heh

[mimesere]

So I am totally trying to put together a very *very* basic primer on hip hop and soul (um. as both an educational People Should Know At Least a Little Bit Of This Stuff, I Mean Really and as a way of talking about Infinity on High. don't laugh, I'm *dead serious*) and I've gotten to the part where I try real hard to come up with good examples of blue eyed soul and I just...have issues. Soul basics? Sure. I've got loads and loads of motown and Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson and Aretha Franklin and Al Green and James Brown and whatnot. Blue eyed soul? I have like...the Righteous Brothers, Van Morrison, Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone, and Maroon 5. I just can't go there with Timberlake. I *can't* (also, copy #2 of Justified got eaten by my car. *fuck*). Patrick's there, though. For "Let's Get It On" and "So Sick."

I am totally a basics kinda girl. You will have to ask like, other people for better modern examples.

Comments

[ladyjax.livejournal.com]

For the old school blue eyed soul, you can't forget Hall and Oates, Elton John and David Bowie, all of whom at one time or another got play on black radio in the 70s

[mimesere.livejournal.com]

The 70s is actually one of the eras where my musical knowledge drops to almost zero. So, specific song suggestions would be faaaaabulous. Because there should totally be more vids to soul music and I figure if I can just give people music to listen to, maybe one day there will be! And I will be able to sit through a vid show and not want to cry.

Ask and ye shall receive

[ladyjax.livejournal.com]

These songs specifically made Black radio back in the day. I even remember when Elton John was on Soul Train. Anyway:

70's:
Hall and Oates: Sara Smile as well as other hits from the 70s and 80s like: I Can't Go For That (you can pretty much snap up their whole catalog and choose stuff)
David Bowie: Fame
Elton John: Philadelphia Freedom (it's what he sang on Soul Train)

Those songs definitely had traction.

Eric Clapton is usually categorized in the blue-eyed soul dept. although probably more on the blues side as is Bonnie Raitt.

There's also plenty of disco artists like Dan Hartman (Instant Replay), France Jolie (Come to Me) and Alicia Bridges (I Love the Night Life) who fall into the blue-eyed soul category as well.

From the 80's- on the order of "damn, we didn't know that was a white boy":
Rick Astley: Never Gonna Give You Up

Also from the 80s:
Simply Red: Holding Back the Years
Boz Scaggs: Lowdown
Teena Marie: Lovergirl, Fire and Desire (and pretty much her whole damn catalog)
Michael McDonald: On My Own (w/Patti LaBelle); you have to dig through a lot of his stuff but that song, along with "Keep Forgetting We're Not in Love Anymore" got a lot of play.
George Michael: I Knew You Were Waiting for Me (w/Aretha Franklin)

Early 90s:
Lisa Stansfield: specifically her first album "Affection"
Taylor Dayne: Tell it To My Heart, I'll Always Love You
George Michael (solo): Faith (the album)

One thing you can do is roll over to Billboard and look at the album charts for certain years. Look under the R&B charts. Urban didn't start appearing as a category until much later.

Let me know what you think and I can rack my brain some more.

Re: Ask and ye shall receive

[mimesere.livejournal.com]

Wooo! You are the *best*!

[wemblee.livejournal.com]

I also second David Bowie. ("Young Americans" FTW!)

[mimesere.livejournal.com]

Give me exaaaaaamples!

[wemblee.livejournal.com]

The song "Young Americans" (click for sendspace link) from the album of the same name, and "Fame," also from that album; Bowie called the music on this album "plastic soul." Those are the only two songs I know from that album, though.

There's an AllMusic review here.

Also, do you want/need any queer hip-hop artists? I've got some Scream Club, Deep Dickollective, Soce (he sucks, but, you know), JenRO (she sucks too, but yay that she exists?), CWA (they're more jokey/novelty-ish than actual hip-hop, though). Some that I don't have that I know are out there are Miss Money and Katastrophe.

Also, I have two Gil Scott-Heron songs if you want 'em, since that's sort of proto-hip hop. (That prof. I complained about intro'ed us to a lot of cool music, including proto-hip-hop groups like the Last Poets, whose stuff I unfortunately don't have at the moment.)

Ooh -- did I ever send you Your Revolution by Sarah Jones (technically DJ Vadim f. Sarah Jones)? It's a good example of a feminist critique that (I assume?) comes from within the community, using the medium, rather than someone from the outside dismissing the entire genre as a whole just because of the problematic elements.

[wemblee.livejournal.com]

Oh, almost forgot -- I mentioned Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings to you yesterday -- they have this really good retro soul sound.

Fish In The Dish
You're Gonna Get It (I *love* this song.)

[anniemoon.livejournal.com]

You may scoff at this but, IMO, Elliott Yamin is a great example of a current blue-eyed soul singer. He came in third in American Idol last season and his renditions of "Moody's Mood for Love" and "A Song For You" are still considered among the best performances AI has ever had. I can upload some tracks for you if you want.

[mimesere.livejournal.com]

I would love uploads of his stuff, because I have never heard it! Educate me!

*hugs*

[zvi-likes-tv.livejournal.com]

Thicke, also, would fit into blue eyed soul.

[mimesere.livejournal.com]

Quien es?

[zvi-likes-tv.livejournal.com]

Er, Robin Thicke. At one point, he was just going by his last name, and as a consequence, I can never remember his first name without notes.