Happy Music Monday, y’all. If you haven’t already, please dig Jamila Wignot’s new documentary “Stax: Soulsville U.S.A.”, currently streaming on Max.
The four-part film tells the story of Stax Records, the iconic R&B label, from its late-1950s beginnings to its 1975 demise.
In its prime the label featured stars like Rufus Thomas and Carla Thomas, Sam and Dave, and Otis Redding, as well as the ace house band of Booker T. and the MGs.
Stax was a colorblind oasis of racial harmony in an otherwise fiercely segregated South. Stax has been eclipsed by Motown, with many of their hits mistakenly thought to be output from that Detroit Mecca, even though the comparative grittier Memphis studio had a sound all its own.
Look no further than Carla Thomas and Otis Redding’s “Tramp” to hear just how much their most popular artist was unapologetically “straight from the Georgia woods.”
Stax Records is critical to American music history as one of the most popular music record labels of all time.
In 15 years, Stax put more than 160 songs in the Top 100 on the pop charts and a staggering 243 hits in the Top 100 R&B charts. Please enjoy this 4 hours of essential Stax music featuring Redding, Isaac Hayes, The Bar-Kays,Johnnie Taylor, Shirley Brown, The Staple Singers and so many more.
Marvin Gaye is known worldwide as a key R&B, soul and pop music innovator from the 1960s on. But what may not be well known about Gaye is that his earliest musical ambitions were to sing and perform jazz.
As it’s #JazzAppreciationMonth in addition to what would have been Gaye’s 83rd birthday, we honor his contributions to the genre in today’s daily drop. To hear it, press PLAY:
You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.comor 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 bonus daily drop of Good Black News for Saturday, April 2nd, 2022, based on the format of the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.
The incomparable musician and artist Marvin Gaye was born #onthisday in 1939 in Washington D.C.
From the 1960s on, he helped define the sound of R&B, soul and pop music, as well as blazed a trail for singer-songwriter concept albums exploring personal and social issues in depth with his classic 1972 LP What’s Going On.
But what may not be well known about Gaye, even though he started his professional career in the 1950s as a doo wop singer in the New Moonglows with Harvey Fuqua, it’s that his earliest musical ambitions for himself were to be a jazz singer and player in the ilk of Nat King Cole.
When Fuqua moved to Detroit in 1960, Gaye followed and soon signed his own solo contract with Motown subsidiary Tamla Records.
And even though his maiden release was titled The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye, as Berry Gordy had other ideas in mind for Gaye than Gaye had, 9 of the 11 tracks on it were, at Gaye’s insistence, jazz standards, such as “My Funny Valentine”:
[Excerpt of “My Funny Valentine”]
“Witchcraft”:
[Excerpt of “Witchcraft”]
and “How High The Moon”:
[Excerpt of “How High The Moon”]
Even though Gaye’s first album and the singles released from it didn’t sell well, the title track of his next album, That Stubborn Kind of Fellow became a Top 10 R&B hit and the trajectory of Gaye’s musical path in the public’s – and Berry Gordy’s — perception was set.
But Gaye, still a lover of jazz, returned right to it on his 1964 release When I’m Alone I Cry, this time with way better production value and input from respected jazz musicians and arrangers Melba Liston and Ernie Wilkins. The album starts with Gaye’s smoldering version of “You’ve Changed”:
[Excerpt of “You’ve Changed”]
The LP also includes Gaye’s takes on “I’ll Be Around”:
[Excerpt of “I’ll Be Around”]
“I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face”:
[Excerpt of “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face”]
And “Because of You”
[Excerpt of “Because of You”]
In 1965, Gaye even did a tribute album to Nat “King” Cole after Cole’s passing called A Tribute to the Great Nat “King” Cole where Gaye covered “Straighten Up and Fly Right”:
[Excerpt of “Straighten Up and Fly Right”]
“Mona Lisa”:
[Excerpt of “Mona Lisa”]
“It’s Only a Paper Moon”:
[Excerpt of “It’s Only a Paper Moon”]
and, of course, “Unforgettable”:
[Excerpt of “Unforgettable”]
After this album, the majority of Gaye’s recordings were contemporary soul, pop and R&B, even though he still managed to include a gorgeous, bluesy remake of “One for My Baby (And One for the Road)” on his 1966 The Moods of Marvin Gaye LP:
[Excerpt from “One for My Baby”]
Only after Marvin Gaye’s untimely passing in 1984, did more of his jazz-influenced recording sessions from the late 1960s and 1970s come to light on the posthumous albums Romantically Yours, which was issued in 1985 and Vulnerable which came out in 1997. On those you can hear Gaye’s takes on “I Won’t Cry Anymore”:
[Excerpt from “I Won’t Cry Anymore”]
His experimental version of “Shadow of Your Smile”:
[Excerpt from “Shadow of Your Smile”]
“Funny, Not Much”:
[Excerpt from “Funny, Not Much”]
And the arresting “I Wish I Didn’t Love You So” which seems to capture every nuance of Marvin Gaye’s voice, style and innovations across all the genres he loved:
[Excerpt from “I Wish I Didn’t Love You So”]
Even though Gaye’s indelible legacy was forged from different genres of music entirely, Gaye also gave us much to appreciate about him in the realm of jazz.
To learn more about Marvin Gaye and his jazz leanings, check out the “Standards of Marvin Gaye” episode of WFIU’s weekly music show Afterglow hosted by Mark Chilla, read Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gayebiography by David Ritz and of course, stream or buy all of the albums mentioned during this drop to hear even more of Marvin Gaye’s forays into jazz.
Links to these sources 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 format of “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 music from Marvin Gaye 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, you can check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.
Here is GBN’s Daily Drop for Saturday, February 5th, a bonus episode sharing some of the historical events #onthisday in Black History.
You can also 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):
Bob Douglas, the “father of Black professional basketball”
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 Saturday, February 5th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.
Today I’m taking a look at some of the historical events in Black History that happened on this day. Because honestly, pick a day, any day, and I can tell you some good Black facts about it. And right now it’s February 5th, so were going to do that.
On February 5, 1972, Bob Douglas, owner and coach of the New York Renaissance who was known as “The Father of Black Professional Basketball”, became the first Black person elected and inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Then seventeen years later on the same date, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the first NBA player to score 38,000 points and to this day the former Lakers center remains the all-time leading scorer in the league with 38,387 points.
On February 5th, 1994, the white supremacist murderer of Mississippi NAACP field secretary and civil rights leader Medgar Evers was finally convicted and sentenced to life some thirty years after he perpetrated his hate crime.
We’d also like to mention some Aquarians born on this day – Major League Baseball homerun king Henry “Hank” Aaron, Saturday Night Live and Ladies Mancomedian Tim Meadows, New Edition and “My Prerogative” singer Bobby Brown and Barrett Strong, singer of Motown’s very first hit single “Money (That’s What I Want).” Strong turns 81 years young today – Happy Birthday to one and all.
Today also would have been the 27th birthday of Trayvon Martin, who was unjustly murdered almost ten years ago. May he forever rest in peace and never be forgotten.
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, and available at workman.com [50% off until 2/28/22 with code:CAL50], Amazon, Bookshop and other online retailers.
Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot. For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.
City College Center for the Arts, on the campus of City College of New York, is honoring the 60-year history of Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and Grammy® Award-winning Otis Williams of The Temptations, on Monday, November 1 at 7:30pm ET with a special live, virtual event.
Williams, who is a founding member of the legendary musical group and the sole surviving member of the original Temptations, will have a live conversation with distinguished musician, composer and entrepreneur K. Sparks.
Williams will be sharing memories on the “Evolution of The Temptations’ Music, 1961 – 2021”, and the conversation will be simulcast from CCCA’s Aaron Davis Hall, in the renowned Marian Anderson Theatre. It will also feature other special guests.
Audience members can join the free, virtual event by registering for tickets at the CCCA website, citycollegecenterforthearts.org. The special conversation is also being held in honor of the 80th birthday of Mr. Williams, who turned 80 on October 30.
CCCA’s Managing Director Greg Shanck said, “For more than four decades, Aaron Davis Hall has been Harlem’s performing arts center. World scholars, artistic giants and academic geniuses like Nelson Mandela, Alicia Keys, President Barack Obama and Ella Fitzgerald, just to name a few, have blessed these stages through the years. The City College of New York is so proud of the contributions The Temptations have made, and continue to make, to the American cultural landscape and we are honored to add their name to that distinguished list.”
Williams himself said, “I am thrilled to be celebrating the group’s 60th Anniversary and my 80th birthday with our extended Tempts’ family from across the City College campus in Harlem, and throughout New York and the rest of the country. The Temptations had some of its most memorable performances in Harlem and other parts of New York during our career. To mark these capstones with an online discussion about my career at the prestigious and diverse City College of New York, a college known for its commitment to the Performing Arts, and for recognizing one of the greatest trailblazers in American music history, Marian Anderson, is an incredible honor for me and The Temptations.”
Williams reunited with Smokey Robinson earlier this year to co-write and co-produce the recently released single “Is It Gonna Be Yes Or No” from the new Temptations 60 album due in 2022.
“A friend of mine, Derek Porter, him and I were riding down the freeways of L.A. and we’re talking about the 60th anniversary album and Smokey’s name came about. And I said, ‘Smokey. Let me call Smokey, I’d love to have him on the album,'” Williams shared in a phone interview about his historic reunion with friend and writer of classic Temptations hits such as “Get Ready,” “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” and their signature song, “My Girl.”
“So I called him and I say, ‘Smoke, I would love for you to produce a song for us, write it, and not only stop there, I would like for you to perform with us on it.’ And he calls me ‘Oak’. And he says, ‘Oak, anytime just let me know,'” Williams continued. “Here it is now, it’s out and I hear tell it’s doing very good, and that’s fine.”
Other celebratory events of the Temptations includes recent re-opening at the Imperial Theatre in NY of the Broadway musical, Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations, based on Williams’ personal journey.
The Temptations’ presence across multi-media platforms has never been more vivid. Their hit “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone,” was used as the foundation of the Migos smash “Avalanche.”
Temptations founding member Otis Williams (Photography by Scott Leon. Courtesy of UMe)
Additionally, Williams’ autobiography, Temptations, was recently released as an audiobook edition for the first time, with a new introduction by Williams.
When asked what current artists he likes, Williams offered, “Bruno Mars… He’s a heck of a showman. And he can sing. I look at that, also. And the reason I love them [Mars and Anderson.Paak as Silk Sonic] is because they’re singing what the Tempts is all about. They’re singing what Marvin Gaye is all about.”
“They’re singing great songs, great melodies. Lyric content is good, structured, right… See we were taught all those things at Motown. You know, how to be able to tell a great song. That song [“Leave The Door Open“] when I first heard it, I said, ‘They got another one, they got another one.’ And so I love listening as they come out with that kind of songs that have those elements.”
To learn more about Williams, the Temptations, and the group’s touring schedule, check out their social:
Doo-Wop is a style of rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll vocal music most popular in the 1950s and ’60s. The term “doo-wop” is derived from the sounds made by the group as they provided the harmonic background for the lead singer.
Doo-Wop music is before “the time” me and most followers of Good Black News and these weekly playlists. Though there isn’t a genre called “musically transportive to that time period,” Doo-Wop tracks have been used on many film and television scores for that very reason.
It started in African-American neighborhoods all around the United States including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Detroit, and Washington, DC.
Though its roots can be found as early as the records of the Mills Brothers and the Ink Spots in the 1930s and ’40s, Motown’s premier groups like The Shirelles and Temptations of the 1960s and ’70s were based in this classic doo-wop style.
Berry Gordy’s songwriting powerhouse, Smokey Robinson, had early hits with The Miracles that were straight Doo-Wop songs. Its influence has been felt on punk, alternative rock, and modern R&B artists.
I’ve gathered classics by The Platters, The Flamingos, Little Anthony and The Imperials, The Orions, The Moonglows, and many others for this playlist. Do enjoy.
Today at Good Black News, we pay tribute to the musical legacy of Mary Wilson, who died Monday night at the age of 76 at her home in Las Vegas.
Wilson was the heart and soul of The Supremes, perhaps the world’s most successful girl group ever, and the archetype for Destiny’s Child, TLC, En Vogue and all the other subsequent soulful girl groups who’ve hit the charts in the decades since the Detroit trio ruled over the charts in the 1960s.
More than 50 years after their last #1, The Supremes still rank second only to The Beatles in garnering the most chart-toppers of any group – With a dozen #1 pop hits in the United States.
If Florence Ballard was the Supremes soulful & brassy blues mama and Diana Ross its demure pop ingenue, the late Mary Wilson was the group’s sultry glamour gal. The three of them together evoke the memories of a time when a group of persistent girls from the local neighborhood high school could encounter the right producer and launch themselves into a whirlwind of global superstardom.
In the process, The Supremes would help change the world’s perception of Blackness. Diana, Florence and Mary were the epitome of Berry Gordy‘s grand Motown crossover experiment – they weren’t just stars of the soul chart, but rather they were ‘the sound of young America’.
They toured Japan and Europe, played Las Vegas and the Copacabana nightclub – venues previously reserved for mostly older white artists.
Mary Wilson (photo via Facebook)
Their classy choreography and gorgeous gowns belied their youthful age. And, back in an era when few Black celebrities were seen with frequency on TV, neighborhoods of Black families from coast to coast were abuzz with pride every time the trio appeared on the popular Ed Sullivan Showin front of the whole nation.
By now, most everyone knows the story of The Supremes. Ballard left the group amid scandal in the mid-1960s (to be replaced by Cindy Birdsong). Ross left in 1970 to pursue a solo career that would make her arguably the biggest Black female star of her era.
But Mary Wilson stayed with the group until the very end, through a litany of other member changes, serving as the steadfast backup to two subsequent lead singers. Following the group’s demise, she performed solo concerts all over the world, wrote two best-selling books about her years with The Supremes and even participated in ‘Dancing With the Stars’.
But all the while, she was determined to preserve the legacy of The Supremes, including battling in court to stop unaffiliated groups from touring under the group’s name. To the end she was almost always identified as ‘Mary Wilson of The Supremes.’
Over the course of 15 years of Supremes recordings, Wilson didn’t get to sing lead often. But we’ve gathered those all those official lead/co-lead vocals here, along with a couple solo tracks and some rare ‘from-the-vaults’ tunes released in more recent years.
Look for nice renditions of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You“ (which frequently served as her solo on tour dates), “Our Day Will Come” and her version of the Martha & the Vandellas hit “Come and Get These Memories” from the Diana years.
By the ’70s, Mary’s veteran status was rewarded with a few more lead vocals, including a shared spotlight on singles like “Floy Joy,” “Automatically Sunshine,” and ‘Touch” as well as a heartfelt vocal on Jimmy Webb‘s standard “I Keep It Hid” and a whispery, plaintive adaptation of the Spinners/Phyllis Hyman number “I Don’t Want To Lose You.”
Following an initial half dozen Wilson-lead or co-lead tracks, we’ve taken the opportunity on our playlist to dive wholeheartedly into the chronological history of the entire span of The Supremes – the Diana Ross, Jean Terrell and Scherrie Payne years all in one – because ALL those years were the Mary Wilson years.
Along with all Mary’s lead vocals, we’ve included all the Motown Supremes singles on which Mary actually sang back-up (including the group’s singles with The Temptations and The Four Tops).
Interestingly, in the late ’60s, there were multiple Supremes hits recorded by Ross with Motown’s house back-up singers taking on the role of The Supremes – including “Love Child,””Forever Came Today,” “I’m Livin’ in Shame” and the group’s final #1 “Someday We’ll Be Together”.
Yes, ironically, on their iconic song about togetherness, the Supremes were not actually together (Mary and Cindy did still appear on the album covers, and of course, sang back-up on the songs during live concerts).
We’ve not included those Wilson-less singles here – although we have included later “Love Child” and “Someday We’ll Be Together” live renditions recorded from the group’s final January 1970 concert, where Mary and Cindy Birdsong did sing the background vocals on the songs they never had recorded in studio.
After the chronological rundown of Supremes singles, we’ve concluded our playlist with the rest of Wilson’s lead vocals on album tracks from the ’70s Supremes albums.
By then, The Supremes rule over the pop charts was a memory – and the group was no longer being paired with Motown’s hottest producers.
But Mary’s passionate vocals help to elevate otherwise ordinary ballads into something worth listening to. We hope you’ll check out our playlist and ‘come and get these memories’ of Mary Wilson, another legend gone too soon. Someday, we’ll be together.
It certainly was unwelcome news to wake up to this morning – the news that singing legend Mary Wilson had passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at her home in Las Vegas at 76, news that has been confirmed by her manager.
As an original member of the Supremes, Wilson, along with Florence Ballard and Diana Ross, made history as pop and R&B chart toppers with classic songs like “Where Did Our Love Go?”“Stop! In the Name of Love,”“You Keep Me Hangin’ On” and “Someday We’ll Be Together.”
Although the Supremes line-up changed multiple times over the years, Mary Wilson remained its one steadfast member and continued to perform with the group over the decades, even as she offered music as a solo singer.
Above is an incredible clip of Wilson taking lead vocals on the Supremes cover of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”at the Hollywood Palace in 1969.
In 1986, Wilson wrote the New York Times bestseller Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme and in 2019 offered Supreme Glamour, a retrospective on the group and their iconic costumes and ensembles, its forward written by Whoopi Goldberg.
Recently Wilson was a celebrity contestant on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and was planning to release a new album later this year.
To learn more about Mary Wilson’s life, career and music, click below:
I spotted Christmas decorations in Costco by early October and Hallmark Channel has been airing non-stop holiday movies already for weeks, but like many, our family has always marked Thanksgiving to be the point where we officially kick off the holiday season, including breaking out the yuletide tunes.
With that in mind, Good Black News is happy to offer the “Ultimate Soul of the Season Christmas Soundtrack” as a playlist to guide you through the holidays with ease.
This is a mega-playlist – 25 hours of music in honor of the 25 days of Christmas leading up to the big day. It is not meant to be listened to all in one sitting – but rather to be just one-click away as your go-to soundtrack for the month. You can set it and forget it, or hit shuffle and mix it up.
Our inspiration was to capture the mood of those many radio stations around the country that turn to a festive Christmas musical format in the month of December – but with our own specific Good Black News twist.
In our playlist, ALL the songs are by or feature Black artists. Have it on in the background for decorating, cooking, wrapping presents, or just sitting in front of the fire sipping eggnog – and in the process you’ll be supporting Black artists through your streams.
The world got a happy surprise when Stevie Wonder released two brand new songs earlier this week, his first new songs as lead artist in years.
Wonder held a virtual press conference Tuesday with reporters to reveal his latest news, in addition to the new tunes. Wonder, who turned 70 earlier this year, reported he “feels great” after a kidney transplant last December.
Most shockingly, nearly 60 years after he first signed with Motown at the age of 11, Wonder announced that he has left what had previously been his lifetime record label for his own What the Fuss Records, to be distributed through Republic Records (a sister label to Motown in the Universal Music Group family).
The label is named after the Prince-assisted single “So What the Fuss,” which was included on Wonder’s last full-length album, A Time to Love from 2005.
The new songs “Where Is Our Love Song” (featuring blues/rock guitar maestro Gary Clark Jr.) and “Can’t Put It In the Hands of Fate” (with Busta Rhymes, Rapsody, Cordae & Chika) are both based on musical elements Wonder had started composing years ago (the former song was started when Wonder was 18), but were completed this year with lyrics and messages inspired by Wonder’s take on the news of today.
Wonder indicated that both songs would be potentially included in an upcoming EP or full-length album. Proceeds from “Where Is Our Love Song” will be donated to the charity Feeding America.
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.
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:
Although the Supremes line-up changed multiple times over the years, Mary Wilson remained its one steadfast member and continued to perform with the group over the decades, even as she offered music as a solo singer.
In 1986, Wilson wrote the New York Times bestseller 
