Happy MLK Holiday and Music Monday. Here is our first playlist of 2024.
“MLK Day 2024” is a collection of songs and music from across the globe. They are tracks devoted to struggle, liberation, and celebration.
I’ve included songs like “You’re A Winner,” “How I Got Over,” and “A Change Is Gonna Come” that were the real-time soundtracks to the America’s civil rights struggle in the 1960s.
There’s tracks from the turbulent 1970s and ‘80s from Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Freda Payne,Gil Scott-Heron and others.
We got new and old school hip-hop by Lupe Fiasco, KRS-One, M.I.A. and Kendrick Lamar to name a few.
This 13-hour exploration on shining a light into our societies dark places and making the world a better place features jazz, soul, reggae and afrobeat.
Nina Simone and Max Roach are here beside Uganda’s Bobi Wine and Ivory Coast’s Alpha Blondy.
Please enjoy this daylong celebration of tenacity and hope. See ya next month!
We are half way through Hanukkah, with Christmas and Kwanzaa coming up quick. We’ve offered several funky and soulful and jazz and reggae seasonal playlists over the years. Search Spotify by “marlonwest” and they are all still there to enjoy this Yuletide Season.
This Music Monday offering features holiday-themed songs that have all been dropped in 2023.
There are new tracks from new and emerging artists like Cliff Beach, Samara Joy, Fitz and The Tantrums, and the ever-versatile Keke Palmer.
There’s new offers from Mary J. Blige, Brandy, War, and Kirk Franklin. Plus releases from the likes of Johnny Mathis and Carla Thomas.
Hope and yours have a delightful holiday season. Please enjoy this soulful collection offering in the days and weeks to come.
It has been an utter delight to sling good music your way here at Good Black News. See ya in January!
I’m back with another collection in my “Afro” playlist series — “AfroBeatles.”
Earlier this month the first new Beatles song “Now And Then” dropped with the help of master filmmaker, Peter Jackson, and the surviving members. It is the first new release from the group in 45 years.
The Beatles are rightly known for the unmatched songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Towards their later years, George Harrison and Ringo Starr also pitched in with originals. Together, the group created a body of work that inspired no shortage of covers.
Few songwriters have been so thoroughly covered as Lennon/McCartney, and the diversity of Beatles covers is a tribute to their indelible mark on pop music. Here at Good Black News, we are going to focus on the covers by Black artists around the world.
The Beatles (and The Rolling Stones) cut their teeth opening for Little Richard; both bands came away forever altered by his singing style and stage presence.
Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger have made no secret of biting his vocal stylings and dance moves. When it came to doing covers they overt about acknowledging it.
On their first five albums of 1963-1965, almost all of the covers were originally recorded by Black soul artists, including Arthur Alexander’s “Anna (Go To Him)”, The Cookies’ “Chains”, The Shirelles’ “Boys” & “Baby It’s You”, The Top Notes’ “Twist & Shout”, The Marvelettes’ “Please Mr. Postman”, The Miracles’ “You Really Got A Hold On Me”, The Donays’ “Devil In Her Heart”, Barrett Strong’s “Money (That’s What I Want)” and Larry Williams’ “Dizzy Miss Lizzy.”
They are all included here, including their versions of Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and other greats of Soul giants, though the lion’s share of the collection is devoted to R&B, reggae, ska, and jazz covers of Beatles songs.
Here are hours of Beatles music by Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Nina Simone, Marica Griffiths, Gary Clark, Jr., and so many others. Please enjoy AfroBeatles!!
It’s Halloween time once again, and I’m back with another Funky Halloween Music playlist for this spooky season. Here is 13 hours of more Soul, Reggae, Funk, Jazz, and movie soundtracks.
I freely admit to casting a very wide net for this playlist, including tracks simply featured in The Blackening, Nope, Get Out, Us, The Master and others.
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Beyoncé, Gravediggaz, The Weekend, Ella Fitzgerald, Little Simz, Exuma, King Tubby, Geto Boys, Bessie Smith, The Specials, Ray Parker Jr., and others are all present on the ever-evolving collection of Halloween music.
Happy Labor Day, y’all! It is no toil for me to offer up another playlist on this holiday Monday.
After June’s AfroBowie collection, our editor-in-chief, Lori Lakin Hutcherson, suggested a few more in a series of collections of rock musicians inspired by and in collaboration with Black artists.
So here is the second offering: AfroZeppelin. While David Bowie championed and collaborated with Black music-makers throughout his long career, Led Zeppelin’s connections were not as overt.
Outselling the Beatles and toppling them as icons of a new era of rock and roll, Zeppelin was the perfect combo of the Delta blues, London’s swinging scene and the myriad of cultural influences.
The influence of the street-tough Chicago blues of Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf taught them much about swinging boogie. Over the decades many of their famous riffs and lyrics would come under fire. The allegations have brought several lawsuits as well, most of them settled out of court discreetly.
In the case of “Whole Lotta Love”, the song credits were later amended to include Willie Dixon, who claimed Robert Plant used his lyrics from “You Need Love”.
“The Lemon Song” is an expansion of a musical phrase featured in Robert Johnson’s “Traveling Riverside Blues”.
I’ve gathered many of the songs covered and referenced by Led Zeppelin, and their own versions of said tracks. Of course, they have been covered many times themselves.
I’ve included Zeppelin covers by Mary J. Blige, Lizz Wright, and Stanley Jordan. You’ll also find many classic cuts that feature Led Zeppelin samples too.
Here’s Beyoncé, Ice T, Jurassic 5, D12, Dr. Dre, Beastie Boys and many others.
This collection of great tracks stands as another example that no artist creates in a vacuum. Whether the influences are readily acknowledged, each creator makes offerings informed by what came before.
Do enjoy! Until next month! Stay safe, sane, and kind.
Mavis Staples is eighty-four years old as I peck these words. She has been a gospel and soul singer longer than Elizabeth II wore the crown.
Many R&B vocalists started in gospel music, though she and her family have always kept a foot in both worlds. The Staple Singers have brought their spirituality, and devotion to civil rights to all of their studio and stage offerings.
From the churches across the South Side of Chicago and the Rock ‘n Stages with artists a third her age, Mavis Staples has brought her unique smokey voice to audiences for decades.
This collection brings together her many works with The Staple Singers from 1948 until 1999, and her own solo offerings from 1969 to the present.
Mavis Staples is still an in-demand guest vocalist to boot. She has dueted or sung background with Mahalia Jackson, The Band, Gorillaz, Jon Batiste, Run the Jewels, Hozier, Benjamin Booker, Sheryl Crow, Abraham Alexander and so many others.
Mavis Staples is the only subject of one of these playlists that I have had the pleasure of spending any meaningful time with. Back in 2012 I was honored to be one of the Alumni Of The Year at Columbia College Chicago. She received an honorary doctorate from the college.
I was delighted to spend hours visiting with her that graduation weekend. She could not have been more warm, insightful, and kind.
Please enjoy this collection featuring decades of Doctor Mavis’ work with The Staple Singers, as a solo artist, and generous collaborator.
I’m back with another batch of tracks. “AfroBowie”is a collection devoted to David Bowie, who, in a 1976 Playboy interview, described his own album Young Americansas “the definitive plastic soul record. It’s the squashed remains of ethnic music as it survives in the age of Muzak, written and sung by a white limey.”
Though those funky soulful tracks made Bowie one of the few white performers to be invited to perform on Soul Train.
He would also go on to call out MTV on not featuring Black artists: “I’m floored by the fact that there are so few Black artists featured on [MTV]. Why is that?” “The only few black artists one does see are on in about 2:30 in the morning until 6:00,” Bowie continued, “Very few are featured prominently during the day.”
Almost a decade before James Brown would become constantly sampled, the Godfather of Soul would borrow Carlos Alomar’s guitar riff from David Bowie’s crossover hit “Fame” to create his track “Hot”.
Bowie would later team up with Queen Latifah for a version “Fame” in 1990. This collection features Bowie covers from Black artists like Robert Glasper & Bilal, Durand Jones & The Indications, Rhonda Dakar and others.
There are Bowie tracks written with his longtime collaborator Alomar including: “D.J.”, “Fame”, “Never Let Me Down”, “Red Money” and “The Secret Life of Arabia”. And of course his team-up with young Luther Vandross on “Young Americans” is in the mix.
I’ve included David Bowie’s covers of “Almost Grown” by Chuck Berry, Nina Simone’s “Wild is the Wind” and versions of “Knock on Wood” (by Eddie Floyd) and “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow” (by Ohio Players) from DAVID LIVE.
There are a few tracks from Ziggy Stardub, a spectacular reggae recasting “Ziggy Stardust” by the Easy Star All-Stars.
There are also songs from the tribute record Modern Love. It features covers from across Bowie’s catalog by Helado Negro, Khruangbin, Jeff Parker, We Are KING, Meshell Ndegeocello, and more. P
lus, Seu Jorge’s beautiful set of Bowie covers from Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Hope you enjoy AfroBowie as much as I’ve enjoyed making it.
As always, stay safe, sane, and kind. See ya next month.
This June 3rd was the 81st anniversary of Curtis Mayfield’s birth. Today, on Juneteenth, we offer Move On Up: The Best of Curtis Mayfield playlist to celebrate the Chicago native who made an indelible mark on popular music through his protest songs and on the movie soundtrack album in particular.
As a singer, songwriter, and producer, Mayfield is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in soul and R&B music. His early days with The Impressions showcased his distinctive falsetto vocals and he penned hits like “I’m So Proud” “It’s All Right,” and “Woman’s Got Soul,” among others.
However, it was his solo career that solidified his place as a musical pioneer and visionary. Beyond his musical contributions, Mayfield was a vocal advocate for civil rights and social equality.
His songs, including “Move On Up,”“People Get Ready,” “Keep On Pushing,” “Choice of Colors” and “We’re a Winner” became anthems for the Civil Rights Movement. They have empowered marginalized communities and inspired change for decades.
The soundtrack of Superfly was a smash by any measure. The record’s first single, “Freddie’s Dead” came out in July 1972, before the full album and the movie, and hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Mayfield also crafted and composed the 1976 soundtrack to Sparkle, on which Aretha Franklin recorded the now classic #1 R&B hit “Something He Can Feel.” En Vogue remade the song in 1992 and repeated that feat, along with taking their cover to No. 6 on the Hot 100 chart.
This collection features his many hits, collaborations, remixes of his work and covers made in tribute to his impact. Enjoy.
Happy Juneteenth!! Stay sane, safe, and kind. See ya next month, y’all.
Happy springtime from your friend and selector, Marlon!
Here’s a freewheeling playlist, and a seemingly random collection of tunes. Though what they all have in common is famous folks, sometimes uncredited, singing backup.
In some cases it is an established artist leading a hand, like Stevie Wonder contributing to Jermaine Jackson’s “Let’s Get Serious,” or a then-unknown protege like Lou Rawls singing behind his childhood pal Sam Cooke on “Bring It On Home To Me.”
In some tracks, you won’t be able to pick them out. Though in others you will never be able to hear the same again without recognizing them. Here is a breakdown of each song and who’s helping out in the background. Enjoy!
When De La Soul member David Jude Jolicoeur (aka Trugoy the Dove) unexpectedly passed away in February, anyone seeking to revisit the group’s best-known works would have come away baffled and empty-handed.
The scores of uncleared samples that defined De La Soul’s classic records made for a legal minefield when it came to making them available for streaming, until this March:
One of the giants of hip-hop’s “golden era” of the late ’80s through mid-’90s, De La’s penchant for playful creativity would fly in the face of the “gangsta rap” that dominated hip-hop at the time.
While most rapped about slinging drugs, they dedicated a track to telling the story of a drug-addicted family member and told the dangers of ignoring sexual abuse victims.
They would influence everyone from OutKast to The Pharcyde, Jungle Brothers to Childish Gambino.
For several years, the band’s catalog rights were tangled up in major label red tape from their time at Warner Bros. Records and Tommy Boy.
“Me Myself and I: The Best of De La Soul” is a collection of some of their classic, their many collaborations (Beastie Boys, Busta Rhymes, MF DOOM and others), and guest appearances (Gorillaz, Ibrahim Maalouf, Potatohead People and others.)
Enjoy this deep dive into the influential work of De La Soul.
by Marlon West (FB: 
by Marlon West (FB: 