vendredi 28 février 2025
jeudi 27 février 2025
No Tricks (1993)
No Tricks is the fourteenth studio album by the Commodores, released on March 29, 1993. At this point, the band had been reduced to the trio of Walter "Clyde" Orange, William King and J.D. Nicholas. The album did not chart.
Rock Solid (1988)
Rock Solid is the 13th studio album by the Commodores, released in 1988. At this time in the band's career, hits were no longer forthcoming, and this album failed to enter the Billboard albums chart. The single, "Solitaire", reached No. 51 on the R&B chart. It is the last of the band's albums with keyboard player and founding member Milan Williams, who left after a dispute about playing in South Africa.
Nightshift (1985)
Nightshift is the 11th studio album by the Commodores, released by Motown Records on January 15, 1985.
Nightshift is the Commodores' second studio album without Lionel Richie, who left the band in 1982, and their last studio album with their original bass guitarist Ronald LaPread. Their previous album Commodores 13 (1983) had featured interim lead vocalist Harold Hudson of Mean Machine.[9] For Nightshift the Commodores permanently replaced Richie with British-born J.D. Nicholas, formerly of Heatwave. Dennis Lambert was chosen as producer, the Commodores hoping to find the same magic created by producer/arranger James Anthony Carmichael, with whom they had worked since 1974 and who was a major impetus in their earlier success.[10][11]
Other musicians that play on the album include: Peter Wolf, Paul Fox, John Robinson, Neil Stubenhaus, Jeff Lorber, Peter Maunu, Harold Hudson, Dennis Lambert, Paulinho da Costa, Vinnie Colaiuta, Jerry Hey, Gary Grant, Gary Herbig and Larry Williams.
Commodores 13 (1983)
Commodores 13 is the tenth studio album (and thirteenth overall, including two greatest-hits compilations and a live album) by the Commodores, released in 1983 on Motown Records.[3] It's also the first album by the band after the departure of Lionel Richie, who began his solo career in 1982.
Commodores 13 was produced by William King, Thomas McClary, Walter Orange and Milan Williams.[3] Singers Vesta Williams and Melissa Manchester made guest appearances on the album.
In the Pocket (1981)
In the Pocket is the ninth studio album by the American R&B/Funk group the Commodores, released by Motown Records in 1981.
It is the last Commodores album to feature Lionel Richie, as he left the band to start a solo career the following year. The bulk of the album was recorded at Web IV Recording Studio in Atlanta, Georgia.[7] This album contained two hit singles, "Lady (You Bring Me Up)" (U.S. No. 8) and "Oh No" (U.S. No. 4).
Heroes (1980)
Heroes is the eighth studio album by the Commodores, released in June 1980 by Motown Records. It has been certified platinum in the US by the RIAA.
Midnight Magic (1979)
Midnight Magic is the seventh studio album by the musical group the Commodores, released in 1979.[3] The album was certified Gold in the UK by the BPI.[4] Midnight Magic was Grammy nominated in the category of Best R&B Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus.
Natural High (1978)
Natural High is the sixth studio album by the musical group Commodores, released in 1978. "Three Times a Lady", released as a single, became their first Billboard Hot 100 number one. The album topped Billboard's R&B Album charts for 8 non-consecutive weeks and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.
Commodores (1977)
Commodores is the fifth studio album by the Commodores, released in 1977. The album spent eight weeks at the top of the R&B/soul albums chart, the second of their albums to do so, and was their first Top 5 pop album. There is also a previously released extended version.
The band employed a variety of musical styles for the album, highlighted by the popular anthem "Brick House". With Walter Orange's deep voice on the lead, and Ronald LaPread's bassline, this track peaked on the U.S. Hot 100 at #5, and the U.S. R&B Chart at #4. "Brick House" means a "stacked" woman with an hour-glass figure.
In contrast to "Brick House", "Easy" is a pop ballad with mellow vocals by Lionel Richie.
"Zoom" is one of the Commodores' best known tunes, despite not being released as a single in the US. It reached #38 on the UK singles chart. Fergie sampled "Zoom" in her song "All That I Got (The Make-Up Song)" on the album The Dutchess.
In the UK and other Western European countries this album was released as Zoom on Tamla Motown.
The album was dedicated to Kathy Faye LaPread, bass guitarist Ronald LaPread's wife, who died from cancer around that time.
Hot on the Tracks (1976)
Hot on the Tracks is the fourth studio album by the Commodores, released by Motown Records in 1976. It includes the Top Ten pop single "Just to Be Close to You". The album was the band's first #1 album on the R&B albums chart.
Movin' On (1975)
Movin' On is the third studio album by the Commodores, released by Motown Records in 1975.
The album reached number 29 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and number seven on the R&B albums chart. The only single released from the album, "Sweet Love", a mid-tempo ballad about "the virtues of peace and harmony during troubled times,"[2] reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1976, making it the group's first top ten hit on the chart. However, the last track, "Cebu", became a staple on the "Quiet Storm" radio stations, and appeared as a B-side to two of their later singles, "Fancy Dancer" (1976) and "Only You" (1983).
Caught in the Act (1975)
Caught in the Act is the second studio album by The Commodores, released in 1975 (see 1975 in music). Caught in the Act included the #1 R&B hit "Slippery When Wet", penned by Thomas McClary, the sextet's lead guitarist.
Caught In The Act was the second Commodores album to be certified gold. It rose to #7 on the Billboard R&B/Soul Albums chart and #26 on the Billboard Top 100 Albums listing during the summer of 1975. It received generally positive reviews. The album displayed clear influences from fellow funk contemporaries Sly and the Family Stone, Earth, Wind & Fire and the Ohio Players, but yet the former opening act for the Jackson 5 was on its way to developing a sound that became all their own. They were a tight, self-contained unit that composed all their own material, unlike what was presented on their debut album, which included songs by outside writers. Lead vocals were handled by drummer/percussionist Walter "Clyde" Orange and pianist/saxophonist Lionel Richie.
The third track on Caught In The Act, "The Bump", composed by group keyboardist Milan Williams, is an edited version of the fourth track in their preceding hit album, Machine Gun. "I'm Ready", also a Williams composition, is a punchy instrumental dance number with a prominent clavinet line, in the same vein as their earlier hit, "Machine Gun". Other solid funk tracks include "Wide Open", "Better Never Than Forever" and "Look What You've Done to Me". "Let's Do It Right" by Lionel Richie echoes the smoother side of Sly and the Family Stone's work. While Caught In The Act is overwhelmingly upbeat, it doesn't neglect the slower material: "This Is Your Life" and "You Don't Know That I Know" are first rate funk ballads; the former, written by Richie, was released in an edited version as a single that same year and peaked at #13 on the Billboard R&B charts.
Machine Gun (1974)
Machine Gun is the debut studio album by Commodores, released on July 22, 1974, on Motown Records.
The titular lead song has Milan Williams on clavinet, which led the Motown executive Berry Gordy to name the song "Machine Gun" as the clavinet work reminded him of gunfire.[citation needed] The title track peaked at number 7 on the US Billboard R&B Singles charts, while reaching number 22 on the US Billboard Pop Singles charts, becoming the band's first hit. As a single "Machine Gun" also reached No. 20 on both the UK Singles chart and the Canadian RPM Pop Singles chart.[4][5]
The song is also featured on the soundtrack to the 1997 film Boogie Nights.
The second single to be released, "I Feel Sanctified", reached number 12 on the R&B charts, and concerns a man spiritually blessed by his girlfriend's love. The song has Ronald LaPread on bass guitar, Walter "Clyde" Orange on drums, while Lionel Richie and William King contributed horn arrangements. The tune has an a cappella introduction with three-way harmonization. Record World said of it "Bangin' out with a Salvation Army drum beat gone funk, the [Commodores] aim for a vocal bullseye."[6] The song has been called a "prototype" of Wild Cherry's 1976 hit "Play That Funky Music".[7] "I Feel Sanctified" was also later covered by that same group.
The track The Human Zoo was a staple on the Northern Soul scene at Blackpool Mecca and Wigan Casino with dancers back flipping spinning and hand clapping to the beat.
The drum break in the track The Assembly Line has been sampled many times, mainly used in Hip Hop, Drum & Bass and Jungle music.
mercredi 26 février 2025
mardi 25 février 2025
Jerry Butler – The Singles (2CD) Charly Records (2013)
The Very Best of Roberta Flack 2006
An elegant and legendary vocal superstar, four-time Grammy honoree Roberta Flack's unmistakable delivery wraps a timeless R&B sound with beautiful flourishes of jazz, pop and soul. She first climbed to the top of the charts with her definitive version of "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." The very next year, "Killing Me Softly," her first duet with the late, great Donnie Hathaway took the same prize, and also hit #1. Also featuring her hit-making collaborations with Peabo Bryson and Maxi Priest, as well as many selections on which she shines solo, this must-have collection spotlights Flack's masterful song interpretation and rich emotional resonance.
Gwen McCrae – Lay It On Me - The Columbia Years 2010
Gwen McCrae has consistently been making great records since the late '60s, debuting on Columbia with her first R&B hit "Lead Me On." She moved to Cat Records and scored big with "Rockin Chair," the oft-sampled "90% Of Me Is You" and "Damn Right It's Good." A move to Atlantic where she was personally signed by the legendary Ahmet Ertegun brought such classics as "Keep The Fire Burning", "Funky Sensation" and "All This Love That I m Giving." Gwen's roots lie in deep and southern soul and this collection of 11 classics from the Columbia vaults brings together her five singles for the label, plus one unreleased gem in Clarence Reid's "Lovin In The Lay-A-Way." Originally recorded between 1970 and 1972, they were released at a time when Gwen was pretty much the only African American on the Columbia label and before the company became a powerhouse for R&B with major hits on PIR and Epic Records. Lay It On Me is classic soul at its best. Much of it was recorded at American Group Studios and features the Memphis Horns on many tracks. Gwen is still actively singing both R&B and gospel, and recently headlined to a sold out crowd at London Indig02 Stadium, topping a bill that also included Jean Carne.
Chris Jasper, Isley Brothers Member, Dies at 73
Chris Jasper, known for shaping some of The Isley Brothers' biggest hits, has died, his son Michael Jasper confirms with PEOPLE. He was 73.
Jasper's family first announced the news on Facebook Monday, Feb. 24. He died the day prior, after being diagnosed with cancer in December 2024, his family said.
Jasper joined The Isley. Brothers in 1973, helping them "[transform]" "from a vocal trio into a self-contained six member R&B/Funk group," his family said. "His songwriting talent and expertise on keyboards and synthesizers became the cornerstone of the group's signature sound."
Jasper helped write, produce and arrange several of the legendary R&B group's singles, including "For the Love of You," "Fight the Power" and "Between the Sheets."
In 1984, Jasper, Ernie and Marvin formed Isley-Jasper-Isley, and went on to release chart-topping songs like 1985's "Caravan of Love."
Two years later, Jasper embarked on a solo career and launched Gold City Records, where he released 17 albums, including four gospel albums. His breakout hit "Superbad," encouraged education and literacy, "a theme he was passionate about throughout his career," his family said.
He also signed artists like Out Front, Liz Hogue and Brothaz by Choice.
In his later years, he released his greatest hits album, The Essential Chris Jasper, with Sony Music in 2015 and a cover of Billy Preston's "You Are So Beautiful" titled "Share With Me" in 2016. Most recently, he released For the Love of You, a covers album in 2019, which featured The Isley Brothers' hits as well as Sam Cooke's "Nothing Can Change This Love," "God Is Love" by Marvin Gaye and "Have I Told You Lately" by Van Morrison.
Artists such as Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Will Smith, Queen Latifah and Fantasia have sampled his work.
Jasper, who studied music composition at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 alongside The Isley Brothers. In 2014, he and the group were honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2022, Jasper was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, his loved ones said.
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"He will be deeply missed and his legacy will live on as an inspiration for generations," the statement, signed "His Loving Family," concluded.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame also paid tribute, writing on X
that Jasper "played a key role in defining the sound of soul and funk
in the 1970s and 1980s. A classically trained musician and composer, he
led the Isleys’ transition into becoming a self-contained band."
He is survived by Margie Jasper, his wife of 42 years, and their sons: Michael, Nicholas and Christoper.
lundi 24 février 2025
Legendary songstress Roberta Flack dies at age 88
(February 24, 2025) This one really hurts. She was a one-of-a-kind musical pioneer who impacted us in so many ways, it is difficult to measure. Today we say a sad goodbye to Roberta Flack, who has died at age 88. Her death was confirmed for us by her publicist. Flack had been diagnosed with ALS in 2022.
The message we received was as follows: “We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away this morning February 24, 2025. She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator.”
Over the two decade period from 1970-1990, Roberta Flack quietly opened doors for a new generation of female singers, making beautiful music but also making history. Her gentle amalgamation of Soul, Gospel and folk, combined with a message of both empowerment and love, created an intelligent, thoughtful pathway for modern singers such as India.Arie and Jill Scott.
Born in Asheville, North Carolina in 1937, Flack was attracted to music and became a talented singer and pianist at a very young age. In addition to her musical family, the members of which were involved in their church choir and orchestra, she was influenced by the great Gospel singers of her day, especially Mahalia Jackson. Amazingly, she was accepted into Howard University on a full music scholarship at age 15, and there she met future singing partner Donny Hathaway. Jazz pianist Les McCann heard her perform in 1968 and brought her to the attention of Atlantic Records, which signed her in 1969.
Her 1970 debut album, First Take, was a sparsely arranged, acoustic album that combined elements of soul, folk and jazz, and was a mild success until Clint Eastwood included the slow ballad, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” in his 1972 thriller Play Misty For Me, after which the song was released as a single and shot to #1. In the meantime, however, she had released three other albums, including Chapter Two, Quiet Fire and her album of duets with Hathaway, Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway. The former two solidified her appeal to a new generation of educated, urban African Americans, while the latter became an unadulterated smash across the board and a critical favorite of a scope perhaps still unmatched by any subsequent album of duets. It became a radio favorite based on such great cuts as “Where is the Love” and “You’ve Got A Friend,” but became a classic because of the deep balladry and sensitivity of “Come Ye Disconsolate,” “I (Who Have Nothing),” “Be Real Black for Me” and a breathtaking cover of “For All We Know.”
After the success of “The First Time,” Flack scored even bigger with the album and single “Killing Me Softly,” her second number one and a hit 20 years later for the Fugees. She followed the next year with the jazzier Feel Like Makin’ Love. Despite significant resistance from Atlantic, she took on the role of producer for that album (using the pseudonym “Rubina Flake”) and surrounded herself with an amazing crew of jazz musicians and singers, including Bob James, Ralph McDonald, Hugh McCracken and Patti Austin. She was vindicated when the title cut became her third #1.
Flack slowed down her recording schedule over the next couple of years, but came back in 1977 with another classic duet with Hathaway, “The Closer I Get To You.” It also hit #1 and led off her solid Blue Lights in the Basement. The next year she began working on another album of duets with Hathaway, but their collaboration was tragically cut short by Hathaway’s death by suicide. His death sent her reeling, but in 1980 she released the album Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway, which included mostly solo material but also two songs she had completed with Hathaway before his death (“Only Heaven Can Wait” and Stevie Wonder’s “You Are My Heaven”).
In 1979, Flack began a sporadic two decade singing relationship with Peabo Bryson, starting with the middling Live and More disc, but redeeming itself three years later with the fine Urban Adult Contemporary disc Born to Love. The latter resulted in a number of notable songs, including the #1 “Tonight I Celebrate My Love,” “You’re Looking Like Love to Me,” and the excellent album cut “Maybe.” Her solo recordings during the period had less success.
Flack then took another few years off before producing and releasing the airy Oasis in 1988. It was her most consistently pleasing album in 15 years, and included great material (some written by Flack) and another top notch posse of musicians. Oasis reintroduced Flack to urban adult audiences and stayed on the charts for several months. She followed it three years later with Set the Night to Music, a lesser disc that included a hit duet with Maxi Priest. In 1994 Flack released Roberta, an album of standards that became her last major release. She has since recorded two Christmas albums, 1997’s Christmas Album (which included “As Long As There Is Christmas,” a duet with Bryson that was included in Beauty and the Beast 2) and 2003’s Holiday.
Flack continued to tour regularly into the late 2000s, particularly in the annual Colors of Christmas tour. She is also actively involved AEC (Artist Empowerment Coalition), an advocacy group working for artists’ rights and control of their creative properties. In 2022, Flack revealed that she had been diagnosed with ALS, leaving her unable to sing anymore. But she continued to press on with her work, writing her first children’s book The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music.
Even as she struggled with her health, Roberta Flack’s gravitas only grew, as the full recognition came of her overwhelming impact on two generations of singers who continue to stand on the shoulders of this all-time great. She will be greatly missed and greatly celebrated for years to come.
samedi 22 février 2025
Gwen McCrae (1943-2025)
Rockin’ Chair, 90% of Me Is You, All This Love That I’m Givin’, Keep the Fire Burning, Funky Sensation – Gwen McCrae, who has died after a long illness aged 81, sang all these soul-funk anthems and more. Songs that refreshed radio, songs that lit up discos and clubs, songs that saw her called “The Queen of Rare Groove”, songs that were covered and sampled and sound as fresh today as when she originally recorded them in Miami in the 1970s and early 80s.
Gwen Mosley was born in Pensacola, Florida, and grew up singing in church before marrying a sailor she met the week before when he was on shore leave. Her new husband, once free from the navy, insisted they form the duo George & Gwen McCrae in 1963, with Gwen out front. Betty Wright, then a 14-year-old vocal prodigy, brought the couple to soul singer and label co-owner Steve Alaimo in 1967, who signed them to Alston Records. After the duo’s singles sold only moderately, Gwen signed to Columbia to perform deep southern soul but, when sales flagged again, she returned to Alston and began recording the lighter, more dance-oriented “Miami sound” then fermenting in the city’s TK Studios.
George McCrae would launch the Miami sound worldwide with his 1974 UK No 1 Rock Your Baby – written by KC and the Sunshine Band’s Harry Wayne Casey (KC) and Richard Finch for Gwen. Gwen’s account was that she wanted to help George, whose recording career had dwindled as he supported hers, and told KC they could give him a song – and Alaimo picked out Rock Your Baby. “I thought: ‘Not that one, you dummy!’”, she later said. By 1976, her marriage had badly soured. “You know when you’re hurting, when someone’s hurting you, you just can’t do nothing,” she said. “You feel helpless.” She would also refer to George as a mere “sperm donor” for their children.
But through her heartache, working closely with Wright, KC, Willie “Little Beaver” Hale, Clarence Reid and Willie Clarke, Gwen cut a sublime run of 45s. Her powerful, throaty voice backed by Little Beaver’s chiming, funky guitar licks and TK’s effervescent house band (which could include Timmy “Why Can’t We Live Together” Thomas), made for dance music with emotional depth. Rockin’ Chair, with its propulsive groove and McCrae’s caressing vocal, crossed over to No 9 in the Billboard pop charts – her biggest hit. The emotive, distinctive 90% of Me Is You and All This Love That I’m Givin’ – later sampled to hit-making effect by the French dance duo Cassius – are also landmark recordings.
Beyond her legion of loyal British soul boys and girls, McCrae never won the wider recognition she deserved. TK’s back catalogue was not well-served for decades – Stone’s bankruptcy meant he lost control of it – and McCrae would, alongside other Black artists that recorded for the label, complain they were never properly remunerated. The Miami sound has also rarely received the attention from music historians and collectors that Detroit’s Motown and Memphis’s Stax and Hi labels have. Why? Possibly because TK’s biggest artist, KC and the Sunshine Band, sold millions of records to pop fans. Or the Miami sound got disparaged as “disco” when that genre was widely regarded as déclassé by gatekeepers. Alaimo’s death last November received dismayingly little attention.
Things may now be changing, with British label Soul Jazz’s Miami Sound albums Volumes 1 & 2 being well-received and containing McCrae tunes – a snippet of a discography charged with pain and wonder in equal measure. “The only time I’m really happy is when I’m on that stage, in front of my audience,” McCrae said in 1997. “Then I’m the happiest woman in the world.”
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