I'm sure many of you are well aware of Mark Wahlberg, the Oscar-nominated movie star who appeared in such films as "Boogie Nights", "The Departed", "The Italian Job", "The Fighter" and "Ted". But how many of you remember when Wahlberg was Marky Mark and a part of the Funky Bunch? Back in 1991, a twenty-year old Mark released the rap hip-house single, "Good Vibrations" (co-written and produced by his older brother, Donnie who was a member of New Kids On The Block at the time) with his group which went to number one of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. While Wahlberg would release two albums with the Funky Bunch and a project with the late reggae performer, Prince Ital Joe, this million-selling song would be the highlight of his music career. Let's go back and listen to Marky Mark's hit as well as the 1980 disco single, "Love Sensation" by Loleatta Holloway which a sample is used as the hook on his song :
I guess country rap is now officially a genre. Following the incredible success of Lil Nas X's, "Old Town Road", Blanco Brown has brought us "The Git Up", another country-flavored hip-hop tune. Brown, an Atlanta-raised producer who has worked with Chris Brown, Fergie and Pitbull, has been a big fan of hip-hop and country music and decided the time was right to merge the two vastly different genres. "The Git Up" has become a crossover sensation and managed to achieve what Lil Nas X could not; Brown's track reached the top of the Hot Country Songs chart. There is even a dance created for the song so check out music video so you can learn the moves:
Here are a few new tunes I'm in to right now:
And finally, here is an obscure musical pairing I never would have imagined but it absolutely works. While going down the YouTube rabbit hole, I stumbled upon the Welsh sex-symbol, Tom Jones and Broadway star turned r&b vocalist, Stephanie Mills singing together on a sensual cover of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway's "The Closer I Get To You". I have no idea when or where this was done beyond it must have been performed sometime in the '80's. Their vocals are on fire and it's really a great version of the song:
While a large, enthusiastic crowd gathered at Dodger Stadium for Paul McCartney's final U.S. tour stop on July 13th, I attended a more intimate concert by Meshell Ndegeocello at the Ford Theatre which was filled with an equally excited audience. Since her 1993 debut, "Plantation Lullabies", Ndegeocello (which means "free like a bird" in Swahili) has been thrilling us with her blend of jazz-infused, funky r&b and has been hailed as the the spark of the neo-soul movement.
On the road to promote her latest album, "Ventriloquism", the fifty year old performer has decided look back at pop and soul songs that inspired her through the years yet delivers each of them with her own special vibe. The concert largely consisted of material from this record with her live versions of Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam's, "I Wonder If I Take You Home", Al B. Sure's "Nite and Day", the TLC classic, "Waterfalls", Force MDs' , "Tender Love" and particularly the George Clinton song, "Atomic Dog" being twisted and mellowed yet still retaining the power of the originals.
Soft-spoken and low-key, the singer and bass player kept the conversation to a minimum. Ndegeocello really only spoke to acknowledge the love she was feeling from the crowd and how much she appreciated everyone coming out to see her. She simply allowed the music to communicate everything she wanted and with her small yet tight band, Jebin Bruni on keyboards, Christopher Bruce on guitar and drummer, Abraham Rounds, they were able to recreate some extraordinary sounds that smoothly washed over us. With the open-air stage at the bottom of a hill and birds (and helicopters) soaring over head, Ndegeocello was aided by this natural setting to deliver a serene show that left everyone in a wonderful mood.
The one thing you could say about Prince, the late great artist who brought witty and lusty funk-rock to pop music, is that he liked to stay busy. He was incredibly prolific, churning out music at a pace that seemed almost inhuman. There were rumors that Prince had a vault filled with unreleased material as he was unable to put it all out for fear by his record label of releasing too much music. And the most amazing part was that almost all of these extra songs that have managed to slip out over time were actually good, more than worthy to have appeared on any of his albums.
One example is "Erotic City", the now classic jam from 1984 that was simply put as a B-side to the single of "Let's Go Crazy" from the "Purple Rain" soundtrack. Prince would continue to put many interesting songs as B-sides of his singles and eventually put some of his most popular ones on the 1993 box-set of his first greatest hits collection as a bonus CD.
Belinda Carlisle was the lead vocalist for the all-female, new-wave-rock group, The Go-Go's who burned brightly immediately after the release of their debut, "Beauty and the Beat" in 1981 before self-extinguishing shortly after their third 1984 album, "Talk Show". But the L.A. born and raised singer went on to have even wider acclaim as a solo artist with several charting pop singles that made a phenomenal impact worldwide.
During her time with the band, Carlisle was suffering from drug addiction and an eating disorder which was just one factor to the initial demise of The Go-Go's in 1985. After completing a rehab stint, she decided to continue her career in music as a solo performer. With former Go-Go's member, Charlotte Caffey on board to help contribute to the project, Carlisle's debut, "Belinda" was released in 1986. The collection featured a sunny 60's California vibe and was an immediate hit with the first single, "Mad About You".
Carlisle's follow-up, "Heaven On Earth" in 1987 featured a slicker power-pop sound and would become the biggest success of her career. With the number one U.S. hit, "Heaven Is a Place On Earth", the Diane Warren penned, "I Get Weak" and "Circle In The Sand" reaching the top-ten in several countries, the album went on to sell over four million copies.
"Runaway Horses", Carlisle's 1989 third album, was more modestly received compared to her previous release and the record did best internationally with "Leave a Light On", "Summer Rain" and the title track becoming top-forty singles throughout Europe.
In 1990, Carlisle and The Go-Go's reunited to tour to promote their greatest hits record while Carlisle released her fourth solo album, "Live Your Life Be Free" the following year. The record was another moderate success in Europe yet failed to chart in the U.S.
Carlisle released a few more albums, including a set of French-language songs, "Voila" in 2007 and her last record-to-date, "Wilder Shores", a 2017 collection of Sikh chants, but none have reached the heights of her previous pop success.
The now sixty year old singer finally became completely sober in 2005 and began to practice Nichiren Buddhism, vegetarianism and yoga. She had continued to go on the road with The Go-Go's over the years and the group made their apparent final tour together in 2016. Carlisle has been married to film producer, Morgan Mason (son of actor, James Mason) since 1986 and they have a son, James Duke. Here are a couple of my favorite songs from this iconic pop vocalist:
