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MUSIC MONDAY: “Sonia Pottinger – The First Lady of Reggae” Playlist (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Sonia Pottinger – The First Lady of Reggae” Playlist (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on March 9, 2026

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Threads: @stlmarlonwest IG: stlmarlonwest Bluesky: @marlonweststl.bsky.social Spotify: marlonwest)

Happy Women’s History Month! Welcome to another Music Monday at GBN. Your monthly groove wrangler is back with a new collection for your musical pleasure.

When discussing Jamaica’s greatest reggae producers, names like Lee “Scratch” Perry, Clement “Coxsone” Dodd, King Tubby, Bunny Lee, and Joe Gibbs are frequently bandied about. However, Sonia Pottinger—the “First Lady of Reggae”—is seldom included in that conversation.

Against all odds, Pottinger became a formidable force in Jamaica’s male-dominated music industry as the country’s first female record producer, record shop owner, and label head. Today, we are shining an audio light on her incredible work.

Affectionately known as “Miss P,” she was one of Jamaica’s most noteworthy producers from the 1960s through the 1980s. She excelled through an individualized approach to production bolstered by keen business acumen, leaving behind a catalog of outstanding breadth and quality.

Reggae producer Sonia Pottinger (photo via reggaereport.com)

From the rocksteady craze of 1966 and ’67 to the classic roots reggae recordings of The Gladiators, I have gathered this collection of Sonia Pottinger’s essential tracks.

Please enjoy!

As always, stay safe, sane, and kind. See you next month for another dose.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “A Love Supreme: The Essential John Coltrane Playlist” (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “A Love Supreme: The Essential John Coltrane Playlist” (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on February 16, 2026

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Threads: @stlmarlonwest IG: stlmarlonwest Bluesky: @marlonweststl.bsky.socialSpotify: marlonwest)

Happy Music Monday! It’s your monthly Rhythm Broker, Marlon West, back with another sonic adventure.

On this post-Valentine’s and President’s Day Monday, I have been thinking about the legendary musical seeker, John Coltrane. For my second Black History Month offering, I am pleased to share “A Love Supreme: The Essential John Coltrane Playlist.” This collection brings together the essential tracks of one of the 20th century’s most influential musical figures.

While John Coltrane is renowned for the fiery playing that pioneered modal and free jazz — infusing deep spirituality into landmark albums like Giant Steps and A Love Supreme — he also mastered the art of the love song.

This collection includes “Naima,” the 1959 ballad named after his then-wife, Juanita Naima Grubbs, along with standards such as “I Want To Talk About You,” “My One And Only Love,” and “Dedicated To You.”

From his collaborations with Miles Davis to his personal spiritual journey from classic Bebop to the edges of the avant-garde, I have assembled nine hours of John Coltrane’s finest work for you to enjoy.

Please savor the sounds of the man known to fans and fellow musicians alike as “Trane.” I look forward to sharing another collection with you next month.

As always, stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Music Is The Weapon: The Essential Fela Kuti” Playlist (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Music Is The Weapon: The Essential Fela Kuti” Playlist (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on January 19, 2026

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Threads: @stlmarlonwest IG: stlmarlonwest Bluesky: @marlonweststl.bsky.social Spotify: marlonwest)

Happy Music Monday! It’s your monthly Groove Agent back with another playlist on this Reverend Martin Luther King Holiday. Today we are celebrating the life and music of the legendary Fela Kuti.

He famously asserted “Music is the weapon. Music is the weapon of the future.” and some nearly 30 years after his death in 1997, his music is still inspiring generations.

Fela Kuti has been described as Malcolm X, James Brown, Bob Marley, Muhammad Ali, and Dr. King all rolled into one defiant package. All contemporary forms of Black music, from funk to hiphop, owe debt to the driving grooves of the Afrobeat genre that he created.

Fela recorded more than 60 albums and spent a lifetime fighting against political corruption in his homeland of Nigeria. He was in a decades-long cycle of recording music, being arrested and beaten for it, making a song  about that – REPEAT. In his homeland and around the world he was affectionately called “Black President.”

This collection was inspired by Jad Abumrad’s “Fela Kuti: Fear No Man” podcast. It’s a twelve- episode exploration of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and an amazing deep dive into the life and legacy of the multi-instrumentalist, sociopolitical powerhouse, and father of Afrobeat.

Kuti endures as one of  the most important musical figures of the 20th century.

Please enjoy 9 hours of the essential works of the man often simply called: Fela!

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
HOLIDAY MUSIC: “Groove Christmas 2025” Playlist (LISTEN)

HOLIDAY MUSIC: “Groove Christmas 2025” Playlist (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on December 16, 2025

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Threads: @stlmarlonwest IG: stlmarlonwest Bluesky: @marlonweststl.bsky.social Spotify: marlonwest)

Hello and Happy Holidays,

It’s your friend and selector, Marlon West, with another collection for GOOD BLACK NEWS. GROOVE CHRISTMAS 2025 is an eclectic mix of Christmas music, much of which was released this year.

This collection features favorites from Donny Hathaway, Nina Simone, Lou Rawls and John Legend, alongside recent releases by artists like Rebel Rae, Aloe Blacc, Alex Harris and CoCo Jones. I’ve also included selections from Duke Ellington’s classic 1960 “Nutcracker Suite” as a unifying thread.

I hope this seasonal collection introduces you to new classics and favorites to enjoy this year and beyond.

Please also feel free to dig into my earlier offerings, including “Soulful Christmas,” “Cool Yule: A Jazzy Christmas Playlist,” and “Christmas Around The World,” all of which are still available.

Have a wonderful Holiday Season. I will be back with another offering in January 2026.

Until then, stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “The Crossroads: A Blues Halloween Playlist” (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “The Crossroads: A Blues Halloween Playlist” (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on October 20, 2025

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Threads: @stlmarlonwest IG: stlmarlonwest Bluesky: @marlonweststl.bsky.social Spotify: marlonwest)

It’s Music Monday and Halloween here at Good Black News! It’s your friend and selector, the groove conductor, Marlon West. I’ve returned once more during this Season of the Witch with another collection.

I am just back from a screening and discussion with Ryan Coogler and part of his creative team behind SINNERS. It was the fifth viewing for me, in whole or in part.

I saw it opening day laser projected, two weeks later on 70mm IMAX, streamed it twice, once with a sista in the lower right corner offering Black ASL, and today a 70mm print projected at the Directors Guild of America‘s theater with a very diverse and reactive crowd early on a Sunday morning. I was delighted to run into our GBN Editor-In-Chief Lori Lakin Hutcherson and her mother at the same screening.

I came right home and started pecking a few words on this season’s music collection, The Crossroads: A Blues Halloween Playlist.

As any of you that enjoy my Music Monday playlist knows, I love me some Halloween. This is at least the fifth All-Hallows Eve collection I’ve done for Good Black News.

The cinematic juggernaut that is SINNERS is a good reminder of just how much the blues has dealt with scares both supernatural and real-world based.

From Robert Johnson’s mythic trip the the crossroads to Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground,” the blues has provided its share of eerie moments. Bo Diddley’s iconic ‘Who Do You Love” opens with following boasts:

I walked forty-seven miles of barbed wire
Used a cobra snake for a necktie
Got a brand new house on the roadside
Made from rattlesnake hide
Got a brand new chimney made on top
Made out of a human skull

Oh, that’s a Halloween song, all right! Howlin’ Wolf, Koko Taylor, RL Burnside, Norma Tanega, Gary Clark Jr., and so many more purveyors of the blues are present for this Halloween collection.

Whether your plans include handing out candy to hobgoblins of all ages, chillin’ with friends,  or kickin’ at home with that porch light out, here is another autumnal offer to enjoy during this Halloween Season.

Please enjoy this collection, and poke around for my others too:
(https://open.spotify.com/user/marlonwest)

See ya next month!

And as always, stay safe, sane, and kind!

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Dance Jazz” (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Dance Jazz” (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on September 15, 2025

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Threads: @stlmarlonwest IG: stlmarlonwest Bluesky: @marlonweststl.bsky.social Spotify: marlonwest)

Happy Music Monday, you all. I hope this missive finds you smiling and well. It’s your friend and selector, Marlon West, back again with a new collection of tasty tracks to enjoy today and all week long.

Not long ago I was chatting with a pal who doesn’t like jazz, because she can’t dance to it. While of course there was and is big band jazz created for dancing. What they were talking about was the kind of grooves that lovers of R&B, Soul, and Funk enjoy so much.

Being always up for a challenge I created this collection of “Dance Jazz”.

It features New Orleans brass bands, remixes of jazz standards, and collaborations with jazz musicians and hip hop artists.

You’ll find genre-bending musicians like Roy Ayers, Stanley Clarke, George Duke, and Herbie Hancock.

There are offerings of “Jukebox Jazz” created by Art Blakey, Lou Donaldson, Dorothy Ashby and others as a response to the more accessible and popular Rhythm and Blues of the 1960s.

Like all these GOOD BLACK NEWS collections, this one has have been fun to make.

Hope you will enjoy these shimmy-inducing jazz tracks. Stay tuned for some Halloween candy-slinging next month.

As always, stay safe, sane, and kind!

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Soulful Duets” Playlist (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Soulful Duets” Playlist (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on August 11, 2025

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Threads: @stlmarlonwest IG: stlmarlonwest Bluesky: @marlonweststl.bsky.social Spotify: marlonwest)

Happy Music Monday! I hope this missive finds you smiling and well. It’s your musical motorist back again with a new collection to enjoy today and all week long.

Here’s over ten hours of duets and collaborations between artists of many styles.  From the rock and soul collabs of Mary J. Blige and U2 “One” and Jack White and Beyoncé’s “Don’t Hurt Yourself” to love ballads of Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and Rick James and Teena Marie’s “Fire and Desire”, there are duets of all ilk.

There’s new tracks from Burna Boy and Shaboozey’s “Change Your Mind”, Alice Smith and Miles Caton’s “Last Time I Seen The Sun” and many more.

There are songs included like “Stand Back” by Stevie Nicks and “Why Should I Love You” by Kate Bush that have shadow arrangements and backing vocals by Prince.

The Roots have longstanding collaborators like Jill Scott and Bilal and they are represented on this playlist too.

There are so many wonderful duets out there I didn’t even get around to Jazz duets. So stay tuned for another playlist of Jazz collaborators coming to another Music Monday near you.

For now, please enjoy this collection of soul and rockin’ duets.

And as always, stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Fresh Reggae Tracks” Summer Playlist (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Fresh Reggae Tracks” Summer Playlist (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on July 14, 2025

Happy Music Monday, you all. It’s your pal and selector, Marlon, back once more with a collection to brighten your month.

We are into July and for my money, a particularly good time to enjoy some sweet reggae music.

This “Fresh Reggae Tracks” playlist is devoted to new reggae. Many of these tracks were released this year, while others are from recent years. Reggae has always been infused with social change, love, and unity.

Today the genre is as vibrant and diverse than ever. This collection gathers roots, dancehall, dub, and hip hop to showcase range of artists and styles.

Aza Lineage, Lila Iké and Burna Boy are but a few of the artists featured in this collection. There are members of the Marley Family and emerging acts gathered here for your listening and dancing pleasure.

Do enjoy.

And always stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Great Moments in Funk” aka Funk 101 (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Great Moments in Funk” aka Funk 101 (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on June 16, 2025
Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “SINNERS Playlist” (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “SINNERS Playlist” (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on May 5, 2025

by Marlon West (Bluesky: @marlonweststl.bsky.social, Spotify: marlonwest)