Groovy, Sexy & Soulful Part 65 Slow Dancin' Edition

Kadha Bonet

The other day I bought the compilation album 100 Hits Ultimate Soul (100 definitive smooth sounds), which is out on Demon Music Group. The album is really good and brought quite a few surprises to my ears. The song that I like the most is the one that I would qualify as yacht rock: 'Every Night' by Phoebe Snow (written by Paul McCartney). What a wonderful voice this woman has! The singer is best known for her 1975 song 'Poetry Man'. She was once described by The New York Times as a "contralto grounded in a bluesy growl and capable of sweeping over four octaves." Phoebe Snow suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in 2010 and passed away on April 26, 2011, at age 60.

For an artist whose bio reads that she was “born in 1784 in the backseat of a sea-foam green space pinto,” LA-based soul singer Kadjha Bonet’s debut album 'The Visitor' sounds a bit closer to home than that. Her sound is retro-fitted, but you only have to travel to, say, the experimental jazz-meets-soul-meets-singer-songwriter traditions of the mid-seventies to find her home planet. Think of legendary names like Minnie Riperton and Roberta Flack to describe her style. Her single ‘Honeycomb’ has the same fairylike vibe as Minnie’s classic ‘Les fleurs’.

Enjoy this 65th part of Groovy, Sexy and Soulful!

Tracklist:

Manhattans – Hurt (1976)
Johnny Nash ‎– Tears On My Pillow (1975)
Kadhja Bonet – Honeycomb (2016)
Phoebe Snow – Oh, L.A. (1978)
The Choice 4 – Keep In Touch (1975)
Lowrell Simon – Love Massage (1981)
The Jammers – What Have You Got To Lose (1982)
Melba Moore ‎– Standing Right Here (1977)
Thelma Houston – If You Feel It (1981)
Philly Devotions – I Was A Lonely Man (1975)
Earth, Wind & Fire – Feeling Blue (1974)
Phil Flowers – Stay Awhile (1984)
Gene Chandler – Does She Have A Friend? (1980)
Pointer Sisters – I Need You (1983)
Alfonzo – Don’t Stop This Feeling (1982)
East Harlem Bus Stop ‎– Let's Get It On (1976)
The Blackbyrds ‎– Do It, Fluid (1974)
Paulette McWilliams ‎– Dancin' (1976)
The Drifters – Like Sister And Brother (1973)