Back in 1998, Madonna released her seventh album, "Ray of Light", a collection that brought the throbbing beats of the underground electronica scene to the pop music landscape. With producer, William Orbit, the superstar boldly experimented with her sound by incorporating her recent embrace of Kabbalah and the practice of Ashtanga yoga with trip-hop and new-age. "Ray of Light" became an incredible worldwide success, with five hit singles and selling over sixteen million copies and finally bringing her some long overdue critical acclaim with a highlight being winning four Grammy Awards including Best Pop Album.
Not long after the release of this album, Madonna had planned to follow-up with a remix of the album to be called, "Veronica Electronica" which was the name of her alter-ego she had given herself during the "Ray of Light" recording sessions. But the plan was scrapped and the record was put away in the vault although some of these remixes ended up as B-sides to her singles.
Now "Veronica Electronica" has been officially released twenty-six years later. There are seven tracks from "Ray of Light" that have been given the remix treatment by Orbit, BT, Sasha, Club 69 and Victor Calderone. And the album also features an unreleased demo called, "Gone, Gone, Gone", written by Madonna and Rick Nowels.
Connie Francis, one of the top recording artists during the late '50s and early '60s, has passed away on July 16th at the age of eighty-seven. She was the first woman to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, achieving a total of three and went on to sell well over one hundred million records throughout her career. Francis enjoyed a recent resurgence with her 1962 song, "Pretty Little Baby" becoming a viral hit several months ago on TikTok and other social media platforms.
She was born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in Newark, NJ on December 12, 1937. Encouraged by her father, George to show off her gift of singing, she performed as a child at talent shows and other local events. An opportunity to sing on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts in 1950, a variety show that showcased promising talent, lead to the host suggesting that she change her name to the simpler to pronounce, "Connie Francis". She would eventually accept this stage name and worked hard to get her career off the ground. Francis would record demos for songwriters and her father and manager helped finance recording sessions for singles to attract record labels. She even did vocal stunt work as the singing voice for actors in a trio of movies. Francis was signed to MGM Records in 1955 yet none of the singles released gained much attention and she was informed that she would be dropped from the label.
But one final single was released from MGM and it was a cover of a 1923 jazz tune. Francis had not wanted to record the song, feeling it was too old-fashioned, but her father insisted, certain it would be perfect for her. And he was right. "Who's Sorry Now" became a big hit in 1957, reaching number four on the US pop chart and number one in the UK. This song went on to sell a million copies and would become Francis' signature song.
This was the start of a string of popular, international hits for Francis like "Stupid Cupid", "My Happiness", "Among My Souvenirs", "Lipstick on Your Collar", "Frankie" and "Everybody's Somebody's Fool". She would even record albums of favorite songs in Italian, German, Hebrew and Spanish. Hollywood soon came calling and Francis made her acting debut in the 1960 romantic-comedy, "Where The Boys Are" with her also singing the popular title track which became another signature song for the performer. Following this hit film, she would make three more comedies.
The arrival of the Beatles and the British Invasion would cause a seismic shift in popular music and Francis would struggle to reach the charts by 1963. She still remained a top concert draw and would go on to record country albums and reach the adult contemporary chart.
But Francis would suffer some tragic personal situations by the 1970's. Following a concert at a music fair in New York in 1974, she was sexually assaulted in her hotel room, largely due to a lack of proper security at the location. Francis would later sue the hotel, winning over two million in a settlement and with the verdict helping reform security in the hotel industry. Four years later, Francis had nasal surgery and developed complications that caused her to temporarily lose her voice which she would not recover for several years. And her brother, George Franconero Jr, an attorney who had testified against mafia, was murdered by hitmen in 1981.
During this period, Francis retreated into seclusion, suffering from depression and drug addiction. But she recovered enough by 1982 to begin recording and performing in front of audiences once again. But this would be short-lived for Francis as she was diagnosed with manic depression, committed to multiple psychiatric hospitals and even attempted suicide a few years later. Her doctors would later determine that most of her mental health troubles stemmed from post-traumatic stress disorder following her attack. Francis would get her life and career back in order, recording and touring again which included headlining in Las Vegas in 1989. She would retire from show business in 2018 and settle in Florida.
Early in her career, Francis had a passionate affair with singer, Bobby Darin not long before he achieved fame but her father stood firmly in the way of the relationship developing into anything serious. She was married four times, most of them brief with all but one not lasting more than a year. During her third marriage to Joseph Garzilli, a restaurateur, the couple adopted a son, Joey. Francis would meet Tony Ferretti in 2003 and have a long-term relationship with him until his death in 2022.
Addison Rae has successfully taken her fame on social media and done an impressive makeover by transforming herself into a credible pop music performer. Born Addison Rae Easterling, the Lafayette, Louisiana native first gained attention through her dance videos on Tik Tok back in 2019 and amassing well over a million viewers in just a few months. As those numbers grew to millions more on the app (currently at eighty-eight), Rae was lured to Los Angeles, signed with a talent agency and quickly started a podcast with her mother, launched her own cosmetics line and made her acting debut in a remake of the 1999 teen comedy "She's All That".
In between all of that, she had released a song called "Obsessed" in 2021 which gained some attention yet was largely dismissed. An EP, "AR" soon followed and helped people begin to notice Rae's musical abilities. But it was a guest appearance on Charli XCX's remix of her single, "Von Dutch" when people began to really look at Rae in a different light. Then last August, the single, "Diet Pepsi" was released and became Rae's pop music kickstart. The song went on to become a top-twenty hit in several countries and gave Rae her first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Now Rae's debut album, "Addison" has been released. Teaming with Swedish music producers, Elvira Anderfjärd, and Luka Kloser (who had worked on "Diet Pepsi"), Rae co-wrote all of the songs with them on the album. And while the material isn't particularly groundbreaking, the music is perfectly fun and catchy, bringing to mind the rise of Britney Spears back in the late '90's whose career this twenty-four year old seems to emulating whether she's conscious of it or not. Rae has even planned her first concert tour, "The Addison Tour" set to begin in Ireland near the end of August that will take her across North America, Europe and Australia. Despite her dubious beginnings, Rae seems to be the real deal and could have a promising, long music career ahead of her.
Damiano David, the front man for the popular Italian rock band, Måneskin, has recently released a side project. David, along with fellow musicians, Victoria De Angelis, Thomas Raggi and Ethan Torchio, first came together to form a band as high school students in Rome back in 2016. They chose the name "Måneskin" (which means "Moonlight" in Danish) and developed their skills by playing on the streets for tips. The band soon worked their way on to the Italian version of "X-Factor", finishing in second place. This lead to a recording contract with Måneskin releasing their first album, "Il ballo della vita" that featured a mix of Italian and English-language rock songs. Måneskin's next big achievement was representing Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021 and creating a bit of an upset by winning the finals with their song, "Zitti e buoni (quiet and well-behaved)". This victory helped to drive even more buzz for the band with their previous recordings receiving some new found interest throughout Europe including their cover of the Four Seasons' 1967 hit, "Beggin'" that reached the top-ten in the UK and even charting in the US.
The twenty-six year old singer's debut solo album, "Funny Little Fears" is a clear shift in musical direction from his band, with a softer, pure pop sound. David began writing for the album in Los Angeles (in part to be closer to his current girlfriend, musician Dove Cameron), working with numerous songwriters and producers, and ended up with about seventy songs. This was narrowed down to fourteen English-language tracks which expressed a more personal and sensitive side of the artist, songs that might not fit as well with his band. David plans to hit the road this fall, beginning in Warsaw on Septemeber 11th, that will take him around the world to promote the album.
Here is a collection of new music that I'm connecting with at the moment: Devonté Hynes, better known as the British performer and producer, Blood Orange, has a new track that features the Durutti Column, Tariq Al-Sabir, Caroline Polachek and Daniel Caesar; Christine and the Queens join forces with disco legend, Cerrone for a cover of his 1977 hit, "Supernature" which is remixed by Purple Disco Machine; the pop stylist, Kim Petras is back with "Polo" that has her in a techno-driven vibe; Tinashe teams up with DJ and producer,Disco Lines for a remix to proclaim she wants "No Broke Boys" and an inspired paring of Norah Jones and John Legend with "Summertime Blue"
I am sad to report that Walter Scott, one of the original members of the r&b group, The Whispers that found fame beginning in the post-disco era and shared lead vocal duties with his identical twin, Wallace, passed away on June 26th at the age of eighty-two. Formed in Watts, CA in 1963 with the Scott brothers along with Gordy Harmon, Marcus Hutson, and Nicholas Caldwell, The Whispers first became known as a thrilling live act. Harmon became seriously injured in a car accident in 1973 and was replaced by Friends of Distinction member, Leaveil Degree. The Whispers would get a recording contract but struggled to gain some traction with their music. By 1978, they signed with Solar Records and finally hit it big with the dance tune, "And The Beat Goes On". The song was their first number-one single on the r&b chart and crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number nineteen. More hits followed with "It's a Love Thing", "Keep On Lovin' Me" and "Rock Steady" which became their highest charting on the US pop chart, reaching number seven and their second number one on the R&B chart.
And Calvin Yarbrough of the r&b duo, Yarbrough & Peoples has died on June 19th at the age of seventy-one. Yarbrough and Alisa Peoples both grew up in Dallas, TX, and they had met taking piano lessons as young children. They grew-up to become professional musicians together and formed a group first called Grand Theft. An encounter on the road had them meeting Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, who are better known as The Gap Band, and they introduced them to Lonnie Simmons, a songwriter and producer who went on to work with them to help put together their first album. In 1981, Yarbrough & Peoples released their debut, "The Two of Us" which featured, "Don't Stop the Music," that went to number one on the US Billboard R&B chart and also reached the pop chart, making it as far as number nineteen. This would become the most popular song by the duo (who would later marry in 1987) but had four more top-ten R&B hits before heading back to Dallas to start their own music production company in 1986.
Brian Wilson, the innovative creative force behind the Los Angeles surf-rock band, The Beach Boys, died on June 11th at the age of eighty-two. No cause of death has been revealed but he had struggled with mental illness and drug addiction for most of his life and recently been diagnosed with dementia. Besides his work with the band, Wilson is known for using the recording studio as an instrument where he demonstrated an exceptional mastery of layering beautiful harmonies and intricate, musical textures to create the Beach Boys' unique sound.
Wilson, playing the bass and his brothers, Dennis, on drums and Carl who was on lead guitar; their cousin, Mike Love who sang lead vocals and friend, Al Jardine on rhythm guitar first began playing together in high school, calling themselves, "The Pendletones". After receiving a reel-to-reel tape recorder for his birthday, Wilson learned how to overdub vocals, He would begin writing songs and with surfing beginning to become popular in Southern California, Wilson wrote a tune called "Surfin'". The boys recorded a demo of the song and it got in the hands of Herb Newman, owner of Candix Records, signing the group in 1961. Renamed "The Beach Boys" by the label, the single became a local hit as well as charting on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching only number seventy-five.
This success lead the Beach Boys to seek out a major label and signed with Capitol Records. Their debut album, "Surfin' Safari" was released in 1962 and featured largely original songs written by Wilson, Love and friend, Gary Usher which was not common at this time for artists to write their own material. The title track reached number fourteen on the US pop chart. But it was their follow-up single, "Surfin' USA" in 1963 that took this teenage band to the next level, reaching number three on the Billboard pop chart. More big hits followed: "Surfer Girl", "Fun, Fun, Fun", "I Get Around", "Help Me, Rhonda", "Good Vibrations", "California Girls". During a concert at the end of 1964, Wilson suffered a panic attack which prompted him to quit going on the road with the band, focusing only on songwriting and record production. Glen Campbell, at the time a session musician, was the first to replace Wilson on tour.
Inspired by the music being created by Phil Spector and The Beatles, Wilson began to explore even further with sound, deciding to make the Beach Boys' music more expansive and bold. In 1966, Wilson put together (along with writer, Tony Asher) the Beach Boys' eleventh studio album, "Pet Sounds". This record offered sophisticated yet experimental rock songs, leaving even the band members slightly perplexed by this new direction. But "Pet Sounds", with the hit singles, "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "Sloop John B" and "God Only Knows", changed the perception of The Beach Boys as a lightweight pop band and this early concept album would go on to become a highly influential collection of music. The band's subsequent music would continue deeper down this explorative path, alienating some fans who missed their earlier wholesome pop and unable to connect with their newer, more esoteric rock sound.
By the late 1960's, the music by the Beach Boys was not selling well, they had an unfortunate, brief involvement with Charles Manson, who was an aspiring musician, recording some of his music and filed a lawsuit against Capitol Records for unpaid royalties. In between being admitted into hospitals and stints in rehab for years, Wilson would manage to create music with the Beach Boys, for himself as a solo artist (recording eleven studio albums) and even finding his way to get back on stage to tour on several occasions. Wilson's last time in concert was in July 2022 on tour with Chicago and he struggled during the performance, cancelling the rest of the tour the next day.
Wilson is survived by two daughters, Carnie and Wendy from his first marriage to singer Marilyn Rovell (they married in 1964), who both later had musical success as two-thirds of the pop group, Wilson Phillips along with Chynna Phillips, the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of the band,The Mamas & The Papas. After his marriage to Rovell ended in 1978, Wilson would marry Melinda Ledbetter in 1995 and later she would became his manager. Ledbetter passed away in 2024.
When Miley Cyrus approached the recording of her latest album, "Something Beautiful", she was inspired by the win of her first Grammy Award last year for Best Pop Solo performance for "Flowers". It's not that she placed that much importance in awards but it did give Cyrus even more confidence that she was moving creatively in the right direction. A performer since she was thirteen when cast in the Disney Channel television series "Hannah Montana", the now thirty-two year old Cyrus has conceived her ninth studio album as a visual concept record centered around the theme of "healing". She continues to take control of her sound, co-writing and co-producing the album, with this collection utilizing alt-r&b, jazz and disco-pop to express her thoughts on discovering beauty and light following trauma and heartbreak. "Something Beautiful" also features guest appearances by Brittany Howard, Danielle Haim, Flea of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Super Model, Naomi Campbell. A musical film that is a companion to the album called "Something Beautiful", directed by Cyrus along with Jacob Bixenman and Brendan Walter, made its premiere on June 6th at the Beacon Theatre during the Tribeca Festival and will be released theatrically on June 12th.
June is Pride month and to help kick off the celebration here are some recent songs by artists who are either queer or strong allies: The latest song from David Archuleta is a sensual ballad, "Can I Call You"; the French musical stylist, Christine and the Queens has an upcoming EP collaborating with legendary disco producer, Cerrone and their lead single is the throbbing dance track, "Catching Feelings"; Sam Williams, the grandson of the influential country music pioneer, Hank Williams and son of Hank Williams Jr., is continuing in the family tradition yet in his own way with a country-pop love song that is unabashedly queer; German producer, Toby Gad has released "Run", a track from Donna Summer that was unreleased from the recording sessions for her final studio album, "Crayons" back in 2008; and the performer who first found fame in musical theater before soaring on to the big screen (in the adaptation of hit musical, "Wicked") and this year's Tony Awards host, Cynthia Erivo has managed to find time to record her second studio album, "I Forgive You", a collection of contemporary r&b.
And to close, here is a classic one-hit wonder from 1969 that I love from Spiral Starecase, a Northern California based band, and their big hit, "More Today Than Yesterday". Beginning as an instrumental group called the Fydallions, they managed to get signed to Columbia Records but the label insisted they change their name. Taking it from a 1946 psychological horror film but slightly altering the spelling, Spiral Starecase charted with "More Today Than Yesterday" with the soulful pop song reaching number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. None of their follow-up music managed to find much success and the band actually disbanded a little over a year after their charting hit due to in-fighting amongst the members and poor management.
Self-described as a "rock and roll band with horns,", Chicago has been creating their unique and dazzling blend of jazz, soul and pop-rock music for almost sixty years. Formed in 1967 from several Chicago area bands whose members decided to join forces and play together. The original line-up was Peter Cetera on bass, Terry Kath on guitar, Robert Lamm on keyboards, Lee Loughnane on trumpet, James Pankow on trombone, Walter Parazaider on woodwinds, and Danny Seraphine on drums with Cetera, Kath and Lamm sharing lead vocals. First working as a local cover band called The Big Thing, the group began creating original material which was well received when they performed them.
After getting signed to Columbia Records in 1968, they changed their name to the Chicago Transit Authority. Their self-titled debut was released the following year and was a double album which was highly unusual for a band's very first record. But that showed how much faith the label had for Chicago Transit Authority and they were proven to be right. The album would go on to sell over a million copies by 1970 on the strength of the hit singles, "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?", "Beginnings", "Questions 67 and 68", and "I'm a Man". Following this rapid success, the band dropped "Transit Authority" from their name to avoid any potential legal action from the actual transit company.
Chicago quickly went back into the studio for their next album, "Chicago II" that became another big hit in 1970 that featured the top ten songs, "Make Me Smile", "Colour My World" and "25 or 6 to 4". "Chicago III" was out the next year and became another gold album. The rest of Chicago's subsequent six albums were Roman-numeral titled and would include plenty more popular hit singles: "Saturday in the Park", "Just You 'n' Me", "Feelin' Stronger Every Day", "(I've Been) Searchin' So Long", "Wishing You Were Here", "Old Days" and "If You Leave Me Now" which became the group's first number one US pop single in 1976 and won Chicago their only Grammy Award to date. With the 1977 release, "Chicago XI", "Baby, What a Big Surprise" was a number four U.S. hit that would become the group's last top 10 hit of the decade.
Tragedy would strike the group when on January 23, 1978, Kath died from a freak accident: a self-inflicted gunshot wound from a gun he thought was unloaded. The band was unsure they would be able to continue as they also were beginning to have serious concerns about their long-time producer, James William Guercio who they began to suspect had been cheating the band financially.
Chicago decided to continue on as a band, hiring guitarist and singer-songwriter Donnie Dacus to replace Kath and Phil Ramone to co-produce with the band on their tenth studio album, "Hot Streets" which was their first without a numbered title. The singles, "Alive Again" and "No Tell Lover" became top-twenty hits and proved Chicago was still able to achieve success despite the changes. However their next album, "Chicago 13" in 1979 was not nearly as successful and Dacus would leave the band at the end of the tour supporting the record. By 1980, the band released "Chicago XIV" with a new producer, Tom Dowd. With a radical change in sound, this album was a critical and financial failure with Columbia, no longer feeling the band was commercially viable, dropping the band from the label.
Two years later, Chicago signed with Warner Bros. Records, added keyboardist, guitarist, and singer Bill Champlin and brought in a new producer, David Foster to work on "Chicago 16". The ballad from the album, "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" (written by Foster and Cetera) became the band's second number one US pop single. More hits with Cetera on lead vocals followed with "You're the Inspiration" and "Hard Habit to Break", and soon he was requesting an opportunity to go off as a solo performer while remaining with Chicago. The band declined this offer and in 1985, Cetera would leave Chicago, enjoying a solid career with several of his own top ten hits.
Chicago has continued on as a group ever since, largely as a touring band with a constant change of backing members over the years. But they have also still been recording with twenty-six career studio albums to date and their most recent, "Chicago XXXVIII: Born for This Moment" released in 2022 with Lamm, Loughnane and Pankow still performing with the band they helped form. Chicago was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. It was extremely difficult to narrow down to just two songs by Chicago but I managed to select a couple of my all-time favorites:
