The Jackson 5, a popular music quintet from Gary, Indiana. The group, active from 1964 to 1990, regularly played from a repertoire of R&B, soul, funk, and later disco. The Jackson 5 is also notable for launching the career of their lead singer, the late Michael Jackson. The primary members of the group were all the sons of Katherine and Joseph Jackson: Jackie Jackson, Tito Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Michael Jackson, and Randy Jackson. Joseph Jackson formed the band in 1964 and served as its manager. Michael became lead singer as the group developed. Signed to the Motown label from 1969 to 1975, and to CBS Records as “The Jacksons” from 1975 until their disbanding in 1990, the Jackson 5 were one of the most popular groups of the era and became the first recording act to have their first four major label singles I Want You Back, ABC, The Love You Save, and I’ll Be There reach the top of the American charts
McFadden & Whitehead
Thursday 02-25-2010 1:16pm ET
Gene McFadden and John Whitehead are best known for their worldwide hit with the dance anthem "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" from 1979. By 1978, McFadden and Whitehead had amassed 22 gold records, two platinum albums and two Grammy nominations but they were itching to record again. "We had been helping other people rocket to the moon." recalled Whitehead. "Gamble and Huff thought we were happy as writers and producers. Finally, they agreed to let us go into the studio record one song. Whitehead subsequently served a brief prison sentence for tax evasion and issued a solo album, "I Need Money Bad", in 1988. He and McFadden reunited for corporate functions and nostalgia shows in the 1990s.John Whitehead was shot dead on May 11th 2004 while working on a car in a Philadelphia street. Gene McFadden died from cancer on January 27th 2006.
Malcolm X
Wednesday 02-24-2010 12:28pm ET
This past Sunday marked the anniversary of the death of one of Black America's true freedom fighters. A hero for justice and a major inspiration in the Hip-Hop community.
R.I.P. El Hajj Malik El Shabazz/Malcolm X
The Audubon Ballroom (3940 Broadway) on 165th Street is the location where cold-blooded assassins unleashed a fusillade of hot lead towards Brother El Hajj Malik El Shabazz on the tragic Sunday afternoon of February 21st 1965.
Shortly after being introduced by Brother Benjamin, Shabazz was shot down - execution-style - in front of his pregnant wife, four little daughters and a contingent of 400 or so O.A.A.U. (Organization of Afro-American Unity) members, just as he stepped to the podium, greeting them with - “As-salaam-alaikum!”
Now renamed the ‘Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and EducationalCenter', it houses many of the Black Nationalists' personal artifacts, such as books, letters in his own handwriting and videos of his speeches. Every year, on the anniversary of his slaughter; admirers, surviving colleagues and sometimes family members of El Hajj Malik El Shabazz come out to the landmark building and pay homage to ‘our shining Black prince' and his wife for standing in the face of adversity for a cause.
Nat King Cole
Tuesday 02-23-2010 12:30pm ET
Nat King Cole born March 17, 1917, in Montgomery, Ala., is known as a U.S. jazz pianist and singer. Cole grew up in Chicago and formed a trio in Los Angeles in 1939, establishing himself as a major jazz piano stylist. Commercial success, however, came with his singing. His warm, relaxed voice brought a personal touch to the ballads and light swing in which he specialized. "Mona Lisa" and "Unforgettable" were among his major hits of the 1950s. He excelled as a stage personality, and he was also a capable film actor. Nat "King" Cole is best remembered as an extremely popular and influential jazz and pop artist some of his biggest hits include "Mona Lisa" and "Unforgettable". As an actor, his most famous role is that of W.C. Handy in St. Louis Blues in 1958. The father of pop singer Natalie Cole, he was only 46 when he died of lung cancer on Feb. 15, 1965, in Santa Monica.
The Main Ingredient
Monday 02-22-2010 11:25am ET
The Main Ingredient formed in 1968 with Luther Simmons Jr, Tony Silvester & background vocalist turned front man Cuba Gooding Sr.The Gooding era began with the million-selling smash "Everybody Plays the Fool," which hit #2 R&B and #3 pop to become the group's biggest hit. The accompanying album, “Bitter Sweet”, became their first to hit the Top 10 on the R&B album chart; its follow-up, 1973's “Aphrodisiac”, featured several songs written or co-written by Stevie Wonder, although it did not produce any huge successes on the singles charts.In 1975, the group recorded several songs co-written by Leon Ware, including the R&B Top Ten "Rolling Down a Mountainside." By this point, however, Silvester was harboring other ambitions; he released a solo album called “Magic Touch” that year, and left the group to form a production team.
Labelle
Friday 02-19-2010 12:39pm ET
The female trio responsible for the proto-disco funk classic "Lady Marmalade," LaBelle's outlandish space-age costumes and brash incorporation of rock & roll were a far cry from their early days as a typical '60s girl group. The BlueBelles as they were known after a 1962 name change, started touring the R&B circuit. Their hit came in 1963 with the dramatic ballad "Down the Aisle," another R&B Top 20, and they hit the Top 40 again in 1964 with renditions of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone" and the Irish standard "Danny Boy," solidifying their penchant for sentimental, classic-style pop.
The group altered their image at least twice in the 1970s and changed their name to Labelle, performing rock-meshed soul and gospel-singing harmonies, under a pro-feminist approach and famously opening for The Who. In 1973, the group adopted a more flamboyant image and music that melded disco, funk and glam rock. This incarnation of group was best known for singing more provocative issues including racism, sexism and eroticism.
Although they never announced a breakup, after the end of a 1976 tour, each member enjoyed significant amount of solo success including Nona Hendryx, who followed an idiosyncratic muse into her own solo career, which often bordered on the avant-garde and Patti LaBelle, who's enjoyed a very successful Grammy-winning solo career.
The group returned with their first new album in 32 years with 2008's Back to Now.
Curtis Mayfield
Thursday 02-18-2010 2:59pm ET
Curtis Mayfield is among an elite few members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame who have been inducted more than once. Mayfield was first inducted with the Impressions in 1991 and then as a solo artist in 1999. His solo career, which began in 1970, is significant for the forthright way in which he addressed issues of black identity and self-awareness. He has been cited as an influence by such latter-day performers as Lenny Kravitz, Ice-T, Public Enemy and Arrested Development. Mayfield’s ability to voice hard truths through funky, uplifting music has rendered him one of the great soul icons. Curtis Mayfield died December 26, 1999.
The Isley Brothers
Wednesday 02-17-2010 12:12pm ET
First formed in the early '50s, The Isley Brothers enjoyed one of the longest, most influential, and most diverse careers in the pantheon of popular music over the course of nearly a half century of performing, the group's distinguished history spanned not only two generations of Isley siblings but also massive cultural shifts which heralded their music's transformation from gritty R&B to Motown soul to blistering funk. The first generation of Isley siblings was born and raised in Cincinnati, OH. Initially a gospel quartet, the group was comprised of Ronald, Rudolph, O'Kelly, and Vernon Isley. After Vernon's 1955 death in a bicycling accident, tenor Ronald was tapped as the remaining trio's lead vocalist. In 1957, the brothers went to New York City to record a string of failed doo wop singles. While performing a spirited reading of the song "Lonely Teardrops" in Washington, D.C., two years later, they interjected the line "You know you make me want to shout," which inspired frenzied audience feedback. While the call-and-response classic "Shout" failed to reach the pop Top 40 on its initial release, it eventually became a frequently covered classic.
Isaac Hayes
Tuesday 02-16-2010 1:46pm ET
Born August 20, 1942 in Covington, Tennessee the "Black Moses" of American R&B music, Isaac Hayes was known best for his Oscar-winning 1971 hit, "Theme from Shaft." As a session musician, arranger and producer for Stax Records in the 1960s, Hayes helped shape the "Memphis Sound" of rhythm and blues with artists like Otis Redding and Sam & Dave. Then he broke through as a solo act with the album Hot Buttered Soul in 1969. A collection of long songs with lush arrangements and pillow-talk, the album is now considered a key forerunner to rap. Hayes became a bigger star with his soundtrack to the 1971 black action film Shaft. "Theme from Shaft" won a Grammy, and Hayes performed the tune draped in gold chains at the 1972 Oscar ceremony, where he won the Academy Award for best song. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. On the day of his death, Hayes was found unconscious by his family near a running treadmill, apparently after a workout. His doctor listed "stroke" as the cause of death on his death certificate.
Billy Paul
Monday 02-15-2010 8:32am ET
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Paul Williams began his career at the age of eleven, thanks to a neighborhood friend by the name of Bill Cosby. It was Cosby who helped the young man land a singing spot on WPEN, which led to a string of local appearances. Listening at home to his family's collection of 78's, Paul began to develop a vocal style that would eventually incorporate traces of jazz, R&B, and pop. Seeking to increase his technical skills, he attended TempleUniversity, WestPhiladelphiaMusicSchool. Before too long, he was appearing in local clubs and discovered that he had to change his name, to avoid confusion with another Paul Williams, who was then singing lead with the Temptations. His first album, Feelin' Good at the Cadillac Club, was a commercial flop but did mark the beginning of his relationship with the writing and production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Billy Paul went on to win a Grammy Award for "Me and Mrs. Jones," for the Best Male Rhythm and Blues Performance. Later, it was voted Song of the Year at the Second Annual Soul and Blues Night in Los Angeles.
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