NEW SOUNDS

TINASHE

After over twenty years in the music business and releasing seven studio albums and several mixtapes, Tinashe has not really had the proper breakout that I think she actually deserves. Raised in Los Angeles, the pop-soul artist has gone through the entire gamut in a pursuit of a music career: being a member of a girl group, self-releasing music as a solo performer, signing to a major label, achieving a few charting songs, departing from a major label and independently releasing her music. With her latest album, "Popstar", Tinashe truly lives up to this title with a winning and self-assured collection filled with hyperpop, propulsive dance beats and some spirited hip-hop. It seems clear that she more than ready to go to the next level.





MIRANDA LAMBERT

Over the last twenty-five years, Miranda Lambert has worked her way up to a successful career as a popular and prolific country music performer. This year, she was a part of Ella Langley's second album, "Dandelion" as a co-producer and a co-writer of Langley's wildly successful hit single, "Choosin' Texas". Now Lambert has released her tenth studio album, "Crisco" and she is expanding her sound a bit with touches of disco and '70's country-rock influences. While always planning to strictly stick to her musical roots, Lambert was intrigued to explore a more dancing swing to some of her songs and teamed with Jesse Frasure to co-produce this project. Chris Stapleton duets with Lambert on "A Song to Sing", Langley appears on the track, "Snakeskin Boots" and there are covers of Jim Croce's "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" and Roseanne Cash's crossover hit, "Seven Year Ache".





And here are some recents singles from Harry Styles (who is near the end of his thirty date residency in New York at Madison Square Garden), Lisa, formerly of Blackpink (with a tribute to the "Pulp Fiction" director) and the new release from Tate McRae.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Here are a few interesting new songs out at the moment: After dealing with some personal issues he went through last year, Lil Nas X has returned to music with a new song, "World's Greatest!", an uplifting anthem dedicated to his late mother, Tameka Hill; Soulidified, a classically styled, boy band formed on the Netflix reality series, "Building the Band" have dropped a new single, "Man Ain't Me"; Remi Wolf, the alt-pop performer from Palo Alto, has her third album, "Mud" due out shortly and the latest single, "I Won't Cry", a retro-soul ballad, has been released; Cardi B has provided a song, "Don't Chart" for the upcoming "Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album"; Dawn Richard, the Danity Kane pop singer turned neo-soul artist, has a new single out, "Only Fans" from her upcoming album, "Creole Culture" and the Rolling Stones continues to attract some impressive star power with Alexander Skarsgård starring in their latest music video, "Mr. Charm".

The singer/songwriter, Duncan Sheik has died on September 17th. He had begun his career as a rock musician before transitioning into an award-winning composer for motion pictures and Broadway musicals. Sheik passed away from cardiac arrest in New York City at the age of fifty-six. 

Born and raised in New Jersey, Sheik would split his time there and North Carolina after his parents separated. As a child he learned to play the piano and later the guitar. By the time he was a teen, Sheik would perform with fellow high school students in a cover band. Following his graduation from Brown University in 1992, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music.

After playing guitar for a few bands and making some connections, Sheik was signed to Atlantic Records and his self-titled debut, which he wrote all of the songs and featured production by Rupert Hine, was released in 1996. The first single, "Barely Breathing" became a big hit, peaking at number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (staying on the chart for an impressive fifty-five consecutive weeks) and earned Sheik a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. While this would remain his only significant commercially successful song, Sheik would go on to record nine studio albums throughout his career with his final album was "Claptrap" in 2022.

In 2002, he would begin to expand his musical horizons by composing original music for the stage, television and cinema. He would team-up with Steven Sater to create the coming-of-age rock musical, "Spring Awakening" which made it to Broadway in 2006 and went on to win eight Tony Awards including Best Musical and its original cast album received a Grammy Award.

And Rosalind Ashford, one of the founding members of the popular Motown girl-group, Martha and the Vandellas, passed away on September 15th at the age of eighty-three. Passionate for music, Ashford was heavily involved in choir groups in high school as well as singing in her church. She became a part of an all-female act, The Del-Phis in 1957 where they performed at local parties and high school functions, By 1960, Martha Reeves joined the group and they managed to get signed to a label associated with Chess Records, recording a few singles that didn't go anywhere.

Their luck changed when they managed to perform background vocals on a couple of Marvin Gaye's singles, "Hitch Hike" and "Stubborn Kind of Fellow". This lead to Reeves (who was working as a secretary for Motown at the time) and the girls recording a demo for Mary Wells titled "I Have to Let Him Go". Motown head, Berry Gordy liked what he heard and offered the group, now called Martha and the Vandellas, a recording contract in 1962 and released this demo as their first single.

Six of the group's songs reached the top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and thirteen of their songs reached the top twenty on the Billboard R&B singles chart which included the hits "Heat Wave", "Come and Get These Memories", "Dancing in the Street" and "Nowhere to Run". Ashford would stay with the group until 1969. She would get married and work at the Michigan Bell Phone company. Over the years, Ashford would occasionally perform with former members of the Vandellas for concert tours.

FREDDIE JACKSON (1956 - 2026)

Freddie Jackson, the soul balladeer who enjoyed success throughout the 1980's and 1990's, has sadly passed away on October 5th, three days after his 70th birthday. The performer had been dealing with chronic kidney disease and had been on dialysis.

Born in New York City. Jackson began his career as a child singing in his church's choir at the White Rock Baptist Church of Harlem. During his time there, he would meet Paul Laurence, who would later go on to become Jackson's record producer and songwriting partner. After finishing high school, Jackson would perform with Laurence's band, LJE before heading to the West Coast to try his luck there. He did join a soul group, Mystic Merlin and did some recording work with them but eventually headed back to New York.

Jackson recorded some demos with Lawrence while singing back up for Melba Moore during her concerts. He was eventually signed with Capitol Records in 1984 with his debut, "Rock Me Tonight" was released the following year. The album was an immediate success with the title track spending six weeks at number one on the r&b chart, followed by "You Are My Lady" which also went to number one on the soul chart and crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it to number twelve. Two more singles, "He'll Never Love You (Like I Do)" and "Love Is Just a Touch Away" also reached the R&B top ten and the album, "Rock Me Tonight" would sell over a million copies. Jackson's follow-up album, "Just Like the First Time" would continue his charting success with the number one r&b hit singles, "Have You Ever Loved Somebody," and "Jam Tonight".

Jackson's next album in 1988, "Don't Let Love Slip Away" enjoyed some success with the singles, "Hey Lover" and "Nice 'N' Slow" but following his 1990 release, "Do Me Again", the singer was no longer reaching the charts. Jackson would continue to perform and record with his last studio album, his fourteenth, was "Love Signals" in 2018.

SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE: THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Stevie Wonder's groundbreaking and still influential eighteenth studio album, "Songs in the Key of Life". After a string of highly successful and critically acclaimed albums which included "Talking Book", "Innervisions", and "Fulfillingness' First Finale", the immensely popular, Wonder was burnt out and really feeling ready to call his recording career a day, largely because he had been making music professionally since he was eleven. But the then twenty-five year old artist, whose contract with Motown was up, would end up changing his mind. Although there was high interest from several other labels, Wonder would wind up signing a far more lucrative contract with Motown in 1975. This new seven year contract would give him thirty million dollars upfront, 20% of the royalties, ownership of the publishing rights and most importantly, complete artistic control which was extremely rare with the label.

A year later, Wonder went to work on this new project and would ultimately release this double album on September 28, 1976. This collection featured seventeen songs which focused on a wide range of subjects like love, romance, parenthood, inequality and racial discrimination. With musical contributions from Herbie Hancock, George Benson, Minnie Riperton and Deniece Williams, "Songs" would have four singles released including the number one songs, "I Wish" and "Sir Duke", a track that pays tribute to jazz legend, Duke Ellington who had just died in 1974.

Other highlights from the album that received extensive radio airplay include "Love's in Need of Love Today", "Knocks Me Off My Feet" and "Isn't She Lovely", a song that surprisingly wasn't actually released as an official single since Wonder refused to trim the over six minute track but was still so popular that it wound up charting, reaching number twenty-three on the Adult Contemporary chart. "Songs" would spend thirteen weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 Album chart, was the second-best-selling album of 1977 in the US and would have sales of five million copies worldwide. And "Songs in the Key of Life" would win Album of the Year at the 1977 Grammy Awards, making this his third win in the category ("Innervisions" and "Fulfillingness' First Finale" won in 1974 and 1975).

To celebrate this remarkable musical achievement, Wonder will be taking "Song in the Key of Life" on the road with the entire album performed at each stop of the tour. The "Songs" 50th Anniversary concerts will begin in Europe in October before heading to the US in November and finishing in Los Angeles on December 19th. There has also been a new recording released, "Songs in the Key of Life: The EP" which features four outtakes from the original album recording sessions: "It's Easier" "My Life Story of Love" "I Can See the Sun in Late December" and "I'm Into Livin'".

PARTY

Another song from Troye Sivan's upcoming new album, "She's The Best" has been released. Utilizing a sample from Madonna's 2000 hit, "Music", "Party" is all about hanging out with some good friends and having a wild soiree. The song, with spoken-word from Sivan over a progressive beat, is a fairly standard house-pop track but it's the music video that actually leaves a real impression. Beginning with narration provided by actor, Sir Ian McKellan, the rousing clip (directed by Gordon von Steiner who did the singer's previous video for the title track) is a queer, medieval-set romp with Sivan as a knight with lust in his heart and ready to tear up the dance floor. This is an expensive looking video and highly sexually charged, helping to elevate this single to make "Party" appear far more intriguing.

WESTSIDE WHIMSY

Days after announcing the news on social media, Jhené Aiko unexpectedly released her fourth studio album, "Westside Whimsy". It's been six years since her last album, "Chilombo" and this latest collection by the neo-soul vocalist (which this title was also the name of her personalized smoothie that had been available at the luxury grocer, Erewhon) continues her musical journey reflecting back on her life, relationships and growing up in Los Angeles. Working with an army of producers (which includes Fisticuffs, Boi-1da and PartyNextDoor), Aiko has twenty tracks of smooth, laid back, hip-hop fueled, r&b that features some guest appearances from some well-known so-Cal artists, Ab-Soul, Tyga, Larry June, OHMA and Kendrick Lamar. Here are a few of my favorite songs from the album:

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

It's hard to believe but it has been twenty years since the release of Beyoncé sophomore album, "B'Day" and to celebrate, the artist has just delivered "B'Day: 20th anniversary edition". This collection has remastered the original album and features nineteen additional tracks with remixes and previously unreleased bonus songs that includes "Morning Dew (Donk)" and "Can I Watch You" with Pharrell. But what is most noteworthy about this edition is that Beyoncé is leaning even heavier with Spanish-language songs with "Amor Gitano", a duet with Alejandro Fernández, "Cuerpo Tumbao (Get Me Bodied)" with Maluma (and samples Celia Cruz’s "La Negra Tiene Tumbao") and a new version of "Irreemplazable (Como La Flor)" that samples vocals from the late "Queen of Tejano Music", Selena.







Some new sounds I'm enjoying includes Adéla, the singer, songwriter and dancer from Slovakia, who has just released her debut album, "Prima" and the latest single, "Nicole Kidman" pays homage to the Oscar-winning actress; Chlöe and Timbaland have dropped another song from their upcoming collaboration with "World on Fire"; the British nu-disco band, Jungle has just released their fifth studio album, "Sunshine" and a single, "Come Back To Me"; Luca is an emerging artist bringing a vintage soul vibe into his music and the latest single from the Harlem-born, twenty-three year old performer is "Sympathy", Rising British artist, Charlie Jeer has teamed with fellow Brit singer/songwriter, Cat Burns for a guitar-driven song, "Small Talk" and Victoria Monet has revealed another song from her upcoming album, "Juicy"

And I will close by paying tribute to Cassandra Wilson, the distinctive jazz vocalist who transcended the sound by blending blues, country, and folk music into her work, has sadly passed away on September 1st at the age of seventy. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, she began her musical journey studying classical music and learning to play the piano, clarinet and guitar as a child. While attending college, Wilson would spent her nights performing with R&B, funk, and pop cover bands. Wilson moved to New Orleans after graduating and emersed herself in the jazz scene there before moving to New York in 1982. This was when Wilson would truly begin to develop her style as a singer by becoming one of the founding members of the M-Base collective where they expressed a new way of creating jazz music. In 1986, Wilson recorded her debut album, "Point of View" which included a few original songs she wrote or co-wrote. But is was her third album of standards, "Blue Skies" that helped gained Wilson some notice and helped her get signed to Blue Note Records in 1993. Her debut on the label, "Blue Light 'til Dawn" was Wilson's true breakthrough, a collection of originals and intriguing covers that included the Monkees, Joni Mitchell and Hank Williams, that gave her critical and commercial acclaim. Her follow-up, "New Moon Daughter" in 1995 would reach number one on Billboard Jazz Album chart and win her the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. Wilson would release "Traveling Miles" in 1999, a well-received tribute album to Miles Davis, who was one of her greatest influences, with music inspired by his artistry.

BASS PERSUADES

Miley Cyrus has recently announced that she's dropping "Cyrus" from her professional name, moved to a new record label, Atlantic and that she's releasing her tenth studio album, "Bass Persuades". She reveals that the new record reflects a "love story with multiple layers, including a romantic thread running throughout it".

Frustrated with lengthy album rollouts, Miley will release "Bass Persuades" on September 18th, a mere fifteen days after the title track was released as the first single. The song is classic dance-pop that calls for people to put down their phones, reconnect to an analog world and get back to dancing together. The music video for the track, directed by Mert Alas, features Miley in full pop diva mode with her leading a group of sexy, shirtless men through some high-energy dance moves. She will also promote the album with a two-night engagement at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on October 16th and 18th.

DOLLY PARTON (1946 - 2026)

It is still shocking to believe the passing of Dolly Parton, who worked hard to become a major player in country music before being able to transcend herself into a global superstar, finding success and popularity in all areas of entertainment. She had been going through some undisclosed health issues earlier in the year and it was revealed that Parton died after a brief battle with cancer on August 25th at the age eighty. 

While she was clearly a gifted performer, Parton also was a talented songwriter (who is said to have written over three thousand songs over her career), an savvy entrepreneur and a person of deep faith which helped guide her through an amazing life with an open heart and positive spirit. And Parton certainly stood out with her distinctive look (inspired by the style of the local town tramp she admired when she was a child) of big blonde hair, form fitting clothes that accentuated her curvy figure, sky-high shoes (she was only five foot tall) and plenty of sequins.

Born in the Great Smokey Mountains in Tennessee, Parton was one of twelve children living in a one room cabin on a tobacco farm. The family struggled financially but music played an important part in their lives. Parton began writing and singing music as a young child and would perform on local television and radio programs. By thirteen, she recorded her first single, "Puppy Love" in 1959. While this song wasn't much of a hit but it still gave her confidence to try a move to Nashville. In 1967, Parton recorded her debut album, "Hello, I'm Dolly" that would move it's way to number one on the country chart. She caught the attention of country superstar, Porter Wagoner and Parton would be asked to join his band and eventually be his co-host on his weekly television show. Wagoner and Parton became a popular musical duo and recorded twelve highly successful albums.

During this time, Parton began to release solo recordings with her biggest hit was "Jolene" which topped the country chart in 1974 and even made it on to the pop chart. And it around this time that Parton was ready to make a move away from Wagoner to pursue a career path on her own. Wanting to express her feelings about her musical partner, she wrote "I Will Always Love You" which went to number one on the country chart. Elvis Presley loved the song and wanted to record a version but his manager, Colonel Tom Parker informed Parton she would have to give him half of the publishing rights if Presley did. Parton had to sadly refuse which became a very wise business decision years later when Whitney Houston recorded a reimagined soulful pop version for her 1992 acting debut, "The Bodyguard" with the single selling well over twenty-four million copies.

Parton loved her success in country music but was curious about expanding her audience, deciding to work with a new manager, Sandy Gallin (who she met through Mac Davis and stayed with him for twenty-five years) to help her crossover to pop music. Her breakthrough came in 1977 with the title track from her nineteenth studio album, "Here You Come Again" where it reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number one on the country chart. This was impressive feat for Parton as she managed to achieve this success without drastically changing her sound or alienating her country fans. More hits came on the country and pop charts with her profile heightened even further by appearing on numerous variety shows including her own, "Dolly!" which ran for one season in 1976.

Parton was lured to the movies and made her acting debut in the work-place comedy, "9 to 5", co-starring with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. The film was a huge hit and Parton's theme song she wrote became her first to top the pop chart and to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. She went on to make more feature films that includes an adaptation of the Broadway musical, "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" with Burt Reynolds, "Rhinestone", a 1984 comedy with Sylvester Stallone and "Steel Magnolias", a beloved all-star dramatic-comedy.

Parton invested in various charities, medical research and philanthropic projects that includes Dollywood, a theme park that was opened in 1986 located in Pigeon Forge, TN that provided jobs for the people in the community and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, founded in honor of her father who never learned to read or write, which mails one book per month to an enrolled child from the time of their birth until they enter kindergarten.

As one of the most accomplished and highly honored performers in country music with total sales of well over one hundred million records sold, Parton was able to help expand this distinctly American sound to attract a wide international audience. She was a charismatic entertainer, one who had a singular talent and extraordinary gift to be able to achieve this kind of rare universal appeal.

SHE'S THE BEST

Troye Sivan has just dropped the title track from his upcoming fourth studio album, "She's The Best". The Aussie pop star explains that this record was the first time where he didn't focus on himself or about men when writing his music instead deciding to explore the positive aspect in his life which are women and feminine energy. The song is also a departure for Sivan musically as it's more trip-hop influenced and features the singer delivering spoken-word vocals. And the music video for "She's The Best" is filled with various visions of divine womanhood with the highlights being appearances by drag superstar, Sasha Colby and the one and only Nicole Kidman, looking spectacular serving her usual, effortless sultry glam.

NEW SOUNDS

After her massive global breakthrough, "Call Me Maybe" back in 2012, Carly Rae Jepsen has not hit with another major chart topper to date. But that certainly doesn't mean she hasn't released some impressive music since then with seven critically acclaimed studio albums from Jepsen that her hardcore fans have thoroughly embraced. Now the forty-year-old Canadian artist is about to drop her latest, "Day and Night", a twenty-four-track concept album. Separated by two discs, "Day" features live instrumentation and elements of retro psychedelic pop while "Night" will be driven by an intense, dance-pop synth sound. The latest song released, "Don't Leave Me on the Dance Floor" is a 70's disco styled tune inspired by ABBA. The music video is directed by the lauded playwright, Jeremy O. Harris and features actor Alden Ehrenreich.







Ravyn Lenae, who made a splash with her international hit, "Love Me Not" two years ago, has returned with a new album, "Blue Island". This collection pushes back against genre tropes and boundaries to create a bold musical statement that merges R&B and pop in her own distinctive style.





FLO seem to be single-handedly bringing back the vibe of hip-hop/soul girl groups from the '90's and it's very welcome. This British trio, made up of Renée Downer, Stella Quaresma and Jorja Douglas, found great success with their debut album, "Access All Areas" in their native country two years ago but made less of a dent here. FLO have recently released their sophomore album, "Therapy at the Club". They have returned with a more mature sound that feels ready to make a big impression in this country with the help of their latest single, "Cry Ugly".



Rebecca Black received plenty of attention with the release of her song, "Friday" back in 2011 yet not all of it was good. At the time, the ambitious thirteen-year-old Black had her family pay to produce the song and music video. And while it did end up making the Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold decently, "Friday" would end up receiving many negative comments and being derided as "one of the worst songs ever". Undeterred, Black continued on with her pop music career, releasing two studio albums and a couple of EPs since then. Now, the twenty-nine-year-old singer has her third album, "Age of the Exhibitionist" due out in September. Black has certainly developed as an artist and the singles, "Michael" and "Speakerphone" are quite intriguing dance-pop tracks.





And we have the release of the long-rumored duet that teams up the phenomenal pop music goddesses, Madonna and Kylie Minogue. It is a remix of "Love Sensation" from Madonna's latest album, "Confessions II" and while this version is not drastically different from the original track, it's still quite exciting the idea of these two legends together on one song.

GLEN HANSARD (1970 - 2026)

Glen Hansard, the Oscar-winning Irish musician who is best recognized for his acting role in the musical-drama, "Once", has tragically passed away at the age of fifty-six. He was involved in a motorcycle crash at the Strawberry Beds on the outskirts of Dublin on July 29th.

Born and raised in Ballymun in northern Dublin, Hansard acquired a guitar from an uncle as a teenager and taught himself how to play. After dropping out of school at thirteen, he initially made money busking on the streets. In 1990, Hansard formed a rock band, The Frames who made a name in the Dublin music scene. This led to Hansard being cast in Alan Parker's musical-comedy, "The Commitments" about a group of working-class youths who form a soul band set in Northern Dublin. The film went on to have critical and box-office success internationally.

Hansard decided to expand himself creatively in 2006 by joining a folk band, The Swell Season which included Czech multi-instrumentalist, Markéta Irglová. This would lead to Hansard, along with Irglová (who fell in love following the shooting), to co-star in John Carney's romantic musical, "Once" that told the story of two struggling musicians in Dublin. With original songs provided by the Swell Season, this low-budget film went on to receive great acclaim, appearing on several critics' top ten lists as one of the best films of the year and Hansard and Irglová went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song with "Falling Slowly". The couple would end their romantic relationship two years later but continued to perform together, recording two more albums which included "Forward" that was released last year.

Hansard would also go on record five solo albums during his career with his final release, "All That Was East Is West of Me Now" in 2023. He is survived by his wife, Finnish poet, Maire Saaritsa, who he married in 2022 and gave birth to their first child earlier that year.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Victoria Monét has just dropped a new song from her long awaited second studio album, "Frequency of Love" which should be available in October. The single, "Reach Out" from the Grammy award winning songwriter and performer with production by Kaytranada and D’Mile is another sensual r&b jam that looks at a woman tired of waiting for a lover to contact her and deciding to move on. The visuals for this song, filmed in sepia with direction by Dave Meyers and dynamic choreography from Sean Bankhead, is sultry and stylish, filled with impressively imaginative dance moves.



Some new songs I'm enjoying at the moment includes the latest music from Kelly Clarkson, the very first "American Idol" winner who is in the middle of the final season of her popular talk show, with "I'd Be Lyin'" that feels very much like the classic sound from the early days of her pop career; the alt-hip-hop artist, Syd has delivered her third studio album, "Beard" and a highlight is the song, "Callin'" that features Blu June; Orville Peck has returned to music after a brief stint on Broadway with "Too Little, Too Late" that has a more rockabilly vibe and the newest single from his upcoming fourth album, "Mule" due out in September; "Mexico Honey", the latest single from Kacey Musgraves' album, "Middle of Nowhere", is a bit of a departure from the country artist as the ballad features Latin pop and hip-hop sounds; the new single from the progressive soul performer, Steve Lacy, "Doom" is an adventurous alt-rock song with an equally potent music video; and Cardi B has dropped a surprise single, "Ah Ha" that shows she still ain't worried about her haters.

And this year marks the thirtieth anniversary since the release of Mariah Carey's fifth studio album, "Daydream".  There is a new collection, which is officially titled, "Daydream: 30th Anniversary Edition", that will include the original album plus unreleased bonus tracks, rare demos, live performances and remixes. When the record was released, "Daydream" marked a creative shift for Carey as she blended R&B, hip-hop and pop sounds smoothly together for the first time. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and featured the hit singles, "Fantasy", "Always Be My Baby" and "One Sweet Day", Carey’s duet with Boyz II Men that was on top of the US pop chart for sixteen consecutive weeks. "Daydream" is also one of the best-selling albums of all time, with over twenty million copies sold worldwide.

And Kavinsky, the influential French DJ and producer, has passed away on July 28th at the age of fifty. The cause of death is not known at this time. Born Vincent Pierre Claude Belorgey, he had spent his early years as an actor before deciding to turn to music. "Kavinsky" was a stage persona he had created, a red-eyed, blue-skinned zombie who created electronic music. Belorgey had appeared as an actor in Quentin Dupieux's 2007 feature film, "Steak" and contributed music as Kavinsky for the first time. He went on to release three EPs which included "Nightcall" with the title track used during the opening credits of the 2011 film, "Drive", directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. Kavinsky would only release two studio albums during his career, "OutRun" in 2013 and "Reborn" in 2022.

THE WOMACK SISTERS

The Womack Sisters, the musical group comprised of siblings, BG, Zeimani, and Kucha, are bringing back the sounds of classic soul in their own special way. These ladies have an impressive legacy as they are daughters of Cecil and Linda Womack who were part of the act, Womack & Womack, who were successful singer-songwriters and producers. Their uncle, was the iconic R&B singer, Bobby Womack and their grandfather was the soul and gospel legend, Sam Cooke on their mother's side. With all this talent in their bloodline, it's not much of a surprise that these sisters have the stuff to make some memorable music.

In 2022, the Womack Sisters released a six track EP, the aptly titled, "Legacy" which included their version of Cooke's anthem, "A Change is Gonna Come". Now the trio has signed with the renowned soul preservation label, Daptone Records for their self-titled, debut album due out in August. With Gabriel Roth, the musician and songwriter behind the vintage soul group, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings on production, the sisters utilize their smooth harmonies with a retro girl group sound on the singles, "If I Let You" and "Chauffeur".

Be sure to catch The Womack Sisters on the road beginning next month on The Constellation Tour with Thee Sacred Souls and LA LOM as well as opening for Al Green at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on August 14th.

BONNIE TYLER (1951 - 2026)

Bonnie Tyler, the raspy voiced pop vocalist who is best known for the smash hit song, "Total Eclipse of the Heart", has passed away at the age of seventy-five. In May, the Welsh performer had been hospitalized for an emergency intestinal surgery but would be placed in a medically-induced coma due to complications. After a month, Tyler woke up from her coma but remained in critical condition.

Born Gaynor Hopkins in Skewen, Neath, Wales, she was exposed to wide variety of singers and musical genres as a child and was later inspired to pursue a career in music as a teen. After placing runner up in a talent competition, Hopkins would perform back-up vocals for local bands and form her own group. During this time, she changed her professional name to "Sherene Davis" to avoid confusion with Welsh folk singer, Mary Hopkin. She soon attracted attention from talent scouts and was signed to RCA Records in 1975. Not thrilled with her stage name, they suggested various names until she decided on "Bonnie Tyler".

Following a couple of promotional singles (including "Lost in France" which reached the top ten in Britain), Tyler's debut album, "The World Starts Tonight" was released in 1977 and found modest success in Europe. But shortly after recording the album, Tyler had surgery to remove nodules from her vocal cords with the operation permanently leaving her with a slight rasp to her voice.

Tyler's next album, released the following year, "Natural Force" would be her breakthrough with the single, "It's a Heartache" becoming an international hit, reaching number three in the US, number four in the UK and selling over six million copies. With her distinctive voice, she was referred to as a "female Rod Stewart". Tyler would continue recording but her subsequent albums did not enjoy the same amount of success.

After her contract with RCA had expired, Tyler signed with Columbia Records in 1982. In search of a producer for her first album on the label, she approached Jim Steinman, a producer and songwriter best known for Meat Loaf's iconic 1977 album, "Bat Out of Hell". The first single, "Total Eclipse of the Heart", released in 1983 from her fifth album, "Faster Than the Speed of Night", was a emotional power ballad that was a perfect showcase for Tyler's dramatic voice. The song became a monster smash, reaching the top ten across the globe, selling well over six million copies and earning Tyler a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. She would have another hit the following year with "Holding Out for a Hero" from the "Footloose" movie soundtrack.

Tyler went on to record eighteen studio albums throughout her career with her last album, "The Best Is Yet to Come" was released in 2021. She was still performing and had been planning to hit the road later in the year for a tour through Europe before her hospitalization. She had been married to Robert Sullivan, a property developer and a British judo competitor in the 1972 Olympics, since 1973.

VICTOR WILLIS (1951 - 2026)

Victor Willis, the lead vocalist and founding member of the queer-coded, disco act, Village People, has died on June 30th. He had struggled with drug addiction for many years after leaving the group and would have several run-ins with the law. He would undergo treatment in 2006 after an arrest and had remained sober since then. No details of his cause of death have been revealed. He was seventy-four, passing away one day before his birthday on July 1st.

Born in Dallas but raised in San Francisco, Willis was brought up in the church as his father was Baptist minister. He began singing gospel music before moving on to soul and jazz as he got older. Willis would get into theater and moved to New York where he landed roles on Broadway.

While in New York, Willis met French producers, Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo who were interested in him performing vocals on a disco record project they were working on called "Village People". The self-titled debut album was released in 1977 and the single, "San Francisco (You've Got Me)" became a popular hit internationally. This lead to listeners wanting to see this band perform live but there was not an actual "Village People" at this point. So the producers and Willis quickly assembled a group that featured Alex Briley, Felipe Rose and three other performers. Morali and Belolo got the inspiration for creating an image for the band based on male archetypes of the gay men living in New York City's Greenwich Village. With Willis as the lead voice of the band dressed as a cop (later a Naval Officer), Briley as a soldier and Rose as a Native American, they added permanent singers, Glenn Hughes (leatherman), Randy Jones (cowboy) and David Hodo (construction worker) to record their next album.

The follow-up album, "Macho Man" became an even bigger hit in 1978 with the title track crossing over from the dance floor to the mainstream, reaching number twenty-five on the US Billboard pop chart and another single, "Key West"  reaching the top five on the dance chart. Later in the same year, Village People released their third album, "Cruisin'" which featured the group's biggest hit, "Y.M.C.A." which reached number two on the pop chart and has gone on to become a popular anthem at parties and sporting events. Another album, "Go West" (with this title song later covered by Pet Shop Boys in 1993) was released the following year with the single, "In The Navy" becoming another top-five smash hit.

After deciding to leave Village People in 1979 (right before the filming of the disastrous musical, "Can't Stop The Music"), Willis tried to distance himself from the group, refusing to perform the songs for many years. In May 2012, Willis would win a landmark ruling in the first case heard regarding the Copyright Act of 1976, which allows recording artists and writers to reclaim their master recordings and publishing rights initially given to record and publishing companies after thirty-five years, recapturing the copyrights of many of the popular songs he co-wrote for Village People. He would release "Solo Man" in 2015, a solo album he recorded back in 1979. Willis would return to performing with Village People in 2018 with a new line-up and recorded their first studio album in thirty-three years, "A Village People Christmas". 

Willis is survived by his wife, Karen Huff-Willis, a lawyer and entertainment executive, with the couple being married since 2007. He was previously married to the actress, Phylicia Ayers-Allen who he met during the Broadway run of "The Wiz" in 1978. The couple separated in 1982 and she would go on to marry the former NFL player and sportscaster, Ahmad Rashad three years later.

EARTH WIND AND FIRE

For his third non-fiction feature film, following his docs on the 1969 Harlem Cultural Music Festival and Sly Stone, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson delivers "Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs That's the Weight of the World)" (streaming now on HBO Max) which examines the extraordinary career and enduring legacy of this legendary r&b band who went on to sell well over ninety million records throughout their career. While Earth Wind & Fire was made up of an unusually large number of members, the driving, creative force and spiritual leader of the group was really only one person: Maurice White.

Born in Memphis, TN, White endured emotional hardship as a small child when his mother moved to Chicago for a better opportunity following the passing of his father, leaving him behind to be raised by his grandmother. His mother would remarry and start another family and he wouldn't live with her until he was a teenager. This would leave White with a deep feeling of abandonment, some resentment and trust issues, affecting his personal and professional relationships later in his life.

One thing that helped him get through his childhood trauma was music and he gravitated towards playing the drums. First starting out playing professionally with the jazz/soul band, the Pharaohs, White would join them as session players for Chess Records, backing many of the popular acts on the Chicago soul label. By 1966, White left this band and the label to join the Ramsey Lewis Trio to replace the drummer. During his time with this jazz group, they achieved great commercial success and awards while White was encouraged by Lewis to develop his stage presence. This was also when White first encountered the African thumb piano, kalimba and used it for a recording with the Ramsey Lewis Trio.

But White once again became restless, wanting to have more control over his music, and formed another group, The Salty Peppers with friends, Wade Flemons and Don Whitehead. They had some minor success in Chicago but soon decided to take their chances by heading to the west coast. Once there, White soon became intrigued by studying philosophies, metaphysics, mysticism and astrology with these concepts beginning to heavily influence his life and approach to creating music. Using his astrological sign, Sagittarius which has primary elemental qualities of fire and earth and air, White came up with the name of "Earth, Wind & Fire" and guided his band towards universal, genre-defying music that would inspire all listeners.

Briskly paced and visually electrifying, Thompson utilizes video footage, animated sequences and plenty of famous talking heads to reveal the importance and legacy of this group. We have founding members (who still perform with the band), Phillip Bailey, Ralph Johnson and White's brother, Verdine who share their experiences working with the mercurial White (who died in 2016 at the age of seventy-four) which managed to be both gratifying and complicated. Stevie Wonder, Lionel Ritchie, H.E.R., Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and even the Obamas all express on camera the importance and emotional impact that the music by Earth Wind & Fire had left on each of them.

"Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs That's the Weight of the World)" is the perfect tribute to this pioneering band, offering objective insight and historical information that reveals how they expanded and innovated their sound to attract a global audience, blazing a powerful trail for other artists to follow.

NEW SOUNDS

Katy Perry has dropped some new music with "Watch It Burn", a hard-driving pop-rock song that recaptures the singer's classic sound. This track details about finally releasing some long, bottled-up anger in order to reclaim personal power after years of holding it back. The music video for the song is a cinematic, high production clip where Perry goes through several dramatic, physical transformations:



Chlöe Bailey and legendary producer, Timbaland have teamed up for a joint mixtape called "Resurrection". This inspired pairing combines Bailey's incredible vocals with Timba's bounce beats and smooth production, creating a classic '90's vibe with a contemporary feel. A highlight from the album is the track, "Better Than She Can":



Sam Smith has new music on the way with his fifth studio album, "Hazel Eyes" due out in August. The record is deeply personal for the singer and very romantic in spirit with the first single, "My Guy", a love ballad which Smith no longer being coy about who he is singing about:



Muni Long has been away for a while but she recently revealed that she had a serious health issue last year, having to undergo a double lung transplant after being told she only had about a week to live due to complications with pneumonia. Thankfully, she has recovered with the singer/songwriter returning to music with a ballad, "Richest" which is about the true wealth in life is being in love:



"Baby, Can We?" is the latest single from Dawn Richard and it's a duet with fellow alt-soul artist, Durand Bernarr. Coasting along lyrics from Aretha Franklin‘s 1972 classic hit, "Day Dreaming", the former Danity Kane member captures the desire to flee from daily life with a potential lover on this track:



"She’s My Religion" is the latest single from Willow's upcoming eighth studio album, "The Thread" due out in July. This provocative song is about using love, spiritual growth, and a feminine spirit as a guide, rather than a formal, traditional religion:



And Jennifer Lopez teams up with the Brazilian musician and DJ, Alok for "Everything's Fine". There are two versions of this song with each offering a different perspective on the same emotional story. Exploring the stories people tell themselves in order to convince themselves to keep moving forward, one take is more intimate and beat driven called "AM" while the other is a clearly dance floor-oriented "PM" version.