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Posts tagged as “Marlon West”

MUSIC MONDAY: “Respect” for the Queen – Aretha Franklin Playlists (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Respect” for the Queen – Aretha Franklin Playlists (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on August 16, 2021

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

While our #MusicMonday main man and selector Marlon West takes a well-earned break from creating thoughtful and unique playlists exploring the musical diaspora, I’m stepping in to post two curations honoring the woman of the weekend, Aretha Franklin.

Respect, the MGM biopic starring Jennifer Hudson as the Queen of Soul, was released exclusively in theaters this past Friday and earned almost $9 million in its first weekend. In addition to being a satisfying film experience, Respect makes you appreciate even more how creative and intelligent Aretha was in her musical expression across all genres.

In addition to being an unparalleled singer who could turn tunes by other artists into her own signature songs, Franklin also composed, arranged and produced several of her biggest hits.

In honor of those aspects of her genius, I offer the playlists “How I Got Over”: Aretha Franklin’s Cover Songs, which includes (of course) “Respect,” by Otis Redding, “Until You Come Back To Me” by Stevie Wonder and “Spanish Harlem” originally recorded by Ben E. King:

and “Rock Steady”: Songs Aretha Franklin Wrote which includes classic compositions such as “Think,” “Rock Steady” and “Day Dreaming”:

Until next time, I’ll bid you farewell as Mr. West always (and lovingly) does:

Enjoy, and please, be safe, sane and kind.

MUSIC MONDAY: “Silly Games” – The Best of Lovers Rock Playlist (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Silly Games” – The Best of Lovers Rock Playlist (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on August 9, 2021

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

This week’s offering is more than a little inspired by the 2020 film Lovers Rock.

Writer-director Steve McQueen’s loving portrait of a house party was one of the best films of last year. I’ve included a few tracks from the soundtrack by Gregory Isaacs, Janet Kay and others.

Though this collection takes us back the last days of the rocksteady era and early days of reggae, it features artists like Ken Boothe, Johnny Nash and John Holt and Hortense Ellis.

They enjoyed international hits with versions of well-known love songs and originals that would go on to be clone classics of the genre.

Happy Monday, and enjoy this reggae mushy stuff.

As always, stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Sir Duke” – A Duke Ellington Playlist (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Sir Duke” – A Duke Ellington Playlist (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on August 2, 2021

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

It’s Music Monday again! This week’s playlist features the 50-year career of one artist. No covers or tributes, just Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington.

He was a giant of 20th century music. He was arguably the most significant band leader in American music from 1923 until his death a half century later.

From the Cotton Club to Europe, Asia, and Africa, he featured artists like saxophonist Johnny Hodges and his 30-year collaborator, composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn, and lead the best-known orchestral unit in the history of jazz.

Though Ellington himself embraced the phrase “beyond category,: here’s nearly 6 hours of the music by one the greatest of all time. Enjoy!

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

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: A “Rumba Around the World” Collection (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: A “Rumba Around the World” Collection (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on July 26, 2021

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

Happy Music Monday, y’all.

The term “rumba” refers to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, “rumba” was used as a synonym for “party” in Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba.

It has since been used in different countries to refer to styles of music and dance around the globe, most of which are only tangentially related to the original Cuban rumba.

This playlist gathers music from Cuba, The Americas, and Africa. This is another one that comes with a “Rump Shaker Warning.”

Please enjoy!

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Hot Fun” – A Collection of Cookout Music (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Hot Fun” – A Collection of Cookout Music (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on July 5, 2021

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

Happy Monday, the 5th. I hope many of you have the day off.

So many of the playlists I’ve created for GOOD BLACK NEWS have been to celebrate a particular artist, region, or genre. There have been more than a few to honor the fight for freedom and civil rights.

This collection is hopefully just pure joy.

This playlist is for firing up the grill in the backyard or park. It’s for listening to while eating your auntie’s potato salad and deviled eggs. It’s to enjoy while pulling the foil off that peach cobbler. It’s for when your jam comes on from back in the day, and you show them youngsters you still got dance moves.

Play it while driving with your peeps with all the windows down. Savor it while you’re eating carnitas on a warm tortilla with a cold drink, or crispy chicken and a side of collards. It’s for kickin’ it too while those old heads form a “Soul Train” line in the grass.

Dig it while you are feeling sand and surf between your toes, while sipping grape Kool Aid, while eating a Dreamsicle, and while hugging friends and family.

Enjoy that summer, y’all.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Freedom Street” – Songs of Liberty Playlist(LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Freedom Street” – Songs of Liberty Playlist(LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on June 28, 2021

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

On this Monday nestled between Juneteenth and Independence Day, Lori Lakin Hutcherson and I thought it prudent to offer this collection of music celebrating freedom and liberty.

Many of these tracks even have the word freedom in their title. Others have just long been associated with the fight for Civil Rights and reform for years.

There are tracks here long-considered, classics, and other new songs on the subject. Clocking in at under 6 hours, this one is a comparatively short collection for me.

Hope you dig this collection of Freedom songs. And if there are any overt omissions, hit me in the comments, y’all.

Have a great week, and stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” – A Love Songs Collection (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” – A Love Songs Collection (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on June 21, 2021

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

Happy Monday, you all.

Juneteenth, Father’s Day, and a trip to St. Louis for the first time in 15 months put this brotha in a mood for mushy stuff.

In this, more than a year of making playlists for GBN, I haven’t done a collection of love songs. Haven’t even done one for Valentine’s Day. Well, here’s an eclectic dose of lovey dove songs:

Some are overtly romantic, others about longing, and still some about loss. Jazz, R&B, Reggae, Rock ‘n Roll, and other genres are presented here.

Hope you enjoy these hours of love songs. Have a great week.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Where I’m From” – A Free-Wheeling Celebration of African American Music Appreciation Month 2021 (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Where I’m From” – A Free-Wheeling Celebration of African American Music Appreciation Month 2021 (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on June 7, 2021

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

Happy Monday again, you all.

Well, it is always African American Music Appreciation Month (aka Black Music Month) around these parts! We celebrate Black music every week here at Good Black News.

It’s been more than a year since I started making weekly playlists honoring African American music in its many forms.

If you’ve been tuning in with any regularity, you know I am no stranger to a free-wheeling and hours-long playlist.

When it comes to a collection that tracks Gospel, Blues, Jazz, R&B, Rock, Hip-Hop, and everything in between, this one was bound to be a long one:

Have a great week.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)

[Editor’s Note: ICYMI, below are links to some of Marlon’s most popular playlists from 2020. Enjoy!]

MUSIC MONDAY: “Birth of the Cool” – a Tribute to Miles Davis (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Birth of the Cool” – a Tribute to Miles Davis (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on May 31, 2021

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

Happy Memorial Day, you all. I also need to acknowledge the 100th anniversary of the Black Massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Last week included the 95th anniversary of the birth of Miles Davis. His hometown of East St. Louis, Missouri was the site of another race massacre in 1917.

So much has been written about Miles Davis. Including is his own autobiography. There have been documentaries long and short about him, so I won’t go on.

At over 10 hours this collection is still the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes his creative output. Miles was a giant in American music, and one of this nation’s most iconic and influential figures in music and culture.

In a career that spanned five decades, he kept at the forefront of many major stylistic developments in jazz. From being of the vanguards of bebop and blazing the trail of electric jazz.

The list of his collaborators is far too long, but here are just a few: Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderley, Max Roach, Gil Evans, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones, Sonny Rollins, Bill Evans, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin, and Joe Zawinul.

Miles Davis gave many of these now-legendary artists, who all appear on this playlist, their first break. Davis was tough as nails from all reports, though he seemed more than willing to imbue great vulnerability and tenderness in his playing.

Do enjoy.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Money Is King” – A Classic Calypso Collection (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Money Is King” – A Classic Calypso Collection (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on May 24, 2021

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

Happy Monday from your friend and selector, Marlon. This collection features Calypso classics from the late 1930s to the 1960s, where this musical style reached many through the internationally popular recordings of Harry Belafonte.

I have included many of his predecessors: Attila the Hun, Roaring Lion, The Mighty Sparrow and Lord Invader to name but a few. Lord Invader’s “Rum and Coca-Cola” was covered with great success by the Andrews Sisters.

Another “Lord,” Lord Kitchener, was one of the longest-lasting calypso stars in history. He continued to release hit records until his death in 2000.

The roots of Calypso music started in 17th century Trinidad. The Africans brought to toil on sugar plantations, were stripped of all connections to their homeland and family, and not allowed to talk to each other.

They used calypso to mock the slave masters and to communicate with each other. It is characterized by highly rhythmic and harmonic vocals and is usually sung in a French creole and led by a griot.

While Calypso is most often danceable, there often much social commentary, and innuendo laced in the lyrics.

Hope you enjoy this collection of music that would go on to influence Ska, Rocksteady, and Reggae.

Have a great week! And as always stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)