The Month We Lost Both The Godfather & The Matriarch Of R&B

January 2012 was a sad month for fans of classic Rhythm & Blues. On January 17th of that year, we lost a legendary singer, producer and writer- Johnny Otis. You might not know his name, but you’ve definitely heard the songs he wrote and inspired. Called The Godfather Of R&B, Johnny Otis wrote such early R&B hits as Every Beat Of My Heart and So Fine.

He also wrote the first hit for one of his biggest discoveries who died just three days later on January 20th- the Matriarch Of R&B- Etta James. Discovered by Johnny Otis in San Francisco along with her girl group The Creolettes, Etta James’ first single of note was written by Johnny Otis- Roll With Me, Henry, a controversial song that was officially called Dance With Me, Henry. The song earned the group a spot on James Brown’s tour. Etta started the tour as a girl group singer and ended it as a star on the rise.

That two giants of music would leave us just days apart was heartbreaking, yet proof that heaven must exist. After all, Johnny Otis needed to reach heaven first so he could book performances for his greatest discovery- the lovely Etta James.

The World of Soul Music Loses Its Queen

The world of soul music has lost its undisputed queen. From the moment she stepped up on the altar of her father’s church and began singing, everyone knew they were in the presence of a future legend. Despite her young age, Aretha could sing and she would attract churchgoers from all around to hear her. That she was so young was amazing, but certainly her audiences must have realized that bigger things lay ahead for her. Little Aretha taught herself how to play the piano and amazed everyone around her, including motherly figure Mahalia Jackson, who was a gospel star herself. Her father began to see that his daughter could do more with her voice than just attract people to hear about the Lord- she could use her god given gift to sing to the world. Her father avoided the obvious record company- Motown- as he felt his daughter would get lost among all the other African-American acts signed there. Certainly Columbia Records could advance his daughter’s career; she’d be one of their few “r

Holiday Music Week: A Motown Christmas

Possibly the greatest Christmas album ever released, A Motown Christmas was a package album originally released in 1973 as a 2 LP set. At the time, the record company sought to take advantage of its deep catalog by reissuing existing recordings and creating greatest hit albums. Just about every Motown act had recorded Christmas singles and albums, so the staff working on this compilation had numerous versions of each song to choose from and they chose wisely. We hear Stevie Wonder’s soulful, yet reverent version of Ave Maria, the Jackson 5ive’s youthful Frosty the Snowman and the amazing version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by the Temptations. There were also surprising finds like One Little Christmas Tree, stripped of elaborate orchestration and sung by Stevie Wonder. The arrangements used on these versions would become THE soul arrangements used when these standards were performed, even to this day. It might not be as famous as Phil Spector’s A Christmas Gift For You, but it wa

“Race Music”

In the early twentieth century, Music was just as segregated as everything else. Instead of embracing all music regardless of who performed it, the major record labels separated out their acts between “regular” music and so-called “Race” music. “Race” music was the catchall term used for music recorded by non-whites, though it was mostly affixed to music performed by black performers. Strict separation of the races was enforced by the record companies who never cross-marketed their content. While black performers weren’t completely unknown to white audiences, the black performers who were allowed to “cross over” were only permitted to perform as stereotypes or were thrust into the background as second fiddles behind white performers. At no time were they permitted to perform their so-called “Race” music, which was often depicted as being “tribal” or “lowly”. This ridiculous and racist separation of music styles was no doubt intended to ensure that nightclubs and concerts remained segre

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