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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Happy Music Monday, you all. And welcome to this second week of Black Music Month.
Back in April, PBS dropped Independent Lens: We Want the Funk! Director Stanley Nelson and producer Nicole London’s documentary features the history, stars, themes and theory behind this most Blackest and inclusive style of music.
Everyone can shake a tail feather on “The One”. It is a celebratory film looking at one of history’s most important musical genres. It offers dazzling archival performances from James Brown, Sly & the Family Stone, Parliament Funkadelic, Labelle, Fela Kuti, and others.
This “Great Moments in Funk aka Funk 101” playlist offers the classic funk songs featured in the film and includes many hip hop tracks that sample them. I’ve also added modern funk disciples like Silk Sonic, Sam Pounds, Big Joanie and others.
Starting in the 1960s, through the Vietnam War, the struggle for civil rights, the rise of the Black Power movement, and right up to the current Black Lives Matter movement, there is no bolder and joyful celebration of Black identity than Funk. Please enjoy this hours-long celebration of decades of funky music.
See you all next month! And as always, stay sane, safe and kind!
Happy Music Monday, you all. It’s your pal and musician marshal is back with another dose of fine tunes.
After Fruitvale Station, Rocky spin-off/reboot Creed, Black Panther and its sequel, Wakanda Forever, Ryan Coogler has proven himself one of the most masterful filmmakers working today.
Though Sinners, which arrived in theaters three weeks ago, is his first film not derived from real life or other properties.
Michael B. Jordan in the dual role of 1930s gangster twins Smoke and Stack, leads a charming ensemble of characters in a blistering, sexy southern gothic horror. It is a blues-infused vampire flick in which the music flows as freely as R-rated gore.
This month’s offering celebrates Sinners’ soundtrack featuring Miles Caton, Alice Smith, Rod Wave, co-star Hailee Steinfeld and others.
There are also offerings from Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, Raphael Saadiq, Bobby Rush and the legendary Buddy Guy, who also appears in the film. (If you haven’t seen the film yet, stay put for the poignant mid-credits sequence.) There are passages of the original score, from Coogler’s frequent collaborator, Ludwig Göransson.
Of course, I have included songs and performances that surely inspired Coogler and his creative team. There are songs by Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor and so many others.
The gospel blues track “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” by Blind Willie Johnson is one of 27 pieces of music sent to space in 1977 on the “Voyager Golden Record” to represent the rich diversity of life on Earth. I can’t think of a better example of the cultural import of the blues.
I’m thrilled to offer this playlist celebrating the blues’ enduring impact, and the film that celebrates Black community, tenacity, and ownership.
See you all next month, and as always: Stay safe, sane, and kind.
Greetings! It’s your friend and selector, Marlon, again.
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s joyous, crisply edited and well observed documentary about Sly Stone dropped in February on Hulu and Disney+.
SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)is a worthy follow-up to the Oscar-winning documentary Summer of Soul, and examines the life and lasting legacy of Sly & The Family Stone.
It was the inspiration of this playlist about the groundbreaking band led by the enigmatic and charismatic Sly Stone.
This wonderful film captures the Sly Stone’s rise, reign and subsequent fadeout, and as the subtitle suggests, sheds light on the unseen and often unspoken burden that comes with success for Black artists in America.
Here are songs from across Sly and The Family Stone’s ten studio albums, their live records, and a fraction of the hit songs that sample this legendary group.
From LL Cool J to Janet Jackson to Beastie Boys to Jungle Brothers, there are tracks included that are driven by grooves of Sly Stone.
Please enjoy this 100 song collection of essential tracks by and featuring Sly & The Family Stone.
And as always, stay safe, sane and kind. See you next month!!
In 1945, Lionel Hampton spotted a five year-old boogying so hard during his concert in Los Angeles, that the legendary the vibraphonist handed young Roy Ayers his first pair of mallets.
Roy Ayers went on to establish himself as a pioneer of jazz-funk and soul. He was hugely influential on the neo-soul and hiphop movement.
As a solo artist, Roy Ayers released dozens of albums over the years, dating as far back as 1963. His last release was in 2024.
Ayers’ biggest hits were “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” and “Running Away” with his group Roy Ayers Ubiquity.
Though over his decades-long career he collaborated with scores of musicians including the Roots, Guru, Fela Kuti and Rick James.
The musician’s songs have been sampled by everyone from Mary J. Blige and Common to Tyler the Creator and Kanye West.
There are 21 tracks that sample “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” alone.
According to Ayers: “Well, I have more sampled hits than anybody,” he said in a 2004 interview with Wax Poetics magazine. “I might not have more samples than James Brown, but I’ve had more sampled hits. Oh, man, and there’s a few I don’t know about.”
Happy Music Monday, you all. I’m back a week late, if you are counting. I have been thinking about the life and career of the utterly original Jimmy Scott.
His voice conveyed such vulnerability, and had such a haunting sound. Jimmy Scott’s life was filled with emotional and physical challenges.
When he was 13, he tragically lost his mother in a car accident, and about the same time he was diagnosed with Kallmann Syndrome. The rare hormonal disorder all-but prevented puberty in him.
Leaving him with a voice all his own.
Sometimes his singing credit was given to a female artist. This happened on Charlie Parker’s live version of “Embraceable You.”
Jimmy Scott saw his suffering as his salvation and was liberated by it. This tenacity lay at the core of his artistry: “All I needed was the courage to be me,” he said. “That courage took a lifetime to develop.”
Scott’s unique style and passion led him to become one of the most influential vocalists in history.
He inspired a diverse set of artists including Ray Charles, Billie Holiday, Nancy Wilson, Elton John, David Bowie, Lou Reed and Madonna. I became a fan when he experienced a third-act resurgence in popularity.
Scott’s career had faded by the late 1960s. He’d returned to his hometown of Cleveland and worked as a hospital orderly, shipping clerk, and elevator operator.
In 1989, Scott sang at the funeral of his friend, songwriter Doc Pomus, the event reignited his career. He performed the song “Sycamore Trees” in the final episode of the original Twin Peaks television series in 1991, and sang backup on the Lou Reed song “Power and Glory” for the 1992 album Magic and Loss.
Scott would record several studio albums before his death in 2014. Much of the material in this collection is made-up of those wonderful recordings. Please enjoy.
