beachmusic45.com

Southern Soul Corner August

Intro
Home
January Smokin' 45 Chart
DJ Contributors
Year End Charts
Have You Heard?
Contact Us
2020 Smokin' 45

southernsoulcorner.jpg

burton.jpg

Corner Talk: I can't even attempt to say what the composite Southern Soul market considers to be the current top songs. Every radio chart and website has their own opinion and....there is a ton of good music out there!  Here are some of the currently released tunes that are getting listed across multiple charts:

 

 Latimore – Cat Got My Tongue

 Lenny Williams – Still

 Vick Allen – I'm Thankful For My Woman

Ghetto Cowboy – Check Your Mailbox

Jesi Terrell – Love Mechanic

Vel Omarr – Everybody's Dancin'

L.J. Echols – Good Motor

Karen Wolfe – You Ain't No Player

LaMorris Williams & Al Green – You Make Me Happy

Sir Charles Jones – On My Own Again

T.K Soul – We Gonna Party Tonight

Luther Lackey – Blind, Blind Snake

Peggy Scott-Adams – Not Good Enough To Marry

Omar Cunningham – If We Can't Get Along

Pat Cooley – No Mess

Simone De – Feels So Good

Mr. David – Soul School

Sir Jonathan Burton – The Party Don't Start 'Til I Get There

Stephanie Pickett – My Love Is Guaranteed

Ricky White – When A Woman's Had Enough

 

You can compare these tracks to our July Top 45 list below to see that we sometimes agree, but not all the time. At any rate, they are all songs worthy of attention by the industry and the fans!

hammer.jpg

 

A brand new artist on the Southern Soul scene, Jaye Hammer comes forth with his debut album on Ecko Records. He hails from Clarksdale, Mississippi, widely known as the birthplace and reigning World Capital of the Blues!! While growing up in this music mecca, he became familiar with the works of fellow Soul/Blues artists David Brinston, Luther Lackey and his current mentor O.B. Buchana.

 

Jaye possesses an old school Soul voice that is evident on Hammer, the new release. Two tracks that are already garnering deejay and club attention are Mississippi Slide and Go Ahead On.  I hear a hint of Clarence Carter and Roy C on I'm Leaving You and Strawberry Ice Cream Woman. Party Mood is surprisingly more of a slow to mid tempo shuffle. Floor groovers include Soul Train Dancer and Making That Booty Roll. Twelve tracks in all, check out this new young potential star!

mcdee1.jpg

mcdee2.jpg

   Two albums have been released in close proximity on the Miracle Records label from Stephanie McDee. She has been MIA for quite some time from the mainstream Southern Soul scene. McDee spent time in the Gospel arena in recent years, releasing an album entitled No Compromise in 2008. Make no mistake about it, Stephanie brings that rich brassy blues voice to the table when she records and/or performs, much in the vein of a Big Cynthia Walker or the late Jackie Neal.

 

 The Stephanie McDee Greatest Hits album contains seventeen tunes, pulled from her work in the early 2000's.  Included are her monumental hit Pony Slide, the club groovin' Dirty South Blues, the zydeco sliding Call The Police and the bewitching Money. The  Return Of The Southern Soul Queen, also seventeen songs, is primarily new material with a few remixes of her older songs included. Good Thang Woman was the advance single  released prior to the album. The deejays are starting to bite on When I Step Into The Club. I 'm digging the slow grind on Caught Up, and the pulsating beat on Hide Away Motel. Welcome back Stephanie McDee, let's show this veteran artist some major love, ya'll!

jtaylor.jpg

tjtaylor.jpg

ttaylor.jpg

jrtaylor.jpg

 

There is little doubt that the late Johnnie Taylor was one of the greatest Soul singers in the history of modern music. From Johnnie's early Soul Stirrers and Stax label days all the way up to his final Malaco album, his voice was always easily recognizable. Although he has been gone from us for twelve years, much of his music continues to get played in clubs and on the radio. Johnnie also left us with quite a singing legacy in four of his children – Floyd, Tasha, T.J. and Johnnie Jr. All four had albums on Blues Critic's Top 40 list for the month of June.

 

Floyd has been the most successful with four hit CD releases to date since 2002. The most recent album, All Of Me, on the CDS label, has had a bundle of top charting tunes include the current Everyone Celebrate. T.J. Hooker-Taylor has been recording since 2005, coming on very strong in the genre over the last couple of years. His latest, Taylorized on the Aviara label, has some solid down home grooves. Included is a killer track that is a re-release of Take My Blues To The Dance Floor as well as a potential hit maker with You're Like Sugar. Tasha and Johnnie Jr. are not as well known in the industry but both have recent strong releases. Tasha's Taylormade on her own label is a blend of Soul jams and contemporary mixes. Included is a nice rendition of Who's Making Love and a tribute to her father with Daddy's Girl. Johnnie Jr.'s Aviara release of Second Time Around contains I Got To Win, which is starting to make some noise, and the very poignant Family.

 

The undeniable mark Johnnie Taylor made on the music world will certainly live on for years to come through his children.

lee.jpg

 

 

He is not a new player in the Southern Soul arena, but Andre' Lee is finally beginning to gain some of the recognition that is certainly well deserved.

The Chicago born and Jackson, Mississippi reared Lee joined bands at a very early age and never looked back. His 1997 So Good album on the Ace subsidiary Avanti Records was his first foray into the Southern Soul market. He joined the Mardi Gras label a few years later, working with Sir Charles Jones as a guitarist and back up vocalist. Andre' also wrote almost all of his own material, releasing what I felt was a vastly underrated album entitled Simple Dre' in 2003. Pony Ride was a minor hit from the album – other strong tunes included No Other Lover and You're So Special.

 

After a stint in the Gospel market, Andre' came back strong to the secular side with his 2008 release of Straight From The Heart. The single One Night Stand became a huge hit in both the Southern Soul and Beach markets. He followed that up with two hit singles – Cheating With The Man In The Drawer and a duet with Charles Blakely entitled I Saw Her I Saw You. The just released Stories Of  Life has at least five tracks that could be hits – Back In The Day Cafe is leading the pack but 4 Way Love Affair, Shake What You Got, Tell Me What I've Got To Do and Stepping With You are all strong contenders in my book. It is good to see success coming the way of this fine young artist!

pride.jpg

   

 

We lost another great one this past month with the passing of Soul/Blues vocalist Lou Pride. Born in Chicago, he spent many of his early recording years living in Texas and New Mexico, but he always remained true to his Windy City roots. Several early single releases in the early to mid '70's preceded his first album, Very Special, in 1979. Over the next several years, Pride recorded albums on the Black Gold, Curtom (Curtis Mayfield's label) and WMB labels. Releasing new music, however, was more or less a sideline for Lou – his thing was performing before live audiences with a mesmerizing voice that was a mix of B.B. King, Z.Z. Hill and Bobby 'Blue' Bland.

 

Lou's presence in Southern Soul become more significant with the release of the Ichiban label Twisting The Knife in 1997 and Icehouse Records I Won't Give Up in 2000. Killer tracks from these two offerings included: Love From A Stone, I Had A Talk With My Baby, Strong Strong Love, Twisting The Knife, Lifetime Thing, Love Of Mine and Breaking Up With You. Pride signed on with the Maryland based Severn Records in 2002, releasing Words Of Caution. A collection of his early '70's single recordings, The Memphis/El Paso Sessions 1970-1973, was released the next year. 2005's album drop of Keep On Believing included the monster  Midnight Call, one of the top hits in Southern Soul that year.   Lou seldom ran short of work, he was always in demand for Blues shows throughout the U.S. and abroad. At the time of his passing, there was a new studio album in the works at Severn which is planned to be released later this year. R.I.P., Lou Pride!

.

terrell.jpg

 

                                                       Jesi  Terrell

 

                 

 

 

  Soul Dog’s Smokin' Top 45 Southern Soul Hits

                                  July 2012

 

1)  Love Mechanic - Jesi Terrell

2)  Got No Curfew - Mel Waiters

3)  I'm Goin' Back - Donnie Ray       **           

4)  We Gonna Party Tonight - T.K. Soul

5)  BYOB Remix – Bigg Robb & Mel Waiters   **

6)  Jealous Woman Yes I Am – LGB

7)  Soul School – Mr. David **

8)  Everyone Celebrate – Floyd Taylor    

9)  Ask Me What You Want - Chandra Calloway

10)          Let's Start Doing – Clarence Carter     

11)          Everybody's Dancin' – Vel Omarr **

12)          You Fooled Me This Time - T. Honey Brown       

13)          You Ain't No Player – Karen Wolfe      

14)          Staying In Love With You – Ghetto Cowboy ** 

15)          There'll Come A Time - Uvee Hayes

16)          Institutionalize - Dorothy Moore 

17)          Feels So Good - Simone De

18)          No Mess – Pat Cooley       

19)          She Put A Stroke On Me – Mr. X    

20)          Not Good Enough To Marry – Peggy Scott-Adams  **

21)           Mr. Telephone Man – O.B. Buchana    

22)          Find A Good Woman – Omar Cunningham **

23)          Back In The Day Cafe – Andre Lee **

24)          Go Home – Klass Band Brotherhood

25)          Move Somethin' – Certified Slim **

26)          I Ain't Going Nowhere - Floyd Lawson

27)          24 Hours -  Denise LaSalle  

28)          Leave The Drama Alone  – Sir Jonathan Burton  

29)          Southern Soul Dip - Ms. Jody

30)          Take My Blues To The Dance Floor – T.J. Hooker-Taylor **

31)          Move Something – Lacee **

32)          Go Ahead On – Jaye Hammer          

33)          Happy Street – Garland Green   

34)          Let's Get A Room – Jesse James & Millie Jackson

35)          Something I Want – David Brinston & Ms. Jody

36)          Grown Man – Lenny Williams **

37)          Big Party - Michelle Sweeney & Kenny Hamilton

38)          Walk Away – Big G

39)          Everybody Knows – The Revelations with Tre' Williams **

40)          I'll Take Care of You - Chuck Roberson

41)          21st Century Grown Folks - Carl Marshall and Friends

42)          Save Our Love – Stephanie Pickett **

43)          Footloose – Adrena

44)          Here We Go – Tommy Leavel **

45)           Who Do You Love - Lee Fields & Expressions 

               

              ** - new entry this month

Archives:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
****************************************