Check out At Midnight by Rufus featuring Chaka Khan. Heard it on my ipod this morning. At Midnight is from the Ask Rufus cd.
Last Saturday America lost a singing icon. Whitney Houston passed away at the age of 48.
Whitney Houston, Pop Superstar, Dies at 48
By JON PARELES and ADAM NAGOURNEY
Whitney Houston, the multimillion-selling singer who emerged in the 1980s as one of her generation’s greatest R & B voices, only to deteriorate through years of cocaine use and an abusive marriage, died on Saturday in Beverly Hills, Calif. She was 48.
Her death came as the music industry descended on Los Angeles for the annual celebration of the Grammy Awards, and Ms. Houston was — for all her difficulties over the years — one of its queens. She was staying at the Beverly Hilton hotel on Saturday to attend a pre-Grammy party being hosted by Clive Davis, the founder of Arista Records, who had been her pop mentor.
Ms. Houston was found in her room at 3:55 p.m., and paramedics spent close to 20 minutes trying to revive her, the authorities said. There was no immediate word on the cause of her death, but the authorities said there were no signs of foul play.
From the start of her career more than two decades ago, Ms. Houston had the talent, looks and pedigree of a pop superstar. She was the daughter of Cissy Houston, a gospel and pop singer who had backed up Aretha Franklin, and the cousin of Dionne Warwick. (Ms. Franklin is Ms. Houston’s godmother.)
Ms. Houston’s range spanned three octaves, and her voice was plush, vibrant and often spectacular. She could pour on the exuberant flourishes of gospel or peal a simple pop chorus; she could sing sweetly or unleash a sultry rasp.
Dressed in everything from formal gowns to T-shirts, she cultivated the image of a fun-loving but ardent good girl, the voice behind songs as perky as “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” and as torchy as what became her signature song, a version of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”
I was stunned when I read about Whitney’s death. It reminded me of when Michael Jackson passed away in 2009. Both were still young. Just like Michael, I have been a long time fan of Whitney’s. I still own her first album Whitney Houston.
I’ve been playing the cd along with her 2 disc greatest hits cd since she passed away. All the songs on her debut cd are excellent but my favorite songs are How Will I Know, Take Good Care of My Heart, Saving All My Love For You and You Give Good Love.
Check out another favorite of mine. Queen of the Night is from Whitney’s blockbuster movie The Bodyguard.
RIP Whitney Houston.
Earlier today I read that Soul Train creator Don Cornelius committed suicide. He was found in his home in Southern California early this morning. He was 75 years old.
I remember back in the day watching this show. It was fun to watch the dancers and the different music artist every Saturday. Soul Train brought some great music into the homes of millions of Americans. I remember a while ago watching a documentary titled Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America. VH1 is showing the documentary on February 6 at 9:30pm. I know Centric, the cable channel use to show episodes of Soul Train. I wonder if they will start up again. Or maybe have a Soul Train marathon this weekend.
‘Soul Train’ creator Don Cornelius found dead
By Greg Kot
Tribune critic
Don Cornelius became the baritone-voiced bellwether of Chicago cool when he took “Soul Train” from the South Side to a national audience in the 1970s.
Cornelius, 75, was found dead Wednesday at his Mulholland Drive home in Encino, Calif. He apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police say. There was no sign of foul play, but the Los Angeles Police Department was investigating.
Born in Chicago in 1936, Cornelius grew up in the Bronzeville neighborhood and worked numerous jobs: he sold insurance, worked as a TV newsman and deejayed at WVON, which serenaded the South and West Sides with soul music. While employed at WCIU-TV in the ’60s, he started hosting soul dance parties around the city and eventually approached station management about a show based on the same idea. They accepted.
“I wasn’t surprised because I was invited to come over there by one of my mentors, Roy Wood, who was the news director at WVON-AM radio,” Cornelius told the Tribune last year. “He was a good man. He had persuaded them to do a black-oriented news show called ‘A Black’s View of the News.’ I knew the format at Channel 26 had a lot to do with ethnic-targeted programming, so I said to the owner one day, ‘Why don’t you let me try this?’”
“Soul Train” debuted in 1970 with low expectations and overhead. Color cameras weren’t in the budget and the dancefloor was the size of a typical living room. But the show struck a chord with an audience that had been largely ignored by other teen-oriented dance shows, most famously Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand.” For young, African-American kids, “Soul Train” was must-see after-school viewing because it presented mostly R&B artists that other shows neglected. And, perhaps most importantly, it showcased the hippest dance moves.
You can read the entire article here at the Chicago Tribune.
Mr. Cornelius use to end his show with the following saying:
“And you can bet your last money, it’s all gonna be a stone gas, honey! I’m Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul!”
Check out the video to the Soul Train theme song The Sound of Philadelphia. The song was written by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff.
RIP Mr. Cornelius.
Richard “Dick” Griffey, the founder of Solar Records which stood for Sound of Los Angeles Records passed away on September 24. Solar Records was the home to many music artists I listened to back in the 70′s and 80′s including Shalamar featuring Jody Watley, Lakeside, the Whispers, Klymaxx and Midnight Star.
Dick Griffey, Founder of Solar Records, Is Dead at 71
By DENNIS HEVESIDick Griffey, the founder of the Solar record label — known for bringing a funky, laid back, California sound to soul, R&B and disco in the ’70s and ’80s — died on Sept. 24 in Los Angeles. He was 71.
The cause was complications of quadruple bypass surgery, his daughter Regina Griffey Hughes said.
Solar was an acronym for Sound of Los Angeles Records. It was started by Mr. Griffey in 1977 as a spinoff from Soul Train Records, a company he had founded several years earlier with Don Cornelius, the creator and host of the long-running, dance-driven television variety show “Soul Train.” Mr. Griffey had been the show’s talent coordinator.
Under his aegis, Solar signed groups like Shalamar, the Whispers, Lakeside, Dynasty, Klymaxx, Midnight Star and the Deele. And by 1980, The Los Angeles Times called Mr. Griffey “the most promising new black music executive” in the country.
Shalamar, which included several performers from the “Soul Train” show, went on to score more than a dozen hit singles, among them “The Second Time Around,” which topped the soul music charts and crossed over into the pop market. Other Shalamar hits were “Right in the Socket,” “Make That Move,” “A Night to Remember” and “This Is For the Lover In You.”Also among Solar’s biggest stars were the Whispers, who brought their intricate harmonies to hits like “It’s a Love Thing,” “Chocolate Girl,” “Rock Steady” and — their best known — “And the Beat Goes On,” which Mr. Griffey helped write. Other Solar hits include Lakeside’s “Fantastic Voyage,” Babyface’s “It’s No Crime” and Klymaxx’s “The Men All Pause.”
Solar Records had some great music back in the day. Check out Lakeside’s Raid.
Mr. Griffey is survived by his wife singer Carrie Lucas, five children and five grandchildren. RIP Mr. Griffey.
So glad it’s Friday. It was a long week and that damn 90 degree weather came back yesterday. I thought we were through with that.
Anyway check out Tom Browne’s 1980 smash hit Funkin’ For Jamaica. It’s from his cd Love Approach. I haven’t heard Funkin’ For Jamaica in a long time.
And check out Thighs High (Grip Your Hips & Move) from his cd Magic.
So I’m sitting on the train this morning on my way to work and listening to my mp3 player. A song on my playlist that I haven’t heard in a long time comes on. Float On by The Floaters was one of my favorite songs back in the day. I downloaded the song from the Can You Dig It? The 70′s Soul Experience box set that I own.
I bought the album Floaters back in 1977 when it was first released and I still have it. The album has the extended version of Float On.
Float On is what you call grown folks music. Real music where the fellas are singing love songs to women. They sure don’t make music like this anymore.
Aquarius, Libra, Leo, Cancer
Ralph, Charles, Paul, Larry
Float, float on
Float on, float on
Float, float, float on
Float on, float on
Float, float on
Float on, float on
Float, float, float on
Float on, float on
Float, float on
Float on, float on
Float, float, float on
Float on, float on
Aquarius, Libra, Leo, Cancer
Ralph, Charles, Paul, Larry
Aquarius and my name is Ralph
Now I like a woman who loves her freedom
And I like a woman who can hold her own
And if you fit that description, baby, come with me
Take my hand, come with me, baby, to Love Land
Let me show you how sweet it could be
Sharing love with me, I want you to
Float, float on (Come on, come on,
(Come on, baby, yeah, yeah)
Float on, float on (Ooh, ooh, baby)
Float, float, float on
Float on (Float with me), float on
Libra and my name is Charles
Now I like a woman that’s quiet
A woman who carries herself
Like Miss Universe
A woman who would take me in her arms
And she would say, Charles, yeah
And if you fit that description
This is for you especially
Mmm, take my hand
Come with me, baby, to Love Land
Let me show you how sweet it could be
Sharing loving with me, I want you to
Float, float on (Girl, yes)
Float on, float on (With Charles)
Float, float, float on (Ooh, yeah)
Float on, float on
Leo and my name is Paul
You see I like all women of the world
You see to me all women are wild flowers
And if you understand what I’m sayin’
I want you to
Mmm, take my hand
Come with me, baby, to Love Land
Let me show you how sweet it could be
Sharing love with me, I want you to
Float, float on (So float with me, baby)
Float on, float on (Yeah)
Float, float, float on (Float with Paul, y’all)
Float on, float on
Cancer and my name is Larry, huh
And I like a woman
That loves everything and everybody
Because I love everybody and everything
And you know what, ladies,
If you feel that this is you
Then this is what I want you to do
Ooh, yeah, take my hand
Let me take you to Love Land
Let me show you how sweet it could be
Sharing your love with Larry, listen
Float, float on (You better float with me now)
Float on, float on (Float on)
Float, float, float on (Yeah, yeah)
(You better float on)
(Float on)
(Ah)
One of my favorite shows on TV One, Unsung returns for a new season on Monday, September 13.
The new season features Heatwave, Tammi Terrell, Teddy Pendergrass, The O’Jays and more. Previous season have featured Rose Royce, Stacy Lattisaw, The Bar-Kays, Teena Marie, Melba Moore, Phyllis Hyman and Debarge.
TV One’s signature music biography series sheds much-do light on some of the most influential, talented and yet, somehow forgotten R&B, Soul and Gospel artists of the last 30 years. While Aretha, Whitney, Diana, Stevie, Marvin and the Winans have been recognized over and over again-there are several artists like Phyllis Hyman and The Clark Sisters who haven’t been as honored.
This season, we’ll dig deep into the lives of Teddy Pendergrass, hip-hop notables The Fat Boys, songstress Tammi Terrell, The O’Jays and many, many more. Airing Monday nights, Unsung uncovers the hidden truth behind the fading of your favorite stars.
This new and exciting season will reveal the business and personal struggles that kept these artists from achieving the iconic commercial status they deserved. Don’t miss Unsung when it returns!
I’m curious to see what happened to Heatwave. One of my favorite Heatwave songs is The Groove Line from the album/cd Central Heating. Awesome song. Here’s the extended version of The Groove Line.
And here’s the radio edit version featuring the group.
Today would have been Michael Jackson’s 52nd birthday.
He was born on this day in 1958. It’s been a year and two months since he passed away but his musical legacy continues.
Check out I Can’t Help It from my favorite MJ solo cd Off The Wall.
If you looking for a really nice Michael Jackson compliation cd check out Michael Jackson King of Pop: The Deluxe UK Edition.
The cd set contains hits from all of Michael’s solo cds starting with Off The Wall. It also contains some unreleased songs and extended dance mix 12 inch versions of some of his hits.
Today in the gym after sweating my you know what off on the elliptical I had a nice long walk on the treadmill. Listening to my mp3 player, one of my all time favorite songs came on. Diana Ross’s Love Hangover had me going on the treadmill. Love, love, love this song. Especially the extended version. Love Hangover is from the 1976 album/cd Diana Ross. I bought the album back then I remember wearing this song out on my record player 
Janelle Monae’s Cold War is finally out on video. I love this song. Check it out.
The entire cd, The ArchAndroid is excellent.
