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Army and Lou’s: obituary of an icon.
(above, Common pictured at Army and Lou’s) How does a person write an obituary for a restaurant? Not just a restaurant, but a place with historical significance. The Sun-Times did a pretty good job: It was the late Mayor Harold Washington’s favorite restaurant — the booth where he always sat still bears his name. And…
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John H. White: Five Minutes of Light
Chicago-based photographer John H. White (whose work has been highlighted here many times) was awarded the Pulitzer for general excellence in photography in 1982. This general excellence award is no longer awarded. This is the story of the photo (above) that won him his award. Mr. White was assigned to go to a local dance…
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Gouster or Ivy Leaguer?
Today, it’s a question of whether your pants are sagging or not (as far as I’m concerned). In the Sixties, on the South and West Sides of Chicago, the male clothing signifier was whether you were a Gouster or an Ivy Leaguer. A former co-worker who I guess would be classified as a Gouster now, but was an…
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Just Because I Really Love You: evolution of a groove.
Below is a record of his that I’ve been getting into lately, “Just Because I Really Love You” by Jerry Butler, circa 1969. This cut is super smooth and a great example of Jerry’s work on Chicago’s own Mercury Records with Philly greats like Thom Bell and Gamble & Huff (especially the cheeky background vocal…
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Different Strokes: chicago grit and soul.
you know you love it. Syl Johnson was a staple at local clubs here in Chicago in the 60s and 70s and this record can still get a crowd moving. This song is famous, arguably, because it’s been sampled so many times; but it is actually the follow up to Syl’s Monster-of-a-hit from 1967, “Sock it…
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The Mighty Mighty Dells: i miss you.
I love the Dells. Formed in 1952, their career is simply epic. But my favorite period for them was ushered in with Charles Stepney. Unfortunately, as Chess Records (their label from the mid-sixties till the mid-seventies) crumbled, their hits (which include “There Is”, “Stay in my Corner”, “The Love We Had Stays on My Mind”,…
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Bon Bon Vie: good good life…
The line is designed by Shari Neal, who explained to Afrobella: “I always wanted to design tee shirts, but I just never sat down to do it until fairly recently. In the past I had done tee shirt designs for other people and I finally decided to do something for myself. The name of the company comes…
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Minor Moods: ahmad jamal have i loved.
“Minor Moods” by Ahmad Jamal (1967) makes me happy, and yes I will play this at next week’s “groove conspiracy”. Ahmad Jamal is from Pennsylvania, but a lot of his Golden Age material (including this hipper-than-thou number) is straight outta Chicago. The Ahmad Jamal Trio was the house band of the Pershing Hotel (on the South Side) in the…
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Tour Guides: Take a Tour of the Real Chicago
For six nights only, poetry meets the stage meets Chicago in this theatrical exploration of urban life. Collaboratively written by members of the Poetry Performance Incubator, this ensemble piece offers a lyrical tour of the Chicago tourists never see. According to the Guild’s Coya Paz: “This is a collaboration between 10 spoken word poets, 7 of whom perform. The piece…
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You’re Tuff Enough: junior wells’ new breed blues
The title cut off this 1968 album is a bluesy monster produced by Charles Stepney with more than enough groove to stay squarely in the pocket. Also on this album is the local hit “Up in Heah”, another blues-infused party track. Both of the records will make sceptics rethink the blues. According to the back…
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