WEEK 2: TEDDY PENDERGRASS – SOUL LEGEND
Welcome to the second newsletter of 2010.
It is with great sadness and regret, however that we have to report the passing of another Soul legend. On 13th January, Teddy Pendergrass passed away after a fight against colon cancer. Please see below right for our brief tribute to one of the greatest singers of our times, whose voice embodied the richness of Soul music.
January kicked off in a quiet vein last week, though the Jeff Ramsey remains hugely in-demand. This week, pride of place goes to album of the week – Dreemtime – New York Lounge Funk and if you like Incognito, Satya Project et al, this will be up your street. Athene Wilson is another gem of an album with her Anita Baker-ish vocals standing out.
Luxury Soul 2010 is now in – this popular series from Expansion Records continues to represent value for money – a triple CD for only £12.95!
On the reissue front we have the rare John Heartsman LP on CD and vinyl, plus the Real Sound Of Chicago compilation also on CD and vinyl.
And there is some great vinyl singles too……
Soulfully yours.
Malcolm.
In Week 1 2010:
JEFF RAMSEY –MY BEST CD £12.95
GEMMA GENAZZANO - SI ME QUIERES/IF YOU LOVE ME CD £14.95
JACKSON 5 – MOTOWN BONANZA
JACKSON 5 – SKYWRITER CD £12.95
JACKSON 5 – GET IT TOGETHER CD £12.95
JACKSON 5 – DANCING MACHINE CD £12.95
JACKSON 5 – MOVING VIOLATION CD £12.95
JACKSON 5 – LOOKING THROUGH THE WINDOWS CD £12.95
JACKSON 5 – GOIN BACK TO INDIANA CD £12.95
MARVIN GAYE –WHATS GOING ON (RARITIES EDITION) CD£14.95
RICK JAMES –STREET SONGS (RARITIES EDITION) CD £14.95
DIANA ROSS – DIANA (RARITIES EDITION) CD £14.95
ADRIANA EVANS – WEATHERMAN 12” £6
TOP DOZEN SOUL
Marcell And The Truth Symbols
Marc Staggers Then And Now
Various Artists Tribute To Frankie Beverly And Maze
Various Artists Soul Togetherness 2009
Soul Persona Soulacoster
N’Dambi Pink Elephant
Jesse James Get In Touch with Me
Rad Getting Down Is Free
Mary J Blige Stronger With Each Tear
Angie Stone Unexpected
Revelations The Bleeding Edge
Jeff Ramsey My Best
TOP TEN JAZZ
Quasimode Daybreak
Nicola Conte The Modern Sound Of
Papik Rhythm Of Life
Alex Malheiros The Wave
Various Artists Sound Of Jazz FM 2009 Vol 2
Timo Lassy Round Two
Indigo Jam Unit Collectivity
George Benson Songs And Stories
Build An Ark Love Pt 1
Milano Jazz Dance Combo lo Greco Bros Presents
Feb. 5th, 2010
 The Menahan Street Band
Feat Charles Bradley & Lee Fields and The Expressions
Bloomsbury Ballroom, London
Tickets: £16.00
Available from: http://www.seetickets.com http://www.wegottickets.com
See our Daptone back catalogue here
See our Lee Fields back catalogue here
SOUL ON YOUR RADIO
Soul Brother Selection repeat show changed time on Sunday…….Our popular Radio show on Solar Radio has moved to a Thursday (from Tuesday)- at the same time 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. The repeat of the show remains at Sunday mornings 4 a.m. to 6 a.m.
JAZZ FM Check the revamped station on DAB, Internet, Sky. See www.jazzfm.com for how to hear. Ralph Tee, Robbie Vincent, Pete Young, Mike Vitti – definitely worth tuning into.
COLOURFUL RADIO – SOUL ON DAB IN LONDON Colourful radio playing classic and new soul and Jazz is now on DAB in London, elsewhere on sky/www. Colourful radio.com good line up of DJ’s inc Chris Phillips, Femi Fem, Gordon Mac, Mistri etc. With Jazz Fm, Solar and others we now have the best coverage of our music for a long time. Soul Brother support the station by sponsoring two shows on the station: Soul Food (Sundays 1 p.m – 3 p.m) and Midnight Encounter (Tuesday Midnight – 2 a.m) presented by Wes Berwise. Full details www.iamcolourful.com.
 Click here to listen to Jazz Fm broadcasting
  
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 HOT THIS WEEK - IN TODAY (week ending 15th January 2010) |
TEDDY PENDERGRASS – SOUL GREAT R.I.P
It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of one of the legendary voices of Soul music – Teddy Pendergrass.
Teddy made his name as the lead singer of Harold Melvin And The Bluenotes when, in the seventies, they were one of the finest male vocal groups around. Originally a drummer with the group, Teddy stepped up to the mike on stage and literally blew Harold Melvin away. He signed him up as lead singer there and then.
With songs like ‘Bad Luck’, ‘Where Are All My Friends’, ‘The Love I Lost’, ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’ and ‘Wake Up Everybody’, the group helped Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff establish the Philly sound. Teddy’s rich voice was the focal point, backed by the Bluenotes’ terrific harmonies. Teddy’s voice excelled on ballads such as the classic ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now’ and ‘I Miss You’.
Teddy went solo in 1976 and the following year issued his debut album ‘Teddy Pendergrass’. This album remains one of Philadelphia International’s finest records and is a classic. Uptempo cuts like ‘You Can’t Hide From Yourself’, ‘The More I Get The More I Want’ and ‘I Don’t Love You Anymore’ epitomised the Philly groove. And don’t forget the beautiful ballads like ‘The Whole Town’s Laughing At Me’ and ‘Somebody Told Me’.
Hit after hit followed – ‘Only You’ and more wonderful ballads like ‘Close The Door’, ‘Turn Off The Lights’ and ‘Come Go With Me’. The success continued with tracks like ‘Love TKO’ and duets with Stephanie Mills (‘Two Hearts’) and a young Whitney Houston (‘Hold Me’). It wasn’t just about the hits, his albums, especially those on Philadelphia are full of hidden gems.
His mastery of the love ballad combined with his rugged good looks made him a sex symbol – and revisiting his ‘Live Coast To Coast’ set, you can hear why and feel the rapport he had with the audience especially the ladies. And they say there is no romance!
Teddy was the first black male singer to record five consecutive multi-platinum albums. But success came at a price and following a serious road accident in 1982, he became paralysed from the waist down and remained so for the rest of his life.
After seven studio and one live album with Philadelphia International Records a move to the Asylum/ Elektra labels spawned hit albums such as ‘Love Language’, ‘Workin It Back’, ‘Joy’ and ‘Truly Blessed’. And whilst the vocals never quite attained pre-accident greatness, it is a testament to his strength of character that he could still record at all.
Teddy reserved one more gem: ‘Believe In Love’ (from ‘A Little More Magic’) that was released as a hugely in-demand single in 1994.
Teddy was 59 and died following a difficult recovery from colon cancer surgery. Like the Soul music itself, Teddy’s marvellous music will be with us forever. Thank you Teddy, your timeless musical legacy is truly inspirational.
Photos of some of Teddy/ Harold Melvin’s back catalogue
HAROLD MELVIN – TO BE TRUE/ WAKE UP EVERYBODY/ BLACK AND BLUE
TEDDY PENDERGRASS – TEDDY PENDERGRASS/ TEDDY/ LIVE COAST TO COAST
(CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF TEDDY PENDERGRASS CD/ RECORDS IN STOCK)
(CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF HAROLD MELVIN AND THE BLUENOTES CD/ RECORDS IN STOCK) |
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DREEMTIME – NEW YORK LOUNGE FUNK CD £13.95
ATHENE WILSON – IT’S ABOUT TIME CD £13.95
TRIBE – REBIRTH CD £14.95 DBL LP £19.95
VARIOUS ARTISTS – LUXURY SOUL 2010 TRIPLE CD £12.95q
JOHN HEARTSMAN AND CIRCLES – MUSIC OF MY HEART CD £13.95 DBL LP £19.95
VARIOUS ARTISTS – THE REAL SOUND OF CHICAGO DBL CD £13.95 3LP £17.95
SINGLES OF THE WEEK
BETTY MOORER –SPEED UP/IT’S YOUR THING 7” £10
SAGE PAY…IMPROVED SERVICE AND SECURITY
