HAPPY BIRTHDAY TINA TURNER

It's hard to imagine but the one and only Queen of Rock & Soul, Tina Turner has just turned eighty years old. She had a birthday on November 26th and has been in the news lately due to the recent arrival to Broadway of the jukebox musical, "Tina: The Tina Turner Musical" which covers her extraordinary life. While she has had a few health problems over the last few years, Turner made an appearance at the opening night of the show earlier this month and she looked absolutely fantastic.

If you are a fan, then you are well aware of her history; a teenage Anna Mae Bullock met Ike Turner, changed her name to "Tina" and together became one of the hottest r&b acts. She suffered many years of emotional and physical abuse from Ike before finally breaking free. Heavily in debt, she had to start over. But after working hard, Turner would go on to become an even bigger star, selling millions of records across the globe.

In honor of this true legend and to celebrate all that is Tina, here are a few of my favorite musical highlights from this iconic performer (including a fan-made clip featuring an overview of Turner's amazing career) :

2019 GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

After years of the Recording Academy being accused of being way out of touch by giving familiar veteran performers most of the major nominations for the Grammy Award while the music of contemporary artists were largely being shut out, this year the nominations for one of the highest honors in music seem to have gotten closer in closing that gap. Artists that are creating exciting cutting edge music like Bon Iver, Lana Del Rey and Vampire Weekend each received multiple nominations in the top categories while women have finally made strides in getting recognized for their work with five of the eight Album of The Year nominees are by female artists.

R&B/hip-hop sensation, Lizzo leads the pack with the most nominations with eight for her breakout single, "Truth Hurts" and third album, "Cuz I Love You". For the first time in Grammy history, there are two artists to receive nominations in the top four categories, Album of The Year, Song of The Year, Record of The Year and Best New Artist with Lizzo being one and alt-rocker, Billie Eilish being the other performer. The seventeen year old had a great year with her debut studio album, "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" becoming a critical hit and major seller. She follows with the most nominations with six along with another new artist, Lil Nas X who merged hip-hop and country to have the crossover smash, "Old Town Road" with a little assist from Billy Ray Cyrus. Ariana Grande, H.E.R. and Finneas O'Connell, Eilish's brother who co-wrote and produced her album, all received five nominations.

The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards will air Sunday, January 26, 2020 at Staples Center in Los Angeles with Alicia Keys returning as host. Here is a partial list of the 2019 Grammy Award nominations:

Album of The Year:

"I, I" — Bon Iver
"Norman Fucking Rockwell!" — Lana Del Rey
"When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" — Billie Eilish
"Thank U, Next" — Ariana Grande
"I Used to Know Her" — H.E.R.
"7" — Lil Nas X
"Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)" — Lizzo
"Father of the Bride" — Vampire Weekend

Record of The Year:

"Hey, Ma" — Bon Iver
"Bad Guy" — Billie Eilish
"7 Rings" — Ariana Grande
"Hard Place" — H.E.R.
"Talk" — Khalid
"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas X Featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
"Truth Hurts" — Lizzo
"Sunflower" — Post Malone & Swae Lee

Song of The Year:

"Always Remember Us This Way" — Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey and Lori McKenna, songwriters (Lady Gaga)
"Bad Guy" — Billie Eilish O'Connell and Finneas O'Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
"Bring My Flowers Now" — Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth and Tanya Tucker, songwriters (Tanya Tucker)
"Hard Place" — Ruby Amanfu, Sam Ashworth, D. Arcelious Harris. H.E.R. and Rodney Jerkins, songwriters (H.E.R.)
"Lover" — Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)
"Norman Fucking Rockwell" — Jack Antonoff and Lana Del Rey, songwriters (Lana Del Rey)
"Someone You Loved" — Tom Barnes, Lewis Capaldi, Pete Kelleher, Benjamin Kohn and Sam Roman, songwriters (Lewis Capaldi)
"Truth Hurts" — Steven Cheung, Eric Frederic, Melissa Jefferson and Jesse Saint John, songwriters (Lizzo)

Best New Artist:

Black Pumas
Billie Eilish
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
Maggie Rogers
Rosalía
Tank and the Bangas
Yola

Best Pop Solo Performance:

"Spirit" — Beyoncé
"Bad Guy" — Billie Eilish
"7 Rings" — Ariana Grande
"Truth Hurts" — Lizzo
"You Need to Calm Down" — Taylor Swift

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:

"Boyfriend" — Ariana Grande and Social House
"Sucker" — Jonas Brothers
"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
"Sunflower" — Post Malone and Swae Lee
"Señorita" — Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello

Best Pop Vocal Album:

"The Lion King: The Gift" — Beyoncé
"When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" — Billie Eilish
"Thank U, Next" — Ariana Grande
"No. 6 Collaborations Project" — Ed Sheeran
"Lover" — Taylor Swift

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:

"Sì" — Andrea Bocelli
"Love (Deluxe Edition)" — Michael Bublé
"Look Now" — Elvis Costello and The Imposters
"A Legendary Christmas" — John Legend
"Walls" — Barbra Streisand

Best Dance Recording:

"Linked" — Bonobo
"Got to Keep On" — The Chemical Brothers
"Piece of Your Heart" — Meduza featuring Goodboys
"Underwater" — RÜFÜS DU SOL
"Midnight Hour" — Skrillex & Boys Noize featuring Ty Dolla $ign

Best Dance/Electronic Album:

"LP5" — Apparat
"No Geography" — The Chemical Brothers
"Hi This Is Flume (Mixtape)" — Flume
"SOLACE" — RÜFÜS DU SOL
"Weather" — Tycho

Best Rock Performance:

"Pretty Waste" — Bones UK
"This Land" — Gary Clark, Jr.
"History Repeats" — Brittany Howard
"Woman" — Karen O and Danger Mouse
"Too Bad" — Rival Sons

Best Rock Album:

"Amo" — Bring Me The Horizon
"Social Cues" — Cage The Elephant
"In The End" — The Cranberries
"Trauma" — I Prevail
"Feral Roots" — Rival Sons

Best Alternative Music Album:

"U.F.O.F." — Big Thief
"Assume Form" — James Blake
"I,I" — Bon Iver
"Father Of The Bride" — Vampire Weekend
"Anima" — Thom Yorke

Best R&B Performance:

"Love Again" — Daniel Caesar and Brandy
"Could've Been" — H.E.R. featuring Bryson Tiller
"Exactly How I Feel" — Lizzo featuring Gucci Mane
"Roll Some Mo" — Lucky Daye
"Come Home" — Anderson .Paak featuring André 3000

Best Traditional R&B Performance:

"Time Today" — BJ The Chicago Kid
"Steady Love" — India.Arie
"Jerome" — Lizzo
"Real Games" — Lucky Daye
"Built For Love" — PJ Morton featuring Jazmine Sullivan

Best R&B Album:

"1123" — BJ The Chicago Kid
"Painted" — Lucky Daye
"Ella Mai" — Ella Mai
"Paul" — PJ Morton
"Ventura" — Anderson .Paak

Best Urban Contemporary Album:

"Apollo XXI" — Steve Lacy
"Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)" — Lizzo
"Overload" — Georgia Anne Muldrow
"Saturn" — NAO
"Being Human In Public" — Jessie Reyez

Best Rap Performance:

"Middle Child" — J. Cole
"Suge" — DaBaby
"Down Bad" — Dreamville featuring J.I.D, Bas, J. Cole, EARTHGANG and Young Nudy
"Racks In The Middle" — Nipsey Hussle featuring Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy
"Clout" — Offset featuring Cardi B

Best Rap/Sung Performance:

"Higher" — DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend
"Drip Too Hard" — Lil Baby and Gunna
"Panini" — Lil Nas X
"Ballin" — Mustard featuring Roddy Ricch
"The London" — Young Thug featuring J. Cole and Travis Scott

Best Rap Album:

"Revenge of the Dreamers III" — Dreamville
"Championships" — Meek Mill
"I Am > I Was" — 21 Savage
"Igor" — Tyler, The Creator
"The Lost Boy" — YBN Cordae

Best Country Solo Performance:

"All Your'n" — Tyler Childers
"Girl Goin' Nowhere" — Ashley McBryde
"Ride Me Back Home" — Willie Nelson
"God's Country" — Blake Shelton
"Bring My Flowers Now" — Tanya Tucker

Best Country Duo/Group Performance:

"Brand New Man" — Brooks and Dunn with Luke Combs
"I Don't Remember Me (Before You)" — Brothers Osborne
"Speechless" — Dan + Shay
"The Daughters" — Little Big Town
"Common" — Maren Morris featuring Brandi Carlile

Best Country Album:

"Desperate Man" — Eric Church
"Stronger Than The Truth" — Reba McEntire
"Interstate Gospel" — Pistol Annies
"Center Point Road" — Thomas Rhett
"While I'm Livin'" — Tanya Tucker

Best Jazz Vocal Album:

"Thirsty Ghost" — Sara Gazarek
"Love & Liberation" — Jazzmeia Horn
"Alone Together" — Catherine Russell
"12 Little Spells" — Esperanza Spalding
"Screenplay" — The Tierney Sutton Band

Best Jazz Instrumental Album:

"In The Key Of The Universe" — Joey DeFrancesco
"The Secret Between The Shadow And The Soul" — Branford Marsalis Quartet
"Christian McBride's New Jawn" — Christian McBride
"Finding Gabriel" — Brad Mehldau
"Come What May" — Joshua Redman Quartet

Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album:

"X 100PRE" — Bad Bunny
"Oasis" — J Balvin & Bad Bunny
"Indestructible" — Flor De Toloache
"Almadura" — iLe
"El Mal Querer" — Rosalía

Best Americana Album:

"Years to Burn" — Calexico And Iron & Wine
"Who Are You Now" — Madison Cunningham
"Oklahoma" — Keb' Mo'
"Tales of America" — J.S. Ondara
"Walk Through Fire" — Yola

Best Bluegrass Album:

"Tall Fiddler" — Michael Cleveland
"Live In Prague, Czech Republic" — Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
"Toil, Tears & Trouble" — The Po' Ramblin' Boys
"Royal Traveller" — Missy Raines
"If You Can't Stand The Heat" — Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen

Best Traditional Blues Album:

"Kingfish" — Christone "Kingfish" Ingram
"Tall, Dark & Handsome" — Delbert McClinton and Self-Made Men
"Sitting On Top Of The Blues" — Bobby Rush
"Baby, Please Come Home" — Jimmie Vaughan
"Spectacular Class" — Jontavious Willis

Best Gospel Album:

"Long Live Love" — Kirk Franklin
"Goshen" — Donald Lawrence Presents The Tri-City Singers
"Tunnel Vision" — Gene Moore
"Settle Here" — William Murphy
"Something's Happening! A Christmas Album" — CeCe Winans

Best World Music Album:

"Gece" — Altin Gün
"What Heat" — Bokanté and Metropole Orkest conducted by Jules Buckley
"African Giant" — Burna Boy
"Fanm D'ayiti" — Nathalie Joachim with Spektral Quartet
"Celia" — Angelique Kidjo

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media:

"The Lion King: The Songs" — Various artists
"Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" — Various artists
"Rocketman" — Taron Egerton
"Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse" — Various artists
"A Star Is Born" — Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media:

"Avengers: Endgame" — Alan Silvestri
"Chernobyl" — Hildur Guðnadóttir
"Game Of Thrones: Season 8" — Ramin Djawadi
"The Lion King" — Hans Zimmer
"Mary Poppins Returns" — Marc Shaiman

Best Music Video:

"We've Got To Try" — The Chemical Brothers
"This Land" — Gary Clark, Jr.
"Cellophane" — FKA twigs
"Old Town Road (Official Movie)" — Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus
"Glad He's Gone" — Tove Lo

Producer of The Year (Non-Classical):

Jack Antonoff
Dan Auerbach
John Hill
Finneas O'Connell
Ricky Reed

TAKE TWO: ASHFORD & SIMPSON

It's hard to say what Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson are really best known for. The duo first started their careers separately as songwriters before coming together and eventually joining the Motown staff to help create such classics as "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "California Soul", "You're All I Need To Get By","Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing" and "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)". But Ashford & Simpson also wanted to perform their own music and began a recording career. They would achieve some success as performers with one of their biggest hits was "Solid" in 1984.

Ashford was born in Fairfield, SC and Simpson in the Bronx, NY. Their paths would cross in Harlem at a church in 1964 with them later deciding to team up to write songs and perform. While they didn't have much initial luck as a singing act, some of the songs they wrote with former Ikette,  Jo "Joshie" Armstead became popular. One of this team's biggest songs was for Ray Charles with "Let's Go Get Stoned" which went to number one on the U.S. R&B chart in 1966. That year, Ashford and Simpson were invited to join Motown as writers and producers, leaving their mark with several charting hits for Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, the Marvelettes, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas and Diana Ross.

Ashford & Simpson still wanted to become known as performers. Simpson recorded two solo albums with Motown who failed to give them much of a promotional push. The couple decided it was finally time to leave the label after they had recorded an album singing their versions of the many songs they wrote for Motown yet the company refused to release it.

After getting married in 1974, Ashford & Simpson signed with Warner Bros. Records as recording artists. The duo found modest success with their albums and charted on the r&b chart with the singles, "Send It","Don't Cost You Nothing", "It Seems to Hang On", "Is It Still Good to Ya", "Found a Cure" and a collaboration with Quincy Jones on his album, "Sounds...and Stuff Like That!!" with the single, "Stuff Like That" which reached number one in 1978.

They signed with Capitol Records in 1982 and it was during this period where the couple would achieve their greatest success. "Solid", which could perfectly describe the couple's relationship, would become an incredible hit, crossing over to the US pop chart and reaching the top-five in several countries. In 2009, Ashford & Simpson would do a fun rewrite of the song to honor President Barack Obama, calling it "Solid (As Barack)". The couple would continue to write and produce for other artists including Gladys Knight and the Pips, Roberta Flack, Stephanie Mills, Teddy Pendergrass and Chaka Khan's 1978 classic, "I'm Every Woman".

In 2011, Nickolas Ashford passed away from complications of throat cancer at the age of seventy. He is survived by Simpson, now seventy-two, and their two daughters, Nicole and Asia. In honor of this legendary musical duo, here are two of my favorite songs from Ashford & Simpson:

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Mikaela Straus came out loud and proud last year with her first single, "1950" under her professional moniker, King Princess. This song, about imaging the time when people had to keep their sexuality a secret, brought the now twenty year old Bronx native plenty of attention. This lead to her meeting musician/producer, Mark Ronson who featured her on a track on his latest album, "Late Night Feelings" and signed her to his label, Zelig. Now King Princess has just released her debut studio album, "Cheap Queen". This self-described genderqueer singer-songwriter explores issues facing today's LGBTQ youth and creates pop anthems that will not only speak to them but anyone feeling alone and isolated.





Here is a selection of some new songs that perfectly merges together music and image:









During this year's "Black Girls Rock!" celebration, three of hottest female dance vocalists from the '90's came together to perform their big hits from the era. Check out Robin S. ("Show Me Love"), Crystal Waters ("Gypsy Woman") and CeCe Peniston ("Finally") who take us back and deliver glorious live renditions of their songs.



And we close with some thrilling duets by some great singers. We have Mamas & Papas vocalist, Cass Elliot teaming up with John Denver on a cover of the melancholy ballad, "Leaving On a Jet Plane". Cheryl Lynn and the very missed Luther Vandross delivering some vocal dynamics on their live version of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "If This World Was Mine" during an appearance on "Soul Train".