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Corner
Talk: It has been a somewhat
slow month for new individual single tunes coming our way in Southern Soul.
Some recently distributed singles are either advances from forthcoming albums
or follow-ups from albums already released. There are, however, a few new and
notable cuts........Fresh off his Greatest Hits Volume 1, the incomparable El'
Willie gives us a tremendously heartfelt version of the James Brown classic Try
Me......... Atlanta's Heart 2 Heart Band has been successfully recording and
entertaining for several years. Their most recent single released in February
is called Do You Like To Party?.......Following up on the recent Cowgirl single,
in vogue Mississippi producer Big Yayo drops The Remix, Baby. Can't find it out
there so far! Ditto for Columbus Toy's latest, I'm Gone................Ricky
White's new album At His Best Vol 1 is
on the way later this month. The first single to be released in advance has
been Booty Clap............
Avail
Hollywood's new album, Wasted, should be dropped any day
now. The advance singles have been the title track as well as Left Cheek Right
Cheek.....Former Motown staff writer and producer Michael B. Sutton has a new
smooth Soul track entitled Slow Dancin' ...............Mr. X aka Mark Safford
continues to be the hot ticket at Sound Mindz Records. I Gotta Walk, Goodtime
and Doing The Watusi have all been
big charters here at SSC over the last year. X keeps on coming with his latest,
mid tempo jams When We're Making Love and Roll It Slow............A couple of
enhanced versions of previously released singles just out - Theodis Ealey's Pop
That Middle and At Least I Tried by Jimmy 100% Sterling..............Atlanta
based producer Bruce Billups has worked with many Southern Soul artists
including Theodis Ealey, Black Zack, and Cupid. His latest effort is a
collaboration with Lebrado called Let's Party. Bruce also has one right now
featuring Yanni that is charting called Ooo Wee...........
The
albums are coming steadily now, at least from the male
vocalist point of view. We have reviews on five new CDs here this month. Didn't
get to Jr. Blu's new one yet, him being a fairly new artist, we wanted to give
it a little more time and consideration.
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Sir Jonathan Burton is one of those real
music guys - an excellent singer, instrumentalist, writer, arranger and producer. The new Jersey native honed his chops spending
several years in Detroit while sharing studio and stage gigs with such artists as The Manhattans, Chairmen of the Board, Regina
Belle, Drifters, Parliament and Cameo, among others. We have come to expect superior musical production from Sir Jonathan
Burton and he continues to deliver on those expectations. Sir JB is a seasoned veteran when it comes crafting lyrics and matching
them with just the right rhythm tracks. He has blown up the Southern Soul market in the last five years with four previous
hot album releases at CDS, plus a holiday release this past season. Too Much Booty Shakin'? Not hardly, Sir JB keeps it coming with
fresh material every time out.
Sir
Jonathan tells me this latest album on the CDS label, New Swing Soul, is
different and far ranging from anything he has done in the past. Even though I am not claiming to have a musical ear, the
more I listen to the tunes, the more I understand what he is saying. The title track definitely has a new feel to it, as does
Southern Soul Showdown and Southern Soul Got A New Swing. I'm Your Party Man, My Baby Can't Dance (But I Love Her Any How) and Can't Touch This (Remix) set a frenetic pace, dancers for the young
and young at heart! My favorite may be The
Hole Inside The Hole In The Wall, which captivates a bluesy old school
soulful sound. The story unwound in Mind Your
Business is relevant for so many folks these days. Lower that drama threshold!! Sir JB now resides in Charlotte, NC,
right in the heart of Beach music country in which he is well known, so Beachosity is certainly a fitting tune for the album. Not a bad track on the release, it is another success
story for this veteran performer.
Knowing
Sir JB pretty well, it is no secret that he is a big bundle of energy and enthusiasm with an infectious personality that lights
up a room. He goes where the action is and the shows are no matter how far. Check out the poster above - Sir Jonathan Burton will be the headliner on April 4th for a Pre-Easter show at the Bogulusa, Louisiana
Event Center. He is crowd favorite on the live show circuit for sure!
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Cinncinati, Ohio's Bigg Robb casts a long
shadow when it comes to influencing a certain style in the evolution of Soul music. Several years ago, he successfully brought
his syncopated funky rhythm production to Southern Soul which has paved the way for many of the more innovative young artists.
I remember well back about 2002 asking "who is this guy trying to break into Southern
Soul and what DJ's are playing his music?" I soon, however, got in the groove, digging what he was puttin' down - seems like
a long time ago now. Robb is another one of those high demand production mix masters at combining and arranging rhythms with
lyrics. His album combination of 8 Tracks N
45's followed by Blues, Soul &
Old School put him over the top in 2007 - the big man was voted Southern Soul Artist of the Year.
Robb's latest, Showtime, on his own Over 25 Sound label, doesn't deviate from what
we have to come to expect from his releases. There is a welcome track and a short promo cut. In between, however, is some
of Robb's finest work to date. Good Good (already
charting here at SSC) and Please Don't Judge
Me have been the most recent advance tunes to the DJ's. We Can Do It has a distinctive dance beat that would work at North Myrtle Beach! And the tunes about food! Blues
And BBQ, which features the Queen, Ms. Denise LaSalle, and talkin' about a love that's Hotter Than Fish Grease!
Aw right! Party tunes abound with the extended mix of Sugar Shack as well as Turn
It Up. Same thing for Fill It Up and Getting It In,
both of which were advance singles and rock the house! It wouldn't be a signature Bigg Robb album without a few slower
tempo touch and feel grooves - the title track, Keri's
Song, Singing The Blues and
Good Love Remix, which features Mz.
Jackson, all fill the bill. Fourteen music cuts in all, the lady Problem Solvas
sound better than ever and the album is without a doubt definitive Bigg Robb!
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Finally, a new CD
release from one of the ladies of Southern Soul! And from one of the best in
the genre at that! Most folks do not realize that Atlanta native Pat Cooley has
been in the music business for right at forty years. Her early career included
gigs while looking to be discovered by singing in Atlanta nightclubs. This led
to a job with Clarence Carter and eventually becoming his opening act. Pat's
diversified career included a stint with a Country & Western band that
travelled abroad, entertaining U.S. troups in places like Turkey, Greece,
Beirut, Italy and Spain. Cooley's 1987 debut album, Double Talk, was also one
of the first Soul/Blues releases on the Atlanta based Ichiban Records
label. I really caught on to Pat's music
with her release of Real Thing on
her own L&L label in 2006. The title track
plus I
Ain't Going Where You Go and Ooo
Wee definitely got my attention.
Older
Woman Younger Man, which was actually on a Bigg Robb produced
compilation, quickly followed for Pat as
one of the top songs in the genre for 2007. What is also distinctive about Pat
Cooley is that she writes or co-writes 95 plus percent of the songs she
releases.
At Her Best is a composite roll-up
of Pat's
outstanding work over the last ten years as one of the strongest female
vocalists in Southern Soul. All of the thirteen tracks were either previous
hits or, in the case of the enhanced Hold
Still, are going to be big. For
the Carolina Beach music fans, there is also a Steppers/Shag version of the
song. Chronologically, the charters here include I Ain't Going Where You Go, Boy Toy, Be A
Man, Dirt Road Double Wide, No Mess, Bring It Baby, Paying
The Cost To Be The Boss and Shake
That Belly. The sleeper here
to me is Talking To You, which was
actually the title track of Pat's
album release in 2012. Another really good cut is I Don't Need You No More, which
is, if I am not mistaken, previously unreleased. The Atlanta songstress
continues to impress as one of the true divas of R&B and Soul music!
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If you go all the way back
to 1991, you will find veteran singer Charles Wilson's first recognized album in the Southern Soul arena, Blues In The Key Of C, on the Ichiban Records label. The same melodic, almost pleading at times vocals that were there back then are present in his work today.
What is amazing is that at that point in his career, Charles
had already logged over twenty five years in the business, A Chicago native and the nephew of the legendary Little Milton,
Wilson was heavily immersed in the '60's/'70's Windy City Soul scene. His Southern Soul journey has included several years
on the Ecko label and more recently at CDS, with his own Wilson Records occasionally in the mix. Awards along the way include
twice receiving the Blues Foundation's Best Soul/Blues Album of the Year.
Best Side Of Me is Wilson's latest album is just off the press in February.
The advance single Misssissippi Boy Part 2
featuring young gun J Wonn leads off the release. I'm liking the uptempo jump
of Just To Be With Her, Gitty Yup (plus
the (Remix) and Hold It N Da Road. Mid tempo grooves are prevelant in the drop with
Can We Swing Around, which is a little
more upbeat (now that I listen to it 2 or 3 times!), likely being the strongest track. Additional shuffles include Old Man Wrong (no matter how hard he tries to do right!), Can We Talk About It, Untie My Hands and Can You Help Me. Ten tunes all told, it is most certainly vintage Charles
Wilson!
Carl Marshall has probably
done more arranging and producing in the last several years than he has focusing on his own recordings. His output has included
albums for Stan Mosley, Charles Wilson, TJ Hooker-Taylor, Cicero Blake, Nellie 'Tiger' Travis and Chuck Roberson, among others.
In fact, Carl was voted Best Producer by the Blues Critic Readers Poll for both 2009 and 2010. His song Good Loving Will Make
You Cry, released in 2006, became somewhat of a Southern Soul anthem as it stayed at the forefront for years. Carl's diverse
musical background includes growing up in New Orleans and playing in a band that included Aaron and Cyril Neville. Carl is
the original 'Soul Dog', the moniker he went by for a time in the mid '70's.
Just released in February is Carl's latest
on CDS Records, Love Brings You Back To Me. Gotta love the lead-off track and advance single called Cheating Town. You can
guess what that one is about! The Walk, Ladies Know Your Worth and Wind It Up will serve as a good club
steppers and/or line dancers. The same can be said (at a little slower pace for us old folks) for Laughing And Stepping, which
features Rue Davis. The Marshall smoothness comes out strong on I Wanna Know
(What Kind Of Love You Got) and I'm Tired Of Missing You. The album concludes
with a telltale story on From The Church To The Motel. Excellent album end to end for one of Southern Soul's most talented
personalities!
One of the most underrated male singers
in American Soul music history has to be a guy by the name of Lou Ragland. Lou was born in Cleveland in 1942, growing up with
destined to be performers such as the Womack Brothers, Edwin Starr and Sonny Turner. He became an accomplished vocalist, songwriter
and guitarist, playing bass for the O'Jays in the late '60's. Lou launched his own band, Hot Chocolate (no, not the U.K. version
that released Play That Funky Music, but a U.S. version), which later became Seven Miles High. He has owned several record labels over the years while touring the country and abroad, becoming very popular
in Europe. Although a major hit single has pretty much eluded Lou throughout his entire career, he has continued to write, record, produce and perform for what
is now almost fifty years. His best work was compiled into a 3 CD anthology released in 2012 entitled I Travel Alone. If you
are a fan of 60's/70's Soul music, it is well worth checking out!
Soul Dog’s Smokin' Top 45 Southern Soul Hits
March/April
2015
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1.
Bootleg Whiskey
- Grady Champion
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2.
Big Boy Stuff
- Sheba Potts-Wright
3.
Next Time
- Lil' Jimmie
4.
It's A Good
Thing I Met You - Theo Huff
5.
Can We Start
Our Love All Over - Donnie Ray
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6.
Hold Still
- Pat Cooley
7.
I Wanna Kiss
You - Brenda Williams
8.
Good Good - Bigg Robb
9.
I Need Your Sugar - Larome Powers
10.Sweet It Be - Wilson Meadows
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11.Sugah Sugah - Leon McMullen
12.Roll With It Baby - Geno Wesley
13.I'm Here For You - Big Cynthia
14.This Is A Blues Club - Jaye Hammer
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15.Put It On Ya - Mr. David
16.You Got To Be A Freaker - Miz B
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17.Roll It - Cool Ricky Blues
18.Handy Man - Uvee Hayes
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19.Southern Soul Showdown - Sir Jonathan Burton
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20.In This Club Tonight - Adrena
21.Move Baby Move - Nathaniel Kimble
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22.Lady Soul Slide - Lady Soul w/ TK Soul
23.Can't Stop Me - Miss Mini
24.Backdoored (By A Man Named Jody) - Donnell Sullivan
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25.Gotta Get My Groove On - Willie Hill
26.Take My Wife Back - OB Buchana
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27.Rock It Baby - Rob Hewz
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28.She's Been Good - Jr. Blu
29.Stick To Your Drink - Mel Waiters
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30.Time 2 Party - Solomon Thompson
31.Doing The Watusi - Mr. X
32.Dark Side Of Love - Calvin Richardson
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33.Whose Foolin' Who - Billy 'Soul' Bonds
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34.Cold Feet - Nellie 'Tiger' Travis
35.I'll Play The Blues For You - Raine
36.Who Doo Woman - Val McKnight
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37.Down Home People - Stevie J
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38.Yellow Ribbon - Big G
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39.Loveline - Alex
40.I Feel Good - Urban Mystic
41.Please Let Me Hold You - Lomax
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42.When It's Good It's Good - Certified Slim
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43.I Do - Mi'el
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44.Annie Mae's Cafe Swing Out Song - Stephanie McDee
45.Ooo Wee - Yanni/Bruce Billups
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