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Posts tagged as “112”

MUSIC MONDAY: “Boys to Men” – a Bangin’ R&B Boy Bands Playlist (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

In the post doo-wop era, the majority of male vocal groups were singing about the adult themes of romance, employment, travel or societal issues.

But when Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers aimed and hit a much wider (and younger) target audience with their laments on love and life (1956’s #1 R&B, #6 pop hit “Why Do Fools Fall in Love”), the group opened up the airwaves for generations of boy bands to come.

From the Jackson 5 to New Edition to Boyz II Men to Blackstreet, 3T, Troop, Ready For the World, Jodeci, Dru Hill, Shai and Guy, youth-oriented all-male R&B groups have used vocal blends and harmonies to create some of the best bangers, bops and slow jams ever recorded, as well as been springboards for several superstar producing and solo careers.

This Music Monday, GBN offers you 75 songs and almost 6 hours of the best of the genre from the 1960s through the 21st century.

So, as the Jacksons famously sang, enjoy yourself!

“Surprise! We’re Still Making Great Music!” – Playlist of New Songs to Savor from 30 R&B/Soul Favorites (LISTEN)

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

Many of our Spotify playlists on Good Black News celebrate the songs of years past – but today we’re going to twist it up a little.

With our Surprise! We’re Still Making Great Music playlist, we’re going to spotlight 30 favorite artists from throughout the years who you maybe didn’t know had something new to offer.

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:0X0ZZTJ6z2yxX5Uu7R7j3G”/]

With major record companies so focused on the youth/hip hop market, it’s often just part of the accepted path of a musician that after the hit-making years are over, an artist’s career shifts – sometimes concerts/touring, sometimes acting/performing in musicals, sometimes just retiring or changing careers.

But as the technology for recording gets less expensive, and the ability to distribute music electronically becomes simpler – more and more favorite acts are deciding to record new music.  However, just because they’ve made new music, doesn’t mean its been easy for us to find out about it.  Not many radio stations play new soul from veteran artists, and on the streaming services, these tracks are often not well-promoted – even to their likely audiences.

So we started exploring, and we’ve stumbled across dozens of fresh recordings from artists that we haven’t checked out in awhile, often in decades! Some artists have been recording all along – and we didn’t realize it. Some seem to be testing the waters – can they reignite their fanbase? And, this year in particular, with musicians stuck at home – and with news events and protests inspiring the artistic desire to say something, many are using their art to address the politics of today.

So, here are 30 favorite artists (+ one bonus artist) – a mixture of men, women, and groups with recent music from the last couple years you can check out now electronically.  Let us know in the comments who you are happy to see back in action behind the mic: