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 […]
On This Day 50 years ago: Earth Wind & Fire creates an all-time classic
March 15, 1975 – Earth Wind & Fire creates an all-time classic It is difficult to look back at the 70s and early 80s Soul music scene without marveling at both the groundbreaking music and the breadth of influence of Earth, Wind & Fire. A group revolutionary in its amalgamation of soul, jazz, funk and […]
On This Day in 1971: Eddie Kendricks’ swan song with The Temptations hits #1
March 7, 1971 – The Temptations hit #1 with “Just My Imagination” It is impossible to talk about the development of soul music since the early 60s without repeatedly coming back to the Temptations. In the 60s they redefined the soul group, from the impeccable look they brought to the stage, to their focus on […]
On This Day in 1990: Bell Biv DeVoe leaves the shadow of New Edition with “Poison”
February 24, 1990 – Bell Biv DeVoe releases “Poison” As founding members of supergroup New Edition, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe had been in the spotlight for the better part of a decade – though often not as bright a spotlight as group members Bobby Brown and Ralph Tresvant. So when, during a […]
On This Day in 1988: Pebbles arrives and hits the top
February 20, 1988 – Pebbles arrives, topping the charts with “Girlfriend” She’s had careers both secular and sacred, but Perri A. Reid, better known as Pebbles, had for herself quite a career for several years as a singer, songwriter and music executive. And never was her power as a performer more evident than on this […]
On This Day in 1980: Ray, Goodman & Brown scale to the top with “Special Lady”
February 15, 1980 – Ray, Goodman & Brown move to #1 with “Special Lady” Part of the generation of soul music groups that arose in the late 60s and early 70s, the combination of Harry Ray, Al Goodman and Billy Brown became most notable as perhaps the greatest live performing group of that elite bunch. […]
On This Day in 2012: The tragic death of Whitney Houston
February 11, 2012 – Whitney Houston dies tragically It’s tough to believe all this time has passed since the day Whitney Houston died, but in some ways it seems longer ago that the shocking news came. A few years earlier, we experienced the same gut punch when we heard the news about Michael Jackson, and […]
On This Day in 1990: Skyy gets its musical revenge with a #1 song
February 8, 1990 – Skyy hits #1 with “Real Love” Virtually the definition of an “Unsung” act, Skyy lit up the soul and dance charts from the late 70s until the early 90s with a string of hits, often accompanied by surprisingly long gaps in between. The Brooklyn funk/soul group was formed by guitarist Soloman […]
