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Posts tagged as ““Silk””

MUSIC: “Grown Folks Vacation” – Smooth Jazz Covers of Classic Soul and Soft Rock by Shanachie Records Artists (LISTEN)

MUSIC: “Grown Folks Vacation” – Smooth Jazz Covers of Classic Soul and Soft Rock by Shanachie Records Artists (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on August 15, 2020

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

It’s the middle of August and five months into the coronavirus pandemic – is anyone longing for that summer jazzfest they haven’t been able to attend?

With today’s GBN playlist, which we’ve dubbed “Grown Folks Vacation,” you can press play, imagine yourself slipping into your backyard hammock with a glass of wine, and let a wave of classic songs and sounds wash over you (with a twist) – hopefully getting a little bit of relaxation in these stressful times.

Today, we’re celebrating music coming from the independent New Jersey-based label Shanachie Records, which, for more than 20 years, has been keeping veteran artists and favorite songs alive after many major labels have passed them by.

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:1PVRxN4SRARXXd140YFK5u”/]

Shanachie was born in the 1980s as a niche independent label focusing on Celtic, folk, reggae and other branches of world music that the big companies usually ignore. But by the late ’90s, with expansion of the Quiet Storm and Wave radio formats, Shanachie expanded into a new area of music with releases from smooth jazz saxophonists like Walter Beasley and Kim Waters.

R.I.P. Former Temptations Member Otis "Damon" Harris

By goodblacknews on February 25, 2013
The Temptations in 1972 (L to R): Richard Street, Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams, Dennis Edwards and Damon Harris. (Photo: Getty Images)
Otis “Damon” Harris, a former member of the Temptations, died at age 62 on Monday (February 18), according to the Baltimore Sun. The singer passed away at Baltimore’s Joseph Richey Hospice following a 14-year battle with prostate cancer which a family spokeman told the Sun had greatly worsened last summer.

Born in 1950, Harris joined Motown hitmakers The Temptations at age 21 in 1971 after a stint in a Temptations cover band called the Young Tempts with high school friends. The young musician, who sang lead on the Temptations’ Grammy-winning Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” in 1972, was in the group until 1975.
Harris went on to release two albums with his childhood friends in the group Impact, which produced the singles “Happy Man” and “Give A Broken Heart A Break.” Harris followed his time in Impact with a solo album, 1978’s “Silk,” before choosing to leave the music industry.   
During his later years, he was an activist for the group Stand Up to Cancer and his own Damon Harris Cancer Foundation, encouraging men to receive regular cancer screenings, as he himself had delayed in seeing a doctor prior to his cancer diagnosis.
article by Chris Payne via billboard.com