SoulTracks Lost Gem: The George Benson / Michael McDonald song that never was
Many people consider 1980 Quincy Jones-produced album Give Me The Night an all-time classic and perhaps George Benson’s finest disc. Led off by the chart-topping title track, Give Me The Night has stayed in the consciousnesses of R&B fans for more than four decades, and still has a permanent place on many folks’ playlists, including mine. The midtempo “What’s On Your […]
SoulTracks Lost Gem: Kenny Lattimore sings “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Kenny Lattimore became a music aficionado at an early age, and performed publicly thrfoughout high school. He then attended Howard University (where one of his musical idols, Donny Hathaway, had spent three years), where he studied architecture, not music. Nonetheless, the music bug kept him, and following his graduation […]
Lost Gem: D’Angelo and Angie Stone helped Twice to “Sparkle”
Lost Gem: D’Angelo and Angie Stone helped Twice to “Sparkle” The nineties have come into vogue once more as a halcyon time for R&B and hip-hop music and culture. It’s easy to forget, though, that the latter part of the decade marked a somewhat tumultuous time for many artists struggling to maintain creative footing amidst […]
SoulTracks Lost Gem: Rodney Franklin gave a beautiful “Song For You”
For a period in the 1980s, Rodney Franklin was among the most popular jazz pianists around, and with good reason. As the talent behind more than a dozen albums, he helped to usher in the period where R&B and jazz were blending into a tasty stew. Born in Berkeley, California in 1958, Franklin was a […]
SoulTracks Lost Gem: George Duke brought all the stars in for “Fame”
The late, great George Duke hit his second stride as a solo artist during his tenure with Warner Bros. Records for most of the 1990s into the early 2000s. After racking up scores of much-loved and successful recordings as a composer and producer for a slew of R&B, pop, and jazz artists throughout the ‘70s […]
SoulTracks Lost Gem: The last live performance of the original Chi-Lites
Back in 2004, PBS was putting together a televised classic soul music concert (often shown during fundraising) and there was a surprise for the audience: The classic lineup of the legendary act The Chi-Lites was reunited. Songwriter and lead singer Eugene Record, who had left the group nearly two decades earlier for a solo Gospel […]
SoulTracks Lost Gem: Freda Payne and Tavares created a winner together
When I started SoulTracks back in 2003, the first article I ever wrote was about Tavares. The five brothers from New Bedford, Massachusetts really define the term “Unsung,” and we wanted to give them some much deserved shine right off the bat at SoulTracks. Another artist who has created great music for a half century […]
SoulTracks Look Back: Tony Terry made us swoon on “With You”
Tony Terry is a talented singer who rose to fame in the late 80s and early 90s but has stayed busy both on records and the stage for more than three decades. The DC native began as a backing vocalist for the pop act Sweet Sensation before being signed by Epic Records in 1987. Terry’s […]
SoulTracks Lost Gem: Nancy Wilson delivered an all-timer on “Youth”
There are few vocalists who impacted the worlds of jazz, pop and R&B over the second half of the 20th century as much as the late, great Nancy Wilson. And when the divine Ms. Wilson was nearing the end of her recording career, she issued two tremendous albums for the MCG Jazz label, R.S.V.P. (Rare […]
SoulTracks Lost Gem: Tavares takes us on a “Slow Train To Paradise”
When asked to name the Soul Music supergroups of the ’70s and early ’80s, folks tend to gravitate to familiar names such as Earth, Wind and Fire, the Spinners, the Commodores and the Isley Brothers. However, five brothers from New Bedford, Massachusetts – Ralph, Tiny, Chubby, Butch and Pooch Tavares – arguably created the most consistently high quality soul […]
