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Southern Soul Corner May 2015

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Corner Talk:  It's hot singles time right now in Southern Soul and, as you can see below, our Smokin' Top 45 has quite a few new entries.  Not all the newer singles mentioned here in the text make our charts, but we try to do a fair evaluation on all the singles and albums that we pour through and sometimes scramble to find on a monthly basis.



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Fresh from Wilbe Records in Atlanta, it's Jeff Floyd teaming up with the legendary William Bell on a new one entitled People Are Going Out........Everyone knows I am a huge Wilson Meadows fan. It is great to see his reprise of the 2002 hit Go On And Cry getting current chart attention........Speaking of reprisals, Theodis Ealey's Pop That Middle is on the charts - same title that was on his 2006 I'm The Man You Need album. He just released Theodis Ealey Presents: A Southern Soul Mix Volume 1 on his IFGAM label. It contains recent hits from Willie Hill, Larry Griffith, Theodis with J. Red, Lacee with Columbus Toy, Heart 2 Heart Band etc.........Who came out with the recent tune My Sidepiece?  Wasn't it The Louisiana  Blues Brothas featuring Pokey?  Lacee with friends Veronica Ra'elle and Ms. Portia just came up with the answer song called  Sidepiece Reply............

 

More from Louisiana, bad boy TK Soul has a hot new single, only been out a few weeks, Watch Them Haters. In fact, TK is all over it right now. He also dropped If You Sexy Clap Ya Hands featuring Nathaniel Kimble AND is featured on Luster Baker's (aka Mr. Juicy) My Main Thang. Also, did I mention he recently mixed and released the smokin' Lady Soul Slide that features newcomer Lady Soul?.........Carl Marshall's Cheating Town from his February album release of  Love Brings Me Back To You album combines a funky groove with some serious lyrics to drive it up the charts...............Come On Rock Me has now been officially released, the latest hot track from Willie Clayton. I believe this is now the correct title, the pre-release to the DJs was actually called  Rock Me Baby ........Stevie J fuses R&B and Blues together on his just dropped new singles, Good Good and Another Jody Song.........

 

Lovin' the Blues/Soul grooves of Mississippi based Vasti Jackson. His recent mid-tempo single release of I'm Sill In Love With You has gotten quite a bit of attention. Going back to Vasti's 2010 album,  Stimulus Man, most definite solid tracks include Extra Special, My Computer Turned On Me and Blues Booty......Speaking of the Delta state, have you heard Mr. Sipp, known as The Mississippi Blues Child? His 2013 It's My Guitar album is followed up by his latest, The Mississippi Blues Child, which has a killer tune on it called V.I.P. Also digging Hold It In The Road and Nobody's Bisness..........Our first exposure to Lady Audrey was her performances several years ago with The Superior Band (remember Work Me 'Til I Sweat?) She has had a string of hits of late including Big Girls Swang, Dream Girl and  Prescription For My Love Addiction.  Her latest that has recently hit the charts is Big Girl Love...............

 

 We continue to like the singles releases coming from Mr. X aka Mark Safford. His latest new one is the upbeat I'm Falling In Love Again.... Circling back around on young artist Greg Watson (not the one formerly in the Craig Woolard Band, he is a fantastic musician as well) with his Pieces Of Me 2 album, killer tracks include Move Your Body and Want For Nothing.........Jackson, MS native Katrenia Jefferson cut her music teeth singing in her mother's Gospel group, The Gospel Flames. She has popped up a few times in recent years in Southern Soul with singles like Holding On, Chance Of A Lifetime and That Thang.  Katrenia's latest release is entitled What If I.......A strong vocalist who has also been popular in recent years in Beach music, Andre Lee hits the Southern Soul charts with the low and slow Tell Me What You Need. We are back jumpin' on his early 2014 single release of You Went And Did It as an entry on this month's Corner chart..........LJ Echols, another young gun that has charted on the beach, has a new joint called She's Draggin' That Wagon........How 'bout Lady Ebony? Up and coming, she has shared the stage with the likes of David Brinston, Wilson Meadows and Will Easley. Single releases have included Food Stamps and Dancing Shoes. Her latest: (You Are The Jam In My) Jelly Roll!!

 

Not to repeat the countless number of news releases that have already occurred, but we lost two more great ones who have now ascended up to Soul and Blues heaven. Ben E. King, born in Henderson, NC and raised in the Harlem community of New York, passed away at the age of 76 on April 30th. His brilliant career included both lead singing roles in the legendary Drifters as well as his solo works on such tunes as Stand By Me and Spanish Harlem. Ben E. King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 as a member of the Drifters. B.B.King, the man who was as instrumental as anyone in bringing Blues music into the national spotlight, passed away at the age of 89 on May 14th. The Mississippi native's career spanned six decades of playing the music that he so loved. B.B. King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

   

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Lil Jimmie aka Jimmie Forbish out of Beaumont, Texas has been what you might call an 'underground phenom' in Southern Soul for quite some time. His efforts go all the way back to 2000 (and likely beyond) when his I Got Your Back album was released. It contained a couple of singles, the title track as well as Close The Door On Yesterday that were lucky enough to see the light of day with play by a few regional radio stations/DJs. Two more subsequent albums really did nothing to push Jimmie's career forward. Poor marketing and distribution has been part of the problem over the years.

 

2014's single She Was Twerking (Twerkin') seemed headed for a similar fate until EVERYBODY that eventually heard it wanted to know where to get a copy. The momentum for this crazy groove was so strong that it finally got an official release date and has become one of the biggest hits of the last year plus. Now, Music Access has released a Lil Jimmie album with the same title. A combination of mid-tempo and fast jams, the fourteen track output includes reprisals of I Got Your Back and a six and change version of Closing The Door. I'm liking Steppin' Out On Faith and You Can't Set Down with it's Zydeco licks. A little disappointed that Jimmie's late 2014 single release of Next Time is not included on the album - it has been a hot charter here at the Corner. Hopefully, this release will serve as the breakthrough that Jimmie needs to propel his career forward!

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The tragic and untimely passing of Bobbye 'Doll' Johnson in mid-2014 was quite a shock - she was always a crowd favorite in live performances with a graceful stage presence as well as having continued success with her recorded releases.  Bobbye broke on the Southern Soul scene with her 2007 Rocking This Boat album release on the Brimstone label. The title track plus Saving My Love were two of the top charting hits from the CD. She followed that up with 2011's All The Woman You'll Ever Need on the CDS label.

True To Me combines the best of her work on CDS over the last several years. Baby Daddy and Cheaters Never Win are two of Bobbye's biggest hits  but there is much more contained in this package.  Included are the collaborations with Ricky White on the White composed I Need A Man, When A Woman's Had Enough and My Woman's Fed Up. One I have always liked was co-written by Bobbye and Frank McKinney called Mississippi Hideaway. So Good and Bye Bye Baby are also smooth Bobbye / McKinney composed tunes. Slow groove Pull Up From Behind is a White written tune as well. The ten tracks here summarize the talent of this outstanding artist that we lost much too soon!

 

I am not always a fan of Best Of or Greatest Hits albums, but CDS Records has done a good job on three recent ones, summarizing the works of these artists as they have produced over the last several years.


 

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Alabama native Stephanie Pickett got her start in Soul music as a backup singer for the late great Ronnie Lovejoy. She later joined the Style Band as a vocal and group leader for several years. This led to stage appearances with Clarence Carter, Denise LaSalle, Donnie Ray, Theodis Ealey, among others.

Stephanie came on board as a Southern Soul songstress in late 2008 after CDS Records prez Dylann DeAnna heard a demo tape.

 

Greatest Hits covers her break out tunes in the biz  including the monster smash The Only Time I Get Lonely. Run'n and Family Man (all included here) were among Stephanie's first charters in the genre. Stephanie sings with passion and energy that makes you recall the vintage Soul days long gone by! Too Many People and I'm Takin' My Man Back also made one or more of the industry charts. Two more recent chart climbers are I Don't Need No Man, which rode the Southern Soul Corner Top 45 for eight months in late 2013 and the first half of 2014, and What One Man Won't Do, which ran hard with the ball in the second half of last year. Albeit somewhat quietly over the last seven years, Stephanie Pickett has become a vocal star in Southern Soul!

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Ricky White has become a star in the Southern Soul arena encompassing his combination of performing, recording, songwriting and producing. The Greenville, Mississippi native started his musical career as a teenager in his own family's local band. His first foray into Southern Soul came with his 2006 release of Mr. Juke Joint on the Brimstone label. Album releases that followed were Fully Loaded in 2008 and Reloaded in 2011. Charting tracks for Ricky included: I'll Still Love You, Ride My Pony, Sexy and Pop It Then Drop It.

 

Ricky has become even more well known on the basis of his production of two highly successful compilation albums on the CDS label. Combination, released in 2013, featured  works by TK Soul, Betty Padgett, Jerry L and the late Bobbye Doll Johnson, among others. Combination 2 in 2014 included tunes with Nathaniel Kimble, TK Soul, Stephanie Pickett, The Love Doctor,  Jerry L and Gwen White.

 

At His Best is pretty much just that - a thirteen track rollup that summarizes the last ten years of Ricky White. Songs like Casino Blues, Ricky White Shuffle, Sexy, Stacked In The Back, Shake and Ride My Pony get some fresh exposure. A couple of strong tunes that I believe that are new (at least I don't see them on any other Ricky albums) - Booty Clap and a collaboration with Carl Marshall called The Weekend. The album closes out with a reprise of the soulful holiday Just Ain't Christmas Without My Baby, a duet with TK Soul. A good showcase for the versatile talents of Mr. Ricky White!

 

 


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The career of the late Lee Shot Williams certainly transcended time before his passing in late 2011. He got his start in cousin Smokey Smothers band in Chicago in 1960, later joining Magic Sam's group as a vocalist. Shot recorded a whole raft of singles in the '60's including Welcome To The Club, which was later picked up by Little Milton and I Like Your Style, covered by Junior Parker.  A series of singles and albums on various labels followed over the next twenty plus years, until Lee Shot landed in the Southern Soul arena in the mid-'90's with back to back albums Shot Of Rhythm & Blues and Cold Shot. Shot began a ten year relationship with Ecko Records in 1996, resulting in seven successful albums and several hit singles, establishing him as one of the stars of the genre. He moved over to form another successful partnership with CDS Records in 2008.

 

Greatest Hits Volume 1 reflects several of Shot's best works while recording three albums at CDS prior to his passing. Previous charting hits include: 753 L.O.V.E, First Rule Of Cheating, It's Friday (Time To Get Paid), Yesterday I Fell In Love, You Fooled Me, Sleeping In The Wrong Bed and Country Woman. Lee Shot's career was NOT winding down when he passed - he was just getting warmed up! Twelve cuts in all, strong reflections of the final years of a guy who devoted five decades of his life to the music. 

 

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 Soul Dog’s Smokin' Top 45 Southern Soul Hits

                                                      May/June 2015

 

       X - new entry

 

  1. Southern Soul Showdown - Sir Jonathan Burton                

  2. Move Baby Move - Nathaniel Kimble                            

  3.  Handy Man - Uvee Hayes                                                    

  4.  Can We Start Our Love All Over - Donnie Ray                  

  5.  Put It On Ya - Mr. David                                                       

  6. Sweet It Be - Wilson Meadows                                          

  7.  You Got Your Hooks In Me - Ms. Jody                              X

  8.  This Is A Blues Club - Jaye Hammer                                    

  9.   You Got To Be A Freaker - Miz B                                      

  10. Blues And BBQ - Bigg Robb w/ Denise LaSalle               X

  11. You Went And Did It - Andre' Lee                                     X

  12. It's A Good Thing I Met You - Theo Huff                            

  13. Dark Side Of Love - Calvin Richardson                             

  14. V.I.P - Mr. Sipp                                                                    X

  15. Bootleg Whiskey - Grady Champion                                     

  16. Come On Rock Me - Willie Clayton                                   X

  17. Down Home People  - Stevie J                                          

  18. I Got A Good Man - Big Cynthia                                        X

  19.  Whose Foolin' Who - Billy 'Soul' Bonds                              

  20.  Roll It - Cool Ricky Blues                                                        

  21.  Take My Wife Back - OB Buchana                                      

  22.  Backdoored (By A Man Named Jody) - Donnell Sullivan  

  23.  I Don't Need You No More - Pat Cooley                            X

  24.  People Are Going Out - Jeff Floyd w/ William Bell            X

  25.  Yellow Ribbon - Big G                                                     

  26.  Next Time - Lil' Jimmie                       

  27.  Stick To Your Drink - Mel Waiters                                    

  28.  If You Sexy  -  TK Soul w/ Nathaniel Kimble                    X

  29.  Do You Like To Party - Heart 2 Heart Band                      X

  30.  Rock It Baby - Rob Hewz                                                   

  31.  You Make Me Cry -  Stephanie McDee                              X

  32.  Big Boy Stuff - Sheba Potts-Wright                                              

  33.  I'm Falling In Love Again - Mr X                                        X

  34.  Ooo Wee - Yanni/Bruce Billups                                                

  35.  Who Doo Woman - Val McKnight                                        

  36. Big Girl Love - Lady Audrey                                                X

  37. Please Let Me Hold You - Lomax                                     

  38. I Do - Mi'el                                                                         

  39. She's Been Good  - Jr. Blu                                                

  40.  Want For Nothing  - Greg Watson                                      X

  41.  When It's Good It's Good - Certified Slim                           

  42.  In This Club Tonight - Adrena                                                      

  43.  Loveline - Alex                                                                        

  44.  Gotta Get My Groove On - Willie Hill                                          

 Southern Soul Party - Bertha Payne                                    X

Archives:
 

 
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February 2014

March 2014

April 2014

May 2014

June 2014

July 2014

August 2014

September 2014

October 2014

November 2014

 

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