stevie Wonder: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Hancock, Evening News, London, 2 September 1980

Stevie's still casting that black magic ...

The Blues Brothers, Aretha Franklin: The Blues Brothers: Original Soundtrack (Atlantic)

Review by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 4 September 1980

WITH THEIR second LP, Blues Brothers John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd have moved from the gratuitously racist to the merely patronizing — progress of a ...

Chic, Diana Ross: DIANA stop DIANA stop DIANA stop DIANA

Report and Interview by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 20 September 1980

THE DPRESS CONFERENCE versus YOUR POCKET ...

Brothers Johnson: Dominion, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 26 September 1980

"JAZZ IS the teacher", runs an aphorism recently coined by the avant-garde guitarist James Ulmer, "and funk is the preacher". What he meant was that ...

Grace Jones: Confessions Of An Art Groupie

Interview by Chris Salewicz, The Face, October 1980

IN THE LOUNGE bar of the Kensington Hilton, Grace Jones sprawls supinely in a wicker armchair and digs her fingers under the leaves of lettuce ...

Kurtis Blow, The Commodores, Bob Marley & the Wailers: The Commodores, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Kurtis Blow: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Richard Grabel, New Musical Express, 4 October 1980

Cross-over cupboard love ...

David Ruffin: Gentleman Ruffin (Warner Bros. K3416)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 October 1980

'I Wanna Be With You'; 'All I Need'; 'Love Supply'; 'Still In Love With You'; 'I Got A Thing For You'; 'Can We Make Love ...

Larry Graham's Maui Manoeuvres...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 October 1980

Larry's built his own studio on the Hawaiian island of Maui and the first project was his own solo album. But this doesn't signal the ...

Richard Tee: Natural Ingredients (CBS 84194)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 October 1980

'What A Woman Really Means'; 'Now'; 'The Nut's Off The Screw'; 'Tell It Like It Is'; 'Us'; 'Back Door Man'; 'Spinning Song' ...

Rick James, The Mary Jane Girls: Rick James' Case Of Life Or Death

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 October 1980

Our Punk Funk hero has a new perspective on life following his recent hospitalisation. He's had to readjust his lifestyle as it became a case ...

Rick James: Garden Of Love (Motown)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 October 1980

'Big Time'; 'Don't Give Up On Love'; 'Island Lady'; 'Gettin' It On'; 'Summer Love'; 'Mary-Go-Round'; 'Gettin' It On (In The Sunshine) Reprise' ...

Aretha Franklin: Lady Soul Cooks!

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 21 October 1980

David Nathan drops in on Aretha at home in Los Angeles to talk about her debut album for Arista and her first movie role.... and ...

Eumir Deodato, Kool and the Gang: Cruisin' with Deodato

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 21 October 1980

Eumir Deodato's interests have always spanned the whole musical spectrum, as reflected in his 1973 smash hit, 'Theme From 2001'. Currently, he's in the spotlight ...

Teena Marie: Irons In The Fire (STML)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 21 October 1980

'I Need Your Lovin''; 'Young Love'; 'First Class Love'; 'Irons In The Fire'; 'Chains'; 'You Make Love Like Springtime'; 'Tune In Tomorrow'; 'You Make Love ...

The Jacksons: Triumph (Epic)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 21 October 1980

'Can You Feel It'; 'Lovely One'; 'Your Ways'; 'Everybody'; 'Heartbreak Hotel'; 'Time Waits For No One'; 'Walk Right Now'; 'Give It Up'; 'Wondering Who' ...

Kid Creole & the Coconuts: Le Palace, Paris

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 23 October 1980

POP MUSIC may have been born free, but it was quickly enslaved by commercial interests; perhaps we should not be surprised that genuinely original vision ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Faces

Review by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 25 October 1980

ANY GROUP can only pack so much stuff. The stuff that oils and inspires their moves, greases songs, a magic stuff that flows through a ...

Stevie Wonder: Hotter Than July (Motown)

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 1 November 1980

Blastin' back. Hello roots, bye bye geraniums ...

Linx: The Missing Linx

Profile and Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 15 November 1980

THE DARK and mysterious Notting Hill Gate tube station, one cold and rainy night. Outside it stands an equally dark and mysterious stranger, armed with ...

Linx: There's a Brand New Dance Going Around... FUNKIN' FOR BRITANNICA — Get Down & Stay Up

Report and Interview by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 15 November 1980

Hi there! I'm Chris Hill, main man and DJ to the sweating legions of British funkateers. NME have asked me to introduce this piece by DANNY BAKER, ...

Aretha Franklin: Once More With Feeling

Profile and Interview by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 18 November 1980

Mick Brown on Aretha Franklin's return after years of soul searching ...

Gladys Knight and the Pips: Gladys Knight & the Pips: Wembley Conference Centre, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 22 November 1980

IT MUST be the most pertinent observation that Gladys Knight and the Pips have made on record for a long time: "Everybody wants to be ...

The Manhattans: A Long Struggle To The Top

Profile by Dan Nooger, Cash Box, 22 November 1980

1980 HAS been quite a year for The Manhattans. The Columbia recording group had its first major crossover hit earlier this year with 'Shining Star', ...

Smokey Robinson: Smokey — Once & Future

Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 23 November 1980

THE TEST OF time is one accepted yardstick for determining great songs and, by that standard, Smokey Robinson certainly ranks as one of the premier ...

Judy Mowatt: Black Woman (Island ILPS 9649)

Review by Mark Cooper, Record Mirror, 6 December 1980

THIS ALBUM is an explicit statement of spirituality and of strength — a black woman's survival. The title offers the record as a statement and ...

Lee Dorsey (1980)

Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages audio, Summer 1980

Interviewed at New Orleans' legendary Sea-Saint studio, Dorsey talks about his recent motorbike crash, then looks back at his first hit, 'Ya Ya', and his subsequent recording career; keeping his automobile repair shop; touring Europe; his recent tour with the Clash; recording with producer Allen Toussaint; his Yes We Can and Night People albums, and the advantages of having a decent road band.

File format: mp3; file size: 29.5mb, interview length: 30' 43" sound quality: ***

Smokey Robinson: Warm Thoughts; Where There's Smoke (Motown)

Review by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 10 January 1981

Waiting for a Miracle: NICK KENT reappraises the latest works of the doyen of '60s soul, SMOKEY ROBINSON ...

George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Roger & The Human Body, Zapp: Zapp: More Sound To The Pound...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 13 January 1981

Roger, Larry, Lester and Terry "Zapp" Troutman have "bounced" their way to the winners circle with their hit single and debut album. With an overload ...

Gil Scott-Heron has Staying Power

Report and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 21 January 1981

GIL SCOTT-HERON was widely viewed as a potential superstar in 1974 when he became the first performer signed by Clive Davis at Arista Records. The ...

Stevie Wonder: Hotter Than July (Tamla)

Review by Tom Vickers, Ampersand, February 1981

THE PAST few years have seen Stevie Wonder bury his soulful fire with overblown pretention (Songs in the Key of Life) or symphonic dross (The ...

Marvin Gaye: In Our Lifetime (Motown)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 7 February 1981

SOMEHOW ONE forgives the sermonising in Marvin Gaye that irritates in other soul stars. Visually he fits the bill – he might almost be the ...

Chic Gets Its Class Act Together

Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 8 February 1981

NEW YORK — Chic's 1978 hit, 'Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah. Yowsah, Yowsah)', was the kind of novelty record that can ruin an act's career. The ...

Freeez: Southern Freeez (Beggars Banquet EL PEE 1)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 14 February 1981

"NEW WAVE jazz funk, play loud." So says the liner, and it's almost all you need to know. Except perhaps that it's British, it's in ...

Marvin Gaye: For Once In A Lifetime

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 21 February 1981

AFTER NEARLY two hours in that bedroom, Lydia finally gave up. By any standards she'd waited long enough for her Marvin Gaye interview – a ...

Marvin Gaye: Star in the Remaking

Interview by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 21 February 1981

Marvin Gaye was Motown's blue-eyed boy of the '60s. Then, he fell dramatically. Mick Brown describes a soul man's self-searching. ...

Prince airs his Dirty Mind

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 February 1981

His album, titled Dirty Mind, has been banned by radio stations across America because of its lyric content but Prince aims to promote it on ...

Roberta Flack, the romantic

Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 6 March 1981

ROBERTA FLACK is best known for her gentle melodic love songs — the 1973 Grammy winner, 'First Time Ever I Saw Your Face', the 1974 ...

Freeez: A Freeezing Spell

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 March 1981

ONCE YOU'VE licked the label, it's pretty hard to peel it off. It was Freeez themselves who called their music "new wave jazz funk". Now ...

The Blues Brothers, Steve Cropper: Cropper: Into The Spotlight

Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 8 March 1981

POP FANS shouldn't have much difficulty in identifying Wilson Pickett with 'Midnight Hour' or Otis Redding with 'Dock of the Bay' but mention the name ...

Gil Scott-Heron: Real Eyes (Arista AL 9540)

Review by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 8 March 1981

REAL EYES, Gil Scott-Heron's eighth Arista album, is noteworthy for a couple of reasons. It's the poet-cum-songwriter's first recording without Brian Jackson, his musical partner ...

Donna Summer: The Wanderer (Geffen) ****½

Review by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 19 March 1981

A rock & roll road map of Donna Summer's soul ...

Beggar & Co, Light of the World: Light of the World/Beggar & Co

Interview by Robin Katz, Smash Hits, 19 March 1981

"A BEGGAR has no respect. He just speaks his mind. When I'm dressed up as a beggar I feel more open, really free." ...

Linx

Profile and Interview by David Hepworth, Smash Hits, 19 March 1981

DAVID GRANT, singer, songwriter, ritzy dancer and one half of the pair of young blades who spearhead Linx, has a saying. "This is show business. ...

Central Line, Freeez, Linx, Light of the World: Funk for all the Family

Report by Mary Harron, The Guardian, 21 March 1981

Jazz-funk, an offshoot of American soul music, is sweeping away the tired sounds of disco. Mary Harron reports on an underground youth cult ...

The Jacksons, Michael Jackson: The Jacksons: Off The Cuff

Interview by Mark Cooper, Record Mirror, 21 March 1981

Stevie Wonder's rival? The black Bambi or just James Bond's scuba diving companion? Mark Cooper looks at the mystery behind Michael Jackson's shades… and finds ...

Prince Reveals His Dirty Mind

Live Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 31 March 1981

WHO COULD resist a handsome young black gentleman, dressed like a stripper, who sings songs celebrating such unlikely topics as incest and oral copulation? ...

Sharon Redd

Profile by Paul Sexton, Smash Hits, 2 April 1981

FOR THE NEXT question, disco fans, try this one. What's the connection between the following two statements? ...

Michael Jackson, The Jacksons: The Jacksons: The Great Greenland Mystery

Report and Interview by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 4 April 1981

For years, scientists have been baffled by The Great Greenland Mystery. What is it that makes Greenland the only territory on earth where The Jacksons ...

Bootsy Collins: Bootsy Sweats it Out

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 April 1981

Bootsy Collins explains his foolosophy and talks about his long lay-off and the legal hassles surrounding The Rubber Band... ...

Diana Ross: To Love Again (Motown STML 12152)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 April 1981

AFTER THE massive success of the Chic produced Diana album, the chic Ms. Ross reverts back to her sophisticated approach for this set of nine ...

T.S. Monk's House of Music...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 April 1981

ONE OF the year's first really big records is not only the debut release by a new group but it also gives birth to a ...

Maceo Parker, The Sweat Band: The P-Funk New Doo Crew… No Sweat, it's Bootsy's Banned Band!

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 April 1981

Maceo Parker explains that the Sweat Band is virtually a continuation of the Rubber Band ...

George Clinton, Funkadelic, Parliament: The P-Funk Noo Doo Crew: the Man with the Key to Funk

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 April 1981

George Clinton takes the lid off R&B... Rhythm and Business, that is! ...

Stimulin: Sundown, London

Live Review by Betty Page, Sounds, 11 April 1981

IT SEEMS that trend­ conscious individuals aware of the need to change should immediately dispose of their superfluous accoutrements and don sharply cut suits in ...

The Whispers: Disco: The Whispers

Interview by Robin Katz, Smash Hits, 30 April 1981

THE WHISPERS, who've just topped the success of 'And The Beat Goes On' with their latest smash, 'It's A Love Thing', have no hang-ups about ...

Chaka Khan: What'cha Gonna Do For Me (Warner Bros)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 9 May 1981

Chaka gotta lotta ...

Linx: The Cats Who Took The Cream

Interview by Sandy Robertson, Sounds, 9 May 1981

By using intuition, Sandy Robertson gets down to some intelligent conversation with Linx ...

Teddy Pendergrass: Attractive — Moi? Sexy — Moi?

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 16 May 1981

Sex symbol Teddy Pendergrass shrugs off the impertinence of reporter Barney Hoskyns ...

E.S.G.: ESG: No Guile or Wile, Just Wallop

Profile and Interview by Richard Grabel, New Musical Express, 23 May 1981

THESE DAYS, a lot of bands glorify the appearance of being what they are not. ...

Funkadelic, Parliament: Parliament-Funkadelic: The Ritz, New York NY

Live Review by Richard Grabel, New Musical Express, 30 May 1981

P-FUNK DO FOR the modern funk show what The Grateful Dead did to the rock show in the late '60s. They alter the time frame ...

Defunkt, James White and The Blacks: Defunkt: Jazz-Punk-Funk

Interview by Steve Bloom, Downbeat, June 1981

THE PURPLE tights and checkered t-shirt crowd knows for sure. They meet to the beat every night in sundry rock clubs, discharging a generationful of ...

August Darnell, Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, Kid Creole & The Coconuts: Kid Creole: Fresh Fruit in Downtown Manhattan

Interview by Paul Rambali, The Face, June 1981

A CHECKER CAB pulls up at the corner of MacDougal and 7th; out of it steps Mr. Michael Zilkha. The cab is yellow with a ...

Prince: A Dirty Mind Comes Clean

Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, June 1981

WHO IS THE REAL Prince, anyway? The flashy, high-energy black pop star with the Stratocaster wearing Iggy Pop's underwear? Or the pleasant, soft-spoken fellow who ...

Defunkt: Embassy Club, London

Live Review by Ian Penman, New Musical Express, 6 June 1981

Make my funk the D-funkt ...

Prince: Strutting With The New Soul Monarch

Interview by Chris Salewicz, New Musical Express, 6 June 1981

THIS FELLOW sitting across the table from me in an uptown Manhattan Holiday Inn room may be a Prince but he ain't no Charlie. ...

Lakeside, Carrie Lucas, Shalamar, The Whispers: The Whispers, Shalamar, Lakeside, Carrie Lucas: Solar Galaxy of Stars, New York NY

Live Review by Richard Grabel, New Musical Express, 6 June 1981

THE CONCERT is billed as the Solar Galaxy of Stars, and it's no idle boast. ...

Defunkt: Debunking the Funk

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 13 June 1981

BOWIE (JOE) beats the Apple and subverts Paulo Hewitt ...

Bim, Prince: Prince, Bim: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Betty Page, Sounds, 13 June 1981

Monarchy in the UK ...

Prince: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Ian Penman, New Musical Express, 13 June 1981

HISTORY SHOWS us the horrible roster of agonising tortures which the human mind has devised in pursuit of the ultimate cautionary pain: bodies roasted over braziers, heads ...

Randy Crawford: Secret Combination (Warner Bros K 56904)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 13 June 1981

CURIOUS THE way the music public keeps on discovering Randy Crawford and then losing her again. You'd have thought that having once chanced upon such ...

Defunkt: The Venue, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 20 June 1981

PRESENTING upwardly mobile uptown jazz/funk from New York, Defunkt are a sharp six-piece fronted by the ever-cool Joe Bowie, who plays trombone, conducts the band ...

Linx, Light of the World, Spandau Ballet: Light Of The World, Innervisions: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Sheryl Garratt, New Musical Express, 20 June 1981

WHILE JAZZFUNK is fine late at night with the volume low, it's a strictly background sound to my ears, and so tedious live. Take Innervisions, ...

James Booker, The Neville Brothers: Roots Music In The Crescent City: The 12th New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

Report by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 21 June 1981

This year's New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival included veterans like Dexter Gordon, bluesman Muddy Waters and local favorite Allen Toussaint. ...

Marvin Gaye: Glad To Be Gaye: Marvin Gaye: Apollo Victoria, London

Live Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 27 June 1981

APART FROM the odd dash of Las Vegas, a little hammed up stage behaviour, and a constant projection of distracting holiday snaps of our hero ...

Light Of The World: Free Trade Hall, Manchester

Live Review by Mick Middles, Sounds, 27 June 1981

Soundtrack to the end of the world ...

Was (Not Was): Was (Not Was) (ZE ILPS 7015)

Review by Betty Page, Sounds, 27 June 1981

Funk up (no funk up) ...

Junie Morrison: The Junie Vibe

Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, July 1981

WALTER "JUNIE" Morrison sinks wearily into an armchair in his hotel suite. Not until 3 o'clock this morning did he leave the stage of the ...

Coati Mundi, Cristina, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, Was (Not Was): Michael Zilkha: The King of Mutant Disco

Profile and Interview by Mary Harron, The Guardian, 4 July 1981

Mary Harron meets the rich kid behind ZE Records' success. ...

Odyssey: I Got The Melody (RCA LP5028)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 4 July 1981

'USE IT Up And Wear it Out' for number one? Not on your life, John. (The record tops the chart). Well, alright, it was a ...

Cameo, The Fatback Band, General Kane, Prince Charles & The City Beat Band: The Fatback Band, Cameo, General Caine II and Prince Charles & the City Beat Band

Review by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 4 July 1981

Slicing through the funk fat: The Fatback Band: Tasty Jam (Spring); Cameo: Knights Of The Sound Table (Chocolate City); General Caine II: Get Down Attack ...

Keni Burke, The Five Stairsteps: Keni Burke, One Step Ahead

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 14 July 1981

As a member of the Five Stairsteps in the mid-sixties, Keni worked on a number of Soul gems. Now, with his second solo album, he's ...

Randy Crawford: Cream Cracker

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 18 July 1981

RANDY CRAWFORD is talking and laughing. She rarely does one without the other, even with the hay fever that Britain's presented to her. ...

Lamont Dozier, Future Flight, Zingara: Lamont Dozier: Me an' my piano...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 28 July 1981

Despite a proven track record, the multi-talented writer, producer and artist, continues to strive for success, and STILL spends 4-5 hours every day sitting at ...

Defunkt

Interview by Kris Needs, ZigZag, August 1981

SCREAM or be screamed at. MOVE or be removed. TAKE what you can or be taken, LOOK out or be looked for. Make them dance, make ...

Chaka Khan: What Cha' Gonna Do for Me (Warner Bros.) **

Review by Laura Fissinger, Rolling Stone, 6 August 1981

WHAT CHA' Gonna Do for Me is a textbook example of how to make incredibly pedestrian "fusion" music and pass it off as jazz for ...

Funkapolitan: Your Flavour Of The Month

Profile and Interview by Deanne Pearson, Smash Hits, 20 August 1981

Deanne Pearson learns to Dance, Scream & Scoobydoo ...

Chic: Grandmasters of Chic

Interview by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 22 August 1981

Rodgers & Hart... Rodgers & Hammerstein... Rodgers & Edwards... The new age directors of organised rhyme get a witness in DANNY BAKER. ...

Michael Jackson, The Jacksons: The Jacksons: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Richard Grabel, New Musical Express, 12 September 1981

BEST FOOT FORWARD ...

Beggar & Co: Work Till You're Muscle Bound

Interview by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 19 September 1981

Lloyd Bradley encounters Beggar & Co and discovers how they avoided flunking the funk. ...

The Crusaders: Standing Tall (MCA MCE 3122)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 19 September 1981

COCKER? YES, Joe Cocker, well-loved throat of the late sixties cum early seventies now looking as if he's in his early seventies but, on this ...

Junior Giscombe: "Britfunk Saved Me from a Life of Crime!"

Interview by Chris Salewicz, New Musical Express, 26 September 1981

TRUE CONFESSIONS TALK-IN WITH MAMA'S BOY JUNIOR GISCOMBE ...

Kid Creole & The Coconuts

Profile and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Musician, October 1981

Urban time warps and geomusical quantum leaps later, Kid Creole and his pal Sugar-Coated are washed up on a sandy Island with only their wits ...

The Neville Brothers, Professor Longhair: New Orleans: "The city that time forgot"

Report by Don Snowden, New York Rocker, October 1981

One City And Its Romance With R&B ...

The Neville Brothers: Fiyo on the Bayou (A&M)

Review by Laura Fissinger, Musician, October 1981

WHAT THE hell is a music that thinks of itself in a perpetual present tense going to do with a rapidly accumulating history? Performers like ...

Linx: Sunny Side Up

Interview by Dave Rimmer, Smash Hits, 1 October 1981

Linx don't mind the weather, just as long as they're together. Forecast: Dave Rimmer. ...

Aretha Franklin: Love All The Hurt Away (Arista SPART 1170)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 3 October 1981

DOES IT strike you as a little odd that the Queen of Soul (as I believe she likes to be called), the woman who we're ...

Rick James: Punk's Flashy Funkster

Interview by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 5 October 1981

Rick James: Braided and Brassy Superstar Finds All That Glitters Turns to Platinum ...

Grace Jones: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 9 October 1981

AN AMAZONIAN former mannequin of Jamaican extraction, Grace Jones has become the toast of the jeunesse dorée lately arisen from the ashes of late-Seventies punk ...

Sylvester: Too Hot To Sleep (Fantasy/Honey import)

Review by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 10 October 1981

I COULD never really take Sylvester seriously, I had him filed away as an instantly disposable product of the confusion of the late Seventies. Now, ...

Tom Tom Club: Tom Tom Club (ILPS 9686)

Review by Mark Cooper, Record Mirror, 10 October 1981

GIRLS IN THE CLUB ...

Donald Byrd and 125th Street, NYC: Love Byrd (Warner Bros K52301)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 17 October 1981

IT'S NOT just love that's come around for Donald Byrd. It's the music scene too, to the healthy state of affairs where he can have ...

Gladys Knight and the Pips: Gladys Knight, Gladly

Interview by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 19 October 1981

After 30 Years, Things Are Still Pip ...

Randy Crawford: A soul saved from the church

Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, The Times, 19 October 1981

IN A POP music market fuelled more obviously than ever by fad and fashion, the recent British success of Randy Crawford has been taken in ...

Kid Creole & the Coconuts: That Darnell Cat

Interview by Kris Needs, ZigZag, November 1981

THIS MAN swaps heads like Tommy Cooper! Kid Creole — the desert island disco merchant of two bliss-full albums, the live spectacular and soon Broadway. ...

Miles Davis: The Man With The Horn (Columbia)

Review by Richard C. Walls, Creem, November 1981

MILES FINALLY RELEASES THE PAUSE BUTTON ...

Smokey Robinson: Painters Mill Star Theater, Baltimore

Live Review by J.D. Considine, Musician, November 1981

IT'S HARD TO imagine that a Smokey Robinson concert could hold much in the way of surprises. Celebrating his 25th year in the business, Robinson ...

Donna Summer: A Disco Queen is Born Again

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, Austin American-Statesman, 1 November 1981

DONNA SUMMER is a puzzle. She's the Rubik's Cube of pop singers. you might say a multicolored, at least six-sided mystery. She steps onto the ...

Gladys Knight and the Pips: Gladys Knight & the Pips: Berklee Performance Center, Boston MA

Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 3 November 1981

A pleasant Knight-time ...

Change, Luther Vandross: Luther Vandross: The man most likely...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 November 1981

With a wealth of musical experience behind him, via a string of hits with Change, background sessions for a host of Soul's top names and ...

23 Skidoo, Defunkt: Defunkt, 23 Skidoo: The Venue, London

Live Review by Richard Cook, New Musical Express, 7 November 1981

Closer to the Bone ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Raise! (CBS)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 14 November 1981

RAISE HIGH THE COSMIC BOOTY ...

Prince: Controversy (Warner Bros)

Review by Ian Penman, New Musical Express, 14 November 1981

SOME DAY MY PRINCE WILL COME... ...

Earth, Wind & Fire, Funkadelic, Prince: Whites Are Missing Good Rock By Blacks

Overview by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 15 November 1981

IF YOU LISTEN to Baltimore's album-oriented rock (AOR) radio stations or any of dozens of similar stations around the country, you're unlikely to hear any ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Earth Wind & Fire: Omni Coliseum, Atlanta GA

Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 November 1981

THIS WAS the first time that Atlanta had seen Earth Wind & Fire in over a year and there was much speculation about their widely-publicised ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Earth, Wind and Fire: Living On A Met-Plane

Interview by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 21 November 1981

EARTH, WIND & FIRE'S MAURICE WHITE GETS METAPHYSICAL. BRINGING QUESTIONS OF HIS OWN DANNY BAKER ASKS: DO YOU BELIEVE MY FRIEND IN WHAT YOU CLAIM? ...

Prince: Controversy (Warner Bros.)

Review by Sandy Robertson, Sounds, 21 November 1981

THERE IS only one message on a Prince record. The message is the massage, or vice-versa, the politick of the dick. Fortunately, Prince's unilateral (he ...

Prince: Warner Theater, Washington DC

Live Review by Geoffrey Himes, The Washington Post, 21 November 1981

PRINCE PUT on a dazzling show of screaming guitar solos, irresistible dance rhythms and charismatic showmanship at the Warner Theater Saturday night. Leading a powerful ...

Grace Jones: Orpheum Theater, Boston MA

Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 24 November 1981

Smiling along with Grace Jones ...

Aswad, Linx: Linx and Aswad: Shades of Black

Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, The Times, 26 November 1981

THERE IS A special role in British life for young black pop musicians, involving a task more serious than could ever be demanded of their ...

The Pointer Sisters: Pointer Sisters: Dominion, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 26 November 1981

AS DELIVERED by the Pointer Sisters, 'Slow Hand' is not merely a memorable recent hit single but perhaps the best women's song written by men ...

Linx: Funk and Roll

Interview by Chris Salewicz, The Face, December 1981

If Britain is ever to become self-sufficient in funk then it's groups like Linx who will lead the way... ...

Chic: The Real Chic

Interview by Kris Needs, ZigZag, December 1981

TEAR A STRIP off the sucker. Suddenly everybody's selfconsciously diving for the dancefloor. Most groups have got their 'funky number', even if they're not funky. ...

Luther Vandross: Never Too Much (Epic EPC 85275)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 December 1981

ALTHOUGH 'NEVER Too Much' may be the first time that Luther Vandross has had his name high on the charts, it's far from the first ...

Chic: Take It Off (Atlantic SD 19323)

Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 20 December 1981

CHIC ON A COLD STREAK ...

James Brown: Soul Brother Number One

Retrospective by Cliff White, The History of Rock, 1982

James Brown: the most famous flame of all. ...

Stevie Wonder: Original Musiquarium I

Review by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 1982

FOUR MONTHS late, four sides long, only four tracks new but fortunately containing enough sterling old stuff to make it a realistic proposition (economicswise) comes ...

Prince: Controversy (Warner Bros. BSK 3601)

Review by Mitchell Cohen, High Fidelity, January 1982

CONTROVERSY IS a presumptuous title for an album, but it's in keeping with Prince's tactics of provocation. Prince, in his early twenties, is a musician ...

Foreigner, Junior Walker & the All Stars: Junior Walker — A Soul Man

Report and Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 4 January 1982

BY 10:30 SATURDAY night, the line in front of the Club Lingerie, a trendy Hollywood rock spot catering to in-crowd tastes, stretched around the corner. ...

Al Green: In God He Trusts: Al Green reaches higher

Comment by James Hunter, The Boston Phoenix, 12 January 1982

IN THE '70s, in Memphis, Al Green and producer Willie Mitchell made quietly unstoppable soul music the world still hasn't gotten over. If at first ...

Material, Nona Hendryx: Nona Hendryx: Labelle-d By The Funk

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 16 January 1982

Paolo Hewitt sees eye-to-eye with NONA HENDRYX ...

James Blood Ulmer: Streets, Boston MA

Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 19 January 1982

Ulmer builds a pressure cooker ...

Grace Jones: Orpheum Theatre, Boston MA

Live Review by Betsy Sherman, Boston Rock, 21 January 1982

Amazing Grace ...

Imagination: Body Talking

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 23 January 1982

Paulo Hewitt finds the spirit of IMAGINATION ...

James Brown: Twilight Of The Godfather

Interview by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 23 January 1982

APART FROM several Arsenal players, James Brown was my first hero. ...

Rip Rig And Panic: London University Union

Live Review by Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 23 January 1982

Ripped to shreds ...

Rip Rig And Panic: Warehouse, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 23 January 1982

That's entertainment ...

Chic: Take It Off

Review by Glenn O'Brien, Interview, February 1982

IT'S BEEN ABOUT a year since the last CHIC album. Since then, half of the dance bag bands, in the world have come to resemble ...

James Blood Ulmer: Free Lancing (Columbia)

Review by Richard C. Walls, Creem, February 1982

ULMER IS A 39-year-old guitarist who's come up thru' blues bands and organ/guitar trios, thru the Del Vikings and Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars, thru ...

Prince: Controversy (Warner Brothers)

Review by Jim Farber, Creem, February 1982

COLD SHOWER ...

Chic To Take The Disco Wraps Off Inspired Guitar Work

Profile and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 6 February 1982

ANYONE WHO still suffers from the delusion that disco was simple, unchallenging music should listen again to Chic's hit single, 'Good Times'. Dig under the ...

The Four Tops: Four Tops Don't Walk Away Ever!

Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 6 February 1982

MY FIRST TASTE of Motown music was many summers ago as I mulled away my school holidays in a sort of passive ignorance, more interested ...

Shakatak: The Royalty, London

Live Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 6 February 1982

Darkness on the edge of boredom ...

Shakatak: Easier Done Than Said

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 27 February 1982

PAUL SEXTON shacks up with SHAKATAK ...

Shalamar: The Venue, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 27 February 1982

IT WASN'T that Shalamar don't have their own distinctive sound. It wasn't that they didn't make their presence felt on their first ever British live ...

Tom Browne: Bepopafungi, He's My Baby

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 27 February 1982

BEBOPAFUNKADISCOLYPSO is bad enough. But Fungi Mama? Say Whaaat? ...

Marshall Crenshaw, Bobby Womack: Marshall Crenshaw: Channel Boston; Bobby Womack: Berklee Performance Center, Boston

Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 2 March 1982

MARSHALL CRENSHAW is a believer. A guitarist and singer who draws from the classic, lean rock 'n' roll of the late-'50s and mid-'60s, he believes ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind and Fire Return to Form

Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Rolling Stone, 4 March 1982

NEW YORK CITY — Maurice White, the guiding force behind Earth, Wind and Fire, is seated in the middle of a posh Manhattan hotel suite. A party ...

Shalamar: Friends (Solar K52345)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 6 March 1982

AN ALBUM to establish Shalamar as LP artists and not just the final part of another disco assembly line churning out three-minute pounding product, not ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Earth, Wind and Fire: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 11 March 1982

IN THE last 10 years, black music in America has moved steadily away from raw, personal expression towards a more sophisticated presentation which acknowledges show ...

Gil Scott-Heron: The Homeland Is Where The Hatred Is

Interview by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 13 March 1982

JUST ONE CHANGE of buses, and the sound stages of Century City, Ca., where platinum-plated cowboys bite the props department dust, are replaced by the ...

Pigbag: Dr Heckle and Mr Jive (Y 17 LP)

Review by Mark Cooper, Record Mirror, 13 March 1982

BLOW ME down and shake me round, here comes Pigbag, a tornado in your town. Yes, yes a breath of fresh air designed to move ...

Hamilton Bohannon, Slave: Slave, Bohannon: Palladium, New York

Live Review by Richard Grabel, New Musical Express, 13 March 1982

HEAVENLY GAMES AND BODY HEAT ...

Earth Wind And Fire: Ecstasy At The Dawn Of Creation!

Live Review by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 20 March 1982

Earth Wind And Fire: Wembley Arena, London ...

The Jones Girls: Get As Much Love As You Can (Philadelphia Int. PIR 85347)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 23 March 1982

BRENDA, VALONE and Shirley Jones actually sing as good as they look and that's why they are one of the world's top vocal groups today! ...

Maze featuring Frankie Beverly: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 25 March 1982

ONE COOL dude, in shiny black from boots to leather baseball cap, Frankie Beverly was plainly the most surprised man in Hammersmith this week. Without ...

Maze: A Funk-Lite Labyrinth: Maze

Report and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 27 March 1982

FRANKIE BEVERLY’S eight-man Maze could have come to Europe at any time in the last two years and met with the same phenomenal response they ...

Prince: Warner Theater, Washington DC

Live Review by Geoffrey Himes, Musician, April 1982

DRY ICE smoke drifted across the darkened stage of Washington's Warner Theater, as an unreleased tape played of Prince singing the double orgasm lyrics of ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Earth Wind & Fire: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Hepworth, Smash Hits, 1 April 1982

OVER THE TOP WITH EARTH WIND & FIRE AT WEMBLEY ARENA OUR MAN IN BLOCK E: DAVID HEPWORTH ...

Tom Browne: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 5 April 1982

TOM BROWN proves on his most recent album, with treatments of two tunes by John Coltrane, that he has the equipment to be an above-average ...

Gil Scott-Heron: The Venue, London

Live Review by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 10 April 1982

THERE CAN surely be few performances in London this year which for intelligence, authority, musical expertise, and sheer style can hope to equal this by ...

Rick James: Blowing Out Tinsel Town

Interview by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 10 April 1982

Not So Long Ago:THERE WAS a time when nearly everybody in the world owned a Motown record. Motown was like a baby's security blanket, warm, ...

Tom Browne: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Richard Cook, New Musical Express, 10 April 1982

SWEET THUNDER OF A JIVE JAZZ CAT ...

Gil Scott-Heron: The Venue, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 12 April 1982

Cause for concern ...

Imagination: The Imagination Master Class

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 17 April 1982

LEEE: YOUR NAME'S Barney Rubble. How long have you been interviewing? A year? So you're young, a spring chicken?BH: Why, do I look well-seasoned? ...

Chic, D-Train, T-Connection: Palladium, New York NY

Live Review by Richard Grabel, New Musical Express, 24 April 1982

FUNK ALWAYS has its conventions, routines and common signals. The difference between great funk and bad is in how they are applied. Funk needs a ...

The Plugz, War: War, the Plugz: Country Club, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 1982

GOING TO WAR FOR AN L.A. SOUND ...

Junior Giscombe: Secret Life of a Streatham Soul-Boy

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 8 May 1982

Paolo Hewitt rides the Soul Train to L.A. with Junior Giscombe ...

Bobby Womack: The Poet (Beverly Glen Music) ***½

Review by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 13 May 1982

ORIGINALLY A protégé of Sam Cooke, Bobby Womack is a gritty-voiced soul singer who has written a wealth of terrific songs, including 'It's All Over ...

Stevie Wonder: Original Musiquarium I (Motown)

Review by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 15 May 1982

A WONDER DOWN MEMORY LANE ...

Patrice Rushen: Hit The Road Pat...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 May 1982

Touring is Patrice Rushen's main aim for the next couple of years."I intend to make myself more visible, even if that means spending less time ...

Captain Sky, Bootsy Collins: William Bootsy Collins: The One Giveth, The Count Taketh Away (Warner Bros Import); Captain Sky: Return Of The Captain (AVI Import)

Review by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 22 May 1982

WATER-WALKIN' ...

Doc Pomus: "Doc" Pomus: Songwriter Superhero

Retrospective and Interview by Gary Kenton, Musician, June 1982

The writer of such greats as 'Save The Last Dance For Me', 'Teenager In Love', 'Hushabye' and 'Suspicion' talks about his life as a Brill ...

Chic: Baltimore

Live Review by J.D. Considine, Musician, June 1982

APPEARANCES CAN be deceiving. As the rest of Chic pumped out the urgent, staccato vamp to 'Stage Fright', Nile Rodgers, Alfa Anderson, Luci Martin and ...

Defunkt: Too Fierce For Radioland

Interview by Kris Needs, ZigZag, June 1982

Joe Bowie, singer-songwriter-trombonist-leader talked to Kris Needs and Killing Joke bassist Youth. ...

Dr. John: Dr John: On Becoming Mac Rebennack

Interview by J.D. Considine, Musician, June 1982

The legend of Dr. John and his gumbo ragtime voodoo funk medicine, as told by the man who invented him, lived him and let him ...

James Brown, George Clinton, The Commodores, Earth, Wind & Fire, Marvin Gaye, Quincy Jones, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder: The Superstar: Much More Than The Just The music

Overview by Vernon Gibbs, Billboard, 5 June 1982

IT MAY be one of the most frequently misused of the music industry's accolades, since in a business full of stars there are few genuine ...

Brass Construction, D-Train, Millie Jackson, Rick James, Maze, Prince, Skyy (US): Touring Talent Sacrifices Luxury For Livelihood

Report by Vernon Gibbs, Billboard, 5 June 1982

Revert To '60s Packaging ...

The Temptations: Temptations Reunited and on the Road Again

Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 6 June 1982

IN THE MINDS of many, the greatest soul record ever made was the Temptations' performance of Smokey Robinson's 'My Girl' on Motown's Gordy Records in ...

The Pleasure of the Pain

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 12 June 1982

Various Artists: Lost Soul, Vols. 1-3 (Epic, import) ...

Kid Creole & The Coconuts: Roxy, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 1982

KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS MAKE A DIZZYING, DAZZLING ROXY DEBUT ...

Rick James: Sex, Street Smarts and Success

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 24 June 1982

SAUSALITO, CA — Rick James Lies sleeping on the plush burgundy velvet seat in the back of the long black limousine. It has been forty-eight ...

Smokey Robinson: Painters Mill Star Theatre, Owings Mill MD

Live Review by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 3 July 1982

Robinson in fine sinuous form at Painters Mill ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, Millie Jackson: Millie Jackson, Bobby Bland: Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 1982

THE WAY Millie Jackson carries on in concert would make Bette Midler blush. Jackson, who sprang to prominence in the early '70s with a batch ...

Duke Ellington, Phyllis Hyman: Phyllis Hyman: Duke Ellington Sacred Music Concert, St Paul's Cathedral, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 17 July 1982

IT'S PERHAPS not every day that you go to a gig at St Paul's Cathedral introduced by Rod Steiger and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. It's not ...

Darlene Love, Phil Spector: Darlene Hits Local Scene, Reviving an Old Spector

Profile and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 July 1982

THE FAMOUS sound of Phil Spector will hit Bay Area stages for the next three nights when Darlene Love makes a round of local appearances. ...

Donna Summer: Donna Summer

Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 24 July 1982

IF THERE's one song that Donna Summer should be singing right now it's our current number one, 'Fame'. Tailor made for her, 'Fame' is glossy, ...

Hot Chocolate: Monday Night Fever

Profile and Interview by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 31 July 1982

As Hot Chocolate ride high in the charts again, Mick Brown meets Errol Brown, Britain's most successful black song writer, the toast of Mickie Most's ...

Defunkt: This Defunkt Life

Interview by Lesley White, The Face, August 1982

According to Joe Bowie, only his trombone and his funk-jazz band Defunkt stand between him and the imminent nuclear apocalypse. LESLEY WHITE talks to the ...

Light of the World: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 2 August 1982

HAVING COME and gone among the first wave of black British funk bands when the genre was but a trickle, Light of the World have ...

Carmel: Storm Warning

Interview by Mark Cooper, Record Mirror, 7 August 1982

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN discipline and fierce spontaneity lies the storm that is Carmel. ...

Keni Burke: Burke's peerage

Profile by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 August 1982

HE'S BEEN around longer than you'd suppose and done things that might surprise you... in other words, he isn't the Burke you think he is. ...

Larry Graham: The Sly Sound Of Success

Interview by Andy Gill, New Musical Express, 7 August 1982

THE SOFA is sumptuous, the clothes casual; Larry Graham sits swathed in both, the epitome of affluent black America. We're in a hospitality suite in ...

Solomon Burke, Little Richard: Little Richard and Solomon Burke: Sex & God & Rock & Roll

Report and Interview by Vernon Gibbs, The Village Voice, 10 August 1982

THE FIRST time I encountered Little Richard, his face was plastered against a Bedford-Stuyvesant wall — the poster advertised a show at the Breevort Theater. ...

Defunkt, Talking Heads: Talking Heads, Defunkt: Greek Theater, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 10 August 1982

TALKING HEADS: WHOLE LOTTA RHYTHM ...

Rick James, Ray Parker Jr.: Forum, Inglewood CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 23 August 1982

RICK JAMES AND THE FUNK CAPADES ...

Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross: Aretha Franklin: Jump To It (Arista 204 742)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 August 1982

WELL, THE teaming of Aretha Franklin and Luther Vandross as her producer is magical and this is perhaps one of the really great Aretha albums ...

Imagination: Work That Body!

Interview by Lesley White, The Face, September 1982

Suitably softened up by his workout with four year-old Twinkle, IMAGINATION'S extrovert frontman picks himself up off the floor for an interview with LESLEY WHITE ...

Indeep: Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life (Sound of New York SNY 1201)

Review by Mitchell Cohen, High Fidelity, September 1982

THE IDEA behind Indeep is that in matters sexual, women have all the leverage. "You'd be a fool for a kiss," Rose Marie Ramsey says ...

Ray Parker Jr.: The Other Woman (Arista)

Review by Laura Fissinger, Creem, September 1982

IF SOFT FUNK is Ray Parker's main squeeze, the other woman is rock 'n roll — dirty, white boy, garage gi-tar, thump and hump rock ...

The Four Tops: One More Mountain (Casablanca)

Review by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 4 September 1982

WHEN MARVIN Gaye recorded What's Going On in the early '70s it was part of an important transition for the Motown label, its mixture of ...

Rick James: Too much to do to get messed up now...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 September 1982

STREET SONGS sold excess of a million and was easily the biggest R&B-based album of 1981 and is, in fact, still on the charts after ...

The Valentine Brothers: Valentines' day is nigh

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 September 1982

  IF EVER a record summed up the situation, then the Valentine Brothers' recent 'Money's Too Tight' smash in a pretty fair assessment of the predicament ...

Ashford & Simpson: Hope Is Where You Find It

Interview by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 9 September 1982

AFTER 18 YEARS, seven hit singles and three gold albums, Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson are probably best known for starring in a Coca-Cola commercial. ...

Gil Scott-Heron: Moving Target (Arista)

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 18 September 1982

GIL SCOTT-HERON is one of the most quietly effective performers currently working in popular music: his cool, firm underplaying makes the listener want to move ...

Gil Scott-Heron: Moving Target (Arista AL 9606)

Review by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 26 September 1982

A WEAK MOVING TARGET ...

The Gap Band: Gap Band IV (Total Experience) ***

Review by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 30 September 1982

WITH ITS synthesized percussion explosions, syncopated handclaps and ominous melody, 'Early in the Morning', the Gap Band's recent hit single, is the sonic equivalent of ...

Kid Creole & the Coconuts: Wise Guy (Ze/Sire)

Review by j. poet, Creem, October 1982

EVERY SO often a record comes along sporting such wit, style, finess, integrity, imagination, good taste, humor, and originality that you suspect the poor sucker ...

Kool and the Gang: Kool & The Gang: As One (De-Lite)

Review by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 2 October 1982

GANG FARE BORE ...

Ronald Shannon Jackson & the Decoding Society: Mandance (Antilles)

Review by Richard Cook, New Musical Express, 2 October 1982

LOOKING FOR CLUES ...

Vanity 6: Vanity 6 (Warner Bros. 23716)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 October 1982

WELL, IF you thought Prince was raunchy, try these three ladies because if there is such a thing as musical porno, here it is! With ...

Aretha Franklin: Telephone Hang-Ups

Interview by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 9 October 1982

Aretha Franklin keeps LLOYD BRADLEY hanging on the transatlantic telephone — the new Duchess of Disco fails to 'Jump To It'... ...

The Time: What Time Is It? (WEA)

Review by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 9 October 1982

TIME IT WAS AND WHAT A TIME IT WAS ...

Kool and the Gang: Kool & The Gang: Apollo, Victoria

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 16 October 1982

SINCE THEY possess in general less of an all-consuming respect for their own genius than their contemporaries in white rock music, black soul groups often ...

George Clinton, Human Body, New Horizons, Dick Smith, Roger Troutman, Zapp: Roger... The Keeper Of The P-Funk!

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 19 October 1982

From out of the P-Funk cauldron, the Troutman brothers have emerged supreme. In this exclusive and revealing interview, Roger Troutman explains the thinking behind the ...

The Time, Vanity 6: The Time: What Time Is It? (Warner Bros. 1-23701); Vanity 6: Vanity 6 (Warner Bros. 1-23716)

Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 24 October 1982

HOT FUNK IN DOUBLE TIME ...

Cheryl Lynn, Luther Vandross: Luther Vandross, Cheryl Lynn: Greek Theater, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 28 October 1982

VANDROSS — A STAGGERING POTENTIAL ...

The Neville Brothers: Shaking Off Limbo

Profile and Interview by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 4 November 1982

MAY 1981: ART Neville and I stand outside his home in uptown New Orleans. The annual Jazz & Heritage festival is just now over, and ...

James Blood Ulmer: Black Rock (CBS)

Review by Richard Cook, New Musical Express, 13 November 1982

BLACK AND BLOOD! ...

Millie Jackson: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 13 November 1982

VOICE: robust and versatile, unique among name entertainers for its dynamic revitalisation of R&B and soul intonations of yesteryear. Humour: sardonic, self-deprecating, ego-crushing, uplifting; more ...

Ava Cherry: Bowie Backups and Beyond

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 19 November 1982

LOSANGELES — Back-up singers don't always rise to distinction, but vocalist Ava Cherry, who worked extensively with David Bowie on the pivotal Diamond Dogs tour ...

David Bowie, Change, Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross, Dionne Warwick: Luther Vandross, Into the Limelight

Profile and Interview by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 21 November 1982

  LUTHER VANDROSS is singin' on top of the world nowadays, master of a string of professions: singer, songwriter, arranger, producer. ...

Shalamar: Dominion, London

Live Review by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 23 November 1982

SURPRISING AS it may seem, the hottest ticket in town at present is not for ABC, Yazoo or any other of the leading lights of ...

Cheryl Lynn, Luther Vandross: Cheryl Lynn: Cheryl & Luther's Instant Love Affair...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 November 1982

ONE OF the big success stories of the moment surrounds Cheryl Lynn, whose duet with Luther Vandross on 'If This World Were Mine' is currently ...

Gwen McCrae: Gwen's Return Trip

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 November 1982

WITH THE release of her second Atlantic album, On My Way, it looks as if the Florida born Capricorn, Gwen McCrae — born December 21 ...

Klymaxx: The Feminine Touch

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 November 1982

IN AN INDUSTRY that is male-oriented, the arrival of the eight-piece, self-contained and all girl group, Klymaxx is a welcome addition. The lovely ladies are ...

Millie Jackson: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 30 November 1982

GROIN-GRINDING, FOUL-MOUTHED, OUTRAGEOUSLY SENSUAL, Millie Jackson isn't exactly the kind of girl you would take home to meet Mum — but she sure is fun ...

Luther Vandross

Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Musician, December 1982

LUTHER VANDROSS curled up in the stuffed arm chair with his Wizard-of-Oz red ruby shoes tucked under his massive bulk. When he described Dionne Warwick's ...

Michael Jackson: Thriller (Epic)

Review by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 4 December 1982

ALMOST FOUR years ago Michael Jackson (ably assisted and abetted by producer Quincy Jones) unleashed the scorching fury of Off The Wall. It was the ...

Shalamar

Profile and Interview by Peter Silverton, Smash Hits, 9 December 1982

From just another American disco outfit to an extremely hip modern dance band in only a matter of months. Is it all down to Jeffrey's ...

Funkadelic, George Clinton: George Clinton: Computer Games (Capitol)

Review by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 11 December 1982

A GEORGE Clinton solo album? Not a bit of it. Right down to Pedro Bell's quirkily barbed sleeve artwork, this is a Funkadelic record. The ...

Marvin Gaye: Mr Midnight In The City Of Angels

Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 11 December 1982

DON'T WALK along Sunset Boulevard, otherwise you'll end up as part of the freakshow on the sidewalk rather than a spectator at The Last Great ...

Michael Jackson: Thriller (Epic QE 38112)

Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 12 December 1982

JACKSON GOES OVER THE WALL ...

Luther Vandross: Vandross adds '60s Emotion to '80s Technology

Profile and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 17 December 1982

ANY REASONABLE list of this year's best soul albums has to include Cheryl Lynn's Instant Love (Columbia), Aretha Franklin's Jump To It (Arista), and Luther ...

Shalamar: The Second Time Around

Profile and Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 18 December 1982

LATE LAST March, under the advice of a close friend, Jeffrey Daniels, one third of a group called Shalamar, took a walk down the Kings ...

Blue-eyed soul: Colour Me Soul

Overview by Bill Millar, The History of Rock, 1983

The phrase 'blue-eyed soul' was coined by Georgie Woods, a black disc jockey on the WDAS radio station in Philadelphia. One of the major personalities ...

Prince: 1999 (Warner Bros.)

Review by Laura Fissinger, Musician, January 1983

ONCE UPON a time, Prince was assessed thus: a (modestly) gifted dance floor sexmeister; a (very) occasional visitor to profundity and innovation; and (mostly) a ...

George Clinton, Funkadelic, Parliament: George Clinton: The Mad Professor

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 8 January 1983

Paolo Hewitt gets funked by GEORGE CLINTON. ...

Vince Montana: Montana Climbing

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 8 January 1983

"WE'VE GOT an 18 lb turkey in the oven, the whole family's coming over." Is this a heavy vibe or is someone giving Vince Montana ...

Brothers Johnson: Brothers Rock

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 15 January 1983

SO WHAT did happen to the Brothers Johnson? Just a couple of years ago, they took 'Stomp' to the highest reaches of the charts and ...

George Clinton: The Return Of Doctor Funkenstein

Interview by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 15 January 1983

Two years ago, George Clinton was freeing the galactic ass at the head of an unparalleled funk troupe – Parliament, Funkadelic, Bootsy Collins, Sly Stone, ...

Grace Jones: Living My Life (Island 90018)

Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 15 January 1983

GRACE NOTES FROM A CULT QUEEN ...

Prince: 1999 (Warner Bros 1-223720)

Review by Betty Page, Record Mirror, 15 January 1983

Royal Flush ...

Marvin Gaye: Midnight Love (Columbia) ****

Review by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 20 January 1983

AS A COMEBACK album, Marvin Gaye's Midnight Love is remarkably arrogant: it simply picks up from 1973's Let's Get It On as if only ten ...

Imagination: The Glam Gladiators Fight Back

Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 22 January 1983

AT THE BOTTOM end of London's Marylebone Road, going towards the station, you pass numerous beauty salons, the type of establishment that's emerged in many ...

Virginia Astley, Aztec Camera, Bauhaus, Blue Zoo, Central Line, Dire Straits, Earth, Wind & Fire, Aretha Franklin, The Gap Band, Haysi Fantayzee, Indeep, Michael Jackson, Cheryl Lynn, Manfred Mann, Johnny Mathis, The Polecats, Rockers Revenge, Supertramp, Tears For Fears, The Thompson Twins, Toto, Dionne Warwick: Singles Reviewed by MARK COOPER

Review by Mark Cooper, Record Mirror, 22 January 1983

THE GAP BAND 'Outstanding' (Polygram) Yet another soul concerto from The Gap Band with a monstrously hard-hitting handclap from the engine room and a vocal ...

Arthur Alexander: A Shot Of Rhythm And Soul (Ace)

Review by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 29 January 1983

THIS IS a welcome and important collection bringing together for the first time on one LP all the famous and not so famous songs recorded ...

Linx: Last Linx (Chrysalis CHR 1409)

Review by Betty Page, Record Mirror, 29 January 1983

The missing Linx ...

Richard "Dimples" Fields, Chaka Khan, Skyy (US), The SOS Band: S.O.S. Band: S.O.S. lll; New York Skyy: Skyyjammer; Chaka Khan: Chaka Khan; Richard 'Dimples' Fields: Give Everybody Some!

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 29 January 1983

TWO CREWS, two solo artistes, SOS and Skyy occupy the amorphous middle ground between Clinton and Kool — no coke psychosis on the one hand, ...

Daryl Hall & John Oates: Hall & Oates: H2O (RCA)

Review by Laura Fissinger, Creem, February 1983

VICTIMS OF SEXISTANCE ...

Marvin Gaye: Midnight Love (CBS)

Review by Carol Cooper, Musician, February 1983

UPON RELOCATING to England in 1981, Marvin Gaye complained to London's New Musical Express that his last Tamla release, In Our Lifetime, was flawed because ...

Michael Jackson: Thriller (Epic)

Review by Mark Rowland, Musician, February 1983

IT SEEMS only a matter of time now before Michael Jackson becomes a candy bar or a video game. His music, after all, that remarkably ...

Prince: 1999 (Warner Bros.)

Review by Richard Riegel, Creem, February 1983

DRESSED TO FUNK 

 ...

Sharon Redd: Embassy club, London

Live Review by Neil Tennant, Smash Hits, 3 February 1983

SEEING REDD: Midnight at the Embassy club with Sharon. Neil Tennant watches from the shadows. ...

Luther Vandross: Bland, Dull and Vandross

Profile and Interview by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 5 February 1983

LUTHER VANDROSS' world could be cut out from the pages of Jackie magazine. ...

Indeep: Deep Throats

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 5 February 1983

  "I WAS ROUND at the house of a friend of mine, and his sister was supposed to have a date. But she was stood up ...

The Gap Band: Star Spangled & Starry-Eyed

Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 5 February 1983

Gavin Martin meets The Gap Band, three of America's fortunate sons who just want to party and make people happy. ...

James "Blood" Ulmer: James Blood Ulmer: Jonathan Swift's, Cambridge MA

Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 11 February 1983

Blood Ulmer lets his guitar do the talking ...

Prince Charles & The City Beat Band: Big Bad Prince Charles

Interview by Richard Grabel, New Musical Express, 12 February 1983

Richard Grabel comes face-to-face with a studied image of comic-book cool steaming off the streets of New York. ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight (CBS)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 12 February 1983

I SAY, let's not groove tonight. Sometimes Earth, Wind & Fire get down on a groove and flashily mess it around. Sometimes they just lie ...

Indeep and... chart high

Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 12 February 1983

SHE IS trapped in a vortex of conflicting emotion, torn between loss, desire and anger; left at home, alone, hanging on the telephone. ...

Syl Johnson: Ms Fine Brown Frame (Erect/Import)

Review by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 12 February 1983

FINE BROWN FATBACK FRAME ...

52nd Street, The Commodores: The Commodores, 52nd Street: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 12 February 1983

Hoarses for courses ...

The Gap Band, Yarbrough & Peoples: The Gap Band/Yarbrough and Peoples: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Dave Rimmer, Smash Hits, 17 February 1983

Intrepid fans shuffle past a regiment of niggly security men and into the Hammersmith Odeon. On stage a whole troupe of compères bounce on and ...

Rockers Revenge: Revenge is Sweet

Interview by Mark Cooper, Record Mirror, 19 February 1983

THE MANAGEMENT of Brooklyn's Music Factory have more on their minds than their dayjobs. They have to explain that the silver discs on the wall ...

Luther Vandross: Dominion Theatre, London

Live Review by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 26 February 1983

LUTHER KING! ...

Rockers Revenge: The Harder They Fall

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 26 February 1983

ROCKERS REVENGE FIND THEMSELVES WALKING OUT OF SUNSHINE WITH THEIR COVER VERSION OF 'THE HARDER THEY COME'. PAOLO HEWITT GETS HIS REVENGE IN NEW YORK ...

Ronald Shannon Jackson, Material, Prince, James Blood Ulmer: 1982 Black Music Report

Overview by Paul Yamada, Coolest Retard, March 1983

THE PAST FEW years have brought much that is new or at least different to contemporary black music, and though both white and black tastes ...

George Clinton: Computer Games (Capitol)

Review by J.D. Considine, Musician, March 1983

THERE ARE times when I think George Clinton puts out uneven albums just to piss the rest of the world off. I mean, there are ...

Grace Jones: Living My Life (Island)

Review by Laura Fissinger, Creem, March 1983

CLEARLY, WE are dealing here with a case of Persona, in this case as outsized as War And Peace. And static too — who, recently, ...

Material: One Down (Elektra 60206)

Review by Sam Sutherland, High Fidelity, March 1983

CHARACTERIZING MATERIAL'S work as "new music" could be somewhat misleading, since synthetic pop proponents have recently begun to use the term in lieu of "new ...

Michael Jackson: Thriller (Epic QE 38112)

Review by Mitchell Cohen, High Fidelity, March 1983

A Thriller with a Difference ...

George Clinton: The Gangster Of Funk

Interview by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 3 March 1983

IF THE name George Clinton means anything to you, then you probably know him as Uncle Jam, the man with the plan, the songwriter-producer-vocalist-conceptualist for ...

Luther Vandross: Dominion Theatre, London

Live Review by Dave Rimmer, Smash Hits, 3 March 1983

BRITAIN MIGHT not yet have heard much of Luther Vandross, but over in the States he's a man much in demand. Primarily a vocalist, he ...

Angela Bofill: Too Tough (Arista 205 273)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 5 March 1983

ANGIE BOFILL is one of those ladies who looks different in every picture; always pretty, but in changing ways. The comment fits her work as ...

Prince, The Time, Vanity 6: Civic Center, Baltimore MD

Live Review by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 7 March 1983

Prince sustains dramatic opening with music that obliterates rules ...

Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society: Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 18 March 1983

AS THE ONLY drummer to have appeared on record with Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor and Ornette Coleman, three of the grand masters of the jazz ...

The Gap Band: Rap With The Gap

Interview by Robin Katz, Soundmaker, 19 March 1983

ROBIN KATZ GETS THE TOTAL EXPERIENCE OF THE GAP BAND ...

Janet Jackson: Janet Jackson (A&M AMLH 64907)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 26 March 1983

ALMOST AS if someone had said "Follow that", Mom and Pop Jackson have. Again. Sister Janet is gingerly testing the water with her first album. ...

The Kids from Fame: The Kids from Fame: The Famous Five

Interview by Dave Rimmer, Smash Hits, 31 March 1983

...better known as Leroy, Coco, Bruno, Danny and Lydia. Dave Rimmer travels the length and breadth of America in search of the Kids from Fame. ...

Al Green: Sanctity & Sexuality on a Higher Plane

Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Musician, April 1983

LISTENING TO Al Green's three gospel albums for Myrrh Records is a disorienting experience. The songs are traditional hymns that have been sung in black ...

Smokey Robinson: Touch The Sky (Motown STML 12175)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 9 April 1983

IT'S ALWAYS struck me as unfortunate that one of the greatest black soul writers of the past 20 years has one of the weediest voices. ...

The Whispers: Love For Love (Solar E0216)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 9 April 1983

BRITAIN'S TENDED to prefer loud Whispers to soft Whispers in the past, which means we've majored on their dance tunes rather than their ballads. Which ...

New Edition: Editions Of Youth

Interview by Richard Grabel, New Musical Express, 16 April 1983

HERE'S SOMETHING that can't miss. Five young and cute boys (ages 14 and 15) who can sing and dance, including one outstanding lead singer whose ...

Prince: Radio City Music Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Richard Grabel, New Musical Express, 16 April 1983

SEX BEAT ...

Joe Sample: The Hunter (MCA MCF 3164)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 30 April 1983

THE SOLO crusades count for just a little more now that drummer Stix Hooper has apparently fought his last battle with the Crusaders. Joe Sample ...

Prince, The Time, Vanity 6: Time For The Prince Who Will Be King

Profile by Vernon Gibbs, Creem, May 1983

HALFWAY THROUGH the concert, the long legged blonde keyboard player has stripped down to her underwear. The occasion is Prince's underground classic, 'Head', in which ...

Aurra: Live And Let Live (Salsoul SA 8559)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 May 1983

'Such A Feeling'; 'Coming To Get You'; 'Live And Let Live'; 'Undercover Lover'; 'Baby Love'; 'You Can't Keep On Walking'; 'One More Time'; 'Positive' ...

Debarge: The New First Family Of Motown

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 May 1983

IT SEEMS that Motown have finally found the successor to the Jacksons! After the ineffectiveness of the first album by the Debarge family, their second ...

Prince Charles & The City Beat Band: Lock Up Yer Women... Prince Charles Is Comin'

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 May 1983

IN DAYS of yore, it was not uncommon for plundering royalty to ravage the land and have their evil way with local wenches. But we ...

Lonnie Liston Smith: Escape From Limbo...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 May 1983

It's been almost three years since Lonnie Liston Smith came across with new product. But with his new Dreams Of Tomorrow set he's escaped from ...

The Valentine Brothers: Valentines Day

Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 3 May 1983

IF EVER A record could be said to sum up the times we are all living through right now, then it must be the Valentine ...

The Whispers: Love For Love (Solar 60216)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 May 1983

ALTHOUGH SIDE one is sub-titled the "dancin' side" (and side two is the "romantic side"), that is somewhat misleading because to be truthful, only the ...

Ray Charles: Charles Sticks With Tune That Hyped His Career

Profile and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 6 May 1983

RAY CHARLES will no doubt finish his show at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall tonight the same way he finishes every concert: with a wildly improvised ...

Rip Rig and Panic: Rip Rig & Panic: Rip Rig It Up And Start Again

Interview by Don Watson, New Musical Express, 7 May 1983

Their commercial failure was rigged, but they didn't panic. Now Don Watson discovers Rip Rig & Panic's new attitude. ...

In Search Of The L.A. Black Beat

Report by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 1983

LOS ANGELES IS the home of black music stars. Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Donna Summer, Lionel Richie, Dionne Warwick, Earth, Wind & Fire, ...

Labelle, Patti LaBelle: Labelle: Girl Group to Gospel

Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 8 May 1983

THE 18 CHORUS members of Your Arms Too Short to Box With God were assembled like a church choir in their red and white gowns ...

The Mary Jane Girls: Mary Jane Girls: Candy Girls

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 14 May 1983

WHEN RICK James auditions hopefuls for a new all-girl group, it's the look that counts. In other words, he uses a tape measure, not a ...

Prince Charles & The City Beat Band (1983)

Interview by Simon Witter, Rock's Backpages audio, 18 May 1983

From the ghetto and gangs of Roxbury in Boston to the Lyceum ballroom: Prince Charles Alexander and his trusty Lyricon move on up.

File format: mp3; file size: 48mb, interview length: 52' 27" sound quality: ***

Prince Charles & the City Beat Band: The Venue, London

Live Review by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 21 May 1983

CHARLES FLAUNTISM — FUNK OR FAKE? YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY PAOLO HEWITT ...

New Edition

Profile and Interview by Dave Rimmer, Smash Hits, 26 May 1983

A YOUNG QUINTET FROM ROXBURY, BOSTON. DAVE RIMMER TAKES A LEAF FROM THEIR BOOK ...

Dionne Warwick: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 31 May 1983

PLAYING THE second of three concerts at the Odeon at the start of her three-week long British tour, Dionne Warwick proved why she has stood ...

Gladys Knight and the Pips: Gladys Knight & The Pips: Visions (CBS)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 May 1983

WHEN IT comes to sheer consistency and reliability, Gladys Knight & the Pips take some beating! They have that uncanny knack of teaming up with ...

Rick James, The Mary Jane Girls: The Mary Jane Girls: Rick's Chicks

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 May 1983

Any Rick James backing group is sure to be talented, suggestive and female! However, there's more to the Mary Jane Girls than at first meets ...

Prince: Someday Your Prince Will Come

Essay by Carol Cooper, The Face, June 1983

THE THING TO BEAR IN MIND is that Prince does not do interviews. He certainly didn't do this one, nor any of a dozen others ...

Marvin Gaye: Radio City Music Hall, New York

Live Review by Richard Grabel, New Musical Express, 4 June 1983

THERE IS a video tape circulating around Black Rock (CBS corporate headquarters) that is a five-minute demonstration of Marvin Gaye's pure genius. It records a ...

The Bar-Kays, Nona Hendryx, Gladys Knight and the Pips: The Bar-Kays, Nona Hendryx, Gladys Knight: Veteran Hitmakers Span The Generations

Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Billboard, 4 June 1983

IN A BUSINESS where the term "veteran" can be applied to acts that have been consistent chartmakers for at least five years, it is a ...

Jackie Wilson: The Jackie Wilson Story (Epic EG 38623)

Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 1983

JACKIE WILSON: FADE TO BLACK ...

Imagination: The Gospel According To John...

Profile and Interview by Dave Rimmer, Smash Hits, 9 June 1983

Leee John, that is, from Imagination. In the beginning he was a snowflake in a school play. Today he's the singer in Britain's biggest-selling black ...

Mtume: Lady Killer

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 June 1983

  ALTHOUGH JUICY Fruit may represent James Mtume's first taste of success as an artist, his whole career has been filled with his records because his ...

Ray Charles: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 18 June 1983

RESPECT, WE CAME to the massive Hall and paid respect to the blind man who helped shape black music, lived a life of (partly self-inflicted) ...

Cameo, Dazz Band: Greek Theatre, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 1983

CAMEO GENERATES PARTY-TIME SPIRIT ...

Irene Cara: Flashdance and Irene Cara

Interview by Ian Birch, Dave Rimmer, Smash Hits, 23 June 1983

THE FILM It's going to be the big box-office smash of the summer. And Dave Rimmer's already seen it. ...

George Clinton: the return of Dr. Funkenstein

Profile and Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 23 June 1983

HEADS TURN when George Clinton enters a room. Any room. At the moment, the people in the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel are staring ...

Curtis Mayfield: Commonwealth Institute, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 27 June 1983

A TRIUMPH OF experience over environment, Curtis Mayfield's return to London on Friday night was a tribute to the enduring worth of the generation of ...

Al Jarreau: Jarreau (Warner Bros.)

Review by J.D. Considine, Musician, July 1983

ALTHOUGH POP has always seemed Al Jarreau's destiny, his disposition toward jazz kept getting in the way. It wasn't so much that Jarreau bopped when ...

David Bowie Let's Dance (EMI/America)

Review by Carol Cooper, Record, July 1983

A CONSUMMATE BLEND of everything Chic and David Bowie (in his Negro period) represent, 'Let's Dance' – the title song of the latter's new album ...

George Clinton: Putting On The Atomic Dog

Interview by John Morthland, Creem, July 1983

GEORGE CLINTON hunkers down into the couch in the conference room of Capitol's Manhattan offices, pours himself a tall noontime glass of orange juice, and ...

Nile Rodgers: Adventures In The Land Of The Good Groove

Review by Mitchell Cohen, Creem, July 1983

SINCE NILE RODGERS (A) is democratic enough to include Wall Street within the borders of good-groove land (see the map on the album cover), and ...

Freeez: Two's Company... Freeez A Crowd

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 2 July 1983

PROFOUND STATEMENTS of our time, number 23. Let me introduce you to Freeez's John Rocca, who says assertively: "If you want a loaf of bread, ...

Nona Hendryx: None Have A Voice Like Nona

Profile by Julie Panebianco, Boston Rock, 5 July 1983

"SEXY." WBZ-TV's Joyce Kulhawik purses her lips together and pouts: "Provocative. Hot." Nona Hendryx shifts uncomfortably in her seat as the Live on Four camera ...

The Impressions, Curtis Mayfield: Curtis Mayfield: So Proud — The Moral Standard of Soul

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 9 July 1983

Regarded by many people as the first conscience of American Black music, CURTIS MAYFIELD's illustrious career now spans 20 years — from being a teenager ...

James Blood Ulmer: Ace, Brixton, London

Live Review by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 9 July 1983

A PROTÉGÉ of Ornette Coleman and disciple of Coleman's theory of harmolodics — a musical system of such devious complexity that possible only Coleman and ...

Mtume: Juicy Fruit (Epic EPC25399)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 12 July 1983

THE NAME of Mtume (pronounced Em-too-may) should be familiar to you because prior to 'Juicy Fruit'-ing his way to the top in his own right, ...

Phyllis Hyman: Phyllis Puts A Tiger In Her Tank...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 12 July 1983

Right now, Phyllis Hyman's career and her music is her whole life. "I live, breathe, think and eat music" she says. And with her Goddess ...

Defunkt: Albany Empire, London

Live Review by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 15 July 1983

DEFUNKT ARE in the anomalous position of being an American band playing in a singularly American style who find themselves prophets without honour — or ...

Gwen Guthrie: A Portrait of Gwen Guthrie

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 26 July 1983

IF YOU stop to think about it, the perfect credentials for a potential superstar must be having served an 'apprenticeship' as a background singer. The ...

The Commodores, DeBarge, Finis Henderson, Rick James, Michael Lovesmith, The Mary Jane Girls, Bobby Nunn, Syreeta, Monalisa Young: There's No Town Like Motown

Report and Interview by Richard Cook, New Musical Express, 30 July 1983

25 years on the dancefloor, Tamla Motown is still the black music label. In the '60s, their motto was 'The Sound Of Young America' — then hard ...

Smokey Robinson: Cruisin' with Smokey

Interview by Dave Marsh, Record, August 1983

In an exclusive interview, the master of the romantic vignette-in-song gets into some nuts-and-bolts talk about the creative process and gets down with some vintage ...

Dr. John: Dr John: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Max Bell, The Times, 5 August 1983

DESPITE AN unfortunate illness, rumours of Dr John's early retirement have been greatly exaggerated. As if to emphasize his recent recovery New Orleans's favourite white ...

Chaka Khan, Mtume: 44th Street Pier, New York NY

Live Review by Richard Grabel, New Musical Express, 6 August 1983

Chaka Works The Crowd But Doesn't Wear The Crown ...

Gary Byrd, Stevie Wonder: Gary Byrd: Crown topper

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 6 August 1983

TELEPATHY, THAT'S the only way of explaining the relationship between Gary Byrd and his friend Stevie Wonder. ...

Herbie Hancock: itches and Herbie

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 6 August 1983

(yeah, it's all that scratchin'!) ...

Herbie Hancock, Material: Herbie Hancock: Future Shock (CBS 25540)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 20 August 1983

AS IT is written on the single, so it shall be on the album... and Herb shows enough courage of his convictions to 'Rockit' right ...

New Edition: Candy Girl (London/Streetwise SH8553)

Review by Betty Page, Record Mirror, 20 August 1983

EDITIONS OF YOU ...

New Edition: Boston' Loose

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 27 August 1983

We release New Edition on an unsuspecting London ...

Gwen Guthrie: Portrait (Island ILPS 9758)

Review by Betty Page, Record Mirror, 3 September 1983

SAY GWEN ...

Level 42: Standing In The Light (Polydor)

Review by David Quantick, New Musical Express, 3 September 1983

BRITFUNK... THERE'S a lot of it about. From the half-Bakered whine of 'AEIOU' to the anonymous disaster that is David Grant, these isles are responsible ...

Tom Tom Club: Close to the Bone (Sire)

Review by Betsy Sherman, Boston Rock, 6 September 1983

ANOTHER BAHAMIAN excursion for Talking Heads' Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth; another Tom Tom Club album. Chris and Tina, assorted sisters and brothers, producer Steven ...

Big Jay McNeely, Young Jessie, Chuck Higgins, Willie Egan: Electric Ballroom, London

Live Review by Penny Reel, New Musical Express, 10 September 1983

I DOUBT WHETHER I am sufficiently qualified to pronounce on the merits or otherwise of the foregoing concert, considering I involve a substantial proportion of ...

Kid Creole & The Coconuts: City Hall, Newcastle

Live Review by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 17 September 1983

A KICK IN THE NUTS ...

Rick James: Cold Blooded (Motown)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 24 September 1983

IN THE freak funk stakes, high-livin’ devil-may-care Rick James rates as a bit of a clown. As you’ll know if you caught his Rockpalast TV ...

The Big Boys, Minor Threat, Trouble Funk: Trouble Funk, Minor Threat, the Big Boys: Lansburgh Cultural Center, Washington DC

Live Review by Howard Wuelfing, The Washington Post, 26 September 1983

Punk & Funk ...

Fela Kuti: Fela: Return of the Afrobeat Rebel

Profile by Randall Grass, Musician, October 1983

KANO, NIGERIA, 1974: Sitting in the midst of a spacious, immaculate patio surrounded by manicured shrubbery and the graceful curved stone-and-glass walls of a post-modern restaurant, ...

Gwen Guthrie: Soul and Substance

Interview by Lesley White, The Face, October 1983

Despite all the changes in black music, it's still possible to start in the church and end up in the charts. Maybe that's one of ...

New Edition: Candy Girl (Streetwise SWRL 3301)

Review by Mitchell Cohen, High Fidelity, October 1983

NEW EDITION'S hit 'Candy Girl' is an uncanny re-creation of the early Jackson 5's pop-soul effervescence, down to the last vocal inflection. But it's not ...

Paul Young: How to Make a Mint by Being Ordinary

Interview by Richard Cook, New Musical Express, 1 October 1983

Just six months ago Paul Young was a struggling British soul boy, hacking out a living. But with the sudden success of 'Wherever I Lay ...

Freeez of a kind

Interview by Graham K. Smith, Record Mirror, 8 October 1983

PETER MAAS is excited. Quite right too, you might say, what with the rebirth of his first love Freeez — written off by all after ...

The Commodores, Michael Lovesmith: The Commodores: 13 (Motown); Michael Lovesmith: I Can Make It Happen (Motown)

Review by Richard Cook, New Musical Express, 8 October 1983

MOTOWN HAPPENING AGAIN ...

War: Life (Is So Strange) (RCA)

Review by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 8 October 1983

THERE IS a shroud of controversy over this release. Rumour was that the group were far from satisfied with it, didn't want it put out ...

Donna Summer: Sermon chanted evening

Interview by Graham K. Smith, Record Mirror, 15 October 1983

DONNA SUMMER is a star. ...

Robert "Bumps" Blackwell (1983)

Interview by John Pidgeon, Rock's Backpages audio, 15 October 1983

Songwriter and producer 'Bumps' Blackwell looks back at his illustrious career in pop and R&B: on Sam Cooke and 'You Send Me', Specialty Records and the West Coast indie scene, and at great length about his major discovery Little Richard.

File format: mp3; file size: 41.3mb, interview length: 45' 08" sound quality: ****

Brian and Eddie Holland (1983)

Interview by John Pidgeon, Rock's Backpages audio, 17 October 1983

The Motown legends tallk about their partnership with Lamont Dozier; songwriting and production; Berry Gordy; their work with the Four Tops; crossing over to the pop market, and leaving Motown.

File format: mp3; file size: 37.2mb, interview length: 40' 35" sound quality: ****

Lionel Richie: Can't Slow Down (Motown)

Review by Richard Cook, New Musical Express, 22 October 1983

LIONISING LIONEL ...

Michael McDonald: Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 28 October 1983

McDonald dodges the spotlight ...

James Jamerson: What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted?

Comment by Dave Marsh, Record, November 1983

"I walk in shadows, searching for light, Cold and alone, no comfort in sight. Hoping and praying for someone who'll care, Always moving and going ...

Level 42: Living It Down

Profile and Interview by Chris Salewicz, The Face, November 1983

IN THE HITCHHIKERS Guide To The Galaxy the number 42 is revealed as the clue to The I Meaning Of Life. This is the origin ...

Jennifer Holliday: Holliday Plans

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 November 1983

Jennifer Holliday has her aims firmly set: to become one of the best recording artists; to return to Broadway; and then to settle down to ...

Peech Boys: N.Y.C. Peech Boys: Life Is Something Special (Island)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 November 1983

THE FIVE New York City Peech Boys have already made their mark around the discos of the world and this new album is destined to ...

Rick James' Perfection

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Musician, 1 November 1983

THE FOUR women stood in the semi-dark recording studio. "Okay, let's go," said the producer. ...

KC & the Sunshine Band: The Venue, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 5 November 1983

Getting on down... down ...

André Cymone, Prince: André Cymone: I Taught Prince Everything

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 12 November 1983

Saucy bass player's shock story ...

Lionel Richie: Join Our Millionaire's Club

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 12 November 1983

"MAN, YOU'RE talking about wonderful!" In the showbiz world of Lionel Richie, that's the kind of remark you hear all the time. And who's saying ...

Jonzun Crew, New Edition, Maurice Starr: Michael Jonzun: Pack Jammin' from Roxbury to the Top Ten

Interview by Julie Panebianco, Boston Rock, 14 November 1983

AT THE END of the street on the top of a hill in Roxbury is a two-story, weather-beaten wooden house. The first floor windows are ...

Ronald Shannon Jackson: Fascinating Rhythm: Ronald Shannon Jackson & The Decoding Society

Interview by Don Snowden, L.A. Weekly, 17 November 1983

IF YOU'VE tapped into the East Coast/intemational jazz press recently, you've no doubt seen Ronald Shannon Jackson touted as "the future of jazz drumming" and ...

Junior Walker & the All Stars: Junior Walker: The Shotgun Sherriff Rides Again

Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 26 November 1983

A Motown soul veteran for all seasons, Junior Walker has taken his sax appeal from small American clubs in the '50s to the heart of ...

Al Green: "There are riders approaching"

Interview by James Hunter, Record, December 1983

THE CONTINUING TRANSFORMATION OF AL GREEN, MAN OF GOD ...

Imagination: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 13 December 1983

THE FIRST surprise was the discovery that, although the members of Imagination may have black skins, they are not what is crudely known in the ...

Rick James, Teena Marie: Teena Marie: Groovin' With Confidence

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 27 December 1983

Teena Marie's debut set for Epic is a concept album. She tells B&S how Rick James built her confidence to try something new... ...

Arthur Alexander

Sleeve notes by Bill Millar, Ace Records, 1984

DURING THE early '60s, Arthur Alexander wrote a famous clutch of compact, well-crafted country-soul songs. Stories of inconstant love and private gloom, they were covered ...

Chic: Believer (Atlantic Records) *½

Review by Jack Barron, Sounds, 1984

ANYONE FOR aural necrophilia? Like all dead boring musical activities, there is little mutual satisfaction to be gained here. ...

Otis Redding: Otis Blue (Atco)

Review by Richard Cook, New Musical Express, 1984

AS WITH SUCH iconic records as Forever Changes and Anthem Of The Sun, time has eroded the stature of Otis Blue. ...

Simply Red: Hammersmith Odeon

Live Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 1984

IT HAS to be said that this plumpish, carrot-mopped bloke stomping around like a kid in a playpen hardly looks the part of STAR. And ...

Fats Domino, Ray Charles: Thorns In Velvet: Fats Domino and Ray Charles at the Capital Jazz Festival

Live Review by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 1984

AMONG the collection of venerable antiques paraded for this year’s Capital Jazz Festival – couldn’t the organisers find anybody of note under the age of ...

Earth, Wind & Fire, Jennifer Holliday: Jennifer Holliday: Feel My Soul (Geffen)

Review by Steve Bloom, Record, January 1984

FEEL MY Soul is the best Earth, Wind & Fire album to come along in four years; produced by Maurice White, EW&F's founding father, it ...

Philip Bailey: Continuation (Columbia)

Review by Steve Bloom, Record, January 1984

PHILIP BAILEY, like the Commodores' Walter Orange, is one of those overlooked vocalists who has had to settle for a career of group success over ...

Luther Vandross, Dionne Warwick: Dionne Warwick: How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye (Arista)

Review by James Hunter, The Village Voice, 3 January 1984

Dionne's Hot Date ...

Irene Cara: What a Feeling! Irene Cara as Her Famous Self

Profile and Interview by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 12 January 1984

FOR IRENE Cara, the price of Fame is to play… in film and on television… Irene Cara! ...

David Williams, Michael Jackson: David Williams: A Slight Case Of No Credit

Report by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 15 January 1984

Session guitarist David Williams' name was left off Thriller album. ...

Irma Thomas, Lee Dorsey: New Orleans R&B Hits The Club Lingerie

Report and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 15 January 1984

Bill Bentley and Harold Battiste hope to trigger renewed local interest in New Orleans music at Club Lingerie. ...

Stevie Wonder: Capital Centre, Landover MD

Live Review by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 17 January 1984

Wonder lights up Cap Centre ...

George Clinton: You Shouldn't Nuf Bit Fish (Capitol)

Review by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 21 January 1984

WHATEVER faults there may be in George Clinton's music, a limited horizon is not one of them. ...

Luther Vandross: Busy Body (Epic)

Review by Vivien Goldman, New Musical Express, 21 January 1984

MY DADDY warned me about fellers like Luther Vandross. He gave me, rest his soul, two sage sayings: "Never run after a bus or a ...

Lee Dorsey: Club Lingerie, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 23 January 1984

DORSEY'S NEW ORLEANS R&B SOUL ...

Nina Simone: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by Don Watson, New Musical Express, 28 January 1984

NINA SIMONE finishes another song, totters to the front of the stage and stands, fixing the audience with a gaze that's as intent as it ...

Womack and Womack: Womack & Womack: Love Wars (Elektra 96-0293-1)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 28 January 1984

WHEN BACKROOM boys decide it's time they had some of the limelight for themselves, the results are unpredictable to say the least. Cecil and Linda ...

Jackie Wilson: Lonely Teardrops For A "Footnote"

Obituary by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 29 January 1984

LIKE MANY A true fan, I always thought that one day Jackie Wilson would suddenly leap out of the hospital bed where he lay semi-comatose ...

Johnny Adams: Club Lingerie, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 30 January 1984

JOHNNY ADAMS IN LOCAL DEBUT ...

George Clinton: You Should Nuf Bit Fish (Capitol)

Review by Mark Rowland, Musician, February 1984

FOR MORE than a decade George Clinton has been mingling sci-fi symbolism, technopop textures, topical satire and shake-yer-booty funk into a personal cosmology as exotic ...

Peech Boys: N.Y.C. Peech Boys: Life Is Something Special (Island 7 900941)

Review by Mitchell Cohen, High Fidelity, February 1984

THERE ARE too many dance records that, like werewolves, lose their power in the glare of daylight. They may he frisky enough to get club ...

David Bowie, Chic, Debbie Harry, Michael Gregory Jackson, Nile Rodgers, Diana Ross, Sister Sledge, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes: Nile Rodgers: "Alright!"

Interview by Davitt Sigerson, High Fidelity, February 1984

What do Southside Johnny, David Bowie, and Diana Ross have in common? ...

Randy Crawford: Nightline (Warner Bros.)

Review by James Hunter, Record, February 1984

SINGER RANDY Crawford — as rightfully celebrated and well-known in Europe as she is not in her native United States — sounds like Gladys Knight, ...

Ray Parker Jr.: Ray Parker, Jr.: Woman Out Of Control (Arista)

Review by Mark Rowland, Musician, February 1984

RAY PARKER, Jr. is a riddle. He's a black, crossover auteur who writes, produces, arranges and pretty much performs everything on his records, claims Motown ...

Barbara Mason: "A tempestuous dance floor exposé of lost love and torrid jealousy" (it's got a good beat too)

Interview by Graham K. Smith, Record Mirror, 4 February 1984

BARBARA MASON wants another man! "I'm in love with the idea of being in love. I always write about my experience with men — they're ...

Heaven 17, Carol Kenyon: Carol Kenyon: Oh Carol!

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 4 February 1984

Could this be love? Almost certainly. Colin Irwin (drooling reportage) and Andrew Catlin (provider of lascivious images) feign maturity in the presence of CAROL KENYON. ...

Dr John: The Brightest Smile In Town (Demon)

Review by Andy Gill, New Musical Express, 4 February 1984

THERE WAS an interview with Mick Jagger in some magazine or other recently in which the ageing plutocrat titteringly told of how Dr John had ...

Millie Jackson: E.S.P. (Extra Sexual Persuasion) (Spring)

Review by Vivien Goldman, New Musical Express, 4 February 1984

I RESPECT Millie Jackson the way I respect a hooker who succeeds in booting out her pimp and buys a computer to do the accounts ...

Nina Simone: Diary Of A Princess Noir

Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 4 February 1984

GAVIN MARTIN DELVES IN BETWEEN THE SHEETS WITH NINA SIMONE – A SOULFUL PUSSYCAT WHO PRETENDS SHE'S AN ANGRY TIGRESS ...

Millie Jackson: How To Talk Dirty and Influence People

Interview by Richard Cook, New Musical Express, 11 February 1984

WHAT'S HAPPENED to the great soul singers? ...

Womack and Womack: Love Wars (WEA)

Review by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 11 February 1984

"ABSENCE MAKES the heart grow fonder", sing Cecil (brother of Bobby) and Linda (daughter of Sam Cooke) at the start of their epic 'Love Wars' ...

Sade: Queen of Style

Interview by Deanne Pearson, No. 1, 18 February 1984

SADE INSTRUCTS DEANNE PEARSON IN THE ART OF THE FEMME FATALE ...

Millie Jackson: Dominion, London

Live Review by Mary Harron, The Guardian, 23 February 1984

MILLIE JACKSON has said publicly that she is bored with "talking trash," and with her image as soul's queen of sexual outrage. ...

Kool and the Gang: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Richard Cook, New Musical Express, 25 February 1984

KOOL AND his men personify the exhilarated and bloodless heart of pop-soul. For some reason they are always celebrating: they stand us up for the ...

Womack and Womack: Womack & Womack: Love Wars (Elektra)

Review by James Hunter, Record, March 1984

WITH A sassy authority too gritty to be bitchy, too determined to be shrill, Linda Womack lithely barks out the phrase "I can't understand that" ...

Michael Jackson: The Biggest Selling Solo Artist Of All Time

Report by Ian Birch, Smash Hits, 1 March 1984

Quiet out there. Michael Jackson's record company is throwing a party and Ian Birch has got an invite. A few famous folk, dancers in top ...

The Gap Band: Sex, Drugs and the Devil: The Gap Band Fights for Success

Profile and Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 1 March 1984

HOLLYWOOD — The bodyguard was not smiling. "Could you wait out here until Mr. Simmons has completed his call?" he asked, gesturing to the hallway ...

Dr. John: A Shot of Rhythm 'n' Snooze

Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 10 March 1984

BACK IN New Orleans in the '50s, when he was one of the few white people involved in one of the last great watersheds in ...

Millie Jackson: Dominion, London

Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 10 March 1984

WHY IS this woman not in the movies? ...

George Clinton: P-Funk Allstars: Urban Dancefloor Guerillas (Epic Import)

Review by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 10 March 1984

P-FECTION! ...

Sade: Heaven, London

Live Review by Graham K. Smith, Record Mirror, 10 March 1984

A COUPLE of years back, in a dingy West London jazz-funk room, the seeds of this review were sown. The event was the debut appearance ...

Hot Chocolate: All Because The Lady Loves Hot Chocolate

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 17 March 1984

FRESH FROM his evening shower and now only half an hour away from facing 2,000 of his most ardent supporters, Errol Brown, a white towel ...

Womack and Womack: Love Warriors

Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 17 March 1984

IT SHOULD really be no surprise that Cecil and Linda Womack's Love Wars LP is the most compulsive and acclaimed soul outing since the Marvin ...

Bobby Womack: The Poet II (Beverly Glen import)

Review by Richard Cook, New Musical Express, 24 March 1984

AN OLD-FASHIONED man in the midst of a booming, disordered black music, Bobby Womack's journeyman career comes to a glorious peak with The Poet II. ...

Carmel: Smooch Don't Mooch

Interview by Cynthia Rose, New Musical Express, 24 March 1984

Manchester trio Carmel claim the press hyped them into early cult status — as hangers-on in the torch song zone. Meanwhile, they have embarked on ...

Tune In If You Rankin': Night Of The Living Dread

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, New Musical Express, 24 March 1984

A ROOFTOP RENDEZVOUS WITH THE DREAD BROADCASTING CORPORATION ...

Phil Fearon & Galaxy: Everything's Clicked!

Interview by Dave Rimmer, Smash Hits, 29 March 1984

PHIL FEARON HAD A HIT IN 79 AND THEN... WHAT? A LONG HARD PENNILESS SLOG TO FIND A SOUND THAT WOULD DRAG PEOPLE BACK ON ...

Kool and the Gang: Kool & the Gang: Twenty Years of Funk Foundation and Pop Permutation

Interview by Mark Rowland, Musician, April 1984

ROBERT "KOOL" Bell's father was a boxing man. He worked his trade on the upper west side, part of a neighborhood now long gone, Lincoln ...

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band: New Orleans' Revenge

Profile and Interview by Randall Grass, Musician, April 1984

PROPELLED BY a polyrhythmic shuffle from drums, the hot, festive chorus of horns danced into muggy night air through the open doors of Tipitina's down ...

Jenny Burton, The Cold Crush Brothers: Various Artists: Wild Style — Original Soundtrack (Animal); Jenny Burton: In Black And White (Atlantic)

Review by J.D. Considine, Musician, April 1984

AS HIP-HOP, the rapping and scratching music of the break dancers, bounces out of the urban subculture and into the mainstream, it's reasonable enough to ...

Was (Not Was): Caught in an Elevator

Interview by Sam Sutherland, High Fidelity, April 1984

The assortment of artists on a Was (Not Was) album appears accidental. But it's not. Really. ...

DeBarge: In A Special Way (Gordy ZL 72004)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 April 1984

LORDY, MISTER Gordy, your funk family DeBarge sure need a big British boost. So far the impression is that if I stood outside RM Mansions ...

Dennis Edwards: Anyone For Dennis?

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 April 1984

IT WAS very nearly the combination of the year. Dennis Edwards and Chaka Khan. But hold on: Dennis Edwards and Siedah Garrett – maybe it ...

Marvin Gaye 1939-1984

Obituary by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 7 April 1984

With the death of MARVIN GAYE, black music lost one of its most eloquent voices. Colin Irwin documents a brilliant but tempestuous career. ...

Marvin Gaye: Death Of A Midnight Lover – A Tribute To A Trouble Man

Obituary by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 7 April 1984

The romantic spirit of rising young black America in the '60s, Marvin Gaye evolved into a radical voice testifying pleasure and protest. A brilliant artist, ...

Was (Not Was): (The Woodwork) Squeaks (Ze Records IMA 10)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 7 April 1984

ALIAS A mini-LP commemorating the finest moments of the (St) Was Bros, the saboteurs of funk. My advice would be to wheel it out, soon. ...

Etta James: Empress In Exile

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 14 April 1984

MOST EVERY year now Ms Jamesetta Hawkins – Etta to you – will at the behest of Dingwalls Boss (Goodman, that is) fly over ...

Lamont Dozier

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 14 April 1984

HE LOOKS tired now, as if all that time spent playing, writing and dreaming up words and sound had finally drained him of life and ...

Marvin Gaye: Into the City of Angels

Report by Cynthia Rose, New Musical Express, 14 April 1984

GAYE FUNERAL REPORT • FATHER CHARGED ...

Rick James: A Rant

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 14 April 1984

BARNEY HOSKYNS dials a late night dateline to RICK JAMES at Motown's LA offices. ...

Rockwell: Watching You, Watching Me

Interview by Chris Roberts, Sounds, 14 April 1984

ROCKWELL IS hiding behind the door when we finally gain access to his plush hotel suite. You've heard the song, now dig the reality — ...

Shannon: Tonight She's Yours

Interview by Chris Roberts, Sounds, 14 April 1984

SHANNON AND I share a common love. Diana Ross. "He tried pretending a dance is just a dance but..." ...

Trouble Funk: Trouble A Go Go

Interview by Richard Grabel, New Musical Express, 14 April 1984

Hip-hop? Hell no, go-go! RICHARD GRABEL keeps up with TROUBLE FUNK, grand masters of the D.C. sound. ...

DeBarge's Family Affair: Motown Spawns Another Jackson 5

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 26 April 1984

AT MOTOWN Records these days, they're talking about the "new Jacksons." That's the word on DeBarge, a group of siblings whose latest LP, In a ...

The SOS Band: $O$

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 28 April 1984

The selling of soul, by our financial staff, Paul Sexton ...

George Clinton: You Shouldn't-Nuf Bit Fish (Capitol)

Review by J. Kordosh, Creem, May 1984

I LIKE FISHING almost as much as I like music. Dealing with dumb, slimy creatures can get to be a way of life. George Clinton ...

Kool and the Gang: Gold Isn't Good Enough

Interview by Steve Bloom, Record, May 1984

After some lean years Kool and the Gang are thinking platinum again ...

Miles Davis, Marcus Miller, Luther Vandross: Marcus Miller Gets Around

Interview by J.D. Considine, Musician, May 1984

THE FUNKY THROUGH-LINE BEHIND LUTHER VANDROSS & ARETHA; THE JAZZY AGITATOR BEHIND MILES, GROVER & SANBORN ...

Jerry Jemmott: Session Bassist — The Groovemaster: Jerry Jemmott

Interview by Gene Santoro, Guitar Player, May 1984

WHILE HIS name may not ring any bells, you've heard his bass before, setting the groove for Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Wilson Pickett, Roberta Flack, ...

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

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

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

Womack and Womack: Womack & Womack: Love Wars (Elektra 60293)

Review by Mitchell Cohen, High Fidelity, May 1984

THE MEN and women that Cecil and Linda Womack portray on Love Wars almost never want the same thing at the same time which makes ...

Womack and Womack: Womack & Womack: Soul Dispatches & Gospel Truths From The Funky Front Of Love Wars

Interview by J.D. Considine, Musician, May 1984

CECIL AND Linda Womack are sitting on a couch in their home near Philadelphia while Micah, their youngest, plays with a pull-toy on the floor. ...

Bobby Womack: The Poet II (Motown ZL72205)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 5 May 1984

JUST SO'S brother Cecil and sister-in-law Linda don't get all the crossover kudos... the love wars in the Womack family start here, and Bobby's gonna ...

Dazz Band: The Dazz Band: Joystick (Motown ZL72003)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 5 May 1984

WHEN THE Dazz Band head out on 'To The Roof' with the line "Let's all act a little crazy", you've a strong feeling that they ...

Michael Jackson, The Jacksons: Outside promoters lessen King's role in Jacksons' summer tour

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 10 May 1984

DUE TO growing dissatisfaction with Don King, Michael Jackson and his five brothers have brought in two music-business veterans to promote their upcoming tour. Frank ...

Marvin Gaye: Trouble Man: Marvin Gaye 1939-1984

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 10 May 1984

Long before the shooting, Marvin Gaye's life had become a nightmare of drugs, debts and family discord ...

Sade: Graham K. Smith makes a dream date with... Sade

Interview by Graham K. Smith, Record Mirror, 12 May 1984

  EVERY DREAMER'S favourite dreamgirl has arrived! Every fantasist's perfection personified, every hardy pop soul who ever believed in the beauty of simplicity has been amply ...

The Meters

Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, unpublished, 12 May 1984

"ONE OF MY theories is that as long as I don't know about something, I can continue to seek it out," George Porter reflected in ...

Cameo: She's Strange (Casablanca Phonogram Import)

Review by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 19 May 1984

Blackmon's Burden ...

Rockwell: Berry Gordy's son scores with a little help from Michael Jackson

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 24 May 1984

THE GIRL with the video camera is following Rockwell around Motown Records' Sunset Boulevard offices. Everywhere he goes, she follows, camera trained on the young ...

Carmel: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 26 May 1984

CARMEL COLLECTED ...

Ornette Coleman, Jamaaladeen Tacuma: Jamaaladeen Tacuma: The Bass Electric

Interview by Don Snowden, L.A. Weekly, 31 May 1984

PREDICTING THAT Jamaaladeen Tacuma will be one of the premier bassists of the decade will not get you into the Guinness Book of World Records ...

Mary Wells: Albany, Deptford, London

Live Review by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 31 May 1984

MARY WELLS made one mistake in her career almost 20 years ago and has been paying for it ever since. Wells was Motown's first international ...

Stevie Wonder Has a Dream

Report and Interview by Carol Cooper, The Face, June 1984

In 1981 Stevie Wonder led the first of three marches in Washington D.C. calling for the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, the black civil ...

Eddy Grant: I Did It My Way

Interview by Deanne Pearson, No. 1, 2 June 1984

Eddy Grant is an independent pop star, if ever there was one. A self-made man, he has risen from humble beginnings in North London to ...

George Duke, Mtume: Mtume, Duke et al: Class Of '74 Pops Into The Mainstream

Report and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 1984

LOOK AT WHAT 10 years can do to jazz mavericks. A decade ago, George Duke, James Mtume, Reggie Lucas, Ndugu Chancler and Stanley Clarke were ...

The Jacksons' Summer Tour In Chaos As Businessmen Scramble For Power

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 7 June 1984

LITTLE MORE than a month and a half before the Jacksons were due to hit the stage, preparations for their summer tour were a shambles. ...

Sade: Living in Black and White

Interview by Deanne Pearson, No. 1, 9 June 1984

Sade is a singer with a chequered past. Brought up partly in Nigeria and partly in Clacton, she had two fathers and about eight grandmothers, ...

Herbie Hancock, Kashif, Raydio: The Synthesizer: Instrument, Not The Player, Changes Music

Report and Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Billboard, 16 June 1984

HERBIE HANCOCK, Kashif, and Ray Parker Jr. praise the impact of the synthesizer on black music, feeling its unlimited sound potential and ability to provide ...

Bobby Womack: A New Hit Proves It's Not Over Yet For The Man Who Wrote 'It's All Over Now'

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 21 June 1984

LOS ANGELES — Bobby Womack is happy. The forty-year-old singer currently finds himself with a hit album (The Poet II) and single ('Love Has Finally ...

Tina Turner: Private Dancer (Capitol)

Review by Jack Barron, Sounds, 23 June 1984

AM I the only person who thinks Tina Turner looks, um, more sensual when she's fully clothed rather than parading acres of well preserved flesh? ...

Brass Construction: Renegades (Capitol EH 244 0160 1)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 30 June 1984

WHERE THERE'S Brass, there's muck. Sorry fellas, I couldn't resist it. ...

Bobby Womack: The Poet II (Beverly Glen)

Review by J.D. Considine, Record, July 1984

NOMINALLY A sequel to 1981's The Poet, this is less a second helping of that album's personal expressiveness than a second side of Bobby Womack. ...

Cameo: She's Strange (Atlanta Artists/Polygram)

Review by Steve Bloom, Record, July 1984

BACK IN the days when there was a record company called Chocolate City, a group named Cameo gave the label instant credibility. Cameo's 1977 debut, ...

Jermaine Jackson: Jermaine Jackson (Arista)

Review by J.D. Considine, Musician, July 1984

IF MICHAEL Jackson's public persona makes him out as a bit of a dreamer, there's always enough fire in his work to add an edge ...

Marvin Gaye: No-One Quite Like Him

Obituary by Dave Marsh, Record, July 1984

Blessed with a cool born of control rather than emotional distance or reserve, Marvin Gaye was the artist who best expressed Motown's mix of disparate ...

Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Jonzun Crew, New Edition, Peter Wolf: Michael Jonzun's Space Shake

Interview by Julie Panebianco, Musician, July 1984

Hit Production from the Leaner Side of the Tracks ...

Marvin Gaye: No One Quite Like Him: The Art and Artistry of Marvin Gaye

Obituary by Dave Marsh, Record, July 1984

I USED TO think Marvin Gaye was the most underrated soul singer of the '60s. Now I'd expand that judgment, not only because of his ...

Tina Turner: Onstage A Blaze In Total Control

Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 1984

"I'M NOT A mystery," says Tina Turner. "Look what's in now — body building, aerobics, exercise — I've been yelling and running for 20 years! ...

KACE's High: Funky Music In The Park

Report by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 1984

'And the winner is band number....Number...." ...

Prince: His Royal Badness

Profile by Ian Birch, Smash Hits, 19 July 1984

That's what they call Prince back home in America. And not without reason: he's a huge star and his on-stage antics are just a little ...

Jocelyn Brown, O'Jays: The O'Jays, Jocelyn Brown: Berklee Performance Center, Boston MA

Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 23 July 1984

Camaraderie at the Berklee ...

The SOS Band: Sending Out an SOS

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 28 July 1984

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier... the SOS Band are out on manoeuvres. Paul Sexton discusses tactics with one of the hardest working soul squads ...

Solomon Burke: Soul Alive!

Review by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 1984

APPARENTLY THE audience at this 1981 D.C. club date didn't realize that classic, gospel-rooted soul is hopelessly unhip, because it responds to Burke's impassioned performance ...

The Time: Ice Cream Castle (Warner Bros.)

Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 1984

THE TIME FLIES IN ICE CREAM CASTLE ...

Cherrelle's Sound Investment

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 July 1984

Despite a frustrating and depressing stint in Los Angeles, Cherrelle stuck to her guns and is now enjoying the success she fought for. ...

Jermaine Jackson, Michael Jackson, The Jacksons: The Jacksons: Victory — Tour de Force or Tour de Farce?

Report by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 July 1984

John Abbey reports from backstage at the opening of The Jacksons' Victory Tour, the most eagerly awaited tour for many a long year. The organisation, ...

David Lasley: Raindance (EMI America)

Review by James Hunter, Record, August 1984

MICHIGAN-BORN David Lasley sings like Robin Gibb baptized in the grace-giving waters of soul. As a songwriter his compositions often rank with the best of ...

Working Week: Hot News for Cool Cats!

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, August 1984

As a new jazz scene begins to blow hot, SIMON BOOTH and LARRY STABBINS get hip with PAOLO HEWITT, rappin' about their new musical adventure ...

Change: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 4 August 1984

AT SOUL/FUNK celebrations like this it's a temptation to review the audience whose performance, in the service of adulation, is as spectacular as that of ...

Prince: Purple Rain

Review by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 4 August 1984

THE PROBLEM with major league soul is not a lack of 'good' music. What has been lost is the ability, possibly the desire, to make ...

The Jacksons: Victory (Epic)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 4 August 1984

NO-ONE SHOULD be too surprised that Victory is not a triumph. What's happened to the Jackson household since young Wacko came of age would screw ...

Working Week: Shaw Theatre, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 4 August 1984

WHILE THE nadir of pop's current dalliance with jazz was reached by the terminal twit who mimed a trumpet solo through a saxophone on Ear-Say ...

Apollonia, Prince: First Avenue is New 2nd Family, Apollonia Says

Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 5 August 1984

MOST OF Purple Rain takes place in an actual nightclub in downtown Minneapolis. In the film, the First Avenue club becomes a self-contained world, a ...

Michael Jackson: Inside the Jackson Dream Machine

Essay by Mick Brown, The Sunday Times, 5 August 1984

IN THE Helmsley Palace Hotel, New York – an establishment whose style is best described as neo-Liberace – the lobby was filling up with Michael ...

Brothers Johnson: The Brothers

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 11 August 1984

FEMINISTS, GET ready to fill the fountain pen with a good supply of vitriol. George Johnson, one half of the back-in-business Brothers Johnson, says: "Wives ...

Sade: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Mat Snow, New Musical Express, 11 August 1984

THE SOHO Brasserie nightly fêtes a love-in of the young, hip and would-be photographed who are busy even now recreating the good times myth of ...

The Jacksons: Meadowlands Stadium, New Jersey

Live Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 11 August 1984

SCARCELY HAD I touched down Stateside last week when I found myself bound in a bus for Meadowlands in a humid pocket of endless, endlessly ...

Marcus Miller, David Sanborn, Luther Vandross: Marcus Miller: Bassline Return

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 August 1984

B&S EXCLUSIVE WITH MARCUS MILLER In this interview direct from the USA, the poll-winning bassman talks to John Abbey about his sparkling new album, the people ...

Sly & the Family Stone, Bobby Womack: Bobby Womack, Sly Stone: Beacon Theatre, New York NY

Live Review by Richard Grabel, New Musical Express, 18 August 1984

SOUL SONIC FORCE ...

James "Blood" Ulmer: James Blood Ulmer: the Venue, London

Live Review by Richard Cook, New Musical Express, 18 August 1984

HIGHLY STRUNG ...

Esther Phillips: Alone Again

Obituary by Fred Dellar, New Musical Express, 25 August 1984

ESTHER PHILLIPS died on 7 August. I read this somewhere in the small print of a national newspaper. "LOS ANGELES – Blues and jazz singer ...

Richard "Dimples" Fields, Teddy Pendergrass: Teddy Pendergrass: Love Language (Asylum); Richard 'Dimples' Fields: Mmm... (RCA)

Review by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 25 August 1984

FAR TOO STEADY TEDDY ...

Fishbone, The Neville Brothers: The Neville Brothers, Fishbone: Palace Theater, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 27 August 1984

CLASSY NEVILLES ...

Shakatak, By George!

Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 28 August 1984

Shakatak rap with B&S about their new album, their status internationally and, raw fish! ...

The Spinners: Ex-Spinner collapses onstage, dies

Obituary by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 30 August 1984

PHILIPPE E. WYNNE, the former Spinner whose sweet, soulful tenor was heard on such million-selling hits as 'One of a Kind (Love Affair)', 'Could It ...

Shannon Lets it Play

Profile and Interview by RJ Smith, Creem, September 1984

NEW YORK — Not only can Shannon wail on tunes like 'Give Me Tonight' and 'Let The Music Play', but she knows her way around ...

Tina Turner: The Soulful Queen of Rock'n'roll Struts Back Into the Spotlight

Interview by Mark Rowland, Musician, September 1984

PRIVATE DANCER is Tina Turner's new album; 'I Might Have Been Queen' the first song; and it's hard to decide which title, album's or single's, ...

Apollonia, Morris Day, Prince: Purple Rain; starring: Prince, Morris Day, Apollonia (Warner Bros.)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Ian Penman, New Musical Express, 1 September 1984

So just whose tongue is in whose cheek! ...

Afrika Bambaataa, James Brown: James Brown (and Afrika Bambaataa): Sex Machine Today

Report and Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 1 September 1984

WHAT DO you think of when you think of James Brown? A stretcher case raddled with emotional pain dragging himself back from endless encores of ...

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band: Energetic Updating Of Brass-Band Sound

Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 2 September 1984

NEW ORLEANS — This city is a hotbed of jazz tradition, but the Dirty Dozen Brass Band has come up with a new twist on ...

Denise LaSalle: Right Place, Right Time: The Return of Denise Lasalle

Report and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 8 September 1984

DENISE LASALLE THOUGHT her singing career was over three years ago. The blues-soul singer, who appears at the Long Beach Blues Festival Saturday, was a ...

Trouble Funk On A ‘Go-Go’

Report and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 9 September 1984

WASHINGTON – Ronald Reagan may preside over official Washington, but Trouble Funk rules the inner city surrounding it. ...

Earth, Wind & Fire, Barbra Streisand, Maurice White: Maurice White: White in Flight

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 11 September 1984

Maurice White talks to B&S — about EW&F's pause for thought, about his own solo album, about his productions for Barbra Streisand, and about some ...

Morris Day, Prince, The Time: Purple Rain Star Morris Day Goes It Alone

Report and Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 13 September 1984

Real-life rivalry with Prince leads to split ...

Morris Day, The Time: The Time: Day's New Dawning

Interview by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 13 September 1984

"THE BAND used to always try to smell the clothes before I put them on," says Time leader Morris Day, talking about how he first ...

Donna Summer: Cats Without Claws (WE A 250 806-1)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 15 September 1984

TO BE honest I liked Donna better when she talked dirty to me. They may have been Giorgio Moroder records as much as they were ...

Rick James: Reflections (Motown)

Review by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 15 September 1984

ACCEPTING THE press stereotype of Rick James as a total prat whose releases served only as excuses for another dig, I completely ignored the man ...

Robert Cray Band: Bad Influence (Demon)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 15 September 1984

LOOKS LIKE a blues album, but this is some of the tightest, earthiest soul music of the '80s. A beautiful record, originally out on the ...

Shakatak: Down On The Street (Polydor POLD 5148)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 15 September 1984

Mean Streets ...

Stevie Wonder: The Woman In Red (Motown)

Review by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 15 September 1984

SO HERE'S a new Stevie Wonder album, but not THE new Stevie Wonder album, the one we've stopped holding our breath for (makes Aswad and ...

Bobby Womack (1984)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 20 September 1984

The great soul man looks back at his illustrious career: the Valentinos; his mentor Sam Cooke; playing gospel and on the gospel greats; his own recordings and being in the studios with many others; songwriting and much more.

File format: mp3; file size: 58.7mb, interview length: 1h 04' 04" sound quality: **/***

Bobby Womack: Apollo, Oxford

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 21 September 1984

AS A PROMINENT member of soul music's most impressive dynasty, and with a performing career stretching back more than 20 years, it would be surprising ...

Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers, Experience Unlimited (EU), Trouble Funk: Go-Go: Drop The Bomb On The Love Boat

Report by Richard Grabel, New Musical Express, 22 September 1984

Go-go's got a godfather and a group in every area!! RICHARD GRABEL goes ga-ga in Washington as he uncovers the biggest show in those suburbs. ...

Michael Jackson, The Jacksons: The Jacksons: RFK Stadium, Washington DC

Live Review by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 22 September 1984

Michael shines through audio troubles, theatrics ...

Johnny Adams Creeps Up On Some Recognition

Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 23 September 1984

NEW ORLEANS — Sometimes talent alone isn't enough to forge a successful career in pop music. ...

Ray Parker Jr.: from sideman to lady's man

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 27 September 1984

'Ghostbusters' is his latest chartbuster ...

Sheila E.: Palace Theater, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 27 September 1984

SHEILA E. IN LOCAL BOW AT PALACE ...

Bobby Womack: Something Special (Liberty/EMI)

Review by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 29 September 1984

ONE OF soul music's great iconclasts, recently repopularised and rediscovered with his two Poet sets, Bobby Womack's marvellous legacy from the late '60s and early ...

Floy Joy: Into The Hot (Virgin V2319)

Review by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 29 September 1984

BURNING SENSATION ...

Jermaine Jackson, La Toya Jackson, The Jacksons: La Toya Jackson: Heart Don't Lie (Private I/CBS); Jermaine Jackson: Jermaine Jackson (Arista); The Jacksons: Victory (Epic)

Review by Laura Fissinger, Creem, October 1984

THROUGH A series of circumstances too bizarre to recount (even here!), CREEM has become the first national publication to locate and interview the lost Jackson ...

Bobby Womack: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 6 October 1984

YEARS AGO when Bobby Womack bought his raw but stylised music to this same venue it was more a case of disintegration than any cause ...

Bobby Womack: Poetry in Motion

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 6 October 1984

Lynden Barber puts a face to the music of BOBBY WOMACK, a genuine soul legend who remains virtually unknown to the majority of the Great ...

Bobby Womack: The Last Great Soul Man

Profile and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 6 October 1984

Who's that stepping briefly into the limo – and life of – Bobby Womack? Why, it's blushing Barney Hoskyns, who, in the next 5,000 words, ...

Patti LaBelle: Lyric Opera House, Baltimore MD

Live Review by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 11 October 1984

Patti LaBelle: one of the biggest voices around ...

Sam Moore, Sam & Dave: Sam Moore: The Soul Man Makes A Comeback From Heroin

Interview by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 26 October 1984

IN THE late '60s, Sam & Dave were right up there with Otis Redding as stars of Memphis' legendary Stax Records. Singles like 'Hold On, ...

Chaka Khan: I Feel For You (Warner Bros.)

Review by Don Snowden, The Boston Phoenix, November 1984

CHAKA KHAN'S quest to distance her solo work from Rufus' sly, slinky funk led her into an electronic embrace with producer Arif Mardin Two albums ...

James Brown: Calling Mr. Dynamite

Overview by J.D. Considine, Record, November 1984

WHEN JAMES Brown first took to being called The Godfather of Soul, it was more to play upon the faddish success of Francis Ford Coppola's ...

Chic, Nile Rodgers: Nile Rodgers of Chic: '80s Funk with 60s Roots

Interview by Gene Santoro, Guitar Player, November 1984

GUITARISTS SINCE Charlie Christian have spent a lot of time and effort trying to play guitar like a horn. Nile Rodgers does it differently; he ...

Teena Marie: Starchild (Epic)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, November 1984

MARY CHRISTINE BROCKERT is a tiny white California gal who makes big, beautiful black music. Her speciality is exuberantly sassy and happy music for the ...

Floy Joy: Wag Club, London

Live Review by Max Bell, The Times, 5 November 1984

JUDGING BY the packed house for Floy Joy's debut London date, the word is already out on this charming new jazz funk outfit. Though they ...

Chaka Khan

Interview by David A. Keeps, Smash Hits, 8 November 1984

"For five years I've been really working at creating masterpieces. Now I do a song and put rapping on it — which is really the ...

Billy Ocean (1984)

Interview by Simon Witter, Rock's Backpages audio, 14 November 1984

From tailoring in Savile Row to 'Caribbean Queen' – Billy tells of his fight to break away from the cabaret circuit of his early days to score his mega-hits of the mid-'80s.

File format: mp3; in 2 parts, total file sizes: 55.1mb, total interview length: 1 h 00' 14" sound quality: ***

Force MD's

Profile and Interview by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 17 November 1984

It's hip-hop in the barber's shop, it's the FORCE MD's!! The scourge of other buskers on the Staten Island ferry jam down with SIMON WITTER. ...

Manu Dibango: Hammersmith Palais, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 24 November 1984

IT TAKES TENOR TO TANGO ...

Prince & the Revolution: Spectrum, Philadelphia PA

Live Review by Kris Nicholson, The Morning Call, 24 November 1984

Prince's curious merging of the sensual and sublime ...

Al Jarreau: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Mick Brown, Guardian Unlimited, 28 November 1984

IF YOU are surprised to learn that Al Jarreau — who only a few years ago could comfortably accommodate his following in Ronnie Scott's — ...

The Crusaders, Lamont Dozier, Womack and Womack: The Producers: Stewart Levine

Interview by Chas de Whalley, International Musician & Recording World, December 1984

LET'S START with a riddle? How do you stop an American talking? ...

The Time: Ice Cream Castles (Warner Bros.)

Review by Richard C. Walls, Creem, December 1984

ON THEIR third (and final) album, the Time continues to sound like Prince's opening act, the band's lyrical thrust dealing with things that its mentor ...

Prince & The Revolution: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit

Live Review by Bill Holdship, New Musical Express, 1 December 1984

IT TOOK The Star over 55 minutes to make his grand entrance following new paramour Sheila E's rhythmically exciting but lightweight opening set. The lights ...

Sylvester

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 1 December 1984

NOT EVEN the New York cool that infests a group like The Force MD's can prevent the obvious excitement that sweeps through them as Sylvester ...

Michael Jackson, The Jacksons: The Jacksons: Dodger Stadium, Elysian Park, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 3 December 1984

JACKSONS FALL SHORT OF A CLEAR-CUT VICTORY ...

Level 42: Pleasure Principle

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 22 December 1984

Lynden Barber accuses LEVEL 42 of showing off. Mark King stays cool. ...

Chaka Khan, Rufus: Chaka Khan (1984)

Interview by David A. Keeps, Rock's Backpages audio, Fall 1984

As 'I Feel For You' enters the charts, and surrounded by her children, Chaka talks about her reservations of the record; how she started singing, and how she joined Rufus; Stevie Wonder writing 'Tell Me Something Good' for the group; her Chicago childhood; how the business has changed in the last ten years, and how she views herself as a singer.

File format: mp3; file size: 23.3mb; Interview length: 24' 15"; sound quality: ****

Big Jay McNeely

Sleeve notes by Bill Millar, Saxonograph Records sleevenote, 1985

IN AUGUST 1983 Big Jay McNeely flew to London for the R & B Jamboree at Camden 's Electric Ballroom where he topped a bill ...

Cosimo Matassa (1985)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 1985

The legendary New Orleans studio owner and producer talks about Crescent City race relations; NOLA vs. Memphis; the indie record business and, at length, about Aaron Neville, Professor Longhair, and the inability of the city's artists to sustain careers.

File format: mp3; file size: 44.7mb, interview length: 48' 47" sound quality: ****

David Porter (1985)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 1985

The man who co-wrote all those great hits with Isaac Hayes remembers Memphis, and Stax, from back in the day.

File format: mp3; file size: 82.2mb, interview length: 1h 25' 36" sound quality: ***

Jesse Johnson: Jesse Johnson (A&M)

Review by Mark Rowland, Musician, 1985

WHEN A guitarist makes his reputation in Minneapolis, proceeds to write the hottest tune on the most recent Time LP ('Jungle Love'), plays his ass ...

Johnny Adams (1985)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 1985

Growing up in New Orleans, gospel roots, the country music connection and much more.

File format: mp3; file size: 59.8mb, total interview length: 1h 02' 15" sound quality: ***

James Carr, O.V. Wright: Roosevelt Jamison on James Carr (1985)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 1985

Roosevelt Jamison – friend, mentor and sometime manager – remembers deep soul greats James Carr and O.V. Wright.

File format: mp3; file size: 49.6mb, total interview length: 51' 37" sound quality: ***

Rufus Thomas (1985)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 1985

Rufus Thomas, between mouthfuls, talks about his youth in segregated Memphis, Minstrelsy, Ike and Tina Turner and his long involvement with Stax Records.

File format: mp3; file size: 73.4meg, interview length: 1h 16' 25" sound quality: **

Sam & Dave: Sam Moore of Sam & Dave (1985)

Interview by Simon Witter, Rock's Backpages audio, 1985

Getting together with Dave Prater; Atlantic/Stax; the Stax-Volt UK tour; meeting the Queen; working with Lou Reed: the Soul Man speaks.

File format: mp3; file size: 38.5mb, interview length: 42' 01" sound quality: ***

The Dominoes

Sleeve notes by Bill Millar, Charly Records, 1985

BILLY WARD'S DOMINOES, from whose personnel Clyde McPhatter and Jackie Wilson later emerged as star soloists, were the founding fathers of gospel-oriented doowop with a ...

The Fatback Band (1985)

Interview by Simon Witter, Rock's Backpages audio, 1985

NYC's favourites talk about the genesis of the band, releasing THE first rap record, 'King Tim III', and how the band have survived and thrived with the funk.

File format: mp3; file size: 23mb; Interview length: 25' 09"; sound quality: ***

The Making Of Rhythm & Blues

Overview by Pete Grendysa, Collecting Magazine, 1985

IT WOULD BE HARD to imagine a stranger combination of factors than those that brought about the formation of rhythm & blues. Crucial to the ...

Chuck Berry, Al Green, Willie Mitchell: Willie Mitchell (1985) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 1985

This is a transcript of Barney's audio interview with Willie. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Al Jarreau: Has The Adult Contemporary Songwriter Eclipsed The Jazz Singer?

Interview by Mark Rowland, Musician, January 1985

FOUR JARREAU brothers grew up in Milwaukee. They all sang. Three still live there. "My older brother had a fine tenor voice," Al recalls. "The ...

Daryl Hall & John Oates: Daryl Hall and John Oates: Big Bam Boom (RCA)

Review by Craig Zeller, Record, January 1985

IT'S NOT exactly a secret that Hall and Oates have been riding the hot streak of their lives since the '80s began. Voices, Private Eyes ...

Philip Bailey, Phil Collins: Philip Bailey: Chinese Walls (Columbia)

Review by James Hunter, Record, January 1985

WHAT WAS Phil Collins supposed to give Philip Bailey that George Duke — who sound-photographed Continuation, Bailey's vivid 1983 solo debut — couldn't? Bumpy rhythms ...

Stevie Wonder: Selections From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: The Woman In Red (Motown)

Review by J.D. Considine, Musician, January 1985

THE NEW Stevie Wonder album has this problem: It thinks it's a soundtrack. It doesn't get violent about it, true. In fact, except for the ...

Kool and the Gang: Kool & the Gang: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 5 January 1985

WHEN A band do what they do as well as Kool And The Gang, it's churlish to complain about their lack of adventure. Their trailblazing ...

Isley Jasper Isley: Ernie Isley, Chris Jasper, Marvin Isley: Broadway's Closer To Sunset Blvd. (Epic)

Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 12 January 1985

SNOOKER EVERY time you switch on TV, the predatory growls of British Rail staff upon being asked for assistance, the ludicrously tasteless album sleeves of ...

Horace Andy, Bobby "Blue" Bland, James Brown, Burning Spear, Tyrone Davis, The Drifters, Al Green, Billie Holiday, Robert Johnson, George Jones, Linda Jones, Janis Joplin, Joy Division, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Michael McDonald, Van Morrison, Aaron Neville, Otis Redding, Smokey Robinson, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Bettye Swann, Ted Taylor, O.V. Wright: The Voice Squad

Overview by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 12 January 1985

From the raw to the pure, from the sublime to the meticulous — BARNEY HOSKYNS sings the praises of 24 of music's most glorious voices. ...

New Edition Scores With Bubble-Gum Funk

Profile and Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 17 January 1985

CHARLESTON — SINCE teenyboppers first screamed for Ricky Nelson and Frankie Avalon more than twenty-five years ago, pop music's teen idols have tended to be ...

Imagination: Lost in Muzak?

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 19 January 1985

Or, great headlines revisited. PAOLO HEWITT puts IMAGINATION in his typewriter and asks — are they on the way out? ...

Thelma Houston: Qualifying Heat (MCA MCF 3243)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 19 January 1985

'YOU USED To Hold Me So Tight' came desperately close to putting that fine Houston voice back in the Top 40, but if that can't ...

Philip Bailey, Phil Collins, Earth, Wind & Fire: Bailey's big break

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 31 January 1985

Earthy Wind and Fire singer scores a hit ...

Teena Marie: Starchild (Epic)

Review by Laura Fissinger, Record, February 1985

LIKE PRINCE, Teena Marie is her own producer, writer and arranger. Such autonomy is impressive considering Marie's age (mid-20s), gender and race. Her situation is ...

If It Don't Go, It Ain't Go-Go!

Report by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 2 February 1985

IT'S RARE FOR AN excellent musical style to remain unknown for long, yet Washington's Go-Go scene has done just that despite us running Richard Grabel's ...

The Neville Brothers: A Tiptoe Through The Tchipitoulas

Interview by Richard Grabel, New Musical Express, 2 February 1985

Fame has never courted the NEVILLE BROTHERS, but RICHARD GRABEL is pleased to report that the veteran culcha soulsters are at last getting their due. ...

Midnight Star: Star Attraction

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 February 1985

NOW HERE'S a trivia question I couldn't answer immediately! Which was the only group to have a Platinum album during 1984? ...

Chaka Khan: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 9 February 1985

CONFUSED? JUST a bit. And not just because this gig didn't add up. I still can't work out why it didn't work. ...

Mtume: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Sounds, 9 February 1985

MTUME LOVE us all. I know 'cos they said so. They also give their audience pairs of knickers, simulate sex while their hands are covered ...

Sam & Dave: Hold On, They're Coming

Profile and Interview by Clinton Walker, The Age, 15 February 1985

THE READERS of Smash Hits may not know it, but it's a fact that so many of their idols — today's transient pin-up popsters, Wham, ...

Teena Marie: Starchild (Epic EPC 26315)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 16 February 1985

WHAT SHE wants to do, and what singles buyers want her to do, are many miles apart for Teena Maria. She wants to get artistic ...

Junior Giscombe: Junior Showtime

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 23 February 1985

Now's the time lor Junior to put up or shut up. Having sold himself two years ago as the nice black kid from Streatham, he ...

Natalie Cole Is Back From the Fast Lane

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 February 1985

SINGER'S DRUG REHABILITATION ...

Shriekback: Funk's Fictional Threat

Essay by Simon Reynolds, Monitor, March 1985

1985, AND A GAGGLE of groups plough a well-furrowed, increasingly barren field. ...

Georgie Fame (1985)

Interview by Ira Robbins, Rock's Backpages audio, 1 March 1985

Mr. Fame talks about his current activities, then looks back to his first gig, backing Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran; being named by Larry Parnes; the Blue Flames starting as Billy Fury's backing group; playing the Flamingo, and discovering the Hammond after hearing 'Green Onions', and his first hit, 'Yeh Yeh'.

File format: mp3; file size: 11.1mb, interview length: 12' 09" sound quality: ** (phoner)

Loose Ends: Loose Talk

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 2 March 1985

From downtown Croydon to uptown Philadelphia: Loose Ends star in a heart-warming crumbs-to-charts story. Screenplay: Paul Sexton ...

Hank Ballard and the Midnighters: Hank Ballard (1985)

Interview by Ira Robbins, Rock's Backpages audio, 8 March 1985

The chief Midnighter talks about his 'Twist' royalty legal entanglements, a loan from the notorious Morris Levy and his current musical activities.

File format: mp3; file size: 17.7mb, interview length: 20' 29" sound quality: * (phoner)

Barry White (1985)

Interview by Ira Robbins, Rock's Backpages audio, 14 March 1985

The Walrus of Love talks about releasing himself and other acts on own label, and the advantage of being independent; the state of R&B today; praises Jackie DeShannon and Brenda Holloway, and talks about new album Sho You Right.

File format: mp3; file size: 14.6mb, interview length: 15' 58" sound quality: * (phoner)

Narada Michael Walden: The Nature Of Things (Warner Bros 925 176-1)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 23 March 1985

YOU OPEN the package and wonder if Narada will still have the same pretensions of grandeur and artistry about his tunes. Before long he's spouting ...

The Gap Band: Gap Band VI (Total Experience FL89476)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 23 March 1985

CONTAINING, SORRY to report, about the same degree of inspiration that they used for the album title. Ask the Wilson Brothers about this album and ...

The Gap Band: Gap Band: Gap Band VI (Total Experience Records) ****

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Rolling Stone, 28 March 1985

LEON RUSSELL took the three Wilson brothers out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and L.A. entrepreneur Lonnie Simmons made them funk stars as the Gap Band. Beginning ...

Luther Vandross: The Night I Fell In Love

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 30 March 1985

[2004 note: It makes me wince to look back and see my jejune critical self dismissing ‘The Other Side of the World’ as "tediously soupy". ...

Redds And The Boys: Groovin' To A Go Go

Profile and Interview by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 30 March 1985

CHUCK BERRY boogied on his finger, wiped it on the wall, and outraged America's upright citizens. ...

Alison Moyet: Alf (Columbia)

Review by Mark Rowland, Musician, April 1985

IT'S NOT terribly surprising that Alison Moyet's first solo record sounds like a modern pop evocation of 60s soul — after all, that's what everyone ...

Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers, Experience Unlimited (EU), Redds And The Boys, Trouble Funk: DC Freeze: Staying Alive in the Chocolate City

Report and Interview by David Toop, The Face, April 1985

Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York... The urban sound off black America is synonymous with these places. So what of Washington DC, the first US city ...

New Edition

Report and Interview by David A. Keeps, Smash Hits, 4 April 1985

THESE BOYS ARE BUSY. TWO YEARS AGO THEY WERE NUMBER ONE WITH 'CANDY GIRL'. NOW THEY'RE BACK WITH 'MR TELEPHONE MAN' AND 'COOL IT NOW', ...

Luther Vandross: The Night I Fell In Love (Epic EPC 26387)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 6 April 1985

YOU EITHER think he's the saviour of soul or a lump of lard, Luther Vandross. And while his writing and singing skills have never been ...

Luther Vandross: Labours Of Love Made Easy

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 6 April 1985

LUTHER VANDROSS used to sing jingles for Kentucky Fried Chicken. Now he licks his voice round painful love lyrics. PAOLO HEWITT hears his confessions about ...

Philip Bailey, Phil Collins, Earth, Wind & Fire: Philip Bailey: Labours of Love Made Easy

Profile and Interview by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 6 April 1985

PHILIP BAILEY used to sing with Earth Wind And Fire. Now he's teamed up alongside Phil Collins to reach Number One with 'Easy Lover'. SIMON ...

Phyllis Nelson: Nelson's Column

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 6 April 1985

Phyllis Nelson celebrates the return of the smooch with Paul Sexton ...

DeBarge: Rhythm Of The Night (Gordy ZL72340)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 27 April 1985

THEY HAD to plagiarise Lionel Richie to do it, but at least the streetparty sound of 'Rhythm Of The Night' has finally brought the DeBarge ...

The Mary Jane Girls: Mary Jane Girls: Only Four You (Gordy ZL 72341)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 27 April 1985

THE MARY Jane Girls are like the girlfriend who invites you back for coffee and just gives you the coffee. Plenty of hints but no ...

Prince and the Revolution: Around The World In A Day (Paisley Park 925286-1)

Review by Betty Page, Record Mirror, 27 April 1985

PRINCE HAS Found God in a big way — and for God read Prince and his Search For Inner Peace. Clock the sleeve and you ...

John Martyn, Sade: Sade: Diamond Life (Portrait); John Martyn: Sapphire (Island)

Review by Richard C. Walls, Creem, May 1985

JEWELS 'N' JAZZ ...

Prince: Around the World in a Day

Review by Biba Kopf, New Musical Express, 4 May 1985

The Return Of The Acid Reign ...

Steve Arrington: Robes to Freedom

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 4 May 1985

STEVE ARRINGTON SAYS NO MORE FORNICATING. PAUL SEXTON SAYS PSALM GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK... ...

The Neville Brothers: Neville Brothers, rhythm and blues kings, are still just neighborhood guys

Profile and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 5 May 1985

IF THE MARSALIS clan is the first family of New Orleans jazz, then Neville Brothers are the first family of New Orleans rhythm and blues. ...

Nina Simone: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 6 May 1985

IT WAS A fair measure of Nina Simone's ability that, in, the bustling thoroughfare of Ronnie Scott's, she was able, to command close attention with ...

DeBarge: Argy-DeBargy

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 11 May 1985

Could DeBarge be subtitled 'The Richie Family'? Is there any fraternal rivalry? Surely not, says Paul Sexton ...

Maze: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 11 May 1985

STILL A minority soul group? Seven full houses at Hammersmith is some minority... Maze's continued absence from the crossover crew makes it easy for the ...

Paul Hardcastle: Leytonstone Now!

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 11 May 1985

Paul Hardcastle was watching a TV show on Vietnam when he learned that the average age of American soldiers who fought there was just 19. Now ...

The Pointer Sisters: Pointer Sisters: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 18 May 1985

INTO THE HOT ...

Marvin Gaye: David Ritz: Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye (McGraw-Hill; 367 pages; $16.95)

Book Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 May 1985

The Sordid Story of An R&B 'Angel' ...

Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers, Experience Unlimited (EU), Go-Go Allstarz, The Junkyard Band, Little Benny & The Masters, Mass Extension, Rare Essence, Redds And The Boys, Trouble Funk: Go-Go: A Musical Phenomenon Bonding a Community

Special Feature by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 19 May 1985

GO-GO MUSIC, the hard-hitting street funk born and bred in Washington's inner city 15 years ago and the heart of a vibrant black subculture for ...

Ashford & Simpson: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 22 May 1985

SINCE THE SONGS they wrote in the 1960s for Marvin Gave and Tammi Terrell put a patent on the genre, it was not surprising that ...

Ashford & Simpson: Ashford and Simpson: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 22 May 1985

TIME HAS revealed Ashford and Simpson to be the most enduring, adaptable — arguably the greatest — of all the great Motown songwriting teams of ...

Asher Senator, The Cool Notes, Five Star, Pato Banton, Smiley Culture: The Cool Notes, Smiley Culture, Asher Senator, Pato Banton, Five Star: Hammersmith Palais, London

Live Review by William Shaw, Smash Hits, 22 May 1985

"All Dayers" have been going for years. They're marathon sessions of dancing to reggae and soul records with live appearances from the singers who made ...

Dr. John: Nights For Trippin' With Dr. John At The Lingerie

Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 1985

DR. JOHN SHOULD feel right at home this weekend at the Lingerie in Hollywood. ...

Steve Arrington: A Real Man

Interview by Chris Roberts, Sounds, 25 May 1985

STEVE ARRINGTON: a man who doesn't know who Tony Blackburn is, who counts Yes among his influences, and who's got God on his side... ...

Angela Bofill: Bofill: A Cool Mama on a Sophisticated Circuit

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 May 1985

IN THESE days of instant first-name informality, I shouldn't have been surprised when the caller identified herself simply as "Angela." "Which Angela is this?" I ...

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Alexander O'Neal, Prince: Alexander O'Neal: Alexander the Great!

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 May 1985

One of the most stylish albums so far released this year is the self-titled set from Alexander O'Neal. B&S checks out the singer's roots and ...

Angela Bofill, O'Jays: The O'Jays, Angela Bofill: Beverly Theatre, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 28 May 1985

OCCASIONALLY, it's possible to witness a show in which the opening act is more impressive than the headliner. It doesn't happen too often — and ...

Daryl Hall & John Oates, The Temptations: Hall & Oates: The Fall + Rise of Hohl + Oates

Interview by Graham K. Smith, Record Mirror, June 1985

How Daryl Hall (né Hohl) and John Oates became the most successful duo in recording history. New York interview by Graham K Smith ...

Ashford & Simpson: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Sounds, 1 June 1985

REVELATION ONE. Ashford (Mr) gets down on his knees, and tells us the meaning: "Grrr nga nga nga huh witness!" Revelation Two. Ashford: "When I ...

Freddie Jackson, The Stylistics: Freddie Jackson: Rock Me Tonight (Capitol); Stylistics: Some Things Never Change (Virgin)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 1 June 1985

TWO STATE of the art soul releases beckoning the consumer in time for the inevitable summer boom. ...

Loose Ends: This Soul Heart of Mine

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 1 June 1985

Soul becomes a permanent top 40 fixture — cue a Loose Ends/Paul Sexton celebration. Jane, Macca and Steve look forward to poaching fans from Max ...

Philip Bailey, Phil Collins: Philip Bailey: View to a Phil

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 1 June 1985

WATCH OUT — PHILIP BAILEY IS AN ANGRY YOUNG MAN. PAUL SEXTON PUTS DOWN THE ARGUMENTS IN BLACK AND WHITE. ...

Prince: Around The World In A Day

Review by Max Bell, The Times, 1 June 1985

PRINCE, THE CURRENT court jester of American hippy soul, once wrote a song called 'Ronnie, Talk To Russia', a good message number that indicated this ...

Rick James: Glow (Motown)

Review by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 1 June 1985

POOR RICK has never been taken very seriously - a self-obsessed prima-donna of sophistifunk, as lascivious as Richard Pryor’s ear-screwing monkey. But the slick Dick ...

Sam Cooke: Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 (RCA)

Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 1985

SAM COOKE — ALIVE AGAIN ...

Gil Scott-Heron: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 4 June 1985

ALTHOUGH HE does not like being labelled, particularly as a "protest singer", Gil Scott-Heron may fairly be described as a radical black poet and jazz-funk ...

Womack and Womack: Womack & Womack: Radio M.U.S.C. Man (Elektra)

Review by Mat Snow, New Musical Express, 15 June 1985

YOU'LL BE hearing a lot of this on the wireless in the coming weeks if the Womack scam pays off. Radio M.U.S.C. Man "salutes all ...

Marvin Gaye: Furor over X-rated Marvin Gaye LP

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 20 June 1985

Co-producer says he changed lyrics to one song; associates blast quality of other tracks ...

Ashford & Simpson: Ashford and Simpson: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 22 June 1985

THE WORD 'classy' perfectly sums up this show. As in superior, stylish, staid and conservative. The A&S seal of musical quality guaranteed a packed Odeon, ...

John Cooper Clarke, Gil Scott-Heron: Gil Scott-Heron, John Cooper Clarke: Greenwich Festival, Borough Hall, Greenwich, London

Live Review by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 22 June 1985

WORLDLY RAPPING HOODS ...

Nile Rodgers: B-Movie Matinee (Warner Bros.)

Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 1985

RODGERS: SLY, SLICK AND WICKED ...

Marvin Gaye: Dream Of A Lifetime (Columbia)

Review by Mark Rowland, Musician, July 1985

JUST WHEN you thought it was safe to go back into the bedroom, here comes Dream Of A Lifetime, an appropriately kinky coda to the ...

The Mary Jane Girls: Mary Jane Girls: Only Four You (Motown)

Review by Laura Fissinger, Record, July 1985

THIS WAS originally planned as a funny record review. Then I listened to the record. ...

Cameo's Larry Blackmon (1985)

Interview by Simon Witter, Rock's Backpages audio, 2 July 1985

The Cameo frontman goes back and forth over his influences, the band's formation and changes over the years, philosophy, race and all kinds of fascinating stuff!

File format: mp3; file size: 89.9mb, interview length: 1h 33' 37" sound quality: ***

DeBarge: Happy Families?

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 6 July 1985

Hmm... it's not exactly kissy kissy time in the DeBarge family camp these days. Paul Sexton sniffs inter-sibling rivalry beneath the ultrawhite smiles ...

Mai Tai: History (Virgin V2359) ***

Review by Chris Roberts, Sounds, 6 July 1985

FOR YOUR inflammation, a Mai-Tai is a complex cocktail involving rum, tequila and various other terribly sinful fluids, but Dutch girls Caroline, Mildred and Jetty ...

Rick James, The Mary Jane Girls, Process & the Doo Rags, Teena Marie, Val Young: The Rick James Interview: The Buffalo Man Takes Aim...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 9 July 1985

David Nathan conducts a very sober and enlightening interview with the former Wild Man of Funk whose drug and alcohol abuse took him to the ...

Rick James, The Mary Jane Girls, Process & the Doo Rags: Rick James: "I Was Having Seizures"

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 13 July 1985

...this is a public admission by Rick James, naughty boy of soul who up till now has been getting high on more than the charts, ...

Whitney Houston: Whitney Houston (Arista 206 978) **

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 13 July 1985

WHITNEY HOUSTON'S had fantastic US and European success with this debut album but I could pick out at least three stronger first LPs by similar ...

George Clinton, Thomas Dolby: George Clinton and Thomas Dolby: The Nut & The Nerd

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 20 July 1985

We're known as The Nut and The Nerd say George Clinton and Thomas Dolby, now together as DOLBY'S CUBE. Caroline Sullivan met this unlikely pair ...

Aretha Franklin: Who's Zoomin' Who? (Arista)

Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 27 July 1985

SINCE HER Atlantic heyday, critics have bemoaned Aretha's descent into the rhetoric of showbiz glamour. They want her to return to the transcendent flights and ...

George Clinton, Thomas Dolby: Dog-Gone Dolby

Report and Interview by Max Bell, No. 1, 3 August 1985

Max Bell yaps with Thomas Dolby and George Clinton. ...

Mai Tai: Le Beat Route, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Sounds, 3 August 1985

FLINGING ON my best white suit and ballet shoes, I dived through the catflap and tricycled along to what could've been The Symbolic Death Of ...

Manu Dibango: Montreux Jazz Festival, Casino de Montreux

Live Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 3 August 1985

IN MUCH the same way that reggae ultimately required the charismatic presence of Bob Marley to give it international focus, the Modern Music of Africa ...

Cameo: Debunking the Funk

Interview by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 10 August 1985

CAMEO? Not funk? ("When you think of funk you think of guys who don't take baths...") SIMON WITTER learns the art of staying a cult ...

Al Green: The Pre-Godlike Genius Of Green

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 10 August 1985

Let's Stay Together (Hi)I'm Still In Love With You (Hi)Call Me (Hi)Precious Lord (Hi) ...

Rick James: Glow (Gordy)

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Rolling Stone, 15 August 1985

OH, SLICK RICK, you can trade your beads for a hennaed perm, but they still won't put you on MTV. As Dylan said of George ...

Lee Dorsey: Holy Cow!

Review by Don Snowden, The Boston Phoenix, 20 August 1985

SOME PEOPLE MAY cherish Holy Cow! (Arista) for making readily available a single-volume collection of Lee Dorsey's irresistible, sublimely lazy '60s hits like ‘Ya Ya’ ...

The Stylistics: Style Wars

Interview by David Toop, Black Echoes, 24 August 1985

DAVID TOOP talks to the world's greatest soft soul harmony group – THE STYLISTICS ...

9.9, Five Star, Nona Hendryx: Nona Hendryx, 9.9, Five Star: Palace Theatre, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 29 August 1985

RCA RECORDS SHOWCASES THREE ACTS ...

Aretha Franklin: Who's Zoomin' Who? (Arista)

Review by J.D. Considine, Musician, September 1985

ARETHA FRANKLIN has never made a bad record. When her records lacked the fire that ignited her greatest singles, that voice has been enough to ...

Womack and Womack, Bobby Womack: Bobby Womack: Someday We'll All Be Free (Beverly Glen); Womack & Womack: Radio M.U.S.C. Man (Elektra)

Review by J.D. Considine, Musician, September 1985

GREAT SINGING is its own reward, and that's particularly true of the Womacks, Bobby, Cecil and Linda. Their voices carry not only the experience of ...

Dobie Gray (1985)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, September 1985

"I never did feel like a soul singer": from his youth in Texas to Nashville success, Dobie Gray talks about his crossover from R&B to country.

File format: mp3; file size: 46mb, total interview length: 47' 54" sound quality: ****

Jimi Hendrix, Curtis Knight: Jimi Hendrix: Curtis Knight's Encounter With The Divine Light

Interview by Gene Santoro, Guitar World, September 1985

As told to Gene Santoro ...

Teena Marie: Lovergirl on Parade!

Profile by Laura Fissinger, Creem, September 1985

FOR ALL THE extremely pleasurable flesh pleasures in her music, Teena Marie is devoutly religious. Up until 1985, she probably drew a lot of comfort ...

The Pointer Sisters — Their Day of Honor: Better Late Than Never

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 September 1985

13 years tardy, Oakland pays tribute to homegrown singers ...

Marvin Gaye: Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye (by David Ritz, Michael Joseph £6.95)

Book Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 7 September 1985

BIOGRAPHER RITZ, who was collaborating on a life of Marvin Gaye with the soul singer when events overtook him, was certainly in the cat-bird seat ...

Sheila E.: Sheila E: Romance 1600 (Paisley Park/WB)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 7 September 1985

Fun and games ...

Bobby Womack: So Many Rivers (MCA)

Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 14 September 1985

IS BOBBY Womack, in the words of his song, the only survivor left standing here? Soul has suffered a death rate comparable with early bebop, ...

Cameo: Don't Call Me Funky

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 14 September 1985

Larry Blackmon, the man with a lead role in Cameo, doesn't like his music labelled funky. He also has these Rambo fantasies. Paul Sexton decides ...

Colonel Abrams: Trapped!

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 14 September 1985

The family history of Colonel Abrams probed by Paul Sexton. NB: this feature mentions Spandau Ballet and Stevie Wonder ...

George Clinton: Some Of My Best Jokes Are Friends (Capitol)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 14 September 1985

The joke's on you ...

Dan Penn (1985)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 16 September 1985

A short chat with the country-soul legend, talkin' about writing 'Cry Like A Baby', producing the Box Tops and the sadly MIA Eddie Hinton. (Chipping in with occasional comments: Dan's wife Linda...)

File format: mp3 File size: 9.2mb Interview length: 10 minutes Sound quality: ****

Womack and Womack: Womack & Womack: Dominion, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 17 September 1985

Songs written with soul ...

Diana Ross: Second Hand Emotion — Diana Ross: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 20 September 1985

Diana Ross's performance at the Albert Hall was a memorably touching experience — the only trouble was, reports Mick Brown, you couldn't believe a word ...

Womack and Womack: Soul Wars: Womack And Womack: The Dominion, London

Live Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 21 September 1985

TEXTURING INTIMACIES with the grain of their extraordinary, conflicting voices, Womack And Womack have almost singlehandedly rescued the dramas and gestures of love from the ...

The Fat Boys, The Weather Girls: Weather Girls: Big Girls Don't Cry (CBS); Fat Boys: Fat Boys Are Back (WEA)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 21 September 1985

Fat is a feminine issue ...

Womack and Womack: It's A Family Affair

Interview by Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 21 September 1985

The brotherhood lives on with Womack & Womack. Hugh Fielder finds it all very relative. ...

Steve Arrington: Dancin' in the Key of Life (Atlantic)

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Rolling Stone, 26 September 1985

STEVE ARRINGTON, who once sang and drummed with the Dayton funk band Slave, has been gathering admirers since 'Just a Touch of Love' and 'Watching ...

Bobby Womack: The Great Provider

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 28 September 1985

"They call me a living legend/But I'm just a soldier who's been left behind/And now my heart can't take it/My feet won't make it/I'm the ...

Diana Ross: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Sounds, 28 September 1985

DI-NAMITE! ...

Womack and Womack: Dominion Theatre, London

Live Review by Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 28 September 1985

COINCIDENCE? WHILE searching around for my gig notes (it's been that kind of week) I turned up some notes on Womack and Womack's previous London ...

Chaka Khan, Third World: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 30 September 1985

Not her moment ...

Allen Toussaint (1985)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, October 1985

The New Orleans master talks about the music of his youth; the Second Line; the piano and Professor Longhair; black music in the south; the musicians he worked with, and what makes New Orleans music different.

File format: mp3; file size: 36.3mb, interview length: 39' 36" sound quality: ***

The Mary Jane Girls: Mary Jane Girls Can't Help It

Interview by Roy Trakin, Creem, October 1985

LOS ANGELES — Ah, the pleasures of pulchritude!! To be surrounded by two members of Rick James's musical wet dream, the salacious Mary Jane Girls: ...

Stax Records' Estelle Axton (1985)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, October 1985

From Satellite Records to 'Disco Duck': Stax Records' Estelle Axton on the "recording bidness" - pre-Stax Memphis and Sun and Elvis, Rufus Thomas, the Mar-Keys, 'Last Night', Otis, Hayes and Porter, the record shop, and through to Al Bell and the downfall.

File format: mp3; file size: 86.3meg, interview length: 1h 29' 54" sound quality: ***

Womack and Womack: Radio M.U.S.C. Man (Elektra)

Review by John Swenson, Spin, October 1985

THE WOMACK FAMILY is giving the Jacksons a run for their money. Radio M.U.S.C. Man is, in fact, the most impressive musical reunion since the ...

Colonel Abrams: A Taste of 'Trapped'

Interview by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 5 October 1985

COLONEL ABRAMS wishes to make it clear that he's not affiliated to any fast-chicken enterprises. SIMON WITTER's verdict: ear-lickin' good! ...

Nona Hendryx: The Heat (RCA)

Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 5 October 1985

FROM HER early days with Labelle doing cover versions of the likes of 'Won't Get Fooled Again', to her collaborations with Talking Heads, Bill Laswell ...

Five Star: Five Go To Disneyland

Report and Interview by William Shaw, Smash Hits, 9 October 1985

Pooh Bear wanders by with a pot of honey on his head! Shoals of artificial fish splash merrily in a nearby lake! Donald Duck sings ...

Bobby Womack: One More River Crossed

Report and Interview by Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 12 October 1985

Big 'Mack tells his survival story to HUGH FIELDER. ...

Millie Jackson: Caught Up /Still Caught Up

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 12 October 1985

MILLIE JACKSON is an astonishingly powerful and resourceful singer. It is easy to overlook her immense vocal skills particularly in the light of her current ...

Bobby Womack: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 15 October 1985

ON HIS third visit to Britain, and with his current album So Many Rivers making modest inroads on the charts, Bobby Womack seems to have ...

Etta James: Her Voice Can Get A Hold On You

Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 26 October 1985

"WHAT'S HAPPENING now is that all the kids who grew up listening to me on their transistor radios in the '50s and '60s are now ...

Isley Jasper Isley: Caravan Of Love (Epic EPC 26656)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 26 October 1985

IF NOTHING else, these Isley boys give me 'n' Betty a good chuckle with their album sleeves. They do like dressing up. Poor old Ernie ...

Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers, Experience Unlimited (EU), Redds And The Boys, Trouble Funk: The Capital Gains Of Go-Go

Report by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 27 October 1985

IS WASHINGTON'S explosive Go-Go funk Style destined to follow New York's rap/scratch/hip-hop brigade into the pop mainstream? ...

The Valentinos, Bobby Womack: Bobby Womack: All in the Family

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, November 1985

Bobby Womack on his brothers, on Paul Young and on the Rolling Stones. Story: Paul — soul shoes — Sexton ...

Jerry Wexler (1985)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, November 1985

Speaking at the Friars Club in midtown Manhattan, the great Atlantic producer recalls the black bands he loved as a kid and talks about Louis Jordan, Tiny Bradshaw and the birth of R&B. "Wex" also holds forth on the growth of urban black America; the influence of gospel on black pop; the importance of Western Swing; the other labels and white entrepreneurs involved in black music; discovering Stax and Muscle Shoals in the dog days of the early '60s; tying the knot with Stax... and getting back in the studio with Wilson Pickett.

ile format: mp3; file size: 43.7mb, interview length: 45' 30" sound quality: ****

Sheila E.: Romance 1600 (I.R.S.)

Review by J.D. Considine, Musician, November 1985

ARTISTS USUALLY sound more distinctive and less derivative over time. Sheila E. seems to be moving in the opposite direction. The Glamorous Life, her solo ...

Apollonia, Morris Day, Sheila E., Prince, Vanity: Those Who Would Be Prince

Report by Vernon Gibbs, New Look, November 1985

WHEN PRINCE decided that he didn't like Eddie Murphy making fun of his high-heeled boots, the rock star walked out in the middle of Murphy's ...

George Benson: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 1 November 1985

AT LAST! A performer who has conquered the formidable problems of Wembley Arena and turned it to the service of a triumphant concert. ...

The Neville Brothers: Neville Brothers: Shaw Theatre, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 5 November 1985

NEW ORLEANS has Nevilles like Washington has Kennedys and Kent has Cowdreys. Notwithstanding claims on behalf of the Marsalis clan, the four brothers Neville represent ...

Nona Hendryx: The Heat (RCA)

Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 7 November 1985

NONA HENDRYX emerged from post-LaBelle limbo as a member of Talking Heads' big Remain in Light band. On The Heat, her fourth solo album, she ...

Street Sounds: E-Khan-Omics

Interview by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 16 November 1985

MORGAN KHAN is the financial wizard behind the phenomenally successful Street Sounds label, whose panache at marketing soul has helped to transform the Top 50. ...

Mai Tai: A fashion designer, an ex fare-dodger and someone who tells the rudest jokes imaginable

Interview by Chris Heath, Smash Hits, 20 November 1985

"I'VE ONLY ever seen one windmill in my whole life," insists Carolein firmly. Only one windmill? But this is Holland, land of windmills, clogs, tulips ...

Sheila E.: Sheila E: Romance 1600 (Paisley Park/Warner Bros.)

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Rolling Stone, 21 November 1985

IT'S A PITY that Sheila E., Prince's only independently creative female artist, needs a twelve-minute collaboration with the Small One to make her second LP ...

The Neville Brothers: Shaw Theatre, London

Live Review by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 26 November 1985

CLOSE YOUR eyes and you could well imagine yourself in a packed Hammersmith Odeon, along with the young funkateer crowd, catching the latest hot new ...

Simply Red: Hammersmith Palais, London

Live Review by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 30 November 1985

AND SO the controversy continues. Inflammatory statements rage about our ears as the Mancunian soul-revivalists stand their ground and weather the cries of derision that ...

Morris Day, The Time: Now Is The Time For Morris Day

Interview by Carol Cooper, The Face, December 1985

He played the senior dude in Purple Rain, the one who nearly stole the show from his real-life hometown rival Prince. He calls his autobiographical ...

Stevie Wonder: In Square Circle (Motown)

Review by RJ Smith, Spin, December 1985

THESE THINGS never do fall from the sky, like factor emissions and bird shirt. But if they did (If your mother had skates she'd be ...

Sheila E., Prince: The Glamorous Life: The Sheila E. Coverup

Interview by Steve Bloom, Record, December 1985

SOMEWHERE I read that Sheila E. was fed up with the lingerie look, yet here she is wearing a lacey white outfit that is "dressed ...

Grace Jones: Slave To The Rhythm (Manhattan)

Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 1 December 1985

GRACE: EGO TO GO ...

Sade: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 3 December 1985

FOR ALMOST an hour, Sade Adu and her musicians reproduced the chic minimalism of their records with such detached precision and consistency that the songs ...

Sade: International Centre, Harrogate

Live Review by William Shaw, Smash Hits, 4 December 1985

SADE ADU may have a most entrancing set of vocal chords and a face to match, but somehow this evening never really got off the ...

Womack and Womack, Bobby Womack: Bobby Womack: So Many Rivers (MCA); Someday We'll All Be Free (Beverly Glen); Womack and Womack: Radio M.U.S.C. Man (Elektra)

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Rolling Stone, 5 December 1985

THESE THREE records from the illustrious Womack clan — two from Bobby and one from brother Cecil and wife Linda (daughter of Sam Cooke and ...

Trouble Funk: Go-Going in Style

Interview by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 5 December 1985

Getting Small With Trouble Funk ...

The Isley Brothers, Isley Jasper Isley: Isley Jasper Isley: 3 Go Wild Between The Sheets

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 December 1985

BACK IN 1973, the Isley Brothers brought out an album called 3+3. You might remember it, 'specially if you were partaking of all the soul ...

Whitney Houston: Hello... Hello... Houston Calling

Profile and Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 December 1985

Whitney Houston is 21, she never had acne in public and Dionne Warwick is her favourite cousin. Read on... Story: Paul Sexton ...

Cameo: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 9 December 1985

DESPITE CAMEO'S low media profile, they boast a distinguished history of 11 album releases yielding estimated sales of 20 million records. It is but one ...

Isley Jasper Isley: The Message in the Music

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 10 December 1985

  MAKE NO mistake about it, by the time you read this in print, 'Caravan Of Love' will have given (Marvin) Isley, (Chris) Jasper and (Ernie) ...

Carmel: Air Of Defiance

Interview by Cath Carroll, New Musical Express, 14 December 1985

CARMEL are back in business and strangely grown-up, claims CATH CARROLL. ...

Cameo: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 21 December 1985

LET'S RESIST the churlish temptation to start wondering how many of Cameo's crowd were there when they last funked the hell out of Hammersmith 18 ...

Sade: Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 21 December 1985

Sade Seeks to One-Yup the Competition With Its Sultry Yet Sedate Approach ...

Stevie Wonder: Ever Decreasing Circles

Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 21 December 1985

Is STEVIE WONDER's giant talent exhausted or just sleeping? GAVIN MARTIN seeks the truth, but finds the man cocooned from the nitty gritty by an ...

Allen Toussaint: Club Lingerie, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 30 December 1985

A NEW ORLEANS KING ...

Dusty Springfield: Dusty In Memphis

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 1986

ONE OF THE pleasures of the recent rerun series of Ready Steady Go Starring The Dave Clark Five was the opportunity to be reminded that ...

Harlem’s Finest: The Apollo Theatre

Retrospective by Michael Lydon, unpublished, 1986

THROUGH A GAUZY silver curtain, multi-colored lights outline a band playing a mellow blues with a dancing beat. As the audience begins to cheer, the ...

Al Green: He Is The Light (A&M)

Review by J.D. Considine, Musician, January 1986

AL GREEN'S gospel recordings never really turned on his pop following, in part due to their uneven quality, but also because hosannas, no matter how ...

Teddy Pendergrass: Workin' It Back (Asylum)

Review by Randall Grass, Spin, January 1986

ONCE, IN church, the lady next to me, looking plain and 30 and man-less, felt the rapture so powerfully that she made Jesus her lover, ...

Colonel Abrams: Finger Lickin' God

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 4 January 1986

Is Colonel Abrams trapped in the black ghetto of religion and air conditioned fame or is he a genuine soul crusader? Paolo Hewitt meets the man ...

Cameo: Single Life (Club)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 11 January 1986

THE MANDATORY credit to God is featured in the small print on the sleeve of Cameo's eleventh album and, when you consider how many cruddy ...

Tommy Tate: Singing For The Soul Of It

Profile and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 11 January 1986

BARNEY HOSKYNS meets Mississippi soulman TOMMY TATE, whose 'What gives You The Right' is one of the "Sweetest, saddest black pop records of all time". ...

Full Force: Young Business People Of The Year?

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 18 January 1986

Well, they have created the biggest 12 inch record in CBS history and they are going to feature on a new tribute to Martin Luther ...

Ray Parker Jr.: Sex & The Single Man

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 18 January 1986

As you might expect, RAY PARKER JNR made a huge fortune from his Ghostbusters film theme. But he hasn't given up on music. His new ...

Zapp: The New Zapp IV U (Warner Brothers)

Review by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 18 January 1986

SAPS ...

Cherrelle: "Cheryl Is Boring... Cherrelle Has More Spunk To It"

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 25 January 1986

New name gets you into top 10 shock! Cherrelle name drops her men friends (Alexander, Jimmy, Terry...) to Paul Sexton. ...

Stevie Wonder: In Square Circle

Review by Roy Trakin, Creem, February 1986

IT BUBBLES, it gurgles, it coos. You were maybe expecting ‘Fingertips Part III’? In Square Circle is a seamless piece of synthetic aural gratification that ...

Wally Badarou, Grace Jones, Level 42, Robert Palmer: The Producers: Wally Badarou

Interview by Chas de Whalley, International Musician & Recording World, February 1986

Wally Badarou gets together with Chas de Whalley and puzzles over their possible family relationship ...

Trouble Funk: Saturday Night Live! From Washington, D.C. (Island)

Review by Fred Goodman, Musician, February 1986

STARS OF the D.C. Go-Go scene, Trouble Funk represent a throw-back to an earthier, less predictable disco groove. Saturday Night purports to present the groove ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Bland: Members Only (Malaco)

Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 1 February 1986

MEMBERS' ENCLOSURE ...

Ruby Turner: Jewel In The Crown

Profile and Interview by Penny Reel, New Musical Express, 8 February 1986

IT MIGHT be late to break nationally but in this man's town at least Ruby Turner's beefy update of 'If You're Ready (Come Go With ...

Masquerade: Morgan Khan: The groovy side of the street

Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 14 February 1986

The entrepreneurial one-man band Morgan Khan talks to Adam Sweeting ...

James Brown: He's So Good, He Says

Report and Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 February 1986

JAMES BROWN is a litany of hit songs and personal titles. He's the Godfather of Soul, the King of Soul, the Living Legend of Soul, ...

Cherrelle: Cherelle: High Priority (Tabu)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 22 February 1986

MID-EIGHTIES Soul-By-Numbers can be so tiresome. You'd have to be a dolt to think that more than 20 per cent of today's claptrack claptrap merchants ...

Chic, Led Zeppelin, The Power Station: Tony Thompson: It Ain't The Meat, It's The Emotion

Interview by J.D. Considine, Musician, March 1986

The Power, the Glory, and the Groove: Our Man from Chic Hits Hard and Hits Big, from Zep to Power Station to Madonna ...

Cherrelle, Alexander O'Neal: Alexander O'Neal, Cherrelle: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 3 March 1986

ALTHOUGH THE two artists performed separately, their recent hit as a duet, 'Saturday Love', and other common features of their careers, made this a sensible ...

Johnny Adams, Earl King: Earl King, Johnny Adams: Nugget Club, Long Beach CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 3 March 1986

KING: ORIGINAL LICKS ...

Cherrelle, Alexander O'Neal: Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 8 March 1986

IN THE LATEST edition of Monitor, Chris Stubbs suggests that soul music's fading calling card is now sex music. And it's certainly true that the ...

Prince: The Prince Story

Overview by Tom Hibbert, Smash Hits, 12 March 1986

A Tom Hibbert "Blockbuster" ...

Merry Clayton, The Rolling Stones: 'Shelter' from the Storm: Merry Clayton

Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 13 March 1986

MERRY CLAYTON'S spine-chilling vocal in the middle of ‘Gimme Shelter’ is one of the most electrifying moments in rock history but you couldn't blame Clayton ...

Betty Wright: Getting It Wright

Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 15 March 1986

BETTY WRIGHT is back with 'Pain', but she doesn't feel any because she's got religion. Frank Owen is in two minds. ...

Alexander O'Neal, Cherrelle: Cherrelle, Alexander O'Neal: Fairfield Halls, Croydon

Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 15 March 1986

THEY PACK 'EM in down Croydon way. A brace of shows by the Tabu twosome, no less, proving that Saturday love really stretches this far ...

William Bell, Matt Bianco, The Judds, Dolly Parton, Prince, Smokey Robinson, David Thomas: Records by Prince, The Judds et al

Review by Mary Harron, The Observer, 16 March 1986

Smokey Robinson: Smoke Signals (Tamla 6156TL); Prince: 'Kiss' (WEA W8751T 12 Inch); William Bell: Passion (WRC WIL-3001 US Import) ...

Merry Clayton: Gardenia Room, Los Angeles

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 17 March 1986

WITHOUT A SONG... ...

Prince: Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles

Live Review by Mat Snow, New Musical Express, 22 March 1986

GET A load of this guy. Five-foot-two in high heels, his tight black toreador pants stretch up to a fraction above his crack, hence a ...

Alexander O'Neal: Alexander The Great conquers Britain!

Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 25 March 1986

In a year when a little chap with a royal handle put Minneapolis on the musical map, it was an ex-football star, originally from Mississippi, ...

Prince & the Revolution: Parade: Music From The Motion Picture Under The Cherry Moon (Paisley Park)

Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 30 March 1986

THE PURPLE ONE'S FLOWER POWER ...

Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers, Experience Unlimited (EU), Redds And The Boys, Trouble Funk: Crankin' That Go Go Gadget

Report and Interview by Richard Grabel, Creem, April 1986

THIS IS CRAZY. I'm in Cheriy's Roller Rink, in Northeast Washington, D.C. The place is filled with black teenagers, and even their younger brothers and ...

Five Star

Interview by Chris Heath, Smash Hits, 5 April 1986

Nosey? Smash Hits? Well, yes, we are a bit. Like when we spoke to Five Star we couldn't resist asking them how much money they ...

Funkadelic, George Clinton: George Clinton: Fried Brains To Go

Interview by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 19 April 1986

"GEORGE WILL be with you in a minute, he's just playing with a raygun." (Clintonesque PR person). ...

Sheila E.: Sheila E

Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 19 April 1986

WHEN THE wheels of celebrity are set in motion the limousine windows are tainted; bystanders can see in but the star is blinded to life ...

Sweet Honey in the Rock: Sting in the Tale

Profile and Interview by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 19 April 1986

SEAN O'HAGAN makes a journey to the land of SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK where heavenly voices have their say. ...

Sweet Honey In The Rock: B&S talks to Bernice Reagon — a lady with a mission...

Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 22 April 1986

Her mission is to get black music the recognition it is due from the world at large and, equally important, to persuade America's black population ...

Trouble Funk, Skin: Paradise Theater, Boston

Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 23 April 1986

Trouble Funk's go-go too much of the same ...

Prince Strips Down: Parade

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Rolling Stone, 24 April 1986

WHO BUT PRINCE fills us today with the kind of anticipation we once reserved for new work by Bob Dylan, the Beatles and the Rolling ...

Anita Baker: Mouthful of Rapture

Interview by Nick Coleman, New Musical Express, 26 April 1986

ANITA BAKER is the soul voice of the '80s. NICK COLEMAN rings LA to chat about her new LP Rapture. ...

The SOS Band: SOS Band: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 26 April 1986

Squelchy sensuality ...

Sade Is A Group

Interview by Sylvie Simmons, Creem, May 1986

EIGHT MILLION copies the first album sold — Diamond Life, sultry pop, Martini-ad jazz, not really the stuff of eight million copies. Some of those ...

Wally Badarou, Marianne Faithfull, Grace Jones, Level 42: Wally Badarou's All-World Keyboards

Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, May 1986

The Synthesizer Star of Compass Point on Getting and Keeping International Feel ...

Billy Ocean: Love Zone (Jive HIPLP 35)

Review by Chris Roberts, Sounds, 3 May 1986

Silly Billy ...

James Brown: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 3 May 1986

"IT WAS just like watching Gary Glitter," said one voice on the way out, not in the least discontentedly. He wasn't far off, either. You ...

The SOS Band: The Sweetest Tabu

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 3 May 1986

Have the SOS Band stood the test of time, or are they sticking to the same old Jam 'n' Lewis formula? Paul Sexton asks Mary ...

Princess: Personal File: Princess

Interview by uncredited writer, Smash Hits, 7 May 1986

"Morten Harket — who's he? The singer in A-ha? Oooooh, very attractive. He's got a lovely body and I like his bum." ...

Aurra, Slave: Aurra: Mix 'N' Match

Interview by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 17 May 1986

AURRA have left their days of Slavery and hit the charts with 'You And Me Tonight'. SIMON WITTER takes off the raps. ...

Janet Jackson: One Girl, Six Famous Brothers, Ten Million "Exotic" Pets...

Interview by uncredited writer, Smash Hits, 21 May 1986

ON THE sleeve of Janet Jackson's new LP, Control, there's a dedication. "Special thanks to Joe and Katherine Jackson for having such a beautiful and ...

Solomon Burke: Soul Alive! (Rounder)

Review by Don Snowden, The Boston Phoenix, 21 May 1986

THE TRUE TRIUMPH of Solomon Burke's Soul Alive! (Rounder) was neither the spirited elan of performances that transcended mere revivalism nor the startling, albeit chart-invisible, ...

Five Star: Sibling Soul

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 24 May 1986

FIVE STAR are one of Britain's most successful chart acts, but their Dad still keeps them firmly in line. PAOLO HEWITT meets the stars who ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, Denise LaSalle, The Rose Brothers: Saenger Theatre, New Orleans

Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 31 May 1986

THE DEEPER you go into the heart of them ol' United States, the deeper the soul, and way down yonder in N'awlins this kind of ...

Cherrelle, The SOS Band: Cherrelle: High Priority; S.O.S Band: Sands Of Time (Tabu/CBS)

Review by Fred Goodman, Musician, June 1986

WHAT HAS Prince wrought? Legend has it that songwriting and production duo Terry Lewis and James "Jam" Harris III, a. k. a., Jimmy Jam, were ...

The Kane Gang: Lowdown hoedown

Interview by David A. Keeps, Creem, June 1986

"SARCASM IS the lowest form of wit," the Kane Gang's singer/lyricist Martin Brammer warns me. Uh-oh! Howza wiseguy CREEM hack supposed to comport hisself when ...

Imagination: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 7 June 1986

FOR ME, the high point of the set by this precision-dancing disco collective was the moment when Leee slipped off his gold lame jacket to ...

Prince & the Revolution: Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Mark Rowland, Billboard, 14 June 1986

LOS ANGELES' renovated deco showpiece proved an appropriate setting for the May 30 Prince concert. The 90-minute "warm-up" engagement for his U.S. tour — slated ...

Vanity: Skin On Skin (Motown)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 14 June 1986

VANITY BELONGS to The Tribe Of Diana, that growing band of performers kneeling at the feet of Ms Ross and wondering how it is that ...

Roger Troutman (1986)

Interview by Simon Witter, Rock's Backpages audio, 30 June 1986

He disapproves of drugs! He digs Yes! From being pushed by his father as a kid, via the P-Funk connection and the Ohio funk scene to his mad recording methods, Zapp frontman Roger Troutman tells all.

File format: mp3; file size: 56.5mb, interview length: 1h 01' 41" sound quality: ***

Fela Kuti: Fela Freed!

Interview by Randall Grass, Spin, July 1986

Nigerian authorities thought 18 months in jail might silence the rebel king of sex, hemp, and Afrobeat. They were wrong. ...

Pepe Willie, Prince: Pepe Willie: "See, Me And Prince Had A Deal..."

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, July 1986

IN THE MID-'70s, Pepe Willie — a New York writer, musician and producer — went into the Cook House Studio in Minneapolis with two teenaged ...

Philip Bailey, Phil Collins, Earth, Wind & Fire: Philip Bailey: Rocky Mountain Soul from a Bible Belter

Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, July 1986

"Flute and harp add sweetness to a song; better than either, a sweet voice." (Ecclesiasticus 40:21) ...

Prince: Thinking Of Babylon, Dreaming Of Prince

Essay by J. Kordosh, Creem, July 1986

TO SOME, HE is The Kid. To others he is The Minneapolis Genius. To others still, he's That Guy Who Ripped Me Off On That Last Tour Playing Condensed Songs ...

Patti Austin, Change, Cherrelle, Flyte Tyme, Thelma Houston, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Howard Johnson, Klymaxx, Cheryl Lynn, Prince, The SOS Band, The Time: Minneapolis Magic: The Jam and Lewis Story

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 1 July 1986

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are currently the hottest producers in soul and here B&S goes back in time with the two men to discover ...

Cherrelle: Positive Touch

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 5 July 1986

CHERRELLE's dream of soul stardom has come true, thanks to the trans Atlantic success of 'Saturday Love'. PAOLO HEWITT tunes in and turns on. ...

Gil Scott-Heron: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 5 July 1986

NORMALLY, I HATE protest pop, especially the born-again Methodism of the likes of Bragg and Moore with that heavy evangelical tone. So why do I ...

The Real Roxanne: The Woman Who Put Bugs Bunny Top Forty

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 5 July 1986

She's not got a kind word to say about her rival, Roxanne Shanté; she wants to sing like Sade; but more importantly, she's immortalised Bugs ...

Shirley Murdock, Zapp: Zapp, Shirley Murdock: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 12 July 1986

ZAPP'S UK debut was always going to be a bit of a circus, bearing in mind that the man at the controls is Roger Troutman, ...

Zapp: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 12 July 1986

ZAPP LIVE were perhaps the most extreme spectacle I have ever witnessed, with both band and audience abandoning inhibitions more extensively than at any rock ...

Zapp: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 12 July 1986

YOU'D EXPECT the diehards who shelled out and showed up to see Zapp, on one of London's culturally busiest weekends, to dance holes in The ...

Peter Guralnick: Sweet Soul Music

Book Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 19 July 1986

FA-FA-FA-FA-FA-FAB ...

Denise LaSalle, Rockin' Sidney: Rockin' Sidney and Denise LaSalle: The Toot Toot Route

Report by Mike Atherton, Black Echoes, 20 July 1986

Sidney Simien spent part of 1984 recording new songs at his home studio in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Unremarkable as this information may seem, it was ...

Stevie Wonder: The Forum, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Mark Rowland, Billboard, 26 July 1986

THIS YEAR marks the 25th anniversary of Stevie Wonder's association with Motown, and this triumphant career retrospective proved a fitting celebration. ...

Chaka Khan: Destiny (Warner Bros.)

Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 1986

CHAKA STRUTS STUFF ...

Five Star: A Day In The Life

Report and Interview by Sylvia Patterson, Smash Hits, 30 July 1986

Tinkering with model cars, booting footballs through giant weeds, musing about alien beings from beyond the galaxy and trying to catch a carp... It's all ...

Hollywood Beyond

Interview by Chris Heath, Smash Hits, 30 July 1986

He used to be a hippie, a mod, a heavy metal fan and "an African dictator gone wrong" who loved rolling around in dirt. Now, ...

Simply Red: Up the English Soul

Interview by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 31 July 1986

Mick Hucknall in L.A. ...

Gil Scott-Heron (1986)

Interview by Larry Jaffee, Rock's Backpages audio, August 1986

Scott-Heron talks about music and politics, Reron and B Movie, Sun City, Clive Davis and Arista/RCA, and ruminates on favourites old and new.

File format: mp3; file size: 18.1mb, interview length: 19' 42" sound quality: * (phoner)

Gil Scott-Heron: Life After Arista

Profile and Interview by Larry Jaffee, unpublished, August 1986

NOTE: This interview was intended for Tower Records' Pulse!, but was rejected for fear that Arista Records would pull its advertising. ...

George Clinton: Electric Spankatizer Yeah

Interview by Jack Barron, Sounds, 1 August 1986

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER OR THE GAP BETWEEN GREEN POINTY EARS? ...

Anita Baker: Heaven Scent

Interview by Nick Coleman, New Musical Express, 2 August 1986

NICK COLEMAN catches his breath after his first encounter with sweet songstress ANITA BAKER, who wowed London crowds last weekend. ...

Cherrelle, The Human League, Janet Jackson, Alexander O'Neal, Prince, The SOS Band: Jam & Lewis: Double Funk

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 2 August 1986

"Sorry Lionel, but right now, we're busy with The Human League..." To turn down a job with Mr Richie these days you'd have to be ...

Trouble Funk: Town & Country, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 2 August 1986

TROUBLESHOOTERS ...

Anita Baker, Nat Augustin: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 9 August 1986

BEING THE warm-up at one of the most hotly anticipated soul shindigs of the year was a double-edged sword for Nat Augustin, the former Light ...

Gwen Guthrie: Inflated Rent

Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 9 August 1986

"BIG? I WASN'T prepared for just how big Gwen Guthrie is. Unkempt too...hair straggly, dressed in just a white wraparound bathrobe, she's been bustled straight ...

The SOS Band: The S.O.S. Band: Sands Of Time (Tabu)

Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 10 August 1986

S.O.S.' NOUVEAU FUNK ...

Phil Fearon & Galaxy: Phil Fearon

Interview by Chris Heath, Smash Hits, 13 August 1986

• He used to have lots of hits under the name Galaxy! • He was once asked to join the Sex Pistols! • He sleeps ...

Tina Turner

Report and Interview by Chris Heath, Smash Hits, 13 August 1986

• She was a huge star in the sixties, down the dumper in the seventies and now, at 47, she's a huge star again.• She ...

On-U Sound System, Adrian Sherwood, Tackhead: Adrian Sherwood: Ministry of Dub

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 16 August 1986

Producer ADRIAN SHERWOOD has spent a decade deconstructing and rebuilding music dubwise, from Ministry and New Age Steppers to Mark Stewart, Tack Head and Keith ...

Anita Baker: Antita Baker: Has This Woman Made The Best Soul Album Of The Year?

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 16 August 1986

Well, according to the experts, Anita Baker's Rapture LP is the business. But did anyone know that the lady shelled out some of her own ...

Gwen Guthrie: Money Matters

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 16 August 1986

GWEN GUTHRIE, currently burning 'em up with 'Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The Rent' explains to David Stubbs the genesis of 'Fly Girl' ...

Chic, Nile Rodgers: Source of the Nile

Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 22 August 1986

Funk guitar specialist Nile Rodgers is also one of the world's great producers. Adam Sweeting reports ...

Prince & the Revolution: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Betty Page, Record Mirror, 23 August 1986

ANY SELF-RESPECTING pop pundit at least had to try and witness the return of the Stiletto-Heeled Sex Dwarf — beg, borrow, blag, or like one ...

Janet Jackson: This Girl Sleeps With Snakes

Interview by Tom Hibbert, Smash Hits, 27 August 1986

And feeds her llama on bubble sum and lets her giraffe eat all her mum's trees and sends her monkey to school. Oh yes, and ...

Cameo: Word Processor

Interview by Chris Roberts, Sounds, 30 August 1986

Listen up! Ambition may be the result of having a possessive, overbearing mother, but just eat a big avocado salad and you'll be solid. And ...

Anita Baker: The Deep Dark Soul

Interview by Richard Cook, The Wire, September 1986

THE BAND PLAYS a slow, rough-textured groove, flesh laid on the dark bones of the bass. Three women set up a vocal counterpoint, rich with ...

Cherrelle, The Human League, Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Alexander O'Neal, The SOS Band, The Time: Jimmy "Jam" Harris & Terry Lewis

Interview by Mark Rowland, Musician, September 1986

FROM 'TENDER LOVE' TO 'NASTY', THEY'RE ALWAYS IN CONTROL ...

Jaki Graham: Rubber Soul

Interview by Cath Carroll, New Musical Express, 6 September 1986

JAKI GRAHAM, Wolverhampton's wandering soul singer, meets CATH CARROLL across a coffee table. ...

George Clinton, Parliament: Parliament: Uncut Funk — The Bomb

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 6 September 1986

GEORGE CLINTON is one of the great people of the 20th century. Probably you know this already. He took the funk legacy of James Brown ...

Roger Troutman, Zapp: The House Of Zapp

Interview by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 6 September 1986

Ohio is a soul city, home of Bootsy, the Ohio Players and now the Troutman family alia the Human Body alias ZAPP. Mainman Roger tells ...

Working Week: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 6 September 1986

NOW YOU HAS JAZZ! ...

Clarence Carter: Where Are They Now? Clarence Carter

Profile and Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 11 September 1986

Hits: 'Slip Away', 'Too Weak to Fight', 'Patches' ...

Floy Joy, Carroll Thompson: Carroll Thompson: Life After Joy

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 13 September 1986

Weren't Floy Joy s'posed to be Big In '85? Well, erm, yes... but now they're no more and singer Carroll Thompson's doing very nicely on ...

Jean Carne: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Mark Sinker, New Musical Express, 13 September 1986

O, EXTRA JOY! ...

Eddie Kendricks, The Temptations: Motown No Longer Lures Temptations Vet

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 September 1986

Chill reheated career but Kendrick has bad memories ...

Janet Jackson

Profile and Interview by Tom Hibbert, Q, October 1986

"THERE COMES A time in a kid's life when they have to take over. It's hard for the parents to let go – and I'm ...

Lionel Richie: Dancing On the Ceiling

Review by Adam Sweeting, Q, October 1986

IT IS SAID THAT Lionel Richie's previous solo album, Can't Slow Down, sold an unthinkable 15 million copies, the kind of statistic that can cause ...

Full Force, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam: Lisa and The Cult: So Nice, You Wanna Rap It Twice

Interview by Toby Goldstein, Creem, October 1986

THE MARRIAGE proposals in the mail and the army of blushing guys lining up for autographs still shocks Lisa-Lisa, because, after all, she's only 18. ...

Prince & The Revolution: Cobo Arena, Detroit

Live Review by J. Kordosh, Creem, October 1986

I'LL BE WITH YOU SHORTLY ...

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band: Mardi Gras In Montreux (Rounder)

Review by J.D. Considine, Musician, October 1986

IF DECADES of drab Dixieland combos have left you thinking that the New Orleans notion of collective improvisation is mere fabrication, prepare to be converted. ...

Tina Turner: Mega Woman Conquers the World

Interview by Mark Rowland, Musician, October 1986

QUEEN TINA DOES NOT WANT ANY MORE POP, FUNK, REGGAE OR SOUL. QUEEN TINA WANTS TO ROCK 'N' ROLL ...

Cameo: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 4 October 1986

DOCTOR MY EARS ...

Cameo: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Neil Perry, Sounds, 4 October 1986

THE CODFATHER ...

David Bowie, Chic, Duran Duran, Nile Rodgers: Nile Rodgers: Man of the Moment

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 4 October 1986

Buddies with Bowie, big pals with Duran, mate of Al Jarreau, is there no-one NILE RODGERS doesn't know? Adam Sweeting charts the changing life and ...

Cameo: Word Up! (Phonogram/Club Records)***2/3

Review by Jack Barron, Sounds, 11 October 1986

WORDS UPSIDEDOWN: Because you're not the only one whose heart has been broken and Blackmon's approach will serve to remind you of this – and ...

Cameo: Word Up (Club)

Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 11 October 1986

SWEET TALKING GUY ...

Cameo: Word Up (Phonogram)

Review by John McCready, New Musical Express, 11 October 1986

WISE UP! ...

Jerry Butler: The Ice Man Cometh

Interview by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 11 October 1986

JERRY BUTLER – Chicago crooner, beer businessman and local politician – meets cool SIMON WITTER ...

Loose Ends: Zagora (Virgin)

Review by Nick Coleman, New Musical Express, 11 October 1986

"THE GORGEOUS thunk of BMW doors, Jacob, like electric windows' reptilian blink on buttocks clenched in bucket seats, are signals too malodrous to be dismissed ...

James Brown: Stay On The Scene Like An Answerin' Machine

Interview by Mark Sinker, New Musical Express, 18 October 1986

MARK SINKER talks to God – alias JAMES BROWN – on the great black telephone. ...

Oran "Juice" Jones: Juice (Def Jam)

Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 19 October 1986

'RAIN' GEAR ...

Curtis Mayfield: Piccadilly Theatre, London

Live Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 25 October 1986

PAUL WELLER knows his place. Despite meaning a lot of things to a lot of people, he was more than reluctant to share the stage ...

Paul Young: Between Two Fires (CBS 4501501)

Review by Betty Page, Record Mirror, 25 October 1986

ON THE first day, it drifted past. On the second day, it became pleasant BGM with a couple of hooks protruding. And on the third ...

Whitney Houston: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 25 October 1986

A TASTE OF ECSTASY ...

Whitney Houston: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Sounds, 25 October 1986

I WAS there. ...

Five Star: 5 Star: "Like Any Father, I Just Want The Best For My Kids"

Interview by Lloyd Bradley, Q, November 1986

No discos. No stepping out with the opposite sex. Arranged marriages a distinct possibility. Is Buster Pearson, 5 Star's father and manager, being a touch ...

Michael McDonald (1986)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, November 1986

The ex-Doobies/Dan man looks back at his career, discusses his art and ruminates on the meaning of "white soul".

File format: mp3; file size: 52.2mb, total interview length: 54' 24" sound quality: ****

Michael McDonald (1986) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages transcripts, November 1986

This is a transcript of Barney's audio interview with Michael. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Full Force, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam: Full Force/Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 1 November 1986

MAY THE FARCE BE WITH YOU ...

Ronnie Laws: Mirror Town (CBS 4S0068 1)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 1 November 1986

ISN'T IT great sometimes when an artist you'd given up for dead comes back to life (almost) as good as before? Ronnie Laws had several ...

Trouble Funk: Say What! Live In London

Review by Mat Snow, New Musical Express, 1 November 1986

JUST THE other night I achieved a tiny slice of immortality when radio-jock Andy Kershaw played a 1960s Texan garage nugget of which he knows ...

Cameo: "I Am A Warrior"

Interview by William Shaw, Smash Hits, 5 November 1986

Oh. That's funny, we could have sworn you were the bloke with the"codpiece" from Cameo, Larry Blackmon (for it is he) announces his plans for world domination. ...

Fela Kuti & the Chords of Africa

Profile and Interview by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 7 November 1986

TWO YEARS ago, as Fela Anikulapo Kuti headed for America for what would have been his first tour here in 15 years, Nigerian authorities arrested ...

Womack and Womack: Womack & Womack: Keeping It All In The Family

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 8 November 1986

The next Womack and Womack LP is produced by the pair themselves, and features Cecil's three brothers and his ex wife (Mary Wells). Family ties? ...

Peter Guralnick's Soul Hits Sweet Spot

Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 9 November 1986

DO YA LIKE good music? (Yeah, yeah.) Then Peter Guralnick's new book Sweet Soul Music (Harper & Row) is right down your alley, two steps ...

Patti Labelle: Labelle Of The Ball

Interview by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 15 November 1986

"I LOVE Madonna. I do. I just don't like the way she stepped on my feet. We were at the American Music Awards, in the ...

Sam Cooke, The Valentinos, Womack and Womack: Womack & Womack: Womack Inc. (U.K. Branch)

Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 18 November 1986

Womack & Womack tell B&S about their future plans In America and Britain as residents ...

Kool and the Gang: Kool & The Gang

Interview by William Shaw, Smash Hits, 19 November 1986

They're one of the most successful disco bands ever! They make pots and pots of money! They used to beat up paint cans! They're useless ...

Jesse Johnson: Shockadelica (A&M)

Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 23 November 1986

JESSE: PEDESTRIAN CROSSING ...

Jesse Johnson: "Prince Is An Asshole"

Interview by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 29 November 1986

OF ALL THIS last decade's superstar black bands, which do you think has spawned the most solo success stories? The Jacksons? Earth Wind & Fire? ...

Kool and the Gang: Kool & The Gang (1986)

Interview by Simon Witter, Rock's Backpages audio, December 1986

The Bell boys talk about the road from hard funk to pop-funk, changes of personnel, their jazz roots and describe a year in the life of the band.

File format: mp3; file size: 35.8mb, interview length: 39' 07" sound quality: **

Whitney Houston: The Long Road To Overnight Stardom

Report and Interview by Bud Scoppa, Billboard, December 1986

ONCE IN A BLUE MOON, a new artist emerges who simply takes over, in utterly decisive and undeniable fashion. So it was with Whitney Houston ...

Cameo Wins Funk Fans With Sly Wit

Live Review by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 1 December 1986

Cameo: Santa Monica Civic, Santa Monica ...

The SOS Band: SOS Band: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 13 December 1986

WE WEAVE a path through the wellie-wearers, unable to grasp how speechlessly bad this is. The beauty is beaten into beastliness and enjoys the experience; ...

Cameo: Product Of America

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 20 December 1986

His codpiece was banned from TOTP, his new single 'Candy' has been banned by Radio One, but LARRY BLACKMON has still led Cameo to the ...

John Richbourg: The Grandaddy Of Soul

Retrospective and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Soul Survivor, Summer 1986

OF THE MANY white disc jockeys who pioneered the airplay of black rhythm 'n' blues through the 1950s and 60s, perhaps the most influential in ...

Allen Toussaint (1987)

Interview by Simon Witter, Rock's Backpages audio, 1987

The First Gentleman of New Orleans on the city's music then and now, on Ernie K-Doe, Irma Thomas, Lee Dorsey and the Meters, and on songwriting, producing and performing.

File format: mp3; file size: 66.4mb, interview length: 1h 12' 30" sound quality: ***

Hank Ballard and the Midnighters: Hank Ballard (1987)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 1987

From Alabama to Detroit, from The Royals to The Midnighters, the great Hank Ballard tells of Clyde McPhatter, Billy Ward, King Records and 'The Twist' and 'Work With Me Annie'

File format: mp3; file size: 44.2meg, interview length: 46' 05" sound quality: ***

Imagination's Leee John (1987)

Interview by Mat Snow, Rock's Backpages audio, 1987

The triple-e'd front man talks about UK v US producers; his band's theatricality and image; his hatred of Apartheid; hanging out with royalty, and finds time to peddle a selection of AIDS myths.

File format: mp3; file size: 54.2mb, interview length: 59' 13" sound quality: ***

Johnny Adams: The Tan Nightingale (Charly)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 1987

CHARLY FOLLOW-UP their 1978 reissue of Johnny's Heart And Soul album with a wider-ranging retrospective on the man also known as the Tan Canary. (Given ...

Patti LaBelle: On Her Own: Patti Labelle

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Vogue, 1987

PATTI LABELLE HAS seen it all – lived through every phase of black American pop from the doo-woppy girl groups of the early 1960s to ...

Patti LaBelle (1987)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 1987

The gal with the Big Hair talks about hitting with 'On My Own', the making of her Winner In You album, and fondly remembers the old package-tour days and her time with LaBelle.

File format: mp3 File size: 16.1mb Interview length: 17 minutes 32 seconds Sound quality: ***

Aaron Neville, ZZ Hill: Stateside Booty: ZZ Hill, Aaron Neville, Jimmy Holiday and Early Motown

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 1987

THE FLOOD of soul reissues and compilations continues with four more from the vaults of EMI's Stateside subsidiary. First off, an album of mid-period (early ...

Derek B, Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde, Luther Ingram, The Leroi Brothers, Run-DMC: The Profile profile

Interview by Gene Santoro, Pulse!, 1987

Six years ago, Profile Records released six 12" singles. That was before Run-D.M.C. Now this thriving independent has some very major ambitions. ...

Trouble Funk (1987)

Interview by Mat Snow, Rock's Backpages audio, 1987

Drop The Bomb! The First Citizens of the Chocolate City talk about everything Go Go: the audiences, the live thing, getting energy from the people and the Washington DC scene.

File format: mp3; file size: 42.9mb, interview length: 44' 39" sound quality: ***

Lee Dorsey 1924-1986

Obituary by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, January 1987

LEE DORSEY, who died on December 1st, 1986, after a long and brave struggle against cancer and emphysema, will be best remembered in the UK ...

Luther Vandross: Give Me The Reason (Epic)

Review by Steve Bloom, Musician, January 1987

DESPITE FOUR consecutive platinum albums — and Give Me Reason is sure to be his fifth — Luther Vandross has not really come very far ...

Tashan: Chasin' A Dream (Def Jam)

Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 3 January 1987

THE ADULT NET ...

The Gap Band: Aerobic Ancestors

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 10 January 1987

THE GAP BAND have been doing it since the year dot. Paul Mathur seeks the secret of eternal success ...

The Gap Band: Zibble Zibble Drivel

Interview by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 10 January 1987

THE GAP BAND'S music-by-numerals approach to the dancefloor has brought them steady success in Britain, most recently with the single 'Big Fun'. SIMON WITTER probes ...

Womack And Womack: Starbright (Manhattan)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 10 January 1987

Rhyming Couplets ...

Cameo's Black-Rock Breakthrough

Profile and Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 15 January 1987

Veteran band goes Top Ten with 'Word Up' ...

Paul Johnson: Revelation from Paradise

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 17 January 1987

No one illustrates the depth and talent of UK soul more than PAUL JOHNSON, who's arrived at the doorstep to fame via gospel singing. Will ...

Alexander O'Neal: Off the record

Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 20 January 1987

One of the music's great recent discoveries takes five with Roger St. Pierre to talk about his career and his private life. ...

General Kane: Slamming The Crack

Profile and Interview by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 24 January 1987

Crack may have killed Applejack but GENERAL KANE leader Mitch McDowell won't touch the stuff: "I'm no saint, I've done a lot of things in ...

The Valentinos, Womack and Womack: Womack & Womack, The Valentinos: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 24 January 1987

WOMACK AND WOMACK AND WOMACK ...

Anita Baker: Heaven Can Wait

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 31 January 1987

ANITA BAKER, the new queen of soul, discusses the dos and dont's of the bigtime with a sympathetic Caroline Sullivan. ...

George Benson: "If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It"

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Q, February 1987

KEN FRITZ, the slim, obsessively neat half of George Benson's management team Fritz & Turner, was worried that he may have caught a chill while ...

Freddie Jackson, Alexander O'Neal, Teddy Pendergrass, Luther Vandross: Who Took the Heart out of Soul?

Comment by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 2 February 1987

As London prepares for more streamlined sophistication, Adam Sweeting wonders what happened to the sweat and suffering ...

Anita Baker: Good songs, that's what count!

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 3 February 1987

The limelight has never been brighter for 'the songstress' Anita Baker but she always has time for a chat with B&S, David Nathan strikes up ...

Sam Moore, Lou Reed, Sam & Dave: Sam & Dave & Lou

Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 3 February 1987

Golden oldies never die, but they come back in different guises. Sam Moore and Lou Reed are currently scoring with 'Soul Man' — a veritable ...

Stanley Clarke: Ace of Bass

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 February 1987

"In a lot of ways, I guess I've taken the bass as far as it can be taken", says Stanley Clarke ...

Sylvester: Mutual Admiration Time

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 February 1987

For his new Mutual Attraction album, Sylvester has cut his version of Stevie Wonder's 'Living For The City', which he first heard at a club ...

Luther Vandross: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 6 February 1987

Deluxe on his side: Adam Sweeting on Luther Vandross's uptown sounds ...

Hot House: Hot Shots

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 February 1987

Hot House is one of the best new soul acts in Britain. Hot House was signed before their record company had even seen a picture ...

Luther Vandross: The Language of Love

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 14 February 1987

So what does LUTHER VANDROSS, sex god to millions, do on a date? Does he even date at all? And what the hell happened when ...

Miki Howard: Howard's Way

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 February 1987

MIKI HOWARD — FROM DANCER, BACKGROUND SINGER AND SIDE EFFECT TO SOLO STAR ...

Madhouse: 8 (Paisley Park)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 21 February 1987

ASYLUM OF NUMBERS ...

Sheila E.: Sheila E: Sheila E (Paisley Park Records)

Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 28 February 1987

WHAT A strange place Paisley Park must be! It's as if the accoutrements of Sixties head culture synthesized with Seventies body culture to produce an ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: Tel-star

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 28 February 1987

Plenty of others have made the same journey from gospel to soul, via boxing; rather fewer have taken detours through the Army of the Rhine ...

Cissy Houston, Bette Midler: Bette Midler: Broken Blossom (Atlantic SD 19151);Cissy Houston: Cissy Houston (Private Stock PS 2031)

Review by Bob Spitz, Crawdaddy!, March 1987

BETTE'S OFF, NO CISSY STRUT ...

Bobby Womack: The Mystery Man

Profile and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, March 1987

NEW YORK CITY 1985. The Rolling Stones are holed up in the studio cutting tracks for Dirty Work, their first album under their new deal ...

James Brown, Aretha Franklin: James Brown: Gravity (Scotti Bros.); Aretha Franklin: Aretha (Arista)

Review by Jon Young, Creem, March 1987

LADIES AND gentlemen, the Godfather and the Queen of Soul, Mr. James Brown and Ms. Aretha Franklin. Whether you hail 'em as living legends — ...

Luther Vandross: Let's Start with Pacman

Interview by David Toop, The Face, March 1987

LUTHER VANDROSS SPRAWLS UNTIDILY ACROSS THE COUCH AND SHOOTS THAT LOOK. "MS PACMAN," HE CORRECTS. ...

Madhouse: 8 (Warner Bros/Paisley Park)

Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 5 March 1987

OK ROCK SLEUTHS. It's time to hunt for those context clues. Madhouse's debut album, 8, comes our way courtesy of Paisley Park, the custom label ...

Freddie Jackson: Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 16 March 1987

FREDDIE JACKSON: SURPRISES, CONTROL ...

Lionel Richie: Crossing the Square

Profile and Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 17 March 1987

The saintly Lionel Richie's co-writer is the Lord. Adam Sweeting reports ...

Janet Jackson: Complete Control

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 21 March 1987

"WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, I USED TO TALK TO THE ANIMALS... THEY'RE GOOD LISTENERS, AND I ALWAYS FELT THEY UNDERSTOOD." SO SAYS JANET JACKSON, IN ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: Intimate Details

Interview by Max Bell, No. 1, 21 March 1987

Name: Terence Trent D'Arby. It's completely Anglophile. Terence is English, Trent is Scottish and Darby is Irish. I added the apostrophe. ...

Janet Jackson: Watch Your Heads!! Janet Jackson's About!!

Interview by Tom Hibbert, Smash Hits, 25 March 1987

She seems so calm and dainty, but when the urge overcomes her, you just can't see the sky for grapes!!? Tom Hibbert faces the fruit... ...

Prince: Sign o' the Times (Warner Bros./Paisley Park)

Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 29 March 1987

Here's Prince for all seasons ...

Hot House: Staying Power

Profile and Interview by Kathryn Flett, i-D, April 1987

IN THE TWO weeks between i-D's attempt to organise an interview with Hot House and actually getting to do it they became – such is ...

Simply Red: Simply Ready

Interview by Fred Schruers, Musician, April 1987

Mick Hucknall Knows What He Wants and Simply Red's Going to Get It. ...

Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers: Chuck Brown: Take The Money And Go-Go

Interview by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 4 April 1987

CHUCK BROWN'S in Britain to stick up the go-go scene with his pioneering blast of bum-pin'. But as SEAN O'HAGAN finds out, he didn't get ...

Michael McDonald: Behind the Mike

Interview by Nick Coleman, Time Out, 8 April 1987

Though he's forsaken Doobies for duets, Michael McDonald's still basking in sunshine and success. Nick Coleman gets him on a bad line. ...

Michael McDonald: The Heart and Soul of Michael McDonald

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 14 April 1987

'Sweet Freedom' re-established Michael's R&B profile and here he explains to David Nathan why it has always been there. ...

Shirley Murdock, Luther Vandross: Luther Vandross, Shirley Murdock: Inglewood Forum, Inglewood CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 17 April 1987

VANDROSS JUST DOESN'T GO THAT EXTRA DISTANCE ...

Millie Jackson: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 21 April 1987

Dirty work: Adam Sweeting sees Millie Jackson strut her smut at Hammersmith Odeon ...

Cherrelle, The Human League, Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Alexander O'Neal, The Time: Jam And Lewis Take Control

Profile and Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 23 April 1987

The Grammy Award-winning producers who made Janet Jackson a 'Nasty' superstar have been turning out lots of hits lately ...

Shalamar, Jody Watley: Watley's Looking For A New Career

Interview by Dave DiMartino, Billboard, 25 April 1987

Ex-Shalamar Singer Finds Success Solo ...

Sly & Robbie: Rhythm Killers (Island)

Review by John McCready, New Musical Express, 2 May 1987

BONDED BRILLIANCE ...

The Blow Monkeys, Curtis Mayfield: Rejoice!

Interview by Michele Kirsch, New Musical Express, 9 May 1987

Surgery's open, and here's busy Doctor Robert of THE BLOW MONKEYS: banned by the BBC, co-singing with Chicago soul legend CURTIS MAYFIELD and activating with ...

Fats Comet, Mark Stewart, Tackhead: Fats Comet, Tackhead, Mark Stewart: Astoria, London

Live Review by Jack Barron, Sounds, 16 May 1987

AS MARK Stewart, seven foot of laconicism, sang quoting Burroughs, tonight was the time to "Play it all, play it all, play it all back. ...

Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam: Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam: Spanish Fly (CBS)

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 16 May 1987

NO ORCHIDS here. Already sounding like the year before last's thing. Full Force's puppets can't manage any swirls or blooms to match their one Shannonesque ...

Swing Out Sister: It's Better To Travel (Phonogram)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 16 May 1987

HOW DELICIOUS that a wee sleakit trio like Swing Out Sister can elicit such rage from the young sociologists of rock criticism. And for what? ...

Simply Red: The Life and Loves of a Red Devil

Interview by Stuart Bailie, Record Mirror, 23 May 1987

Mick 'footloose' Hucknall has done his fair share of living in the fast lane, but don't underestimate him; he can be a sensitive young man ...

Sweet Honey In The Rock: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Michele Kirsch, New Musical Express, 23 May 1987

VOX NECTAR ...

Diana Ross: Red Hot Rhythm And Blues (EMI)

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 30 May 1987

SO YES, alright, I did have a teenage crush on Diana Ross. No two ways about it. But now that I'm 20 I can be ...

Maceo Parker: Hot Cross Fun

Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 30 May 1987

Years of sweating his butt off for The G.F.O.S. James Brown have told on Mr Maceo. And now that his own MACEO AND THE MACKS ...

Well Red: Motion (Virgin)

Review by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 30 May 1987

WITH THIS debut album Well Red, a pointy nosed white boy and a black Lovers rock-head, prove they're the best of Britain's fresh funky little ...

Lionel Richie: This Charming Man

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Q, June 1987

Deep in the heart of showbiz, there is one name that's on every guest list. One person — firm of handshake, even of keel — ...

Marcus Miller, Miles Davis: Marcus Miller: Bass For All Seasons

Interview by Gene Santoro, Guitar World, June 1987

What is it about MARCUS MILLER'S eternal thump that makes him Miles' choice bottom and the Bee Gees' top choice? ...

Miles Davis, Marcus Miller, David Sanborn: Marcus Miller: Bass for All Seasons

Interview by Gene Santoro, Guitar World, June 1987

What is it about MARCUS MILLER'S eternal thump that makes him Miles' choice bottom and the Bee Gees' top choice? ...

Prince: Sign O' The Times

Review by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 4 June 1987

Prince isn't a star, he's an event. And so is the release of his new double LP. Paolo Hewitt is let to the subterranean bunker ...

Whitney Houston: Whitney (Arista)

Review by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 6 June 1987

WHITNEY HAS been coached and coutured through the artistic school of MOR showbiz professionalism until, at 23-going-on-40, she has reached the height of airbrushed fantasy ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: Madman or Genius?

Interview by Sylvia Patterson, Smash Hits, 17 June 1987

"Em, both probably," pipes Sylvia Patterson ...

Tina Turner: A smile and a song

Report and Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 17 June 1987

David Sinclair meets the resilient rock star Tina Turner, playing at Wembley Arena until tomorrow night ...

Level 42: Running in the Family (Polydor)

Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 18 June 1987

AFTER SEVERAL albums of funk-fusion flash, Level 42 harnessed its considerable instrumental ability on World Machine, as sleek and agreeable a digital-era pop record as ...

Nona Hendryx: Let's get metaphysical

Interview by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 20 June 1987

NONA HENDRYX, ex of Labelle, has called her new LP Female Trouble — but LUCY O'BRIEN finds she's now a "big gun" having "big fun", ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: Johnny Guitar Watson: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Mark Sinker, New Musical Express, 27 June 1987

THINK OF Peter Green, trapped in his chosen career archetype, degenerating from world-famous pop-star blues-man to dirty old tramp terrorising Richmond. The bluesman-as-outlaw-loner takes its ...

Trouble Funk: Trouble With Your Dancing Feet?

Interview by John McCready, New Musical Express, 27 June 1987

TROUBLE FUNK are going where no go-go has gone before, to radio-land. JOHN McCREADY supports this funky plan. ...

Diana Ross: Red Hot Rhythm And Blues

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, July 1987

Miss Ross: not exactly on the front burner, but cooking nonetheless. ...

Paul Jackson Jr.

Profile and Interview by Steven Rosen, Guitar World, July 1987

A NATIVE OF Los Angeles, Paul Jackson, Jr. credits "The Lord" for his entry into the protected domain of the session player. While no one ...

Prince: Sign 'O' The Times (Paisley Park 25577-1)

Review by Gene Santoro, Downbeat, July 1987

DESPITE ALL the hyped-up mystery and intrigue that the media machine swirls around him, like smoke around a Gene Kelly dance routine, the fact is ...

Simply Red: Men And Women (Elektra)

Review by Bud Scoppa, Creem, July 1987

AFTER BEING totally ignored for six months after its release in mid-'85, Picture Book, Simply Red's deft debut album, kicked in with a flourish. The ...

Whitney Houston: Whitney

Review by Lloyd Bradley, Q, July 1987

WHITNEY HOUSTON had a lot to live up to from the moment 'Saving All My Love For You' and its shiny video went public. Its ...

Diana Ross: A Living Legend Speaks!

Interview by Sylvia Patterson, Smash Hits, 1 July 1987

She's been dazzlingly famous for over twenty years, she natters to Michael Jackson on the phone all the time, she's unbelievably rich and at 43 ...

The Neville Brothers: Funky but Chic

Profile and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 2 July 1987

Lots of people have heard of the Neville Brothers. Now the Nevilles want lots of peopleto hear their music. ...

Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam: Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam: Club Casino, Hampton Beach NH

Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 3 July 1987

Lisa Lisa is just boring boring ...

Luther Vandross: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Mat Snow, Sounds, 11 July 1987

YOU CAN'T fake this kind of excitement. There can be no more exquisite thrill in live entertainment than a summery, scantily-clad soul crowd climaxing as ...

Trouble Funk: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 11 July 1987

SOME CLAIM Angel Dust is a one-way ticket to oblivion that brings out the random psycho in you. Forget it. These bona fide purveyors of ...

James Carr: At the Dark End of the Street (Blue Side)

Review by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 1987

Artist: James Carr.Album: At the Dark End of the Street (Blue Side). ...

Paul Johnson: HMV Oxford Street, London

Live Review by Julian Henry, Music Week, 13 July 1987

HE'S BEEN called "the most promising new singer of the decade" by London listings mag Time Out and it's a description Paul Johnson's debut CBS ...

Terence Trent D'Arby, Jill Jones, Jennifer Warnes: Terence Trent D'Arby: Introducing The Hard Line According To; Jill Jones: Jill Jones; Jennifer Warnes: Famous Blue Raincoat

Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 18 July 1987

Exciting find ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby (CBS 450911 I)

Review by Betty Page, Record Mirror, 18 July 1987

TERRY TRENDY D'Arby is the kind of artists most record companies only dream of signing. He's pretty; he's charming, but arrogant; he's smooth; he's sexy; ...

Trouble Funk: Free Your Ass And Your Mind Will Follow!

Interview by Mat Snow, Sounds, 18 July 1987

The gospel according to the new Trouble Funk album Trouble Over Here, Trouble Over There is: educate, agitate and organise. MAT SNOW meets the REED ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 1 August 1987

LIP UP, TERRY! ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: The Great Contender

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 1 August 1987

TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY isn't modest. But, as he's quick to point out, he has very little to be modest about. Two hit singles, a number ...

Jocelyn Brown: Jocelyn For Position

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 August 1987

  ALTHOUGH JOCELYN Brown has had her fair share of hits — particularly in the UK — since she was catapulted to fame (not necessarily fortune, ...

James Carr (1987)

Interview by Andy Kershaw, Rock's Backpages audio, 13 August 1987

The Lost Man of Southern Soul looks back at his Mississippi childhood; his background singing gospel; meeting Quinton Claunch and starting to make records, and after the lost years, touring Japan and his current activities.

File format: mp3; file size: 23mb, interview length: 25' 06" sound quality: *****

Michael Jackson: Bad (Epic)

Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 31 August 1987

MICHAEL JACKSON HAS A GOOD THING IN BAD ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: Yeau!

Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, September 1987

"I'M VERY, VERY self-critical. I'm very critical of others, but I'm also very critical of my own work and there's no-one that could possibly put ...

Anita Baker, Perri: Anita Baker: Greek Theater, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 5 September 1987

BAKER PLAYS IT LOOSE AT THE GREEK ...

Trouble Funk: Trouble Over Here (Island)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 5 September 1987

GO-GO limps on. Go go has flopped so many times now (the movie was a disaster, the Pepe jeans tie-in a farce) and each time ...

Hot House: Souled

Interview by Stuart Bailie, Record Mirror, 12 September 1987

Hot House are only on their second single, yet they already possess a soulful maturity and an "emotionally intense" singer who's been compared to Aretha ...

Michael Jackson: Bad (Epic)

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 12 September 1987

WAX WORKS ...

Stevie Wonder: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 12 September 1987

I WANT TO TAKE YOU HIGHER! ...

Five Star: Between The Lines (RCA)

Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 26 September 1987

HANG ABOUT, I'm still picking the lumps of Crunchie from my Hampsteads, still salivating over the last Five Star squalls, still worrying over the way ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: The G.I. Blues of Terence Trent D'Arby

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 26 September 1987

TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY reveals the dark side of his pre-pop star life: the army experience that nearly crushed him, and the realisation that a square ...

Alexander O'Neal, Wendy And Lisa: Alexander O'Neal: Hearsay (Tabu); Wendy and Lisa: Wendy And Lisa (Columbia)

Review by J.D. Considine, Musician, October 1987

TIME WAS when any R&B act of consequence bore the imprimatur of Prince or one of his aliases. These days, the big buzz is from ...

Diana Ross: The Gospel According To Miss Ross

Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, October 1987

"I'VE BEEN HERE so many times before," murmurs Diana Ross as she sweeps, surrounded by a clucking entourage, through the foyer of the EMI Records ...

Princess: Throne Down!

Interview by Sheryl Garratt, The Face, October 1987

Desiree Heslop had an English girl's dream of US Soul Romance. She didn't find it working in Top Shop, or studying at the Royal Academy. ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: Roxy, Los Angeles

Live Review by Gerrie Lim, L.A. Weekly, 9 October 1987

THE EVENING before our 6.1 rumble, somebody new rolled into town and left his mark more indelibly than all the debris in Whittier. ...

Cameo: Empire Pool Wembley, London

Live Review by Jack Barron, New Musical Express, 10 October 1987

TRAPPED BY THEIR UNDERPANTS ...

Cameo: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 10 October 1987

The Funk Absurd ...

Cameo: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Damon Wise, Sounds, 10 October 1987

THE MAN WITH THE FULL METAL CODPIECE ...

Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers: Astoria, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 19 October 1987

AT 9.10 ON Friday night a lean young man called Milton Smith sat down behind a white Sonor drum-kit and began teasing out a gritty, ...

Michael Jackson: Bad

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Rolling Stone, 22 October 1987

MICHAEL JACKSON is a man. Agreed, he is a young man, emotional age about thirteen, with a young man's interest in cars, girls, scary movies ...

Simply Red: Wiltern Theater, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 22 October 1987

OPENING YOUR show with a nearly a cappella version of Ray Charles' 'Drown in My Own Tears' takes a lotta nerve. It also takes industrial-strength ...

Faye Adams

Retrospective by Pete Grendysa, Goldmine, 23 October 1987

SHE HAS A TRANSLUCENT, flawless complexion, and her facial features are doll-like, suffused with an inner glow. Barely over five-feet tall, she holds herself oddly ...

Barry White: The Right Night And Barry White (A&M AMA5I54/CD)***¾

Review by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 24 October 1987

FROM THE bowels of the earth rises a huge profound rumble. It sends tremors through your ankles, fondles the underside of the floorboards, and finally ...

James Brown: James Brown By James Brown with Bruce Tucker (Sidgwick & Jackson, £12.95)

Book Review by Cynthia Rose, The Wire, November 1987

JAMES BROWN is the Andy Warhol of sound — it's just not possible to imagine modern music without him. Nor could there be a more ...

Michael Jackson: Bad

Review by Tom Graves, Rock & Roll Disc, November 1987

IF MICHAEL JACKSON is not the most confusing entertainer of our time, you can't blame him for not trying. ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby (Columbia)

Review by Jon Young, Musician, November 1987

YOU CAN'T call Terence Trent D'Arby shy. On his audacious, uneven debut, this extroverted youngster co-produces, writes most of the tunes and sings 'em in ...

Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Smokey Robinson

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 5 November 1987

Motown's slogan was "The Sound of Young America" not "The Sound of Black America." ...

Stevie Wonder: "Even with the technology today, you have to have a feel for the groove. And that comes from within"

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 5 November 1987

TWENTY YEARS ago, when you were only seventeen, you had already had a Number One hit and were well on your way to becoming one ...

Nina Simone: Moody Dues

Interview by Richard Cook, New Musical Express, 14 November 1987

JAPANESE TOURISTS frantically snapping photographs of each other is a recurring scenario common to the lobbies of Europe's grandest hotels. Today is different. Stepping from ...

Cabaret Voltaire, The Red Hot Chili Peppers: The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Cabaret Voltaire: The Limelight, New York NY

Live Review by Frank Owen, New Musical Express, 28 November 1987

TEN YEARS ago, Cabaret Voltaire gave the appearance of being needed on the principal that today's avant-garde is tomorrow's ready-to-wear. These days there's nothing as ...

Sam & Dave: Sam and Dave: The Best of Sam & Dave

Review by Tom Graves, Rock & Roll Disc, December 1987

DURING THE HEIGHT of the Blues Brothers craze, I went to a small club to see the re-formed Sam and Dave. The dance floor ...

Aretha Franklin: Power from the pulpit — Aretha Franklin: One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism (Arista 303178, 2 discs)

Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 12 December 1987

Aretha Franklin has returned to her gospel roots. Richard Williams hears the result ...

Roger Troutman, Zapp: Roger Troutman: Unlimited! (Reprise)

Review by Don Snowden, The Boston Phoenix, 18 December 1987

THE DAYTON, Ohio-based Troutman clan that has given us Zapp and now Roger has developed perhaps the most schizoid personality in black music. ...

Clyde McPhatter, The Drifters: Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters

Sleeve notes by Pete Grendysa, Atlantic Records, 1988

FROM THE MOMENT the lights were dimmed in the old St. Nicholas Arena for Alan Freed's first New York Rock And Roll Show in January, ...

Prince: Time of the Sign

Book Excerpt by Barney Hoskyns, 'Imp of the Perverse' (Virgin Books), 1988

1987 WAS A comparatively low-profile year for Prince, a year that saw some of his greatest music on the double Sign 'O' The Times album ...

Michael Jackson: Bad (Epic)

Review by Richard C. Walls, Creem, January 1988

PEPSI-COLA SALAD ...

Stevie Wonder: Characters

Review by Lloyd Bradley, Q, January 1988

THE SINGLE, 'SKELETONS', made a couple of bold statements: its earthy, chunky bass synth lines proved Stevie Wonder to have recaptured the simple approach to ...

Tony Terry: Forever Yours (Epic LP/cassette)

Review by Mark Sinker, New Musical Express, 2 January 1988

WONDER FULL ...

Joyce Sims: Plain and Simple

Interview by Edwin J. Bernard, Record Mirror, 23 January 1988

CONSIDERING JOYCE Sims has made her mark forging a co-operation between soul and hip hop, her upbringing and lifestyle could hardly have prepared her for ...

Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen: Bruce Springsteen/Michael Jackson: Through Time and Space with the Changeling Gods

Essay by Richard C. Walls, Creem, February 1988

Just Between You And Me ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby (Columbia)

Review by Richard C. Walls, Creem, February 1988

HERE'S THE scam, or rather the situation. D'Arby, a black American gone to England, has had an enormous success among the Brits — number one ...

Irma Thomas: Time On Her Side: Irma Thomas

Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 9 February 1988

IRMA THOMAS' entrance into the music business is the kind of story rock dreams are made of. ...

LeVert, O'Jays: The O'Jays, LeVert: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 20 February 1988

TWO GENERATIONS of soul — neither of which, on this showing, could work on a building of love or tear your playhouse down, or any ...

Michael Jackson: The Bubbles Story!

Profile by Chris Heath, Smash Hits, 24 February 1988

Michael Jackson, eh listeners? He's a bit of a rum dude who never talks to anybody in his weeny, whisperish "voice". Except, that is, to ...

Gladys Knight: All Our Love (MCA)

Review by Jack Barron, New Musical Express, 27 February 1988

SINCE WINNING the Ted Mack Amateur Hour TV show at the age of eight and picking up $2000 for her rendition of Nat 'King' Cole's ...

Stevie Wonder: Characters

Review by Roy Trakin, Creem, March 1988

THIS IS ALMOST as satisfying a return to form as Sugar Ray Leonard's victory over Marvelous Marvin Hagler and practically as much of an upset. ...

Jean Carne: You're A Part Of Me (RCA LP/cassette/CD)

Review by Mark Sinker, New Musical Express, 5 March 1988

IT'S A SECRET inland sea, this late-nite soul: and Jean Carne's voice is an inlet in that sea, away from the wrong of the world. ...

Morris Day: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Mark Cooper, The Guardian, 29 April 1988

A bad Daydream ...

James Blood Ulmer: Pied Bull, Islington, London

Live Review by Jack Barron, New Musical Express, 30 April 1988

DRUNK ON BLOOD ...

Teena Marie: Naked To The World (Epic LP/Cassette/CD)

Review by Mark Sinker, New Musical Express, 30 April 1988

THE WILD white girl of Motown (rtd.) links up with Rick James again, and reminds us of a whole slew of things we were forgetting ...

Alexander O'Neal: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Mark Cooper, The Guardian, May 1988

BANK HOLIDAY weekends used to be taken up with rock and roll frolics. These days soul music has a better grasp of good times and ...

Joe Tex: The Clown Prince of Soul

Sleeve notes by Barney Hoskyns, 'The Very Best of Joe Tex' (Charly Records), May 1988

WHEN NASHVILLE publisher-producer Buddy Killen first met Joe Tex in 1961, the singer already had six years of recording and performing under his belt. They ...

Al Green (1988)

Interview by Simon Witter, Rock's Backpages audio, 1 May 1988

Interviewed at the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans after a storming performance at the Jazz & Heritage Festival, the Rev. ruminates on the conflict between the spiritual and the secular, his own return to the church, and the two Al Greens. Read a transcript of this interview.

File format: mp3; file size: 35.4mb; Interview length: 38' 39"; sound quality: ***

Al Green (1988) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Simon Witter, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 1 May 1988

This is a transcript of Simon's interview. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Whitney Houston: NEC, Birmingham

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 3 May 1988

Adam Sweeting marvels at a mega-star in action at the Birmingham NEC ...

Michael Jackson: Moonwalk (William Heinemann)

Book Review by Max Bell, No. 1, 7 May 1988

Michael Jackson... the Howard Hughes of pop... the only person to believe that a man's best friend is his chimp... the most secretive star in ...

Whitney Houston: NEC, Birmingham

Live Review by Michele Kirsch, New Musical Express, 7 May 1988

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH, SORTA ...

Morris Day: Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 1988

Sellout Time for Day but the Routine's Dated ...

Roger Troutman, Zapp: Roger Troutman: Empires & Dance

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 14 May 1988

SIMON REYNOLDS WAGS CHINS WITH ROGER TROUTMAN, THE MANDARIN OF SURREAL FUNKSTERS ZAPP, AND DISCOVERS WHY SCRITTI'S GREEN WAS SO DESPERATE TO RECORD WITH THE ...

Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers: Any Other Way to Go?/Live at the Crystal Skate (Rhythm Attack)

Review by Gene Santoro, Spin, June 1988

LIKE ITS cousin hip hop, go go is a recent product of a tangled international genealogy. When U.S. R&B and soul music rode radiowaves to ...

Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones: Quincy Jones

Interview by Robin Eggar, Time Out, June 1988

The Jackson and Jones alliance has seen the transformation of a bubble-gum singer into the greatest musical phenomenon of his era. ...

The Meters, Aaron Neville, The Neville Brothers: Neville Brothers Bring Their Angelic But Underrated Sound To Hopkins

Profile and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Evening Sun (Baltimore), The , 3 June 1988

MAY DAY WAS the last day of this year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and the honorary slot of the last set was once ...

Alexander O'Neal: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Keith Cameron, Sounds, 4 June 1988

NOW THIS was amazing, so stop sniggering at the back. Three songs into this all-lovin', all-lovin' and all-lovin' showcase, Alex convinced me of his true ...

Tony! Toni! Toné!: T! T! T! Who?

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 7 June 1988

  LET'S START with a little quiz: what's the name of an old gospel song that became a mid-Sixties hit for a major instrumentalist and has ...

Alexander O'Neal: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Barbara Ellen, New Musical Express, 11 June 1988

"GUESS WHAT? I went to see Alexander O'Neal at Wembley tonight. It was brilliant. The seat I'd bought was dead expensive. None of your rubbish. I ...

James Brown: I'm Real (Polydor)

Review by Mark Sinker, New Musical Express, 11 June 1988

HE ISN'T, of course. He's Mr James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, the Funky President, the Original Disco Man. He's a numbing backbeat tightened to ...

The World of Black Music

Report by David Nathan, Billboard, 18 June 1988

The Youth Wave Advances, Dance Enhances, and Rap Romances Pop Consumers ...

Robert Palmer, The Power Station: Robert Palmer: Vinegar into champagne

Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 24 June 1988

Robert Palmer, the rock singer whose 20-year career has included associations with Elkie Brooks, Gary Numan and Duran Duran, talks to David Sinclair about his ...

Experience Unlimited (EU): E.U.: America gets behind a new dance

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 30 June 1988

Spike Lee's film School Daze launches "da butt" ...

Gail Ann Dorsey: Bimbo Backlash — Gail Force

Interview by Sheryl Garratt, The Face, July 1988

THE REIGN of the bimbo over the British charts has been a long one. There's absolutely nothing wrong with pretty faces fronting other people's songs ...

Jesse Johnson: Every Shade of Love (A&M)

Review by Roy Trakin, Musician, July 1988

YOU'D BE excused for mistaking one-Time guitarist Jesse Johnson for his former Twin Cities running mate, Prince. ...

Prince: Lovesexy (Warner Bros./Paisley Park); The Black Album (unreleased)

Review by Mark Rowland, Musician, July 1988

Taking It Back to the Streets ...

Meli'sa Morgan, Najee, Lesette Wilson: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 5 July 1988

BEING A support act with much of your material unknown in the country which you are touring for the first time is hardly the most ...

Siedah Garrett: S★I★E★D★A★H

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 5 July 1988

  SINGER-SONGWRITER Siedah Garrett hasn't exactly had herself a bad year by anyone's reckoning. Aside from duetting with Michael Jackson on 'I Just Can't Stop Loving ...

Prince: Sign O' The Times (Dir. Prince; Paisley Park Films)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 7 July 1988

Let the good times rock — Adam Sweeting finds brilliance abounds in Prince's latest film ...

Michael Jackson: Parc Des Princes, Paris

Live Review by Tom Doyle, Smash Hits, 13 July 1988

HE'S THE BIGGEST POP STAR IN THE WORLD AND HE'S ON HIS WAY HERE!! The Michael Jackson Live Experience is really quite astonishing. He bends, he ...

Billy Ocean: The pacific world of Billy Ocean

Interview by Michael Azerrad, Rolling Stone, 14 July 1988

Fame hasn't rocked the even-keeled pop singer ...

Michael Jackson: The Greatest Showman — Michael Jackson: Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 15 July 1988

Adam Sweeting on the dazzling Michael Jackson at Wembley ...

Al Green: “I May Be From Another Planet…”: Al Green

Interview by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 16 July 1988

2005 note: I was in New Orleans in April/May 1988, filming items for German TV, when I heard that Al Green would be playing at ...

Al Green: Heaven Up Here: Al Green: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 16 July 1988

WHAT WAS I saying about letting the shiver do all the work? Just the other day? Oh me, oh my. Al Green, The Last Soul ...

Shirley Murdock, Zapp: Shirley Murdock: A Woman's Point Of View (Elektra 960 791-1)

Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 19 July 1988

SO FAR, Shirley's career has been enjoying an assured, steady upward movement. Firstly, she landed the position as Zapp's featured female vocalist, then left for ...

Michael Jackson: Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Mat Snow, Sounds, 23 July 1988

A GIANT STEP FOR EVENT-KIND: Bringing his spectacular live show to the UK, MICHAEL JACKSON proves he can moonwalk and walk on water. MAT SNOW witnesses the Second Coming. ...

The Deele, Keith Sweat, Teena Marie: Teena Marie, Keith Sweat, The Deele: The Forum, Los Angeles, Calif.

Live Review by David Nathan, Billboard, 23 July 1988

WlTH ITS strong lineup of urban contemporary talent on display and its billing as "the hottest show of the summer," this event could hardly have ...

Prince: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 26 July 1988

MINNEAPOLIS COMES to Broadway! Even in the wake of Wacko, Prince's latest show is something of an eyeball-popper. The 64-inch-high prodigy materialises from a gleaming ...

Nelson George: The Death Of Rhythm & Blues (Pantheon, 256 pages, $18.95 hardcover)

Book Review by Mark Dery, L.A. Weekly, 28 July 1988

SOLD BROTHERS ...

Shirley Murdock

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Record Mirror, 30 July 1988

"I'm talking about the facts of life," explained the ebullient Shirley Murdock when discussing her stunning new A Woman's Point Of View album. ...

Hot House: No Help Needed

Interview by Lloyd Bradley, Q, August 1988

Hot House: they can manage without soul legends, thanks. ...

Bobby Brown: Late Edition!

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 2 August 1988

  THE FORMER New Edition lead vocalist Bobby Brown began his solo career last year in fine style with a No. 1 black music hit, 'Girl ...

Loose Ends: On the loose

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 2 August 1988

Loose Ends' Steve takes 5 to bring us up to date with group activities and U.S. and U.K. emphasis. JeffLorez reports ...

Sheryl Crow, Michael Jackson: Michael Jackson: Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 2 August 1988

WEMBLEY STADIUM was isolated from the outside world in a vacuum of excitement and anticipation. 75,000 people were massed uncomfortably together on the promise of ...

Shirley Murdock, Roger Troutman: Shirley Murdock: Sheer Murdock

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 2 August 1988

Sheer ability, sheer quality and sheer hard work has seen Shirley Murdock move up from the ranks of backing singer to the edge of major ...

Prince & The Revolution: Camden Palace, London

Live Review by Michele Kirsch, New Musical Express, 6 August 1988

TWICE IN my life I've shouted "It's better than sex", and twice I've been wrong. First time I was chasin' Pop Rocks exploding candy with ...

Prince: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 6 August 1988

HIGH PRIEST OF GLAM ...

Five Star: The Legend Continues!!

Interview by Tom Doyle, Smash Hits, 10 August 1988

The Star — worran institution! For five years now they have been in the public eye but does anyone know what they're really like? "Er, ...

Sade: Stronger Than Pride (Epic) **½

Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 11 August 1988

LIKE WALLY Pipp, who took a day off from the Yankee lineup and was permanently replaced by Lou Gehrig, Sade has risked usurpation by more ...

Mica Paris: So Good (4th & Broadway BRLP 525)

Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 27 August 1988

Mica has arrived, right on time ...

Paula Abdul: Fresh: Paula Abdul

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 August 1988

AS HER Virgin Records' biography so accurately states, Paula Abdul has the distinction of having won music awards before her first single ('Knocked Out') was ...

Al Green: God Is Love

Interview by Jon Wilde, Blitz, September 1988

Al Green believes in the power of love. But most of all, he believes in the power of God. ...

Michael Jackson: Touchdown!

Report by Lloyd Bradley, Q, September 1988

On July 12, Michael Jackson arrived in the UK for his first ever solo appearances here. It was to become the largest and most lucrative ...

Prince: The Second Coming

Essay by Nick Kent, The Face, September 1988

If eighties pop was a cultural void, then Prince tried his hardest to fill it. Crossing barriers of race, gender and genre to capture the ...

Gerald Albright, Phyllis Hyman, Pieces of a Dream, Bill Withers: Phyllis Hyman,
 Bill Withers, Pieces Of A Dream,
 Gerald Albright: Greek Theatre,
 Los Angeles

Live Review by David Nathan, Billboard, 3 September 1988

BILLED AS A quiet storm concert (a reference to urban radio's popular mellow late-night programming), these four strong acts provided a full evening of entertainment ...

Johnny Kemp, Al B. Sure!, Keith Sweat, Tony Terry: R&B albums from Keith Sweat, Johnny Kemp, Tony Terry and Al B. Sure!

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Rolling Stone, 22 September 1988

Keith Sweat: Make It Last Forever (Elektra) ***; Tony Terry: Forever Yours (Epic) ***; Al B. Sure!: In Effect Mode (Warner Bros.) ***; Johnny Kemp: ...

Brenda Russell: Universal Amphitheater, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by David Nathan, Billboard, 24 September 1988

OPENING FOR Billy Ocean for the past 2½ months on her first national tour, A&M artist Brenda Russell has provided near-capacity audiences with a show ...

Ruby Turner: Risky business

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 27 September 1988

UNDOUBTEDLY THE most fitting tribute anyone can pay to a once successful record company after its halcyon days are seemingly over, is to allow the ...

52nd Street, Chapter and the Verse, Fifth Of Heaven, Marcel King: British Soul: Declaration of Independents

Report by John McCready, The Face, October 1988

Scorned by the purists and ignored elsewhere, British soul has finally decided to go it alone. From bedrooms in Hackney and basements in Bristol a ...

Laura Nyro: Mayfair Theater, Santa Monica CA

Live Review by David Nathan, Billboard, 1 October 1988

BACK ON tour after a lengthy hiatus, innovative singer/songwriter Laura Nyro has been reminding audiences that she is a unique and exceptionally gifted artist. At ...

Luther Vandross: Any Love (Epic LP/Cassette/CD)

Review by Mark Sinker, New Musical Express, 8 October 1988

NO LOVE MACHINE ...

La Toya Jackson: Will the next Jackson kindly step forward...

Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 11 October 1988

Just as Michael completes his British dates, in flies La Toya to promote her new You're Gonna Get Rocked album. ...

Level 42: Staring At The Sun (Polydor)

Review by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 15 October 1988

LEVEL 42 make me feel bad. They make me feel like I'm being as predictable as they are — and it's true. But what can ...

Morris Day, Miki Howard, Freddie Jackson, Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Whispers: Morris Day, Freddie Jackson, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Whispers, Miki Howard: The Forum, Los Angeles, CA

Live Review by David Nathan, Billboard, 15 October 1988

THE SECOND Budweiser Superfest to play Los Angeles in the last two months didn't generate anywhere near the same excitement as the first, even though ...

Luther Vandross, Michael Jackson, Prince: Prince/Michael Jackson/Luther Vandross: Live at the Capital Centre

Review by Geoffrey Himes, Columbia Flier , 20 October 1988

BOTH PRINCE and Michael Jackson came to the Capital Centre last week for a showdown between the two reigning giants of rock'n'soul. Appearing in the ...

Cameo: Flat Out for the Top

Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 21 October 1988

To celebrate Cameo's thirteenth album Adam Sweeting joins Larry Blackmon for a wholemeal bagel in downtown New York. ...

Apollonia, Prince: Apollonia: Out Of The Crimson Court

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 25 October 1988

AFTER HER co-starring role in Prince's Oscar winning Purple Rain and the disbanding of Apollonia 6, a three-piece lingerie-clad all-girl group, chances are that, like ...

Luther Vandross: The Heat Is On!

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 25 October 1988

Now considered THE pre-eminent soul singer of the '80s, Luther talks to David Nathan about living with success, his new material and The Heat tour ...

Anita Baker: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Richard Cook, Sounds, 29 October 1988

THE VOICE that makes strong men tremble, that melts the stoniest heart — but something's just out of reach for Anita Baker. ...

Anita Baker, Luther Vandross: Luther Vandross, Anita Baker: Capital Center, Landover, MD

Live Review by David Nathan, Billboard, 29 October 1988

ON A TOUR appropriately billed The Heat, the inspired teaming of two of contemporary black music's hottest names can hardly miss. And judging from this ...

Ray Charles: 40 Years of Genius: Ray Charles

Retrospective by Pete Grendysa, Record Collectors' Monthly, November 1988

YOU CAN RUN to the mountains and you can hide out in a dingy jazz club in SoHo, but you can't escape Ray Charles. Not ...

Was (Not Was): What Up, Dog? (Chrysalis)

Review by James Hunter, Musician, November 1988

DURING THE early '80s, Detroit-based songwriters and producers Don Ferguson and David Weiss competed with New York City art-funksters under the name Was (Not Was). ...

Anita Baker: Giving You The Best That I Got (Elektra EKT 49 960 827-1)

Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 8 November 1988

LYRICALLY, THE strength of Anita's songs lies in their honesty. Reflecting on all aspects of love and the relationship, such is the purity, emotion and ...

Anita Baker, Perri: Anita Baker: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 8 November 1988

THE DIFFICULTIES in playing Wembley Arena have been well documented. Firstly, the imposing venue has never been conducive to allowing a warm, intimate atmosphere between ...

Babyface, The Deele, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Pebbles, The Whispers: L.A. and Babyface: In Search of the Twenty Five Hour Day

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 8 November 1988

When the likes of Gladys Knight, Whitney Houston, the Jacksons and Kool and the Gang amongst numerous others come knocking on your door, who do ...

James Brown Addicted To PCP

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 17 November 1988

Friends of the soul singer say drug has 'whipped him' ...

Will Downing, Mica Paris: Mica Paris: Dominion Theatre, London

Live Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 22 November 1988

DESPITE THE cancellation of her other U.K. dates, the Dominion houses a capacity audience to witness Brit soul star, Mica take on the acid (in ...

Morris Day, The Time: Off The Record With Morris Day

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 22 November 1988

The Clown Prince of Cool onstage, B&S catches Morris Day in both reflective and prophetic moods... ...

Anita Baker, Luther Vandross: Luther Vandross, Anita Baker: Omni Coliseum, Atlanta GA

Live Review by Mark Cooper, The Guardian, 25 November 1988

Casanova in a shiny suit ...

Barbara Lynn: A Good Thing She Didn't Give Up

Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Musician, December 1988

"I'M A CAPRICORN, and Capricorns don't give up," Barbara Lynn laughs, explaining how she's endured years of obscurity. "All this time I've had the patience ...

The Memphis Horns: All The Way From Memphis

Interview by Robert Gordon, Music & Sound Output, December 1988

The Memphis Horns Celebrate 25 Years ...

Neneh Cherry: Cherry On Top

Interview by James Brown, New Musical Express, 3 December 1988

After spells in the hyper-trendy but hit-starved Rip Rig And Panic and Float Up CP, NENEH CHERRY is about to burst into the charts with ...

Cherrelle: Affair (Tabu 4607341)

Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 6 December 1988

VOCALLY CHERRELLE doesn't possess the most powerful of voices and thus her success relies strongly on the quality of tunes she is given to sing ...

Hot House: South (RCA PL 718855)

Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 6 December 1988

THIS IS an album that really portrays Hot House's talent for songwriting. Their country/soul style is performed with an endearing and emotive sympathy for quality ...

Hot House: South (RCA PL 718855)

Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 6 December 1988

THIS IS AN album that really portrays Hot House's talent for songwriting. Their country/soul style is performed with an endearing and emotive sympathy for quality ...

Keith Sweat: The Sweat Smell of Success

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 6 December 1988

EIGHTEEN MONTHS ago, had anyone mentioned the name Keith Sweat, chances are they would have received some sharp witticisms concerning something to do with deodorant. ...

Bomb The Bass: The Hawth Centre, Crawley

Live Review by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 10 December 1988

PUMP UP THE CONCEPT ...

Rudy Ray Moore, Clarence Reid (aka Blowfly): Blowfly, Rudy Ray Moore: Club Lingerie, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 12 December 1988

Blowfly Captures Crowd ...

Cherrelle: The Start Of The Affair

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 20 December 1988

"A LOT OF artists just lie, as if they don't go through the same problems everyone else has. That's ridiculous: my album is about life, ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Maurice White and Philip Bailey (1988)

Interview by Simon Witter, Rock's Backpages audio, Fall 1988

Maurice White and Philip Bailey talk about the latest Earth, Wind & fire album Touch The World, changes in the band, outside producers and record company politics. Plus a short treatise on Egyptology!

File format: mp3; file size: 22.6mb, interview length: 24' 40" sound quality: ***

Chaka Khan: Khanal Knowledge

Interview by John McCready, The Face, 1989

"ASK ME what you want, John. I can take it. I mean, what are you going to do — spank me?" ...

Bobby Womack: Doin’ It His Own Way: Bobby Womack

Sleeve notes by Barney Hoskyns, 'Womack Winners', 1989

WHEN BOBBY WOMACK called his seventeenth solo album The Last Soul Man and set out on 1987’s quasi-missionary tour of the same name, he was ...

Fishbone: Social Skank

Interview by Christine Natanael, Reflex, 1989

GRABBIN' AND RIFFIN', skankin' and ska – there's a revolution happenin'. Combining all the noises, making them all one, Fishbone leads the masses to have ...

Mica Paris

Profile by Mark Dery, Elle, January 1989

UNTIL NOW, British soul has meant blue-eyed soul, but 19-year-old MICA PARIS might change that. Her first album, Mica Paris, displays a seasoned, soulful voice that ...

Bobby Brown, Yvette "Corvette" Marine: Bobby Brown: Bobby doesn't even like the sound of his own voice!

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 3 January 1989

Despite leading the new-wave of young black U.S. superstars, Bobby Brown still feels there's plenty of room for improvement ...

Nelson George: Nelson's column

Interview by Andy Gill, The Independent, 6 January 1989

American Black Music writer Nelson George talks to Andy Gill about the "death of Rhythm and Blues" ...

Neneh Cherry: What Is She Like?

Interview by Tom Doyle, Smash Hits, 11 January 1989

She's the new pop sensation that's sweeping the nation! Yeah, even as we speak her corking tune 'Buffalo Stance' is hurtling its way up the ...

Nelson George: Soul Destroyer

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 14 January 1989

As a columnist for Billboard and The Village Voice, Nelson George has been America's most incisive commentator on the changing face of black music culture. ...

Cash Money and Marvelous, Kariya, Todd Terry, T La Rock: T La Rock, Kariya, Cash Money & MC Marvelous, Todd Terry: The City Never Sleeps

Interview by Damon Wise, Sounds, 14 January 1989

Rap is being squeezed out of the clubs, but in New York the scene is still vibrant and growing. At its forefront is the hugely ...

Neneh Cherry: A Gap in the Rap

Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 25 January 1989

Neneh Cherry is one of many women invading the hip hop scene ...

Tom Jones (1989) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Adam Sweeting, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 25 January 1989

This is a transcript of Adam's audio interview with Tom. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

The Memphis Horns: Two-Man Memphis Horns Keep Punching Those Sounds

Interview by Fred Shuster, Los Angeles Times, 27 January 1989

QUESTION: What do recent hit albums by Peter Gabriel, Steve Winwood and Robert Cray have in common with earlier best sellers by Otis Redding and ...

MCA Records: Strip Mining

Interview by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 28 January 1989

OVER THE PAST 12 months Universal City – the five square miles of North Hollywood dominated by the MCA/Universal studios – has yielded a crop ...

Simply Red: A Simply Red hot lover

Profile and Interview by Mark Cooper, The Observer, 29 January 1989

Mick Hucknall bristles with social convictions but his songs aren't those of an angry young man. MARK COOPER meets the singer with a penchant for ...

Robert Cray: Young Bob's Blues

Interview by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, February 1989

ON OCTOBER 24th, 1988, Robert Cray played a sell out gig at the Manchester Apollo. He was riding high and on this extensive UK tour ...

Roachford: Who's a Cuddly Boy then? Andrew Sylvester Roachford, that's who!

Interview by Max Bell, No. 1, 1 February 1989

He used to live in a house with 23 cats! His uncle learns to play the sax in one of those v. trendy lager ads! ...

Ten City: New Soul Children

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 4 February 1989

Spurning the sampler and the radio-friendly fast buck, Chicago's TEN CITY are committed to rekindling the spirit of classic soul. With 'That's The Way Love ...

Luther Vandross (1989)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, March 1989

Luther Vandross talks about growing up in the Bronx and his early bands; his big break working on Bowie's Young Americans; meeting Marcus Miller; hanging out with Chic; and on producing, recording and singing... and his privacy and sense of self.

File format: mp3, file size: 70.8mb, interview length: 1h 13' 42", sound quality: ****

Luther Vandross (1989) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages transcripts, March 1989

This is a transcript of Barney's audio interview with Luther. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Prince, Wendy And Lisa: Wendy & Lisa: Sisters Of The Revolution

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 4 March 1989

PRINCE'S FORMER SIDEKICKS, WHOSE NEW SINGLE,'ARE YOU MY MAYBE' IS SELDOM OFF THE MAKER TURNTABLE, THIS WEEK RELEASE THEIR SECOND ALBUM, LAYERED AND IMPOSSIBLY RICH ...

Experience Unlimited (EU): E.U.: Livin' Large (Virgin) ***

Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 5 March 1989

YOWL, Y'AWL. Let's git LARGE. Big Time big time. For their major-label debut, the D.C.-based veteran "go-go" outfit not only reprises last year's booty-bustin' dance ...

James Brown: Concurrent Terms

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 9 March 1989

SOUL SINGER James Brown has received a second six-year prison sentence. The sentence will run concurrently with the six-year term Brown is already serving at ...

Hot House: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 18 March 1989

THERE ARE, oh, a thousand or so people in London who know that Hot House have nothing to do with Chicago, or with Liam O'Maonlai ...

Luther Vandross: The Soul Survivor

Profile and Interview by Mark Cooper, The Guardian, 24 March 1989

Mark Cooper on the awesome presence that is Luther Vandross ...

Luther Vandross: What A World For The Lonely Kind: Luther Vandross

Profile and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, The Times, 28 March 1989

LUTHER VANDROSS is the pre-eminent mainstream soul performer of the 1980s. As a singer, songwriter and producer he is – with the possible exception of ...

Prince, Mavis Staples: Mavis Staples: Children, It's A Brand New Day

Report and Interview by Jim Farber, Spin, April 1989

THE LATEST Prince protégé is not some 20-year-old babe done up in lingerie and stilettos. It's righteous, 48-year-old pop/gospel legend Mavis Staples: a woman holy ...

Luther Vandross: A night with the fat controller — Luther Vandross: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 1 April 1989

Adam Sweeting finds the rich fare of Luther Vandross a mixed blessing at Wembley Arena ...

James Brown: Wrestling With The Devil

Report and Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 6 April 1989

The struggle for the soul of the Godfather of Soul ...

Kym Mazelle, Ten City: Ten City, Kym Mazelle: Town and Country Club, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 8 April 1989

KISS IT BETTER ...

Gerald Alston: Jazz-Soul-Funk Weekender: Cala Gran Holiday Park, Fleetwood

Live Review by Barbara Ellen, New Musical Express, 22 April 1989

BLACKPOOL HALLUCINATIONS ...

Stevie Wonder: Breaking The Square Circle

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 22 April 1989

Perhaps the most innovative musician of the '70s, STEVIE WONDER has enjoyed mixed fortunes in the '80s, dividing his time between duets with Dionne Warwick ...

Blackpool Weekender: Keeping The Faith

Report by Sheryl Garratt, The Face, May 1989

A modern Mecca: the finale of the Third Blackpool Soul, Funk & Jazz Weekender in early April, where dancers left cold by rap and acid gather ...

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band: Voodoo (Columbia)

Review by Jon Young, Musician, May 1989

HAVING BACKED Elvis Costello (Spike) and inspired David Byrne (The Knee Plays), the Dirty Dozen Brass Band of New Orleans may be poised to capture ...

The Neville Brothers: Yellow Moon

Review by Andy Gill, Q, May 1989

The Neville Brothers bring it all back home. ...

Diana Ross: The Queen of Muzak — Diana Ross: NEC, Birmingham

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 1 May 1989

Adam Sweeting finds the Birmingham crowd more entertaining than Diana Ross ...

James Brown, Bobby Byrd: Bobby Byrd: Rare Byrd

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 6 May 1989

Over the years, BOBBY BYRD has been an integral part of JAMES BROWN'S career. PAOLO HEWITT spoke to him about his hot-and-cold relationship with the ...

Alyson Williams: Dominion Theatre, London

Live Review by Michele Kirsch, New Musical Express, 13 May 1989

SEX 'N' SALVATION UNDER THE LASH ...

Chaka Khan: Vivid And Real

Interview by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 13 May 1989

CHAKA KHAN, the smooth voice of early '70s soul, has been thrust back into the limelight with a new dance cut of her hits I'm ...

Womack and Womack: Womack & Womack: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 16 May 1989

A COMFORTABLE musical gelling on vinyl is one thing, but a reproduction on the live stage is quite another. ...

Dr. John: Dr John: In A Sentimental Mood (Warner Bros LP/Cassette/CD)

Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 20 May 1989

FUNNY OL' game the record business! First, we have the triumphant return of the Neville Brothers to the A&M stable after a ten year absence ...

Al Green: Another Green World

Interview by Nick Coleman, Time Out, June 1989

"Sometimes I wonder if you love me the way you say you do... Sometimes I just fold my arms and say... weeeee-eeeeh awooooah!" ...

Ten City: Foundation (Atlantic)

Review by Frank Owen, Spin, June 1989

I, A HONKY away-from-homeboy, first heard the deep house anthem 'Devotion' by Chicago's Ten City (here included along with their other two club hits, 'That's ...

Boys, The (U.S.), New Kids On The Block: The Boys: Message From The Boys (Motown); New Kids On The Block: Hanging Tough (Columbia)

Review by Amy Linden, Spin, June 1989

IN THE beginning there was the Jackson 5. They were cute, they were blessed with the best producers and material, they oozed personality. They were ...

Bobby Brown: Goodbye Cruel World

Report and Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 10 June 1989

THE ALL-SINGING, ALL-DANCING WUNDERKIND IS CURRENTLY THE FASTEST RISING STAR IN AMERICA WITH HIS DEBUT ALBUM DON'T BE CRUEL. AT ONLY 20 HE IS SET ...

Prince, Mavis Staples: Mavis Staples: Time Waits For No One (Paisley Park)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 10 June 1989

NINETEEN EIGHTY nine has been a year for bumping into old friends, what with the spate of reissues, relaunched careers, and general rehabilitation. Back in ...

Guy, Teddy Riley: Teddy Riley: The Life of Riley

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 10 June 1989

At 22 TEDDY RILEY is the most sought-after producer in America. His mixture of R&B and rap has created a new sound, dubbed New Jack ...

Bobby Brown: He's... Bobby Brown

Interview by Sylvia Patterson, Smash Hits, 14 June 1989

• He wibbles and wobbles because he's the new Michael Jackson! • He's got a bullet-hole in his knee because he's a "kid" from ...

Bobby Brown: Bobby Bites The Bullet

Profile and Interview by Mark Cooper, The Guardian, 23 June 1989

Mark Cooper meets the young American soul star everybody's gunning for ...

Prince: Batman: Motion Picture Soundtrack (Warner Bros.)

Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 23 June 1989

A funky soundtrack by Prince ...

Bobby Brown: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 26 June 1989

Trying too hard ...

Bobby Brown: Soul's Carnal Cruiser: Bobby Brown, Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 26 June 1989

He came, they saw, he conquered... Adam Sweeting on Bobby Brown at the Wembley Arena ...

Roachford: Roachford (Epic)

Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 29 June 1989

AT A TIME when most prominent black groups are, like Public Enemy, Living Colour and De La Soul, post-hip-hop upstarts, Andrew Roachford is a determinedly ...

Ziggy Marley, Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club: Clubbing It with the Tom Tom Club

Interview by Alan di Perna, Musician, July 1989

Chris and Tina are now in "a real band." And it's not Talking Heads. ...

Bobby Brown: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Michele Kirsch, New Musical Express, 1 July 1989

SEX AND HUGS AND RIGMAROLE ...

Chaka Khan: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Mark Cooper, The Guardian, 1 July 1989

No Khan do... ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland (1989)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 8 July 1989

Bobby Bland talks about his influences, including MOR men like Perry Como and Andy Williams, and about the ups and downs of his career. Oh, and how C.L. Franklin gave him "the squall".

File format: mp3 File size: 15.8mb Interview length: 17 minutes 12 seconds Sound quality: ****

Johnnie Taylor (1989)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 8 July 1989

Soul legend Johnnie Taylor tells Barney Hoskyns about his background in gospel with the Highway QCs and the Soul Stirrers, Sam Cooke, Stax Records, having hits in the disco era, and finding a new home at Malaco.

File format: mp3 File size: 20.8mb Interview length: 22 minutes 45 seconds Sound quality: ****

Bobby Brown, Cookie Crew: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 11 July 1989

A PRETENDER to the thrones of Prince & Michael Jackson or merely the product of excessive hype, catchy beat-of-the-week tunes and some clever marketing? ...

Etta James (1989)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 13 July 1989

Etta James tells Barney Hoskyns about her struggles with addiction, meeting Billie Holiday, making Seven Year Itch and staying contemporary.

File format: mp3 File size: 40.4mb; Interview length: 44 minutes 5 seconds Sound quality: **

Aretha Franklin: Through The Storm (Arista)

Review by Amy Linden, Spin, August 1989

ARETHA'S THE Queen of Soul; you know it, I know it, it's so obvious that it should be a Jeopardy question. Hell, even she knows ...

Prince, Mavis Staples: Mavis Staples: My Prince Has Come

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 5 August 1989

After years in the doldrums MAVIS STAPLES, one of the female voices is back. A phone call from Prince resulted in a new album Time ...

Soul II Soul: The Palladium, New York

Live Review by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 5 August 1989

SQUEEZED BETWEEN the hard core Hip-hop of Red Alert and DJ Mark The 45 King, the US dance remix of 'Keep On Movin'', holds its ...

Neneh Cherry: Raw Like Sushi (Virgin) ***½

Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 10 August 1989

TALK ABOUT a sign of the times: Earlier in the decade, Neneh Cherry was a peripheral member of the postpunk warriors the Slits, then played ...

Babyface, N.W.A, Saw Throat: Babyface: Tender Lover; NWA: Straight Outta Compton; Various artists: Grind Crusher; Saw Throats: Indestroy

Review by David Toop, The Times, 26 August 1989

Conventional Black ...

Amina Claudine Myers: In Touch (Novus/RCA)

Review by Don Snowden, L.A. Weekly, 31 August 1989

INSTANT DANGER signal: the word that a musician associated with the freewheeling end of the jazz spectrum is messing with things like pop-song structures and ...

Bobby Brown: Casual But Smart

Report by Lloyd Bradley, Q, September 1989

AT 11 O'CLOCK on Friday June 30, shoppers in Oxford Street's HMV Records noticed a growing number of predominantly female teenagers filing into the store. ...

Prince, Mavis Staples: Prince: Batman (Warner Bros.); Mavis Staples: Time Waits for No One (Paisley Park)

Review by J.D. Considine, Musician, September 1989

Batty Prince, Torn Between Good and Evil ...

Robert Cray: Music Man

Interview by Pippa Lang, What Hi-Fi?, September 1989

Don't go to record company parties or mix with producers to catch a glimpse of Robert Cray. As he tells Pippa Lang, making music is ...

Guy, Teddy Riley: Teddy Riley: Swingin'

Interview by Steven Daly, Blitz, September 1989

A meteoric rise has seen Teddy Riley, at the age of 22, become one of theworld's most sought-after producers. ...

World Saxophone Quartet: Rhythm 'n Blues (Elektra/Musician)

Review by Kirk Silsbee, Musician, September 1989

JUST AS WSQ triumphantly addressed the music of Ellington/Strayhorn on its own terms a couple of years ago, so they now tip their mouthpieces to ...

Adeva: Wild Thing

Interview by Helen Mead, New Musical Express, 2 September 1989

THE STARE came first, the voice second. ...

Adeva, Kool and the Gang, Van Dyke Parks: Kool and the Gang: Sweat (Phonogram 838233-1); Van Dyke Parks: Tokyo Rose (Warner Bros 925968-1)

Review by David Toop, The Times, 2 September 1989

Moving forward to the past ...

Adeva: Adeva! (Cooltempo CTLP 13)

Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 5 September 1989

AS THE New Jersey dance scene exploded onto UK dancefloors a few months back, there was always going to be a leader who helped its ...

Adeva: Warning Shots

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 5 September 1989

  ADEVA IS a challenge. Everything about her and her career challenges safe stereotypes normally associated with career-building black female artists, ministers' daughters and male-female relationships. ...

Bobby Brown, New Edition: Bobby Brown's Uneasy Passage

Profile and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 7 September 1989

Will the Jack of Swim be the next King of Soul? ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: D'Arby has his day

Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 7 September 1989

Terence Trent D'Arby has a new album on the way. He also has a clearer idea of his role in the world, as Adam Sweeting ...

Barry White: King Shag Is Back

Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 9 September 1989

Bombing around The Riveria in a convertible BMW screaming abuse at the rich are STEVEN WELLS and lensman KEVIN 'O'GRADELY' CUMMINS. The soundtrack that roars ...

Joyce Sims: All About Love (Sleeping Bag 823 1291)

Review by Mark Sinker, The Observer, 10 September 1989

DISCO'S FUTURIST variants Chicago House and Detroit Techno are machine-age musics that prefer motion to emotion, leaving mainstream R&B seeming old-form and narrow — only ...

24-7 Spyz: Harder Than You (London 828167-1/CD) ****

Review by Ralph Traitor, Sounds, 16 September 1989

Harder than the rest ...

Soul II Soul: Funki Bold Demeanour

Interview by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 30 September 1989

• Current king of British clubs JAZZIE B is preparing to launch SOUL II SOUL even further ahead of the opposition-the summer soundtrack on both ...

Chaka Khan: Life Is A Dance: The Remix Project (Warner Bros.)

Review by Frank Owen, Spin, October 1989

LIKE A DRUG, dance music needs harder and harder hits to sustain the same level of pleasure. What would have been a seismic drum track ...

Chuckii Booker: Chuckii (Atlantic)

Review by Amy Linden, Spin, October 1989

I DON'T KNOW what "new jack" is, or what the latest polyrhythm is, but I do know that when someone like Chuckii Booker comes along ...

George Clinton: Tales Of Kidd Funkadelic

Interview by Kris Needs, Dance Music Report, October 1989

AT LAST it seems like George Clinton is getting some just recognition after about a quarter century of being funk's most colourful and innovative character. ...

Janet Jackson: Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814

Review by Lloyd Bradley, Q, October 1989

IT'S ALMOST FOUR years since Janet Jackson's last album – Control The Remixes hardly counts – and nearly 12 months since she began recording this ...

Kym Mazelle: La Belle Mazelle

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 3 October 1989

Talented and resourceful Kym Mazelle discusses artists restraints and restraining the artist! ...

Aaron Neville (1989)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 5 October 1989

The giant of New Orleans singers looks back at his roots in the Crescent City: the hard times and the good times, being a Neville Brother, key vocal influences and more.

File format: mp3 File size: 29.2mb Interview length: 31 minutes 55 seconds Sound quality: ***

The Neville Brothers: At Last The Legend Lives

Profile and Interview by Mark Cooper, The Guardian, 5 October 1989

The Neville Brothers, long held in awe by fellow musicians, are finally selling records. Mark Cooper on the London-bound band. ...

Bryan Powell, Betty Wright: Betty Wright, Bryan J Powell: ICA, London

Live Review by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 21 October 1989

THE CURRENT dance mania, welcome as it is, may have obscured quality soul to a large degree, but the attitude it has engendered in ridding ...

Curtis Mayfield: The Palomino, Los Angeles

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 23 October 1989

Mayfield Performs Cream of His Crop of Hits ...

David Hudson, Ann Peebles: Ann Peebles and David Hudson (1989)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 28 October 1989

Accompanied by fellow R&B singer David Hudson, the Memphis belle talks about producer Willie Mitchell; her roots in gospel and R&B; 'I Can't Stand the Rain'... and the John Lennon Kotex incident at the Troubadour!

File format: mp3; file size: 26.2mb, interview length: 28' 35" sound quality: ***

David Hudson, Ann Peebles: Ann Peebles and David Hudson (1989) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 28 October 1989

This is a transcript of Barney's audio interview with Ann Peebles and David Hudson. Hear the interview here. ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: Neither Fish Nor Flesh

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, November 1989

"PEOPLE, LISTEN to me," announces Terence Trent D'Arby over the intro of 'I Don't Want To Bring The Gods Down', "this is not a film, ...

Cat Glover, Prince: Cat Glover: Cat O' Fine Tales

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 25 November 1989

You know her as the legs-akimbo sex kitten playmate of Prince, the undisputed star of the Purple One's lascivious shows and a fine singer to ...

Soul II Soul

Interview by Chris Heath, Smash Hits, 29 November 1989

• They're not a group but "a way of life"! • They used to imagine they were on the Planet Ard! • They're building ...

Alexander O'Neal: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Toop, The Times, 4 December 1989

Tenderness to spare ...

Neneh Cherry: Send In The Clowns

Interview by Barbara Ellen, New Musical Express, 9 December 1989

After the huge trans-Atlantic success of 'Buffalo Stance', NENEH CHERRY has established herself as one of the Pop world's most creative and exciting mainstream acts. ...

Neneh Cherry: So you think you know everything about Neneh Cherry?

Interview by Chris Heath, Smash Hits, 13 December 1989

(WELL YOU DON'T... as Chris Heath discovers) ...

Alexander O'Neal: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 16 December 1989

THE LIFESTYLE stemming from competent professional soul is utterly despicable. Ostentatious displays of wealth inherent in the flashy cars and gaudily overpriced fashions turn my ...

Soul II Soul: Songs In The Key Of Life

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 16 December 1989

WITH A STRING OF SUCCESSFUL SINGLES AND A STUNNING DEBUT ALBUM, SOUL II SOUL HAVE SPEARHEADED THE DANCE REVIVAL OF THE LATE-EIGHTIES AND LOOK LIKE ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: Citi Club, Boston MA

Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 20 December 1989

Terence Trent D Arby, pretender to the throne ...

Cat Glover, Prince: Cat Glover: Cat goes for the cream

Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 21 December 1989

Adam Sweeting on why Prince's dancing sensation is aiming for stardom — without him ...

Queen Latifah: All Hail The Queen (Gee St/Tommy Boy Gee 45)

Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 26 December 1989

ANOTHER PUPIL of the Jungles/De La Soul/ Afrocentrism, psychedelic, daisy age school emerges (try saying that after... well just try saying that, anyway!) ...

The Beastie Boys, Earth, Wind & Fire, LL Cool J, Public Enemy: A Schism Divides Black Pop Radical Rappers And Soul Stars – Or The Street Vs. The Sweet

Comment by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 31 December 1989

MYRIAD GENRES and subgenres make up the world of pop music, some complementary, some clashing. Look around, and you'll find heavy metal, hard rock, post-modern, ...

Brook Benton: 40 Greatest Hits

Sleeve notes by Colin Escott, Polygram Records, 1990

BROOK BENTON'S music was a study in contrast. The lushness of the backings was juxtaposed against the contained passion in his voice. On ...

Irma Thomas: Something Good: The Muscle Shoals Sessions

Sleeve notes by Don Snowden, Chess/MCA Records, 1990

CHESS WAS pre-eminently a blues label and Chess was most definitely a Chicago-based label but Chess was also a hit-seeking label and that fundamental fact ...

Anita Baker, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle: Women Soul Singers

Essay by Barney Hoskyns, Vogue, 1990

FOR ALL THE LEGENDARY kings of soul music, the Sam Cookes and Otis Reddings and Marvin Gayes, the true spirit of this great black American ...

Quincy Jones: Back On The Block

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, January 1990

ON THE FACE of it, this is where the man who was called 'Q' even before this magazine generously allows his address book to make ...

The Chimes: Sign of the Chimes

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 6 January 1990

Did you hear the one about the two Scotsmen and the London singer who may well be Britain's top soul band? Well PAOLO HEWITT has ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: The Marquee, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 10 January 1990

IT'S ALWAYS a lark to be able to see major-ish artists in small settings, and perhaps we should be grateful to all the people who ...

Simply Red: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 11 January 1990

Slightly Red: Adam Sweeting on Hucknall and co — skilful but loutish at Wembley ...

Patti LaBelle, Regina Belle: Regina Belle: Stay With Me (Columbia)/Patti LaBelle: Be Yourself (MCA)

Review by Amy Linden, Spin, February 1990

THE DIVA is that most special of musical creations; her care and feeding are extremely important. ...

Experience Unlimited (EU), Skyy (US): Skyy, E.U.: Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 5 February 1990

Skyy Pales Before the E.U. Groove Machine ...

Quincy Jones: The Hit Master

Profile and Interview by Mark Cooper, The Guardian, 8 February 1990

From Satchmo to Wacko Jacko, Quincy Jones has worked with them all. Now, he tells Mark Cooper, it's time to take stock. ...

George Clinton & The P-Funk Allstars: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 17 February 1990

GEORGE CLINTON once said, explaining his orchestration of an 18-piece band, "Offer great musicians the possibility of order and anarchy on the same plate, and ...

Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones: Quincy Jones: The Mighty Quince

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 17 February 1990

QUINCY JONES, producer of everyone from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, is now mixing jazz and hip-hop and working with Jesse Jackson and New Order. ...

Janet Jackson: Free At Last

Interview by Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone, 22 February 1990

With her last album, Janet declared her independence from her famous family. Now, on Rhythm Nation, she's stepping out and dealing with the real world ...

New Kids on the Block: Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis TN

Live Review by Lloyd Bradley, The Independent, 23 February 1990

Young bloods in Memphis: the boys from next door ...

Michael Bolton

Interview by Siân Pattenden, Smash Hits, 21 March 1990

★ He's got a weedy ballad that's taken the charts by storm! ★ He's got a hairdo from hell! ★ He's got millions of ...

Grace Jones: "Born To F*** — I should get a tee-shirt saying that"

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 7 April 1990

THE ICE QUEEN MAY BE MAKING A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO MELT HER IMAGE AND BECOME MORE FEMININE, BUT SHE WAS STILL HARD ENOUGH TO BURY ...

Soul II Soul: The Remarkable Life of Jazzie B: "It's a tough job but someone has to do it..."

Interview by Chris Heath, Smash Hits, 2 May 1990

He's the leader of the most influential dance group for years, but he's not too impressed with the rest of the charts. He's flattered that ...

Lisa Stansfield: Affection (Arista) ****

Review by Amy Linden, Rolling Stone, 3 May 1990

ENGLAND HAS been spewing out the latest in hip soul stylists, but the "style" part hasn't been cutting the mustard. Mostly the records have been ...

Soul II Soul: Volume 2: 1990 A Brand New Decade (10 Records L/Cassette/CD)

Review by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 19 May 1990

JAZZIE'S DREAM ...

Tony! Toni! Toné!: Exclamations From Tony! Toni! Toné!'s

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 22 May 1990

IF YOU'RE a young group and you hit first time out with your debut album achieving gold status, the big question is bound to be: ...

Johnny Gill: Johnny Gill (Motown ZL 72698)

Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 22 May 1990

THIS ALBUM'S been flying out of specialist shops at rate of knots on import, and rightly so. With Jimbo and Tel up against LA & ...

Kurtis Mantronik, Mantronix: Mantronix: Cashing In Or Selling Out?

Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 26 May 1990

ONCE THE PREMIER PIONEER OF ELECTRO, MANTRONIK'S LATEST WORK HAS BEEN SUSPICIOUSLY COMMERCIAL. ANDREW SMITH THINKS THE GREAT MAN HAS SOLD HIS SOUL TO THE ...

The Chimes: Ringing In The Changes

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 26 May 1990

WITH THE TOP 10 SUCCESS OF THEIR COVER OF U2'S 'I STILL HAVEN'T FOUND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR', THE CHIMES LOOK SET TO JOIN SOUL ...

Lee Atwater: Chairman of the Blues

Interview by Frank Owen, Spin, June 1990

Twenty years ago, a young down-home Southern white boy fell in love with black music and became a hot R&B guitarist, backing the likes of ...

Soul II Soul: Jazzie B Keeps On Movin'

Interview by Mark Rowland, Musician, June 1990

JAZZIE B SAT near one corner of the crowded North Hollywood sound studio, watching the musicians casually file into the room and take their places ...

Cameo: Cod War

Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 2 June 1990

ANDREW SMITH TALKS TO LARRY BLACKMON ABOUT POP'S LACK OF CODPIECES, THE AMERICAN DRUG PROBLEM, NWA, HOUSE MUSIC, THE BAND'S NEW SINGLE, 'I WANT IT ...

Bobby Brown: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 5 June 1990

Coming over lewd and clear ...

Prince: Stadion Feijenoord, Rotterdam

Live Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 9 June 1990

LAST WEEKEND, PRINCE'S 'NUDE' WORLD TOUR KICKED OFF IN STADION FEIJENOORD IN ROTTERDAM. JON WILDE WITNESSED THE SPECTACULAR, AS THE WORLD'S GREATEST LIVING SONG AND ...

En Vogue: Dawn! Maxine! Terry! Cindy!

Profile and Interview by Siân Pattenden, Smash Hits, 13 June 1990

They're four "comely" maidens from Oakland, California, who don't wear many clothes, but cry at sappy greetings cards and think quite highly of women's "issues". ...

Was (Not Was)

Interview by Siân Pattenden, Smash Hits, 13 June 1990

  ★ They're two blokes from Detroit who say they're brothers but aren't really! ★ They're all for killing dolphins for the sake of a tuna ...

Soul II Soul: Voice of the B Jive

Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 16 June 1990

JAZZIE B HAS ALREADY BEEN CREDITED WITH CHANGING THE FACE OF DANCE MUSIC IN THE LATE-EIGHTIES. SINCE THE RELEASE OF CLUB CLASSICS VOL 1 LAST ...

Bobby Brown: Star Gazing: Bobby Brown: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 16 June 1990

BOBBY BROWN may be less obsessively single-minded than Prince (he doesn't write/produce/sing/play every last note on his records), and Michael Jackson surely beats him jewel-encrusted ...

The Chimes: The Chimes (CBS)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 16 June 1990

MIKE PEDEN and James Locke have a canny knack for making Gaelic soul sound intuitive. It helps to have a singer like Pauline Henry, of ...

Prince: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 21 June 1990

The Prince's new clothes ...

New Kids On The Block: Step By Step (CBS)

Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 30 June 1990

WHAT IS SO odious about New Kids On The Block? Why are they so uniquely dislikeable? Is it the disturbingly cynical way they blunted rap's ...

Prince: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Paul Elliott, Sounds, 30 June 1990

His Royal Altogetherness: America's most famous surrogate Royal arrived in Britain last week to take up a 20-night residency in the country's arenas. His luggage contained ...

Anita Baker: Untouchable

Interview by Paul Mathur, Blitz, July 1990

Following her second solo album, Rapture, Anita Baker was acknowledged as possibly the best female vocalist in the world. Now she's back with a new album which leaves the opposition standing ...

Tracy Chapman, Jimi Hendrix, Living Colour, Prince, Dan Reed Network: Black Rock

Essay by David Toop, The Face, July 1990

White Rock we know about, but why should the idea of Black Rock be so difficult to comprehend? When Prince says his current tour is rock'n'roll based, he ...

Howard Hewett: Howard Hewett (Brian)

Review by Amy Linden, Musician, July 1990

HOWARD HEWETT was the lead singer in the dance/pop trio Shalamar, whose femme fatale, Jody Watley, has since become the much bigger star. It would ...

Prince: Sleazy Grandeur

Overview by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, July 1990

He began making records as a control-fixated 18-year-old studio rat from Minneapolis. Ten albums later Prince had become the definitive pop icon of the '80s. ...

The Chimes: The Chimes

Review by Paolo Hewitt, Select, July 1990

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN the irresistible rise of Soul II Soul and dance music's nationalisation of the charts, The Chimes have been lost In the shuffle. A ...

Bell Biv DeVoe, Johnny Gill: Bell Biv DeVoe: Poison (MCA) ****; Johnny Gill: Johnny Gill (Motown) **½

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Rolling Stone, 12 July 1990

The New Jack Edition ...

Soul II Soul: Two London club DJs redefine classic soul with a new approach to making music

Interview by Robert Sandall, Rolling Stone, 12 July 1990

BERESFORD ROMEO, the twenty-seven-year-old black British rapper and entrepreneur better known as Jazzie B. is sprawled comfortably across the end of a sofa in a ...

Anita Baker: Compositions (Elektra Entertainment)

Review by James Hunter, Musician, August 1990

FOUR YEARS ago, Anita Baker quietly stormed the pop music charts with Rapture, a reclamation of jazz-soul balladry driven by acoustic resonances and Baker's forthright ...

The Neville Brothers: Neville Brothers: The Mississippi Mafia

Profile and Interview by Andy Gill, Q, August 1990

THE NEW ORLEANS Jazz & Heritage Festival makes most British music festivals, even the Readings and Glastonburys, look a bit sick by comparison. It's not ...

Deee-Lite: Deee-Day

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 14 August 1990

If your state of mind is really at Woodstock and your spirit is on the dancefloor, than wacky dance-a-delic trio Deee-Lite may be just what ...

Betty Boo: Take-off for the girl from Planet Boo

Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 22 August 1990

Funky fantasy and shy eyes, hope and regret... Lucy O'Brien on the two sides of Betty, aka Alison ...

Mariah Carey: Building the Perfect Diva

Report and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 23 August 1990

Mariah Carey had a hit LP and a Top Ten single, but whose 'Vision' is it? ...

The Time: Time without the Prince

Profile by Bruce Dessau, The Guardian, 31 August 1990

MOST BANDS that get together after solo careers do so to cash in on their past. If the Minneapolis band the Time had wanted to ...

Daryl Hall & John Oates, Daryl Hall: Hall & Oates (1990)

Interview by Martin Aston, Rock's Backpages audio, September 1990

The dynamic duo talk about how there are no major points of contention between them; their new album Change of Season; their ex-manager Tommy Mottola; leaving NYC, the change of lifestyle, and moving away from urban dance music; their dislike of Beauty On A Back Street; Daryl working with Dave Stewart and Robert Fripp; the bad moves they've made; the homoerotic Daryl Hall & John Oates sleeve, and not getting into modern dance music.

File format: mp3; file size: 63.3mb, interview length: 1h 05' 57" sound quality: ***

The Neville Brothers: Brother's Keeper

Review by Mark Cooper, Q, September 1990

AFTER SPENDING A decade producing four albums for as many labels, the four Nevilles finally got the bit between their teeth with the Daniel Lanois-produced ...

KISS 100 FM: The Embrace Is On

Report and Interview by Jack Barron, New Musical Express, 1 September 1990

WHEN KISS 100 FM starts broadcasting legally on September 1, sending the freshest of dancebeats into the ether around London, it will be the final ...

Prince: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 1 September 1990

EMPEROR'S NUDE CLOTHES ...

Robert Cray: Bobbing Along

Interview by Paul Elliott, Sounds, 1 September 1990

Robert Cray has gotten himself hitched to a girl from Leicester and gone back to the Stax and Volt labels for inspiration on his new ...

Tackhead: Imported Goods

Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 1 September 1990

To the average pop fan, Tackhead are an overnight sensation but, as ANDREW SMITH discovers, there's a history and prime pedigree to this radical dance ...

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis: Jimmy Jam (1990)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 3 September 1990

The Flyte Tyme production man talks about working with Alexander O'Neal and Janet Jackson; about his and Terry Lewis' production approach and methods, and lists some of his favourite producers.

File format: mp3; file size: 18.6mb, interview length: 20' 20" sound quality: ***

Cameo: Real Men... Wear Black (PolyGram) ***

Review by Amy Linden, Rolling Stone, 6 September 1990

THERE WAS a time when Larry Blackmon's yowl was a definite signal to be on the lookout for the funk. Cameo's leader and main vocalist ...

The Time: Subterania, London

Live Review by Paul Elliott, Sounds, 15 September 1990

"BAND!""Yeah!""Is anybody hot?""No!""Ya know why?""Why?""Cos we're cool." ...

Soul II Soul: Brighton Centre

Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 22 September 1990

SOUL LAAAARGAAAAH! ...

Soul II Soul, Caron Wheeler: Caron Wheeler: Solo Soul

Interview by Carol Cooper, Spin, October 1990

The voice that textured your most intimate moments last summer on Soul II Soul's 'Keep On Movin'' is back. Caron Wheeler goes solo. ...

Caron Wheeler: Wheeler Dealer

Interview by Dele Fadele, Vox, October 1990

DELE FADELE TALKS SOUL TO SOUL TO A WOMAN TAKING CONTROL OF HER LIFE ...

En Vogue: Sisters In Arms

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Select, October 1990

Can girl groups be taken seriously and is there brains behind the beauty? Tough R&B hitmakers EN VOGUE put the politics into pop and make ...

Frankie Crocker: Radio Renaissance

Interview by Carol Cooper, Spin, October 1990

A maverick talent in a sea of mediocrity, radio renegade Frankie Crocker has made New York's airwaves listenable again. ...

Janet Jackson: Into Control, Out Of Tunes

Interview by John McCready, The Face, October 1990

JANET JACKSON'S last single, 'Black Cat', was truly mind boggling in its awfulness. Its politely heavy metal styling was really just an excuse for Janet ...

24-7 Spyz, Bad Brains, Bo Diddley, Fishbone, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Johnson, Living Colour, Elvis Presley, Prince, Public Enemy: Black Rock & Roll

Essay by RJ Smith, L.A. Weekly, 4 October 1990

RJ Smith on Living Colour and pop's buried history ...

Londonbeat: Mammal We're All Crazy Now

Report by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 13 October 1990

Rubberwear! Snorkels! Four-foot sexual organs! Real chart acts! We aim to please... Gasp in astonishment as LONDONBEAT give STEVEN WELLS a sense of porpoise and ...

Janet Jackson: Janet takes her video on tour

Report by Bruce Dessau, The Guardian, 19 October 1990

JANET JACKSON'S first solo tour has crossed the globe on its way to the UK — not without some hitches. One member of the entourage ...

Janet Jackson: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Paul Elliott, Sounds, 27 October 1990

HER ENTRANCE is right out of a Boxing Day magic show. A pedestal rises 20 feet from the lip of the stage and Janet appears ...

James Brown, Funkadelic, Maceo Parker: Maceo, Blow Your Horn!

Interview by Gene Santoro, Pulse!, November 1990

James Brown's saxman of choice, Maceo Parker cuts two solo albums, one jazz, one P-Funk ...

The Meters: Look-Ka Py Py; Good Old Funky Music (both Rounder)

Review by Ted Drozdowski, Rolling Stone, 1 November 1990

SOUL MUSIC has a history of great instrumentals: 'Green Onions', 'Soul Serenade', 'Last Night' — and virtually every early independent-label recording by the Meters. Led ...

Lisa Stansfield: The Lisa of Two Evils

Report and Interview by Barbara Ellen, New Musical Express, 3 November 1990

"All around the world and ah, ah, ah, can't find my luggage." Yep, it isn't all first class and fingerbowls in the high-flying world of ...

George Benson: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Lloyd Bradley, The Independent, 16 November 1990

All what jazz? ...

Chuck Jackson in Three Acts

Profile and Interview by Kirk Silsbee, Los Angeles Reader, 20 November 1990

AN OFT-REPEATED myth about American popular music is that the early 1960s were a fallow period, dominated by greasy teen idols named Bobby. Supposedly, domestic ...

Allen Toussaint: The Collection

Sleeve notes by Don Snowden, Reprise Records, 1991

BY THE TIME Allen Toussaint released his first Warner Bros. album, Life, Love And Motion, in 1972, it was already impossible to look at New ...

Whitney Houston: An Interview with Whitney Houston

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 1991

SO MUCH HAS BEEN written and said about Whitney Houston since she burst on to the recording scene in 1985 with 'You Give Good Love', ...

O.V. Wright: Beautiful Screamer: O.V. Wright

Book Excerpt by Barney Hoskyns, 'From a Whisper to a Scream' (Fontana), 1991

IF JAMES CARR and the (predominantly baritonal) country 
balladeers were one side of the southern Soul Man coin, the gritty, gravelly tenor voices of singers ...

The Equals, Eddy Grant: Eddy Grant (1991)

Interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages audio, 1991

Eddy Grant talks about forming the Equals with school friends in Tottenham; their hits 'Baby Come Back' and 'Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys'; his heart attack, and leaving the band; contractual issues with manager Edward Kassner, and regaining his copyrights; building his own studio; dying his hair white; his solo albums, and hits 'Walking on Sunshine' and 'Living on the Front Line'; moving to Barbados and building his Blue Wave studio, and about his sporting heroes and friends.

File format: mp3; file size: 131.5mb, interview length: 2h 17' 01" sound quality: *****

Omar: Life Is Sweet

Interview by Lloyd Bradley, Q, 1991

"At least people know what I look like now." ...

The Isley Brothers' Marvin Isley (1991)

Interview by Steve Roeser, Rock's Backpages audio, 1991

Second generation Isley Marvin looks back at his elder brothers' success in the late '50s, and the way he and brother Ernie and cousin Chris Jasper re-invigorated the band in the early '70s.

File format: mp3; file size: 83.8mb, interview length: 1h 31' 30" sound quality: ***

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Two Steps from the Blues: The Gospel According to Bobby 'Blue' Bland

Book Excerpt by Barney Hoskyns, From a Whisper to a Scream (Fontana Books), 1991

WHEN HOWLIN' WOLF left Memphis for Chicago in late 1952, Sun Records' Sam Phillips was left with a crop of younger blues singers who in ...

Galliano: Jazz Poets

Interview by Dele Fadele, The Face, January 1991

DJ GILLES Peterson's Talking Loud afternoon club (Sundays at Dingwalls, London) has a reputation for showcasing distinctive acts on the jazz tip, but recently moved ...

Omar: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 5 January 1991

THE HAIRCUT speaks volumes. A multi-storeyed do with the sides shaved, it confirms Omar's refusal to exchange street fashions for something more upmarket. His has ...

Anita Baker: Anita & the Killing Machine

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 8 January 1991

The straight talking Anita Baker delivers her verdict on the state of R&B and the double standards applied by the U.S. music business. David Nathan ...

Whitney Houston: I'm Your Baby Tonight (Arista)

Review by James Hunter, Rolling Stone, 10 January 1991

Whitney Gets Warmer ...

KC & the Sunshine Band: Disco's KC seeks the sunshine once again

Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 12 January 1991

KC AND THE Sunshine Band was one of the most successful disco acts of the '70s. They were nominated for nine Grammies, won one, and ...

Ultra Naté: Baltimore Blues

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 22 January 1991

On the brink of international acclaim, Baltimore vocalist Ultra Naté recalls early days of distinctly negative vibes ...

Al B. Sure!: Private Times... and the Whole 9! (Warner Bros.) **½

Review by Amy Linden, Rolling Stone, 24 January 1991

FRAMING PRIVATE Times... and the Whole 9!, the latest from Al B. Sure!, is a remake of 'Hotel California'. Yes, that 'Hotel California' — and ...

Alexander O'Neal: All True Man (Tabu)

Review by Paul Elliott, Sounds, 26 January 1991

SWINGER WITH ATTITUDE ...

Talking Heads, Bernie Worrell: Bernie Worrell: Aspects of the Funk

Interview by Alan di Perna, Musician, February 1991

Jamming with keyboardist extraordinaire Bernie Worrell ...

Caron Wheeler: Got a Life, Thanks

Interview by Barbara Ellen, New Musical Express, 2 February 1991

CARON WHEELER'S acrimonious departure from the Soul II Soul posse is the stuff of music biz legend. But rather than 'chat fart' from the sidelines ...

Ralph Tresvant: Ralph Tresvant (MCA)

Review by Amy Linden, Rolling Stone, 7 February 1991

RALPH TRESVANT is a pretty package, but once you rip off the ornamentation, all you're left with is a box filled with Styrofoam peanuts and ...

The Clovers

Retrospective by Pete Grendysa, Goldmine, 8 February 1991

"WE PAID OUR dues, singing on corners, at parties, driving all over the country, sleeping in cubbyholes where we had to take turns. ...

Alexander O'Neal: All True Man

Review by Mark Cooper, Q, March 1991

ALEXANDER O'NEAL ONCE once remarked that he was successful because he helped "bring back masculinity to the black industry". ...

Aretha Franklin, Dan Penn: Dan Penn

Interview by John Pidgeon, Record Hunter, March 1991

DAN PENN WROTE his first hit ('Is A Bluebird Blue?' for Conway Twitty) at fourteen, and collaborated prolifically with Spooner Oldham, turning out mid '60s ...

Patrice Rushen: The Lady Plays a Vamp

Interview by Alan di Perna, Musician, March 1991

Keyboard wizard Patrice Rushen unravels jazz improvisation ...

Mantronix: Mantronik the Dance King: No Messin'

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 5 March 1991

THERE'S LITTLE disputing the massive force Curtis Mantronik and the whole Mantronix aggregation have had on dance music in the '80's. Through early releases such ...

Will Downing: Turn Left for Musical Paradise

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 5 March 1991

AN ARTICLE inspired by Will Downing's landmark new album A Dream Fulfilled requires a somewhat profound opening line, so here goes: there comes a time ...

Freddie Jackson: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 6 March 1991

FREDDIE JACKSON has lost the initiative in recent years, which is a great shame. In the mid-Eighties it looked as if he was poised to ...

C+C Music Factory: Spotlight on Clivilles & Cole: The C&C Beat Generation

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 19 March 1991

B&S takes a walk on the wild side to meet up with David Cole, who, with Robert Clivilles, is currently hotter than hot. Trek on... ...

Tony! Toni! Tone!: The Tonies Plan to Utilise UK Rough Stuff

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 19 March 1991

US hitmakers Tony! Toni! Tone! look to the "tougher" sound of London for continued success ...

Dr. John: New Orleans is Rising

Profile and Interview by Nicholas Jennings, HMV Magazine, April 1991

DR. JOHN AND New Orleans. Although the legendary pianist has made New York City his home for almost a decade now, his name still conjures ...

Womack and Womack: Womack & Womack: Family Spirit

Review by Lucy O'Brien, Select, April 1991

WHEN THE Womacks play live there's usually a dog, a cat, several children and a mouth organ on stage. They're the original hippy couple, spreading ...

Alexander O'Neal: All True Man (Tabu/Epic)

Review by James Hunter, Rolling Stone, 4 April 1991

SINGER ALEXANDER O'Neal has been an adult-soul champ since he and his producers, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, released Alexander O'Neal in 1985. That debut ...

Eddie Hinton: Cry and Moan (Rounder/Bullseye Blues)

Review by John Morthland, L.A. Weekly, 11 April 1991

CRY AND Moan opens with a shimmering, aching backwoods guitar line that will break normal hearts in two, and then Eddie Hinton turns up the ...

Alexander O'Neal: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 23 April 1991

ALEXANDER O'NEAL'S last British tour was famed for the moment during the concert when a double bed was wheeled on stage and a young laydee ...

Alexander O'Neal: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 27 April 1991

YOU KNOW, I've never been laughed at by so many people for coming here tonight, to which I can only respond — your problem is ...

Teena Marie: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 27 April 1991

EVEN IF you frequent arthouse cinemas like others do toilets, sometimes you can't avoid the craving for glitzy Hollywood entertainment. By the same token, anyone ...

Jon Lucien, Luther Vandross, Keith Washington: Luther Vandross: Power of Love (Epic); Keith Washington: Make Time for Love (Qwest); Jon Lucien: Listen Love (Mercury)

Review by Geoffrey Himes, The Washington Post, 28 April 1991

YOU HEAR Luther Vandross's voice everywhere these days — and not merely on his own recordings. Listen to the recent albums by Freddie Jackson, Will ...

En Vogue: No. 1 Out of the Box

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 April 1991

Having secured an almost unprecedented acceptance with their first LP, En Vogue intend to continue their high flying success story ...

Johnny Gill: Four Times a Winner

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 April 1991

B&S poll scoop, US tour, new LP and the President's balls! ...

Loose Ends: Two Lips from Amsterdam

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 30 April 1991

The particular lips enunciating down the telephone line belonged to Carl McIntosh, leader of poll winners Loose Ends and a young man in demand. Carl ...

The Chimes: Sign O'The Chimes

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 30 April 1991

B&S talks to Chimes members James Locke and Pauline Henry about their Poll success and their plans to maintain the impetus ...

Ten City: City Slickers

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 30 April 1991

LAST ISSUE De La Soul made the comment: "the less talented you are as a singer, the better you seem to do in the commercial ...

2 Live Crew, Color Me Badd, Johnny Gill, Ice-T, Keith Sweat: Various Artists: Music From The Motion Picture New Jack City (Giant 9 24424-1)

Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 30 April 1991

'New Jack Hustler (Nino's Theme)' — Ice-T; 'I'm Dreamin'' — Christopher Williams; 'I'm Still Waiting' — Johnny Gill; '(There You Go) Tellin' Me No Again' ...

James Brown, Bootsy Collins, Funkadelic: Bootsy Collins Effects the Funk

Interview by Gene Santoro, Musician, May 1991

Scouting bass hyperspace, speaking without words ...

DeBarge, Marvin Gaye, Rick James, Soul II Soul, Stevie Wonder: Motown: Designer label

Report by Lloyd Bradley, The Independent, 9 May 1991

Lloyd Bradley on the changing fortunes of the Motown label ...

James Brown, The J.B.'s, Fred Wesley: Fred Wesley: Right, Said Fred...

Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 14 May 1991

Fred Wesley talks of funk, jazz and the idiosyncratic Mr. Brown ...

Herb Alpert: North On South St. (A&M 395 345-2)

Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 14 May 1991

'Jump Street'; 'It's The Last Dance'; 'Passion Lady'; 'North On South St.'; 'Paradise 25'; 'Na Na Na'; 'Funky Reggae'; 'Where's Tommy'; 'City Terrace'; 'I Can't ...

Womack and Womack: Womack & Womack: Family Spirit (Arista 261356)

Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 14 May 1991

'Family Spirit'; 'Uptown'; 'Refusal'; 'Living In A Different World'; 'United (In Paradise)'; 'My Dear (The Letter)'; 'Blue Jean Baby'; 'Danceworld'; 'Keep On Climbing'; 'Lonely Island'. ...

Jimi Hendrix, Lenny Kravitz, Living Colour, Prince, Public Enemy, Roachford, Sly & the Family Stone: Ebony, Ivory and the Blues

Comment by Barney Hoskyns, The Times, 20 May 1991

Barney Hoskyns on the continuing power struggle between black and white influences in popular music ...

Londonbeat: Fine Young Cannibalization?

Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 30 May 1991

Londonbeat hits Number One with a familiar-sounding song ...

James Brown: Star Time

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, June 1991

AN ASSEMBLAGE of 71 tracks and slightly less than five hours of music, weighing in at four CDs or cassettes (committed vinylists are, unfortunately, totally ...

James Brown: Wiltern Theater, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by RJ Smith, L.A. Weekly, 20 June 1991

Living in America: James Brown's defiant return ...

Aretha Franklin: Westbury Music Fair, Westbury NY

Live Review by Wayne Robins, Newsday, 24 June 1991

ARETHA FRANKLIN is so far beyond having anything to prove that it would be easy to excuse her if she just wanted to go through ...

Womack And Womack: Family Spirit (RCA/BMG)

Review by Robert Gordon, L.A. Weekly, 27 June 1991

Shiver and Shake: Womack & Womack's family entertainment ...

Adeva

Interview by John McCready, Mixmag, July 1991

The look, the voice, the haircut is back. However it seems the lady who was born plain Pat Daniels is is revealing a more sensitive ...

David Ruffin, The Temptations: Former Temptation David Ruffin Dies

Obituary by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 11 July 1991

DAVID RUFFIN, a former lead singer for the Temptations, died of a drug overdose in the early-morning hours of June 1st at the Hospital of ...

Paula Abdul: Spellbound (Virgin America/All formats)

Review by Betty Page, New Musical Express, 27 July 1991

THIS RECORD is plainly a miracle of self-belief and positive thinking, a triumph over adversity. Paula Abdul always knew she could dance, but all those ...

Aaron Neville: Warm Your Heart (A&M)

Review by Richard C. Walls, Musician, August 1991

WITH HIS brothers and on his own, Aaron Neville has been involved with some truly fine records. But it's also true that he recently reached ...

David Sanborn: Blowing out of hand

Interview by Richard Cook, The Wire, August 1991

David Sanborn — is he or isn't he? Richard Cook is on the spot as the wild man of funk-pop goes (almost) straight-ahead! ...

Luther Vandross: Battle Of The Bulge

Interview by Mark Cooper, Q, August 1991

ON THE HOSPITALITY TABLE OF Luther Vandross's suite at Hollywood's Four Seasons Hotel, four untouched plates of king prawns lie waiting next to a half-demolished ...

Incognito, Omar, Young Disciples: Talkin' Loud: Really saying something

Report by Lloyd Bradley, The Independent, 8 August 1991

Lloyd Bradley on Talkin' Loud, trying to become to dance music what Blue Note is to jazz ...

Prince: The Little Prince Grows Up

Report by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 24 August 1991

A MILE OR so down Highway 5 from the Paisley Park studio complex, where Prince and his band New Power Generation are currently rehearsing the ...

Seal

Review by Andy Gill, Q, September 1991

"AAAH, IT'S JUST BEEN NON-STOP," says Seal of his virtual year-long bout of promotional chores. "I just wanna get out and play. I'm not interested ...

Prince & The New Power Generation: Diamonds And Pearls (Paisley Park/Warner Brothers)

Review by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 5 October 1991

THERE WAS a time when Prince seemed to be the vital force acting on pop music's zeitgeist. A wily provocateur, the greatest singles artist of ...

Prince: Diamonds & Pearls

Review by Robert Sandall, Q, November 1991

THESE ARE TESTING times for little PR Nelson. His Graffiti Bridge movie, due out last autumn, has never been publicly shown, and the accompanying double ...

Mariah Carey: Emotions (Columbia) **

Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 14 November 1991

A ROOKIE success as spectacular as Mariah Carey's tends to spark a backlash, and Carey was derided by skeptics who saw that Columbia Records had ...

Michael Jackson: Dangerous (Epic)

Review by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 30 November 1991

KING OF FLOP ...

Michael Jackson: Dangerous (Epic/All formats)

Review by Barbara Ellen, New Musical Express, 30 November 1991

JACKSON BOLLOCKS ...

Michael Jackson: Sound of Breaking Glass: Michael Jackson's Dangerous

Review by Chuck Eddy, The Village Voice, 17 December 1991

HEY, SO HOW COME nobody's compared the fucker to There's a Riot Goin' On? Well, maybe Riot without the cocaine. Or okay, okay, Fresh then, ...

EPMD, Roger Troutman: Roger Troutman: Building Bridges

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 24 December 1991

Roger Troutman gets to grips with the young hip hop hopefuls who have long acknowledged the master's touch ...

O.V. Wright: The Soul of O.V. Wright

Sleeve notes by Bill Bentley, MCA Records, 1992

OVERTON VERTIS Wright sang straight to the soul. As a child, Wright called the church choir home, and turned his voice to God. As he ...

Ray Charles: Rapping with Ray Charles

Interview by Robert Gordon, Interview, 1992

IN THE 1950s, Frank Sinatra tagged Ray Charles "Genius," an appropriate nickname for one of American music's most innovative figures. Charles brought a sophistication to ...

Earl Palmer the Rhythm Bomber, the Funk Machine from New Orleans

Retrospective and Interview by Tony Scherman, Musician, January 1992

From Bessie Smith to Elvis Costello, the Amazing Life and Perfect Time of a Great Rock 'n' Roll Pioneer ...

Michael Jackson: Dangerous

Review by Mat Snow, Q, January 1992

Michael Jackson: hip hop and gospel, Slash and God, sublime and ridiculous. ...

Neneh Cherry: Strictly personal

Interview by Helen Mead, i-D, January 1992

No product-pushing, no image-making, no small talk: Neneh Cherry talks personal about AIDS, life and the death of her friend. ...

Michael Jackson: Dangerous (Epic)

Review by Alan Light, Rolling Stone, 9 January 1992

Michael Jackson: Art and Life as Performance ...

Des'ree: Positive Vibrations

Interview by Sally Margaret Joy, Everett True, Melody Maker, 18 January 1992

She's the complete antithesis of the rock'n'roll bitch from hell. She is inspired and inspirational, optimistic in a climate of despair. She draws her strength ...

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes: Southside Johnny Lyon: Greetings From Asbury Park

Interview by Nick Coleman, Time Out, February 1992

Unlike his old buddies Bruce Springsteen and Little Steven, Southside Johnny Lyon has forsaken the trappings of rock stardom for clapboard houses and the smell ...

Tevin Campbell, Keith Sweat: Keith Sweat: Keep It Comin' (Elektra); Tevin Campbell: T.E.V.I.N. (Quest/Warner Bros.)

Review by James Hunter, Musician, March 1992

SINCE 1987, Keith Sweat has exhibited the grip and attitude of a classic soul singer, rather than a conventionally powerful voice. He and frequent collaborator ...

Barry White: Greater lurrve hath no man

Profile by Lloyd Bradley, The Independent, 12 March 1992

AN IMPORTANT part of Barry White's stage set owes nothing to laser lights or hydraulic cherry pickers, in fact it has no moving parts whatsoever. ...

Barry White: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 12 March 1992

Lurve and kisses: Caroline Sullivan on the night Barry White made the earth move ...

Barry White: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by David Toop, The Times, 13 March 1992

In the name of love ...

Brand New Heavies: May The Funk Be With You

Profile and Interview by Kodwo Eshun, i-D, April 1992

The Brand New Heavies have moved into the forefront of a new musical uprising: clubs, bands and vintage denim. The revolution is here – and ...

En Vogue: Funky Divas (East West America)

Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 7 April 1992

'This Is Your Life'; 'My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)'; 'Hip-Hop Lover'; 'Free Your Mind'; 'Desire'; 'Giving Him Something He Can Feel'; 'It Ain't ...

En Vogue: Diva-Stating

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 7 April 1992

Jeff Lorez travels to Oakland, California to talk to writer/producers Foster & McElory about the apparent True Brit in their new "Funky Divas" album for En Vogue — and to the ...

Soul II Soul: Volume II Just Right (Ten/All formats)

Review by Betty Page, New Musical Express, 18 April 1992

THE SOUL II Soul collective is undoubtedly a shining example of enterprise culture at its best; this culture, of course, being of the Caribbean roots ...

Chaka Khan: The Woman I Am (Warner Bros 7599-26296-2)

Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 21 April 1992

IF I HAD any say in what Chaka Khan recorded I'd go in the studio with her and a bunch of top musicians and play ...

Alison Limerick: My Top Tunes: Alison Limerick selects her all-time favourite ten records.

Interview by Bill Brewster, Mixmag, May 1992

'Optimistic' — Sounds Of Blackness "I'm probably going to say this for most of the songs, but the vocals on this are brilliant. I like harmonies. ...

Smokey Robinson

Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, May 1992

THERE ARE worse jobs than being Smokey Robinson. He's 52, with 2,000 songs down the pike, and still writing as easily as falling out of ...

Meli'sa Morgan: A Suitable Case For Treatment

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 5 May 1992

Psychiatrist, Dr. Jeff Lorez has moved his practice to New York. Enter his first patient... Meli'sa Morgan ...

Soul II Soul: The Right Time

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 5 May 1992

Jazzie B feels Soul II Soul should be recognised for more than just their beats. The collective's new album Just Right Volume II aims to ...

Chaka Khan, Rufus: The B&S Hall of Fame: Rufus & Chaka Khan

Retrospective by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 5 May 1992

"I've been to hell and back... in a limousine!" (Chaka Khan) ...

Otis Clay: The Real Deal: Otis Clay stokes the home fires

Profile and Interview by John Morthland, L.A. Weekly, 7 May 1992

Singing soul like it never really went away ...

Fred Wesley: Comme Ci Comme Ça (Antilles)

Review by John Morthland, L.A. Weekly, 14 May 1992

LIKE HIS fellow James Brown alumnus Maceo Parker, trombonist Fred Wesley returns to the jazz of his youth to prove that there is life after ...

El DeBarge: Storm Warning

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 19 May 1992

FLASHBACK: it's 1989 and El DeBarge is sitting in a conference room at Motown Records discussing his then new album, Gemini (his first in three ...

Natalie Cole, Nat King Cole: Natalie Cole: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Lloyd Bradley, The Independent, 21 May 1992

Not really so unforgettable: Lloyd Bradley is dazed and confused by Natalie Cole at the Royal Albert Hall. ...

Natalie Cole, Nat King Cole: Natalie Cole: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 25 May 1992

'UNFORGETTABLE', Natalie Cole's "duet" with her father, Nat "King", cleaned up this year's Grammy awards. The song, wherein Natalie's voice was grafted onto Pop's 1951 ...

El DeBarge: In the Storm (Warner Bros.) ***

Review by Chuck Eddy, Rolling Stone, 28 May 1992

El DEBARGE'S god (to whom El apologizes for his "lasciviousness" in the liner notes) blessed him with the voice of an angel. When El was ...

Galliano: A Joyful Noise Unto The Creator (Talkin' Loud)

Review by Push, Melody Maker, 30 May 1992

WHAT DO Galliano have to do to get a hit record? It's been bugging me for ages, ever since 'Jus' Reach' fell short of the ...

Carleen Anderson, Brand New Heavies, DaYeene, M People, Joey Negro, Young Disciples: Girls on Song

Report and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Mixmag, June 1992

"IT'S JUST tinkly pianos and wailing slags," was how 808 State once summed up the contribution of female vocalists to house music. If it wasn't ...

Galliano: The Event, Brighton

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 13 June 1992

JUST WHAT is it that's kept Galliano out of the charts? The Occult? Dodgy bar codes? Freak weather conditions? Every other funker, from the Young ...

Sounds of Blackness, Ralph Tresvant, Luther Vandross, Caron Wheeler: Jam & Lewis: Future Perspectives

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 June 1992

Jam & Lewis have been voted the best songwriters in the B&S poll of the second year in succession. However, in a chaotic year, the ...

Phyllis Hyman: Heart to Heart

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 16 June 1992

When Phyllis Hyman opens her heart, it opens all the way, with no holds barred. In a totally frank and, candid interview, the B&S best female vocalist ...

Sounds of Blackness: S.O.B. Story!

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 June 1992

Gospel soul aggregation Sounds Of Blackness, having secured two major awards in the B&S Poll, intend to keep their music and their beliefs in harmony ...

Stevie Wonder: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 16 June 1992

WITH NO newly released album to promote, Stevie and band, backed by The Royal Philharmonic string section could afford to wallow in musical nostalgia and ...

Guy: Teddy Riley: The Life of Riley

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 June 1992

Poll winner Teddy Riley talks to B&S about the Guy split, Michael Jackson, his new record label and technology. ...

Will Downing: Willpower

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 June 1992

Confirmed anglophile Will Downing cements his ongoing love affair with the British public by picking up three Poll category awards. The ever genial Mr. D ...

Prince and the New Power Generation: Sporthalle, Hamburg

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 20 June 1992

Prince and the New Power Generation arrive in Britain this week to play a record stint of Earl's Court. SIMON PRICE taught the great man ...

Al Jarreau: Moving Heaven and Earth

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 30 June 1992

A four year gap in between albums has caused Al Jarreau to carefully re-evaluate his career. The conclusions made and actions undertaken as shown on ...

Loleatta Holloway: No More Free Samples

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 June 1992

Having been sampled to distraction by all and sundry and having suffered her fair share of rip offs, Loleatta Holloway is back with a new ...

Prince & the New Power Generation: Earls Court, London

Live Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 30 June 1992

GOOD OLD Prince, where would we be without him? In an industry that often seems filled with blandness and conformity there's the lil' fella in ...

The Meters: Uptown Rulers! Live on the Queen Mary (Rhino)

Sleeve notes by Don Snowden, Rhino CD, July 1992

SAY WHAT else you will about Paul and Linda McCartney, they sure knew how to throw a party back in 1975. ...

Michael Jackson: Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 1 July 1992

Europe cheers Jackson ...

Ephraim Lewis: Wolverhampton Wanderer

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 28 July 1992

Wolverhampton to Beverly Hills is a long old trek to take but, Ephraim Lewis has made it, taking with him his distinctive brand of British ...

Michael Jackson: Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 8 August 1992

DANNY BAKER was the last man to interview MICHAEL JACKSON before the fences went up and the llamas moved in. Now, some ten years later, ...

3rd Bass, A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, Brand New Heavies, Gang Starr, Jamalski, Kool G Rap, Main Source, The Pharcyde: The Brand New Heavies: Rapper's Delight

Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 15 August 1992

THE BRAND NEW HEAVIES' new LP is a veritable cornucopia of rap talent. PUSH gets the word on the band that all the other bands ...

Bobby Brown, Ephraim Lewis: Bobby Brown: Bobby (MCA MCD 10695); Ephraim Lewis: Skin (Elektra 7559- 61318)

Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 22 August 1992

From US slick to British snooze ...

Bobby Brown: Bobby (MCA)

Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 25 August 1992

IF AIN'T BROKE don't fix it. Working with Teddy Riley and L.A. & 'Face worked pretty well for Bobby Brown first time round and my ...

Brian McKnight: The Life of Brian

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 25 August 1992

He sings, he writes, he plays, he's just released his debut solo album and he's only twenty-two. Wow! ...

Mary Wells: a Tribute by Dave Godin

Obituary by Dave Godin, Blues & Soul, 25 August 1992

GIRL GODDESS OF R&B FANS... this title (long before political correctness had taken all the passion, fun and romance out of sexual desire), was the ...

Ten City: Basic Instincts

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 25 August 1992

Ten City's new album, No House Big Enough sees them in stripped down, raw and uncompromising form, intent on causing dancefloor mayhem. ...

Michael Jackson: Normal Rules Do Not Apply

Report by Lloyd Bradley, Q, September 1992

Weird as ever but somehow less intriguing than before, the planet Michael Jackson still spins in its own orbit. His tour arrives in Britain this ...

Stevie Wonder: CD Reissues

Review by Andy Gill, Q, September 1992

Stevie Wonder reissued: from 12-Year-Old-Genius to I Just Called To Say I Love You. ...

Carmel: Good News (EastWest)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 5 September 1992

HOW DOES one combine good taste in all its repulsive manifestations with the desire to expose corruption and general street-level decay? F*** knows, but Carmel, ...

Brand New Heavies: The Brand New Heavies: Heavy Rhyme Experience Vol. 1 (Acid Jazz)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 5 September 1992

YES! WHAT a brilliant simple, obvious idea! Why, you Have to wonder, has nobody thought of it before. Well, somebody did; a crew name of ...

Freddie Jackson: Dinner Time With Freddie

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 8 September 1992

David Nathan dons his best bib and tucker and joins Freddie Jackson for dinner in LA, to discuss his new Time For Love album and ...

Boyz II Men, Toni Braxton, Bobby Brown, TLC: L.A. & Babyface: Reid All About It

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 9 September 1992

As if to ridicule the cynics who suggested that they'd passed their sell-by date, L.A. & Babyface are back with a bang and leading a two man assault on the music biz. L.A. Reid talks ...

Big Audio Dynamite, The Tyrell Corporation, The Wolfgang Press: Bad II, The Wolfgang Press, Tyrell Corporation: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 19 September 1992

CHARITY GIGS are decidedly advantageous in that they encourage strange bedfellows to share a stage; there's none of the usual persecution of support acts to ...

Neneh Cherry: A Life In The Day Of . . . Neneh Cherry

Interview by Simon Witter, The Sunday Times, 20 September 1992

Born of a West African father and a Swedish mother, Neneh Cherry, 28, takes her name from the American jazz trumpeter Don Cherry, whom her ...

James Carr: The Lost Voice Of Soul

Report and Interview by Robert Gordon, Q, October 1992

WHEN IT WAS BUILT IN THE 1950s, Memphis's Mid South Building was probably stylish and sleek. Today, the blocky turquoise exterior pales next to the ...

Neneh Cherry: My Top Tunes

Interview by Bill Brewster, Mixmag, October 1992

What's Goin' On — Marvin Gaye ...

Brand New Heavies, Gang Starr: The Brand New Heavies: Heavy Rhyme Experience Vol. 1 (Delicious Vinyl/Atlantic)

Review by Jon Young, Musician, October 1992

ENGLAND'S BRAND New Heavies may be an ordinary soul-funk combo, but that hasn't stopped enterprising A&R types from gettin' busy. For their debut album, somebody ...

Neneh Cherry: Homebrew (Circa)

Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 24 October 1992

CHERRY BOMB ...

Omar: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 30 October 1992

IN WHAT is becoming an oddly familiar scenario, a new wave of British soul singers is offering a young, credible alternative to the over-stylised dominance ...

Prince and The New Power Generation: 0{+>

Review by David Sinclair, Q, November 1992

APPARENTLY UNAFFECTED by his elevation to executive status at Warner Brothers Records, Prince bounces back with yet another 75 minutes' worth of music celebrating his ...

The Christians: Blood On The Tracks

Report and Interview by Andy Gill, Q, November 1992

Song-sequencing is a small yet significant element of what experts call "the album-making process". Could Revolver have started with anything other than 'Taxman?' Should 'Madame ...

Etta James: Rollin' With Etta

Interview by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 1 November 1992

Etta James has sung and lived the blues, but these are good times for the R&B matriarch bound for the Rock and Roll Hall of ...

En Vogue: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 11 November 1992

A lot of heart, but not much soul David Sinclair is charmed, if not wholly convinced, by the British debut of a vocal group that has ...

Etta James: The Time Of Her Life

Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 17 November 1992

With her new Jerry Wexler-produced The Right Time album showcasing Etta James at the pinnacle of soul creativity, the lady talks to Roger St. Pierre ...

Maceo Parker: Have Funk — Will Travel!

Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 17 November 1992

Home is where the funk is for Maceo Parker and his on-the-road partners. He lives in Carolina, is managed from California, records in New York ...

Etta James: The Right Time ****

Review by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, 26 November 1992

THERE IS no greater living blues singer than Etta James, and no producer more attuned to the right setting for a blues diva than Jerry ...

George Clinton: Funkadelic: Doctor Funkenstein, I Presume

Report and Interview by Andy Gill, Q, December 1992

"Free your ass," he once advised the world, "and your mind will follow." Another song of his explored the fear of being eaten by a ...

Sade

Interview by Bill Holdship, Pulse!, December 1992

Cool, smooth & refreshing, Britain's sultry siren of song checks in with her first new album in four years, Love Deluxe. ...

Etta James: Town And Country Club, London

Live Review by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 1 December 1992

ETTA JAMES is a big, big lady, with a big, big voice — and she certainly made full use of her lung-power in wowing her ...

Regina Belle: The Blue Note, Greenwich Village, New York NY

Live Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 1 December 1992

THE FAMED Blue Note club situated in Greenwich Village has been able to boast an impressive line-up of visiting female divas in recent weeks. With ...

Sounds of Blackness: The Sounds of Blackness: The Night Before Christmas...A Musical Fantasy (A&M 549 000-2)

Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 1 December 1992

A SOUNDS OF Blackness album really is something of a musical adventure. This, as with the first is an exploration into the history and development ...

Blackstreet, Teddy Riley, Wreckx-N-Effect: Wiley Riley

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 1 December 1992

Jeff Lorez caught up with Teddy Riley when he was "on a kind of break", having just completed the Wreckx-N-Effect album and preparing forthcoming work ...

Charles & Eddie: Soul Providers

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 15 December 1992

With the runaway success of their 'Would I Lie To You', Charles & Eddie suggest that maybe the public are ready for real songs and ...

Erma Franklin: Ad Infinitum!

Retrospective and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 15 December 1992

Thanks to their inclusion in TV ads, a number of soul classics have enjoyed new leases of life and seem destined to remain firm favourites ...

David Sanborn, Rachelle Ferrell: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 29 December 1992

I HAVE TO admit, I don't think that the largely all standing T&C was the ideal venue for either of these acts. ...

Flyte Tyme 10th Year Anniversary, 1982-1992: The Jam & Lewis Story

Report by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 29 December 1992

I COULDN'T believe that I'd actually asked for a hotel wake-up call for 3:45am! By 4:30am I was struggling to keep my eyes open in ...

Flyte Tyme, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Alexander O'Neal, Prince, The Time: The Jam & Lewis Story, Part 1: Flyte of Fantasy

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 29 December 1992

To mark the tenth anniversary of Jam & Lewis's ultra-successful Flyte Tyme Productions, Jeff Lorez flew to Minneapolis and spoke to Jimmy Jam for more than eight hours over two ...

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis: Terry Lewis (1992)

Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, Fall 1992

Part One: Terry on setting up Jam & Lewis' Perspective label and producing Sounds of Blackness; what he and Jimmy ask of their acts; the duo's work ethic; looking back at The Time; on "attitude" records and revealing their artists' personalities; sustaining success and originality; race and the music business, and their role as producers. Part Two: Terry talks about producing his wife Karyn White; on what Prince and Madonna do which sets them apart; on Johnny Gill; on appealing to more than one age group; turning down established stars; on Ralph Tresvant and New Edition, and about the enduring talents of Janet Jackson.

File format: mp3; total file size: 52.4mb, total interview length: 54' 13" sound quality: ***

Jamiroquai

Report and Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 1993

AFTER LESS than a year in the recording business, Jason Kay, the man who is Jamiroquai, has developed an understanding with the press. They are ...

Otis Redding: The Definitive Otis Redding

Sleeve notes by Carol Cooper, Rhino Records, 1993

THE HISTORY IN JUNE 1993, Essence magazine published the results of a listener poll conducted by WBGO-FM’s Felix Hernandez, host of the weekly rhythm & ...

Mariah Carey's Very Good Year

Interview by Jon Young, Musician, January 1993

"I DIDN'T KNOW what to expect," says Mariah Carey, recalling the taping of her Unplugged special for MTV last March. "I wasn't originally planning on ...

Prince: The Land of Paisley

Report and Interview by Mark Petracca, Creem, January 1993

As I reach the threshold of the mighty warrior, i feel a shudder pass through me. My self-worth is at stake. My shoes are too ...

Sade: Punk 'n' Soul

Interview by James Hunter, L.A. Style, January 1993

On Love Deluxe, Sade eschews formula to arrive at the right fusion ...

Brand New Heavies: Town & Country Club, Leeds

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 9 January 1993

MY MOTHER warned me about getting into cars with strangers. Perhaps she should have also told me about the dangers of accepting voyages into strange ...

Brand New Heavies: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Angus Batey, New Musical Express, 16 January 1993

THE STAGE is awash with reflected light from a dozen mirrorballs and the back wall is bedecked in enough gold lame to keep Moz in ...

Boney M: The Fridge, Brixton, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 19 January 1993

WHAT MIXTURE of whimsy and misanthropy persuaded Arista Records to release a "Boney M megamix"? It appears to be part of a bizarre masterplan to ...

Patti Austin, Cherrelle, The Human League, Cheryl Lynn, Alexander O'Neal, The SOS Band: Jam & Lewis: Flyte of Fantasy Part II

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 19 January 1993

Jeff Lorez continues his in-depth report on the tenth anniversary of Jam & Lewis's Flyte Tyme Productions. ...

Gil Scott-Heron: Jazz poet shuns rap spotlight

Report and Interview by Nicholas Jennings, Toronto Star, 28 January 1993

HE HAS BEEN called the godfather of rap, but Gil Scott-Heron steadfastly refuses to bask in any hip hop glory. ...

Jamiroquai: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 30 January 1993

JAZZ, FOR FUNK'S SAKE! ...

Herb Alpert, Bell Biv DeVoe, Morris Day, Johnny Gill, Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, New Edition, Alexander O'Neal, Sounds of Blackness, The Time, Ralph Tresvant: Jam & Lewis: Flyte of Fantasy Part III

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 2 February 1993

Jeff Lorez concludes his in-depth report on the tenth anniversary of Jam & Lewis's Flyte Tyme Productions ...

Curtis Mayfield: The Anthology 1961-1977

Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 4 February 1993

CURTIS MAYFIELD and the Impressions: The Anthology, a two-CD, forty-song set, is a remarkable document. Lovingly assembled by Chicago-soul authority Robert Pruter, this collection connects ...

Boyz II Men: Can You Handle It?

Interview by Tom Doyle, Smash Hits, 17 February 1993

How many awkward questions have you got to ask Boyz II Men before they stop being so damn polite? ...

Young Disciples: Road to Freedom (Mercury)

Review by Amy Linden, Creem, March 1993

GET MORE than three Brits together in the same club and the next thing you know you've got yourself a whole goddamn movement, with accompanying ...

George Clinton: Fresh funk keeps George Clinton cooking

Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 5 March 1993

IF FRANK SINATRA was, by some chance, watching the Grammy telecast last week, he'd have likely poured himself another drink and muttered darkly into his ...

Mica Paris: Jazz Cafe, Camden, London

Live Review by Max Bell, The Evening Standard, 12 March 1993

A passion for south London ...

Jamiroquai: Hat's Entertainment!

Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 20 March 1993

Jamiroquai are Jay Kay, basically, a serious 22-year-old west Londoner with serious political ideas, a serious love of funk and a seriously funky voice. PUSH ...

Womack and Womack: House of Zekkariyas: Womack and Womack Transformation to the House of Zekkariyas (Warner Brothers 4-450-75)

Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 28 March 1993

THE SINGING group House of Zekkariyas (formerly known as Womack and Womack) has a soul pedigree that runs river deep. Linda Womack is the daughter ...

Jerry Wexler (1993)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 30 March 1993

Smokin' weed in the MOMA courtyard: growing up in NYC and the people he grew up with; meeting the Erteguns; writing for Billboard; the early days at Atlantic and working with Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and more...

File format: mp3; file size: 46.7mb, interview length: 48' 38" sound quality: ***

Regina Belle: Pride and Passion

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 30 March 1993

It had been three years since Regina's last album, but then she found herself topping the charts with her movie duet with Peabo Bryson. Now ...

James Carr: At the Dark End of the Soul

Profile and Interview by Robert Gordon, L.A. Weekly, May 1993

THE WALLS OF the office are mostly bare, the blue carpeting subdued. The fax machine in the corner seems like an anachronism. Only the large ...

Jamiroquai: Eco-Funk Warrior

Interview by Kodwo Eshun, i-D, May 1993

Jamiroquai's "voice of a generation" songs and ecological statements have made him the figurehead of the new funk scene. But behind the hits is a ...

D:Ream, Lisa B, Serious Rope: Lisa B, D:Ream, Serious Rope: Fun

Interview by Bill Brewster, Mixmag, May 1993

  IT'S ABOUT a change of heart and a swift move up in emphasis. It's about Songs, Glamour and Style in capital letters. ...

Kenny G: A breathless encounter with Kenny G

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 11 May 1993

It's questions and answers time for the chart-topping saxman as David Nathan catches up with him prior to his UK concert dates supporting Michael Bolton. ...

Apache, Naughty By Nature, Run-DMC, SWV, Wreckx-N-Effect: Naughty By Nature, Run D.M.C., SWV, Wreckx-n-Effect, Apache: Radio City Music Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 13 May 1993

RUN-D.M.C. holds a fistful of rap firsts — Top Five single, million-selling album, Rolling Stone cover — so it's hardly surprising that it's now the ...

Aretha Franklin: Radio City Music Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 25 May 1993

IT WAS A packed Radio City Music Hall that turned out to witness the Queen Of Soul on this, the first of a two night ...

Janet Jackson: Janet (Virgin)

Review by Mark Rowland, Musician, June 1993

IF PEOPLE get the governments they deserve, as the saying goes, they probably get the pop stars they deserve as well. It's a humbling angle ...

Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Jerry Wexler: Jerry Wexler: Production without style — on purpose

Interview by Fred Goodman, Musician, June 1993

Hands-off from Muscle Shoals to Stax to New York City ...

Janet Jackson: Luscious: Janet Jackson: Janet (Virgin)

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 5 June 1993

IT can be done. Pop music in 1993 can be big, beautiful, frisky, proud, mellow, brash, subtle, motivating, sassy, plush and irresistible. Janet Jackson is ...

Whitney Houston: Down and Dirty

Interview by Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone, 10 June 1993

YOU'RE EXPECTING her to float delicately into the room, but Whitney Houston strides in with a purposeful air. She's dressed way down in purple stretch ...

Dina Carroll, Monie Love, Alexander O'Neal: Warming up at last — Alexander O'Neal, Dina Carroll, Monie Love: Alexandra Park, London

Live Review by David Toop, The Times, 29 June 1993

SOUL IN THE PARK: David Toop at a north London gathering of night owls in the sunshine ...

Charles & Eddie, En Vogue: Harmony Singing: You Have A Lovely Singing Voice

Report and Interview by Lloyd Bradley, Q, July 1993

Three years ago it had all but disappeared beneath the deluge of hard rap and technological beats. Now, from the choreographed trouser arousal of En ...

Whitney Houston Hit: The Bodyguard Soundtrack Has Shot at Sales Record

Report by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 July 1993

Astonishingly, six months after release, the rather unremarkable collection of songs is already halfway toward eclipsing the 40 million sales mark set 10 years ago ...

SWV returning home as VIPs

Interview by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 15 July 1993

SWV STANDS for "Sisters With Voices." No, they aren't sisters, but they have voices that you cannot get away from, no matter how hard you ...

M People: M-People: La Villette, Paris

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 17 July 1993

THE 20TH anniversary party for Europe's premier radical newspaper, Liberation, and even Pepe Le Punk would have been silenced by the fun. ...

Bell Biv DeVoe: Hootie Mack (MCA 10682; CD and cassette)

Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 18 July 1993

When Rap Meets Rhythm-and-Blues ...

Tina Turner, Ike & Tina Turner: What's Love Got To Do With It? (Dir.: Brian Gibson, Buena Vista Pictures)

Film/DVD/TV Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 20 July 1993

Tina: a legend in her own time ...

Brenda Russell: Talkin' Proud and Sayin' Something...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 20 July 1993

BRENDA RUSSELL, singer/songwriter extraordinaire, is sitting in the tasteful living room of her house, tucked away from the madness of LA at the end of ...

George Benson: Labour of Love

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 20 July 1993

TRYING TO please all of the people all of the time is no easy task and when you're a multi-faceted music man you run the ...

H-Town, Jade, LL Cool J, Naughty By Nature, Shai, Silk, SWV: L.L. Cool J, Naughty by Nature, H-Town, Jade, SWV, Silk, Shai: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 20 July 1993

Hormones in Harmony at Garden Summerfest sizzles with sex as rappers drop trousers & leave pants in their wake ...

SWV: It's About Time (RCA/BMG 07863 66074)

Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 20 July 1993

IT'S ABOUT Time is a pretty applicable title for this group's release in the UK which has been long overdue. Into their umpteenth hit single ...

Prince: My name is Prince (well it was)

Report by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 21 July 1993

To criticise Prince is to reveal yourself as a musically illiterate Jason Donovan fan. But who is this workaholic, whose band call him 'sir' and ...

Prince & the New Power Generation: National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 28 July 1993

Funked up: The new PC Prince starts his British tour in fine style in Birmingham ...

Prince: Birmingham National Indoor Arena

Live Review by Paul Moody, New Musical Express, 7 August 1993

THE TINY FIGURE in silky lemon and black trouser-suit and Spanish heels is talking. ...

Tony! Toni! Toné!: Sons of Soul (Mercury 3145514933-2; CD and cassette)

Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 5 September 1993

Basking in Soul's Past Glory ...

The CBS Orchestra, Bernie Worrell: Funk master Worrell gets "a steady gig"

Report and Interview by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 6 September 1993

Brilliant Bernie joins Letterman show's band ...

Tony! Toni! Toné!: Forum, London

Live Review by Andrew Smith, The Guardian, 8 September 1993

THERE ARE many unspoken rules in pop. One is that you can tell how important a group consider themselves to be by the number of ...

Judy Clay: Judy's private number rings at last!

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 14 September 1993

When David Nathan rang Judy Clay, he was amazed to learn that he would be conducting her first-ever full-out interview with any publication, despite her ...

Will Downing: Love's the Place to Be (Mercury 3145180862; CD and cassette)

Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 26 September 1993

WILL DOWNING'S voice is an elegant, languid caress. But the 28-year-old singer, who has three previous albums, has never enjoyed the success of Luther Vandross ...

Keith Washington: Make Time For Love (Qwest/Warner Bros 4-45336)

Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 28 September 1993

THE FACT that, for me, the Maze chestnut, 'Before I Let Go', which is played by a live band, is the best cut on this ...

Prince, Mavis Staples: Mavis Staples: A Voice Like No Other...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 28 September 1993

Times were tough for Mavis Staples in the years when she and her family didn't have a deal... and then along came Prince and signed ...

Mavis Staples, Prince, The Steeles: Prince & The New Power Generation/Mavis Staples/The Steeles: Wembley Arena and Bagley's Warehouse, King's Cross Freight Depot, London

Live Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 28 September 1993

THE MAN KNOWS no bounds. Having already performed a half hour show for the BBC that morning, Prince was intent on ending his European tour ...

Tony Toni Toné: The Forum, Kentish Town, London

Live Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 28 September 1993

I'M A FAN of the Tonies... what they stand for, the music they make, the whole tongue in cheek element; their acknowledgement of Northern California's ...

Ultra Naté: Insane in the Brain

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 28 September 1993

The music industry can send a woman over the edge. Ultra Naté may see her new album, One Woman's Insanity, as a 'do or die' ...

Michael McDonald: Jazz Cafe, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 29 September 1993

McDonald's nuggets ...

Silk, U.N.V. : Silk, U.N.V.: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 29 September 1993

Smooth and sassy ...

Bootsy Collins

Interview by Mark Sinker, The Wire, October 1993

2005 note: Much of the cultural rhetoric surrounding funk is just teacher’s-pet attempts to plod-cram the music back into the squarest box available – I ...

Lightnin' Rod: Great Recordings: Lightnin' Rod — Hustler's Convention

Retrospective by Kodwo Eshun, The Wire, October 1993

In 1973, Jalal Nuriddin of The Last Poets changed his name to Lightnin' Rod and recorded Hustler's Convention, the first Blaxploitation audiodrama. Kodwo Eshun recalls ...

Paul Weller: invisible jukebox: Paul Weller

Interview by Philip Watson, The Wire, October 1993

Every month we play a musician a series of records which they’re asked to identify and comment on — with no prior knowledge of what they’re ...

Marcus Miller, David Sanborn, Luther Vandross: Marcus Miller: Back to the Future

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 12 October 1993

CATCHING UP with Marcus Miller is no easy task. Forget about trying his home in New Jersey because he's hardly ever there. Chances are you'll ...

Teddy Pendergrass: Preparing To Close The Door And Turn Off The Lights After 25 Glorious Years?

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 12 October 1993

Teddy celebrates the 25th anniversary of his highly successful career with his new A Little More Magic album, but he hints to JEFF LOREZ that ...

Garnet Mimms: Unsung Heroes: Garnet Mimms

Retrospective by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 12 October 1993

Roger St Pierre tracks some of the legendary names from R&B history. ...

Lisa Stansfield: Singing The Booze

Interview by Nick Coleman, Time Out, 13 October 1993

She speaks as she finds, does Lisa Stansfield. Over in Dublin cutting her third album, So Natural, she lays it on the line about heavy ...

Michael Jackson: An Abuse of Trust: Michael Jackson Defends His Honor

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 14 October 1993

FOR MICHAEL Jackson, a man who has spent an enormous amount or time and millions of dollars helping underprivileged, sick and disabled children, it was ...

War: Jazz Café, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 15 October 1993

MANY OF the audience at this first of five London shows would have been at primary school when War last came to town. The Rainbow, ...

Carleen Anderson: Funky Diva

Profile and Interview by Kodwo Eshun, i-D, November 1993

Carleen Anderson was a member of James Brown's band. Then she sang with the Young Disciples. This month she releases her passionate solo debut — ...

George Clinton: Hey Man, Smell My Finger (Paisley Park)

Review by Richard C. Walls, Musician, November 1993

BEING THE mad Messiah of Funk and all, George Clinton could easily coast on his rep. Instead he's come up with the best album of ...

Jody Watley: Intimacy (MCA)

Review by Amy Linden, Vibe, November 1993

I DON'T WANT a gangsta bitch. Granted, no one's offering, but I don't want one. I don't think bitches ain't nuthin' but hoes and tricks, ...

Tony! Toni! Tone!: Hitting the Wonder button with Soul's Hottest Retro Pioneers

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Musician, November 1993

"WE GOT one little trick we use when we're making records," says Tim Christian Riley. Tim and his cousins Dwayne and Raphael Wiggins comprise the ...

Dina Carroll: Dina delivers the soul — Dina Carroll: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 12 November 1993

A triumphant London debut for Dina Carroll at the Hammersmith Apollo ...

Terri & Monica: Terri and Monica: Systa (Epic Records 53436; CD and cassette)

Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 21 November 1993

THE PHENOMENAL crossover success of the singer Mary J. Blige has, not surprisingly, produced a truckload of street-savvy, no-nonsense female rhythm-and-blues singers. Taking their cue ...

Sister Sledge, Tammy Wynette: Sister Sledge: Forum, London; Tammy Wynette: Palladium, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 30 November 1993

Standby your sisters: Revived seventies disco queens Sister Sledge and the First Lady of country music Tammy Wynette woo London ...

M People, The Tyrrel Corporation: M People, Evolution, Tyrrel Corporation: The Academy, Manchester

Live Review by Lisa Verrico, Mixmag, December 1993

UNLESS YOU'VE spent the last six months in an Iraqi jail, you'll have noticed M People. Mike Pickering's house-music-goes-pop combo has grown from a personal ...

Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, Color Me Badd, En Vogue, Intro, Jade, Jodeci, Shai, Silk, SWV: Quiet Storm: The Year In R&B

Report by Frank Owen, Vibe, December 1993

While no one was looking, a new kind of R&B became the dominant force in pop music. And still it gets no respect. ...

Toni Braxton

Profile and Interview by Amy Linden, Essence, December 1993

She's putting the blues back into R&B and singing up a quiet storm ...

Tony Toni Toné: Sons of Soul

Report and Interview by Simon Witter, The Sunday Times, December 1993

SAN FRANCISCO'S Oakland area has a history of producing great, energetic groups - from Sly & The Family Stone and The Pointer Sisters to Hammer ...

Diana Ross: Miss Ross the Boss

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 1 December 1993

Singer, actress, businesswoman — Diana Ross has always been in control in 30 years of show business ...

Toni Braxton: Her Throaty Alto Gently Echoes An Earlier Era

Profile and Interview by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 5 December 1993

THE FIRST clue that Toni Braxton's career was about to take off came in 1992 when she was the featured singer on the soundtrack for ...

Jamiroquai: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 11 December 1993

THE CAT IN THE HAT ...

Funkadelic, Parliament: The Jazzy Funkateers: Life after James Brown and P-Funk

Report and Interview by Hank Bordowitz, American Visions, Winter 1993

AS THE SEVEN musicians on the stage at Tramps in New York launch into a instrumental version of 'Cold Sweat', six hundred voices in the ...

James Carr, Dan Penn: Cheatin' Meeting of Minds: 'The Dark End of the Street'

Retrospective by Barney Hoskyns, Independent on Sunday, 9 January 1994

"THIS IS probably one of the greatest songs that's ever come out of black American music," announces Ricky Ross over the piano intro to Deacon ...

Jodeci: Diary of a Mad Band (Uptown Records UPTC 10915; CD and cassette)

Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 9 January 1994

The Hip-Hop's Great, but There's Just One Problem ...

Carleen Anderson, Young Disciples: Carleen Anderson: Songs from the Soul

Interview by Sean O'Hagan, The Guardian, 28 January 1994

Carleen Anderson has had a bitter, difficult life on both sides of the Atlantic. Now much of it features in her seductive, defiant music. ...

Funkadelic, George Clinton, Parliament: George Clinton: Funky 54

Retrospective and Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, February 1994

PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC, P-Funk, The P -- Specially designed afronauts capable of funketizing entire galaxies. Their mothership long ago made its terrestrial connection and they are amongst ...

Carleen Anderson: Forum, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 2 February 1994

God-daughter with an offer you can't refuse ...

Kenny G: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 2 February 1994

Safe and smooth as skimmed milk ...

Carleen Anderson, Young Disciples: Carleen Anderson: Soul Mother

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 12 February 1994

  CARLEEN ANDERSON is a former Young Disciple, James Brown's god-daughter, and the creator of one of 1994's first great singles. DAVID BENNUN hears her life ...

Angela Winbush's Old and New Style

Interview by J.D. Considine, Musician, March 1994

"NON-AESTHETIC records that sound like carbon copies of another." ...

Darlene Love, The Righteous Brothers: Bill Medley and Darlene Love: Righteous Brother and Sister

Retrospective and Interview by Jeff Tamarkin, Goldmine, 4 March 1994

THERE'S A point during Darlene Love's one-woman show, Portrait Of A Singer, where she's talking about singing background vocals on the Righteous Brothers' 1966 #1 ...

Curtis Mayfield: No Sad Songs For Curtis Mayfield

Report and Interview by Steven R Rosen, Denver Post, 6 March 1994

ANYONE CAN HAVE a paralyzing, life-diminishing accident at anytime - bad things happen to good people just as often as good things. You just accept ...

R Kelly: R. Kelly: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 14 March 1994

WITH RAP the genre of choice of so many young American black musicians, traditional soul looks endangered. Twenty five-year-old R Kelly offers one answer to ...

R. Kelly, Zhané: Apollo, Hammersmith, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 15 March 1994

The bard of bed and bawd ...

7669, Queen Latifah: Queen Latifah: Black Reign (Motown 530 272-2); 7669: 7669 East from a Bad Block (Motown 530 284-2)

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 17 March 1994

BLACK FEMALE artists are assailed by an obligation to serve as role models that doesn't operate on their male colleagues with anything like the same ...

Mable John: Her Good Thing

Interview by Kirk Silsbee, Los Angeles Reader, 25 March 1994

For R&B Hall of Famer Mable John, Music Has Healing Powers ...

Marvin Gaye: The Ostend of the Road

Film/DVD/TV Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 28 March 1994

Arena's vivid documentary evokes Marvin Gaye's final years ...

Primal Scream: Hell's Angel: Primal Scream

Memoir by Tim Tooher, MOJO, April 1994

Last year Primal Scream's pilgrimage to the holiest sources of the Devil's music brought them to Memphis, where they recorded their newest album Give Out ...

Level 42: The Most Famous Thumb in Rock

Interview by Stuart Maconie, Q, April 1994

NOW WHO would live in a house like this? one thinks, as the taxi traverses the length of the drive and passes between the ornamental ...

Rick James: The Untold Story

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Vibe, April 1994

While Rick James was ruling the charts with hits like 'Super Freak' and 'Give It To Me Baby', he was descending into the drug addiction ...

Carleen Anderson, Madeline Bell, Rhoda Dakar, N'Dea Davenport, Pauline Henry, Marsha Hunt, Denise Johnson, Dee C Lee, Shara Nelson: The New Soul Rebels

Report and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Vox, April 1994

Singing hairdos? Not any longer. Britain's new breed of single black females are feisty, independent and take no prisoners ...

Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie: Prophet Or Dead Loss?

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 2 April 1994

Primal Scream’s new LP, Give Out But Don’t Give Up, has split the voters. Some think it’s retro-rockist rubbish, others believe it’s the ultimate good-time ...

Dr. John (1994)

Interview by Andy Schwartz, Rock's Backpages audio, 18 April 1994

The erstwhile Night Tripper on writing his autobiography Under a Hoodoo Moon; on the New Orleans music business — the rip-offs, lousy studios, useless Musician's Union, Jim Garrison; on his new album Television; on drugs and recovery; on moving to New York City; on the modern recording scene (and being sampled by Beck); on his early involvement in N.Y. hip hop... and how he started out just playing for fun.

File format: mp3; file size: 72.1mb, interview length: 1h 15' 03" sound quality: ****

Des'ree, Sounds of Blackness: Sounds of Blackness, Des'ree: Apollo, Hammersmith

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 25 April 1994

Songs of praise and passion ...

Brand New Heavies, Corduroy, Galliano, Jamiroquai, The James Taylor Quartet: Galliano: Sandals Messiahs

Report and Interview by Paul Moody, New Musical Express, 28 May 1994

Five years ago GALLIANO was just a sticky Mediterranean drink. Now they're a band on the verge of major success, spearheading the movement that's the ...

Nirvana: Kurt Cobain: The Heartbreak Kid

Overview by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, June 1994

KURT COBAIN was a great success. He wrote, he sang, he played lead guitar for the new band of the '90s. He made millions of ...

Carleen Anderson: Only too willing to surrender

Interview by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 10 June 1994

For years Carleen Anderson thought she had avoided giving in to music. But the tunes in her head proved just too strong to resist ...

Brand New Heavies: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Andrew Smith, The Guardian, 23 June 1994

WHEN BRAND New Heavies lumbered on to the scene in 1988, few would have rated their chances of surviving into 1994, let alone of becoming ...

Diana Ross: NEC, Birmingham

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 27 June 1994

Diana Ross returns to celebrate a half-century, and a mysterious 30th anniversary, at Birmingham NEC ...

Cassandra Wilson: A Diva's Progress

Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, GQ, July 1994

When jazz singer Cassandra Wilson gave in to her secret taste for pop music, she seduced a whole new audience ...

Jamiroquai: Jay Kay, What's Your Problem? Not Being Black?

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, July 1994

JAMIROQUAI'S 24-year-old Jason Kay (aka Jay Kay) was brought up in Ealing, West London, by his jazz-singer mother, Karen Kay. Inspired by the likes of ...

Aretha Franklin: The Columbia Years

Discography by David Nathan, Goldmine, 8 July 1994

IN AN EFFORT to glorify the outstanding work that she did at Atlantic Records (1967-1979), musicologists and music industry pundits frequently refer to Aretha Franklin's ...

Dan Penn: Southern Soul Rises Again : Dan Penn's Do Right Man Out on Top Label

Report and Interview by Steven R Rosen, Denver Post, 10 July 1994

IF THE RACIAL history of the American South was a book, it would be a tragedy - but not without inspirational chapters about black and ...

Natalie Cole: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 13 July 1994

Natalie's art still belongs to daddy ...

Vic Chesnutt, Guy Clark, Dan Penn, Joe South, Allen Toussaint: Dan Penn, Allen Toussaint, Guy Clark, Joe South, Vic Chesnutt: Southern Songwriters' Circle, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 27 July 1994

A southern heaven ...

Dan Penn: A Career Made of Being Where He Doesn't Belong

Profile and Interview by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 31 July 1994

DAN PENN is propped against a graffiti-covered wall in Harlem. The photographer motions to him and Mr. Penn responds by pushing his sunglasses down and ...

Prince breaks the silence

Profile and Interview by Alan Light, Vibe, August 1994

The man who won't be Prince speaks at last about his new name, his new attitude and a new body of work we may never ...

Prince: Come (Warner Bros 9362-45700-2)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 12 August 1994

WE COULD be forgiven for assuming that Prince — or The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, as he's officially titled — is uninterested in subjects ...

Prince: Come (Warner Brothers 9362-45700-2/10tks/49mins/FP)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 13 August 1994

There's no getting round it. Prince's new album is, explicitly, all about eating pussy. Beavis & Butt-Head would explode. SIMON PRICE needed a good hosing ...

Percy Sledge (1994)

Interview by Mat Snow, Rock's Backpages audio, September 1994

The sould legend from the Quad-cities, Tri-states area on Otis, Bobby Womack, his love of country music, and the making of the National Anthem of North-West Alabama, 'When A Man Loves A Woman'.

File format: mp3; file sizes: 78.4meg, interview length: 1h 21' 42" sound quality: ***

Prince of Confusion

Essay by David Toop, The Face, September 1994

David Toop listens to the old and the new and wonders which is which ...

Boyz II Men: II (Motown) ****

Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 4 September 1994

Boyz II Men: A Smooth Transition. II shows Philly quartet isn't just a passing fancy. ...

David McAlmont: A year in the life of a future star

Interview by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 30 September 1994

Twelve months ago, David McAlmont recorded the songs that will make him one of those overnight successes you're always reading about. ...

Bootsy Collins: Tramps, New York NY

Live Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 1 October 1994

Despite Sore Throat, Bootsy Puts His Best Funk Forward ...

Bobby Womack: Resurrection (Continuum Records 19401; CD and cassette)

Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 9 October 1994

BOBBY WOMACK, one of soul's unsung heroes, hasn't put out an album since the mid-80's. The man who played with the legendary Sam Cooke and ...

Bobby Womack: Resurrection (Continuum Records 19401; CD and cassette)

Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 9 October 1994

BOBBY WOMACK, one of soul's unsung heroes, hasn't put out an album since the mid-80's. The man who played with the legendary Sam Cooke and ...

Luther Vandross: Songs (Epic, $15.98)

Review by Amy Linden, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 October 1994

Some Schmaltz From Vandross ...

Brand New Heavies: Mississippi Earning

Report and Interview by Paul Moody, New Musical Express, 15 October 1994

Audiences across the Atlantic have taken to THE BRAND NEW HEAVIES like their long lost brother/sister, seduced by the glamour of these sharp-dressed poppy funksters. ...

Bootsy Collins: Q&A With Bootsy Collins

Interview by Amy Linden, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 October 1994

THE PREMIER funk bassist of this or any other time, place or galaxy, William (Bootsy) Collins, is back on the road and representing the P-Funk ...

Prince: Come (Warner Bros.)

Review by Chuck Eddy, L.A. Weekly, 20 October 1994

OKAY, FIRST off the individuals who used to call themselves Jim Morrison. Elvis Costello and Prince were all the same person! Their music all featured ...

Jamiroquai: Lost In Space

Interview by Andrew Smith, The Face, November 1994

JAY KAY shouldn't really be telling me shit like this. He and his band for — make no mistake, it is his band — have ...

Teena Marie: Teena In Wonderland

Interview by Chuck Eddy, Vibe, November 1994

R&B's honorary soul sister, Teena Marie, has a new album, her own label, and a beautiful daughter — it must be magic. ...

Jamiroquai: Cardiff University, Wales

Live Review by Paul Moody, New Musical Express, 11 November 1994

Champignon, The (Stevie) Wonder Hoarse ...

George Benson, Buddy Guy: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 15 November 1994

Blues for Guy as Benson frets ...

Jamiroquai: The Return Of The Space Cowboy

Review by David Sinclair, Q, December 1994

ONLY JAY Kay could come up with as naff a title as The Return Of The Space Cowboy and make it sound about right. A ...

Hot House, M People: M People

Profile and Interview by David Toop, The Face, December 1994

THE "DISCO SUCKS" MENTALITY REARS ITS UGLY HEAD AGAIN. JUST AS M PEOPLE'S STAR REACHES ITS ZENITH, THEIR AWARD-WINNING SHEEN BURNING BRIGHT, THE MUSIC WORLD DISSENT ...

M People: People in the House

Profile and Interview by Calvin Bush, i-D, December 1994

i-D's BEST OF British pop special starts with M People. Winners of this year's prestigious Mercury Music Prize, like fellow Britpop protagonists Blur and the ...

Eternal: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Max Bell, The Evening Standard, 8 December 1994

Babes at work on the swingbeat ...

Eternal, Michelle Gayle: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 9 December 1994

Funk for all the family ...

M People: Swing Out Citrus

Interview by John Harris, New Musical Express, 10 December 1994

M PEOPLE make timeless pop songs, have a genuine cool soul singer and a classic album that won them the Mercury Music Award — and ...

Blackstreet, the Whitehead Brothers: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 21 December 1994

Magpie raiders ...

Me'Shell NdegeOcello

Interview by Evelyn McDonnell, Rolling Stone, 29 December 1994

WHAT A DIFFERENCE a year makes. Twelve months ago bassist and band leader Me'Shell NdegeOcello's debut album, Plantation Lullabies, had just been released by Maverick. ...

Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band: Charles Wright Expresses Himself

Interview by RJ Smith, Grand Royal, 1995

YOU COULD see the 8x11 flyers when you got off the freeway north of downtown, or drove down Melrose, or about 100 other locations. Block ...

Faith Evans: Faith

Review by Carol Cooper, Newsday, 1995

TWENTY-TWO-YEAR-OLD Faith Evans was already a successful songwriter before mini-mogul Sean "Puffy" Combs signed her as a solo act to his Bad Boy label. This ...

Freddie Jackson: Private Party/Christopher Williams: Not a Perfect Man

Review by Carol Cooper, Newsday, 1995

FREDDIE JACKSON and Christopher Williams are mature, polished performers with superb voices. Both were signed to their respective labels at a time when each record ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: Terence Trent D’Arby Vibrates

Interview by Sylvie Simmons, Rolling Stone (Germany), 1995

SITTING ON a four-poster bed framed by blood-red curtains, Terence Trent D’Arby sucks on a huge bottle of Evian water and talks. And talks and ...

Sam Dees: Whaddya Mean, You've Never Heard Of... Sam Dees?

Guide by Barney Hoskyns, MOJO, 1995

AT SIX FOOT FOUR and two-hundred-plus pounds, Sam Dees is a soul giant in more ways than one. One of black America’s premier songsmiths, he ...

Barry White: The Q 100 interview

Interview by Martin Aston, Q, January 1995

HOW THE devil are you?I'm fine. I couldn't be happier. Everything is beautiful in my life. I got a hit album and hit single. I'm ...

Sam Cooke, Terence Trent D'Arby, Otis Redding, Rod Stewart, Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Womack: Honey and Sandpaper: Sam Cooke's disciples

Retrospective by Barney Hoskyns, MOJO, January 1995

The deep and enduring influence of Mr Soul. ...

Sam Cooke, The Soul Stirrers, Johnnie Taylor, The Valentinos, Bobby Womack: Sam Cooke's SAR Records: Two Desks, One Vision

Retrospective and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, MOJO, January 1995

SAR was Sam Cooke's dream of an R&B empire. It nearly came true. ...

Sam Cooke: The Soul Stirrer: Sam Cooke

Retrospective by Barney Hoskyns, MOJO, January 1995

FEW ENTERTAINERS have fallen quite so far from grace as Sam Cooke did when he died, 30 years ago, at the Hacienda Motel in south-central ...

Carleen Anderson, Des'ree, Dionne Farris, Shara Nelson: New albums from Des'ree, Shara Nelson, Carleen Anderson and Dionne Farris

Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 8 January 1995

Rhythm-and-Blues Has a New Breed ...

Blackstreet: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 14 January 1995

MODESTY might not be Teddy Riley's strongest suit, but he's certainly earned the right to project himself as a streetwise megalomaniac from the forgotten projects ...

R Kelly: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 14 January 1995

"IF YOU'RE 16 or under, don't try this at home." ...

Jodeci: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 16 January 1995

Hot crotch buns ...

Jodeci: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 17 January 1995

Unknown heroes ...

Barry White: Blackberry Jam

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, February 1995

VIBE: You write a lot about — Barry White: Love. VIBE: Love — BW: Always. ...

Mary J. Blige, TLC: TLC: Crazysexycool (LaFace/Arista): Mary J. Blige: My Life (Uptown/MCA)

Review by Amy Linden, Request, February 1995

WRITER F. SCOTT Fitzgerald once said there are no second acts in American Life, but had he been in the pop-music business, he might have ...

R. Kelly: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 11 February 1995

VIBE DA JOINT ...

Darlene Love: Love Affair

Interview by Kirk Silsbee, Los Angeles Reader, 24 February 1995

VOCALIST DARLENE Love's career is filled with ironies. She is most closely identified with Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" recordings, made in Los Angeles in ...

Berry Gordy: To Be Loved – The Music, The Magic, The Memories Of Motown (Headline)

Book Review by Jim Irvin, MOJO, March 1995

AT THE get-go, Berry Gordy states that "the misconceptions about me and Motown have become so great I finally had to deal with them." Four ...

Dan Penn: Once More With Feeling

Interview by Robert Gordon, MOJO, March 1995

Otis. Janis. Aretha. Gram. Each cut classic songs by the hallowed Dan Penn. Coaxed out of retirement, he recorded last year’s universally acclaimed Do Right ...

Vanessa Williams: The Sweetest Days (Wing/Mercury)

Review by Richard C. Walls, Musician, March 1995

VANESSA WILLIAMS' career has been marked by a series of noteworthy precedents — as the first black woman to be named Miss America, as the ...

Gil Scott-Heron: A Frail Godfather

Profile and Interview by Mark Mordue, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 1 March 1995

GIL SCOTT-HERON greets me genially. He's slightly spidery in his dangled movements, surprisingly slight and aged. At 45 the man oft referred to as The ...

Prince: Slave To The Rhythm

Report by Pete Paphides, Time Out, 15 March 1995

Prince has always been a bit weird, but lately he seems to have lost it completely. He's changed his name to 0+>, declared war on ...

Barry White: Rising to the big occasion — Barry White: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 16 March 1995

Seventies legend Barry White has them swooning in the Wembley Arena aisles with his unique brand of bedroom soul ...

Candi Staton: Journey From Sensuality to Salvation

Discography by Bill Carpenter, Goldmine, 17 March 1995

When you get that old yearningTo come around knocking on my doorYou know I'm gonna let you inBaby just as sure as sin, as sure ...

Stevie Wonder (1995)

Interview by David Nathan, Rock's Backpages audio, 21 March 1995

Mr Wonder talks about why he started to write socially conscious songs: the Vietnam War, inner city unrest and deprivation; being empowered by Marvin Gaye's What's Going On; his relationship with Motown; his new album Conversation Peace — its title, and key songs and on lyrics as poetry.

File format: mp3; file size: 47.8meg, interview length: 49' 47" sound quality: **½

Des'ree: House of Blues, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 31 March 1995

Some Starry-Eyed Idealism From Des'ree ...

Brandy: Early Delivery

Profile and Interview by Carol Cooper, Rolling Stone, 6 April 1995

ON 'BABY', THE second single from her platinum-album debut, Brandy, sweet, petite Brandy Norwood latches on to the song's skeletal groove and rides it as ...

Janet Jackson: Platinum bland — Janet Jackson: London Arena, Millwall

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 10 April 1995

Janet Jackson's voice may be average, but her dancing is that of a well-drilled athlete ...

Prince: 0(+>: Glam Slam At The Astoria/The Emporium, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 15 April 1995

OOH! AAH! 0(+>! ...

Janet Jackson: Sheffield Arena

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 15 April 1995

IN PRINCIPLE, of course, any member of the Jacksons should be the recipient of thunderous applause just for existing: they are, after all, the most ...

Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Craig Mack, The Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy: Puff Daddy: Born To Be Bad

Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, May 1995

A multi-platinum music mogul at just twenty four, Sean "Puffy" Combs is the face of future hip hop. meet a Bad Boy made good. ...

Screamin' Jay Hawkins: That's Entertainment: Screamin’ Jay Hawkins

Retrospective by Bill Millar, MOJO, May 1995

Psst. Hey, bud, you want "cryptic tales of mojo-bones, constipation, the Mau Mau, cunnilingus and flannel lipped, bald-headed women"? You got it! Ladeez and gennelmen, ...

TLC: Natural Burn Jillers — TLC: CrazySexyCool (LaFace)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 13 May 1995

TLC are three Scary Betties if ever we saw 'em. Arsonists, sexual predators and New Jill Swing superstars whose CrazySexyCool is Swingbeat Record Of The ...

Michael Jackson: HIStory (Epic/all formats)

Review by John Harris, New Musical Express, 17 June 1995

HISTERICAL! ...

Montell Jordan: This is how HE does it

Report and Interview by Frank Broughton, Mixmag, July 1995

Montell Jordan, six foot eight of elegant, chart topping, soul-swinging, street talking star, is holding forth on a basketball court in Southern California. Telling jokes ...

Van Morrison: Days Like This (Polydor)

Review by Mark Cooper, Q, July 1995

Although Van Morrison has enjoyed unprecedented commercial success since signing to Polydor in 1989, in creative terms it has been an uncertain period for him. ...

Incognito: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 12 July 1995

Travelling under an assumed fame ...

Mary J. Blige, Boyz II Men, Montell Jordan, TLC: Boyz II Men, TLC, Mary J. Blige, Montell Jordan: Budweiser Superfest, Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 31 July 1995

Budfest: State of the Art Black pop is in fine shape, even if Garden sound isn't ...

D'Angelo: Brown Sugar (EMI)

Review by James Hunter, Vibe, August 1995

THIS RISKY debut is puzzling. D'Angelo, a 21-year-old Virginia native, is determined to give pre-hip hop forms like blues, soul, gospel, and jazz a mid-'90s ...

Omar: For Pleasure (RCA)

Review by Amy Linden, Request, August 1995

AMERICA MAY have invented it, but over the past few years the most intriguing R&B has come out of England. From the Young Disciples, Loose ...

Mary J. Blige: Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 9 August 1995

Blige Is Solid but Elusive Hip-Hop Queen ...

Michael Jackson: HIStory: Past, Present And Future, Book I (Epic) ***½

Review by James Hunter, Rolling Stone, 10 August 1995

A DECADE after 'Thriller' and MTV transformed pop, Michael Jackson releases a collection that combines a classic greatest-hits anthology with a jarring and uneven new ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: Not Just a Comeback. A Reinvention.

Interview by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 13 August 1995

TERENCE TRENT D'Arby is explaining, for what may be the umpteenth time, why he lopped off his dreadlocks in favor of a close-cropped peroxide coif. ...

TLC: Pretty Young Things

Interview by Carol Cooper, Rolling Stone, 24 August 1995

The women of TLC stay cool under fire ...

D'Angelo: Soul Asylum

Profile and Interview by David Toop, The Face, September 1995

Is D'Angelo the last soul man or simply the finest new voice of the Nineties? ...

Don Cornelius: The Don

Profile by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, September 1995

JUICE? YOU want juice? Bust this: Long before Arsenio or BET, Don Cornelius single-handedly brought black music into living rooms nationwide. And he's kept it ...

Lenny Williams, Tower of Power: Lenny Williams

Sleeve notes by David Nathan, Ichiban Soul Classics LP, September 1995

These liner notes were originally written for the now out-of-print 1995 Ichiban Soul Classics CD Lenny Williams: 'Cause I Love You: The Best of Lenny ...

The Last Poets, Bill Laswell: The Last Poets: Bill Laswell on how to Produce A Holy Terror

Interview by J.D. Considine, Musician, September 1995

USUALLY, THE relationship between words and music on a recording puts the music first and the words second. But when Bill Laswell began work on ...

Money Mark: Organ Blinder — Keyboard Money Mark: Mark's Keyboard Repair (Mo'Wax MW034 20 tks/39 mins/FP)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 2 September 1995

You may not know it, but you've already chilled to Money Mark's Starsky'n'Hutch keyboard grooves on the last Beastie Boys record. Now he's kickin' it ...

Pebbles: Straight From The Heart

Review by Carol Cooper, Fanfare, 17 September 1995

PEBBLES IS one of the shrewdest women in show business. In 1987, this Bay area femme fatale exploded on the scene with the hit single ...

Mary J. Blige, Jodeci: Jodeci, Mary J. Blige: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 22 September 1995

Invitation to the dance ...

Prince: The Gold Experience (Warner Bros 9362-45999-2)

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 29 September 1995

"WELCOME TO the Dawn, Playground for the New Power Generation," coos the sultry interactive voice-bite that links the tracks on The Artist Formerly Known As ...

Shara Nelson: Friendly Fire (Cooltempo/All formats)

Review by Ted Kessler, New Musical Express, 7 October 1995

SHOT FROM THE HEART ...

Eternal: Inc. God We Trust

Interview by Sylvia Patterson, New Musical Express, 14 October 1995

They're gorgeous, they're currently Britain's most successful girl group and they're very bloody nice. So how come nobody's ever asked ETERNAL what they think before? ...

Al Green: Still Spreading The Good Word

Interview by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 31 October 1995

THE REVEREND Al Green is explaining why, after 18 years of singing sacred music, his gospel fans will understand why he has re-entered the world ...

Jodeci, Mary J. Blige: Jodeci/Mary J. Blige: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Lloyd Bradley, MOJO, November 1995

TO YER AVERAGE SOUL traditionalist, the notion of New Jack City as today's Muscle Shoals is tantamount to heresy. But the point is that hip ...

War: Delivering the Ghetto

Review and Interview by Lloyd Bradley, MOJO, November 1995

GIVEN THE CHOICE that exists in the Golden Earring department, it's scandalous that we've been forced to wait this long to hear War on CD. ...

PM Dawn: P.M. Dawn: Jesus Wept (Gee Streel/Island)

Review by Mark Kemp, Rolling Stone, 2 November 1995

JESUS WEPT is a multitracked feast of guitar rock, pillow-soft pop, moody psychedelia and sugary-sweet R&B with only one straight-up rap track on the entire ...

Eternal: Power Of A Woman (1st Avenue/EMI 8 36354)

Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 3 November 1995

HAVING SLIMMED to a trio since their million-selling debut. Always & Forever, London-based vocal group Eternal continue to fly the flag for British soul with ...

The Stylistics: In Praise of the Falsetto

Essay by Barney Hoskyns, The Independent, 3 November 1995

The castrato may be dead, if temporarily exhumed in the film Farinelli, but men continue to sing like women. Barney Hoskyns reaches for the high ...

Eternal: Power Of A Woman (EMI/CD/Cassette)

Review by David Quantick, New Musical Express, 4 November 1995

YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACKLISTED ...

TLC: Phoenix from the Flames

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 11 November 1995

Controversial New Jill megastars TLC are one of the biggest bands on the planet right now... and they're bankrupt. It's a long story, but SIMON ...

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony: Family Values

Profile and Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 21 November 1995

From out of Cleveland's mean streets to US stardom and chart status, B T-N-H maintain a closely-knit family circle. JEFF LOREZ pays a visit. ...

Arthur Alexander: No Direction Home

Retrospective by Richard Younger, MOJO, December 1995

The Beatles, Stones and Dylan covered his songs. As a singer he was rated alongside Otis and Orbison. So whatever happened to Arthur Alexander? ...

2 Live Crew, Jeru the Damaja, Jodeci, Keith Murray, N.W.A, PM Dawn, Tupac Shakur, Snoop (Doggy) Dogg: Guilty until proven innocent?

Report by Sonia Poulton, Muzik, December 1995

Following the release of Mike Tyson and the acquittal of DJ Simpson the media circus is now focussing its attention on the spate of R&B ...

Mariah Carey: Daydream (Columbia)

Review by Amy Linden, Request, December 1995

BY THE time this review appears, Daydream will be dominating the charts and Mariah Carey will be making mad money. So it won't matter to ...

Mary J. Blige: Mary J Blige: Soul For Real

Profile by Bill Brewster, The Face, December 1995

She is the soul queen of urban America. So why is it so sad to be Mary J Blige, asks Bill Brewster ...

Miles Davis, Brian Eno, Hatfield And The North, King Crimson, Charles Mingus, Pink Floyd, Public Enemy, The Raincoats, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Tony Williams, Robert Wyatt: Robert Wyatt: Invisible Jukebox

Interview by Mike Barnes, The Wire, December 1995

Every month we play a musician a series of records which they're asked to identify and comment on — with no prior knowledge of what ...

R. Kelly: R. Kelly (Jive CHIP 166)

Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 1 December 1995

TRADITIONALLY, soul sex gods have tended to be avuncular characters with film-trailer voices, people such as Barry White and Isaac Hayes. But 26-year-old R. Kelly ...

R Kelly: R Kelly (Jive)

Review by Ian Fortnam, New Musical Express, 2 December 1995

HE SELLS HIMSELF as some kind of rampant stallion from Shagsville central, yet produces the most impotent swingbeat shite known to modern man. His nauseating ...

R. Kelly: R. Kelly (Jive Records, $14.98) ★★★

Review by Amy Linden, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 December 1995

R. Kelly's Latest Subtle, But Still Sexy ...

Gerald Levert and Eddie Levert: Gerald Levert & Eddie Levert, Sr: Father & Son (Eastwest America 7559-61859)

Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 22 December 1995

TWO SOUL smoothies who bridge the generation gap as seamlessly as the sky stretches to meet the sea, Eddie Levert, Sr and Gerald Levert look ...

Aaliyah talks about her One In a Million album & more

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 1996

Just 17 but already something of a music biz veteran with a million selling debut album and dues-paying road activities behind her, the sweetly seductive ...

Clarence Carter: I Caught You Making Love: The ABC Years

Sleeve notes by Don Snowden, Ichiban Soul Classics//Sony Music, 1996

SELF-TAUGHT ON guitar, formally trained on piano, a gospel church-bred singer, Clarence Carter combined a bluesman's flair for storytelling with a frankly lusty take on ...

The Braxtons' Right Risks: So Many Ways

Review by Carol Cooper, Newsday, 1996

THE STORY goes that The Braxtons originally were a quartet. Producers L.A. and Babyface pulled Toni Braxton out of the bunch, because, at the time, ...

Funkadelic, George Clinton, Parliament: The Story Of The Funk: George Clinton

Retrospective and Interview by Peter Murphy, Hot Press, 1996

IN THE BEGINNING was the word, and the word was Funk. Deep in the prehistoric bog, two microbes rubbed together, caused some friction, got frisky ...

ZZ Hill: Z.Z. Hill: Love Is Good When You're Stealing It

Sleeve notes by Don Snowden, Ichiban Soul Classics/Sony Music, 1996

Z.Z. HILL WORE many hats during a career that was cut tragically short by a heart attack in 1984. A songwriter who enjoyed early hits ...

Junior Walker & the All Stars: Junior Walker 1931-1995

Obituary by Geoffrey Himes, Rolling Stone, 25 January 1996

IN EARLY 1965, a new single lit up American radio. It began with a gunshot, echoed by the snare drum that followed. Then a tenor ...

Faith Evans: Bad Girl

Profile and Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, February 1996

SHE'S A REAL brat: acting like a child, making demands on everyone around her, whining and squealing when she doesn't get her way. It's enough ...

Curtis Mayfield: People Get Ready!

Review by Lloyd Bradley, MOJO, March 1996

THE LAST FIVE YEARS HAVE SEEN THE BOX-setting of James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Bob Marley and a fair few other giants of black ...

Eternal: Apollo, Manchester

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 6 March 1996

RECENT WARNINGS linking club-going to ear damage have got it all wrong. Never mind amplified Jungle or cranium-pounding dub, the real threat to the nation's ...

Eternal: Fairfield Halls, Croydon

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 11 March 1996

Here today at least ...

Mary J. Blige, Boyz II Men, R. Kelly, Teddy Riley: Andre Harrell: Resurrection of the Soul

Report and Interview by Sean O'Hagan, The Guardian, 22 March 1996

Andre Harrell is a man with a mission. The youngest head of Motown since Berry Gordy, he tells Sean O'Hagan how he plans to put ...

The Impressions, Curtis Mayfield: Curtis Mayfield: Mighty Mighty

Profile and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, April 1996

From the Impressions to Superfly, he's left an indelible mark on American music. Now, six years after a paralyzing accident, Curtis Mayfield is down but not out. ...

Babyface, D'Angelo, Marvin Gaye, Maxwell, Omar, The Tony Rich Project: Young Crooners Learn The Subtle Art of Seduction

Report by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 7 April 1996

A QUIET revolution is at hand in urban music. Gone is the boasting about the girl you seduced last night and can't remember today. These ...

Jodeci, LL Cool J, Maxwell, Omar, The Tony Rich Project: Romeos of Record

Comment by Amy Linden, New York Times Special Features Syndication, 9 April 1996

Today's black singers conquer charts and hearts by crooning instead of crowing. ...

Chic: Bernard Edwards 1952-1996

Obituary by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 4 May 1996

BERNARD EDWARDS of CHIC died last week. Paul Lester celebrates the life and work of a massively influential musician, producer and songwriter ...

Mark Morrison: Return Of The Mack (WEA/All formats)

Review by Keith Cameron, New Musical Express, 4 May 1996

AND YOU never realised this pint-sized package of prefab perv actually was a mack or that he'd been away, correct? No matter. Disregard the harsh ...

Mark Morrison: Le Big Mack!

Interview by Ted Kessler, New Musical Express, 4 May 1996

'The Return Of The Mack'? OK, so it might be all trendy trenchcoats round your way, but we're talking MACKS proper — the Mr Bigs ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: The life and death of a guitar-slinger

Obituary by Andy Gill, The Independent, 26 May 1996

With his fedora and his Gibson, his pimp-chic style and his flamboyant playing, Johnny "Guitar" Watson lived and died, on stage, for the blues. Andy ...

Aretha Franklin: Return Of Soul Sister Number One

Comment by Carol Cooper, Pulse!, June 1996

ARETHA – a name so singularly musical that it rolls off the tongue like an incantation. Almost four decades after 1967’s ‘I Never Loved ...

The Isley Brothers: Mission to Please (T-Neck/Island)

Review by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, June 1996

MY MAMA HAS informed me that when I was six and shaking my booty in front of the stereo, whenever the radio DJ played the ...

Total: Like, Totally Awesome

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, June 1996

First they were just Biggie's background singers. Now with their slammin' debut album, Total prove they are definitely more than the sum of their parts. ...

Gabrielle: Jazz Cafe, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 7 June 1996

Dreaming in public ...

George Clinton

Interview by Ben Thompson, The Independent, 8 June 1996

GEORGE CLINTON has learnt some things in five decades of music-making, and one of them is how to make an entrance. As the Clinton party ...

Me'Shell Ndegéocello: Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 1996

Outsider 101. Teacher: Ndegeocello. At the Whisky, the singer embraces the essence of what it's like to live as a target. ...

Mariah Carey: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 25 June 1996

Top notes that come in wads ...

M People: Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 29 June 1996

HAIRDO WELL! ...

Al Green, Ann Peebles, Willie Mitchell: Various Artists: Royal Memphis Soul – Hi Records

Review by Barney Hoskyns, MOJO, July 1996

When Muscle Shoals went flabby and Stax couldn't pay their taxes, Hi Records took up the soul baton. Barney Hoskyns says hello to a collection ...

Gabrielle: The mother of invention

Interview by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 5 July 1996

In which the mystery of what happened to Gabrielle, 1993's brightest young thing, is solved ...

Prince: 0(+>: The man with no name has no label

Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 6 July 1996

The slave we know as Prince tells David Sinclair why his new album is his last (for Warners, anyway) ...

Mark Morrison: Have You Paid For That, Sir?

Interview by David Quantick, Q, August 1996

I have actually – for I am Number 1 swingster Mark Morrison, former lodger at Her Majesty's pleasure, Leicester's most wanted and fully qualified (and, ...

Me'Shell Ndegéocello: Peace Beyond Passion (Maverick/Reprise)

Review by Jon Young, Musician, August 1996

FUNK OUGHT to be its own reward, but Me'Shell Ndegéocello isn't buying that right now. Perhaps embarrassed by the commercial success of John Mellencamp's rollicking ...

New Edition

Interview by Ben Thompson, The Independent, 3 August 1996

Older, wiser and even smoother, Eighties teen sensations New Edition are back together. But this isn't just a nostalgia trip ...

Lewis Taylor: Lewis Taylor (Island) **** £9.99

Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 16 August 1996

BRITISH SOUL stars are invariably compared to some American counterpart. Mark Morrison is derided as an R Kelly imitator and Seal as a composite of ...

Lewis Taylor: Lewis Taylor (Island/All formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 24 August 1996

THINGS COULD be a lot worse, of course. Lewis Taylor could turn out to be the new George Michael. Either that or his renaissance soul-man ...

Ike Turner: It Didn't Work Out Fine — Ike Turner: Tramps, New York NY

Live Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 26 August 1996

Ike Turner still can light fires with his guitar, but new Ikettes lack the spark to keep it going ...

The Staple Singers, Mavis Staples, Pops Staples: The Staple Singers: God's Greatest Hitmakers

Retrospective and Interview by Bill Carpenter, Goldmine, 30 August 1996

THERE'S NO question about it. Forget the Winans or the Hawkins Family, the Staple Singers are the most widely known, best-selling gospel group of all ...

Whitney Houston, The Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy, TLC: Clive Davis: Big Poppa

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, September 1996

The VIBE Q: CLIVE DAVIS, ARISTA RECORDS' LEGENDARY PRESIDENT AND CEO, IS TRULY RUNNING THINGS. THINK NOT? ASK WHITNEY HOUSTON, PUFFY COMBS, TLC, THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G., OR L.A. AND ...

Patti Austin, Groove Theory, Brian McKnight, The Tony Rich Project, Take 6, The Time: The Time, the Tony Rich Project, Take 6, Patti Austin, Brian McKnight, Groove Theory: Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 2 September 1996

The Vibe Wasn't Exactly Magic Quick taste of new Quincy Jones/Magic Johnson production doesn't provide enough flavor ...

Foxy Brown, Heltah Skeltah, Jamiroquai, Montell Jordan, The Jungle Brothers, Tim Westwood: Foxy Brown, Montell Jordan, Jamiroquai et al: Notting Hill Carnival, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 7 September 1996

HOW THE WESTWAY WAS WON ...

Michael Jackson: Look Who's Wearing Stalin's Shoes

Report by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 7 September 1996

He's Bad, he's Dangerous, he's History... Wacko Jacko is invading Eastern Europe and showing what capitalism can do when it comes to the cult of ...

Bobby Brown, New Edition: New Edition: Houston? We Have No Problem

Interview by Johnny Cigarettes, New Musical Express, 7 September 1996

The Rolling Stones? Pah! The Beatles? Forget it! They're nothing compared to NEW EDITION (remember '80s classic 'Candy Girl'?). Or so founder member Bobby Brown ...

New Edition: Home Again (MCA)

Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 10 September 1996

AWOL SINCE 1988, New Edition is back with a vengeance. With all members on board (yes, that includes bad boy Bobby Brown, as well as ...

Lewis Taylor: Jazz Cafe, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 14 September 1996

OH DEAR. Mick Talbot's here. Perhaps as an innocent punter, perhaps as an Emissary from Pope Paul Weller. My only fleeting concern with "white soul ...

Alison Limerick: Jazz Cafe, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 23 September 1996

Fine talent lost in the remix ...

Eric Benét: True To Myself (Warner Bros.)

Review by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, October 1996

SOMEWHERE IN Hitsville, U.S.A., aging music critics wearing faded dashikis and bad attitudes gulp endless glasses of chilled white wine, reminiscing about the days of ...

Jamiroquai: Travelling Without Moving (Soho Square)

Review by David Bennun, Muzik, October 1996

THE SEVENTIES was an age when people lived out their fantasies. Between the clubs of New York and the gay bathhouses of San Francisco, running ...

New Edition: Boyz To Men

Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Q, October 1996

A decade ago, New Edition were teenage, wildly successful and far from rich. The split, Bobby Brown married Whitney and checked into the Betty Ford ...

The Fugees: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 21 October 1996

Incredibly hiphop: If the Fugees were any bigger, they'd explode. Caroline Sullivan finds out why ...

George Clinton, Punk-Funk All Stars: George Clinton, the Reigning Hippie of Funk

Profile by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 27 October 1996

WHEN JERRY Garcia died last year and the Grateful Dead disbanded shortly thereafter, the question arose as to who would inherit the band's legacy of ...

Blackstreet: Another Level (Interscope)

Review by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, November 1996

IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE to remember the way R&B sounded before producer Teddy Riley created the urban-jungle grooves that became known as new jack swing. ...

Norman Jay: Chop Chop!

Interview by Sonia Poulton, Muzik, November 1996

Chopper fanatic, sound system supremo, founder member of Kiss FM, former Talkin' Loud A&R guru, all-round celebrity and man of the people... What more do ...

Alexander O'Neal: Alexander the grateful

Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 8 November 1996

Finding God helped soul survivor Alexander O'Neal to straighten up and fly right. Paul Sexton reports ...

Blackstreet, The Isley Brothers, SWV, Tony! Toni! Toné!: Venus fires and retro rockets

Report and Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 29 November 1996

Graphic sex is out and good, old-fashioned lurve is in for America's latest soul stars. Paul Sexton meets some of them ...

Curtis Mayfield: New World Order

Review by Barney Hoskyns, Request, December 1996

SIX YEARS AFTER the freak onstage accident that paralyzed him from the neck down, Curtis Mayfield, one of soul music's true titans, makes his debut ...

The Rebirth of Soul

Essay by Barney Hoskyns, MOJO, December 1996

"WHAT IS Soul?" sang Ben E. King in 1967, a year that began with Aretha Franklin’s first Atlantic session and ended with the death of ...

Tony! Toni! Toné!: House of Music (Mercury)

Review by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, December 1996

BEFORE D'ANGELO spawned the current '70s soul revival, the groovy trio Tony Toni Tone — drummer Timothy Christian Riley, guitarist Dwayne Wiggins, and singer/bassist/keyboardist Raphael ...

Blackstreet, Snoop (Doggy) Dogg, SWV: Snoop Doggy Dogg, Blackstreet, SWV: Super Jam 1,
 Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 6 December 1996

Beauty and the beast ...

Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham: Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham: St. Ann's Church, Brooklyn NY

Live Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 9 December 1996

First Penn & Oldham wrote great songs, now they play 'em ...

Neneh Cherry: Cherry Picker — Neneh Cherry: Shepherds Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 12 December 1996

Caroline Sullivan on the sultry charms of Neneh Cherry at Shepherds Bush Empire ...

Prince: "I feel like this is my last time on earth..."

Interview by Sylvia Patterson, New Musical Express, 14 December 1996

He's The Artist Formerly Known As Bonkers. That's right, PRINCE is back, free of that pesky Warners (hence the title of his new album 'Emancipation'), ...

Blackstreet, Nate Dogg, Snoop (Doggy) Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound: Snoop Doggy Dogg, Blackstreet: Nynex, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Moody, New Musical Express, 14 December 1996

IN THA DOGG HOUSE ...

Kenny Gamble, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, MFSB, O'Jays, The Salsoul Orchestra, The Spinners: Brotherly Love: The Musicians

Sleeve notes by Vernon Gibbs, Epic/Philadelphia International, 1997

Original contribution to sleevenotes for The Philly Sound: Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff & The Story Of Brotherly Love (1966-1976) (Epic/Philadelphia International) ...

Etta James

Sleeve notes by Pete Grendysa, MCA Records, 1997

ETTA JAMES WAS just 21 years old when she came to Chess Records in 1960, but she was a seasoned show business veteran with six ...

Orquestra Was: Forever's a Long, Long Time

Review by John L. Walters, unpublished, 1997

I BOUGHT Forever's a Long, Long Time within minutes of seeing it in a record store rack. The reason? I don't just admire Don Was, ...

Sam Cooke: Live at the Harlem Square Club

Review by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, 1997

MOST OF SAM Cooke's pop hits were sugary, blanched affairs. This album was the real deal, giving us the church-reared R&B singer who liked to ...

The Jackson 5

Profile by Ben Fong-Torres, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1997

CALL THEM what you want – the Jackson 5, the J5, the Jacksons – they were, in the end, Michael and four of his brothers. ...

Prince: Liberated: Prince: Emancipation ****

Review by Stuart Maconie, Q, January 1997

: new label, old work rate ...

Puff Daddy: Sean 'Puffy' Combs: Multi-Million Dollar Man

Profile and Interview by Sonia Poulton, Muzik, January 1997

At 26, SEAN 'PUFFY' COMBS is reputed to be worth some $170 million. But that's not all the East Coast hip hop mogul has a ...

The Fugees: Runaway Success

Report and Interview by Sonia Poulton, Muzik, January 1997

From healthy US hip hop act to global superstars in under twelve months, you could say 1996 has been a remarkable year for the FUGEES. ...

Blackstreet, New Edition, Keith Sweat: New Edition, Keith Sweat, BLACKstreet: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 13 January 1997

New Edition Recaptures Old Feeling ...

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown: Denver Show Starts Celebration of 50th-anniversary Recording

Report and Interview by Steven R Rosen, Denver Post, 15 January 1997

THIS YEAR is Clarence 'Gatemouth'' Brown's 50th as a recording artist, and virtually everyone is preparing to honor the blues musician. ...

Curtis Mayfield: New World Order (Warner Bros/All formats)

Review by Keith Cameron, New Musical Express, 25 January 1997

HE SAW his people endure hard times and dedicated his life to evangelising alternative paths. He was a soul singer, a streetwise prophet, one of ...

Curtis Mayfield: Resurrection of Mayfield's soul

Interview by Vivien Goldman, Daily Telegraph, 25 January 1997

Vivien Goldman meets a legend of black music — back at last after his tragic accident ...

Michelle Gayle: Sweet soul with a hard centre

Profile and Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 31 January 1997

Michelle Gayle is back, with a new album and, of course, the same old determination. Paul Sexton reports ...

Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim: Lil' Kim & Foxy Brown: Mack Divas

Report and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, The Source, February 1997

What demons lie beneath the excessive glam and the in-yo face sexuality? The Source gets hip close and personal with hip-hop's twin testaments to divahood: ...

Tony Toni Toné: Family Ties

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, February 1997

The trio who helped resurrect the true soul sound say their stunning new album might be their last. Are the brothers going to work it ...

Swamp Dogg

Interview by Richie Unterberger, Perfect Sound Forever, 10 February 1997

"If you know the extension of the party with whom you wish to speak, dial it and stop wasting our time! If you have money ...

Erykah Badu: Baduizm (Kedar Entertainment/Universal)

Review by Miles Marshall Lewis, Rolling Stone, 20 February 1997

PERHAPS THE first thing you notice about Erykah Badu is her uncanny vocal similarity to Billie Holiday – from the very beginning of Baduizm, Badu's ...

Masters at Work, Nuyorican Soul: Masters At Work: Shock of the Nu

Interview by Kris Needs, Muzik, March 1997

You know MASTERS AT WORK, you're familiar with the studio prowess of Mr Gonzalez and Mr Vega, you appreciate their high quality, chart-busting, dancefloor output, ...

Dorothy Moore: Giving It Straight To You

Retrospective and Interview by Bill Carpenter, Goldmine, 14 March 1997

MISSISSIPPI HAS probably been trashed more than any other darn state in the union. It's been called the poorest state (which sho' ain't a crime, ...

Eternal: Before The Rain (EMI/CD/Tape)

Review by Stephen Dalton, New Musical Express, 15 March 1997

IN THEIR Louise days, Eternal looked set to be the Spice Girls in negative, thanks to their upbeat pop-soul tunes and post-fem sauce-bomb image. The ...

Lewis Taylor: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 19 March 1997

Saving our soul ...

Was (Not Was), Hank Williams: Don Was: What Was Was and What Was Is

Interview by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 23 March 1997

After years as a top producer and bandleader, Don Was lost his creative vision. Then Francis Ford Coppola and Hank Williams gave him an idea. ...

The Supremes: Mary Wilson on The Supremes

Retrospective by Johnny Black, MOJO, April 1997

"ONE DAY IN mid-April we were all summoned to berry’s home on Outer Drive," remembers Mary Wilson of The Supremes. "As I drove there, I ...

Eternal, Human Nature: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 7 April 1997

The sound of a well-oiled machine ...

The Roots: Tuber Soul

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 19 April 1997

THE EARNEST young man sitting in a corner of London's empty Colombia Hotel bar on this late March afternoon doesn't look like a difficult customer ...

Blackstreet, Brownstone: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 24 April 1997

Street life of Riley ...

Blackstreet: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Angus Batey, New Musical Express, 3 May 1997

GIANT VIDEO screens above the stage are showing two members of Blackstreet rendered as puppets, and they're having a bit of a row about something. ...

The Fugees: Fugees: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 8 May 1997

Street-smart and user-friendly ...

Mary J. Blige: Mary J Blige: Material World

Interview by Angus Batey, Vox, June 1997

WHAT'S THE most embarrassing item of clothing you've ever bought? ...

Toni Braxton: Toni's Secret: Miss Braxton Lets It All Hang Out

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, June 1997

"YOU'RE KILLING me," says Toni Braxton breathily when I tell her I want to talk about sex. A heartbeat later, though, the shyness falls away ...

En Vogue does not mean fashionable

Profile and Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 13 June 1997

Paul Sexton meets the trio that found success by the old-fashioned route — via talent, hard work, charm, that sort of stuff ...

En Vogue: Style Be There: En Vogue: EV3 (east west)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 21 June 1997

Forget the bargain basement girl power of The Spice Girls — EN VOGUE are sexier, sassier and downright funky… ...

Maxwell: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 25 June 1997

Romance in his soul ...

Sly & the Family Stone: On The Record: Sly & the Family Stone

Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, Simon & Schuster, July 1997

Introduction & Voices ...

Sly & the Family Stone: On The Record: Sly & the Family Stone

Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, Simon & Schuster, July 1997

Chapter 11: Only Kidding ...

Brownstone: Stone free

Interview by Sonia Poulton, Muzik, July 1997

The sassy, free-thinking BROWNSTONE make their return this month with a second album, Still Climbing. In the words of their 1995 smash, 'If You Love ...

En Vogue: Girl Power!

Interview by David Quantick, Q, July 1997

They are the quite spicy girls. A long time ago, they were manufactured by a pair of svengalis. Since then, they've had lorryloads of hits, ...

Lewis Taylor: Sweet Insanity

Profile and Interview by Paul Lester, Uncut, July 1997

"I'M FASCINATED WITH THE IDEA OF ART born of a disintegrated mind," says Lewis Taylor, all coal-black curls and kohl-kissed eyes, crouched in the semi-darkness ...

Michael Jackson: Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 26 July 1997

All You Need Is Glove ...

Adina Howard: Welcome To Fantasy Island (Elektra)

Review by Miles Marshall Lewis, Vibe, August 1997

WHEN YOU'RE a sexually liberated sista like Adina Howard, erecting a scale on which to balance your acute holike tendencies and your astute, self-styled feminism ...

Mark Morrison: London calling...

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, August 1997

RELAXING IN his London home, wearing Adidas tennis shoes and a pair of track pants, England's latest soul rebel, Mark Morrison, is recovering after a ...

Chic: Props: Chic

Profile and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, August 1997

AFTER THE riots, bullets, and civil rights battles of '60s America, the national spirit desperately needed uplifting. Tragic visionaries like Marvin Gaye and Sly Stone ...

Inez & Charlie Foxx: Inez and Charlie Foxx: A Family Affair

Profile and Interview by Bill Carpenter, Goldmine, 1 August 1997

A LOT of recording artists can say they've had hits, but few can say they've had a hit almost everyone knows the words to even ...

Shola Ama: Jazz Cafe, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 1 August 1997

She still needs some body ...

Aretha Franklin: The Rockport Rhythm and Blues Festival, Fort Adams State Park, Newport RI

Live Review by Barney Hoskyns, The Observer, 10 August 1997

Aretha's having a bad hair day. But she's got some very good wings ...

Boyz II Men: Motown's saviours?

Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 29 August 1997

If Boyz II Men's new album fails, a once-great record label is in deep trouble. Paul Sexton reports... ...

Dr. John: Funky Business

Interview by Bill DeMain, Performing Songwriter, September 1997

FUNK IS one of those words, like cool or hip, that is difficult to define. In music, it's an amorphous thing, an attitude, a looseness, ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Earth Wind & Fire: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Paul Lester, Uncut, September 1997

NO ONE levitates tonight. Nor are there any Sphinxes. And the sequinned Egyptological-spaceman costumes are conspicuous by their absence. But we do get 12 instrumentalists ...

Erykah Badu, Mary J. Blige: Eryka Badu: Baduizm (Universal); Mary J. Blige: Share My World (MCA)

Review by Amy Linden, Fi, September 1997

The Main Event: Badu vs. Blige ...

Michael Jackson: The Starman Who Fell To Earth: Michael Jackson: Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield *****

Live Review by Paul Lester, Uncut, September 1997

THE MOST FAMOUS performer on Earth has just been introduced, as per protocol, as "the King Of Pop", by the Chief Barker of the Variety ...

Dave Godin: He's a Soul Man

Profile and Interview by Jon Savage, The Guardian, 12 September 1997

Dave Godin rubbed shoulders with Motown's greats and brought us black American music. But, says Jon Savage, his great achievement was creating northern soul ...

Mariah Carey: In bed with my career

Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 12 September 1997

Mariah Carey's marital breakdown has led to a highly personal album. Paul Sexton meets a determined diva ...

The Braxtons, Toni Braxton, Mint Condition: Toni Braxton, The Braxtons, Mint Condition: Wembley Arena

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 16 September 1997

Hollywood says hello ...

Mariah Carey: Butterfly Kisses... Or In Bed With Mariah!

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 23 September 1997

Jeff Lorez flies to LA, does a spot of celeb-spotting and then spends a couple of hours interviewing Mariah Carey in bed on the subject ...

David Holmes: Holmes On The Deranged

Report and Interview by Calvin Bush, Muzik, October 1997

Celtic soul brother DAVID HOLMES heads for Noo Yawk to hang with the homies, freaks and weirdos. The result? The seedy core of The Big ...

SWV: Release Some Tension (RCA)

Review by Miles Marshall Lewis, Vibe, October 1997

AFTER SELLING two million copies of their ingenuous debut, It's About Time, and following it up with last year's platinum New Beginning, the ladies of ...

Janet Jackson: The Velvet Rope (Virgin V2860 £15.99)

Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 3 October 1997

Ballad on the dancefloor: Janet Jackson shows her more sincere side to David Sinclair on The Velvet Rope ...

Prince: A Peek At Prince

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 October 1997

THE ARTIST TALKS via e-mail, which gives him a chance to use his funny language ...

Ray Charles, Cassandra Wilson: Greek Theatre, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 7 October 1997

Ray Charles Keeps Breaking New Ground in Old Fields ...

M People: Fresco (BMG 74321 52490 £14.49)

Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 10 October 1997

Listen without prejudice ...

Toni Braxton: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 10 October 1997

WHEN a church-woman goes bad, she really goes bad. ...

Boz Scaggs (1997)

Interview by Andy Gill, Rock's Backpages audio, 20 October 1997

Boz goes through his recording career, starting with Jann Wenner's role in the first solo album at Muscle Shoals; the albums Moments and Boz Scaggs & Band; returning to Muscle Shoals for My Time; the Johnny-Bristol-produced Slow Dancer, featuring James Jamerson and others; Silk Degrees and 'Lowdown' as a crossover pop hit, plus producer Joe Wissert; involvement in the New York Rock & Soul Revue with Donald Fagen; his Some Change album with co-producer Ricky Fataar; the Japanese-only release Fade into Light, and his new Come on Home covers album.

File format: mp3; file size: 33.8mb, interview length: 35' 11" sound quality: ** (phoner)

Mariah Carey: Butterfly

Review by Barney Hoskyns, Rolling Stone, 30 October 1997

ON WHAT IS something of a transitional album, the recently separated Mariah Carey moves still further away from the warmed-over Whitney Houston of Carey's early ...

Janet Jackson: Brave Heart: Janet Jackson's Velvet Rope

Review by Miles Marshall Lewis, L.A. Weekly, November 1997

ACCORDING TO Ralph Ellison in Shadow and Act, no jazz musician struggled harder to escape the role of grinning minstrel than Charlie Parker, with the ...

Janet Jackson: The Velvet Rope

Review by Chris Roberts, Uncut, November 1997

THIS TIME, it's raining the spectrum of starfish and streaming with tiger snakes. The last Jacksoness album, 93's janet, was a slink-fest of extraordinary ambition ...

Mary J. Blige

Interview by Vivien Goldman, Rolling Stone, 13 November 1997

UNITING GENERATIONS with her twin
 allegiances to R&B and rap, Mary J.
 Blige delivers emotional intimacy 
packaged in a luxurious voice. ...

Mary J. Blige: Mary J Blige: From the Bronx to the Big Time

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 18 November 1997

Caroline Sullivan has an audience with Mary J Blige, queen of hip hop soul ...

Mary J. Blige: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 18 November 1997

Mary not so contrary ...

All Saints: Well, haloooo...

Interview by Sylvia Patterson, New Musical Express, 22 November 1997

What's got more sauce than Spice, better tats than Eternal, and are gonna save R&B swingbeat from death by blandness? Why, crown princesses of sex-soul, ...

Various Artists: #1 Soul Hits of the '60s (and some that should have been), Vols. 1-3 (Relativity)

Review by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 24 November 1997

IMAGINE GETTING your first driver's license and the keys to a '76 Corvette on the same day. That's the kind of introduction to soul music ...

Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson: Janet Jackson: Janet Unzipped

Interview by David A. Keeps, The Face, December 1997

ALL LITTLE JANET WANTED TO DO WAS CLIMB TREES, BANG DRUMS AND "SCRAPE MY ASS". IN SHORT, SHE WANTED TO BE HER BROTHERS. THEN LITTLE ...

Jamiroquai: Battersea Power Station, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 16 December 1997

ON THE face of it, Jamiroquai are an unlikely group to excite the passions they do. Singer Jason "Jay" Kay is the only member familiar ...

Booker T & The MGs: Memphis Sunset: The Mysterious Death of Stax Heartbeat Al Jackson, Jr.

Retrospective by Andria Lisle, Grand Royal, Fall 1997

JULY 31, 1975 – Booker T & the MGs drummer and Stax session musician Al Jackson, Jr. is shot in the chest with a .22-caliber ...

Grace Jones: Private Life - The Compass Point Sessions (Island)

Review by Amy Linden, Fi, 1998

OF ALL THE words that are over and misused, diva is surely at the top of the heap. Once an adjective related to describing the ...

Solomon Burke: Music To Make Love By

Sleeve notes by Colin Escott, Chess Records, 1998

SOLOMON BURKE'S ultimate triumph is that he's almost as great as he says he is, and has almost accomplished everything he says he has. He ...

Steve Cropper (1998)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 1998

On Otis and the making of 'Dock of the Bay', the disputed history of 'Green Onions', and on touring with Neil Young: the Memphis guitar-slinger gives the lowdown.

File format: mp3; total file size: 31.4mb, total interview length: 34' 16" sound quality: * (phone interview)

Dr. John: The Return Of The Native: A Conversation With Dr John, The Night Tripper

Interview by Joss Hutton, Bucketfull of Brains, 1998

NEW ORLEANS-bred musician Mac Rebennack, better known as Dr John, has seen a lot hair-curling sights during his forty year career on the fringes. ...

Mary J. Blige: Amager Bio, Copenhagen ****

Live Review by David Quantick, Q, January 1998

Once grumpy and so hopeless live she'd get booed offstage. Now... Nice Girl ...

Mary J. Blige: Nice Girl

Report and Interview by David Quantick, Q, January 1998

Once grumpy and so hopeless live she'd get booed off stage. Now… ...

Shola Ama: The Next Generation: Shola Ama

Interview by Dele Fadele, Vox, January 1998

An 18-year-old with attitude who thinks global and acts loco ...

George Clinton and his P-Funk All-Stars: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 28 January 1998

Groove doesn't go deep enough ...

Isaac Hayes: Spread The Word

Retrospective by Chris Roberts, Uncut, February 1998

AN INSURANCE salesman, David Porter, visited a Memphis meat-packing factory in 1965. He tried to sell a policy to one of the meat-packers, a big ...

Terry Callier: Look At Me Now: The Return Of Terry Callier

Profile and Interview by James Maycock, The Independent, February 1998

DEFINING THE "soul" part of soul music is a tricky issue – it's one of the bigger questions. The music's intangible qualities are often the ...

Missy Elliott: All Made Up, Ready to Go

Profile and Interview by Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 1 February 1998

There's no stopping Missy 'Misdemeanor' Elliott as she shakes up the male-dominated hip-hop world. ...

Aretha Franklin: Queen Aretha Holds Court

Report and Interview by Jeff Apter, nyrock.com, March 1998

THERE ARE few performers for whom one name is sufficient (and no, this list does not include Yanni). Think Bruce, Garth, Iggy, Janis. And, of ...

Bert Berns: The Soul Man with a Huckster's Heart

Retrospective by Barney Hoskyns, MOJO, March 1998

HE WAS, said Jerry Wexler, "a paunchy, nervous cat with a shock of unruly black hair". He looked like a vaguely disreputable cross between Gene ...

Isaac Hayes: Who Is the Man? Isaac Hayes

Interview by Matt Hanks, Memphis Flyer, 9 March 1998

IT'S 11:30 A.M. in New York City, nearly lunchtime for most people, but Isaac Hayes sounds like he just rolled out of bed. At first, ...

Groove Armada: Northern Star (Tummy Touch/CD/LP)

Review by Stephen Dalton, New Musical Express, 21 March 1998

JUST ONE of the trade names of Tom Findlay and Andy Cato, London club promoters and jazz-funk veterans, Groove Armada's debut album is an oddly ...

Mariah Carey (1998)

Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, 21 March 1998

Over the sounds of a noisy restaurant, la Carey remembers her Long Island childhood; moving to Manhattan at 17 and her determination to sing; in the light of her new album Butterfly, her memories of hearing early hip hop, and using rappers on the new album; on being mixed race; her early image; her film project All That Glitters; her change of musical style, and making videos with Diane Martel.

File format: mp3; file size: 61.6mb, interview length: 1h 04' 11" sound quality: ** (background noise)

Smooth: Reality (A&M)

Review by Miles Marshall Lewis, L.A. Weekly, 26 March 1998

A HANDFUL of the best hip-hop records to be produced in the '90s includes TLC's Crazysexycool, D'Angelo's Brown Sugar, Mary J. Blige's My Life and ...

Bootsy Collins, George Clinton, James Brown: Bootsy Collins on Bootsy Collins

Interview by Marc Weingarten, MOJO, April 1998

‘Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine’James Brown (King single, 1970) ...

Donnie Fritts: Leanin' Man from Alabam'

Interview by Chris Bourke, Real Groove, April 1998

DONNIE FRITTS MAY be one of the unsung heroes of American music, but a peek inside his address book shows how his talents are appreciated. ...

Beverley Knight: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 20 May 1998

Taut — a lesson ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Love Throat: Bobby "Blue" Bland

Interview by Robert Gordon, Rolling Stone, 28 May 1998

BOBBY BLAND'S people seat me at a table, make sure I'm comfortable. An effective entrance demands the proper set-up. ...

Mariah Carey: The Caged Bird Sings

Interview by Steven Daly, Arena, June 1998

Like every tragic heroine, Mariah Carey traded freedom for fame, creativity for commercial success. Now she's writing her own script and the ending has shifted ...

Brandy: Diversified, and Then Some

Interview by Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 1998

You have to move fast to keep up with Brandy, who's at full production with a hit sitcom, a film sequel and a No. 1 ...

Down-home delights: The soulful blues of Malaco Records

Report by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 29 June 1998

THIRTY OR 40 YEARS AGO, the Jackson-based Malaco Records would have been called a "race" label. That was the tag for outfits like Specialty, King, ...

Bobby Womack: 10 Questions for Bobby Womack

Interview by Ben Edmonds, MOJO, July 1998

What were you up to in the studio last night? ...

Dr. John: Dr John: Voodoo Lounge

Interview by Gavin Martin, Uncut, July 1998

MAC REBENNACK, IS SLUMPED ON A chaise longue in an elegant London hotel suite, the ubiquitous walking cane by his side, a straw Homburg tilted ...

The Balanescu Quartet, Bedouin Ascent, Big Star, Charlemagne Palestine, John Coltrane, Johnny Copeland, Funkadelic, Spiritualized, Suicide: Invisible Jukebox: Spiritualized

Interview by Mike Barnes, The Wire, July 1998

Every month we play a musician a series of records which they're asked to identify and comment on — with no prior knowledge of what ...

Allen Toussaint, Lee Dorsey: Lee Dorsey: Why Isn't This Man in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

Retrospective by Geoffrey Himes, Oxford American, July 1998

NO SINGER in the Big Easy had a more easygoing manner than Lee Dorsey. The rhythms behind him could be wickedly syncopated (they usually were), ...

Queen Latifah: Order in the Court (Motown)

Review by Michael A. Gonzales, The Source, July 1998

DAMN NEAR ten years ago, an intriguing Afro-centric mama named Queen Latifah flexed like pure royalty on her debut disc, All Hail the Queen. With ...

Whitney Houston: Nynex, Manchester

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 11 July 1998

This town ain't hot enough... ...

Hal Blaine, Earl Palmer: A Vote for the Hired Guns of Rock-and-Roll

Comment by Tony Scherman, The New York Times, 26 July 1998

EVER SINCE the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame gave itself the ticklish job of anointing a rock-and-roll pantheon, one of its stated goals has been to ...

Maxwell, The Tony Rich Project: Maxwell: Embrya (Columbia); The Tony Rich Project: Birdseye (LaFace/Arista)

Review by Amy Linden, Vibe, August 1998

AT THE END of the day, chances are that 92 percent of all pop songs are about getting laid. Granted, that's a random number, but ...

Larry Graham, Chaka Khan, Prince: Stropping and Funking — Prince, Chaka Khan, Larry Graham: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 29 August 1998

The Artist Formerly Known As Prince did his best to stop Caroline Sullivan seeing his Wembley gig. When she sneaked her way in, this is ...

Curtis Mayfield: Superfly (Two-CD Special Edition)

Review by Ian MacDonald, Uncut, September 1998

ORIGINALLY RELEASED in 1972, Curtis Mayfield's album of music for one of the most notorious blaxploitation films of the Seventies is typically compassionate, melancholic, and ...

James Brown, Bootsy Collins, Herbie Hancock: Herbie Hancock, Bootsy Collins, James Brown: The Barbican, London

Live Review by Lloyd Bradley, MOJO, September 1998

DIGNITY OR DESPAIR: How are these funk giants confronting the present day? ...

Gloria Gaynor, Tom Moulton, The Trammps: Interview: Tom Moulton

Interview by Bill Brewster, djhistory.com, September 1998

The man responsible for the 12" record talks about his incredible career ...

Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Ruffhouse/Columbia)

Review by Amy Linden, The Source, September 1998

WHAT DOES it say about hip-hop when one of the better hip-hop records of the year contains little actual rapping? Thoughtful, passionate, purposeful and unmistakably ...

The Fugees, Lauryn Hill: Lauryn Hill: Black Magic Woman

Report and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, The Source, September 1998

LAURYN MAY BE BEAUTIFUL. LAURYN MAY BE BRILLIANT. BUT WE LOVE HER. ...

Prince: The Artist Formerly Known As Successful

Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, September 1998

He wriggled away From Warners and the quality control went West. He swopped Prince for Victor for Slave for O(+>) and the fans just couldn't ...

Lauryn Hill: Triumph of the Hill — Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Columbia)

Review by Eric Weisbard, Spin, September 1998

With her solo debut, Fugee Lauryn Hill claims a place in the pantheon of R&B greats. ...

Booker T & The MGs, Eddie Floyd, Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave: Various Artists: The Complete Stax/Volt Singles 1959-68

Review by Ian MacDonald, Uncut, September 1998

Epic set of Sixties soul classics, formerly import-only ...

Black Eyed Peas: Behind The Front (Interscope) ****

Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 12 September 1998

EVERY ONCE in a while, some little sweetie in Hiphopsville receives one too many Valentines and gets all gooey on our asses. People generally think ...

Beverley Knight: Prodigal Sista (Parlophone 496 2962)

Review by Mark Cooper, Q, October 1998

Explosive British R&B singer comes in from the cold with self-penned second album. ...

Brook Benton

Retrospective by Pete Grendysa, DISCoveries, October 1998

A MUSICAL SAGE once quipped, "If you write music, you're a composer. If you write words, you're a lyricist. If you do both, you're Cole ...

Gerald Levert, L.S.G., O'Jays: Gerald Levert: Daddy, I Wanna Sing

Profile and Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, October 1998

SECOND-GENERATION LEVERT SINGER AND LSG GURU GERALD HAS SONGS FOR DAYS — ASK HIS POPS, EDDIE ...

Foxy Brown: In the studio with Foxy Brown

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, The Source, October 1998

LOOKING MORE like a model just departed from a catwalk than a rapper hustling to finish an album, Foxy Brown sits quietly behind the massive ...

Aretha Franklin: The 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time: #1 Aretha Franklin

Retrospective and Interview by Ben Edmonds, MOJO, October 1998

 "She has all the Olympian leaps and trills, plus what's so often missing from others — believability." Eddi Reader "The essence of human spirit." Vic Chesnutt "I'm ...

Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Columbia) ****

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 3 October 1998

IF, SAY, Embrace were to sit around in the studio talking about paper rounds and puberty and stuff, they'd never dream of recording snippets and ...

Mobo Workin'

Report by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 9 October 1998

The Music Of Black Origin awards are now pop's trendiest bash, reflecting the dominant R&B influence in the charts. ...

Chaka Khan, Prince: Chaka Khan: Fighting to Reclaim Her Crown

Interview by Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 17 October 1998

Chaka Khan's Forum concert might have been canceled but she's still eager to jump back into the music scene. ...

112, Faith Evans, Puff Daddy, Total: Puff Daddy, Faith Evans, 112, Total: Sound Republic, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 19 October 1998

King of the bad boys ...

Ed Townsend, Marvin Gaye: Marvin Gaye: Ed Townsend Remembers Marvin Gaye

Profile and Interview by Bill Carpenter, Goldmine, 23 October 1998

MOTOWN'S MARVIN GAYE more so than any other male soul singer, represented the essence of the seventies. ...

Millie Jackson: Talk Talk

Interview by Bill Carpenter, Goldmine, 23 October 1998

MILLIE JACKSON'S name means a lot of things to a lot of different people. Pioneer or profiteer? ...

Faith Evans: Keep the Faith (Arista) **½

Review by Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 26 October 1998

TWO YEARS after the murder of her husband, the rapper Notorious B.I.G., Evans has made an album that both pays homage to him and bemoans ...

Faith Evans, The Notorious B.I.G.: Faith Evans: Faith healed

Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 31 October 1998

The most famous widow in R&B? Not anymore. Faith Evans, singer, mother and survivor, has come to terms with Notorious B.I.G.'s death, is making her ...

Rae & Christian: Northern Sulphuric Soul (Grand Central)

Review by Calvin Bush, Muzik, November 1998

Landmark hip hop soul album from underground Manchester pair with guests Jeru the Damaja, the Jungle Brothers, Texas and more ...

Whitney Houston: My Love Is Your Love (Arista)

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 13 November 1998

HER FIRST non-soundtrack work in eight years, My Love Is Your Love, finds Whitney Houston trying to re-position herself in a more youthful context. The ...

Curtis Mayfield - A Gently Sensitive Observer

Review by Ian MacDonald, Uncut, December 1998

SIX MAYFIELD albums on three CDs, from the great to the grottyCurtisGot To Find A WayRootsSweet ExorcistBack To The WorldLove ...

Dru Hill: Enter The Dru

Review by Amy Linden, Vibe, December 1998

THERE ARE TWO WAYS to consider Dru Hill. One is that the Baltimore quartet is methadone for those experiencing a serious Jodeci jones. Not the ...

Nina Simone

Interview by Precious Williams, The Big Issue, December 1998

NINA SIMONE is furious that there is no alcohol left in the house. It's not even 11 o'clock in the morning and yet the 65-year-old ...

112, Faith Evans, Puff Daddy, Total: Puff Daddy & The Family: Sound Republic, London

Live Review by Andy Crysell, Muzik, December 1998

Is this the greatest showman on earth? ...

Seal: Human Being (Warner Bros.) **½

Review by Evelyn McDonnell, Rolling Stone, 10 December 1998

WITH HIS rippled six-foot-three body shouldering a face marked by scars that could be teen-idol stigmata, you can't quite hate Seal because he's beautiful. ...

Total: Kima, Keisha & Pam (Bad Boy/Arista)

Review by Miles Marshall Lewis, L.A. Weekly, 17 December 1998

TOTAL, THE Bad Boy Entertainment girl group promoted as "Puffy's angels," never quite reached gold status with their eponymous 1996 debut. The backlash against Bad ...

Macy Gray, Shelby Lynne: Blue-Eyed Soul and Brown-Eyed Rock: Macy Gray and Shelby Lynne

Comment by Barney Hoskyns, Dig, The (Japan), 1999

TEN YEARS AGO I found myself sitting in a London hotel with Tommy Couch, boss of Malaco Records, a Mississippi label which was busy resuscitating ...

Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham #1: "Spend A Little Time With The Old Folks"

Interview by Joss Hutton, Bucketfull of Brains, 1999

Joss Hutton shoots the breeze with the living legends behind some of Soul's greatest, Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham. ...

Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham #2: Memphis Women And Chicken

Interview by Joss Hutton, Bucketfull of Brains, 1999

The concluding part of Joss Hutton's marathon interview with rhythm & soul legends Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham. ...

Ivory Joe Hunter

Sleeve notes by Bill Millar, Ace Records, 1999

ANY ONE ALBUM BY IVORY JOE HUNTER can only hint at the depth and breadth of a career which spanned five decades of entertainment experience. ...

Missy Elliott: Da Real World (Elektra)

Review by Amy Linden, The Source, 1999

THERE ARE cultural watershed moments. Blips in the radar screen that make you anticipate what lies ahead and forget what came before. One of those ...

Mary J. Blige, Brandy, Brandy & Monica, Darkchild, Whitney Houston, Rodney Jerkins: Rodney Jerkins: The Beats Are Mine

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, The Source, 1999

WITHIN THE rhythmic belly of the Hit Factory studio, chunky-funky 21-year-old producer Rodney Jerkins is beginning to look slightly fatigued. ...

Shola Ama: Soul Satisfaction

Interview by Dan Gennoe, Flipside, 1999

The girl who was discovered singing on a tube station at the age of 15, picked up 2 MOBOs and 1 Brit award, and scored ...

Celine Dion: Christmas pudding — Celine Dion: These Are Special Times (Epic 492730 2)

Review by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, January 1999

T'is the season to cobble together an album. ...

Faith Evans: Keep The Faith (Arista/Puff Daddy Records)

Review by Angus Batey, Muzik, January 1999

Notorious BIG's wife and R&B sensation's long-time-coming Puffy-produced second album ...

PM Dawn: P.M. Dawn: Dearest Christian, I'm So Very Sorry for Bringing You Here, Love, Dad (Gee Street/V2)

Review and Interview by Jon Young, Musician, January 1999

YOU PROBABLY think you've got P.M. Dawn figured out. After all, the lush melodies, intricate production, and cosmic sentiments expressed by Prince Be's brooding vocals ...

Timbaland: Tim's Bio – Life from da Bassment (Blackground)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Spin, January 1999

MAYBE YOU'VE heard of the Jamaican tradition of "version" albums: a dozen or so tracks all built on top of the same bass-and-drum undercarriage. Different ...

Dru Hill: Heart Doctors

Interview by James Hunter, Vibe, February 1999

YOUNG, GIFTED, AND MACK, BALTIMORE SOUL SLINGERS DRU HILL SING SONGS THAT MAKE MEN MOODY, BUT MAKE THE LADIES SCREAM. ...

Mya: Oh, Mya

Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, February 1999

When Mya Harrison makes moves, people move over. Amy Linden steps aside. ...

Timbaland: Wired for Sound: Timbaland

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Request, February 1999

CREDITS: MISSY ELLIOTT'S SUPA DUPA FLY, AALIYAH'S ONE IN A MILLION, HIS OWN TIM'S BIO; LIFE FROM DA BASSMENT ...

Francis Grasso (1999)

Interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages audio, 4 February 1999

The pioneering disco DJ remembers the clubs, most importantly the Sanctuary; talks about his inventions: slip-cueing, beatmatching and the seamless mix; and on the scene, the drugs, the other DJs, dating Liza Minnelli and getting beaten up by the Mob!

File format: mp3; file size: 68.2mb, interview length: 1h 14' 30" sound quality: ***

Lauryn Hill: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 8 February 1999

When Lauryn Hill played Brixton, it looked like the venue was braced for a riot. But the only rampaging mob was on stage. Caroline Sullivan ...

Lauryn Hill: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Max Bell, The Evening Standard, 8 February 1999

Sunsplashed homage to Bob ...

Lauryn Hill: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 8 February 1999

The real hip hop mother ...

Foxy Brown, Nas: Myth Master: The fabrication of Ms. Foxy Brown

Profile by Miles Marshall Lewis, L.A. Weekly, 18 February 1999

FOXY BROWN is a chickenhead. ...

TLC: Fan Mail (LaFace/Arista)

Review by Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 21 February 1999

TLC Takes Care to Adopt Streamlined Approach ...

Dru Hill: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 23 February 1999

Tears or cheers ...

Blackstreet: Finally (Interscope)

Review by Amy Linden, Vibe, March 1999

EVEN WITH 16 years worth of hits on his résumé, it's hard to sum up just what the "Teddy Riley sound" is. ...

Destiny's Child

Interview by Dorian Lynskey, Q, March 1999

This Houston teen foursome are produced by Timbaland for Missy Misdemeanour's label but it's not going to their heads. ...

New York — Body & Soul

Report and Interview by Bill Brewster, The Face, March 1999

Sunday afternoon disco classics down a Manhattan side street ...

Dusty Springfield: My Date with Dusty

Memoir by Sean O'Hagan, The Observer, 7 March 1999

Britain's first lady of soul had chosen us to make what was to be her last video. We'd found the perfect location, we'd borrowed a ...

Lynden David Hall: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Max Bell, The Evening Standard, 19 March 1999

Sexy Lynden plays it cool and serious ...

Faith Evans: One More Chance

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, The Source, April 1999

FOUR HUMID Gemini summers before her life morphed from those joyful days of chilled Cristal dreams and gleaming jewelry to the black widow midnights of ...

Lauryn Hill: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, April 1999

FOLLOWING THE phenomenal success of The Score, in some critics' eyes the time was right for a Fugees backlash. After all, what was so great ...

R. Kelly: Sittin' On Top of the Game

Profile by Michael A. Gonzales, The Source, April 1999

BEFORE TRANSFORMING himself into the premier rhythm & blues singer/songwriter/producer of the post-soul generation, R. Kelly was just another new jack poser trying to succeed ...

Blackstreet, Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew, Teddy Riley, Keith Sweat: Teddy Riley: The Life of Riley

Interview by Amy Linden, The Source, April 1999

WITH SMASHES like Bobby Brown's 'My Prerogative' (1988) and Johnny Kemp's 'Just Got Paid' (1988), Teddy Riley invented New Jack Swing and forever changed the ...

Dallas Austin, TLC: TLC: Spice Who?

Interview by Amy Linden, The Source, April 1999

THE EXPRESSION "eagerly anticipated" may be one of the most played out in the lexicon of show business. Not because fans don't fiend for new ...

The Roots: Astoria, London

Live Review by Max Bell, The Evening Standard, 16 April 1999

Digging Roots ...

Donny Hathaway: Half-life in the Bush of Ghosts: Come back, Donny

Retrospective by Kandia Crazy Horse, Creative Loafing, 17 April 1999

MY RECENT THEORY is that if the late soulman/scribe Donny Hathaway had been white he would be as (cult) famous as Cosmic American Gram Parsons; ...

Dru Hill, Faith Evans: Faith Evans, Dru Hill: Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 19 April 1999

Evans and Dru Hill Outshine Lackluster Material ...

Dusty Springfield: England's Lady Soul

Obituary by Lucy O'Brien, MOJO, May 1999

ON MARCH 2, 1999, Dusty Springfield died of cancer at her home in Henley-on-Thames. She was 59, just six weeks short of her 60th birthday. ...

Eric Benet: Loveséxy

Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, May 1999

In an R&B world where diamonds and champagne are king, singer/songwriter Eric Benét is a genius prince who dreams of the big takeover. ...

The Roots: Astoria, London WC2

Live Review by Stevie Chick, New Musical Express, 1 May 1999

YEAH, THE Roots are live hip-hop, but that ain't what makes 'em special. What makes The Roots special is just how good their itchy, firebrand ...

All Saints: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 3 May 1999

Party night for the holy rollers ...

All Saints: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Max Bell, The Evening Standard, 4 May 1999

Shaznay and company pass the live-show test ...

Groove Armada: Blissful Beats

Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 8 May 1999

MOST PEOPLE would have a raft of tunes. Andy Cato and Tom Findlay go one better. They're ain't called Groove Armada for nothing, you know. ...

Macy Gray: Embassy Rooms, London

Live Review by Stevie Chick, New Musical Express, 15 May 1999

SHE STANDS apart, unmistakable. It's like she's from another planet, another dimension, she's so different. Different from her vacu-formed backing band, who look and sound ...

Melky Sedeck, The Roots: The Roots, Melky Sedeck: Astoria, London

Live Review by Carl Loben, Melody Maker, 15 May 1999

R&B. WE HATE that schmaltzy shit, don't we? Well, no, not when it's as sassy and spiritually uplifting as Melky Sedeck. ...

Ike Turner, Ike & Tina Turner: Ike Turner: What Love Had To Do With It

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 26 May 1999

Ike Turner last spoke to his ex-wife Tina in 1986. Since then, he tells Caroline Sullivan, he's taken too much flak ...

Donna Summer: Saturday Night Forever: The Story of Disco by Alan Jones & Jussi Kantonen (Mainstream Publishing PB £9.99)

Book Review by Jon Savage, MOJO, June 1999

Party like it's 1977. In the depressed 1970s, one musical movement dared to say (mirror)balls to despondency. Don't get down, get down! urges Jon Savage. ...

Lauryn Hill: Theatre at Madison Square Garden, NY

Live Review by Barney Hoskyns, MOJO, June 1999

DID SOMEONE say breakout hit? Anyone who doubts the massive crossover impact of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill need only cast an eye across the ...

Missy Elliott: Miss World

Special Feature by Sylvia Patterson, The Face, June 1999

Her father threatened her with guns, her teachers graded her bottom of the class and the music industry told her she'd never make it. Then ...

Brandy: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Tom Cox, The Guardian, 1 June 1999

Icy cool, but no fizz ...

Brandy: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 2 June 1999

Selling a heady spirit by the tot ...

Lauryn Hill: Evening News Arena, Manchester

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 12 June 1999

EX OFFENDER ...

The Fugees, Lauryn Hill: Miss Education: Lauryn Hill

Interview by Simon Witter, The Times, 19 June 1999

With five Grammies on her mantelpiece, two children and a charity to her name, singer Lauryn Hill has achieved an awful lot at the tender ...

Macy Gray: Irresistible sister — Macy Gray: Macy Gray On How Life Is (Epic) ****

Review by Tom Cox, The Guardian, 9 July 1999

Sweat, toil, grit and sex (the real kind)... Macy Gray's debut album has the Guardian's new pop critic, Tom Cox, champing at the bit. ...

K-Ci & Jojo: The Kings of Sing

Interview by Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 17 July 1999

Two brothers raised on gospel are at the forefront of R&B's current renaissance ...

98 Degrees, B*Witched, Aaron Carter, E.Y.C., Monica, No Authority: B*Witched, 98 Degrees, Monica et al: Nickelodeon's All That Music & More, Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 1999

A Smartly Wrapped Package: All That Music & More tour's acts fly by in a format tailored to kids. ...

Destiny's Child: The Writing's on the Wall (Columbia)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 30 July 1999

THEIR HIPPYISH name apart, there's nothing about these Texas teenagers that hasn't been calibrated to comply with laws governing female R&B groups. ...

Destiny's Child: The Writing's On The Wall (Columbia) ***

Review by Lucy O'Brien, Q, August 1999

En Vogue-esque girl power R&B From Texas' latest export. ...

Jamiroquai: JKNY

Interview by James Hunter, Vibe, August 1999

More than just a Stevie Wonder enthusiast, Jamiroquai's wonder frontman, Jay Kay, knows a little something about fly birds, fast cars, and the bass-booming beats ...

Mark Morrison: How to beat a bad rap

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 6 August 1999

The baddest boy in pop is out of jail. But behind Mark Morrison's hard facade Caroline Sullivan finds a big pussycat who wants nothing more ...

Dr. John: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Tom Cox, The Guardian, 7 August 1999

If it wasn't for the beard and white suit, you might mistake Dr John for the warm-up act. Tom Cox waits in vain for something ...

Aretha Franklin: Jerry Wexler: Aretha And Me

Interview by Tom Cox, The Guardian, 13 August 1999

JERRY WEXLER, co-founder of Atlantic Records and in-house producer, was picking himself up off the floor of Muscle Shoals studio in Alabama when he received ...

Mary J. Blige: The Mary Changed: Mary J. Blige: Mary (MCA)

Review by Stevie Chick, New Musical Express, 21 August 1999

THE LATE-'90S HAVE BEEN something of a golden period for female-fronted soul/R&B music. ...

Earth Wind And Fire: The Ultimate Collection/Gratitude/All ‘N’ All/That’s The Way Of The World (Columbia)

Review and Interview by Kit Aiken, Uncut, September 1999

THE SNAZZIEST, JAZZIEST dance crew of the period. Their ‘one world’ spirituality, sunny mysticism and conspicuous musicality makes them a real genre one-off. Never as ...

Whitney Houston: An audience with the diva

Profile and Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 6 September 1999

On the eve of a European tour, Whitney Houston gives Paul Sexton a little of her precious time. ...

Whitney Houston: Sheffield Arena **

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 11 September 1999

Diva takes a nosedive ...

Macy Gray: Squeak Revenge

Interview by Tom Cox, The Guardian, 24 September 1999

Macy Gray's unearthly voice was once the butt of everyone's jokes. But after a hit album, that voice is having the last laugh. Tom Cox ...

Angie Stone: Precious and Pure

Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, October 1999

WHILE the sumptuous and soulful Black Diamond (Arista) may be Angie Stone's solo debut, it's not the first time the singer/songwriter/producer has rocked the mike. ...

Elvis Costello, Georgie Fame: Last Night a Record Changed My Life: Attack of the killer organ

Memoir by Colin Irwin, MOJO, October 1999

Elvis Costello was a scrawny 12-year-old — until Georgie Fame opened the door to hipness. ...

Macy Gray: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 2 October 1999

CRAZYSEXYCOOL ...

Wilson Pickett: Still Wicked: Wilson Pickett's Raw Return

Report and Interview by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 18 October 1999

THE HOWL is unmistakable. Raw as fresh meat, gritty and powerful as sandblasting. That's Wilson Pickett shouting thunder over the fatback grooves of a new ...

Wyclef Jean: House of Blues, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 18 October 1999

Wyclef Jeans Moves Keep 'em Guessing ...

Gabrielle: Sunshine After Rainy Days

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 22 October 1999

After what she's been through, who'd begrudge Gabrielle her success? Not Caroline Sullivan. ...

Barry White: Yeah Baby

Interview by Edward Helmore, Dazed & Confused, November 1999

It's thirty years since South Central LA's leading guru of luuuve established himself as BARRY WHITE, Virgo, Capricorn rising, a big man with Jeri-Gel flattened ...

Brian McKnight: The Professional

Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, November 1999

Writer. Singer. Producer. Arranger. Player. Brian McKnight is a musician's musician. So Amy Linden has to wonder, why does this highly trained master at his ...

Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham: Penn & Oldham: Good Ol' Boys In The Hood

Interview by Nick Hasted, The Independent, November 1999

DAN PENN'S writing credits read like a soul jukebox. Often working with his friend Spooner Oldham, Penn was behind many of the defining songs from ...

Nina Simone: Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

Retrospective by James Maycock, The Independent, 10 November 1999

In the Sixties, Nina Simone's music radically espoused black civil rights. But by the turn of the decade she had rejected politics. Why? ...

The Isley Brothers: It's Your Thing: The Story of the Isley Brothers (Epic) *****

Review by Tom Cox, The Guardian, 19 November 1999

THE MOST DEFINITIVE summation of The Isley Brothers' career so far begins not with a song but a real, live shriek. ...

Prince: Pop stars as you'll never see them

Report by Tom Cox, The Guardian, 20 November 1999

I HAVE A certain contingent of friends who want to protect me from the music business because they think it's riddled with merciless charlatans and ...

Marc Almond, Labelle, Dusty Springfield: Vicki Wickham: Ready, Vicki, Go!

Retrospective and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 30 November 1999

She's managed stars from Dusty Springfield to Marc Almond and has just won an award for her lifetime's work in the music industry. But outside ...

Macy Gray: There's something about Macy

Interview by Sylvia Patterson, The Face, December 1999

Some say she's "a genius"; others, "insane".What is it about Macy Gray that makes her more than just the soul sensation of the year? ...

Larry Graham, Chaka Khan, Prince: My father named me Prince

Profile and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Code, December 1999

The turn-of-the-century artist takes a second look. ...

George Clinton, Funkadelic, Parliament: George Clinton: The P-Father of P-Funk

Retrospective by Sean O'Hagan, The Guardian, 23 December 1999

Who was pop's greatest showman? Sean O'Hagan has no hesitation in picking George Clinton. ...

Nappy Brown: Savoy Blues Legends: Nappy Brown

Sleeve notes by Colin Escott, Savoy Records, 2000

INCIPIENT SOUL. There's no other way to describe Nappy Brown. It's true that he gets into the statistic books for a couple of numbers that ...

Aaliyah: The M Factor (Movies, Music, Motivation)

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 2000

Major record and movie success could just be the ingredients for an ego problem. However, the Native New Yorker singer/actress remains firmly rooted in reality. ...

The Supremes: Berry Gordy on the Supremes (2000)

Interview by David Nathan, Rock's Backpages audio, 2000

The Motown boss looks back at signing the then-Primettes; Diana's "sparkle"; the difficulty in getting the first hits; breaking through with 'Where Did Our Love Go'; going on the road and stealing Smokey's act; hitting internationally with 'Baby Love'; the Motown assembly line and backroom team; playing the Copa and the need to broaden their audience, and their legacy.

File format: mp3; file size: 52.9mb, interview length: 55' 06" sound quality: ***

Color Me Badd: The Best of Color Me Badd

Review by Devon Powers, PopMatters, 2000

IT SPEAKS VOLUMES that, at this historical moment, viable cred can come the title "Original Boy Band". Throughout The Best of Color Me Badd, you ...

Craig David

Profile and Interview by Dan Gennoe, Making Music, 2000

CRAIG DAVID couldn't be more successful if he tried. At 19 he already has two No. 1 singles to his name – the first of ...

Ike Turner: Beneath All That Tarnish

Retrospective by Bill Wasserzieher, musicblitz.com, 2000

IKE TURNER – Tina’s ex-bad half – has a reputation for being the wicked prince of the blues. His former missus in her as-told-to/tell-all book, ...

D'Angelo: Voodoo

Review by Miles Marshall Lewis, The Village Voice, January 2000

I WAS FOREWARNED, and chose not to take heed. You know, how prophecy can get mofos all wound up like Chicken Little with the sky ...

Jimmy Smith’s Hammond Organ Revolution

Retrospective and Interview by James Maycock, The Independent, January 2000

BEFORE JIMMY SMITH revolutionized the archaic Hammond organ, the lethargic sound this bulky, brown instrument emitted was frequently described, like an ailing patient, as "wheezing." ...

Prince: Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic

Review by Gavin Martin, Uncut, January 2000

Guest star-filled major label return for the man who may yet be regal again. ...

The Isley Brothers, Isley Jasper Isley: The Isley Brothers: "We-e-e-e-e-e-elll!"

Retrospective and Interview by Ben Edmonds, MOJO, January 2000

Their cry was first heard in 1959. The Isley Brothers are about to enter their sixth decade of pop stardom. They inspired The Beatles, employed Hendrix, funked-up Neil Young and ...

The Isley Brothers: It's Your Thing – The Story Of The Isley Brothers

Review by Chris Roberts, Uncut, January 2000

A COLOSSAL, combustible funk-fest; enough for a throbbing theme-night in your very own living room. Furry kaftans and diamante-encrusted bomber jackets optional. Emerging from Lincoln ...

Macy Gray: There's Something About Macy: Macy Gray: Academy, Manchester

Live Review by Andy Crysell, New Musical Express, 8 January 2000

WELCOME TO SONGS ABOUT "crazy love and all that shit". Dressed in electric blue, with her trademark wind-tunnel hair, flailing arms, happy-mad countenance and dance ...

D'Angelo: Groove is in the heart

Interview by Vivien Goldman, Daily Telegraph, 22 January 2000

Five years since revolutionising soul music with his debut album, Brown Sugar, D'Angelo is back. Vivien Goldman meets the preacher's son with a taste for ...

20 Classic Love Songs: Nuthin' But Love

Guide by Michael A. Gonzales, Amy Linden, Vibe, February 2000

Turn the lights down low, put the champagne on ice, and load your CD player with these modern romance classics ...

TLC: Civic Center, Hartford CT

Live Review by Evelyn McDonnell, Spin, February 2000

FOR THE PAST decade, TLC have challenged the usual pop-girl predicaments. They sported condom fashions as teenagers, took on their management and record company, addressed ...

Curtis Mayfield: The Soul of Soul: Curtis Mayfield 1942–1999

Obituary by Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone, 3 February 2000

"EVERYTHING WAS A SONG," Curtis Mayfield once said. "Every conversation, every personal hurt, every observance of people in stress, happiness and love ... if you ...

D'Angelo: Voodoo

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 12 February 2000

OF ALL practices displaced Africans brought to the New World, voodoo remains the most potent. ...

Mariah Carey: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 28 February 2000

IF PROOF were needed that sex sells, Mariah Carey would be a Class A exhibit. Since shelving her sugary image for skintight clothes and raunchy ...

Curtis Mayfield

Obituary by Ben Edmonds, MOJO, March 2000

With his high, pure tenor and songs of peace, love and empowerment, Curtis Mayfield was a soul revolutionary whose influence spanned four decades. Ben Edmonds ...

Kelis: Kaleidoscope (Virgin)

Review by Dorian Lynskey, Q, March 2000

Debut from 20-year-old New Yorker Kelis ("kay leese") Rogers, the female voice on Puff Daddy's 'PC 2000' and 0l' Dirty Bastard's 'Got Your Money'. ...

D'Angelo: Rhythm King: D'Angelo: Voodoo (Cheeba Sound/EMI) ****

Review by Paul Elliott, Q, March 2000

Album Number Two from "the new Marvin Gaye". ...

Shola Ama: Jazz Café, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 11 March 2000

THE STORY GOES that west London teenager Shola Ama was singing to herself at Hammersmith tube station one day when, in true pop-legend fashion, a ...

The Mighty Imperials: Mighty Imperials: I can't dance to this modern racket

Essay by Tom Cox, The Guardian, 25 March 2000

I'M SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING the debut UK gig by New York's Mighty Imperials, but, off to stage right, three black men are turning themselves ...

Kelis: Kaleidoscope

Review by Chris Roberts, Uncut, April 2000

Captivating Macy-worrying debut remarries hip hop and soul ...

Kelis: Kaleidoscope

Review by Dorian Lynskey, Select, April 2000

DEBUT FROM 20-year-old New Yorker Kelis ("kayleese") Rogers, the female voice on Puff Daddy's 'PE 2000' and Old Dirty Bastard's 'Got Your Money'. ...

Dalvin Degrate: Met.A.Mor.Phic

Review by Amy Linden, Vibe, May 2000

EXACTLY WHAT WAS Dalvin DeGrate's function in Jodeci? ...

Jennifer Brown, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Neneh Cherry, Robyn, Stephen Simmonds, Titiyo: Swedish R&B: Home Brew

Report and Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, May 2000

In the urban global village, SWEDEN is holding its own — pumping out some of today's most popular chart-topping teen R&B tunes and boasting its ...

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Dr. John, Earl King, Jean Knight, Mighty Diamonds, The Neville Brothers, Professor Longhair, Robbie Robertson: Wardell Quezergue: Architect of the Sound

Profile and Interview by John Swenson, Offbeat, 1 May 2000

ON AN UNSEASONABLY warm December afternoon, Wardell Quezergue walks carefully into the Musicians Union meeting hall on Esplanade Avenue. ...

Chic: The Very Best Of Chic

Review by Ian MacDonald, Uncut, June 2000

Another Chic anthology — why buy? An intelligent sleevenote with participation from Nile Rodgers, full-length album cuts where applicable. La musique elle-meme. ...

D'Angelo: Radio City Music Hall: New York City

Live Review by Carol Cooper, Spin, June 2000

LIVE PERFORMANCE is where music becomes ceremony, a ritual redefining the performer for his or her audience. Like videos, concerts turn a performer into a ...

James Brown, B.B. King, Lloyd Price: Eyewitness: The Black Woodstock — 22-23 September 1974

Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, June 2000

As Muhammad Ali and George Foreman waited to go toe-to-toe in Zaire, Don King persuaded James Brown and BB King to headline a music festival. ...

Sleepy Brown: Smooth Operator

Profile by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, June 2000

IT'S 7:30 a.m., but Patrick "Sleepy" Brown is full of energy as he promotes his solo debut, For the Grown and Sexy, on New York ...

Norman Jay (2000)

Interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages audio, 13 July 2000

The legendary DJ talks in depth about growing up black in London: the racism of the police; underground soundsystem culture, and blues parties. He goes on to recount the history of his Good Times soundsystem; the impact of visiting New York in the early '80s; the Notting Hill Carnival riot of '76, and his own involvement in Carnival from their first try as a soundsystem in '79 up until the present day, with digressions into the meaning of dance and DJ culture.

File format: mp3; file size: 91.4mb, interview length: 1h 35' 13" sound quality: ***

Stevie Wonder: The Electrification Of Soul

Overview by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 2000

"THERE'S NEVER BEEN a time when Stevie Wonder hasn't been relevant," said an associate of Wonder's on Channel 4's recent Top 10 Seventies Soul run-down. ...

Barry White: The Big Cheese

Interview by Lulu Le Vay, Sleazenation, September 2000

Barry White invited us to join him poolside at his San Diego mansion so we could place a hand on his chest and feel that ...

Lewis Taylor: Lewis II

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, September 2000

Long-awaited second album from R&B retro whiz in lovelorn mode. ...

Nelly: Country Grammarian: Nelly

Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore City Paper, 6 September 2000

THIS IS WHAT pop music is all about. A radio single with a sing-along hook so catchy and so danceable you can't resist it. A ...

Craig Werner: A Change Is Gonna Come – Music, Race & the Soul Of America

Book Review by Gavin Martin, Uncut, October 2000

Potent history of black American music, from Gospel-fuelled Civil Rights-era freedom marches, through Motown, Monterey, The Million Man March and much, much more. ...

Lewis Taylor: Hanover Grand, London

Live Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 9 October 2000

IF ADORATION always equalled wealth, Lewis Taylor would be living in a Regent's Park penthouse rather than a first- floor flat in the North London ...

All Saints: Saints & Sinners (London 8573 85295 2)

Review by Dan Gennoe, Q, November 2000

Fallen Angels: Only divine intervention can save them now... ...

Jill Scott Identifies Herself

Profile and Interview by Ben Thompson, Telegraph Magazine, November 2000

THE SOUND OF DISTANT laughter echoes up the corridor. As it comes closer - suffusing the chilly corporate air of Sony's West Soho HQ with ...

Swamp Dogg: Cover Story: A Dogg with Attitude

Special Feature by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages, 22 November 2000

How a pint-sized pooch danced for his record label. ...

Craig David: City Hall, Sheffield

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 27 November 2000

PEOPLE ARE DIVIDED on Craig David. For some, he is the spearhead of UK garage, whose pioneering "two-step" music has swept him to two number ...

20 Great Deep Soul Voices

Guide by Dave Godin, MOJO, December 2000

He’s helped turn on a new generation of fans to previously neglected soul stirrers. Now Dave Godin selects 20 of his favourite Deep Soul singers, ...

D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Kelis: D’Angelo: Voodoo/Erykah Badu: Mama’s Gun/Kelis: Kaleidoscope

Review by Cleothus Hardcastle, Rock's Backpages, December 2000

SOMEHOW "SOUL" music lives on, clinging to life in the midst of the coldest, meanest materialism. Straight outta Brooklyn came two of the heirs to ...

David Axelrod: 1968-1970: An Anthology (Stateside import); The Axelrod Chronicles (Fantasy)

Review by Will Hermes, Spin, December 2000

IMAGINE ITALIAN film-score wizard Ennio Morricone as an acidhead staff producer at Stax/Volt, and you have a rough idea of the utterly cosmic funkiness of ...

Chic, Norma Jean Wright: Norma Jean Wright: Norma Jean

Review by Paul Lester, Uncut, December 2000

FIRST RELEASE on CD for Chic-album-in-all-but-name from 1978 ...

Rachelle Ferrell, Sade, Spooks: Sade: Lovers Rock; Rachelle Ferrell: Individuality (Can I Be Me?); Spooks: S.I.O.S.O.S. Volume One

Review by Carol Cooper, The Village Voice, 13 December 2000

WHEN IT COMES to commercial black music, "high concept" makes the record industry very nervous. Motown initially told Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye that people ...

Irma Thomas: An Audience With The Soul Queen Of New Orleans

Interview by John Sinclair, Blues Access, Spring 2000

AS HER lengthy reign as the Soul Queen of New Orleans extends into the 21st century, the great Irma Thomas continues to grow as an ...

Alicia Keys: Songs In A Minor

Review by Dan Gennoe, Q, 2001

Classically trained pianist harks back to R&B's pre-Timbaland roots with sublime debut album. ...

Angela Winbush

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. St Louis, Missouri, USA ...

Angie Stone: Mahogany Soul

Review by Dan Gennoe, Q, 2001

FAME DIDN'T COME quickly for Angie Stone. When her debut album, 2000's gospel-rich Black Diamond, did finally arrive, it was distinguished by years of graft ...

Arthur Alexander

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 10 May 1940, Florence, Alabama, USA, d. 13 June 1993, Nashville, Tennessee ...

Arthur Prysock

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 2 January 1929, Spartanburg, North Carolina, USA, d. 21 June 1997, Hamilton, Bermuda ...

Barbara Lynn

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. Barbara Lynn Ozen, 16 January 1942, Beaumont, Texas, USA ...

Bert Berns

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. Bert Russell, 1929, d. 31 December 1967, New York, USA ...

Betty Everett

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 23 November 1939, Greenwood, Mississippi, USA ...

Big Maybelle: Candy! On Savoy 1956-59

Sleeve notes by Colin Escott, Savoy Jazz Records, 2001

RECORD COMPANY files tell the story in a haunting, elliptical way. Let's take 1957, for instance: January 8, fifteen dollar advance; same day, another fifty ...

Billy Ocean

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. Leslie Sebastian Charles, 21 January 1950, Trinidad ...

Bobby Hebb

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 26 July 1941, Nashville, Tennessee, USA ...

Boyz II Men

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

Wanya 'Squirt' Morris, b. 29 July 1973, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Michael 'Bass' McCary, b. 16 December 1972, Philadelphia; Shawn 'Slim' Stockman, b. 26 September 1972; ...

Chairmen of the Board

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

"General" Norman Johnson, b. 23 May 1943, Norfolk, Virginia, USA; Eddie Curtis; Harrison Kennedy, b. Ontario, Canada; Danny Woods, b. 10 April 1944, Atlanta, Georgia. ...

Chuck Willis

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 31 January 1928, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, d. 10 April 1958, Atlanta ...

Della Reese

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

b. Dellareese Taliaferro, 6 July 1932, Detroit, Michigan, USA ...

Fontella Bass

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 3 July 1940, St Louis, Missouri, USA ...

Freddie Jackson

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 2 October 1956, Harlem, New York City, USA ...

Gene McDaniels

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 12 February 1935, Kansas City, Missouri, USA ...

Inez & Charlie Foxx: Inez and Charlie Foxx

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion of 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

Charlie, b. 29 October 1939, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA, d. 18 September 1998; Inez, b. 9 September 1944, Greensboro ...

James Carr

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

ONE OF THE finest exponents of Southern soul, whose intense performances won him a strong cult following, Carr made the original versions of the often-recorded ...

Jamiroquai: A Funk Odyssey

Review by Dan Gennoe, Q, 2001

JAMIROQUAI/JAY KAY has shrugged off many a jibe about his disco-funk devotion – not to mention hats, dancing... But if 16 million album sales haven't ...

Jamiroquai: Jay Kay: The Esquire Interview

Interview by Dan Gennoe, Esquire, 2001

THERE ARE DOGS and there are dogs. The two German Shepherds growling and baring teeth on the drive of Jay Kay's Buckinghamshire estate, are the ...

Jennifer Lopez: J.Lo

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, 2001

R&B’s ALL THE rage, yet memorable tunes like Sisqo's 'Thong Song' are few and far between. First single, 'Love Don't Cost A Thing', with its ...

Jerry Ragovoy

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 1935, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA ...

Joe Tex

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

b. Joseph Arrington Jnr, 8 August 1933, Baytown, Texas, USA, d. 13 August 1982, Navasota, Texas ...

LaVern Baker

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 11 November 1929, Chicago, Illinois, USA, d. 10 March 1997, New York ...

Lee Dorsey

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 24 December 1924, Portland, Oregon, USA, d. 2 December 1986, New Orleans, Louisiana ...

Lionel Richie

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. Lionel Brockman Richie Jnr, 20 June 1949, Tuskegee, Alabama, USA ...

Bootsy Collins, Funkadelic, James Brown: Looking Back with Bootsy

Retrospective and Interview by Martin Herron, unpublished, 2001

'SEX MACHINE'; 'Superbad'; 'One Nation Under A Groove'; 'Tear The Roof Of Tha Sucker' – Bootsy Collins' bass is the foundation stone of the House ...

Lou Rawls

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 1 December 1937, Chicago, Illinois, USA ...

Luther Ingram

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 30 November 1944, Jackson, Tennessee, USA ...

Mica Paris

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. Michelle Warren, 1969, London, England ...

Money Mark: Change Is Coming (Emperor Norton)

Review by Dan Gennoe, Q, 2001

Beastie Boys' favourite session player proves his worth with third album. ...

Nile Rodgers

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 19 September 1952, New York, USA ...

Billy Butler, Jerry Butler, Major Lance, Curtis Mayfield: OKeh Records

Retrospective by Bill Brewster, bbc.co.uk, 2001

CHICAGO SOUL MUSIC, that weird conflation of gospel, rhythm and blues, latin rhythms and bass-heavy horn riffing, was somewhat overshadowed by its more well-known brothers ...

LaBelle, Patti LaBelle: Patti Labelle and the Blue Belles

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

Cindy Birdsong, b. 15 December 1939, Camden, New Jersey, USA; Sarah Dash, b. 24 May 1942, Trenton, New Jersey; Nona Hendryx, b. 18 August 1945, ...

Peabo Bryson

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. Robert Peabo Bryson, 13 April 1951, Greenville, South Carolina ...

Rae & Christian, Bobby Womack: Rae & Christian

Profile and Interview by Bill Brewster, The Big Issue, 2001

A PAIR OF bespectacled northerners sits opposite me. If you were to formulate a picture in your mind of what hip hop producers might look ...

Richard Berry

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 11 April 1935, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, d. 23 January 1997 ...

Shalamar

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

Jeffrey Daniels, b. 24 August 1957, Los Angeles, California, USA (replaced by Micki Free); Gerald Brown (replaced by Howard Hewitt, b. 1 October 1957, Akron, ...

Shirley and Lee

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

Shirley Pixley, b. 19 June 1936, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Leonard Lee, b. 29 June 1935, New Orleans, d. 26 October 1976 ...

Shirley Ellis

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

Ellis is best remembered for her performance of the series of novelty dance hits she wrote with her husband Lincoln Chase in the mid-sixties. ...

The Brecker Brothers

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

Randy Brecker, b. Randal E. Brecker, 27 November 1945, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Michael Brecker, b. 29 March 1949, Philadelphia ...

The Chiffons

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

Barbara Lee, b. 16 May 1947, Bronx, New York, USA, d. May 15, 1992; Patricia Bennett, b. 7 April 1947, Bronx; Sylvia Peterson, b. 30 ...

The Clovers

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

Charles White, b. 1930, Washington DC, USA; John 'Buddy' Bailey, b. 1930, Washington DC; Harold Lucas; Thomas Woods; Mathew McQator; Bill Harris; Billy Mitchell ...

The Contours

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

Joe Billingslea; Billy Gordon; Billy Hoggs; Hubert Johnson; Sylvester Potts; Huey Davis; Dennis Edwards; Joe Stubbs ...

The Delfonics

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

Randy Cain, b. 2 May 1945, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (replaced by Major Harris, b. Richmond, Virginia, replaced by Bruce Peterson, b. Chicago); Wilbert Hart, b. ...

The Hues Corporation

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

H. Ann Kelly, b. 24 April 1947, Fairchild, Alabama, USA; St Clair Lee, b. Bernard St Clair Lee Calhoun Henderson, 24 April 1944, San Francisco, ...

The Marvelettes

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

Katherine Anderson, b. 1944; Juanita Cowart, b. 1944; Georgeanna Tillman, b. 1944, d. 6 January 1980, Detroit, Michigan, USA; Gladys Horton, b. 1944 (replaced by ...

The Ohio Players

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

William Beck; Leroy Bonner; Marshall Jones; Ralph Middlebrooks; Walter Morrison; Marvin Pierce; Clarence Satchell; James Williams ...

The Orlons

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

Shirley Brickley, b. 9 December 1944; Steve Caldwell, b. 22 November 1942; Marlena Davis, b. 4 October 1944 (replaced by Audrey Brickley); Rosetta Hightower, b. ...

The Supremes

Retrospective by Bill Brewster, bbc.co.uk, 2001

MANY YEARS BEFORE anyone had ever heard of Hear'Say; and when Kylie and Jason were but a twinkle in Pete Waterman's rheumy eye, the Supremes ...

Toni Braxton

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 7 October 1968, Severn, Maryland, USA ...

Wilbert Harrison

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 6 January 1929, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, d. 26 October 1994, Spencer, North Carolina ...

William Bell

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

b. William Yarborough, 16 July 1939, Memphis, Tennessee, USA ...

Erykah Badu: Brave Heart: Erykah Badu

Profile and Interview by Miles Marshall Lewis, Oneworld, January 2001

THE BEIGE, NONDESCRIPT couches at New York's LaGuardia Airport are surprisingly comfortable. Seven Sirius Benjamin-the adorably precocious three-year-old son of Erykah Badu and André Benjamin ...

Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures Volume 3

Review and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, MOJO, January 2001

"DEEP SOUL Records will be just what their name implies," the manifesto for Dave Godin's Deep Soul label declared when it launched in 1969. "Non-commercial ...

Kelis: Seeking Tuneage Kicks With... Kelis

Interview by Dorian Lynskey, Select, January 2001

Space-age R&8 queen Kelis laughs long and loud about organ donation, Muse and why Tom Jones ruins her day. But what's her... ...

Steve Cropper

Interview by Bill Wasserzieher, Blues Revue, January 2001

GUITAR HEROES come cloaked in the mystique of the iconic loner. We call them guitar-slingers because they are like western heroes who ride into town ...

Joe: Better Days

Review by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 14 January 2001

WHEN YOU'RE born with a name as memorable as Usher or Aaliyah, there's no need to rack your brains for a zappy alter ego. If, ...

Johnnie Taylor: Lifetime: A Retrospective Of Soul, Blues And Gospel 1956-1999

Review by Richard Williams, MOJO, February 2001

LIKE MANY soul singers, Johnnie Taylor was only as good as the songs he was given. But when those songs were good – and most ...

The Mighty Imperials: Keepers of the Flame, or a Retro-step too far?

Review and Interview by Mark Pringle, Rock's Backpages, 10 February 2001

The Mighty Imperials: Jazz Café, London The Mighty Imperials – four white 18-year-olds from New York – blew into town this week ...

Lina: Manchester University

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 13 February 2001

Lina's delicious smoky big band sound ...

Fun Lovin' Criminals: Loco (Chrysalis)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 23 February 2001

Felonious funk: Caroline Sullivan enjoys the wiseguy Lotharios of New York ...

NSYNC: Britney can move, Christina can blow and *NSYNC got some street cred with 'Gone' — is blue-eyed soul the rebirth of cool?

Comment by Amy Linden, Honey, March 2001

IT WAS A seminal moment — as if life had just been discovered on Mars. The world's biggest boy band was on BET's 106 & ...

Little Milton: Soul Survivor

Retrospective and Interview by Jeff Calvin, Blues Revue, March 2001

 THE LONG-DISTANCE call came on a spring day in 1965, from Chicago to the Lone Star State – from blues present to blues past. Leonard ...

Albert King, Carla Thomas, Eddie Floyd, Mavis Staples, Otis Redding, The Staple Singers, William Bell: Stax: The Stax Story

Review by Ian MacDonald, Uncut, March 2001

Four-disc overview for the label that brought you sweet soul music ...

Jaheim: Soul Boy Not Short On Confidence

Interview by Precious Williams, The Evening Standard, 14 March 2001

Jaheim Hoagland's smooth, soulful vocals have been likened to those of music legends Marvin Gaye and Luther Vandross – but he's not too happy about ...

The Staple Singers: I'll Take You There: The Everlasting Legacy of the Staple Singers

Retrospective by Andria Lisle, MOJO, April 2001

THE DRIVE FROM Memphis to Drew, Mississippi, is a treacherous one even today. Highway 61 will take you as far south as Clarksdale, before you ...

Michael Jackson: Greatest Hits – History Volume 1

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, April 2001

ONCE UPON a time, wise critics dubbed Michael Jackson pop's Peter Pan. ...

Black Eyed Peas: Mean Fiddler, London WC2

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 21 April 2001

NOW THAT hip-hop is a global lingua franca, anyone with the slimmest of credentials can lay claim to authenticity. ...

Destiny's Child: The Joys Of Child-ish Behaviour

Interview by Precious Williams, The Evening Standard, 23 April 2001

THE SASSIEST girl group in the world are slumped on a sofa lamenting the "awfulness" of how they look. Destiny's Child – Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly ...

Destiny's Child: Survivor (Columbia)

Review by Simon Warner, PopMatters, May 2001

POP HISTORY IS as slippery as a Tom Parker, as mysterious as a Brian Epstein, as mercurial as a Malcolm McLaren. Like its great managerial ...

Marvin Gaye: What's Going On

Review by Jim Irvin, MOJO, May 2001

SOME YEARS ago I interviewed Paul Buchanan of The Blue Nile for MOJO. A musician known for his restless lifestyle, I asked him if there ...

Various Artists: Back To Black (Universal)

Review by Ian Penman, Uncut, May 2001

Ten-CD, 220-track History Of Black Music behemoth put together by Morgan 'Streetsounds' Khan in tandem with 35-strong industry committee ...

Ann Peebles: Soul Sensation

Retrospective by Andria Lisle, Oxford American, June 2001

WHEN ANN Peebles and Gene "Bowlegs" Miller first crossed paths at the Rosewood Club in South Memphis, neither would have called it destiny. As Miller ...

Git Down!! The 50 Funkiest Records Ever Made!!

Guide by Various Writers, Rock's Backpages, June 2001

ONCE UPON a time there was Funk. THE Funk. The Rhythm of the One. Now it's all four-on-the-floor hard-house and techy trance, dance-muzik devoid of ...

Ice-T: Iceberg Slim: The Best-Selling Pimp Remembered By His Widow

Retrospective and Interview by James Maycock, Pride, June 2001

"YOU SEE, pimping's big business," growled an experienced pimp to Goldie, his aspiring protégé in the classic 1970's film, The Mack. Concluding his informal lecture, the ...

Missy Elliott: Miss E... So Addictive (The Gold Mind Inc/Elektra 7559626392)

Review by Ian Penman, The Wire, June 2001

Ian Penman gets out of his head on Miss E ...

Tales From The Funky Side Of Town: “Soul” and “Funk”, Then and Now

Essay by James Maycock, The Independent, June 2001

"YOU'D BE SURPRISED how time can change the meaning of a word," rasped black comedian, Redd Foxx, during a performance at Harlem's Apollo Theatre in ...

Lisa Roxanne: My London

Interview by Precious Williams, The Evening Standard, 1 June 2001

Fifteen-year-old singer Lisa Roxanne. South London’s answer to Beyonce Knowles, wants to abolish rain, racism and boring people ...

Shuggie Otis: The Resurrection of Shuggie Otis

Retrospective and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 June 2001

INSPIRATION INFORMATION disappeared shortly after its 1974 release, and the world soon forgot about Shuggie Otis, the promising young rock musician who made the record. ...

Anastacia: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Max Bell, The Evening Standard, 11 June 2001

Short, sharp shock of soul ...

Alicia Keys: Songs in A Minor

Review by Mark Anthony Neal, PopMatters, 25 June 2001

IN THE AFTERMATH of Jill Scott's surprising breakthrough last year and in what is year four of the Badu evolution, there have been several remarkable ...

Marvin Gaye: Trouble Soul Man

Review by Kit Aiken, Uncut, July 2001

13 of the 30-odd albums released in the his lifetime: five twofers from the Sixties, an expanded 30th anniversary edition of his 1971 classic and ...

Usher: Rise of the House of Usher

Report and Interview by Ben Thompson, Telegraph Magazine, July 2001

APPEARING ON Channel 4's Richard Blackwood Show during his last visit to Britain, clean-cut US R&B star Usher Raymond IV startled the crowd with the ...

Shuggie Otis: Nightstick: Shuggie Otis

Report by Kirk Silsbee, New Times Los Angeles, 5 July 2001

THE GUITAR-PLAYING son of R&B pioneer Johnny Otis was a genuine Los Angeles success story in the early 1970s. ...

Wyclef Jean: Brixton Academy, London **

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 10 July 2001

...

Erykah Badu: Apollo, Manchester

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 18 July 2001

I HAVE SEEN Bowie atop a giant glass spider and U2 stuck inside a lemon, but I cannot recall an entrance like Erykah Badu's. ...

Destiny's Child, Missy Elliott: Destiny's Child: Survivor (Columbia)***; Missy Elliott: Miss E…So Addictive (Elektra)*****

Review by Simon Reynolds, Uncut, August 2001

Two blasts of future freak-funk ...

Usher: From Usher With Love

Interview by Ian Gittins, Q, August 2001

He was discovered at 14 by Puff Daddy, wants to move like Fred Astaire, sing like Michael Jackson and talk like the Fonz. He sold ...

Booker T & The MGs: The Backroom Boys: Booker T & the MGs

Retrospective and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, MOJO, August 2001

IF EVER THERE WAS a piece of music that deserved the epithet "timeless", it’s Booker T. & the MGs’ ‘Green Onions’. The most basic of ...

Aaliyah: The Highest, Most Exalted One: Aaliyah, 1979-2001

Obituary by Miles Marshall Lewis, The Village Voice, August 2001

THREE WEEKS BACK, I lay in a sea-salted bathtub with candles, bubbles, and headphones, listening to Aaliyah. Lamenting the state of my love life during ...

The Temptations' Final Frontier

Retrospective and Interview by Ben Edmonds, MOJO, August 2001

MOTOWN KING BERRY GORDY was royally miffed. None of his subjects could come up with a hit for the act many considered the finest in ...

Kelis: Astoria, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 26 August 2001

WITH BOBBY DIGITAL in such belligerent mood, you'd think Kelis might keep her head down. After all, 'Got Ya Money', her duet with the RZA's ...

Macy Gray: Old Vic, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 26 August 2001

MACY GRAY WAS a diva from the moment she picked up a mic. And fittingly, if frustratingly, she keeps her crowd waiting two hours, with ...

Chocolate Genius: Godmusic (V2)

Review by Eric Weisbard, Spin, September 2001

LISTENING TO this album on headphones, I feel like I still need headphones within the headphones. ...

N.E.R.D.: N*E*R*D": In Search Of...

Review by Simon Reynolds, Uncut, September 2001

R&B production team turn out politically-infused black rock'n'soul album ...

Maxwell: Now's the Time? Maxwell's Now

Review by Miles Marshall Lewis, L.A. Weekly, September 2001

MAXWELL. Not D'Angelo-Maxwell. Not Bilal-Maxwell. Not Musiq Soulchild, even. Maxwell. ...

Aaliyah, Singer/Actress

Obituary by Sheryl Garratt, The Observer, 2 September 2001

AALIYAH DANA HAUGHTON was just 22 when she died last Saturday in a plane crash in The Bahamas, but she'd already been famous for seven ...

Ike & Tina Turner, Ike Turner: Ike Turner

Interview by Precious Williams, Scotland on Sunday, 16 September 2001

"IF YOU KNOW ME, you love me," boasts Ike Turner, reclining in the sizzling sunshine and sipping a glass of water. An interesting claim ...

23 Skidoo (2001)

Interview by Bill Brewster, Rock's Backpages audio, 21 September 2001

Alex Turnbull and "Sketch" Martin take us from the early days in Hackney to the (2001) present day: their association with Throbbing Gristle; early influences; early releases and the band schism; The Culling is Coming and Urban Gamelan; their increasing interest in hip hop, and their Ronin Records label.

File format: mp3; file size: 78.8mb, interview length: 1h 26' 03" sound quality: ****

Gabrielle

Profile and Interview by Ian Watson, Sunday Herald, October 2001

SHE DOESN'T SHUT UP. Present Gabrielle with a simple query and her mouth goes into overdrive. She hits the ground sprinting, talking so quickly she ...

James Brown: Hackney Ocean, London

Live Review by James Maycock, MOJO, October 2001

After reports in this magazine (Mojo issue 88) of eccentric antics preceding a New Year's Eve concert in Las Vegas, will James Brown behave himself ...

Boz Scaggs: Wizard of Boz

Profile and Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 18 October 2001

LIKE ONE OF his ballad's gently lolling melodies, William Royce "Boz" Scaggs takes an easygoing approach to recording. Never one to give in to a ...

Howard Tate: The Return Of A Soul Music Master

Interview by Peter Stone Brown, Gadfly, 22 October 2001

"Last I heard about him he was in New York, and Jerry Ragovoy used to produce him. He made all these demos with the guy ...

Macy Gray: Another Girl Another Planet

Profile and Interview by Jim Irvin, MOJO, November 2001

HARBOUR NO ILLUSIONS, stardom screws you up. Don’t get used to the luxury and attention, it could leave as quickly as it came. No matter ...

Alicia Keys: "I love Chopin… He's my dawg": Alicia Keys

Report and Interview by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 2 November 2001

Stevie loves her, Oprah's after her and Prince is always on the phone. As Alicia Keys prepares to storm the UK charts, Ian Gittins meets ...

Macy Gray: It's a Macy, Macy world

Profile and Interview by Tim Cooper, The Observer, 18 November 2001

"She's phat, she's tight, she's outta control..." It was supposed to be a routine celebrity interview, but it ended in a jet-ski chase across the ...

Bootsy Collins, OutKast: Funk: Bootsy Collins and OutKast

Interview by Angus Batey, Dazed & Confused, December 2001

What is funk anyway? A type of music? A sound? An attitude, a style, a feeling? ...

Dusty Springfield: The Ultimate Collection

Review by Devon Powers, PopMatters, 3 December 2001

OH, POP MUSIC! One minute, it pushes the envelope wide-wide open, then the next seals it up tight as can be! Such a force it ...

Fontella Bass

Interview by David Nathan, SoulMusic.com, Spring 2001

SOMETIMES, IT really, really pays to listen to your colleagues. ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: Where Are They Now: Terence Trent D'Arby

Report and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, Summer 2001

ONCE THE snake-hipped future of soul, Terence Trent D'Arby never quite capitalized on the enormous publicity that greeted his arrival in the mid-'80's, nor the ...

Cymande

Retrospective and Interview by Angus Batey, Mojo Collections, 2002

STEVE SCIPIO pauses. The bass player and songwriter with Cymande is trying to recall what exactly his band's biggest hit, the reggae-funk masterpiece 'The Message', ...

Jackie Wilson: The Best of Jackie Wilson (Metro) ***½

Review by Jeff Tamarkin, AllMusic.com, 2002

COMPILING A Jackie Wilson best-of set should be a no-brainer. From the beginning of his solo career in the late '50s until the end of ...

Johnny Otis at 80

Retrospective and Interview by James Maycock, MOJO, 2002

JOHNNY OTIS, the renaissance man of rhythm and blues, is somewhat ambivalent about entering his ninth decade. "I have two kinds of feelings," he concedes. ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, ZZ Hill, Fern Kinney, Dorothy Moore, Johnnie Taylor: Malaco Records: The Last Soul Label

Report and Interview by Mike Atherton, Echoes, 2002

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, has been a music town for over half a century. In the early 1950s, Lillian McMurry's Trumpet label made Sonny Boy Williamson into ...

P.P. Arnold (2002)

Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, 2002

On the road with Ike & Tina Turner; supporting the Rolling Stones; 'Tin Soldier' and The Small Faces; meeting Jimi; going out with Rod Stewart, plus countless superstar sessions: P.P. Arnold takes us on a trip back to Swinging London!

File format: mp3; in 2 parts, total file sizes: 56.7mb, total interview length: 1h 1' 57" sound quality: ****

Michael Jackson: Invincible (Epic)**

Review by Chris Roberts, Uncut, January 2002

Distressingly dull comeback from disputed King Of Pop ...

Quincy Jones: Q – The Musical Biography Of Quincy Jones (Rhino)

Review by Daryl Easlea, Record Collector, January 2002

QUINCY JONES HAS enjoyed a truly remarkable career, moving between the fields of jazz, blues, soundtracks, pop, soul, funk and rap. This celebratory collection encompasses ...

Ray Charles: The Definitive Ray Charles

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, MOJO, January 2002

Forty-six tracks from 48 years – 40 of which are from the '50s and '60s, but them's the breaks – a definitive encapsulation of a ...

Whitney Houston, OutKast: Whitney Houston: Houston, still a problem

Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 4 January 2002

Troubled superstar Whitney Houston overdoses on sugar, says Lisa Verrico ...

Faith Evans, Christina Milian, Pink: Bubblegum to chew over: Christina Milian, Faith Evans, P!nk

Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 11 January 2002

A teen diva can't compete with maturing talent, says Lisa Verrico  ...

Alicia Keys: Rock Me Amadeus

Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, February 2002

It's a long way from New York's 42nd Street to the 44th annual Grammy Awards. But after seven years of juggling Harlem street life, fractious ...

Norma Jean Bell, No-Neck Blues Band: The Fringe: Rackjobbing

Review by Will Hermes, Spin, February 2002

American music you can believe in ...

Mary J. Blige: "My Boyfriend Was Trying To Kill Me. There Were Weapons."

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 1 February 2002

THE WORLD LOVES a troubled diva, and for 10 years Mary Jane Blige has provided her public with a continuous flow of what her friend, ...

Duffy: Rockferry

Review by Gavin Martin, Daily Mirror, 29 February 2002

DO YOU EVER get the feeling that the British music industry runs on a slightly unimaginative copycat pattern? ...

Angie Stone: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 5 March 2002

WHEN HER FIRST solo album appeared in 1999, soulstress Angie Stone was already 33, and more strapping than your average microbe-sized R&B singer. ...

N.E.R.D.: In Search Of... (Virgin)

Review by Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 10 March 2002

AS THE IN-DEMAND production team the Neptunes, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo have tended to build hip-hop hits around hard, in-your-face hooks that aren't easily ...

Sam Cooke: Keep Movin' On (ABKCO)

Review by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 14 March 2002

THE TRAGIC DEATH of Sam Cooke remains one of rock and roll's great mysteries. Cooke was shot in the wee hours of December 10, 1964, ...

Busta Rhymes, Beverley Knight: Busta Rhymes: Genesis/Beverley Knight: Who I Am

Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 15 March 2002

Busta Rhymes is back on song, Lisa Verrico is pleased to report — and Beverley Knight never left it ...

Usher: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 20 March 2002

USHER RAYMOND IV sure has his priorities right. This R&B heavyweight and MTV posterchild understands his hormone-obsessed teenage fanbase. That's why tonight, spectacle is all. ...

Smokey Robinson: 10 Questions for Smokey Robinson

Interview by Bill DeMain, MOJO, April 2002

Bill DeMain speaks to Motown's legendary songwriter and singer about Billy Eckstine, Marvin Gaye, school plays and positive rap. ...

N.E.R.D.: In Search Of … (Virgin Records)

Review by Yancey Strickler, Flak Magazine, 1 April 2002

DON'T EVEN BOTHER picking up N.E.R.D.'s In Search Of… because within six months, you'll be hearing it everywhere. Much like Moby's Play, this record will ...

Mark Anthony Neal: Soul Babies – Black Popular Culture and the Post-Soul Aesthetic (Psychology Press)

Book Review by Miles Marshall Lewis, The Village Voice, 2 April 2002

Generation Hiphop's Aesthetics ...

Mary J. Blige: Mary J Blige: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Gavin Martin, The Independent, 26 April 2002

IT WAS FOOLISH to think that the first lady of hip hop soul would abide by the title of her latest, and greatest-selling, album, No ...

Lisa Lopes: Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes

Obituary by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 27 April 2002

Rebel hit singer notorious for breaking the old R&B rules. ...

Lisa Lopes, TLC: Lisa Lopes: Rollercoaster career of a troubled star

Obituary by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 27 April 2002

THE POP world lost one of its most colourful characters yesterday with the death of Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. ...

Mary J. Blige, Chilly Gonzales: Mary J. Blige: Wembley Arena, London/Gonzales Scala, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 27 April 2002

SOMETHING VERY bad happened to Mary J. Blige once, right here, in London. She won't tell us what it is, but alludes to it cryptically, ...

'80s Soul: Never Too Much

Overview by Lulu Le Vay, Sleazenation, May 2002

80s soul: Black men and silky suits and silkier voices. White Essex casuals. Weekends at windswept holiday resorts. Luther Vandross. While the rest of the ...

Aretha Franklin: The Queen's Greatest Tracks

Review by Martin Colyer, Barney Hoskyns, Mark Pringle, Rock's Backpages, May 2002

"THEY USED to call me a jazz singer," Aretha told Val Wilmer in 1968. "Now I think what I sing is closer to R&B and ...

CeeLo Green: Cee-Lo Green: Cee-Lo Green And His Perfect Imperfections

Review by Amy Linden, XXL, May 2002

HE ISN'T a gospel singer, but there's no denying that there's a whole lot of chu'ch in Cee-Lo. Yet since the singer/rapper and founding member ...

Joi, Kelis, Me'Shell Ndegeocello: Joi/Ndégeocello/Kelis: Walk on Gilded Splinters

Review by Kandia Crazy Horse, The Village Voice, 1 May 2002

Joi: Star Kitty's Revenge; Me'Shell Ndégeocello: Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape; Kelis: Wanderland ...

Mariah Carey: Greatest Hits

Review by Devon Powers, PopMatters, 8 May 2002

THERE'S A popular mythology out there that says that certain things–like pop divas and Fortune 500 companies–never die. ...

Kelly Price

Interview by Amy Linden, Heart & Soul, June 2002

Peering out from under frosted bangs with mucho come-hither-let-me-slither attitude, Kelly Price preens for the camera, pursing her high-gloss lips. Her glamour-puss prancing is greeted ...

Nina Simone: To Love Somebody/Here Comes The Sun/Emergency Ward/Black Gold/It Is Finished

Review by Jim Irvin, MOJO, June 2002

EUNICE WAYMON never intended to be a pop singer. Her ambition was to be the first great black female classical pianist. She took up playing ...

Solomon Burke: Go On Back To Him

Report by Don Waller, MOJO, June 2002

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! "What's that noise in my earphones?" soul giant Solomon Burke calls into the studio control roost from the vocal isolation booth. "That's ...

Solomon Burke: The Bishop of Soul returns

Special Feature by Dave Schulps, Rock's Backpages, June 2002

MICK JAGGER may have insisted once upon a time that "it’s the singer not the song," but that doesn’t necessarily mean that even the greatest ...

Raphael Saadiq: Instant Vintage

Review by Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2002

SAADIQ WOULD rather lay back than throw down. He's got a touch of Smokey Robinson's liquid satin in his phrasing and a complete absence of ...

Take 6: Beautiful World

Review by Mark Anthony Neal, PopMatters, 19 June 2002

WHEN TAKE 6 dropped their self-titled debut in 1988, contemporary R&B and gospel were both at crossroads and the idea of an a cappella gospel ...

Norman Jay: Minister of Sound

Profile and Interview by Sean O'Hagan, Observer Music Monthly, 23 June 2002

It's a long way from illegal raves to Buckingham Palace. But Norman Jay, the godfather of club culture, has been there and done that – ...

Nelly: Nellyville

Review by Marc Weingarten, Slate, 25 June 2002

Nelly's Confusion: Is the rapper a preacher or a party animal? Don't ask him. ...

Lauryn Hill: MTV Unplugged

Review by John Aizlewood, Blender, July 2002

IT SOUNDS LIKE either madness or genius, and it's actually a bit of both. As her follow-up to 1998's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which ...

Solomon Burke: King Solomon

Interview by Chris Bourke, Real Groove, July 2002

WHEN SOLOMON BURKE makes an entrance, it's obvious that royalty has arrived. I once witnessed the self-proclaimed King of Rock'n'Soul take the stage. It was ...

Al Green: Higher Ground: Al Green Blends His Sacred and Secular Instincts When He Steps Onstage

Retrospective by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore City Paper, 17 July 2002

ALBUMS ARE NOT the only means of making great music any more than movies are the only means of doing great acting. Every time a ...

Isaac Hayes: A Black Woodstock: Wattstax

Retrospective and Interview by James Maycock, The Guardian, 20 July 2002

Intro: This is about 1000 words longer than the version published by The Guardian. There’s much more on the concert, more quotations and more on ...

The Neptunes, N.E.R.D., Pharrell Williams: You may not know it, but you're already mad about the Neptunes

Profile and Interview by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 28 July 2002

YOU MAY NOT know the name. But if you've ever screamed "I hate you so much right now!" along with Kelis, told Ol' Dirty Bastard ...

Ashanti: Saviour Of The Ballad

Interview by Dan Gennoe, Q, August 2002

"LEAVE!" Ashanti Douglas is not amused. ...

Funkadelic: Hardcore Jollies/One Nation Under A Groove/Uncle Jam Wants You/The Electric Spanking Of War Babies

Review by Richard Gehr, Blender, August 2002

George Clinton's freaky crew in its late '70s prime. ...

Truth Hurts: Truthfully Speaking

Review by Amy Linden, The Source, August 2002

STEVIE WONDER once declared that love's in need of love today. It's a beautiful notion, but one that eludes much of the current R&B. Case ...

Kid Creole & The Coconuts: Kid Creole: Calypso Facto

Review by Gavin Martin, Uncut, September 2002

OFF THE COAST OF ME***FRESH FRUIT IN FOREIGN PLACES*****TROPICAL GANGSTERS***DOPPELGANGER**(All Universal) ...

Jay-Z, Kelis, N.E.R.D.: N*E*R*D: Irving Plaza, New York City

Live Review by Will Hermes, Spin, September 2002

WHAT do you do when you're a studio rat who's passed the Courvoisier with Busta Rhymes and P. Diddy and logged hits for 'N Sync, ...

Rick James: Anthology

Review and Interview by Andria Lisle, MOJO, September 2002

CATEGORISING RICK James isn't as easy as one might think. Sure, he's the bad boy of black pop, a groove-minded funkster with a nasty attitude, ...

Soul II Soul: Timmy Regisford

Interview by Marc Rowlands, Southport Weekender Programme, September 2002

I'VE NEVER seen an interview with Timmy Regisford before. I don't know if he seldom does them. I know he doesn't enjoy them, not that ...

Ray Charles (2002)

Interview by Bill DeMain, Rock's Backpages audio, 26 September 2002

Brother Ray on how he's matured as a singer; on keeping interested in old songs by improvising; finding his own voice at the end of the '40s, and meeting his hero Nat King Cole; writing because he had to, and stopping when he didn't; mixing gospel and blues; on dressing sharp, and singing about love.

File format: mp3; file size: 14.3mb, interview length: 14' 52" sound quality: *** (phoner)

India.Arie: Voyage to India

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 27 September 2002

AS BY FAR THE MOST INTERESTING of the current crop of nu-soul divas, this second album from India Arie has come to assume huge importance ...

Christina Aguilera, Las Ketchup: Las Ketchup: Hijas del Tomate/Christina Aguilera: Stripped

Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 18 October 2002

CURRENTLY TOP of the charts not only in their native Spain but right across Europe and — as of Sunday — in Britain as well, ...

The Liberation of Detroit: The Motor City after Motown

Retrospective by Phil Mershon, Perfect Sound Forever, November 2002

WHEN BERRY GORDY JR. moved the Motown empire to Los Angeles in 1971, his plan was for the world’s premier record company to go into ...

Craig David, Romeo, Justin Timberlake: Justin Timberlake: Justified; Craig David: Slicker than Your Average: Romeo: Solid Love

Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 1 November 2002

MICHAEL JACKSON may be all but written off, so there's a vacancy for a King of Pop. Having once been betrothed to Britney Spears, the ...

Wyclef Jean, Tom Jones: Tom Jones: Soul mates

Interview by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 2 November 2002

What do you get if you cross hip-hop superstar Wyclef Jean with the voice from the Valleys? The most soulful record of Tom Jones's career, ...

Craig David: King of New York

Profile and Interview by Tim Cooper, The Observer, 3 November 2002

He has immaculate manners, he likes hugging his fans and his worst vice is cookie dough ice cream... Small wonder America loves Craig David. Tim ...

TLC: Reheated Left Eye leftovers

Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 8 November 2002

RATHER THAN spell the end of TLC, the death of Lisa Lopes earlier this year in a car accident has meant a bit of a ...

Sugababes: Music profile: Sugababes

Profile and Interview by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 9 November 2002

Sassier than Atomic Kitten, classier than Mis-Teeq, the new Sugababes are the girl group it’s OK for grown-ups to like, claims Lisa Verrico. ...

Isyss: Nice Girls Finish Fast

Profile by Carol Cooper, The Village Voice, 26 November 2002

THE $64 MILLION question? Why, in a post-Spice Girl world, are black girl groups still forming (and falling apart) as if the Spice Girls never ...

TLC: T-Boz: "The doctors told me I wouldn't live to see 40"

Interview by Precious Williams, The Evening Standard, 27 November 2002

She's a member of the famous girl band TLC. Here, T-Boz talks about her daily battle with sickle cell anaemia ...

Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Martine McCutcheon: Jennifer Lopez: This is Me… Then/Mariah Carey: Charmbracelet/Martine McCutcheon: Musicality

Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 29 November 2002

ON HER NEW album, Jennifer Lopezhas cannily mixed her real life romance with her music. So listening to This is Me… Then feels a little ...

Etta James: I'm Only Sleeping

Retrospective by Andria Lisle, MOJO, December 2002

"SOMETHING TOLD ME IT WAS OVER/When I saw you and here talking/Something deep down in my soul said, 'Cry, girl'/When I saw you and that ...

Terence Trent D'Arby, David Gray, Sananda Maitreya: Terence Trent D'Arby: Forum, London/David Gray: NEC Arena, Birmingham

Live Review by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 1 December 2002

Terry's all gold – even though his name is now Buddhist Jesus II ...

Solomon Burke: Solomon In All His Glory

Profile and Interview by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 20 December 2002

The greatest male soul singers are Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and Solomon Burke. But, unlike the others, Burke is very much alive, as ...

Sweet Soul Music: Gerald Posner's Motown – Music, Money, Sex, and Power

Essay by Gene Santoro, The Nation, 23 December 2002

As Trent Lott struggled to "repudiate" segregation fifty years after it was outlawed, about the only point he left out of his incoherent counterattack is ...

Alicia Keys: Alicia in Wonderland

Profile and Interview by Nicholas Jennings, Inside Entertainment, Summer 2002

SHE HAS THE hooks and the looks – and depth and diversity too. Barely out of her teens, Alicia Keys may be the most sophisticated ...

Beverley Knight

Profile and Interview by Dan Gennoe, Making Music, Summer 2002

"I'M BRITISH and I'm proud," barks 27-year-old soul singer Beverley Knight with an earnest expression and a shake of her chop sticks. ...

Bootsy Collins: Play With Bootsy

Review by Dan Gennoe, Q, Summer 2002

AS A WIGGED-OUT space cadet, Bootsy Collins is unrivalled. Unfortunately, the former Parliament and Funkadelic bass player's solo output has rarely warranted as much attention ...

Aaliyah: I Care 4 U

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, 2003

THE GRIEF and shock that gripped the R&B fraternity after Aaliyah Houghton's death in a plane crash in 2001 was more than just sorrow for ...

Roachford: Andrew Roachford: Heart Of The Matter, Vol. 1

Review by Dan Gennoe, Pop Star Weekly, 2003

Brit-funk rocker finally realises his true calling. ...

Bothered Blue Once More: The Barrett Rude Jr. and the Subtle Distinctions Story

Sleeve notes by D. Ebdus, Motherless Records, 2003

"The singer’s role is deceptive; in identifying and exploring disintegration and other potentially destructive aspects of black American life he or she is performing an ...

Howard Tate: Rediscovered

Sleeve notes by Andy Schwartz, Private Music/RCA, 2003

NOTE: I was surprised and very saddened to learn that the great soul singer Howard Tate had died 12.2.11 at age 72, reportedly from complications ...

Jamiroquai's Jay Kay

Profile and Interview by Dan Gennoe, Time Out Dubai, 2003

THE HEAT IS unbearable. It's not yet midday, and the sky covering the 72 acres that Jamiroquai's double-jointed singer, Jay Kay, calls home is blue ...

Kelis: Tasty

Review by Amy Linden, Vibe, 2003

SHE'S THE NEPTUNES' fave session chick, critics dug her 2000 debut Kaleidoscope and the fashion world (and Nas) thinks she's the shit. ...

Patrice Rushen

Interview by David Nathan, SoulMusic.com, 2003

AS I HAVE often commented, one of the wonders of the modern age was the invention of the compact disc. Not only has it revolutionized ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Earth Wind And Fire: Beacon Theater, New York

Live Review by Kandia Crazy Horse, PopMatters, 15 2003

MY TRAGEDY AS a music fanatic has always been one of being a spirit out of time. I have spent a goodly portion of my ...

Ray Charles: 10 Questions for Ray Charles

Interview by Bill DeMain, MOJO, January 2003

Meeting Nat Cole, crafting genius songs on the spot and tips on sartorial cool. Bill DeMain gets the word from the emperor of soul. ...

Justin Timberlake: Justified (Jive)

Review by Toby Manning, Q, January 2003

WHILE MICHAEL Jackson's creativity is on the wane, there are still some artists who find him inspirational. ...

TLC: 3D

Review by Dan Gennoe, Q, January 2003

Atlanta R&B trio's ill fated fourth album ...

Solomon Burke: Don't Give Up On Me

Review by j. poet, Paste, 7 January 2003

WHEN CRITICS began raving about Burke's comeback album, more than a few fools in the crowd asked "Solomon who?" ...

The Roots: Jazz Café, NW1

Live Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 17 January 2003

Someone should have taken Kim Howells to see The Roots live in London, a black hip-hop band fronted by two frantic rappers playing to a ...

Kelly Rowland: Simply Deep

Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 31 January 2003

WHEN DESTINY'S CHILD SPLIT to go solo last summer, no one would have bet against Beyoncé leaving her sidekicks standing. But Beyoncé's solo debut, the ...

James Brown: The Making Of James Brown Live At The Apollo

Retrospective by James Maycock, Daily Telegraph, February 2003

"ARE YOU READY for Star Time?" exclaimed MC Lucas "Fats" Gonder from the stage of Harlem’s Apollo on 24th October, 1962. The eager crowd ...

Toni Braxton: More Than A Woman

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, March 2003

IN A DECADE that's elevated R&B from loved-up swing beat to bling bling attitude and furious innovation, Toni Braxton's consistently played the grumpy older sister. ...

Mira Calix, Vivian Green, Norah Jones, Terri Walker: After Norah

Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 10 March 2003

Norah Jones's Grammy-grabbing success has opened the floodgates for young, female singer-songwriters like Terri Walker, Vivian Green and Mira Calix ...

India.Arie: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Pete Paphides, The Times, 22 March 2003

WHERE India.Arie is concerned, the journey to enlightenment will stop at nothing – not even hair. Shorn of her customary dreadlocks since her last British ...

Earl King, 1934-2003

Obituary by Phast Phreddie Patterson, Rock's Backpages, April 2003

NEW ORLEANS bluesman Earl King (69) died from diabetes related complications on April 17 at St. Charles General Hospital in New Orleans. He was a ...

Edwin Starr 1942-2003

Obituary by Phast Phreddie Patterson, Rock's Backpages, April 2003

SOUL SINGER Edwin Starr (61) died of a heart attack at his home in central England on April 2. Edwin Starr was one of Soul ...

Ginuwine: The Senior (Epic)

Review by Dan Gennoe, Q, April 2003

THOUGH ECLIPSED by his Missy Elliott/Aaliyah/Justin Timberlake collaborations, producer Tim "Timbaland" Mosley's partnership with R&B loverman Ginuwine has been a remarkable one. ...

Homer Banks 1941-2003

Obituary by Phast Phreddie Patterson, Rock's Backpages, April 2003

SOUL SINGER and songwriter Homer Banks (61) died of cancer in Memphis on April 4. Banks achieved most of his fame from writing songs ...

Macy Gray: The Trouble With Being Myself

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, April 2003

BILLIE HOLIDAY on helium croak and scary hair aside, Macy Gray's greatest attribute is her lyrical persona as a kooky psycho screwball with a heart ...

Macy Gray: Outlandish, outrageous and utterly original

Profile and Interview by Nicholas Jennings, Inside Entertainment, April 2003

THE HIGH PRIESTESS of Freak is looking suspiciously like a Volvo-Driving Soccer Mom. ...

Sly & The Family Stone: There's A Riot Goin' On

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, April 2003

THE COVER SAYS it all. An American flag, the stars replaced by white flowers on a black backdrop, the stripes soiled by a brown stain, ...

Edwin Starr

Obituary by Dave Laing, The Guardian, 4 April 2003

AMONG THE CHANTS and songs accompanying this year's anti-war marches a reprised relic first sung by African American soul musician Edwin Starr, who has died, ...

Kenny Lattimore and Chanté Moore: Things that Lovers Do

Review by James Hunter, The Village Voice, 8 April 2003

Their project may cause pregnancy. ...

India.Arie: India Arie: Cry no more

Interview by Andy Gill, The Independent, 11 April 2003

After the tearful disappointment of last year's Grammys, India Arie is back. Andy Gill finds her wiser, stronger and reaping the rewards she deserves with ...

Roachford: Jazz Cafe, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 11 April 2003

BACK IN THE LATE 1980s, Andrew Roachford was signed to CBS and scored hits with the likes of 'Cuddly Toy', 'Family Man' and 'Kathleen'. Then ...

Solomon Burke, Van Morrison: Van Morrison/Solomon Burke: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Gavin Martin, The Independent, 21 April 2003

THE POTENTIAL that the double bill offered for a soulman super summit was certainly enticing – Solomon Burke, the veteran preacherman from Philadelphia, and George ...

Beyoncé: Perfect diva

Interview by Sylvia Patterson, The Face, May 2003

Beneath Beyoncé Knowles' shining, golden exterior lies a heart which is… damn! It's shiny and golden too. But although she seems the ideal super-star for glittery-shallow ...

Holland-Dozier-Holland: They Wrote The Songs

Profile and Interview by Roy Trakin, Hits, May 2003

An exclusive HITS dialogue with Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland by Roy Trakin ...

The Fugees: 'Killing Me Softly'

Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, May 2003

Vital statistics 

on The Fugees' 'Killing Me Softly' ...

Blur, Justin Timberlake: Justin Timberlake: NEC Arena, Birmingham; Blur: Astoria, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 17 May 2003

Non-threatening boys: come and get 'em ...

Macy Gray: Shepherds Bush Empire, London ***

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 21 May 2003

HER RECORD COMPANY had spent the day warning everybody that she would be on stage at 9pm, not 9.15pm as advertised, but in the end ...

Macy Gray: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 26 May 2003

MACY GRAY'S RECORDS rarely seem to match up to her image: the flaky, funky, erratic, but traditional soul sister. This was the kind of entertainer ...

Edwin Starr: Starr Quality

Obituary by Mike Atherton, Record Collector, June 2003

FEW SOUL FANS would expect one of their heroes to adopt the UK as his spiritual and literal home. Even fewer would expect such a ...

Nina Simone: Always Searching for a Key

Obituary by Ian Penman, The Wire, June 2003

The realisation that she was black in a country run by whites, a woman in a world run by men, turned Nina Simone into the ...

Marvin Gaye: Marvellous Marvin Reconsidered

Book Excerpt by Ian MacDonald, 'The People's Music' (Pimlico), July 2003

RARELY DID AN artistic persona run more counter to the truth than in the case of Marvin Gaye. Onstage, he was the quintessence of urbanity: ...

Dan Penn, Eddie Hinton, Tony Joe White: Sumpn' Funky Goin' On: True Tales of Blue-Eyed Backwoods Soul

Sleeve notes by Barney Hoskyns, 'Country Got Soul' (Casual Records), July 2003

THERE WAS SOMETHING funky happening in the American South in the late ‘60s and you didn’t know what it was, did you, Mr Jones? ...

James Brown: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 19 July 2003

THE LOVED CHILD, they say, has many names. Make what you will of the fact that most of James Brown's epithets – The World's Greatest ...

Donnie: Bowery Ballroom, New York

Live Review by Kandia Crazy Horse, PopMatters, 22 July 2003

The Love Manifesto ...

Barry White 1944-2003

Obituary by Daryl Easlea, Record Collector, August 2003

FEW ARTISTS CAPTURED the aspirational glamour of the 70s better than Barry White. ...

Bill Withers: Who Is He… (And What Is He To You)?

Profile and Interview by Don Waller, MOJO, August 2003

Remembered as a smooth '70s balladeer and a raw soul pioneer, Bill Withers is the music legend who opted out. Don Waller tracked him down ...

Beyoncé: Pop the Question, Jigga – Miss Fat Booty Gets Some, Gives Some Up Without Shame

Comment by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 27 August 2003

UNLIKE THE B.Lo affair (so ubiquitous it practically has its own action figures), whatever is going on between Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z is under the ...

Mary J. Blige: The Ballad Of Mary J

Interview by Precious Williams, Scotland on Sunday, 31 August 2003

MARY J BLIGE'S daunting reputation as a volatile, prickly diva has always threatened to eclipse her extraordinary vocal talent. Legend has it that her record ...

Barry White 1944-2003

Obituary by Chris Roberts, Uncut, September 2003

THOSE OF US who thought Barry White was God will now look on the bright side and consider it official. So often rendered a figure ...

N.E.R.D., Pharrell Williams: Pharrell Williams: Another Hard Day At The Office…

Interview by Paul Elliott, Q, September 2003

There's no rest for Pharrell Williams, not with deals to cut, girls to chase and a reputation as the world's hottest producer to keep up. ...

Stevie Wonder: The Making of 'Higher Ground'

Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, September 2003

Vital statistics ...

Robert Palmer, 1949-2003

Obituary by Richard Williams, The Guardian, 27 September 2003

BORN IN BATLEY, Yorkshire, and raised in Malta (his father was a naval officer), Palmer had a voice that could be suave and gritty by ...

Funkadelic, George Clinton, Parliament: George Clinton: Motor Booty

Retrospective and Interview by Lloyd Bradley, MOJO, October 2003

In 1963 George Clinton took a first step toward funk overlordship. He shut his East Coast barbershop and flew to Motown. Lloyd Bradley finds out ...

Mis-Teeq

Profile and Interview by Sheryl Garratt, The Evening Standard, October 2003

"WHEN WE WERE younger, we were always entertaining people," says Su-Elise Nash, at 22 the youngest member of the UK's most urban girl group, Mis-Teeq. ...

Mis-Teeq: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Yahoo! Music, October 2003

THE BEST bits, as with their often startling appearances on daytime radio, are when they mutate suddenly. ...

Sugababes: Three

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, October 2003

NOT TO PUT too fine a point on it, in the space of two years and two albums the Sugababes changed the face of pop. ...

The Isley Brothers, Ronald Isley: The Isley Brothers: Carling Apollo, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 4 October 2003

REGULAR READERS may recall my feature of a fortnight ago, wherein I detailed the nefarious activities of America's Clear Channel group, and added: "Britain does ...

Erykah Badu: Worldwide Underground

Review by Mark Anthony Neal, PopMatters, 15 October 2003

SHE WAS QUEEN of the head-wrap set. A generation of young black folks trying to navigate the pitfalls of cultural negation in an era when ...

Sugababes: Wanna be in our gang?

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 17 October 2003

Sugababes were 15 when they released their first single. Three years and one line-up change later, they are the coolest, smartest girl band in the ...

Macy Gray, Mya: Macy Gray: The Trouble With Being Myself/Mya
: Moodring


Review by Carol Cooper, The Village Voice, 24 October 2003

BOTH WOMEN crouch nearly nude on their album covers, gazing with feral yet somehow fetal reproach at potential consumers, like naughty fairy changelings who've had ...

Amy Winehouse: Dietrich with a nose-stud

Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 28 October 2003

Her voice belongs in a 1940s jazz bar. But Amy Winehouse may be the future of hip-hop. Dave Simpson meets her ...

Macy Gray, Mya: Imps of the Perverse: Mya and Macy Gracy

Comment by Carol Cooper, The Village Voice, 28 October 2003

BOTH WOMEN crouch nearly nude on their album covers, gazing with feral yet somehow fetal reproach at potential consumers, like naughty fairy changelings who've had ...

TLC: Bling Leaders: TLC: Now & Forever: TLC The Hits (LaFace/Arista) ****

Review by Paul Elliott, Q, November 2003

The sex, sauce and tunes that jump-started R&B ...

Lemar

Interview by Lulu Le Vay, Touch, November 2003

SONY HQ, Great Marlborourgh Street, London. The glorious June afternoon teasingly leaks out its golden rays through all the building's nooks, crooks and capacious office ...

Usher: Urban Expansion

Profile and Interview by Rob Fitzpatrick, The Word, November 2003

David Beckham's favourite act powers ever onward with his manager-mother, his zero-carb diets, and his own personal jeweller. But what drives Usher's insomniac craving for ...

Beyoncé: Manchester Arena


Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 4 November 2003

SOME WHILE after Beyoncé is due on stage, a voice announces that the support act won't be appearing and that Beyoncé will be with us ...

Al Green, Willie Mitchell: Al Green and Willie Mitchell: Let's Stay Together

Interview by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 13 November 2003

Singer Al Green and his legendary producer Willie Mitchell try to make magic once again. ...

Chic, Tony Thompson: Tony Thompson

Obituary by Daryl Easlea, The Guardian, 15 November 2003

TONY THOMPSON, WHO has died of cancer aged 48, was among the finest of all pop/rock drummers. Although his name is frequently absent from the ...

Michael Jackson: No more mileage in being Wacko

Comment by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 21 November 2003

MICHAEL JACKSON's efforts to maintain his self-proclaimed status as "the king of pop" are looking desperate as the passage of time and profound changes in ...

Al Green: I Can't Stop

Review by Mac Randall, Rolling Stone, 27 November 2003

Al Green reunites with his partner from his greatest records, producer Willie Mitchell. ...

Amy Winehouse: Frank (Island) ****

Review by Dan Gennoe, Q, December 2003

19-year-old Londoner gives polite jazz a slap. ...

Brian Jackson, Gil Scott-Heron: Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson: Where Have All The Good Times Gone?

Retrospective and Interview by James Maycock, MOJO, December 2003

IN THE LATE afternoon of 4th April, 1968, Martin Luther King was shot through the neck on the balcony of Memphis' Lorraine Motel. Pronounced dead ...

James Brown (2003)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 1 December 2003

James Brown talks about survival, mistrust, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Invention of Funk.

File format: mp3 File size: 28.5mb Interview length: 31 minutes 8 seconds Sound quality: ***

Michael Jackson: Thrills Before The Spills

Comment by Charles Shaar Murray, The Independent, 12 December 2003

IT'S THAT PHOTO, the official police mugshot taken when Michael Jackson finally turned himself in to answer charges of child molestation, which looks so scary. ...

Beyoncé, Destiny's Child: Beyoncé: Uh-Oh! Uh-Oh! Uh-Oh!

Interview by Simon Garfield, Observer Music Monthly, 14 December 2003

It was the year of R'n'B, and of the song. Above all, it was the year of Beyoncé Knowles, the Destiny's Child diva whose solo ...

Isaac Hayes: Hot Buttered Soul

Review by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages, 2004

BY 1969 BLACK artists were following rock's lead and recording very long tracks. At the forefront of such experimentation was big bad Isaac Hayes, co-author ...

Teena Marie

Interview by David Nathan, SoulMusic.com, 2004

SHE IS quite simply, one of a kind, a phenomenon of sorts in the world of soul music. For an amazing twenty-five years – since ...

Al Green: I Can't Stop

Review by Chris Roberts, Uncut, January 2004

AND HE CAN'T (STOP). The Reverend Al Green (some of his Memphis flock have to be told he was once a pop singer before he ...

Alicia Keys: The Diary Of Alicia Keys

Review by Dan Gennoe, Q, January 2004

FOR ALL THE international superstars and great songs latter-day R&B's spawned, its tally of indispensable albums is shamefully low. ...

Amy Winehouse: Frank (Island) ****

Review by Stevie Chick, MOJO, January 2004

Stunning, hilarious debut album from UK soul chanteuse. ...

Bill Withers (2004)

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 2 January 2004

A masterclass in songwriting from a master songwriter: how his songs came into being, collaborations with others and how his life experiences are reflected in his lyrics.

File format: mp3; file size: 27.4mb, interview length: 29' 59" sound quality: ** (phone)

Joss Stone: The Soul Sessions

Review by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 16 January 2004

THERE'S NO MISSING the thrill of novelty that runs through recent coverage of Joss Stone. See! a white Devon teenager become America's newest soul sensation. ...

Isaac Hayes: 10 Questions for Isaac Hayes

Interview by Bill DeMain, MOJO, February 2004

DO YOU remember your first week at Stax? ...

James Brown: Beat The Devil: James Brown's Demons

Profile by James Maycock, Observer Music Monthly, February 2004

DAMN! LIFE WAS sweet and dandy for the Godfather of Soul in the last few years. But James Brown's slippin' and slidin' once again – ...

Beyoncé: The Solid Gold, Super Fly Destiny of Beyoncé

Profile and Interview by Nicholas Jennings, Inside Entertainment, February 2004

SHE'S YOUNG, GIFTED and black. She's also devout, hard-working and extremely fly. ...

The Twilight Singers, Amy Winehouse: Amy Winehouse: Jazz Cafe, London/The Twilight Singers: Islington Academy, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 1 February 2004

"YOUR NEIGHBOURS WERE screaming 'I don't have a key for downstairs'/ So I punched all the buzzers, hoping you wouldn't be there..." ...

Doris Troy, 1937-2004

Obituary by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 20 February 2004

ALTHOUGH SHE was born in the Bronx, and first came to prominence in the US with her 1963 hit 'Just One Look', Doris Troy, who ...

Jamelia: Some Kind Of Superstar

Profile and Interview by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 20 February 2004

WHEN JAMELIA disappeared four years ago, it seemed her coronation as Britain's R&B queen might be postponed for ever. Four hit singles, including the Top ...

N.E.R.D., Pharrell Williams: The Hit Man: Pharrell Williams

Profile and Interview by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 20 February 2004

He co-produced nearly 20% of tracks currently being played on British radio. But he is also a star in his own right - as a ...

Various Artists: Night Train To Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues, 1945-1976

Review by John Morthland, No Depression, 29 February 2004

Nashville really jumps, really jumps all night long I'd rather be in Nashville than to be way back down at home – Cecil Gant, 'Nashville Jumps' ...

Joss Stone

Interview by Ian Watson, Rolling Stone (Australia), March 2004

HOW OLD do you have to be to sing the blues? ...

James Brown: Super Bad: James Brown

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Uncut, March 2004

JAMES BROWN’S road manager Charles Bobbitt takes me to one side and places a friendly paw on my forearm. ...

Usher: Confessions (Arista)

Review by Dan Gennoe, Yahoo! Music, March 2004

MAKE NO MISTAKE, when it comes to R&B, Usher Raymond is a pro. His dedication to his art could never be questioned. ...

Bill Withers (2004)

Interview by Bill DeMain, Rock's Backpages audio, 29 March 2004

The great soul singer-songwriter talks about his classic band, the Watts 103rd Street rhythm section; about his childhood and the music around him; his late start, and his scepticism of the record industry; the magical, mystifying process of songwriting; and of growing old and the lure of daytime TV...

File format: mp3; file size: 33.3mb, interview length: 34' 42" sound quality: ** (phoner)

Al Green, Willie Mitchell: Al Green: Soul Searching

Profile and Interview by Andria Lisle, MOJO, April 2004

In the late '70s, Al Green was a troubled superstar who abandoned the stage in favour of the pulpit. Then last winter, after 25 years, ...

The Chi-Lites: Hello Goodbye: Eugene Record and the Chi-Lites

Interview by Bill DeMain, MOJO, April 2004

MARCH I960 ...

Prince: Return of the prodigal

Retrospective by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 17 April 2004

Prince enjoyed a purple reign during the 1980s, but messy wranglings with record companies led to bizarre personal behaviour, and the 1990s were spent in ...

Usher: Confessions

Review by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 19 April 2004

USHER RAYMOND is a star. The faithful have thought as much for years, but recently the masses affirmed it when 1.1 million of them trooped ...

N.E.R.D., Pharrell Williams: N.E.R.D.: Recombinators

Profile and Interview by James Hunter, L.A. Weekly, 22 April 2004

PHARRELL WILLIAMS doesn't shout. Today, the co-producer of Jay-Z and Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake and No Doubt (and others) is sort of urgently whispering ...

Van Hunt: Van Hunt

Review by Kandia Crazy Horse, The Village Voice, 27 April 2004

PREENING, CONFESSING, aloof Atlanta R&B phenom falls short ...

The Chi-Lites: Legends of Songwriting: Eugene Record of The Chi-Lites

Profile and Interview by Bill DeMain, Performing Songwriter, May 2004

IN 1969, WHEN The Chi-Lites scored their first hit with 'Give It Away', it was a well-earned triumph. ...

Marvin Gaye: Motown Junkie

Retrospective by Stephen Dalton, Uncut, May 2004

Marvin Gaye was the first superstar of soul. He was also a tortured narcissus in thrall to sexual and narcotic cravings. And then, on April ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: The Promise

Review and Interview by Paul Lester, Uncut, June 2004

Doyens of orchestral disco celebrate 35th birthday with best album for aeons. ...

Howard Tate (2004)

Interview by Gavin Martin, Rock's Backpages audio, June 2004

The great lost voice of soul recounts his career, from childhood gospel in Philadelphia, through his '60s hits with Jerry Ragavoy, his leaving music behind and the dark years, right up to his recent rediscovery and revival.

File format: mp3; file size: 52.4mb, interview length: 54' 36" sound quality: ****

Howard Tate: Fate?

Profile and Interview by Gavin Martin, Record Collector, June 2004

HOWARD TATE is sitting opposite me sipping black coffee in the bar of a West End Hotel and I can hardly believe it. Until recently ...

Prince: Musicology

Review by Mark Cooper, The Word, June 2004

Slave To The Rhythm. Prince: the old school's head boy gets back to basics. ...

Marvin Gaye: Time Machine June 1981: Marvin the Paranoid Singer

Retrospective by Fred Dellar, MOJO, June 2004

"MARVIN GAYE'S British tour is back on again," claimed a press report. "The dates originally announced were scrapped 48 hours later, on the grounds that ...

Ray Charles: 'As Frank Sinatra Said, He Was The Only True Genius In Our Business'

Obituary by Charles Shaar Murray, The Independent, 11 June 2004

FOR ALL PRACTICAL purposes, Ray Charles invented modern soul music. By fusing the sensual and secular preoccupations of the blues and the galvanic fervour of ...

Prince of Paradox

Interview by Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph, 12 June 2004

Though he has become a Jehovah's Witness, Prince's stage act remains sexually charged. Having bitterly spurned the record industry giants, he now has a deal ...

Al Green: Call Me/Explores Your Mind

Review by Pat Blashill, Rolling Stone, 29 June 2004

WHEN WRITER Toni Morrison said that black artists always seem to move with ease, she was talking about someone like Al Green. He sings from ...

Amy Winehouse: Concorde 2, Brighton ****

Review and Interview by Paul Elliott, Q, July 2004

Meet the hotshot jazz chanteuse you couldn't take home to mum. ...

Angie Stone

Interview by Sheryl Garratt, The Evening Standard, July 2004

ANGIE STONE breezes into the bar at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester apologising for the burger in her hand and explaining that she's just flown ...

Arif Mardin: Producer

Interview by Tom Doyle, Sound on Sound, July 2004

Arif Mardin has engineered and produced an incredible array of classic records from artists such as Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, Diana Ross, the Bee Gees ...

Bill Withers: Legends of Songwriting: Bill Withers

Interview by Bill DeMain, Performing Songwriter, July 2004

A BLACK MAN wearing faded jeans and an orange turtleneck sweater sits on a stool. He's hunched over his acoustic guitar. Eyes closed, sweat glistening ...

Lenny Kravitz: Express yourself

Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, July 2004

Hip-hop's favorite rock guitarist shows us his soul. ...

The Chi-Lites: The Complete Chi-Lites on Brunswick, Vols. 1 and 2 (Edsel)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, Uncut, July 2004

Definitive comp of Windy City vocal-group soulsters beloved of Tony Soprano. ...

Ray Charles: The Great Ray Charles Needed No Justifying

Retrospective by Al Aronowitz, The Blacklisted Journalist, 1 July 2004

Ronald Reagan arrived at the Pearly Gates this week, and was met by St. Peter. Reagan was stunned for a moment. ...

Hi Rhythm, Willie Mitchell: Hi Rhythm: Love and Happiness

Retrospective and Interview by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 2 July 2004

Hi Rhythm, Memphis' other soul house band, made music into a family affair ...

Syreeta, 1946-2004

Obituary by Dave Laing, The Guardian, 13 July 2004

Stevie Wonder's partner in music and (briefly) marriage ...

Mavis Staples: The Long and Winding Road

Retrospective and Interview by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 16 July 2004

From the civil rights movement to a collaboration with Prince, former Stax artist Mavis Staples has taken us there. ...

Angie Stone: Stone Love

Review by Lucy O'Brien, MOJO, August 2004

Subtle licks and straight talking on the South Carolina neo-soul songstress's third solo album. ...

Jimi Hendrix: Various Artists: Power of Soul – A Tribute To Jimi Hendrix

Review by Jeff Calvin, Blues Revue, August 2004

YES, WE HAVE been Experienced. We've been to Electric Ladyland. We've seen the Purple Haze, been Fired and Foxey Ladied into submission. Jimi is everywhere ...

George Benson: Staying Power

Interview by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 6 August 2004

From Miles to Usher: George Benson on four decades of musical changes. ...

Donny Hathaway, Laura Nyro: Donny Hathaway and Laura Nyro: Live From Planet Soul

Retrospective by Mark Anthony Neal, PopMatters, 24 August 2004

Donny Hathaway and Laura Nyro were both products of an era when Soul music had a transformative power and These Songs for You, Live! and ...

Gabrielle: The Obsession

Interview by Tim Cooper, The Evening Standard, 24 August 2004

Soul diva Gabrielle sold millions of records, before a serious throat condition — triggered by her obsessive compulsive disorder — threatened to wreck her career ...

Lamont Dozier: Holland-Dozier-Holland

Interview by Roy Carr, Gavin Martin, Uncut, September 2004

They were pop's most prolific hit factory, producing 70 US Top Ten singles and 20 No. 1s. On the 45th anniversary of Motown, we meet ...

Dan Penn: Muscle Shoals: Soul of the South

Retrospective and Interview by Chris Campion, unpublished, September 2004

Muscle Shoals and Fame Studios are synonymous with the golden era of soul music. But the musicians who wrote and played on the songs that ...

Nelly: Sweat/Suit

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, September 2004

ANYONE WHO bought Guns 'N' Roses' Use Your Illusion I and II knows that an artist releasing two albums at the same time is rarely ...

Prince: Body & Soul

Interview by Alan Light, Tracks, September 2004

The hit Musicology album and torrid live shows have made him a star again. Faith and marriage have made him happy. Yes, Prince has come ...

Ray Charles: I Believe to My Soul

Essay by Dave Marsh, Harp, September 2004

One of these days, and it won't be longYou gonna look for me, and I'll be gone ...

Aretha Franklin Getting Plenty Of Respect

Interview by Fred Shuster, Los Angeles Daily News, 9 September 2004

Soul Survivor On Her First Tour In 21 Years ...

Jermaine Dupri, Janet Jackson: Jermaine Dupri: In Control

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, October 2004

JERMAINE DUPRI maps out the path to Ms. Nipplegate's heart, fights for P. Diddy-style props, and reveals his secret for crafting hits. Michael A. Gonzales ...

Jay Z, R Kelly: R. Kelly & Jay-Z: Unfinished Business

Review by Dan Gennoe, Yahoo! Music, October 2004

R. KELLY AND JAY-Z. Whichever way you cut it, it's an odd pairing. ...

Rick James: The Super Freak

Obituary by Andria Lisle, MOJO, October 2004

Rick James died on August 6, after last month's MOJO went to press. Andria Lisle pays belated tribute. ...

Salomé de Bahia, Solu Music: Solu Music: Affirmation / Salomé de Bahia: Brasil

Review by Carol Cooper, The Village Voice, 4 October 2004

The "Other" R&B ...

Tower of Power's Emilio Castillo: An Interview

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 11 October 2004

The Tower Of Power horn section is one of the best in the business. The group not only performs as a solo act, but is ...

Dave Godin: Champion of Black Music who coined the term "Northern Soul"

Obituary by Richard Williams, The Guardian, 20 October 2004

WHEN THE MUSICIANS and singers of the first Motown Revue – the Miracles, the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, "Little" Stevie Wonder and Earl Van ...

Millie Jackson: An Interview

Interview by Lois Wilson, Record Collector, November 2004

Lois Wilson meets the queen of X-rated soul ...

Gail Ann Dorsey: I Used To Be

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 19 November 2004

WHAT A HUGE disappointment this is. About a decade and a half ago, Gail Ann Dorsey released a brilliant debut album called The Corporate World, ...

Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz: Crunk Juice

Review by Kandia Crazy Horse, The Village Voice, 30 November 2004

"EYE-UNH!," "Hunh!," and "Hiuiiii!" were universally accepted as James Brown lyrics before crunk king Jonathan "Lil Jon" Smith was conceived. Dave Chappelle may have elevated ...

Gwen McCrae: I'm Not Worried

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004

ALTHOUGH OFTEN in the shadow of former hubby George, Gwen McCrae is still a much revered name in deep soul circles almost 30 years after ...

Black Merda: The Merda files

Retrospective and Interview by Fred Mills, Detroit Metro Times, 1 December 2004

DETROIT, CIRCA 1969: The house lights of the packed Casino Royale dim. The club's vibe is electric, the fog of cigarette and reefer smoke thicker ...

Beat That!

Report and Interview by Chris Campion, Daily Telegraph, 11 December 2004

What happens when veteran soul drummers and top hip-hop DJs improvise together? Chris Campion reports. ...

Alicia Keys: Shining Star

Profile and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, XXL Hip Hop Soul, Spring 2004

She bodied the sophomore jinx in one week, proving that ALICIA KEYS ain't goin' nowhere no time soon. Walk with the New York songbird through ...

Bettye LaVette: Finally...

Interview by David Nathan, SoulMusic.com, 2005

THERE ARE any number of R&B songs we could use as a cliché for the title of this article on the super-soulful Ms. Bettye Lavette. ...

Faith Evans: The First Lady (Capitol/EMI)

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, 2005

UNFORTUNATELY FOR Faith Evans, no matter what she does nor how well she does it, her career will never be able to hold a candle ...

Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff (2005)

Interview by David Nathan, Rock's Backpages audio, 2005

The making of The Sound of Philadelphia: Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff on the Philadelphia International label, and working with the diverse likes of Wilson Pickett, Dusty Springfield, Jerry Butler and Laura Nyro.

File format: mp3; file size: 31.5mb; Interview length: 24' 24"; sound quality: ***

Mary J. Blige (2005)

Interview by Gavin Martin, Rock's Backpages audio, 2005

Mary J. speaks frankly about her life: drink and drugs, domestic abuse, marriage, tattoos, clothes and wearing fur!

File format: mp3; file size: 28.6mb; Interview length: 31 16"; sound quality: ****

Mary J. Blige (2005) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Gavin Martin, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 2005

This is a transcription of Gavin's audio interview with Mary J. Blige. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, The Temptations, Mary Wilson, Stevie Wonder: Soul Deep: Motown

Retrospective and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Radio Times, 2005

FOR SOME PEOPLE, the terms "Soul" and "Motown" are almost synonymous. When they think of soul music, timeless sounds and images of the Supremes and ...

Average White Band: The Average White Band: Benny & Us/Warmer Communications

Sleeve notes by Daryl Easlea, (Columbia Records), 2005

Comprising the considerable talents of guitarists, bassists and vocalists Alan Gorrie, Hamish Stuart and Onnie McIntyre; the Dundee Horns themselves, Malcolm "Molly" Duncan and Roger ...

John Legend: Get Lifted (Sony BMG)

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, January 2005

WHILE R&B and hip hop albums are notoriously hit and miss in the quality stakes, for the last six years at least, there has been ...

Loleatta Holloway

Interview by Bill Brewster, djhistory.com, 6 January 2005

LOLEATTA WAS born in Chicago in 1946 and, like most of her peers, began singing in gospel groups before striking out on a solo career ...

Amp Fiddler: Jazz Café, London

Live Review by Ben Thompson, Sunday Telegraph, 9 January 2005

Party like it's 1975 ...

Simon Bookish, Cazals, Pete Doherty, Amp Fiddler: Amp Fiddler: Jazz Café, London; Pete Doherty, Cazalz, Simon Bookish: Stunners International, Great Eastern Hotel, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 9 January 2005

I'd rather be funky than a junkie ...

Ashanti: Concrete Rose (Def Jam)

Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 29 January 2005

BACK IN 2002, Ashanti could do no wrong. The first R&B signing to Irv Gotti’s controversial hip-hop label, Murder Inc, the sweet-sounding singer had huge ...

Betty Davis: She's Gotta Have It

Retrospective and Interview by James Maycock, MOJO, February 2005

ONE EVENING during the high summer of 1967, the fragrant Miss Mabry left her Greenwich Village apartment situated in the S&M area of Bedford Street. ...

Soul II Soul's Jazzie B (2005)

Interview by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages audio, 2 February 2005

The original Funki Dread goes deep into his roots, from a family background in reggae sound systems to Soul II Soul at the Africa Centre, via bunking off school to go to Crackers; DJs like George Power and Paul 'Trouble' Anderson; setting up S II S, and the original warehouse parties. Riveting stuff.

File format: mp3; file size: 87.2mb, interview length: 1h 35' 15" sound quality: *****

Soul II Soul's Jazzie B (2005) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 2 February 2005

This is a transcript of Bill and Frank's audio interview with Jazzie B. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Fabio (2005) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 4 February 2005

This is a transcript of Bill and Frank's audio interview with Fabio. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Terry Farley (2005)

Interview by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages audio, 23 February 2005

The pioneering House DJ tells the whole story, from a tin bath in Notting Dale to Shoom and beyond: his youth in Slough; discovering the club Crackers; the soul all-dayers and weekenders; the warehouse scene and rare groove; the dawn of House and Ecstacy; the opening of Shoom; his and Andrew Weatherall's Boy's Own fanzine; Danny Rampling; the emergence of the superstar DJ... and House's longevity.

File format: mp3; file size: 117.9mb, interview length: 2h 02' 50" sound quality: ****

Natasha Bedingfield: Colston Hall, Bristol

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 25 February 2005

SURFING ON a tide of hit singles and a monster debut album, Natasha Bedingfield has leapt to the head of the female singer-songwriter queue in ...

Solomon Burke

Interview by Gavin Martin, Independent on Sunday, 27 February 2005

ON A RAINY FRIDAY afternoon Solomon Burke is holding court in the living room of his San Fernando Valley home. The man who has claimed ...

Al Green: Green's Day

Interview by Jaan Uhelszki, Harp, March 2005

AL GREEN'S genius spans four decades, and during those often tumultuous years the man who is routinely referred to as the last great Southern soul ...

Joss Stone

Interview by Angus Batey, Daily Express, March 2005

WHEN YOU'RE a pop star, life rushes by at a furious pace. And things are so hectic for Joss Stone right now that the only ...

Ray Charles: O-Genio: Live In Brazil 1963

Film/DVD/TV Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, March 2005

AFTER LAST YEAR'S duets album became the best-selling release of his career, coupled with the Oscar buzz surrounding the new biopic, it was inevitable that ...

Stevie Wonder: The Backpages Interview: Stevie Wonder

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages, March 2005

RBP: You're working these long all-night stretches in the studio. How different is it from when you worked in the early '70s? ...

The Velvelettes: Standing in the Shadows of Motown

Retrospective and Interview by Lois Wilson, Record Collector, March 2005

Lois Wilson salutes the Velvelettes, a great but neglected Motown act who are finally getting their due. ...

Solomon Burke: Big Philly Style: King Of Rock 'N' Soul Solomon Burke Returns To The City Of His Coronation

Retrospective and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore City Paper, 2 March 2005

BY EARLY 1964, the 24-year-old Solomon Burke had already been a bishop in his grandmother's church for 17 years but he wanted to be king. ...

Stevie Wonder (2005)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 26 March 2005

From 'Fingertips' to the 21st Century, and everything in between: his classic albums; Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye and Prince; race, religion and blindness; recording and technology then and now... and he sings! he preaches! he does your horoscope!

File format: mp3; file size: 105.1mb, interview length: 1h 49' 31" sound quality: ***

Stevie Wonder (2005) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 26 March 2005

This is a transcript of Barney's audio interview with Stevie. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Dr. John: The MOJO Interview

Interview by Paul Trynka, MOJO, April 2005

Shopped by Zappa, hooked on heroin and chased by the Feds, Dr. John dodged death and digit loss to become New Orleans' "fonk" ambassador in ...

Mariah Carey: The Emancipation Of Mimi

Review by Dan Gennoe, Yahoo! Music, April 2005

IN TRUTH, there's nothing more entertaining than watching a celebrity having a breakdown. ...

Arrow Brown: The Godfather of King Drive

Retrospective by Bob Mehr, Chicago Reader, 22 April 2005

Arrow Brown wanted badly to be a player-he wore a black hat, packed heat even in church, and exploited a houseful of wives and concubines ...

Faith Evans: Time To Try Again

Interview by Angus Batey, The Times, 30 April 2005

Two UK No 1s have not made the former Mrs BIG a household name in this country. Faith Evan's new album might just do it ...

The Meters Are Right On Time

Retrospective and Interview by John Swenson, Offbeat, 1 May 2005

"A lot of people don't know who the Meters are, but they sure know the songs." – Leo Nocentelli ...

Black Eyed Peas: Brixton Academy, London ***

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 9 May 2005

ALMOST ALONE among hiphoppers, the Black Eyed Peas have a sense of humility, so they must cringe at their label's hype. Whoever decided this amiable LA fourpiece ...

Jamiroquai: Jay Kay

Profile and Interview by Dan Gennoe, Notion, June 2005

THERE ARE rock-star houses and then there's Jay Kay's rock-star house. A two hundred year-old, 10 bedroom manor – it was 11 until he knocked ...

Stevie Wonder Takes His Time

Profile and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Uncut, June 2005

BY THE SMALL HOURS of Saturday morning, L.A.'s Koreatown district is hushed and still. The odd car rattles along Western Avenue, but most of the ...

Destiny's Child: Earl's Court, London

Live Review by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 3 June 2005

FOR THE "INDEPENDENT WOMEN" of one of their biggest hits, Destiny's Child have a tendency to do what they are told. The middleclass work ethic ...

Jim Ford, Bobby Womack: Bobby Womack on Jim Ford (2005)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 6 June 2005

The Last Soul Man talks about his friend and collaborator Jim Ford: being introduced by Ford to Sly Stone, such great songs as 'Harry Hippie' and 'Point Of No Return', and writing songs with the man.

File format: mp3; file size: 19.8mb, interview length: 21' 35" sound quality: * (phoner)

Jamie Lidell: Boy in a Bubble

Interview by Rob Young, The Wire, July 2005

Digital avant funk sound boffin and flamboyant vocalist by turns, Jamie Lidell's live appearances are spectacular feats of improvised technology and showmanship. On the release ...

Luther Vandross: The Sadness Behind the Soul

Obituary by Jeff Lorez, Daily Telegraph, 7 July 2005

Although the mainstream world moved on from his polished, romantic approach, an army of fans stayed loyal to the sweet, melancholy songs of the late, ...

Chris Brown: Ladies' Knight

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, August 2005

IT'S SPRING BREAK in the concrete jungle of Manhattan, and the rowdy bowling alley at Chelsea Piers has become a teenage refuge in the heart ...

Curtis Mayfield: Soul Brother No. 1

Retrospective by Nick Hasted, Uncut, August 2005

Ghetto-funk pioneer, civil rights activist, blaxploitation soundtrack master — the late Curits Mayfield is one of the all-time soul greats ...

Brian Jackson, Gil Scott-Heron: Gil Scott-Heron/Brian Jackson: Winter in America (Charly)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, Uncut, August 2005

A MASTERWORK of ghetto melancholia and stark political gravitas, Winter in America showcases Scott-Heron and Jackson at their most witheringly unsentimental but also their most ...

Ciara: Goodies (LaFace/Zomba) **

Review by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 5 August 2005

WHY DO R&B divas keep losing their nerve? Destiny's Child's last album saw them regress from unstoppable robo-Amazons into simpering wifeys, and Atlanta newcomer Ciara ...

Craig David: The Story Goes…

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, 22 August 2005

COMEDIAN LEIGH FRANCIS, creator of Avid Merrion and Bo' Selector!, is a mercilessly savage and insightful impressionist. And of all the pop stars he's mocked, ...

Rahsaan Patterson: R&B Conversations: Rahsaan Patterson's Slow Burn

Profile and Interview by Mark Anthony Neal, PopMatters, 24 August 2005

The soul singer's career momentum has built slowly since he lost the major labels' love, but out of the spotlight he's been able to remain ...

Bettye LaVette: Betty LaVette: I've Got My Own Hell to Raise (Anti)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, The Observer, September 2005

PREVIOUSLY KNOWN only to fanatical followers of obscure deep soul, the legendary Ms LaVette belatedly comes in for a Joe Henry tune-up on this feisty, ...

Luther Vandross

Obituary by Daryl Easlea, Record Collector, September 2005

THERE WAS SOMETHING special about Luther Vandross (who died 1st July). Free of the brashness of the other male soul performers of the 80s; here ...

New Orleans: The Heart of the Matter

Retrospective by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 8 September 2005

"I'm not sure, but I'm almost positive, that all music came from New Orleans."–Ernie K-Doe, 1979 * ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind and Fire: Relighting the Fire

Report and Interview by Robert Sandall, Daily Telegraph, 15 September 2005

MAYBE IT'S AN effect of the baking late-August heat, but the concert scene in Houston, Texas has gone all topsy-turvy. ...

Keyshia Cole, Leela James, Jaguar Wright: Old R&B New Again Again

Review by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 12 October 2005

Three young divas make soul waters safe for middle-aged Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is Jaguar Wright: Divorcing Neo to Marry Soul Leela James: A Change Is Gonna ...

Isaac Hayes, David Porter: Isaac Hayes and David Porter: Perfect Match

Report and Interview by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 21 October 2005

Songwriting legends Isaac Hayes and David Porter come together (again) for two big events. ...

Black Merda: It's a Detroit Rock Thing

Retrospective by Fred Mills, Harp, November 2005

THEY RUBBED shoulders with the cream of the Motor City, including Funkadelic, the Temptations, Edwin Starr, Bob Seger and the MC5. They recorded for the ...

Mary J. Blige: The Drama of Being Mary J. Blige

Profile by Barney Hoskyns, The Observer, November 2005

"WE LOVE YOU, MARY!" The shouts float up from isolated pockets in the plush auditorium housed within Columbus Circle's glitzy Time Warner building. Mary J. ...

Stevie Wonder: A Time To Love

Review by Alfred Soto, Stylus, 4 November 2005

LIKE BRYAN FERRY, Stevie Wonder has been worshipping at the altar of love for so long that he's forgotten that Eros likes his faithful to ...

Jamie Lidell: King's Cross Scala, London

Live Review by Ben Thompson, Daily Telegraph, 13 November 2005

JAMIE LIDELL'S live show at the King's Cross Scala offers a number of delightfully incongruous spectacles. Looming large among them is the sight of a ...

Marvin Gaye: Seaside Healing

Essay by David Stubbs, The Guardian, 19 November 2005

IN SPRING 1981, in an act akin to James Brown relocating to Hull, a 42-year-old cash-strapped Marvin Gaye took the Southampton ferry to the Belgian ...

The Meters: New Orleans' ambassadors of funk, the Meters, revel in long-overdue respect and earn still more

Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, SF Gate, 21 November 2005

ART NEVILLE sat on the arm of a backstage sofa at the Fillmore Auditorium, smoking a cigarette and sipping a little white wine before showtime. ...

Marvin Gaye: Divided Soul: The Life Of Marvin Gaye

Book Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2005

DEFINITIVE BIOGRAPHY of the Trouble Man ...

Angie Stone

Interview by Lulu Le Vay, Touch, December 2005

THE GLAMOUROUS surroundings of the Sofitel hotel in Pall Mall are dazzling – handsome door staff oozing charisma and flirtatious winks, impressive pieces of classic-yet-modern ...

Stevie Wonder: A Time To Love

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2005

Long overdue reminder of what the great man does best ...

Mary J. Blige: Mary J Blige: The Breakthrough

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, 19 December 2005

THE EIGHTH ALBUM of Mary J Blige's 13 year career, is, like so many before it, a slick and elegant record. Another quality product from ...

Al Green

Profile by Terry Staunton, Notes for Live in '72 DVD, 2006

Terry Staunton profiles the life of Al Green for the sleevenotes for Revolver Entertainment's Live in '72 DVD ...

Bill Withers: The Very Best of Bill Withers (Sony/BMG)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, Uncut, 2006

19-track mixed-bag from funky L.A.-based singer-songwriter, beloved of Dr Evil and Mini-Me. ...

Booker T & The MGs, Booker T. Jones: Booker T. Jones (2006)

Interview by Joel Selvin, Selvin On The City, KSAN 107.7, 2006

The Booker T & The MGs mainman talks about the Stax years, working with the likes of Otis Redding and Albert King, making 'Green Onions', and on to later projects with Santana, Neil Young and Boz Scaggs.

File format: mp3; file size: 25.5mb; Interview length: 27' 5"; sound quality: *****

Booker T & The MGs, Booker T. Jones: Booker T. Jones (2006) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Joel Selvin, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 2006

This is a transcript of Joel's radio interview with the great M.G.s mainmain. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Deon Jackson: Love Makes the World Go Round

Sleeve notes by Gene Sculatti, Collector's Choice, 2006

IF YOU HAVE TO BE remembered as a one-hit wonder, it helps if the hit was a wonderful one, a unique-sounding record from what was ...

Imagination: Just An Illusion

Sleeve notes by Bill Brewster, Demon Records, 2006

LOOKING AT Leee John's nether regions and his luxuriant falsetto, the phrase "all mouth and no trousers" might well have been invented to describe Imagination. ...

Teena Marie

Interview by David Nathan, SoulMusic.com, 2006

IT TAKES a certain 'something' to maintain a career with any sort of longevity in the music industry – more now than ever. Long gone ...

Aphex Twin, Barrabas, Vashti Bunyan, Terry Callier, Prince, Labi Siffre, R. Dean Taylor, Underworld: The 40 Most Collectible Records

Guide by Bill Brewster, Mixmag, 2006

Okay, so it's not really the 40 most collectable records (if it was, it would contain nothing but doo-wop, northern soul and classical music). It's ...

The 5th Dimension: Up, Up and Away/Magic Garden

Sleeve notes by Gene Sculatti, Collector's Choice Records, 2006

IT'S NO SECRET that time has a way of erasing details and leaving our memories with only the broadest contours of our shared experience. Most ...

Dr. John: Wade In The Water: Dr. John Weathers the Flood

Interview by John Sinclair, Honest Tune, 2006

THERE IS no native son of New Orleans more fiercely native than Mac Rebennack, known professionally now for almost 40 years as Dr. John. ...

Irma Thomas: Best of the Beat Lifetime Achievement in Music: Irma Thomas

Retrospective and Interview by John Swenson, Offbeat, January 2006

IN 1960, ALLEN Toussaint and Irma Thomas showed up to audition at WYLD studio in New Orleans for Joe Banashak and Larry McKinley of Minit ...

Kim Weston: Go Weston

Retrospective and Interview by Lois Wilson, Record Collector, January 2006

Lois Wilson celebrates the career of Motown diva Kim Weston ...

Ray Charles: Pure Genius – The Complete Atlantic Recordings, 1952-1959 (Atlantic/Rhino)

Review by John Morthland, No Depression, January 2006

LIKE THE TITLE SAYS, here's everything Ray Charles recorded for Atlantic — six CDs containing 119 tracks (including one LP he produced for his tenor ...

Sam Cooke: Peter Guralnick: Dream Boogie – The Triumph of Sam Cooke (Little, Brown)

Book Review by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 1 January 2006

SAM COOKE WAS the first black American pop superstar. By 1962, the year of his biggest British hit, 'Twistin' the Night Away', he was the ...

Wilson Pickett: Singer who revolutionised the sound of '60s Soul

Obituary by Dave Laing, The Guardian, 20 January 2006

IN 1964 Wilson Pickett, who has died of a heart attack aged 64, was signed by Atlantic Records of New York. It was an era ...

Candi Staton (2006)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 25 January 2006

The gospel-soul songthrush talks about her new album, His Hands; on her move from gospel to soul in the '60s; her memories of ex-husband Clarence Carter; how 'Young Hearts Run Free' was so personal to her; on her struggle with alcohol and return to the church, and on her surprise hit 'You Got The Love'.

File format: mp3; File size: 36.2mb, interview length: 37' 42" sound quality: ** (phoner)

Wilson Pickett, Lou Rawls: Gritty Soul Men: Remembering Lou Rawls and Wilson Pickett

Obituary by Mark Anthony Neal, PopMatters, 26 January 2006

Grit was not just about the "sound" of soul, but also the grittier social and political realities that soul music offered transcendence from. The recent ...

Chris Brown: Chris Brown

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, 6 February 2006

IN BROAD TERMS, the great and good of R&B can be split into two camps: those rewriting the rules of modern music, and those doin' ...

Lewis Taylor: Soul Enigma: Lewis Taylor Comes to America

Report and Interview by Mark Anthony Neal, PopMatters, 8 February 2006

FOR MUCH OF THE LAST DECADE, arguably the most brilliant R&B artist of this generation has toiled in relative obscurity in Britain. ...

Cat Power: Silence and Soul

Report and Interview by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 10 February 2006

With an all-star Memphis band, Chan Marshall lets her music do the talking. ...

Chris Brown: The New Michael Jackson

Interview by Robin Eggar, The Sunday Times Magazine, 12 February 2006

Meet the kid they're calling the new Michael Jackson — Chris Brown, 16, from smallsville, VA ...

Freddie King, Howard Tate: Freddie King and Howard Tate are the Soul of Gospel and Blues

Report by Kirk Silsbee, Pasadena Weekly, 16 February 2006

TOO OFTEN we're reminded that soul – the fundament of black gospel and blues—is fast slipping away from us.  Losing Wilson Pickett and Lou Rawls in ...

Corinne Bailey Rae : Corinne Bailey Rae: Corinne Bailey Rae

Review by Pete Paphides, The Times, 24 February 2006

LEST WE FORGET, this isn't the first time that a new artist has been propelled into the spotlight to massed cries that she's the new ...

Candi Staton Comes Home to Country Soul

Sleeve notes by Barney Hoskyns, Honest Jon's Records, March 2006

THERE ARE southern soul voices and there are southern soul voices. Raw and ravaged, Candi Staton's is one of the signature sounds of that particular ...

Linda Lewis: Turning Bitter Into Sweet

Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, March 2006

Disco diva, Northern Soul icon, hippie singer-songwriter, reluctant stage show brat. Linda Lewis has been all of these and more. Terry Staunton hears tales of ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Looking at the Devil: Sly Stone and There's a Riot Goin' On

Retrospective by Barney Hoskyns, Observer Music Monthly, March 2006

DICK CAVETT didn't know what had hit him. The mild-mannered, impeccably liberal TV host had had some far-out guests on his ABC talk show, but ...

Prince: 3121

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, March 2006

HANG OUT THE bunting, have ticker-tape at the ready and breathe a collective sigh of relief. There's news from the front, and it's all good. ...

Wilson Pickett: Farewell, Wicked Messenger

Obituary by Andy Gill, The Word, March 2006

Wilson Pickett: you couldn't sing 'In The Midnight Hour' the way he did without a terrible temper and in this respect the man from Prattville, ...

Mark Morrison: ’I'm the most reallest black artist in England'

Interview by Sophie Heawood, The Guardian, 8 March 2006

After the court cases, the jail time and the unfounded rape allegation, Mark Morrison is keen to put his bad boy image behind him. He ...

Prince: 3121 (Universal)

Review by Pete Paphides, The Times, 17 March 2006

IN THE SIXTIES, when record companies thought nothing of squeezing two albums a year from their artists, the music industry benefited rampantly productive artists. As ...

Candi Staton: "I was so drunk I fell on to the stage"

Interview by Sophie Heawood, The Guardian, 24 March 2006

DISCO DIVA CANDI STATON lost everything to alcohol and abuse, but the song she recorded for a diet video saved her. Now, at 66, she's ...

Candi Staton's Dandy, Liquor's Licked

Profile and Interview by Martin Aston, The Times, 24 March 2006

THERE ARE TIMELESS songs, and then there are timeless songs, those that chart across time itself. Take the Righteous Brothers' revered 'You've Lost That Lovin' ...

Dusty Springfield: The Invention of Dusty Springfield

Retrospective and Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Independent, 26 March 2006

Mary O'Brien was born with the voice that would make her our greatest female pop singer, but everything else that went to make the icon ...

Candi Staton (2006)

Interview by Gavin Martin, Rock's Backpages audio, April 2006

Starting with her collaboration with The Source on the dancefloor classic 'You Got The Love', this fascinating interview takes us back to racist Alabama, gospel, her marriage to Clarence Carter and her time at Rick Hall's Fame, and takes in the years of abuse and drink, and her return to the church.

File format: mp3; file size: 67.8mb, interview length: 1h 10' 39" sound quality: ****

Candi Staton (2006) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Gavin Martin, Rock's Backpages transcripts, April 2006

This is a transcript of Gavin's audio interview with Candi. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Jamie Foxx: Unpredictable (J Records/Sony BMG)

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, April 2006

GIVEN THAT everyone from Eminem and 50 Cent to Christina Milian and Beyoncé think they can act, it's probably only fair the actors get to ...

Roachford: Spitz, London

Live Review by Sophie Heawood, The Guardian, 6 April 2006

FOR A ONE-HIT WONDER, Roachford sure has a lot of tunes. Gone are the early gigs, as a diehard fan reminds him tonight, where he ...

James Hunter: A British singer rooted in American soul

Profile and Interview by Jim Sullivan, Christian Science Monitor, 14 April 2006

ARLINGTON, MASS. — James Hunter seems to be a creature of habit. The last time the British singer-songwriter-guitarist was in the Boston area, he crossed ...

Gnarls Barkley: St Elsewhere

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 21 April 2006

EVER SINCE HE emerged from the shadow of his chums in Outkast and Goodie Mob to establish himself as a solo artist, Cee-Lo Green has ...

Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham: The Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC

Live Review by Fred Mills, Harp, 30 April 2006

"THIS IS rock 'n' roll for the older set – we're all sitting down, reading the lyrics..." ...

James Brown: Ten Commandments: The Gospel According To James Brown

Interview by Steffan Chirazi, Q, May 2006

Soul Brother Number One, 72 ...

Prince: 3121

Review by Carol Cooper, The Village Voice, 1 May 2006

IN HIS LONG-AGO heyday Prince complimented Kid Creole's backup girls by admiring how Adriana Kaegi "used every beat of the music in her choreography." Evidence ...

Terri Walker: I Am

Review by Mat Snow, The Guardian, 5 May 2006

SOUL IS crowded with beautiful voices who set their sights no higher than singing sweet nothings. ...

Craig David: Hammersmith Apollo, London W6

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 15 May 2006

CRAIG DAVID IS THE ONLY R&B SUPERSTAR this country has produced. His debut album, Born to Do It, sold eight million copies, while the "flop" ...

Corinne Bailey Rae : Corinne Bailey Rae: Who's That Girl

Profile and Interview by Stevie Chick, MOJO, June 2006

She's the British R&B sensation who wants to keep it "underground". But can Corinne Bailey Rae convince America's taste-makers without selling her soul? ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind and Fire: The Way of the World

Profile and Interview by Bill DeYoung, Goldmine, July 2006

WITHOUT MAURICE WHITE, the 1970s wouldn't have been nearly as interesting. ...

The Dells: Stay In My Corner

Retrospective and Interview by Lois Wilson, Record Collector, July 2006

From doo wop to R&B, from deep soul to Northern Soul, they are the most enduring story in vocal group history. Lois Wilson celebrates 50-plus ...

Gnarls Barkley: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Yahoo! Music, 6 July 2006

DRESSED IN red knee socks, black shorts and untucked white school shirt and glistening from fifty minutes of belting out melted funk anthems at full ...

The Neptunes, N.E.R.D., Pharrell Williams: Pharrell Williams: Sorry, laydeez, he's booked

Interview by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 21 July 2006

Music is my one true love, says blingtastic baron of beats, Pharrell Williams ...

Roberta Flack: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 21 July 2006

SHE'S WELL INTO her 68th year but Roberta Flack remains a strikingly prepossessing figure. A riot of comedic quips and acerbic asides beneath a leonine ...

India.Arie: Testimony: Vol.1, Life & Relationship

Review by Dan Gennoe, Q, August 2006

WITH HER THIRD album, nu-soul voice of reason India.Arie answers the question, how much wisdom is too much. ...

Janet Jackson

Interview by Sheryl Garratt, Grazia, August 2006

THE FAMILY RESEMBLANCE is unmistakable. With her high cheekbones and big brown eyes, Janet Jackson looks eerily like her brother Michael before he began his ...

Aretha Franklin, King Curtis: Aretha Franklin/King Curtis: Live at the Filmore West

Review by John Swenson, Offbeat, 1 August 2006

THIS IS Aretha Franklin at her absolute peak, fronting a supercharged band led by King Curtis and featuring the Memphis Horns with special guests Ray ...

Marvin Sease: Candy Licker – The Sex And Soul Of Marvin Sease

Review by John Morthland, No Depression, 31 August 2006

YOU'VE PROBABLY never heard of Marvin Sease, but from 'Candy Licker' in 1986 until 2005, he was the only artist in the contemporary southern soul-blues ...

John Legend: Mr. Legend Comes to Town

Profile and Interview by Nicholas Jennings, Inside Entertainment, September 2006

IT'S A MUGGY day and John Legend is trying his best to stay cool. The gifted American soul singer is in a Toronto Baptist church ...

Teena Marie

Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, September 2006

THERE'S NEVER been a funkier white girl than Teena Marie. With hits like 'Lovergirl', 'Square Biz' and 'Fire and Desire' – a duet with former ...

Amp Fiddler: Afro Strut (Genuine) ★★★★☆

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 1 September 2006

MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST Joseph "Amp" Fiddler served one of the best apprenticeships available in black music with a stint in Funkadelic, going on to apply George Clinton's ...

Johnny Jenkins, Otis Redding: Johnny Jenkins, 1939-2006

Obituary by Ken Hunt, The Guardian, 16 September 2006

Flamboyant musician who influenced Hendrix and Otis Redding ...

Bettye LaVette: Betty Lavette: On the Comeback Trail

Interview by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 28 September 2006

Soul singer Bettye LaVette on the path from obscurity to sensation. ...

George Clinton: An Interview with George Clinton

Interview by Lloyd Bradley, MOJO, October 2006

Mix Motown, acid, Jethro Tull and a guitarist in a nappy and you get George Clinton. But where now for the sage of Parliament/Funkadelic? "The ...

Michael Jackson: Called To Account

Report by Dorian Lynskey, The Word, October 2006

If Michael Jackson had put his money in a Post Office account he could have bought a small country, but his legendary spending has left ...

OutKast: Idlewild

Review by Angus Batey, MOJO, October 2006

After their last album suggested a split, OutKast get it together again in spectacular fashion. Just don't call it a comeback, says Angus Batey. ...

Amy Winehouse: Back To Black

Review by Paul Elliott, MOJO, November 2006

Once a teen prodigy, now a major contender. Amy Winehouse comes of age on her second album, says Paul Elliott. ...

Dennis Coffey: Big City Funk

Sleeve notes by James Maycock, Vampi Soul, November 2006

Dennis Coffey: Original Old School Breaks & Heavy Guitar Soul (Vampi Soul) ...

Jerry Butler: The Ice Man Cometh/Ice On Ice

Sleeve notes by Gene Sculatti, Collectors Choice Music, November 2006

As well as being two classic albums of '60s pop-soul, The Ice Man Cometh and Ice on Ice comprise a tale of two cities – ...

Amy Winehouse: She's Class with a Glass: Amy Winehouse

Interview by Sophie Heawood, The Times, 3 November 2006

Cockney chanteuse Amy Winehouse thinks rehab is for wimps. But will her battles with her addictive personality deprive her of her rightful place in musical ...

Allen Toussaint: The Jazz Café, London

Live Review by Simon Witter, Daily Telegraph, 9 November 2006

THOUGH HE IS the greatest living exponent of the extraordinary New Orleans piano tradition that produced Professor Longhair, Fats Domino, Huey Smith, James Booker, Dr ...

Joe Tex: Buddy Killen, 1932-2006: Nashville record man and music publisher

Obituary by John Broven, Now Dig This, December 2006

BUDDY KILLEN, the highly successful Nashville music publisher, songwriter and record man, died of liver and pancreatic cancer on November 1, 2006 at age 73.  ...

James Brown: Caught in The Act: James Brown's Soul on Top

Live Review by Kirk Silsbee, Downbeat, December 2006

WHEN SOUL shouter James Brown released his big band album – Soul on Top – in 1970, it was received as neither fish nor fowl ...

John Legend: Once Again

Review by Mark Kemp, Paste, 12 December 2006

SOPHOMORE SLUMP? What sophomore slump? On the follow-up to Get Lifted, the Grammy-winning multi-platinum debut from John Legend, the one-time session man chucks the simple ...

James Brown: Black and Proud: James Brown, 1933-2006

Obituary by Gavin Martin, Daily Mirror, 26 December 2006

GODFATHER OF SOUL James Brown, who died of heart failure yesterday aged 73, was a member of a very select group of performers who truly ...

James Brown 1933-2006

Obituary by James Maycock, The Independent, 26 December 2006

JAMES BROWN was one of the most extraordinary Afro-Americans of the 2nd half of the 20th century. A raw, emotional singer, electric performer and tough ...

James Brown: Please Don't Go

Memoir by Peter Stone Brown, CounterPunch, 26 December 2006

LATE LAST NIGHT, or more accurately early this morning doing my final email check, I noticed the headline: "James Brown hospitalized with pneumonia." I immediately ...

Diana Ross: I Love You **

Review by Jeff Tamarkin, AllMusic.com, 2007

IN WHAT MIGHT BE the least inspired album of her career, iconic diva Diana Ross sleepwalks through a mish-mash of seemingly randomly chosen love songs, ...

David Bowie: Blue-and-green-eyed soul

Essay by Daryl Easlea, Record Collector, January 2007

Young Americans is David Bowie's most underrated album, but its bold cross-cultural concept deserves reappraisal, says Daryl Easlea  ...

James Brown: The Last Soul Brother: James Brown (1933-2006)

Retrospective by Mark Anthony Neal, PopMatters, 2 January 2007

JAMES BROWN was of a generation of black men—mythological in many ways—who helped define the contours of freedom and possibility for black folk in the ...

Amy Winehouse: Joe's Pub, NYC

Live Review by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 16 January 2007

WITH HYPE justified by her soon come (and already #1 in the UK) sophomore CD Back To Black), and a Ghostface remix of the slurred, ...

Joss Stone: The Undoctored Ms Stone, I Presume: Joss Stone

Interview by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 4 February 2007

MEETING JOSS STONE in the Electric Lady recording suite in downtown Manhattan feels curiously appropriate. Set up in 1968 by Jimi Hendrix, who named his ...

Lewis Taylor: Lost and Found: Lewis Taylor's Pop-Rock Masterpiece

Review by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages, March 2007

IF LOS ANGELES is the perfect place to fall in love with an album-as-road-soundtrack – as aural companion to the zen ebb and flow of ...

Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers: Blow Your Whistle: Original Old School Breaks & Classic Funk Bombs

Sleeve notes by James Maycock, Vampi Soul Records, March 2007

JANUARY 2003. AUGUSTA, GEORGIA. A documentary crew are filming James Brown outside the house his aunt operated as a brothel in the 1940s. It was ...

Solomon Burke: No. 1, at last

Report and Interview by Gene Santoro, New York Daily News, 2 March 2007

Solomon Burke's latest, Nashville, features guests like Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Patty Loveless and Gillian Welch. ...

War: The War Story: An Interview with War's Original Drummer Harold Brown

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 20 March 2007

AS DRUMMER FOR THE BAND WAR, Harold Brown was part of the vibrant music scene of the late-'60s and early-'70s that included Jim Morrison, Jimi ...

Macy Gray: Still Tryin'

Comment by Miles Marshall Lewis, The Village Voice, 27 March 2007

MAYHAP YOUR iPod has shuffled a Maxwell or Lauryn Hill tune into your mix lately, and led you to question, "Where they be?" The neo-soul ...

Booker T & The MGs, Steve Cropper, Booker T. Jones: Booker T. & the MGs: Soul Survivors

Retrospective and Interview by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 3 May 2007

Decades after helping create the Stax groove, no one represents the living legacy of Memphis soul quite like Booker T. & the MGs. ...

Lily Allen, Joss Stone, Amy Winehouse: Digital Venuses: Lily Allen, Joss Stone, Amy Winehouse

Comment by Kandia Crazy Horse, San Francisco Bay Guardian, 8 May 2007

CALL THEM the new British bitch pack: barefoot soul shouter Joss Stone and her ascendant sistren, skankin' Lily Allen and torchy Amy Winehouse (Corinne Bailey ...

Allen Toussaint: Toussaint Explores Life Outside Big Easy

Profile and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 May 2007

ALLEN TOUSSAINT never left New Orleans. He spent virtually his entire distinguished career playing piano, singing, writing songs and making records with other people in ...

R. Kelly: Happy People / U Saved Me

Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 29 May 2007

IF ANYONE in pop has a Teflon-coated career, it's R. Kelly. In 12 years as an R&B star, the singer, songwriter and producer has seen ...

Amy Winehouse

Interview by Amy Linden, XXL Hip Hop Soul, June 2007

UNDER LOS ANGELES' sparkly surface there lies a noir beauty, and nowhere is that gritty glamour more present than at the legendary Chateau Marmont. Nestled ...

Amy Winehouse: Hip-Hop Junkies: Amy Winehouse

Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, June 2007

23-YEAR-OLD UK soul/jazz chanteuse Amy Winehouse has taken music by storm with her American debut Back To Black. Already huge overseas, Amy first got US ...

Ne-Yo: Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, June 2007

Ne-Yo couldn't step to the left if he wanted to. He's actually stepping forward on to superstardom — and there are rumors and X-rated photo ...

R. Kelly: Double Up

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, 4 June 2007

LADIES AND gentlemen, please be upstanding and make way for R Kelly and his monumental ego. Breathe-in or we might not fit it all in. ...

Destiny's Child, Kelly Rowland: Kelly Rowland: Destiny Fulfilled

Profile and Interview by Angus Batey, The Guardian, 15 June 2007

Kelly Rowland reassures Angus Batey that, despite the all the conspiracy theories, she has not had a phantom baby, her new album isn't bitter about ...

Swamp Dogg Bites Back

Interview by Andrew Purcell, The Guardian, 15 June 2007

"WHEN I FELT like I needed profanity, I used profanity," Swamp Dogg begins. And as he cheerfully swears his way through his 50 years in ...

John Legend: Soul Food For Thought

Interview by Angus Batey, The Guardian, 20 June 2007

Feted by everyone from Kanye West to Paul McCartney, John Legend could easily rest on his laurels. But the cerebral singer/producer tells Angus Batey he's ...

Rance Allen, William Bell, Booker T & The MGs, Isaac Hayes, The Mar-Keys, The Soul Children, Mavis Staples: Starting All Over Again: Stax's 50th at the Orpheum, Memphis

Live Review by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 28 June 2007

Glorious past and uncertain future of Stax on stage at the Orpheum ...

Al Green: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 30 June 2007

AL GREEN IS the last of the American southern soul giants of the 1960s and 70s, a survivor where Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and Sam ...

Amy Winehouse: Somerset House, London

Live Review by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages, July 2007

THE LAST TIME I had a ticket for Amy Winehouse was back in March, at Spaceland in LA. She'd played the Roxy the night before ...

Terry Reid

Retrospective and Interview by Robert Webb, The Independent, 3 July 2007

IT'S THE MIDDLE of the day in Palm Desert, California, 104 degrees and rising. Terry Reid, rock legend, is out by the pool, sucking on ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Sly Stone: I Want To Take You... Lower

Report by Sean O'Hagan, The Observer, 15 July 2007

Sly Stone was the funkadelic pioneer who made the world dance, broke racial boundaries, raised hell and set Woodstock alight. Last week, in Italy, after ...

Al Green: The Everlasting Great Soul Man

Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, August 2007

On the eve of his current UK tour, and with a new album due later this year, Al Green continues to spread the message of ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Sly and the Family Stone: Bournemouth Opera House

Live Review by Jim Irvin, MOJO, August 2007

YOU'RE A LIFE-LONG fan of a band that fell apart long before you were old enough to see them play. Suddenly, you hear that the ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Sly Stone's Higher Power

Profile and Interview by David Kamp, Vanity Fair, August 2007

Sly Stone vanished into rumor in the 1980s, remembered only by the great songs ('I Want to Take You Higher', 'Dance to the Music') he ...

The Drifters: I'll Take You Where The Music's Playing (Collectors' Choice Music)

Sleeve notes by Gene Sculatti, Collectors' Choice Music, August 2007

IF THE MID-'60s "Brill Building era" – when teams like Goffin-King, Bacharach-David and Mann-Weil wrote like what seemed two-thirds of the hits in Top 40 ...

Rihanna (2007)

Interview by Maureen Paton, Rock's Backpages audio, 22 August 2007

The "Bajan Beyoncé" talks about her big hit 'Umbrella'; her upbringing in the West Indies; her mother and brothers; her discovery by Evan Rogers and signing to Def Jam; her dad's cocaine problem; her collaboration with Justin Timberlake... and her hair and make-up tips!

File format: mp3; file size: 42.4mb, interview length: 44' 12" sound quality: ***

Chris Clark - US: Chris Clark: An unsung soul singer resurfaces

Retrospective and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 August 2007

CHRIS CLARK was a tall, blond 20-year-old Air Force brat out of Marin County when she signed with Motown Records as the label's first white ...

Various Artists: Vee-Jay – The Definitive Collection

Review by John Morthland, No Depression, 31 August 2007

VEE-JAY RECORDS of Chicago was not the first successful black-owned label – Duke-Peacock of Houston stakes a better claim to that title – but until ...

Lulu: The Atco Sesssions

Sleeve notes by Kieron Tyler, Atlantic Records, September 2007

LULU'S 1970 ALBUM New Routes has long been recognised as a landmark soulful classic – the album that finally provided the showcase Lulu's voice deserved. ...

Bettye LaVette: Highline Ballroom, New York, NY

Live Review by Kandia Crazy Horse, Harp, 24 September 2007

WAKING UP every morning now with the Blues, so catching the divine Lady Bettye LaVette's recent Manhattan show at the Highline was a foregone conclusion. ...

Chaka Khan: Back...From Back In The Day

Interview by David Nathan, SoulMusic.com, October 2007

LOS ANGELES, October 11, 2007: I've been talking to Chaka Khan since 1974. Through the years, I've been a witness to her through-the-fire-days, her almost-have-it-together-days, ...

Jennifer Lopez: Brave (Epic/Sony)

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, October 2007

HOW TIMES have changed for Jennifer Lopez. Once the love interest of R&B-hip hop's most megalomaniacal Badboy, mogul Sean "Puffy-Diddy" Combs, and famously caught up ...

The Dap-Kings: Boss Players

Interview by Amy Linden, Vibe, October 2007

THE DAP-KINGS — PURVEYORS OF THE FUNK BEHIND AMY WINEHOUSE, LILY ALLEN, AND SHARON JONES — BRING THE OLD SOUND BACK WITH NEW STYLE, AND ...

DeBarge, El DeBarge: The Rise and Fall of The DeBarge Family

Retrospective and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, October 2007

The DeBarge family – El, Marty, Randy, Bunny and James, not to mention Thomas, Bobby, and baby brother Chico – were supposed to be Motown's ...

James Brown, Bobby Byrd: Bobby Byrd, 1934-2007

Obituary by Alan Clayson, The Guardian, 9 October 2007

James Brown's right-hand man for 20 years ...

A Love From Outer Space: Why Greg Tate Matters

Essay by Michael A. Gonzales, Blackadelic Pop, 25 October 2007

THIS MORNING, I couldn't write. Though I'm on deadline to finish a Village Voice critique about my favorite band Apollo Heights (whose disc White Music ...

Arthur Alexander: Country's Soul: The Music Of The Late Arthur Alexander Still Provides A Living Link Between Hillbilly Twang And R&B

Retrospective by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore City Paper, 31 October 2007

ON MARCH 18, 1993, Arthur Alexander was the guest star at Jimmie Dale Gilmore's birthday party at the Broken Spoke dance hall in Austin, Texas. ...

The Stylistics, Thom Bell: Sweet Soul Symphonics: Thom Bell and the Stylistics

Retrospective by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages, November 2007

THE STYLISTICS were a permanent fixture on the British pop charts of the early '70s. Every tenth record that came out of my tinny transistor ...

Chris Brown: Exclusive

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, 5 November 2007

IN THE ABSENCE of an identity of his own, 16-year-old Chris Brown borrowed Usher's for his self-titled 2005 debut. ...

Thom Bell, Blue Magic, The Delfonics, The Stylistics: Symphonic Soul: "You get more bees with honey"

Retrospective and Interview by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 16 November 2007

Take one soul ballad. Add a falsetto vocal, swooping strings, timpani and an oboe or two. That's symphonic soul. Paul Lester talks to the heroes ...

Alicia Keys: As I Am

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, 19 November 2007

THERE HAS to be a point where the wheels come off Alicia Keys' wagon. No one can be that good at everything. ...

Adele: Move Over, Amy…

Profile and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 23 November 2007

... and Lily, and Kate: there's a new star in town. Adele Adkins is only 19, but her voice has bewitched everyone from Jools Holland ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Sly and the Family Stone: Stand!

Sleeve notes by Barney Hoskyns, Sony Legacy, Spring 2007

IT'S A MEASURE of our fascination with the darker side of pop culture that Stand! now tends to take second stage to 1971's claustrophobic, coke-fuelled ...

James Brown: I Got The Feelin': James Brown In The '60s (Shout! Factory)

Review by Jeffrey Morgan, unpublished, 2008

NOTE: previously unpublished; banned after having "been labeled 'offensive' by most of the editorial department here" at Detroit Metro Times. ...

Joss Stone: Joss Stick: Joss Stone

Interview by Dan Gennoe, Mail On Sunday, 2008

JOSS STONE is smoking a fag. Crouched on the pavement outside the BBC's Maida Vale studio, a grey cardigan pulled around her, a skinny roll-up ...

The Dells: Originals: The Dells

Retrospective by Mike Atherton, Echoes, 2008

THE RAYS, formed by five youngsters from Harvey, Illinois in 1952, were just one of the thousands of doo-wop groups springing up in America's cities ...

Amy Winehouse: Killing Me Softly

Report by Paul Elliott, MOJO, January 2008

She is the finest female vocalist of her generation, but in 2007 Amy Winehouse became an easy mark for the tabloids, with tales of drugs, ...

Amy Winehouse: Life Imitating Art...

Comment by Kate Mossman, The Word, January 2008

...imitating life. When did Amy Winehouse start to inhabit her songs, wonders KATE MOSSMAN. ...

Gnarls Barkley

Interview by Angus Batey, unpublished, January 2008

N.B. This piece was going to run in the Mail on Sunday's Live section, but due to problems with photos — or, perhaps, a fear ...

Jill Scott: The Real Thing – Words and Sounds vol. 3

Review by Lois Wilson, MOJO, January 2008

Scott chronicles her marriage break-up. More Let's Get It On than Here, My Dear, though, says Lois Wilson. ...

Dexys Midnight Runners: Searching For The Young Soul Rebels

Review by Daryl Easlea, bbc.co.uk, 11 January 2008

Fierce, raging and passionate – one of the greatest debut albums of all time. ...

Lenny Kravitz: Justifying his lack of love

Report by Sophie Heawood, The Times, 25 January 2008

THERE ARE DRY PATCHES, there are droughts, and then there are deserts — and it seems that Lenny Kravitz is living through his own personal ...

Craig David: A Star Called David

Profile and Interview by Paul Lester, The Jewish Chronicle, 31 January 2008

He is a black soul singer with a reputation as a ladies' man. So how come Craig David seems like such a nice Jewish boy? ...

Michael Jackson: Thriller 25th Anniversary Edition

Review by Robert Sandall, Daily Telegraph, 9 February 2008

WHAT A TOPSY-TURVY career Michael Jackson has had. ...

Marvin Gaye's Here, My Dear: Deal Me Out

Retrospective by Nick Coleman, Independent on Sunday, 17 February 2008

At the age of 39, Marvin Gaye's marriage hit the rocks, and he was forced into the studio to pay the divorce fees. Reissued 30 ...

Janet Jackson: Discipline

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, 25 February 2008

THERE IS SOMETHING unbelievably painful about listening to Janet Jackson being sexy – the fine line between saucy and embarrassing being something she's clearly never ...

Janet Jackson: Discipline

Review by Carol Cooper, The Village Voice, 26 February 2008

SURE, MADONNA repeatedly toyed with BDSM in her videos, but she never publicly admitted to breast and genital piercings like Miss Jackson did. So, in ...

Buddy Miles 1947-2008

Obituary by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 29 February 2008

Rock drummer who graced the stage with Hendrix in his heyday ...

Erykah Badu: New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)

Review by Dan Gennoe, Yahoo! Music, March 2008

IN 1997, from out of nowhere, Erykah Badu delivered one of the most significant albums of modern R&B. ...

Ike Turner: Trouble Man

Memoir by Andria Lisle, MOJO, March 2008

Demonised during his lifetime, Ike Turner left a musical legacy that matched his fearsome reputation. Andria Lisle, a former associate, pays her respects to one ...

Adele: The Great White Hype: Adele's 19

Review by Barney Hoskyns, Uncut, March 2008

SOME DAYS it feels like we've time-traveled back to the early Eighties, when every other month coughed up a new BEST WHITE SOUL VOICE YOU'VE ...

The Hot 8 Brass Band: Basin Street Boogie

Profile and Interview by Jude Rogers, The Word, March 2008

The Hot 8 Brass Band are the missing link between traditional New Orleans jazz and hip hop. But three members have been shot dead along ...

Gnarls Barkley: The Odd Couple

Review by Will Hermes, Spin, 25 March 2008

IN 2006, TWO avant-garde hip-hoppers — a producer known for DJ'ing in a mouse costume and a Dirty South MC who abandoned a legendary crew ...

Duffy: Rockferry

Review by Lois Wilson, MOJO, April 2008

Escapist soulful pop from Bernard Butler protégé, who hails from north Wales ...

Grace Jones, Sly & Robbie, Tom Tom Club: Various Artists: Funky Nassau - The Compass Point Story 1980-1986

Review by John McCready, The Word, April 2008

Imagined in London, bankrolled by pop hits and prog rock — the disco-dub collision at Compass Point Studios created shockwaves. ...

Donny Hathaway: Ed Pavlic: Winners Have Yet to Be Announced – A Song for Donny Hathaway (University of Georgia Press)

Book Review by Mark Anthony Neal, PopMatters, 21 April 2008

I'VE SPENT better part of that last 20-years – what seems like a lifetime – trying to write about Donny Hathaway. It's not as though ...

War: The Lowrider Band

Report and Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 23 April 2008

WHILE THE NAME "Lowrider Band" may not be familiar, their set-list certainly is, as a sweet harmonica riff wafts through funky material like 'The Cisco ...

Jamie Lidell: Jim (Warp)

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 25 April 2008

BACK AT THE turn of the millennium, Jamie Lidell was a cutting-edge electronic musician, crooning over abstract, fractured beats and jittery synth blips as one-half ...

Usher: Here I Stand

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, 26 April 2008

USHER RAYMOND'S last album, 2004's Confessions sold a staggering 19 million albums. It took him from R&B superstar to global pop phenomenon, earned him three ...

D'Angelo: The Gift & The Curse

Retrospective by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, May 2008

HE WAS a quiet, softly spoken, artsy type that clearly preferred to let his music do the talking. It seems like a lifetime ago. In ...

Pop Staples, The Staple Singers: Freedom Song

Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, May 2008

David Burke talks to the indefatigable Mavis Staples ...

Gnarls Barkley: The Odd Couple

Review and Interview by Stephen Dalton, Uncut, May 2008

BRIAN "DANGER MOUSE" Burton and Thomas "Cee-Lo" Callaway have been promiscuous collaborators since the history-making download chart-topper 'Crazy' earned them overnight stardom two years back. ...

Was (Not Was)

Interview by Bill Brewster, MOJO, May 2008

Detroit Art-Funk Weirdos Find It Again ...

Estelle: Shine

Review by Amy Linden, The San Francisco Examiner, 7 May 2008

British singer/rapper Estelle makes sassy debut ...

Earth, Wind & Fire, Janelle Monáe, Me'Shell Ndegeocello: Singing the cyber blues: Janelle Monaé's Metropolis

Overview by Kandia Crazy Horse, San Francisco Bay Guardian, 7 May 2008

AFROFUTURISM BEGAN in earnest with those "20 odd Negroes" brought to Jamestown. Truly, long-ago Africans brought to New World shores invented modernity on the fly, ...

Rihanna: Sweetness and Steel: Rihanna

Profile and Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 23 May 2008

ON A HOT spring day, inside a large, airy studio in the town of Castaic, California, a group of men and women are watching paint ...

Was (Not Was): Boo!

Review by Bill Holdship, San Antonio Current, 28 May 2008

IT'S BEEN 18 years since this Detroit-born funk-jazz-pop-art collective released its last album — and the world's grown a whole lot crazier during that time, ...

Al Green Is Still in Love With You

Profile and Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, TONEaudio, June 2008

WHEN THE REVEREND Al Green decided to return to singing love songs, he did more than revive his pop music career. He may have saved ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, Simply Red: Mick Hucknall meets Bobby "Blue" Bland

Interview by Andria Lisle, MOJO, June 2008

He revolutionised soul in the early '60s, sings like an angel in anguish, and has influenced everyone from Otis Redding to Van Morrison. Now Bobby ...

N.E.R.D.: N*E*R*D: Seeing Sounds (Star Trak)

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 13 June 2008

PHARRELL WILLIAMS is one of modern pop's more quixotic talents – purveyor of beats brisk and bouncy in his Neptunes guise, but an attempt at ...

Ashanti: The Declaration

Review by Dan Gennoe, Yahoo! Music, 23 June 2008

THERE WAS A POINT where Ashanti Douglas could do no wrong. Following a string of guest spots providing the melodic charm to Ja Rule and ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, Simply Red: Mick Hucknall: From Red To Blue

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, July 2008

As the multi-million-selling figurehead of Simply Red, Mick Hucknall found himself in a creative cul-de-sac. On his debut solo album, a tribute to his idol ...

The Supremes: A Love Supreme

Interview by Lois Wilson, Record Collector, July 2008

Mary Wilson Recalls The Highs And Lows Of The Most Successful Girl Group Of All Time. Interview By Lois "No Relation" Wilson ...

Ne-Yo: 'Do I Have To Sell My Soul?'

Profile and Interview by Angus Batey, The Guardian, 18 July 2008

He's an R&B singer, and songwriter to the stars. But when the music stops, Ne-Yo vanishes from the spotlight. He tells Angus Batey why that's ...

John Legend: "Don't blame hip-hop for everything that's wrong in the world," says John Legend

Profile and Interview by Angus Batey, Daily Mail, 19 July 2008

"A LOT OF THESE places are disappearing," says John Legend with a rueful smile. He is sitting at a grand piano in the middle of ...

Miami Sound Machine: The Hit Factory Criteria Studio

Report and Interview by Evelyn McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2008

MIAMI – On any given night, as the fabled moon rises over Miami, the densest concentration of pop stars per square foot is likely to ...

Amy Winehouse: Can Amy Winehouse be saved?

Report by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 27 July 2008

Her phenomenal talent has been eclipsed by her terrifying ability to self-destruct. Can anything save Amy from herself? ...

Isaac Hayes: Remembering Isaac Hayes

Obituary by David Nathan, Stax 50th Online Blog, August 2008

IT MIGHT be easy to simply consider Isaac Hayes as Black Moses, as the distinguished winner of an Oscar for 'Theme For Shaft', as the ...

Allen Toussaint: Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 7 August 2008

ALLEN TOUSSAINT talks of his sporadic, unbought solo work and the royalties from the hits he's created for others with equal affection. ...

Dee Dee Sharp: Sisterly Love

Interview by Bill Holdship, Detroit Metro Times, 27 August 2008

DEE DEE SHARP is a perfect ambassador for the Jazzfest's Detroit-Philadelphia summit theme. After all, 'Mashed Potato Time', her timeless 1962 hit, mentions a Motown ...

Aretha Franklin, Jerry Wexler: Remembering Jerry Wexler…

Comment by David Nathan, Stax 50th Online Blog, 1 September 2008

I'M NOT sure the first time I saw Gerald Wexler's name on an album. ...

Bryn Christopher: My World (Polydor)

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, 8 September 2008

WITH AMY Winehouse's '60s soul styling having succeeded where two generations of modern music failed, producing a genuine British R&B star, the rash of similarly ...

Marvin Gaye, Edwin Starr, The Temptations, The Undisputed Truth: Norman Whitfield, 1941-2008

Obituary by Dave Laing, The Guardian, 19 September 2008

He co-wrote and produced some of Motown's greatest hits ...

Natalie Cole: The Unforgettable Ms Cole

Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 26 September 2008

Natalie Cole is the superstar's daughter who became a Black Panther, a cocaine addict – and a huge success in her own right. As she ...

Sugababes: Catfights And Spotlights

Discography by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, October 2008

ACCORDING TO reports, the Sugababes plan a hiatus following the release of this their sixth album while founding 'Babe Keisha Buchanan fulfils her ambition to ...

The Four Tops: The Great Levi Stubbs

Memoir by Dave Marsh, Rock and Rap Confidential, October 2008

WHEN I WAS 15, I met the Four Tops on a downtown Detroit street, where they were doing a photo shoot with the Supremes. ...

Estelle: The Guardian profile: Estelle Swaray

Profile by Angus Batey, The Guardian, 17 October 2008

Mobo win is vindication for singer who had to move to US to find success. ...

Estelle, John Legend: John Legend: Why His Name Is Legend

Interview by Jude Rogers, The Observer, 19 October 2008

Barack Obama is a fan of soul star John Legend, and Estelle was his protégée. Jude Rogers speaks to him in the UK for the ...

Labelle: Back to Now (Verve)

Review by Kandia Crazy Horse, San Francisco Bay Guardian, 29 October 2008

A FEW weekends back, I rose at the crack of dawn to see Allen Toussaint perform at Joe's Pub in Manhattan for the venue's 10th ...

The Temptations: The Band That Took Motown Higher

Retrospective and Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 31 October 2008

FORTY YEARS ago this month, the Temptations released a single that would change the face of Motown. Martin Luther King Jr had been gunned down ...

Al Green: Soul Deep

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, November 2008

IT'S A TOUGH CALL for most legendary soul music artists: how do you make a new album that will appeal to a contemporary audience while ...

Al Green: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 10 November 2008

EVEN IF YOU didn't know that Al Green was an ordained minister, his concert performances would leave no room for doubt, in all senses of ...

Beyoncé: Shy Big Sister by Day, Wild Girl by Night

Interview by Pete Paphides, The Times, 14 November 2008

Her partner wowed Glastonbury, her music sells millions and her private life keeps everyone guessing. We talk to an unusually demure superstar. ...

Beyoncé: I Am… Sasha Fierce (Music World/Columbia)

Review by Chris Roberts, The Quietus, 20 November 2008

BEYONCÉ'S third album doesn't start well. Or end well. Or do much well in between. ...

Shontelle: New band of the week: Shontelle

Profile by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 20 November 2008

Today's new artist was once an army cadet forced to give Rihanna punishment push-ups for being late. Lucky old tarmac, eh? ...

Lemar: The Reason

Review by Dan Gennoe, dotmusic.co.uk, 24 November 2008

OBVIOUSLY LEMAR doesn't have Estelle's phone number. Shame. He could have called her for advice before setting off for America to record his fourth album. ...

Darlene Love: All You Need Is Love

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2008

'Tis the season to be jolly, and to dig out a yuletide classic by DARLENE LOVE. Phil Spector's secret weapon gets festive with TERRY STAUNTON ...

Solomon Burke: Still on Fire

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2008

Soul survivor Solomon Burke has endured bigger setbacks than most, but continues to make records as lauded as his perceived '60s heyday. ...

Aretha Franklin: Some Things Are Sacred: A Jubilant Appreciation of The Music Of Aretha Franklin

Overview by David Nathan, SoulMusic.com, December 2008

YOU JUST have to know that some things are sacred. ...

Thom Bell and the Sound of Brotherly Love

Retrospective and Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 8 December 2008

WHILE THE ubiquitous songs of Detroit's Motown get anthologized and commercialized ad infinitum, and the critics salivate over the gritty southern soul of Memphis' Stax, ...

Blue Magic, Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, Walter Jackson, The Voices of East Harlem: The Specialist: Soul reissues

Review by Barney Hoskyns, Uncut, Fall 2008

WHEN JERRY Wexler convinced the young Aretha Franklin to defect from Columbia to Atlantic in late 1966, few grasped that the signing was in fact ...

Ben E. King: Supernatural and Benny And Us

Sleeve notes by Gene Sculatti, Collector's Choice Records, 2009

BY NOW IT'S A TRUISM that F. Scott Fitzgerald got it wrong when he said, "There are no second acts in American lives." Sure, lots ...

Marvin Gaye: Let's Get It On

Review by Daryl Easlea, bbc.co.uk, 2009

The very essence of Marvin Gaye as the sensualist ...

Prince: Sign 'O' the Times

Review by Daryl Easlea, bbc.co.uk, 2009

You realise why Prince was routinely labelled a genius in the late '80s. ...

Quincy Jones: The Dude

Review by Daryl Easlea, bbc.co.uk, 2009

RELEASED IN 1981, The Dude was the right album at the right time. ...

Sly & the Family Stone: There's a Riot Goin' On

Review by Stevie Chick, bbc.co.uk, 2009

Dark, troubled and brilliant funk from kaleidoscopic soul-rock legends ...

Kanye West: 808s & Heartbreak

Review by Dorian Lynskey, Q, January 2009

AT THE END of August, Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis was waiting for her flight to the Democratic National Convention in Denver when a fellow passenger ...

The Four Tops, The Supremes, The Temptations: Motown at 50

Retrospective and Interview by Alan Light, MSN.com, January 2009

FIFTY YEARS AGO this month in Detroit, a 29-year-old African-American songwriter named Berry Gordy, Jr – a former boxer, autoworker, and Army veteran – borrowed ...

Various Artists: A Complete Introduction To Northern Soul (Universal)

Review by Stuart Maconie, The Word, January 2009

A COMPLETE HISTORY? Yes. A Short Introduction? Yes. But A Complete Introduction? Surely a contradiction in terms. ...

Simply Red's Mick Hucknall (2009)

Interview by Maureen Paton, Rock's Backpages audio, 20 January 2009

The Ginger soulster talks about the impending end of Simply Red; his winery in Sicily and salmon river in Ireland; his recent lifestyle changes; Manchester and the Gallagher brothers; his art-school days; his partner Gabriella and his daughter; his father and absent mother; the Labour Party and the Iraq war; the music scene today, The X-Factor, and his alienation from it all.

File format: mp3; file size: 50.6mb, interview length: 52' 44" sound quality: ***

Shontelle is the feisty feminist Rihanna

Interview by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 25 January 2009

R&B artist and Barbados-born singer Layne is female Sean Paul with fame within her grasp, after single, 'T-Shirt', proved a hit ...

Candi Staton: She's got the love

Interview by John Lewis, Hotline, February 2009

The country-soul queen, disco diva and gospel howler talks to John Lewis about Sam Cooke, Dolly Parton and Bonnie "Prince" Billy. ...

Candi Staton: We Want Candi

Profile and Interview by John Doran, The Quietus, February 2009

CANDI STATON is, to put it simply, one of the most consistently underrated female vocalists ever. This is not to say that she hasn't had ...

Candi Staton: How tragedy makes the diva

Retrospective and Interview by Pete Paphides, The Times, 13 February 2009

WHAT IS CANDI Staton doing on Valentine's Day? With hindsight, it seems an indiscreet question to ask a single 65-year-old woman. ...

Tommy Hunt: Only Human

Book Review by Mike Atherton, Record Collector, March 2009

WE ALL KNOW Tommy Hunt the former member of star doowop group the Flamingos, the '60s 'Human' hitmaker, the '70s UK 'Loving On The Losing ...

Various Artists: Take Me To The River – A Southern Soul Story 1961-1977

Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, March 2009

"WHILE MOTOWN targeted its super-slick beat at teenagers, the much tougher Southern soul issued on labels such as Stax, Hi and Goldwax from Memphis; Fame ...

John Legend: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 13 March 2009

AS befits a singer who decided that his original surname, Stephens, didn't capture his essence, John Legend precedes his entrance with black-and-white footage of himself ...

Motown's Guitarists

Retrospective by Jon Stewart, Guitarist, April 2009

Jon Stewart celebrates the magic of Motown’s multiple guitarists ...

Dusty Springfield: The Legacy of Dusty Springfield

Retrospective by Bob Stanley, The Times, 3 April 2009

The greatest girl singer of the Sixties would be 70 this month, but her legacy is evergreen ...

Booker T. Jones: Booker T Jones: The King Of Stax Picks Up His Axe

Interview by Nick Coleman, Independent on Sunday, 26 April 2009

With his band the MGs, Booker T was the resident genius at one of America's great soul labels. Now, with a bit of help from ...

Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit: Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit

Review and Interview by Andrew Mueller, Uncut, June 2009

Confident country-soul from former Drive-By Trucker. ...

The Jones Girls, Johnny Otis: Various Artists: Good To The Last Drop – Ember Soul

Sleeve notes by Mike Atherton, Fantastic Voyage Records, June 2009

EMBER RECORDS was founded in London in 1960 by Jeffrey S. Kruger. A longtime jazz fan – he played piano in his own band Sonny ...

Janelle Monáe: Flash forward: Janelle Monáe

Report and Interview by Chris Campion, The Observer, 14 June 2009

Introducing this month's hottest talent, the android-loving future of R&B. ...

Michael Jackson: Ever-So-Slightly Wacko: The Day I Interviewed Michael Jackson (via little sister Janet)

Memoir by John Pidgeon, Rock's Backpages, 15 June 2009

IN JANUARY 1980, the gates of 4641 Hayvenhurst Avenue in Encino were open, unguarded. As I parked, an Alsatian bounded to the car and bared ...

Lenny Kravitz

Interview by Chris Heath, Daily Telegraph, 16 June 2009

No one nailed the rock idol act like Lenny Kravitz. Love god, guitar hero, wild thing, he lived the life — multiple women, homes and ...

The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson: Michael Jackson: Thriller was the Masterpiece that Set Tone for Pop's Next Generation

Obituary by Andy Gill, The Independent, 26 June 2009

ROUSED FROM sleep with the shocking, if not entirely surprising, news that Michael Jackson was gone, I was halfway through my bowl of cereal when ...

Michael Jackson: The Musical Appreciation

Overview by Pete Paphides, The Times, 26 June 2009

You didn't just like his music. You believed in him, whatever the distance between musical legacy and personal strife. ...

Michael Jackson: The Thriller Is Gone: Michael Jackson

Comment by Kandia Crazy Horse, Rock's Backpages, 26 June 2009

I LACK ANYTHING profound to say about the passing of Michael Jackson. ...

Michael Jackson: Child star Michael Jackson became a man with a rebel "Yeow"

Retrospective by Pete Paphides, The Times, 27 June 2009

THE FOOTAGE is grainy and has been replayed a million times, used on every programme ever made about Michael Jackson's life. ...

The Jackson 5: I Want You Black: How Jacko's debut still has the power to thrill

Memoir by Simon Warner, Rock's Backpages, 1 July 2009

OVER A LIFE-TIME, there are a number of those stop-you-in-your-tracks musical moments that seem to tattoo your soul. And, in a sense, those ear-turning songs ...

Michael Jackson: Blame it On the Good Times: The Life and Living Death of Michael Jackson

Essay by Barney Hoskyns, New Statesman, 6 July 2009

IN SEPTEMBER 1979, my friend Davitt Sigerson – then a very good white writer on black music; later the chairman of Island Records in America; ...

Michael Jackson: Michael Reinvents Pop

Retrospective by Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone, August 2009

Recorded before he turned 21, Off The Wall made him a superstar — and the most important young R&B artist in America. ...

Whitney Houston: I Look To You

Review by Lloyd Bradley, bbc.co.uk, August 2009

It's good to have her back in the spotlight for the right reasons. ...

Beyoncé, Jay-Z: Beyoncé and Jay-Z: America's other first couple

Profile and Interview by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 9 August 2009

Beyoncé and Jay-Z are black America’s second most famous couple: young, rich and with a direct line to the White House. ...

Chris Clark - US: Motown's Great White Hope: Chris Clark

Retrospective and Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 21 August 2009

CHRIS CLARK was a 17-year-old, 6-foot platinum blond when she arrived at Motown's Detroit headquarters in 1963 -- demo in hand -- to audition for ...

Irma Thomas: Time's still on her side

Interview by Bill Holdship, Detroit Metro Times, 2 September 2009

NOTE: This is the complete transcript of an interview that appeared in the paper edition of Metro Times in an abridged form. ...

Beyoncé: Bibi McGill: Beyoncé's Guitarist/Musical Director

Profile and Interview by Greg Phillips, The Music Network, October 2009

AMID A STORM of spotlights, smoke and confetti, there she stood ... the unmistakable silhouette of Beyoncé Knowles. ...

Chris Clark - US: Chris Clark

Retrospective and Interview by Don Waller, MOJO, October 2009

Motown's square-peg bombshell on cultdom, comebacks and Jimi Hendrix ...

Mariah Carey: Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel

Review by Mike Diver, bbc.co.uk, October 2009

MARIAH CAREY'S enduring success – the lead single from this twelfth studio album, the Eminem-baiting 'Obsessed', was the singer's fortieth hit on the Billboard Hot ...

Ruby Turner: The Gospel according to Ruby

Report and Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, October 2009

"THEY CAN KEEP their big record deals. Gone are the days when I'm going to be told what to do. I can go to bed ...

Michael Jackson: Vinyl Icons: Michael Jackson's Thriller

Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, October 2009

WHEN MICHAEL Jackson started recording Thriller, he must have wondered how on earth he could top the extraordinary achievements of Off The Wall, his previous ...

Corinne Bailey Rae : Corinne Bailey Rae: "It happened to me. It could happen to anyone at any time."

Profile and Interview by Sean O'Hagan, The Observer, 4 October 2009

From out of the darkest place, following the sudden death of her husband, Corinne Bailey Rae is re-emerging with an extraordinarily intimate and impassioned album. ...

Shafiq Husayn: Shafiq En'a Freeka

Review by Stevie Chick, bbc.co.uk, 5 October 2009

One-third of futurist hip hop cartel Sa-Ra Creative Partners goes solo, brilliantly. ...

JLS: 'We Became An Unshakable Force'

Report and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 29 October 2009

X Factor runners up don't usually win Mobos — but JLS were always meant for more than talent shows ...

Beyoncé: I Am… Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas (Columbia)

Review by Mike Diver, bbc.co.uk, November 2009

A greatest hits-style setlist performed with accomplished pizzazz ...

Jim Dickinson: "I'm Just Dead: I'm Not Gone"

Memoir by Bob Mehr, MOJO, November 2009

A Sun Records artist who played with Dylan, the Stones and Aretha and produced key albums by Big Star and Ry Cooder, Jim Dickinson was ...

Leona Lewis: Echo (Sony)

Review by Mike Diver, bbc.co.uk, November 2009

ONE BEGINS listening to this second album from the 2006 X Factor winner hoping its title isn't prophetic – nobody needs an echo of Lewis's ...

Obituary: Consummate Nashville record man Shelby Singleton, of Mercury and Sun

Obituary by John Broven, Now Dig This, November 2009

SHELBY SINGLETON, the consummate record man who was the most capable latter-day custodian of Sun Records, died of brain cancer in a Nashville, Tennessee hospice ...

Rihanna: Rated R

Review by Jude Rogers, bbc.co.uk, November 2009

She's transformed into a revenge-hunting, firebrand diva — and it suits her. ...

Chipmunk, Dizzee Rascal, N-Dubz, Taio Cruz, Tinchy Stryder: N-Dubz and The Second Coming of Brit Pop

Overview by Ben Thompson, Observer Music Monthly, 1 November 2009

It has been a long, rocky road for homegrown urban music in the UK, but this year N-Dubz and a close-knit group of stars have ...

Smokey Robinson: Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Review by Lloyd Bradley, bbc.co.uk, 2 November 2009

Smokey delivers exactly what you expect, but can still surprise. ...

Gil Scott-Heron: I'm New Here

Review by Jude Rogers, The Guardian, 19 November 2009

Rather than treating them like national treasures, let's hope musicians stretch their prejudices about what older artists can do ...

Rihanna: Rated R (Mercury) ***

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 27 November 2009

IN NO OTHER field of music does the autobiographical imperative wield as much power as it does in R&B. ...

Curtis Mayfield: Gangster Boogie

Retrospective and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Wax Poetics, December 2009

Curtis Mayfield injected his own cultural commentary into the Super Fly legacy ...

Lee Dorsey: The New Lee Dorsey

Sleeve notes by Tim Tooher, Rev-Ola Records, December 2009

"Lee Dorsey's voice has a smile to it. If you listen to Lee Dorsey, you can see a smile and something in you can feel ...

Alicia Keys

Interview by Angus Batey, Daily Telegraph, 22 December 2009

SHE WRITES all her own songs, can play them live and has never been seen emerging from a club looking the worse for wear. Alicia ...

Percy Sledge: Out Of Left Cotton Field: The Brokenhearted Country Soul Of Percy Sledge

Sleeve notes by Barney Hoskyns, 'The Complete Atlantic Recordings' (Rhino), 2010

PERCY SLEDGE IS as prone to romanticizing Muscle Shoals as the many music writers who rhapsodize about the area in pieces about local luminaries like ...

Percy Sledge (2010)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 2010

The late, great Percy Sledge looks back at his Alabama youth; cutting the classic 'When a Man Loves a Woman'; the great songwriters and musicians – Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham et al; and talks about his favourite singers and his love of country music.

File format: mp3; file size: 65mb, interview length: 1h 11' 01" sound quality: ** (phoner)

The Staple Singers: Be Altitude – Respect Yourself

Review by Lloyd Bradley, bbc.co.uk, 2010

One of the Stax label's greatest triumphs. ...

Eli "Paperboy" Reed: The Soul Evangelist

Profile and Interview by Lois Wilson, MOJO, January 2010

THE MOST FEROCIOUS BLUE-EYED-SOUL BELTER OF HIS GENERATION FORGED HIS EXULTANT VOCAL STYLE IN A BLACK CHURCH ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO. ELI "PAPERBOY" ...

Teena Marie (2010)

Interview by David Nathan, SoulMusic.com, January 2010

Teena picks her favourite seven tracks from her own back catalogue, and selects three by other artists that mean the most to her.

File format: mp3; file size: 72mb; Interview length: 1h 18' 39"; sound quality: ***

Willie Mitchell: R.I.P. Poppa Willie Mitchell

Comment by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 5 January 2010

EIGHTY-ONE-year old producer/trumpeter Poppa Willie Mitchell died at 7:25 a.m. today, at Methodist University Hospital. ...

Wendy And Lisa: Wendy & Lisa's impressive post-Prince parade

Comment by Simon Warner, Rock's Backpages, 8 January 2010

TWO US TELEVISION shows with little in common beyond the fact that they have made their mark on the viewing public and garnered critical warmth, ...

Mary J. Blige, Steak-Loving Soul Diva, Really "Vomited" That Precious Song

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, New York Magazine, 10 January 2010

WHILE POP DIVAS ARE often fashionably late, Mary J. Blige has already ordered her steak when I arrive for our noon lunch at Del Frisco's ...

Curtis Mayfield and the Black Rock Connection

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Bold As Love, 14 January 2010

With only a few days to go before the BRC Orchestra spends two nights performing the Civil Rights songbook of Curtis Mayfield, Michael Gonzales reflects ...

Al Green, Willie Mitchell: Sunset Serenade: Saying Goodbye to Memphis Music Legend Willie Mitchell

Obituary by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 14 January 2010

AT 7:25 A.M. ON Tuesday, January 5th, 81-year-old producer "Poppa" Willie Mitchell died at Methodist University Hospital. An entire chunk of local music history died with ...

Alicia Keys (2010)

Interview by Maureen Paton, Rock's Backpages audio, 21 January 2010

The R&B songthrush talks about her new album, The Element of Freedom; how she copes with fame; her spirituality; being a New Yorker; her family background; being blessed with love, and about her future plans in film and sound production.

File format: mp3; file size: 29.2mb, interview length: 30' 23" sound quality: ****

Teddy Pendergrass: Life Was a Song Worth Singing

Obituary by Mark Anthony Neal, PopMatters, 21 January 2010

Pendergrass' popularity lay in his performance of a masculinity that was virile and tailor-made for a cultural discourse in the '70s that had moved beyond ...

Teddy Pendergrass: Life Was a Song Worth Singing

Retrospective by Mark Anthony Neal, PopMatters, 22 January 2010

HEARING THE SOOTHING voice of the late Teddy Pendergrass singing lead on the Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes classic, 'If You Don't Know Me ...

Gil Scott-Heron: The Vulture

Book Review by Leyla Sanai, Rock's Backpages, 26 January 2010

FATHER OF hip–hop, granddaddy of rap, articulate polemicist and early pioneer of the fusion of black politics with poetry and music, Gil Scott–Heron has been ...

Gil Scott-Heron: I'm New Here

Review by Mick Middles, The Quietus, 15 February 2010

IN PRE Bill Hicks days, Scott-Heron's wit and fearless polemic powered his poetic leanings. He seemed alone, in every sense, for thinking of comparable artists ...

Ne-Yo: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 16 February 2010

IF YOU wanted a Valentine’s Day show with all the trimmings, then Ne-Yo on Sunday night was your man. There was champagne and fireworks, bunches ...

Gil Scott-Heron: An Interview

Interview by Rob Fitzpatrick, Daily Telegraph, 17 February 2010

NOTE: This is the original "director's cut" version of the piece that ran in the Daily Telegraph. ...

Valerie June, Whispering Pines: In the Whispering Pines

Report by Kandia Crazy Horse, San Francisco Bay Guardian, 25 February 2010

THIS IS THE YEAR when your scribing cowgirl returns wholly to the barn — or at least the fabled Cabin-in-the-Pines where folks used to pick, ...

Gil Scott-Heron: Back on Message: Gil Scott-Heron retools for a new generation

Interview by Alan Light, Mother Jones, March 2010

The revolution will not go better with Coke The revolution will not fight the germs that cause bad breath The revolution will put you in ...

Gil Scott-Heron

Profile and Interview by John Lewis, Hotline, April 2010

GIL SCOTT-HERON has long been a regular and popular visitor to the UK's jazz and soul venues. However, by the late 1990s, he'd become an ...

Paolo Nutini: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 11 April 2010

PAOLO NUTINI has quietly become a commercial A-lister. His second album, Sunny Side Up, made the Paisley singer-songwriter the bestselling British male artist of last ...

Grace Jones: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Pete Paphides, The Times, 28 April 2010

FOR ALL OF its high production values, perhaps the most surprising thing about this one-off show was just how little it took to derail it. ...

Usher: "The fans want my soul"

Interview by Angus Batey, The Guardian, 29 April 2010

Baring his soul is second nature to R&B superstar Usher, but although he has documented his recent divorce on a new album, he's got to ...

Millie Jackson: An Interview

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, May 2010

"LET WHITE FOLKS cross over to me..." An R&B star with a stunning voice, Millie Jackson was close to breaking into the mainstream like her ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Sly Stone: Listen To the Voices – Sly Stone In The Studio 1965-1970 (Ace)

Review by Andy Gill, The Word, May 2010

Sly Stone's pharmaceutical habits attracted an undue level of bad press, but the studio would always be a place of refuge. ...

Stevie Wonder: Mark Ribowsky: Signed, Sealed, and Delivered – The Soulful Journey of Stevie Wonder

Book Review by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 2 May 2010

His charisma is beyond doubt but, as this valiant life reveals, Stevie Wonder is on a different wavelength from everybody else. ...

Alicia Keys: O2 Arena, London

Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 26 May 2010

HOOKING UP with Jay-Z for 'Empire State of Mind' has elevated Alicia Keys to a level of stardom where it will no longer do to ...

Christina Aguilera: Bi-On-Ic

Review by Ian Gittins, Virgin Media Music, June 2010

CHRISTINA AGUILERA'S first album in four years finds the former golden girl of US pop re-emerging into a musical world where Lady GaGa has set ...

Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick: Déjà Vu: The Unstoppable Dionne Warwick

Retrospective and Interview by Kirk Silsbee, Arroyo Monthly, June 2010

You could be a good singer from now 'til hell and back and if you haven't got material, you're just standing there with your mouth ...

Drake: Thank Me Later

Review by Paul Lester, bbc.co.uk, June 2010

DRAKE IS THE Vampire Weekend of rap – he ticks all the wrong boxes, especially for a milieu that privileges poverty and strife. ...

Me'Shell Ndegeocello: Meshell Ndegeocello

Profile and Interview by John Lewis, Hotline, June 2010

Meshell Ndegeocello talks to John Lewis about the Rolling Stones, the Devil and Christopher Hitchens. ...

Steve Cropper: Rock Climbing: Steve Cropper

Retrospective by Jon Stewart, Guitarist, June 2010

GUITARIST, A&R MAN, engineer, producer, songwriter, promoter and founder member of Booker T & the MGs, Steve Cropper’s playing defines southern soul music.  Cropper listened to ...

Swamp Dogg and the Revelations: City Winery, NYC

Live Review by Andy Schwartz, Rock's Backpages, 4 June 2010

IT WAS EARLY May, the gig was two weeks away, and things weren't looking good for the star of the show, Jerry Williams Jr. a/k/a ...

The Roots: How I Got Over (Mercury/Def Jam)

Review by John Lewis, Metro, 27 June 2010

PHILADELPHIA'S ROOTS aren't really like any other hip hop acts. They're a proper live band, for starters (you might have seen them guesting as the ...

Barry White: Big Love

Retrospective and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Wax Poetics, July 2010

Barry White's unlimited passion took him to the heights of music ...

D'Angelo: In the Raw

Retrospective and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Wax Poetics, July 2010

D'Angelo's organic sweet soul shook up modern R&B ...

Al Green, Ozzy Osbourne: Ozzy Osbourne: Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone/Al Green: The O2, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 4 July 2010

Faint shades of Sabbath in Ozzy's addled brain — Considering all he's been through, Osbourne makes a decent job of resurrecting the old hits ...

Janelle Monáe: The ArchAndroid

Preview by Pete Paphides, The Times, 9 July 2010

Another girl, another planet, another experience ...

Plan B on overcoming his anger

Interview by Pete Paphides, The Times, 17 July 2010

His hit 'She Said' is the song of the year so far, and half a million people have bought his critically acclaimed album. But if ...

Janelle Monáe: Sister From Another Planet

Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 26 August 2010

Inspired by sci-fi novels and Afro-futurists, Janelle Monáe is a cyber diva taking R&B into far-out places. Dorian Lynskey meets the most compelling new character ...

Sam Cooke: Soul and Inspiration

Retrospective by Lenny Kaye, Wondering Sound, 31 August 2010

Possessed of a purity of voice and an unerring sense of pop metaphysics, the incomparable Sam Cooke was a singer of soul and inspiration who ...

Kelis

Interview by Ian Gittins, Wonderland, September 2010

THE SINGER ON BALANCING MUSIC, MOTHERHOOD, CLUBBING AND COOKING ...

Janelle Monáe: A New Pioneer Of Afrofuturism

Comment by John Calvert, The Quietus, 2 September 2010

Against a pop climate beset by fraudulent marketing plans on two shiny legs, John Calvert argues that Janelle Monáe brandishes the acetylene torch for radical ...

John Legend, The Roots: John Legend and the Roots: Wake Up!

Review by Lloyd Bradley, bbc.co.uk, 21 September 2010

A masterclass in how to respectfully update and enhance classic music. ...

P.P. Arnold (2010)

Interview by David Nathan, SoulMusic.com, 26 September 2010

From Ike & Tina Turner to Roger Waters, via Immediate Records, 'The First Cut Is The Deepest, jammin' with Jimi, theatrical work, and putting the soul into late-'80s Brit dance music: the fantastic P.P. Arnold reveals all.

File format: mp3; file size: 89.4mb, interview length: 1h 33' 05" sound quality: ***

El DeBarge (2010)

Interview by David Nathan, SoulMusic.com, 29 September 2010

El DeBarge on the post-prison come-back trail with Second Chance album, talking about where he's at today(ish – he's fallen off the wagon again since this was taped), and recording with Jam & Lewis et al.

File format: mp3; file size: 23.1mb, interview length: 25' 15" sound quality: ** (phoner)

CeeLo Green: Cee Lo Green: "I'd do a lot more damage if I could"

Interview by Angus Batey, The Guardian, 30 September 2010

There aren't many musicians who would consider releasing an expletive-laden viral hit to be selling out in some way. Angus Batey meets the remarkable pop-soulster ...

Ray Lamontagne & the Pariah Dogs: God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise

Review and Interview by Graeme Thomson, Uncut, October 2010

Impassioned, old-fashioned soul-blues, and all the better for it, says Graeme Thomson. ...

Solomon Burke: Brother Solomon Burke

Obituary by Peter Stone Brown, CounterPunch, 11 October 2010

THE ROLLING STONES introduced me to Solomon Burke when they covered his classic, 'Everybody Needs Somebody To Love', on their third album, released in the ...

Faith Evans, Soul-Singing Widow of Biggie Smalls, Misses Kum Kau Kitchen

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, New York Magazine, 17 October 2010

FAITH EVANS, the soul singer once married to rapper Biggie Smalls (who was shot in 1997; she has since remarried), recently launched her sixth studio ...

John Legend, The Roots: John Legend and the Roots: Hearts, Minds and Soul

Report and Interview by Angus Batey, The Guardian, 19 October 2010

John Legend and the Roots' album of '60s and '70s protest songs is no mere history lesson – it's an open letter to a divided ...

Simply Red: Let The Red Flag Fly: In Defence of Picture Book

Retrospective by Wyndham Wallace, The Quietus, 27 October 2010

The Quietus battens down the hatches and prepares for a storm as Wyndham Wallace risks all to defend Simply Red's debut album, Picture Book, on ...

N.E.R.D.: N*E*R*D: Nothing

Review by Mike Diver, bbc.co.uk, November 2010

Album four from Pharrell and company features its share of dancefloor fillers. ...

Reg King obituary

Obituary by Pat Long, The Guardian, 7 November 2010

Accomplished soul singer and frontman of mod band the Action ...

Janet Jackson: 'I Eat To Fill The Void'

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Daily Telegraph, 22 November 2010

With an Oscar-tipped role in Tyler Perry's new film and a handsome young billionaire in her life, Janet Jackson is, finally, 'in a good place'. ...

Janelle Monáe: Postbahnhof, Berlin — Not The Archandroid We're Looking For

Live Review by Wyndham Wallace, The Quietus, 17 December 2010

Janelle Monáe's got it all, so why do we need any more? Wyndham Wallace reports from her recent Berlin show… ...

N.E.R.D., Pharrell Williams: Pharrell Williams: Neptune Rising

Report and Interview by Ian Gittins, Man About Town, Winter 2010

PHARRELL Vs THE FASHIONISTAS ...

The Tymes: So Much In Love (Real Gone Music)

Sleeve notes by Gene Sculatti, Real Gone Music, 2011

IT SEEMS only appropriate that this noteworthy debut be discussed in the context of several other "firsts" associated with the Tymes. This package represents the ...

CeeLo Green: Cee-Lo Green: The Lady Killer

Review by Dorian Lynskey, Q, January 2011

Liked the single? You're going to love the album. ...

Mavis Staples Is for the Children

Report and Interview by Amy Linden, The Village Voice, 12 January 2011

MAVIS STAPLES digs her some younger men, but she'd rather lead them to the studio than the bedroom. "I think it really makes for a ...

Michael Jackson: Michael

Review by Dorian Lynskey, The Word, February 2011

The splintered psychology of Jacko is laid bare in a "final" album, recorded over 25 years and finished after his death. ...

Randy Newman, Nina Simone: Nina Simone's 'Baltimore'

Retrospective by Jim Irvin, The Word, February 2011

WHEN RANDY NEWMAN'S Little Criminals was released late in 1977, ending a three-year drought for the irony tsar of Tin Pan Alley, critics queued up ...

Obituary: Bobby Robinson, Harlem record man

Obituary by John Broven, Now Dig This, February 2011

MORGAN CLYDE "Bobby" Robinson, the longtime Harlem record man and record shop owner, died on January 7, 2011, at the grand age of 93 while ...

Sam Cooke: Portrait Of A Legend 1951-1964 (ABKCO Records)

Review by Gary Pig Gold, Rock's Backpages, February 2011

MOST EVERY single time the 20th century's greatest singer-songwriters find themselves getting lionized or even litanized, it seems one towering figure is strangely, sorrowfully AWOL. ...

Tim Brown: The Wigan Casino Years (Outta Sight)

Book Review by Mike Atherton, Echoes, February 2011

THE TITLE of this striking new book is carefully chosen. Of course there was Northern Soul before the Wigan Casino and, almost 30 years after ...

Boz Scaggs: Your Mom Loved Him... And Still Does

Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 16 February 2011

THESE DAYS, it's good to be the Wizard of Boz. In recent times, Boz Scaggs has been recording and touring as he pleases, including a ...

Sharon Jones

Interview by Bill DeYoung, Connect Savannah, March 2011

THE FIRST show to sell out at the 2011 Savannah Music Festival was the March 24 performance by the R&B powerhouse Sharon Jones & the ...

The Weeknd: House of Balloons

Review by Mike Diver, bbc.co.uk, March 2011

A startling debut from a young Canadian RnB artist with huge potential. ...

Jennifer Holliday (2011)

Interview by David Nathan, SoulMusic.com, 2 March 2011

The Dream Girls star on her relocation to Atlanta, AIDS awareness, the reissue of her I'm On Your Side album and her breakthrough single, 'And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going'.

File format: mp3; file size: 58.7mb, interview length: 1h 04' 04" sound quality: * (phoner)

Kenny Gamble: "Philadelphia was the party with a tormented soul"

Profile and Interview by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 3 March 2011

Philly Soul's sweet sound hid masked warnings about growing chasms in 1970s American society ...

Harlem Knight: Bobby Robinson's Last Rites

Obituary by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, 23 March 2011

BOBBY ROBINSON, who died January 7, 2011, was one of the unsung pioneers of the 20th century American record industry. ...

Loleatta Holloway, 1946-2011

Obituary by Dave Laing, The Guardian, 24 March 2011

Her voice made 'Ride on Time' a smash hit in 1989 ...

Raphael Saadiq: Stone Rollin'

Review by Lloyd Bradley, bbc.co.uk, 25 March 2011

Vintage touches and modern twists combine on an irrepressible soul record. ...

Cee Lo Green: Southern Comfort: Cee Lo Green Arrives To Charm His British Fans

Report and Interview by Gavin Martin, Daily Mirror, 25 March 2011

ON THE HEATED terrace of his London hotel, Cee Lo Green, the extra-large sized tattooed love god and Lady Killer extraordinaire is in his element. ...

Nashville Cats: David Briggs Reflects at the Country Music Hall of Fame

Report by Holly Gleason, No Depression, 26 March 2011

Nashville Cats: David Briggs at Ford Theatre, Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville, TN ...

Smokey Robinson: My Date With Smokey

Interview by Jon Wilde, Sabotage Times, 27 March 2011

On his 70th birthday, William "Smokey" Robinson grants exclusive access to Jon Wilde to talk cocaine, the roots of Motown and why the Stones still ...

Cee Lo Green: Academy, Manchester

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 29 March 2011

SHOWMANSHIP was top of the bill when Cee Lo Green brought his first full British solo tour to Manchester. Born Thomas DeCarlo Callaway, the super-sized ...

Dusty Springfield: Southern Harmony

Retrospective and Interview by Lois Wilson, MOJO, April 2011

She was one of the greatest vocalists of all time at the height of her powers but for Dusty Springfield the making of Dusty in ...

The Rebirth Brass Band: Rebirth of New Orleans

Review by Carol Cooper, The Village Voice, 20 April 2011

DURING THE FIRST episode of HBO's Treme, members of the Rebirth Brass Band and the show's trombone-playing character Antoine Batiste end a jazz parade in ...

Bootsy Collins: King of the funk bass is back with a solo album

Report and Interview by Gavin Martin, Daily Mirror, 22 April 2011

LOUNGING IN A London hotel suite dedicated to the memory of his childhood hero Jimi Hendrix, Bootsy Collins grins to reveal a gold incisor implant. ...

R Kelly: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 25 April 2011

IT HAS been more than a decade since R Kelly, the self-proclaimed King of R&B, last passed through London – time enough for his original ...

Gil Scott-Heron: 1949-2011

Obituary by James Maycock, The Independent, May 2011

GIL SCOTT-HERON lived a life of two distinct, very different halves – as dissimilar as night and day. Up to his mid-30s, Scott-Heron was a ...

Booker T. Jones: The Road From Memphis

Review by Lloyd Bradley, bbc.co.uk, 9 May 2011

It might lack surprises, but this is solid, high-quality Booker T. fare. ...

Sade: The Ultimate Collection

Review by Lloyd Bradley, bbc.co.uk, 9 May 2011

The uniquely British band is rightly celebrated on this fine collection. ...

Cornell Dupree obituary

Obituary by Richard Williams, The Guardian, 23 May 2011

FOR A TIME in the mid-1960s, the band of the great rhythm and blues tenor saxophonist King Curtis contained two guitarists. The first, Jimi Hendrix, ...

Alicia Keys Q&A

Interview by Alan Light, W, June 2011

WHAT'S THE first thing you think of when you think back ten years to the days of Songs in A Minor? The first thing I think ...

Gil Scott-Heron: Growing Up With Gil Scott-Heron: In Loving Memory

Memoir by Danny Goldberg, AlterNet, 11 June 2011

GIL SCOTT-HERON'S death last week at the age of 62 stimulated a wave of appreciation from critics and the jazz and hip hop communities who ...

Beyoncé Is Too Good For Glastonbury

Comment by Ben Thompson, Daily Telegraph, 17 June 2011

Glastonbury's complacent Pyramid Stage crowd just doesn't deserve the great Beyoncé ...

Concha Buika, Les Nubians: More Than Words: Going Polyglot With Concha Buika and Les Nubians

Retrospective by Carol Cooper, The Village Voice, 20 June 2011

IN THE '60s and '70s danceable jazz-pop in foreign languages made American radio more exciting: Jorge Ben's 'Mas Que Nada' charted when recorded by Sergio ...

Beyoncé: 4 (Columbia) **

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 24 June 2011

THERE COMES a certain point in mass pop culture when it ceases being primarily about the music and simply becomes a matter of numbers, whether ...

Jill Scott: "My new album was almost completely improvised in the studio"

Report and Interview by John Lewis, Metro, 26 June 2011

Jill Scott talks to Metro about playing Precious Ramotswe in The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency and how she improvised her latest album, The Light of ...

Alicia Keys: Songs in A Minor – Collector's Edition

Review by Lloyd Bradley, bbc.co.uk, 28 June 2011

Expanded 10th anniversary edition of a modern soul classic ...

Beyoncé: 4

Review by Holly Gleason, Paste, 30 June 2011

WHEN YOU'RE BEYONCÉ KNOWLES, machining the sheets of throbbing summer singles — muscular anthems that merge thick modern R&B, hip-hop-inflected beats and enough female-empowerment lyric ...

Gil Scott-Heron: Poet, Writer, Singer, Rapper, Pianist, Visionary

Obituary by Daryl Easlea, Record Collector, July 2011

(born April 1, 1949 in Chicago; Died New York City 27th May 2011) ...

Benny Spellman: New Orleans R&B stalwart Benny Spellman

Obituary by John Broven, Now Dig This, July 2011

BENNY SPELLMAN, the New Orleans R&B singer, died of respiratory failure on June 3, 2011, in Pensacola, Fla., at the age of 79. He was ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Charles Farley: Soul of the Man – Bobby "Blue" Bland

Book Review by Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph, 22 July 2011

I HAVE TWO REASONS to vividly remember the first occasion I saw Bobby "Blue" Bland perform in a Los Angeles nightclub 35 years ago. ...

Jerry Ragovoy: Old Music for New People: A Tribute to Jerry Ragovoy

Memoir by Al Kooper, The Morton Report, 22 July 2011

MY DEAR FRIEND Jerry Ragovoy, legendary songwriter, producer, and arranger, passed away on July 13 of complications from a stroke. ...

Amy Winehouse: A Rock Star Dead Again at 27

Comment by Wayne Robins, Rock's Backpages, 23 July 2011

THE OTHER DAY I was listening to Amy Winehouse sing "You Know I'm No Good" on WFUV, and thought about how authentic she sounded. Not ...

Joss Stone: LP1

Review by Holly Gleason, Paste, 25 July 2011

SOUL CHILD JOSS STONE grew up going toe-to-toe and holding her own with some of classic R&B's finest, and that old soul presence made for ...

Chic: Raymond Jones, 1958-2011

Obituary by Daryl Easlea, Record Collector, August 2011

ALTHOUGH A NAME that doesn't readily trip off the tongue, most of RC's readers have danced at some point or another to the understated beauty ...

The Weeknd: Thursday

Review by Mike Diver, bbc.co.uk, August 2011

EARLIER THIS YEAR, Canadian singer The Weeknd (aka Abel Tesfay) became a net sensation when his House of Balloons mixtape attracted the support of rapper ...

Gene McDaniels obituary

Obituary by Richard Williams, The Guardian, 15 August 2011

GENE MCDANIELS, the American singer and songwriter, who has died aged 76, began and ended his career as the smoothest of vocal stylists. His hits ...

Ashford & Simpson: Nick Ashford, 1941-2011

Obituary by Dave Laing, The Guardian, 23 August 2011

Singer and songwriter who had a string of hits with his wife, Valerie Simpson, during Motown's heyday. ...

Nina Simone: Between the Keys

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Wax Poetics, September 2011

"White people had Judy Garland. We had Nina." — Richard Pryor ...

The Dixie Cups, Jean Knight, Leiber and Stoller, The Neville Brothers, Robert Parker, Robbie Robertson: Wardell Quezergue, 1930-2011

Obituary by Richard Williams, The Guardian, 14 September 2011

Distinguished and subtle New Orleans arranger and musician ...

Grace Jones: Hurricane

Review by Steven R Rosen, Blurt, 20 September 2011

ODD THAT TWO icons of dance music, Pet Shop Boys and Grace Jones, both had to wait years to get strong British albums released this ...

Lee Dorsey, Allen Toussaint: Lee Dorsey: The Star in Greasy Overalls

Retrospective by Gavin Martin, Record Collector, October 2011

IT'S 1980; six years before Lee Dorsey's unexpected death, but his recording career is already over. What will prove to be his last album, Night ...

James Brown: Behold the Human Hurricane: Grammy Museum exhibit proves why James Brown was the Hardest Working Man in Show Business

Report by Kirk Silsbee, Los Angeles Downtown News, 17 October 2011

JAMES BROWN HAD a signature piece of stagecraft that he honed over the years, beginning in the 1950s when he worked his way up through ...

Bettye LaVette: One Difference Between Bettye LaVette and Susan Boyle

Profile and Interview by Steven R Rosen, Cincinnati CityBeat, 19 October 2011

BETTYE LAVETTE'S late-career success story is one of the music business' most remarkable. The powerful 65-year-old R&B singer/stylist first recorded in 1962 — 'My Man ...

The Chitlin' Circuit: Celebrating a Secret History of American Music

Book Review by John Morthland, Wondering Sound, 1 November 2011

FOR YEARS, the Chitlin' Circuit — the network of mostly-Southern, mostly-rural clubs where black artists performed from the 1930s into the '60s — has been ...

Me'Shell Ndegeocello: Meshell Ndegeocello: Weather

Review by Carol Cooper, The Village Voice, 15 November 2011

'WEATHER' ISN'T the first Meshell Ndegeocello single to fall into the category of "freak folk," but the album of the same name is her first ...

Mary J. Blige: My Life II… The Journey Continues (Act I)

Review by Lloyd Bradley, bbc.co.uk, 21 November 2011

Blige's most enjoyable, exciting and consistent album in years ...

Rihanna: Talk That Talk

Review by Iman Lababedi, Rock NYC, 21 November 2011

RATED R FOUND THE Barbadian well pissed at Chris Brown and out for revenge to disappointing results. Loud seemed to find the middle ground behind the bucolic Rated ...

Jill Scott: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 1 December 2011

"I HAD AN album out this year," Jill Scott informs a chokingly full Brixton Academy. The congratulatory bellows have hardly faded before she tartly adds: ...

Dobie Gray, 1940-2011

Obituary by Richard Williams, The Guardian, 11 December 2011

American singer and songwriter held in special affection by Northern Soul fans ...

Simply Red: Here's to Mick Hucknall's amazing voice

Memoir by John Harris, The Guardian, 21 December 2011

Admitting I liked Simply Red didn't fit with the NME's Maoist indie conspiracy, but Hucknall's repertoire is studded with triumphs ...

Dave Stewart, Joss Stone: Joss Stone: Hey Soul Sister

Interview by Scott McLennan, Rip It Up (Australia), Summer 2011

THE TWO MEN apprehended for a kidnap attempt on soul singer Joss Stone a few months back might have underestimated their proposed victim. Not only ...

Deniece Williams: My Melody

Review by Daryl Easlea, bbc.co.uk, 2012

Williams shapes up for the '80s with this timeless album. ...

Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Review by Lloyd Bradley, bbc.co.uk, 2012

Hill’s multi-award-winning debut became part of the mainstream on its own terms. ...

Lewis Taylor: Lewis Taylor

Review by Daryl Easlea, bbc.co.uk, 2012

The strange and beguiling debut from one of UK soul's most fascinating artists. ...

Patrice Rushen: Now

Review by Daryl Easlea, bbc.co.uk, 2012

An accomplished album rising far above its '80s production values. ...

Various Artists: For Northern Soul Collectors Volume 1 (EMI)

Review by Mike Atherton, Echoes, 2012

OVER THE YEARS, the mighty EMI company has come to control many American catalogues, from giants like Capitol, Liberty and United Artists to smaller and ...

William DeVaughn: Figures Can't Calculate

Review by Daryl Easlea, bbc.co.uk, 2012

The second, and best, of DeVaughn's three albums. ...

D'Angelo: On D'Angelo and the Birth of Neo-Soul

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 14 January 2012

SOULCHILD, LEGEND, BADU, EVEN SCOTT (AS IN JILL) SHOULD THANK THEIR LUCKY STARS FOR THIS CAT ...

The Jimmy Castor Bunch: Remembering The Everything Man: A Jimmy Castor Interview

Retrospective and Interview by Angus Batey, The Quietus, 20 January 2012

Angus Batey pays tribute to the late Jimmy Castor, and we publish an extract from an extensive interview the journalist conducted with Castor over a ...

Etta James, R.I.P.

Retrospective by Carol Cooper, The Village Voice, 23 January 2012

ETTA JAMES used to tell a story about meeting Billie Holiday in which Holiday told her — fatherless wild child to fatherless wild child — ...

Boyz II Men: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian Unlimited, 29 January 2012

"I'VE NEVER HAD to say this to a crowd before," says Shawn Stockman, the tenor who puts a great deal of the quivering oomph into ...

TLC's Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip

Retrospective and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Juicy, February 2012

Before they were a crazy, sexy, cool multi-platinum-selling girl group, TLC was three young women from Atlanta out to prove that their debut album, Ooooooohhh...On ...

Emeli Sandé: Our Version of Events

Review by Ian Gittins, Virgin Media Music, 13 February 2012

SHE IS SET to be one of the pop faces of 2012 but Emeli Sandé is not yet the finished article. This doesn't mean she ...

Whitney Houston

Obituary by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 13 February 2012

Superstar singer credited as the first 'pop diva', whose compelling talent was lost to drug addiction ...

Labrinth: Jazz Cafe, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 15 February 2012

POP STARS become producers, but producers rarely become pop stars. Mark Ronson, for one, has unintentionally demonstrated the pitfalls awaiting studio wizards who step from ...

Etta James 1938-2012

Obituary by David Hepworth, The Word, March 2012

JOHNNY OTIS was relaxing in his San Francisco hotel room one afternoon in 1954 when his manager called from the lobby and said he was ...

Sharon Jones: Make A Date: Sharon Jones

Report and Interview by John Lewis, Metro, 1 March 2012

Sharon Jones of the Dap Kings is enjoying the life of the late-flowering soul diva. ...

Keyshia Cole, Linda Jones: Bodies in Pain: The Redemptive Soul of Linda Jones and Keyshia Cole

Essay by Mark Anthony Neal, New Black Magazine, 8 March 2012

"The young lady who is the absolute personification of soul itself" – MC, January 1970 ...

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All: The OF Tape Vol. 2

Review by Paul Lester, bbc.co.uk, 20 March 2012

'Post-fame' follow-up to notorious rap crew's 2008 online-only debut.  ...

HAIM: New Band of the Week: HAIM

Profile by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 23 March 2012

A band featuring three sisters, who combine the wafty whimsy of folk with R&B beats. It shouldn't really work. It does  ...

THEESatisfaction: Queens Of The Stoned Age: THEESatisfaction Interviewed

Interview by Stevie Chick, The Quietus, 29 March 2012

Seattle-based "Empresses of Time" THEESatisfaction have just followed up a string of remarkable self-released records with their debut for Sub Pop. The duo tell Stevie ...

Nicki Minaj: Pink Friday – Roman Reloaded

Review by Kate Allen, idolmag.co.uk, April 2012

Tenacious, amusing and, above all, "the best — make no mistake, with Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, Nicki Minaj is here to reaffirm her rap territory ...

Whitney Houston, 1963-2012

Obituary by David Hepworth, The Word, April 2012

IN SEPTEMBER 2009, Whitney Houston performed in Central Park for the TV show Good Morning America. ...

Alabama Shakes: Boys & Girls

Review by Martin Aston, bbc.co.uk, 10 April 2012

This Alabama outfit might be the feel-good hit of the summer festival circuit. ...

Martina Topley-Bird, Tricky: Tricky

Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 18 April 2012

Seventeen years ago, Maxinquaye made Tricky an unlikely pop star, and made him angry and unhappy. Now, though, he and Martina Topley-Bird are ready to ...

Cypress Hill, D'Angelo, The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop (Doggy) Dogg, Tricky: Blunted On Reality: A Journalist Recalls Smoking With Snoop Dogg, Biggie, Cypress Hill & More

Memoir by Michael A. Gonzales, Complex, 20 April 2012

"Most marijuana smokers are Negroes, Hispanics, jazz musicians, and entertainers, Their satanic music is driven by marijuana."— Harry J. Anslinger, America's First Drug Czar ...

Norah Jones: 10 Questions for Norah Jones

Interview by Graeme Thomson, The Arts Desk, 26 April 2012

NORAH JONES is back. New haircut, new sound, new producer. The first of these, while very nice, needn't concern us too much. The second, meanwhile, ...

Bonnie Raitt: Slipstream

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, The Word, May 2012

AFTER SEVEN YEARS OFF THE RADAR, Bonnie Raitt takes on a set of sophisticated, often contemporary covers — and wins. ...

Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers: Chuck Brown And The Out-Of-Air Go-Go Experience

Comment by Don Snowden, Rock's Backpages, May 2012

THE ONLY TIME I saw Chuck Brown live made a deep, deep, indelible impression on me in an altogether unexpected way. ...

Booker T & The MGs: Duck Dunn and the Stax Attack

Comment by Don Snowden, Rock's Backpages, 15 May 2012

DUCK DUNN was one of the lucky ones – he had a name right from the start. ...

Donna Summer: 
Last Dance... and Gone

Memoir by Holly Gleason, Rock's Backpages, 17 May 2012

IN THAT FLOOD of ebony hair, there was always that one gardenia. Floating on top of the satiny waves of almost-porn star mane, it spoke ...

Aretha Franklin, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Dinah Washington: Blue-Singing Gospel Girls: Aretha and her Forebears

Book Excerpt by Anthony Heilbut, 'The Fan Who Knew Too Much' (Knopf), June 2012

AMONG THE SEVERAL MYTHS Aretha's father Reverend C. L. Franklin incarnated was a familiar type, Reverend Eatemup, the man with pastoral appetites in food and ...

Bobby Womack: The Bravest Man In The Universe

Review by Wyndham Wallace, bbc.co.uk, June 2012

THEY'RE CALLING IT a masterpiece. That's the way when these beloved legends come in from the cold: so welcome is their return that weaknesses are ...

Neneh Cherry: "I feel like I've woken up"

Interview by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 6 June 2012

Singer Neneh Cherry, who releases her first album in 16 years later this month, feels like she has woken up from a weird sleep, she ...

Chic, Friendly Fires, Grace Jones, Kelis, Lana Del Rey, Stooshe: Kelis, Grace Jones, Lana Del Rey, Chic, Friendly Fires et al: Lovebox Festival, Victoria Park, London

Live Review by Jude Rogers, The Guardian, 18 June 2012

...

Nicki Minaj: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Ben Thompson, Seven, 29 June 2012

THERE ARE two contrasting sides to rapper Nicki Minaj's musical identity — both were fighting for attention at the Hammersmith Apollo. ...

Donna Summer, 1948-2012

Obituary by David Hepworth, The Word, July 2012

AT A TIME when pop music seems to be dominated by solo female artists, it's hard to imagine that they were once a relative rarity. ...

Frank Ocean: The Future's Bright: Frank Ocean's Channel Orange Track-by-Track

Review by John Calvert, The Quietus, 3 July 2012

John Calvert heads along to a London studio for a first listen to the forthcoming album (much anticipated round these parts) from Frank Ocean ...

The Roots, Betty Wright: Betty Wright & The Roots: Betty Wright – The Movie (S-Curve)

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 7 July 2012

All the Wright moves as a soul star revisits her roots. ...

Joss Stone: The Soul Sessions Vol 2

Review by John Aizlewood, bbc.co.uk, 13 July 2012

Stone returns to her covers comfort zone, with excellent results. Joss Stone was only 16 years old when she debuted with The Soul Sessions in 2003. ...

Dennis Coffey, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Del Shannon, Edwin Starr, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder: Bob Babbitt, 1937-2012

Obituary by Dave Laing, The Guardian, 18 July 2012

One of the last surviving members of the Funk Brothers, the backbone of Tamla Motown ...

Gotye, Kimbra, Janelle Monáe: Right on the Monáe: Janelle Monáe, Gotye, Kimbra

Report by Kate Mossman, New Statesman, 18 July 2012

THE FIRST RULE for writers – apply seat of pants to chair – works for musicians, too. Thirty years ago, the hairbrush and the bedroom mirror ...

Plan B: 100 Club, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 31 July 2012

PLAN B'S THIRD album, Ill Manors, went straight into the album chart at No. 1 this week, despite being a spectacular musical contrast to the ...

Larry Graham, Prince, Sly & the Family Stone: Larry Graham: Soul Secrets of a Family Man

Interview by Paul Sexton, Daily Telegraph, 30 August 2012

The co-founder of funk pioneers Sly and the Family Stone Larry Graham tells Paul Sexton of stardom, survival, and his new group Graham Central Station. ...

Bettye LaVette: Betty LaVette: Thankful N' Thoughtful

Review by Lloyd Bradley, bbc.co.uk, 1 October 2012

Possibly the best set of songs she's ever recorded. ...

Lionel Richie: LG Arena, Birmingham

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 28 October 2012

BIRMINGHAM IS Lionel Richie's idea of a party town. We know this because the veteran crooner repeatedly stressed his fondness for Britain's second city during ...

Terry Callier

Obituary by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 30 October 2012

FROM HIS BEGINNINGS in jazz, folk and soul music onwards, the singer and guitarist Terry Callier, who has died aged 67 after suffering from throat ...

Cody ChesnuTT: Landing On A Hundred

Review by Wyndham Wallace, bbc.co.uk, November 2012

IF YOU'RE OF the opinion that soul music in the 21st Century lacks the authenticity of its golden late 1960s/early 1970s period, then Cody ChesnuTT's ...

Santigold: New Gold Dream

Interview by Scott McLennan, Rip It Up (Australia), November 2012

If Santi "Santigold" White's strong and independent voice on her two studio albums Santogold and Master Of My Make-Believe hadn't already marked out the performer ...

The Weeknd: Trilogy

Review by Mike Diver, bbc.co.uk, November 2012

"YOU DON'T KNOW, what's in store." The opening line on this major-label compilation from Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, isn't entirely accurate. Trilogy does feature ...

Kudos To Morgan Khan

Retrospective by Greg Wilson, electrofunkroots.co.uk, 9 November 2012

DURING THE 1980s Morgan Khan was viewed as a "dance music mogul", a true instigator who enriched British culture via his unyielding efforts, driven by "an ...

Michael Jackson: The Boy in the Bubble

Retrospective by Kate Mossman, New Statesman, 14 November 2012

Released 30 years ago, Michael Jackson's album Thriller was the beginning of his assault on the white pop world. It's so dazzling it makes you ...

Rihanna: A Sorry State — Pop Marketing & Rihanna's Unapologetic

Comment by Jude Rogers, The Quietus, 20 November 2012

Provocation for Profit? Assault as a Marketing Accessory? Why the Rihanna PR Machine show sad signs of our times ...

Bobby Womack: The Soundtrack of My Life

Interview by Jude Rogers, The Observer, 25 November 2012

BOBBY WOMACK'S career began in his teens in Cleveland, Ohio, when Sam Cooke mentored his family band, the Valentinos. In 1964 he wrote 'It's All ...

Bobby Womack: Forum, London

Live Review by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 26 November 2012

YOU WAIT YEARS for a Bobby Womack show, and two turn up at once. Unfortunately, that is not as good as it sounds. The 68-year-old ...

Seal: Apollo, Manchester

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 10 December 2012

"C'MON," says Seal, holding back the first verse of his signature tune 'Killer' until the audience is clapping from front row to back. Then he leaps ...

Bettye LaVette: Jazz Café, London

Live Review by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 12 December 2012

"WE HAVE just finished the 8-year Who the Hell Is She? Tour," Bettye LaVette jokes, with a smile which could be the definition of rueful. ...

Fontella Bass, 1940-2012

Obituary by Dave Laing, The Guardian, 28 December 2012

Soul and gospel singer who had a top 10 hit with 'Rescue Me' ...

Laura Mvula: Ones to watch in 2013: Laura Mvula

Interview by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 31 December 2012

Her soulful vocals and florid soundscapes have helped this 26-year-old invent a new musical genre – gospeldelia ...

Jennifer Lopez: Superstar of the Caspian

Report and Interview by John Lewis, Baku, Winter 2012

Jennifer Lopez brought her spectacular show to Baku recently and talked to Baku in her trailer afterwards about glitz, glamour and hype. ...

Rihanna: Anatomy Of A Pop Goddess

Profile by John Lewis, Populous, Spring 2012

ROBYN RIHANNA Fenty has only just turned 24 but has already established herself as one of the biggest international stars of the 21st century. Of ...

Alabama Shakes: Shakin' All Over: Alabama Shakes

Profile and Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, Summer 2012

They've already created more buzz than a swarm of angry bees and, good news, they're returning to the UK later this year. Brittany Howard of ...

Funkadelic: One Nation Under a Groove

Review by Daryl Easlea, bbc.co.uk, 2013

So high you can't still get over it. ...

Gwen Guthrie: Portrait (1983)

Review by Daryl Easlea, bbc.co.uk, 2013

A superior selection of dub-infused disco from one of soul's most underrated talents. ...

Larry Williams: That Larry Williams (Real Gone Music)

Sleeve notes by Gene Sculatti, Real Gone Music, 2013

IT'S NOT JUST because he has such a common name. A quick Google search turns up a Larry Williams who's "an American author and commodity ...

Various Artists: Behind Closed Doors (Kent)

Review by Mike Atherton, Echoes, 2013

AARON NEVILLE is a remarkable bloke. Muscular and tattooed, he looks like a bodybuilder or a bouncer, until he opens his mouth and sings: the ...

Alicia Keys: Girl On Fire

Review by Johnny Sharp, MOJO, January 2013

The first lady of noughties soul gets risky. ...

Terry Callier, 1945-2012

Obituary by Lois Wilson, MOJO, January 2013

The inspirational folk-jazz-soul singer songwriter died last month. Lois Wilson salutes him. ...

Solange: XOYO, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 20 January 2013

Little Sister Solange Is Doing It For Herself Solange suggests there is more than one musical genius in the Knowles family ...

Matthew E. White: Lexington, London

Live Review by Stevie Chick, The Guardian, 24 January 2013

"THIS ONE'S a groover," smiles a hirsute, check-shirted Matthew E White, looking like the Kings of Leon's friendly stoner cousin as he leads his five-piece ...

Aaron Neville

Interview by Michael Simmons, MOJO, February 2013

Shooting up with Ray Charles, blown away by Katrina, the voice of New Orleans has seen tough times. Now Keith Richards is reaching out. "I ...

Etta James

Retrospective by Lois Wilson, MOJO, February 2013

Abandoned as a child, addicted as an adult, Etta James lived a life punctuated by self-destruction and "wrong-headed men". Then came redemption. As the first ...

Laura Mvula: The Voice

Interview by Tom Doyle, MOJO, February 2013

Laura Mvula is gospel-raised, classically trained and obsessed with The Beach Boys. "I'm quite a melancholic soul," she tells Tom Doyle. ...

Cecil Womack, 1947-2013

Obituary by John Lewis, The Guardian, 5 February 2013

CECIL WOMACK, who has died aged 65, saw his role as one of R&B's backroom boys — a songwriter, producer, arranger and session singer for ...

Alicia Keys: The New Priestess Of Soul

Profile and Interview by Stevie Chick, MOJO, March 2013

Raised in Hell's Kitchen and classically trained, Alicia Keys was a teenage musical misfit who tried her best "to be a boy". Over a decade ...

Dexys Midnight Runners: Dexys: Duke of York's Theatre, London    

Live Review by David Bennun, Event Magazine, 20 April 2013

IT CAN'T BE pointed out too often that the entertainment industry is lying to us about what constitutes soul music. The clue is in the ...

Laura Mvula: Sing to the Moon

Review by Ben Thompson, Daily Telegraph, 30 April 2013

As she embarks on a UK tour, Birmingham's Laura Mvula seems intent on taking R&B vocals in an exploratory new direction, says Ben Thompson. ...

The Rascals On Broadway

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Rock's Backpages, 17 May 2013

BEFORE THE LIGHTS dimmed at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on 46th Street in Manhattan to signal the start of The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream, ...

Lianne La Havas: "I get pure happiness from making songs"

Interview by Barbara Ellen, The Observer, 26 May 2013

She is compared to Sade and Amy Winehouse, with the biggest names in music lining up to duet with her. Barbara Ellen meets Lianne La ...

Laura Mvula: South by Southwest, Austin, Texas

Live Review by Bob Mehr, MOJO, June 2013

Brummie nu-soul darling beats fast food hand-outs and industry hype at US debut in Lone Star state. ...

Jungle: New band of the week: Jungle

Profile by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 19 June 2013

Unknowns create mesmeric urban-tribal music with potentially viral video ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland dies at 83

Obituary by Tony Russell, The Guardian, 24 June 2013

BOBBY "BLUE" BLAND, who has died aged 83, was among the great storytellers of blues and soul music. In songs such as 'I Pity the ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Caught by the Reaper: Bobby "Blue" Bland, 1930-2013

Obituary by Tim Tooher, Caught by the River, 26 June 2013

FIRST GEORGE JONES, and now Bobby "Blue" Bland. If Billie Holiday were still alive, she'd be feeling very nervous right now. Jones and Bland were ...

Rihanna's Victim-Diva Complex

Essay by Kate Mossman, New Statesman, 27 June 2013

Six months ago Rihanna looked like she was losing it, and now she looks to be in complete control. ...

Janelle Monáe: "I'm a time traveller. I have been to lots of different places"

Interview by Kate Mossman, The Guardian, 30 June 2013

She's an android-dating style queen who's been compared to Bowie. Is the R&B singer the saviour of pop? ...

Prince: 25 Years On: Lovesexy Revisited

Retrospective by David Bennun, The Quietus, 10 July 2013

NOW I THINK OF IT, I'm struck by how seldom I have gone out and bought an album on the day it was released. In ...

The Isley Brothers, Ronald Isley: At 72, Ron Isley Remains Contagious

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 15 July 2013

With one more solo album, This Song Is for You, dropping tomorrow, the Isley Brothers legend stays true to his soulful roots ...

Bobby Womack: Soul Survivor

Report and Interview by Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph, 17 July 2013

Revered soul singer Bobby Womack has weathered a life filled with tragedy and misfortune. Ahead of his performance at Latitude Festival, he talks to Mick ...

Living Colour: Don't Call Living Colour a "Cult" Band, Please

Report and Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 24 July 2013

LIVING COLOUR vocalist Corey Glover knows it. He knows that, despite putting out five studio albums of criminally underrated rock, mention their name and the ...

James Brown, Funkadelic, The Ohio Players: Who Killed the Funk?

Comment by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 24 July 2013

MICHAEL A. GONZALES REFLECTS ON P-FUNK, THE OHIO PLAYERS, EARTH WIND & FIRE, ETC. AND WONDERS WHERE THE FUNK HAVE ALL THE FUNK GROUPS GONE? ...

Glenn Lewis Cooks Up Grown-Up Soul

Profile and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 29 July 2013

Refusing to become a footnote to modern R&B, the Canadian soulman makes a matured return with his long-awaited sophomore disc, Moment of Truth. ...

Eddy Grant: Eddy Come Back: Eddy Grant and the Equals

Book Excerpt by Lloyd Bradley, Serpent's Tail Books, August 2013

AS THE 1970S progressed, the keys to the buoyant Afro- funk recording industry were two of black London's biggest music-business movers-and-shakers, Eddy Grant and Aki ...

Earth, Wind & Fire 'Promise' to Keep Rocking

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 5 August 2013

WHEN EARTH, Wind and Fire's bass player extraordinaire Verdine White speaks affectionately about his influential group playing shows in the mid-1970s, one is instantly transported ...

FKA Twigs: New Band of the Week: FKA twigs

Profile by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 6 August 2013

So, so amazing ethereal dubstep pop from Gloucestershire ...

Betty Davis, The Family Stand, Nona Hendryx, Klymaxx, Labelle, Mother's Finest: Rise of the Funky Divas

Overview by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 12 August 2013

BEGINNING IN THE early 1970s, a small army of female funk-rock performers that included Chaka Khan, Betty Davis, Labelle, Mother's Finest, Brides of Funkenstein, Parlet, ...

Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel turns 25

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 15 August 2013

IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE it's been 25 years since the release of Bobby Brown's groundbreaking Don't Be Cruel. New-jacking the title from an old Elvis ...

Robin Thicke: The Blurred Lines of Blue-Eyed Soul

Essay by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 21 August 2013

ROBIN THICKE JOINS JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, GEORGE MICHAEL AND ELVIS ON THE SOULFUL WHITEBOY TIMELINE. BUT IS IT CULTURAL APPRECIATION OR APPROPRIATION? ...

Janelle Monáe: The Electric Lady

Review by Holly Gleason, Paste, 10 September 2013

AN ENNIO MORRICONE sonic vista opens The Electric Lady, the sequel to Janelle Monáe's The ArchAndroid, making its ambition obvious. Overture burning off, a tugging ...

Lloyd Price: Good Lawdy: Rock'N'Roll Pioneer Lloyd Price, At 80, Tells How a Classic R&B Hit Changed America

Profile and Interview by Wayne Robins, Billboard, 14 September 2013

NOTE: This is an unedited version of the Billboard article that appeared on 14 September, 2013. ...

Drake: Nothing Was The Same

Review by Ian Gittins, Virgin Media Music, 23 September 2013

HIS LAST ALBUM, Take Care, was a multi-platinum-selling number one around the globe, but if anything this has plunged hip hop's most angst-ridden player into ...

Amy Winehouse Never Twerked

Comment by Amy Linden, Ebony, 26 September 2013

Born 30 years ago this month, Winehouse seemed more intuitively connected to black soul than other white pop stars in her wake ...

Justin Timberlake: Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 29 September 2013

His ex-boyband DNA compels him to give the footwork as much prominence as the songs  ...

Arthur Alexander, Clarence Carter, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Candi Staton: Deep Soul: How Muscle Shoals became music's most unlikely hit factory

Retrospective and Interview by Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph, October 2013

IN JANUARY 1967, a young singer named Aretha Franklin arrived in the small Alabama town of Muscle Shoals, her career hanging in the balance. ...

Lizzo — New Band Of The Day

Profile by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 4 October 2013

Sour female attitude from Minneapolis, with a little help from Bon Iver and chums. ...

Cymande, The Equals, Eddy Grant, Hot Chocolate, Osibisa, Ruthless Rap Assassins: Lloyd Bradley: Sounds Like London

Book Review by Greg Wilson, electrofunkroots.co.uk, 9 October 2013

JUST FINISHED a captivating and, to my mind, long-overdue book, which covers the history of black music in the capital spanning (almost) 100 years, the ...

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, O'Jays: The Sound of Philadelphia

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 18 October 2013

Sweet Philly soul has influenced the likes of Erykah Badu, the Roots, David Bowie and more. Michael A. Gonzales delves into the1970s sound. ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Sunday Telegraph, 20 October 2013

Funk Pop's most durable act are still as interested in theatrics as music ...

Herbie Hancock: The Futureshock of Herbie Hancock

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 8 November 2013

As Sony Music prepares a 34-disc box set for next week, Michael A. Gonzales takes a look back at the pianist's storied career. ...

Herbie Hancock: Vintage Vision: The Futureshock of Herbie Hancock

Retrospective and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 8 November 2013

BLACK MUSIC, especially jazz, has never been afraid of change. Since strutting out of the Storyville whorehouses where piano players and horn blowers created the ...

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Lee Dorsey, Betty Harris, Ernie K-Doe, The Meters, Professor Longhair, Allen Toussaint: New Orleans Funk Volume Three (Soul Jazz Records)

Review by John Doran, The Quietus, 13 November 2013

Note: Contains Spoilers for the HBO TV show Treme ...

Ariana Grande: "I'm not comfortable being forwardly sexual"

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 14 November 2013

She got her big break on a children's TV show, is adored by legions of teenage fans, and now she has released an album — ...

Blood Orange: Cupid Deluxe

Review by Ian Gittins, Virgin Media Music, 18 November 2013

WHEN DEV HYNES emerged almost a decade ago as one-third of slapstick punk deconstructionists Test Icicles, there was little reason to suspect he was an ...

Mary J. Blige: "Whitney Houston's funeral freaked me out"

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 28 November 2013

The queen of hip-hop soul on giving up alcohol, getting fit and cutting out the drama in her life. ...

O.V. Wright: The Wright Stuff: O.V. Wright

Retrospective by Bill Bentley, Oxford American, December 2013

NOTE: This is the original, previously unpublished version of Bill's article.  ...

Childish Gambino: Because The Internet

Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 5 December 2013

CHILDISH GAMBINO, the creation of US actor/standup Donald Glover, was initially seen by some as too plugged in to media circles to be persuasive as a rapper. ...

R Kelly: Black Panties

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 6 December 2013

Let's talk about sex, baby — and nothing but sex ...

Beyoncé: Beyoncé

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 13 December 2013

UNUSUALLY FOR an industry fuelled by hype, it was the most well-kept secret since David Bowie's comeback album earlier this year, and all the more ...

Kandia Crazy Horse: Stampede

Review by Barney Hoskyns, MOJO, Fall 2013

Stellar first offering from maverick former contributor to the Village Voice and Creative Loafing ...

David Ruffin: My Whole World Ended/Feelin' Good (Real Gone Music)

Sleeve notes by Gene Sculatti, Real Gone Music, January 2014

JUST ONE look at the tune-stack on My Whole World Ended and there's a real temptation to draw a plumb line between the disconsolate titles ...

The Isley Brothers: 10 Of The Best

Guide by Stevie Chick, The Guardian, 7 January 2014

1. 'Shout (Parts 1 & 2)' The Brothers Isley (Kelly, Rudy and Ron) started out singing gospel music before embarking upon a pop career that would ...

Salaam Remi, Amy Winehouse: Industry Profile: Salaam Remi

Interview by Larry LeBlanc, Celebrity Access, 8 January 2014

This week In the Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc: Salaam Remi, composer, producer, musician and label executive. ...

Beyoncé: Beyoncé

Review by Mike Diver, Clash, 9 January 2014

THE POP ALBUM'S taken a beating by technology. It used to be that progression in the field enabled the furthering of music, facilitated creative evolution ...

Maroon 5, Robin Thicke: Maroon 5/Robin Thicke: LG Arena, Birmingham

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 9 January 2014

IT MUST BE STRANGE being Robin Thicke. There he was, bouncing along with a solid if unremarkable 10-year career in R&B and suddenly 'Blurred Lines' ...

George Clinton, Funkadelic: George Clinton: "I was born in a lavatory, so I have a legitimate claim on the funk"

Interview by Adrian Deevoy, The Guardian, 23 January 2014

HELLO GEORGE. First things first: what are you wearing? I got my suit on, baby. I like to change things up every now and then. So ...

Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway: Donny Hathaway: Never My Love: The Anthology (Atco) 9/10

Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, February 2014

Superb overview of the soul man's tragically short career ...

Ann Peebles: The Girl with the Big Voice

Retrospective and Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 20 February 2014

THERE'S A COMMON cliché in music biopics that you might call the eureka fallacy. Our hero is having a conversation or strumming a guitar when ...

Beyoncé: Beyoncé

Review by Ben Thompson, Daily Telegraph, 20 February 2014

Don't be fooled by the endless perfume ads and narcissistic documentaries — with her upcoming tour dates, fortress Britain will fall once again to Beyoncé, ...

André Cymone, Prince: André Cymone Returns to Rock the Spot

Retrospective and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 28 February 2014

Prodigal son of the Minneapolis Sound returns ...

Pharrell Williams: G I R L

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 1 March 2014

IN 2006, Pharrell Williams' debut solo album, In My Mind, following years as a hugely successful production partner in the Neptunes, landed with an almighty ...

Drake, The Weeknd: Drake/The Weeknd: Manchester Arena

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 12 March 2014

ABEL TESFAYE, aka the Weeknd, is receiving the kind of cheers you rarely hear for what is technically a support act. The fast-rising 22-year-old Toronto ...

Banks: Trinity, Bristol

Live Review by Simon Price, New York Observer, 23 March 2014

Banks is on everyone's Next Big Thing list. This haunting show proves the American R&B star worthy of the hype ...

Justin Timberlake: Sheffield Arena

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 31 March 2014

THE FIRST THING Sheffield sees of Justin Timberlake is his giant silhouette on an enormous backdrop. ...

Bert Berns, Solomon Burke: Cry to Him: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns

Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, 'Here Comes The Night' (Counterpoint Books), April 2014

In these two excerpts from Joel Selvin's splendid new biography of Bert Berns, the soul hustler from the Bronx oversees the 1961 session for Solomon ...

Miriam Bienstock: The First Lady of Atlantic

Memoir by Loraine Alterman, Rock's Backpages, April 2014

FOR MONTHS I had noticed an immaculately coiffed and beautifully dressed older woman at my manicure place on Manhattan's Upper East Side.   ...

André Cymone, Alexander O'Neal, Prince: Various Artists: Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound (Numero)

Review by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 18 April 2014

WHEN IT COMES to the Minneapolis sound, most folks might believe the entire history begins and ends with the musical genius known as Prince. ...

Luther Vandross: Make Me Over: On Luther Vandross

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, soulhead, 29 April 2014

THE GREAT SOUL SINGER, producer and interpreter of classic material Luther Vandross would've been sixty-three years old this month. ...

Beyoncé

Profile by John Lewis, Populous, May 2014

IF YOU WANT an embodiment of the contradictions that seem to define Beyoncé Knowles, just listen to her 2008 anthem 'Single Ladies'. Sonically, it's one ...

Afghan Whigs: The Afghan Whigs: Do To The Beast (Sub Pop)

Review by Simon Price, Q, May 2014

WOMEN OF a certain age and tastes still come over all peculiar at the mention of Greg Dulli's name. Certain men, too. Of all the ...

Charles Bradley is off Script at Jazz Fest

Report and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Offbeat, 1 May 2014

ON THE FIRST Saturday of Jazz Fest 2013, Charles Bradley strode out on the Blues Tent stage as if he weren't 65 years old but ...

Janelle Monáe: The Institute, Birmingham

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 9 May 2014

"JANELLE! MON-ÁE!" yells the Birmingham crowd as the singer is pushed on in a wheelchair, wearing a straitjacket. She leaps up, throwing off the garment ...

Bert Berns: Joel Selvin: Here Comes the Night – The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm & Blues

Book Review by Holly Gleason, Paste, 12 May 2014

EVERY SO OFTEN, a music bio arrives that becomes "the book to read." Think of Last Train To Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley and ...

Aaliyah's Age Ain't Nothing but a Number Ages 20 Years

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 27 May 2014

THE LATE SONGSTRESS'S DEBUT ALBUM DROPPED IN MAY 1994, LAUNCHING A TOO-BRIEF CAREER THAT'LL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN ...

Bert Berns: Hit Man: Joel Selvin's Here Comes the Night

Book Review by Robert Gordon, The New York Times Book Review, 30 May 2014

BERT BERNS the producer is the Phil Spector you've never heard of. Bert Berns the songwriter is the Leiber and Stoller you've never heard of. ...

Bernie Worrell (2014)

Interview by Jim Sullivan, Boston Rock/Talk, June 2014

The "Wizard of Woo" talks about his hugely varied background in music; his time as part of P-Funk; fond memories of his association with Talking Heads; his current band and activities, and his desire to play music with whales and dolphins!

File format: mp3; file size: 26.1mb, interview length: 28' 28" sound quality: *** (phoner)

Bobby Womack: Save The Children (Solar)

Sleeve notes by Bob Fisher, unpublished, June 2014

WHEN BOBBY WOMACK died on June 27th, 2014, at the age of 70, he was one of the last links to the world of '60s ...

Bobby Womack: It's All Over Now: Remembering Bobby Womack

Memoir by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages, June 2014

[This is the original – and very slightly different – version of a piece that appeared in the Observer on 29 June, 2014.] ...

Ned Doheny: Separate Oceans

Review by Steven R Rosen, Blurt, June 2014

Smooth '70s soul-pop, as revisited by the estimable archivists at Numero Group, never sounded silkier. ...

The Whispers: The Complete Solar Hit Singles Collection

Sleeve notes by Bob Fisher, PIAS Records, June 2014

DESPITE ITS TITLE, this collection of all the charted singles released by the Whispers actually includes material recorded for labels they were signed to before ...

Allen Toussaint: City Winery, New York

Live Review by Larry Jaffee, Huffington Post, 3 June 2014

It's A New Orleans Thing Rejoices Allen Toussaint ...

Soul II Soul's Jazzie B: "Ride what you've got until the wheels fall off"

Report and Interview by Lloyd Bradley, The Evening Standard, 11 June 2014

Some people already know that Jazzie B is a London Legend but tonight at the first London Music Awards he takes the title officially. The ...

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Teddy Pendergrass: Teddy Pendergrass, the Heart of Philly Soul

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 20 June 2014

CELEBRATING BLACK MUSIC MONTH WITH SOME OF THE STANDOUTS OF R&B, SOUL AND HIP-HOP, MICHAEL A. GONZALES REMEMBERS THE LATE, GREAT TEDDY PENDERGRASS ...

Bernie Worrell: "Intergalactic synth-drenched funk" coming to Dennis Port

Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, Cape Cod Times, 28 June 2014

HE MAY NOT be a household name, but chances are you've grooved to his music over the years. ...

Bert Berns: Here Comes The Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm & Blues by Joel Selvin

Book Review by Kirk Silsbee, Downbeat, July 2014

AMERICAN POP MUSIC from the no-man's-land after The Day The Music Died (Buddy Holly's fatal 1959 plane crash) and before the arrival of the Beatles ...

Shalamar: The Complete Solar Hit Singles Collection

Sleeve notes by Bob Fisher, Sanctuary Records, July 2014

Dick Griffey and Solar Records ...

Aaliyah, R. Kelly: Aaliyah: Eternal Soul

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Wax Poetics, August 2014

On the heels of her best-selling debut, Age Ain't Nothing But a Number, fifteen-year-old Aaliyah was rocked by a sex scandal that would have crushed ...

Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL: SSE Hydro, Glasgow

Live Review by Graeme Thomson, Uncut, August 2014

"Animals strike curious poses!" The inexhaustible beautiful one celebrates 30 years of Purple Rain. ...

Freda Payne Talks All That Jazz

Retrospective and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 11 August 2014

Vintage visionary Michael A. Gonzales checks in with the former EBONY/JET cover star's return to the singing stage. ...

Rachid: Prototype

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, soulhead, 21 August 2014

COMING TARDY TO the party, lately it's been all about the Weeknd: continuously YouTube playing the video to his hypnotic 'Wicked Games', packing the weed ...

Bad Brains, Fishbone, Living Colour: Afropunk Before Afropunk

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 29 August 2014

LAST WEEK, for the first time in years, I missed the Afropunk festival. The musical movement began as an extension of a 2003 documentary of ...

Jungle, Pharrell Williams: Pharrell Williams/Jungle: Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 11 September 2014

He looks dapper, and he opens the show with a brilliant blast of robot funk, but the R&B pioneer is a bit too reserved on ...

Paolo Nutini: Sound Academy, Toronto

Live Review by Juliette Jagger, juliettejagger.com, 15 September 2014

TORONTO RECEIVED a taste of a highly seasoned Paolo Nutini when the Scottish alt-R&B singer-songwriter hit the Sound Academy for a stand out performance last ...

Diana Ross: Mahogany and Me

Memoir by Michael A. Gonzales, Cuepoint, 19 September 2014

Diana Ross was the woman she wanted to be and I wanted to have ...

Lauryn Hill: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 21 September 2014

The one-time leading light of 90s R&B ditched neo-soul subtleties in favour of ear-splitting hip-hop on the first date of her short UK tour ...

Lauryn Hill: O2 Academy Brixton

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 22 September 2014

READY OR NOT, here she comes, only an hour late. No one seemed surprised when Lauryn Hill kept us waiting long after her advertised arrival ...

Mary J. Blige: Mary J Blige: Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Stevie Chick, The Guardian, 26 September 2014

A masterful Mary J. Blige takes the audience to giddy heights of joy and depths of pain as she showcases her imminent London Sessions album. ...

Dr. John: Welcome to the Big Easy

Retrospective and Interview by Michael Simmons, MOJO, October 2014

FROM HIS 1968 DEBUT ONWARDS, THE MUSIC OF DR. JOHN HAS BEEN MARINADED IN THE PSYCHEDELIC VOODOO OF NEW ORLEANS. NOW, WITH A TRIBUTE TO ...

FKA Twigs: Studio, Brighton Dome

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 6 October 2014

THE RISING avant-pop diva FKA Twigs, the stage alias of Tahliah Debrett Barnett, has grabbed headlines for much of the past 18 months, not always ...

Prince: The Making of Purple Rain

Retrospective and Interview by Bill DeMain, Classic Rock, 8 October 2014

How the self-contained, reclusive genius learned to play nice with others, how to rock and in the process found his world-conquering groove. ...

Faith Evans Resurrects '90s Swag on Incomparable

Report and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 13 October 2014

In this 20th anniversary of Bad Boy Entertainment, its former First Lady collabs with Missy Elliott for sixth studio album. ...

John Legend: Eventim Apollo, London W6

Live Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 15 October 2014

EARLY IN THIS sickly-slick show, John Legend started to tell his life story. Talking and tinkling the ivories, supper club-style, wearing a cream blazer over ...

Bernadette Cooper, Klymaxx: Still Looking Good: Bernadette Cooper

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, soulhead, 31 October 2014

ALTHOUGH FORMER KLYMAXX singer, songwriter and producer Bernadette Cooper has never been anything like the women the Beach Boys harmonized about on their sunshine soundtracks, ...

Candi Staton: Nitelites

Sleeve notes by Bob Fisher, Sequel Records, November 2014

"As the president of Sugarhill Records Ltd, I have never given my opinion in writing on an album cover. I have often wondered why Candi ...

Iggy Azalea, Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj, Meghan Trainor: The Booty Myth

Report by Evelyn McDonnell, Cuepoint, 10 November 2014

Are female pop stars glorifying their bodies or objectifying them? Well, it's complicated. ...

Darondo: We Need To Talk About... Darondo: The soul man who went AWOL

Retrospective by Graham Reid, Elsewhere, 10 November 2014

TO HEAR William Daron Pulliam tell how he got his nom-de-disque at the dawn of the '70s gives an insight into both his smarts, and ...

Barbara Lynn: How Barbara Lynn Changed The Blues Forever

Interview by John Morthland, Wondering Sound, 12 November 2014

BARBARA LYNN, who topped rhythm and blues charts in 1962 with 'You'll Lose a Good Thing', which also crossed over to the pop Top 10, ...

TLC Marks 20 Years of CrazySexyCool

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 18 November 2014

Vintage visionary Michael A. Gonzales speaks with producer Dallas Austin, director Lionel Martin and more about the landmark album ...

Gil Scott-Heron: Shut 'em Down: Reflections on Ferguson and Gil Scott-Heron

Essay by Michael A. Gonzales, soulhead, 2 December 2014

AFTER THE Michael Brown decision in Ferguson, Missouri last week, amid the expected disgust about the so-called fairness of a legal system that allowed murderous ...

D'Angelo: Black Messiah — First-Listen Review: 'Investing Vintage Soul With A Fresh Lustre'

Review by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 15 December 2014

D'Angelo's Black Messiah, his first album since 2000's Voodoo, looks back to the funk greats while retaining a modern political edge ...

Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers: Chuck Brown Band, still crankin'

Report and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, The Washington Post, 26 December 2014

CHUCKY THOMPSON had to lie about his age to play with Chuck Brown. It was 1984, and Thompson, 16 years old and already one of the ...

D'Angelo and the Vanguard: Black Messiah

Review by Holly Gleason, Paste, 30 December 2014

AT MIDNIGHT ON DEC. 15, 14 years dissolved. One key-stroke, and the mythic follow-up to D'Angelo's Voodoo could be yours. Luxurious, raw, crashed-up, silky, a ...

Come See about Me: Why the Baby Boomers Liked Stax but Loved Motown

Essay by Gary Kenton, 'Baby Boomers and Popular Culture' (Praeger Books), 2015

ETHNOMUSICOLOGIST and anthropologist Steven Feld studied how meanings are reconstituted when music moves from indigenous communities to a global market. He argues that you cannot ...

Linda Jones: The Complete Turbo Recordings

Sleeve notes by Bob Fisher, unpublished, January 2015

"We used to stand backstage and watch that lady sing; even though she didn't have star charisma on stage, she would just stand there and ...

The Isley Brothers, Isley Jasper Isley: Chris Jasper on Playing Synths for the Isleys

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Red Bull Academy Magazine, 20 January 2015

Michael A. Gonzales talks to the inventive, classically-trained keyboardist behind some of the Isley’s most indelible hits ...

Natalie Prass: Natalie Prass

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 23 January 2015

Soul slow-burner charms on her gorgeous debut. ...

Jessie J: Brixton Academy, SW9

Live Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 30 January 2015

Jessie J’s show felt more like an X Factor final than a proper gig ...

D'Angelo and the Vanguard: Black Messiah

Review by Ian Penman, The Wire, February 2015

Soul revivalist D'Angelo channels voices of funk music's past but ends up lost in limbo. ...

The Moments: All The Hits And More – The Complete Singles As and Bs 1968-1978

Sleeve notes by Bob Fisher, unpublished, February 2015

THE MOMENTS WERE the star act at All Platinum Records for over 10 years. Thanks to their European distributor Phonogram Records the label and indeed ...

Don Covay, 1938-2015

Obituary by Richard Williams, The Guardian, 4 February 2015

Songwriter, singer and record producer whose compositions became hits for stars including Chubby Checker and Aretha Franklin. ...

Drake: If You're Reading This, It's Too Late

Review by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 13 February 2015

ON THURSDAY NIGHT, Drake did what is increasingly becoming known as "a Beyoncé" and dropped, without warning, If You're Reading This, It's Too Late, the ...

D'Angelo: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Stevie Chick, The Guardian, 22 February 2015

HE MAY BE a soulful innovator, but there has always been a strong traditionalism in D'Angelo's music, and he begins tonight by tapping into a ...

Gil Scott-Heron: The Revolution Lives On

Report and Interview by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 22 February 2015

Political activist, rap pioneer and poet Gil Scott-Heron shaped the sound of today – from Talib Kweli and Kanye West to Kendrick Lamar. His friends ...

Pops Staples: Don't Lose This

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 27 February 2015

THE LAST RECORDED testament of Roebuck "Pops" Staples, Don't Lose This remained a private family secret until his daughter Mavis remembered her father's instruction, one ...

Brother To Brother: In The Bottle – The Complete Album Collection

Sleeve notes by Bob Fisher, unpublished, March 2015

IF THE GROUP, Brother to Brother is remembered for anything, it's their hit interpretation of Gil Scott-Heron's classic 'The Bottle'. The song was written as ...

Shirley & Company: The Shame, Shame, Shame Story

Sleeve notes by Bob Fisher, unpublished, March 2015

'SHAME, SHAME, SHAME' was one of the earliest disco hits to break out international eventually selling several million copies around the world. It topped Billboard's ...

Raury: The ego has landed

Interview by Paul Lester, The Sunday Times, 1 March 2015

Touted by Lorde and Kanye West, Raury has the nerve to live up to his billing ...

Lionel Richie: O2 Arena, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 2 March 2015

With the stamina of a performer half his age, the veteran soul star swings between raucous R&B and sweet ballads to the delight of an ...

Mavis Staples: The music doc Mavis! lets the powerful performances do the talking

Film/DVD/TV Review by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore City Paper, 16 March 2015

LIKE THE MARYLAND Film Festival, the South by Southwest Film Festival follows each screening by a discussion with the movie's creative team. After SXSW presented ...

Kendrick Lamar Voices the Ferguson Era

Review by Miles Marshall Lewis, Ebony, 17 March 2015

WE CAN FINALLY take Black Messiah off repeat; masterpiece two has arrived. To Pimp a Butterfly, Kendrick Lamar's thematically and musically layered 16-track sophomore album, ...

Common: Center of Chaos: Common's Electric Circus

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Red Bull Academy Magazine, 24 March 2015

In the wake of the wide-ranging To Pimp a Butterfly, Michael A. Gonzales looks back to Common's most ambitious full-length. ...

Chic, Nile Rodgers: Chic featuring Nile Rodgers: Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 25 March 2015

THE RETURN of Chic to public prominence has been one of the more uplifting comeback stories of recent years, particularly as Nile Rodgers, the band's ...

Nicki Minaj @ O2 Arena

Live Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 31 March 2015

Nicki Minaj delivered tongue-twisting raps with spectacular ease. ...

Percy Sledge, 1940-2015

Obituary by Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph, 14 April 2015

Percy Sledge's 'When A Man Loves A Woman' transcended time and place, says Mick Brown. ...

Curtis Mayfield: Revisiting Curtis Mayfield's There's No Place Like America Today

Retrospective by David Bennun, The Quietus, 16 April 2015

NOTE: This article was adapted by its author from a piece in the 1995 Melody Maker book Unknown Pleasures. ...

Alabama Shakes: Sound & Color

Review by Will Hermes, Rolling Stone, 21 April 2015

Soul rockers free their minds to explore new psychedelic worlds on their second album ...

Lionel Richie: "There was something seriously wrong with Michael Jackson. But this is Hollywood"

Profile and Interview by Adrian Deevoy, Event Magazine, 25 April 2015

The downside of marrying a model half his age. The day he discovered Michael Jackson was as mad as a snake. And why the Ku ...

Norman Jopling: Shake It Up Baby – Notes From A Pop Music Reporter, 1961-1972 (Rock History Ltd.)

Book Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, May 2015

IN THE EARLY 1960s the U.K.'s music press was dominated by a small group of weekly papers, notably the New Musical Express, (aka NME), the ...

Young Fathers: White Men Are Black Men Too

Review by Ben Thompson, MOJO, May 2015

A vivacious follow-up to 2014's Mercury-winning Dead heralds the Edinburgh trio's arrival as global citizens. ...

Various Artists: The Complete Stax Soul Singles

Review by Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph, 25 May 2015

These two collections are a delight, full of familiar pleasures and obscure nuggets from Stax's large catalogue of soul singles, says Mick Brown. ...

The Whatnauts: On The Rocks – The Complete Collection

Sleeve notes by Bob Fisher, unpublished, June 2015

THE WHATNAUTS, a group revered by collectors of "sweet soul" vocal groups of the '60s and '70s, are yet another act with membership of that ...

Ariana Grande: 02 Arena, London

Live Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 3 June 2015

WERE MILEY CYRUS a comic-book baddie, Ariana Grande could be her nemesis. The two TV child stars turned successful singers stand on either side of ...

Jungle: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 5 June 2015

JUNGLE'S SHOW begins as more gigs should: with a terrifyingly poised eight-year-old breakdancer spinning on her head, effortlessly eclipsing the adult musicians behind her. Having ...

Pharrell Williams: First Direct Arena, Leeds ****


Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Observer, 14 June 2015

The effortless party-starting superstar may be a jack of all trades, but he's masterly at most ...

Nina Simone: "Are you ready to burn buildings?"

Retrospective by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 22 June 2015

From singing the soundtrack to the civil rights movement to living in self-imposed exile in Liberia, Nina Simone never chose the easy path. As a ...

Crown Heights Affair: Dreaming A Dream (The Best of Crown Heights Affair)

Sleeve notes by Bob Fisher, Sanctuary Records, July 2015

'DREAMING A DREAM' was a game-changer in the world of dance music in 1975, and its impact cannot be overestimated. In 1975 the funk revolution ...

George Clinton: Chocolate City – London/P-Funk Live At Metropolis

Review by Mat Snow, Q, July 2015

Bells-and-whistles souvenir party bag of funk's wild weekend. ...

Marvin Gaye: Volume One: 1961-1965

Review by John Harris, Q, July 2015

Before he got it on: icon's tentative years. ...

Dusty Springfield: The Making of Dusty in Memphis

Retrospective by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, July 2015

IN 1967, DESPITE international success and her status as the UK's undisputed queen of blue-eyed soul, Dusty Springfield found herself stifled by the career path ...

Joss Stone: Water for Joss Stone's Soul

Profile and Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, July 2015

"PEOPLE WOULD SAY, 'So, who do you think you are singing these soul music songs when you are 16 and you're white and you're from ...

Amy Winehouse: Slept on Soul: Amy Winehouse's Frank

Column by Michael A. Gonzales, soulhead, 8 July 2015

DOLLED-UP LIKE a Phil Spector creation doo-wopping on a Bronx boulevard, Amy Winehouse came into most Americans' homes with the release of her second album ...

Joss Stone: Water For Your Soul

Review by Holly Gleason, Paste, 14 July 2015

JOSS STONE, modern queen of the timeless old-school soul, has propelled herself into a project merging hip hop, reggae, world music and R&B. Her tenure ...

James Brown, William DeVaughn, Skip Mahoney & the Casuals: Celebrating the "Godfather of Soul" the best way they know how

Report and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, The Washington Post, 16 July 2015

LAST SUMMER, when the James Brown biopic Get on Up opened on movie screens, jazz bassist Christian McBride organized an all-star concert at the Hollywood ...

Sade: Interview: Sade

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Red Bull Academy Magazine, 20 July 2015

Michael A. Gonzales reaches into his archives for an interview with the singer from 1992 ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Still All the Way Live

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 29 July 2015

BACK IN 1967, when funky trumpeter Cynthia Robinson joined forces with musical visionary Sly Stone, most "girls" in band units wore pretty dresses and harmonized ...

The Weeknd: With dark tales of sex and drugs, is the Weeknd the next face of R&B?

Report by Edward Helmore, The Observer, 2 August 2015

FOR SEVERAL YEARS, an introverted Canadian singer of Ethiopian descent, known to R&B lovers for his plaintive voice and atmospheric, after-party, comedown groove, has been ...

D'Wayne Wiggins, Tony! Toni! Toné!: D'Wayne Wiggins: Eyes Never Lie

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, soulhead, 4 August 2015

IT WAS THE winter of 1996 and Tony! Toni! Toné! was on the verge of falling apart. ...

Curtis Mayfield: 10 of the best

Guide by Stevie Chick, The Guardian, 5 August 2015

Deploying sweet soul and blistering funk – and pouring his gorgeous, honeyed falsetto over it all – Curtis Mayfield veered between breezy optimism and hard-edged ...

Natalie Prass: "I wrote weird arrangements in my attic and couldn't afford clothes"

Interview by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 19 August 2015

NATALIE PRASS almost gave up music a while back. The Virginian's career had stalled in 2014 and she was stuck in Nashville, where she had ...

The Isley Brothers: The RCA-Victor And T-Neck Album Masters (1959-1983)

Review and Interview by Daryl Easlea, Record Collector, September 2015

MORPHING FROM their roots in gospel and doo-wop through funk, rock and then, finally, into slow-jam R&B, the Isley Brothers remain one of the most ...

Halsey

Profile by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 4 September 2015

She's the new superstar-in-waiting, dividing the critics — but amassing an army of believers — with her powerful yet sorrowful pop-R&B ...

Teddy Pendergrass Turns Out the Lights… with Help

Report by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 18 September 2015

Duets – Love & Soul pairs the late soul singer with the likes of Angie Stone, Jody Watley and Rose Royce. ...

Dionne Warwick: SSE Arena, Wembley

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 5 October 2015

AFTER A half-century rollercoaster ride through the music industry, from multiple Grammy-winning stardom to her recent tax troubles and bankruptcy, Dionne Warwick can still command ...

The Weeknd: Overview Of A Vampire: A Closer Look At The Weeknd's Lyrics

Essay by John Calvert, The Quietus, 12 October 2015

John Calvert is a "guilt-ridden ultra-fan" of "misogynist" Canadian R&B star The Weeknd and here, instead of brushing the themes of his music under the ...

The Dap-Kings, Sharon Jones, Mark Ronson, Amy Winehouse: Daptone Records: The Sound that Gave Amy Soul

Report and Interview by Paul Sexton, The Independent, 16 October 2015

Daptone Records has put authentic soul into R&B for 15 years, from Back to Black to 'Uptown Funk'. ...

Groove Theory Revisited

Retrospective and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 23 October 2015

Twenty years ago, singer Amel Larrieux and producer Bryce Wilson unleashed one of the unsung classics of the neo-soul era. ...

Georgie Fame: Look Sharp

Retrospective and Interview by Lois Wilson, MOJO, November 2015

IT'S DECEMBER 1962, three sharp dressed GIs are hefting a Hammond organ down the icy steps of the Flamingo, a tiny jazz club on Wardour ...

Average White Band: Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 23 November 2015

AVERAGE WHITE BAND always were an anomaly. A group of funksters from Dundee inspired by James Brown, Bobby Womack and BB King, they sounded so ...

Amy Winehouse: Asif Kapadia: Amy (Island/Universal DVD)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Jamie Atkins, Record Collector, December 2015

WHILE GIFTED, tragic figures are the very bread and butter of the music documentarian, has there ever been a film in which the downward spiral ...

Natalie Cole: A Remembrance (1950-2015)

Obituary by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, December 2015

STELLAR SINGER and showbiz royalty Natalie Cole has passed away at the age of 65. ...

Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham: Do Right Men: Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham

Retrospective and Interview by Lois Wilson, MOJO, January 2016

DAN PENN AND Spooner Oldham still remember the day everything changed. "I was in American Studios in Memphis working on the Box Tops," recalls Penn. ...

Khruangbin: The Universe Smiles Upon You

Review by Daryl Easlea, MOJO, January 2016

Intriguing Thai-influenced funk from rural Texas, naturally. ...

The Weeknd: Trend of the Year: Weird R&B Goes Overground

Comment by Paul Lester, MOJO, January 2016

The success of The Weeknd saw a new weird kind of underground R&B enter the charts. Paul Lester charts its strange, slow, four-year rise. ...

SWV: Still Sisters With Voices

Profile and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 22 January 2016

With their fifth studio album, Still, on the horizon, Taj, Lelee and Coko remain sisters after nearly 25 years in the music biz. ...

Jason Derulo: Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 26 January 2016

The Miami-born sex symbol produced a show that was more visual than musical feast, dynamic but devoid of depth ...

Michael Jackson: How Off the Wall Launched Michael Jackson into Orbit

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 27 January 2016

As Spike Lee's new Sundance-debuting documentary celebrates Off the Wall, vintage visionary Michael A. Gonzales pieces together the making of MJ's blackest album. ...

Tweet Chirps Back on Charlene

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 22 February 2016

Refocusing on her God-given gifts, Charlene 'Tweet' Keys returns with a new studio album ...

Lianne La Havas: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 16 March 2016

In her headline debut, the south London singer was at her best on numbers that featured just her voice and a guitar ...

Al Green: 10 of the best

Guide by Angus Batey, The Guardian, 20 April 2016

From a chequered career, the tussle between the religious and the secular is audible on all of Green's best songs – even the ones he ...

Morris Day, The Time: Morris Day: Purple Rain rival who almost stole Prince's thunder

Profile by Simon Price, The Independent, 26 April 2016

On screen, the lead singer of The Time played a scene-stealing version of himself as the Purple One's nemesis. But off screen, their love-hate relationship ...

Beyoncé's Lemonade is an object lesson in collaboration

Comment by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 28 April 2016

She's the centripetal force that marshals the likes of Robert Plant, Jack White, Kendrick Lamar and MNEK to craft exquisite pop music that transcends boundaries ...

Anita Ward (2016)

Interview by Tom Graves, Rock's Backpages audio, May 2016

Ms. Ward talks about her Memphis upbringing and family life; making waves on the local gospel circuit as a girl; going to college and attracting attention as a singer; the rapid success of 'Ring My Bell' and her opinion of the song; being a one-hit-wonder and the slog of touring; her return to performing and belatedly getting paid... and her near-fatal car crash.

File format: mp3; file size: 86.8mb, interview length: 1h 30' 23" sound quality: *****

Anita Ward (2016) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Tom Graves, Rock's Backpages transcripts, May 2016

This is a transcript of Tom's audio interview with Anita. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Donnie Fritts

Retrospective and Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, May 2016

DONNIE FRITTS MAY be an alumnus of Muscle Shoals, the Alabama mecca of southern soul, and a renowned songwriter and recording artist in his own ...

Kid Creole & The Coconuts: My Kid Creole musical was a hard nut to crack

Retrospective by Vivien Goldman, The Guardian, 20 May 2016

Three decades after I met Kid Creole and the Coconuts while profiling them for NME, their musical Cherchez la Femme has finally reached the New ...

James Carr, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley: Chips Moman, 1937-2016

Obituary by Richard Williams, The Guardian, 15 June 2016

Guitarist, record producer and songwriter who co-wrote 'The Dark End of the Street' and worked with Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin and Tammy Wynette. ...

The 5th Dimension: Elegant Pop Crooners Who Wowed The Mainstream

Retrospective by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 21 June 2016

MY PARENTS owned only two albums that weren't folk or opera. One was the original Broadway cast recording of the musical Hair, which was famous ...

Beyoncé: Stadium of Light, Sunderland

Live Review by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 28 June 2016

A disjointed barrage maybe, but she is still the master show-woman ...

Blood Orange: Freetown Sound

Review by Will Hermes, Rolling Stone, 28 June 2016

DEV HYNES described his third LP under his Blood Orange moniker as something "like my version of [the Beastie Boys'] Paul's Boutique." ...

Minnie Riperton: 10 of the best tracks

Guide by Stevie Chick, The Guardian, 29 June 2016

She had a five-octave vocal range, inspired Stevie Wonder and gave birth to Maya Rudolph – the tragedy is that this huge musical talent died ...

Beyoncé: Stadium of Light, Sunderland

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 30 June 2016

Queen Bey ruled, switching from glamazon goddess to line-dancing Texan rodeo star, and streetwise hip-hop sexbot to devoted wife and mother ...

Burt Bacharach, GoGo Penguin, Grace Jones, Kamasi Washington: Grace Jones et al.: Love Supreme Jazz Festival, Sussex

Live Review by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 7 July 2016

Burt Bacharach, GoGo Penguin and Esperanza Spalding are other highlights ...

Bert Berns: The Ecstatic Agony of a Producer/Songwriter

Report and Interview by Mitchell Cohen, Best Classic Bands, 7 August 2016

The Rock Hall member behind such classics as 'Brown Eyed Girl,' 'Twist and Shout' and more. ...

Frank Ocean: Blonde

Review by Kate Mossman, The Observer, 28 August 2016

The R&B singer's new album has slow-burn power and poetry enough to raise it beyond its gimmicky release strategy. ...

Robert Finley: At 63, Louisiana bluesman Robert Finley living musical dream

Profile and Interview by Bob Mehr, The Commercial Appeal, 29 September 2016

Sixty-three year old singer Robert Finley marks the release of his debut album with a show at Lafayette's Music Room on Oct. 6. ...

Solange's A Seat At the Table Is The Epitome of #Woke Music

Review by Miles Marshall Lewis, Essence, 3 October 2016

Solo comes with Nina Simone, 'Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair' levels of intra-cultural adoration all over A Seat at the Table. ...

Emeli Sandé: Òran Mór, Glasgow

Live Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 4 October 2016

The Scottish singer was on spellbinding form, singing a cappella and reworking old hits and new into a spectacular show ...

Michael Kiwanuka: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 12 October 2016

MICHAEL KIWANUKA is a mass of contradictions and all the better for it. He's a self-doubting soul man whose second album, Love & Hate, recently ...

Craig David: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 21 October 2016

The likable pop-soul veteran hasn't lost his sentimental side, but he reveals a slightly harder edge with stage-prowling antics and tongue-tying raps. ...

Craig David: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 21 October 2016

The likable pop-soul veteran hasn't lost his sentimental side, but he reveals a slightly harder edge with stage-prowling antics and tongue-tying raps. ...

Lucky Chops: Jazz artist of the week: Lucky Chops

Profile by Jasper Murison-Bowie, Under City Lights, 23 October 2016

Who are those guys? Lucky Chops. ...

Vulfpeck: Jazz artist of the week: Vulfpeck

Profile by Jasper Murison-Bowie, Under City Lights, 30 October 2016

THESE GUYS LOOK like fun. Who are they? Vulfpeck. In other words, keyboardist Woody Goss and bassist Joe Dart, and multi-instrumentalists Jack Stratton and Theo ...

Mary J. Blige, Maxwell: Mary J. Blige/Maxwell: O2 Arena, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 30 October 2016

Blige commands the stage with raw rage and consciousness-raising while neo-soul pioneer Maxwell melts the room with trademark loose grooves. ...

Nina Simone: What happened, Miss Simone?

Film/DVD/TV Review by Richard Williams, Uncut, November 2016

The often harrowing life and times of a musical and political force. ...

Michael Kiwanuka: Move on Up

Profile and Interview by Stevie Chick, MOJO, November 2016

Two years ago, in crisis, doubting his worth and dismissed by his own label. Then he started to sing about that uncertainty, and everything changed. ...

Tim Buckley: The Dream Belongs to Me: The Tragic Journey of Tim Buckley

Retrospective by Kris Needs, Shindig, November 2016

FIFTY YEARS AGO this month, an album was released that, in its own strangely magical way, managed to stand out among the recent folk boom ...

Emeli Sandé: Long Live The Angels

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 9 November 2016

EMELI SANDÉ's long-awaited follow-up to the hugely successful Our Version Of Events is, at least in part, a break-up album – although her separation from ...

Emeli Sandé: Long Live The Angels

Review by Graeme Thomson, Mail On Sunday, 12 November 2016

"I FELL IN LOVE with fear, Oh God forgive me," sings Emeli Sandé halfway through her second album. She doesn't sound fearful, though. Terrifically glum, ...

Jacob Collier: Jazz artist of the week: Jacob Collier

Profile by Jasper Murison-Bowie, Under City Lights, 13 November 2016

Who's that then? Jacob Collier.  ...

Cory Henry's Funk Apostles: Jazz Café, London

Live Review by Mark Pringle, Rock's Backpages, 16 November 2016

I'M A FAN of Henry's. Like many, I fell in love with his extraordinary take on Hammond-driven gospel. He's the exemplary keyboard player for the ...

Rag'n'Bone Man: Electric, Brixton

Live Review by John Aizlewood, The Evening Standard, 25 November 2016

FAR FROM slender, festooned with tattoos which suggest he's spent the past few years at her majesty's pleasure, the wrong side of 30 and blessed ...

James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, Isaac Hayes, The Isley Brothers, Curtis Mayfield, O'Jays, Ike & Tina Turner, Bill Withers: Why the early '70s was the greatest period for live soul albums

Guide by Mitchell Cohen, Music Aficionado, December 2016

JAMES BROWN invented the modern live soul album with the release of Live at the Apollo in 1963, and Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, and Etta ...

Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson: The Girls of Rhythm Nation

Retrospective by Mitchell Cohen, Music Aficionado, 2017

THEY COULD have been rivals in a pop soap opera. Whitney Houston prim and buttoned-up, Janet Jackson frisky and up for anything. Whitney was a ...

Wilson Pickett: Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man: Wilson Pickett, the Midnight Mover

Book Excerpt by Tony Fletcher, Oxford University Press, January 2017

ON MAY 11, just a few days after Pickett's unexpected Apollo headline billing concluded, and with the surprise baby newly ensconced at home, he and ...

Solange: A Seat At The Table

Review by Jamie Atkins, Record Collector, January 2017

WITH 2012's EP True – the wonderful lead single 'Losing You' in particular – Solange Knowles minted a melancholy kind of lilting soul; as in ...

Willie Hutch: Soul Portrait/Season For Love (Be With)

Review by Jamie Atkins, Record Collector, January 2017

IN THE FEW years they've been around, Be With have ensured so many great LPs are back on the racks that they're practically providing a ...

Aretha Franklin: The Good, The Bad & The Queen

Retrospective by Lois Wilson, MOJO, February 2017

IT'S THE EVENING of January 24, 1967, downtown Florence, Alabama. Rick Hall, the owner of Fame Studios in nearby Muscle Shoals, is stood in the ...

The Impressions, Curtis Mayfield: Beautiful Brother: The Gentle Genius Of Curtis Mayfield, Part One

Retrospective by Kris Needs, Shindig, February 2017

How a poor boy from Chicago became the voice of the civil rights movement in soul's greatest vocal group, defined the black pride anthem and ...

Wilson Pickett: Tony Fletcher: In The Midnight Hour – The Life & Soul Of Wilson Pickett

Book Review by Chris Charlesworth, Just Backdated, February 2017

ABUSE RUNS in the family, or so they say. Those ill-treated as children go on to ill-treat as adults and it's near impossible to break ...

Chance the Rapper, H.E.R., PartyNextDoor, Tiwa Savage, Bryson Tiller, Yuna: Grammy Newbies: Breakout Artists Making Their First Grammys Appearance

Guide by Miles Marshall Lewis, Essence, 11 February 2017

Six artists you may have already heard of who will be gracing the Grammys red carpet for the first time. ...

Jamiroquai's Automaton

Profile and Interview by Dan Gennoe, Virgin Records, March 2017

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL spring day in a quiet corner of the English countryside. Water gently runs in a stream, birds cheerfully sing in the trees ...

Jeb Loy Nichols: Country Hustle

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, March 2017

ON COUNTRY HUSTLE, Jeb Loy Nichols' characteristic strain of expat-Americana leans away from folk and country, towards soul and funk of various forms, from his ...

Curtis Mayfield: Move On Up: Curtis Mayfield Part 2

Retrospective by Kris Needs, Shindig, March 2017

VASTLY EXCEEDING his hopes when it was released that September, Curtis was greeted as the most exciting soul album since Isaac Hayes' Hot Buttered Soul ...

The Staple Singers: Working for the Lord

Retrospective and Interview by David Burke, Vintage Rock, March 2017

THE STAPLE SINGERS were Americana before the term was even coined. They may have emerged from the gospel tradition, but the Chicago family – father ...

Thundercat: Gorilla, Manchester

Live Review by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 26 March 2017

The gifted bassist and Kendrick Lamar sidekick twists fusion, soul and hip-hop into magical shapes. ...

Thundercat: Heaven, London

Live Review by Stevie Chick, The Guardian, 29 March 2017

The prodigious bassist's songs veer between jazz fusion and intimate, soulful pop – augmented live by detours into wild improvisation ...

Thundercat: Drunk (Brainfeeder)

Review by Jamie Atkins, Record Collector, April 2017

WHILE BASSIST Thundercat has been responsible for the nimble low-end of albums by the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Erykah Badu and Flying Lotus, and has ...

Wilson Pickett: The 600 Dollar Man

Interview by Dan Nooger, Record Collector, April 2017

Wilson Pickett often cut a controversial figure; he was tough, brash and volatile. But he was also one of the great soul singers, and could ...

Lavine Hudson: The life and death of a British gospel diva

Obituary by Tony Cummings, Cross Rhythms, 15 April 2017

Tony Cummings pays tribute to gospel and R&B singer Lavine Hudson ...

Bert Berns, Lorraine Ellison, Garnet Mimms, Jerry Ragovoy, Howard Tate: Roll with the Punches: An Interview with Jerry Ragovoy

Interview by Dan Nooger, Record Collector, May 2017

The late Jerry Ragovoy wrote and arranged some of the greatest records of the last century. This unpublished interview by Dan Nooger found him recalling ...

Cody ChesnuTT: My Love Divine Degree (One Little Indian)

Review by Jamie Atkins, Record Collector, June 2017

THE SUCCESS of 2002's The Headphone Masterpiece effectively wrote soul singer Cody ChesnuTT a blank cheque in terms of creative freedom. For a record to ...

Benjamin Booker: How I turned my personal meltdown into a rallying cry for black America

Profile and Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 21 June 2017

He was overweight, abusing drugs and fleeing from his self-harming past. So he took all his problems – and turned them into the sensational new ...

Prince: Sheila E. Opens Up About What It Was Really Like Creating Timeless Music With Prince

Interview by Miles Marshall Lewis, Essence, 14 July 2017

One of the most iconic female musicians of our time shares details about her musical journey and her many collaborations with legendary entertainer Prince. ...

Living Colour's Fierce New Record Throws Shade on Lesser Bands

Profile and Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 26 July 2017

WHILE EARLY reports have pegged Living Colour's upcoming sixth studio release, Shade, as "a blues-based record", let's be clear about something. It is not an ...

Omar: Fighting His Corner

Profile and Interview by David Burke, Classic Pop, August 2017

HE WAS A pioneer of the British soul movement of the 1990s, alongside Brand New Heavies, Young Disciples and Jamiroquai, but Omar claims the genre's ...

Charles Bradley, 1948-2017

Obituary by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 24 September 2017

American soul singer and songwriter who found fame late in life ...

William Bell: The Musical River of Memphis: Deep, Wide and United

Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 27 September 2017

WRITTEN BY singer William Bell and keyboardist Booker T. Jones specifically for their Stax Records labelmate Albert King to record, 'Born Under a Bad Sign' ...

Stevie Wonder: Sound and Vision

Retrospective by David Burke, Classic Pop, October 2017

STEVIE WONDER had reached the summit with the wildly ambitious 1976 double album Songs in the Key of Life. It would become the best-selling and most ...

Terence Trent D'Arby, Sananda Maitreya: Why Terence Trent D'Arby became Sananda Maitreya: "It was that or death"

Interview by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 5 October 2017

In 1987, his debut album saw him hailed as a rival to Michael Jackson and Prince — but then his star crashed and burned. He ...

Prince: My Name Is Prince: O2, London

Review by Barney Hoskyns, The Times, 27 October 2017

I HADN'T anticipated the sudden pang of sadness as I walked in and saw all those gaudy, gloriously naff outfits. My eyes went straight to ...

Doobie Brothers, Michael McDonald, Steely Dan: Wide Open: An Interview with Michael McDonald

Interview by Gavin Martin, Rock's Backpages, November 2017

GM: I attended three Dylan shows in your hometown St. Louis in the noughties. Visiting the arch sculpture one day felt weirdly sad, a hopeful ...

Bootsy Collins: Staying on The One: Bootsy Collins' Favourite LPs

Interview by Julian Marszalek, The Quietus, 2 November 2017

Bootsy Collins helped define the sound of funk, working with Parliament and James Brown, who taught him the mysterious concept of The One. In this ...

Wilson Pickett: Tony Fletcher: In The Midnight Hour – The Life And Soul of Wilson Pickett (Oxford University Press)

Book Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, December 2017

BACK IN THE mid-1960s, Wilson Pickett was one of my main men. A series of great singles waxed for Atlantic, including 'In The Midnight Hour', covers of ...

Michael McDonald: The Godfather of Pop — Michael McDonald

Interview by David Burke, Classic Pop, January 2018

In a career spanning more than 40 years, Michael McDonald has been a member of Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers, sang with Ray Charles, ...

James Brown: Cliff White, 1945-2018

Obituary by Paul Sexton, Music Week, 30 January 2018

CLIFF WHITE, one of the UK's leading journalistic authorities on soul music and a Grammy winner for his work on James Brown's Star Time box ...

Alexander O'Neal: The Resurrection of Alexander O'Neal

Retrospective and Interview by David Burke, Classic Pop, February 2018

He was sacked by Prince, only to find fame and lose it all in an orgy of decadence. Now adopted Mancunian Alexander O'Neal is back. ...

Lisa Stansfield: "Some women will shag anything to get anywhere"

Retrospective and Interview by Kate Mossman, New Statesman, 15 February 2018

She was the biggest British female soul star of the Nineties. At 51, she's back and ready to let loose. ...

Betty Davis: Betty: They Say I'm Different (Dir. Phil Cox, Native Voice Films & La Compaigne Des Taxi Brousse)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Neil Kulkarni, The Wire, March 2018

IN A MUSIC world in which no one disappears, and even the most negligible figures can be persuaded to break their post-fame incommunicado isolation if ...

Cliff White 1945-2018

Obituary by Bill Millar, Now Dig This, March 2018

Bill Millar raises a glass to the well-known and highly respected record industry veteran, long-time R&B, rock 'n' roll, soul and blues fan who passed ...

Ayo: Nigerian-German Singer Ayo Didn't Go Into Music To Make Pop Hits And Is Unapologetic About It

Interview by Miles Marshall Lewis, Essence, 2 March 2018

ANYONE ATTEMPTING to prove the redemptive power of music needs to look no further than the Nigerian chanteuse, Ayo.  ...

Plan B: Colston Hall, Bristol

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 4 May 2018

He may have a new-found mellow maturity, but even his softer songs still had an off-putting edge of boorish, hectoring aggression ...

Plan B: Heaven Before All Hell Breaks Loose (Atlantic) 

Review by Graeme Thomson, Mail On Sunday, 6 May 2018

LAST TIME we heard from Ben Drew, six years ago, he was the Poet Laureate of Broken Britain, listing the London riots, crack addiction and ...

Beyoncé, Jay-Z: Beyoncé and Jay-Z: London Stadium

Live Review by Rick Pearson, The Evening Standard, 18 June 2018

STILL CRAZY in love? That's the message that Jay-Z and Beyoncé are keen to project during their On The Run II tour, which came to ...

Sudan Archives: I'm new here: Sudan Archives

Profile and Interview by John Lewis, Uncut, July 2018

This month: heady, Afro-futurist R&B from the violinist and singer otherwise knownas Brittney Denise Parks   ...

Marvin Gaye: Inner Sleeve: Marvin Gaye's I Want You (Tamla)

Comment by Michael A. Gonzales, The Wire, August 2018

This month's artwork chosen by Michael A Gonzales. Cover painting by Ernie Barnes ...

Aretha Franklin, 1942–2018

Obituary by Richard Williams, The Guardian, 16 August 2018

Queen of soul whose voice could scald or soothe, and whose talent drew on both sacred and secular traditions ...

Aretha Franklin: Obituary

Obituary by James Maycock, The Independent, 16 August 2018

"I JUST LOST my song!" howled Otis Redding in 1967. "That girl took it away from me!" ...

Aretha Franklin: Honoring Aretha Franklin, legendary "Queen of Soul," the greatest singer of our time

Obituary by Caryn Rose, salon.com, 16 August 2018

The following is a chapter from Women Who Rock: Bessie to Beyoncé, Girl Groups to Riot Grrrl (Black Dog & Leventhal, 2018), edited by Evelyn ...

Aretha Franklin: The First Lady: Aretha Franklin, 1942-2018

Obituary by Mark Kemp, Rock's Backpages, 16 August 2018

CHILDHOOD MEMORY: I'm ten years old and sitting on the floor in the living room of the family home in the early 1970s, vinyl albums ...

Aretha Franklin: Aretha: The Voice of America

Obituary by Carol Cooper, The Village Voice, 17 August 2018

IT MAY BE difficult for anyone born after 1980 to fully grasp how important Aretha Franklin has been to America. There is simply no longer ...

Blood Orange’s Haunted, Sexy Negro Swan

Review by Will Hermes, Rolling Stone, 27 August 2018

Dev Hynes delivers praise songs to self-realization and fluidity, with help from Janet Mock, A$AP Rocky, P-Diddy and others. ...

Level 42: Next-Level Thinking

Retrospective and Interview by David Burke, Classic Pop, September 2018

Level 42 embark on a 19-date Eternity tour of the UK this autumn. But don't expect to hear anything new. "I'm as dry as granny's ...

Candi Staton: The Godmother of Pop: Candi Staton

Retrospective and Interview by David Burke, Classic Pop, September 2018

CANDI STATON is set to release Unstoppable, her 30th album of a 50-year career, and hoping to score a sixth hit in as many decades. ...

Aretha Franklin: The world says a little prayer for the Queen of Soul

Obituary by Nicholas Jennings, Hello!, 3 September 2018

SHE HAD A VOICE that perfectly blended the sacred and the secular, one that could scale gospel highs and move effortlessly from jazz and blues ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, Shemekia Copeland, Charley Crockett, Anderson East, Sam Lewis, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, St. Paul & the Broken Bones, The War and Treaty: Tracing the Influence of Bobby "Blue" Bland in Americana

Report and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Nashville Scene, 6 September 2018

A look at new work by Nathaniel Rateliff, Anderson East, Shemekia Copeland and other artists playing AmericanaFest ...

Prince: Piano And A Microphone 1983

Review by Graeme Thomson, Mail On Sunday, 8 September 2018

We already knew Prince was a genius, but worth-the-wait posthumous release Piano And A Microphone 1983 deepens our understanding of why. ...

Dionne Warwick: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 20 September 2018

The singer still oozes stage presence, but age has reduced her range to such an extent that many of her songs are sketches of their ...

Prince: Piano & a Microphone 1983 — revelatory listen from a colossal talent

Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 21 September 2018

THE RECORDINGS on this posthumous Prince album weren't originally intended for release. But they capture Prince Rogers Nelson at the peak of his powers, alone ...

Stan Lewis, 1927-2018

Obituary by Tony Burke, Record Collector, October 2018

STAN LEWIS, (aka "Stan the Record Man"), died in Ruston, Louisiana, on July 14th, aged 91. Born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1927, he worked at his ...

Vulfpeck: O2 Academy, Brixton

Live Review by Jasper Murison-Bowie, Rock's Backpages, 4 October 2018

VULFPECK HAVE a lot of fans. And why shouldn't they? They are talented musicians who make tight records and they've shown themselves to be shrewd ...

Booker T & The MGs: How Stax Records Merged the Music and the Message in 1968

Retrospective and Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 22 October 2018

AS BOTH THE history books and an endless stream of 50th anniversary documentaries have taught us, 1968 was an Especially Important Year in the United ...

Mabel: O2 Academy Brixton, SW9

Live Review by Rick Pearson, The Evening Standard, 13 December 2018

MABEL MCVEY's mother is Swedish singer-songwriter Neneh Cherry (she of '7 Seconds' fame); her father is Massive Attack producer Cameron McVey. But she's a star ...

Anita Ward: Last of the Disco Queens

Interview by Tom Graves, Memphis Downtowner, Summer 2018

IN 1979 AN unknown singer from Memphis named Anita Ward was talked into recording a disco song she did not particularly like to complete her ...

Dusty Springfield: Simply... Dusty (Mercury)

Review by Steve Pafford, Mojo Collections, 2019

ALL THE EXTRANEOUS talk of tantrums and tears, beehives, booze and bisexuality has, over the years, tended to overshadow the fact that Dusty Springfield was, ...

Arlo Parks: On The Rise: Arlo Parks

Interview by Pip Williams, The Line of Best Fit, 28 January 2019

18-year-old South Londoner Arlo Parks puts identity and generational anxiety at the heart of her affecting, soulful left-field pop. ...

James Ingram, 1952-2019

Obituary by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 30 January 2019

WHEN HE topped the US singles chart in 1990 with 'I Don't Have the Heart', it was the first time James Ingram had scored a ...

Chaka Khan: Hello Happiness (Diary/Island)

Review by David Bennun, Metro, 10 February 2019

Ch-arge of energy from Chaka bursting with life and joy ...

Beyoncé: I'm More Than What You Made of Me: Making Sense of Beyoncé's Curious Film Career

Essay by Jason King, Red Bull Academy Magazine, 18 February 2019

Jason King explores the best and worst of Beyoncé's movie roles – and how they help us better understand her path to global superstardom. ...

Clydie King, 1943-2019

Obituary by Tony Burke, Record Collector, March 2019

CLYDIE KING, who became one of the leading session and go-to back up singers during the 1970s, died  on 7th January, aged 75. ...

John Medeski: Mad Skillet (Indirecto)

Review by J.D. Considine, Downbeat, March 2019

For John Medeski's Mad Skillet, it's all about the bass — or in this case, the sousaphone. Because in Medeski's New Orleans funk band, it's ...

Jackie Shane: Transgender soul singer thrilled crowds

Obituary by Nicholas Jennings, The Globe and Mail, 2 March 2019

JACKIE SHANE broke all the rules. An American-born, black, transgender woman, Ms. Shane first came to Canada in the conservative early 1960s and won over ...

Solange: When I Get Home

Review by Kate Mossman, The Observer, 9 March 2019

Solange Knowles's tantalising fourth album conjures fragments and fleeting impressions that get inside your head. ...

Anderson .Paak: "People are like – Damn! How are you not on crack cocaine right now?"

Profile and Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 13 April 2019

The soul and funk innovator on his turbulent childhood, subverting "morose" hip-hop and why he's pro-Kanye. ...

Drake review: O2, London

Live Review by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 13 April 2019

Dazzling visuals have no story to tell in a disjointed set with killer hits – and money – to burn. ...

Roy Orbison, Roscoe Shelton, Joe Simon: Fred Foster, 1931-2019

Obituary by Tony Burke, Record Collector, May 2019

FRED FOSTER, the founder of Monument and Sound Stage 7 Records, died on 20th February in Nashville, aged 87. Born in North Carolina in 1931 ...

Lou Johnson, 1941-2019

Obituary by Tony Burke, Record Collector, June 2019

NORTHERN SOUL favourite Lou Johnson died on 1stt May, aged 78. Born in 1941 in Brooklyn, New York, Lou sang in gospel groups including the Zionettes ...

Junior Giscombe: The Godfathers of Pop: Junior Giscombe

Interview by David Burke, Classic Pop, June 2019

JUNIOR GISCOMBE cut his teeth as a backing vocalist with Linx before enjoying success as a solo artist with 'Mama Used to Say', a 1982 ...

Dr. John: Revisitation Rights: Some People Call Me "Professor Dr. John"

Retrospective by Don Snowden, Rock's Backpages, 21 June 2019

"SOME PEOPLE call me Professor Dr. John…" No, that doesn't work. ...

Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Smokey Robinson and the Art of Pop

Retrospective by Mitchell Cohen, Music Aficionado, August 2019

"I DON'T LIKE you, but I love you." Those eight words, the ones that start off 'You've Really Got a Hold on Me', were the ...

Anderson .Paak: O2 Academy, Birmingham

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 26 August 2019

High levels of crowd-pleasing showmanship ...

Lizzo: The Year of Lizzo took its time getting here

Preview by Maura Johnston, The Boston Globe, 8 September 2019

IT'S SAFE TO say that Lizzo is one of 2019's defining pop artists. Her album Cuz I Love You is entrenched in the Billboard 200 ...

Khalid, Ed Sheeran: Khalid: The O2, London

Live Review by Rick Pearson, The Evening Standard, 18 September 2019

Khalid gets an Ed start as Ginger One joins in ...

Five Star: And Then There Was One…

Retrospective and Interview by David Burke, Classic Pop, October 2019

At their '80s peak Five Star lived the high life in a Berkshire mansion and drove a fleet of supercars. But then the hits dried ...

The Rascals and the Rock-Soul Explosion

Retrospective by Mitchell Cohen, Music Aficionado, October 2019

THE SEPTEMBER 2014 event at NYU's Provincetown Playhouse was formally billed as a Songwriters Hall of Fame Master Session, but when it concluded with John ...

Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Ke$ha, Kendrick Lamar, Usher: Activism, Identity Politics, and Pop's Great Awokening

Comment by Jason King, Pitchfork, 11 October 2019

From Beyoncé to Kendrick to Kesha, pop's turn to political activism produced some of the decade's most memorable moments. ...

Tricky: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 27 October 2019

After a year of tragedy, the spotlight-shy producer stays in the shadows during this erratic yet utterly mesmerising set. ...

The Supremes, Mary Wilson: Mary Wilson: "Motown was like walking into Disneyland"

Interview by Barbara Ellen, The Observer, 29 October 2019

MARY WILSON, 75, was a founding member of the Supremes, with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard. At their 1960s peak, with Detroit-based Motown records, the ...

Michael Kiwanuka's music is medicine for the soul

Interview by Paul Moody, AnOther Magazine, 31 October 2019

The softly-spoken singer opens up to Paul Moody about the 70s, self-expression and his self-titled new album, which comes out tomorrow ...

Donnie Fritts, 1942-2019; Jimmy Johnson, 1943-2019; Larry "The Mole" Taylor, 1942-2019

Obituary by Tony Burke, Record Collector, November 2019

SINGER, SONGWRITER and piano player Donnie Fritts – a key member of the session musicians who shaped the sound of soul music recorded in Muscle ...

Lizzo: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by David Bennun, Metro, 8 November 2019

ALL BIG ACTS start small – but the difference between the Lizzo who played a hole in Brighton's seafront wall five years ago, and the ...

Sampa the Great: Rough Trade, Bristol

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 19 November 2019

RADIATING THE kind of energy that could power a small city, the rising Afro-soul star Sampa the Great played to a rapturous crowd in Bristol. ...

Tina Turner at 80

Retrospective by Steve Pafford, stevepafford.com, 26 November 2019

How a middle aged woman from Tennessee pulled off the greatest comeback in music history ...

Burt Bacharach and the Invention of Modern Cosmopolitan Pop

Retrospective by Mitchell Cohen, Music Aficionado, March 2020

GENERALLY, SONGWRITERS who aren't also performers don't become celebrities. They don't get to host television specials, or appear in commercials alongside their glamorous wives, or ...

Michael Kiwanuka: O2 Academy, Birmingham

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 2 March 2020

The two-time Brit nominee rejects a brash victory lap in favour of a deep dive into his socially conscious hit album ...

Doris Duke, 1941–2019

Obituary by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, April 2020

THE GREAT DEEP soul singer Doris Duke passed away on 21st March, 2019. The only mention I could find about her death is a reference on ...

AC/DC, The Band, James Brown, Kate Bush, Johnny Cash, Cheap Trick, Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, Peter Frampton, Aretha Franklin, Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bob Marley & the Wailers, MC5, Metallica, Joni Mitchell, Motörhead, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, The Ramones, Simon & Garfunkel, Bruce Springsteen, Supertramp, Talking Heads, Thin Lizzy, U2, The Who, Wilco, Bill Withers: The 30 best live concert albums of all time

Guide by Ian Winwood, Daily Telegraph, 22 April 2020

LAST WEEK, A STORY appeared in the New York Times that predicted that live music would not return to the world's stages until the autumn ...

Bonnie Pointer, The Pointer Sisters: Bonnie Pointer, 1950-2020

Obituary by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 10 June 2020

"I'M THE KIND OF PERSON who likes to do adventurous, new things," said the singer Bonnie Pointer in 1979. "It's got to be a challenge ...

Pacific Breeze

Column by Wayne Robins, Copper, 15 June 2020

IT MIGHT BE hard to imagine, but there was a time when there was not a Japanese restaurant in every city neighborhood and suburban strip ...

Eddie Floyd with Tony Fletcher: Knock! Knock! Knock! On Wood – A Life In Soul

Book Review by Chris Charlesworth, Just Backdated, 30 September 2020

EDDIE FLOYD isn't a household name like Wilson Pickett or Otis Redding, his private life was never as lively as Marvin Gaye or James Brown, ...

Jaguar Wright: Denials, Delusions and Decisions

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, soulhead, 19 October 2020

HAILED BY TA-NEHISI Coates as "an amazing singer," in 2002, artist Jaguar (Jacquelyn) Wright was destined to be the next big thang, but something happened. ...

Jimi Hendrix, Little Richard: 'I Don't Know What You've Got': Little Richard With Young Jimi Hendrix

Retrospective by Paul Sexton, uDiscoverMusic, 20 November 2020

'I Don't Know What You've Got (But It's Got Me)' became Richard's last Top 20 R&B hit and featured a future superstar guitarist. ...

Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Lonnie Mack: Peter Guralnick Gets Lost in Profiles of Musical Giants

Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 3 December 2020

PETER GURALNICK didn't set out to be a music journalist. The occupation didn't really exist at the time when a combination of luck and bluster ...

Celeste: Not Your Muse (Polydor)

Review by Lisa Verrico, The Sunday Times, 31 January 2021

ANOINTED BY the Brit awards as 2020’s rising star, Celeste hasn’t lived up to the hype. ...

Aretha Franklin: Preacher's Daughter

Book Excerpt by Tony Scherman, PopMatters, 12 March 2021

Our recent glimpse of Tony Scherman's biography in progress, I Gave My Heart and Soul to You: The Triumph of Aretha Franklin, told the story ...

Sananda Maitreya: Pandora's PlayHouse (TreeHouse)

Review by Michael A. Gonzales, The Wire, April 2021

YEARS BEFORE Terence Trent D'Arby renamed himself Sananda Maitreya, he was a mid-1980s sensation embraced by the UK pop media, the US alternative press, Black ...

Raye: Polydor records respond after RAYE says she hasn't "been allowed" to release her debut album

Report by Patrick Clarke, New Musical Express, 30 June 2021

RAYE has expressed her frustration that she's yet to release her debut album, despite having been signed on a major label deal with Polydor for ...

Rose Royce: How we made 'Car Wash'

Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 12 July 2021

"THIS WILL never be a hit, we told each other — we are literally singing about a car wash!" ...

The 5th Dimension, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King: Stevie, Gladys, Nina … Summer of Soul uncovers a festival greater than Woodstock

Retrospective and Interview by Stevie Chick, The Guardian, 15 July 2021

As the US boiled with violence, 1969's Harlem cultural festival nourished spirits with soul, jazz and gospel. Now, Questlove has turned lost footage of it ...

Rick James: "There's a lot to unpack": the dark, difficult life of Rick James

Retrospective by Jim Farber, The Guardian, 2 September 2021

In a new documentary, the defining funk artist's ups and many downs are examined with a clear eye and a lack of sugar-coating. ...

Esther Phillips: Pee Wee Ellis' work with Esther Phillips: A tale of the tape

Memoir by Dan Nooger, Soul Source, 29 September 2021

PEE WEE ELLIS, best known for his groundbreaking work with James Brown, had worked as Esther Phillips' bandleader back in the 1970s. In an interview ...

Tina Turner: Regal, Fierce & Divine: Tina Turner Roars into the Rock Hall on her own terms

Retrospective and Interview by Holly Gleason, Pollstar, October 2021

TINA TURNER in a chain mail dress… Tina Turner in a black leather mini skirt, denim jacket, seam up the back of those legs… Tina Turner in ...

Dionne Warwick: For the Love of Dionne

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Oldster, 6 October 2021

A new documentary and an art exhibit put 80-year-old Dionne Warwick back in the spotlight. But as far as journalist and critic Michael A. Gonzales ...

Bob Fisher, 1947-2021

Obituary by Bill Millar, Now Dig This, November 2021

Bill Millar commemorates the life of the gifted writer and pioneering back catalogue expert whose devotion to rock n roll, blues and soul enhanced the ...

The Beatles, Billy Preston: The blazing talent – and heartbreaking decline – of "fifth Beatle" Billy Preston

Retrospective by Ian Winwood, Daily Telegraph, 26 November 2021

The revered keyboardist saved Let It Be and put his fingerprints on countless rock classics. But he kept his true self hidden to the end. ...

Al Green, Willie Mitchell: Let's Stay Together: Willie Mitchell on Al Green and Hi Records

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Rock's Backpages, January 2022

IT'S BEEN OVER a half a century since Al Greene & the Soulmates [sic], then based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, released their first album Back ...

Michael Kiwanuka: O2 Academy, Glasgow

Live Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 9 May 2022

MICHAEL KIWANUKA began this tour two years and two months ago. Just three dates in, acute laryngitis forced him off stage in Bournemouth before Covid ...

Sylvia Robinson: Chess Records: The All Platinum Years

Book Excerpt by Dan Nooger, unpublished, October 2022

NOTE: This is part of a proposal for Dan's book about Chess Records ...

Living Colour: Pride: Living Colour's Time's Up

Book Excerpt by Kimberly Mack, Bloomsbury Books, May 2023

This is an excerpt from Chapter 3 of Kimberly's 33 1/3 study of Living Colour's second album. ...

Durand Jones: Wait Til I Get Over

Review by Tom Doyle, MOJO, June 2023

Louisiana singer cuts loose from the Indications for solo debut. ...

James Brown: Think!

Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 7 June 2023

IT IS 1960 and we are along the lined streets of early James Brown, having steadily moved from Little Richard inspired tonal rock to Ray ...

SZA: O2 Arena

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Evening Standard, 19 June 2023

A MARATHON 30-song musical feast became a swashbuckling maritime adventure as SZA brought her SOS world tour to London for this, the second in an extended four-night ...

The Spinners: "Our voices chose for us"

Retrospective and Interview by Jim Farber, TIDAL, 17 August 2023

Henry Fambrough, the legendary soul group's last surviving original member, recounts their biopic-worthy story, from the Detroit projects to the Rock & Roll Hall of ...

back to LIBRARY

COPYRIGHT NOTICE