| Betty Harris Speaks About Soul and Australia | | Posted Thursday, November 09, 2006 7:32:20 PM by Blog57 Team | | Soul legend Betty Harris will be heading to Australia in a couple of weeks to play the Queenscliff Music Festival and one very special night of soul in Melbourne. Harris talked to Undercover about her experiences playing in Australia, to a crowd that doesn't exactly get a daily dose of authentic soul, "I think I was more in shock then they were, the house was packed and ready for me. They made me feel as if I was home. They knew all my songs, "Cry to me", "Nearer to You", "Ride Your Pony", "I'm Evil tonight" They knew them all." "Let's define "Soul Music" It is music sung and played from the inside of one's very being that covers mankind and all music." She explains, "What I do, comes from my soul, my heart and is universal. Most of all, it has no Barriers.... | |
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| | | MUSIC: Art and Soul | | Posted Friday, September 29, 2006 11:09:08 AM by Blog57 Team | | When people describe the past six years of Bettye LaVette's musical career as a comeback, they overlook one very important point—she never really left music behind at all. “Oh no, I always correct that statement, because I'm just being allowed to take the second step," the raw-throated, 60-year-old R&B singer says emphatically. “I took the first one 45 years ago, and they never allowed me to take the next step. That's really all that's happening now is I'm an old broad taking a second step." Step one came in 1962, when LaVette scored a R&B Top 10 hit for Atlantic with “My Man—He's a Loving Man." She was only 16 at the time, and a far cry from the worldly wise performer captured on her more recent recordings. “I mean, goodness, I sounded like Minnie Mouse," she jokes.... | |
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| | | Soul Music Fans Celebrate Release of Rare Tracks on 'Atlantic ... | | Posted Wednesday, August 16, 2006 9:06:02 AM by Blog57 Team | | For lovers of great soul music, you can't beat the thrill of hearing the Aretha Franklin classic "Respect" or Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness." But, as VOA's Doug Levine tells us, soul fans now have even more to celebrate with the release of rare tracks of vintage soul from Atlantic Records, a two-disc set titled "Atlantic Unearthed: Soul Brothers and Soul Sisters." Even the most seasoned soul fans might wonder who's who on Atlantic Unearthed. One reason is that some tracks have never been issued, including Wilson Pickett's "You Can't Stop A Man In Love." Another reason might be name recognition. Aside from Atlantic's biggest hit makers, including Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Irma Thomas and Percy Sledge, there are many on the roster that didn't achieve superstar status.... | |
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| | | Party Like It s 1939 The Blind Boys of Alabama have soul to spare | | Posted Friday, August 11, 2006 3:06:28 AM by Blog57 Team | | If nothing else, credit the Blind Boys of Alabama for their willingness to integrate new sounds and genres into the traditionalist framework of their archetypal soul-gospel harmonies. The band’s last several albums have been filled with surprisingly organic, seamlessly woven collaborations with newer artists. You know, youngsters, flash-in-the-pan types like the Rolling Stones, Tom Waits, and George Clinton. "We found out that working together works, and that people need people," says the Blind Boys’ Ricky McKinnie, who often speaks in spiritual aphorisms that would seem insincere had they fallen from lips other than his own. "And what comes from heart, reaches the heart." Having joined the group in the late 1980s, McKinnie rates as one of the Blind Boys’ newbies.... | |
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| | | Grace Potter growing up | | Posted Friday, July 07, 2006 9:08:19 AM by Blog57 Team | | It's easy to fall for the easygoing soul music Grace Potter & the Nocturnals revealed on their latest CD, "Nothing But the Water." But listeners might not want to get married to that sound. Potter, the quartet's lead singer, keyboardist and songwriter, had a birthday last week, advancing from 22 to 23. The youth means that Potter and the Nocturnals - drummer Matt Burr, bassist Bryan Dondero and guitarist Scott Tournet - are still developing quickly, trying out different styles and sounds. The band as it was captured on "Nothing But the Water," which they recorded in 2004, has been left behind to a good extent. "Our direction changes so often," said Potter as she drove out of Salt Lake City Wednesday, heading toward the band's gig tonight at the Belly Up. "Being such a young band, we're open to everything going on around us." As recently as last week, Potter and company had a band-turning experience.... | |
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| | | A Night of Jazz Funk & Soul | | Posted Sunday, July 02, 2006 7:03:38 PM by Blog57 Team | | As Remell Rogers welcomes supporters to "A Night of Jazz Funk & Soul" the 2006 dance recital featuring dancers from EnArabesque Academy of Performing Arts, she can't help but smile at the success of the sibling owners Tonya Braden and Melanie Rogers. The two have a special connection to Remell, they're her daughters. "We grew up in the South, experiencing the typical lifestyle of urban Memphians," said Braden. "Memphis is a city filled with expressive music and fine arts and we were exposed to the multi-facets of Memphis culture. Education was not the only expectation our parents had for us." .... | |
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