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Showing posts from June, 2025

Sunshine Radio: Seventies Soft Pop Edition

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Pexels Enjoy light-hearted soul, pop and (yacht) rock from the seventies on this new Sunshine Radio episode! Again songs from the era mixed with original jingles and air checks. The track by Sly & The Family Stone is my tribute to Sly Stone who recently left us. His death was a bit overshadowed by the passing of another musical genius, Beach Boy Brian Wilson two days later. Sly Stone was the first one to blend rock, soul and funk in an extraordinary way. It’s good to know that the two surviving original members of British success band Mud, Rob Davis and Ray Stiles, still occasionally perform live as Mud. They did a gig at the Factory Live venue in Worthing last year. They played most of their hits, but forgot to perform their best single, Drift Away,  released in 1978. Five years earlier the song was made successful by Dobie Gray, but it was originally written by Mentor Williams (brother of famous songwriter Paul Williams) and first recorded by Mike Berry in 1972. This was a f...

Billboard Soul Chart – June 21, 1986 (Mixcloud Exclusive)

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Pexels Enjoy this exclusive soul chart from 15 to number 1 on this weekend in 1986, based on  Billboard ’s survey of sales and broadcast play!  Cavin Yarbrough, one-half of the R&B act Yarbrough & Peoples, died at the age of 72 last week, due to heart complications. On this chart they are at number 7 with I Wouldn't Lie . The duo were one of the most successful acts of the 1980s, mostly known for Don't Stop The Music . Although their time at the top of the charts was somewhat brief, Cavin Yarbrough and his wife Alisa Peoples were surely pioneers of electronic dance music. For instance, contemporary R&B duo The APX definitely learned the trick from them. Tracklist: S.O.S. Band – The Finest Johnny Kemp – Just Another Lover Jeffrey Osborne – You Should Be Mine   Five Star – Love Take Over Tease – Firestarter  Run D.M.C. – My Adidas 52nd Street – Tell Me (How It Feels)  Meli’sa Morgan – Do You Still Love Me? Yarbrough & Peoples – I Wouldn’...

Sunny Breeze From The West Coast Part 12 – Sunset California

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Pexels Enjoy part 12 of Sunny Breeze From The West Coast!   😊 Vanessa Falabella released her album Yacht Rock ‘N’ Bossa last year and wrote about it on Bandcamp: “If you don't already know the slang term “Yacht Rock”, it is connected to a state of mind, a genre of music, and associated with a lifestyle, close to the sea, that began in Southern California. Some artists represent this musical moment (from the 70s, 80s and even the 90s), they are: Christopher Cross, Toto, Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers, Michael McDonald, Fleetwood Mac, Kenny Loggins, songs like “Sailing”, “Lotta Love”, "Love will keep us Together”, but the styles of soft rock, jazz and rhythm and blues are present in the DNA of Yacht Rock.” Tracklist: Darling Tarling – Sunset California (2024) Vanessa Falabella – Lotta Love (2024) England Dan & John Ford Coley – Keep Your Smile (1979) The President – You’re Gonna Like It (1984) Powerplay – Make It Alone (1982) Silvertwin – You Only (2021) Eric Kaz ‎– Com...

Billboard Hot Black Singles Sales – June 15, 1985

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The American soul chart  from 15 to 1 exactly 40 years ago, according to Billboard . Enjoy! 😊 Freak-A-Ristic is an underrated, often forgotten, electro soul hit by Atlantic Starr that came out just before they began to shift more in the soft rock/adult contemporary vein. Released in 1985, from their LP As The Band Turns , the single  Freak-A-Ristic jumped into the R&B Top 10, peaking at #6 and even briefly made it into the Billboard Hot 100. The album also featured the R&B ballads Silver Shadow and Secret Lovers that turned out to be perfect cross-over hits.  When Wham! background singer Shirley (one half of Pepsi & Shirley) dated Martin Kemp from Spandau Ballet for the first time, she found out she had no make-up on at the very last minute. She became a bit insecure, but luckily, she explained afterwards, Martin had put up make-up for two 😊 Everything She Wants by Wham! is on this chart, originally the b-side of Last Christmas . Next up is a new part...

Sunshine Radio Presents New Wave & Eighties FM Pop

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Pexels Enjoy this eighties part of Sunshine Radio ! Again I used some authentic jingles and air checks to recreate the feeling of the decade. In the beginning of the 1980s a whole bunch of new kids on the block came around with a fresh, mostly electronic sound. They ruled the air waves for quite some time, but by the end of the decade all kinds of new genres popped up and new wave suddenly wasn’t so new anymore. The musical landscape completely changed with house, hip hop, Britpop and grunge, to name but a few. Only one electro pop band survived in the 1990s and kept on having hits in the US, UK and Europe: The Human League. Tracklist: Kissing The Pin k – One Step (1985) Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Even The Losers (1980) Soft Cell – What (1982) Alan Gorrie – The Girl Upstairs (1985) The Mood – Passion In Dark Rooms (1982) Associates – Heart Of Glass (1988) China Crisis – King In A Catholic Style (Wake Up) (1985) Tears For Fears – Mad World (1982) Kim Wilde – Cambodia (1...

A Soulful Sunday In The Seventies with The Smooth Operators

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Jerry Butler A seventies follow-up to our first Soulful Sunday edition, uploaded by Martijn a few weeks ago. Enjoy! Tragically the career of singer Gwen McCrae who passed away earlier this year was overshadowed by her husband George's success. His million seller Rock Your Baby was originally meant for her to be recorded. On the other hand, she managed to pursue a solo career after their divorce and released a few so-called "rare groove classics": “Affectionately known as the "queen of the rare groove", McCrae had a 1975 soul smash with Rockin' Chair. Her catalogue - which also includes the dancefloor anthem All This Love That I'm Givin', as well as other tracks like 90% of Me Is You, Keep the Fire Burning and Funky Sensation - has been heavily sampled by artists including Lady Gaga, Cassius, Avicii, Madlib, Cypress Hill and Mobb Deep.” (BBC) Tracklist:  Jerry Butler – (I'm Just Thinking About) Cooling Out (1978) The Chargers – You Gotta Be A ...