Carla Thomas was born on this date in 1942. Hear a few choice cuts from her on today’s playlist.
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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 2-2-24
The Honey Cone was the first act signed to Hot Wax Records, a label started in 1968 by Eddie and Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier, who previously were staff writers and producers at Motown Records and in that role wrote twelve number one singles between 1962 and 1967, two performed by The Four Tops and the other ten by The Supremes, with lead vocals by Diana Ross, who would soon leave the trio and be replaced by Jean Terrell in 1970, with Terrell being replaced in 1973 by Scherrie Payne, who before then was the singer in a group called Glass House, also signed to Hot Wax Records, who recorded “Want Ads” prior to The Honey Cone, but neither Scherrie nor the track’s producer, Greg Perry, liked their version, leading Scherrie to re-record the song with her sister Freda, who had a number 3 record in 1970 with “Band of Gold,” a song co-penned by Holland-Dozier-Holland under assumed names, but the sisters’ version of “Want Ads” was also discarded, which then led Scherrie to suggest to Perry that he try the song again with Edna Wright singing, Wright being the lead singer for The Honey Cone and the sister of Darlene Wright, the singer for the group The Blossoms, and while you may not recognize the names Darlene Wright or The Blossoms, you may know their music, for producer Phil Spector renamed Darlene Wright Darlene Love (without her knowledge) and released records by The Blossoms under the name The Crystals, who hit number 1 with “He’s a Rebel,” and should not be but will be confused with another group called The Crystals, also produced by Phil Spector at the same time he was working with Wright/Love and The Blossoms, but let’s get back to Edna Wright, who recorded “Want Ads” with backing vocals by the other two members of The Honey Cone, Shellie Clark, who a couple of years earlier was singing backup for Ike and Tina Turner, and Carolyn Willis, who toured as a member of Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans, a group whose records were produced by Phil Spector and featured vocals from Darlene Wright/Love. In June of 1971 The Honey Cone took “Want Ads” to number 1. (This paragraph is pulled from my long-awaited (by me, anyway) book, which I’m trying to get out this year.)
The late Edna Wright of The Honey Cone was born on this date in 1945. A couple of the group’s best-known songs, including “Want Ads,” are on today’s playlist.
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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 9-9-23
The first session of the recording of “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” took place on November 22, 1967. A second session took place on December 7 of that year. The distinctive whistling at the end of the record was improvised by Otis Redding during recording, serving as a placeholder for a planned third verse that he never got to write before his passing in a plane crash on December 10.
The late great Otis Redding was born on this date in 1941. Lotsa Otis on today’s playlist.
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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 1-23-23
A handful of Pointer Sisters tracks sprinkled through the playlist on what would have been Anita Pointer’s 75th birthday.
Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 8-8-22
Today’s playlist celebrates the August 8 birthdays of U2’s The Edge, Joe Tex, The Treacherous Three’s Kool Moe Dee, Creed’s Scott Stapp, and JC Chasez; the August 9 birthdays of Whitney Houston, Kurtis Blow, Sampa the Great, Barbara Mason, and Arlo Parks; and the August 10 birthdays of The Righteous Brothers’ Bobby Hatfield, The Ronettes’ Ronnie Spector, Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, Bell Biv DeVoe’s Michael Bivins, UTFO’s Kangol Kid, The Velvelettes’ Carolyn Gill, The Four Aces’ Al Alberts, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Martin, and Patti Austin.
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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist (12-17-20)
Inspired by the season and the December 17 birthdays of The Temptations’ Eddie Kendricks, Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers, R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, Bananarama’s Sara Dallin, The Emotions’ Wanda Hutchinson, Dirty Projectors’ David Longstreth,The Meters’ Art Neville, and Dave Dee.
Your (Almost) Daily Playlist (9-19-20)
Inspired by the September 19 birthdays of Chic’s Nile Rodgers, Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker, Tegan and Sara, Mama Cass Elliot, The Righteous Brothers’ Bill Medley, Teddybears’ Patrik Arve, Skepta, Rex Smith, The Springfields’ Mike Hurst, Brook Benton, Lol Crème, Austin Roberts, Eamon, Marshall Jefferson, Adam West and Frances Farmer.