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Posts tagged as “Terence Trent D’Arby”

MUSIC MONDAY: “Ain’t That Good News” – a Sam Cooke Birthday Tribute (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Ain’t That Good News” – a Sam Cooke Birthday Tribute (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on January 24, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Hey, it’s Lori, GBN’s Editor-in-Chief, stepping in with this week’s Music Monday share. As this past Saturday was what would have been Sam Cooke’s 91st birthday, and since Marlon West crafted such a lovely tribute playlist to the “King of Soul” in honor of his 90th last year, I thought it fitting to share it once again in case anyone missed it:

What I’d like to add this time around —  you can read Marlon’s words about Cooke and his indelible contributions to music and the genre of Soul here — is a couple of great podcasts I heard about Cooke’s musical journey in the past year.

The first is the “Don’t Know Much About History” episode of Chris Molanphy‘s Hit Parade podcast, which covers the chart history and influence of Sam Cooke’s singing and songwriting on American popular music:

The second is an in-depth look at “You Send Me” as one of the pivotal songs in the long term development and metamorphosis of the genre called Rock music (which has its roots in jazz, blues, R&B, country and soul) in Andrew Hickey‘s A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs:

There may be even more in depth looks at Cooke and his music in the podcast verse, but these are two that I’ve heard and can assure you are worth your time.

Also worth your time is the 1995 biography You Send Me: The Life and Times of Sam Cooke by Daniel J. Wolff.

The two documentaries available on Amazon Prime, I gotta admit, not as much. Worth it if you want to know more about the parts of Cooke’s life and his untimely death that sometimes overshadow his contributions to music. I’ve watched them both, and the archival footage of Cooke’s performances in Legend makes it the superior choice.

Lastly, as one of the inaugural members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, it should be no surprise that Cooke’s music has been sampled and covered for decades by artists as diverse as Beyoncé, The Game, Amy Winehouse, Terence Trent D’Arby, Bruce Springsteen and Beenie Man. To check out the entire list, go here: https://www.whosampled.com/Sam-Cooke/

I hope you enjoy all the Sam Cooke options available, and that you, as Marlon says, stay safe, sane and kind!

(paid links)

“Surprise! We’re Still Making Great Music!” – Playlist of New Songs to Savor from 30 R&B/Soul Favorites (LISTEN)

“Surprise! We’re Still Making Great Music!” – Playlist of New Songs to Savor from 30 R&B/Soul Favorites (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on September 26, 2020

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

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.

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:0X0ZZTJ6z2yxX5Uu7R7j3G”/]

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: