On This Day in 1977: America, meet Maze feat. Frankie Beverly
May 6, 1977: Maze releases debut album By any measure, one of the most talented but criminally underappreciated self-contained bands of the past four decades has been Maze feat. Frankie Beverly. Their ability to fuse soul and jazz with an irresistible groove and intelligent lyrical content has gained for them an extremely loyal following among […]
On This Day in 1979: Peaches & Herb hit #1 with “Reunited”
May 5, 1979 – Peaches & Herb’s “Reunited” hits #1 They were “The Sweethearts Of Soul” in the 1960s, but it was a decade and half later, with a different lineup, that Peaches & Herb finally made it to #1 with what became the duo’s signature song. Herb Fame worked in a Washington D.C. record […]
On This Day in 1998: The group NEXT rockets to #1 with “Too Close”
May 2, 1998 Next hits #1 with “Too Close” The story of the trio Next follows the trajectory of many memorable R&B groups of the last half century, but the scope and speed of the group’s rise and, ultimately, its fall, is more shocking than most. Formed by brothers Terry “T-Low” Brown and Raphael “Tweet” […]
On This Day in 1974: The Ohio Players hit the big time with “Skin Tight”
April 23, 1974: The Ohio Players release their first #1 album One of the funkiest groups in the funkiest decade, the Ohio Players became the template for a generation of Midwest jamming groups. And on this day in 1974, the group finally hit big time pay dirt, releasing their signature album and their first #1 […]
On This Day in 1978: Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams team for a #1 smash
April 15, 1978 – Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams hit #1 with “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late” By the time 1978 rolled around, Johnny Mathis had already been a superstar for more than two decades, and one of the biggest selling artists of the entire century. On the other hand, 27 year old Deniece […]
On This Day in 1983: Johnny Gill releases debut album at age 16
April 6, 1983: Johnny Gill releases debut album at age 16 D.C. native Johnny Gill possesses one of the clearest, strongest Soul voices of his generation, and has achieved fame both as a solo artist and as part of the supergroup New Edition. Born one of four boys to Minister John Gill, Sr. and his wife […]
On This Day in 1996: Maxwell arrives, and changes everything
April 2, 1996 – Maxwell’s releases his debut album, Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite Arguably the most celebrated new Soul Music artist to emerge in the mid-90s, Maxwell arose as a curious combination of romanticism and sexuality, of spirituality and sensuality, much like Marvin Gaye a generation earlier. His studio albums and one live album were huge […]
On this Day in 1983: Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis have a hit — and get fired by Prince
March 28, 1983 – “Just Be Good To Me” becomes Jam & Lewis’s first hit production They are one of the greatest writing and production teams in soul music history, and all that greatness came together on the day they were fired by Prince. Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis first hit the national music scene […]
On This Day in 1976: The World discovers The Brothers Johnson
March 21, 1976: The Brothers Johnson release debut album To the public, the Brothers Johnson appeared to come out of nowhere in 1976, topping the charts with the infectious dance hit “I’ll Be Good To You” and landing monster hit after monster hit for the next half decade. But brothers George and Louis Johnson paid […]
On This Day in 1986: Anita Baker creates a “Rapture” in us all
March 20, 1986 – Anita Baker releases the iconic album Rapture A beautiful and an extremely talented singer and songwriter, Anita Baker was a star hidden in plain sight for years. But that all ended on this day in 1986. Baker was nearly a no show for the world of music. She had been singing […]
