Southern Soul Corner

Al Lindsey has been producing top quality music in the Southern Soul arena for the last 10 plus years. Born in Virginia but raised in Michigan, Al started singing in church at an early age in the Detroit area. Later after serving a stint in the military, he headed back to the Motor City, where he became friends with Obie Benson and the Four Tops. He formed a group with Roquel Payton, son of Top member Lawrence, recording a few singles with some degree of local success. Along the way, he has shared the stage with such performers as Little Milton, Willie Clayton, Latimore, J. Blackfoot and Rue Davis. Lindsey's first album came about in 2004 with the introductory Just Chillin'.

The title track on his 2005 Caught album was a big hit with the Southern Soul music fans, resulting in Al being recognized as Blues Critic's Best New Male Artist Award. He followed that up in 2008 with So In Love, with the overall lead tracks being the seductive Missin' You and the jammin' You Can't Keep Running Away. The follow-up album was almost 3 years in the making - Can You Handle This? dropped in 2011. Al's hit single Keep On Gettin' It On (which charted that year here at the Corner) from the album was used in Beach music as the title track for a fall 2012 KHP compilation of fifteen tunes.

The August release of Love You More is a mellow mix of quiet storm grooves, mid-tempo ballads and a few cuts suitable for steppin'. That's How Heartaches Are Made and Come As You Are fill the uptempo bill. Luckiest Man In The World caught our ear the most as the lyrical sound we have heard before from Al - so much so that it made the new chart this month! He does a great job covering Gregory Abbott's 1986 #1 hit Shake You Down. Ditto for Dorothy Moore's 1976 all time classic Misty Blue as well as the David Gates written Make It With You. There is a nice even duet here with songstress Lynne Calloway on I Saw Jesus. Ten tracks in all that is definitely worth the price of admission!

Blues Mix 21 - Booty Shakin' Soul rolls out of the Ecko Records library as the variety of compilation mixes keep on comin' from this Memphis based music house, now 21 years old and counting. Intended to be upbeat with dance floor fillers, the release is highlighted by two new tracks from OB Buchana, the jumpin' It's Booty Shakin' Time and the equally frenetic Why Can't I Be Your Lover? This is the first new music from OB since his November 2015 Mississippi Folks album on Ecko. Also new is a remix of Sonny Mack's Get On Up! album title track from earlier this year. It Sho Wasn't Her from Donnie Ray is previously unreleased even though he has now moved on the CDS Records.

Rewinds on the party music include the always popular Ms. Jody with Ms. Jody's Boogie Slide (2013) and Shake A Tail Feather (2015). From the dearly departed but certainly not forgotten are the late Quinn Golden's Bottoms Up and Can You Pop That Trunk? both from 2003, the same year this great singer left us at 48 years young. Another slammin' jam is David Brinston's 2009 I Came To Party. A couple of newer joints from one the brightest current stars: 2012's Making That Booty Roll and last year's I Ain't Leaving Mississippi from Jaye Hammer. The closing cut is from The Mystery Man, who is actually Jimmie Warren, with Hole In The Wall Cafe. Next time in the club I'll put this CD on the sound system and warm up the crowd with it and see what we see!

This dynamic as well as eclectic two volume set of mixes was just released in August on TK Soul's own label, Soulful Records. Produced by TK as well, it brings his style to the forefront through the combination of tunes on the albums. Between TK and Beat Flippa, they are exposing the rest of the world to an exciting new blend of artists from the Louisiana area. TK was an early 'young gun' of Southern Soul who has always had a mix of Hip-Hop, R&B and a little Zydeco in his groove - and that's where it's at for these up and coming new folks. In addition to some new joints from TK, we hear from as yet unfamiliar names like Mr. Juicy, Rhomey, Magic One, Nikita (wait, wasn't she known as Mys. Nyki?), O Flava Psi and Diotti Kartel. Tha Don, another new playa here, already has an album (The Arrival Of) on the Top 30 Southern Soul/R&B Chart.

Lady Soul's Lady Soul Slide is included on Volume 1 - it charted here at the Corner in January 2015. A few veterans also chip in on the mixes - like Nathaniel Kimble and Vickie Baker, whose Party Fever cut was a hot charter here at the Corner last year. Speaking of last year, TK had a really good single that dropped August 2015 that I totally missed - Merry Go Round is included in Volume 1, so we decided to chart it now. I do like the inclusion of his newer grooves Single Woman and Calling All The Riders. There are several additional potential charters from the newcomers - It's The Weekend by Magic One, Ready To Step Tonight from Tha Don, Rules To The Game by Nikita and Must Be Your Jam from O Flava Psi. Annual award winning TK Soul rollin' it out and gettin' it done, Bayou style!!

Napoleon Demps, out of Flint, Michigan, has been around awhile, albeit just known in Southern Soul as Napoleon early on. Along the way he has collaborated with several artists such as Bigg Robb, Mr. David, Avail Hollywood and Maurice Davis. Napoleon has had some strong hits - Party Like The Rich Folks, Booty Whipped, Get On The Floor and Another Man. He now brings a fresh track compilation of upbeat jams from artists, both new and old, on Southern Soul, Volume 1. Napoleon's A Lie Don't Care Who Tell It featuring Ronald Suggs is already getting chart recognition. His Step and Party tracks, both featuring Floyed Fuller, are ready for the dance floor!

Veteran Mr. Zay combines with newcomer Xavier Ayerts on Cut It, a definite floor filler. Living A Lie was a hit last year for budding star Katrenia Jefferson. Shake from Lady T has a strong groove, it sounds somewhat familiar, thinking the original issue of the song may have been in 2014? Uncle Wayne has been around - he lights it up here with the steppin' U Got It. The hidden gem to the compilation may be from newcomers Rashad the Blues Kid and Jessup Lashawn Crosby - Never Get It All sounds like a fast version of a J Wonn song! Ten cuts in all, a solid mix from Prodigee Productions and Napoleon Demps!

Below is a new Smokin' Top 45 Southern Soul chart for September and October. I was asked recently why we are doing the chart bi-monthly instead of monthly. Well, I did explain this in the past:

A) we try to give every song that is selected at least two rounds on the chart or a total of four months as a better possibility of getting picked up on by the DJs and

B) it is just the way we got started doing it when we added the Southern Soul Top 45 to the Beach Top 45 here at the website several years ago.

I will tell you this, giving all the songs that we can find a solid and hopefully somewhat fair review can be very hard. We went with Grady Champion at #1 this month - he is one of the few remaining Southern Soul artists being produced by the legendary Jackson, MS Malaco label. That and the fact that he calls out the Soul Dog in his latest song - don't you know that one has to be a numero uno!!



Soul Dog’s Smokin' Top 45 Southern Soul Hits

                                                  September/October 2016

      & - new entry

1.              Move Something - Grady Champion

2.              There's A Party Goin' On - Ms. Jody

3.               I Wish It Was Me - Chuck Strong

4.              Why You Wanna Do That? - Lomax

5.              Move - Shay Denise

6.              Don't Move The Groove - Theodis Ealey

7.              Another Man Will - Charles Wilson

8.              I Got A Love - Sharnette Hyter

9.              This Is Where I Live - William Bell                         &

10.         Got My Whiskey (remix) - Big Robb

11.         Shake A Little Something - Karen Wolfe w/ Denise LaSalle

12.         Merry Go Round - TK Soul                                    &

13.         Slow Rock - Tucka

14.         At the Club - Charles 'Big Daddy' Stallings

15.         Bring It Baby - Pat Cooley

16.         Dog House - Donnie Ray                                          &

17.         Took My Grandma To The Club - Stan Butler

18.         Steppin' Out - Donna Renae                                      &

19.         That Groove - Rick Lawson

20.         Bag This Wagon Up - Nicole Jackson

21.         Blow Me A Kiss - Till 1                                             &

22.         Knock The Fire - Mr. David

23.         Why Cant I Be Your Lover? - OB Buchana               &

24.         I Got The Feeling - Ms Jody                                      &

25.         Sneak In The Night - Alfrieda Upshaw

26.         That's What Ya Mouth Say - Lysa

27.         Luckiest Man in the World - Al Lindsey                   &

28.         Better Leave You Alone - Summer Wolfe                &

29.         My Man Is A Full Grown Dawg - Jesi Terrell

30.         Hush Money - Alonzo Reid

31.         Dangling On A String - Sir Jonathan Burton            &

32.         If You Need Some - Miss Mini & J Red

33.         Right Here With Me - Adrena                                    &

34.           It's My Time To Get Down - Jim Bennett

35.         Shot House - Toia Jones                                             &

36.         My Lady's My Queen - TJ Hooker-Taylor

37.         Role Play - Rosalyn Candy

38.         It's Da Weekend - Jerone Da Entertainer

39.         It's A Shame - Falisa Janaye                                          &

40.         You Don't Know What You Do To Me - Lee Roy Ward

41.         Groove It How You Move It - Veronica Ra'elle          &

42.         Twenty Four Seven - J Wonn                                       &

43.         Slow Motion - LaMorris Williams

44.         Queen - Lysa
Tighten Up - Lady Soul                                                 &