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Black Music History “Group Session” – Day 14: The Dells

19 February 2010

6 Degrees of Soul: In 1974, Day 13’s The Dramatics did a joint album with Day 14’s The Dells. The album was titled The Dells vs. The Dramatics.   The Dells were the bridge that linked doo-wop to classic soul. After their hit “Oh, What A Night”, in 1956, several groups patterned themselves after The […]

Black Music History “Group Session” – Day 13: The Dramatics

18 February 2010

6 Degrees of Soul: Al Bell wrote “I’ll Take You There” for Day 12’s The Staple Singers. Bell launched the careers of several acts, one of those acts is Day 14’s The Dramatics.   Like The Spinners and The Stylistics, much much much more needs to be made of the legacy of The Dramatics. This […]

Black Music History “Group Session” – Day 12: The Staple Singers

18 February 2010

6 Degrees of Soul: Willie “Too Tall” Hall of Day 11’s The Bar Kays is known for backing several Stax artists. He was on the sticks for Isaac Hayes’ “Theme from Shaft”. One of the many Stax artists Hall backed was Day 13’s The Staple Singers.   Mavis, Cleotha, Yvonne & “Pops” make up the […]

Black Music History “Group Session” – Day 11: The Bar Kays

17 February 2010

6 Degrees of Soul: The “Ice Man”, Jerry Butler was the original lead singer of Day 10’s The Impressions. Butler with fellow soul legend, Otis Redding, co-wrote “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long”. Redding’s backing band was Day 11’s The Bar Kays.   The Bar Kays is truly a story of the phoenix rising from […]

Do Better Thursday – This Time It’s Personal…

11 February 2010

…this weeks Do Better moment… is self-addressed… it seems I’ve let the Snowdom of 2010 allow me to completely slack off on tasks, goals and dreams… although I have been able to get work done for the 9-to-5 and lend a hand shoveling… I haven’t done much more than that… well… cook and clean, I […]

Black Music History “Group Session” – Day 10: The Impressions

10 February 2010

6 Degrees of Soul: After leaving Motown, Day 9’s Four Tops scored a Top 20 hit with “Are You Man Enough”. That song was produced by Johnny Pate for his soundtrack of the film Shaft in Africa. Pate gained notoriety with his early work for Day 10’s The Impressions. Initially, Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield […]

Black Music History “Group Session” – Day 9: The Four Tops

10 February 2010

6 Degrees of Soul: In 1985, Day 8’s The Commodores scored their 1st and only Grammy win with the tribute song “Nightshift”.  The song is in honor of Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye, both passed in 1984. Wilson is the cousin of Levi Stubbs, who was the lead singer of Day 9’s The Four Tops. […]

Black Music History “Group Session” – Day 8: The Commodores

9 February 2010

6 Degrees of Soul: While Day 7’s The O’Jays was making hits in Philadelphia, another group was just starting out as the opening act for The Jackson 5. Before they left Tuskegee Institute to pursue their musical dreams they were known as The Jays. Since The O’Jays were a hit already, member William King randomly […]

Black Music History “Group Session” – Day 7: The O’Jays

9 February 2010

6 Degrees of Soul: “Lady Marmalade” a major hit for Day 6’s Labelle was written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan. Crewe oversaw many projects during his career, some of them were for Dee Dee Sharp Gamble. The 1st Lady of Philadelphia International Records (PIR) was known for her single “Easy Money”. In 1977, Gamble […]

Black Music History “Group Session” – Day 6: Labelle

9 February 2010

6 Degrees of Soul: Before she replaced Florence Ballard of Day 5’s The Supremes; Cindy Birdsong replaced an original member of “The Ordettes”. After the inclusion of Birdsong, the group changed their name to The Bluebelles. Two years without a hit record the The Bluebelles said goodbye Ms. Birdsong and renamed themselves Labelle.   Sarah […]

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