Ari Brown hasn’t often sought the spotlight, but his blend of bebop rigor and avant-garde daring puts him on par with the likes of Fred Anderson and Von Freeman.
Tag: Chi-Lites
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Source One Band honor their late guitarist Sir Walter Scott with a bustling soul-blues party
UPDATE: this event is scheduled for 3 PM until 7 PM. For years, until the pandemic shut everything down, the weekly shows hosted at the Odyssey East by bassist Joe Pratt and his Source One Band made the cozy venue one of the most important remaining strongholds of blues and soul-blues on the south side. […]
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A local R&B favorite by the Fabulous Turks gets resurrected after half a century
Chicago singer-songwriter RJ Griffith has released a cover of his uncle’s old R&B band the Fabulous Turks.
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Saxophonist Gene Barge helped shape the sound of Chicago R&B
Gene Barge has done his most influential work as a sideman or producer, but he’s just as important as any of R&B’s marquee stars.
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Girl group the Lovelites hit big but never became stars outside Chicago
The Lovelites had their biggest success with “How Can I Tell My Mom and Dad,” which came out when they were so young they could barely tour.
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The Artistics belong in the top tier of Chicago soul and R&B
The Artistics could match the quality of the Impressions and the Chi-Lites, but not their chart success.
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Pieces of Peace cut most of their brilliant soul-funk for other people’s records
Chicago soul-funk band Pieces of Peace didn’t put out their only album till 35 years after they broke up.
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Summoning the ghosts of Record Row
For two decades, a short stretch of Michigan Avenue hosted a concentration of creative entrepreneurship whose influence on Black popular music is still felt today.
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Barbara Acklin missed soul stardom by a hair
She’s best known for the 1968 hit “Love Makes a Woman,” but she also had a productive songwriting duo with Eugene Record of the Chi-Lites.
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Entertainment lawyer Jay B. Ross fought for the people who made the music he loved
An expert negotiator, he went to bat for stars as big as James Brown and Muddy Waters, but he also clawed back royalties for countless forgotten artists who’d never gotten their due.
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Session drummer Morris Jennings played on Electric Mud, the Super Fly soundtrack, and scores of other records
As a house drummer for Chess Records in the late 60s, Morris Jennings kicked off a five-decade career that never brought him into the spotlight himself.
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Brian Wilson, Pet Sounds, and the categorical denial of the sensitive black genius
Brian Wilson owes his pop preeminence in part to racial coding that says a sensitive genius can’t be black.
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Who is Dancin’ Man?
Meet Dancin’ Man, who’s shared stages with James Brown and the Jackson Five
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The Secret History of Chicago Music: Betty Everett
“Shoop Shoop” singer had hits prior to her most famous song