The musical sounds of FKA Twigs have always been ethereal and progressive, merging smooth r&b with hard-edged electronic beats. The British artist, born Tahliah Barnett, has been working on a follow-up to her critically acclaimed second studio album, "Magdalene" from 2019 but the pandemic and some acting (she appeared in "Honey Boy", the drama written by actor, Shia LaBeouf that was based on his life as a child actor) created some delay. But now FKA Twigs has released two new songs; "Tears in the Club", a sensuous alt-soul track that features The Weeknd and "Measure of a Man" for the soundtrack of the upcoming film, "The King’s Man" which includes a rap interlude by Central Cee. "Tears" is the first track from her upcoming EP, "Capri Sun" due out early next year. The music video for the song features surreal imagery and slick choreography by Sean Bankhead. And "Measure of a Man" moves in a different direction, delivering the dramatic flair of a James Bond theme song.
For her eighth studio album, Alicia Keys has created a concept album called "Keys". This two-disc collection features on one side, "Originals" which Keys says features her "classic side" while the other, "Unlocked" has another "sonic experience" with some of the same songs. Keys co-wrote and produced the ten originals songs, then enlisted some top writers/producers like Mike Will Made It, Sia, Raphael Saadiq and husband, Swizz Beatz along with appearances by a few musical collaborators, Khalid, Lil Wayne, Pusha T, Swae Lee and Brandi Carlile to work on the other side. There are also six additional songs found on both sides. This an ambitious and exciting work by a incredibly gifted performer. Here is a short clip that visually highlights songs from the album and the "original" single, "Best of Me" which contains a sample of "Cherish The Day" by Sade.
Words can not properly express how much I miss Whitney Houston who I think remains one of the greatest vocalists ever in pop music. With the Christmas holiday approaching, here is a rare, live rendition of Houston's version of "Do You Hear What I Here" to help put you in the proper spirit. She originally recorded this song in 1987 for the first "A Very Special Christmas", a compilation album by the hottest pop stars of the day with the proceeds to benefit the Special Olympics. Houston made an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in 1990 and performed this song.
The musical artists inducted in to this year's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame are Depeche Mode, the Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, Nine Inch Nails, Notorious B.I.G., and T. Rex. In order to be considered, at least twenty-five years must have passed since the musician’s first recordings were released in order to ensure that their contribution to music has stood the test of time. Jon Landau, a producer/manager and manager, Irving Azoff will be receiving the Hall’s Ahmet Ertegun Award, which honors industry professionals who have made a significant influence in the world of music.
The induction dinner and ceremony was going to be held live for the very first time back in May but COVID-19 put an end to that idea. So the socially-distanced event will be broadcast on HBO on November 7th.
DEPECHE MODE
There is really only one band who changed our ideas on the possibilities of electronic music while making the sound commercially viable and that is Depeche Mode. This British band began in 1977 with schoolmates, Vince Clarke and Andy Fletcher who played together in a rock band. Martin Gore later joined them in a band called Composition of Sound and they moved towards electronic music, which was beginning to emerge in 1980, and learned to play synthesizers. Clarke invited Dave Gahan to join as their lead vocalist and they changed the name of the band to Depeche Mode. Not long after the release of their debut album, "Speak & Spell" in 1981, Clarke became disillusioned with the direction of Depeche Mode and left (where he would later form the bands, Yazoo and Erasure). Alan Wilder would replace Clarke in the band and Gore would step in as the lead songwriter. He would begin to incorporate themes involving sex, religion and politics in to their music. And this would help expand their fanbase and Depeche Mode went on to sell over 100 million records across the globe. Wilder would leave the band in 1995 and Depeche Mode has remained a trio with their last album to date was "Spirit" in 2016.
THE DOOBIE BROTHERS
The Doobie Brothers are a rock band from San Jose, CA. that blended folk, country and r&b to create their unique sound. They began with Tom Johnston (on guitar and lead vocals), Patrick Simmons (on guitar), Dave Shogren (on bass) and John Hartman (on drums) in 1970 and the band's name was only supposed to be temporary until they came up with something better (which never happened). After playing all over Northern California, they were signed to Warner Bros. Records and released their self-titled debut the following year. But their breakthrough came with their next album, "Toulouse Street" which featured the hits, "Listen To The Music" and "Jesus Is Just Alright". More hits followed with "Long Train Runnin'", "China Grove", "Black Water", and a cover of "Take Me In Your Arms" until health issues forced Johnston out of the band in 1975. Michael McDonald would replace him and took the band in to a different direction with more of a soft rock and blue-eyed soul sound. This helped the Doobie Brothers find a new audience and become even more popular with the songs, "Takin' It To The Streets", "It Keeps You Runnin'" and "What a Fool Believes" which went to number one on the US pop chart in 1978. After a brief break-up in 1982, the Doobies reunited (including Johnston) five years later and have been playing together ever since. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the band and they had planned on going on tour to celebrate but will have to postpone until hopefully next year.
WHITNEY HOUSTON
It was not really surprising that Whitney Houston would become a singer with her cousin being Dionne Warwick and her mother was Cissy Houston, a revered vocalist and part of the group, Sweet Inspirations. But no one could have imagined to what heights she would reach as a performer. With the guidance of music executive, Clive Davis, Houston would find major international success immediately with the release of her self-titled debut in 1985 and would continue to grow until she became a true pop superstar. Houston would make her acting debut in "The Bodyguard" and not only would that movie become a monster hit but the soundtrack was even bigger, selling over 45 million copies worldwide and winning the 1992 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. But the pressures of fame took it's toll and the gifted vocalist fell deep in to drug addiction for a number of years. Houston seemed to recover by 2009 and released an album, "I Look To You" which brought her back to the charts. Yet sadly, Houston had difficulty maintaining sobriety and died in 2012 from an accidental drowning in a bathtub. Whitney Houston is considered to be one of the greatest voices in popular music and what she could do with a song was absolutely breathtaking.
THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G
The Brooklyn rapper, Christopher Wallace, who was known to the world as the Notorious B.I.G., was a central figure in the East Coast rap scene and is considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Wallace (who went by "Biggie Smalls" early in his career but changed it due to someone else using that name) signed to Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records in 1993. He began to attract attention after he make brief appearances on other artist's records before his debut album, "Ready To Die" dropped in 1994. With the singles, "Juicy" and "Big Poppa", Biggie became an instant sensation. Wallace was a skillful storyteller with his raps being playful and funny yet also displaying emotional honesty. He used some of his experiences of childhood hardships and involvement in crime to express himself musically. At the height of his fame in 1997, Biggie was in a car in Los Angeles following an appearance at the Soul Train Music Awards when it was fired upon by an unidentified assailant. Wallace would tragically die later of his injuries at the age of only twenty-four. The Notorious B.I.G. managed to have made a deep impact on hip-hop and rap during his brief time and remains an influential artist in the genre.
NINE INCH NAILS
The industrial alt-rock band, Nine Inch Nails has always been essentially multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer and songwriter, Trent Reznor. While he would utilize a variety of different musicians over the years to help back him up on tours, Reznor was the only creative force during all recordings. But musician, Atticus Ross, a frequent collaborator with Reznor on several film scores (including "The Social Network" which won the team Oscars in 2010), became an official member of Nine Inch Nails in 2016. Reznor began playing with several synth-pop bands in his youth but eventually decided to work alone as he had difficulty finding other musicians to help create what he wanted. With the debut Nine Inch Nails album, "Pretty Hate Machine" in 1989, Reznor played all the instruments (except the drums) and the record was met with rapturous praise and created a rabid fanbase. However, Reznor became unhappy with his label, TVT Records who were pressuring him for a follow-up and trying to take creative control. After refusing to record for them, TVT sold his contract to Interscope Records, who wisely left him alone do his work. Nine Inch Nails would go on to release the critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums, "The Downward Spiral" and "The Fragile" which went on to further create a bigger audience for industrial metal. Reznor has has sold over 20 million records and has been nominated for thirteen Grammy Awards, winning two for the songs, "Wish" in 1992 and "Happiness in Slavery" in 1996.
T. REX
T.Rex was a British band formed by singer, songwriter and guitarist, Marc Bolan. The band began under the full name of Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four notable albums of psychedelic folk beginning in 1967. But by 1969, Bolan shortened the band's name and embraced what would be called glam rock. Despite a number of musicians who came and went, T. Rex found great success and popularity with such songs as "Ride a White Swan", "Hot Love", "20th Century Boy" and "Bang a Gong (Get It On)". In 1977, shortly before the release of the band's twelfth studio album, "Dandy in the Underworld", Bolan died in a car crash which sadly brought an end to T. Rex. But the band has remained highly influential and their music would help spark indie pop and the punk movement.
"The Chronic", the debut solo album from rapper/producer and member of N.W.A., Dr Dre; a blues classic, "Me and My Chauffeur Blues" from guitarist, Memphis Minnie,
Dusty Springfield's iconic soul album, "Dusty In Memphis", Whitney Houston's mesmerizing cover of Dolly Parton's song, "I Will Always Love You" from "The Bodyguard" soundtrack, the original cast recording of the Broadway musical, "Fiddler On The Roof" and the disco-anthem-turned-wedding reception staple, "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People are some of this year's selections to be inducted in to the National Recording Registry.
The Recording Registry is an extension of the passage by Congress in 2000 of the National Recording Preservation Act. Each year the Library of Congress oversees the selection of 25 recordings, which must be at least 10 years old at the time of induction, and deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" and this latest group brings the total number of recordings in the registry to 550.
Here is the complete list of the twenty-five selections entered in to the 2020 Recording Registry:
"Whispering" (single) - Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra (1920)
"Protesta per Sacco e Vanzetti" (singles) - Compagnia Columbia (1927)
"Sacco e Vanzetti" (single) - Raoul Romito (1927)
"La Chicharronera" - Narciso Martinez and Santiago Almeida (1936)
"Arch Oboler’s Plays" - episode from “The Bathysphere.” (November 18, 1939)
"Me and My Chauffeur Blues" (single) - Memphis Minnie (1941)
"The 1951 National League tiebreaker: New York Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers" — Russ Hodges, announcer (October 3, 1951)
Puccini’s "Tosca" (album) - Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Angelo Mercuriali, Tito Gobbi, Melchiorre Luise, Dario Caselli and Victor de Sabata (1953)
"Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" (single) - Allan Sherman (1963)
"WGBH broadcast of the Boston Symphony on the day of the John F. Kennedy assassination" - Boston Symphony Orchestra (1963)
"Fiddler on the Roof" - original Broadway cast album (1964)
"Make the World Go Away" (single) - Eddy Arnold (1965)
"Hiromi Lorraine Sakata Collection of Afghan Traditional Music" - (1966-67; 1971-73)
"Wichita Lineman" (single) - Glen Campbell (1968)
"Dusty in Memphis" (album) - Dusty Springfield (1969)
"Mister Rogers Sings 21 Favorite Songs From ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’" (album) - Fred Rogers (1973)
"Cheap Trick at Budokan" (album) - Cheap Trick (1978)
“"Holst: Suite No. 1 in E-Flat, Suite No. 2 in F / Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks / Bach: Fantasia in G" - Frederick Fennell and the Cleveland Symphonic Winds (1978)
"Y.M.C.A." (single) - Village People (1978)
"A Feather on the Breath of God" - Gothic Voices; Christopher Page, conductor; Hildegard von Bingen, composer (1982)
"Private Dancer" (album) - Tina Turner (1984)
"Ven Conmigo" (album) - Selena (1990)
"The Chronic" (album) - Dr. Dre (1992)
"I Will Always Love You" (single) - Whitney Houston (1992)
"Concert in the Garden" (album) - Maria Schneider Orchestra (2004)
"Percussion Concerto" (album) - Colin Currie (2008)
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:
Words cannot express how much I miss the glorious voice of Whitney Houston. It's been five years since her passing and I still haven't recovered from this tragic loss. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the singer's acting debut in the box office smash "The Bodyguard" with the soundtrack album managing to become an even bigger success. This album (which largely features Houston but also contributions from Joe Cocker, Lisa Stansfield and Kenny G) took home three Grammy Awards including Album of The Year and with worldwide sales totaling over forty-five million copies has become the best selling soundtrack album of all time.
In honor of the film and Ms Houston, we have the release of "I Wish You Love: More From The Bodyguard". This collection features all six of her original recordings from the album; "I Will Always Love You" "I Have Nothing" "I'm Every Woman" "Run to You", "Queen of the Night" and "Jesus Loves Me" and includes remixes, alternative versions and live performances of these songs. This would make the perfect gift for any fan of the movie or the incomparable Whitney Houston. Enjoy this live version of "I'm Every Woman" from her The Bodyguard Tour:
SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS
The passing of Sharon Jones last year was not only just a tragic blow to music but also to the vibrant legacy of classic soul. Jones may have started her journey in music late in life but she made up for it by creating, along with her dynamic backing band, The Dap-Kings, earth-quaking, soul-shaking r&b consistently throughout her career. Fortunately, we have been given one more opportunity to enjoy what the singer did best with the release of "Soul of a Woman". Recorded while undergoing treatment for cancer last year, Jones delivers passion and fire in to each track, never displaying for one moment any sign she was not up to the task. While it may seem like a time to be somber as you listen to this final album, Ms Jones and the Dap-Kings remind us that it's all about the celebration of soul music and the powerful joy and thrill that comes from it. Here is the video for the first single, "Matter of Time":
Back in the '70's, if you wanted to create a sexy mood, all you had to do was turn down the lights, pop open a bottle of wine and put on a Teddy Pendergrass record. Shifting effortlessly from a seductive whisper to a libidinous growl, this undeniable sex symbol used his robust voice to create songs filled with longing and carnal desires and there was no shame in his game. His live concerts were known to be sensual and sweaty affairs that left his largely female audiences extremely hot and bothered.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pendergrass would develop his singing style, not surprisingly, in the church. While it's rumored that he was ordained as a minister at the age of ten, it's factual that he did perform at services as a singer and drummer. As a young man, Pendergrass would join several soul groups playing the drums and providing the occasional vocal. It was during his time with the Cadillacs that would change the course of his musical career.
Harold Melvin, who had his own group The Blue Notes, caught the Cadillacs in concert when Pendergrass took a turn singing at the mike. Thoroughly impressed with his voice, Melvin quickly offered him the chance to be the lead vocalist of The Blue Notes and Pendergrass seized the opportunity. Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, who hadn't had much commercial success, signed to a new label, Philadelphia International Records in 1971.
With the label's founders, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff taking a special interest in guiding their new artists, the group had their breakthrough hit the following year with a song written and produced by Gamble & Huff, "If You Don't Know Me By Now" which reached the top of the r&b chart and the top-ten of the pop chart. Other hits soon followed like "Bad Luck", "The Love I Lost" and "Wake Up Everybody" but with big success came bigger problems within the group. Resenting continuously being mistaken for "Harold Melvin", Pendergrass felt his name should be part of the band's title while also unhappy with his financial arrangement with Melvin. In 1975, he decided to leave the group to go solo while Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, who never found a suitable replacement for Pendergrass, eventually faded in to obscurity.
Teddy Pendergrass released his self-titled debut album in 1977 with it receiving a lot of attention on the soul chart with the help of the singles, "I Don't Love You Anymore" and "The Whole Town's Laughing at Me". With his subsequent albums, he began to chart his path as a sexy balladeer with such seductive bedroom jams as "Close The Door", "Come Go With Me", "Turn Off The Lights" and "Love T.K.O.". When Shep Gordon, Pendergrass' manager, realized his audiences where largely made up of excited women of all races, he created "women only" concerts that proved to be a very popular gimmick.
By 1982, Pendergrass was at the height of his fame as one of the biggest artists in soul music when tragedy struck the singer in March of that year. He was involved in a terrible car accident that left his passenger with minor injuries but he suffered a spinal cord injury, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. After spending several years in rehabilitation, Pendergrass triumphantly returned to music in 1984 with the album, "Love Language" and found himself back on the pop charts with "Hold Me", a duet with then-new artist, Whitney Houston. He would later find himself back at number one on the r&b chart with "Joy" in 1988.
After being treated for colon cancer, he later developed severe complications causing respiratory issues and Teddy Pendergrass passed away on January 10th 2010 at the age of fifty-nine. He left behind an powerful body of music that is still able to get people in an amorous mood. Here are two of my favorite songs from the great Teddy Pendergrass:
The gifted lyricist, Gerry Goffin, who along with his then-wife, Carole King, wrote some of the most memorable and enduring hit songs of the rock-n-roll era, passed away on June 19th.
Although he went to school to pursue a practical occupation as a chemist, Goffin found himself making music as he had been writing lyrics since he was a child. He was working on a musical and needed a partner to write the music. Goffin met Carol Klein (who later changed her professional name to "Carole King") and began a musical partnership which soon became romantic. Goffin and King managed to have more than fifty top-forty pop hits during their time together which began with "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" by The Shirelles in 1961. Other major hits included "Up On The Roof", "One Fine Day", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman","He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)", "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and "The Loco-Motion"
After their marriage ended in 1968, Goffin went on to write with other musicians like Barry Mann and Michael Masser and had other hit songs such as "Saving All My Love For You" and "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" which earned him and Masser an Oscar nomination.
All of Goffin's songs continue to be recorded by a wide variety of artists and that's because they are well-crafted classics that will truly stand the test of time. Here is a small selection of my favorites co-written by Gerry Goffin:
"Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" - The Shirelles (1961)
"The Loco-Motion" - Little Eva (1962)
"Up On The Roof" - The Drifters (1963)
"(You Make me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" - Aretha Franklin (1967)
"Saving All My Love For You" - Whitney Houston (1985)
VH1 has decided to revive their "Divas" series although the concept has already been stretched thin as they've pretty much covered all of the very few, true divas in existence ( and in some cases, more than once). Part of the inspiration for this revival was the loss this year of two truly important female voices in musical history; Whitney Houston and Donna Summer as the show honors these legends with a tribute and celebration of their legacy.
The problem lies with a large number of the artists rounded-up for this special which features Kelly Rowland, Ciara, Keri Hilson, Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus that adds up to a group of mostly thin-voiced, second-tier singers with none of them having any serious potential as future "Diva" recipients.
The exception were, surprisingly, a couple of pop singers that could actually belt who were selected by election on reality television; "American Idol" winners, Kelly Clarkson and Jordin Sparks who provide vivid musical numbers with Clarkson bringing the mostly female audience to their feet with her latest single, "Catch My Breath" from her first greatest hits collection while Sparks sizzles in a show-stopping number accompanied by r&b powerhouses, Melanie Fiona and Ledisi as they performed an energetic Whitney Houston medley.
Another "Idol" alumni , Adam Lambert was the host of the program and honorary "diva" who kicked-off the show with dramatic flair, reworking the 1983 Bowie hit, "Let's Dance". Later, in true diva fashion, during the Donna Summer segment with Rowland and Hilson, Lambert leaves the ladies in his glittery dust as he effortlessly out-sang them both.
The rest of the show fell flat with Ciara doing a brief dance tribute to Michael Jackson before performing a lackluster new song, "Got Me Good", some band called Metric who is supposed to honor Deborah Harry but only offers a truly horrendous version of "Heart of Glass" and wearing punk drag, Ms Cyrus unconvincingly covers Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" that has about much bite as a teething infant. Although she is already a big star in her native Britain, Paloma Faith is trying to repeat her success here but based on her performance of her song, "Picking Up The Pieces", there ain't much chance of that happening.
"VH1 Divas"specials are a great way to look back to single-out female musical greatness but it appears like it will be forced out of existence. Taking a long, hard look at the current musical landscape, there doesn't seem to be too many future divas on the horizon.
I am so very, very sad to report that the legendary pop/r&b singer, Whitney Houston has passed away today. I am so distraught right now because she was one of my all-time favorite singers and she seemed to be doing so much better. It feels like I lost a member of my family.
Although the cause of death is unknown at this time but it is fair to speculate that it may have been substance- abuse related. Regardless, it doesn't take away from the fact that she was one of the world's best vocalist in pop music and there is no one out there that can truly compare to what she could do with a song. Her style, her grace and her timeless beauty will never be forgotten.
My condolences go out to her family and may she rest in peace.
These are a few of my favorite Whitney Houston songs:
"Saving All My Love For You" - Whitney Houston (1985)
"All At Once" - Whitney Houston (1985)
"Fine" - Whitney Houston (2000)
Here are some videos that showcase the talent and the beauty of Ms Houston:
Whitney Houston was a success right from the start with her 1985 debut album, "Whitney Houston" and then became a superstar with the hit 1992 film and soundtrack, "The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album". She is one of my all-time favorite musical artists.
After a few "lost years", Whitney Houston managed to pull her self together by finally dumping her loser husband, Bobby Brown, getting help for substance abuses issues and putting her music career back in order.
With the help of her mentor, Clive Davis, he teamed her up with some of the top contemporary writers and producers, then released, "I Look To You" in 2009. While it was far from her best work and her voice is still not in the best of shape but I really enjoyed the album.
One of the better tracks on the album was "Million Dollar Bill" which was co-written and produced by Alicia Keys. I am surprised it didn't do better on the charts because it really is a fun and catchy tune. I just heard it again recently and I wanted to give it another spin.
Million Dollar Bill - (2009)
Here she is performing the song live on "The X-Factor" television show and unfortunately, the strain on her voice is showing:
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" was written by Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne in 1962 and was a plea for peace during the Cuban missile crisis. This song has been recorded by many different artists over the years but my favorite is by Whitney Houston. She was in her prime, delivered a stirring and passionate vocal plus the song has a great arrangement.
Her version was made as part of a 1987 Christmas themed album, "A Very Special Christmas". It assembled other popular musical artists of the day and the proceeds went to benefit the Special Olympics. There have been seven other albums released in the series.
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" - Whitney Houston (1987)
Since this is my first post, I decided to look back on the first time we heard the music of some of my favorite artists. Here are the first group:
JANET JACKSON - "CONTROL" - (1985)
Although this was Janet Jackson's third album following, "Janet Jackson" (1982) and "Dream Street" (1984), this was her first record that made any impact with the public. She was the youngest of the musical Jackson clan and while she dabbled in acting on the television shows. "Good Times" and "Fame", but it was still music that got her out of the shadow of her famous family.
After releasing the first two records, where she had little say on the music she recorded, she was teamed up with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, formerly of the band, The Time where they took her out of her home environment, went to their recording studios in Minnesota and together they wrote the songs for the record where she finally took control of her music career.
She went on to release a total of ten CD's and has sold over 100 million records worldwide.
This is the first song that kicked off her career:
Like Janet Jackson, this was not Alanis Morissette's first record but the one where she was first achieved world-wide musical fame. She released two records as a teenager in her native Canada. The first,"Alanis" (1991) was a pop album which was very successful in Canada and the follow-up, "Now Is The Time" (1992) did not do nearly as well.
After she finished high school, Alanis went to Los Angeles where she met up with producer and songwriter, Glen Ballard and together they created Alanis's first international smash hit.
Alanis went on to release a total of ten albums to date, won seven Grammy Awards and has sold 40 million records world wide.
She may be the daughter of singer, Cissy Houston and the cousin of Dionne Warwick but she has a voice that is all her own. She was part of her mother's stage act when she was discovered by the head of Arista Records, Clive Davis and he promptly signed her to his label.
This album, at the time, was the biggest selling debut by a female artist. She has released seven albums so far, has won six Grammy Awards and has sold a total of over 170 million records around the globe.
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" and then became a superstar with the hit 1992 film and soundtrack, "
is one of my all-time favorite musical artists.
While it was far from her best work and her voice is still not in the best of shape but I really enjoyed the album.
fun and catchy tune. I just heard it again recently and I wanted to give it another spin.
. There have been seven other albums released in the series.
