Black Music Month: Celebrates The Gospel Quartet

This article is for our Dad who made us listen to every gospel quartet in the world when we were younger! This rich and necessary genre of the gospel world has laid the foundation for many great artists to come. Check out some of the best of the quartet genre.

The Soul Stirrers (1926)

"Be With Me Jesus" - One of the smoothest performances in Gospel...slightly contemporary before the genre existed. Sam Cooke, Johnnie Taylor, and Lou Rawls had all the elements of crossover appeal that would later be adopted by Aretha Franklin, The Winans and The Clark Sisters.

Other songs: "Jesus Gave Me Water", "By and By", "Amen" and "Touch The Hem Of His Garment"

The Canton Spirituals (1943)

"Ride This Train" - An amazing version of one of the most beloved Gospel symbols (the train).  "Come along my friends, come along. Get aboard and ride this train..."

Other hits: "Glad I Got Jesus", "Strugglin & Stranin'", "Fix It Jesus" and "Heavenly Choir"

The Mighty Clouds Of Joy (1960)

"Showing Each Other Love" - One of the most amazing songs in Gospel music. The inspirational message behind it propels listeners to step out of themselves to help others. It's a catalyst for ushering in contemporary Gospel with themes including "loving one another". The remnants of The Clouds can be seen in Yolanda Adams, Cece Winans, and Donnie McClurkin.

Other songs: "Walk Around Heaven",  "Heavy Load", "Nobody Can Turn Me Around" and "I Came To Jesus"

The Jackson Southernaires (1964)
"I Need You To Hold My Hand" - One of the most classic Gospel songs of all time. We're sure that every men's chorus has performed this standard.

 

Other hits: "Jesus Can Work It Out", "Can't Make It By Myself", "Somebody Heard Me" and "Your Grace And Mercy"

The Gospel Hummingbirds (1975)
"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" - A monster of vocal combination. The Hummingbirds have a very unique sound in their vocal continuity. This is one of the finest performances of the genre.

Other songs: "Change", "Step Out", "That Same Thing" and "He'll Be Your Friend"

The Winans (1980)
"Millions" - The most famous and successful of all the gospel quartets came from the first family of Gospel Music. The Winans have spawned hit after hit after hit from their solo careers to the amazing sounds of 4 brothers with expert harmonies and lyrical greatness.

Other songs: "Question Is",  "It's Time", "Count It All Joy", "Ain't No Need To Worry", "Tomorrow" and "Let My People Go"

Black Music Month Throwback: The Stylistics - "People Make The World Go Round"

We chose to spotlight "People Make The World Go Round" (1972) by Philadelphia Soul Legends the Stylistics as a throwback jam, because of its rich historical context which still holds a presence in contemporary Black America. "People" was from their debut album "The Stylistics". The song is reminiscent of an era where Black music inspired the soul! It fits in the same light as Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin On", "The Ecology Song", The Spinners' "Ooh Child", Diana Ross' "Reach Out And Touch", and "Wake Up Everybody" by Harold Melvin and The Bluenotes.

"People" would be covered later by Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Raven Symone. This gospel-esque soul song is a staple in Black Music and will remain a timeless classic. Other songs by the Stylistics include: "You Are Everything", "Break Up To Make Up", "Betcha By Golly, Wow", "I'm Stone In Love With You", and "You Make Me Feel Brand New".

Check out "People Make The World Go Round":

Black Music Month: Sparkle Soundtrack

The Bodyguard may be the biggest selling soundtrack of all time... and Purple Rain may be the coolest, but no one doubts that Sparkle is one of the best.

Sparkle told the story of Sister and The Sisters, a famous girl group from Harlem. The film stars legend Irene Cara, Phillip Michael Thomas, Mary Alice and Lonette McKee. Sparkle (Cara) would eventually move into a solo career after the tragic death of Sister.

The combination of the world's greatest singer and one of the best composer's of the 1970s created an album which still rivals and Soul set.

Curtis Mayfield (The Impressions, "The Makings of You", "Superfly") scored the 1976 film, based on the story of a girl group similar to The Supremes, with a departure from the funk which was emerging during the 70s. Mayfield laid out 8 simple R&B tracks:

1. "Sparkle" (4:13)
2. "Something He Can Feel" (6:21)
3. "Hooked on Your Love" (5:00)
4. "Look into Your Heart" (4:04)
5. "I Get High" (4:11)
6. "Jump" (2:19)
7. "Loving You Baby" (3:48)
8. "Rock With Me" (3:11)

 

Aretha Franklin came in and erupted the studio with her effortless portrayal of the songs woven throughout the film. Although her versions were not included in the screen version, the soundtrack became a hit with Black audiences.

The Sparkle Soundtrack brought Aretha back from a desolate time in her career where she had two albums which failed previously.  It allowed her to gain the attention of record executive Clive Davis at Arista records who would revamp her career in the 1980s and 1990 with hits like "I Knew You'd Be Waiting", "Freeway of Love" and "A Rose Is Still A Rose".

"Something He Can Feel" reached #1 on the Billboard R&B Chart and #28 on the Hot 100. The album reached #20 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold with over 500,000 copies sold.

"Hooked On Your Love" and "Something He Can Feel" were brilliantly covered later by 1990s hit-making group En Vogue for the 1992 Funky Divas album. "Look Into Your Heart" and "Hooked On Your Love" were both covered by Whitney Houston on a Curtis Mayfield tribute album.

The film would later inspire the production of Dreamgirls on stage and film. Dreamgirls even paid tribute to Sparkle by naming it's supporting actress "Effie" which was Mary Alice's character name in the film.

Check out the sounds:

"Something He Can Feel":

"Hooked On Your Love":

 

"Look Into Your Heart":

Black Music Month: 5 Trailblazing Girl Groups

Diana Ross & The Supremes

The Chantels (1950)

Arlene Smith (lead), Sonia Goring, Rene Minus, Jackie Landry Jackson and Lois Harris

They were the 2nd Black Girl Group to have US Nationwide success. They spawned 8 charting hits. Their signature song "Maybe" sold over one million copies in the 1950s!

Legacy: The Chantels also inspired the sounds of Little Eva and our lady Mary Wells. 

Check out "Maybe":

The Shirelles (1958)

Shirley Owens, Doris Coley, Beverly Lee, Addie 'Micki' Harris

The Shirelles were the first viable girl group of the rock and roll era, having hits in Europe before America thanks to their #1 smash hit "Will You Still Love Me" (1960) written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. They also preceded Motown girl groups as crossover artists with white audiences.

Legacy: Amy Winehouse, The Supremes, Roberta Flack. They also gave Burt Bacharach, Hal David, Goffin and King some of their first legendary hits. 

Check out "Will You Still Love Me":

Diana Ross & The Supremes (1959)

Original Members: Florence Ballard, Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, Betty McGlown

Replacing Members: Barbara Martin, Cindy Birdsong, Jean Terrell, Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne, Susaye Greene
The super-duper Supremes are the biggest vocal group in history...doing in the 1960s what no female act had accomplished. They have charted 12 #1 Billboard Hot 100 singles since their first "Where Did Our Love Go". Their poise and sense of fashion influenced a whole generation of female performers. Diana Ross would go on to become one of the most recognized and inspiring solo artists of all time.

Legacy: Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Erykah Badu, Destiny's Child, "Sparkle" (film), "Dreamgirls" (musical).

Check out: "Love Is Here, Now You're Gone"

Check out "Up The Ladder To The Roof"

Labelle (1960)
Patti Labelle, Cindy Birdsong, Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx
Labelle aka Patti Labelle and The Bluebells are an amazing composition of funk, pop, gospel and disco. Their revolutionary vocal style set a tone for the funk generation while appealing to the 1970s disco era as well. See: "Lady Marmalade". Their unique style was unequivocally inspirational to Grace Jones, Madonna, Christina Aguilera and now Lady Gaga. Patti Labelle would go on to become one of the most cherished vocalists of all time spawning hit after hit after hit.

Legacy: Chaka Khan, Luther Vandross, Jill Scott, Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera. 

Check out "You Turn Me On"

 

Check out "Lady Marmalade"

TLC (1991)

Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes, Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins

TLC was hip, urban, fresh and a departure from classic girl groups....outfiting themselves in baggy jeans, overalls, combat boots and condoms. Their fresh LaFace performances were filled with a variety of Hip Hop/Soul presence and propelled them to the top of the 1990s female groups list. They blazed a trail for the emergence of Destiny's Child, Jade, Danity Kane, and The Pussycat Dolls. They became the biggest selling girl group of all time after the release of multi-platinum record FanMail. That title would later be claimed by Destiny's Child after the release of Destiny's Fulfilled.

Legacy: Usher, Beyonce, Destiny's Child, Jade, Danity Kane, Blaque, Rihanna. 

 

Check out "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg"

Check out "Unpretty/No Scrubs (Live)"

Memorial Day In Song - For Uncle W.C.

The first Black Soldiers in the Union Army during the Civil War

This Memorial Day, more than others, we remember the lives of those Americans who have been jeopardized in war and civilian duty. Among the millions of soldiers to dress out in fatigue and neatly pressed uniforms were Willie C. Wells, our uncle who passed away recently.

Uncle W.C. and our grandfathers Willie "Ben" Golden & Chamberlain Benjamin were both in major infantry units in Korea, Germany and America. Their mind-numbing experiences and visualizations while fighting political battles set the ground for many of us to live with a sense of security.

Although we don't maintain the most patriotic stance during national holidays; the addition of President Obama to the National Mall has propelled us to embrace more of the current American Political playlist in D.C.

Here are a few monumental musical moments of patriotism in Memorium of those who layed their lives down for reasons known, unknown, accepted, and unacceptable. Thank you soldiers...."at ease".

"facing the rising sun/ of our new day begun/ let us march on until vicory is won!" - James Weldon Johnson

Our man Jesse Jackson introducing Kim Weston at Wattstax

The Negro National Anthem (Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing) - by Kim Weston

The Star-Spangled Banner - performed by Beyonce Knowles

 

America, The Beautiful  - performed by Mariah Carey

Who Says You Can't Go Home - performed by Bon Jovi

God Bless The USA - performed by Lee Greenwood

Pop Singers With Soul: The Gospel Elements Of The Greatest Singers

There is no doubt that the 1960s Soul revolution was backdropped in the old Southern Baptist vocal tradition. It was very simple to hear the vibrato of a Sunday-morning choir soloist in Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight. Ray Charles reframed gospel spirituals to fit a raunchy crowd in many jukejoints and nightclubs. See: "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" or "What'd I Say".

Even the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, released several gospel albums which displayed her immersion in the Baptist sound. "Amazing Grace" could arguably be one of the greatest gospel albums of all time. That same stylized singing poured into the sweet sounds she created alongside the Sweet Inspirations.

With the release of the 1972 "Amazing Grace" documentary coming up soon.... we ponder the emergence of gospel in soul and pop music's biggest stars.

Nina Simone released some flavorful gospel songs....and we all witnessed the brilliant stylings of Sam Cooke.

Nevertheless, 20th century pop vocalists have proved that their connection to gospel roots are no less than those performers of the Soul Generation.

This idea is most clear in Whitney Houston, who is considered one of the greatest singers to ever grace the microphone. Listening back to early recordings from her first album; Whitney poises "The Greatest Love of All" and "You Give Good Love" with the same guts as Ray Charles in the '60s. As her monstrous career spanned, there were many elements of her New Hope Baptist Church rearing that came out in her styling. See: "I'm Your Baby Tonight", "Miracle", and "One Moment In Time".

Whitney was also filled in for her dear friend Cece Winans when she was sick on tour with her brother, gospel legend Bebe Winans. Cissy Houston, her mother, directed Whitney in her New Jersey gospel choir. Whitney was in the studio when she heard Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin record classics "Papillion" and "Ain't No Way".

Yet in still, what confirmed Whitney's foundation in gospel was her attempt to record a full gospel album to accompany 1997's The Preacher's Wife starring Denzel Washington and Courtney B. Vance. Whitney's brilliant performance of old standards resonated across airwaves and allowed the record to impact the world so much that it became nothing short of the biggest selling gospel album of all time. This CD added to her amazing rendition of "This Day" and "Jesus Loves Me" from the Bodygaurd soundtrack sealed her gospel roots.

Whitney's favorite singer, Kim Burrell, honoring her at BET Honors, 2010

Even Mariah Carey offers tribute to gospel on each of her albums to date. Her 1994 album, Merry Christmas, was nothing short of an immaculate gospel-themed album. Mariah's vocals were perfect over "Jesus, What A Wonderful Child". She also won a Grammy for "Fly Like A Bird" and still holds the record of longest running #1 Billboard hit with "One Sweet Day". See: "Mariah's Theme" and "I Wish You Well".

We won't soon forget Beyonce's inclusion of Gospel songs in every Destiny's Child record released. See: "Amazing Grace", "Through With It", "Love", and the famous "Gospel Medley" from the Survivor CD. Beyonce also has had some major moments with her gospel flavored rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" and "Ave Maria".

Monica's smash hit "Everything to Me" has elements in it. Corinne Bailey Rae's "The Sea" has an underlying gospel organ sound. Faith Evans' voice has always been a reflection of Twinkie, Karen and the mighty Clark Sisters. Jennifer Hudson is a combination of Whitney and Aretha....while Fantasia is just straight up out the church!

These and so many of the biggest contemporary singers have relied on the guts and power of the gospel style. In many ways, gospel and the blues are the foundation of Soul, R&B and Pop. From Usher, Faith Evans, Fantasia, and Lil' Mo to Celine Dion, Luther Vandross, and Toni Braxton... it is clear that the biggest and best singers have indeed been influenced by the church and it's an indication of the power of the Soul.

Jam Of The Moment: "Nothing" by Janet Jackson

We love how smooth and sultry Janet's voice emerges from this record. Amazing.

Check out the official video:

Should Ethnic Studies Be Eliminated? w/ Dr. Marc Lamont Hill

Check out our brotha Marc Lamont Hill (Columbia University) giving it to MSNBC recently.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Banning Ethnic Studies is inappropriate, and the justification is that studying the history of ethnicity creates radicalism. Really? Of course it does. We need to be radical and this is the absolute BEST

Read: Pedagogy of The Oppressed, Paulo Freire.... and see what it's really about.

"we've always had ethnic studies, it's just the ethnicities that we focused on were European..." (give it to them Dr. Hill!)

Check out the video and let us know what you think. And we will absolutely revisit this topic soon enough.

Janelle Monae Is Ready To Hit The Cyberworld With Even More Outlandish Brilliance!

Since the debut of her first EP Metropolis (Suite I of IV) in 2007, Janelle Monae has been brewing up a batch of Android fever to get us moving and thinking once again.

We still remember sitting in our plush Washington D.C. hotel room when "Many Moons" debuted on BET. The symbolism in her out-of-space character, Cindy Mayweather, being oppressed for loving a human being was phenomenal. It was fresh and delivered easy.

And "Sincerely, Jane" was sincerely one of the absolute best songs we have encountered all decade. With its melodic draw and lyrical genius.

Now with the release of these newest installments of the visionary production backed by music legend Sean Combs, there is a sense of perfection which spans across genre.... and way across it. The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III) revives jazz and bebop as much as classic hip-hop and rock.

The Los Angeles Times album review said:

With 18 tracks, “The ArchAndroid” is parts two and three of a four-part series that Monae has envisioned; she released the first part as an EP in 2007, in the process snagging a 2009 Grammy nomination for her performance of “Many Moons.” At times, the fumes of ambition are so thick off “The ArchAndroid,” it’s hard to absorb in one sitting.

All the same, it’s a star-making debut. Monae has the same high-wattage potential as Lady Gaga, her spiritual sister in costume and outlandish concept, though the complexity of her vision is ultimately more rewarding.

We cannot help but appreciate that Monae is considered the much more directly complex Gaga. Somewhat like Gaga on intellectual steroids! :) Monae is on to yet another awe-inspiring year in music, and we cannot wait!

Thank God real artistry is back...and better than ever!

Get her new album released May 18, 2010, on Wondaland Arts Society and Bad Boy Records.

Check out "Tightrope" feat. Big Boy:

How very James Brown of you, Monae!