Old School Friday: Songs That Inspire

When I saw what the OSF theme was this week, the 1991 jam by Sounds of Blackness (Optimistic) immediately came to mind. I can't help but get uplifted whenever I hear this song.If you'd like to take part, here are the rules: Anyone can participate; any music genre;Old School is defined as music created before 1999;No offensive words allowed, please use edited radio version;Post no more than 2

Old School Friday: From Band To Solo

For this week's OSF, I chose two artists who took the solo route after they had group success. The first is Len Barry. As the frontman of the Dovells, Barry sang lead on a string of dance craze hits in the early 1960s. Their first and biggest hit (The Bristol Stomp) is clip #1 in the player below. In 1965, Barry had a huge hit with the song 1, 2, 3. However, I decided to go with his 1966

Old School Friday: Favorite Soul Train Performance

Growing up, one of my favorite Saturday rituals was checking out the show that was dubbed "The Hippest Trip In America". Although the "Soul Train Line" and the "Soul Train Scramble Board" were a big part of the show, the main attraction for me was the artists who stopped by to perform. Out of the countless Soul Train performances I've seen over the years, Joe Tex' appearance in which he

Old School Friday: If I Were A Girl...

Because I was struggggling to to get a handle on this week's theme, I reached out to Marvalus (one of the founders of OSF) for assistance. The way she interpreted it was"If I were a (fill in the blank), I'd want to sound like/look like/dance like/be like/groove like/play an instrument like...etc., etc., etc.". Thanks again M!One of my favorite drummers is one Sheila Escovedo. You likely know

OSF: Child Singers

For this week's OSF (which is defined as music created before 1999), the theme is child singers. I chose two artists that are from different eras, but who both have a Disney connection. The first selection is then 15 yr old Tevin Campbell's uptempo remake of Strawberry Letter 23, which was originally done by Shuggie Otis and later made famous by The Brothers Johnson. I thought Tevin did a damn

Old School Friday: The Jackson Family

Just like the New Edition one from the OSF two weeks ago, this week's Jackson family theme has a bunch of possibilities.For clip #1, I selected a "should have been a bigger hit" by The Jacksons, 1981's Can You Feel It. If you want to skip past the conceptual B.S. of the video and get to the song, start the clip at the 50 second mark. The 2nd performance is by brother Jermaine, getting some help

Old School Fridays: Songs By New Edition or New Edition Members

For this week's selections, I decided to go with two songs that sometimes get forgotten when it comes to tunes by New Edition as a group or as solo acts. The first is 1985's My Secret (Didja Gitit Yet?). I can't remember if I caught this song first from seeing the video on BET or if it was from the local R&B station in Flint. Anyway, it's perhaps my favorite NE tune. Along with Magic Johnson,

Old School Fridays: Originals vs. Remakes

Because the original is obscure, many are surprised to learn that one of the biggest songs of the 80s ("Mickey" by Toni Basil) is a remake. First recorded by the British group Racey under the title "Kitty" in 1979, Toni Basil did her take later that year. Until I learned that the original version was by a male group, I always wondered about the line in the song "Any way you wanna do it/I'll take

Old School Friday: TV Theme Songs

One of the most popular TV partnerships was the teaming of Robert Culp and Bill Cosby on the 1965-1968 series I Spy. For this week's OSF, I'm focusing on the theme songs to two series that Cosby and Culp did separately, post-I Spy. Not only that, but both series feature characters who teach.The first is the theme to the 1969-1971 sitcom The Bill Cosby Show, in which The Cos played high school

Old School Friday: Actors/Actresses Who Can Sing and Vice Versa

For this week's OSF, I chose a single by Ralph Carter (best known for portraying Michael Evans on the 1974-1979 sitcom Good Times). Titled When You're Young and In Love (a song that was a hit in 1967 for the Marvelettes), Ralph's version hit the pop/R&B charts (#37 and #95, respectively) in 1975. For his performance of the song on Soul Train (which you can watch below), Ralph demonstrated that

Old School Friday: Jazz Tribute

For my first selection on this week's Old School Friday, I chose the legendary Cab Calloway's signature tune... Minnie the Moocher. Although Cab recorded Minnie the Moocher in 1931, I'm not sure of the date of the clip I selected. Whenever I think of him, I'm reminded of a story my mother told me when I was a kid. During Cab's heyday, she and her friends would see him perform live. She said

Old School Fridays: Songs From the Year of My Birth

Below are not 1, but 2 tracks from the year I was born... 1967. The first track holds special meaning for me because it was the #1 song on the Billboard Pop Singles chart on the day I was born (November 13)... the title song to the Sidney Poitier film To Sir With Love by Lulu. The second track is one of the funkiest tunes ever committed to vinyl, Boogaloo Down Broadway by The Fantastic Johnny

Old School Fridays: Fight Song For My Candidate

For this week's Old School Friday theme, we are getting political... just a little. We were asked to select a fight song for the Prez candidate of our choice. I'm a supporter of Barack Obama and my selection this week is by John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band, 1971's Power To the People.This meme was developed by Marvalus View and Ms. Grapevine. The rules are simple:1. Anyone can participate; any

Old School Fridays: One Hit Wonders

Since there are so many cool one-hit wonders to choose from, it was hard to narrow down my selections. As many of you know, there are many definitions as to what constitutes a one-hit wonder. The criteria I used is as follows: a recording act who had only 1 song reach the Top 40 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart.For my first choice, I went with a song that peaked at #5 in 1968... "Girl

Old School Fridays: Duets

When I saw the theme for OSF was duets, I was like Della Reese in Harlem Nights after Eddie Murphy punched her in the gut ("Ooh yeah... that's what I'm talking about"). By the way, that movie didn't deserve all the pans it got, but I digress...Since the theme is duets this week, I decided to maximize the limit according to the rules and go with two selections. The first is a team up between two

Old School Fridays: Prince

When I saw that the theme for OSF this week was Prince, I was quickly reminded of the ongoing battle he and the Universal Music Publishing Group has with You Tube. Although most of the Purple One's clips have been removed from You Tube. However, a few remain... but with no sound! Since I didn't feel like fuckin' around trying to find a suitable Prince clip on You Tube, I went over to Daily

Old School Fridays: Girl Groups

For this week's OSF I selected a song by The Flirts, a trio that was briefly popular in the early 1980s. Below is the video to their most enduring tune, 1982's "Jukebox (Don't Put Another Dime)". For more information on the group, click here.This meme was developed by Marvalus View and Ms. Grapevine. The rules are simple: 1. Anyone can participate; any music genre2. Old School is defined as

Old School Friday: Neo Soul

For this week's theme, I selected my favorite song by a group that didn't get the attention I felt they deserved... The Brand New Heavies. Featuring N'Dea Davenport on lead vocals, this is Never Stop (from their 1991 self-titled album)This meme was developed by Marvalus View and Ms. Grapevine. The rules are simple: 1. Anyone can participate; any music genre2. Old School is defined as music

Old School Fridays: Favorite Male Singer

When it comes to male vocalists, it's hard to top the man from Meridian, MS... David Ruffin. One aspect of his voice that I have come to appreciate over the years is its versatility. Not only could he tackle soul numbers (both uptempo and slow), but David could handle show tunes & standards (as he did with the rest of the fellas on their 1967 album The Temptations In A Mellow Mood). The song I

Old School Fridays: Social/Political Songs

For my social/political song, I decided to showcase James Brown's classic tune from 1968... Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud. The performance below is from the 1969-1970 syndicated show Playboy After Dark. This meme was developed by Marvalus View and Ms. Grapevine. The rules are simple: 1. Anyone can participate; any music genre2. Old School is defined as music created before 19993. No