Tag: Sixties Soul

Weekly Recommended Listens: April 2017: Week 4: Sixties Rock: Soul Music Concluded

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, this week we’re concluding our cliff notes look at Early Sixties Soul Music.

Just as a reminder, each weekly recommended music posting features the following sections:

I. Very Brief Artist Bios

II. Freegal Music Recommendations (streaming music)

III. CD Music Recommendations Of The Week

IV. Videos Of This Week

V. Wild Card Print Book Recommendation Of The Week

VI. References (for those who’d like to know a bit more about the artists of the week).

This week we’ll we’ll check out the music of Gene Chandler, Major Lance and a selection of some of the great artists that recorded for the legendary label Stax Records during the sixties and seventies. And next week we’ll kick off a month long look at the artists and groups of the first British Invasion – the one that started with The Beatles performances on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, and was succeeded by a second British Invasion of more experimental sixties rock, that roughly began with the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club band in June of 1967.

I. Very Brief Artist Bios

Gene Chandler: Gene Chandler was born Eugene Dixon on July 6, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois. Chandler began his singing career in Chicago in the late fifties singing a mixture of traditional rock n’ roll and R&B as a member of the group The Du-Kays, also seen spelled The Dukays.

The Dukays recorded several cool albums which wove sounds of traditional R&B and rock with doo-wop and, you can hear the emerging sound of Soul music in their early sixties hits. The band had two minor charting singles during the early sixties: The Girl is Evil and Owl Night, and actually recorded a version of the soul classic Duke of Earl. Just after the band recorded their version of Duke of Earl, Gene Dixon decided to go solo and he re-recorded Duke of Earl on a new label and with a new stage name – Gene Chandler. And the song went all the way to the top of the pop charts in 1962. Duke of Earl became Chandler’s signature song and he even went on to perform concerts wearing long robes and a crown as if he truly was an earl.

As a solo artist Chandler stepped away from the Doo Wop style and began singing music that combined the musical elements of Soul Music – traditional Rock N’ Roll and R&B. He never again had a huge cross over hit. However, he continued to hit the R&B charts during the sixties era with several other cool songs including: Just Be True, Bless Our Love and Groovy Situation.

And although the sixties were Chandler’s charting heyday, he continued recording through the seventies and had several more hits including Get Down and Does She Have A Friend.

Today, Chandler lives in Chicago and continues to play concerts.

Major Lance: Major Lance was born in Winterville, Mississippi on April 4, 1939 and moved to Chicago as a youth. Lance sang Gospel music as a child and attended Chicago’s Wells High School where he met two other future Soul & R&B greats, Impressions co-founders Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler. Early in his career Lance sang with the Five Gospel Harmonaires and with Otis Leavill and his Floats. And it was Lance’s connection with Leavill, who like Mayfield and Butler was a childhood friend, that landed him his first recording contract with Okeh Records in 1962. Lance’s first single, the Mayfield written tune Delilah, was not a hit; however, his second single, The Monkeytime, was a major league smash. The Monekytime brought Lance to the front and center of attention of pop and R&B fans. The song was a huge crossover hit, cracking the top ten on both the R&B and Pop charts and establishing Lance as a solid member of the new Soul Music scene. Lance had a number of other hits in the sixties including: Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, The Matador, Come And See, Hey Little Girl, Think Nothing About It, Rhythm, Ain’t No Soul (In These Rock ‘N’ Roll Shoes) & Too Hold To Hold.

Lance’s musical heyday was in the sixties, and he sporadically recorded in the seventies and eighties and played concerts until his health failed in the nineties.

Major Lance died in 1994 at the young age of 55 leaving behind some great soul music.

Stax Records: Stax Records was founded in Memphis in 1959 as Volt Records by siblings Jim Stewart and Estelle Stewart Axton. Stewart and Axton changed the name of the label in 1961 by combining the first two letters of their last names.

And many, many artists recorded for Stax and, became well known to music fans as a result, including their house band Booker T. & The MG’s, Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Albert King, Johnnie Taylor, Delaney & Bonnie, Eddie Floyd, Isaac Hayes, Little Milton, Mavis Staples, The Bar-Kays, The Dells, The Mar-Keys, William Bell, The Staple Singers and Rufus and Carla Thomas.

During the sixties and early seventies Stax recording artists had a whopping 410 singles hit the charts!

Stax music, collectively, sits at the crossroads of soul, traditional rhythm and blues and traditional rock music; you can hear the elements of all three styles woven into the music of Stax artists. And even though we’re now decades away from the years that saw those charting singles recorded, somehow they still sound as fresh and vibrant today as if they were recorded yesterday.

II. Freegal Music Recommendations (streaming music):

Gene Chandler:

The Very Best of Gene Chandler:

This album contains a selection of Chandler’s sixties hits including: Duke of Earl, Night Owl, You Threw A Lucky Punch, Just Be True, What Now? and more.

Here’s a link to stream The Very Best of Gene Chandler album:
https://goo.gl/PfTuC1

Gene Chandler’s Greatest:

The music on this album falls outside the genre of sixties soul instead offering the great sounds of seventies soul with elements of funk woven in — but it is a great album so I thought I’d include it!

Songs on this album include: Get Down, Does She Have a Friend (For Me?) and When You’re # 1.

Here’s a link to stream Gene Chandler’s Greatest Hits (of the seventies):
https://goo.gl/wWBAA0

Major Lance:

The Very Best Of Major Lance: 

This best of collection features sixteen songs including: The Monekytime, Mama Didn’t Know, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Too Hot To Hold and more – here’s a link to stream the Very Best of Major Lance album:

https://goo.gl/2BD4cT

The Essential Major Lance:

And if you find you love the music of Gene Chandler here ‘s a link to stream a 40 song double album put out by Epic Records simply titled The Essential Major Lance: 

https://goo.gl/qEEsxh

Stax Artists/Groups:

Live: 1989 Memphis Music & Heritage Festival by Carla Thomas:

This is short album by Carla Thomas featuring just six songs: Let Me Be Good To You, Stand By Me-Chain Gang Medley, Neither One Of Us, The Birth of the Blues, Little Red Rooster and Gee Whiz. If you haven’t heard Carla Thomas’s music before this is a good introduction that will leave you wanting to hear more!

Here’s a link to stream the album Live: 1989 Memphis Music & Heritage Festival:
https://goo.gl/2sUlF3

The RZA Presents Shaolin Soul Selection: Vol. 1 by Various Artists:

This collection features songs by Stax artists including William Bell, Isaac Hayes, Johnnie Taylor, Booker T. & The MG’s, Little Milton & Albert King as well some other great artists/groups including The Sweet Inspirations with Cissy Houston.

Here’s a link to stream The RZA Presents Shaolin Soul Selection: Vol. 1 album:
https://goo.gl/SzOV0R

 Former Stax Artists Collection:

926 East McLemore – A Reunion of Former Stax Artists, Vol. 1

This set features a number of great artists that recorded for Stax including: Rufus Thomas, The Bar-Kays, Ollie Nightingale & The Mad Lads.

Here’s a ink to stream the album:
https://goo.gl/JAKSgh

III. CD Music Recommendations Of The Week

Gene Chandler:

The Girl Don’t Care:
One of Chandler’s best, chock full of midtempo grooves, succulent ballads and jump tunes like “Good Times.” Curtis Mayfield’s “Nothing Can Stop Me” is spiced with punchy horns and choral backing vocals for Gene to play his cool, swaggering tenor against. The pain in his voice is undeniable on “Here Come the Tears,” where he literally cries the agonizing lyrics. He gets philosophical on “The Girl Don’t Care,” an intense ballad that always seems too short. This could almost pass for a greatest-hits LP, since at least six of the selections were released as A-sides. “Fool for You,” as well as the others mentioned above, got their share of plays on soul stations, and all should have been bigger hits. The B-sides occupy most of side two and are just a couple of notches below the plug sides. It’s amazing how overlooked and underappreciated these gems were.

–AllMusic Review by Andrew Hamilton–

Here’s a link to request the CD Girl Don’t Care:

https://goo.gl/XE5sFN

Major Lance:

Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um:
Sales didn’t reflect it, but this is probably Curtis Mayfield’s best production, and Lance’s best album: every track is a winner. “Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um,” “Hey Little Girl,” and “The Monkey Time” were major busters for Major Lance; all had a mock cha-cha beat. And the unheralded tracks are just as good: Lance’s “Gypsy Woman” is as haunting as the Impressions’ original; “Think Nothing About It” is endearing and marvelously simplistic, one of Mayfield’s best compositions (Gene Chandler recorded it later). If Okeh had released “That’s What Mama Say” as a single, it would have done some damage (both the Impressions and Walter Jackson recorded the tender mama-done-told-me song, and although Jackson’s version scored an R&B hit, it lacks the bite of Lance’s version). “You’ll Want Me Back” is serene and beautiful; it was also done by the Impressions, but Lance’s rendition stirs the pot. Lance had a more dynamic voice than Mayfield, his childhood friend — it was heavier and had more teeth than Mayfield’s light tenor — yet Mayfield had more all-around skills and became far more successful. The Impressions sing background on most of the tracks, and you can hear the rainbowing of voices with Lance’s cutting through and dominating like a dictator. Take “Little Young Lover,” a good song by the Impressions, but a candidate for hitsville when Lance does it. He does an excellent job on “It’s All Right,” “I’m the One Who Loves You,” and “Gotta Right to Cry”; the latter sounds like a group recording with Lance leading, and the Impressions — Mayfield (first tenor), Fred Cash (baritone), and Sam Gooden (tenor) — trying to win a harmony contest. One listen to this LP, and you’ll be a Major Lance (and Curtis Mayfield) fan for life.

–AllMusic Review by Andrew Hamilton–

Here’s a link to request the CD Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um:

https://goo.gl/FEJM3n

Stax 50th Anniversary Collection by various artists:

When Concord Music purchased Fantasy Records in 2006, the bulging Stax catalog came along for the ride. Not a bad deal, especially since Stax remains one of the richest and most vital sources of ’60s and ’70s soul, blues, and R&B. The newly reactivated label’s debut release is a lavishly boxed double-disc set of 50 highlights–as opposed to hits–from the Memphis label’s voluminous vaults to celebrate its 50th anniversary. All the usual suspects appear, including Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Isaac Hayes, Johnnie Taylor, Eddie Floyd, Albert King, and the Staple Singers. But the compilers deliver a well-rounded, even eclectic collection by including tracks from such relatively obscure acts as the Astors, Ollie & the Nightingales, the Mad Lads, Linda Lyndell, and Mable John, whose “Your Good Thing (Is About to End)” is one of the great lost soul treasures. Propelled in large part by house band Booker T. & the MGs, the majority of these songs have become integral threads in the fabric of American soul. Even at two and a half hours, there’s not a dull moment here. That is a testament not just to the Stax musicians, but to a label whose artists defined a classic sound that remains as timeless, relevant, influential, and electrifying as when it was recorded.

–Hal Horowitz, Amazon Review–

Here’s a link to request the CD Stax 50th Anniversary Collection:

https://goo.gl/2iWMQk

IV. Videos Of This Weeks’ Artists/Groups

Gene Chandler – Duke of Earl

https://youtu.be/0bw55sR4ec8

Gene Chandler – Nothing Can Stop Me

Major Lance – The Monkey Time

https://youtu.be/B0KlRpQeyvo

Major Lance – Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um

Stax Artists:

Carla Thomas – Gee Whiz

Albert King – Born Under a Bad Sign

Sam & Dave – Hold On I’m Comin’ (Live in 1967)

https://youtu.be/3ND4P-gy1PM

Eddie Floyd-Knock On Wood 

Otis Redding “Try A Little Tenderness” Live 1967

V. Wild Card Print Book Recommendation Of The Week:

Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion by Robert Gordon 

This week I’m going to stay with the monthly musical subject of Sixties Soul and suggest you check out a book and DVD with the same name on that very subject!

The book and DVD are both titled Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion. The book was written by Robert Gordon and here is the starred review from Publishers Weekly:  In the late 1950s, Jim Stewart, and his sister, Estelle Axton, moved their little fledgling recording studio into the defunct Capitol Theater in Memphis, Tenn., opening their doors and establishing the record label that gave birth to gritty, funky soul music. A masterful storyteller, music historian Gordon (It Came from Memphis) artfully chronicles the rise and fall of one of America’s greatest music studios, situating the story of Stax within the cultural history of the 1960s in the South. Stewart, a fiddle player who knew he’d never make it in the music business himself, one day overheard a friend talking about producing music; he soon gave it a try, and eventually he was supervising the acclaimed producer Chips Moman in the studio as well as creating a business plan for the label; Estelle Axton set up a record shop in the lobby of the theater, selling the latest discs but also spinning music just recorded in the studio and gauging its market appeal. Gordon deftly narrates the stories of the many musicians who called Stax home, from Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, and Otis Redding to Isaac Hayes, Sam and Dave, and the Staples Singers, as well as the creative marketing and promotional strategies—the Stax-Volt Revue and Wattstax. By the early 1970s, bad business decisions and mangled personal relationships shuttered the doors of Stax. Today, the Stax sound permeates our lives and, in Gordon’s words, became the soundtrack for liberation, the song of triumph, the sound of the path toward freedom.

–Publishers Weekly Review–

The DVD is a documentary based upon Gordon’s book and it can be found in our Non-Fiction DVD Section:

Here’s a link to request the bookRespect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion :

https://goo.gl/mWWbQH

And here’s a link to request the documentary DVDRespect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion:

https://goo.gl/XXz2C2

VI. General References & Artist Specific References:

General References:
All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide To R&B And Soul. (Backbeat Books. Fresno. 2003.)

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn (Billboard Books. New York. 2009.)

Dreams To Remember: Otis Redding, Stax Records And The Transformation of Southern Soul by Mark Ribowsky. Published by Liveright. 2015.

The Dukays Biography by Andrew Hamilton
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-dukays-mn0000785533

Estelle Axton Biography by Jason Ankeny
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/estelle-axton-mn0000805122

Um, um, um, um, um, um AllMusic Review by Andrew Hamilton https://goo.gl/jj8AMw

Girl Don’t Care AllMusic Review by Andrew Hamilton
http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-girl-dont-care-mw0000226045

Otis Leavill Biography by Andrew Hamilton
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/otis-leavill-mn0000894018/biography

Respect Yourself Stax Records and the Soul Explosion by Robert Gordon. Published by Bloomsburg. New York. 2013.

Sixties Rock: A Listener’s Guide by Robert Santelli (Contemporary Books. Chicago. 1985.)

Recommended Artists Specific References:

The Official Gene Chandler Website:
http://www.genechandler.com/index2.html

Gene Chandler “The Duke Of Earl” POSTED 12:38 AM, DECEMBER 10, 2013, Interview BY MICHAEL HEIDEMANN WWGN Radio.
http://wgnradio.com/2013/12/10/gene-chandler-the-duke-of-earl/

Major Lance Bio
http://www.oldies.com/artist-view/Major-Lance.html

Major Lance, 55, Soul Singer in 60’s Published: September 5, 1994. New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/05/obituaries/major-lance-55-soul-singer-in-60-s.html

Stax homepage
https://www.staxrecords.com/

Stax History
https://www.staxrecords.com/pages/history

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

P.S. If you have any questions about how to download or stream free music through the Freegal Music service to a desktop or laptop computer or how to download and use the Freegal Music app let us know! Drop by the library or give us a call at: 607-936-3713

*You must have a library card at a Southern Tier Library System member library to enjoy the Freegal Music Service. Your card can be from any library in the system, and the system includes all public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Allegheny Counties and including our own Southeast Steuben Count Library in Corning, New York. Library cards are free and at our library you can obtain one by visiting the Circulation Desk and presenting staff with a form of ID that features both your name and your current address.

Weekly Recommended Listens: April 2017: Week 2: Sixties Rock: Early Sixties Soul Music Continued

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, this week we’re continuing our month-long look at Early Sixties Soul music.

Our artists for this week are Jackie Wilson, Solomon Burke & Little Willie John.

And our weekly recommended music posting features the following sections:

I. Brief Artist Bios

II. Freegal Music Recommendations Of The Week (streaming music*)

III. CD Music Recommendations Of The Week

IV. Videos Of This Weeks’ Artists/Groups

V. Wild Card Print Book Recommendation Of The Week

VI. References (for those who’d like to know a bit more about the artists of the week).

I. Brief Artist Bios:

Jackie Wilson: Wilson was born in Detroit in 1934. And like all the other musicians who helped create the new musical genre of Soul, he started out singing Gospel, then incorporated traditional Rhythm & Blues and Pop influences into his music to produce a classic early sixties Soul sound.

Wilson initially sang as a solo artist before joining Billy Ward’s band, the Dominos in 1953. He took over the singing duties from the great Clyde McPatter who left Ward’s band to form The Drifters. During Wilson’s tenure with The Dominos they had one hit Reet Petite (The Finest Girl You Ever Want To Meet) in which you can clearly hear the styles of Rhythm and Blues, Pop and Swing being woven together.

In 1957, Wilson left Ward’s band and launched his second solo career. He scored numerous hits in the next ten years starting with 1958’s To Be Loved. Other Wilson hits of the era include: Lonely Teardrops, I’ll Be Satisfied, Doggin’ Around, A Woman, A Lover, A Friend, Alone At Last, My Empty Arms, Baby Workout, (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher, and I Get The Sweetest Feeling. Wilson’s was a very energetic singer and a great performer. He was also a consistent hitmaker during the 1960s. However, it is notable that when Wilson recorded albums he focused on creating hits and so sometimes the depth and energy of his singing wasn’t captured in his studio recordings.

All in all though, Wilson richly deserves his place in music history as one of the founder of Soul Music – few singers of the era sang more energetically, and his rich tones when complimented by the right songs/song arraignments are wonderful to hear.

Wilson continued to perform into the nineteen seventies but, unfortunately, suffered a stroke while performing in Cherry Hill, New Jersey in 1975, at the very young age of 41, and was never able to perform again. Wilson died in 1984.

Solomon Burke: Burke was born on March 21, 1940 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Both his mother and his grandmother were preachers so he grew up with the sounds of Gospel woven into his life. And as a young man, Burke worked as a preacher and mortician before turning his launching a singing career.

Burke never had a pop hit, although he had many R&B hits, but he had a huge impact on the genres of Pop and Rock Music and was another founding pillar of the genre of Soul Music. Burke started out singing Gospel in his family’s church and went on to sing music that mixed Rhythm and Blues and Country Music with Pop overtones, polishing and transitioning that music into Soul Music as he went.

In the mid-sixties a radio show host referred to Burke as “The King Of Rock and Soul” and Burke loved the description and went with it, creating a stage persona that showed him larger than life, decked out like a king and sitting on a throne while he sang.

Burke recorded for Atlantic Records during its sixties heyday. And with his smooth vocals, flamboyant style and knack for storytelling, influenced a whole host of subsequent artists and groups including the Rolling Stones who covered two of his songs in their early years– Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Rolling Stones No. 2), and Cry To Me (Out Of Our Heads). Burke’s R&B hits of the sixties included: Cry To Me, Just Out of Reach, Tonight’s The Night, Got To Get You Off My Mind, If You Need Me and Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye).

Post sixties, Burke continued to record and perform and actually died in an airport in Amsterdam while on tour in 2010. He was seventy years old, and according to his New York Times obituary, he was survived by 21 children, 90 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren.

Little Willie John: John was born in Cullendale, Arkansas on November 15, 1937. He grew up in Detroit and his first hit was 1955’s All Around the World.

John’s vocals had great emotional depth and his voice was youthful in tone giving his music a very vibrant feeling.

John recorded for King Records, a lesser known label that the great sixties R&B/Soul labels Atlantic and Stax, and, was cited as a musical inspiration by many other performers including B.B. King, Al Green, Clyde McPhatter, James Brown, Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke.

John was a passionate individual and hot tempered when it came to slights – particularly those based on his lack of height – he was five feet, four inches tall. And in 1964 he stabbed a man and as a result, was sent to The Washington State Penitentiary. He died there under suspicious circumstances in 1968. Some sources say John died of a heart attack, others that he died of pneumonia and several contemporaries interviewed for his 2011 biography, Fever: Little Willie John A Fast Life, Mysterious Death and The Birth of Soul by Susan Whitall, claim that he was murdered. Whatever the cause of his John’s death, he died at the very young age of 30 leaving behind some great music. His hits include: Are You Ever Coming Back, Fever, Heartbreak, Home At Last, I Need Your Love So Bad, I’m Shakin’ and Let’s Rock While The Rockin’s Good.

Freegal Notes:

To access Freegal Music from a desktop or laptop simply click on the following link:

http://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/

The Freegal Music Catalog homepage will display — it looks like this:

The Freegal Music app can be found in your app store and it looks like this:

II. Freegal Music Recommendations Of The Week:

Jackie Wilson:Archive ’57-’61:

This album contains a number of Wilson’s best songs including: Reet Petite, To Be Loved, Lonely Teardrops, I’ll Be Satisfied, Doggin’ Around, Night and more!

Here’s a link to stream the album Archive ’57 – ’61:
https://goo.gl/nTDFPN

Solomon Burke: Proud Mary with Bonus Tracks

 The songs on this collection include: These Arms Of Mine, I’ll Be Doggone, Please Send Me Someone To Love, The Generation Of Revelations, In The Ghetto and more.

Here’s link to stream the Proud Mary album:
https://goo.gl/YHQPkO

Little Willie John:

All Around The World by Little Willie John from the Various Artists collection All Star Rock & Roll Revue:

In addition to Little Willie John, this album  features a swinging version of Oh Babe by Lucky Millinder, a bouncy Voo-Vee-Ah-Bee by The Platters and Sixty Minute Man by Billy Ward & His Dominoes featuring Clyde McPhatter on vocals.

Here’s a link to stream the All Star Rock & Roll Revue album:
https://goo.gl/iqT7rV

Fever by Little Willie John from the Various Artists collection 20 Soul Rarities:


Other musicians features on the album include: Big Joe Turner, Dinah Washington, Ruth Brown, Eugene Church and more.

Here’s a link to stream the album 20 Soul Rarities:
https://goo.gl/Hw3rII

Freegal Wild Card Streaming Pick Of The Week:

The Complete Sessions with Bobby Hackett by Jackie Gleason:


If you’re only familiar with Jackie Gleason as portraying the everyday common man Ralph Kramden on the classic TV show the Honeymooners, than you are in for a treat! Jackie Gleason also had a musical career! In the fifties, he said that he thought there was a need to create smooth, romantic, easy listening instrumental music like the kind he saw, during romantic scenes in the movies, while he was growing up – and boy did he! Jackie Gleason’s albums feature rich, horn based instrumentals that are perfect to play as back ground music while reading, relaxing, unwinding while working out or even just de-stressing, wine glass in hand, after a hectic day.

If you go to the Freegal checkout page to stream the set you’ll notice Freegal has the musical category listed as Jazz. However, Jackie Gleason’s music really isn’t Jazz – it is the soft background music that later became known as lounge music and it is perfect music to play when you just want to shut your eyes and relax!

Freegal has several different Jackie Gleason albums in its catalog, including this set of Gleason’s featuring albums released between 1953 and 1960 which feature trumpeter Bobby Hackett. This collection features more than 100 songs – so stream away!

Here’s a link to stream the Jackie Gleason Sessions:
https://goo.gl/7JYQ19

III. Compact Discs Recommendations:

Jackie Wilson:

Jackie Wilson 7 Classic Albums Plus Bonus Singles And Live Tracks:


This multi disc collection includes seven albums originally released between 1958 and 1961 including his first three albums: He’s So Fine, So Much & Lonely Teardrops. Also included are the albums Jackie Sings the Blues and A Woman, A Lover, A Friend both released in 1960 and 1961’s You Ain’t Heard Nothin Yet and By Special Request. Since that is seven albums worth of material to listen to and not everyone has that much free time, I’ll note that the AllMusic site gives the highest ratings to the albums Lonely Teardrops and Jackie Sings The Blues.

Here’s a link to request the Jackie Wilson 7 Classic Albums set  via StarCat: https://goo.gl/kQwm8r

Solomon Burke

The Very Best of Solomon Burke:

This album, unlike the mega Jackie Wilson set, features one single-album of music; sixteen of Solomon’s best songs including: Just Out Of My Reach, Cry To Me, Everybody Needs Somebody To Love and Tonight’s The Night.

Here’s a link to request the Very Best of Solomon Burke CD via StarCat: https://goo.gl/X0MA3U

Little Willie John:

Little Willie John: All 15 Of His chart Hits From 1953 To 1962:

This album is a solid greatest hits collection featuring, as the title says, all of Little Willie John’s hits from the fifties and early sixties. The album includes the songs: All Around The World, Need your Love So Bad, Cottage For Sale, Fever and more.

Here’s a link to request the Little Willie John CD via StarCat: https://goo.gl/pCKUk9

Wild Card CD & DVD Picks Of The Week:


Lost and Found: American Treasures from the New Zealand Film Archive (Silent):

This collection of silent American films is a great find! The set includes early movies, previously unavailable on video, by John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock and other early American cinematic favorites. The films and were found in a New Zealand archive where they had been carefully stored for over a century – and they are a great find because they are the only known versions of these videos.

The 3-1/4 hour DVD set contains the following short films and film shorts:

John Ford’s Upstream (1927) and a preview for his lost feature Strong Boy (1929)

The White Shadow (1924), 3 reels from the first surviving feature credited to Alfred Hitchcock, the assistant director, art director, writer, and editor

Won in a Cupboard (1914), the first surviving film directed by and starring Mabel Normand

Lyman H. Howe’s Famous Ride on a Runaway Train (1921), reunited with its sound-effects disc for the first time in decades

Stetson’s Birth of a Hat (ca. 1920)

The Love Charm (1928), a South Seas romance filmed in two-color Technicolor by Ray Rennahan and written by Duncan Renaldo (the “Cisco Kid”)

Andy’s Stump Speech (1924), directed by Norman Taurog, following funny-paper favorite Andy Gump (played by Joe Murphy) on the campaign trail

The cartoon Happy-Go-Luckies (1923), 5 newsreel stories, and an episode from Dolly of the Dailies (1914) in which the unstoppable newspaperwoman saves the day and gets the scoop.

Here’s a link to request the Lost and Found DVD set via StarCat:
https://goo.gl/wD2iFZ

IV: Videos Of This Weeks’ Artists/Groups:

Jackie Wilson:

That’s Why (I Love You So) – from The Ed Sullivan Show

https://goo.gl/B3RGNR

Lonely Teardrops – from an unnamed TV show:

https://goo.gl/8oIcfc

Solomon Burke:

Cry To Me – studio recording with a montage of photos of Burke from the era and, at the end of the clip, much later in his career

https://goo.gl/T2XM9v

A Picture of You – another studio recording with featuring only a single, vintage, lonely photo of Solomon Burke – but it is great song!

https://goo.gl/fpmjRz

Little Willie John:
Two studio recordings featuring vintage photos of John:

Need Your Love So Bad

https://goo.gl/tfqsKx

I’m Shakin’

https://goo.gl/aGg5cS

V. Wild Card Print Book Recommendation Of The Week:

Fever: Little Willie John, A Fast Life, Mysterious Death and the Birth of Soul by Susan Whitall with a forward by Stevie Wonder

This week I’m not going to divert from the Soul Music category and go off on a different music path, instead, I’m going to recommend Little Willie John’s biography titled:

Here’s a solid description of the book provided by the Publisher – Titan Books:

Little Willie John lived for a fleeting 30 years, but his dynamic and daring sound left an indelible mark on the history of music. His deep blues, rollicking rock ‘n’ roll and swinging ballads inspired a generation of musicians, forming the basis for what we now know as soul music.

Born in Arkansas in 1937, William Edward John found his voice in the church halls, rec centers and nightclubs of Detroit, a fertile proving ground that produced the likes of Levi Stubbs and the Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and Hank Ballard and the Midnighters. One voice rose above the rest in those formative years of the 1950s, and Little Willie John went on to have 15 hit singles in the American rhythm & blues chart, with considerable cross-over success in pop. Some of his songs might be best known by their cover versions (“Fever” by Peggy Lee, “Need Your Love So Bad” by Fleetwood Mac and “Leave My Kitten Alone” by The Beatles) but Little Willie John’s original recording of these and other songs are widely considered to be definitive, and it is this sound that is credited with ushering in a new age in American music as the 1950s turned into the 60s and rock ‘n’ roll took its place in popular culture.

The soaring heights of Little Willie John’s career are matched only by the tragic events of his death, cutting short a life so full of promise. Charged with a violent crime in the late 1960s, an abbreviated trial saw Willie convicted and incarcerated in Walla Walla Washington, where he died under mysterious circumstances in 1968.

In this, the first official biography of one of the most important figures in rhythm & blues history, author Susan Whitall, with the help of Little Willie John’s eldest son Kevin John, has interviewed some of the biggest names in the music industry and delved into the personal archive of the John family to produce an unprecedented account of the man who invented soul music.

And here’s a link to request Little Willie John bio via StarCat:

https://goo.gl/5uX2JY

VI. General References & Artist Specific References:

General References:
All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide To R&B And Soul. (Backbeat Books. Fresno. 2003.)

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn (Billboard Books. New York. 2009.)
Clyde McPhatter Biography by Bruce Eder
https://goo.gl/B3Cm7A

Sixties Rock: A Listener’s Guide by Robert Santelli (Contemporary Books. Chicago. 1985.)

Recommended Artists Specific References:

Jackie Wilson Biography by Richie Unterberger
https://goo.gl/XjFlFS

JACKIE WILSON, ROCK SINGER; RECORDS INCLUDED ‘TEARDROPS’ Published: January 23, 1984. New York Times.
https://goo.gl/G6ZR6t

Little Willie John Biography by John Floyd
https://goo.gl/3jkj8Z

Solomon Burke Biography by Richie Unterberger
https://goo.gl/6hZyRX

Solomon Burke, Influential Soul Singer, Dies at 70 By BEN SISARIO. OCT. 11, 2010. New York Times.
https://goo.gl/MMf1Rr

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

P.S. If you have any questions about how to download or stream free music through the Freegal Music service to a desktop or laptop computer or how to download and use the Freegal Music app let us know! Drop by the library or give us a call at: 607-936-3713

*You must have a library card at a Southern Tier Library System member library to enjoy the Freegal Music Service. Your card can be from any library in the system, and the system includes all public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Allegheny Counties and including our own Southeast Steuben Count Library in Corning, New York. Library cards are free and at our library you can obtain one by visiting the Circulation Desk and presenting staff with a form of ID that features both your name and your current address.