#R and B

[70sgroovy]

donna summer photographed by fin costello, 1976

[todayinhiphophistory]

Today in Hip Hop History:

Aaliyah was born January 16, 1979

[possible-streetwear]

Lauryn Hill

[almondgirl2000s]

[louxosenjoyables]

Legendary.

[rubybara]

— ★ . 𝙄 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙟𝙖𝙯𝙯 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙂 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

CBS-FM Oldies 93: History of Rock Volume 2 1993 Pop / R&B / Doo Wop / Soul / Rock & Roll / Garage Rock / Pop-Rock / Bubblegum Pop

Unfortunately, this is a pretty unremarkable cheat code comp here. There's plenty of great classics on it, but there's nothing that distinguishes it from any other dime-a-dozen 50s and 60s oldies comps. The most intriguing thing about it is that there's so little trace of it on the internet, but that's probably because it was likely only released in the Los Angeles area. LA's KCBS station is now Jack FM, which is a pretty low-rent operation where they seem to just put their sizeable library on shuffle without any on-air DJs, but back in the early 90s, it was solely dedicated to the oldies, just like its New York counterpart, WCBS-FM, still is (although as time advances, that 'oldies' word gets more and more elastic, and older music is continually phased out too). Funnily enough, there was a period in the 2000s when WCBS also changed to the Jack FM format, but people despised it so much that it eventually finished last in the ratings, and after a couple years, it returned back to its oldies format with DJs. That switch to Jack has gone down as one of the biggest blunders in the history of the New York radio business too, as WCBS was and now still is one of the region's most listened-to stations.

Perhaps this album is purely reflective of what you'd hear if you'd tuned into KCBS on some random day in 1993, and was used in order to promote that fact, but it doesn't seem like there's anything that makes this particularly LA-centric. You could call this WCBS-FM Oldies 101.1 and no one would know the difference. And that's something that I've noticed that CBS and the Collectables label that releases their comps do—release the same album in different markets, but use different station logos that align with the respective local CBS affiliate; like so:

Kinda strange that I can't find anything about Volume 1 or any potential subsequent volumes that might've been released from this series thereafter either. There are probably copies laying around in some LA closets or attics somewhere, but no one seems to have cataloged them to the internet yet, at least via a Google search. Kinda indicative of how much work there's still yet to be done in encoding a record of all these things. All we have is this second volume that can be found on AllMusic.

Also weird to label an album like this as the History of Rock and then include a whole bunch of tunes that clearly aren't rock on it🤷. Subtitle your series as something more accurate, please!

All in all, this is a good oldies comp because there's good and classic songs on it, but it's definitely not breaking any molds. Recommended if you have little to no familiarity with the 50s and 60s pop landscape and want some bare-bones education; otherwise this isn't really worth anyone's time and was a waste to press up and sell in the first place.

And if you are actually looking for that authentic LA oldies experience, look no further than the guy who invented the entire concept of the V/A compilation itself, Art LaBoe, who was also a beloved local DJ in LA, and who I've written about plenty of times before too.

Highlights:

The Isley Brothers - "Twist and Shout" Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs - "Stay" The Soul Survivors - "Expressway to Your Heart" Percy Sledge - "When a Man Loves a Woman" The Castaways - "Liar Liar" Aaron Neville - "Tell It Like It Is" The Del Vikings - "Come Go With Me" The Shirelles - "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" The Shangri-Las - "Leader of the Pack" The Turtles - "Happy Together" Brenton Wood - "Gimme Little Sign" The Troggs - "Wild Thing" Gene Chandler - "Duke of Earl" Fontella Bass - "Rescue Me" The Turtles - "She'd Rather Be With Me" Barbara Lewis - "Hello Stranger" The Box Tops - "Cry Like a Baby"

[kickmag]

Throwback: Marvin Gaye: I Want You

Leon Ware and Diana Ross's brother, Arthur Ross, co-wrote "I Want You" for Marvin Gaye's 13th solo album, also titled I Want You. Gaye's sensual showpiece was a serious yearning inspired by his relationship with Janis Hunter that was taking place while he was still married to Anna Gordy. Leon Ware's arrangement of mood-inducing congas, sizzling guitar, horns, strings, and Marvin alternating between desirous wails and soft crooning captured the turbulence and tenderness of his relationships. 

Gaye was coming off the success of Let's Get It On and a collaboration album with Diana Ross, both released in 1973. I Want You was the next step of the sexy image Gaye had established with Let's Get It On. His ability to share the urgency of new love with Ware's dreamy disco suite kept Gaye relevant in the '70s and the single became a mainstay of quiet storm radio. "I Want You" did well on the Soul Singles, Disco Singles, and Billboard Hot 100 charts. Ernie Barnes's Sugar Shack painting on the cover was just as iconic as the music and it asserted its place in pop culture by also appearing on the TV show Good Times. Ice Cube, Mary J. Blige, Madonna, and most recently, Kendrick Lamar are among those who have sampled and covered "I Want You." A remastered deluxe version of the album was released in 2003 with a booklet, unreleased material, original liner notes, and an essay from David Ritz, who later collaborated with Gaye on his biography, Divided Soul. 

[247liveculture]

En Vogue (1993) 🖤

[battleangel]

To quote Left Eye, “Energy never dies…it just transforms.”

August 25, 2001.

23 years later. 23 years too soon.

Gone at 22 but never forgotten.

Futuristic, cyberpunk, iconic, legendary, visionary, timeless, enigmatic, alluring, magnetic, charismatic, down to earth, real, artistic, vibrant, energetic.

Hype Williams changed his flight for a reason. Look into the pilots history flighting while intoxicated & high. The airline had 225+ FAA complaints filed against it.

Aaliyah didnt want to fly. She was given a sedative & carried onto the plane.

R. Kelly married her at 15, more than double her age, statutory rape, annulled, forced her to have an abortion.

Look up what Chili from TLC told TMZ recently.

Damon Dash lived with her temporarily & JayZ dated her — look up the age differences.

Industry executives used, abused & passed her around, industry insiders killed her.

Look up the interview when she talks about living with Damon — look at the light leave her eyes.

Aaliyah. 2Pac. Prince. Jimmi Hendrix. Bob Marley. Michael Jackson.

What do they all have in common?

Wake up at some point.

[todayinhiphophistory]

Today in Hip Hop History:

Erykah Badu was born February 26, 1971

[possible-streetwear]

Left Eye

[newsbrand]

RIP Walter Scott of thee legendary group The Whisperers

[culturevulturette]

I apologize. Here's the song to make up for it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWG3npfEoHo

[brandonc85]

Holy fuck! These ladies are incredible singing live!!!