NUMBER ONE FLASHBACK

Lady Gaga has impressed audiences and critics alike with her exceptional performance of an aspiring singer last year in the fourth movie version of "A Star Is Born". She has won several critics awards and might even be nominated next week and could potentially win an Oscar. This Number One Flashback  looks back when Lady Gaga's early breakthrough single, "Just Dance" was on top of the U.S. Billboard chart this week in 2009. She co-wrote the song with Akon (who had his own successful music career) and RedOne who also produced the track and her first number one song helped kick off her amazing journey as an international pop superstar.

Much like the character she played, Stefani Germanotta struggled for years trying to make her career happen. She paid her dues by playing numerous small gigs around New York City and passing around her demos before actually getting a record deal with Def Jam Records. However, she was dropped a few months later.

Discouraged but not giving up, she was inspired by the Queen song, "Radio Ga Ga" and took on the name "Lady Gaga". She teamed-up with performance artist, Lady Starlight who helped her develop a stage persona and they performed together, most notably at the 2007 Lollapalooza music festival. Gaga got a publishing deal with Sony and began writing songs for the label's hot pop acts. After hearing Gaga sing, Akon was quite impressed. He began using her as a vocal guide on his demos and eventually helped her get a new recording contract. She later met RedOne and he worked on some tracks for her debut album on Cherrytree Records. The album, "The Fame" was released in 2008 and was met with some resistance from radio stations saying the record was too dance-oriented and underground. But Lady Gaga was confident that there was an audience for her music and the rest is history.

MY FAVORITE MOMENTS IN MUSIC IN 2018

I think 2018 was a great year in music that offered something for everyone. While hip-hop and rap continued to dominate the music industry, I'm particularly thrilled that good old-fashioned soul music found it's way back on the airwaves and the charts. We had young, new artists like Ella Mai, H.E.R., Daniel Caesar and Jorja Smith who are reviving the r&b tradition and the return of classic performers like Toni Braxton, Tank, Mary J. Blige, Ledisi and Tamia whose new music was actually getting played on radio. This is one trend I hope continues in to 2019. And to close out 2018, here are a few songs that I loved last year that I didn't get a chance to share:

NEW SOUNDS

MITSKI

An artist that I just recently became aware of is Mitski. I had heard buzz about the indie-rocker with her 2016 album, "Puberty 2" when it appeared on several Best Album of the Year lists but I didn't further investigate. The twenty-eight year old singer-songwriter released her fifth studio album, "Be The Cowboy" back in August and it has received even greater acclaim and appeared on even more year-end Best Album lists. This time I made it my mission to listen and I'm so glad I did.

"Be The Cowboy" is a thrilling collection of quirky sounds and sharp, heartfelt lyrics. With most just barely over two minutes or less, these songs are brief sonic explosions of confessional reflection on love, relationships and disappointment surrounded with a lush production provided by her longtime collaborator Patrick Hyland. This is one album you should check out as soon as possible. Here are two music videos for a couple of tracks:





MESHELL NDGEOCELLO

Another artist who I wasn't aware had released a new album until it appeared on some Album of the Year lists is Meshell Ndegeocello. The fifty year old musician, who has been credited with helping spark the neo-soul movement back in the 1990's, had dropped her twelfth album, "Ventriloquism" back in April.

Don't let that the record only features covers of classic soul and funk songs make you hesitate on giving it a chance. These songs, beginning with Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam's "I Wonder If I Take You Home" and featuring George Clinton's "Atomic Dog", TLC's "Waterfalls", Tina Turner's "Private Dancer" before closing with "Smooth Operator" by Sade, are almost unrecognizable as Ndegeocello brilliantly gives each one a radical reworking with spare, jazzy grooves. This record is truly unexpected and extraordinary.

THIS CHRISTMAS DAY

I think Jessie J, the British pop-soul vocalist, is vastly underrated as a singer and hasn't become nearly as popular here in the US as I think she should. The singer, born Jessica Cornish, has recently released her fifth album but it is unexpectedly a Christmas collection. "This Christmas Day" features many of the familiar holiday classics like "Jingle Bells", "Silent Night", and "White Christmas" yet they are delivered in great jazzy-flavored soul renditions. What is even more impressive is that Jessie J was able to attract several top names to produce the album. That includes David Foster, Babyface (who also provided vocals on their take of "The Christmas Song"), Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins who also co-wrote the title track with Jessie which is the only original song on the album. I think this is one of the better modern Christmas albums out there and you should definitely check it out. Here are a few tracks for you to preview:

A GIFT SUGGESTION

If you are looking for a gift and they are a fan of classic soul music, I have a suggestion that might help you out. Bruce Talamon, a photographer who focused on black entertainers, has recently released a beautiful photo book, "Bruce W. Talamon: Soul. R&B. Funk. Photographs 1972-1982". This breathtaking collection, published by Taschen, features his images which document most of the popular acts of the era who were making influential music, with many of the pictures that have never been seen before.

Talamon, who was one of the very few African-American photojournalists working at the time, took a look back over his forty year career and the roughly five thousand photos he had taken during that time to put this book together. He had made it clear to his editor that he wasn't interest in only showing these performers on stage but also using the more intimate, behind-the-scenes moments with these musical talents.

All of the major players of the day are certainly present like Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Jackson 5, Earth, Wind & Fire, James Brown, Parliament-Funkadelic and Aretha to name just a few. But there are also remarkable pictures of performers who had a briefer moment of fame like Billy Paul (who was Talamon's first cover assignment), Thelma Houston, The Dramatics, The Stylistics, and Johnnie Taylor. There is a section of the book devoted to Don Cornelius and his groundbreaking dance television program, "Soul Train" and the 1972 "Wattstax" benefit concert held at the LA Coliseum and featured the hot acts of the day, Isaac Hayes, Albert King, The Bar-Kays and the Staple Singers.

This is an incredible book that would make the perfect gift or perhaps even own yourself.

Bruce W. Talamon: Soul. R&B. Funk. Photographs 1972-1982

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM. . .

JOHN LEGEND

For his very first Christmas album, "A Legendary Christmas", John Legend has incorporated holiday classics with original songs he has co-written. With Raphael Saadiq handling production, Legend puts his spin on "Silver Bells", "Christmas Time Is Here" and "The Christmas Song" while hoping to create a new holiday classic with his songs, "No Place Like Home", "Wrap Me Up In Your Love" and "By Christmas Eve".  Stevie Wonder and Esperanza Spalding drop by on a couple of tracks. If you would like to hear these songs live, be sure to catch Legend on the road to promote the album which he began in November and run through the end of this month. Enjoy the music video for his version of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and a live performance of his original tune, "Bring Me Love" from his television Christmas special which features his wife, Chrissy Teigen:





KATY PERRY

Katy Perry had previously released an original Christmas song about four years ago and she has just released another holiday single. "Cozy Little Christmas" is available exclusively through Amazon Music and Perry (who co-wrote and produced the track with Greg Wells and Ferras Alqaisi) delivers a fun and catchy pop song about not wanting expensive gifts and would be perfectly happy simply snuggling-up with a loved one during the holiday.

THE WHITE ALBUM: THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of the Beatles self-titled ninth studio album which over time has been referred to as "The White Album" due to the plain white cover with only the band's name embossed. In celebration, a new edition of the album has been remastered and fully remixed with a seven-disc, box set featuring plenty of bonus material and demos. This massive project was overseen by producer, Giles Martin, the son of the late Sir George Martin who produced most of the band's music and has been referred to as "the fifth Beatle".

While the album marked a creative high point for the Beatles, the tension between the band members intensified during the recording sessions leading to many arguments and disagreements (particularly between the main writing team, Paul McCartney and John Lennon) with even happy-go-lucky drummer, Ringo Starr briefly quitting the group. The band did manage to record a couple more albums before finally calling it quits by 1970.

The Beatles had enjoyed critical and commercial success with their last album, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and had all embarked on a transcendental meditation course in India in order to recharge and clear their heads. During the retreat, Lennon and McCartney began working together in relative calm to write material for the band's next record.

But by the time the group returned to Abbey Road Studios in London to begin recording, all of the peace and calm they had experienced had quickly evaporated. With their long-time producer,  Martin no longer able to have a steady, guiding influence over the band, their creative problems escalated. Another concern was the presence of Yoko Ono who was Lennon's new creative and love partner at the time. Since the band did not usually invite wives or girlfriends to be present during recording sessions, Ono was considered an unwelcome distraction as she always remained by her man's side.

The Beatles finally finished the album and released it on November 22, 1968. While it did have a working title of "A Doll's House", the thirty song, double-album was just simply called "The Beatles". Despite all of the drama that went in to it's creation, this wildly diverse record is considered the band's greatest achievement and features some of their most classic songs like "Dear Prudence", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Back in the U.S.S.R." "Happiness is a Warm Gun" and "Helter Skelter". Here are a few of my favorite songs from the album: