Second Listen Sunday: Teena Marie, Irons in the Fire
I wanted to pay homage to Marie’s third album and her personal favorite, Irons in the Fire. Artists releasing two albums was common in the music industry. Teena was still red hot with her second album Lady T when Irons in the Fire hit stores on August 14th, 1980.
Slow Jam Saturday: Boney James feat. Philip Bailey, Love Song
One of my favorite saxophonists, Boney James, has many collaborations with R&B singers…, I wanted to highlight Boney’s 2006 collaboration with Earth, Wind & Fire’s lead vocalist Philip Bailey.
Second Listen Sunday: Jermaine Jackson, Jermaine
After Michael passed in 2009, I began to dig deep into The Jackson 5’s catalog and discovered the vocal vigor in Jermaine’s voice.
Slow Jam Saturday: 112, Making Love
Most people think 112’s debut song was the classic “Only You” the group’s first recording was actually “Making Love” from the Money Train soundtrack.
Second Listen Sunday: Con Funk Shun, 7
California-based R&B group Con Funk Shun was already profoundly established in the industry when album number eight arrived in record stores in June of 1981. The album carried the moniker 7.
Slow Jam Saturday: Chris Brown , Warm Embrace
R&B singer Chris Brown is somewhat of an enigma when it comes to music. As Brown prepares to headline the “One Of Them Ones Tour” and release his tenth album, Breezy, I wanted to spotlight one of the singles from that album, “Warm Embrace.”
Second Listen Sunday : Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio, A Woman Needs Love
Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio were amidst a successful career when album number four, A Woman Needs Love, hit stores in 1981.
Slow Jam Saturday: Men At Large, Faded
I was delighted to see that the nineties duo Men At Large recently released a new single, “Faded,” in support of their upcoming fifth album, Love Benefits, scheduled for release on June 24th.
Second Listen Sunday : Justin Guarini, Justin Guarini
That is right, folks, I am speaking of none other than Justin Guarini, whose self-titled debut arrived in stories on June 10th, 2003. While Guarini was never necessarily a front on the show, he was a constant presence when he covered artists such as Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Nat King Cole, and Al Green.
Slow Jam Saturday: Corey Clark , Love’s Melody
For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I wanted to give some flowers to Season 2 contestant Corey Clark. While Clark’s disqualification from the show was highly publicized, he could always carry a tune, and it would have been great to see how far he could have gotten on the show.
Second Listen Sunday : Link, Sex Down
There was a singer who shall remain nameless set the tone for the nineties slow jams. However as nineties R&B fans know there were tons of singers who provided quality albums and tracks when it came to making a playlist via audiocassette. Lincoln Browder, better known as Link, was one of the singers.
Slow Jam Saturday : New Edition, Helplessly In Love
R&B group New Edition was at crossroads in the summer of 1987. The group’s fourth album, Under the Blue Moon, and their only one as a quartet, had only achieved gold sales. Those numbers were very different from the platinum sales of their previous two albums.