Over the course of a five-decade career, Jimmy Castor did it all. The multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter got his start singing doo-wop in the 1950s, inspired by his school friend Frankie Lymon. Frankie gave Jimmy a big break when he recorded his song "I Promise to Remember." Soon, Jimmy was singing with Frankie's brother Lewis Lymon, playing his trademark saxophone as a session musician, and recording his own sides for labels including Hull, Jet Set, Decca and Smash. Along the way,
Wishing On A Star: BBR Reissues, Expands Ashford and Simpson, Rose Royce On CD
Big Break Records has recently returned to the catalogues of Ashford and Simpson and Rose Royce for a trio of new, expanded and remastered reissues. Gimme Something Real (1973) and I Wanna Be Selfish (1974), Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson's first two albums for Warner Bros. Records, concludes BBR's survey of the duo's WB years. Gimme Something Real introduced all but the most diehard fans to the already-famous songwriters as singer-songwriters. As "Valerie and Nick," they had released
From Memphis To New Orleans: Ace Collects Stax, DeLuxe Rarities
Bring on the B-sides! Despite its title, the massive, indispensable box set The Complete Stax/Volt Singles 1964-1968 concentrated on A-sides, presenting only a fraction of the labels' valuable flips. The box left many worthy B-sides overlooked in the CD era, but Ace Records' Kent imprint has redressed that situation with the release of The Other Side of the Trax: Stax-Volt 45 RPM Rarities 1964-1968. All but one of the 24 tracks on this new compilation are all making their official CD
Release Round-Up: Week of February 19
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up with titles from legends of pop, jazz, country and more! Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto, Getz/Gilberto '76 (Resonance) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) In 1976, Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto reunited at San Francisco's Keystone Korner alongside pianist Joanne Brackeen, bassist Clint Houston and drummer Billy Hart. Their never-before-released set arrives in lavish fashion from Resonance Records on CD and vinyl. The deluxe CD includes a
Love Is: Robinsongs Reissues A Quiet Storm Pair from Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly
Frankie Beverly began his recording career in his native Philadelphia, but it wasn't until he took his band Raw Soul to San Francisco that the group began to pick up steam. With the support of Marvin Gaye, Raw Soul became Maze, one of the biggest proponents of the "quiet storm" sound. Late last year, Cherry Red's Robinsongs label reissued the final two albums by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly - Silky Soul and Back to Basics - as one 2-CD set with bonus tracks. Gaye reportedly came up with
They Are Family: BBR Reissues, Expands Sister Sledge's Debut "Circle of Love"
"We Are Family" catapulted Sister Sledge to stardom in 1979, but while the uplifting anthem was a breakthrough, it wasn't a beginning. Philadelphia-based Kathy Sledge and her three older sisters Debbie, Joni and Kim had been recording for Atlantic Records since 1973 when all four members were still teenagers. In 1975, Sister Sledge's first album, Circle of Love, was released. This lost gem has been previously released on CD in a bare-bones version, but Cherry Red's Big Break Records label has
Cherry Red, SoulMusic Revive Philly Disco Sounds of Anglo-Saxon Brown
The team of Joseph Jefferson and Charles Simmons is best remembered today for their string of memorable songs penned for The Spinners under the aegis of Philadelphia soul maestro Thom Bell: "Mighty Love," "Games People Play," "Love Don't Love Nobody." But like many of the talented artists orbiting the creatively fertile Philly scene of the period, Jefferson and Simmons were multi-faceted. In 1975, Jefferson became involved with Ujima, a Richmond, Virginia-founded band that had previously
When I Say Groove: Ace Explores "Detroit Soul," "South Texas Rhythm 'n' Soul" On Recent Compilations
When it comes to chronicling the various regional iterations of rock and soul, Ace Records has few equals. The U.K. label's Kent imprint has two recent, rarities-packed collections touching on two American locales and their contributions to popular music. Dave Hamilton's Detroit Soul Volume Two brings together 24 tracks spanning the 1960s-1980s from Hamilton's small but prolific Motor City studios. Hamilton had been a presence on the Detroit musical landscape since the late 1940s, and
Release Round-Up: Week of February 5
Welcome to February's first Release Round-Up! Elton John, Wonderful Crazy Night (Island/UMe) Deluxe Edition CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Standard Edition CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Sir Elton returns with his 32nd studio album! Featuring his longtime band and production by T Bone Burnett, Wonderful Crazy Night returns Elton to his upbeat, piano
Omnivore Readies New Releases From Soul Man Winfield Parker, Jazz Great Maynard Ferguson
Omnivore Recordings continues to heat up winter 2016 with releases coming from R&B titan Winfield Parker and late jazz giant Maynard Ferguson. Throughout his long career which happily continues to this day, Winfield Parker has shared stages with the illustrious likes of James Brown, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Little Richard, Etta James, Carla Thomas and Lloyd Price. Parker began his singing career at Baltimore's Ru-Jac label, one of America's first African-American-owned record
Heat It Up: Groove Line Tells "The Salsoul Orchestra Story: 40th Anniversary Collection"
The title of The Salsoul Orchestra's second album said it all - Nice 'n' Naasty. The soul-disco orchestra, originally under the baton of MFSB alumnus Vincent Montana Jr., could serve up nice, shimmering and lushly elegant soundscapes...and naasty floor-filling grooves that practically demanded you hit the dancefloor! Happily, the group has recently received a lavish tribute in the form of a sizzling 3-CD collection from Groove Line Records (the label responsible for the recent, definitive
Release Round-Up: Week of January 29
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up featuring a host of deluxe reissues, box sets, and more! Phil Collins, Face Value: Deluxe Edition (Atlantic/Rhino) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Phil Collins' 1981 classic featuring "In the Air Tonight" gets expanded to two CDs or DD with the addition of eight live tracks and four demos (plus a new, modern cover photograph echoing the original). Ten of the twelve bonuses are new
Shoot Me (With Your Love): Tasha Thomas' Disco "Rendezvous" Is Expanded By SoulMusic Records
In recent weeks, SoulMusic Records has kept up its busy slate. Through the Caroline label, SMR has offered up reissues of The Dells' Charles Stepney-produced Cadet album Freedom Means (featuring classics like "One Less Bell to Answer," "If You Go Away" and "Make It with You"), The Dramatics' ABC release Shake It Well (featuring the hit R&B title track) and Evelyn "Champagne" King's 1988 RCA album Flirt. Through Cherry Red Group, SoulMusic has also reissued Tasha Thomas' 1979 Midnight
Soul Beat: Ace Collects Previously Unreleased B.B. King
At the time of his death on May 14, 2015 at the age of 89, legendary bluesman Riley B. "B.B." King left behind more than 60 studio and live albums, not to mention countless anthologies drawing on different aspects and time periods of his extraordinary career. Late in the year, though, Ace Records added another key collection to that total with the release of Here's One You Didn't Know About: From the RPM and Kent Vaults. All but two tracks on this 25-song, nearly 80-minute CD are previously
Big Break Records "Breaks Away" with Al Jarreau, Rose Royce
Accompanying the recent releases from The Spinners and Frantique, Big Break Records rounded out its 2015 slate with a pair of titles from Al Jarreau and Rose Royce. Renowned vocalist Al Jarreau made his album debut in 1975 with the Reprise Records release We Got By, a collection of original songs from the jazz-rooted singer. He followed that effort with Glow, incorporating tracks by a wide range of writers including Elton John, James Taylor and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Jarreau was slowly but
Ooh Baby: Real Gone's March Slate Includes Unreleased Herbie Mann Together with Dave Mason and Mickey Gilley Anthologies Plus Limited Vinyl Reissues
Yesterday we brought you the news of the upcoming Second Disc Records title to be released in conjunction with Real Gone Music: Bobby Darin's Another Song on My Mind: The Motown Years anthology. Now we've got the rest of Real Gone's March slate to tell you about and it's as excitingly eclectic as ever! Kicking things off is a CD that should be of great interest to jazz enthusiasts. Herbie Mann is considered one of the greatest jazz flautists ever and was an early proponent of world music.
BREAKING! Bobby Darin's "The Motown Years" Coming In March From Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music!
Look out, old Bobby is back! Earlier this week, The Second Disc celebrated its sixth anniversary, and now, we're inviting you to the party! Today, we're thrilled to announce our very first release of 2016. On March 11, Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music will make a Reissue Theory a reality with a new title from two legendary icons of American popular song: Bobby Darin and Motown Records! Another Song on My Mind: The Motown Years is the first-ever anthology dedicated to the
The Glow of Love: Groove Line Records Compiles The Music of Change, Featuring Luther Vandross, More
If ever a group lived up to its name, that group was Change. The brainchild of French-Italian music impresario and producer Jacques Fred Petrus, in collaboration with Italian-based producer/arranger Mauro Malavasi and bassist Davide Romani, Change released six albums between 1980 and 1985. Built on infectiously danceable rhythms, melodic hooks and sublimely soulful vocals, the sound of Change was primarily created by a rotating cast of Italian-based musicians and America-based vocalists.
Ain't It The Truth: Robinsongs Collects The Undisputed Truth's Post-Motown Albums
When producer-songwriter Norman Whitfield departed Motown Records in 1975 to form his own Whitfield label at Warner Bros., he had already left his mark on Hitsville, USA with such immortal songs as "Too Many Fish in the Sea," "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" and "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)." Whitfield had been instrumental in bringing "psychedelic soul" to Motown, incorporating rock and funk into his spacey yet socially-conscious soul jams. In 1971,
Big Ace Records Round-Up, Part One: "Georgie Fame Heard Them Here First" and "The Birth of Surf, Volume 3"
Welcome to the first part of our Ace Records late 2015 round-up spotlighting two of the label's recent releases: Georgie Fame Heard Them Here First and the third volume of The Birth of Surf. 2015 was a good year for fans of Georgie Fame. The British singer, who has blended rhythm and blues, jazz, ska, beat, and soul into his own formidable style for over 50 years, was celebrated with BGO Records' collection of his CBS recordings (Georgie Does His Thing with Strings/Knock on Wood/The CBS As
Strut Your Funky Stuff: Philadelphia International's "Frantique" Comes to CD
Everything about Philadelphia International Records' 1979 release of the self-titled album from Frantique was unexpected. The cradle of Philly soul wasn't exactly a typical home for an LP of Eurodisco. Nor was Frantique's benefactor someone particularly associated with disco, Euro- or otherwise - the legendary maestro of elegant and silky soul, Thom Bell. But Bell had taken an interest in songwriter-producer Jack Robinson and his collaborator David Christie, enlisting them for projects by The
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough: Michael Jackson's "Off the Wall" To Be Reissued with New Spike Lee Documentary
We're barely a week into 2016 and we're already seeing a lot of reissue news for this new year! The latest comes from Legacy Recordings, who yesterday announced a massive Elvis Presley box set. Now they've got a new reissue featuring another legendary performer: Michael Jackson. Due to be released on February 26 is a new edition of Jackson's landmark 1979 solo Epic Records debut Off the Wall. The album is being paired with Spike Lee's new documentary Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to
Rhino Charges Into January with New Colored Vinyl Titles, CD Box Sets
Rhino Records has quite the cure for the usual January doldrums that hit the release calendar, announcing more than a dozen new and reissued titles available exclusively through participating physical stores. The "Start Your Ear Off Right" initiative, featuring titles available January 19, encompass some of the best-known names in Rhino's back catalogue, including The Grateful Dead, The Monkees, Devo, The Cars and The Replacements. From colored vinyl variants to CD box sets, there's virtually
The Year In Review, Part 2 - More Of The Best Of 2015
The Second Disc is continuing its celebration of 2015's finest with today's column by Ted Frank! Stop, do not pass GO and do not collect 200 dollars if you haven't already read our Sixth Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards summation of the year's greatest releases. Here, Ted presents his very own, alternative year in review with titles new and old! I make records ... I really don't want to be about singles or anything. -Adele, The Tonight Show In recent years, the download/stream-heavy music
Raven Has Folk and Funk With Melanie and Mother's Finest
Raven Records' most recent pair of CDs certainly showcase the label's eclectic leanings! From singer-songwriter Melanie Safka, the label has a three-for-one release of her much-loved albums Candles in the Rain, Leftover Wine and Gather Me. The Melanie release is joined by a four-for-one title from pioneering funk-rockers Mother's Finest collecting the band's self-titled LP plus Mother's Finest Live, Another Mother Further and Mother Factor. Raven's release from Melanie follows the Morello
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