mardi 1 septembre 2026
lundi 31 août 2026
Con Funk Shun - Take It To The Max (The Studio Anthology)
The band began in 1969 as Project Soul, formed by Louis A. McCall Sr. (drums/percussion/vocals) and Michael Cooper (rhythm guitar/lead vocals), both of whom were high school students in Vallejo, California.[1] By 1971, the band also included bassist Cedric Martin, keyboardist Danny "Sweet Man" Thomas, trumpeter Karl Fuller, and woodwinds player Paul "Maceo" Harrell. Soon thereafter, this fledgling group's classic lineup became complete when lead vocals/multi-instrumentalist Felton Pilate came on board. Project Soul released a lone single in 1972.
In the mid-1970s, the seven musicians formed a new band, calling themselves "Con-Funk-Shun", after a song by the instrumental ensemble the Nite-Liters. They relocated to Memphis, Tennessee in 1973 when they were hired to back up Stax Records artists the Soul Children. There, they came to the attention of Estelle Axton who signed them to her Fretone Records label, where they released 2 singles.[2] Their début album, Organized Con Funk Shun, was recorded in 1973 but remained unreleased until 1978. (More Memphis Sessions from this era remained unreleased until 1980.) In 1975 the band’s name was altered from "Confunkshun" to "Con Funk Shun" by Louis’ wife Linda Lou McCall who also handled the marketing and public relations. They went to Japan for performance in 1975.
In 1976, Con Funk Shun signed to Mercury Records, and then went on to release eleven albums over a span of ten years. The band's 1977 album, Secrets, was certified gold in the United States, as were the 1978 album Loveshine, the 1979 album Candy, and the 1980 album Spirit of Love.[3] They scored a string of top ten hit songs on the U.S. Billboard black singles chart, including "Ffun" (No. 1 in 1978), "Shake and Dance with Me" (No. 5 in 1978), "Chase Me" (No. 4 in 1979), "Got to Be Enough" (No. 8 in 1980), "Too Tight" (No. 8 in 1981), "Baby, I'm Hooked (Right into Your Love)" (No. 5 in 1983), and "Electric Lady" (No. 4 in 1985).[4] "Ffun" (#23) and "Too Tight" (#40) were the group's only songs that crossed over onto the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100; 2 others did make the chart, while 4 of their songs hit the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.
Tensions from within the group built over the 1980s, and the band's final album, Burning Love, was recorded without multi instrument-vocalist and songwriter Felton Pilate.[1] After disappointing album sales, Mercury invoked its "key member clause" and dropped the band from the label. Michael Cooper then moved on to a solo run[1] with Warner Bros. Cooper had an R&B hit with "To Prove My Love" in 1987. The remaining original members tried to continue, but repeated efforts with new lead singers fell short, and they ceased performing and recording as Con Funk Shun in 1987.
Pilate became the in-house record producer and songwriter for M.C. Hammer and his record label Bust It Records.[5] He worked on several albums for the company, including Hammer's Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em album, as well as the bulk of Special Generation's 1990 début album, Take It to the Floor. Lead singer Michael Cooper embarked on a successful career as a solo artist, releasing his solo début album Love Is Such a Funny Game on Warner Bros. Records in 1987, and releasing the 1989 album Just What I Like and the 1992 album Get Closer on Warner Bros.' sister label Reprise Records.
In 1997 Louis McCall was shot and killed in a home invasion robbery.[6] Age 45. As recently as 2013, their eleven Mercury Records albums, along with their Greatest Hits and Best of Con Funk Shun albums, continue to be remastered and released digitally.
In 2015, the More Than Love album was released. Three of the original band members, Michael Cooper, Felton Pilate and Karl Fuller, currently tour as Con Funk Shun.[7] In March 2017, they celebrated their 45th anniversary as a band with four sold-out shows at Yoshi's in Oakland, California.
Dynasty - Check It Out (The Studio Albums & More...
Dynasty was essentially the brainchild of Griffey and producer Sylvers, a former member of the Sylvers family group,[1] who had achieved much popularity in the early to mid-1970s. A principal architect of the SOLAR sound, Sylvers had become the in-house producer in 1978 for the label (whose name stood for "Sound of Los Angeles Records"), and it was in this capacity that he brought the members of Dynasty together. The group consisted of three young performers: vocalists Nidra Beard and Linda Carriere and vocalist-keyboardist Kevin Spencer.[2]
After graduating from college in New Orleans, Carriere became friends with Beard in Los Angeles during the winter of 1972.[2] Both were frequent visitors to Maverick's Flat, a popular soul/pop nightclub. The owner of Maverick's Flat, John Daniels, was in the process of putting together a new group, DeBlanc, and both young singers became members.[2] For two years they toured with DeBlanc throughout the major cities of Europe, Japan, Canada, and the United States. When DeBlanc broke up in 1975, some of the original members (including Beard and Carriere) formed a new group called Starfire.[2] For one successful year, Starfire performed in the United States, Canada, Europe, with a few key dates in Finland and Iran in 1976. After the tour the group decided to disband. Around this time Beard developed a strong relationship with Leon Sylvers. She was, at that time, performing with the Sylvers as a fill-in on live dates for the female family members of the group who were minors.[2] This new association proved beneficial to both Beard and Carriere, as Sylvers introduced each to Griffey.[2] Spencer first met Leon Sylvers when he appeared at the Sylvers' Palos Verdes home, unannounced, to audition as the bass player for the group. It was that introduction, coupled with Spencer's performance dates with the Sylvers, that cemented what both Sylvers and Griffey wanted for their new group.[2] Work then began on Dynasty's first album.
Dynasty's debut album, Your Piece of the Rock, released in 1979, yielded the band's first R&B hit, "I Don't Want to Be a Freak (But I Can't Help Myself)". The track peaked at No. 20 in the UK Singles Chart in late '79.[3] Adventures in the Land of Music, released in 1980, was Dynasty's second album. The set contained their biggest hit, "I've Just Begun to Love You" (which peaked at No. 6 on the US Billboard R&B chart; No. 87 on the US Billboard Hot 100; and No. 51 in the UK),[3][4] as well as the songs "Do Me Right" and "Groove Control." The three songs combined to reach number five on the US Dance chart.[5] The album's title track would eventually provide the key samples for Camp Lo's "Luchini, AKA This Is It," Angie Stone's "Lovers' Ghetto," Terri Walker's "This Is My Time," Tha' Rayne's "Kiss Me," Brooke Valentine's "Long as You Come Home," Rashad's "Sweet Misery," Antiloop's "Catch Me," Jadakiss's "How I Feel," HaLo's "Follow Me," Rushden & Diamonds' "Lil' Bits," DSP's "Tisztelet a Kivételnek," and Wiz Khalifa's "Won't Land."
Sylvers joined the group in 1981, but his presence did not elevate their success. That year they released their third album, The Second Adventure.[2] Although it did produce two top 40 R&B hits, "Here I Am" and "Love in the Fast Lane," the album was largely overlooked. Sylvers and Beard were briefly married during the early 1980s.
Right Back at Cha! (1982) generated two U.S. singles, "Check It Out" and "Strokin'." Only "Check It Out" saw chart action, though, and the album peaked halfway up the Billboard 200. SOLAR released two separate singles in the UK, "The Only One" and "Does That Ring a Bell"; the latter reached No. 53 on the UK Singles Chart.[3] The band returned again in 1986 with the album Daydreamin' , but by this time Carriere was no longer part of the group and Nidra Beard was using her Sylvers surname. Dynasty's final studio release was 1988's Out of Control, but the hit singles had dried up.[2] Out of Control has the same cover as Daydreamin' and includes several of the same tracks. Even though new SOLAR producers L.A. Reid and Babyface were brought in for Out of Control, the group could not revive their earlier glory and disbanded soon afterwards.[2] However, they would later appear as backing vocalists on gospel artist and labelmate Juanita G. Hines's 1994 album Jesus, My Wonderful Friend.
Beard, who had cowritten much of Dynasty's material, continued as a songwriter. Her songs appear on albums by Shalamar, the Whispers, 7th Wonder, 911, and LaRue. Carriere continued as a background vocalist, while keyboardist-singer Spencer returned to studio work and can be heard on recordings by Carrie Lucas, Shalamar, the Whispers, Tin Harris, and Gladys Knight & the Pips. Sylvers went on to have a successful career as a producer and songwriter for such artists as Howard Hewett, Ahmad Jamal, the Brothers Johnson, Glenn Jones, and Blackstreet.
Canadian independent record label Unidisc Music Inc. has reissued most of Dynasty's albums on CD.
Vocalist Nidra Beard died from cancer in December 2023, at the age of 71.
Willie Hutch - Come Ond & Dance With Me (The Studio Albums Anthology) (2026)
Born in 1944 in Los Angeles, Hutch was raised in Dallas, Texas. He joined the high school choral group, The Ambassadors, as a teenager. After graduating from Booker T. Washington High School in 1962, he shortened his surname when he started his music career in 1964 on the Soul City label[3] with the song "Love Has Put Me Down".
After his move to Los Angeles, his music came to the attention of the mentor for pop/soul quintet The 5th Dimension,[who?] and Hutch was soon writing, producing, and arranging songs for the group. In 1969, he signed with RCA Records and put out two albums before he was asked by Motown producer Hal Davis to write lyrics to "I'll Be There", a song he wrote for The Jackson 5. The song was recorded by the group the morning after Hutch received the call.[3] Motown CEO Berry Gordy signed Hutch to be a staff writer, arranger, producer, and musician shortly thereafter.
Hutch later co-wrote songs that were recorded by the Jackson 5 and their front man Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, the Miracles, and Marvin Gaye.[2] In 1973, Hutch started recording albums for Motown, releasing the Fully Exposed album that year. That same year, Hutch recorded and produced the soundtrack to the Blaxploitation film, The Mack. Hutch had several R&B hits during this period, including "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" and "Slick". He also recorded the soundtrack for the 1974 film Foxy Brown.[2] He recorded at least six albums for Motown, peaking with 1975's single "Love Power", which reached number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. He left Motown in 1977 for Norman Whitfield's Whitfield Records.
Hutch returned to Motown in 1982, where he scored the disco hit, "In and Out", that same year and also recorded a couple of songs – "The Glow" and "Inside You" – for the 1985 film The Last Dragon. He had a club hit with the song "Keep on Jammin'" as well. Hutch left Motown again by the end of the decade and by 1994 had moved back to Dallas.
He died in Dallas, Texas on September 19, 2005, aged 60. No cause was given when he died.[1][4] He was the uncle of Cold 187um of the rap group Above the Law as well as rapper and singer Kokane.[1] His manager, Anthony Voyce, said of Hutch: "I've never met a more generous and caring person.
vendredi 28 août 2026
Mandrill - 50th Anniversary Anthology (The Studio Albums)
Mandrill is an American soul and funk band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 1968 by brothers Carlos, Lou, and Ric Wilson. AllMusic called them "[o]ne of funk's most progressive outfits... [with an] expansive, eclectic vision."[1]
Mandrill was often regarded as one of the most experimental and progressive funk bands of the 1970s.[1] The band's debut album was released by Polydor Records in 1971 and showcased their unique blend of styles.[1] Mandrill Is was released the following year, with more prominent rock and psychedelic influences.[3] 1973's Composite Truth was the band's most commercially successful release and contained their signature song, "Fencewalk".
Mandrill continued to release albums throughout the 1970s such as Just Outside of Town (1973), Mandrilland (1974), Solid (1975), Beast from the East (1976), We Are One (1977), and New Worlds (1978).[4][5][6] The band also contributed to the soundtracks for the 1977 film The Greatest (starring boxer Muhammad Ali) and the 1979 film The Warriors. 1980 saw the release of Getting in the Mood, followed by Energize in 1982, after which the band broke up due to dwindling commercial returns. The band reunited in 1992 and has toured and released new music occasionally since then. A live album, recorded in 2002 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, was released in 2006. Louis Wilson died in 2013.[7]
Mandrill's most recent album, Back in Town, was released in 2020. Although the band was not as commercially successful as some of their peers in the funk scene of the era, their music has been extensively sampled by numerous hip-hop and contemporary R&B artists.
The Wilson brothers were born in Panama and grew up in the Bedford–Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn. With Carlos on trombone and vocals, Lou on trumpet and vocals, and Ric on saxophone and vocals, they formed the band,[8] which they named after the mandrill species of primate, known for its colorful features and family-oriented social structure. The other original members included keyboardist Claude "Coffee" Cave, guitarist Omar Mesa, bassist Bundie Cenas, and drummer Charlie Padro.[1]
They signed with Polydor Records[1] and released their self-titled debut album in 1971. The album and its self-titled single "Mandrill" both reached the Billboard charts.[9][10] Fudgie Kae Solomon replaced Cenas for their second album Mandrill Is, which also reached the Billboard soul and pop charts.[9]
Neftali Santiago then became Mandrill's new drummer.[1] Their third album Composite Truth was released in 1973 and became their most successful release, with the single "Fencewalk" reaching number 19 on the Billboard soul singles chart.[11] Guitarist Dougie Rodrigues, a former Santana sideman, joined in time for the fifth Mandrill album, Mandrilland,[1] which earned the band another entry on the Billboard R&B Albums chart.[12] In 1975, all members of the group other than the Wilson brothers and Cave departed, and Mandrill switched to United Artists. The albums Solid and Beast from the East were recorded with session musicians. The band then switched to Arista Records and added a fourth Wilson brother, Wilfredo, on bass. Former drummer Neftali Santiago returned and guitarist Joaquin Jessup joined.[1] This lineup released the album We Are One in 1977 and scored their biggest hits in several years with the singles "Funky Monkey" and "Can You Get It".[13] The band released three more albums for Arista, with diminishing success, and stopped recording as a group in 1982.
Lou Wilson died at age 71 in 2013. In 2019, Mandrill announced a new album titled Back in Town.[14] The album was released in October 2020.[15] The lineup included Carlos, Ric, and Wilfredo Wilson, plus Marc Rey (lead guitar), Stacy Lamont Sydnor (drums), Derrick Murdock (bass), Eli Brueggeman (keyboards), and Keith Barry (viola, saxophone, flute).[16]
Mandrill's songs have been sampled by many acts, such as Johnny D, Public Enemy, EPMD, Ice Cube, Beck, DJ Shadow, Shawty Lo, Big L, Kanye West, Brandy, Jin, Eminem, The Avalanches, Kindred the Family Soul, and 9th Wonder.
Although primarily a funk band,[1] Mandrill is known for their eclectic style, blending soul,[1][8] jazz,[1][2][8] Latin music,[1][8] and rock.[1][15][17] The band has been described as soul-rock,[18] Latin funk,[19] progressive funk,[20] and R&B.[21] Andy Kellman of AllMusic describes the band's sound as "a jam-heavy form of funk liberally infused with Latin, Caribbean, and jazz influences, plus gospel, blues, psychedelia, African music, and straight-up rock."[1] Mark Marymont, in the liner notes to the 2000 box set The Ultimate Collection, described the band's style as "a tasty blend of soul, blues, rock, Afro-Latin elements and jazz". This cultural mash-up of sounds makes the band pioneers of world music.[22]
The band's prominent use of Latin elements drew comparisons to Santana and War.[11] Funk historian Rickey Vincent noted Mandrill's multi-ethnic membership and "bizarre blend of African-based rhythms, scorching rock riffs, country fonk, bop jazz, and one-chord guitar rock operas."[17] Beyond blending various influences into their style, Mandrill's musical architecture was defined by a willingness to experiment with complex, shifting time signatures and expansive, suite-like structures that mirrored the progressive rock and jazz fusion movements of the era.
mercredi 26 août 2026
mardi 25 août 2026
Clarence Carter - In Person (The Final Discography)
Clarence George Carter (January 14, 1936 – May 13, 2026) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. His most successful songs include "Slip Away", "Back Door Santa" (both released 1968), "Patches" (1970), and "Strokin'" (1986).
His professional music career began with friend Calvin Scott, signing to the Fairlane label to release "I Wanna Dance But I Don't Know How", as Calvin and Clarence, the following year. After the 1962 release of "I Don't Know (School Girl)", the pair joined Duke Records, renamed themselves the C & C Boys and released four singles for the label, though none were commercially successful. In 1965, the duo recorded "Step by Step" at Rick Hall's FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals; it was released on the Atlantic Records' subsidiary Atco label, but it also failed to chart.[2][better source needed][3]
The duo performed regularly in clubs in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1966. After Scott was seriously injured in an auto accident, Carter continued as a solo singer, and recorded for the Fame label. In 1967 he recorded "Tell Daddy", which reached number 35 on the Billboard R&B chart and inspired Etta James's answer record, "Tell Mama", for which Carter was credited as writer. At the end of 1967, Carter joined Atlantic Records. He then began a string of hits on the R&B and pop charts, starting with "Slip Away" (number 2 R&B, number 6 pop), which has been described as "a superior cheating ballad spotlighting his anguished, massive baritone alongside the remarkably sinuous backing of Fame's exemplary backing band",[2][better source needed] and "Too Weak to Fight" (number 3 R&B, number 13 pop). Both of the preceding Atlantic singles were certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.[4] At the end of 1968, he had a seasonal pop hit with the raunchy and funky "Back Door Santa" (number 4 Christmas pop), and toured nationally.[2][better source needed][5][6] His backing singers included Candi Staton; they married in 1970 and had a son together, Clarence Carter Jr., before divorcing in 1973.[7]
Carter continued to have hits in 1969 and 1970, with "Snatching It Back", "The Feeling Is Right", "Doin' Our Thing", and "I Can't Leave Your Love Alone" all reaching both the U.S. pop and R&B charts. The B-side of "Snatching It Back" was a remake of a remake of James Carr's "The Dark End of the Street", titled "Making Love (At the Dark End of the Street)". Carter's biggest hit came in 1970 with his version of "Patches", first recorded by Chairmen of the Board, which was a UK number 2 hit[8] and a U.S. number 4. The record sold over one million copies, and received a gold disc awarded by the R.I.A.A. in September 1970, just two months after its release,[9] and won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in 1971. Following "Slip Away" and "Too Weak to Fight", it was Carter's third million-seller.[9] However, Carter's later record releases were less successful, and he left Atlantic at the end of 1971 to rejoin the Fame label. In 1975 he signed to ABC Records, releasing three albums including Loneliness and Temptation.[2][better source needed][10] According to writer Brian Ward, Carter "virtually made a career from tales of unbridled love and illicit sex..."[11]
With the advent of disco in the mid-1970s, Carter's career suffered.[10] 1981 saw the birth of another son, Herbert Deon Wilkerson. Then, in 1985, he signed with Ichiban Records and found a new audience beginning with 1986's Dr. C.C. album and its singles "Strokin'" and the title track. "Strokin'" was reputedly deemed too ribald for a public release or radio play, so the record company placed the records in jukeboxes, where bar patrons discovered the song.[12] "Strokin'" was included in the Eddie Murphy remake of The Nutty Professor and in William Friedkin's film Killer Joe.[7] The horn break from "Back Door Santa" was sampled in the Run-D.M.C. Christmas song "Christmas in Hollis".[13]
Carter's later songs continue to appeal to a primarily African-American working-class audience that is also interested in contemporary blues artists such as Denise LaSalle, Bobby Rush, Marvin Sease and Sir Charles Jones.[citation needed] He continued to record and released six albums for the Ichiban label from 1986 on. Carter also established his own Cee Gee Entertainment label.[14] He also continued to tour regularly in the Southern states[citation needed] and internationally.
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