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Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Soulful 45 RPM Picture Sleeve Flashback

By approximately 1990, 45 RPM picture sleeves faded into music history.

The colorful jackets artfully promoted the latest songs by eager recording acts with visions of hits dancing in their heads.

The seven inch vinyl record inside of the sleeve also faded into oblivion along with 8 track tapes, turntables, and electric typewriters.

CD singles still come with picture sleeves, but as digital downloading of music becomes more popular, the days of CD singles are numbered.  Retail CD albums will probably last a little longer.

Can you guess what year these four songs with sleeves were released?

  

 

Hint: all four are from the same year in the 1980’s.

These four original 45 RPM picture sleeves, from the PowerhouseRadio.com collection, promoted what turned out to be major hits for Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston, and minor releases for Natalie Cole and Smokey Robinson.

As you might guess, sleeves keep increasing in value.  Do you have any in your collection?  Most 45 RPM picture sleeves, even without the vinyl records inside, fetch between $5 to $10 a piece in 2006.

Several authors have written books estimating the value of these sleeves.  The more famous the act, the more value the sleeve has.

I’m lucky enough to have several hundred original 45 RPM picture sleeves going back to 1964, 99.5% with the records too, and I plan to hold on to all of them.

Answer to the trivia question:

1987.

Grab our free Powerhouse Radio Screensaver featuring an exciting portion of our picture sleeve collection.

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Posted by King on 10/11 at 11:31 PM
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Thursday, July 13, 2006

David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks Live Aid

On July 13, 1985, the American half of the concert to benefit African famine relief known as Live Aid took place at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, PA.

Teddy Pendergrass performed for the first time since a paralyzing automobile accident curtailed his career in 1982.

Tina Turner, Lionel Richie, B.B. King, Patti Labelle, and The Four Tops also performed from the classic soul, blues, and pop world.

The memorable Live Aid moment for me on that hot afternoon in the JFK Stadium stands was the performance by ex-Temptations David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks, along with Philly guys Daryl Hall & John Oates.

Motown was the focus of their set, featuring soulful guitar edged versions of several Temptations hits.

The foursome also recorded an excellent live album at the world famous Apollo Theater in New York City.

Unique artist collaborations are sometimes hit or miss.  Ruffin, Kendricks, Hall, and Oates were right in the pocket.

These two Motown greats, no longer with us, through Live Aid on a hot Summer day in July put the cause of world hunger in front of millions, and yes, presented their musical legacy to a brand new generation of fans.

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Posted by King on 07/13 at 08:01 AM
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Tuesday, May 16, 2006

What is Southern Soul? part two

Here are highlights from a much longer article written by Michael F. Patterson: “The Problem with Southern Soul,” from Frost Illustrated, Fort Wayne, Indiana.  This is part two of Michael’s comments...

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"Now we get to southern soul.

Despite arguments to the contrary, that’s a term I’ve been hearing since the 1960s. I even picked up an album from about 30 years ago recently that had the term in the liner notes.

That music sold. The “southern” label didn’t keep jocks or hungry customers away. In fact, it probably guided a lot of folks to other music from the region.

After all, there was a belief that if it was from Memphis or Muscle Shoals and, later, Jackson, Mississippi., it had to be good stuff, because the people there were producing only the best.

Southern soul was something sought by discerning listeners.

In recent months, however, I’ve gotten calls from friends in the business who say the southern soul label is now the kiss of death. Many DJs won’t play it, they say, if it’s called southern soul.

Some radio syndicates say flat out “no” to programming so-called (new) southern soul.  Is it the label that’s holding the music back?

Be honest with yourself.  How many of these records would even garner a second hearing when placed next to greats like Otis Redding, Johnnie Taylor, Carla Thomas, Joe Simon and others who made “southern soul” a sound of which the community could be proud?

There’s nothing wrong with the southern soul label. There is something wrong with a lot of the music some folks are trying to pass off today as southern soul. That’s the problem."

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Michael makes some interesting points.  This is not a new debate.

I’ll offer this - the phenomena of marketing music by region in the USA is pretty much long over, with one exception - hip hop.

It’s really hard to find regional hits any more in any genre.

I don’t think the discrimination against “southern soul” exists as much as the tendency of certain people not to embrace certain artists with an R&B style that is closer to the blues than to rhythm-soul.

Who are these artists we are talking about? Michael mentioned a few.  Others are folks like Bobby Bland, Dorothy Moore, Shirley Brown, Little Milton, and the Z. Z. Hill’s of the world.

"Southern soul” doesn’t have a problem, it’s a timeless style, part of the broader spectrum of classic R&B music.

Yes, it’s different from today’s dominant popular style, but when did we ever have an easy time celebrating cross-cultural musical differences?



Posted by King on 05/16 at 06:53 AM
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Friday, May 12, 2006

What is Southern Soul? part one

Here are highlights from a much longer article, written by Michael F. Patterson: “The Problem with Southern Soul,” from Frost Illustrated, Fort Wayne, Indiana...

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"For some time, I’ve heard the debate over the use of the term “southern soul” to classify a particular genre of music.

Much of the controversy around the term seems based on the belief that calling this style of music “southern” soul has hurt it with regard to airplay.

This occurs particularly in the North where disk jockeys argue about the term and seem to imply that it’s not their music - just the music of southern folks.

Furthermore, some seem to think the regional classification of music is a relatively recent phenomenon. Truth be told, the regional classification of music is nothing new.

There have long been distinctions, even if blurred, for example, between Delta blues and Chicago blues.

What became known as the Chicago sound actually grew out of the work of masters from down in the Delta such as Muddy Waters, meaning it can be tricky determining what makes a certain regional style.

Still, the music changed in the urban environment and evolved into something undeniably related, yet different.

Jazz aficionados can speak for hours about the differences between traditional East coast jazz and West coast jazz, while country fans can tell you the difference between the classic Nashville sound and the Bakersfield sound.

No one can deny the very distinct stylistic differences between southern rock, the San Francisco sound, and the blue collar rock of the Midwest.

Today, any kid who knows anything about rap can tell you the difference between an East coast rapper, a West coast rapper, and the southern crunk sound.

In the ‘60s, it definitely was easy to tell the difference between soul music from the South, the Motown sound, and the sounds of Philadelphia.

Berry Gordy let it be known that what was happening in Detroit was something different from what was happening at Stax and Atlantic.

The music of the famed Funk Brothers didn’t sound like the classic Muscle Shoals studio wizards.  And, Gamble and Huff built an empire based on setting their lushly orchestrated soul apart from everyone else.

Records from all three regions burned up the charts all over the country and around the world.  No company’s records were limited by their widely acknowledged regional origins.

Those records sold because they were good records - the best of their genre. As Duke Ellington said, there are two kinds of music, good music, and bad music.

Most times, good music sells, bad music doesn’t. (Now, that’s another subject that gets complicated, but that’s a discussion for different day.)

Now we get to southern soul..."

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To be continued in What is Southern Soul? part two, coming next time.




Posted by King on 05/12 at 07:06 AM
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