the Goodness
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Good Lovin… or else
This is a record that embodies Chicago Grit and Get Down. “Good Lovin” by the legendary Otis Clay is at once a love song and a warning. Take heed. Says he: “And if you walk out my life, I hope you fall and break your neck”. If that ain’t grit, I don’t know what is…. A favorite…
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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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Gone Away: a one-two-three chicago-bred punch of soul
Performing below (in Ghana, circa 1971) is Roberta Flack. She is singing “Gone Away”… a cool, loping soul record from her album “Chapter Two”. This record was written by the one-two-three Chicago-bred punch of Leroy Hutson, Curtis Mayfield, and Donny Hathaway (before his own breakout single “The Ghetto”). “Gone Away” was also recorded by The Impressions and Lovelace Watkins (in…
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I Spy: an exercise in style, stealth, and pace
When you think of 1960s TV, what do you think of? Gilligan’s Island? Or perhaps The Munsters? Just don’t forget about I Spy (one of my absolute favorites). Imagine: the mod, mod world of the sixties, international espionage and thievery, and two American spies: Robert Culp as Agent Kelly Robinson, whose cover is as a…
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Brown Sugar Soul! cupcakes + old school soul = BLISS
Brown Sugar Soul is a monthly after-work set where I spin a natural sugar high of old school funk and soul with no filler every 1st Thursday at the renowned Brown Sugar Bakery (which is, in fact a bakery… not a club with a clever title). Tip: they are famous for their caramel cake. Join…
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Woman of the Ghetto: marlena shaw dealing the cold truth
I just found a copy of “Woman of the Ghetto” by Marlena Shaw for 4 bucks! Killer Chicago single from 1969. The song has been sampled multiple times, among them: St. Germain sampled from “Woman of the Ghetto” from Live at Montreux used in “Rose Rouge” on Tourist (2000) 9th Wonder and Buckshot also sampled…
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Under the Spell of Red and Brown Water
Tarell Alvin McCraney’s “In the Red and Brown Water,” now playing at Steppenwolf’s Upstairs Theater, is an exercise in duality that lends itself to complete immersion, an exercise in which you’re left like a used bag of orange pekoe (feeling purposefully spent). Reality blends with chorus-driven fantasy, magic with carnality, and comedy with tragedy in this…
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The Turntable goes Minimalist
The little guy pictured above is a Linos Portable USB vinyl record player (never would have guessed it). How does it work, you ask? Hook the wire into your computer. The bar has two parts. Take out the bottom base, place the long play album or single on top, and then sandwich it with the overarching…
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