Song: An Awesome Playlist!
Artist: Various
Album: Most Popular Hits Of 1970! (1970)
Genre: Assorted
Hey guys, it’s been a while since I’ve made a playlist. As always, I think I have a really good hand picked playlist for ya. Today’s playlist consist of 20 of the most popular songs of 1970! From soul, to original R&B, to Rock. A little bit of everything to fit most people’s taste. The first song in my playlist is from the legendary Freeda Payne, called “Band Of Gold (1970).” I remember every family member, and friends of family playing this song. I loved the beat and melody song so much, I was upset that the song was so short. Another favorite that was somewhat popular in the Black community was a song from The who called “American Woman.” Those of my listeners who are old enough to remember Tom Jones at his prime, I have “Without Love” on this playlist. I always used to say that Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck had very similar voices & vocal textures. However, “Without Love” is the one song that separates Tom from Engelbert. Tom really projected his voice and sang his ass off! Tom could have easily been a Broadway performer. The song was another favorite that my grandpops and I loved to listen to. I also have “Turn Back The Hands Of Time by Tyrone Davis!” This was a huge hit back in the day. Check out more songs on my new 70s playlist.
Song: The Gigolo
Artist: O’Bryan
Album: The Best Of O’Bryan (1996)
Genre: Funk/R&B
I know I shouldn’t judge, but…. I’m almost positive that hardly anyone remembers this dude!! He looks so different now. But, he also looks more handsome now with age. As far as I can tell, he never had any chart toppers in the “Top 100” category, but he had a few under R&B. I wasn’t really in to his music. However, some straight females acted as tho he was a Luther Vandross or something. I liked “The Gigolo (1982),” because the sound was very “Prince (ish).” It reached #57 on the Top 100, and it was the highest ranking on Top 100. But, the good news was that it peaked at #5 on R&B. Some of you may remember O’Bryan for his #1 R&B song called “Lovelite (1984).” Another “Prince (ish)” sound, that was very popular in the Black community back in the day. Through all the ups and downs, at age 57, he’s still performing and rocking the house!
Song: Tempted
Artist: Erykah Badu
Album: Tempted (2019)
Genre: R&B
When it comes to Erykah’s outward appearance, man, this is one weird lady!!! I swear, sometimes I think Erykah is like a Black version of Björk. Erykah is definitely eccentric. However, she threw down jams back in the day that later on became iconic. Along with James Poyser, Erykah has recently released a cover of a song called “Tempted.” It was originally written and performed by a group called “Squeeze” in 1981. This was was my only favorite song from the group. It’s interesting that Erykah chose to do this song song, since the group never had any top 100 hits. But then again, it’s safe to say that this would be expected of Erykah, because she doesn’t copycat and do what everybody else does. I like the way she did this song, it caught me off guard. ?
Song: Dust In The Wind
Artist: Kansas
Album: Point Of Know Return (1977)
Genre: Soft Rock
I can’t remember if I’ve already written about this on my old blog. I don’t think so. Have you guys read of a band called Kansas? These rock (boarder line country) bands used to crack me up back in the day, because it was so common for them to name themselves after cities. Kansas, Chicago, Baton Rouge, Houston, the list goes on. Maybe it was a pride thing? Wanting everyone to know where they’re from (perhaps). Come to think of it, a lot of their album art had a familiar look as well. Although “Dust In The Wind” was their only #1 hit (also my personal favorite) of their career, they’re quite talented in my opinion. You should also check out their song called “Carry On Wayward Son (1976),” from their “Leftoverture” album. It almost hit made the Top 10 List, but it’s still a great song tho.
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Song: Uptight [Everything’s Alright]
Artist: Stevie Wonder
Album: Uptight (1965)
Genre: R&B
Today’s recommendation comes from my 45 collection. You know, Stevie Wonder has got to have been one of Motown’s most successful popular artist. I remember watching an interview that talked about how Stevie demanded a significant higher pay (upon first contract). Everybody thought he was out of his mind. But, Motown eventually gave in. I’m sure Motown never expected that Stevie would not only be so successful, but well loved by millions. Stevie’s song “Uptight” not only hit #1 on the Top 100 Charts, it stayed #1 for 5 weeks! Some of the most talented artists never got that!
I’d like to apologize to everyone for the three day lag. It was unavoidable. Unfortunately. So, during that time, I was thinking about (on a deeper level) just how music streaming has permanently changed the game, for both new artists & fans of music forever! While there exist so many things that the streaming industry has done right, there are so many other things that has gone wrong!
The Growing Disappearance Of Music Labels, Turned Today’s Musicians In To Spam Hustlers
You know, I’ve always had mixed feelings about music labels. Although I disliked the fact that they’ve cheated both artists and fans for over a half a century, I also could not deny the reality of how much it actually cost to manage an artist or band. It’s not just getting up on stage and singing. It used to be that an artist needed a publicist, wardrobe planner, studio rentals, coaches, travel expenses, and even an office to handle their revenue and taxes.
Although the music labels were crooks, they also took on all of those responsibilities (and then some) previously mentioned for the artist. Suddenly, the artist realizing not just how much work it is to be a musician, but the financial strain of becoming a successful one. It’s also quite obvious how hip hop is hitting hard on social media, to the point of becoming spammers. Especially when it comes to Facebook. I think it’s important to note, once you start looking like a spammer, people eventually ignore you, and many times block you. Almost all artists are using automated bots. Most have no personal websites with their own music. Most don’t have a bio. The mindset is, get your music on Spotify and watch the money roll in. When it doesn’t, the artist blame Spotify.
Real Talent Needs To Interact With Fans, Bots Can’t Do Everything For You!
This is why, despite what many foolishly think…… The reality is we still, and will forever need music bloggers. Although albeit, technically you don’t need us to review music anymore, ’cause people can just look it up on YouTube and listen to the artist themselves. However, music bloggers can point you in the right direction, provided that our musical tastes are similar. Bottom line, the problem with YouTube is that you still need to know what you’re looking for before you can find it. But, the other problems is, many people want everything instant, and don’t want to take the time to read, or take time to see what bloggers offer. It’s a behavior that makes our web presence difficult, but it’s the reality we live in. You just have to work harder to find venues that attract people that are still in love with music, and venues that attract the kinds of fans you’re looking for. The same goes for music bloggers. This is why it’s important to do it because you love it, not because you have dreams of making millions of dollars with Spotify; because the landscape has changed.
Maybe it’s the blogger in me, but I’ve often wondered…. If streaming existed 50 years ago, would legends such as Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, and Jose Feliciano, be the legends they are today? Or perhaps let’s go 50 years further with men like, Willie McTell or Leon Payne, would they have been just as successful? I haven’t seen any real write ups on this, and this subject matter has drummed up quite a few interesting questions for me. As YouTube grows and becomes even more powerful every day, how is it that we’re not seeing not only talented visually impaired musicians, but any musician with disabilities today making a statement on the web?
I guess, someone could just as easily make the argument that I’m perceiving this in the wrong way. That is, if we use examples like Andrea Bocelli, who not only has an incredible voice, he has worked with some big names in his career. We’re talking Celine Dion, Tony Bennett, Edith Piaf, and has even worked with today’s mainstream artists such as Jennifer Lopez. But, this still doesn’t explain the lack of presents of disabled musicians today; especially when we consider the level of technology now available. AND considering artists like Andrea, Stevie, etc, made their mark before streaming. How could we begin to even measure this?
Then again, I also thought to myself, this could also be due to how streaming works now, in terms of being an independent artist. Indirectly, it would take an incredible amount of additional time for promotion alone. Which also means, a lot of money would be involved to trust someone to do these things for you. This I guess is one of the unfortunate downsides of the growing extinction of music labels today. I’m sure that there are many other factors I haven’t thought of, but it would really be an interesting subject, and I wish there were in-dept articles about it.
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You know, I am absolutely ashamed to find out that there exist people who don’t believe that there is a such thing as a female reggae legend. It’s kind of aggravating to know that (with the exception of female hip hop today (it appears)), there still exist sexist attitudes concerning women in music. As someone who consumes a lot of music since childhood, I emphatically disagree with this sort of mindset. Especially in the area of reggae love songs. Throughout history, no matter where you come from, it’s always been an unsaid standard that romantic songs came from men. But, I’ve heard some of the most beautiful reggae love songs from women. The late Cynthia Schloss was one of them, and she earned the right to be called a reggae legend in my opinion.
The Late Cynthia Schloss Is A Forgotten Legend Of Love Songs!
The late Cynthia Schloss was very beautiful, and had a smooth delicate singing voice. The first song I think I can recall hearing from her, was a song called “Send Me The Pillow (c. 1982).” The song was actually written by a guy named Johnny Tillotson sometime in the very late 50s. “Send me the pillow that you dream on. Maybe time will let our dreams come true.” Rarely have I heard lyrics like these, that are so sweet and genuine. There’s another song I think you should hear called “Looks Like Love (1983).” Both my late grandparents played this song A LOT!! Many of Cynthia’s music is probably far too mellow for today’s young listeners. However, they’re notable music that is part of both Jamaican and American unknown music history.
No doubt! In my opinion, Will Smith is either “The King Of Bubblegum Rap,” (or at least one of). To my recollection, I don’t think I’ve heard the slightest bit of profanity in any of Will’s music. Will definitely had his own unique style, and he made his rap music fun to listen to. He was one of the few young rap artists that took control of the images he was projecting out in the media. Not too many rap artists cared, or even understood the long term impact of negative imagery within hip hop.
Gave Strong Positive Messages To Our Youth Without The Profanity!
As many of my long time readers my know already, when it comes to rap music, almost anything that was not considered bubblegum, and or anything past the 80’s time line was a no-go for me. I wasn’t really attracted to most rap music beyond that. However, as a kid I’ve listened to my fare share of late 70s and 80s rap. Having said that, when I look at rap documentaries, or read articles about rap’s GOATs, I don’t understand why Will Smith is never mentioned.
Sometimes I think this is so because the younger generation doesn’t think rap is good unless there are at least 15 expletives in a single rap verse. To be honest, I’m really not sure what people use as a criteria to figure out who and what music are the “greatest of all time.” Once again, I’ll admit, this could be of my own ignorance of the scope of rap history. However, the fact remains, even his music that didn’t make the Top 200 Billboard Charts, such as “Ya’ll Know (1997),” was extremely popular on Black radio stations.
Not only that, I don’t think there has been any other rap artist, turned actor, who has taken their acting career to the level he has. I know many rap fans consider LL Cool J as being a GOAT (in terms of rap to acting); however, Will Smith has been in pretty big budget films. From “Independence Day (1996),” to “I, Robot (2004),” to “Men In Black (1997).” Those films were nothing to sneeze at. Will has not done a rap album in about a decade and a half. Some of my favorites are, “Switch (2005),” “If U Can’t Dance (2005),” “Miami (1997),” and “Wild Wild West (1999).” You know, the beauty of watching Smith’s career is that, he was one of the few rapper turned actors that wasn’t typecasted. He can literally play any character. Both Hollywood and fans accepted Smith as a true actor, and didn’t pigeonhole him into one type of role, simply because he was a rapper.
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I almost forgot to share with you guys! Last week, I was walking through Manhattan and spotted this amazing digital ad, featuring the legendary Calypso Rose! I was just shocked & stunned. It took me about 10 minutes before I realized my jaw hit the grown! Understand that I have not seen anything physical that pertained to Calypso Rose since I was a little boy in the seventies. No album, no magazine article, no nothing! A lot of Jamaicans and West-Indians I’ve encountered in my life time claim they love calypso music, & know music history, yet did not appear to have ever owned a Calypso Rose album, or have trouble remembering who she is. Fire In Me Wire (c.1967) was one of her biggest calypso hit of her career. Every party my family thrown together always included Calypso Rose’s music. Damn, thinking about this makes me miss my grandpa all over again. Anyway, I was elated to see that she is honored in this way. Maybe now as we advance in to digital technology, we can see more of our lost culture!
Song: Strangers On The Street
Artist: Mamas Gun
Album: Golden Days (2019)
Genre: Blue-Eyed Soul
If you love the sound of classic Blue-Eyed Soul music, then I highly recommend that you take a listen to this entire album. This sh*t is GOOD! “Mamas Gun,” is a five member band from London. They’ve formed about 10 years ago, and has performed all around the world. If I am not mistaken, this is their 4th album so far, and I am really loving it. There seems to be two release dates, 2018 & 2019. I think it’s safe to assume 2019 is the digital release. Andy Platts, the lead singer of the band, has an amazing voice. It was almost like listening to a younger version of Paul McCartney. In fact, when I listened to the band’s first album, “Routes To Riches (20019),” There is a song on there called “Finger On It,” which almost felt like I was listening to a funk/rock version of a new Beetles of sorts.
Song: Milkshake
Artist: Kelis
Album: Tasty (2003)
Genre: Dance
I’m not sure if her “milkshake” is still bringing all the boys to the yard; but back then, this song was the sh*t in the Black community. I absolutely loved the video to this song, I thought it was freakin’ hilarious as hell!! ? It’s been about 15 years since this album first came out; I think her milkshake is more like yogurt by now! ? ? You can just imagine all of the things happening in that video happening for real in the hood, I guess that’s what makes it so hilarious to me. But you know what? This was actually a pretty good album I think (for the most part). This album has a lot of good cuts I haven’t heard before. Check out “Trick Me (WARNING! HAS PROFANITY),” also check out “Protect My Heart,” it reminds me a lot of Toni Braxton’s style of music. Almost the whole album is pretty nice (I think).
Believe it or not kids (and some grown ups), Mrs. Olivia Newton-John is most definitely a legend in every sense of the word! She is perhaps one of the few artists I’ve put in to my ultimate favorites category of the seventies and eighties. I think she’s just one of those artists that we don’t realize just how much she has contributed to the entertainment industry until we really look back and reflect. My goodness! Let’s see, she’s an actress, songwriter, business woman, and oh yeah, did you know she was also a model in her younger years?
Olivia Is Most Remembered For The Movie, Grease!
I am confident in saying that of all the phenomenal things that Olivia has done throughout her career, she is instantly remembered for her work in the 1978 movie Grease! She co-starred John Travolta, and they both did an incredible job! Olivia not only acted in the movie, she was also a huge part of the soundtrack as well. Both the movie and the soundtrack were successful hits. “Grease,” performed by Frankie Valli, & “You’re The One That I Want,” performed by Travolta and Olivia were #1 on the charts. “Summer Nights” also performed by Travolta and Olivia hit #5, and Olivia’s “Hopelessly Devoted To You,” reached #3 on the charts! In Australia, the album hit 14x Platinum, and in America 8x Platinum. Back then, those figures were eye popping.
I could be wrong, but I think the project Grease really made a difference in her career! Music was going through a major shift (and that included the world of country music), and I just don’t think she would have been as successful if she didn’t participate in the movie. Listening to Olivia’s music was kind of like listening to an Australian country version of Karen Carpenter. ? Don’t beat me up for that, I loved Karen’s music too.
Beyond The Grease Soundtrack!
Ok, I need to make my readers aware of just how badass Olivia was back in the day! Out of 38 songs that actually registered on the Billboard Charts, she has managed to get 5 number ones, and 15 top tens. That’s an incredible achievement, not only as a woman, but as a mostly country artist. Also keep in mind, she accomplished this just when disco was on its why out, and both rock and pop was slowly dominating the 80s.
Some of my favorites dear to my heart are “Physical (1981),” “I Honestly Love You (1974),” “Have You Ever Been Mellow (1975),” and another badass song “Magic (1980).” I soooo love the beat to “Magic.” And you know, “Suddenly (1981),” was a nice song too, but unfortunately it only reached #20 on the Top 100 Charts (which is not bad technically). If I’m not mistaken “Suddenly” was on the original Xanadu (1980) soundtrack. Olivia didn’t have all that much of a vocal range (in my opinion), but she managed to crank out some huge memorable hits in my lifetime.
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Song: I Wanna Sex You Up!
Artist: Color Me Badd
Album: C.M.B. (1991)
Genre: Pop Music
Ok, how many of you “classic fan wanna be(s)” remember Color Me Badd? I bet a whole lot of people forgot about these guys, cause I don’t even hear any radio stations playin’ these guys anymore! C.M.B. where the kings of pop music in the 90s. But today, they are a hot f**king mess ?. What a darn shame. What made matters even worse for the fading group, was the recent assault perpetrated by Bryan Abrams on one of the group’s fellow members on stage. It’s been alleged that Bryan has huge issues with alcoholism and violence. Such a damn shame, a once lead singer of the hottest number one singing group of the 90s, to now becoming a hasbeen.
Song: Inspiration Information
Artist: Shuggie Otis
Album: Inspiration Information/Wings Of Love (2013)
Genre: R&B/Easy Listening
Have you guys ever heard of Shuggie Otis before? I didn’t know of him until recently. It appears he’s been in the music business since the early 70s, and has worked with many big names, including the late Jimmy Hendrix. He kind of confused me in a way; because when I look it him, I see someone very much like Santana. But when he opens his mouth, I hear a style similar to that of Debarge & Christoper Cross. He came out with a double CD album several years back called “Inspiration Information” and I really, really like it. The song “Inspiration Information” is actually remastered from his original 1975 recording. It has a smooth R&B rhythms with a touch of funk. The song only reached #56 on the Hot R&B Charts, and a shocking #188th position on the Top 200. That is a shame, cause I think this was an amazing song.
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Song: Don’t You Want Me
Artist: The Human League
Album: Dare (1981)
Genre: Pop Music
I’m not sure if I can call this UK group obscure, but damn! Is this song old! ? This song not only hit #1, it stayed #1 for a total of three weeks before it slowly started to dropped. This song was my sh*t back in the day. It was a massively popular, fun and a danceable tune. They also had another #1 hit in 1986 called “Human.” I absolutely loved this song too. It was almost like a romantic pop song (if there is a such thing). These two songs were their only cemented international hits in history.
This was very difficult for me to put together, because as I looked through my collection, the song list kept piling up. However, I was strict on myself, and narrowed them down to only six songs. In my opinion, my six picks are most likely considered obscure in the hip hop world. I’m pretty sure anyone under 20 years of age hasn’t heard any of them, or most of them. These are what I consider some of the best rap songs I heard growing up. Of course there are more, but for the purpose of keeping things simple, I chose these six extremely rare songs. Enjoy.
Song: Love’s Comin’ At Ya (Remastered)
Artist: Melba Moore
Album: Other Side Of The Rainbow (2010)
This awesome song actually came out in 1982, and was digitally remastered in 2010. I love “Love’s Comin’ At Ya,” because it reminds me of the same kinds of rhythms that Evelyn “Champagne” King used to perform. In fact, in many ways it sounds almost identical to the T. Then again, Melba also had that same kind of voice; and as I’ve mentioned earlier, record companies were about finding that “formula” for making millions. I highly recommend that you research Melba Moore’s store. It’s pretty inspirational. She gone from being a huge success, to suddenly having no money to the point of applying for welfare/food stamps. She picked herself back up, and successfully rebooted her career. I consider her a very underrated talent. Although she didn’t have big hit’s on the Top 100, she did had a few top hits on the dance charts, including “Love’s Comin’ At Ya,” which reached #2, and another song I loved a lot called “You Stepped In To My Life,” which reached #5 in 1978.
Song: Do It ‘Till You’re Satisfied
Artist: B.T. Express
Album: Do It (‘Till You’re Satisfied) (1974)
Genre: Funk
I can say with absolute certainty, that this song was of the biggest and most popular songs of the seventies! “Do It ‘Till You’re Satisfied,” was #1 on the R&B Charts, #2 on the Top 100 Charts, and the album itself became #1 by February 1974. It’s mind blowing how a group that was as massively popular as they were, has been completely removed from the memories of most. Another massive hit from the same album, was a song called “Express.” “Express” was more of a instrumental disco infused funk piece. It had a very catchy tune, and it was almost immediately recognizable the minute we heard it.”Express” also hit #1 on the R&B Charts, and was #4 on the Top 100 Charts. Little by little members broke off to start their own ventures. Eventually the group officially disbanded around the very late 1980s.
Song: Del Ray
Artist: Sola Rosa
Album: Get It Together (Deluxe Edition) (2009)
Genre: Multicultural/Club Mixes
This is an amazingly talented and multicultural group, that I’m guessing came together around 2000. Believe it or not, I was listening to an independent radio station using Windows Media Player, yeah, I know, who the hell still uses WMA anymore? ? Well, I did! As a true lover of music, people like me don’t allow ourselves to be hogged down to a single source of music. This is one of the ways you find great music by venturing out places you normally wouldn’t. Anyway. The song “Del Ray” was playing, and I just lost my mind. In my opinion, this composition was (and still is) HOT!! It has a mixture of Mexican, hip hop, & club all in one. I kept thinking this was a remake; I can’t help the feeling I heard the melody before. But then again, I’ve listened to so much music since I was little, many will sound familiar to me. Check it out will you?
Song: Bam-Bam
Artist: Toots & The Maytals, Byron Lee & The Dragons
Album: From Bam-Bam To Cherry Oh! Baby (c. 1970s)
Genre: Sweet Reggae
This may sound very arrogant…. But…. In this day and age, the only people who can probably appreciate an album like this, are Jamaicans and West-Indians in my age group. Very few Americans would know anything about this album; unless perhaps you’ve dated someone for many years who happened to be from the island. One of the things I miss most from my childhood growing up was, in my neighborhood, we had one of the only record shops dedicated to 100% reggae! Both full albums and 12 inch reggae; many if not all were imported. All in a very short walking distance. I remembered this album being one of many my mom purchased there. I think this was when I fell in love with Toots and The Maytels’s music for the first time.
The first song I heard was “Bam-Bam” by Toots & The Maytels. I loved this song so much. I don’t know what was it that I loved it so much. Maybe it was his unique voice? Maybe it was his soul that came through his music? Or maybe it was his passion for political change I heard in his music? I played that song so many times. The second song I fell in love with was “Pomps & Pride.” Very catchy tune, and you can’t help but to move your hips just a little bit when you hear it. I was really surprised to find out that Spotify has the entire entire album. The album has various artists, which includes Desmond Dekker (which is another talented favorite of mine.
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Song: Never Gonna Let You Go
Artist: Michael Miglio
Album: Seafaring Strangers: Private Yacht (2017)
Genre: R&B/Easy Listening
I found what I think to be a really, really nice song. Yes, I recommend this one for your playlist. I don’t recall ever hearing Michael Miglio’s music before, yet according to discogs, he has been around since the early 1980s. It’s possible that his music just hasn’t been digitally released until recently. I really love Miglio’s smooth voice. His music kind of reminds me of the band Toto. Do you remember Toto’s old classic Georgy Porgy? It’s a totally different song, however, Miglio has captured that same smooth classic style. This song is a very catchy tune. The album itself has various artists on it, but so far “Never Gonna Let You Go” is my favorite.