musicology #0622
24 Dec 2010 2 Comments
in America, Christmas, femalevocalsUSA, Rhythm&Blues, Soul, themusicologist Tags: Christmas Rhythm and Blues mp3, Hadda Brooks mp3, Irving Berlin, themusicologist, white christmas mp3
ChristmasComing #15
Hadda Brooks – White Christmas
Can’t believe that I haven’t already laid it down on themusicologist over the last 4 years..!! For me the BEST version of this Irving Berlin penned classic courtesy of the MAJESTIC Hadda ‘Queen Of The Boogie’ Brooks.
LISTEN TUNE…
musicology #0616
11 Dec 2010 1 Comment
in America, Christmas, femalevocalsUSA, Rhythm&Blues, vocal group Tags: Christmas Music mp3, Doo Wop Christmas music, Gonna Have A Merry Xmas mp3, Johnny Otis, Mickey Champion mp3, Rhythm and Blues Christmas mp3, The Nic Nacs mp3, themusicologist, vocal group mp3, West Coast Doo Wop mp3
ChristmasComing #9
The Nic Nacs – Gonna Have A Merry Xmas
Moving out of the festive sounds of Jamaica and into this majestic slice of West Coast Rhythm and Blues/Doo Wop/Vocal Group Christmas action from the Nic Nacs, fronted in the finest style by the vocal talents of Mickey Champion who has been working it since being ‘discovered’ by the Legendary band leader Johnny Otis in L.A back in the mists of time…BOSS tune.
musicology #575
08 Sep 2010 2 Comments
in America, femalevocalsUSA, mod/ern/ist, Rhythm&Blues Tags: 1964, 60's soul mp3, Atlantic Records, Little Esther Phillips mp3, Mojo Hannah mp3, themusicologist
Essential Cuts #5
(Little Esther Phillips – Mojo Hannah)
Fuck the words…hold this ESSENTIAL, (1964), Rhythm & Blues cut from one of the GREAT female vocalists.
musicology #557
09 Jul 2010 1 Comment
in America, duets, femalevocalsUSA, Mod, Rhythm&Blues, Soul Tags: 1964, Charlie and Inez Foxx mp3, Juggy Murray, Mod music, New York Soul, rhythm and blues mp3, Symbol 45, themusicologist
Shake It Up & Go #4
(Inez & Charlie Foxx – Hurt By Love)
Continuing with the Shake selection that I threw down last weekend. 1964, (New York), cut on Juggy Murray’s Symbol label.
musicology #555
07 Jul 2010 1 Comment
in America, femalevocalsUSA, Mod, Rhythm&Blues Tags: 1962, Ike and Tina Turner mp3, Ikettes, Juggy Murray, mod 45, Rhythm and Blues 45 mp3, sue 45, themusicologist
Shake It Up & Go #2
(Ike & Tina Turner – Tina’s Dilemma)
Part two of the ‘Shake’ selection that I played on Saturday night. Big Rhythm & Blues cut courtesy of the Trailblazing Ike Turner, featuring Tina on vocals and, I imagine, the Iketttes on backup.
I remember when I laid down a tribute to Ike on themusicologist to mark his passing I found myself in dialogue with some who felt it was their duty to remind me of his treatment of Tina and pour scorn on the man for his behaviour. I replied that themusicologist is a page for honouring music and passing judgement on peoples ‘business’ holds absolutely no interest for me. Personally I have never laid a hand on a woman or bullied anyone but I have seen the results of it for myself and knew the couple very well and I remember asking her, (as I found it impossible to comprehend), why she stayed to which she replied wholeheartedly that she loved him….who was I to argue.
45 on Juggy Murray’s Sue Label released in the pivotal year of 1962, (important year for mod/ernists)
Listen Tune…
musicology #550
12 Jun 2010 1 Comment
in America, femalevocalsUSA, Gospel Tags: gospel mp3, Hermann Hesse quote, Rock me mp3, Sister Rosetta Tharpe mp3, themusicologist
Times #2
(Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Rock Me)
“During the dark hours I felt my sick heart expand and beat more furiously, and I no longer made any distinction between pleasure and pain, both hurt and both were precious. Whether my inner life went well or badly, my discovered strength stood peacefully outside looking on and knew that light and dark were closely related and that sorrow and peace were rhythm, part and spirit of the same great music…” Hermann Hesse – Gertrude – 1955
musicology #502
26 Feb 2010 2 Comments
in America, femalevocalsUSA, Soul Tags: Ann Peebles mp3, Give Me Some Credit mp3, soul mp3, themusicologist
SoulBoy #21
(Ann Peebles – Give Me Some Credit)
last few cuts on the SoulBoy..looking forward to listening back to the theme in all it’s glory. almost impossible when in the eye of a theme. So without further delay hold this quality cut from Soul songstress Ann Peebles.
musicology #495
13 Feb 2010 1 Comment
in America, femalevocalsUSA, Soul Tags: 1970, Art, Bettye Lavette mp3, communication, Easier To Say Than Do mp3, Emotions, Shelby Singleton, soul mp3, SSS International, themusicologist
SoulBoy #14
(Bettye Lavette – Easier To Say Than Do)
What is Soul? have I asked this question before? can’t remember and to be honest I don’t think I’ll go back over the last 494 diary entries to satisfy my curiousity ! all I can say is that for me Soul communicates with my emotions in ways that only music seems to be able to. I enjoy looking at Art and reading it too but there’s something about listening to it that has a transcendent quality that words can’t describe..So instead I’ll leave it to the music..
Today’s cut is a first on themusicologist not only for the artist but also for the way in which it was delivered.courtesy of a fellow musicologist who I have had the pleasure to hook up with via the musical diary. The first in a series? of collaborations between themusicologist and audience. Recorded in 1970 for Shelby Singletons SSS International label but not released? BIG label for the Northern Soul Cats this is a fine piece of Soul from a great singer who first recorded at the dawn of Soul in 1962. Probably best known in the Soul community for her Marrow trembling ‘Let Me Down Easy’ .. Still going strong Bettye Lavette is a genuine Soul singer of the highest order.
musicology #493
11 Feb 2010 2 Comments
in America, femalevocalsUSA, Mod, Soul Tags: 1963, 60's soul mp3, Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas mp3, Minit 45, Modernist mp3, New Orleans Soul, Otis Redding, Ruler Of My Heart mp3, The Queen Of New Orleans Soul, themusicologist
SoulBoy #12
(Irma Thomas – Ruler Of My Heart)
Love the way the SoulBoy is shaping up….Soul and Reggae are the two musical languages that I am fiercely passionate about..I like many genres and almost all styles but nothing connects with the I like these two. Maybe it’s because I was brought up with them? especially Soul, the sweet sounds of Jamaica didn’t make an appearance until I was 3 or 4 years old but Soul is in my flesh, blood and bones…prenatal style !!
Seems like the Soul Kitchen’s hotting up with every cut so i’ll keep up the pressure with this piece from the superb Irma Thomas..well known to Soul Cats and Kittens for many a fine slice, (this being one of them), ‘The Queen of New Orleans Soul’ started out singing in a Baptist Church choir as a teenager but it wasn’t until 1960 that she ‘waxed her first side’. Like all the great New Orleans Soul singers of the sixties it was on the pioneering label Minit that she really begun to cut loose under the wing and watchful eye of the legendary Allen Toussaint, producer, arranger, songwriter and piano maestro whose contribution to the emerging sound now known as Soul deserves, (and gets), honourable recognition. Today’s cut was reinterpreted by the ‘Big O’ for his first solo outing ‘Pain In My Heart’ and as good as that is, for me, this one reaches out even further. 1963 recording on the Minit label. Already featured twice on themusicologist, (#150/ #359 Irma Thomas oozes Soul.
musicology #491
08 Feb 2010 5 Comments
in America, femalevocalsUSA, Gospel, Soul Tags: Candi Staton mp3, Fame Records, Muscle Shoals, rick hall, Southern Soul mp3, themusicologist, To Hear You Say You're Mine mp3
SoulBoy #10
(Candi Staton – To Hear You Say You’re Mine)
Listening back over the SoulBoy I realised that the Ladies hadn’t got a look in !! so this week I aim to rectify that and roll with some female action..starting with this one from the SUPERB Candi Staton. Yet another graduate from the school of Gospel..(where almost ALL the greatest Soul Singers started), Candi Staton is best known for ‘Young Hearts Run Free’ but at the end of the 60′s and into the early 70′s she recorded for Rick Hall and his majestic Fame label from whence today’s cut came.
musicology #475
14 Jan 2010 6 Comments
in America, femalevocalsUSA, Jazz, Lyrics Tags: 1938, Benny Morton, Billie Holiday Lyrics, Billie Holiday mp3, Buck Clayton, Freddie Green, Jazz Vocal mp3, Lester Young, my first impression of you mp3, Walter Page and Jo Jones.
(Billie Holiday – My First Impression Of You)
Today will always be a very special date in my calender…our beautiful son’s birthday. The boy is 12 and I love him more than words alone could ever suggest. The kid is a constant source of joy and inspiration, (they both are), and I just want to lay one down for the kitten in an effort to express my feelings for him.
Recorded 72 years ago, (almost to the day), in New York on January 6th 1938 and featuring an all star cast of Buck Clayton, Benny Morton, Lester Young, Teddy Wilson, Freddie Green, Walter Page and Jo Jones.
Fabian this one’s ALL yours…LISTEN TUNE…..
“My first impression of you was like a sight of flowers in spring,
You were a glorious thing..to see,
My first impression of you was something indescribably new,
I stood there looking at you smiling at me,
If you had stepped right out of heaven it wouldn’t surprise me more,
I thought you were an angel from heavens door,
It may sound silly but true my heart just stopped when I caught your eye,
So overwhelming was my first impression of you”….
musicology #473
10 Jan 2010 13 Comments
in America, blues, femalevocalsUSA, Jazz Tags: Billie Holiday mp3, Billy Taylor and Kelly Martin, Decca mp3, Jazz mp3, Joe Guy, Joe Springer, themusicologist, Tiny Grimes, Weep No More mp3
2LegendsClash II #9
(Billie Holiday – Big Stuff)
penultimate cut of the two legends…feels like the time has come to move on up.
1946 cut on the Decca label. Recorded in New York on March 13th. Featuring Joe Guy, Joe Springer, Tiny Grimes, Billy Taylor and Kelly Martin.
musicology #472
09 Jan 2010 1 Comment
in America, blues, femalevocalsUSA, Jazz, Soul Tags: blues mp3, Catharsis, Dinah Washington mp3, Jazz mp3, Junior Mance, The Blues, The Man That Got Away mp3, themusicologist
2LegendsClash II #8
(Dinah Washington -The Man That Got Away)
Today’s appropriate cut from the Legend that we know as Dinah Washington is one for those who know that the only blues is the ‘done lost my wo/man’ blues and no-one sings ‘em better than Ruth Jones….Hold this quote from Pianist Junior Mance, ( 2 year musical companion of Dinah’s), who said;
“When I went to work with Dinah Washington, I learned what the blues were all about”
That’s not to say that the Blues are all about sadness…they’re not. I wrote recently about catharsis and that is what the blues are really all about. No good suppressing your feelings as one day when you are least expecting it they will come back and tear the heart and soul out of you. Another thing to bear in mind is that as sure as the sun shines trouble don’t last always and if you don’t feel pain you won’t recognise joy when it returns into your life.
This one from Dinah is from her Roulette days, (which turned out to be her last), recorded and released in the early 60′s by which time she had been married SEVEN times, (For those who don’t know her story she died at the tender age of 39 on December 19th 1963). Amazingly there are some who felt/feel that Dinah’s voice during this period had “lost it’s lustre” !! If I was there when they said it I would have simply replied;
“you’re talking shit and you don’t have a clue about music”…Job Done.
musicology #470
07 Jan 2010 4 Comments
in America, femalevocalsUSA, Jazz, themusicologist Tags: Dinah Washington mp3, Jazz mp3, Mercury 78, Stairway To The Stars mp3, themusicologist
2LegendsClash II #6
(Dinah Washington – Stairway To The Stars)
“When you get inside of a tune, the soul in you should just come out. You should just be able to step back and let that soul come right out” -Dinah Washington-
With that in mind..



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