Professor Eddy

Pixabay Again a tribute to seventies FM radio by The Smooth Operators , which are Martijn Soetens and I. Enjoy! The LP 'You' by Aretha Franklin (released in October 1975) sold poorly, stalling at #83 on Billboard's album chart. The album's only pop chart single, 'Mr. D.J.' stuck at #53 on the Billboard Hot 100. In retrospect, the album isn't bad at all and the track 'It only happens', which is on this mixtape, sounds very fresh today. Fact is that the album was disappointing for those who expected her to sing like she used to do a decade earlier. And the front cover didn't help either to boost the sales... Tracklist: Steely Dan – Josie (1977) Wings – Arrow Through Me (1979) Nohelani Cypriano – Lihue (1979) Jerry Corbetta – Between A Rock And A Hard Place (1978) Sea Level – Living In A Dream (1978) Andy Gibb ‎– An Everlasting Love (1978) Stouffville Grit – ‘Cause I Don’t Have You (1971) Bread – Make It With You (1970) Aret...

Joan Smalls (Michael Kors) Naturally created in California, sunshine pop was a mid-'60s mainstream pop style typified by rich harmony vocals, lush orchestrations, and a happy-go-lucky mood. The genre began as an outgrowth of the 1960s California Sound and folk rock movements. It was often mildly influenced by psychedelia and its light tone became the trademark of the Californian yacht rock sound the next decade. Sunshine pop largely consisted of lesser-known artists who were inspired by more popular groups like the Beach Boys and the 5th Dimension. It enjoyed mainstream success in the latter half of the decade, with many of its top 40 hits peaking in the spring and summer of 1967, especially just before the Summer of Love. Popular bands include the Mamas & the Papas, Spanky & Our Gang, and the Association. Later soulful elements popped up in the genre with acts like Rotary Connection (produced by Charles Stepney) and Friends of Distinction. Sunshine pop disappeared in ...

Destiny's child A selection of the best soul music that was made in the previous decade (2000-2009)! My favourite Destiny's Child track is probably 'Is she the reason'. I really like the Melba Moore sample upon which the song is hung. Enjoy! After filming the music video for the single 'Rock the Boat' singer Aaliyah tragically died in a plane crash on August 25, 2001. The pilot was unlicensed at the time of the accident and toxicology tests revealed that he had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his body. Aaliyah's family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Blackhawk International Airways, which was settled out of court. Aaliyah Aaliyah's music has continued to achieve commercial success with several posthumous releases. She has sold an estimated 24 to 32 million albums worldwide. She has been credited for helping redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames "Princess of R&B" and "Queen of...

Aurélien Buttin This episode of Groovy, Sexy and Soulful is inspired by ‘Tonight is the night’ from soul legend Betty Wright. The opening track by Jamiroquai is from his excellent new album 'Automaton'. One of the other tracks that I selected is ‘I got my mind made up’ by funkateers Instant Funk on the infamous Salsoul label, which was founded by Philly vibe player Vincent Montana, Jr. He also led the Salsoul Orchestra. Their ‘Ooh I love it’ (‘Love break’) has been sampled in hip hop tracks, such as 50 Cent's ‘Candyshop’ and Eric B & Rakim's ‘Paid in Full’, but most notably in Madonna's ‘Vogue’. Claudja Barry’s irresistible ‘Love for the sake of love’ became well known when Montell Jordan borrowed heavily from it for his 'Get it on tonite'. Au Dré Following last year's release of their self-titled debut EP along with their follow-up single, 'Watch What You Say', Melbourne-based duo Au Dré, comprised of vocalist/trumpeter Audrey Po...

Joan Smalls (Vogue) When disco popped up around the mid-seventies, record companies did not aim at the clubs. Instead, they wanted their songs to be played on the radio. As a result, the first disco tracks sounded very radio-friendly and were short in length, mostly around or less than 3 minutes. For instance, it took almost 40 years before the king of disco remixes, Tom Moulton, laid his hands on ‘Love Epidemic’ by The Trammps to create a long version of it. The sound of disco changed when clubs were opened on almost every street corner and club music became a separate market. Radio was no longer needed to be heard by the masses. Most of the first disco hits were initially picked up by the clubs, before radio-dj’s discovered it as a potential hit record, like ‘Rock your baby’ by George McCrae. The influence of club-dj’s started to grow and it became even bigger, when disco took over the pop industry by the end of the decade. At that point dance music was not a niche market anymore...