SoulTrackin’ – 1 Year Without JB…
Filed under: Christmas, DailyLinks, Music, Playlists, Podcasts, RIBS, radio.blog
One year ago today we all awoke to the sad news that Soul Brother #1, the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, had passed away and gone to join many of his peers in soul heaven. I’m sure the heavenly choir has never be the same since {smile}. A few days after that I posted a piece called “Without James Brown” which were just some thoughts and reflections on the man that had been bouncing around in my head at the time. Since I have a few more readers now than I had back then, I figured I would repost it today (who knows, maybe I’ll repost it every year on this day…)
WITHOUT JAMES BROWN…
…the Flames would never have been Famous
…we wouldn’t know the funky sound made by a Night Train
…I might still call myself a Negro, unwilling to Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud
…we would have never broken out in a Cold Sweat
…Mama might never have known that she could Feelgood
…Papa might never have gotten A Brand New Bag
…I might still be waiting for people to give me something, instead of opening up the door and getting it myself
…we might never have known what it felt like to be a Sex Machine…we wouldn’t know how much fun it is to be Super Bad
…Santa Claus wouldn’t know to Go Straight To The Ghetto
…we might not know how to Make It Funky
…we wouldn’t know the importance of Soul Power
…we might not know what it was like to be Down And Out In New York City
…the President would never have been Funky
…we would never have gone to the bridge in the first place
…Rocky wouldn’t know how funky it could be Living In America
…we wouldn’t have given the drummer a goddamn thing
…there might never have been Parliament/Funkadelic
…Prince, Michael Jackson, Usher (and a host of others) would have had to pay for dance lessons
…there would be no Rap, Hip-Hip or Club; let me repeat that… there would be no Rap, Hip-Hip or Club
…the Blues Brothers would have never gotten “The Band” back together
…nobody would ever Pass The Peas or Give Up Food For Funk
Without James Brown… the world would have been a lot less funky, a lot less soulful, and a lot more boring. We’ll miss you, Godfather of Soul, but your music and musical influences will be with us forever. For that we can be thankful.
Also, in remembrance to JB, I had the good fortune to be asked create a couple of memorial mixes for my good friend EJFlavors and his OSW (Old School Wednesday) podcast that he produces. The links to those mixes are below:
One last thing… if you use Last.FM let’s let the world know that we remember and miss the Godfather of Soul. Play some James Brown today and make sure you scrobble it to Last.FM. We want to make this a “James Brown Celebration” day today in addition to Christmas.
Powered by ScribeFire.
RIBS: Some ‘Soulful’ Sounds of the Season…
Filed under: Christmas, Music, Playlists, Podcasts, RIBS, Soul/R&B, SoulTrackin', radio.blog
‘Sounds of the Season’ mix #5, “A ‘Soulful’ Xmas” is now ready for your enjoyment over on RIBS.
This mix features some enjoyably soulful renditions of Christmas originals and classics by some of your favorite Soul/R&B singers and groups.
Happy Holidays!
RIBS: More ‘Sounds Of The Season’…
Filed under: Blues, Christmas, Music, Playlists, Podcasts, Soul/R&B, SoulTrackin', radio.blog
Two more “not just the usual stuff” Xmas mixes have been posted on RIBS for your holiday enjoyment.
The Xquizzyt1 was kind enough to send me a mix she had created a while back and after a minor tweak here and a minor tweak there we have:
…chock full of some all-time favorite and familiar holiday soul jams.
Next we pulled some of our special ingredients out of the cubbard to mix together:
…now, I’m not talking the “boo-hoo, I wanna cry my eyes out” kind of Blues, but rather the John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Charles Brown “I got soul down deep in my heart” kind of Blues.
Let’s see… so far that’s 4 Christmas mixes for the holiday and there’s still a couple of more (at least) to go before we get to the BIG day.
Enjoy!
RIBS: What Do The Lonely Do At Christmas?
Filed under: Blues, Christmas, Jazz, Music, Playlists, Podcasts, RIBS, Soul/R&B, SoulTrackin', radio.blog
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
This classic opening line from Dickens’ “A Tale Of Two Cities” is so very true when it comes to the Christmas holiday season. For most folks, they couldn’t be happier than they are at this time of year. However, for some others, they couldn’t be sadder nor more depressed.
It was with this latter thought in mind that this week’s RIBS Triple Play Thurs-Day mix was created:
RIBS TPTD: “Broken-Hearted” Xmas
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to bum ya out or anything; just taking a minute to look at the other side of the holiday season.
SoulTrackin’ – Rest In Peace, Ike, Rest In Peace…
Filed under: Christmas, DailyLinks, Jazz, Music, Music News, Playlists, Podcasts, RIBS, SoulSites
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Ike Turner passed away on Wednesday (December 12, 2007) at the age of 76. Love him or hate him, one thing is for sure: he was one of the early innovators and driving forces behind the music in the early days of Rock & Roll and R&B.
Unfortunately, like so many others, he has never been given the full credit that he deserved for his contributions to the music. In the end, at least he didn’t go out penniless and homeless like many of his peers before him. Finally corralling his demons (and Ike had many of them) he was able to work and tour steadily over the past decade and even won a Grammy Award earlier this year for his Risin’ With The Blues album.
Rest In Peace, Ike.
Also, check out this excellent post on Flea Market Funk for some more remembrances of Ike.
SoulTrackin’ – All About Jazz – Holiday Music Reviews…
If you like your Xmas music Jazzy, as opposed to Funky, you may want to head on over over to the All About Jazz Holiday Reviews page. Here you’ll be able to find some holiday Jazz MP3 downloads (free!) and a ton of reviews that they have posted over the years of various Christmas Jazz releases.
SoulTrackin’ – Three Under The Tree…
If you’ve been here or over at RIBS for a minute, you know how much I like things that come in 3’s {smile}. Well, Jeff Ash, who hosts the Am, Then FM blog is running a series this month that I absolutely love!
All month long he is running a series he calls, “Three Under The Tree”. Every day in December he goes through his music collection and pulls out three Xmas songs for us to enjoy. Everything from Creole Christmas cuts to Jimmy Smith, Salsoul’s Christmas Jollies disco offerings, to Kay Martin’s adult-oriented (suggestive, not X-rated) “I Know What He Wants For Christmas (But I Don’t Know How To Wrap It)” hard to find holiday classic.
Stop on by and check out what he’s laid under the tree so far. Highly Recommended.
SoulTrackin – Going Christmas Music Crazy…
If, like me, you are a fan and collector of Christmas music then here are two sites I’ve found that have lots of reviews of all different types of Christmas music. Everything from Acoustic and Bluegrass to R&B/Soul, Reggae and World music.
Mistletunes.com, of particular note on this site is their list (with short reviews) of Soul/R&B Christmas albums.
and,
Christmasreviews.com, not that extensive of an R&B list (especially compared to Mistletunes) but much better in the Jazz & Blues departments.
If you are looking for a particular Xmas album or just want to see the wide variety of stuff that is out there, these are two good places to spend some time browsing around.
RIBS: ‘Sounds Of The Season’…
Filed under: Christmas, Music, Playlists, Podcasts, RIBS, SoulSites
By far, hands down, my favorite part of the holiday season is the music. I just love all of the different variations and moods of that have been created over the years from Christmas songs.
All this month Rhythms In Black Satin will be exploring many different ‘Sounds of the Season’ during our regular Thursday get togethers. First up this week, we want you to…
…with our mix of soul Christmas music that tends towards the funky, uptempo side of things.
Happy, Happy Holidays! to you and your loved ones.
All That Jazz: In Celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month
I don’t talk about my love for jazz enough on this blog so I figure jazz appreciation month is the perfect time to do so. I have to admit that my knowledge is lacking. Mama Vivrant Thang was never really into jazz so it wasn’t played much around the house. She did love Kenny G though and [...]
The “Boys” Are Back In Town…
Remember the Four Brothers Beats blog? Well, the boys are back! BUT... not quite in the way you may have been expecting. It's, how shall we say, "the same, but different!"
Vendors, Authors and Artists– Sell Your Items in This Year’s Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest
Last year's Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest was a musical celebration while vendors sold their products to eager to buyers. Book authors, including Felicia Pride-- writer of The Message and activist author Devin Walker were among some of the top authors who sold their books. The 2009 Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest will be held this year on Sat., July 25 in Marvin Gaye Park in Washington DC. While the musical acts are still being selected, vendors are able to reserve their tables now to receive our Early Bird Discount. For more info, email us at CapitalHipHopSoulFest@gmail.com
Fusion: Where Music, Technology, and Artist Creativity Intersect
Hello readers and listeners. I trust all is well today. This post is a follow-up to the previous post about the subject of an upcoming podcast I hope to resurrect entitled Fusion. The concept of this podcast came to me via an off the cuff discussion I had a few years ago with a fellow podcaster/recording artist/graphic designer. Both of us, being musicians in our own right, began discussing our backgrounds and influences in making music, which invariably talking about how technology (past and present) played a role taking the music from inner to outer. I began to see the different paths ...
Twitter Me!
Cupid’s Hunt: 2009
Translator
By N2H