Classic Soul JAMS!

[Jerry Oz]

Here's a song that I didn't really like when it was on the radio but I find to be a classic now. There are a ton of songs in the last five years or so that have sampled it to great effect.

[Jerry Oz]

As much as I love the '80s [[and hated them at the same time), I am probably a bigger fan of the '70s. That was when R&B really came into its own. This cut by the Dramatics rocks and there's no other era when it could have been released.

[Jerry Oz]

Sly and the Family Stone were forgotten geniuses. They were the freshest sound in music for most of their run and I don't think anything compared to them before or since. Although Tony! Toni! Tone! came close to their swagger. And "Family Affair" is so sublime in how little it required as far as vocals and instrumentation. It's both minimally produced and produced to perfection. I don't know how to say what I mean, but I love it.

[Jerry Oz]

There was a period in the '70s when the Stylistics and Chi-Lites were seeming like the logical successors to groups like the Temptations and Miracles. Hit after hit.

[Jerry Oz]

Nothing compares with this:

[Jerry Oz]

Here is a George Clinton song that slipped under a lot of radars. This is more of a soul record in my opinion than a funk song.

[marv2]

As much as I love the '80s [[and hated them at the same time), I am probably a bigger fan of the '70s. That was when R&B really came into its own. This cut by the Dramatics rocks and there's no other era when it could have been released.

This one is included already here Jerry , hehehehehehehe! It was a jam though!

[marv2]

George Clinton was still doing it way into the 80s some may forget. He has a new album coming out soon I hear. Remember this................from 1985!

[marv2]

Nothing compares with this:

Another one we put up here already LOL! This one me and my buddy Eric use to try sing just like the record. He passed away a few years ago sadly.

[marv2]

You couldn't go to a party my senior year in high school without hearing ....Bootsy Collins - "Bootzilla" [[1978)

[marv2]

The year before that it was THIS!!!!!!

[marv2]

Here's a song that I didn't really like when it was on the radio but I find to be a classic now. There are a ton of songs in the last five years or so that have sampled it to great effect.

I remember this one and hearing it a lot as a kid visiting Chicago.

[Jerry Oz]

Another one we put up here already LOL! This one me and my buddy Eric use to try sing just like the record. He passed away a few years ago sadly.

LOL. I probably posted them both myself. Told you how much I love '70s R&B!

Okay, here's one that I don't remember seeing. One of the all time classic R&B ballads.

[Jerry Oz]

Another classic from the '50s. It's racist as hell, but still a great song. My cousin Maryland is on this track.

[Jerry Oz]

There was a point in the '80s when I dusted off my father's old records and took a break from the songs that were playing on the radio. "Ting-a-Ling" is one of the songs that blew me away when I first spun it.

[Jerry Oz]

Of course, this will always be one of my favorite Dells records. They stayed hot for four decades.

[Jerry Oz]

And this is proof.

[Jerry Oz]

The Skyliners may not technically be blue-eyed soul, but this is a soul record to me.

[marv2]

LOL. I probably posted them both myself. Told you how much I love '70s R&B!

Okay, here's one that I don't remember seeing. One of the all time classic R&B ballads.

That is a favorite of mine. His story was tragic though.

[marv2]

Another classic from the '50s. It's racist as hell, but still a great song. My cousin Maryland is on this track.

Your cousin sang with the Five Keys? Wow. Yeah it is a bit racist hearing it now.

[marv2]

The Skyliners may not technically be blue-eyed soul, but this is a soul record to me.

Pittsburgh's finest. It was a Soul record. My father had it.

[marv2]

The Dells were my favorite group from outside of Detroit. They had so many good songs including this one from 1974:

[marv2]

One of the few live performances on Soul Train and one of the rare times Harold Melvin sang lead:

[marv2]

He would get mad with me saying this, but this is Freda Payne's EX husband........Greg Abbott LOL! No, he is really nice cool guy:

[marv2]

The there was the EPIC, the song that has frozen one of my best summers of my life in my memory. From the Summer of 1986, Patti LaBelle and some guy.......LOL!

[Jerry Oz]

That is a favorite of mine. His story was tragic though.

Yes, it was tragic. A lot of folks wouldn't say that Little Willie John's story was tragic, but it was. One of the biggest travesties of music is the fact that "Fever" is best known as a Brenda lee song.

[Jerry Oz]

This is Keith John, Little Willie John's son. His voice is very smooth and makes me wonder why he was not signed to a deal that could showcase it.

[Jerry Oz]

That last one was from the phenomenal Do The Right Thing soundtrack. This is a Stevie Wonder song that was on Spike Lee's School Daze soundtrack.

[Jerry Oz]

Also from School Daze, this is a song that I find incredible. It was a jazz record, so of course it didn't get played. Phyllis Hyman singing "Be One".

[Jerry Oz]

The there was the EPIC, the song that has frozen one of my best summers of my life in my memory. From the Summer of 1986, Patti LaBelle and some guy.......LOL!

This is a fantastic record. I remember hearing that she sang her part on the east coast and he sang his on the west coast. I wonder which one laid down the last vocals? A great duet, especially since they couldn't both blend.

[Jerry Oz]

"Party Animal" by James Ingram is one of my favorite dance cuts from the '80s. Nothing about this song that I would change.

[marv2]

Yes, it was tragic. A lot of folks wouldn't say that Little Willie John's story was tragic, but it was. One of the biggest travesties of music is the fact that "Fever" is best known as a Brenda lee song.

Now you are getting deep into my personal stash of favorites. I always play "Fever" by Little Willie John towards the end of the year for some reason. His story was an abomination it was so tragic. His sons have been working for years on bringing it to the big screen. They have had a tough time locating footage of their father performing on television. I would love to see it if some ever surface.

[Jerry Oz]

Speaking of James Ingram and Michael McDonald:

[marv2]

This is Keith John, Little Willie John's son. His voice is very smooth and makes me wonder why he was not signed to a deal that could showcase it.

I met Keith in Detroit. He has been a part of Stevie Wonders backup singers for decades now. Really nice and intelligent guy.

[Jerry Oz]

Third World was fantastic. This song was one of the few reggae songs that crossed over. The first that I recall was "Could You Be Loved" by Bob Marley and the Wailers. This one played for a long time nationally and locally.

[marv2]

This was the song and the segment of "School Daze" that was my favorite......

[Jerry Oz]

I read where Prince basically did all of the parts on the Time's first album. They took it to another level on "What Time Is It?" but that first album was tight, too. This was the second single behind "Get It Up", but it's my favorite off that first record.

[Jerry Oz]

And this, from the second. Every song on this album was good. It only has six songs on it, but it still might qualify as my favorite '80s R&B album.

[marv2]

Also from School Daze, this is a song that I find incredible. It was a jazz record, so of course it didn't get played. Phyllis Hyman singing "Be One".

I never understood her and how it all ended. What a terrible waste.

[marv2]

And this, from the second. Every song on this album was good. It only has six songs on it, but it still might qualify as my favorite '80s R&B album.

I use to be dancing by myself in my college apartment to this getting ready to go out on a Friday night hehehehehehe! I wore this album out!

[marv2]

I read where Prince basically did all of the parts on the Time's first album. They took it to another level on "What Time Is It?" but that first album was tight, too. This was the second single behind "Get It Up", but it's my favorite off that first record.

"Get It Up" was the monster hit from this album in Detroit.

[marv2]

He would get mad with me saying this, but this is Freda Payne's EX husband........Greg Abbott LOL! No, he is really nice cool guy:

It's been almost 10 years now, but I remember asking Greg if I could put his song up on Youtube. He was afraid to have me do it, because he said that he did not own the rights to the video. Now since he has his own VEVO channel, his video has gotten over 14 million views!!!!

[Jerry Oz]

This was the song and the segment of "School Daze" that was my favorite......

That was just a great record. Another song that fires me up is this one. I'm a big Pieces of a Dream fan but I don't know who Portia Griffin is. Their collaboration on this is remarkable.

[Jerry Oz]

But if any song on that record is a true classic soul jam, it's this one:

[marv2]

Music for me is a memory enhancer and this one reminds me of Summer 1995 in Boston!

[Jerry Oz]

Good pick with the Anita Baker song. I'll never forget going to one of the nightclubs my buddy and I haunted in the '80s when for some reason, they had their first [[and last) Tuesday night talent show. [[LOL. The fact that it was on a Tuesday tells you something about how frequently we used to go out!!) Anyway, the acts were so horrible, people got bored because there was obviously no music playing and nobody was dancing. After a while, people were talking louder than the singers and comedians competing in the "talent" show. But then the crowd started to get quiet and I heard a pretty young woman singing Anita Baker's "No On In The World" a capella. By her third line, nobody was talking or looking away. I felt a chill because it was sung so beautifully and I suspect everybody else did as well.

"Sweet Love" is always going to be my favorite Anita Baker song. But "No One In The World" is probably second just because of that experience. Rapture is one of the best LPs from that decade and probably on my all-time top 20, which is REALLY saying something. With that said, I'm glad there were no more talent shows at that particular club.

[Jerry Oz]

I never heard this song on the radio but they wore this video out on Donnie Simpson's Video Soul show on BET. I was only a so-so Nona Hendryx fan, but this song is really nice.

[Jerry Oz]

This is another one of those songs that never gets played anymore but I absolutely love. There was a budding culture of jazz-influenced hip hop/soul back in the '90s that seemed to fizzle out too soon. Tony! Toni! Tone! was in that clique as was Brand New Heavies. This song by Dionne Farris is probably one of the best of the genre.

[Jerry Oz]

And this song by Erykah Badu... The video is distracting from how great the record is.

[marv2]

Good pick with the Anita Baker song. I'll never forget going to one of the nightclubs my buddy and I haunted in the '80s when for some reason, they had their first [[and last) Tuesday night talent show. [[LOL. The fact that it was on a Tuesday tells you something about how frequently we used to go out!!) Anyway, the acts were so horrible, people got bored because there was obviously no music playing and nobody was dancing. After a while, people were talking louder than the singers and comedians competing in the "talent" show. But then the crowd started to get quiet and I heard a pretty young woman singing Anita Baker's "No On In The World" a capella. By her third line, nobody was talking or looking away. I felt a chill because it was sung so beautifully and I suspect everybody else did as well.

"Sweet Love" is always going to be my favorite Anita Baker song. But "No One In The World" is probably second just because of that experience. Rapture is one of the best LPs from that decade and probably on my all-time top 20, which is REALLY saying something. With that said, I'm glad there were no more talent shows at that particular club.

That is a great story Jerry. I remember towards the end of the summer of 1980, I went to see Chapter 8 and local Toledo band, Colorscope perform at a club called Nirvana on Monroe Street in Toledo. The cover charge? $ 5.00! I knew some of the members in Colorscope one of their female singers is my Mom's best friend, the other was a former cheerleader from my his school and the leader's mother was one of my teachers in H.S. We knew of Chapter 8 because they were out of Detroit and just had a hit with "I Just Want To Be Yours". The lead singers was another young lady from Toledo named Anita Baker. Fast forward 3 years later in 1983. I am in Denver and a friend of mine who had recently moved there from Toledo came running up to us at a picnic raving about this "new girl singer" from Toledo called Anita Baker [[he didn't know she had been with Chapter 8) and her new song "Angel". I listened to it and did not think much of it. Even I had forgot she was the lead singer for Chapter 8. Later on as her solo career took off it seemed like everyone in the City of Toledo knew and remembered her. I do know she went to the same high school as I and my brother.