The Temptations – “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” Pop #13, R&B #1 By Joel Francis If you’re not hooked in the first five seconds of this song, you haven’t been paying attention. All the elements attack immediately: the drum roll coupled with the insistent clanging cymbal, the knuckle-roll piano riff and, of course, David Ruffin’s [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Rolling Stones’
The Temptations – “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg”
Posted in Motown, tagged Berry Gordy, Count Basie, David Ruffin, Hitsville U.S.A., James Brown, Norman Whitfield, Rick Astley, Rolling Stones, Smokey Robinson, Temptations on March 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Remembering Ron Asheton of The Stooges
Posted in Music history, tagged Andy Warhol, David Bowie, Dick Dale, Dinosaur Jr, free jazz, Guitar gods, Iggy Pop, Impulse Records, Joel Francis, John Coltrane, MC5, My Generation, No Fun, Obituary, Pete Townshend, Pharaoh Sanders, Pink Floyd, pre-punk, punk rock, R.L. Burnside, Raw Power, reunion band, Rolling Stones, Ron Asheton, Seek and Destroy, Sex Pistols, Sonic Youth, the Beatles, the Damned, The Stooges, the Who, the Yardbirds, Velvet Underground, White Stripes on January 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
(Above: The Stooges do “1969″ in 2007.) By Joel Francis When Ron Asheton started playing electric guitar in the mid-’60s, there were no signs pointing the way he wanted to go. The Beatles were just starting to experiment with feedback and backwards instrumentation on their albums; Pink Floyd was buried in the London underground and [...]
The True Story of Cadillac Records (Part Three): The Final Days and Legacy of Chess Records
Posted in Music history, tagged 2120 S. Michigan Ave., Blues Heaven Foundation, Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Cadillac Records, Chess Records, Chess Studio, Chicago blues, Chuck Berry, Chuck D, Etta James, Howlin Wolf, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Otis, Leonard Chess, Muddy Waters, Nas, NASA, Phil Chess, Public Enemy, Rolling Stones, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Willie Dixon, WVON on December 12, 2008 | 14 Comments »
Above: No, it’s not Beyonce. The wonderful Etta James during her Chess period. By Joel Francis As the 1960s dawned on Chess Records, label founders Leonard and Phil were at the peak of their powers. Thanks to the proselytizing of the British Invasion bands, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf and other blues artists were performing for [...]
Four Tops – “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)”
Posted in Motown, tagged Berry Gordy, Byrds, Four Tops, Funk Brothers, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, Joel Francis, Rolling Stones, soul music, Supremes on November 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Four Tops – “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” Pop #1, R&B #1 By Joel Francis The piano riff that kicks off this tune is instantly and universally recognizable – and with good reason. Depsite the apologetic lyrics, Levi Stubbs’ magnificent vocals are a ray of sunshine. He might be singing that he’s [...]
The Temptations – “My Girl”
Posted in Motown, tagged Al Green, David Ruffin, Dolly Parton, Funk Brothers, Hitsville U.S.A., James Jamerson, Jesus and Mary Chain, music, My Girl, Rolling Stones, Smokey Robinson, soul music, The Miracles, The Temptations on October 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Temptations – “My Girl,” Pop #1, R&B #1 By Joel Francis Lightning definitely struck twice for Smokey Robinson and the Temptations. After struggling for years, Robinson gave the Temptations their breakthrough hit with “The Way You Do The Things You Do.” “My Girl,” their follow-up, is not only Motown’s biggest song, but one of [...]
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Flaming Lips deserve Super Bowl halftime show
Posted in Industry commentary, tagged Aerosmith, Arcade Fire, Blues Brothers, Britney Spears, Bruce Springsteen, Eagles, Flaming Lips, Fleetwood Mac, Foo Fighters, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Miami Sound Machine, Paul McCartney, Prince, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Rolling Stones, Super Bowl, Tom Petty, U2, wardrobe malfunction on February 2, 2009 | 1 Comment »
(Above: Picture this on the 50-yard line: the Flaming Lips, “Race for the Prize.”) By Joel Francis The five years since Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl halftime “wardrobe malfunction” two things are clear: Nipple shields have not become the must-have fashion accessory everyone predicted; and halftime shows have never been better. It would be easy to [...]
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