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:
Steve Perry was the dynamic voice behind the popular 70's rock group, Journey who had such memorable hits like "Open Arms", "Who's Cryin' Now", "Any Way You Want It" and one of their most famous, "Don't Stop Believin'". But by 1998, Perry, who had suffered a hip injury and burned out by the pressures of fame, decided to walk away from the band and music. Now after almost twenty-five years, Perry will be releasing his third solo album, "Traces" which is due out in October. He actually began work on this project back in 2015 and has co-written all of the songs. With two singles released, "No Erasin'" and "No More Cryin'", the sixty-nine year old singer's voice may no longer have the power of his younger days but the passion and deep emotion is still there.
And here is a bonus of two of my favorite songs that features the incredible voice of Steve Perry:
Here are a couple of recent songs I'm digging right now:
Two more great performers from the past have released new material. Janet Jackson dropped a surprise song, "Made For Now" that has a lively Afrocentric beat. It was inspired by her desire to put out a much needed dance tune about love and positivity and features reggaeton performer, Daddy Yankee to deliver a Latin flavor.
British blue-eyed soul singer, Lisa Stansfield is also back with new music. Her eighth studio album, "Deeper" was already released in Europe earlier this year and the fifty-two year old vocalist went on a successful tour to support the record. I'm excited to learn that Stansfield plans on hitting the road for a North American leg of her tour which should begin next month. The second single, "Never Ever" is a shimmering slice of disco heaven that is highlighted by Stansfield's sensuous voice.
And we finally have a proper tribute to Aretha Franklin which was performed during the recent BET Black Girls Rock telecast. Ledisi, Jazmine Sullivan, Cynthia Ervio, Stephanie Mills,Yolanda Adams and Fantasia are the powerhouse talent that showed respect to the Queen:
Judy Garland's classic ballad from "The Wizard of Oz", Barbra Streisand's classic ballad from "Funny Girl", the original version of "Hound Dog", a collection of the greatest hits by the Eagles and the debut album from N.W.A. are just some of the recordings that have just been inducted in to the National Recording Registry.
Since 2002, the Library of Congress have selected sound recordings that are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important that informs or reflect life in the United States. The twenty-five selected this year feature a wide range of music, commentaries, radio programs, comedy albums and speeches. To date, there have been 475 recordings placed in the National Recording Registry.
Here is the complete list of the twenty-five recordings being inducted in the 2017 National Recording Registry:
The London cylinder recordings of Col. George Gouraud (1888)
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” (singles) - Manhattan Harmony Four (1923) and Melba Moore & Friends (1990)
“Puttin’ on the Ritz” (single) - Harry Richman (1929)
“Over the Rainbow” (single) - Judy Garland (1939)
“I’ll Fly Away” (single) - The Chuck Wagon Gang (1948)
“Hound Dog” (single) - Big Mama Thornton (1953)
“Saxophone Colossus” - Sonny Rollins (1956)
"The Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds", announced by Vin Scully (September 8, 1957)
“Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs” - Marty Robbins (1959)
“The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery” - Wes Montgomery (1960)
“People” (single) - Barbra Streisand (1964)
“In the Midnight Hour” (single) - Wilson Pickett (1965)
“Amazing Grace” (single) - Judy Collins (1970)
“American Pie” (single) - Don McLean (1971)
“All Things Considered” - first broadcast (May 3, 1971)
“The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” - David Bowie (1972)
Hailee Steinfeld first came on the radar as an actress with her moving performance in the Coen brothers remake of "True Grit" that earned the then thirteen year old an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 2010. She introduced her singing voice this summer in the hit sequel to "Pitch Perfect" which lead to Steinfeld signing a record deal with Republic Records. Her debut single, "Love Myself" is now out and it's pop perfection.
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the release of "Jagged Little Pill", Alanis Morissette's emotionally raw, alt-rock album that connected with millions of listeners. She first found fame as a teen dance-pop singer in her native Canada with her self-titled debut album before being dropped by her label after a disastrous second. At a crossroads, Morissette picked up and moved to Toronto to start over. A chance introduction to songwriter/producer, Glen Ballard lead to them working together and shifting her musical direction. Only one label, Madonna's Maverick Records, was interested in releasing the edgy finished product and the rest is history. "Pill" won four Grammy Awards including Album of The Year and has sold thirty-three million copies worldwide to date. These are my favorite tracks off the album:
After finding great success with their live televised musical productions of "The Sound of Music" and "Peter Pan", NBC is preparing their latest (and one that I'm really looking forward to), "The Wiz". An interesting cast has been assembled with David Alan Grier as the Cowardly Lion, Ne-Yo as the Tin Man, Elijah Kelley (who was in the musical film version of "Hairspray") is the Scarecrow, Mary J. Blige plays Evillene, the Wicked Witch and Queen Latifah is The Wiz. And as for this show's Dorothy? A nationwide, open casting-call lead Shanice Williams, an eighteen-year old theater performer from New Jersey, to make her television debut. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who produced the previous live telecasts, return to executive produce and it's set to air on December 3rd. In honor of the upcoming show, listen to Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, from the 1978 movie version, performing the classic, "Ease On Down The Road":
I was hoping Miss Ross might have made an appearance here, maybe as Glinda, the Good Witch? I am thrilled that Stephanie Mills, who played Dorothy in the original Broadway show back in 1974, will appear as Aunt Em. Enjoy this music video of Mills performing "Home", the moving, closing number from the musical she re-recorded in 1989:
2015 is off to a great start with some exciting new music hitting the airwaves.
Paul McCartney has certainly been busy. First, the former Beatle plays piano on Kanye West's surprise single, "Only One", a touching ballad about his late mother and new-born daughter. Now, both Sir Paul and Mr. West appear on the just-dropped new song from Rihanna. "FourFiveSeconds" displays an unexpected acoustic sound from the pop superstar. I'm not sure how her fans will respond but I think it's a great creative move:
"Only One" - Kanye West featuring Paul McCartney (2015)
"FourFiveSeconds" - Rihanna featuring Kanye West & Paul McCartney (2015)
Thanks to Daft Punk's tribute to him on their Grammy-winning album, "Random Access Memories", the legendary producer, Giorgio Moroder has decided to stage a comeback. At the age of seventy-four, the man responsible for helping usher in the era of disco music has assembled some of today's hottest vocalists including Britney Spears, Sia, Mikky Ekko and Charli XCX for his first new album of dance music in thirty years. Listen to the sizzling single from the upcoming, "74 Is The New 24", "Right Here, Right Now" which features Kylie Minogue:
Here is the video for the title track from Giorgio's new album:
D'Angelo quietly released his third studio album, "Black Messiah" after a fourteen year absence from the music scene last December. It has received a lot of love from critics and fans alike. The reclusive singer plans to embark on short European tour beginning in February with his band, The Vanguard. Listen to "Sugah Daddy", the track that was given away as a free download a few days before the album's release:
"Sugah Daddy" - D'Angelo (2014)
I'd been wondering what had happened to Stephanie Mills? The theater veteran and popular recording artist hadn't been heard from in quite a while but made a very welcome return at last year's BET Awards performing a stirring rendition of her hit, "Home" that she first sang when she starred as Dorothy on Broadway in "The Wiz" many years ago. She's one of my all-time favorite singers. Enjoy a few of her lesser known songs that I love:
"You Can Get Over" - Stephanie Mills (1979)
"Try My Love" - Stephanie Mills (1980)
"Keep Away Girls" - Stephanie Mills (1982)
Finally, here's a new music video I love from Danish electronic band, Kadie Elder:
Daryl Hall was born in 1946 in Pottstown, PA. John Oates was born in New York City in 1949 and raised in Philadelphia.
In 1966, while in high school, Oates performed on his first single, "I Need Your Love" with the group, The Masters. After he graduated school the following year, he went to Temple University where he met fellow musician, Daryl Hall who was a senior at the time. Hall was majoring in music and he worked with legendary r&b songwriters and producers, Kenny Gable and Leon Huff as a session musician.
Hall dropped out of school in 1968 and a year later deceided to pursue music full time. Hall & Oates decided to join together and become a duo in 1970. They got a recording contract with Atlantic Records two years later. Hall & Oates released three albums on the label but none of them were commercially successful as they were still developing their sound. There was one song off of their 1973 album, "Abandoned Luncheonette" that wasn't a hit for them initially (it only reached number sixty on the charts), but it became successful for other singers. "She's Gone" was recorded by several artists including r&b singer, Lou Rawls but became a number one hit on the soul chart for Tavares in 1974. After their third album, "War Babies', Hall & Oates decided to leave Atlantic and join RCA Records in 1975.
Their debut on their new label simply titled, "Daryl Hall and John Oates" came out that year and the most controversial issue, certainly in their entire career, was the cover of this album. It featured the men heavily made-up, looking like glam rockers and (most especially Hall) very androgynous which is the complete opposite of their actual image and sound. Despite this distraction, the second single released, "Sara Smile" became their first top-ten hit. The song, written about Hall's then-girlfriend Sara Allen who would later co-write many of the duo's songs with him, peaked at number four on the pop chart.
After the success of "Sara Smile", Atlantic Records decided to re-release the duo's original version of "She's Gone" in 1976 and the song went to number seven on the pop chart.
Hall & Oates released their next album, "Bigger Than Both Of Us" in 1977 and that featured "Rich Girl" which became their first number one song.
After riding high on these hits, Hall & Oates later had difficulty getting radio play with their follow-up albums. They experimented with a more rock sound and when disco ruled the airwaves, Hall & Oates released, "X-Static" in 1979 that blended dance and rock but it also failed to connect with audiences. After this, Hall & Oates decided to take control of their career by producing their music themselves and recording their albums with their touring band instead of using session musicians.
In 1980, Hall & Oates released their ninth album, "Voices" and things started to slowly change for the duo. The first single, "How Does It Feel To Be Back" was their first to crack the top-forty in years, then the next single, which was a remake of The Righteous Brothers' 1964 hit, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling", managed to make it to number twelve on the pop charts. The following song, "Kiss On My List" would place Hall & Oates back on the top of the charts with another single, "You Make My Dreams" hitting number five. In addition, the song "Every time You Go Away", which is on the "Voices" album but not released as a single, would be remade by British singer, Paul Young in 1985 and would become a number one smash.
Hall & Oates became one of the top acts of the eighties and they had a long string of hit songs throughout the decade including "Private Eyes", "Maneater", "One On One", "Say It Isn't So" and "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)", a song that went to number one on the pop and r&b charts which was the rare time that a white act managed to achieve that feat on both charts. They also performed at the original Live Aid concert as well as on the "We Are The World" charity single in 1985.
In 1987, Hall & Oates decided to sign a lucrative new record deal with Arista Records and they released two albums; "Ooh Yeah" in 1988 and "Change Of Season" in 1990. While these albums went platinum and gold respectively but the singles didn't do nearly as well as their past works and the sales were considered disappointing. The duo didn't release another album until 1997 with "Marigold Sky" on their own indie label, Push Records.
Each artist has recorded solo albums over the years with Daryl Hall releasing his fifth, "Laughing Down Crying" and John Oates released his third, "Mississippi Mile" both earlier this year but the duo still finds plenty of opportunities today to perform together with concert tours and television appearances.
Hall & Oates is considered one of the most successful duos in musical history with a total of eight number one singles, over twenty top forty songs and has sold a total of over sixty million records during their career.
Daryl Hall was involved with Sara Allen for about thirty years before ending their relationship in 2001. They never married and have no children. Hall has a son, Darren from a previous marriage to Bryna Lubin. He is currently married to Amanda Aspinall.
John Oates is married to his wife, Aimee and they have a son, Tanner.
This is the song that introduced this duo to the world:
"Sara Smile" - Hall & Oates (1976)
Here is the music video of Paul Young's hit covering Hall & Oates:
"DREAMBOAT ANNIE" - HEART (1976)
The Wilson sisters were born in California; Ann in San Diego in 1950 and Nancy in San Francisco in 1954. Their father was in the Marines which had him traveling between California and Taiwan before retiring and settling the family in Bellevue, Washington. Music played an important part of their family as their mother was a concert pianist and their father sang in a choir during his time in the military.
While their parents exposed Ann and Nancy to a wide variety of music, but it was seeing The Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show" that cemented the idea of them becoming rock musicians. Neither of them ever had any formal music lessons but were committed to learning how to play guitar. Ann and Nancy started writing their own songs as well and they performed rock and folk music in a few bands in high school.
In 1972, Ann joined a local band, Hocus Pocus that featured Roger Fisher on guitar, Steve Fossen on bass, David Belzer on keyboards and Jeff Johnson on drums. Ann met Roger's brother, Mike who had avoided the draft by moving to Canada, while he was visiting his family. They started dating, fell in love and Ann moved to Canada to be with him. Roger Fisher and Steve Fossen followed in 1973 and formed a new band with Ann called Heart. Nancy came to Canada the following year and joined the band along with John Hannah on keyboards and Brian Johnstone on drums.
Heart performed many one-night shows throughout Canada before settling in Vancouver. The group recorded some demos with producer, Mike Flicker and session player, Howard Leese who joined the band after Hannah and Johnstone left the band. Heart signed a two-album deal with Mushroom Records and released their debut album, "Dreamboat Annie" in 1976. "Crazy On You" became Heart's first hit song, although it only reached number thirty-five on the U.S. pop charts but it did much better internationally. With two other singles, "Magic Man" (which became their first U.S top ten song) and the title track both doing well which helped their first album sell over a million copies.
Unhappy with how the label promoted the band and their unwillingness to raise their royalty rate, Heart broke their contract with Mushroom Records and signed with Portrait Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records. This resulted in a lengthy legal battle with Mushroom with the label releasing a new Heart album called, "Magazine" in 1977 shortly before the release of Heart's Portrait label debut, "Little Queen". "Magazine" consisted of uncompleted songs that Heart had begun recording before deciding to leave the label.
A court ordered a compromise which had Mushroom Records pull "Magazine" to allow Heart the opportunity to remix and re-record several tracks before re-releasing the album but Heart had actually wanted the album pulled completely. "Magazine" was re-released in 1978 with both albums selling over a million copies each and both had top-forty hit songs; "Barracuda" ("Little Queen") and "Heartless" ("Magazine").
Heart enjoyed plenty of successful albums and singles including "Straight On", "Even It Up", and "Dog & Butterfly" throughout the rest of the seventies. By the early eighties, Heart's next few releases failed to have much chart success although Ann had a top-ten hit as a solo artist with a duet with Mike Reno of the band, Loverboy with the song, "Almost Paradise" from the soundtrack for the film, "Footloose" in 1984.
Heart signed with a new label, Capitol Records in 1985 and released their eighth album simply entitled, "Heart" which turned out to become their biggest in their career. There were four top-ten hits, "What About Love?", "Never", "Nothin' At All" and their first number one smash, "These Dreams". The album, which was also their first number one, went on to sell over five million copies. Heart released three more successful albums; "Bad Animals" (1987), "Brigade" (1990) and "Desire Walks On" (1993) before Nancy decided to take a break to focus on starting a family with her husband, Rolling Stone magazine writer turned filmmaker, Cameron Crowe.
In 1995, Ann assembled a new band and went on tour as either The Ann Wilson Band or Ann Wilson and The Ricola Brothers. Nancy went on to score the music for several of her husband's films including "Jerry Maguire" and "Almost Famous" as well as released a solo album, "Live At McCabe's Guitar Shop" in 1999. Ann released her first solo album, "Hope & Glory" in 2007.
The Wilson sisters reunited as Heart,with new band members, and released their first album in seven years with "Red Velvet Car" in 2010 which debuted at number ten on the U.S Billboard 200 chart. Heart has sold over thirty-five million records worldwide and they continue to tour.
Nancy married Cameron Crowe in 1986 and they have two sons, William and Curtis but the couple divorced in 2010. Ann has never been married.
This is Heart's first big single:
"Crazy On You" - Heart (1976)
Here is the music video for "Never" which I love the big hair, the eighties fashions and Nancy shaking her stuff with her guitar:
"WHAT 'CHA GONNA DO WITH MY LOVIN'" - STEPHANIE MILLS (1979)
Stephanie Dorthea Mills was born in 1957 and raised in Brooklyn, New York. The fifth of six children, Stephanie developed her singing skills at a young child while attending her Baptist church. She entered and won the Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater six times which lead to her appearing in her first Broadway play, "Maggie Flynn" at the age of nine.
Shortly after that, Stephanie signed her first recording contract with ABC Records and released her debut album, "Movin' In The Right Direction" in 1974. Although the album was not a huge success but it lead to her being asked to open for The Isley Brothers. The following year, she won the lead as Dorothy in the Broadway musical, "The Wiz", an African-American version of "The Wizard of Oz".
Jermaine Jackson, of The Jackson 5, suggested to Berry Gordy of Motown Records to sign Stephanie to the label and she recorded an album, "For The First Time" and it was released in 1976. Unfortunately, the album did not do well and she was dropped from the label.
In 1978, Stephanie signed with 20th Century Records and was teamed with producers, James Mtume and Reggie Lucas. Their collaboration produced, "What 'Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin'" in 1979. The title track was her break-out single where it reached number eight on the r&b chart and twenty-two on the pop chart and the album went gold. The follow-up album, "Sweet Sensation" was released the next year with the single, "Never Knew Love Like This Before" becoming a huge hit, peaking at number six on the pop chart and won her a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.
Stephanie left this label and after another unsuccessful album was released with Motown, she signed with Casablanca Records in 1982. She recorded three moderately successful albums on this label with her biggest hit song being, "The Medicine Song" in 1984
Stephanie signed with another new label, MCA Records in 1985 and this is where she reached her career peak. The self-titled first album on the label featured the song, "I've Learned To Respect The Power of Love" (written by r&b singer, Angela Winbush) which became her first number one on the r&b chart. In 1987, she released the album, "If I Were Your Woman" which had three top-ten r&b singles with two of them; "I Feel Good All Over" and "(You're Puttin') A Rush On Me" both topping the chart. This album also became her best-selling with sales of over a million copies. She released four more albums on the label with two more number one hit singles; "Something In The Way (You Make Me Feel)" and "Home" which was a song re-recorded from "The Wiz", both in 1989.
Stephanie is not as active as she once was but still makes occasional live appearances and she recently released a new single, "Yesterday" which is a remake of The Beatles classic with a new album to come.
Stephanie Mills has been married three times; She married Jeffrey Daniel, one of the original members of the group, Shalamar in 1980 but they divorced two years later. She married Dino Meminger shortly after that but they divorced about two years later. In 1993, she married Michael Saunders, a North Carolina radio station manager but they have since separated. Stephanie has one child, a son, Farad who has Down's Syndrome and she has not disclosed the name of his father.
This is the song that began her recording career:
"What 'Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin'" - Stephanie Mills (1979)
This is the music video for her biggest hit, "Never Knew Love Like This Before":
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