Moutton Noir

He has an awesome voice- you can hear the various influences on his style. Great artist who deserves far wider recognition and commercial success.

Such sad news. Q was a giant of the music industry who worked with so many generations of artists over the past 70+ years.

Hey, just a note- the correct term is a BALLAD, not Ballard. FYI, Cheers!

Bruce Springfield has always spoken of his love for R&B/Soul music and the direct influence it had on his musical development. he has performed many old soul tracks in his live sets over the decades. I don't understand all the fuss surrounding this project. There would appear to be a lot of narrow mindedness and dare I say immaturity from the Springsteen fans and Soul fans alike. Many artists have undertaken similar projects at a later point in their careers. There just seems to be a lack of tolerance by so called fans who are determined to pigeon hole artists and keep them stuck in a silo. If by recording these tracks it makes a few more people seek out the originals then surely that should be welcomed? Every one of us had an entry point to the music we love. It's not where you start from, it's the journey that you take on the way to your destination! Now Do I Love You? Deed I Do! Lionel had nothing to do with Nightshift!

A fascinating read. I had no idea that Glen Campbell was a session player on the record or that Patrice & Brenda were on backing vocals. That really is a winning combination. It's kinda ironic that one of the best examples of the mid 60s Motown sound was actually recorded in California!

When I see these pieces of plastic selling for crazy prices I'm reminded of the Tulip madness that gripped the Netherlands when collectors paid similarly outrageous sums for tulip bulbs. One day someone realised the madness- the emperor wasn't wearing any clothes and the bottom fell out of the market. I recommend folks go research this period in history. I'm an avid collector of music- vinyl 12",45,33, CDs SACDs etc but I refuse to fuel the greed. Of course I share the passion for the music and I love tracking down discs but common sense has to kick in at some point.

Interesting article. At long last black music cultural icons are being given their place in the long tradition of Hollywood music biopics. First can I point out the error- "Coal Miners Daughter" was based on the life of Loretta Lynn. "Sweet Dreams" was the Patsy Cline bio-pic starring Jessica Lange. The first major studio biopic of a major black star has to be "Lady Sings The Blues" released in 1973 and starring Diana Ross as... Diana Ross! The movie plays fast and hard with the truth regarding the biographical facts of Billie Holliday's life and career. Diana Ross famously lost out on the Oscar which went to Liza Minnelli for her OTT cringeworthy performance as... Liza Minnelli in "Cabaret". "Lady" was a culturally significant movie, proving that major movie with a black cast could succeed at the box office. Strangely the movie was shown only twice on UK TV back in the 80s and despite a major US anniversary release has never been available on video, DVD or Blu Ray. It also seems to be overlooked when documentaries feature the history of "black cinema" and Ross is almost never recognised by female African American actors when they collect THEIR awards. Diana broke through so many glass ceilings and broke into so many areas of the music and wider entertainment industry both as a Supreme and as a solo performer. Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, Gladys Knight, The Supremes (DreamGirls doesn't count!) The Motown Story (NOT the jukebox stage show) are all ripe for the picking. The Marvin movie has been talked about for the past 40 years! It's just good to finally see these great artists receive the recognition they deserve on the silver screen, exposing their music to a whole new generation for the first time, cementing their legacy and keeping their music alive.

An excellent point Fiftyboiledeggs. I often wonder what Sharon Jones made of the whole affair. Cultural appropriation 1.0.1. What I find telling is that during the initial release and hype around Back To Black the influences were deliberately obscured/underplayed. No mention of Ashford & Simpson, Holland Dozier Holland or the Supremes from whose back catalogue was shamelessly plundered. We got oblique references to "60s girl groups" and The Ronettes. I honestly believe Amy found herself stuck in a 60s straight jacket from which she would've struggled to shake off.

I've never quite understood the adulation poured on Amy Winehouse. Her albums were very good but far from ground breaking. Back to Black was a blatant rip off of the Motown song book, every track plagiarised Holland Dozier Holland & Ashford & Simpson classics. Her aesthetic was a mash up of the Ronettes, Dusty and 80s new wave duo Strawberry Switchblade. Truth is Amy Winehouse was a 60s tribute act. Along with Mark Ronson Amy managed to hoodwink a generation ignorant of the music she plundered and the middle class white rock journalists who were just as ignorant. Take time to listen- the lyrics of classic Supremes tracks and Marvin and Tammi's hits can almost be sung over Back to Black tracks. She was AWFUL live as any YouTube clips will confirm. Where would she have gone next? How long could she have continued plundering other artists back catalogues? She is the perfect example of cultural appropriation. Having said all this I still enjoy her recordings but I do prefer the originals...

Thanks Drew, don't know how I missed it, did seem kinda strange! Thanks, don't know how I missed it!

I was disappointed that no mention was made of the sad passing of the great Mary Wilson. Mary made such an important contribution to the success of the Supremes and Motown. She had a great smoky sexy voice that was criminally underused during the Diana Ross years. Her contribution to maintaining the Supremes legacy, fighting for the rights of original group members of classic Soul/R&B bands who were being ripped off by fake performers posing as the official version of the band. The Supremes were at the pop end of the spectrum but they certainly opened lots of doors for fellow performers who gained greater acceptance and success. It's easy to forget that in 1964 when Where Did Our Love Go was released in the UK the Supremes were "hip" and the record was regarded as being too raw and soulful to be a mainstream pop hit (see the reviews in Record Mirror, Melody Maker & NME)- a UK pop band covered the track and was expected to win the race to for a chart placing. The rest... is history!

Fascinating article. Ray talks about this period during an early 90s appearance on the Geraldo USTV talk show special "The Women Of Motown" which is posted on YouTube, worth checking out as Mabel John & Kim Weston also appear.

All of the above posts sound really good. It's one of life's great mysteries- what makes a hit a hit? Talent of course should be the most important element- unfortunately we know that is often not the case. Often times the record just taps into the zeitgeist- right place right time. Truth is DJs/playlists, record companies/pluggers, PR departments are the magic formula. I thought I knew most soul/disco/R&B artists- that is until the arrival of the internet- youtube & amazon in particular- not forgetting several other sites including e-bay. My 40+ years of musical education became supercharged from the early 2000's. It really hit me hard how much we the record buying public and soul fanatics had been at the mercy of that handful of people who held all the power- those hellish Smashy & Nicey DJs spinning the latest sounds that made it to the whiter than white playlists- remember back in the day even major soul superstars like Marvin, Stevie, Aretha, Diana & Michael often struggled to have their music heard on Radio 1. Jeez what chance did anyone else have? The record companies who decided whether to release great American records in the UK. The buyers who ordered the product for the big record stores. The game was stacked against the little guys- Even trying to find out about what was happening was a challenge- it was down to Blues & Soul, Black Echoes, James Hamilton's column in Record Mirror (available again on-line) and our own personal underground networks. Traveling to America was financially out of reach for the vast majority. We often never knew what the artist looked like and were shocked to discover years later that is some cases THAT voice belonged to a white guy! In my opinion there has never been a better time as far as accessing, discovering and collecting music is concerned. Time and fading memories can edit out the worst bits and create that longing nostalgia for a golden period that really does only ever exist in our minds- but it's great to cherish them- however accurate they might be. Listening to the music (and of course dancing to it) brings so much joy and pleasure and for just a few minutes we are all 18 again and the arthritis is gone!