vendredi 3 juillet 2026
jeudi 2 juillet 2026
Village People lead singer and founder Victor Willis dies at 74
(July 1, 2026) He was a flamboyant one-of-a-kind singer who fronted a pioneering, one-of-a-kind group. Victor Willis, the lead vocalist and founding member of Village People, has died at age 74. The group announced on social media that Willis passed on June 30, 2026, following what was described as a “short but aggressive illness,” one day before his 75th birthday.
For millions of listeners around the world, Willis was the unmistakable voice behind some of the most memorable songs of the disco era – with a look that was 100% unique. As the man in the police uniform possessing powerful pipes, Willis led the Village People through a series of unlikely, but now iconic, dance hits. “Y.M.C.A.,” “Macho Man,” “In the Navy” and “Go West” moved well beyond the disco floor, finding life at just about any gathering where a crowd could raise its arms and sing along. “Y.M.C.A.” later received major institutional recognition, including induction into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry and the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Born in Dallas, Willis came from a musical and church-rooted background before finding his way to the stage. His work in theater helped lead him to producer Jacques Morali, and from that meeting came the foundation of Village People, a group that turned costume, character and dance music into a worldwide brand.
Willis’s journey was not without its difficult chapters. He left Village People after the group’s initial peak, later faced personal struggles, and spent years fighting to reclaim proper control and recognition for his contributions. His eventual legal victories regarding songwriting rights became an important late-career chapter, underscoring that behind the camp and spectacle was a serious songwriter protecting his work. In 2017, Willis returned to the Village People name and stage, fronting a new lineup and bringing the songs to another generation of audiences.
What seemed at first like a novelty act ended up an act with incredible staying power. Both today and the next time you attend a friend’s wedding where “Y.M.C.A” is blasted from the stage, give a toast to this great performer and visionary, who saw the power of both the music and the spectacle in entertaining audiences, and took that approach to a level that still gives absolute joy nearly a half century after it began.
mercredi 1 juillet 2026
mardi 30 juin 2026
Complete Your Masterpiece Series & Save Up to 30%
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Masterpiece Vol. 38 Is Here – Complete Your Series & Save Up to 30%
Masterpiece – The Ultimate Disco Funk Collection Vol. 38
The Masterpiece Collection returns with another outstanding selection of rare and timeless disco funk gems. Masterpiece Vol. 38 features 13 carefully selected tracks from artists such as Anthony Watson, Quinn Golden, Shirley Brown, Akiko Kobayashi, RSVP and many more.
From smooth modern soul and boogie grooves to uplifting disco funk classics, this new volume delivers the signature Masterpiece sound that collectors and music lovers have come to expect.
lundi 29 juin 2026
vendredi 26 juin 2026
Morris Day (1985) Color Of Success (Deluxe Edition 2026)
Color of Success is the debut studio album by the funk/R&B singer, Morris Day released in 1985 on Warner Bros. Records.[1] This album has been certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
Released a year after departing previous band The Time, the album is similar in style to The Time's material, even going so far as to copy The Time's formula of six songs per album. The album's highlight is "The Oak Tree", a funky-pop number about a dance, akin to "The Bird" by The Time. The album was produced, arranged and composed by Day, who also played drums and keyboards throughout the album. Also on keyboards was Rickey "Freeze" Smith, who would later join Day in the revamped version of The Time in the mid-1990s.
mardi 23 juin 2026
samedi 20 juin 2026
Aurra & Deja Collection
Aurra was an American 1980s soul group, which, at the time of its biggest success on Salsoul Records, featured Curt Jones (guitar/vocals) and Starleana Young (vocals) and included Steve Washington (bass/guitar/drums), Philip Field (keyboards/synthesizers/vocals) and Tom Lockett (saxophone/percussion).
Aurra started off in 1979 as an offshoot of the funk band Slave.[2] Steve Washington[3] first conceptualized the project, which also initially featured fellow former Slave members Curt Jones, Starleana Young, and Thomas Lockett.[2][4] By the time they recorded their first LP, the lineup also included Charles Carter and Buddy Hankerson. Aurra initially signed with Dream Records, and then Salsoul Records. Composer/keyboardist Philip Field, known for his work as a member of Mtume, subsequently joined the lineup.
During the early 1980s, the group found success with hits such as "Are You Single" (number 16 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart), "Checkin' You Out", and "Make Up Your Mind", the last of which became the group's biggest US hit under the Aurra moniker - reaching number six on the R&B chart and number 71 on the pop chart.[5] The group continued to release albums up through the 1985 release Like I Like It; this album was released as Bedtime Story in the U.S. that same year. A revamped version of Like I Like It, featuring an updated cover, was released in Europe in 1986 to include the new single, "You and Me Tonight", along with remixed versions of other tracks from the original album. "You and Me Tonight" reached number 12 on the UK singles chart that year.[6]
By the time Like I Like It was re-released, several group members were at odds with Steve Washington. Legal issues with Washington over the name Aurra led to the duo of principal members Jones and Young breaking away and beginning to record under the name Déjà.[1] In 1987, they released their Virgin Records debut as Déjà, Serious, which was produced in large part by the Time member Monte Moir. Featured on this album was "You and Me Tonight", from the group's Aurra days, introducing American audiences to the song for the first time. "You and Me Tonight" charted in the upper reaches of the US Billboard R&B chart (peaking at number two) and crossed over onto the pop charts, where it peaked at number 54,[7] making it the highest-charting single from any Aurra-associated group. Meanwhile, Starleana Young decided to leave to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Mysti Day in time to record Déjà's follow-up album.[8] The resulting album, Made to Be Together was released in 1989, with the Teddy Riley-produced title track becoming a minor R&B hit.[9]
In 2013, Family Groove Records recovered the lost tapes for the unreleased 'fifth' Aurra album Satisfaction, originally recorded in 1984. The direction of the album was supervised by Steve Washington, Amuka Kelly (also known as Sheila Horne Washington), and Daniel Borine. In 2015 Family Groove Records released the Body Rock album.[10]
In 2019, Aurra's second album as Déjà, the long out of print Made to Be Together was released to digital and streaming platforms.[11][12][13]
On February 1, 2026, it was announced that Steve Washington has died. He was 67
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Joe Bataan - Deluxe Collection
Bataan Nitollano, also known as Joe Bataan (born 5 November 1942),[1][2] is a Filipino-American Latin soul singer, songwriter and musician best known world-wide and in the Hispanic and Latino music scene as the "King of Latin Soul".
In 1966, he formed his first band, Joe Bataan and the Latin Swingers. Bataan's music was influenced by two musical styles: the Latin boogaloo and African American doo-wop. Though Bataan was neither the first nor only artist to combine doo-wop-style singing with Latin rhythms, his talent for it drew the attention of Fania Records. After signing a record contract with them in 1966, Bataan released Gypsy Woman in 1967. (The title track is a Latin dance cover of "Gypsy Woman" by the Impressions). He would, in full, release eight original titles for Fania which included the gold-selling Riot!. These albums often mixed energetic Latin dance songs, sung in Spanish, with slower, English-language soul ballads sung by Bataan himself. As a vocalist, Bataan's fame in the Latin music scene at the time was only rivaled by Ralfi Pagan.[6]
Disagreements over money with Fania Records head Jerry Masucci led Bataan to eventually leave the label. While still signed to Fania however, Bataan secretly started Ghetto Records, a Latin music label which got its initial funding from a local gangster, George Febo. Bataan produced several albums for other artists, including Papo Felix, Paul Ortiz and Orquesta Son and Eddie Lebron.
In 1973, he helped coin the phrase "salsoul", lending its name to his first post-Fania album. He recorded three albums for the Salsoul of Cayre brothers, (Kenneth, Stanley, and Joseph)[7] and several singles, including "Rap-O Clap-O" from 1979 which became an early hip hop hit. After his 1981 album, Bataan II, he retired from music-making to spend more time with his family and ended up working as a youth counselor in one of the reformatories he himself had spent time in as a teenager.
In 2005, Bataan teamed up with producer Daniel Collás to break his long hiatus with the release of Call My Name, a well-received album recorded in New York for Spain's Vampi Soul label.
In early 2009, Bataan was featured in the Kenzo Digital-produced "beat cinematic" City of God's Son. Bataan was featured as the narrator of the story, playing the part of an older Nas reflecting upon his youth in the street with cohorts Jay-Z, Ghostface Killah, Biggie and Raekwon.
In 2014, he met Osman Jr, from French group Setenta which, in collaboration with promoter Benjamin Levy, leads him to play for the first time in Paris in June 2015 at Le théatre des Etoiles, followed by a historic live at the Jazz Mix de Vienne in France. In September 2015, Bataan sang "My Rainbow", a soulful bolero composed by the French band. This title was released in 2016 on the album Paris to Nueva York released by Latin Big Note. With Setenta as this backing band, Bataan travels and plays on famous scenes as Selma in Stockholm (Sweden), Ronnie Scott's (London), the FGO (Paris), the Summer Stage in New York and the Théatre de la Mer of Fiest'a Sète (France).
In 2016, Bataan (along with the Barrio Boys) performed at the FANHS National Conference in New York- where 500 conference attendees danced to his music while cruising the Hudson River on the Hornblower 'Infinity'.[9]
In 2017, Bataan appeared in the Puerto Rican-American film "Shine", and he collaborated with Spanglish Fly,[10] the boogaloo revival group based in New York City, to record New York Rules, written by Manuel Garcia-Orozco and Jonathan Goldman, released on the band's Ay Que Boogaloo! album by record label Chaco World Music.[11] Singing lead vocals, Bataan includes references to his famous songs "Subway Joe" and "Rap-O Clap-O." The Huffington Post calls this recording "charming, spellbinding and irresistible."[12] A remix of the song is included on the soundtrack to She's Gotta Have It (2019), written and directed by Spike Lee.
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