Well, it's Friday and you know what that means. Yes, my Oriental hand/groin coordination consultant Fah Lo Suee and I will be off to lovely Indianapolis, Indiana and the palatial home of Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Theoretically), where we will be beating the little SOB within an inch of his life. No particular reason, actually, just on general principles. In any event, further posting by moi will have to be...
The sudden influx of new artists at this time of year can be confusing and unstabilising, so what better antidote than a great big syrupy spoonful of Motown? Released towards the end of last year, Motown: The Definitive Performances, is a fascinating DVD, collecting together US TV performances from the likes of Diana Ross, The Four Tops and Stevie Wonder from 1965 - 1972. It's from a time when music...
Del-Fi label founder, record producer and “the world’s youngest bandleader” Bob Keane passed away on Saturday at age 87. By age 17, Keane was fronting his own big band and played with different bands, including Artie Shaw’s, throughout the ’40s. He started Del-Fi after co-founding and working as an A&R man for Keen Records (during [...]
Back in 1998, when I went to Detroit, I visited 2648 West Grand Boulevard. No, "visited" is not the right word; I made a pilgrimage to Hitsville USA , the house that served as the recording studio for a great number of artists recording for Motown Records. It is a physically unimpressive building, even dowdy, but it was the launching pad for a great amount of music that I own, tunes by Marvin...
No wonder there was such a downpour on Saturday night as lightning definitely struck twice in Hammersmith earlier with more exposure to the glories of the Motown Divas! Owen had splashed out on VIP front-row stalls tickets which saw us whisked up to a small room with a free bar - excuse me people - with our fellow front-rowers and we speculated on what treats we were going to be given by our heroes...
Divas of Motown at the Apollo Hammersmith last night brought together some of the (mostly) lesser known female stars of the great Motown sound in what proved to be a great celebration of the label's 50 years. Excellently supported by Jack Ashford's Funk Brothers Band, the show kicked off with 79 year old Mable John who was billed as the First Lady of Motown but who is better known for her Stax material,...
To misquote Diana Ross and The Supremes, some things you do get used to. One of them being that it was very unlikely that I would ever see a couple of my favorite Motown female singers, both in their early 60s, play a London venue. But one should never stop believing! Last night Owen and I went to the Jazz Cafe for the first of two 50th celebrations of Motown Records we have this week - and both feature...
November is here so it's time for my penultimate legend. Next week will bring the long-hoped-for opportunity to see three Motown Divas: Mable John (the first woman ever signed to the label), Chris Clark and Brenda Holloway. This month I am celebrating a Diva who sadly died nearly 40 years ago. Tammi Terrell lived a life that sounds like the sort of plotline Halle Berry would give her eyeliner to play...
It seems to be Motown time yet again, with Smokey Robinson appearing on the BBC's Electric Proms concert last night and the Divas of Motown tour hitting London in a couple of weeks time. Smokey looks ridiculously young given that it's a good 50 years since his beautiful light voice was first heard on record. But his voice soounds as sweet as ever and his poetic lyrics still sound fresh and original....
I've just watched Gladys Knight on Jools Holland's show on BBC2 and was in raptures. She's fantastic. To think that it's nearly 50 years since I first heard her sing with the Pips. Doesn't seem possible. Still. it made me think about the great female singers who I've had the pleasure of hearing and, in some cases, seeing over the years. So here is my top 50 female singers (and apologies to any I've...
A few years ago, I pitched an idea to HBO and Showtime for a drama series called “Soul ’66.” In a nutshell, it was about dueling black record-label owners in a fictional Midwestern city in the 1960s... inspired, in part, by stories I’d heard about Ed Wingate while researching George Clinton’s early years as a songwriter in Detroit. There was a crime element to show. One...
AMHERST, N.Y., July 23 (UPI) -- Town board members in Amherst, N.Y., say they are concerned the children's restaurant Chuck E. Cheese's offers questionable child activities. Amherst Town Board Member Shelly Schratz said some of the video games at the restaurant chain's Amherst location are too violent for children of certain ages, the Buffalo (N.Y.) News said Thursday. When I see 6-year-olds, 8-year-olds...
DIVAS Of Motown will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Motown by way of a special night at London’s Hammersmith Apollo on November 13, 2009. The line-up provides a unique opportunity for genuine Motown connoisseurs, as well as lovers of the legendary range of Motown sounds to satisfy their souls. Mable John , the first female recording artist at Motown, makes her UK debut, and there’s...
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