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Artist: Jay Curtis
A highly energetic tenor is the best way to describe Jay Curtis. Born in Southern Maryland, he grew up to like sounds of Smokey Robinson, Tina Turner, Percy Sledge, Whitney Houston & James Brown; which molded his own style.
The first single off of his as of yet untitled debut release, "Honey Sugar Lover Baby" features the production of Todd... [+] Read More
Artist: 50 Cent
In many ways the ideal East Coast hardcore rapper, 50 Cent endured substantial obstacles throughout his young yet remarkably dramatic life before becoming in early 2003 the most discussed figure in rap, if not pop music in general. Following an unsuccessful late-'90s run at mainstream success (foiled by an attempt on his life in 2000) and a... [+] Read More
Artist: Cosmosamatics
The Cosmosamatics began life as a avant-garde jazz troupe, an unusual collection of jazz musicians that includes saxophonists Sonny Simmons and Michael Marcus. It was these two musicians that decided to bring life to the group, drafting in their favorite collaborators as they crafted their highly unique brand of jazz. Their two eponymous albums... [+] Read More
Artist: Cyber Porn
Cyber Porn With a versatile and nearly infinite range of musical composition produced using a variety of digital methods, CyberPornRecords provides raw, intense tracks from a vast number of influences like Drum n'Bass, Trip Hop,Samba, Salsa, Go Go, and Pop.We Love: Trouble Funk, Mongo Santamaria, Chuck Brown, Los Papines, DJ Quick, North East... [+] Read More
Artist: Randy Garibay, Jr.
Getting called the "godfather" of this or that in music is almost as bad of a cliché as being dubbed a "new Bob Dylan." In the case of Randy Garibay, he has certainly paid the dues and bent the strings enough to be something of a Texas blues godfather, but more interesting is the man's extreme versatility. Blues musicians are most often known... [+] Read More
Artist: The Five Blind Boys of Alabama
Evolving out of the Happyland Jubilee Singers, this traditional black gospel quartet was formed in 1937 at the Talladega Institute for the Deaf and Blind in Alabama. By the '40s they became "The Blind Boys" and recorded for Specialty, Vee Jay, Savoy, Elektra, and other labels. Their first hit was "I Can See Everybody's Mother but Mine" in 1949.... [+] Read More
Artist: B.R. Gunna
Ralph James Rice ("Young RJ") and Curtis Cross ("Black Milk") make up B.R. Gunna, a production duo with ties to fellow Detroiters Athletic Mic League and Slum Village. In 2004, Rice and Cross put together the sequel to Slum Village's Dirty District mixtape, with guest spots from Jay Dee, MC Breed, and a cast of up-and-comers. Rice is the son of... [+] Read More
Artist: Carl Perkins
A fine bop-oriented pianist who overcame a slightly crippled left hand (due to polio), Carl Perkins was a victim of his drug problems, passing away when he was just 29. After stints with Tiny Bradshaw and Big Jay McNeely, he became a fixture on the West Coast. Perkins was with Oscar Moore's trio (1953-1954) and briefly played with an early... [+] Read More
Artist: Steve Spacek
After making two stellar albums of ambient soul with his group Spacek, London-based singer and producer Steve Spacek set up in California and recorded his first solo album with occasional help from the likes of heavyweight producer Jay Dee and undervalued Motown figure Leon Ware. Space Shift retained the dreamy atmospheres of the Spacek albums,... [+] Read More
Artist: Boyce & Hart
Boyce and Hart, the songwriting and (later) performing team of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, are most famous for writing several of the Monkees' big hits, including "Last Train to Clarksville," "Valleri" and "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone." Together and separately, they also wrote or contributed to hits by several other acts in the 1960s,... [+] Read More
Artist: Al Casey
Renowned for his long collaboration with Fats Waller, Al Casey towers alongside the finest acoustic guitarists of the swing era, boasting a subtly powerful presence that flourished in intimate musical contexts. Born September 15, 1915, in Louisville, KY, Casey was a child prodigy who first adopted the violin, briefly moving to the ukulele before... [+] Read More
Artist: John Thomas
Written by John Thomas and Colis Gordon, "He'll Be Back" was a poignant mix of protest song and patriotic R&B originally recorded by the Players in 1966. Stylistically, the song owes a great deal to Curtis Mayfield, a point well taken by its inclusion on a compilation entitled Impressed!: 24 Groups Inspired by the Impressions and Curtis... [+] Read More
Artist: Grady Gaines
Some of the atomic energy that Little Richard emitted nightly during the mid-'50s must have spilled onto Grady Gaines. As the hardy tenor sax blaster with Richard's road band, the Upsetters, Gaines all but blew the reed out of his horn with his galvanic solos. He wails with the same unquenchable spirit today.
The perpetually ebullient Louis... [+] Read More
Artist: The Highway Q.C.'s
Not only among the top gospel groups of the postwar era, the Highway Q.C.'s were also the launching pad for such major secular pop stars as Lou Rawls, Johnnie Taylor and the immortal Sam Cooke. The group was formed in 1945 at Chicago's Highway Baptist Church by a number of teenagers that included Cooke, Creadell Copeland and two pairs of... [+] Read More
Artist: Sunnyland Slim
Exhibiting truly amazing longevity that was commensurate with his powerful, imposing physical build, Sunnyland Slim's status as a beloved Chicago piano patriarch endured long after most of his peers had perished. For more than 50 years, the towering Sunnyland had rumbled the ivories around the Windy City, playing with virtually every local... [+] Read More
Artist: Little Ben & Cheers
Little Ben & the Cheers, from Chicago's Southside, recorded at least 15 singles on a variety of labels. Ben Norfleet was the oldest of the teens, who were brothers and cousins: Ben Norfleet (lead), Frank Norfleet (first tenor), John Norfleet (second tenor), and Merlon Norfleet (bass). They were the children of the Norfleet Brothers, a very... [+] Read More
Artist: The Daylighters
The Daylighters -- not to be confused with the Texas blues band of the same name -- was a Chicago soul male vocal group of the '60s. The Birmingham, AL-born group was started by high school student Tony Gideon in the mid-'50s. Seeking fame and fortune, Gideon, Eddie Thomas, George and Dorsey Wood, and Levi Moreland moved to Chicago, IL, in 1958.... [+] Read More
Artist: Tommy Boyce
Songwriter/singer Tommy Boyce co-wrote with Bobby Hart some of the most enduring pop hits of the '60s, including those by the Monkees. Boyce also co-wrote Fats Domino's "Be My Guest" and Lee Curtis' "Pretty Little Angel Eyes."
Born September 29, 1939, in Charlottesville, VA, Boyce recorded for RCA Records and had one self-written charting... [+] Read More
Artist: Bunny Sigler
Born in Philadelphia into the family of Henry and Susie May Sigler, as a child, little Walter Sigler would walk around singing and making up lyrics and choruses to songs. Walter Sigler became Bunny Sigler when as an infant his mother discovered that he had a fully grown front tooth. She commented that he looked just like a bunny rabbit and the... [+] Read More
Artist: The Fascinations
The Fascinations were a girl group with a dazzling family tree, a distinctive sound, and a hook-up with one of the great artist-producers of the 1960s -- yet, in one of the great mysteries of the soul music boom of the mid-decade, they never made it in America, but sold lots of records in England.
Detroit in the late '50s was a city seething... [+] Read More
Artist: The Valentinos
Friendly Womack Sr. dreamed of fathering five gospel-singing sons before Friendly Jr., Bobby, Harry, Curtis, and Cecil were conceived. When they arrived, the hard-working laborer/preacher groomed them to praise the Lord and audiences watched the Womack Brothers perform at churches with Bobby standing on a crate because he was so small. They... [+] Read More
Artist: Raymond Earl
Trenton, NJ-born guitarist/bassist Raymond Earl was an integral member of Philly soul band Instant Funk, who in turn was part of MFSB, the studio aggregation that was the house band for Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International Records.
Earl followed the lead of his older brothers, who were guitarists, and picked up the... [+] Read More
