I'm an old white Rocker who also likes old Country (as shown on my My Top 100 Country Music Songs thread). But sometimes I'm in the mood for more soul in my music (also my food ).
This thread, which I believe will conclude my 'Top 100' lists, is about the black artists who make up the bulk of my R&B/Soul/Motown (whatever you want to call it) sound. This selection is missing lots of Blues and Jazz and many lessor known songs as it's meant to be a selection of the more popular songs that get regular rotation in my playlists.
I want to note that race plays a major part of my music library organization, so much so that the majority of my main 'selection playlists' (the playlists I use to select songs from for making smaller playlists) are organized by race, as shown in this pic (B: black / W: white)...
My Top 100 Black Artists Songs...
Plus an additional 50 100 Runner-ups...
BTW, I use an old version of iTunes to organize my music library which consists of MP3s burned from my CD collection, plus a few supplemental Amazon MP3s.
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There are some crossover sounds, of course. This dude is white...
Bobby Caldwell - What You Won't Do for Love (Album Version)
...but not often do I get fooled the other way (although Living Colour fooled some people in the 80's).
I normally include these black-sounding artists in my 'soulful mood' playlists (there's not many of them).
Last edited by MarkG; 03/05/2310:39 PM.
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
#4621002 - 02/17/2309:15 PMRe: My Top 100 Black Artists Songs (+ 50 Runner Ups)
[Re: MarkG]
UPDATE: I increased the Runner-ups to 100, which better reflects a representation of my choices. In other words, if there was such thing as a Black Jukebox, and it could hold only 200 songs, those would be my selections.
Missing due to space or not qualifying for what I was going for:
- one Chuck Berry (sorry Johnny B....trying to keep it '65-to-'95). - one Johnny Nash (I go back and forth with the Bob Marley cover of "I Can See Clearly Now"). - the rest of Seal II album (a Brit, I thought he was Nigerian). - any qualifying 007 James Bond themes. - any qualifying songs from Footloose (Shalamar, Deniece Williams). - need more George Benson (instrumentals and vocals). - maybe more Whitney Houston (that I'd never admit to). - definitely more Jimi Hendrix (this one hurt). - Hues Corporation rocking the boat. - Dazz Band letting it whip. - S.O.S. Band taking their time and doing it right. - DeBarge is holding Donna now and liking it. <- I brought these back and killed MJ's bad mirror gazing...depends on my mood. - Billy Preston is going round in circles. - Stephanie Mills who never knew love like this before. - Gloria Gayner who will survive. - Hot Chocolate who believes in sexy miracles. - The Ohio Players who are ridding the love rollercoaster. - Rose Royce who is working at the car wash. - Luther Vandross who thinks it's never too much. - Carl Carlton who has an everlasting love of bad mama jammas. - Peaches & Herb who reunited to shake their groove thing. - Boney M. who is taking the nightflight to Venus to see Rasputin.
Kudos to the sexy little Soul Train dancers I watched with adolescent fascination. Bandstand was boring by comparison. Plus the black chicks were skinnier.
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White, or mostly white artists, with that funky groovy sound:
- Silver Connection who learned only eight words in English to record a song about a flying robin (Batman objected, he's no Superman). - Average White Band who is picking up the pieces. - What Bobby Caldwell won't do for love. - Nicolette Larson who's got a lotta love. - Wild Cherry who can play that funky music. - Yvonne Elliman who can't have you and wants nobody else. - Alicia Bridges who loves the nightlife. - Sheena Easton who has that look according to Prince.
- "We Are The World"! Dammit!
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
#4621037 - 02/18/2307:17 PMRe: My Top 100 Black Artists Songs (+ 50 Runner Ups)
[Re: MarkG]
For as long as I can remember, clear versions of Jimi Hendrix's songs were a no-go on YouTube. Not anymore, and I want to share some of my favorite semi-hits that you may not have heard on the radio.
Top comment on first video...
========== "1 month ago Thank God above Jimis estate finally got over it. Finding only live versions of his music has been extremely frustrating." ==========
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
#4621041 - 02/18/2307:51 PMRe: My Top 100 Black Artists Songs (+ 50 Runner Ups)
[Re: MarkG]
When listening to the Commodores, I prefer the shorter versions of "Sweet Love", "This Is Your Life" and "Just To Be Close To You" (without all the talking) from their iconic 1978 Greatest Hits as shown below (I had the 8-track).
This album also includes the full version of "Three Times A Lady" (6:40), not the shortened version (3:40) that you sometimes hear on the radio which, among other things, cuts the nice harmonies out of the end of the song.
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
#4621044 - 02/18/2308:05 PMRe: My Top 100 Black Artists Songs (+ 50 Runner Ups)
[Re: MarkG]
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
#4621045 - 02/18/2308:16 PMRe: My Top 100 Black Artists Songs (+ 50 Runner Ups)
[Re: MarkG]
^ Thanks for sharing. If I understand correctly, when Disco was ruthlessly murdered in the US at a ballpark, it reincarnated in Europe as club-type music.
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I don't know how well-known this band was/is, but apparently they once toured with Molly Hatchet (I would have enjoyed that immensely)...
MOTHER'S FINEST - Baby Love - Live At Rockpalast (live video)
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
#4621048 - 02/18/2308:59 PMRe: My Top 100 Black Artists Songs (+ 50 Runner Ups)
[Re: MarkG]
Guess you are from US, they are not a fan from techno, raven, gabber, mellow, Belgium newbeat, Manchester sound etc. Some say this all was invented at Detroit gay disco’s. Think before Detroit acid house there was Moroder. Just listen to the electric beat underneath the music, its btw from 1977.
Last edited by dutch; 02/18/2309:14 PM.
#4621051 - 02/18/2309:25 PMRe: My Top 100 Black Artists Songs (+ 50 Runner Ups)
[Re: MarkG]
Guess you are from US, they are not a fan from techno, raven, gabber, mellow, Belgium newbeat, Manchester sound etc. Some say this all was invented at Detroit gay disco’s. Think before Detroit acid house there was Moroder. Just listen to the electric beat underneath the music, its btw from 1977.
That was...GOOD! <starts list for next Amazon MP3 purchase>
BTW, I live in Louisiana (US Deep South). Age 55.
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Speaking of gay discos...
So I'm going through my Diana Ross singles for this project, and I get to the familiar smash hit, "I'm Coming Out". Catchy tune, but now I'm wondering...was this a gay thing? Nah. Full lyrics don't indicate it as such, and Diana Ross certainly wasn't gay, AFAIK. But I'm kinda slow about these things sometimes (and apparently so was Diana, who didn't realize the song’s background until after she recorded it).
It was given to her by the dudes in Chic (who also weren't gay). They wrote it after seeing NYC drag queens imitating Diana Ross, thinking she had a fan base in that world so it ought to help make it a hit. She thought it was more of a female-empowering thing or something (I think) and after being told the full backstory, she thought releasing it was going to ruin her career. It just turned out to be a big hit.
Personally, I don't care (same with Frankie's "Relax"...just avoid the video ) as long as the lyrics are ambiguous enough, because I've been listening to these songs way before the internet and even before TV music videos, so I don't associate them with whatever they might truly be about. I have limits, but since my music library spans ~1965 to 1995 it's not a problem, especially considering these songs were played on family-friendly FM radio.
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
#4621068 - 02/19/2301:26 AMRe: My Top 100 Black Artists Songs (+ 50 Runner Ups)
[Re: McGonigle]
Well, I've got a B.B. King and a Ray Charles, and I almost had a Chuck Berry who would have made another 50 Runner-ups listing, along with 3 or 4 more Diana Ross's. I don't know Nina Simone.
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Really, I could have done at least 200 strong songs, and feel bad that at least some had to be left off to make room. My listings are in iTunes alphabetical order of artist, and I thought I'd post the beginning and ending songs as a good representation of the genre(s) represented here, in their studio form the way I listen to them...
Yeah, lots of romantic songs in this group (happy and sad), what this era of musicians did so well. I was always curious what the late-SimHQ poster Bearcat(?) played on bass, if he covered any of these songs.
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Picking an absolute favorite in this selection is impossible, but with the wailing guitar and positive message, I'd go with...
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
#4621072 - 02/19/2302:33 AMRe: My Top 100 Black Artists Songs (+ 50 Runner Ups)
[Re: MarkG]
EDIT: My version is listed as Jeffrey Osborne (L.T.D.'s lead singer) and sounds exactly like this one (obviously studio audio for 1977), but at twice the time length (8:38 vs. 4:37).
Last edited by MarkG; 02/19/2302:57 AM.
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
#4621079 - 02/19/2308:04 AMRe: My Top 100 Black Artists Songs (+ 50 Runner Ups)
[Re: MarkG]
Oke and now something not seriously, They told me this was the breakthrough for Donna Summer. Donna did like the show as she did visiting the tv show a couple of times. It was a great “over the top” parody based on serious modern music programs all over Europe, like Top of the pops in de UK and TopPop in the Netherlands. Yep a long time before MTV and all artists playbacking. The DaVinci he is talking about at the start of the YT, is Paul Da Vinci a singer from the UK, here also something went wrong when he did perform his song.
I think Donna did a great performance here.
#4621080 - 02/19/2308:14 AMRe: My Top 100 Black Artists Songs (+ 50 Runner Ups)
[Re: MarkG]
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
#4621109 - 02/19/2308:11 PMRe: My Top 100 Black Artists Songs (+ 50 Runner Ups)
[Re: MarkG]
McGonigle, Nina Simone predates my listening preferences but still very listenable.
OTOH, I can find something that post-dates my preferences like "Megan Thee Stallion - Plan B" (watch video at your own risk, not safe for...anything) and I'd say give me Nina Simone all day.
I do have Billie Holiday's Greatest Hits however (19 songs)...
My mother was an amateur pianist pre-arthritis (the large Yamaha keyboard you see in some of my pics is actually hers, after giving the family piano to her sister as she didn't have room for it) and I'm sure hearing piano growing up affected my listening preferences to this day. Because songs like these will always be music for my soul...
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
#4621112 - 02/19/2308:35 PMRe: My Top 100 Black Artists Songs (+ 50 Runner Ups)
[Re: MarkG]
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
#4621115 - 02/19/2309:06 PMRe: My Top 100 Black Artists Songs (+ 50 Runner Ups)
[Re: MarkG]
McGonigle, Nina Simone predates my listening preferences but still very listenable.
I admit to being a fairly recent convert to the music of Nina Simone in my ongoing efforts to widen my musical tastes and gently trying to comprehend more Jazzy material. I confess still having a penchant for the more Bluesey stuff.
A classically trained and very accomplished pianist with a distinctive voice and at times a scary intimacy in her art, Nina Simone was a unique and true artist.
Thinking about Black artists and their music, we really find much of the foundation of Rythm’n’Blues, Rock’n’Roll, and Rock music.
Jens C. Lindblad
Sent from my Desktop
#4621116 - 02/19/2309:28 PMRe: My Top 100 Black Artists Songs (+ 50 Runner Ups)
[Re: McGonigle]
Thinking about Black artists and their music, we really find much of the foundation of Rythm’n’Blues, Rock’n’Roll, and Rock music.
Yup, and not just the influences, but sometimes even the band names (a repeat of my comments from another thread)...
========== "The name [Pink Floyd] is derived from the given names of two blues musicians whose Piedmont blues records Barrett had in his collection, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council."
"The band is just fantastic That is really what I think Oh by the way, which one's Pink?"
Right here...
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The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
#4621117 - 02/19/2309:44 PMRe: My Top 100 Black Artists Songs (+ 50 Runner Ups)
[Re: MarkG]
A guilty pleasure maybe, but this woman's voice is just so soothing (especially on a quality recording...I have "The Ultimate 5th Dimension" CD - 21 songs).
I remember Solid Gold being a regular on the living room family TV.
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run