In thinking about the impact of our AOM Gerald Levert, I wanted to dedicate a little space to something that I don’t think gets a lot of attention when you think of his legacy. We know the hits: The early work with LeVert, the solo work, the side projects, LSG… but today I wanted to focus on Gerald’s overall musical impact and how he was at the center of a very interesting occurrence at a record label that was seminal in the history of Black Music from the Rock Era forward.
Atlantic Records
Founded in 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun, Herb Abramson and Miriam Abramson, Atlantic had its first hit in 1949 with Stick McGhee’s “Drinking Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee” which sold 400,000 copies and hit #3 on the newly christened Billboard R&B charts (christened by a writer at Billboard at the time who at first thought he should rename the “Race Record” chart “Cat Music” instead of Rhythm Blues. That writer was none other than Jerry Wexler who would shortly become an important figure in the development of Atlantic into a powerhouse of R&B.) From that first success came other discoveries in the 1950′s Ruth Brown, Ray Charles groups like the Clovers and on and on. (more…)
Happy Valentines to all those who are taken, almost taken, taken for granted, waiting to be taken, assumed to be taken, & those who aren’t taken seriously!
Share this free download among your friends to bless them with some musical joy on this special day!
This mix contains music from:
Joe, Usher, BlackStreet, Brian McKnight, Marques Houston, Bobby Valentino, Boyz II Men, Maxwell, Tamia, Avant, Eric Roberson, Keith Sweat, Jamie Foxx, Jodeci and many more R&B-allstars.
“Back And Forth” was the lead single from Aaliyah’s debut album Age Ain’t Nothing but A Number. The song was written and produced by R. Kelly and went to #1 on the R&B chart and #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The video was shot in Detroit in a gymnasium and features Aaliyah’s real-life hometown friends. R. Kelly is also featured in the video. Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001.
Intro: Last week we dealt with getting your groove on. This week we deal with a slightly different (spiritual) groove but a groove nonetheless. How this week will differ slightly than the previous two week’s entries is that the music highlighted this week will not be paired off in a comparison, but will be presented in a singular manner decade by decade. The reason for this slight alteration to this week’s post is because I wanted to show decade by decade that this phenomenon is not new at all.
Honestly, if we had time to do a very in-depth study of the music we would realize that from the very beginning of gospel music this phenomenon has existed. This post by no means is a religious discussion, we are discussing the music and its intersection with popular culture. I would love to hear some of your thoughts on whether this phenomenon exists because popular music/culture influences these performers or does an actual separation even exist in the music aside from the message? Having witnessed many sides of this debate and even having been on the receiving end of ridicule (for playing a devil’s instrument in church) I’m interested in hearing why you believe that as the music changes from generation to generation the ridicule remains in certain quarters? The overarching message of the music has remained the same for centuries why are we continuing to have the same debate on the delivery?
This list in no way is meant to be exhaustive.
This week’s topic: I Went to the Club and a Praise Broke Out
Just like last week, the message is pretty clear with all of these songs…Jesus. So you can just copy this message throughout the post.
The Music
With production values that scream the latter half of the first decade of the 2000′s (auto-tune, 808 snare fills, 808 tuned kicks, futuristic swirling synth sounds) this song was destined to be a hit. Who knew that at the time of this posting this song would have spent an incredible 55 weeks on the Billboard R&B charts peaking at #5 and still in the Top 15? As of this writing it is the second longest charting song of the year behind K’Jon’s On The Ocean. It’s hard enough for “pop” acts to stay relevant on the aforementioned charts over the course of a decade, the team of Erica, Tina and Warryn Campbell are ending the decade just like they began. Incredible.
The music and the methods of making and selling music have changed dramatically over the decade since Mary Mary’s debut but one fact remains the same when it comes to Mary Mary: Longevity. There are not many songs that remain in the conversation like a Mary Mary song. Is it the music or the message or both? (more…)
Atlantic Records 
