Unsung: New Season 1/4/17

[Luciano]

James Brown "The Godfather of Soul", "Soul Brother #1" - For Real?



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43UZyqW3ars

[marv2]

James Brown is hardly unsung.

[sansradio]

That's exactly what I said when I saw the promo. As many have noted here, it's high time TVOne changed the name of this series.

[Jerry Oz]

There's a fantastic James Brown documentary on HBO's app called "Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown". It tells much more than you'll learn on an episode of "Unsung".

[StuBass1]

I caught a few of those episodes and while interesting...why do all of these groups end up the same way..intergroup disputes, a few taking all the money and continually replacing other members, and rarely ending well when millions and millions of dollars and highly profitable tour opportunities were made throughout their careers. Way too many people get ripped off in the music business...and some of them, stabbed in the back by the very people they started their careers with...

[jboy88]

According to Billboard, The James Brown episode was listed as a tribute. So it could be a retrospective of his legacy and how he influenced people. Which would make more sense as a standalone special than an episode of Unsung!

[Luciano]

Maybe they should do shows title "Unsung presents Legends".

[luke]

I don't know that James was given his dues by mainstream America

[sansradio]

You may have a point, luke. However, he's definitely a household name all across the planet and therefore not, IMHO, the best candidate for a series like Unsung, which is supposed to spotlight relatively unknown acts. I said much the same when they did one on Isaac Hayes some years back. I think Luciano's got the right idea with a "Legends" offshoot.

[luke]

I agree. If this is a tribute then it's all moot

[glencro]

James Brown is hardly unsung.

Exactly!!! That's also how I felt when they did Teddy Pendergrass, The O'Jays, The Spinners and Rick James. Those slots could have been dedicated to more deserving, lesser known acts.

[Luciano]

Exactly!!! That's also how I felt when they did Teddy Pendergrass, The O'Jays, The Spinners and Rick James. Those slots could have been dedicated to more deserving, lesser known acts.

Who would you like to see on unsung?

[Motown Eddie]

Exactly!!! That's also how I felt when they did Teddy Pendergrass, The O'Jays, The Spinners and Rick James. Those slots could have been dedicated to more deserving, lesser known acts.

That's a good point, however, it's possible that the producers of "Unsung" feel the need to do episodes about Music Icons [[such as James Brown) every now and then to keep the show's ratings up.

[glencro]

Who would you like to see on unsung?

Ronnie Dyson
The Jones Girls
Peobo Bryson
Sister Sledge
Brand New Heavies
The Mary Jane Girls [[life w/ Rick had to be interesting)
The Hawkins Family [[gospel)
The Caravans [[gospel)
DJ Rogers
Betty Davis
LTD
First Choice
Thelma Houston
Tony Tone Toni
Black Ivory

[splanky]

Nice list glencro. Ronnie Dyson could sure use one...Black Ivory might cause me some discomfort though being that I knew Leroy Burgess. I will say the group I would kill to see
an Unsung done on would be New Birth...but I'm not sure if the great overlooked acts of
that era still fall under Unsungs' priorties...o well....

[glencro]

Nice list glencro. Ronnie Dyson could sure use one...Black Ivory might cause me some discomfort though being that I knew Leroy Burgess. I will say the group I would kill to see
an Unsung done on would be New Birth...but I'm not sure if the great overlooked acts of
that era still fall under Unsungs' priorties...o well....

New Birth is also a great one. Love Black Ivory's music but know absolutely nothing about the group. I'd also love to see Side Effect. They seem to be doing more 90's and 2000's groups these days. I hope that they rewind the clock just a bit

[Ngroove]

Who would you like to see on unsung?

I'd go with:

The Moments / Ray, Goodman, & Brown
Bloodstone
Blue Magic
Sylvia Robinson
Sam & Dave


I kinda understand why Unsung is beginning to dabble more and more on a higher ratio of rap/ nineties acts, as in as programs go and grow over the years, so does the later time periods they air for the generation just below the current one. Oldies radio does not play "oldies" oldies or the cable classic television stations does not play much "classic" classic television anymore either.

But gosh, Unsung used to be fun, with every featured profiled act, every episode, something to look forward to. Now, it's like only two episodes per batch for me now. Perhaps, it is my personal distaste in "rap" beyond a few handfuls of old schools - the Kool Moe Dee, Fat Boys, and Heavy D episodes were enjoyable by the way - and my ignorance in its recognition as "music" - but then again, I'd say the same for 90% of all music, nineties-up.

If the show views the sixties-seventies music as only for people in their fifties-seventies, instead assuming the core potential viewership demographic who would power their ratings to be twenties-forties, thus the use of more and more late eighties - even some noughties acts - I am in my thirties, and I'd rather see people from an actual soul music period, than someone I actually remembered hearing them on the radio "in the day" back when they were new, and look back at them with absurd embarrassment in its now dated music.

[theboyfromxtown]

I have enjoyed all of the Unsung that I have seen but Id like to see one on the Moments, Marv Johnson and Jimmy Ruffin

[Cincinnati_Kid]

They are probably not Unsung, but I'd love to see them do one on the Dramatics, one of my favorite R&B groups.

[Motown Eddie]

Who would you like to see on unsung?

Here's my wish list for Unsung;

Jr. Walker & the All Stars
Kool & the Gang
The New Birth
Stephanie Mills
Chairmen Of The Board
The Honey Cone
Freda Payne
Mandrill
The Dramatics

[glencro]

They are probably not Unsung, but I'd love to see them do one on the Dramatics, one of my favorite R&B groups.

I would put them in the Unsung category.

[Motown Eddie]

One recent episode of Unsung featured Lenny Williams and it's truly worth seeing if your a fan of his work [[with Tower of Power or solo). The series has been doing a mix of Hip-Hop and '90s stars [[probably to keep up ratings) and the occasional Soul artist [[for fans like us).

[Cincinnati_Kid]

The one's on Case and Dave Hollister were good also. Jagged Edge is another R&B group out of the 90's, that had many hits.