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Daddy B. Nice Announces The Winners of the 2011 (5th Annual) Daddy B. Nice Best Of Southern Soul Music Awards. The winners and top contenders are posted at the end of each list of finalists.
The numbers in the lists do NOT denote rankings. Music published before 2011 was eligible if the bulk of its chitlin' circuit airplay came in 2011.
Because of its length and complexity, the List of Finalists is one of the rare features for which your Daddy B. Nice does NOT provide links.
Links to mp3's, CD's and song samples are available by going to the artist's name in either the
CD Store or the
Comprehensive Index.
A permanent listing and link in Daddy B. Nice's
Comprehensive Index will eventually be made on behalf of each performer for each nomination listed. (All links are active (3/13/12) DBN.)
--Daddy B. Nice
THE CATEGORIES:
Best Mid-Tempo Song
Best Club Song
Best Ballad
Best Song by Longtime Veteran
Best Female Vocalist
Best Male Vocalist
Best Debut
Best Collaboration
Best Out-Of-Left-Field Song
Best Chitlin' Circuit Blues Song
Best Cover Song
Best Arranger/Producer
Best Songwriter
Best CD
Hardest-Touring Crowd Pleaser.
****************
Best Mid-Tempo Song:
1. Let's Get A Room Somewhere --- Jesse James & Millie Jackson
2. I Need Some Attention --- Vick Allen
3. Who's Rocking You --- Donnie Ray
4. Remix Our Love --- Bigg Robb
5. I'm Knocking --- Larome Powers
6. The Body Roll --- Jim Bennett
7. We're Having A Party --- Gina Brown
8. When Your Give A Damn Just Don't Give A Damn Any More --- Ms. Jody
9. They Wanna Party With Me --- T. K. Soul
10. I Ain't Scared No More --- Luther Lackey
Top Contenders: Ms. Jody, Donnie Ray, Gina Brown
Best Mid-Tempo Song: "The Body Roll" by Jim Bennett
Listen to Jim Bennett singing "The Body Roll" on YouTube.
Best Club (Uptempo Dance) Song:
1. Young Folk Love The Blues --- Bigg Robb
2. Get Down --- Charles Wilson
3. Too Much Booty Shakin' Up In Here --- Sir Jonothan Burton
4. Rent Man --- Diedra
5. Make That Monkey Jump --- Grady Champion
6. G-Slide --- Gina Brown
7. Do It With Your Boots On --- Cupid
8. Show You A Good Time --- Bobby Rush
9. Ride It Like A Cowboy (Remix) --- Kenne Wayne
10. Only Time I Get Lonely --- Stephanie Pickett
Top Contenders: Bigg Robb, Gina Brown, Bobby Rush
Best Club (Uptempo Dance) Song: "Too Much Booty Shakin'" by Sir Jonothan Burton
Listen to Sir Jonothan Burton singing "Too Much Boot Shakin'" on YouTube.
Best Ballad:
1. Hell On My Hands --- Carl Sims
2. No Easy Way To Say Good-Bye --- Queen Emily
3. In Love By Yourself --- Charles "Big Daddy" Stallings
4. Are You Serious --- Doctor D
5. I'll Be There For Ya --- Vel Omarr
6. I Ain't Scared No More --- Luther Lackey
7. You Got To Cheat --- T. K. Soul
8. The Crying Zone --- Bigg Robb
9. On My Own Again --- Sir Charles Jones
10. Collard Greens And Cornbread --- Fantasia
Top Contenders: Queen Emily, Bigg Robb, T. K. Soul
Best Ballad: "In Love By Yourself" by Charles "Big Daddy" Stallings
Sample Big Daddy Stallings singing "In Love By Yourself on CD Baby.
Best Song By Longtime Veteran:
1. Last Will & Testimony (Live In Alabama) --- Marvin Sease
2. Show You A Good Time --- Bobby Rush
3. Hell On My Hands --- Carl Sims
4. When You Get Drunk --- Mel Waiters
5. A Woman's Love --- Latimore
6. You Ain't Got No Proof --- Bobby Jones
7. Go Get That Love --- Wilson Meadows
8. Something I Want --- David Brinston
9. Let's Get A Room Somewhere --- Jesse James & Millie Jackson
10. Be With Me --- Willie Clayton
11. Slow Grinding --- Theodis Ealey
Top Contenders: Bobby Jones, Mel Waiters, Marvin Sease
Best Song By Longtime Veteran: "Show You A Good Time" by Bobby Rush
Listen to Bobby Rush singing "Show You A Good Time" on My Space.
Best Female Vocalist:
1. When Your Give A Damn Just Don't Give A Damn Any More --- Ms. Jody
2. My Kind Of Man --- Sheba Potts-Wright
3. Rent Man --- Diedra
4. Too Many People --- Stephanie Pickett
5. No Easy Way To Say Good-Bye --- Queen Emily
6. You Ain't No Player --- Karen Wolfe
7. Jealous Wo-Man, Yes I Am --- LGB
8. Collard Greens And Cornbread --- Fantasia
9. We're Having A Party --- Gina Brown
Top Contenders: Stephanie Pickett, Queen Emily, Sheba Potts-Wright
Best Female Vocalist: "When Your Give A Damn Just Don't Give A Damn Any More" by Ms. Jody
Sample Ms. Jody singing "When Your Give A Damn" on Rhapsody.
Best Male Vocalist:
1. Drinking Again --- Avail Hollywood
2. I Got A Woman Who Loves Me --- Patrick Green
3. Baby I Love You --- Floyd Taylor
4. In Love By Yourself --- Charles "Big Daddy" Stallings
5. I Need Some Attention --- Vick Allen
6. Walk Away --- Big G
7. Who's Rockin' You --- Donnie Ray
8. I'm Your Maintenance Man --- Omar Cunningham
9. Hold My Mule --- Luther Lackey
10. The Body Roll --- Jim Bennett
11. I Like To Live The Love I Sing About (Live) --- Larry Shannon Hargrove
12. Pretty Lady (Live) --- LaMorris Williams
13. Last Will & Testimony (Live In Alabama) --- Marvin Sease
Top Contenders: Omar Cunningham, LaMorris Williams, Donnie Ray
Best Male Vocalist: "Hold My Mule" by Luther Lackey
Sample Luther Lackey singing "Hold My Mule" on CD Baby.
Best Debut:
1. Gina Brown --- G-Slide, We're Having A Party
2. Menta Malone --- Southern Soul Lady
3. Sonny Mack --- Going For Gold, It's Saturday Night
4. Monro Brown --- I'm In Love With A Man
5. Cornelious MD --- It Ain't Rainin'
6. Klass Band Brotherhood --- Sugar Shack
7. Fel Davis --- All Woman
8. Ronnie Love --- Back Door Lover
9. Gerod Rayburn --- Feels Like Prison On My Job
10. G'Cue --- Party
Top Contenders: Gerod Rayburn, Menta Malone, Klass Band Brotherhood
Best Debut: "G-Slide," "We're Having A Party" by Gina Brown
Listen to Gina Brown singing "We're Having A Party" on My Space.
Best Collaboration:
1. Bar-B-Que --- Mel Waiters & Cupid
2. Close To Me --- L. J. Echols & LaMorris Williams
3. Any Way You Want It --- L. J. Echols, Columbus Toy & Mr. Ivy
4. Steal Away To The Hideaway --- Uvee Hayes & Otis Clay
5. Let's Get A Room Somewhere --- Jesse James & Millie Jackson
6. Something I Want --- Ms. Jody & David Brinston
7. I Gotta Have It --- the Revelations featuring Tre' Williams & Vick Allen
Top Contenders: L. J. Echols, Mr. Ivy & Columbus Toy, Uvee Hayes & Otis Clay
Best Collaboration: "Let's Get A Room Somewhere" by Jesse James & Millie Jackson
Best Outa-Left-Field Song:
1. It's Too Late --- Gus Geeter
2. Feels Like Prison On My Job --- Gerod Rayburn
3. Drinking Again --- Avail Hollywood
4. Jealous Wo-man, Yes I Am --- LGB
5. Hold My Mule --- Luther Lackey
6. Stick A Fork In Me --- Bobby Jones
7. Cassanova / Haterz --- Keith Frank
Top Contenders: Keith Frank, Gus Geeter
Best Outa-Left-Field Song: "Jealous Wo-Man, Yes I Am" by LGB
Listen to LGB singing "Jealous Woman" on YouTube.
Best Chitlin' Circuit Blues Song:
1. Put A Little Water In It --- Mr. Sam
2. Belly Up Some Blues --- Biscuit Miller
3. Something I Want --- David Brinston & Ms. Jody
4. Little Sally Walker --- Bobby Jones
5. Too Many Mechanics --- Donnie Ray
6. Jammin' On The Blues --- Chuck Roberson
7. Make That Monkey Jump --- Grady Champion
8. Sniffer --- Bobby Rush
Top Contenders: Bobby Rush, David Brinston & Ms. Jody, Biscuit Miller
Best Chitlin' Circuit Blues Song: "Make That Monkey Jump" by Grady Champion
Listen to Grady Champion singing "Make That Monkey Talk" on YouTube.
Best Cover Song:
1. I Think He Trusts Me Too Much --- O. B. Buchana
2. Turn Back The Hands Of Time --- Willie Clayton
3. House Of The Rising Sun --- Theodis Ealey
4. Cupid Draw Back Your Bow --- Cupid
5. Let Me Be The Shoulder --- Ms. Jody
6. Gone On (Part 2) --- Larry Shannon Hargrove
7. Steal Away To The Hideaway --- Uvee Hayes & Otis Clay
8. Can't Say No --- Lacee
Top Contenders: Uvee Hayes & Otis Clay, Ms. Jody, O. B. Buchana
Best Cover Song: "Gone On Part 2" (Tribute to Marvin Sease) by Larry Shannon Hargrove
Listen to Larry Shannon Hargrove singing "Gone On Part 2" on YouTube.
Best Arranger/Producer:
1. John Ward --- Ms. Jody's "When Your Give A Damn Don't Give A Damn Any More," Gerod Rayburn's "Feel Like Prison On My Job," Sheba Potts-Wright's "Mr. Jody You Did Your Job," Ms. Jody's "Ms. Jody's Keepin' It Real," Sonny Mack's "Going For Gold,"
2. Omar Cunningham --- Omar Cunningham's "I'm Your Maintenance Man," "Find A Good Woman"
3. Walt Luv (Walt Love) --- Walt Luv's "I Wanna Come Back," "She Threw A Monkey Wrench In My Game," "The Rabbit God Da Gun"
4. Cupid --- Cupid's "Do It With Your Boots On," "Cupid Draw Back Your Bow," "The Radio"
5. Robert Smith (Bigg Robb) --- Bigg Robb's "Backtracking," "Remix Our Love," "Let It Go," "Young Folks Love The Blues," "Remix Our Love"
6. Jim Bennett --- "The Body Roll," "Slap It Tap It," "I'm Ready To Party"
6. Luther Lackey --- "I Ain't Scared No More," "Hold My Mule," "Could She Be The Woman Of My Dreams," "If She's Cheatin' On Me, I Don't Wanna Know"
Top Contenders: John Ward, Bigg Robb, Cupid
Best Arranger/Producer: Luther Lackey
Listen to Luther Lackey's Married Lyin' Cheatin' Man CD on CD Baby.
Best Songwriter:
1. Robert Smith (Bigg Robb) --- Bigg Robb's "The Crying Zone," "Remix Our Love," "Young Folks Love The Blues," "Let It Go," "Backtracking"
2. Gerod Rayburn --- Gerod Rayburn's "Feel Like Prison On My Job" & "You Been Good To Me," Ms. Jody's "I Needed That," O. B. Buchana's "We Don't Get Along 'Til We Getting It On," Sheba Potts-Wright's "Let Your Mind Go"
3. Luther Lackey --- Luther Lackey's "Could She Be The Woman Of My Dreams?," "I Ain't Scared No More," "Hold My Mule"
4. Joanne Delapaz (Ms. Jody) & John Ward --- Ms. Jody's "When Your Give A Damn Just Don't Give A Damn Any More," "Southern Soul Dip," "I Did It," "I'm Keeping It Real" (Delapaz only)
5. Raymond Moore & John Ward --- Ms. Jody's "You Lost A Fortune," "I Never Knew Good Love Could Hurt So Bad," "The Jody Juke," "Ms. Jody's Thang," Chuck Roberson's "A Woman Wants A Freak (Remix)," Lee "Shot" Williams' "Juke Joint Slide (Remix)," O. B. Buchana's "Booty Scoot," Donnie Ray's "Love Monkey"
6. Vick Allen --- Vick Allen's "I Need Some Attention," "Thankful For My Woman On The Side"
7. Terry Kimble (T. K. Soul) --- T. K. Soul's "They Want To Party With Me," "You Got To Cheat"
8. Pete Peterson, Bobby Jones & Eric "Smidi" Smith --- Bobby Jones' "You Ain't Got No Proof," "Little Sally Walker," "Stick A Fork In Me," "Moan and Groan"
Top Contenders: Raymond Moore & John Ward, Terry Kimble (T.K. Soul), Robert Smith (Bigg Robb)
Best Songwriter: Gerod Rayburn
Best CD:
1. Luther Lackey --- Married Lyin' Cheatin' Man
2. Jim Bennett --- Taking It To The Next Level
3. Omar Cunningham --- Growing Pains
4. Ms. Jody --- Ms. Jody's In The House
5. Bigg Robb --- Soul Prescription
6. Bobby Rush --- Show You A Good Time
7. Donnie Ray --- Who's Rockin' You
8. Latimore --- Ladies' Choice
9. Bobby Jones --- You Ain't Got No Proof
10. Big G --- All About Me
Top Contenders: Luther Lackey, Bigg Robb, Jim Bennett
Best CD: Ms. Jody's In The House (Performer: Ms. Jody, Producer: John Ward)
Sample Ms. Jody's Ms. Jody's In The House CD on CD Universe.
Hardest-Touring Crowd-Pleaser
1. T. K. Soul
2. Mel Waiters
3. Ms. Jody
4. Bobby Rush
5. Sir Charles Jones
6. Willie Clayton
7. Bigg Robb
8. L. J. Echols
9. Avail Hollywood
10. B. B. King
Top Contenders: B. B. King, T. K. Soul, Willie Clayton
Hardest-Touring Crowd-Pleaser: Mel Waiters
Congratulations to all!
--Daddy B. Nice
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E-Mail Daddy B. Nice to contribute information or opinion:
daddybnice@southernsoulrnb.com
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E-Mail Daddy B. Nice to contribute information or opinion:
daddybnice@southernsoulrnb.com
**************
*************
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E-Mail Daddy B. Nice to contribute information or opinion:
daddybnice@southernsoulrnb.com
**************
**************
2011: THE YEAR IN SOUTHERN SOUL MUSIC
In 2011
Marvin Sease's "Gone On" took its place next to
Johnnie Taylor's"Soul Heaven" at the turnstiles to Southern Soul's pearly gates.
It was another year of roiling change in Southern Soul music. The roll call for the genre's core artists continued to plummet, the death knell sounding for
Marvin Sease in the first half of the year and for
Lee "Shot" Williams and
J. Blackfoot at year's end. In addition, one of Southern Soul's most promising younger performers,
Reggie P., unexpectedly passed.
Even allowing for the unprecedented dominance of social media--Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, smart phones, et.al.--the outpouring of grief and homage for Marvin Sease, including many thousands of hits on this site, dwarfed all previous passings of the new century, including those of Johnnie Taylor,
Tyrone Davis and
Little Milton Campbell, indicating just how central and beloved a figure Sease was to the industry.
In death the Southern Soul community could picture Marvin in a
Richard Pryoresque pose, leaning on a bar counter surrounded by four beautiful, fawning, female background singers, as he was on his album covers, his face creased with his trademark lascivious grin. And in death it became clear that although Johnnie Taylor was the multi-talented genius of Southern Soul, Marvin Sease was its "everyman" patriarch, the singer who defined the themes and the ambience of the revived genre in the 21st century.
Recorded live for a DVD,
Sease's
"Last Will & Testimony," performed over the protests of his doctors to an adoring, standing-room-only audience in a church in Alabama less than a week after he'd been near death in the hospital, sent chills up Southern Soul's collective spine, the fans well knowing that Marvin's exertions--and the stubborn, furious power in his choruses--likely contributed to his death a week later.
The deaths
of
J. Blackfoot, whose career in Southern Soul traversed a luminous, generation-long arc from "Taxi" to "I'm Just A Fool,"
and
Lee "Shot" Williams, whose music defined the middle-ground Southern Soul sound of Memphis-based Ecko Records in the late 90's and early 00's, were further blows to the viability of the genre.
Equally catastrophic was the passing of
the youthful
Reggie P., known as the "Prince" or "Rude Boy" of Southern Soul, whose trinity of powerful contemporary classics--"Why Me?," "Dropping Salt" and "Your Love Is A Bad Habit"--made him the great hope of fans hungry for the new
O. V. Wright-styled singer of the future.
It made for another terrible and fallow year
for the "King of Southern Soul,"
Sir Charles Jones, traversing a second, sluggish year in a row with only one new single while losing both his uncle (J. Blackfoot) and one of his best friends and peers (Reggie P). And yet, the popularity of the young Sir Charles Jones persisted unabated, with fan mail surpassing all other artists, and regions of the country beyond Dixie and formerly outside Southern Soul's reach clamoring for live performances from the "King."
Not only artists but record labels fell by the wayside.
2011 marked the first time in recent memory one of the Jackson, Mississippi
Couches (Tommy or Tommy Jr.) hadn't released an annual Southern Soul masterpiece on the order of
Shirley Brown's
Unleashed or
Denise LaSalle's
24 Hour Woman or Marvin Sease's
Who's Got The Power or
Bobby Rush's
Night Fishing via its Malaco or Waldoxy labels.
Malaco, long the only Southern Soul indie label with a modicum of national exposure, had announced its intentions to phase out Southern Soul well in advance, but it didn't make the pill any less bitter for fans to swallow. Waldoxy (the domain of the younger Tommy, Jr.) in effect followed suit, although it did release
Larome Power's single, "I'm Knockin'," towards year's end.
As if to rub salt in the wounds of the discontent, Malaco's headquarters in north Jackson--the finest facilities and largest cache of historical recordings in the Southern Soul world--were visited by a weird weather event, a calamitous spring tornado that decimated the building and complex.
CDS a funk label?
CDS, the new California-based label, also voicing frustration with the sales of Southern Soul records in its first couple of years, abandoned the tried and true sounds of the genre, opting for the Dallas funk of producer
Carl Marshall, who shoehorned one promising young Southern Soul artist after another--
Mister Zay,
Bobbye "Doll" Johnson,
The Real Sugar--into Marshall's casual, New Orleans-based offshoot of George Clintonesque funk.
CDS was hampered by its lack of songwriters, and also its revolving-door of artists, who in many cases would have been better served to come to the label with their own visions of an overall musical concept.
But CDS and Marshall, Daddy B. Nice's Southern Soul Producer of the Year in 2010, also came through with the production and promotion of
Sir Jonothan Burton's "Too Much Booty Shaking," a line dance that captivated club dancers throughout the South, and Marshall added a stirring and funky blues accompaniment to
Stephanie Pickett's "Too Many People," among other studio successes.
CDS was also instrumental in distributing and advertising fellow Aviara artist
Jim Bennett, a new star for Southern Soul fans despite years of journeyman work in Maryland with the
Hardway Connection and his own bands.
The emergence of Aviara Records (and CDS's partnership in distributing and promoting Aviara) was the single most significant addition to the ranks of Southern Soul labels in 2011, bringing brilliant new work by Bennett, Burton and Pickett to the public.
Ecko was the ascending label.
There was no lack of songwriting from Ecko Records. Having nourished and built up its stable of composers--
Raymond Moore,
John Cummings,
Rick Lawson,
William Norris,
John Ward, talented newbie
Gerod Rayburn and others--over many years, the Memphis-based label swiftly filled the vacuum left by the other labels by releasing excellent sets by
Ms. Jody,
Luther Lackey,
Donnie Ray and
Sheba Potts-Wright, along with interesting debuts by
Gerod Rayburn and
Sonny Mack.
Mel Waiters (on Brittney Records) maintained his dynamic pace, releasing what seemed at times a single a month, although not always with the quality of old. Ditto for
Willie Clayton, who increasingly retreated into a singers-only world, somewhere between Southern Soul and urban R&B. Both stars toured extensively.
Bobby Rush, despite his fame and popularity one of the most under-rated of Southern Soul artists, proved once again he could deliver great music at an advanced age.
Latimore soldiered on, too, although his power was noticeably diminished.
The genre's three older-generation divas--
Shirley Brown,
Peggy Scott-Adams and
Denise LaSalle--sat the year on the sidelines, although Peggy Scott-Adams told Daddy B. Nice in a mid-year interview that she was coming back to Southern Soul in 2012.
....Leaving the piƱata-busting for upstart diva
Ms. Jody, who seized the day with not one but two popular albums.
2011 was Ms. Jody time.

By mid-year, she was being proclaimed by many critics the new "Queen of Southern Soul" despite that sobriquet never having graced one of her CD sleeves. (Vintage fans will remember that one of Scott-Adams' most popular albums was
Undisputed Queen.)
And that was before
Ms. Jody released her second CD of the year,
Ms. Jody's In The House, arguably her finest work to date. The album's showcase single,
"When Your Give A Damn Just Don't Give A Damn Any More," finished the year as Daddy B. Nice's #2-ranked Southern Soul Single of 2011.
New blood replaced old blood, both amongst labels and artists.
And a performer who had been more popular with the straight-blues audience than the Southern Soul/chitlin' circuit market came through with a Southern Soul effort second to none. His name was
Charles "Big Daddy" Stallings,' and his single "In Love With Yourself" was Daddy B. Nice's #1-ranked Southern Soul Single of 2011.
Stallings was representative of a new trend in the music: that even as the old stars continued to fall or release perfunctory, forgettable material, new stars like
Jim Bennett,
Gina Brown,
Avail Hollywood,
Sir Jonothan Burton,
LGB,
Bobby Conerly,
Diedra,
The Klass Band Brotherhood and
Grady Champion would rise up and fill the void. These artists often accomplished their breakthroughs despite industry deejays and insiders favoring inferior material by familiar artists on their playlists.
The concert scene for Southern Soul continued to explode.
In spite of flat record sales, the live-performance venues and frequencies of events across the South from Texas and Arkansas to the Atlantic continued trending upward and showed no signs of flagging. Demand for the top echelon of Southern Soul artists from "other" parts of the country was actually greater than the supply.
The Blues Is Alright Tour survived the economic turndown, reaching into the Northeast and Midwest, but travel expenses persisted in precluding national exposure for most solo acts. Primetime celebrity
Mel Waiters, like a modern-day pioneer, extended his reach as a solo artist first to Kansas City and then to Denver, Colorado in 2011.
Cruise ship venues joined casinos as creative revenue sources for musicians as more and more artists, following the lead of
T. K. Soul, signed contracts with Caribbean cruise ship lines for 3-7 day cruises, satisfying fans craving for one-on-one contact.
In other developments:
--
Luther Lackey revealed that he really wasn't
O. B. Buchana's half-brother; it was just a "blues thing."
--Writer/producer
Floyd Hamberlin told your Daddy B. Nice that he and fellow
Chicagoan
Nellie "Tiger" Travis have been in the studio and are testing the waters for a release date for a new Travis CD, signifying Nellie's official return to Southern Soul music.
--
Austin, Texas's Larry Shannon Hargrove did a creditable cover of Marvin Sease's "Gone On."
--
Producer Jonothan Burton came back reincarnated as the artist Sir Jonothan Burton and scored the most popular dance tune of the year: "Too Much Booty Shakin' Up In Here."
--In the department of new blood from outside the traditional chitlin' circuit, the great 2010 debuts of New Yorkers
Tre' Williams and The Revelations and California solo artist
Lina were followed by both acts making their pilgrimages to Jackson, Mississippi in 2011 to play in front of their core Southern Soul fans in triumphant appearances. (In the Southern Soul world, if you can make it in Jackson, you can make it anywhere.)
--The Zydeco sound was contagious, with artists from
T. K. Soul to Kenne' Wayne to
Ms. Jody endeavoring to incorporate it into their music. All of the attempts paled next to the mesmerizing rhythms of the real thing in the hands of veterans
Keith Frank ("Cassanova," "Haterz") and
Rosie Ledet ("When I'm Gone"), whenever Southern Soul deejays deigned to insert their masterful work into their playlists.
--The dawn of YouTube videos has been an unexpected boon to Southern Soul music, exposing the music to potential audiences and making the job of explaining the music so much easier. Adding YouTube links has become a daily duty here at SouthernSoulRnB, and no video in 2011 captivated more than
Who Will Be The King Of Southern Soul Music?, a WWE-style onstage confrontation complete with gold-plated belt between
Sir Charles Jones and
Mel Waiters.
--Another vibrant rivalry, billed as "The Rumble In The Delta: Main Event
T. K. Soul vs.
Sir Charles Jones," was taking place in the Convention Center in Greenville, Mississippi the night of writing this years-end review.
Bring it on, 2012!
And in less than positive developments:
--
Billy "Soul" Bonds' marvelous new "kitty kitty" song was still not released.
Daddy B. Nice
Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 "BREAKING" Southern Soul Singles. . . . Continued from right column of this page.
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Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 "BREAKING" Southern Soul Singles Review For. . .
MARCH 2011
1.
"Last Will & Testimony" (Live In Alabama)------------
Marvin Sease
Recorded live for a DVD before his death, this final, glorious flourish by Marvin Sease will send chills up your spine. Basically, it's the story of how the doctors told him not to sing, and how Marvin went out and sang his ass off anyway.
You can tell it's an ad-libbed, spur-of-the-moment spectacle, as Marvin floats gracefully from testifying catch phrase to catch phrase gleaned from years of performing.
You cringe when Marvin says he's going to keep singing despite the recommendations of his doctors. You cringe when, upon his release from the hospital, he thanks the Lord (at the top of his lungs) for being so good to him.
And finally, you cringe all over when you hear the stubborn, furious power in Marvin's choruses, knowing that his exertions likely contributed to his death a week later.
Recorded with a full band in front of an adoring crowd in a church that sounds like a club--your Daddy B. Nice wants to thank
DJ Love Child of WMPR for playing this on the radio.
Listen to "Marvin's Final Testimony" on You Tube
2.
"I Learned The Hard Way"-----------
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Simultaneously sophomoric and slavish in their imitation of vintage soul, the Dap-Kings--critical darlings of the "Nu-Soul" set--have deserved the skepticism of true Southern Soul fans who hear the real thing every day.
No longer. With "I Learned The Hard Way," their full-bodied, orchestra-of-real-instruments now poses a threat and inspiration to the synth-based recordings of most Southern Soul and soul-blues acts.
With Sharon Jones sounding like
Darlene Love and
Martha Reeves combined and a great arrangement and chorus reminiscent of
The Fifth Dimension, "I Learned The Hard Way" is more than ready to enter Southern Soul radio rotation with the rest of the "grown-folks" music.
Watch "I Learned The Hard Way" Video
Bargain-Priced I Learned The Hard Way CD
Download Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings' I LEARNED THE HARD WAY CD Free
See Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings tour of the South in Daddy B. Nice's Concert Calendar.
3.
"Cupid, Draw Back Your Bow"----------
Cupid
Cupid returns with his most mellow and appealing track since "I Fell In Love With You At The Barbeque." Instead of sampling
Sam Cooke's original, he uses a fifties or sixties-sounding, pop-style backing track and a subtle but evocative horn accompaniment.
Download Free Cupid "Who Shot You" CD, "Cupid, Draw Back Your Bow" MP3
Read Daddy B. Nice's four-star CD review of Cupid's WHO SHOT YOU.
4.
"G-Slide"--------
Gina Brown
That rare treat: a dance jam with a melody, a great vocal, and a superb bridge boasting a nifty two-part harmony. By a new artist who deserves immediate attention and exposure.
Listen to "G-Slide" on YouTube
Bargain-Priced "G-Slide" MP3
5.
"Feel Like Prison On My Job"-------------
Gerod Rayburn
From Ecko Records' stable of songwriters, the composer of many
O. B. Buchana and
Ms. Jody songs presents his debut album, anchored by this "Mississippi Boy"-like piece of Americana that every working man and woman can identify with.
Bargain-Priced Call Before You Come CD
6.
"Ms. Jody's Keepin' It Real" -------------
Ms. Jody
Drop an Alka-Selzer in half a glass of water and you'll get an effervescence like this talking extravaganza from Ms. Jody.
Bargain-Priced Ms. Jody's Keepin' It Real CD
7.
"Get Close To Me"---------
L. J. Echols &
LaMorris Williams
This song isn't much to write home about, except for the fact it unites the two greatest "hopes" for the future of Southern Soul in L. J. Echols and LaMorris Williams. And don't think these guys don't know it. At one point they talk about the passage of the old stars, even mentioning
Marvin Sease (that's how fresh it is).
"We're young," they sing, "and we're ready."
Listen to "Get Close To Me" on YouTube
8.
"Tonight"----------
Wilie Clayton
As airy and ethereal as morning fog. Willie's paen to a lady who's getting his full attention "tonight."
Bargain-Priced Reloaded CD
9.
" Hell On My Hands"------
Carl Sims
Carl Sims covers a song by young singer/songwriter
Charlie Brown
(Charles Mumpfeld) and gives it the full-blown Sims' "Trapped" treatment. The voice sounds a little challenged after a four-year hiatus, but who else can deliver R&B in this operatic manner?
Bargain-Priced Hell On My Hands CD, MP3's
10.
"Giddy Up" --------
Ms. Charli
She calls herself the Creole diva of Southern Soul, and she knows the location of that soft and steady Southern Soul sweet spot.
Listen to "Giddy Up" on YouTube
"Giddy Up" MP3
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E-Mail Daddy B. Nice to contribute information or opinion:
daddybnice@southernsoulrnb.com
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Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 "BREAKING" Southern Soul Singles Review For. . .
FEBRUARY 2011
1.
"Drinking Again"------------
Avail Hollywood
One of two anti-drinking songs to debut in a February overflowing with new music. The other is
Mel Waiters' "When You Get Drunk." Together, they make nice bookends around a subject that seldom gets discussed in Southern Soul.
Avail Hollywood's outing is the more compelling because it memorializes a young musician blossoming into a true artist, marshalling an intensity and focus he hadn't quite mastered on his debut,
The Young Gunn of Southern Soul, reviewed here last year.
Buy "Drinking Again" MP3
See fan's letter in Daddy B. Nice's Mailbag.
2.
"Who's Rockin' You?"--------
Donnie Ray
People knock Ecko Records from time to time, but in Daddy B. Nice's view it's only because Ecko's been at it for so long and has been so consistent, sometimes repeating themselves.
That's why this new hit by Donnie Ray is so refreshing, incorporating an arrangement that sounds like early-seventies
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes or
Isaac Hayes. It skips along like a stone thrown across a pond on the first warm day of summer.
Bargain-Priced Who's Rockin' You CD
3.
"I Got A Woman Who Loves Me"-----------
Patrick Green
Patrick Green is making a long overdue comeback, and this ballad is a head-turner. "When a strong man/ And a strong woman/ Get together,/ Love will last forever," Green sings. Based on my experience, I'm not sure that's true, but I'll readily admit it's the only way to go in love.
Bargain-Priced "I Got A Woman Who Loves Me" MP3
4.
"When You Do Wrong (Sooner Or Later)"----------------
Billy Cole
CDS Records rescued this obscure 2006 song from oblivion when they included it on the
Southern Soul Blues Hot Spot, Vol. 1 CD. A bit rough, but it has a quintessentially Southern Soul tempo and melody.
Bargain-Priced Southern Soul Blues Hot Spot, Vol. 1 CD
5. "Get Down"----
Charles Wilson
Just when you thought Charles Wilson was stuck on singing "pretty," he serves up this floor-banging dance jam.
It can't match
Joe Simon's black-as-oil vocal from the mid-seventies, but that hit is long-forgotten and this cover makes that disco rhythm sound sorely missed.
Listen to Charles Wilson's "Get Down" on YouTube (Mel Waiters' "When You Get Drunk" is queued up first.")
Listen to the Joe Simon original of "Get Down" on YouTube
6.
"Just For A Little While"--------------
LaMorris Williams
Sometimes a song comes over the radio and you're reminded how much you've been missing hearing new music from that artist. That's the way it was last month when I heard
T. K. Soul's "They Wanna Party With Me" (see January's #1 single).
At the time I reviewed LaMorris's CD (anchored by his break-out hit, "Impala") awhile back, this track seemed pretty light-weight, but now, a year later, it sounds lullaby-peaceful and much more durable.
Listen to the Sexy Soul Songs CD on the LaMorris Williams website.
7. "Strong"--------
T. K. Soul
Speaking of the devil, here's the first taste of what's coming from T. K. Soul in the coming year. It's kind of "down," but T. K. Soul's at a special place in his career--a kind of magical plateau--where he could almost sing the phone book and make it sound amazing.
8.
"When You Get Drunk"------------
Mel Waiters
Musically, this is a pretty generic Waiters-style groove, maybe a tad less compelling than his terrific "I Ain't Gone Do It" set. Interesting lyrics and message, though.
Listen to "When You Get Drunk" on YouTube.
9.
"Jammin' With The Blues"--------------
Chuck Roberson
This is the loosest and most aggressive I've ever heard Chuck Roberson. It's great.
Bargain-Priced Deep South Southern Soul CD
10. "House Of The Rising Sun"-----------
Theodis Ealey
Theodis has been a little off his usual bulls-eye mark of late, so I like what he's doing here, throwing caution to the wind and covering a way-familiar classic. Wid' a reggae beat, mon'. And if you've been missing that Ealey guitar work, here you go.
Oh!. . . And by the way: Ealey first recorded this song in 1994.
AND WATCH FOR TWO NEW SONGS BY THE RAW BUT TALENTED. . . .
Lo Que's "Who's Backstabbing Who"
AND
Randy "Wildman" Brown's "Jailhouse Blues"
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Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 "BREAKING" Southern Soul Singles Review For. . .
JANUARY 2011
1.
"They Wanna Party With Me"------------------
T. K. Soul
The synth/disco beat is casual and insinuating--it sneaks up on you and whups you upside the head. TK's vocal--clear as a mountain brook-- picks up any stragglers.
Bargain-Priced Evolution Of Soul CD, MP3's
2.
"I Ain't Never Had It This Good Before" (Now I Know What 2X) ---------
Bobby Conerly
This anthem is almost too soulful and funky to be believed. The verses in particular are Southern Soul heaven.
(This is the song listed as "Now I Know What" the second time on the CD.)
See Daddy B. Nice's 4-Star CD Review
Bargain-Priced The New Old School CD
3.
"I Need Some Attention"------------------
Vick Allen
This song is big. How big? We'll see. But you can watch--and hear--Vick Allen scratching his way to a new and rarefied level.
Watch the Vick Allen video of"I Need Some Attention" on THE BOOGIE REPORT.
4.
"I Think He Trusts Me Too Much"--------------
O. B. Buchana
You know what I like best about this song? Its faithfulness. It doesn't show off or diverge from the classic
(Bobby Womack through
Sir Charles Jones). Still, it ends up being arguably the definitive version.
Bargain-Priced That Thang Thang CD, MP3's
See Daddy B. Nice's 4-Star CD Review
5.
"Purple Rain"---------
Sweet Angel
No single element of this song--its song selection, its vocal, its sax solo or its extended length--stands out, and yet its low-key arrangement will seduce you with its quiet, soulful belief in itself.
Listen to studio version of Purple Rain on Bluez News
6.
"Barbeque"------
Mel Waiters w/
Cupid
In this entertaining version of Cupid's laid-back and winsome "At The Barbeque" Mel Waiters seems to absorb Cupid's bombastic side--"goosing" the song--but instead of hiphop, Waiters' agitation is akin to jazz or big-band swing.
Bargain-Priced I Ain't Gone Do It CD
7.
"Let It Go"-----
Bigg Robb
This will remind you of Robb's "I Thought She Was At Home," the classic which--come to think of it--was about the time Bigg Robb turned the Southern Soul corner.
Bargain-Priced Soul Prescription CD
8. "It's Too Late"----
Gus Geeter
A Montgomery, Alabama native who sang with the
King Tutt band reprises a song from his out-of-print solo album.
9.
"Back Tracking"-------
Bigg Robb
Bigg Robb never stops working. He has quietly become one of the most prolific songwriters in Southern Soul.
Bargain-Priced Soul Prescription CD
10.
"We Can Work It Out"-------------Toni Green &
Stacey K.
"We Can Work It Out" has undergone quite a journey since its forerunner, Toni's 2003 hit "Just Ain't Workin' Out," from the
Southern Soul Music CD.
This passionate duet with Stacey K. is one of 33--count 'em, thirty-three--songs on Toni's new Rebirth collection.
It's more of a "retrospective" than a greatest-hits set, but make no doubt about it: "We Can Work It Out" is one of the "greatest hits."
Bargain-Priced Rebirth: Toni Green's Greatest Hits CD and MP3's.
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