The songbook of Brian Holland (b. 1941), Lamont Dozier (1941-2022), and Eddie Holland (b. 1939) is filled with some of the most popular melodies ever written: “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You),” “Baby, I Need Your Loving,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” and “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” among them. All of those, and so many other indelible hit records, were written under the aegis of Hitsville, USA, a.k.a. Berry Gordy’s Motown Records empire. But by 1967, the relationship between the label chief and…
Ace Round-Up: Label Celebrates John Barry, Jackie DeShannon, Thom Bell, Paul Williams, Holland-Dozier-Holland
Today, we’re rounding up five releases from Ace Records, all of which were released within the past few months by the U.K. label. Ace has followed up its 2022 collection dedicated to the oeuvre of composer John Barry, The More Things Change: Film TV, and Studio Work 1968-1972, with a new volume of the film maestro’s works. Something’s Up! Film, TV, and Studio Work 1964-1967 (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) hardly plays like a collection of runners-up, however. Barry crafted so much indelible music – throughout his lifetime, but…
Release Round-Up: Week of May 3
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Belinda Carlisle, Decades Vol. 3: Cornucopia (Edsel) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Edsel continues its chronological collections of Belinda Carlisle’s albums with this Cornucopia. The 4-CD book-style box starts off with two discs of mostly “orphaned” tracks released largely between 1987 and 2021: B-sides, non-album and greatest hits-exclusive cuts, covers of John Lennon (“Jealous Guy”), Carpenters (“Bless the Beasts and the Children”), and the Sex Pistols (“Submission”), and even an…
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OUT TOMORROW! Dionne Warwick’s Warner Bros. Recordings Collected on SoulMusic’s “Sure Thing” Box
Between 1962 and 1971, Dionne Warwick put New York’s Scepter Records on the map with over fifteen original albums and forty chart hits, more than twenty of which reached the top 40. Seven hit the top ten. Dionne earned her first two Grammy Awards during this period for “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” – just two of the timeless songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David which she brought to stunning life. (Those hits can soon be heard on an upcoming collection,…
Just Being Herself: Dionne Warwick’s Warner Bros. Recordings Collected on SoulMusic’s “Sure Thing” Box
Between 1962 and 1971, Dionne Warwick put New York’s Scepter Records on the map with over fifteen original albums and forty chart hits, more than twenty of which reached the top 40. Seven hit the top ten. Dionne earned her first two Grammy Awards during this period for “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” – just two of the timeless songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David which she brought to stunning life. In 1971, though, Warwick made the move to Burbank, California-based…
In Memoriam: Lamont Dozier (1941-2022)
We at The Second Disc are not musicians. Well – I don’t want to speak for Joe, but outside of an enthusiastic karaoke night every now and again, I am not a musician. But I obviously think of what it takes to mix brain power and artistic expression so brilliantly in the creation of a song, as well as the struggles that every artist faces when trying to “make it.” Earning a living is one thing, sure, but so is the magic of connecting with a friend or a stranger through a…
