Some Key Facts about Mavis Staples and Amy Grant

Did you know that Mavis Staples and Amy Grant are the first two female recording artists from America to reach the number-one position on the Official UK Christian & Gospel Albums Chart during the summer of 2013!

Amy Grant's first number-one gospel on the UK Official
Christian & Gospel Albums Chart

Grant was the first to debut at the top of the UK Official Gospel & Christian Albums Chart week-ending the 1^st June 2013 for three non-consecutive weeks with album “How Mercy Looks from Here”. The album of the same title also debuted at number-one in America on the Billboard Christian Albums Chart the same week-ending the 1^st June 2013 (3 weeks). This is Grant’s 16^th album of the Christian music genre to debut at number-one position on the Billboard Christian Albums Chart since the beginning of her recording career.

On week-ending the 22^nd June 2013 (1 week) Grant returned to the top after been dethroned by UK Gospel Rap artist Guvna with his debuted album “ODD 1 Out” on the UK Official Gospel & Christian Albums Chart week-ending the 8^th June 2013 (1 week).  Guvna was the first UK Rap Gospel &Christian independent artist to achieve this feat since the official launch of UK Official Gospel & Christian Albums Chart in Mid-March of 2013.

Two weeks after that, Grant went to number-one again with

her album on the UK Official Gospel & Christian Albums

Staples' first number-one album of her entire career

Chart. She was followed by Staples who debuted at number-one on week-ending 6^th July (1 week) with her album entitled “One True Vine”.  This is Staples’ first studio album of her entire career to achieve this level of success overseas in the UK.

Her album also debuted at number-two on the Billboard Gospel Albums Chart in America week-ending the 13^th July 2013 (1 week). Her album “One True vine” has been in the Top Ten of the Billboard Gospel Albums Chart for over five weeks since the week-ending 10^th August 2013.

                               Written, researched and compiled by 
                               Music Historian Kevin Tomlin    
                               ©RCMMusic/Signaturesoundsonline 2013

Classic Hit Records Written By Bobby Womack (Part 2)

In “Nobody wants you when you’re down and out” You can hear the intricate play between voice and guitar within possibly one of the most cooking grooves. Its like he can’t wait to sing those lyrics. Bobby tells it how it is. His style thankfully doesn’t allow for second thoughts and lyrical changes. 

What he’s saying is always personal and often in the first person. Tunes like “That’s the way I feel about Cha” and “If you want my love, put something down on it” demonstrate Bobby’s amazing musical range and skill in the softer register as well as on the James brown meter. 

He encompasses falsetto traits of Al Green, the despairing vulnerability of Marvin Gaye and screaming sensation of James brown. All these geniuses and really Bobby is right up there with them, in them and they are in him. Bobby Womack simply is not one artist. Like all giants he is beyond genre. The fact he has written for and been covered by so many is testament to that fact.

This album recorded by 
The Rolling Stones includes the hit
single "It's All Over Now"

When you put on a Bobby Womack CD, You ‘re never alone. You have Bobby talking to you- giving you advice- roaring at you to make you understand what he’s been through. Bobby is probably the most under rated music artist alive today. God bless Bobby. We thank him for being Bobby Womack and being there for us.

These are some of classic hit recordings written by Womack:
The Rolling Stones achieved their first UK Pop number one on 16th July 1964 with a song entitled “ It’s All Over Now”; co written Bobby with is sister Shirley Womack extracted from classic hit album 12 X 5 recorded at the famous Chess recording studios in Chicago on 10th June 1964. 

The triple platinum album "Breezin"




          

      




      Researched and compiled by               
       Mr K Tomlin Music Historian                   
        ©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline2013 
                 


                                        
                 

The second song was the title track Breezin’ performed by George Benson; which was number one on the Billboard Album chart listings under three separate genres; Jazz, Pop and R&B. By 22nd October 1984, the Breezin album achieved triple platinum status for over three million copies sold in North America. 

Classic Hit Records Written By Bobby Womack (Part 1)

Bobby Womack

I would describe Bobby as a “Soul Folk Singer” What I mean by that is that where other great Soul songs might include deep-rooted religious lyrics whether to do with despair, hope or celebration or they might be super smooth love stories/serenades Bobby’s take and delivery is his very own. Of course he is a teacher preacher. He does that very well, but his delivery is very much his own.

 His frequent talking in the intro section of songs and his subsequent “stream of consciousness” style content is more conversational than other artists’ “carefully crafted lyrics”. What can appear as ramblings are always confirmed as his most heartfelt feelings? This makes his experience more plausible, more believable. His words often echo of a heart to heart one might have with a loved one. He is lyrically personable. One cannot help like and trust the man.

Musically his songs are never stagnant. Whatever he’s singing about, his story is real. We know that from the manner in which his vocals can go from sweet melancholy, to simmering frustration right to that Womack (Brown-like) eruption in the space of a line.


                 Researched and compiled by                            
                 Mr K Tomlin Music Historian 
                 ©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline2013 

Bob Marley (Part 3)

The Great Posthumous Cultural Ambassador of Jamaica.


Under the Bob Marley Jamaica group of companies, there are business interests in fashion; Tuff Gong’s Fashion Company,
“ Catch The Fire Clothing”, a designer clothes label, was co-founded by Cedella Marley and Rohan Marley, the brains behind the business idea, along with business partner Stefano Aldighieri, the former creative director of 7 for All Mankind and design director for Levi Strauss & Company has studio facilities in Miami, Florida, with additional offices for customer services and distribution base in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Cedella Marley

Corporate links have been established with major retailers in North America, with chin stores such as Bloomingdales, with clothes available for sale at their  New York and Los Angeles Stores. Clothes lines are also available at two other fashion chains, Atrium (NewYork) and Harry Lehr (New York) and independent retailers across America.

The web site provides the same services as the book store. On several occasions individual family members or groups of family members have established not-for-profit companies and organisations to meet various human needs inJamaicaand across the globe. Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers created the U.R.G.E (Unlimited Resources Giving Enlightenment).

 International offices are based in America at Bob Marley Music Inc. RE: U.R.G.E, at 632 Broadway Suite 910, New York, NY10012.
The organization’s main agenda is to give financial assistance to orphanages in Jamaica and Africa, to assist different ethnic groups such as Kehilat Israel’s “Feed the Hungry” task force (a Jewish organization that provides food each month to families who live in the Turning Point Transitional Shelter in Santa Monica, CA) and to provide funds for the victims of natural disasters.
URGE teamed up with kids from a middle school in Stamford, CT, to match the funds they raised for those affected by the recent tsunami in Asia. U.R.G.E also raises funds for health issues such as AIDS/HIV, helping abandoned children with the illness. Matthew 25:40 is one such organization based in Jamaica, which also provides financial assistance to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in America. On the education front they have provided equipment and clothing for needy children in developing countries around the world through a joint effort with Nike Corporation.

The Rita Marley Foundation, another non-profit organisation founded by Rita with the main purpose of carrying on the vision of her late husband to eradicate poverty and hunger specifically in communities in less developed countries across the globe through the creation of economic investment and development funds for improvements in education and health.
The family has gone into the tourism business with the current construction and development of a resort and spa named after Bob Marley.

The whole construction project was supervised by Rita Marley to make sure that everything was in keeping with the vision of the family. The resort and spa is going to be located in Bahamian and is scheduled to be open sometime in 2006.

Rohan Marley

The Marley family is the first family in music in Jamaica, considering their cultural and economic impact on the Jamaican economy, in the wider Caribbean and worldwide. The famous American financier David Pullman, founder of the Pullman Fund, stated that he believed the Marley estate to be worth approximately $ 100 million. Since 2000, Forbes magazine has been publishing a list of the top 10 posthumous earners who were recording artists, actors and authors.
In that list, Bob Marley has made on average $10 million per year from America record sales and merchandising. No other Caribbean artist has such a diverse portfolio of business interests that still has tremendous potential and earnings globally.

 Marley is an international cultural icon. His legacy will live on for generations to come through his family, who are all passionate about maintaining his message of liberty and equality for all mankind and determined to keep his dreams, philosophies and legacy alive. Long live the rich music of Robert Nesta Marley, better known as Bob Marley, truly the King of Reggae


                                  Researched and compiled by                            
                                                   Mr K Tomlin Music Historian 
                                                  ©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline2013



 

Bob Marley (Part 2)

               The Great Posthumous Cultural Ambassador of Jamaica.


After his death, the Marley family under the leadership of Rita Marley went about establishing a company to manage the intellectual property, copyrights and general merchandise of Bob Marley. The entire Marley family has worked continually with absolute clarity and focus to keep the musical vision and legacy of Bob Marley alive and well.
Tuff Gong Records was established prior to his death under a distribution agreement with Island Records under the leadership of Chris Blackwell in 1972, with the sole aim of promoting the group to international markets which he finally accomplished before he sold the label to PolyGram/Universal. Out of that distribution deal the 1984 “Legend” album achieved diamond certification on 7^thMarch 1999 for over 10 million copies sold in the USA according RIAA (Record Industry Association of America).


The Legend project is the biggest 
selling reggae album of all time.
The compilation album has sold over
14 million copies in

America with a further 25 million 
copies internationally

The album spent over 800 weeks on the Billboard Top Catalogue Album chart listings and went to number one on several occasions, the last as recently as 26^thJune 2004. In the UK the album also did very well by going to number one on the British Pop Album chart listing for 12 weeks in May 1984 and staying on the chart over 2 years, in the process selling 1.8 million copies, with a certified multiple platinum award from the BPI ( British Phonographic Industry ). One of Bob Marley & The Wailer’s songs,



  The platinum certified  album
 "Conscious Party"

“Get Up, Stand Up”, was inducted into The Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 for lasting artistic and historical significance.

Bob’s other son Ziggy Marley, along with his brother Stephen and sisters Sharon and Cedella, has brought the Marley legacy to the Hip Hop generation via The Melody Makers, in the process obtaining tremendous success with two albums produced and released by Hip Hop generation . The musical journey started with the
The album “Conscious Party” was the first recording project by the group to receive platinum certification in America and a Grammy Award for “Best Reggae Album”.

 The album “Conscious Party” (Virgin 90878) which debuted at number 23 on the Billboard Album Pop chart listings on 14th May 1988 and was certified platinum for one million copies sold in America by 27^th September 1991.         



 "One Bright Day" was the last gold 
certified album in America

The follow-up album “One Bright Day” (Virgin 91256) debuted at number 26 on the Billboard Album Pop chart listings on 26^th August 1989 and was also certified gold for half million copies eventually sold in the USA on 16^th November 1995. In addition to these two outstanding achievements, the band’s main single “Tumblin’ Down” (Virgin 99299), extracted from “Conscious Party”, and reached number one on the Billboard R&B singles chart listings for 2 weeks on 24^thDecember 1988. The track was remixed by Hank Shocklee, well-known for his successful work with Public Enemy, to give the group a more Hip Hop sound.

                                     Researched and compiled by
                                     Mr K Tomlin Music Historian
                                 ©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline 2013
 

Bob Marley (Part 1)

The Great Posthumous Cultural Ambassador of Jamaica.

                                                           





The legendary Bob Marley. 
The posthumous
cultural ambassador of
 the sunny island of Jamaica

Since Bob Marley’s death on 11^th May 1981, he has become an international cultural and musical icon, representing the sunny island of Jamaica, through the Jamaican Tourist Board, with his classic song: “One Love”, which is featured on media outlets across the globe in many different languages to promote the island as a holiday destination.

Marley’s music has impacted on every cultural and ethnic group through his personal philosophy, which was based on human empowerment and emancipation from mental, physical and spiritual slavery. Economic empowerment was also part of his personal philosophy. He is a key figure in the Rastafarian religion which started in Jamaica.

Marley’s musical compositions reflect the colours of the Jamaican national flag, black, gold and green. The black signifies strength, gold symbolises the sunshine and green is a reflection of the land. The people are strong and creative, with 76.3% black, 15.1% Afro- European, 3% East Indian and Afro-East Indian, 3.2 % white and finally 1.2% Chinese and Afro – Chinese.

To honour his many achievements, the Jamaican Post Office decided to issue a Bob Marley commemorative stamp on 29^th December 1982. Then, nearly 10 years after his death, the Jamaican government decided to commemorate his birthday by proclaiming a national holiday on 1^st February 1990.

Before Marley and The Wailers developed their musical art form, they were influenced by early R&B classics recorded by legendary American artists such as Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and especially the Impressions, led at different times by Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler. The Impressions’ flawless harmonies seem to have had considerable impact. The output from Motown recording studios in Detroit was another major influence in the development from ska-blue beat to rock steady and finally to full blown reggae, showing the same innovation and passionate approach that Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone exemplified and in the process creating a revolutionary sound that has made reggae commercially successful as an international musical art form.




Damian continuing his father's musical legacy

with great impact

This did not go unnoticed by music institutions such as the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), who conduct the Grammy Award programme in USA. The organisation has now created a Reggae Awards Category. It is interesting to see that Bob’s son Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley received two Grammy awards for “Best Reggae Album” and “Best Urban/Alternative Performance” at the 48^thannual Grammy Awards . Also Damian’s mother is Cindy Breakspeare, Jamaica’s former Miss World. Damian is continuing with his father’s musical legacy with international success.


              Researched and compiled by
              Mr K Tomlin Music Historian
              ©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline 2013
 

America's West Coast Music Recording Icons

                                                         ( Part 2 )
                                    
                                 


Barry White

Barry White exerted incredible influence as a cultural icon, famous all over the world for his romantic and sexual themes: many parents around the world claim that they were influenced by his songs in terms of their love making and no doubt babies have been born due to the effects of the sexually-charged lyrics of songs such as “Please take of your clothes” and “I am here to please you”. If you use your imagination, you can understand the extent of his influence on females, with his sexy, raspy bass-baritone voice, supported by lush orchestral backing. Barry White has certainly mastered the language of foreplay to a fine art. His sensuous songs concentrated on male-female relationships with great sensitivity and later influenced disco music and British soul artists such as Lisa Stansfield and Soul 11 Soul.

This album was Barry White's first gold certified
album of his career as a solo artist

Between 1973 and 1974 Barry White generated over $16 million in revenue for 20^th Century Records, from three different sources. With Love Unlimited he achieved R&B number 1 and Pop number 27 with the song “I Belong To You” from the gold album “In Heat”. From the Love Unlimited Orchestra came “Love Theme”, a gold single (for over million copies sold in the USA) taken from the gold album “Rhapsody In White”. The orchestra produced another gold album entitled “White Gold”, featuring the hit single “Satin Soul”. But the greatest achievement amongst White’s recording projects were his solo efforts, starting in 1973 with his first gold single “I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby” which reached R&B number 1 and Pop number 3, from the gold album “I’ve Got So Much To Give”.

This is the third solo album that contains gold singles
 "You're The First, My Last My Everything" and
 "Can't Get Enough Your Love Babe"

The next major achievement was the gold single “You’re The First, The Last, My Everything” which topped the British Pop chart and peaked at Pop number 2 and R&B number 1 in America. In 1974 White finally achieved the ultimate by going to number one on both Billboard Pop and R&B charts with another gold single “Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe” in the USA . It is interesting to note that these last two gold singles came from the same gold album entitled “Can’t Get Enough”. During that period in America Pop culture, Barry White was the only producer, songwriter and artist to have hit records from three different sources at the same time.

  White’s cultural influence became noticeable  with academic institutions such as Oxford University which invited the legendary artist to speak to their body of over 900 students organized by the Oxford Union about his “lady music” and his three decades of creative and dynamic involvement in the music industry. Barry’s voice and music has also appeared in television, movies and commercial advertisement. Compare to Bill Withers’  extensive list , White’s listing is extremely small, arranging from movies: Coonskin aka Street Fight (1975); Why Color? Voice only (1992) and television: Ally McBeal series ( cameo role appearance singing one of his hit songs).

The “Milk to the Rescue” commercial campaign in America used Love Unlimited  Orchestra to for background music with voiceover to inform us of the benefits of calcium in our health. The only major difference between the two artists is that Barry White has sold a large quantity of gold and platinum records globally with over 41 platinum albums and 106 gold albums, 10 platinum  and 20 gold singles to his credit mounting to worldwide sales in excess of 100 million at present. This is indeed remarkable for a man who achieved the American dream by using music as his transport to move from the ghetto to international success.

This was Barry White last  gold certified
solo album recording of his career
before death

Approximately 80 million baby boomers in the USA grew up listening to the powerful songs of Bill Withers and Barry White. According to the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), consumers aged 40 and above purchased 36.6 percent of recorded music sold in America during 2003. The biggest selling genres were Rap and R&B, accounting for over one third of all records sold in 2003 (and 2004). Artists such as Bill Withers and Barry White have created economic sustainability in the recording industry with re-released recordings of previous hit albums and compilations, especially after 9/11, when the industry went through tremendously difficult and challenging times financially.

 On entering many five star hotels and corporate offices across the world you will hear the sound of the “Love Theme” by Love Unlimited Orchestra, creating an ambience to soothe the heavy demands of life in general. It is fascinating to see how these artists (the two BWs, Barry White and Bill Withers) have maintained their global appeal. They are indeed cultural institutions to be celebrated and respected for their outstanding achievement and impact on popular music. These men have proved once again that well written and brilliantly produced compositions will live on for generations, constantly renewing their appeal.

Researched and compiled by
Mr K Tomlin Music Historian
©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline 2013