Podcasts about The Isley Brothers

Welcome to Tembo Sounds – The Culture radio show #577, a soul-drenched journey through timeless classics and funk-filled grooves! Tonight's mix features the smooth harmonies of The Delfonics, the passion of Teddy Pendergrass, and the elegance of Sade. Feel the funk with The Isley Brothers, get uplifted by Stevie Wonder, and vibe to the powerful energy of Fela Kuti and Parliament. It's a celebration of soul, love, and rhythm—let the music take you there!

The Isley Brothers (/ˈaɪzli/ EYEZ-lee) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s.[1][2][3][4][5] With a career spanning over seven decades, the group has enjoyed one of the "longest, most influential, and most diverse careers in the pantheon of popular music".[6]Together with a fourth brother, Vernon, the group performed gospel music until Vernon's death a few years after its formation. After moving to New York City in the late 1950s, the group had their first successes during these early years, and rose to prominence in 1959 with their fourth single, "Shout", written by the three brothers, which became their first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, and sold over a million copies. In the 1960s, the group recorded songs for a variety of labels, including the top 20 single "Twist and Shout" and the Motown single "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)", before recording and releasing the Grammy Award-winning hit "It's Your Thing" on their own label, T-Neck Records.The inclusion of younger brothers Ernie Isley (lead guitar, drums) and Marvin Isley (bass guitar), and Rudolph's brother-in-law Chris Jasper (keyboards, synthesizers), in 1973 turned the original vocal trio into a complete band and led to the group's reaching the height of their success. For the next full decade, they recorded a string of top-selling albums including 3 + 3, Between the Sheets, and The Heat Is On, with the latter peaking at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. The six-member band splintered in 1983, with Ernie, Marvin, and Chris Jasper forming the short-lived spinoff group Isley-Jasper-Isley. The oldest member, O'Kelly, died in 1986. Afterwards Rudolph and Ronald released a pair of albums as a duo before Rudolph retired to a life in the Christian ministry in 1989. After multiple lineup changes, the remaining duo of Ronald and Ernie achieved mainstream success with the albums Mission to Please (1996), Eternal (2001) and Body Kiss (2003). Eternal spawned the top 20 hit "Contagious". As of 2025The Isley Brothers have sold over 18 million units in the United States alone.[7] With their first major hit charting in 1959 ("Shout"), and their last one in 2001 ("Contagious"), they are among the few groups ever to have hit the Billboard Hot 100 with new music in six different decades and the only act in musical history to have achieved this accomplishment in consecutive decades (1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s).[8] The group's long R&B chart span landed them a Guinness World Record.[9] Sixteen of their albums charted in the Top 40 and thirteen of those albums have been certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum by the RIAA. The brothers have been honored by several musical institutions, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted them in 1992.[10] Five years later, they were added to Hollywood's Rockwalk, and in 2003 they were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.[11] They received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.[12]PICTURE: By T-Neck Records - Billboard, page 1, 7 June 1969, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27166798

WE've got songs from Jim Reeves, Dusty Springfield, Madness, James Taylor, Marvin Gaye, Slade, The 4 Tops, The Isley Brothers, Earth Wind & Fire, Blondie and loads more for your listening pleasure on todays Show !

| Overture  | The Miracles  | 1975 | Lift Off (Salaam Remi Remix)  | Groove Collective  | 1996 | Every Beat Of My Heart (New Disco Version)  | Crown Heights Affair  | 1975 | Can U Dance  | Kenny "Jammin" Jason with "Fast" Eddie Smith  | 1987 | Just A Little Bit Of Love (Extended Club Mix)  | Maria Christensen  | 1993 | Come On And Do It (Special Disco Remix)  | Poussez!  | 1979 | The Best Disco In Town  | The Ritchie Family  | 1976 | That Old Black Magic  | The Softones  | 1977 | Mr. DJ You Know How To Make Me Dance  | The Glass Family  | 1978 | When Will You Be Mine?  | The Leslie Drayton Orchestra feat. Barbara Morrison  | 1984 | Touching And Caring  | Nina Simone  | 1985 | It's Closer  | Diane Gray  | 1989 | Bad Love  | Donna Allen  | 1986 | Let Me In Your Life (Parts 1 & 2)  | The Isley Brothers  | 1979 | They'll Never Be  | F.A.T.E.  | 2000 | Step The Night Away (Dance The Night Away) (feat. Marvin Junior Jr.)  | Da Producers  | 2005 | Windy City (feat. K. Fox)  | Da Producers  | 2005 | Kisses Don't Lie  | Everette Harp  | 2004 | Jubilation  | Vince Broomfield  | 2017 | Sunshine  | Total Contrast  | 1985

You've heard of the best drummer in the world, best rock, best jazz, best percussionist, etc. Did you know Michigan is home to the best blues drummer in world? Steve McCray, youngest brother to national treasure Larry, has been hitting the skins since the '70s and continues to provide his sonic element to the Michigan scene and beyond.     Known as the First Unk Of Funk, McCray's background of P-funky, Isley Brothers, and hard blues has given him a craft that is truly his own blend. McCray also adds songwriting, production, and incredible background harmonies/arrangements that have helped propel his Brother Larry's music and other Michigan Bands over the top. Steve has no problem dishing the backstage stories or the truth and details of life on the road and in the studio. He can equally be thrilled with local emerging artists as much as he can tease about Dr. John, John Lee Hooker, and his brothers Larry and Carl. Nothing is off-limits and Steve makes everyone tune in and laugh along with him. He has truly been there and seen it all! You gotta get in on this one... TURN IT UP NOW!

Encore: Welcome to Indigenous in Music with Larry K, this week, in our Spotlight Interview, we welcome Raven Reid, a powerful voice from the Mikisew Cree First Nation. Raven shares her journey through music, storytelling, and activism. Her debut album, Waiting for Change, dives deep into themes of resilience, healing, and Indigenous identity. Join us as we explore her sound, and her story. Raven is featured in our current issue of the SAY Magazine, read all about Raven at our place www.indigenousinmusicandarts.org/past-shows/raven-reid Enjoy music from Raven Reid, Alicia Kayley, Bluedog, Susan Aglukark, Chantil Dukart, Sebastian Gaskin, Santana, The Isley Brothers, Logan Staats, Julian Taylor, Raymond Sewell, Edzi'u, Cactus Rose NYC, Liv Wade, Edzi'u, Bomba Estereo, QVLN, Safariways, Nortec Collective, Thomas X, Native Son, Def-i, Innu Pishum, Janet Panic, PaulStar, Shylah Ray Sunshine and much much more. Visit our home page and www.indigenousinmusicandarts.org and check into our Two Buffalo Studios, our SAY Magazine Library and our new Indigenous in the News archives to find out all about our Artists and Entrepreneurs.

On the April 25 edition of Music History Today, the New York Dolls break up, Michael Bolton owes the Isley Brothers some money, & some r&b artists lose their lives. Also, happy birthday to blues great Albert King & Ella Fitzgerald. For more music history, subscribe to my Spotify Channel or subscribe to the audio version of my music history podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts fromALL MUSIC HISTORY TODAY  PODCAST NETWORK LINKS - https://allmylinks.com/musichistorytodayResources for mental health issues - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lineshttps://findahelpline.com

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/rKoYL4yrNsgDespite being cited as one of the most creative and influential guitarists of all time, and his tragically short life, Jimi Hendrix's playing and composing are yet to be fully analysed. This lecture will demystify his diverse influences and reveal the full range of his extraordinary invention in terms of sonic sculpting, rhythmic feel, fretboard navigation, harmony, and composition. We explore this dazzling creativity from his early playing as a sideman to the Isley Brothers, the Experience albums, the iconic Band of Gypsys project, to the tantalising promise of his ‘Electric Church' musical vision.This lecture was recorded by Milton Mermikides on 20th March 2025 at Rich Mix, London.Milton Mermikides  is Gresham Professor of Music.He is Associate Professor in Music at the University of Surrey, Professor of Guitar at the Royal College of Music and Deputy Director of the International Guitar Research Centre.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website:https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/just-ask-axis-jimi-hendrix-unpickedGresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-todayWebsite:  https://gresham.ac.ukTwitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollegeFacebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollegeInstagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollegeSupport Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-todaySupport the show

| Do You Wanna Boogie, Hunh?  | Two Tons O' Fun  | 1980 | Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven  | Two Tons O' Fun  | 1980 | Hurt So Bad (A Mike Maurro Mix)  | Philly Devotions  | 1976 | Let It Whip (Vocal/12'' Mix)  | Dazz Band  | 1982 | Give Up The Funk (Let's Dance)  | B.T. Express  | 1980 | It Doesn't Only Happen At Night  | Cissy Houston  | 1980 | Got To Be Enough (Long Version)  | Con Funk Shun  | 1980 | Love Waves  | Alton McClain & Destiny  | 1980 | I Don't Want To Be With Nobody Else  | Alton McClain & Destiny  | 1980 | I'm Staying Forever  | Wayne Henderson  | 1977 | Intergalactic Love Song  | Charles Earland  | 1976 | Drifting  | Charles Earland  | 1976 | Doing It To Death (Part 1 & 2)  | The J.B.'s  | 1973 | Go All The Way (Parts 1 & 2)  | The Isley Brothers  | 1980 | Got To Get Up (Vocal/Long Version)  | Change  | 1983 | Without Your Love  | Cut Glass  | 1980 | Alive With Love (A Love Letter)  | Tina Fabrique  | 1984 | I'll Cry For You  | Kumano  | 1980 | Power (Vocal/Club Mix)  | The Temptations  | 1980

Hoy os dejamos en la Gran Travesía un programa especial dedicado a lo mejor del año 1962,, donde podréis escuchar a Arthur Alexander, John Lee Hooker, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam Cooke, Ketty Lester, Howlin´ Wolf, Tony Sheridan with The Beatles, The Contours, Little Eva, The Isley Brothers, Elvis Presley...y muchos más. También recordaros que ya podéis comprar La gran travesía del rock, un libro interactivo que además contará con 15 programas de radio complementarios, a modo de ficción sonora... con muchas sorpresas y voces conocidas... https://www.ivoox.com/gran-travesia-del-rock-capitulos-del-libro_bk_list_10998115_1.html Jimi y Janis, dos periodistas musicales, vienen de 2027, un mundo distópico y delirante donde el reguetón tiene (casi) todo el poder... pero ellos dos, deciden alistarse al GLP para viajar en el tiempo, salvar el rock, rescatar sus archivos ocultos y combatir la dictadura troyana del FPR. ✨ El libro ya está en diversas webs, en todostuslibros.com Amazon, Fnac y también en La Montaña Mágica, por ejemplo https://www.amazon.es/GRAN-TRAVES%C3%8DA-DEL-ROCK-autoestopista/dp/8419924938 ▶️ Y ya sabéis, si os gusta el programa y os apetece, podéis apoyarnos y colaborar con nosotros por el simple precio de una cerveza al mes, desde el botón azul de iVoox, y así, además podéis acceder a todo el archivo histórico exclusivo. Muchas gracias también a todos los mecenas y patrocinadores por vuestro apoyo: Poncho C, Don T, Francisco Quintana, Gastón Nicora, Con, Piri, Dotakon, Tete García, Jose Angel Tremiño, Marco Landeta Vacas, Oscar García Muñoz, Raquel Parrondo, Javier Gonzar, Eva Arenas, Poncho C, Nacho, Javito, Alberto, Pilar Escudero, Blas, Moy, Dani Pérez, Santi Oliva, Vicente DC,, Leticia, JBSabe, Flor, Melomanic, Arturo Soriano, Gemma Codina, Raquel Jiménez, Pedro, SGD, Raul Andres, Tomás Pérez, Pablo Pineda, Quim Goday, Enfermerator, María Arán, Joaquín, Horns Up, Victor Bravo, Fonune, Eulogiko, Francisco González, Marcos Paris, Vlado 74, Daniel A, Redneckman, Elliott SF, Guillermo Gutierrez, Sementalex, Miguel Angel Torres, Suibne, Javifer, Matías Ruiz Molina, Noyatan, Estefanía, Iván Menéndez, Niksisley y a los mecenas anónimos.

Send us a textWelcome to Guess the Year! This is an interactive, competitive podcast series where you will be able to play along and compete against your fellow listeners. Here is how the scoring works:10 points: Get the year dead on!7 points: 1-2 years off4 points: 3-5 years off1 point: 6-10 years offGuesses can be emailed to drandrewmay@gmail.com or texted using the link at the top of the show notes (please leave your name).I will read your scores out before the next episode, along with the scores of your fellow listeners! Please email your guesses to Andrew no later than 12pm EST on the day the next episode posts if you want them read out on the episode (e.g., if an episode releases on Monday, then I need your guesses by 12pm EST on Wednesday; if an episode releases on Friday, then I need your guesses by 12 pm EST on Monday). Note: If you don't get your scores in on time, they will still be added to the overall scores I am keeping. So they will count for the final scores - in other words, you can catch up if you get behind, you just won't have your scores read out on the released episode. All I need is your guesses (e.g., Song 1 - 19xx, Song 2 - 20xx, Song 3 - 19xx, etc.). Please be honest with your guesses! Best of luck!!The answers to today's ten songs can be found below. If you are playing along, don't scroll down until you have made your guesses. .....Have you made your guesses yet? If so, you can scroll down and look at the answers......Okay, answers coming. Don't peek if you haven't made your guesses yet!.....Intro song: Funky Donkey by Beastie Boys (2011)Song 1: Glass Onion by The Beatles (1968)Song 2: Baby, I Love Your Way by Big Mountain (1994)Song 3: Because I Got High by Afroman (2000)Song 4: Scientist Studies by Death Cab for Cutie (2000)Song 5: Kisses on Fire by ABBA (1979)Song 6: Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen (1984)Song 7: Sigma Oasis by Phish (2020)Song 8: Sweater Weather by The Neighborhood (2012)Song 9: Footsteps in the Dark by The Isley Brothers (1977)Song 10: Mrs. Train by They Might Be Giants (1994)

The Hip-Hop Digest Weekly Pick Hits 01.The Isley Brothers – The Highway Of My Life02.Sylvia Striplin – You Can’t Turn Me Away03.A Tribe Called Quest – Description Of A Fool (Talkie)04.Roy Ayers – Get On Up Get On Down05.Tony! Toni! … Continue reading →

It was an honor and a privilege to meet Marilee Rose and chew the life-story fat with her a couple of weeks ago.She is a daughter and a sibling and a mother and a fiancee. She's a years-long entrepreneur, a lover of planning and travel, and a gangster in her own right. She's also my guest for Episode No. 162.Marilee and I talked growing up, being a businesswoman, acknowledging adversity and flourishing in spite of it, and being an artist/creator, a connector, a dreamer, and one who manifests. We also talked a little bit about a few of her favorite albums, which were these:The Very Best of the Everly Brothers (1964)No Need to Argue (1994), The CranberriesEverclear's Sparkle and Fade (1995)All Eyez on Me (1996), Tupac ShakurPost Malone's Austin (2023)Find Marilee on Instagram at @marileerose1. Check out her IG photography page, which is @wildrose.photography.kc. Her Web site is wildrosephotography.com, and be sure to find her Air BnB link on her personal Instagram page as well, as new developments there will be happening soon.Chatting with Marilee was a blast, and my only notes correction would be that I foolishly said "Isley Brothers" when Righteous Brothers was the artist name I'd meant. Thank you to both Marilee and to everyone that supports the show.copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio clips contained within this episode. They are samples I poached from a DJ Logic song called, "J.J. Bailey," which comes from his 2001 release, Project Logic (c/o ropeadope Records).

In this tribute episode, Lamont Patterson, host of IAM INDI SHOW, speaks with renowned musician and songwriter Chris Jasper, celebrated for his work with the Isley Brothers, in a conversation that honors his legacy while exploring the challenges and realities of the music industry. Chris shares candid insights on creativity, artistry, and the importance of musical education, reflecting on his early influences such as Sam Cooke, the evolution of his career, and his latest solo projects. He emphasizes the value of resilience, continual self-improvement, and honest self-reflection, underscoring that struggles are essential to an artist's growth. The dialogue highlights the decline of music education, the importance of trained musicianship in diversifying today's soundscape, and how collaboration with producers fosters innovation. Chris also offers heartfelt advice on songwriting, stressing authenticity, humility, and the power of revision in the creative process. His grounded wisdom inspires fellow artists and resonates with anyone pursuing personal growth, reminding listeners to stay true to their roots while embracing the journey with passion and purpose.

Welcome to Indigenous in Music with Larry K, this week, in our Spotlight Interview, we welcome Raven Reid, a powerful voice from the Mikisew Cree First Nation. Raven shares her journey through music, storytelling, and activism. Her debut album, Waiting for Change, dives deep into themes of resilience, healing, and Indigenous identity. Join us as we explore her sound, and her story. Raven is featured in our current issue of the SAY Magazine, read all about Raven at our place www.indigenousinmusicandarts.org/past-shows/raven-reid Enjoy music from Raven Reid, Alicia Kayley, Bluedog, Susan Aglukark, Chantil Dukart, Sebastian Gaskin, Santana, The Isley Brothers, Logan Staats, Julian Taylor, Raymond Sewell, Edzi'u, Cactus Rose NYC, Liv Wade, Edzi'u, Bomba Estereo, QVLN, Safariways, Nortec Collective, Thomas X, Native Son, Def-i, Innu Pishum, Janet Panic, PaulStar, Shylah Ray Sunshine and much much more. Visit our home page and www.indigenousinmusicandarts.org and check into our Two Buffalo Studios, our SAY Magazine Library and our new Indigenous in the News archives to find out all about our Artists and Entrepreneurs.

Isley Brothers - Living For The Love (Flava's Mix) by DJ FLAVA

Send us a textA nice compilation of the greatest love songs by the Isley Brothers.

This week's show featured new music from The WAEVE, Fontaines DC, The Hongi Slicker, Terrace Martin and more.  Sam also pays tribute to a number of artists who have passed away over the last week or so, including Rick Buckler of The Jam, Roberta Flack, Chris Jasper of the Isley Brothers, and David Johansen of the New York Dolls.  

It's been a sorry couple of weeks with many legends falling, including just this morning news that the great Angie Stone of the Sequence tragically passed away overnight. Othere legends lost recently include singer/producer/songwriter Jerry Butler, singer pianist Roberta Flack, Keyboard player for the Isley Brothers (and Isley Jasper Isley, and solo material): Chris Jasper. We play some tunes for these fallen greats and celebrate their lifetimes of music. Brought to you by K & J and special guest Jarrod.

Bo addresses the recent passing of Chris Jasper from the Isley Brothers and highlighting his musical contributions. Golden dives into the contentious political landscape, discussing a legal dispute between the White House and the Associated Press over press pool access. The show features a segment with Curtis Sliwa, who discusses his run for mayor of New York City, outlining his plans for public safety, education, and the handling of homelessness and migrant shelters. The episode also includes listener call-ins where Curtis addresses questions about his campaign. Bo concludes with a musical tribute to Chris Jasper, reaffirming his impactful legacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Grammy Award, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ~My Tribute Chris Jasper. I am a Major Fan of this Award-Winning Talented Vocalist, Musician, Family Man, Man of Faith!Rest on Power!Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, CHRIS JASPER, an integral member of THE ISLEY BROTHERS during the 1970s and 1980s—their gold and platinum years—from the 3+3 (1973) to Between the Sheets (1983) albums. These were the years when THE ISLEY BROTHERS were a self-produced, self-contained group. If you are familiar with THE ISLEY BROTHERS, then you have heard the music of CHRIS JASPER, who was primarily responsible for writing and producing all of THE ISLEY BROTHERS music during this time, including such beautiful love songs as “For The Love of You” and “Between the Sheets” and uptempo funk such as “Fight the Power.” His arrangements and instrumentation as a classically-trained musician, and his expertise on the keyboards and synthesizers, are the foundation of the legendary “Isley Brothers Sound.”Re-recorded elements of "That Lady" are incorporated in "i", the lead single of Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly. The song won the awards for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song at the 2015 Grammy Awards.Marvin and Ernie Isley joined CHRIS and formed ISLEY-JASPER-ISLEY. Without this crucial musical component, They were no longer a self-produced, self-contained group. BUT they topped the charts with Chris singing lead vocals on “Caravan of Love” (1985)  It was also used in commercials as part of a Dodge Caravan advertising campaign. He was also awarded a CEBA Award For Excellence for a Miller Brewing Company commercial. His music has also been used in radio and television commercials,  He continues to write songs and produce his own R&B/Gospel music (www.goldcitymusic.com).His music has been covered and sampled by hundreds of new and established recording artists, including Whitney Houston, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Fantasia, Will Smith, Alliyah, Queen Latifah, Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, Natalie Cole, and the list goes on and on. In 1992, CHRIS along with the other members of THE ISLEY BROTHERS, was inducted into the ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME.Chris studied music composition at the Juilliard School of Music & received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in music composition from C.W. Post College in New York, where he studied under noted jazz pianist and composer, Dr. Billy Taylor. He received a J.D. degree from Concord University School of Law.Chris formed his own record label, Gold City Records, and released two albums as a CBS-associated label. His debut single as a solo artist, “Superbad” reached #1 on the R&B charts & has worked with such notable artists as Chaka Khan, writing and producing a song for her CK album (“Make It Last”).In 2016, Chris was awarded the National R&B Society Lifetime Achievement Award, Songwriters Hall of Fame. He's received numerous ASCAP awards.. Chris lives in New York with his wife of 50 years, Margie, and his three sons, Christopher, Nicholas and Michael. - chrisjasper.com© 2025 Building Abundant Success!!2025 All Rights ReservedJoin Me on ~ iHeart Media @ https://tinyurl.com/iHeartBASSpot Me on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/yxuy23baAudacy:  https://tinyurl.com/BASAud

Marc & Kim break down the left's outrage over Trump's latest moves, including his cabinet meeting with Elon Musk. James Carville predicts Trump's support will collapse in six weeks—but is that just wishful thinking? Plus, polling shows massive approval for Trump's cost-cutting initiatives. Nicole Murray checks in with business, and Ethan joins for In Other News, covering the passing of Isley Brothers legend Chris Jasper, Kathleen Kennedy's rumored Lucasfilm exit, John Lithgow's surprise Dumbledore casting, and more. Also, Carl Middleman goes off on trivia night sticklers, and Jason Bonham gears up for a Led Zeppelin tribute tour.

Marc & Kim welcome Ethan for "In Other News," covering the passing of Isley Brothers legend Chris Jasper, Kathleen Kennedy's rumored exit from Lucasfilm, and John Lithgow's surprising casting as Dumbledore. Plus, Carl Middleman unleashes his fury on trivia night nitpicking, and Jason Bonham gears up for a Led Zeppelin tribute tour. Also, Paramount+ revives classic MTV Unplugged performances.

Bo addresses the recent passing of Chris Jasper from the Isley Brothers and highlighting his musical contributions. Golden dives into the contentious political landscape, discussing a legal dispute between the White House and the Associated Press over press pool access. The show features a segment with Curtis Sliwa, who discusses his run for mayor of New York City, outlining his plans for public safety, education, and the handling of homelessness and migrant shelters. The episode also includes listener call-ins where Curtis addresses questions about his campaign. Bo concludes with a musical tribute to Chris Jasper, reaffirming his impactful legacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us a textWelcome to Guess the Year! This is an interactive, competitive podcast series where you will be able to play along and compete against your fellow listeners. Here is how the scoring works:10 points: Get the year dead on!7 points: 1-2 years off4 points: 3-5 years off1 point: 6-10 years offGuesses can be emailed to drandrewmay@gmail.com or texted using the link at the top of the show notes (please leave your name).I will read your scores out before the next episode, along with the scores of your fellow listeners! Please email your guesses to Andrew no later than 12pm EST on the day the next episode posts if you want them read out on the episode (e.g., if an episode releases on Monday, then I need your guesses by 12pm EST on Wednesday; if an episode releases on Friday, then I need your guesses by 12 pm EST on Monday). Note: If you don't get your scores in on time, they will still be added to the overall scores I am keeping. So they will count for the final scores - in other words, you can catch up if you get behind, you just won't have your scores read out on the released episode. All I need is your guesses (e.g., Song 1 - 19xx, Song 2 - 20xx, Song 3 - 19xx, etc.). Please be honest with your guesses! Best of luck!!The answers to today's ten songs can be found below. If you are playing along, don't scroll down until you have made your guesses. .....Have you made your guesses yet? If so, you can scroll down and look at the answers......Okay, answers coming. Don't peek if you haven't made your guesses yet!.....Intro song: Diamonds from Sierra Leone by Kanye West (feat. Jay-Z) (2005)Song 1: Footsteps in the Dark, Pts. 1 & 2 by The Isley Brothers (1977)Song 2: Helicopter by Bloc Party (2004)Song 3: You Know My Name by Chris Cornell (2006)Song 4: Them Changes by Thundercat (2015)Song 5: Helicopter by XTC (1979)Song 6: Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey (1964)Song 7: Space Oddity by David Matthews (1977)Song 8: Helicopter by M. Ward (2003)Song 9: Goldeneye by Tina Turner (1995)Song 10: Rapp Snitch Knishes by MF Doom (feat. Mr. Fantastik) (2004)

LAUSD begins enforcing a phone ban on their over 1000 campuses today. State prosecutors file charges against a landlord suspected of rent gouging after last month’s fires. The Isley Brothers and De La Soul are just some of the acts coming to the Hollywood Bowl. Plus, more. Support The L.A. Report by donating at LAist.com/join and by visiting https://laist.comSupport the show: https://laist.com

In this latest episode in the Two Kens collaborative series on American politics and Christian nationalism, Fong and Kemp point out the jarring historical parallels with how Germany's Hitler and Hungary's Orban were able to dismantle their countries democracies so quickly. This episode is a call to action and resistance for every American who is now seeing the clear signs of decay in our democracy. Transition and outro music credit to The Isley Brothers and their "Fight the Power" anthem from 1975.

594 - The Isley Brothers - Lucky Charm: Chris, Nick, and Andy break down "Lucky Charm" from the 2003 album Body Kiss by The Isley Brothers featuring Ronald Isley aka Mr. Biggs. 

| Feed The Flame (Disco Version)  | Lorraine Johnson  | 1978 | Come On Dance, Dance (Edited 12" Version)  | Saturday Night Band  | 1978 | Go For It  | Peabo Bryson  | 1982 | Life In The City (Parts 1 & 2)  | The Isley Brothers  | 1979 | Plato's Retreat  | Joe Thomas  | 1978 | Knockin' On My Door  | Barbara Fowler  | 1985 | Day And Night  | Dynasty  | 1980 | I'm So Hot  | Denise LaSalle  | 1980 | Beverly  | Fonzi Thornton  | 1983 | Hustlin'  | The Players' Association  | 1977 | We're Almost There  | The Players Association  | 1980 | Keep It Comin'  | Julianne  | 1993 | That Girl Wants To Dance With Me (Long Version)  | Gregory Hines  | 1988 | Feel Alright  | Komiko  | 1982 | Let's Do It  | Convertion  | 1980 | Hey Sexy  | Keyshia Cole  | 2012 | Love Is Gone  | Chi-Lites  | 1969 | (Um Um) My Baby Loves Me  | Chi-Lites  | 1969 | Gonna Make You Mine  | Anglo Saxon Brown  | 1976 | I Don't Need No Music  | T.J.M.  | 1979

Jams Of The Year débute sa 4e saison avec l'année 1994JANVIER - R. Kelly ouvre l'année avec "Bump n' Grind", extrait de son 1er album solo "12 Play". Ce titre devient son premier N°1 aux États-Unis, marquant le début de son ascension. L'album, six fois disque de platine, établit R. Kelly comme producteur de premier plan dans le R&B.FÉVRIER - Carleen Anderson, fille de la chanteuse de James Brown Vicki Anderson, livre "Nervous Breakdown". Ce titre en deux parties mêle folk intimiste et explosions funk, narrant l'histoire poignante d'une mère célibataire au bout du rouleau.MARS - Coolio émerge de Compton avec "Fantastic Voyage". Construit sur un sample de Lakeside, ce titre évoque la dure réalité du ghetto tout en proposant une échappatoire positive, préfigurant le succès mondial "Gangsta's Paradise".AVRIL - SWV propulse "Anything" dans les charts avec un remix featuring Wu-Tang Clan pour la B.O. d'"Above The Rim". Le groupe, initialement sous-estimé, prouve son talent grâce au producteur Brian Alexander Morgan.MAI - Da Brat devient la première rappeuse à obtenir un disque de platine avec "Funkdafied". Produit par Jermaine Dupri, le titre sample "Between The Sheets" des Isley Brothers et rend hommage au funk de Parliament.JUIN - Outkast pose les fondations du son d'Atlanta avec "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik". Produit par Organized Noise, le titre s'inspire du P-Funk tout en développant une identité sudiste unique.JUILLET - Usher, alors âgé de 16 ans, fait ses débuts avec "Can U Get Wit It". Produit par DeVante Swing de Jodeci et un jeune Timbaland, le titre annonce déjà les prémices d'une future superstar.AOÛT - Zhané marque l'été avec "Hey Mr. DJ", un titre soul aux influences jazzy qui devient un classique des dancefloors. Le duo féminin de Philadelphie, signé sur le label Motown, apporte une fraîcheur et une élégance qui contrastent avec le new jack swing dominant de l'époque.SEPTEMBRE - Jamiroquai livre "Space Cowboy", titre phare de son 2e album. Jay Kay aborde ses démons personnels sur fond d'acid jazz, confirmant le statut international du groupe.OCTOBRE - Paris délivre "Guerilla Funk", fusion militante entre G-Funk et conscience politique. Le titre sample Funkadelic et Parliament, tout en portant un message proche des Black Panthers.NOVEMBRE - Soul For Real, groupe d'adolescents produit par Heavy D, conquiert la première place du R&B avec "Candy Rain", dans la lignée de New Edition.DÉCEMBRE - Brandy clôture l'année avec "Baby", l'un des quatre hits de son 1er album. Produite par Keith Crouch, elle s'impose comme l'une des nouvelles voix majeures du R&B aux côtés de Monica et Aaliyah.Aidez nous, en soutenant gratuitement ce podcast !Comment ? C'est très simple :1)

In this program you will the hear the African music roots of famed American blues and rock 'n' roll artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, Fats Domino, the Isley Brothers, Robert Johnson, The Kingsmen and many more! Not everyone in this program is as well-known as the above mentioned juggernauts of music. Also included is Celia Cruz, Sexteto Habanero, Arsenio Rodriguez, and Baby Face Leroy. Co-produced by Ned Sublette and Robert Palmer, author of “Deep Blues”, regarded by many as the best book on the blues. APWW #91

Get ready to unwind and chill to the soulful vibes on 'Chillmode' with Metro Beatz! This week, enjoy the smoothest R&B and slow jam tunes that will soothe your soul. This week unwind to the melodies of Teena Marie, FLO, Tiana Major9, Troop, Isley Brothers, Tyrese, Jacquees, Tyla, Jenn Em and plenty of Holiday slow jams! Tune in every Sunday night at 10pm for the ultimate chill-out session exclusively on mocradio.com. Let Metro Beatz be your guide as he curates a mesmerizing playlist made for relaxation & chill. Whether you're winding down the weekend or seeking a soothing escape, 'Chillmode' is the perfect soundtrack to set the mood.

Introducing DXYY, a talented 24-year-old artist, writer, dancer, drummer, and poet hailing from West Dayton. He has recently released his first single, “Come Get You,” in collaboration with his cousin Jxve and is set to drop his second single, “After The First Flight,” out now.DXYY's journey as an artist began when he wrote a cover of a song by one of his favorite artists, Blast. However, it was the encouragement and support from his peers that truly inspired him to pursue his dreams in music. He describes his sound as vibey, chill, and funky, aiming to put Ohio back on the map by reviving that classic funk sound that has influenced him.He pays homage to legendary artists from Ohio, such as Zapp & Roger and the Isley Brothers, recognizing their impact on the music scene and drawing inspiration from their rich legacies. A significant part of DXYY's creative process is his strong bond with his cousin, who plays a vital role in mixing, mastering, and engineering his music. His cousin is also an established artist, further enriching their collaborative efforts and enhancing DXYY's musical journey.With his unique blend of influences and a commitment to bringing funk back into the spotlight, DXYY is poised to make a mark in the music industry. Keep an ear out for his upcoming releases and the vibrant energy he brings to the scene! https://www.instagram.com/x.dxyy/profilecard/?igsh=MXhqeDh3cDloMmhoag==

On this week's show, we spend quality time with the first new record in 16 years from The Cure, the 4th & final record from Japandroids and the 9th record from Dawes, pour one out for the late, great, legendary Quincy Jones, and listen to Lydia Loveless turn Somewhere Else into Something Else. All this & much, much less! Debts No Honest Man Can Pay started in 2003 at WHFR-FM (Dearborn, MI), moved to WGWG-FM (Boiling Springs, NC) in 2006 & Plaza Midwood Community Radio (Charlotte, NC) in 2012, with a brief pit-stop at WLFM-FM (Appleton, WI) in 2004.

Join us on the Voices Of Russ Ballard with our very special guest, the voice of Tower Of Power and Santana, Ray Greene.  Ray talks about his graduation from the Berkeley School of Music, playing alongside Aretha Franklin, Rick James, The Isley Brothers and of course, Tower Of Power. Some great music along the way too. Look out for Part Two coming soon….. (this episode was recorded just before the passing of the great Quincy Jones. RIP) “You give 100% every time you go that stage”  Ray Greene  “The music business has been phenomenal for me, especially the last 10  /15 years of my life”  Ray Greene 

This week's show is a mostly chilled affair, featuring classic laid back vibes from Loleatta Holloway, Lyn Collins, The Isley Brothers and Leon Thomas. Birthday celebrations go out to Otis Williams (The Temptations) and for Eddie Holland. New music selections come from Quinn Oulton, The Offline and from Copa Salvo. For more info and tracklisting, visit: https://thefaceradio.com/superfly-funk-and-soul-show/Tune into new broadcasts of the Superfly Funk & Soul Show, LIVE, Fridays from 10 AM - 12 PM EST / 3 - 5 PM GMT.//Dig this show? Please consider supporting The Face Radio: http://support.thefaceradio.com Support The Face Radio with PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/thefaceradio. Join the family at https://plus.acast.com/s/thefaceradio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Original New Timbral Orchestra (TONTO) is the first and largest multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer, capable of producing many tone colours with different voices simultaneously. Beginning with a single Moog Series III Modular in 1968, creators Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff continued to expand TONTO with modules from different manufacturers, along with custom additions designed by Cecil. It marked the first attempt at creating a universal language for different synthesizers to communicate with each other, which was revolutionary. Under the name Tonto's Expanding Head Band, Cecil and Margouleff released the highly influential album Zero Time. The album demonstrated the rich, layered sounds of the massive synth, attracting significant attention and major collaborations. TONTO can be heard on many Stevie Wonder classics, including “Superstition," “Living for the City” and “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” as well as hits by the Isley Brothers, Minnie Riperton, Joan Baez, the Doobie Brothers, Quincy Jones, Randy Newman and others. Jason Tawkin leads us through the incredible story of how this massive instrument came to be donated to the National Music Centre in Calgary, Canada, and its renovation, enabling TONTO's full capabilities to be used by musicians from around the world once again… If you can, please support the Electronically Yours podcast via my Patron: patron.com/ellectronicallyours

Our Guest Gordon Chambers website: www.GordonChambers.com ---Gordon Anthony Chambers is an American singer-songwriter and record producer who has written songs for more than 75 recording artists including Angie Stone, Yolanda Adams, The Isley Brothers, Brandy, Trey Songz, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Usher, Marc Anthony, Jamie Foxx, Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé Knowles, and Nao Yoshioka. His number-1 hits as lyricist include Anita Baker's Grammy-winning hit "I Apologize", Brownstone's Grammy-nominated hit "If You Love Me", Angie Stone's "No More Rain (In This Cloud)", the Grammy-nominated theme of 1996's Set It Off "Missing You" (performed by Brandy, Tamia, Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan) and Yolanda Adams "Someone Watching Over You". --He is the winner of eight awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), has four Dove Award nominations, and his songs have been nominated for three Grammy Awards. Anita Baker won a Grammy for "I Apologize", which Chambers wrote. His songs have been performed at the Essence Awards, American Music Awards, the Goodwill Games and the White House. His prestigious appearances, in addition to acclaimed European and Japanese tours, have included the Essence Music Festival, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Apollo Theater, Constitution Hall, B. B King's and the Kennedy Center. ---His solo albums have been nominated for Independent Soul Album of the Year by Soultracks.com and have been among CDBaby's top R&B sellers. === His first solo album, Introducing Gordon Chambers, was released in 2005 and featured special guests Carl Thomas, Glenn Lewis, Sara Devine, Roy Hargrove and Mike Phillips. His second album, Love Stories, was released in 2007 and features soul artist Ledisi. Gordon Chambers' album Sincere was released in August 2011, featuring duets with Sara Devine and Candace Coles, and production by Darien Dorsey, The BeatBanggahz and Jermaine Mobley. The album also includes covers of Donny Hathaway's "A Song For You" and his version of "Missing You", which he dedicates to late mentors Phyllis Hyman and Gerald Levert .---Live Chat with Us Every week... -----Music: Audio Podcast : by Daniel Howse : https://www.youtube.com/professorsoramusic ** OneMicNite Theme Song , "Chance" & Background Songs "Kanye" , "Straight Vibing" Host: --Contact/ Follow Marcos on IG/Fb/IMdb/Twitter/TikTok: @MarcosLuis —Show: OneMicNite Podcast with Marcos Luis *Contact/Follow: IG/Fb/Twitter/Tumbler/LinkedIn/Youtube/TikTok @OneMicNite www.OneMicnite.com - - ** Listen to Audio Podcast: Available wherever you download , all digital platforms.. ** Support Us Now: Give "Stars" on Facebook ---Follow/Contact -- The Show: All Social Media Fb/Ig/Twitter/Tumbler/TikTok/ *** watch the episodes on Youtube @OneMicNite & www.OneMicNite.com****Please Support this Podcast: PayPal/ Zell Pay: MarcosStarActor@gmail.com Venmo @ Marcoso-Luis-1 CashApp : $MarcosLuis1 Please Visit: The AzulesEn Online store to find Products that Compliment your Lifestyle: Link : https://azulesen.myshopify.com/products/onemicnite-signature-logo-unisex-talk-live-pod-tee --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/onemicnite/support

We see you standing tall family. We adore all four seasons around here at the Core Studio. The main thing, in our main vein, is to stay healthy and in good cheer. That goes for you out there in the land, as well as us here. Now, let's get to the music. In this episode, we bring you the latest from producers extraordinaire DJ Spen and Reelsoul as they team up with R&B mainstay Cleveland P. Jones on a soulful house take on Heatwave's classic "Always & Forever." We further the goodness with new soul from vocalist supreme Kim Tibbs, the latest from the one and only Calvin Richardson, and another funky number Jafunk. You already know, we still bring the classics we have The Isley Brothers, Rick James, Chaka Khan, Teena Marie, The Temprees, Troop, and I must add the "two-step jam" courtesy of Toronto, Canada's own The Free Label. If you have a song request, drop us a line at greatsoulradio@gmail.com. We do our best to get your song on deck before the next episode. Thanks as always for tuning in, and remember--- Tell a friend, to tell a friend, to tell a friend, all about The Throwback Lounge. It's not just a show--- IT'S AN EXPERIENCE!! 1 LOVE ;) LEAD-IN CUT: PARTY MUSIC- SUPER DBOPENING CUT: SATURDAY, SATURDAY NIGHT- ZOOM1. & FOREVER- DJ SPEN & REELSOUL FEAT. CLEVELAND P. JONES 2. SOMEDAY- DIPLOMATS OF SOUL FEA.T NOEL MCCOY3. BOURGIE BOURGIE (JOEY NEGRO SUPER BOURGEOISE REMIX)- GLADYS & THE PIPS4. GROOVIN' YOU- HARVEY MASON5. YOU BET YOUR LOVE- HERBIE HANCOCK6. IT'S ALRIGHT- KIM TIBBS7. SKATE- SILK SONIC8. SLEEP ON IT- CHAKA KHAN9. NOTHING TO IT- PLEASURE10. I NEED YOUR LOVIN' - TEENA MARIE11. READY FOR THE WEEKEND- CALVIN RICHARDSON12. WHOOAA- MINT CONDITION13. HOWARD GIRLS- ERIC ROBERSON14. CONTINUED/HOLLA- DWELE15. COOLIN' ME OUT- THE ISLEY BROTHERS16. YOU GOT ME- JAFUNK17. JELLO- EGOZI18. BIG TIME- RICK JAMES19. HERE I AM- DYNASTY20. TONIGHT WE LOVE- RUFUSCHAMPAGNE HOUR21. CURVES- TERI TOBIN22. GIVER- THE SUFFERS 23. LOVE'S MAZE- THE TEMPRESS24. TIL TOMORROW- MARVIN GAYE25. YOU TURNED MY WHOLE WORLD AROUND- BARRY WHITE26. I'M SO INTO YOU- PEABO BRYSON27. COME LIVE WITH ME- WALTER BEASLEY28. TIL THE END OF TIME- STARPOINT29. TODAY MY LOVE- MIDNIGHT STAR30. CAN YO FEEL WHAT I'M SAYING- MINNIE RIPERTON31. BABY- PRINCE32. I WANNA WRITE YOU A LOVE SONG- DAVID OLIVER33. SO IN LOVE- TONY LINDSAY34. LOVE ME- TRACIE SPENCER 35. SAILING- TRINA BROUSSARD36. HOLY SMOKES & GEE WHIZ- TONY TONI TONE'37. LATELY- SURFACE38. STILL IN LOVE- TROOP39. CHANGE YOUR MIND- THE FREE LABELCLOSING CUT: I GOT THE LOVE- STARPOINT 

It is a privilege to welcome legendary composer, producer, and saxophonist Boney James to The Jake's Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.  Boney's musical journey began when he picked up the clarinet at eight and switched to the saxophone at 10.  His family moved from New Rochelle, New York, to Los Angeles when he was 14.  In the City of Angels, Boney James joined his first band and attended the University of California at Los Angeles. After he graduated with a history degree, he turned his attention to music full-time and learned to play keyboards.  In 1985, he joined Morris Day's band and spent seven years as a sideman and touring musician for Bobby Caldwell, the Isley Brothers, Randy Crawford, and Teena Marie. In 1992, Boney released his debut album, Trust, and has released 15 solo studio albums and a collaborative record, Shake It Up, with Rick Braun in 2000.   Boney James also recorded many legendary recording artists such as Al Jarreau, Angie Stone, Anthony Hamilton, Faith Evans, George Benson, and Kenny Lattimore.In 2014, Boney produced two songs on Al Jarreau's tribute record to George Duke, My Old Friend: “Bring Me Joy” (with George Duke) and “No Rhyme, No Reason” (with Kelly Price). The following year, he first appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.   Earlier this year, Boney James made history as he became the first recording artist to hit 20 number one singles on the Billboard Smooth Jazz chart. In addition to his Billboard milestone, he is a four-time Grammy Award nominee and a Soul Train Award winner. Boney also received three NAACP Image Award nominations for Best Jazz Album.  On October 18, Boney will release his nineteenth studio album, Slow Burn. The record's first single, “All I Want is You,”  is a collaboration with rising R&B star October London. The song was Boney's fastest-reaching single on Adult Urban Radio, reaching the Top 30 in three weeks and crossing the 1 million streams milestone within two weeks on Pandora.  On this edition of The Jake's Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Boney James discussed the lessons he learned from Bobby Caldwell, Morris Day, and Teena Marie, Slow Burn's recording process, and “All I Want is You's” viral success.Let's connect on social media! Visit my channels on:A) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JacobElyachar/B) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacobelyachar/C) Threads: https://www.threads.net/@jacobelyacharD) TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@therealjacobelyacE) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JacobElyacharBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jake-s-take-with-jacob-elyachar--4112003/support.

Drummer Omar Hakim is one of those players you know it's him when you hear him. He's been the go-to guy for dozens of legends for over 40 years. Artists like Miles Davis, Sting, Bowie, Dire Straits, Kate Bush rely on him to make them the best they can be. These days, Omar is excited about a new project called Sonic Boom Squad which is almost a solo project. In a fit of creativity he wrote and recorded several funk rock songs along the lines of the Isley Brothers or Mother's Finest and is releasing them over the next few months. We get into all of this as well as playing with Tracy Chapman, Anita Baker, Bruce Hornsby, Bob Geldof, and even Don Johnson and your favorite Mariah Carey Christmas song! There's a lot here. Enjoy!  www.facebook.com/OmarHakimMusic www.patreon.com/thehustlepod

The Isley Brothers: epitomizing family in the music business, and purveyors of Funk & Soul filled with Rock & Roll! A decades-long, groove filling, heart beating, literal hit machine! Markus and Ray explore their history and, of course their music, in this long overdue episode of the podcast! The losses, sparking change, and adaptability! Hear how they intersected with Jimi Hendrix! It's all inside this week's episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Isley Brothers: epitomizing family in the music business, and purveyors of Funk & Soul filled with Rock & Roll! A decades-long, groove filling, heart beating, literal hit machine! Markus and Ray explore their history and, of course their music, in this long overdue episode of the podcast! The losses, sparking change, and adaptability! Hear how they intersected with Jimi Hendrix! It's all inside this week's episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joining us all the way from Santa Barbara for this episode is Darrell M. McNeill, director of operations at the Black Rock Coalition and author of a new 33 1/3 study of the Isley Brothers' mighty 1973 album 3 + 3. We start by asking our guest about his '90s contributions to the Village Voice and his involvement with the B.R.C.. Crediting his dad for his own childhood love of the Isleys, Darrell tells us how he came to write about the band. We discuss their unique history across six-plus decades, arriving at the dramatic game-changer that was 3 + 3. Inevitably referencing Jimi Hendrix — an Isleys sideman in the mid-'60s — we ask Darrell about the group's pioneering hybrid of R&B and rock and their covers of classic songs by Carole King, James Taylor et al. A special nod, of course, to Jimi's incalculable influence on kid brother and budding guitar genius Ernie. From the Isleys to Isaac Hayes: following two clips from Ira Robbins' 1995 audio interview with the sometime Stax superstar, we discuss such radical milestones as 'Theme from Shaft' and Hot Buttered Soul's version of Bacharach & David's 'Walk On By'. After a brief digression to salute the 50th anniversary of long-time RBP contributor John Broven's seminal 1974 book Walking to New Orleans, Mark talks us out with quotes from newly-added interviews with Janis Joplin (1969) and Beatles session guitarist David Spinozza (1971). Jasper then wraps up the episode with remarks on Destiny's Child (2003) and The Comet is Coming (2019). Many thanks to special guest Darrell M. McNeill. His book on the Isley Brother's 3 + 3 is published by Bloomsbury and available now. Pieces discussed: The Isleys: first time winners again!, The Isley Brothers: 3 + 3, The Isley Brothers: 3 + 3 = Super Success, Ernie Isley: Pride of the Isleys, Isaac Hayes audio, Fats Domino & His Orchestra: Saville Theatre, Behind The Sun: New Orleans, 'See You Later Alligator': Bobby Charles, Janis Joplin: Janis Superhypermost!, Paul McCartney: Working with Paul — A Session Musician Speaks, Kelly Rowland: Real Girl Talk, Michie Mee is the First Lady of Toronto Hip-Hop and The Comet is Coming: Interstellar Apocalypse.

EPISODE 232 SAY IT TO MY FACE   . Summary . In Episode 232, Tommy B and Talib discuss Kamala Harris' campaign rally in Atlanta and Donald Trump's appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists event. They also talk about the importance of the youth vote and potential vice-presidential candidates for Harris. Tonya B touches on various entertainment news headlines, including the deaths of Alma Powell and DJ Polo, and updates on Cardi B, Tiffany Haddish, and Latoya Luckett. They congratulate Simone Biles on her Olympic success and discuss the embarrassing Celebrity Family Feud episode featuring Earth, Wind & Fire and the Isley Brothers. . Chapters . 00:00 Introduction and Kamala Harris' Campaign Rally in Atlanta 02:43 Donald Trump's Controversial Appearance at the NABJ Event 04:12 The Importance of the Youth Vote and Celebrity Support for Harris 05:10 Speculating on Potential Vice-Presidential Candidates for Harris 13:40 News Headlines: Deaths, Updates, and Congratulations 16:05 The Embarrassing Celebrity Family Feud Episode. . #KamalaHarris #campaignrally #Atlanta #DonaldTrump #NationalAssociationOfBlackJournalists #NABJ #youthvote #vicepresidentialcandidates #newsheadlines #CardiB #TiffanyHaddish #LatoyaLuckett #SimoneBiles #Olympics #CelebrityFamilyFeud #EarthWind&Fire #IsleyBrothers . www.castropolis.net  

Pardon the spotty audio issues in today's video and trust that we're troubleshooting what went wrong! Today's episode honors two of Camille and Missy's favorite old school male music groups, The Isley Brothers and The O'Jays! We can't wait to ‘Groove With You' as we celebrate these soul icons! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIszb9nh3r4https://open.spotify.com/artist/64kjTvGmTTpYpoSX0uNJ6QRapper Jesse Medina continues to pour his heart and soul into his music, putting out hard-hitting tracks. The most recent is “No Ma'am” off an upcoming EP titled Extrasensory Modes ofPerception.“No Ma'am” features Medina's boy Q-Timer, who he has been playing music with for years.They wrote the song together and put it to a beat by producer Barry Bones, who they bothworked with on Medina's recent track “In My Head.”While his first single was more about using trippy poetry describing the world of drug psychosis,this one is a little more fun and playful with a focus on “chillin' with his homies.”“We went over to Barry's lab and did it over his beat,” Medina said. “It was based off the show‘Married With Children' and Al Bundy's little crew of homies. You know, it's about looking out foryour bro, having guy time and just kind of talking shit.”Medina admits there is some randomness to the song, and he and Q-Timer are just “spittin'.”The inspiration for the bars kind of just came out of thin air.“It's really about the brotherhood,” Medina said. “It is kind of the camaraderie between me andQ-Timer. It's about sticking with your boys. You know, there are people in relationships, but youcan go out and kick it with your homies. I like the word play and like the beat a lot, and the hookis hella dope to me. That kind of sums it up.”Medina said the bars and the beat carry the lyrical flow. The beat has an element of intrigue to itbefore the lyrics kick in.Here they comeAll my gunsMy day onesLike when you see me runThe story behind the beat is an interesting one. Jesse said there was initially another beat that“No Ma'am” was written to. Somehow it went missing, and no matter how hard they looked, theysimply couldn't find it. Sometimes that is just the way things go, and resiliency is key. While itthrew them off at first, Medina, Q-Timer and Barry Bones started from square one and put outsomething to be proud of.“Q found this beat and it was sounding hard,” Jesse said. “When I heard it, I knew it was a hellasick beat. I love it, man. It's beyond what I wanted it to be. This beat changed the delivery andmade it something else.”He has heard solid feedback from his fans about his last track, “In My Head,” and with “NoMa'am” that praise has only continued and increased. He said this is one for the friends andfans alike.“This is for the hip-hop heads.”Extrasensory Modes of Perception has nine tracks and will be released next month. It is a mix ofdifferent styles of hip-hop. Jesse said it is beyond labeling in a genre. Each track differs from thenext and will keep the listeners on their toes and on the edge of their seats in anticipation. Whilethere is a sense of randomness, he said there is also a method to the madness.“If I hear something in my head, I'm just going to execute it, and there's no telling what kind ofmusic will come from it,” he said. “I'm looking at the challenge and having fun with it every time.But there is a theme — you can hear the hip-hop influences no matter what song it is.”Jesse was born and raised in San Jose, and music is simply a massive part of his life. When hehears music, lyrics will just flow through him, but sometimes he takes his time to make sureeverything is perfect. Medina thrives off using straight emotion with the beat.He has influences that date back to music his mother would play like Prince, Rick James andthe Isley Brothers. Some of his current inspirations include groups like the Gorillaz, FreestyleFellowship, TDE, Gnarls Barkley, Deftones, Chelsea Grin and Portishead. When he was just 10 years old, he started writing music. Through life experiences and hisinspirations, he has been able to create his own personal sound and touch.Jesse is always working. His current projects are a three-song EP, called This Way Westward,as well as an EP with unreleased songs called Nostalgia Nuggets.“No Ma'am” is available on all platforms, and Extrasensory Modes of Perception is scheduledfor an August 3 release.Be sure to follow Jesse Medina's musical journey on all platforms.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/creator-to-creators-with-meosha-bean--4460322/support.

The sun has finally been shining in France and so Andy kicks off with a few to take on that summer heat with The Isley Brothers, Jackie Wilson, Martha and The Vandellas and The Lovin' Spoonful. The three Northern Soul Stonkers are chosen by fellow Face Radio DJ Brendan Farrell, there's a new one from Thee Sacred Souls and we reach the end of the alphabet of songs with women's names as Andy played you Y and Z.For more info and tracklisting, visit :https://thefaceradio.com/groovy-soulTune into new broadcasts of Groovy Soul, LIVE, Sundays 12 - 2 PM EST / 5 - 7 PM GMT.https://thefaceradio.com/archives/groovy-soul//Dig this show? Please consider supporting The Face Radio: http://support.thefaceradio.com Support The Face Radio with PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/thefaceradio. Join the family at https://plus.acast.com/s/thefaceradio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For those who haven't heard the announcement I posted , songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the first part of a two-episode look at the song “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”. This week we take a short look at the song’s writers, Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, and the first released version by Gladys Knight and the Pips. In two weeks time we’ll take a longer look at the sixties career of the song’s most famous performer, Marvin Gaye. This episode is quite a light one. That one… won’t be. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a half-hour bonus episode, on “Bend Me Shape Me” by Amen Corner. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Resources Mixcloud will be up with the next episode. For Motown-related information in this and other Motown episodes, I've used the following resources: Where Did Our Love Go? The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound by Nelson George is an excellent popular history of the various companies that became Motown. To Be Loved by Berry Gordy is Gordy's own, understandably one-sided, but relatively well-written, autobiography. Women of Motown: An Oral History by Susan Whitall is a collection of interviews with women involved in Motown. I Hear a Symphony: Motown and Crossover R&B by J. Andrew Flory is an academic look at Motown. The Motown Encyclopaedia by Graham Betts is an exhaustive look at the people and records involved in Motown's thirty-year history. Motown: The Golden Years is another Motown encyclopaedia. And Motown Junkies is an infrequently-updated blog looking at (so far) the first 693 tracks released on Motown singles. For information on Marvin Gaye, and his relationship with Norman Whitfield, I relied on Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye by David Ritz. I’ve also used information on Whitfield in  Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations by Mark Ribowsky, I’ve also referred to interviews with Whitfield and Strong archived at rocksbackpages.com , notably “The Norman Whitfield interview”, John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 February 1977 For information about Gladys Knight, I’ve used her autobiography. The best collection of Gladys Knight and the Pips’ music is this 3-CD set, but the best way to hear Motown hits is in the context of other Motown hits. This five-CD box set contains the first five in the Motown Chartbusters series of British compilations. The Pips’ version of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” is on disc 2, while Marvin Gaye’s is on disc 3, which is famously generally considered one of the best single-disc various artists compilations ever. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript Before I start, a brief note — this episode contains some brief mentions of miscarriage and drug abuse. The history of modern music would be immeasurably different had it not been for one car breakdown. Norman Whitfield spent the first fifteen years of his life in New York, never leaving the city, until his grandmother died. She’d lived in LA, and that was where the funeral was held, and so the Whitfield family got into a car and drove right across the whole continent — two thousand five hundred miles — to attend the old lady’s funeral. And then after the funeral, they turned round and started to drive home again. But they only got as far as Detroit when the car, understandably, gave up the ghost.  Luckily, like many Black families, they had family in Detroit, and Norman’s aunt was not only willing to put the family up for a while, but her husband was able to give Norman’s father a job in his drug store while he saved up enough money to pay for the car to be fixed. But as it happened, the family liked Detroit, and they never did get around to driving back home to New York. Young Norman in particular took to the city’s nightlife, and soon as well as going to school he was working an evening job at a petrol station — but that was only to supplement the money he made as a pool hustler. Young Norman Whitfield was never going to be the kind of person who took a day job, and so along with his pool he started hanging out with musicians — in particular with Popcorn and the Mohawks, a band led by Popcorn Wylie. [Excerpt: Popcorn and the Mohawks, “Shimmy Gully”] Popcorn and the Mohawks were a band of serious jazz musicians, many of whom, including Wylie himself, went on to be members of the Funk Brothers, the team of session players that played on Motown’s hits — though Wylie would depart Motown fairly early after a falling out with Berry Gordy. They were some of the best musicians in Detroit at the time, and Whitfield would tag along with the group and play tambourine, and sometimes other hand percussion instruments. He wasn’t a serious musician at that point, just hanging out with a bunch of people who were, who were a year or two older than him. But he was learning — one thing that everyone says about Norman Whitfield in his youth is that he was someone who would stand on the periphery of every situation, not getting involved, but soaking in everything that the people around him were doing, and learning from them. And soon, he was playing percussion on sessions. At first, this wasn’t for Motown, but everything in the Detroit music scene connected back to the Gordy family in one way or another. In this case, the label was Thelma Records, which was formed by Berry Gordy’s ex-mother-in-law and named after Gordy’s first wife, who he had recently divorced. Of all the great Motown songwriters and producers, Whitfield’s life is the least-documented, to the extent that the chronology of his early career is very vague and contradictory, and Thelma was such a small label there even seems to be some dispute about when it existed — different sources give different dates, and while Whitfield always said he worked for Thelma records, he might have actually been employed by another label owned by the same people, Ge Ge, which might have operated earlier — but by most accounts Whitfield quickly progressed from session tambourine player to songwriter. According to an article on Whitfield from 1977, the first record of one of his songs was “Alone” by Tommy Storm on Thelma Records, but that record seems not to exist — however, some people on a soul message board, discussing this a few years ago, found an interview with a member of a group called The Fabulous Peps which also featured Storm, saying that their record on Ge Ge Records, “This Love I Have For You”, is a rewrite of that song by Don Davis, Thelma’s head of A&R, though the credit on the label for that is just to Davis and Ron Abner, another member of the group: [Excerpt: The Fabulous Peps, “This Love I Have For You”] So that might, or might not, be the first Norman Whitfield song ever to be released. The other song often credited as Whitfield’s first released song is “Answer Me” by Richard Street and the Distants — Street was another member of the Fabulous Peps, but we’ve encountered him and the Distants before when talking about the Temptations — the Distants were the group that Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Al Bryant had been in before forming the Temptations — and indeed Street would much later rejoin his old bandmates in the Temptations, when Whitfield was producing for them. Unlike the Fabulous Peps track, this one was clearly credited to N. Whitfield, so whatever happened with the Storm track, this is almost certainly Whitfield’s first official credit as a songwriter: [Excerpt: Richard Street and the Distants, “Answer Me”] He was soon writing songs for a lot of small labels — most of which appear to have been recorded by the Thelma team and then licensed out — like “I’ve Gotten Over You” by the Sonnettes: [Excerpt: The Sonnettes, “I’ve Gotten Over You”] That was on KO Records, distributed by Scepter, and was a minor local hit — enough to finally bring Whitfield to the attention of Berry Gordy. According to many sources, Whitfield had been hanging around Hitsville for months trying to get a job with the label, but as he told the story in 1977 “Berry Gordy had sent Mickey Stevenson over to see me about signing with the company as an exclusive in-house writer and producer. The first act I was assigned to was Marvin Gaye and he had just started to become popular.” That’s not quite how the story went. According to everyone else, he was constantly hanging around Hitsville, getting himself into sessions and just watching them, and pestering people to let him get involved. Rather than being employed as a writer and producer, he was actually given a job in Motown’s quality control department for fifteen dollars a week, listening to potential records and seeing which ones he thought were hits, and rating them before they went to the regular department meetings for feedback from the truly important people. But he was also allowed to write songs. His first songwriting credit on a Motown record wasn’t Marvin Gaye, as Whitfield would later tell the story, but was in fact for the far less prestigious Mickey Woods — possibly the single least-known artist of Motown’s early years. Woods was a white teenager, the first white male solo artist signed to Motown, who released two novelty teen-pop singles. Whitfield’s first Motown song was the B-side to Woods’ second single, a knock-off of Sam Cooke’s “Cupid” called “They Call Me Cupid”, co-written with Berry Gordy and Brian Holland: [Excerpt: Mickey Woods, “They Call Me Cupid”] Unsurprisingly that didn’t set the world on fire, and Whitfield didn’t get another Motown label credit for thirteen months (though some of his songs for Thelma may have come out in this period). When he did, it was as co-writer with Mickey Stevenson — and, for the first time, sole producer — of the first single for a new singer, Kim Weston: [Excerpt: Kim Weston, “It Should Have Been Me”] As it turned out, that wasn’t a hit, but the flip-side, “Love Me All The Way”, co-written by Stevenson (who was also Weston’s husband) and Barney Ales, did become a minor hit, making the R&B top thirty. After that, Whitfield was on his way. It was only a month later that he wrote his first song for the Temptations, a B-side, “The Further You Look, The Less You See”: [Excerpt: The Temptations, “The Further You Look, The Less You See”] That was co-written with Smokey Robinson, and as we heard in the episode on “My Girl”, both Robinson and Whitfield vied with each other for the job of Temptations writer and producer. As we also heard in that episode, Robinson got the majority of the group’s singles for the next couple of years, but Whitfield would eventually take over from him. Whitfield’s work with the Temptations is probably his most important work as a writer and producer, and the Temptations story is intertwined deeply with this one, but for the most part I’m going to save discussion of Whitfield’s work with the group until we get to 1972, so bear with me if I seem to skim over that — and if I repeat myself in a couple of years when we get there. Whitfield’s first major success, though, was also the first top ten hit for Marvin Gaye, “Pride and Joy”: [Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “Pride and Joy”] “Pride and Joy” had actually been written and recorded before the Kim Weston and Temptations tracks, and was intended as album filler — it was written during a session by Whitfield, Gaye, and Mickey Stevenson who was also the producer of the track, and recorded in the same session as it was written, with Martha and the Vandellas on backing vocals. The intended hit from the session, “Hitch-Hike”, we covered in the previous episode on Gaye, but that was successful enough that an album, That Stubborn Kinda Fellow, was released, with “Pride and Joy” on it. A few months later Gaye recut his lead vocal, over the same backing track, and the record was released as a single, reaching number ten on the pop charts and number two R&B: [Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “Pride and Joy”] Whitfield had other successes as well, often as B-sides. “The Girl’s Alright With Me”, the B-side to Smokey Robinson’s hit for the Temptations “I’ll Be In Trouble”, went to number forty on the R&B chart in its own right: [Excerpt: The Temptations, “The Girl’s Alright With Me”] That was co-written with Eddie Holland, and Holland and Whitfield had a minor songwriting partnership at this time, with Holland writing lyrics and Whitfield the music. Eddie Holland even released a Holland and Whitfield collaboration himself during his brief attempt at a singing career — “I Couldn’t Cry if I Wanted To” was a song they wrote for the Temptations, who recorded it but then left it on the shelf for four years, so Holland put out his own version, again as a B-side: [Excerpt: Eddie Holland, “I Couldn’t Cry if I Wanted To”] Whitfield was very much a B-side kind of songwriter and producer at this point — but this could be to his advantage. In January 1963, around the same time as all these other tracks, he cut a filler track with the “no-hit Supremes”, “He Means the World to Me”, which was left on the shelf until they needed a B-side eighteen months later and pulled it out and released it: [Excerpt: The Supremes, “He Means the World to Me”] But the track that that was a B-side to was “Where Did Our Love Go?”, and at the time you could make a lot of money from writing the B-side to a hit that big. Indeed, at first, Whitfield made more money from “Where Did Our Love Go?” than Holland, Dozier, or Holland, because he got a hundred percent of the songwriters’ share for his side of the record, while they had to split their share three ways. Slowly Whitfield moved from being a B-side writer to being an A-side writer. With Eddie Holland he was given a chance at a Temptations A-side for the first time, with “Girl, (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)”: [Excerpt: The Temptations, “Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)”] He also wrote for Jimmy Ruffin, but in 1964 it was with girl groups that Whitfield was doing his best work. With Mickey Stevenson he wrote “Needle in a Haystack” for the Velvettes: [Excerpt: The Velvettes, “Needle in a Haystack”] He wrote their classic followup “He Was Really Sayin' Somethin’” with Stevenson and Eddie Holland, and with Holland he also wrote “Too Many Fish in the Sea” for the Marvelettes: [Excerpt: The Marvelettes, “Too Many Fish In The Sea”] By late 1964, Whitfield wasn’t quite in the first rank of Motown songwriter-producers with Holland-Dozier-Holland and Smokey Robinson, but he was in the upper part of the second tier with Mickey Stevenson and Clarence Paul. And by early 1966, as we saw in the episode on “My Girl”, he had achieved what he’d wanted for four years, and become the Temptations’ primary writer and producer. As I said, we’re going to look at Whitfield’s time working with the Temptations later, but in 1966 and 67 they were the act he was most associated with, and in particular, he collaborated with Eddie Holland on three top ten hits for the group in 1966. But as we discussed in the episode on “I Can’t Help Myself”, Holland’s collaborations with Whitfield eventually caused problems for Holland with his other collaborators, when he won the BMI award for writing the most hit songs, depriving his brother and Lamont Dozier of their share of the award because his outside collaborations put him ahead of them. While Whitfield *could* write songs by himself, and had in the past, he was at his best as a collaborator — as well as his writing partnership with Eddie Holland he’d written with Mickey Stevenson, Marvin Gaye, and Janie Bradford. And so when Holland told him he was no longer able to work together, Whitfield started looking for someone else who could write lyrics for him, and he soon found someone: [Excerpt: Barrett Strong, “Money”] Barrett Strong had, of course, been the very first Motown act to have a major national hit, with “Money”, but as we discussed in the episode on that song he had been unable to have a follow-up hit, and had actually gone back to working on an assembly line for a while. But when you’ve had a hit as big as “Money”, working on an assembly line loses what little lustre it has, and Strong soon took himself off to New York and started hanging around the Brill Building, where he hooked up with Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, the writers of such hits as “Save the Last Dance for Me”, “Viva Las Vegas”, “Sweets for My Sweet”, and “A Teenager in Love”.  Pomus and Shuman, according to Strong, signed him to a management contract, and they got him signed to Atlantic’s subsidiary Atco, where he recorded one single, “Seven Sins”, written and produced by the team: [Excerpt: Barrett Strong, “Seven Sins”] That was a flop, and Strong was dropped by the label. He bounced around a few cities before ending up in Chicago, where he signed to VeeJay Records and put out one more single as a performer, “Make Up Your Mind”, which also went nowhere: [Excerpt: Barrett Strong, “Make Up Your Mind”] Strong had co-written that, and as his performing career was now definitively over, he decided to move into songwriting as his main job. He co-wrote “Stay in My Corner” for the Dells, which was a top thirty R&B hit for them on VeeJay in 1965 and in a remade version in 1968 became a number one R&B hit and top ten pop hit for them: [Excerpt: The Dells, “Stay in My Corner”] And on his own he wrote another top thirty R&B hit, “This Heart of Mine”, for the Artistics: [Excerpt: The Artistics, “This Heart of Mine”] He wrote several other songs that had some minor success in 1965 and 66, before moving back to Detroit and hooking up again with his old label, this time coming to them as a songwriter with a track record rather than a one-hit wonder singer. As Strong put it “They were doing my style of music then, they were doing something a little different when I left, but they were doing the more soulful, R&B-style stuff, so I thought I had a place there. So I had an idea I thought I could take back and see if they could do something with it.” That idea was the first song he wrote under his new contract, and it was co-written with Norman Whitfield. It’s difficult to know how Whitfield and Strong started writing together, or much about their writing partnership, even though it was one of the most successful songwriting teams of the era, because neither man was interviewed in any great depth, and there’s almost no long-form writing on either of them. What does seem to have been the case is that both men had been aware of each other in the late fifties, when Strong was a budding R&B star and Whitfield merely a teenager hanging round watching the cool kids. The two may even have written together before — in an example of how the chronology for both Whitfield and Strong seems to make no sense, Whitfield had cowritten a song with Marvin Gaye, “Wherever I Lay My Hat, That’s My Home”, in 1962 — when Strong was supposedly away from Motown — and it had been included as an album track on the That Stubborn Kinda Fellow album: [Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “Wherever I Lay My Hat, That’s My Home”] The writing on that was originally credited just to Whitfield and Gaye on the labels, but it is now credited to Whitfield, Gaye, and Strong, including with BMI. Similarly Gaye’s 1965 album track “Me and My Lonely Room” — recorded in 1963 but held back – was initially credited to Whitfield alone but is now credited to Whitfield and Strong, in a strange inverse of the way “Money” initially had Strong’s credit but it was later removed. But whether this was an administrative decision made later, or whether Strong had been moonlighting for Motown uncredited in 1962 and collaborated with Whitfield, they hadn’t been a formal writing team in the way Whitfield and Holland had been, and both later seemed to date their collaboration proper as starting in 1966 when Strong returned to Motown — and understandably. The two songs they’d written earlier – if indeed they had – had been album filler, but between 1967 when the first of their new collaborations came out and 1972 when they split up, they wrote twenty-three top forty hits together. Theirs seems to have been a purely business relationship — in the few interviews with Strong he talks about Whitfield as someone he was friendly with, but Whitfield’s comments on Strong seem always to be the kind of very careful comments one would make about someone for whom one has a great deal of professional respect, a great deal of personal dislike, but absolutely no wish to air the dirty laundry behind that dislike, or to burn bridges that don’t need burning. Either way, Whitfield was in need of a songwriting partner when Barrett Strong walked into a Motown rehearsal room, and recognised that Strong’s talents were complementary to his. So he told Strong, straight out, “I’ve had quite a few hit records already. If you write with me, I can guarantee you you’ll make at least a hundred thousand dollars a year” — though he went on to emphasise that that wasn’t a guarantee-guarantee, and would depend on Strong putting the work in. Strong agreed, and the first idea he brought in for his new team earned both of them more than that hundred thousand dollars by itself. Strong had been struck by the common phrase “I heard it through the grapevine”, and started singing that line over some Ray Charles style gospel chords. Norman Whitfield knew a hook when he heard one, and quickly started to build a full song around Strong’s line. Initially, by at least some accounts, they wanted to place the song with the Isley Brothers, who had just signed to Motown and had a hit with the Holland-Dozier-Holland song “This Old Heart of Mine”: [Excerpt: The Isley Brothers, “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak For You)”] For whatever reason, the Isley Brothers didn’t record the song, or if they did no copy of the recording has ever surfaced, though it does seem perfectly suited to their gospel-inflected style. The Isleys did, though, record another early Whitfield and Strong song, “That’s the Way Love Is”, which came out in 1967 as a flop single, but would later be covered more successfully by Marvin Gaye: [Excerpt: The Isley Brothers, “That’s the Way Love Is”] Instead, the song was first recorded by the Miracles. And here the story becomes somewhat murky. We have a recording by the Miracles, released on an album two years later, but some have suggested that that version isn’t the same recording they made in 1966 when Whitfield and Strong wrote the song originally: [Excerpt: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”] It certainly sounds to my ears like that is probably the version of the song the group recorded in 66 — it sounds, frankly, like a demo for the later, more famous version. All the main elements are there — notably the main Ray Charles style hook played simultaneously on Hammond organ and electric piano, and the almost skanking rhythm guitar stabs — but Smokey Robinson’s vocal isn’t *quite* passionate enough, the tempo is slightly off, and the drums don’t have the same cavernous rack tom sound that they have in the more famous version. If you weren’t familiar with the eventual hit, it would sound like a classic Motown track, but as it is it’s missing something… [Excerpt: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”] According to at least some sources, that was presented to the quality control team — the team in which Whitfield had started his career, as a potential single, but they dismissed it. It wasn’t a hit, and Berry Gordy said it was one of the worst songs he’d ever heard. But Whitfield knew the song was a hit, and so he went back into the studio and cut a new backing track: [Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine (backing track only)”] (Incidentally, no official release of the instrumental backing track for “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” exists, and I had to put that one together myself by taking the isolated parts someone had uploaded to youtube and synching them back together in editing software, so if there are some microsecond-level discrepancies between the instruments there, that’s on me, not on the Funk Brothers.) That track was originally intended for the Temptations, with whom Whitfield was making a series of hits at the time, but they never recorded it at the time. Whitfield did produce a version for them as an album track a couple of years later though, so we have an idea how they might have taken the song vocally — though by then David Ruffin had been replaced in the group by Dennis Edwards: [Excerpt: The Temptations, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”] But instead of giving the song to the Temptations, Whitfield kept it back for Marvin Gaye, the singer with whom he’d had his first big breakthrough hit and for whom his two previous collaborations with Strong – if collaborations they were – had been written. Gaye and Whitfield didn’t get on very well — indeed, it seems that Whitfield didn’t get on very well with *anyone* — and Gaye would later complain about the occasions when Whitfield produced his records, saying “Norman and I came within a fraction of an inch of fighting. He thought I was a prick because I wasn't about to be intimidated by him. We clashed. He made me sing in keys much higher than I was used to. He had me reaching for notes that caused my throat veins to bulge.” But Gaye sang the song fantastically, and Whitfield was absolutely certain they had a sure-fire hit: [Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”] But once again the quality control department refused to release the track. Indeed, it was Berry Gordy personally who decided, against the wishes of most of the department by all accounts, that instead of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” Gaye’s next single should be a Holland-Dozier-Holland track, “Your Unchanging Love”, a soundalike rewrite of their earlier hit for him, “How Sweet It Is”. “Your Unchanging Love” made the top thirty, but was hardly a massive success. Gordy has later claimed that he always liked “Grapevine” but just thought it was a bit too experimental for Gaye’s image at the time, but reports from others who were there say that what Gordy actually said was “it sucks”. So “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” was left on the shelf, and the first fruit of the new Whitfield/Strong team to actually get released was “Gonna Give Her All the Love I’ve Got”, written for Jimmy Ruffin, the brother of Temptations lead singer David, who had had one big hit, “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” and one medium one, “I’ve Passed This Way Before”, in 1966. Released in 1967, “Gonna Give Her All the Love I’ve Got” became Ruffin’s third and final hit, making number 29: [Excerpt: Jimmy Ruffin, “Gonna Give Her All the Love I’ve Got”] But Whitfield was still certain that “Grapevine” could be a hit. And then in 1967, a few months after he’d shelved Gaye’s version, came the record that changed everything in soul: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, “Respect”] Whitfield was astounded by that record, but also became determined he was going to “out-funk Aretha”, and “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” was going to be the way to do it. And he knew someone who thought she could do just that. Gladys Knight never got on well with Aretha Franklin. According to Knight’s autobiography this was one-sided on Franklin’s part, and Knight was always friendly to Franklin, but it’s also notable that she says the same about several other of the great sixties female soul singers (though not all of them by any means), and there seems to be a general pattern among those singers that they felt threatened by each other and that their own position in the industry was precarious, in a way the male singers usually didn’t. But Knight claimed she always *wished* she got on well with Franklin, because the two had such similar lives. They’d both started out singing gospel as child performers before moving on to the chitlin circuit at an early age, though Knight started her singing career even younger than Franklin did. Knight was only four when she started performing solos in church, and by the age of eight she had won the two thousand dollar top prize on Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour by singing Brahms’ “Lullaby” and the Nat “King” Cole hit “Too Young”: [Excerpt: Nat “King” Cole, “Too Young”] That success inspired her, and she soon formed a vocal group with her brother Bubba, sister Brenda and their cousins William and Eleanor Guest. They named themselves the Pips in honour of a cousin whose nickname that was, and started performing at talent contests in Atlanta Chitlin’ Circuit venues. They soon got a regular gig at one of them, the Peacock, despite them all being pre-teens at the time. The Pips also started touring, and came to the attention of Maurice King, the musical director of the Flame nightclub in Detroit, who became a vocal coach for the group. King got the group signed to Brunswick records, where they released their first single, a song King had written called “Whistle My Love”: [Excerpt: The Pips, “Whistle My Love”] According to Knight that came out in 1955, when she was eleven, but most other sources have it coming out in 1958. The group’s first two singles flopped, and Brenda and Eleanor quit the group, being replaced by another cousin, Edward Patten, and an unrelated singer Langston George, leaving Knight as the only girl in the quintet. While the group weren’t successful on records, they were getting a reputation live and toured on package tours with Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, and others. Knight also did some solo performances with a jazz band led by her music teacher, and started dating that band’s sax player, Jimmy Newman. The group’s next recording was much more successful. They went into a makeshift studio owned by a local club owner, Fats Hunter, and recorded what they thought was a demo, a version of the Johnny Otis song “Every Beat of My Heart”: [Excerpt: The Pips, “Every Beat of My Heart (HunTom version)”] The first they knew that Hunter had released that on his own small label was when they heard it on the radio. The record was picked up by VeeJay records, and it ended up going to number one on the R&B charts and number six on the pop charts, but they never saw any royalties from it. It brought them to the attention of another small label, Fury Records, which got them to rerecord the song, and that version *also* made the R&B top twenty and got as high as number forty-five on the pop charts: [Excerpt: Gladys Knight and the Pips, “Every Beat of My Heart (Fury version)”] However, just because they had a contract with Fury didn’t mean they actually got any more money, and Knight has talked about the label’s ownership being involved with gangsters. That was the first recording to be released as by “Gladys Knight and the Pips”, rather than just The Pips, and they would release a few more singles on Fury, including a second top twenty pop hit, the Don Covay song “Letter Full of Tears”: [Excerpt: Gladys Knight and the Pips, “Letter Full of Tears”] But Knight had got married to Newman, who was by now the group’s musical director, after she fell pregnant when she was sixteen and he was twenty. However, that first pregnancy tragically ended in miscarriage, and when she became pregnant again she decided to get off the road to reduce the risk. She spent a couple of years at home, having two children, while the other Pips – minus George who left soon after – continued without her to little success. But her marriage was starting to deteriorate under pressure of Newman’s drug use — they wouldn’t officially divorce until 1972, but they were already feeling the pressure, and would split up sooner rather than later — and Knight  returned to the stage, initially as a solo artist or duetting with Jerry Butler, but soon rejoining the Pips, who by this time were based in New York and working with the choreographer Cholly Atkins to improve their stagecraft. For the next few years the Pips drifted from label to label, scoring one more top forty hit in 1964 with Van McCoy’s “Giving Up”, but generally just getting by like so many other acts on the circuit. Eventually the group ended up moving to Detroit, and hooking up with Motown, where mentors like Cholly Atkins and Maurice King were already working. At first they thought they were taking a step up, but they soon found that they were a lower tier Motown act, considered on a par with the Spinners or the Contours rather than the big acts, and according to Knight they got pulled off an early Motown package tour because Diana Ross, with whom like Franklin Knight had something of a rivalry, thought they were too good on stage and were in danger of overshadowing her. Knight says in her autobiography that they “formed a little club of our own with some of the other malcontents” with Martha Reeves, Marvin Gaye, and someone she refers to as “Ivory Joe Hunter” but I presume she means Ivy Jo Hunter (one of the big problems when dealing with R&B musicians of this era is the number of people with similar names. Ivy Jo Hunter, Joe Hunter, and Ivory Joe Hunter were all R&B musicians for whom keyboard was their primary instrument, and both Ivy Jo and just plain Joe worked for Motown at different points, but Ivory Joe never did) Norman Whitfield was also part of that group of “malcontents”, and he was also the producer of the Pips’ first few singles for Motown, and so when he was looking for someone to outdo Aretha, someone with something to prove, he turned to them. He gave the group the demo tape, and they worked out a vocal arrangement for a radically different version of the song, one inspired by “Respect”: [Excerpt: Gladys Knight and the Pips, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”] The third time was the charm, and quality control finally agreed to release “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” as a single. Gladys Knight always claimed it had no promotion, but Norman Whitfield’s persistence had paid off — the single went to number two on the pop charts (kept off the top by “Daydream Believer”), number one on the R&B charts, and became Motown’s biggest-selling single *ever* up until that point. It also got Knight a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female — though the Grammy committee, at least, didn’t think she’d out-Aretha’d Aretha, as “Respect” won the award. And that, sadly, sort of summed up Gladys Knight and the Pips at Motown — they remained not quite the winners in everything. There’s no shame in being at number two behind a classic single like “Daydream Believer”, and certainly no shame in losing the Grammy to Aretha Franklin at her best, but until they left Motown in 1972 and started their run of hits on Buddah records, Gladys Knight and the Pips would always be in other people’s shadow. That even extended to “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” when, as we’ll hear in part two of this story, Norman Whitfield’s persistence paid off, Marvin Gaye’s version got released as a single, and *that* became the biggest-selling single on Motown ever, outselling the Pips version and making it forever his song, not theirs. And as a final coda to the story of Gladys Knight and the Pips at Motown, while they were touring off the back of “Grapevine’s” success, the Pips ran into someone they vaguely knew from his time as a musician in the fifties, who was promoting a group he was managing made up of his sons. Knight thought they had something, and got in touch with Motown several times trying to get them to sign the group, but she was ignored. After a few attempts, though, Bobby Taylor of another second-tier Motown group, the Vancouvers, also saw them and got in touch with Motown, and this time they got signed. But that story wasn’t good enough for Motown, and so neither Taylor nor Knight got the credit for discovering the group. Instead when Joe Jackson’s sons’ band made their first album, it was titled Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5. But that, of course, is a story for another time…