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Five Years Ago #OnThisDay: Kendrick Lamar Releases Pulitzer Prize Winning Album DAMN. (LISTEN)

Five Years Ago #OnThisDay: Kendrick Lamar Releases Pulitzer Prize Winning Album DAMN. (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on April 14, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today we drop in on lauded rapper and artist Kendrick Lamar, who five years ago #onthisday dropped his last full studio album project on us — the highly-acclaimed, award-winning DAMN. 

To read about Lamar, read on. To hear about her, press PLAY:

[You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website. Full transcript below]:

Hey, this is Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Thursday, April 14th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

Five years ago, on April 14, 2017, hip hop artist and Compton, California native Kendrick Lamarreleased his fourth studio album DAMN. The following year, it became the first work outside of the jazz or classical genre to win the Pulitzer Prize for music. DAMN. also won the Grammy for Best Rap Album in 2018 and was a nominee for Album of the Year.

The two albums Kendrick Lamar released before DAMN., 2012’s good kid, m.A.A.d city and 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly were already revered within and beyond hip hop circles as sonic and lyrical works of art. DAMN. was the culmination of a magnum opus in three parts, a tapestry of arresting themes explored in songs with one-word titles such as “DNA.”:

[Excerpt of “DNA.”]

“LOYALTY. FEAT. RIHANNA.”:

[Excerpt of “LOYALTY. FEAT. RIHANNA.”]

“LOVE. FEAT. ZACARI.”:

[Excerpt of “LOVE. FEAT. ZACARI.”]

And the song that has over a billion streams on Spotify, “HUMBLE.”:

[Excerpt of “HUMBLE.”]

Side projects and collaborations aside, like “Family Ties,” Lamar’s recent Grammy-winning collaboration with Baby Keem, we can’t wait to hear what Kendrick Lamar drops next. Until then, this June Kendrick Lamar will be headlining one evening of the Glastonbury Festival in the United Kingdom and is currently scheduled to do the same at Miami’s Rolling Loud Festival in July.To learn more about Kendrick Lamar, follow him @kendricklamar on Twitter, read 2020’s The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America by Marcus J. Moore, 2021’s Promise That You Will Sing About Me: The Power and Poetry of Kendrick Lamar by Miles Marshall Lewis, and 2021’s Kendrick Lamar and the Making of Black Meaning edited by Lehigh University professors Christopher M. Driscoll, Monica R. Miller and Rice University professor Anthony B. Pinn.

You can also read Lamar’s in-depth Rolling Stone interview from 2017, watch his interview with Zane Lowe about DAMN. on AppleMusic’s YouTube channel, catch his videos and incredible live performances on Lamar’s YouTube channel, listen to the entire 5th season of the Dissect Podcast, which is a track-by-track analysis of DAMN., and, of course, buy or stream his entire catalog of music.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, written, produced and hosted by yours truly, Lori Lakin Hutcherson. Intro and outro beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.

All excerpts of Kendrick Lamar’s music are included under Fair Use.

If you like these Daily Drops, please consider following us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.

For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Sources:

(amazon links are paid)

Celebrating Vocalist Nancy Wilson for #JazzAppreciationMonth (LISTEN)

Celebrating Vocalist Nancy Wilson for #JazzAppreciationMonth (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on April 12, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

In continued celebration of #JazzAppreciationMonth, today we drop in on the underappreciated yet cherished and deeply talented song stylist Nancy Wilson, who was at one time in the 1960s the second most popular act on Capitol Records behind only the Beatles.

To read about Wilson, read on. To hear about her, press PLAY:

[You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website. Full transcript below]:

Hey, this is Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Tuesday, April 12, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

Ohio native Nancy Wilson claimed her gift early, knowing by age four she was meant to be a singer. Encouraged by jazz saxophonist and bandleader Julius “Cannonball” Adderley, Wilson moved to New York in 1959 and landed a contract with Capitol Records.

The success of Nancy’s debut single “Guess Who I Saw Today,” led to a rush of album recordings, and to that tune becoming one of the signature songs of her career:

[Excerpt of “Guess Who I Saw Today”]

Wilson’s classic 1962 album recorded with Cannonball Adderley [Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley] contained her first Billboard R&B chart hit, the gorgeous ballad “Save Your Love for Me”:

[Excerpt of “Save Your Love for Me”]

From her 1964 album of the same title, Wilson scored her first pop hit, reaching number 11 on the Hot 100 chart with “How Glad I Am”:

[Excerpt of “How Glad I Am”]

Wilson won her first Grammy for that song and had four top 10 albums on the Billboard charts between 1964 and 1965, becoming during that period Capitol Records’ second-biggest selling act behind only the Beatles.

Wilson released more than 70 albums in her five-decade recording career, and won two more Grammys 40 years after her first win, both for Best Jazz Vocal Album, in 2005 for R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal) and 2007 for Turned to Blue.

[Excerpt of “That’s All” from R.S.V.P.]

In 2004, Nancy Wilson was honored as a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts, and for her work as an advocate of civil rights, which included participating in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march in Alabama.

She received an award from the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in 1993 and also in 1998 she won an N.A.A.C.P. Hall of Fame Image Award.

Although Wilson was lauded as a jazz vocalist, she preferred to think of herself a song stylist, as she drew from a variety of influences, which she spoke about in detail during an interview on grammys.com:

“So, consequently, I was exposed to male influences. From early on, I heard Nat Cole I heard [?????] Jackson and Louis Jordan – loved Louis Jordan. I heard Billy Billy, Mr. B. I mean, he was just, I mean, my father thought Billy Eckstine was like, couldn’t – he walked on water. He loved B. And I heard Little Jimmy Scott with Lionel Hampton‘s big band. I would imagine that was when I was around 10. So basically, it was all male. And, and not gospel. I heard Jimmy Cleveland, James Cleveland, and C.L. Franklin, and his choir from my mom used to play that. So, I got to hear it all. And I enjoyed all of it. And then of course, I became a teenager. I mean, I was allowed to go out.

And there was a jukebox where I heard Little Esther, and I heard Little Miss Cornshucks. I heard LaVern Baker. I definitely heard Dinah and I heard Ruth Brown – I used to love Ruth Brown. That was where I got the exposure to R&B females. Was a quite a while – I think I was pretty much almost grown like 15 when I became exposed to – Sarah had some hit pop songs and I heard Sarah Vaughan and that I loved. “I Ran All the Way Home” was my big song. Also one of my big numbers was the Ravens tune called “You Saw Me Crying in the Chapel.”

So I sang these songs in variety shows and I’m like ninth grade, 10th grade, so, these were the things that really made things happen for me. The fact that I did not I had no idea that you were supposed to be afraid, or that you needed to be nervous. Because to me that had no part of what I did. I was not nervous about it at all. Loved to sing – loved the lyrics to songs always. Yeah.”

 

To learn more about Nancy Wilson, check out the Jazz Profiles series she hosted on National Public Radio, read her 2007 interview on the National Endowment for the Arts website, watch her 1994 interview on Detroit Black Journal on YouTube, her 1962 appearance on Jazz Scene USA currently on YouTube, an 80-song Nancy Wilson playlist curated by yours truly on Apple Music or Spotify, and of course, buy or stream as much Nancy Wilson music as you can online.

Links to these sources and more provided in today’s show notes and the episode’s full transcript posted on goodblacknews.org.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing.

Intro and outro beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.

All excerpts of Nancy Wilson’s music included are permitted under Fair Use.

If you like these Daily Drops, please consider following us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.

For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Sources:

[Photo: David Redfern/Redferns]

Born On This Day in 1973: Producer and Philanthropist Pharrell Williams (LISTEN)

Born On This Day in 1973: Producer and Philanthropist Pharrell Williams (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on April 5, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

As Pharrell Williams takes his 49th orbit around the sun today, GBN celebrates the music and contributions to the culture and community made by this prolific and inventive force of nature.

To read about him, read on. To hear about him, press PLAY:

(You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website.) Full transcript below:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Tuesday, April 5th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

Born April 5, 1973 in Virginia Beach, VA, prolific music producer, composer and artist Pharrell Williams (“Drop It Like It’s Hot,” “Get Lucky,” “Hollaback Girl”) has also excelled as a fashion designer (Billionaire Boys Club, G Star Raw, Adidas) as a film and television producer (Dope, Hidden Figures, the Amazon Prime series Harlem) …and, importantly, as a philanthropist.

In 2019 Williams offered “A-List internships” to 114 college-bound high school students to help set them on their career paths.

More recently, Williams co-founded the Black Ambition Initiative to fund Black and Latinx entrepreneurs in tech, design, healthcare and consumer products and services start-ups. So, let’s wish a “Happy” birthday to this “Beautiful” Neptune on his 49th trip around the sun.

To learn more about Pharrell, read his books, Places and Spaces I’ve Been and Pharrell: A Fish Doesn’t Know It’s Wet, as well as his 2016 children’s board book Happy, check out the 2016 documentary Pharrell Williams: Happy Go Lucky on Amazon Prime Video or Free Movies on YouTube, Pharrell’s interview on The Breakfast Club, his 2019 conversation with Rick Rubin on GQ’s YouTube channel, or his 2021 appearance on PBS’s Finding Your Roots.You can also check out the 2020 Netflix series Voices of Fire, Pharrell’s interview with Mark Ronson on The FADER Uncovered podcast, and Pharrell’ own podcast, OTHERtone.

And, it goes without saying, stream or buy any and/or all of the innovative, industry-changing music he’s produced and performed over the decades.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing.

Intro and outro beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.

Excerpts from “Frontin’”, “Happy,” “Beautiful” and “Brand New” by Pharrell Williams permitted under fair use.

If you like these Daily Drops, please consider following us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.

For more Good Black News, you can check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Sources:

(amazon links are paid)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Grammys Got Soul” – Every Best R&B Song Winner Playlist (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Grammys Got Soul” – Every Best R&B Song Winner Playlist (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on April 4, 2022

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

At yesterday’s Grammy Awards, power group Silk Sonic (featuring Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars) and its signature song “Leave The Door Open” had a huge night, winning in both major categories for singles — Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

FYI, Silk Sonic was not nominated for Album of the Year — that Grammy went to Jon Batiste for We Are.

Black artists weren’t always so frequently celebrated in the key main categories.  As recently as 2015, there were no songs performed by Black artists in the Song of the Year or Record of the Year categories.  And wins for Black artists in the main categories have been infrequent through many of the past 6 decades+ of the Awards.

The Grammys, of course, have honored Black artists in the R&B and Hip Hop categories.  And they did it with Silk Sonic and “Leave The Door Open” last night too, as it tied with Jazmine Sullivan for Best R&B Performance and won in one more singles category that wasn’t televised — Best R&B Song.

In today’s #MusicMonday playlist, “Grammys’ Got Soul: All the Grammy R&B Song Winners,” we’re celebrating all those great tunes in the longest consistently running R&B Grammy category.

It’s a favorite sport of music fans to second guess whether  the Grammys got it right or not, but, as you’ll hear in today’s list, almost all the winners have ended up being — like “Leave The Door Open” is already — truly classic jams.

If you’ve been watching the Grammys for years, you know by now that the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences gives awards in Performance and Record categories (which go to the artists) and in the Song category (going to the songwriters – but not the artist, unless they also wrote the song).

In the twists and turns of the Grammy Awards, a single R&B Performance of the Year honor has actually not been given out consistently through the years.

Although it was awarded up through most of the ’60s (completely ignoring Motown and Stax, by the way, in favor of Ray Charles), it was then discontinued in favor of separate performance categories for Male R&B Performance, Female R&B Performance and Duo or Group R&B Performance – three categories that awarded artists up until 2011, when they were combined once again into a collective R&B Performance of the Year Award.

So R&B Song of the Year essentially became a unique declaration of the Grammys’ top choice in R&B music, starting in 1969 with Otis Redding‘s “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” and continuing to today.

It’s clear that the Grammys favored some trends and artists more than others.  After ignoring Motown in the 1960s, Grammy jumped into Motown fandom in the 1970s with Stevie Wonder and The Temptations – but in the process managed to almost completely ignore Philly Soul.

The Academy began to embrace Disco, but while awarding a Donna Summer song one year, the Grammy voters managed to relegate all the biggest Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards compositions to runner-up status through the years, yet somehow ended up awarding the R&B Song of the Year in 1978 to Leo Sayer‘s “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” over The Commodores’ “Easy” and “Brick House,” Thelma Houston‘s “Don’t Leave Me This Way” and The Emotions’ “Best of My Love.”

By the 1980s, the Grammys favored slick adult soul in the vein of Luther Vandross, Stephanie Mills, Earth, Wind & Fire’s “After the Love Has Gone” and George Benson over more funky fare.

In fact, Prince won the R&B Song Grammy for penning “I Feel For You” when it was a hit for Chaka Khan. But his first R&B Song of the Year nomination for one of his own recordings – for “Kiss” in 1987 – was defeated by Anita Baker‘s breakthrough “Sweet Love.”

The 1990s brought multiple wins for Babyface compositions for Boyz II Men and Whitney Houston, a win for Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis for their work with Janet Jackson, and yes, a win for R. Kelly.

And, if you wanted to win a R&B Song Grammy in the 2000s, you should have been writing songs for female performers, because the decade’s honorees were dominated by Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Destiny’s Child and Beyoncé tunes.

In the past decade, as hip hop has continued to dominate the story of Black artists crossing over to the mainstream, R&B crossover success on the charts has declined, along with the reach of R&B radio.

The Grammys have begun awarding more rootsy and alternative R&B fare.  While the vast majority of all the winning songs for decades had been major R&B and often major pop hits, multiple winners in the past decade have not even hit the Top 10 on Billboard R&B charts, including songs from Robert Glasper, P.J. Morton, D’Angelo and John Legend with the Roots.

Grammy finally seems to be putting musical achievement over sales figures. We hope you’ll enjoy this chronological journey through R&B history.

MUSIC MONDAY: Celebrating “Summer of Soul” and Questlove’s Best Documentary Oscar Win (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: Celebrating “Summer of Soul” and Questlove’s Best Documentary Oscar Win (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on March 28, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

There was a great moment that happened at last night’s Academy Awards, but because it happened directly after a shocking moment, it’s not getting the all the flowers and love it should.

So for this #MusicMonday, we are fully celebrating the fact that Summer of Soul, the feature documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival directed by The Roots co-founder and musical impresario Questlove, won a much-deserved Oscar. And if you (like so many of us) missed his acceptance speech, here it is:

https://youtu.be/IPbOF4wpEVw

Still streaming on Hulu and available on DVD, Summer of Soul is an education and gift to the eyes and ears and if you don’t currently have access to Summer of Soul, the movie, listening to the music from the acts featured in the film is the next best thing:

I’ve included the playlist of the official soundtrack album along with an extended playlist.

From Sly and the Family Stone to the Fifth Dimension, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Edwin Hawkins Singers, The Staples Singers, Mongo Santamaria, David Ruffin, Mahalia Jackson, Mavis Staples and others, the music on display and the stories behind the event are close to (if not completely) mind-blowing.

And if you need another push to check it out (or revisit it), here’s the trailer of the documentary:

Thank you, again, Questlove and all the artists involved that helped bring the “Summer of Soul” into our lives for all seasons.  You all truly made — and resurrected — important cultural history.

Enjoy!

Born 80 Years Ago #OnThisDay: Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul (LISTEN)

Born 80 Years Ago #OnThisDay: Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on March 25, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today we celebrate the one and only Aretha Franklin, who was born 80 years ago #OnThisDay.

Franklin, whose voice was rightfully declared a natural resource by her home state of Michigan in 1985 is the focus of our Daily Drop podcast as GBN takes a brief look at her legacy through career highlights and offers sources to learn even more about the Queen of Soul.

Based on entries in the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022, you can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Friday, March 25th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

“Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin was born on this day 80 years ago and offered a heavenly blend of gospel, R&B, blues, jazz, rock and pop (and even classical!) that this Earth may never see again. A piano prodigy from childhood, this Grammy-winning Rock & Roll Hall of Famer wrote and performed classics such as “Think”:

[Excerpt from “Think”]

“Dr. Feelgood”:

[Excerpt from “Dr. Feelgood”]

“Day Dreaming”:

[Excerpt from “Day Dreaming”]

“Spirit in the Dark”:

[Excerpt from “Spirit in the Dark”]

and “Call Me”:

[Excerpt from “Call Me”]

Franklin also used her musical genius to turn cover songs into signature masterpieces such as “I Say a Little Prayer” – first recorded and released by Dionne Warwick:

[Excerpt from “Say a Little Prayer”]

“Until You Come Back to Me” – originally recorded by Stevie Wonder, though Aretha released her version first:

[Excerpt from “Until You Come Back to Me”]

And, the mother of all covers and remakes, ever, originally written, recorded and released by Otis Redding… “Respect”:

[Excerpt from “Respect”]

https://youtu.be/6S1_skidDFI

 

Additionally, Aretha Franklin’s 1972 Amazing Grace double album remains the best-selling live gospel music recording of all time, and her rendition of the title track to this day remains superlative:

[Excerpt from “Amazing Grace”]

Aretha continued to define and redefine singing and the sound of music in the 1980s and 1990s with songs like “Jump to It”:

[Excerpt from “Jump to It”]

“Freeway of Love”:

[Excerpt from “Freeway of Love”]

“I Knew You Were Waiting For Me” with George Michael:

[Excerpt from “I Knew You Were Waiting For Me”]

The anthemic “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves” with Annie Lennox:

[Excerpt from “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves”]

and her 1998 collaboration with Lauryn Hill, “A Rose Is Still A Rose.”

[Excerpt from “A Rose Is Still A Rose”]

That same year, Franklin made Grammy Awards show history and received a standing ovation when she filled in last-minute for an ailing Luciano Pavarotti by singing the operatic aria “Nessun Dorma”:

[Excerpt from “Nessun Dorma’]

Still going strong in the 21st century, in 2014 at the age of 72, Aretha scored a #1 hit on the U.S. Dance Charts with her remake of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”:

[Excerpt from “Rolling In The Deep”]

All hail, now and forever, the Queen.

To learn more about Aretha Franklin, read her 1999 autobiography Aretha: From These Roots, Respect: The Life and Times of Aretha Franklin by David Ritz, The Queen Next Door: Aretha Franklin, An Intimate Portrait by Linda Solomon, watch the must-see musical documentary Amazing Grace on DVD or currently streaming on Hulu [see my review here], the 2021 limited series Genius: Aretha starring Cynthia Erivo also now on Hulu or the 2021 feature film Respect starring Jennifer Hudson.

You can also check out a few Aretha Franklin playlists curated by me, one of the biggest Aretha Franklin stans around, on Spotify and Apple Music.

Links to these and other sources are provided in today’s show notes and in the episode’s full transcript posted on goodblacknews.org.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com, Amazon,Bookshop and other online retailers.

Intro and outro beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot. Excerpts of songs performed by Aretha Franklin are permitted under Fair Use.

If you like our Daily Drops, please consider following us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon,Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You could give us a positive rating or review, share your favorite episodes on social media, or go old school and tell a friend.

For more Good Black News, you can check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Sources:

(paid links)

GBN’s Daily Drop (bonus): Celebrating Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Rock and Roll Innovator Born On This Day in 1915 (LISTEN)

GBN’s Daily Drop (bonus): Celebrating Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Rock and Roll Innovator Born On This Day in 1915 (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on March 20, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast is a bonus episode about rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe who was born #OnThisDay in 1915, for Sunday, March 20 and based on the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 format:

You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a bonus daily drop of Good Black News for Sunday, March 20th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

When gospel and R&B guitar sensation Sister Rosetta Tharpe reportedly said, “Can’t no man play like me,” she might not have had a clue how many would actually try.

Little Richard cited Tharpe as one of his major influences, and Chuck Berry once said his career was “one long Rosetta Tharpe impression.”

Born on this day in 1915, Arkansas native Tharpe’s 1930s and 1940s recordings of “Rock Me”:

[Excerpt of “Rock Me”]

 “Strange Things Happening Every Day”:

[Excerpt of “Strange Things Happening Every Day”]

“I Want A Tall Skinny Papa”:

[Excerpt of “I Want A Tall Skinny Papa”]

and the classic “Didn’t It Rain”:

[Excerpt of “Didn’t It Rain”]

These songs melded gospel, jazz and Rhythm and Blues into what was soon and would forever be called rock n roll. In 2018, Tharpe was finally and rightfully inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her musicianship and influence.

To learn more about Tharpe, read the 2008 biography Shout, Sister, Shout: The Untold Story of Rock-And-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe by Gayle Wald, watch the 2011 documentary The Godmother of Rock and Roll – Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Gibson Guitars-produced short documentary Shout, Sister, Shout: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, as well as performance clips of her available on YouTube.

This February, Gibson Guitars also debuted the Rosetta Tharpe Collection of merchandise in tribute to her, including a miniature replica of the iconic 1961 Les Paul she used to play.

Links to these sources and more are provided in today’s show notes and in the episode’s full transcript posted on goodblacknews.org.

This has been a bonus daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing.

Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot. Excerpts of songs by Rosetta Tharpe permitted under fair use.

If you like these Daily Drops, please consider following us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.

For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Sources:

[Photo: Tony Evans/Getty]

(paid links)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Black Like Me” – Black Women of Country & Americana Playlist (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Black Like Me” – Black Women of Country & Americana Playlist (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on March 14, 2022

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

Mickey Guyton’s 2020 song “Black Like Me,” released amid the national racial justice protests, was nominated for a Grammy, making her the first Black solo female artist to be nominated in a country music category.

A recent study from the University of Ottawa found a mere .03 percent of all songs on country radio from 2002 to 2020 were by Black women. Less than 1 percent of the over 400 artists signed to the three major country music labels are people of color, according to that study.

Still, Black women artists are making a mark. Valerie June, Yola, Brittney Spencer, and Yasmin Williams are just a few sisters resonating with existing country music lovers, and with an entirely new group of fans.

Many historically turned off a genre that has almost exclusively been marketed to white audiences. They see the industry changing and say their music can resonate not only with existing country music lovers, but with an entirely new group of fans who have been turned off by a genre that has almost exclusively been marketed to white audiences.

There are many emerging artists on this playlist actively shifting conversations in country music around inclusion and diversity. I’ve also included to long-standing artists like Tina Turner and Mavis Staples that have made an impact on country music.

Hope you all enjoy my GBN contribution Women’s History Month. I’ll be back next month. And as always, stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
GBN’s Daily Drop (Bonus): Learn About Erma Franklin, Grammy Nominee and Original “Piece of My Heart” Singer (LISTEN)

GBN’s Daily Drop (Bonus): Learn About Erma Franklin, Grammy Nominee and Original “Piece of My Heart” Singer (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on March 13, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast is a bonus episode for Sunday, March 13 and based on the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 format.

It’s about Grammy-nominated R&B and gospel singer Erma Franklin, who was born #OnThisDay in 1938 and grew up in Detroit, Michigan. Yes, she’s one of those Franklins:

You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a bonus daily drop of Good Black News for Sunday, March 13th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

Today we’re going to celebrate R&B and gospel singer Erma Franklin, eldest daughter of Barbara Siggers and the Reverend C.L. Franklin, and she was born #OnThisDay in 1938.

Though known chiefly for touring with and singing backup for her younger sister (you might have heard of her – Aretha Franklin?) on songs such as “Respect” and “Jump To It,” Erma was a recording artist in her own right. When Aretha Franklin was signed early in her career to Columbia Records, Erma in kind was signed to Epic and released her one and only album for that label in 1962 entitled Her Name is Erma. The music was basically jazz standards and R&B covers and didn’t perform well.

Erma toured for a time as a featured vocalist with Lloyd Price until in 1967, she signed to a new label and scored a Top 10 R&B hit and Grammy nomination with her original recording of “Piece of My Heart”:

[Excerpt of “Piece of My Heart” by Erma Franklin]

A few years later, that song would become a rock n roll staple when remade by Janis Joplin. Erma Franklin also recorded another Top 40 R&B hit “Gotta Find Me A Lover (24 Hours A Day)”:

[Excerpt of “Gotta Find Me A Lover (24 Hours A Day)” by Erma Franklin] She also covered “Son of a Preacher Man” on her Soul Sister album before her sister Aretha did on the same on her This Girl’s In Love With You album:

[Excerpt of “Son of A Preacher Man” by Erma Franklin]

Erma also recorded a stand-out version of the Doors’ song “Light My Fire”:

[Excerpt of “Light My Fire” by Erma Franklin]

And not to be outdone by her songwriting sisters, Erma even wrote some of her own material, such as the could-have-been-a-hit with-proper-promotion song “You’ve Been Cancelled”:

[Excerpt of “You’ve Been Cancelled” by Erma Franklin]

Although Erma’s singing career had its peaks and valleys, her career in public service in her home state was steady.

Erma devoted most of her time and energy to Boysville of Michigan Inc., the largest childcare agency in the state, and acted as the liaison for twenty-five or more similar agencies in Michigan for decades.

In 1992, Erma Franklin’s singing career experienced a resurgence when in Great Britain, her original version of “Piece of My Heart” was re-released after its use in a popular Levi’s Jeans commercial.

It hit number nine in the UK, and Erma made her first and only solo music video, which is available on YouTube.

To learn more about Erma Franklin, check out the sources provided in today’s show notes and in the episode’s full transcript posted on goodblacknews.org. And of course, you can stream or buy her music online.

This has been a bonus daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing.

Intro and outro beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.  Excerpts of music by Erma Franklin were included in today’s episode under fair use.

If you like these Daily Drops, please consider following us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links of your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.

For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Sources:

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GBN’s Daily Drop: Black Lexicon – What “Sadiddy” Means (LISTEN)

GBN’s Daily Drop: Black Lexicon – What “Sadiddy” Means (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on March 11, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast looks at our Black Lexicon category “Lemme Break It Down” from the Friday,  March 11 entry in the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 where we explain the term “Sadiddy”:

You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Friday, March 11th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

It’s in the category we call “Lemme Break It Down,” where we explore the origins and meanings of words and phrases rooted in the Black Lexicon and Black culture. Today’s word? “Sadiddy.”

“Sadiddy” —  s-a-d-i-d-d-y — is a term meaning stuck-up, snobby, arrogant, conceited or superior- acting. What Brandy says she ain’t in her 2004 song of the same name:

[Excerpt from “Sadiddy” by Brandy]

Alternate spellings include “s-e-d-i-t-ty-,” “s-a-d-d-i-t-y,” “s-a-d-i-t-t-y” or basically any two words put together that sound like “suh” and “ditty.” The word is traceable in written form to the 1940s, where it was employed in several African American newspaper columns.

Example usage: “She used to be cool, but ever since she bought that used Mercedes, she’s acting all sadiddy.”

To learn more about sadiddy, there are two great segments on the A Way With Words show on Soundcloud, that discuss the etymology of “sadiddy” in more detail, and I’ll provide the links to both in today’s show notes as well embed them in the episode’s full transcript posted on goodblacknews.org.