mardi 20 octobre 2026
James ''J.T.'' Taylor - Collection
James "JT" Warren Taylor (born August 16, 1953) is an American singer who achieved fame as the lead singer of Kool & the Gang between 1979 and 1988.
Taylor joined Kool & the Gang in 1979 and remained with the group for nine years. His tenure as lead singer was the most successful era in the band's history with the albums Ladies' Night (1979), Celebrate! (1980) and Emergency (1984) and hit singles including "Ladies' Night", the US No. 1 "Celebration", "Get Down on It", "Joanna", "Misled", "Cherish" and "Fresh".
Taylor left the group in 1989 to begin a solo career but has reunited with the band a few times for concerts, also recording one last album with them in 1996.
Taylor joined the band in 1979 after the group auditioned for a lead singer. He noted that vocals added more warmth to the songs, especially to ballads, which the group had avoided as no one could sing them properly. Taylor also recalled some resistance from some members and the group of female singers they had used on The Force and Everybody's Dancin'.[1] In 1979, the band recorded and released Ladies' Night, which became their most successful album since their formation helped by the singles "Too Hot" and "Ladies' Night", which went to No. 5 and No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, respectively.[2] In January 1980, Ladies' Night was certified platinum by the RIAA for selling one million copies in the US.[3][4]
In September 1980, the band released the album Celebrate! It became a bigger commercial success than Ladies' Night; the lead single "Celebration" remains the band's only single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The song originated from the lyric "Come on, let's all celebrate" from "Ladies' Night" which inspired Robert Bell to write a song that he described as "an international anthem."[5][2] The band developed the song on a tour bus after attending the American Music Awards.[6] The song was used in national media coverage for the 1980 World Series, the 1981 Super Bowl, the 1981 NBA Finals, and the 1981 return of the Iran hostages.[5]
After the release of Something Special (1981), which continued the level of success of the previous two albums, the band recorded As One (1982), their fourth and final album with producer Eumir Deodato. The latter struggled to reach gold certification in the US, which led to the band's decision to end their time with Deodato as they had enough with the direction they had adopted.[1] They then decided to produce their next album, In the Heart (1983), by themselves with Jim Bonnefond as co-producer. The album contained the US top-five single "Joanna". The song was declared the most-played pop song in 1984 by Broadcast Music International.[7] Bonnefond stayed with the group for Emergency (1984), which remains their highest selling album with over two million copies sold in the US. It spawned four US top 20 singles, including "Emergency", "Cherish", "Fresh", and "Misled". This feat made Kool & the Gang the only band to have four top 20 singles from a single album in 1985.[8]
In June 1984, Kool & the Gang took time off from recording Emergency to perform at Wembley Stadium as part of a sold-out summer concert organised by Elton John.[8] That November, during a visit to Phonogram's offices in London, Bob Geldof arrived to pitch his idea of the multi-artist charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" to the label. Kool & the Gang participated in the project.[8][9][page needed]
The group's seventeenth album, Forever, was released in November 1986. The album included two hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: "Victory" (US #10, R&B #2) and "Stone Love" (US #10, R&B #4). Two further singles, "Holiday" and "Special Way" were also released from the album; the former reached the top ten on the R&B Chart, the latter hit reached #6 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[10] By 1986, the band had scored 14 top 40 singles in the US since 1980, more than Michael Jackson.[11] In July 1986, the band recorded a special version of "Celebration" with different vocals that was used in an advertisement for Wendy's.[12]
In 1987, the band completed a 50-city tour of the US. The tour included the group establishing their own public service program, devised by Robert Bell and Taylor, which encouraged school children to pursue education, giving free tickets to those with perfect attendance.[13] The group rehearsed their stage show with a choreographer at Prince's studio at Paisley Park.[14] At the time of the tour's start, the band ceased producing adverts with Schlitz beer because of their new image towards children and that they felt it had run its course.[7] After the tour, Taylor left Kool & the Gang to pursue a solo career, but briefly returned in 1996 for the State of Affairs album. He has also reunited with the band a few times in live concerts.
In 2024, Taylor was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of Kool & the Gang.
In 1988, Taylor pursued a solo career and has released four solo albums to date.
He scored an immediate solo hit with "All I Want Is Forever", a duet with Regina Belle, which was featured on the soundtrack to the early-1989 Gregory Hines film, Tap. The song later appeared as a bonus track on CD editions of Taylor's debut solo album, Master of the Game, along with Belle's next solo album, both of which were released that same year. Master of the Game produced several additional hits, including the single "The Promised Land" which also appeared on the soundtrack of Ghostbusters II.
In 1991, Taylor released his second solo album, Feel the Need, which garnered the hits "Long Hot Summer Night" and "Heart to Heart", a duet with Stephanie Mills.
1993 saw the release of the singer's third solo album, Baby I'm Back, followed by his fourth solo album in 2000 titled A Brand New Me.
lundi 19 octobre 2026
samedi 17 octobre 2026
vendredi 16 octobre 2026
jeudi 15 octobre 2026
Pleasure (1979) Future Now 未来は今 (2026)
Arguably, the members of Pleasure were among the unsung heroes of 1970s funk and soul. The band enjoyed a small but enthusiastic cult following, but one thing that it didn't have was a lot of major hits on R&B radio. For the most part, R&B radio ignored Pleasure, although quiet storm formats did play some of its more mellow album tracks. The exception to that rule came in 1979, when black radio proved to be quite receptive to "Glide." A pearl of a funk single, "Glide" is an infectious party jam that the African-American working class easily related to. The tune isn't really sociopolitical, although it isn't mindlessly fun either -- essentially, "Glide" is telling listeners to hang in there and be positive despite the challenges that life presents. And you don't have to be African-American to relate to the song's message. "Glide" was the only song on Future Now that could be called a major hit, although it isn't the album's only gem. Those who acquired this 1979 LP also found a lot to admire about jazz-influenced material that ranges from funk smokers like "Nothin' to It" and "Space Is the Place" to the smooth quiet storm offerings "Strong Love" and "Thoughts of Old Flames." Without question, Future Now is among Pleasure's most essential albums.
Pleasure (1977) Joyous ジョイアス(2026)
Pleasure couldn't have asked for a more appropriate producer when, in late 1976, it employed Wayne Henderson on Joyous. A band that frequently brought jazz overtones to its funk-soul foundation, Pleasure needed someone who held jazz and R&B in equally high regard -- and Henderson easily fit that description. The Texas trombonist first made a name for himself playing hard bop with the Jazz Crusaders, but as the 1970s progressed, he became increasingly R&B-friendly. Henderson was exactly the sort of producer that Pleasure needed, and the band's appreciation of jazz comes through on the up-tempo funk numbers (which include "Dance to the Music," "Let Me Be the One," and the title song) as well as the dreamy quiet storm gem "Sassafras Girl." Pleasure brings this vinyl LP to an appealing close with a jazz-funk instrumental titled "Selim," which isn't typical of Joyous on the whole -- most of the tunes are vocal-oriented. This is a funk-soul record first and foremost, and it is also a classic that underscores Pleasure's risk-taking nature.
mercredi 14 octobre 2026
Pleasure (1976) Accept No Substitutes (2026)
Back in the '70s, AOR radio and soul radio were two very different formats -- and not just because one played rock and the other played R&B. "AOR" stood for album-oriented rock, which was an accurate name because that format was, in fact, album-oriented; at AOR, album tracks that were never released as singles could be candidates for heavy rotation. Soul radio, however, was much more singles-oriented -- an established soul radio DJ could play some album tracks here and there, but singles were the primary focus. And that wasn't good news for Pleasure, who were more of an album act than a singles act. Pleasure recorded great albums, but for the most part, they didn't have the type of singles that drove program directors wild. Accept No Substitutes, Pleasure's second album, is a perfect example of a record that is excellent but, as a rule, didn't blow program directors away. The funk gem "Let's Dance" had the makings of a radio hit, although radio didn't really take notice until the West Street Mob covered it in 1981. At any rate, Pleasure's relatively small group of hardcore fans loved this record. They loved the jazz-tinged funk of "Pleasure for Your Pleasure" and "I'm Mad"; they loved the mellow, laid-back quiet storm outlook of "The Love of My Life." Accept No Substitutes did contain one charting single: the hypnotic "Ghettoes of the Mind," which wasn't a huge smash but did become a minor hit and was a favorite at Pleasure's live gigs. Had '70s soul radio been as album-minded a medium as AOR radio, this Wayne Henderson-produced LP might have enjoyed heavy rotation. But in a medium that worshipped singles, Accept No Substitutes was fighting an uphill battle. Regardless, most Pleasure fans think of this LP as a highly respectable sophomore outing.
Pleasure (1975) Dust Yourself Off (2026)
dimanche 11 octobre 2026
samedi 10 octobre 2026
The Dells - Musical Menu (The Discography)
The Dells grew up in Harvey, Illinois, and began singing together while attending Thornton Township High School. Forming in 1952 under the name the El-Rays, the group initially consisted of Marvin Junior, Michael McGill, Lucius McGill, Verne Allison, Chuck Barksdale, and Johnny Funches. Lucius McGill soon left the group and the remaining quintet signed with Checker Records, releasing their first single, "Darling I Know", which flopped.[1]
In 1955, the group renamed themselves the Dells and signed with Vee-Jay Records. In 1956, they recorded their first hit, "Oh, What a Night" (a song co-written by Johnny Funches, who also sang lead on the recording alongside Marvin Junior),[5] which hit the top 5 of the R&B singles chart. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[6] The song is ranked No. 260 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In November 1958, the Dells suffered a car accident that left McGill in a hospital for six months. The group temporarily disbanded and Barksdale sang as a member of Harvey Fuqua's spinoff Moonglows act, Harvey and the Moonglows, which included a young Marvin Gaye. In 1961, the Dells reunited and auditioned for Dinah Washington. After Washington agreed to hire them, Johnny Funches left the group to take care of his family. Funches was replaced by Flamingos founding member Johnny Carter and sang background for Washington for two years. In 1966, they were hired to open for Ray Charles, only to be fired after a performance resulted in several standing ovations.[7] The group would also sing background for Barbara Lewis, mainly on Lewis' 1963 hit, "Hello Stranger", while also working with Quincy Jones, who helped to fine-tune their vocals for standards and jazz material.
In 1966, the Dells returned to Chess under the label's Cadet subsidiary working with Bobby Miller and future Earth, Wind & Fire arranger Charles Stepney. In 1967, the Dells issued the album There Is which included their first R&B chart-topper in years with the title track, which showcased the sharp baritone of Marvin Junior and the harmonies with the four other Dells. The song was also their first top 20 pop hit.
Subsequent R&B hits included "Wear It on Our Face", "Always Together" (top 20 pop), "I Can Sing a Rainbow - Love is Blue (medley)" (UK No. 15),[8] and their first No. 1 R&B hit and first top ten pop hit, 1968's "Stay in My Corner",[1] which reached No. 10 on the pop chart and showcased both Carter and Marvin in lead vocals. In the following year, 1969, The Dells' soulful remake of their debut hit, "Oh What a Night" gave the group their second chart-topping R&B single and also reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. For a second time, the song sold over a million copies.[6] Subsequent hits included "Open Up My Heart", "Oh What a Day", and "On the Dock of the Bay".[1] In 1971, the Dells' "The Love We Had Stays on My Mind" became another top ten hit on the R&B chart, also reaching the pop top 30. By this time Charles Stepney had taken over production duties from Bobby Miller. 1973's "Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation" was their third certified gold record.[6] The song was written by L.V. Johnson[9] and produced by Don Davis.
Leaving Cadet around the end of 1974 with the parent company in financial difficulties, the group would continue recording in order under the Mercury, ABC, and Virgin labels finding some hits, including 1980's "I Touched a Dream", which returned the group to the top 40 on the R&B chart. The Dells were confined mostly to the oldies market afterwards until they were asked to be creative consultants to Robert Townsend's acclaimed 1991 film, The Five Heartbeats, which was loosely based on the lives of The Dells and other groups of its era.[10] The group recorded a composition titled "A Heart Is a House for Love", which reached number 13, making them the first group to chart a top 40 R&B hit in five consecutive decades. It was the group's 33rd and final top 40 R&B entry. The following year, signing with PIR, they released the album, I Salute You. The Dells continued performing and recording sporadically in the early years of the new millennium. In 2004, the group were inducted to both the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2022 into National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. The group continued performing until 2012, where they gave their farewell concert at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland that June.
Original Dells vocalist Johnny Funches died of pneumonia on January 23, 1998, at the age of 62.
Johnny Carter died of cancer on August 21, 2009, at the age of 75.[11] Carter is one of the few artists to be a double Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, having been inducted with The Flamingos in 2001, and the Dells in 2004.
On May 29, 2013, founding member Marvin Junior died in his sleep at his home in Harvey, Illinois, succumbing to complications of kidney failure and a weak heart at the age of 77.[12]
Lucius McGill died on July 18, 2014, two days before his 79th birthday.[13]
Chuck Barksdale died on May 15, 2019, at the age of 84.[14]
Verne Allison died on October 7, 2026, at the age of 90, leaving Michael McGill as the last surviving member of the group.
vendredi 9 octobre 2026
Alexander O'Neal – The Tabu Anthology (8xCD) (2013)
Six studio albums (1985’s Alexander O’Neal to 1993’s Love Makes No Sense) sit alongside two exclusive bonus discs offering seven-inch and twelve-inch remixes. The impressive 40-page booklet offers lots of detail around each record and the very thick, sturdy box is a far cry from some of the cheap card slipcases that come with similar album collections. These have also be newly remastered.
The S.O.S. Band – The Tabu Anthology (10xCD) (2014)
This package also includes a 40 page booklet with an introduction by Ralph Tee and featuring all of the S.O.S. Band expanded edition sleeve notes courtesy of Justin ‘Musicology’ Kantor, all of which contain key biographical information, original photos and record scans.
The Tabu Records Box Set (6xCD) (2014)
In 1975, Clarence Avant hit rock bottom. Or so it seemed. The North Carolina music entrepreneur’s record company, Sussex – launched in 1969 and whose roster included hit-making soul troubadour Bill Withers – was closed down and sold off by the IRS for alleged non-payment of taxes. But Avant hadn’t lost everything – he still retained the fierce drive and burning ambition that had seen his inexorable rise from being a Macy’s store clerk to become a pioneering African-American music executive with valuable experience in artist management (he had looked after the affairs of R&B star Little Willie John and jazz diva Sarah Vaughan in the early 60s). Less than two years after Sussex closed its doors, Avant bounced back and started a new label, Tabu, with distribution from RCA. In terms of the hits that it generated, Tabu became the most successful of Avant’s musical ventures. Its story is chronicled by a tremendous new 6CD box set that comprises 93 tracks plus a bonus DVD and a 7” (with soul singer Sharon Ridley’s Paradise Garage anthem Changin’ adorning the A-side).
Initially, though, Tabu didn’t take the music world by storm. The label’s formative years are detailed on Disc One, Introducing Tabu. Avant’s first signing was Detroit disco-funk and soul aggregation Brainstorm. Though they enjoyed modest success – and cut some pretty decent records, such as Journey To The Light – they’d disbanded by 1979. Other signings included leftfield soul chanteuse Ms (Sharon) Ridley, Argentine jazz man and movie composer Lalo Schifrin, plus blind Brazilian bossa nova pianist Manfredo Est (whose sexed-up jazz-disco romp Jungle Kitten appears on the flipside of the set’s bonus 45).
Tabu’s fortunes changed dramatically with the acquisition of Atlanta’s SOS Band, a self-contained soul and funk unit that scored a US R&B chart-topper with their disco-fuelled 1980 debut 45 Take Your Time (Do It Right). The band then plunged into a creative dip but were revived in 1983 by ex-Time duo Jimmy ‘Jam’ Harris and Terry Lewis, who masterminded a string of memorable global smashes including the synth-driven electro-soul groundbreaker Just Be Good To Me. Such was the production duo’s impact with Tabu’s small roster (they also helmed hits for smooth soul crooner Alexander O’Neal and his duetting partner Cherrelle) that the whole of Disc Four is devoted to their work. They also feature strongly on the fifth CD but, by that time (the late 80s through to the early 90s), they were beginning to farm out some Tabu acts to their understudies, which yielded less successful results. Come 1993, the label’s output dwindled to almost nothing as Avant pursued other interests in the music business. But by then, Tabu, had written itself into the R&B annals.
This six-disc trawl through the archives is a rewarding experience for soul connoisseurs. The addition of a DVD featuring 80s promotional videos from Tabu’s hit-making Holy Trinity (SOS Band, Alexander O’Neal and Cherrelle), plus filmed interviews with Clarence Avant and the men who helped make the label’s fortune, Jam and Lewis, makes the package even more desirable.
jeudi 8 octobre 2026
Brainstorm - The Discography
Brainstorm was an American funk and R&B band active in the late 1970s, based in Detroit, Michigan. Their debut album, Stormin' , was their best-selling album, and was released in 1977 on Tabu Records, executive-produced by Clarence Avant and produced by Jerry Peters. It contained the disco hit single "Lovin' Is Really My Game", which was featured in the film 54 starring Mike Myers, and won the 1978 Billboard magazine Light Radio/Heavy Disco Record of the Year. The album also contained the radio hit "This Must Be Heaven" which is considered a soul classic, by virtue of its continued air play 34 years later. Other single releases from subsequent albums included 1978's "On Our Way Home", and "Hot for You", featuring Belita Woods on lead vocals.
Chuck Overton started the band. The members of the band (on the Stormin' album) were Belita Woods, bandleader and saxophonist Charles Overton, Lamont Johnson on fretless bass and vocals ("This Must Be Heaven"), Renell Gonsalves on drums, Treaty Womack on vocals, percussion, and flute, Bob Ross (a.k.a. Professor RJ Ross) on keyboards, Gerald "Jerry" Kent on guitar, Jeryl Bright on trombone, and "Leaping" Larry Sims on trumpet. Future Wham!/George Michael bassist, Deon Estus, was also a member of the band for a time. A teenage Regina Carter, who later became internationally known and respected as a jazz violinist, joined the band around 1978 and performed for a time with them. TheBrothersAli.com Jerome Ali and Jimmy Ali(guitar and bass), joined about the same time in 1978, these days performing in Las Vegas, Houston & Detroit.
Members of Brainstorm continued their musical careers with other bands or in production. Woods later went on to perform as part of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective in touring sets around the world. Sims became the trumpeter for the Sounds of Blackness, which won two Grammy Awards during the 1990s. Bright went on to play trombone with the funk band Cameo for over twenty five years, and later released an album with other former Cameo members Aaron Mills, and Thomas TC Campbell, known as MCB (which was also the title of their album). Trenita "Treaty" Womack performs regularly with the Funk Brothers as well as a wide variety of other artists, and appeared in Standing in the Shadows of Motown, an award-winning documentary, as percussionist. Gerald "Jerry" Kent has produced a BMI-affiliated self-published CD in 2006, under the name Kent's Way Overdue entitled Tone Paintings, an original jazz-fusion guitar-based collection of instrumental cuts. He also plays guitar and bass with the IDMR Detroit Choir, which choir was used in the closing scenes of Standing in the Shadows of Motown, singing background harmony behind Chaka Khan in a Grammy 2003 winning performance of "What's Going On". William Wooten, who joined the band after the first album playing keyboards, now tours with The Dramatics and The Spinners. Lamont Johnson released several solo albums and teaches bass. Renell Gonsalves performs with a wide variety of artists, as a skillful Latin-jazz percussionist (His father was renowned jazz saxophonist Paul Gonsalves, late of the Duke Ellington band). Professor RJ Ross has written and co-produced a number of music projects with well-known artists in California including a 2008 CD Face to Face.
The Jones Girls - The Studio Albums
The group consisted of sisters Brenda (December 7, 1954 – April 3, 2017),[3][4] Valorie (April 17, 1956 – December 2, 2001) and Shirley Jones (born September 22, 1953). They performed as backup singers for Lou Rawls, Teddy Pendergrass, Aretha Franklin, and Le Pamplemousse. They worked with Diana Ross[5] from 1975 to 1978 and were the backup singers on Linda Clifford's 1978 album If My Friends Could See Me Now.[1] They also performed on Tower of Power's disco-themed 1979 album Back on the Streets. Their biggest hit was "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else". The song hit the Billboard Magazine Top 40 at number 38 in May 1979.[2] The song was also a Top 5 R&B hit.[2] It became a gold record. An additional hit followed in 1980, with the single "I Just Love The Man", charting at number 9 in January 1981.[2] The less successful "Nights Over Egypt" (1981), written by Dexter Wansel, charted at R&B number 23 in 1982.[2]
After the release and failure of their fourth U.S. album, On Target, lead singer Shirley Jones pursued a solo career and had a number 1 R&B hit on Billboard with "Do You Get Enough Love", from her top-ten debut album Always in the Mood (1986).[1][6] "Do You Get Enough Love" was written by Bunny Sigler who also produced it with Kenny Gamble.[7] Valorie Jones died on December 2, 2001, in Detroit, Michigan, at the age of 45.[8] In 2007, Shirley Jones released an album Ladies Night Out together with Jean Carn and Cherrelle, on CD and DVD.
Brenda eventually moved to Atlanta, where she sang frequently with her four-piece band, performing both jazz and R&B numbers, including many Jones Girls' tunes. She later moved to New York after her children were grown, to have a more active performing and recording schedule. On April 3, 2017, Brenda was visiting her daughter in Wilmington, Delaware, and was hit by several cars and killed while attempting to cross the street.[9] She was 62.[9] Shirley continues to perform successfully as the Jones Girls with two of her nieces and a nephew on background vocals.
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