Remembering Soul Friends:
Just click on the title of the song and enjoy many, many, many great songs!
Sam Cooke, Bring It On Home To Me; Unforgettable and the founder of Soul for me!
In a later Blog something more about his daughter Linda, a great singer as well now known as Linda Womack (from Womack & Womack).
Otis Redding, Try A Little Tenderness; No words needed, died in a plane crash, how unfortunate for him, his family and fans!
Levi Stubbs, (4Tops), Reach Out I’ll Be There; Died this year, a great Tenor voice
James Carr, At The Dark End Of The Street; (see blog 4 days ago)
James Brown, It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World; The Godfather Of Soul!
Joe Tex, I gotcha; Rapper of the sixties! See previous Blog!
Dave Prater (Sam & Dave), Soul Man; Bariton, brought the sounds of the black gospel church to pop music
Wilson Pickett, In The Midnight Hour; An original singer, listen to his blues, soul, R&B, he could do all!
Arthur Conley, Sweet Soul Music; (look at his microphone handling!!) More about this special singer in a later blog. As a Dutchman I have a special tie with this man as he lived the main part of his life in the Netherlands and I was happy to see him performing live in Club Paradiso, Amsterdam
Marvin Gaye, Sexual Healing; Killed by his father, also too young such an enormous talent!
Tammi Terrel, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough Yes the original singer, with Marvin Gaye. Died when 24, too young, what a talent!
Mary Wells, My Guy; Yes her song indeed! Died very short after winning a Million Dollar lawsuit against Tamla-Motown
Norman Whitfield, songwriter (Papa Was A Rolling Stone (you see a great performance of the Temptations!), I Heard It Through The Grapevine, etc.) No words needed here!
Curtis Mayfield, Superfly; Soul, R&B and also Funk, A very special one!
Luther VanDross, Power Of Love; Won 8Grammy Awards!!! A lifelong alone, his name was never romantically linked with women. For me one of the most underestimated singers ever!
O.V. Wright, That’s How Strong My Love Is; His song and not from Otis Redding who was the one to make it famous. A serious drug problem caused his death at 41 years old.
Make this page your start page so that every day you can listen to some great songs!
Added: (31-12-2008) Florence Ballard from the Supremes, died in poverty. Remember her!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Yusuf Hazziez
When I was a teenager one of the most popular styles in music was Soul. Record labels like Atlantic and Tamla-Motown were leading and many talents scored hits there. Aretha Fanklin, Otis Redding, of course James Brown but also Sam Cooke (although he died even before I was a teenager) and many others we were listening to, every day. There were also the not so famous ones, throughout the world, James Carr, *(see my blog 3 days ago) or the one or two Hit wonders. One of those admired by only a small group of fans was Joe Tex.
A great voice, good moves on the stage but what was intriguing is that he was actually speaking the lyrics of the song very fast. And he himself called it rap! (Actually meaning "to hit", a very old English word) That was in 1966!! More then 40 years ago this men really "invented" that music style (is it the same as Hip-Hop as suggested in Wikipedia??) which was great in the early 22nd Century with people like Eminem and 50Cents.
The title of the blog is Yusuf Hazziez. You think why? That was the name after he converted to Islam and probably enjoyed being at home with his family as Hits were never produced after 1972. But his latest hit, "I gotcha" was a great song. A real rap-song. Look especially at the "great" dancers around him. I am happy that dancing has improved a lot the last 20 years!
My favourite song from Joe Tex however is "Show Me".
He was never seen using drugs or consuming lots of alcohol so it was even more unsuspected that this man would not live to become 50. A few days after he became 49 he died following a heart attack!
Respect!
A great voice, good moves on the stage but what was intriguing is that he was actually speaking the lyrics of the song very fast. And he himself called it rap! (Actually meaning "to hit", a very old English word) That was in 1966!! More then 40 years ago this men really "invented" that music style (is it the same as Hip-Hop as suggested in Wikipedia??) which was great in the early 22nd Century with people like Eminem and 50Cents.
The title of the blog is Yusuf Hazziez. You think why? That was the name after he converted to Islam and probably enjoyed being at home with his family as Hits were never produced after 1972. But his latest hit, "I gotcha" was a great song. A real rap-song. Look especially at the "great" dancers around him. I am happy that dancing has improved a lot the last 20 years!
My favourite song from Joe Tex however is "Show Me".
He was never seen using drugs or consuming lots of alcohol so it was even more unsuspected that this man would not live to become 50. A few days after he became 49 he died following a heart attack!
Respect!
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Christmas tree arrested...!
This can only happen in Moldova....(oh, this is not some funny article, no it is SERIOUS!!)
Moldova Police have “arrested” a Christmas tree in Chisinau. It is the latest development in the on-going Christmas tree war between City Authorities and the Moldovan government.
Moldovan police have demanded that the driver of a vehicle carrying the city government’s Christmas tree to the main square, produce a license to purchase fir trees as well as a permit from the State Environmental Inspectorate. Representatives of the country’s Forest Management Association, however, say there is no need for such a permit in this case. But police detained the vehicle nonetheless and then said the fir tree is ‘under arrest’. And while the mayor is demanding explanations, the Republic’s government is erecting a fir tree of its own in the same main square. This ‘best tree’ intrigue is the latest incident in the Xmas-tree war which started last year when the Christmas tree erected by the City on the capital’s main square, disappeared the day after it went up only to re-appear again at another square in front of the Chisinau Cathedral. It has never been established who was responsible for the move. Police told Mayor Chirtoaca that “unidentified persons” did it. But, Chirtoaca said he had adequate information that the fir tree had been removed by the police themselves. In the end, the Christmas tree was erected in front of the Mayor’s Office building.
Moldova Police have “arrested” a Christmas tree in Chisinau. It is the latest development in the on-going Christmas tree war between City Authorities and the Moldovan government.
Moldovan police have demanded that the driver of a vehicle carrying the city government’s Christmas tree to the main square, produce a license to purchase fir trees as well as a permit from the State Environmental Inspectorate. Representatives of the country’s Forest Management Association, however, say there is no need for such a permit in this case. But police detained the vehicle nonetheless and then said the fir tree is ‘under arrest’. And while the mayor is demanding explanations, the Republic’s government is erecting a fir tree of its own in the same main square. This ‘best tree’ intrigue is the latest incident in the Xmas-tree war which started last year when the Christmas tree erected by the City on the capital’s main square, disappeared the day after it went up only to re-appear again at another square in front of the Chisinau Cathedral. It has never been established who was responsible for the move. Police told Mayor Chirtoaca that “unidentified persons” did it. But, Chirtoaca said he had adequate information that the fir tree had been removed by the police themselves. In the end, the Christmas tree was erected in front of the Mayor’s Office building.
Anyway, the tree is now on the main square, what not a real square is. A funny country here!
Arrested!
Arrested!Saturday, December 27, 2008
At the Dark End of the Street
Most evenings nowadays I am at home, working on the computer privately and sometimes for my job. Or I go with my friends to have a drink and discuss worldpeace but mainly the sport and music. A few days ago I heard the great voice of an Australian singer who now resides in London and her name is Sia Furler but her artist name is just Sia. A cover of the great song of the Kinks (Ray Davies) "I go to sleep" was performed by her on a CD in the cafe where I was drinking. Click on the links and you'hear her with two different versions. If you like to sing along, click in the upper-right corner on "more info" and the lyrics appear. When further checked her on YouTube and on Wikipedia I ended up reading something totally different, about one of my old favourites in the 60'ies when I was a teenager. His name is James Carr (June 13, 1942 - January 7, 2001), and he was an American Rhythm & Blues and soul musical artist. I will never forget his voice which was better then many other soul singers those days.
But unfortunately (see hereunder the copy of Wikipedia about his career and life) he died a few years ago, too young. Enjoy the clip from his most famous song, "At the Dark End of the Street", 1967.
But also look at the clip where he sings (LIVE!!) a great version of "You got my mind messed up", a classic one and that only a few weeks, before he died of lung cancer. What a talent, what a great singer! Respect!
Next blog more about another idol of me, the long forgotten Joe Tex, the man who invented RAP!!!
Born to a Baptist preacher's family in Coahoma, Mississippi, Carr began singing in church and was performing in gospel groups and making tables on an assembly line in Memphis, Tennessee, when he began recording in the mid-'60s for Goldwax Records, a small Memphis based label.
Carr first made the R&B charts in 1966 with "You've Got My Mind Messed Up", followed by his most famous song "The Dark End of the Street", written by Dan Penn and Chips Moman. Carr continued to record for Goldwax until the label closed in 1969 but failed to reach the same heights with his subsequent releases.
Carr suffered from bipolar disorder for most of his life which affected his career. This was evident during a tour of Japan in the 1970s when he froze in front of an audience following an overdose of antidepressants. However he completed the Japan tour with much success. A resurgence in interest in his music, spurred by his portrayal in the 1986 book Sweet Soul Music, helped return Carr to the recording studio but failed to deliver any further chart success.
While Carr was never as popular among general audiences as contemporaries like Otis Redding and Solomon Burke, his vocal performances on select tracks are still considered unmatched by many soul music and rhythm & blues fans.
James Carr died from lung cancer in a Memphis nursing home in 2001, aged 58.
But unfortunately (see hereunder the copy of Wikipedia about his career and life) he died a few years ago, too young. Enjoy the clip from his most famous song, "At the Dark End of the Street", 1967.
But also look at the clip where he sings (LIVE!!) a great version of "You got my mind messed up", a classic one and that only a few weeks, before he died of lung cancer. What a talent, what a great singer! Respect!
Next blog more about another idol of me, the long forgotten Joe Tex, the man who invented RAP!!!
Born to a Baptist preacher's family in Coahoma, Mississippi, Carr began singing in church and was performing in gospel groups and making tables on an assembly line in Memphis, Tennessee, when he began recording in the mid-'60s for Goldwax Records, a small Memphis based label.
Carr first made the R&B charts in 1966 with "You've Got My Mind Messed Up", followed by his most famous song "The Dark End of the Street", written by Dan Penn and Chips Moman. Carr continued to record for Goldwax until the label closed in 1969 but failed to reach the same heights with his subsequent releases.
Carr suffered from bipolar disorder for most of his life which affected his career. This was evident during a tour of Japan in the 1970s when he froze in front of an audience following an overdose of antidepressants. However he completed the Japan tour with much success. A resurgence in interest in his music, spurred by his portrayal in the 1986 book Sweet Soul Music, helped return Carr to the recording studio but failed to deliver any further chart success.
While Carr was never as popular among general audiences as contemporaries like Otis Redding and Solomon Burke, his vocal performances on select tracks are still considered unmatched by many soul music and rhythm & blues fans.
James Carr died from lung cancer in a Memphis nursing home in 2001, aged 58.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Really nothing!
It is Sunday today. 7th of December and seriously there is nothing what I could come up with to write. There is as always war in Iraq and Afghanistan, there are tribes fighting in East-Africa, many people were robbed today (as every other day), it is still perfect weather in Darfur, 5000 people killed monthly though, young and old people died (as every other day) but for the rest nothing special to report from the Eastern Front. Maybe only to say that today I went to the Supermarket to buy dried Sea Weed to make Sushi. But I did not know that those leaves are so expensive. Here in Chisinau for 5 leaves (A3 size) you pay almost 2 Euro. Can anyone tell me if that is expensive compared to other countries? It probably is anyway expensive because eating Sushi in a restaurant is also something for millionaires!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Obama
02-12-2008, 11.00
What a pity and what a lost possibility to really start changing the world and bringing people together now Obama has thrown away his disguise and we can all see that he is actually the grandson of Bush sr. and the little brother of Bill Clinton. By appointing Hillary Clinton to Secretary of State it shows that the USA is nothing more then a family lead clan. And by keeping Gates on the post of Defense it shows that there will be hardly any changes towards the wars in the east. It will also not make things easier in making friendship with Russia and China. Under Clinton the Chinese were never happy (bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade) and as under Bush/Gates the Russian were almost made to enemies. (Georgian conflict). What a disappointment!
Including Palin?
Monday, December 1, 2008
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