Tom Tom Washington
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Reclaimed Soul Episode 037: Otis Clay’s Truth Is…
On this installment of Reclaimed Soul (my radio show), we’re be graced by Chicago vocalist Otis Clay. We listen to some favorite deep records from his 50+ year career that spans Gospel, Soul, and Blues. We also hear about the father figures in Otis Clay’s career, and about why he decided to start his own…
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La Cade: The little hair care company that made some big waves.
La Cade Products was another of many Chicago-based black hair care firms (that I detail here) during the late 60s through the 1970s. Though not as well-known as Supreme Products (who created Duke and Raveen) or Johnson Products (who created Soft Sheen, Afro Sheen, and Ultra Sheen), La Cade left behind scant but fascinating evidence…
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Tom Tom 84 goes Hollywood.
Tom Tom Washington (pictured at left) is basically my hero. He’s also a very humble and cool individual to be around. As a Chicagoan and a music lover, his distinctive Horn and String Arrangements are like home to me. Tom Tom came up in Chicago’s Ida B. Wells Projects and studied music under the tutelage…
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Imaginations: good stuff!
The Imaginations were a mid-seventies Chicago-based vocal group that rose out of the ashes of Brighter Side of Darkness (best known for “Love Jones”, their story can be found here). In 1974-1975 they put out a flurry of singles and one album, “Good Stuff”. I originally bought the album because I had to hear “Love…
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Betty Everett: there’ll come a time
It was last summer. I was privileged enough to hear the iconic (and prolific) arranger Tom Tom Washington play a few chords of the tune “There’ll Come a Time” on a piano stationed at a Recording Studio on 80th and Stony Island, where in the vacant lot next door they grew cabbage. It was electric,…
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I Just Want to Be Loved: Lee Charles breaks it all the way down.
Wow. What a little stunner. I played this 1973 cut during my second set at Morseland this past Thursday. Such a quality Chicago cut. Arranged by the mighty, mighty Tom Tom Washington (who later worked with the likes of Earth, Wind, & Fire), this was co-written by Lee Charles with Lowrell Simon [from the group…
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Windy City: Hey it’s (not) over.
First off, I LOVE this record. A little back story: “Hey, It’s Over” by Windy City is a record that came out in 1974 on local Innovation II records, later issued on Warner Bros. Produced by Willie “Mr. Brunswick”* Henderson and Arranged by James “The Soul Educator” Mack*, it has a great shuffly, brassy, breezy sound that fits…
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Baby Be Mine: Johnny Williams’ Record Row Gold
Above, enjoy DuSable High School’s own Johnny Williams with Baby Be Mine, a classically Chicago-styled mid-tempo shuffler. A delicious record, it was recorded at Brunswick Records here in Chicago (1449 South Michigan Avenue, to be exact) for their Subsidiary label, Bashie. Get a whif of those cheering flutes on the tail end. A beast. Pictured…
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Love is a Merry-Go-Round: Ginji James and “that thing”
I wanted to share this record with you….because I love it. From the 1971 (Chicago born-and-bred) album, “Love is a Merry-Go-Round”: it’s Ginji James with “Love Had Come to Stay”. It’s sitting-in-the-park music from Brunswick Records (recorded on South Michigan Avenue in Chicago). Sitting-in-the-Park music is that music you hear in your head when you’re…
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