Ageless Clock of Rhythm & Rock

Lamont Dozier was a part of Motown’s genius songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland. As most of you know, their success was astronomical. Lamont was born on this day in 1941.

Jr. Walker & the All-Stars will forever be my favorite group, ever since I first heard them in the 1960s. I will always consider Junior to be the greatest saxophonist ever, and I was fortunate enough to eventually become his close friend. He was born on this day in 1931.

Jackie Wilson was one of the most prominent singers in the 50s and 60s. He was a master showman / vocalist of both soul and rock n’ roll. If you ever had a chance to see him live, you are blessed. “Mr. Excitement” was born on this day in 1934.

Happy birthday to Boz Scaggs, who has one of the most unique, easily-identifiable voices in popular music. He had immediate crossover appeal from the very beginning, and he is also a very underrated guitarist, and songwriter.

Happy birthday to Gary U.S. Bonds, who is a cornerstone rock n’ roll / soul singer. His early hits included “Quarter To Three”, and “New Orleans”, among others. He had a dynamic career resurgence in the early 1980s when he hooked up with Bruce Springsteen. Thanks for the music, Gary, and happy 84th !!!

The Chambers Brothers had many labels put on them ….everything from “soulful rock” to “rock n’ soul” to “psychedelic soul”…. but I’ll just call them very good, and very versatile. When you talk about an old-school group that had INSTANT crossover appeal, they were it. And…. (here we go again)… yet another outstanding ensemble, with one of the biggest / historic landmark hits ever, that is barely mentioned now. Anyway, I want to give a personal thanks to them, and their music.

Clarence Burke Jr. was the lead singer of the 5 Stairsteps, who are siblings from Chicago. They are another amazing group, that is rarely mentioned now. A key ingredient to their success was due to their producer Curtis Mayfield. Clarence was born on this day in 1949.

Happy celestial birthday to Shorty Long, who is a perfect example of the primary ingredient that helped Motown reach its unrivaled level of success….which is…..all of those other in-house talents, and creators, that were awesome, and had hits, but are seldom mentioned first, if at all. But, I will…. because I know the real deal. Thank you Shorty…. I know that you’re somewhere seeing this, and we love you, and miss you.

Stoney and Meatloaf only produced one album. It was in 1971 on the Motown subsidiary label Rare Earth. It is a collaboration between Meatloaf (Michael Lee Aday), and female vocalist Stoney (Shaun Murphy). Meat Loaf and Murphy met while performing with the Detroit cast of Hair. The primary hit was their original version of “What You See Is What You Get”.

Dennis Coffey is yet another outstanding guitarist, who was a studio musician for many soul recordings (including Motown’s “Funk Brothers”). The height of his popularity occurred in 1971 when he was with his “Detroit Guitar Band”, and the major hit was the instrumental “Scorpio”…. from the album “Goin’ For Myself”. If you don’t know of it, I suggest that you listen to that album. You won’t be disappointed.

Happy Birthday to “The Wonder Boy”. Words cannot express the level of his creativity, genius, and compassion. As amazing as he is musically, he is an even better human being. Happy birthday, Stevie.

Foxy is a disco band, who also used the group Wildflower for background vocals. In 1978, they released “Get Off”, from the album of the same name. The song became a crossover hit, and spent 2 weeks at #1 on the Soul chart, and also hit #9 on the “Hot 100” chart. “Tena’s Song” (my favorite), off that same album, reached #18 on the disco chart. Foxy might be a one-hit-wonder, but the hit was astronomical.

The Choice Four were an outstanding group from D.C. They were produced by Van McCoy, and had several hits in the mid 70’s, including “Hook It Up”, “You’re So Right For Me”, and “Come Down To Earth”.

Donald Byrd was a dynamic jazz & soul trumpeter and vocalist. Also a sideman for many other jazz musicians, and became one of the few “hard bop” creators who successfully explored funk and soul while remaining a jazz artist. As a bandleader, Byrd was an influence on the early career of Herbie Hancock and many others. His “Places And Spaces” album is one of my all-time favorites.

Happy birthday to Frankie Valli, who continues to have one of the most amazing tenor voices in the business. The dude has been goin’ strong since the mid-50’s, when he was the founder of the Four Seasons. Yet another amazing musical talent, and compassionate human being.

Odyssey is a vocal group that originally formed in New York City, whose primary success was with the album containing “Native New Yorker” in 1977. The entire album is superb. Later hits included “Use It Up and Wear It Out” and “Inside Out”. They are now based in the UK.

Grey & Hanks were a Chicago-based music and production team, whose career began in the early 70’s by writing for numerous other artists, and they reached their own pinnacle in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I have over 1,000 vinyl albums, and the only one I ever bought without hearing the whole song was the “You Fooled Me” album….because the song was just that good.

Coke Escovedo released his first album in 1975, and it is an absolute masterpiece, that is rarely mentioned nowadays. He was a brilliant writer, producer, musician….and a former member of Santana. He is also the uncle of Sheila E. If you have never heard of this album, I strongly suggest you listen to it. If you know of it, you already know that you are blessed. He was born on this day in 1941.

Priceless memories of Carl Gardner, who was an original member, and founder of the Coasters, who were initially known as the Robins. He was born on this day in 1928.

I’ll reminisce about Dan Hartman as long as I live. He was a dynamic musician, producer, writer, and singer. His hits were intermittent, but impactful. Among songs he wrote and recorded were "Free Ride" as a member of the Edgar Winter Group, and the solo hits "Relight My Fire", "Instant Replay", "I Can Dream About You", "We Are The Young" and "Second Nature".

This was yet another record I had to go buy immediately after I first heard it on the radio. When it was released in ‘69 , (Lord) Send Me Somebody by the Green Berets was very, very popular. The song, and group are hardly mentioned now, but it remains one of my all-time favorite slow jams.

Indelible memories of Jerry Leiber, who was a part of the sensational Leiber-Stoller songwriting and production team. Most of you are aware of the numerous artists they were associated with, such as The Coasters, Drifters, Elvis, Clovers, ….to name a few. He was born on this day in 1933. Words cannot describe the powerful impact of his poetic and musical contribution.

Happy birthday to Cory Daye, the lead singer of Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band. Most will remember, that when they came onto the scene in ‘76…. it was as if they were shot out of a musical cannon into the stratosphere. I’m not exactly sure how many of their first album was sold, but it had to be a WHOLE lot. Anyway, congrats to Cory, and props to a truly amazing ensemble.

B.T. Express were yet another outstanding, astounding, astronomical talent, that doesn’t seem to get mentioned much now, and, to be honest, I really can’t understand why. As some of you remember, that first album basically “blew everybody else outta the water”, with the primary hit being “Do It ‘Till You’re Satisfied”…. and EVERY other song on the album was dynamic. Anyway, I’m here to pay homage to them.

Remembering Tony Clarke, an amazing singer who is all but forgotten now, but not forgotten by folks like me. His most successful hit was “The Entertainer”, which was released in 1966. He could be considered a one-hit-wonder, but the hit was powerful, and it is one of my favorite songs ever. Tony was born on this day in 1940. He is another that left us too soon.

Happy celestial birthday to Lowell George, who was the founder and original leader of Little Feat. They were very popular back in their heyday, however, they are rarely mentioned now. They had good “crossover appeal”, such as groups with a similar “flavor” like the Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker Band, the Grateful Dead, and the Eagles. What made Little Feat unique was their use of humor in a lot of their songs.

Happy birthday to Herbie Hancock, who is one of the most amazing keyboardists to ever walk this planet.

Jean Carne is an amazing soul and jazz singer. She is credited with a 5 octave vocal range. Some of her hits include “Free Love”, “Don’t Let It Go To Your Head”, “Trust Me”, and “Closer Than Close”. Many folks know the name, but few know of her music. However, let me say this...she is so good, she was a part of both the Philly Sound AND the Motown sound...’nuff said.

The Intrigues were yet another R&B group from Philadelphia. They formed in 1968, and their popularity continued into the early 70s. Among their hits were “Let’s Dance”, “The Language Of Love” and “In A Moment”. Though they didn’t have as many hits, or longevity as some of the other soul groups of that era, their contributions were significant, and impactful, just the same.

Happy birthday to Leon Huff, who is a part of the amazing “Gamble-Huff” songwriting and production team from Philadelphia. He, and his partner Kenny Gamble became associates of Thom Bell, another writer / producer from Philly, and this combination became known as the “Mighty Three”, who were the core individuals responsible for some of the greatest R&B / pop music that the world has known.