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“How I Got Over”: Celebrating Aretha Franklin with Comprehensive Playlist of Her Cover Songs on Her Birthday (LISTEN)

“How I Got Over”: Celebrating Aretha Franklin with Comprehensive Playlist of Her Cover Songs on Her Birthday (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on March 25, 2021

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

It’s always nice to have an excuse to celebrate the Queen of Soul and her music. Although this week in particular it’s been a somewhat fraught proposition, as the National Geographic Channel began airing its Genius: Aretha series starring Cynthia Erivo on Sunday, to which some of Franklin’s immediate family publicly objected.

But if, like me, you’re inclined to want to celebrate Aretha on what would have been her 79th birthday and can’t wait for the MGM feature Respect starring Jennifer Hudson (which, so far, the family does approve of) to come out, you can always rewatch the glorious Amazing Grace concert film released in 2019, or go right to the source and listen to all Aretha all day.

For my 2020 celebration, I compiled a collection of her original works in a Spotify playlist called  “Rock Steady”: Songs Aretha Franklin Wrote, in honor of her ability to compose incredible music and lyrics that have stood the test of time, a talent which is often overshadowed by Aretha’s unparalleled singing mastery.

This year, I chose to celebrate Aretha Franklin’s lifelong love of all musical styles and her unmatched ability to turn any song from any genre from any time by anybody into her own unique moment. Below is the compilation playlist “How I Got Over”: Aretha Franklin’s Cover Songs: 

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:1ThrnFZemc4yzpq8cMEQPe”]

In it, you’ll find the songs you already know were recorded by others that Aretha made her own signature songs (“Respect,” “Spanish Harlem,” “Until You Come Back to Me”), along with songs where her version became as famous as the original, if not more (“You’re All I Need To Get By,” “I Say A Little Prayer,” “Wholy Holy,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Don’t Play That Song,” “Son of A Preacher Man”).

Also included are songs you may not know she covered (many were deep cuts on LPs or only recently released) but as soon as you hear Aretha’s version you won’t be able to forget it (“At Last,” “A Change Is Gonna Come,” “A Song For You,” “What a Fool Believes,” “I Want to Be With You,” “My Kind of Town (Detroit Is)”).

Aretha also dips into her Detroit roots with her covers of Motown classics like “My Guy,” “Tracks of My Tears” and “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” as well as her love of her British Invasion contemporaries with covers of The Beatles‘ “Eleanor Rigby,” “Let It Be” and “The Long and Winding Road” and The Rolling Stones‘ “Satisfaction” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”

Franklin effortlessly shows off her jazz chops on “Moody’s Mood,” “Skylark,” “How Glad I Am” and “Crazy He Calls Me” and her devastating blues acumen and feeling with “Today I Sing The Blues,” “The Thrill is Gone,” “Night Time Is The Right Time” and “Why I Sing The Blues.”

“Over The Rainbow,” “Somewhere” and “I Dreamed A Dream” let us all know a career on Broadway or movie musicals, should she have wanted it, would have been Aretha’s for the taking, and her takes on traditional gospel classics like “How I Got Over,” “What a Friend We Have In Jesus,” “Oh Happy Day” (with Mavis Staples), and, of course, “Amazing Grace” make it simple for anyone needing proof of God to listen and say, “Oh, okay. THAT.”

For those who love holiday fare, Aretha’s got that covered too, with undeniable versions of “Winter Wonderland,” “Silent Night” and “The Christmas Song.”

As late as 2014, at age 72, Aretha Franklin was still showing the world what she could do to a song she deigned to sing.

Franklin released an entire album of covers entitled Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics, where she famously took on “Rolling In The Deep” by Adele, Alicia Keys‘ “No One” and created must-listen mash-up versions of Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman/Respect” where Aretha blends those two classics together, and Gloria Gaynor‘s “I Will Survive,” which she mixes with Destiny’s Child‘s “Survivor.” 

All the songs mentioned and more are on the 85-track playlist above. There are even more enticing covers in the Aretha Franklin catalogue worth exploring, but at five and a half hours, I definitely feel this playlist is a great place to start. 

Enjoy, and all hail the Queen!

MUSIC MONDAY: “Everyday People” – A Sly and the Family Stone Collection (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Everyday People” – A Sly and the Family Stone Collection (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on March 22, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Sly Stone turned 78 years old on the 15th of this month. I thought it was a good time to spotlight him and The Family Stone with a playlist.

His work has had a potent effect on the course of modern music. Sly and The Family Stone served a dazzling fusion of psychedelic rock, soul, gospel, jazz, and Latin flavors.

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:340416PmTxLhvdsuO54cqQ”]

The trailblazing classic “Dance To the Music” has the distinction of being chosen for the Grammy Hall Of Fame, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s “500 Songs That Shaped Rock,” and Rolling Stone magazine’s “500 Greatest Songs Of All Time.”

This collection gathers many of his hits including “Everyday People,” “Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Again)” and “Family Affair,” “Stand!,” “Hot Fun in the Summertime,” “Runnin’ Away,” “If You Want Me To Stay,” “Time For Livin’,” and more.

From Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock to the halls of Motown and George Clinton’s P-Funk, from Michael Jackson and Curtis Mayfield, down the line to Bob Marley, the Isley Brothers, Prince, Public Enemy, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Eyed Peas, Beastie Boys, The Roots, OutKast and on and on, Sly’s influence can be felt throughout popular music.

This is another one that comes with Rumpshaker Warning. Have a great week.

And always, stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)

MUSIC MONDAY: Mulatu Astatke and the Vanguard of Ethiopian Jazz (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: Mulatu Astatke and the Vanguard of Ethiopian Jazz (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on March 15, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Mulatu Astatke was born in 1943, and is widely sighted as being the greatest innovator of Ethiopian jazz. Astatke took the fusion of traditional Ethiopian folk music and American jazz to a new level.

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He explained its roots to the BBC:

‘There are tribes in the south called the Derashe They are surrounded by people who play five tone music but they have created a diminished 12-tone scale. Diminished scales are very important in jazz music especially for improvising. We learn how Charlie Parker came up with diminished scales as well as Claude Debussy and Bach. But always on my mind is the question of who were first with the scale, these people or the Derashe tribe?”

By the late 1960s, he helped create a ‘golden age’ in Addis Ababa. It was in full swing in 1973 when American jazz legend, Duke Ellington, came to town and performed with with Mulatu Astatke.

Much of that thriving Ethiopian jazz scene came crashing down the following year, when a Soviet-backed military junta known as the Derg overthrew the government. It left tens of thousands dead and nearly destroyed the thriving musical community.

When the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991, and the Derg was subsequently overthrown, and the budding democracy quickly became a thriving home of musical creativity.

Ethiopian Jazz hit new global audiences through CD releases that included the Ethiopiques series and Rough Guide albums. Astatke’s songs fueled the soundtrack of Jim Jarmusch‘s film Broken Flowers in 2005.

Samples of his were used by Nas, Damian Marley, Kanye West, Cut Chemist, Quantic, Madlib, and Oddisee.

Today, Mulatu Astatke is still active, and collaborating with a new generation of artists including The Heliocentrics and Black Jesus Experience. His most recent album was released in 2020 at age 76.

Stay stay, sane, and kind, you all.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)

Beyoncé Breaks Record to Become Singer with Most Grammy Award Wins of all Time

Beyoncé Breaks Record to Become Singer with Most Grammy Award Wins of all Time

By goodblacknews on March 14, 2021

As she won her 28th Grammy Award for R&B performance for Black Parade, Beyoncé made history as she surpassed country-bluegrass artist Alison Krauss’ former record of 27 Grammys and became the most honored singing artist of all time.

Beyoncé has also tied legendary producer and musician Quincy Jones for second-most Grammy wins ever.

Jones, who turned 88 on Sunday, has won 28 Grammys during his career. The late Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti holds the all-time record with 31 Grammy Awards.

Read more: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2021-03-14/beyonce-breaks-record-grammys-female-artist?utm_id=25322&sfmc_id=2415824

MUSIC MONDAY: “Dream Land” – A Tribute Playlist to Bunny Wailer and the Wailers Legacy (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Dream Land” – A Tribute Playlist to Bunny Wailer and the Wailers Legacy (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on March 8, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Bunny Wailer, born Neville O’Riley Livingston, died on March 2nd. He was an original member of The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, and a lifelong standard-bearer of reggae music.

“The Wailers are to reggae what the Beatles are to rock ‘n roll and pop music,” according to Jamaican music-business veteran Copeland Forbes.

This collection is devoted to the work of The Wailers, and the solo work of Rita Marley, Peter Tosh, and of Bunny Wailer himself.

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:0mBxXxCdAMgcOvgwFSlefk”]

In the 1960s The Wailers hit their initial stride with Coxsone Dodd’s Studio One label, often called Jamaica’s Motown. They recorded for several producers, including Leslie Kong and, most notably, Lee “Scratch” Perry.

I’ve included several of those songs, and ones The Wailers went on to release on their own Wail ‘N Soul ‘M and Tuff Gong labels.

By 1974, Tosh and Wailer both would leave the group for solo careers. Bob Marley would use The Wailers name for his backup band.

Hope you enjoy this collection of music by greats artist done together and separately.

Stay stay, sane, and kind, you all. Until such time.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)

MUSIC: “Fire & Desire” – Celebrating the Ballads of Late Soul Singer Teena Marie on Her 65th (LISTEN)

MUSIC: “Fire & Desire” – Celebrating the Ballads of Late Soul Singer Teena Marie on Her 65th (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on March 5, 2021

by Jeff Meier (FB: Jeff.Meier.90)

With today’s Good Black News Spotify playlist, we salute a true ally of the Black musical community, the late Christine Marie Brockert a/k/a the one and only Teena Marie, on what would have been her 65th birthday.

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Teena Marie is a singularly unique presence in music – a white female artist who, over the course of an entire successful career, always felt most at home in Black music.

In fact, when Motown Records released her first album Wild and Peaceful in 1979, the cover consisted simply of a photo of clouds over an ocean – completely avoiding showing her racial identity so as not to bias listeners towards her soulful singing. (Interestingly, this was the reverse of a trick they had previously employed in the early ’60s, using random graphics instead of artist photos on album covers for Mary Wells and The Marvelettes down South to avoid showing Black faces.)

Along with Rick James‘ production, just focusing on Marie’s voice and not her image worked – by the time Black listeners learned Teena Marie was white, she had already won them over with her songs and commitment to Black music, and classic soul fans embraced her fully.

Growing up in the late ’70s, I first remember Teena Marie for her uptempo funk/dance hits – “Square Biz,” “I Need Your Lovin’, “and my personal fave, “Behind the Groove.”

But over time, I realized that Teena’s truest connection to R&B was in her ballads – dramatic, long, lushly orchestrated, poetic, sensuous.  She wrote and sang many bedroom classics over the course of a 30+ years, before her untimely death at the young age of 54 back in 2010.

Today’s playlist is entitled “Fire & Desire: Teena Marie’s 40 Best Ballads”. This playlist consists of hits and album tracks from across her career. “Deju Vu,” “Casanova Brown,” “Portuguese Love,” “If I Were a Bell,” “Out on a Limb,” “Aladdin’s Lamp” “Dear Lover,” “Irons in the Fire” – we’ve got them all here, along with her Rick James duets.

But we’ve also got stripped-down ballads like ‘The Greatest Love of All Time.” Released on the collection First Class Love: Rare Teena Marie, this acoustic ballad was one of the demo tracks Teena created prior to her first Motown album – and it’s clear to see that her talent was fully formed even then.

And we’ve got tracks you may not have heard from her end-of-career resurgence with the albums La Dona, Congo Square, Sapphire, and posthumous effort, Beautiful.

We hope you’ll check out our one-woman Quiet Storm session, and, in the process remember a true groundbreaker, musical innovator, and truly unique singer – a woman like no other – Lady T.

Happy Birthday in Heaven, Teena Marie.

Janet Jackson Two-Night Documentary Event to Debut on Lifetime and A&E Networks in 2022

Janet Jackson Two-Night Documentary Event to Debut on Lifetime and A&E Networks in 2022

By goodblacknews on March 4, 2021

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Finally!

Internationally renowned, Grammy Award-winning, Rock N Roll Hall of Fame inductee Janet Jackson will be the focus of an upcoming documentary on Lifetime and A&E Networks in 2022.

The two-night, four-hour documentary will coincide with the 40th anniversary of Jackson’s first album – no, not Control – that 1986 juggernaut was her third LP and first collaboration with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis – but rather 1982’s eponymous Janet Jackson, which was released on the A&M records label and offered her early R&B hits “Say You Do” and “Young Love.”

Jackson is an executive producer with Randy Jackson, and according to Variety.com, producing teams from Workerbee and Associated Entertainment Corporation already have been working on the project with Janet for over three years.

To quote Variety.com:

The doc follows Janet as her family is going through the loss of her father, Joseph, the patriarch of the Jackson dynasty who passed in 2018. Producers were granted exclusive access to archival footage and never-before-seen home videos while developing the documentary for the past three years.

“JANET” will also detail the most talked-about moments of her life, including her 2004 Super Bowl appearance with Justin Timberlake in which she inadvertently exposed a portion of her breast, sparking controversy that would hover for more than a decade. The docu will also explore Jackson’s reaction to the death of her brother, the legendary and also controversial Michael Jackson, and her process of becoming a mother.

It’s about time the impact of Janet Jackson and her legacy on popular music and culture will be realized in-depth and, as a major Janet stan since even before her first LP – I’m talking Good Times and Fame days, people – I can’t wait! And I’m sure I’m not alone.

But until then, we’ll always have THIS:

R.I.P. Reggae Legend Bunny Wailer, 73, Founding Member of the Wailers with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh (VIDEO)

R.I.P. Reggae Legend Bunny Wailer, 73, Founding Member of the Wailers with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on March 2, 2021

Bunny Wailer, a founding member of the Wailers and a reggae music titan whose career spanned seven decades, died today at the age of 73, according to the Jamaica Observer.

Wailer’s manager Maxine Stowe confirmed that Wailer died  at the Medical Associates Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica (via the Jamaica Observer). No cause of death has been named so far, but Wailer had been in and out of the hospital since suffering his second stroke, in 2020.

Wailer, born Neville Livingston — before adopting his famous moniker — was a member of the original Wailers trio with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh.

https://youtu.be/R2rmFRHhwoA

To quote from Rolling Stone:

While Marley and Livingston were being mentored by Joe Higgs, “the Godfather of Reggae,” they met Higgs’ fellow student Peter Tosh; the then-trio ventured to Kingston. Soon after, they were joined by singer Junior Braithwaite and backup vocalists Beverley Kelso and Cherry Smith. Following a string of name changes that included the Teenagers and the Wailing Wailers, the Wailers aligned with Coxsone Dodd’s sound system and Studio One label — which employed songwriters and producers like Lee “Scratch” Perry and Jackie Mittoo — and released the Marley-penned “Simmer Down,” a Number One hit in Jamaica.

Braithwaite, Kelso, and Smith soon departed the Wailers, leaving the nucleus of Marley, Livingston, and Tosh intact; that trio recorded the band’s debut LP, 1965’s The Wailing Wailers, a collection of tracks the band recorded during the mid-Sixties. The Wailers then went on hiatus as Marley married his wife Rita and joined his mother in Wilmington, Delaware; during this period, Livingston served a yearlong sentence for marijuana possession. However, the three principle Wailers reunited upon Marley’s return to Jamaica.

While Marley and Tosh served as the Wailers’ primary singers and songwriters, Livingston played an indispensable role in providing harmonies to the trio’s songs. The Wailers next teamed with Perry and his Upsetters for 1970’s Soul Rebels and 1971’s Soul Revolution; around that time, Livingston wrote and recorded one of his signature songs, “Dreamland,” a track he revisited when he released his solo LP Blackheart Man in 1976.

To read more:

Naomi Campbell Welcomes Pharrell Williams on Limited-Time YouTube Series “No Filter With Naomi” Today at 3PM EST (VIDEO)

Naomi Campbell Welcomes Pharrell Williams on Limited-Time YouTube Series “No Filter With Naomi” Today at 3PM EST (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on March 2, 2021

International supermodel, activist and philanthropist Naomi Campbell welcomes musician, record producer, songwriter, singer, fashion designer and entrepreneur Pharrell Williams for an iconic conversation on “No Filter with Naomi,”  a limited-time series under her “Being Naomi” YouTube channel, live today at 3pm EST / 12pm PST.

With more than 500,000 views, the web series has invited fans to #stayhome during this pandemic to save lives and has focused on intimate conversations on multiple topics between Naomi and a diverse collection of her friends, including a variety of designers, musicians, activists, actors and media personalities. Recently, during Black History Month 2021, Campbell used her platform to highlight the “New Black Talent You Need to Know in the Fashion Industry”:

The series debuted on April 6, 2020 and has since featured guests Tracee Ellis Ross, Demi Moore, Mariah Carey, Chelsea Handler, Cameron Diaz, Lenny Kravitz, Whoopi Goldberg, James Charles, Charlamagne Tha God, Mary J. Blige, Gabrielle Union, Kate Hudson, Cynthia Erivo, Cindy Crawford, Marc Jacobs, Nicole Richie, Ashley Graham, Pierpaolo Piccoli, Lee Daniels, Christy Turlington, Adut Akech, Sharon Stone, Paris Hilton, Serena Williams and Venus Williams, Karlie Kloss, Anna Wintour, and Sean “Diddy” Combs.

The “No Filter with Naomi” series returned after hiatus on June 23rd and featured a select group of episodes focused on impactful conversations dedicated to #BlackLivesMatter, social justice issues, racial and human inequalities. These critical conversations included featured guests: Opal Tometi, Rev. Al Sharpton, Alphonso Reed, Cleo Wade, Bethann Hardison, Tyler Mitchell, Indya Moore, Chase Strangio and Tori Cooper.

WHERE: Streaming live on Naomi Campbell’s YouTube Channel. View all “No Filter with Naomi” episodes here.

MUSIC MONDAY: “Chop Life” – An Afropop Collection (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Chop Life” – An Afropop Collection (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on March 1, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

African popular music (often called Afropop, Afro-pop or Afro pop), like African traditional music, is vast and varied.

This playlist centered contemporary genres of African music build the cross-pollination with western popular music like: rhythm & blues, hip-hop, jazz, salsa, and reggae.

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:3qjOqhyt6VX2lx4CTNNjJM”]

Afrobeats (not to be confused, as I was, with Afrobeat) and Afro-pop is less of a style and more of a descriptor for the fusion of sounds flowing out of Ghana and Nigeria.

Here’s a collection of mainly recent releases from a variety of artists. Hope you enjoy.

As always stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)