I remember listening to this album quite a bit growing up. As I’ve said before, Al Green had an incredible unique musical style. When we hear the first note of one of his instruments on his record, we instantly know it’s Al Green. Been listening to this album a bit recently. My favorite is “Tired Of Being Alone,” and “I Stand Accused.”
I really apologize to my small fans for not posting any articles. I was having a really hard time deciding whether to keep this site or not. So much has changed in terms of social media, and it’s really discouraging when you’re trying to do something awesome, and because of politics and cancel culture, it’s really made it difficult to not only be seen on social media, but the control within politics and social media has shifted people attention greatly. On the other hand, I said to myself, I did so much effff-innn work on my site, I’d feel upset to let it go too. Next thing I knew I was billed for another year.
I said to myself….. Well?? Eff it!! I might as well keep the site and see what happens in the future. But, just to keep the work manageable, I’ll have to write smaller articles. I guess I love music too much. My site is so personal and it means so much to me. I will do my best to continue to write more articles, as sharing our Black American classic music I feel is still incredibly important. My heart breaks that there are so little bloggers of color out here, and on top of that even less of those bloggers who are writing about our classic music. Like I’ve always said, shame on the parents who dropped the ball on this. What a effin shame. Shame!!!
Hi guys! I’m happy to announce that I’m finally a new first time author. I’ve completed writing my first book called “Snap Out Of It! Homophobia Is A Mental Illness! It’s been a long journey through this writing process, but I finally did it. Homophobia is still an incredibly serious issue, and we need to have a sense of urgency to talk about it, while America is going through a forced cultural change right now. The last four years has been literally chaos, and I suspect it will get a lot worse before Americans are forced to understand the problems we’ve caused by our divisions. If the American people do not set aside egos, and if we don’t work together (that includes both politicians and American citizens), we’re gonna be in deep trouble.
Whether you choose to admit it or not, people who are double minorities (meaning being of both color and gay), this can destroy the gay Black community in ways you can’t fathom. We need to put aside our beliefs and look at reality. No matter what you believe and how much you believe what you believe, your beliefs doesn’t take the place of real-time realities. Hopefully, my book can open your hard-heart just a little bit, enough for you to understand our struggles. As always, I feel the major political upset takes away the focus of LGBTQ Americans and LGBTQ immigrants rights. Despite our progress in the queer community, a significant part of our community continues to be left on the back burner. We must not forget our histories and become complacent. Otherwise, before you know it, everything we’ve worked for can easily be revoked with a stroke of a pen (as we seen with Joe Bidden undoing more than 90% of Trump’s policies. Please pickup a copy of my book, it is now available on Amazon.com
Song: Star Search
Artist: Various
Album: CBS Productions (1983-2003)
Genre: TV Show
Hi guys!!! Today, I thought it would be fun to write a little ’bout a forgotten talent show called “Star Search.” To be honest, I forgot what channel I used to watch it on, but, it had to have been either channel 5 or 7 in NYC. This show was on way longer than I realized. I remember watching it in the early 80s, however, the show lasted until about 2003. Star Search was a show similar to the Apollo; the only difference was that Star Search’s format was a lot more formal, and appeared to be more structured. The show was hosted by a number of people throughout the seasons, including Arsenio Hall (believe it or not). But the host I remembered the most was the late Ed McMahon. Mr. McMahon literally became a house hold name back then; in fact, I dare to say his popularity could be compared to the legendary sports announcer, the late Howard Cosell. They both had very distinctive voices. You knew immediately who they were the second you heard their voices. In fact, Ed McMahon was so popular, he often appeared on the late Johnny Carson Show just to hangout.
Truthfully, I Only Remembered Two Performers On The Show That Became Mega Famous!
To be honest, despite the fact that I did enjoy the show most of the time, I was an occasional watcher. Thinking back, I hadn’t realized just how many people Star Search has made famous! One guy that stuck in my head was a guy named Sam Harris. No disrespect, but…… If the late Patrick Swayze was gay, I think he’d look something like Sam Harris ? ?! Come on, you know it’s true! LOLOL.. The audience appeared to have fallen completely in love with Harris. The song that put him on the map, was his rendition of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” You know, it’s funny, back then I thought he tore the shit out of this song. Now, 30+ years later, I think he put a lot of stress on his vocal chords. Then again, Star Search was the first of it’s kind, and perhaps that was what it meant for contestants to “give it their all.”
Some Of The Biggest Celebrities That Started Off On Star Search Didn’t Perform All That Well!
One of my all-time favorite contestant of the show was a woman named Linda Eder. She left such a huge impression on me. Listen to Linda sing her rendition of “I Dreamed A Dream.” My jaw completely dropped to the floor when I heard her sing on the show for the first time. This was one woman I wish I could have saw perform live. Linda performs mostly Broadway tunes, and music standards. If you’re into this kind of thing, I definitely recommend you check her albums out. Sam Harris and Linda Eder are the only two performers that were prominent in my memory. However, below is a list of just a few contestants that became big names in their profession.
SINGERS:
Beyonce, performed with a group called “Girls Tyme.”
Justin Timberlake
Britney Spears
Christina Aguilera
User
LeAnn Rimes
Alanis Morissette
Jessica Simpson
Aaliyah
Billy Porter
COMEDIANS:
Martin Lawrence
Jenny Jones
Norm Macdonald
Sinbad
Carlos Mencia
Bill Engvall
Loni Love
Ray Romano
Rosie O’Donnell
Dave Chappelle
Song: An Old Fashioned Love Song
Artist: Three Dog Night
Album: Celebrate TTDN Story 1965-1975
Genre: Soft Rock
Unless your preferred music listening has always been rock, you most likely forgot about this group, or never heard of them at all. I don’t think they’re necessarily an obscured band, but I definitely think so among general music fans (especially 30 and younger). When I look at their streaming numbers, relatively speaking they’re not really that high. However, this doesn’t mean they didn’t do great music in the rock genre. To be honest, I hadn’t listened to their music for a really longtime. There are so much great classic music that exist, neglect of our old favorite classics is just bound to happen. It wasn’t until I started lookin’, that I actually realized how many songs they’ve done that turned out to be some of my favorites.
If There Is A Such Thing As Quality Rock Music
You know, I still don’t consider myself a “rock expert.” However, I’ve always said to myself, if there is a such thing as “quality rock music,” I think Three Dog Night’s name would be on that list. They’re one of the very few rock bands that create real love songs that actually borderline between soft and hard rock. I can’t think of too many bands that make these kinds of music. Surprisingly, one of my most favorite songs by them was one of the least played on music streaming. “An Old Fashioned Love Song,” for some reason was one of my favorites. Thinking back, the song sort of reminded me of one of those early eighties travel commercials. You know, one of those vacation resorts ?. However, their biggest hit of their career was actually a song called “Joy To The World.” You know, I still couldn’t figure out the meaning of this song. I think what threw me off was the title. It automatically sends a message that this is a xtian song, but it’s not. Perhaps the lyrics in the song were cryptic. Then again, maybe it was just one of those quicky songs where random sentences were put together. We had a lot of those in the 70s & 80s. America’s “Horse With No Name,” was another annoying song I couldn’t figure out. WTF?? Anywayz…… Although I can’t figure out what the hell the song meant, it had an awesome tune that made it popular.
Joy To The World – The Lyrics Didn’t Make Sense To Me!
Throughout the band’s existence, they’ve gone through a heavy turnaround rate. It’s amazing how many members they’ve gone through, and yet they still managed to pump out hits. Today, the band is unrecognizable. If it were not for their brand name, and the consistency in their music, I wonder if they’d still have that faithful fan base? Checkout some of their other awesome hits. Such as, “Mama Told Me (Not To Come),” “One” (I always mistaken “One,” for a Beatles song), and “Black and White.” Lastly, I want you guys to check out a cover that was first made popular by Otis Redding. It’s called “Try A Little Tenderness.” Wow!! They sounded amazing! In my opinion, they tore this song up! I really appreciated that they kept Otis’s spirit in the song. Very nicely done for all you old Otis fans out there!
Song: Maniac
Artist: Michael Sembello
Album: Flashdance (1983)
Genre: Dance
Wow! Talk about a ?hot? & hairy muscle bear! *Cough* *Cough* Anyway…. The 80s were filled with all types of muscle bears everywhere, and they were not afraid to show-off their hairy chest ?. Today, it appears that hairy chests are viewed as “unsightly,” and many men are encouraged to shave their chest hairs off ?. Could you imagine? Being made to feel ashamed of part of what makes a guy a man? Oh, brother! I digress! Anywayzzz.. When you think of the 80s…….. Does anyone think of Michael Sembello anymore? In terms of music, Michael Sembello was a “jack of all trades! Not only does he play several instruments, he is an incredible songwriter!
His Music Instantly Takes Me Back To The Dance Movie Craze Of The 80s!
Unfortunately, despite Michael’s talents, he was a “1 hit wonder” I have to say. It’s so disappointing when you hear the talent in an artist, and they just don’t get the overall recognition they deserve. Although, in Michael’s case, in my opinion he unfortunately fell in to a producer’s box that many talents are put in by the music industry. In other words, when Michael gave us his first and only massive hit, “Maniac (1983),” (by the way, he also co-wrote) the industry expected him to give us that same type of hits. “Maniac,” reached #1 in the U.S., #2 in Australia, and #6 in Germany. “Maniac,” was one of many songs selected to be on the “Flashdance Sound Track.” I think that the combination of “Maniac,” and Irene Cara’s “What A Feeling,” made the movie even more popular. Although, the entire album was great from beginning to end.
Was Michael Musically Typecasted?! ?
You know, sometimes I wonder if it’s possible to be “musically typecasted,” in the same way that many actors have been? It must hit musicians harder (I would imagine), because at least if you’re a well known actor, most have acquired the power to say no to certain roles. However, when you’re a songwriter, it’s impossible to know if something will become a hit, and if that hit could cause the industry to pigeonhole you into category of songwriters. The good thing is tho….. According to Spotify, he has roughly a little over 3M listeners a month. Not sure what the other streaming services are pulling in for him. But, that’s pretty good for a one hit wonder, and considering the fact that no one really speaks his name anymore. Have you heard of Baggallini bags before? They’re a little on the expensive side, but their really nicely designed. Check them out here.
Song: Heaven Must Have Sent You
Artist: The Elgins
Album: Hitsville USA Motown Singles (1992) (1971)
Genre: Dance
Another forgotten treasure! Maybe I should have called my blog “forgotten treasures!” Because most of the artists a blog about are. One thing I really love about myself, is that I am open to so many different types of music, and it allowed me to find such phenomenal artist, as well garner enough culture to hand create a blog such as this one. Today, my focus is on a wonderful group called The Elgins. To me, this was such an unusual name back in the day, and I don’t recall ever hearing this name in my personal circles or otherwise. Back then, very few radio stations mentioned the name of these artists after their music was played. Having said that, because The Elgins were on the Motown Label, and since Motown had their own distinct sound, I easily mistaken the lead singer’s voice, Saundra Mallett, for groups like The Vandellas, or Martha Reeves.
The Height of their career only lasted about 10 Years
I don’t remember my family owning any of The Elgins’s music (at least I don’t own any original albums, but I may have one or two of their songs on a cassette compilation, I think). However, their biggest hit song “Heaven Must Have Sent You,” was heard all over the radio. This was my jam back in the day. You couldn’t help but to involuntarily dance to this song. The beat sort of made you dance. I was shocked to discover that in 1966 the hit song only reached #9 on the R&B chart, and 11 on the Hot 100 Chart. That song became one of many Black Anthems (I remembered growing up). I would have sworn this song was number 1, it was so incredibly popular in the Black community. But, no matter, it was still a colossal hit, and at the time appeared to have immortalized them.
Even Motown Sort Of Forgotten The Elgins!
Another great forgotten song you guys should investigate, is their song called “Darling Baby.” Personally, I felt this was an amazingly beautiful romantic song. What I find really strange tho… Also released in 1966, the song hit #92 on the Top 100 Chart, yet an the R&B Chart, it reached #4. Now, I am no expert when it comes to the flow of Billboard numbers, but to me that’s a huge gap, and I’m wondering if this had to do with the fact that “Darling Baby,” was originally released as a side B. I truly feel that The Elgins were truly underrated, and that includes by Motown too to some extent. I say this because despite only having a few hits under their belt, they were huge enough to be included in much of Motown’s memorabilia collections. And in my opinion, it had a lot to do with people like Berry Gordy. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but lets not forget, Berry Gordy had his hands in Diana Ross’s pants for quite some time. Not only that, performers such as Martha Reeves, The Temptations, and The Four Tops, got all the promotion when it comes to being included in collectable albums. Their existence felt almost compulsory. There were so many more talents on the Motown label that were not acknowledged until well after the very artists were forgotten by fans. Now, if you do find music from The Elgins, it will be on some sort of “obscure collections.” By the way, Summer is approaching. See what Google found for designer T-Shirts!!
Song: Various
Artist: Various
Album: Playlist
Genre: Club Music & Remixes
I’ve been meaning to do this for a very long, long time ?! As I’ve said before, just as straight people have history, so does the LGBT community. We have a history that is unique to us as LGBT people. In addition, LGBT/SGL Black American and Boriqua/Hispanic American have our own unique sub-history within LGBT history. And like the straight community, we have huge generation gaps within our gay history. Learning about gay history is just as important as any other history, especially when it comes to Black and Hispanic gay culture. We are presented with our own unique challenges, and our ability to try and convey our stories largely depends on the gay generation you come from. It is unfortunate that it appears that there are more young LGBT people in politics, that aren’t connected to any part of gay history. This should not be, as understanding our journey gives you a deeper understanding and perspective of our diverse realities. Not only that, I’ve seen str8 hip hop videos where the dudes where actually vogueing. But because it’s hip hop, and you’re supposed to be “gangster,” it’s not seen as anything… No one bats an eye… Meanwhile, my gay brothers and sisters where beat-up and chased for our uniqueness back in the day, and straight people are allowed to steal and recycle something that’s been created by us, and been in our community for decades. Know your gay history MF. LEARN!! It’s important.
LGBT People Have Our Own Unique Music History!
I can honestly say that for most of us, the music we listened to literally kept many of us alive, both in our mind and spirit. The club scene allowed us to escape from our deepest emotional pain; as well as escape from abusive relationships. The pressures put on LGBT people to be straight was immense. I don’t think I could find the words to even begin to explain to a straight person what that’s like, and the damage they’ve caused for many LGBT people. When I was growing up, for many straight people, having a Walkman and headphones was simply optional. However, for most gay people in the poorer communities, owning a Walkman or CD player was a necessity. It was the only effective tool we had to use that helped to block out negativity and devastatingly hurtful words.
Most Music Played In Gay Clubs Were Str8!
I’m not sure if there was a reason for this, or perhaps it just happen to be the way it was back in the day, but…. You’d think in the clubs we’d hear our own music made by gay artists. However, for whatever reason, there just wasn’t that many. And when I came out, RuPaul hadn’t emerged yet. Actually, there was only one prominent gay performer producing his own recordings. That was performer’s name was Kevin Aviance. The best way to describe Keven was, he was almost like a male version of Grace Jones ?. Unfortunately, I only liked one song he produced, and that was a song a called “Cunty (1999).” Yeah, I know, some of you may take issue with the title song; however, this was what the gay culture was back then. For many LGBT people, embracing words that would normally be considered inappropriate, were used to take back our lost power in defiance. The power that was lost due to living in a predominantly oppressive hetero society. I love this song because it had a fierce vogue-able dance beat in it’s background.
Back Then, In The Black/Hispanic Gay Club Scene, Our Music Was Very Much Underground For The Most Part!
One reality that wasn’t talked about in regards to underground music; gay clubs played a significant role as to whether or not an underground song/beat would be successful or not. Also, let me just say that, back then, I think it’s safe to say that if a song/beat was not vogue-able, it would be a guaranteed flop! I knew so many people who refused to go to certain clubs if the music played were not vogue-able (hissy-fit and all). It is also interesting that a lot of underground str8 music played in gay clubs, were usually not heard in str8 clubs unless the song went mainstream. It is also true that a lot of good Latin club music would not be heard in a predominantly gay Black establishments either. This not only baffled me, it frustrated me too. This was an era where both Black and Hispanics done the most music collaborations. I couldn’t for the life of me understand why in this aspect, we appeared to be separated. Unfortunately, if we wanted to hear Latin club music in the 80s, we needed to go to specific places, such as an establishment called “Escuelita.” Escuelita has been closed for about 5-6 years now I think. To be honest, I hated that club, because if I remember correctly, they functioned like a lot of the str8 clubs did. That being, they used to pick and choose who gets to enter in the club. I’ve been in too many situations where many of them that operate like that, didn’t live up to the hype (once you finally get in).
Some Of The Biggest Club Mixes Where Dirty As F***!
So, this is the largest playlist I ever made for pubic consumption. It has a whopping 101 major gay anthems I could remember growing up in the gay clubs. This isn’t even all of them. I may consider doin’ a part 2 in the future, I’ll think about it ?, I darn near popped a brain cell trying to remember all these greats! One of my many most memorable favorites was, “Break 4 Love.” You know, it was funny, although this was one of my most favorite club mixes, I was frightened to play this around family back then. For me, I felt it was way too raunchy, and was not appropriate to play for family. At times I kind of felt embarrassed. However, when I started hearing it played on the radio, I was like, f** it, I’m gonna play it too. LOLOL
Today, EDM Appears To Be The Replacement Genre For What Was Once The Greatest Club Music Of My Time!
Another dirty song I used to like a lot was a song by a performer named, Sweet P**** Pauline.” She had a song out called “Work This P****.” Unfortunately, this was one of those songs that was so popular, there were like a million remixes for it. It seems that Spotify doesn’t have the original (or at least the most popular one I remembered), but, I think the one I found on YouTube is ok, because it contains full lyrics. This song was hilarious!!!! Other favorites on this list is “I Can’t Get Enough,” by Liz Torres; “Work That Muth*****,” by Steve Poindexter; “The Party,” by Kraze; “Magic Carpet Ride,” by Mighty Dub Katz. We also vogued to a lot of traditional classic oldies, such as Diana Ross’s “The Boss,” and many music by Salsoul Orchestra. I hope you enjoy your trip through memory lane.