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Posts tagged as “Wind & Fire”

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

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:

R.I.P. Pamela Hutchinson, 61, Grammy Award-Winning R&B Singer from The Emotions

(The Emotions, September 1977 Pamela Hutchinson, center: Michael Putland/Getty Images)

Pamela Hutchinson, singer from the famed R&B group The Emotions, has died at the age of 61, according to a post on the band’s official Facebook page Sunday.

The Emotions were comprised of Hutchinson and her sisters, Wanda Hutchinson-Vaughn, Jeanette Hutchinson-Hawes and Sheila Hutchinson-Witt. The family act got its start in Chicago, IL as the gospel group the Hutchinson Sunbeams before transitioning to disco/R&B.

“Pam succumbed to health challenges that she’d been battling for several years,” the post said. “Now our beautiful sister will sing amongst the angels in heaven in perfect peace.”

The Emotions’ two biggest hits were the R&B/disco classics “Best of My Love” and “Boogie Wonderland,” the latter of which they collaborated with Earth, Wind & Fire. Other hit singles include “Don’t Ask My Neighbors,” “I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love,” “You’re the Best” and “Turn it Out.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MePLNcOS8ZA

MUSIC MONDAY: Weekly Playlist From GBN – Afrofuturism from Prince, Sun Ra, Janelle Monae, Parliament and More (LISTEN)

GBN Contributor Marlon West is back once again with an excellent curation of songs that help define the breadth of music and culture of the diaspora. This week’s focus is a playlist that mixes genres but is tied together by the concept known as “Afrofuturism.

In Marlon’s words:

“Hope this Monday finds you all staying safe, sane, and kind. Here’s another playlist from your friend and selector, Marlon. Afrofuturism addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technoculture and science fiction. Afrofuturist ideas have been explored though literature, visual arts, film, and of course music. Hope you dig this playlist of artists working in that mode from the 1950s to the present-day.”

Enjoy!

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

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)