MetaFilter posts tagged with rb

Sugar Pie DeSanto

Joe Beese — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:21:56 -0800

Sugar Pie DeSanto says, "I like to sing blues, R&B, and pop and I think I do them pretty well". Her R&B recordings for Chess Records - including "Soulful Dress" and her duet with Etta James "In The Basement" - can be found here. And yes, she's still got it.

R.I.P. Willy DeVille

maudlin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:57:20 -0800

Sister Sue, tell me baby what are we gonna do. She said take two candles, and then you burn them out. Make a paper boat, light it and send it out, send it out now ... Willy DeVille (formerly William Dorsay), died of pancreatic cancer on August 6, at the age of 58. So much of his music evoked the languid heat of a city night. This might be a good evening to turn it up loud. His band Mink DeVille played at CBGBs regularly during the rise of NY punk, but they were always more classic rock n roll/soul/blues/Latin than punk (Spanish Stroll; Cadillac Walk; Savoir Faire; Guardian Angel; Mixed Up Shook Up Girl). More people probably know him from the stately, gravellly Storybook Love, his collaboration with Mark Knopfler for the soundtrack of The Princess Bride. After moving to New Orleans in 1988, he continued to produce some really fine music, but most of the world never paid that much attention again. Go here or here to find any of his music that you might have missed. If you want an immediate hit, this YouTube channel has a growing selection of uploads with excellent, detailed commentary. There's a lovely 2006 interview with Willy here. And there's a lavish Wikipedia article on him here.

Tell her I'm happy, tell her I'm gay, tell her I wouldn't have it any other way.

kimdog — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:55:38 -0800

Jackie Shane could rock the Sapphire Club. He was part of the Toronto Sound of the sixties, and made his mark not only for his soulful voice, but also for his flamboyent, gender ambiguous appearance (video). His song Any Other Way went to Number Two on the Canadian Billboard chart in 1963, and was his biggest hit. While his discography was short and he has faded into obscurity, he has been recognized by the queer community and music bloggers as a trail-blazing performer. In My Tenement, Comin Down, You Are My Sunshine, Stand Up Strait and Tall, Don't Play That Song.

She was a BIG FREAK!!

Joe Beese — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:31:14 -0800

"A wildly flamboyant funk diva with few equals even three decades after her debut, Betty Davis combined the gritty emotional realism of Tina Turner, the futurist fashion sense of David Bowie, and the trendsetting flair of Miles Davis, her husband for a year. ... she turned Miles on to Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone (providing the spark that led to his musical reinvention on In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew), then proved her own talents with a trio of sizzling mid-'70s solo LPs." - All Music Guide (many links nsfw-ish)

Beyond Chris Brown and Rihanna.

lunit — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 01:50:39 -0800

Beyond Chris Brown and Rihanna. By now you've probably heard about Chris Brown and Rhianna. Jay Smooth of Ill Doctrine asked Elizabeth Mendez Berry, author of Vibe Magazine's 2005 feature Love Hurts (pdf) about "domestic violence within (and without) hiphop", for her thoughts. For more of Berry, see also: Jay-Z Leaves Hip-Hop With Something to Remember Him By—The Black Album, With Matching Sneakers and The Art of Love and Struggle.

The Music is the Message

fourcheesemac — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 13:02:05 -0800

The Soul is in the Soundtrack . . . Barack Obama's soundtrack, that is . . . Margaret Talev writing for McClatchy, quoting Duke U's Mark Anthony Neal: "The music "really harkens back to the initial moments of the creation of that possibility, young white folks listening to those artists, dancing to that music, the beginning of school integration," he said. "The music is really a soundtrack to that. It stirs a nostalgia about when folks had hopes that we'd see a kind of society where we can elect a black president." Gavin Hewitt, writing for BBC, also explores the Obama campaign's use of musical messaging. Can a singer's opinion change your vote? Can one candidate use another's signature song and re-inflect it? And Carrie Brownsetein wonders "do you hear what I hear?" Rolling Stone wants to know what the candidate hears in his earbuds. Oh, and Springsteen endorses (scroll down). Ralph Stanley too. If you want a taste of it, plus Springsteen's warm-up, tune in to Barack Obama's Cleveland rally starting soon (program slated to begin at 3:34PM EST). Live stream should be up soon on barackobama.com or CNN.com (No direct CNN video link yet; will post in comments when it comes online.) Meanwhile, Axl Rose tells us it doesn't matter, because we're gonna get Chinese Democracy either way. (YT)

The Black Godfather

nola — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:42:18 -0800

Agile Mobile Hostile [ Mov. file] A year with Andre Williams the documentary. The wiki entry, some clips from the film. The main site Silky

Beats The Hell Out of The Neutron Dance

StopMakingSense — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:01:05 -0800

The Pointer Sisters rehearse. So imagine how they sound with an audience.

The Pied Pi(ss)er of R&B

whahappen?! — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 23:29:04 -0800

Despite ongoing legal issues, Robert Sylvester Kelly continues to reign as an icon of commercial rap/r&b. His 'direct' approach to lyrics - that behind the bizarre metaphors and often hilariously tasteless statements that have been the key to his longevity - also shines through in some of his biggest hits. Kelly's piece de resistance, Trapped In the Closet, which recently released 10 new 'chapters,' takes his penchant for crude storytelling to new heights. Featuring love-triangles, -pentagons, and -octagons, not to mention a well-endowed 'midget', the soap-like series is being credited with the creation of a new genre of music video. Not one to let the strange allure of his work speak for itself, Kelly describes TITC as "my alien."

I love the smell of alkali metals in the morning...

ozomatli — Tue, 30 May 2006 08:22:41 -0800

The dog's nuts of the periodic table.

The Show Must Go On

Miko — Sat, 10 Sep 2005 08:24:53 -0800

After the Storm Sometime this weekend, you may be able to hear one of the best expressions of New Orleans’ role in music and culture available in any mass media. It's American Routes, a weekly show carried on many US public radio affiliates. Programmed and hosted by folklorist and UNO professor of folklore and culture Nick Spitzer, the show normally broadcasts from a studio in the heart of the French Quarter, but has found a temporary home on a Creole/Cajun French/English public radio station in Lafayette. Spitzer told the NYT that he began planning the music for this week’s show as he was fleeing the flooding city in his car, playing Fats Domino’s “Walking to New Orleans." This week’s show highlights New Orleans’ recovery from disasters past, emphasizing the city’s role as the greatest single wellspring of American music. The Crescent City, after all, has either birthed or nurtured everything from jazz, R & B, cajun and the related black-influenced zydeco, soul, blues, gospel, and rock and roll.) With an encyclopedic knowledge of American vernacular music, an utterly democratic spirit, and an unmistakeable respect and love for American musical forms and the people who create them, Spitzer has stepped forward several times this week to serve as a compassionate and optimistic spokesman for the irrepressible creative spirit of a suffering city and a culture in diaspora.

mediareport — Wed, 10 Jul 2002 01:08:21 -0800

The King of the Jukebox who disturbed the status quo They called rock music jump blues during the World War II era, and this amazingly talented clown was its master, with over fifty Top 10 R&B hits -- eighteen reached #1 -- between 1942 and 1951. Chuck Berry identified with him "more than any other artist." James Brown said, "He was everything" and considered him one of the earliest rappers. A pioneer of music video, the first black artist to cross over from the "race" market to a white audience and a central link between big bands and rock, he was a primary influence on Bill Haley, Ray Charles and B.B. King, who once said, "I wanted to be like him." Rest in peace, Louis Jordan. [Dozens of one-minute song clips here]

Kevs — Fri, 11 Jan 2002 22:31:05 -0800

What happened to the two-step invasion? In early 2001, America was supposed to be poised for an invasion of this skittery garage/R&B combo, with Craig David's "Fill Me In" taking over the charts. However, while two-step has conquered England, it remains unknown in the US. Where is the homegrown two-step, and why are Artful Dodger, Oxide & Neutrino, MJ Cole and the rest failing to gain any converts on this side of the pond?