Posts

Showing posts from March, 2012

It's Soul, Covered Up Part 3

Image
For this 3rd part of ' It's soul covered up ' I again selected cover versions that sound at least as good or even better than the originals! The covered songs are like taxis with new passengers, to quote Bryan Ferry. A good cover is making it seem a composition of your own. For instance, Bryan Ferry gives the Doris Troy (a.k.a. Doris Payne) composition a complete Ferry make-over. By the way, Andy & the Marglows recorded the song two weeks before Doris Troy did, so they are actually the originals. The version I selected from 'My cherie amour' is very poorly sung, but I like it, because it makes me feel a singer as well. I can't resist singing along! ;-) Some of the artists that are covered in this mix, sing cover versions as well, like Chaka Khan (picture) and Candi Staton, who does her version of the Elvis Presley classic 'In the ghetto'. The song was initially refused by Bill Medley from the Righteous Brothers. Look out for great new cover albums fr

Groovy, Sexy & Soulful Part 9

Image
Again, I collected some groovy, sexy and soulful songs! 'Only a fool' from Mighty Sparrow & Byron Lee was on the Dutch charts for a short period in 1969, but it was re-released 8 years later. It peaked at #2 then and it stayed for more than 6 months on the charts! Keith Marshall was once the singer of glam rock band Hello ('New York Groove'), but 'Only crying' was his only successful solo attempt. And don't the first words of William Bell, ring, uh, a bell? Van Morrison copied his line word for word when he sang 'Have I told you lately that I love you'... Check out ' The Hoxxxy Demos ', the great new album from Princess Freesia who closes this mix. She's definitely groovy, sexy and soulful, just like Pam Grier, the woman in the picture. Enjoy! Next up is part 3 of ' It's soul covered up '. Tracklist: David Ruffin – Slow Dance [Domes Edit] (1980) William Bell – I Forgot To Be Your Lover (1968) Mighty Sparrow With

Everything Is Disco

Image
This disco mix is dedicated to Jimmy Ellis, on the right in the picture. The soulful lead singer (and co-founder) of Philadelphian disco pioneers the Trammps died of complications of Alzheimer’s disease last Thursday. His melodious voice overlaid the funky guitar riffs of Norman Harris and the super tight Baker-Young rhythm section. He sang lead on most of the group’s songs, backed by bass singer/drummer Earl Young. His screaming and yelling ('ow, ow!') definitely gave their songs something extra. John Travolta did his classic dance moves on their 'Disco inferno' in the seventies movie 'Saturday Night Fever'. A remake of 'Zing went the strings of my heart' from The Coasters (originally written for the Broadway musical 'Thumbs up') was their first chart single, reaching number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972. Despite their ground breaking work for what would become the typical disco sound, the Trammps didn't have a string of hits on the

It's Soul, Covered Up Part 2

Image
For this 2nd part of ' It's soul covered up ' I again selected cover versions that sound at least as good or even better than the originals! The soulful version of 'We can work it out' is from a brand new Roberta Flack album: 'Let it be Roberta'. She interprets Beatles classics on a very smooth Roberta Flack tip. Her brilliant cover of 'The first time I ever saw your face' from her album 'First take' became a Billboard #1 in 1972, which is three years after its original release! It only became successful after Clint Eastwood had used it in a love scene for his movie 'Play Misty For Me'. Marvin Gaye (picture) takes some other Beatle classic to another level. The song from Lulu is the opening track of a nice new compilation album that celebrates 20 years of soul label Dome Records. More on covers and originals on Originals.be and Whosampledwho . Enjoy! Tracklist: Roberta Flack – We Can Work It Out (The Beatles) (2011) Gretch

DJ's Make The Music Go Round

Image
This is an eclectic mix to celebrate the diversity of radio and the power of dj's in particular! It starts with an add for ' The Hoxxxy Demos ', the great new album from Princess Freesia. The track 'I Heard It In A Love Song' from McFadden & Whitehead is from a wonderful Philly compilation album called ' Philly Busters ' that came out as a part of the excellent Backbeats series recently. The length of the mix is two hours, which is the perfect length for a radio show, if you ask me... Enjoy! The picture is selected by the fantastic Lana Del Rey. She used it on her Facebook page. Tracklist: 1. Princess Freesia – Radio Drop (2012) 2. Angela Johnson Feat. Rahsaan Patterson – Dream Flight (2008) 3. De La Soul's Plug 1 & Plug 2 present First Serve – Must B The Music [Eddy's Edit] (2012) 4. Latin Quarter – Radio Africa (1986) 5. Tom Robinson – Listen To The Radio (1983) 6. Al Stewart – Song On The Radio (1979) 7. Dillard & Clark