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RIP Nick Ashford and Jerry Leiber
Two songwriting icons passed away yesterday, and ironically, both were halves of legendary songwriting teams. Nick Ashford, legendary Motown songwriter, who was paired with his wife Valerie Simpson, died at 70 in Manhattan. Jerry Leiber, partnered with Mike Stoller, co-wrote some of Elvis Presley’s greatest hits, died at 78 in Los Angeles. Among Ashford’s greatest…
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My Top 100 Youtube Favorites, a Retrospective, Part 1
Now that my countdown is complete, I thought it’d be fun to look back at the whole list, organize it, link it up, and add a fresh comment or two for posterity’s sake. So, without further ado, here it is, part 1 of my youtube countdown featuring the last 25 songs to appear on the…
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Marvin Gaye, Sexual Healing, 1983 Grammys
Part 85 my soul people, back with more Marvin Gaye like I promised. This time, its a special performance of “Sexual Healing,” sung live at the 1983 Grammys. This was Marvin’s last worldwide smash hit, eventually peaking at #3 on the Billboard 100 after dominating the R&B charts. There is a lot of tragedy and…
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Marvin Gaye, The National Anthem
Soul week grooves on with part 84 of my youtube countdown. Today I have Marvin Gaye, the Prince of Soul, singing “The National Anthem” at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game. For my money, this is the greatest National Anthem ever, slightly better than Jimi Hendrix’s psychedelic Woodstock performance. Marvin managed to turn the normally stuffy…