Category Archives: Philadelphia Soul
PAAAARTY TIME-SERIOUS FUNK FROM THE 70S.
PAAAARTY TIME-SERIOUS FUNK FROM THE 70S. After its birth in the mid to late sixties, funk’s popularity quickly grew. With its fusion of soul, R&B and jazz, funk’s heyday was the seventies. While the peak of funk’s popularity was during the seventies, it was during the seventies that some of the greatest funk music was …
BILLY PAUL-LATELY.
BILLY PAUL-LATELY. Having founded Philadelphia International Records in 1971, Gamble and Huff made Billy Paul one of the first signings to their new label. Gamble and Huff had know Billy since 1967, when he was working on his debut album Feelin’ Good At the Cadillac Club. Billy’s debut album needed some work to complete it, …
THE SPINNERS-YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW.
THE SPINNERS-YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW. For The Spinners, their 1977 album Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow would mark an end of an era for the group. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow which was rereleased by WEA Japan on 30th April 2013, was Phillip Wynn’s final album as lead singer of The Spinners. This wasn’t the only thing …
CANDIDO-DANCIN’ AND PRANCIN.’
CANDIDO-DANCIN’ AND PRANCIN.’ Two of the most innovative record labels in the history of modern music are Blue Note and Salsoul Records. However, there was only one artist who released albums on both labels. That artist is legendary Cuban percussionist, Candido, who released two albums for Salsoul in 1979. Candido’s Salsoul debut was Dancin’ and …
THE TRAMMPS-DISCO INFERNO.
THE TRAMMPS-DISCO INFERNO. Eight months after The Trammps released Where The Happy People Go in April 1976, they released their third studio album Disco Inferno In December 1976. A year after The Trammps released Disco Inferno, which was rereleased by WEA Japan on 30th April 2013, their career was totally transformed. This transformation took place …
BLUE MAGIC-MYSTIC DRAGONS.
BLUE MAGIC-MYSTIC DRAGONS The story of Blue Magic, is far from unique. Their eponymous debut album Blue Magic, released in January 1974, reached number forty-five in the US Billboard 200 and number four in the US R&B Charts. This resulted in Blue Magic being certified gold. Blue Magic featured the million-selling Philly Soul classic Sideshow, …
BEN E. KING-I HAD A LOVE.
BEN E. KING-I HAD A LOVE. In 1975, Ben E. King returned to Atlantic Records, where he’d spent much of the sixties. The success he’d enjoyed back in the sixties was eluding him. Maybe going back to the label where he enjoyed the most successful period of his career. This proved to be the case. Ben’s …
THE SPINNERS-SPINNERS.
THE SPINNERS-SPINNERS. Nineteen years after The Spinners were formed in Detroit in 1954, commercial success and critical acclaim came their way. It had been a long time coming and many groups would’ve walked away from music. Luckily, The Spinners were made of stronger stuff. Their determination and perseverance was eventually rewarded in 1973, when they released …
JOHN MORALES PRESENTS THE M&M MIXES VOLUME 3 INSTRUMENTALS.
JOHN MORALES PRESENTS THE M&M MIXES VOLUME 3 INSTRUMENTALS. Compilations of John Morales’ remixes are a bit like London buses, you wait ages for one, then two come along at once. After releasing the critically acclaimed and commercially successful The M&M Mixes Volume 2 in March 2011, John Morales spent the next years working not just …
MAJOR HARRIS-JEALOUSY.
MAJOR HARRIS-JEALOUSY. As someone whose a huge fan of Philly Soul, one thing that continues to frustrate me, is that many Philly Soul albums haven’t yet made it to CD. I can think of numerous Philly Soul classics waiting for their CD debut. Considering CDs are nearly thirty years old, that’s disappointing, to say the …
SALSOUL PRESENTS-PHILLY SOUL FLAVAS.
SALSOUL PRESENTS-PHILLY SOUL FLAVAS. There aren’t many musicians who played their part in making two separate record labels the most critically acclaimed, commercially successful, innovative and influential labels in the history of music. However, back in the late sixties in Philadelphia, a group of supremely talented musicians began working together. This included the Baker, Harris, …
GOLDEN GATE GROOVE: THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA IN SAN FRANCISCO-1973.
GOLDEN GATE GROOVE: THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA IN SAN FRANCISCO-1973. There was only one occasion that Philadelphia International Records’ biggest names shared a stage. That was in September 1973, when Gamble and Huff took Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, The O’Jays, The Three Degrees, Billy Paul and M.F.S.B. to the CBS annual convention in …
VINCE MONTANA JR-FAREWELL TO A TRUE MUSICAL INNOVATOR.
VINCE MONTANA JR-FAREWELL TO A TRUE MUSICAL INNOVATOR. Vince Montana Jr. who passed away on 13th April 2013, aged eighty-five, was one of the most innovative, influential and pioneering musicians in the history of popular music. However, referring to Vince as a musician is an understatement. He was also a songwriter, conductor, arranger and producer. …
SALSOUL PRESENTS: THE DEFINITIVE 12” MASTERS VOLUME 2.
SALSOUL PRESENTS: THE DEFINITIVE 12” MASTERS VOLUME 2. Recently, I was asked by a friend to recommend a Salsoul Records compilation. They’d heard a couple of songs from Salsoul’s illustrious back-catalogue, and decided they wanted to dig deeper. Realizing that I was huge fan of all things disco, and especially Salsoul, they asked if i …
SALSOUL PRESENTS: THE DEFINITIVE 12” MASTERS VOLUME 1.
SALSOUL PRESENTS: THE DEFINITIVE 12” MASTERS VOLUME 1. With so many Salsoul compilations having been released over the past twenty years, any newcomer to Salsoul Records is spoiled for choice. Indeed, anyone looking to discover disco’s premier label, will be confused by the sheer variety of Salsoul compilations on offer. Sadly, Salsoul compilations fall into …
SALSOUL PRESENTS: DISCO DIVAS AND SOULFUL SISTA FLAVAS.
SALSOUL PRESENTS: DISCO DIVAS AND SOULFUL SISTA FLAVAS. when you look back at the history of Salsoul Records, you realize they weren’t short of some stunning female vocalists. Loleatta Holloway, First Choice, Charo, Carol Williams, Jocelyn Brown from Inner Life, The Sweethearts of Sigma, Brenda Gooch and Claudja Barry. Each of these divas feature on …
JOHN DAVIS AND THE MONSTER ORCHESTRA-THE MONSTER STRIKES AGAIN.
JOHN DAVIS AND THE MONSTER ORCHESTRA-THE MONSTER STRIKES AGAIN. By 1979, John Davis and The Monster Orchestra had released three albums between 1976 and 1976. Their debut albums for SAM Records was 1976s Night and Day. 1977s Up Jumped The Devil and 1978s Ain’t That Enough For You followed. These three albums cemented John Davis …
dereksmusicblog
