Tony Cummings
Tony Cummings' journalistic career started in 1963 when he started a black music fanzine originally called Soul, then Soul Music Monthly and finally Shout. By 1971 he was writing occasionally for Record Mirror and then in 1973 joined Black Music magazine as Staff Writer, eventually becoming Editor. Over the next few years he interviewed such artists as Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, Michael Jackson and hundreds more. He stopped writing for the magazine in 1976 and converted to Christianity in 1980. Within a year he was married and began to write for the Christian magazine Buzz who soon offered him the position of assistant editorship, where he interviewed people such as Rev Ian Paisley and Cliff Richard. He later became the editor of Christian music magazine Cross Rhythms.
67 articles
List of articles in the library
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. ...
Comment by Tony Cummings, Record Mirror, 20 November 1971
...the feud that rages between North and South ...
The Fatback Band: Fatback Band: People Music (Perception 43)
Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1973
"GOOD EVENING ladies and gentlemen we would like to welcome you to a studio discotheque with the Fatback Band. We want you to sit back ...
Grover Washington Jr: Grover's Bringing Jazz Back to the Charts
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1973
"IT ALL HAPPENED so fast. One day people weren't listening to jazz — they'd look at an album and say 'This is jazz, this is ...
Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1973
WELL THEY didn't quite make it with another killer. There's probably some slyly subtle reason why it was felt appropriate to put 'Cabaret' on the ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Profile by Tony Cummings, Black Music, January 1974
IN 1958 IN every high school in every state of America, students (some with talent, some without) were forming themselves into would-be doo-wop groups. Two ...
Philadelphia Special: Gamble and Huff
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, January 1974
ONCE, FOR A fleeting blink of times' eye, Philadelphia was the centre of it all. When the world danced the twist with Chubby Checker... everybody ...
Thom Bell, The Delfonics, The Spinners, The Stylistics: Philly Special: The Thom Bell Story
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, January 1974
THOM BELL smiles a lot. And it isn't only his natural good humour which creases his handsome, bearded face into another explosion of laughter. Over ...
Profile and Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1974
AROUND THE time 'Let's Stay Together' was becoming the biggest selling single of all time for London Records in the USA (beating the Stones' 'Satisfaction'), ...
Dobie Gray: The Country Soul of Dobie Gray
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1974
CAN A WHITE man sing the blues? Now there's a cliché guaranteed to remove the enamel from a purist's teeth. Would say a purist: how ...
Live Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1974
THE GEOGRAPHICAL luck of being able to catch the Philly package twice (at Croydon's Fairfield Hall and Hammersmith's Odeon) had its disadvantages too. Large chunks ...
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 ...
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 ...
Mickey & Sylvia, Sylvia Robinson: Sexy Soul: Another Big One for Sylvia!
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, May 1974
She had a big hit with the sexy 'Pillow Talk' and she's doing it again with 'Sweet Stuff'. Sylvia purrs to a heavy-breathing Tony Cummings... ...
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, May 1974
AIRRON LOVE, spokesman for the Stylistics, didn't seem to realise he was announcing something guaranteed to reduce thousands of the group's loyal following to hand ...
Mel & Tim: Good Guys Sometimes Win
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, June 1974
MEL AND TIM'S 'Starting All Over Again' was one of THE records of last year. When that wistful hopeful voice sang: "Starting all over again ...
Syl Johnson: Different Strokes
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, June 1974
From Chicago blues sideman to Memphis soul star: the story of Syl Johnson ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974
THREE ENCOUNTERS with Ann Peebles: the first painful, the second enjoyable, the third revealing. ...
Denise LaSalle: Doin' it Right
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974
DENISE LASALLE is a mass of contradictions. She prefers her music "mean, down-home and funky" but would "like to do a session in Philadelphia". She ...
Larry Graham: Graham Central Station: Release Yourself (Warner Bros. K 56062). ****
Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974
AN ANOMALY: a funky band which is difficult, often impossible, to dance to. The extraordinary spiralling rhythms produced by the Arps, synthesizers and funk-boxes of ...
Latimore: More More More Latimore (President 1062) ****
Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974
'Ain't Nothin' You Can Do'/'Snap Your Fingers'/'That's How It Is'/'Let's Straighten It Out'/'Ain't Nobody Gonna Make Me Change My Mind'/'I Don't Know'/'Put Pride Aside'/'Everyday'. ...
Love Unlimited: In Heat (20th Century)***
Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974
YOU'D BE hard put to find a music journalist who'd ADMIT to liking this album. Those insecure defenders of "integrity" obviously view the plastic Love ...
Eddie Holman: Natural High: The second coming of Eddie Holman
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974
WHEN EDDIE Holman sings his voice soars from a rich, vibrant tenor into one of the most heart-stopping falsettos in black music. But when the ...
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1974
BACK IN 1967 Motown decided to give a break to one of their secretaries who was busting for a recording break. Nick Ashford and Val ...
Profile and Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, January 1975
Herbie Hancock — voted top jazz artist of 1974 by Black Music readers — talks to Tony Cummings ...
Lamont Dozier: Black Bach (ABC) ***; The New Lamont Dozier/Love And Beauty (US Invictus XS98) ****
Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1975
WHEN, AFTER all those years languishing in the background boy's shadows, things started to move for Lamont as an artist, they moved with lightning speed. ...
Al Green, Willie Mitchell, Ann Peebles: Willie Mitchell: Memphis Maestro
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1975
Tony Cummings talks to WILLIE MITCHELL, man behind Al Green and that Memphis sound... ...
Dionne Warwicke: I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself...
Retrospective by Tony Cummings, Black Music, March 1975
Dionne Warwicke is one of the great voices of black music. Back in the 60s she and maestro Burt Bacharach pioneered the sophisticated soul sounds ...
The Ohio Players: The Funk Masters #1: The Ohio Players
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, April 1975
The Ohio Players and Kool & the Gang hit town last month, and suddenly dreary ol' London town became Bump City. Tony Cummings reports... ...
Kool and the Gang: The Funk Masters #2: Kool & the Gang
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, April 1975
The Ohio Players and Kool & the Gang hit town last month, and suddenly dreary ol' London town became Bump City. Tony Cummings reports... ...
The Jimmy Castor Bunch: Castor's Last Stand? No Way!
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, May 1975
From 50s doowop to 70s superfunk... this man has done it all. And he's still doin' it. TONY CUMMINGS on the rise of Jimmy Castor ...
Overview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, May 1975
Moments, Whatnauts, Shirley And Company, Sylvia... the chartbusting music they're calling the "New Jersey Sound" comes from just one source: All Platinum Records. Tony Cummings ...
Gloria Gaynor & the Disco Boom
Overview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, June 1975
"WE'RE PRODUCTION-orientated sure, but I can't agree that we're cynical in our approach. We simply carry our production techniques one stage further than the competition. ...
Love Unlimited, Barry White: The Barry White Story
Profile by Tony Cummings, Black Music, July 1975
Everything you ever wanted to know about the giant of sexy soul ...
Van McCoy, The Stylistics: Van McCoy: The Hustler
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, July 1975
Disco hero of 'Hustle' fame... man behind the Stylistics' current success... and writer, producer, arranger whose hits go back 15 years. The legendary VAN McCOY ...
Allen Toussaint: Southern Nights (Warner Bros. K 54021)***
Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1975
THE FRUSTRATION of unfulfilled potential is never more strongly felt than when listening to the recordings of Allen Toussaint. As a producer for others he ...
Hamilton Bohannon: Bohannon: Have a Good Day…
Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1975
Hamilton Bohannon has words with Tony Cummings... ...
Charlie & Ray, Frankie "Half-Pint" Jaxon, Valentino: Gay Soul
Overview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1975
Valentino's 'I Was Born This Way' is probably the most upfront "gay" record ever to get played in the discos (where it's a big hit). ...
The Isley Brothers: The Heat Is On (Epic) ****
Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1975
BLACK MUSIC generally chooses not to join the rock musicians' never-ending search to find new styles and influences — a search which usually ends up ...
Johnny Nash: The Johnny Nash Story
Retrospective and Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1975
POPULAR MUSIC is crammed with bizarre change-arounds: of pop singers who "go soul" of rock groups who "discover" the blues, even of R&B singers who ...
Average White Band, Biddu, The Olympic Runners, Pete Wingfield: Blue-eyed Soul
Overview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, September 1975
Once it was just a pale imitation of the real thing. But now, with the Average White Band, Kokomo and Pete Wingfield high in the ...
Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, September 1975
THE REVOLUTION will not be televised... but then, neither will it be recorded. Gil Scott-Heron, the singer/composer/poet whose angry eloquence has gradually found the attentive ...
Rance Allen Group: Sanctified (Stax)
Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, September 1975
THERE DOESN'T exist the vocabulary to do justice to this album. In an age when soul's countless sub-divisions (sweet soul, sophistisoul, disco music and pop ...
Sam Dees: The Show Must Go On (Atlantic K50142) *****
Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, September 1975
THAT THE soul album of the year should be made by a vocalist whose voice is patently unsensational — albeit gritty and eloquent — and ...
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… ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
The Stylistics: You Are Beautiful (Avco 9109 00S) **
Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, February 1976
OLD LOYALTIES die hard. As one whose heart still flutters when recalling an onstage version of 'You Are Everything' done in the purest a cappella, ...
The 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 ...
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 ...
Black Gospel Music: A white fan considers a hundred-year musical history
Memoir by Tony Cummings, Contemporary Musicians, 25 February 2016
White journalist Tony Cummings muses on his decades-long fascination with black gospel music. ...
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 ...
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