TAKE TWO: DEBORAH COX

Deborah Cox made her mark on the soul and pop charts in the '90's but it was on the dance floor where she was the true queen, achieving the feat of reaching the top of that chart twelve times.

Born and raised in Toronto, Cox began singing professionally at the age of twelve as she worked on television commercials and entered several talent contests. Even though she worked as a background vocalist for Celine Dion for a brief period, Cox struggled to break in to the Canadian music business. In 1994, she decided to give America a try and moved to Los Angeles. It didn't take long for her talent to be recognized here and Clive Davis quickly signed her to his Arista label.

The year after her arrival, Cox released her self-titled debut where the album found some success with the singles, "Sentimental" and "Who Do U Love" which became her first number one song on the dance chart. Cox received serious attention with a dance-mix of the song "Things Just Ain't The Same" for the soundtrack of the film, "Money Talks". This very popular single also reached the top of the dance charts.

The haunting ballad, "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here", the first single from the 1998 follow-up album, "One Wish", became a smash hit reaching number one on the r&b chart and a re-mix on the dance while it peaked at number two on the pop chart. Another single, "We Can't Be Friends", a duet with R.L. of the soul group, Next, also became a number one r&b hit and reached the top-ten on the pop chart. "It's Over Now" and "I Never Knew" from the album both became number one dance chart-toppers. "One Wish" would go on to sell over a million copies.

The third album, "The Morning After" came out in 2002 but didn't reach the same commercial heights of the previous record although Cox had three more number one dance songs including "Absolutely Not" from the "Dr. Dolittle 2" soundtrack.

Cox tested out her acting skills on Broadway with an acclaimed performance in the Elton John-Tim Rice musical "Aida" in 2004. She left Arista Records and joined the label, Decca to release "Destination Moon", a jazz tribute album to legendary vocalist, Dinah Washington. The singer released her last studio album to date in 2008, "The Promise", a collection of r&b songs that featured another number one dance re-mix hit , "Beautiful U R".

Although she's been busy raising her three young children, Cox continues to perform, recently appearing on Broadway again with a revival of the musical "Jekyll & Hyde" in 2012 and there are plans for some new music. In the meantime, let's listen to two classic songs by Deborah Cox:

"Sentimental" - Deborah Cox (1995) mp3

"Things Just Ain't The Same (Dance Remix)" - Deborah Cox (1997) mp3

MEET DALEY

While possessing a butter smooth, soulful voice like his fellow Brits, Sam Smith and Adele, Daley has not made nearly as large of an impact here in the States, at least not yet. I recently discovered the talented twenty-six year old vocalist through his Pharrell produced song, "Look Up" which had reached the top-ten on the U.S. Adult R&B Chart back in 2013.

Born Gareth Daley in Manchester, England, he first got noticed through performing at open-mic nights and posting himself singing on his Myspace page. Daley's first major breakthrough came when he got involved with Gorillaz co-creator Damon Albarn . He co-wrote and sang on the track, "Doncamatic" for the "Plastic Beach" album in 2011. He later released that year a free download mix-tape titled "Those Who Wait" which became a viral sensation throughout Europe.

After releasing another mix-tape and opening for such artists like Emeli Sande, Jessie J and Miguel, this finally lead to Daley's debut studio album, "Days + Nights" in 2014. This impressive collection blends together old-school soul and modern beats along with Daley's solid song-writing skills and soaring, passionate vocals. Put it all together and this is a record you must hear.

There's word that he's got some new music on the way but in the meantime check out the video for the sensual song, "Look Up" and discover for yourself the magical, musical gift named "Daley":

HOT AND FRESH OUT THE KITCHEN

BEYONCE - "LEMONADE"

With her sixth studio album, "Lemonade", Beyoncé continues to form her own path on how she will present her music to the world. First, on April 23rd, she released an hour-long HBO film that presented all of the new songs together as a "visual album" which featured striking imagery and poetic interludes covering many subjects involving race, gender and marriage. Shortly after the television premiere, the album was released exclusively for on-line streaming on Tidal (which she's a co-owner) before it became available to everyone two days later.

The title of the album references that old saying that when life serves you lemons, you gotta make some lemonade and that's exactly what the multiple Grammy winner has done. Without ever being specific, Beyoncé seems to have used some difficult times in her marriage as well as her parent's acrimonious break-up to create a searing collection of songs involving betrayal, anger, revenge, hope and ultimately, forgiveness. The music blurs and twists together many genres, perfectly complementing the lyrics with edgy and offbeat sounds. "Lemonade" is far from comfortable, easily digestible pop music. The album makes a bold statement and I think it's the singer's strongest work to date.



PET SHOP BOYS - "SUPER"

I can't believe it's been thirty years since Pet Shop Boys released their debut album, "Please". The record featured the now classic tunes "Suburbia", "Love Comes Quickly", "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" and still my favorite track from them, "West End Girls".  There is no doubt that their early sound can be attributed to the current popularity of electronic dance music. Now, the boys, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, are back with their thirteenth album. "Super". With production duties once again handled by Stuart Price, the band dives deeper in to pure electronica yet retain much of their pop sensibilities. The first single, "The Pop Kids" takes a nostalgic look back at the dance scene in the '90's when they first started out. This song also became Pet Shop Boys' eleventh number one song on the U.S. Dance Club chart.

"The Pop Kids" - Pet Shop Boys (2016) mp3

Tegan and Sara, those formerly alt-rocking Canadian twins, continue to move in an eletropop direction. With their eight album, "Love You To Death" due out in June, the ladies may be seeking commercial success but only want it on their terms and the single, "Boyfriend" clearly indicates that. The song involves a love triangle with a confused girl caught between a boy and another girl.

"Boyfriend" - Tegan and Sara (2016) mp3

After taking some time off to have her second child, Alicia Keys is finally back with some new music since 2012's "Girl On Fire". The first single, "In Common" is a smooth dance hall-flavored track that should easily put the artist back on the charts. For the music video directed by Pierre Debusschere, Keys is lovely and fresh-faced in this slick black& white clip featuring energetic dancers in a pseudo-cityscape.



Finally, Justin Timberlake is not only lending his voice to the upcoming animated film, "Trolls" (due out later this fall) but he has also just released a song for the soundtrack. "Can't Stop The Feeling", co-written and produced by pop wizard, Max Martin, has already reached the the top of the charts in seven countries including the U.S. The song feels very similar to "Happy", another catchy, feel-good song for an animated film that swept the globe. Even the music video, directed by film maker Mark Romanek, features average people dancing and singing along to the song.

NUMBER ONE FLASHBACK

Forty years ago this week, The Sylvers were riding the top of the charts with "Boogie Fever". This family act originally from Memphis had found modest success as performers before this breakthrough took them to number one on both the pop and r&b charts.

There were a total of ten Sylvers children with nine of them part of the singing group at various points in their musical career. The four oldest children (Olympia, Leon, Charmaine, and James) began as a singing group called "The Little Angels" and performed on television and opened for several soul acts. A few years later, younger brothers, Edmund and Ricky joined the group and then became known as "The Sylvers". They released their self-titled debut album in 1972 with two singles, "Fool's Paradise" and "Wish I Could Talk To You" reaching the top-twenty on the r&b chart. The following year, the youngest member in the act, Foster had a hit solo single, "Misdemeanor" (written by Leon) that reached number seven on the U.S. soul chart.

By 1975, sisters, Angie and Pat became part of the group before The Sylvers signed to a major label, Capitol Records. The family was teamed-up with producer Freddie Perren (who had worked with another famous family act, The Jackson 5) and helped take them to the next level. Their fourth album, "Showcase" featured "Boogie Fever" and that single went on to sell over two million copies.

Charmaine decided to leave the group before the release of the follow-up album, "Something Special" in 1976. Also produced by Perren, the album featured two more hits, "Hot Line" and "High School Dance".

Wanting to take control over their music and feature a more mature sound, The Sylvers wrote and produced their next album, "New Horizons" in 1977.  This failed to reach the level of popularity of their previous efforts and while the group went on to create some critically-acclaimed records, they were never able to recapture the magic of their past success. The Sylvers came to an official end in 1985 after their final album, "Bizarre" failed to find an audience.

Let's go back and watch The Sylvers perform their hit live on The Midnight Special:

THE INFLUENCE OF PRINCE

The world is still reeling from the shocking loss of the musical genius, Prince. He was a consistent creative force with an inimitable talent and boundless energy. With an impressive body of work that ranged from politically charged anthems, tender love ballads, funky dance tunes and raunchy sex ditties, it's no surprise that other artists were attracted to his material.

Here are some of the amazing covers of songs written by the Purple One or they were created by him for that specific performer. There is even a hit song by Stevie Nicks that was inspired simply by his presence in the recording studio.

"When You Were Mine" - Cyndi Lauper (1983) mp3

"Sugar Walls" - Sheena Easton (1984) mp3

"Do Me Baby" - Meli'sa Morgan (1985) mp3







"Yo Mister" - Patti Labelle (1989) mp3

"Nothing Compares 2 U" - Sinéad O’Connor (1990) mp3

"Round and Round" - Tevin Campbell (1990) mp3

"I Wanna Be Your Lover" - Corinne Bailey Rae (2011) mp3

BILLY PAUL (1934 - 2016)

Billy Paul, best known for his number one 1972 soul single, "Me & Mrs. Jones", has sadly passed away on April 24th. He had been struggling with pancreatic cancer for the last few years.

He was born Paul Williams and raised in the north side of Philadelphia. He loved to sing as a child and it was female jazz singers in particular like Nancy Wilson, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone that would influence his singing style. He began singing professionally at eleven, performing at local clubs and college campuses around the city.

Not wanting to be confused with other performers that shared his name, Williams later changed his to "Billy Paul" when he career began to take off. He recorded a few singles (but they didn't make the charts) before he was drafted in the army in 1957. Paul was stationed in Germany with other musicians which included a rising pop star, Elvis Presley. He helped put together a jazz band (that featured Gary Crosby, Bing's son) and they toured the country. Presley was asked to join but turned down the offer as he preferred to become a jeep driver while he served.

After leaving the army, Paul returned to music and performed with various jazz and soul groups.  By the late sixties, he begun working on a solo career and met Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. He joined their new label, Philadelphia International Records and together they finally had a breakthrough with Paul's fourth album, "360 Degrees of Billy Paul". The single, "Me & Mrs. Jones", about an extramarital affair between a man and his lover, reached the top of the soul and pop charts and would sell two million copies.

Billy Paul never reached this level of success again but he continued to dazzle audiences with his recordings and concert tours throughout the years.

PRINCE (1958 - 2016)

It's with a sad and heavy heart, I have to report that Prince, the boldly innovative and incredibly prolific funk & roll artist, has passed away. There has not been a specific cause of his death disclosed to date, although he was involved in an emergency airplane landing last week and rushed to the hospital.

Prince Nelson Rodgers was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Even after becoming famous and traveling across the entire globe, the city remained his home with him later building Paisley Park recording studio there. Both of his parents were jazz musicians and a young Prince took to music eagerly. At seventeen, he recorded several demos that caught the attention of Warner Bros. Records. He signed to the label with the very rare offer of creative control for three albums and ownership of the publishing rights.

Two years later, Prince released his debut, "For You" for which he wrote, produced and played all of the instruments. The album wasn't a major hit but the single, "Soft and Wet", which made the top-twenty on the soul chart, definitely made people take notice of his dazzling talent and sexually provocative nature. His self-titled follow-up in 1979 would be his first major breakthrough with the song, "I Wanna be Your Lover" reaching the soul and pop charts and selling over a million copies.

With his fame building, Prince took to the world of acting by starring in the film, "Purple Rain" in 1984 which was loosely based on his life. The movie became a box-office hit but the soundtrack was a massive smash selling over thirteen million copies in the U.S alone with four top-ten singles including the title track and "When Doves Cry".

Prince was one of the highest selling artists of all time with sales of over 100 million records. He had recorded thirty-nine studio album with his latest, "HITnRUN: Phase One" and "HITnRUN: Phase Two" both released last year. Prince won seven Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe, an Academy Award and was inducted in to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Much like David Bowie, (another icon we sadly lost earlier this year), Prince was a musical chameleon that confidently mixed and twisted many genres to create his own unique sound. Also like Bowie, he pushed the boundaries of gender norms, performing in make-up, high-heels and colorfully flamboyant costumes that some might consider feminine. Yet Prince was unconcerned with questions or comments regarding his sexuality as he was quite secure and seemed to enjoy the controversy his appearance stirred.

Prince rarely gave interviews with the most infamous was during his very first national television appearance on "American Bandstand" when he pissed off host Dick Clark when he barely spoke to answer any questions. I'm sure the singer was just shy but it also seems clear that he preferred to let his music speak for him. The Artist who will forever be known as Prince has left behind a vast amount of great music for us to cherish and enjoy. He will truly be missed.