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Posts tagged as “The Isley Brothers”

MUSIC MONDAY: “Summer Breeze” – a Summer Songs Playlist for 2022 (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Summer Breeze” – a Summer Songs Playlist for 2022 (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on June 20, 2022

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

Today on #MusicMonday, we’re celebrating the beginning of Summer 2022, which officially kicks off tomorrow.

One of our most popular playlists of the last couple years was our Summer Breeze: Soulful Summer Songs playlist, which we created two years ago in the midst of the pandemic.

So this year, we’ve taken that original playlist and created the ‘new and improved’ version with about 50 more tracks (!) added to the lineup.

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Our playlist is slightly different than the typical summer mixtape – these are not just summer hits, or summer favorites. To qualify for our list, a song literally had to feature the word “summer” in its title.  It had to be literally “about” summer – the moods and feelings it evokes.

Fortunately, the season of BBQs, island vacations, swimming in the pool has provided inspiration to virtually every genre and generation of Black musicians, so we’ve got all the “summer”-titled popular hits spanning the ’30s to today from DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince, Kool & The Gang, Carl Thomas, War, Sly & The Family Stone, Childish Gambino, Chic, Megan Thee Stallion and The Isley Brothers, mixed in with jazz, hip hop, dance, reggae, and plenty of vocal standards.

Nat “King” Cole is not only one of our top singers of Christmas standards, but also the leader in “summer” tunes, with five songs on our playlist.

And throughout, we’ve sprinkled multiple versions of the Porgy & Bess standard “Summertime,” performed here by everyone from Anita Baker to James Brown.

Among the new songs we’ve added are everything from Jhene Aiko to Joan Armatrading, Anderson.Paak to Prince, Jim Jones to Johnny Mathis, Leon Bridges to Labi Siffre to St. Lunatics.

So, fire up the grill, break out the water slide for the kids, and perhaps grab a mai-tai or piña colada.  Then relax to the sounds of Summer.  Happy Summer everyone!

MUSIC MONDAY: “It’s Your Thing” – The Best of Ronald Isley and the Isley Brothers (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “It’s Your Thing” – The Best of Ronald Isley and the Isley Brothers (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on June 6, 2022

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

“With the possible exception of the Beatles, no band in the history of popular music, and certainly no African American act, has left a more substantial legacy on popular music than the Isley Brothers.” — Bob Gulla, Icons of R&B and Soul

While they’re well respected enough to be in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame since 1992, The Isley Brothers are not afforded their proper place of widespread esteem in the pantheon of popular music.

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They’re the only group in the history of music to have a demonstrable influence on both the Beatles (who covered the Isleys’ take of “Twist And Shout” for one of their biggest early hits) and Ice Cube (who rapped over “Footsteps In The Dark, Pts. 1 & 2” on “It Was A Good Day”).

Over a 60-year run the group changed – one brother, Vernon, died young, while another, Rudolph, became a church minister, to be replaced by a family member – one aspect has remained constant: Ronald’s instantly recognizable, golden voice.

Ronald Isley (photo: commons.wikipedia.org)

Last month he turned 81 years old. Any listener to the playlists I’ve created for GBN knows I’ll slip an Isley Brothers track into a collection whenever possible.

This one is an unapologetic tribute to the vocalist that fronted the most essential band this nation has produced. He’s mastered a series of genres and has also sung the modern American of songbooks.

Ronald Isley has song standards from Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley. He has gifted us definitive versions of classics penned for the Motown production line by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland, as well as delicate reinterpretations of ballads by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

Enjoy this hours-long collection of the best of one of America’s greatest and most enduring vocalists.

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

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “If 6 Was 9” – a Comprehensive Playlist of Black Rock Music (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “If 6 Was 9” – a Comprehensive Playlist of Black Rock Music (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on February 22, 2021

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

Black artists have long been associated with R&B, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Funk, and Reggae, but not Rock. This is ironic as Rock ‘n’ Roll was derived from African American Jazz and Blues.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard are all often counted among Rock music’s pioneers. Jimi Hendrix and Prince appear on any serious list of greatest guitarists.

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This collection gathers them all and features Black alternative rock, country, and heavy metal artists. It would not be a Marlon mix without the inclusion of folks that should be appreciated more for their rock and roll bonafides like The Isley Brothers and The Roots.

In addition to Living Color, TV On The Radio, Bad Brains and other established bands there are several emerging artists including Mint Green, Big Joanie, Baby Got Back Talk and others.

Do enjoy this eclectic and wide-ranging collection of Black Rock.

As always stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Fantastic Voyage” – A Tribute to the Funk Music of Dayton, Ohio (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Fantastic Voyage” – A Tribute to the Funk Music of Dayton, Ohio (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on August 24, 2020

The Ohio Players (Photo Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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

Dayton, Ohio was already a mecca of grooves, before Lakeside first dubbed it “The Land of Funk” in its swashbuckling cut “Fantastic Voyage.”

In the 1970s and 1980s, southwestern Ohio – particularly Dayton’s west side – was known for its collective of funk bands whose influence can still be heard in hip-hop, house, and other forms popular today.

The Ohio Players, the grandmasters of them all, have seen their songs sampled or remade by Snoop Dogg, Puff Daddy, Salt-N-Pepa, Soundgarden, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers to name but a few.

I’ve thrown in tracks by fellow Ohioans — Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, The Isley Brothers and Bobby Womack — to further show the disproportionate amount of funk Ohio has produced.

This will be another one that will make you move. Enjoy.

Stay safe, sane, and kind, you all!

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Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Harvest For The World” – A Tribute to The Isley Brothers (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Harvest For The World” – A Tribute to The Isley Brothers (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on August 17, 2020

[The Isley Brothers (Photo Credit: Lewton Cole / Alamy Stock Photo)]

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

The Isley Brothers, all five of them, started as a gospel group in 1956. Twenty years later, they would create the funk classic Go For Your Guns.

The Isleys began their own record company, T-Neck Records, in 1964, shortly thereafter recruiting budding guitarist Jimi Hendrix for their band. They abandoned T-Neck and signed with Motown in 1965.

The list of Isley hits is long. It includes “It’s Your Thing,” “That Lady (Part 1),” “Fight the Power (Part 1),” and “For the Love of You (Part 1 and 2).”

More than any other band or artist, you can chart the changes in Black music via the Isley Brothers. Don’t take my word for it:

“With the possible exception of the Beatles, no band in the history of popular music, and certainly no African American act, has left a more substantial legacy on popular music than the Isley Brothers.” — Bob Gulla, Icons of R&B and Soul

“They’re the only group in the history of music to have a demonstrable influence on both the Beatles (who covered the Isleys’ take of “Twist And Shout” for one of their biggest early hits) and Ice Cube (who rapped over this album’s “Footsteps In The Dark, Pts. 1 & 2” on “It Was A Good Day”).” — Andrew Winistorfer

The Isleys have charted new music in every decade from the 1950s through the 2000s, without ever truly “crossing over” or betting any of the hyperbolic praise that other acts have received.

They have made the music they wanted to make for more than 50 years, and are arguably the most prolific and successful R&B /Rock group in the nation. Enjoy this playlist of their work.

And as always stay safe, sane, and kind.

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Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC: “Don’t Look Any Further” – a Celebration of Ultimate ’80s “Slow Jams” (LISTEN)

MUSIC: “Don’t Look Any Further” – a Celebration of Ultimate ’80s “Slow Jams” (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on July 25, 2020

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

Heading into a hot summer weekend a few weeks ago, Good Black News brought you a mellow, all-day playlist of ’70s slow jams (click here if you haven’t checked it out yet).

Since so many responded to it, we decided to follow it up with a playlist for the ’80s generation to call its own. Thus, on this warm late-July weekend, we happily offer you a throwback “quiet storm” collection: “Ultimate ’80s Champagne Slow Jams.”

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Following the civil rights-infused, raw, expansive, pioneering music of the ’70s, the ’80s found soul music veering towards more urbane and sophisticated sounds. Smooth adult soul was the name of the game, with polished veteran artists like Dionne Warwick, Patti Labelle, The Isley Brothers, Melba Moore, Gladys Knight, Michael Jackson all hitting new career highs more than a decade into their illustrious careers.

Many of the decade’s most celebrated newcomers – Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Sade, Anita Baker, Freddie Jackson, to name a few – were also decked out in fine fashions, singing ballads that married the lush instrumentation of Philly Soul with the new smooth jazz grooves.

The ’80s were also the peak decade for the superstar duet – from Teena Marie & Rick James to Patti Austin & James Ingram to Kashif & Meli’sa Morgan to Dennis Edwards & Siedah Garrett – and our playlist has all the ones you remember.

But BET’s Midnight Love video show wasn’t only packed with slick romance for “grown folks” – the ’80s also had a cavalcade of teen stars working to replicate Michael Jackson/Jackson 5-level superstardom.

Fresh from the pages of Right On Magazine came Stacy Lattisaw & Johnny Gill, New Edition, The Jets, the DeBarge family and Tracie Spencer, among others. Of course, the most successful of those teens was Janet Jackson – and she’s here along with other Minneapolis Sound stars like SOS Band and Human League, all inspired by the one and only Prince, during his premiere pre-symbol peak years.

In the years before hip hop gained a mainstream foothold on the charts, the ’80s provided many of the jams that would ultimately be sampled by rappers – so you can hear some of the underlying inspirations of Notorious B.I.G., Eric B & Rakim, and LL Cool J – along with LL Cool J himself, with the first enormous hip-hop slow jam, “I Need Love.”

Musically, the ’80s also represented the decade where spiritual messages met more traditional soul balladry in a new kind of contemporary gospel that felt at home on R&B radio. Our playlist closes with a set of tracks from The Winans, Howard Hewett, Tramaine Hawkins, The Clark Sisters and others.

So, calling all you ’80s people, whether you’re slipping into a warm bath by candlelight, sipping champagne at sunset on a yacht or imagining yourself doing so, or maybe just seeking a mellow playlist as background to your umpteenth day sheltering in place – we’ve got you covered.

In fact, it’s a mega-playlist long enough to fill most of your weekend waking hours without repeat – you can set it and forget it.  Hope you enjoy!