Funk singer Marva Whitney, who was dubbed Soul Sister #1 by her mentor James Brown,
has passed away at the age of 68. Backed by the whip-crack James Brown band (the JBs), Whitney's raw expression was just what the doctor ordered for those who wanted their funk uncut. Witness the supreme grooving goodness of
It's My Thing (live TV appearance),
Unwind Yourself,
What Do I Have To Do To Prove My Love To You,
I Made a Mistake Because It's Only You, and
Things Got to Get Better (another live TV appearance, with James Brown himself conducting the band and Whitney resplendent in platinum blonde afro). Here she is in a southern-flavored soul ditty recorded for Excello in 1972 called
Live and Let Live. Later in her career she cut an album with a JBs soundalike band from Japan called Osaka Monaurail, which included a recreation of the James Brown hit
Give It Up or Turnit a Loose. And here's a
radio interview from 2006, in which she reminisces about meeting James Brown and working under his wing. Heaven is a funkier place tonight. RIP Marva Whitney.
[more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Dec 24, 2012 -
13 comments
John Storm Roberts, 1936-2009. A magnificent scholar and record producer, and the author of great classics including
The Latin Tinge and
Black Music of Two Worlds,, and the founder of Original Music, John Storm Roberts passed away at the age of 73 back on Nov. 29. Few figures have had such a profoundly intertwined influence on both musical scholarship and popular musical culture.
[more inside]
posted by fourcheesemac
on Jan 8, 2010 -
4 comments
We're mostly pretty familiar, I guess, with the ol'
rum pa pum pum of the
Little Drummer Boy. He shows up every Christmas,
marching drum slung round his waist,
rat-a-tat-tatting for the Son of God, thanks to that familiar song about him. A catchy little tune it is, too... heck,
David Bowie and Bing Crosby think so! Let's keep in mind, though, that back when a certain Holy Infant made his first grand appearance at a stable back in Bethlehem, any little drummer boy that might've serenaded him wouldn't have been playing any
paradiddles or ratamacues. Nah, he'd have been laying down beats more like
this, or
this, or (from actual
boys),
this. I think the baby Jesus would've dug the groove, too. Merry Christmas, y'all!
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Dec 24, 2009 -
32 comments
"If the truth was really known about the origins of Jazz, it would certainly never be mentioned in polite society." The expression arose sometime during the later nineteenth century in the better brothels of New Orleans, which provided music and dancing as well as sex. Jazz has been around for more than a hundred years now. It is not the result of choosing a tune, but an ideal that is created first in the mind, and willed in the music, inspired by
A Passion for Jazz.
posted by netbros
on Aug 30, 2007 -
27 comments
WeFunkRadio.com has 390 full shows available for download featuring the funk, underground hip-hop, and rare grooves that are so hard to find. BitTorrents are available for the
two most
recent shows and there's always the
audio stream and
podcasts coming at you fresh from Montréal's
CKUT radio.
posted by furtive
on Sep 16, 2005 -
16 comments
