Chicago Cultural History
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Minnie Riperton: she was the black gold of the sun.
Minnie Riperton was, of course, so much more than her 1976 smash “Loving You”. I won’t even attempt to jam her legacy into a blog post. She was a mother (to SNL alum Maya Rudolph), a lover, (to Dick Rudolph) and a righteous songbird. Riperton (pictured above, 1968 [photo courtesy jeff lockard]) and her soaring soprano…
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The Ice Man Cometh.
Here’s a follow up to yesterday’s Jerry “The Ice Man” Butler post. Below, 1969’s “Walking Around in Teardrops”. Before Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes and the O’Jays hit the soul stratosphere, there was the late sixties Philly/Chicago fusion that was Gamble/Huff/Martin/Bell/Butler. Always one to use his starpower to help up-and-comers in the Music Business craft their…
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Black Music Getting Intellectually Involved.
Recently, I found an interesting article in the August 22, 1970 issue of Billboard. Written by Jerry Butler, the piece (entitled “Black Music is Getting Intellectually Involved”) asserts that soul artists were on the road to creating music with greater artistic freedom (i.e. Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Sly Stone, Marvin Gaye). This is something Jerry used his star…
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Get down! three chances to be a part of the movement…
Join DJ Ayana and selected friends and celebrate the music that moves us! Brown Sugar Soul: This Thursday 6:00pm-8:00pm Where: Brown Sugar Bakery Address: 328 E 75th St Chicago, IL Map Cost: Free-Fifty Music spun on wax. Real 45s cut to make you move. Soul & Funk classics and rarities… plus caramel cake! You bring…
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Nolan Chance and the Beach: i’ll never forget you.
(photos: Labor Day 1936 at 31st Street Beach, Chicago) found at bvikkivintage I love “I’ll Never Forget You” by Nolan Chance. Released here in Chicago in 1969, its creation was a collaboration between Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, and Leroy Hutson (arguably the patron saints of Chicago Soul for the decade that was to come). The song…
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Messin With the Kid: The Update
It’s the time of the season for italian ices, blowing bubbles, and visits to amusement parks. But it’s a sad day in Melrose Park, for this is the first summer in eighty years without Kiddieland. No little train. No cotton candy. But all is not lost….. Originally published Labor Day Weekend 2009: After Eighty Years, Kiddieland of Melrose…
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Brighter Side of Darkness: a love note.
Below, “Love Jones” by Brighter Side of Darkness, performing on Soul Train. Don’t confuse this group with the Jackson Five, as they are aren’t a family act. They were just one in a rich history of Chicago-area based Kiddie Soul groups. The nucleus of the group came from Calumet High School here in Chicago, but 12…
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Hip Chicago Jazz with Soul!
Darkjive has been on Summer Vacation, but always digging deeper… I’ve been really into swinging sixties jazz from Chicago, like “Coming to Atlantis” a hip mover produced by Monk Higgins and credited to Freddie “The Creeper” Robinson (on Lead Guitar). The Flip of this 45, called “Before Six” is wonderful, as well. During the late 1960’s, there…
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Chicago Public Schools Walk Out to Stop Budget Cuts
My Teen Talk Radio students tell me that many students at our school (Uplift Community High) are planning on walking out of school on Thursday April 8th at 9:30am to protest proposed CPS (Chicago Public Schools) budget cuts. Another school involved is Social Justice High School at Little Village/Lawndale High School’s campus (a school…
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