Not all records classified as Philly Soul come from Philadelphia-based artists, though all share characteristics – orchestral string arrangements married to rhythm and blues with a funk influence that bridged the way toward disco. Here are thirty examples of the genre, with the songwriting-production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff working on the lion’s share of these releases.
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Nobody would deny that 1964 was among the most pivotal years in rock and roll. Nobody except Lester, a guy I worked with decades ago. He was an idiot. The Beatles and the other artists who stormed the US pop charts during the first British Invasion made an indelible impact on contemporary music and culture. Motown was ascending and producing classic singles. Girl groups were still hanging around creating pop perfection. Bob Dylan was making himself known, messing with the vocals one expected on a hit record. And Dionne Warwick was already the queen of Twitter.
Here are thirty songs that partly defined 1964. Take note, Lester.
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Today is Eric Clapton’s birthday. What should I write about? His perceived racism? As he told a concert audience in 1976, “Stop Britain from becoming a black colony. Get the foreigners out. Get the wogs out. Get the coons out. Keep Britain white.” In Clapton’s 2007 autobiography, cleverly entitled Clapton: The Autobiography, Clapton says of that outburst “Since then I have learned to keep my opinions to myself.” Okay, that’s one lesson. Any other lessons, blues guitarist whose first top ten hit under his name was a reggae cover?
Nah, I’m not going to write about Eric Clapton’s perceived racism. I’ll write about how much I hate the song “Wonderful Tonight.” “You look wonderful tonight.” Last night you looked like shit. And you’ll probably look like shit again tomorrow. I know I said I feel wonderful tonight, but truth is I have a headache, so drive me home, woman! He’s a catch.
You know what? I’m not going to talk about that, either. Instead I’ll tell you about the time I went to one of Eric Clapton’s homes in England. I met with his manager there in the early part of this century. In the room where we chatted were Eric’s Grammy Awards. Some were on a bookshelf, some were on the floor next to the couch. They weren’t arranged in any way. They lay there haphazardly, as if nobody had time to put them back in their proper place since the earthquake hit in 1990. I wish I had a photo taken of me holding his Grammys, but I didn’t. I acted in a professional manner. I hate that about myself. Beats being perceived as racist, though.
Here are thirty career highlights of Eric Clapton:
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I recently read a book about the music of 1971. It was pretty bad. I should have been clued off seeing that the book derived its title from the name of a Rod Stewart album that came out in…1972. The author and I agree that 1971 was a great year for music, though he focused mainly on white acts. Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, recently named the number one album of all-time in Rolling Stone, was dismissed as being overrated due to white guilt, something the author clearly doesn’t feel. I humbly suggest that the playlist below shows more of the greatness (and diversity) of 1971’s music than this book.
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Chaka Khan was born Yvette Marie Stevens on this date in 1953. At age 13 Yvette was given the name Chaka Adunne Aduffe Yemoja Hodarhi Karifi Khan by an African priest. Though there was no Chaka Khan character in the movie Judas and the Black Messiah, she did befriend Fred Hampton in 1967 and joined the Black Panthers. She left the group two years later. Below are thirty things she’s done since then.
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Today is International Day of Happiness. Do something that makes you feel like a room without a roof. As long as you don’t impinge on someone else’s happiness, it’s all good.
Today’s playlist consists of thirty songs with the word happy in the title.
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