Soul, jazz, and progressive politics
For better or for worse, the last few years have seen the music business move back into being a very singles driven medium. With the dominance of streaming services making physical musical media a shadow of what it used to be, more and more artists are seeing that the big money is in singles that … Continue reading 10 Essential Albums From the Singles Era
When ranking the greatest songwriters in rock and popular music of all time, most lists are capped off by either John Lennon, Paul McCartney, or Bob Dylan. Although the quality of their work speaks for itself, and I think they are all certainly worthy of high praise, my pick will likely always be the incredible … Continue reading 10 Essential Songs by Smokey Robinson
It's about 1991 or so and I'm about three or four years old, sitting in the back seat of the car while my dad drives. As was usually the case, we're listening to Chicago's Oldies station, which at the time played mostly music from the 1950s and 60s. I liked everything I heard at that time, though there were a few songs that always got younger me excited, and one of them was by The Isley Brothers.
In the 1960s, there were few vocals groups bigger than The Miracles. Starting in 1955 as The Five Chimes, the group is most famous for the lineup that featured Smokey Robinson, Claudette Robinson, Bobby Rogers, Ronald White, and Warren "Pete" Moore. I had the pleasure of having a chat with Pete Moore's daughter Monique about her father, his legacy, and what The Miracles mean to her as the daughter of a legend.
The year is 1968, and The Temptations have a problem. They are one of the biggest groups in the world, but their lead singer is destroying himself, and taking The Temptations with him.
Fly Me to the Left 