Betty Wright and The Roots are nominated for a Grammy this year for Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Surrender”, from her album Betty Wright: The Movie; credited to Betty Wright and The Roots and co-produced by Questlove. No stranger to the Grammy Awards, Ms. Wright won a Grammy for Best R&B Song in the early ’70s and has been nominated, including this year’s nomination, three times since. An R&B legend–Ms. Wright had a gold record with “Clean Up Woman” by the time she was 18. In 1988 she made history by becoming the first black female to have a gold album on her own record label. Ms. Wright is a mentor to younger artists, a vocal coach and a vocal producer for such artists as Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez and Joss Stone.
The Roots is one of the best groups to ever do it, with an excellent blend of hip-hop and musicianship. The group is ten albums deep and going strong. And, who could ever forget the truth-telling, eye-opening video for the single “What They Do” in the ’90s. Including this year’s Grammy nomination for “Surrender” with Betty Wright, the group have been nominated for a total of 12 Grammy Awards and has won four. The Roots is currently the house band for the television show Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.
To find out if Betty Wright and The Roots will win, tune in to the Grammy Awards February 12 at 8/7c on CBS.
From the 1990 album “Rope a Dope Style”, “Baby I’m Ready” reached #1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop charts. This cut has to be one of the best known if not the best known hit from the Levert catalog. The line in this song that has always caused me to pause and still causes me to pause is:
Girl I’m tired of playing games
So many loves I can’t even name
The song makes it clear that our hero has clearly been around the block, circled, and doubled back again. He is now ready to forget those nameless, faceless other women and settle down with the one. He is working hard to prove to his love that she is the only one who matters now. Will he be victorious?
“Baby I’m Ready” is available at Amazon.com as part of the cd “Rope a Dope Style“.
R&B veteran Kelly Price is nominated for three Grammys this year. Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song for “Not My Daddy” featuring Stokley of Mint Condition. Kelly Price is also nominated for Best R&B Album for her sixth album Kelly.
Prior to becoming a recording artist, Kelly Price made a name for herself in the R&B world in the ’90s as a background vocalist and writer for many artists such as Mariah Carey, Faith Evans, Whitney Houston, Yolanda Adams, The Isley Brothers and R. Kelly to name a few.
This year’s three nominations make a total of seven Grammy nominations for Kelly Price. To find out if she will win, tune in to the Grammy Awards on February 12 at 8/7c on CBS.
There are a number of classic shows that highly influenced my early perception of music but none laid a foundation like Soul Train. Carrying a mellow baritone voice with the parting benediction of “love, peace and soul”, Don Cornelius was the father figure of the “hippest trip in America”. In hearing the sudden death of this soul pioneer, I was shocked and deeply saddened as many of you. Through comprehending a portion of Don’s impact, the picture of loss becomes much more clear. For 40 plus years, Soul Train was the “hello, my name is….” for so many African American artists. When I try to ponder upon this ripple effect, I have to ask the question, what railways would be uncharted if it wasn’t for Don Cornelius?
In a land of American Bandstand serving a limited diet of pop, the landscape of musical exposure for African American artists was minimum. When you think of artists like Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson, the opportunity of a wider audience mainly came through radio, tour dates and the occasional appearance on shows like the Ed Sullivan or Jerry Lewis show. To be considered for these platforms, much of their music had to follow a format of popular music to attract a target audience catering to a mainstream group. Don Cornelius set to pioneer a platform that took a different route and served a full plate of soul. With the talents of Gladys Knight & The Pips, The O’Jays and so many others, the genre of soul and R&B was given a place to call home through Soul Train. In its weekly broadcast we not only saw the latest fashions or the newest dances, we were inspired by music that spoke our language and told our stories.
The departure of Don Cornelius is truly a sad occasion but his legacy is a lasting effect. Without his innovation and insight to promote an unexposose genre of music, we may not have the building blocks and music archives we enjoy today. So to Mr. Cornelius, we thank you greatly for a foundation and platform that not only made us dance but through music moved and grooved the soul. You will be missed.
“The Sound Of Philadelphia” by MFSB (Mother, Father, Sister, Brother) featuring vocals by the group The Three Degrees was written by Philly Soul legends Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff as the theme song for the television show Soul Train. The song reached #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B chart in 1974. Although the song was re-recorded in different versions over the different eras of black music (’80s R&B, New Jack Swing, Hip-Hop, Neo-Soul) since 1974, “The Sound Of Philadelphia” remained the show’s theme song until the final episode in 2006.
I had the great pleasure of seeing Rhonda Thomas and Avery Sunshine show out at The Quad back in February 2011 when I first heard them sing this song, “Just Us”. If the tune sounds a bit familiar, it’s originally the disco cut from the men lovin’ duo, The Weather Girls. Soooooo, sit back, relax, enjoy this video and purchase this cut at www.rhondasings.com for your “housecleaning” playlist. LOL!
Our Artist of the Month puts her own mark on a new set of classic songs on “The Dreamer”. The disc opens with a rousing cover of King Floyd’s “Groove Me”. A toned down version of Guns and Roses “Welcome to the Jungle” is also found amongst “The Dreamer”. Your first thought may be “Guns and Roses cover?!”, then you think about who Ms. James was and what she still means to the music industry and it all makes sense. She was fearless, so tackling Guns and Roses was just another day for her. She also was a true artist who was known for fusing multiple genres into her music, so a hard rock/heavy metal cover is a fun nod to her diverse career.
James’ cover of Little Big Town’s “Boondocks” retains both the purity and authenticity of the original. Ms. James is so well emotionally connected to “Boondocks”, that you can easily forget that this is indeed a cover and not an original Etta Jams tune.
On her take on Johnny Guitar Watson’s “Too Tired”, Ms. James perfectly conveys the song’s title, even via her delivery. Ms. James adds her own signature ad libs to Little Milton’s “Let Me Down Easy”. The song veers between pleading for mercy and reminding her lover what a good woman she’s been to him.
Around the time of the release of “The Dreamer”, Ms. James’ family announced her retirement from the music business. Pick up “The Dreamer” to get a sense of where she was musically. The disc finds Ms. James doing something she was famous for, making the songs of other artists completely her own.
I also love “The Dreamer’s” cover photo, as it is a brooding mix of both edginess and wisdom, essential Etta James.
“The Dreamer” is available in its full length at Amazon.com.
Writing this piece about Etta James was a challenge. Not because there
aren’t things to be said about her. Etta James is a music legend. She won six Grammy
awards and 17 Blues Music Awards. She was inducted into Rock & Roll, Blues and
Grammy Hall of Fame among other accolades.
But I didn’t know Etta James.
Not the way I feel I knew Michael Jackson or the way I feel I know New Edition or Prince because those artists and their music are a part of the fabric of my life. They shaped my childhood and early adulthood. I regarded Ms. James as an artist before my time. (Although as a native Detroiter, the Motown artists–contemporaries of Etta James–are very much a part of my life experience.) I didn’t know Ms. James or her body of work; except for the song “At Last”. To be completely honest, when the movie Cadillac Records came about, I was (pleasantly) surprised to learn that she was still alive and performing.
However, over the last 30 days (since Grown Folks Music decided to make her the Artist of the Month–a decision I’m so proud of–a chance to give Ms. James honor while she yet lived) I’ve come to learn about and appreciate Etta James. She had ups. She had downs. She struggled and she triumphed. She was extraordinary: meaning anything but ordinary. The way she sang and the way she lived was seemingly raw and honest and not for or like anyone else. Her delivery of her music seemed sincere. The listener believed she had lived or was living what she was singing about. Without knowing what she went through; you can hear she went through something.
Etta James, thank you for being yourself and for translating your authenticity through your music. As a result, your music will forever be relevant and timeless.
