Behind The Scene Information on R&B and Soul Music

Friday, 3 January 2014

The Remarkable Signature Sound of Sade (Part2)

"Soldier Of Love" album won a Grammy
Award for
"Best R&B Performance By A Group

Sade recent album “Soldier of Love” debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart, becoming their highest debut since her “Stronger Than Pride” recording project (1988). It also debuted at number one on the US Pop album chart Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 502,000 copies in the United States, making it Sade’s first US number-one debut on 27^th February 2010 to the 13^th March 2010 , selling over 700,000 in a three weeks period while still at number one in US on the Billboard 200 Album chart listing and Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart listing for four weeks commencing on 27^th February 2010 to the 27^th March 2010.The album also topped other music charts in several other countries. It was also on the Europe Top 100 Albums chart at number one on the 27^th February 2010 (3 weeks).

"Lovers Rock" album won a Grammy
Award for "Best Pop Vocal Album"

It is 10 years since her last album release, the 2000 offering, “Lovers Rock” which won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album in 2002.

Sade has won three Grammy

Awards n her whole career so far over three separate decades starting in 1985 with the “Promise” album receiving award for Best New Artist at Grammy Awards Ceremony. She received her latest Grammy this year for “Soldier of Love” on 13^th February 2011. The award was for Best R&B Performances By A Group for the track “Soldier of Love at the 53^rd Grammy Awards Ceremony.

The hit single was taken from the album “Soldier of Love,” with the parent album been certified platinum for one million copies bringing her album total of album sold in America to 25 million copies according to (RIAA) Recording Industry Association of America). The album has sold over two million copies worldwide making it one of top ten best selling album in 2010!

She emerged as recording act 27 years ago to become Britain’s most successful female solo artist and in the process selling remarkable 50 million plus copies worldwide. She is definitely England best Soul music creative export and is extremely beautiful for her age and look rather young!

She is truly a transcending icon of great power and dynamics whose musical brand that can compete again any new acts that has emerged since 2000 and able to stand the test of time. This has proven yet again that Britain can produce recording artist of high standard for creative export around the world with similar global impact as Rolling Stones and The Beatles. Sade definitely deserves the title as British Soul Queen with all that she has accomplished over the last three decades.

Researched and compiled by
Mr K Tomlin Music Historian
©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline2013-2014

Thursday, 2 January 2014

The Remarkable Signature Sound of Sade (Part1)

Sade is one of the most successful artists from 1980s to come out of the UK as creative export since her debuted album “Diamond Life.” It was released in the United Kingdom on 28^th July 1984 by Epic Records and in the United States on 23^rd February 1985 by Portrait Records. Since her debuted album Sade has sold over 16 million copies in America from 1985 to April 1996 accord to the Recording Industry Association of America ahead of such artist as Lionel Richie and the late Luther Vandross. This has made Sade and her band the 9^th most successful black recording act from 1985 to 1996 and is featured in the top 200 list of best selling recording artists according to (RIAA) Recording Industry Association of America in the 20^th Century.

Sade's dedut multi-platinum certified
studio album "Diamond Life"

Her four biggest selling studio albums so far in America are “Diamond Life” (1984) ,“Promise” (1985) and “Love Deluxe” (1992). Each album has sold four million copies, with the addition of her third studio album “Stronger Than Pride” (1988) which sold over three million copies, bringing the total to over 15 million copies plus sold. “Diamond Life” also achieved multi-platinum certification in England for one million copies sold (1.2 million) according BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) “Diamond Life” peaked at number two on the UK Pop Album chart.

Sade's second multi-platinum
certified studio album

The follow up album “Promise” did even better topping both the number one positions in UK and US Pop album charts. 16^th November to the 23^rd November 1985 in the UK and peaked at number one in the America on 15^th February 1986 to the 22^nd February 1986. In addition to the UK success, the recording project achieved similar success on the Swiss Album chart listing by going to number one week ending 1^st December 1985 to 15^th December 1985. Sade greatest hits package entitled “The Best of Sade” was certified multi platinum in the US for four million copies sold in 1994 and also received multi platinum certification by (IFPI) International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for two million copies sold across Europe in 1996. “The Best of Sade” was also number one on both the Billboard Top Pop Catalogue Album chart listings and the Billboard Top R&B Album chart listings.

Researched and compiled by
Mr K Tomlin Music Historian
  ©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline2013-2014

Monday, 30 December 2013

Significant Events in the music industry (Part 3)

Some Key Facts About Bad Boy Records

The first studio album to
top the chart for group

The female vocal group Danity Kane, signed to Bad Boy Records, became the first female group in Billboard history to debut all their albums at the top of the Billboard Hot 200 Albums Chart in succession.

The group’s debut self- titled album reached the number-one spot week-ending 3^rd September 2006 (2 weeks). The album was certified platinum according RIAA for one million plus copies sold in America.

A single from the album entitled “Show Stopper” obtained gold certification by RIAA for one million plus copies sold.

“Welcome To The Dollhouse” became the group's second consecutive album to debut at number-one on the

The second studio
album to the Billboard
Top 200 Albums Chart

Billboard Top 200 Albums chart week-ending 5^th April 2008.

The group achieved further success with their recording project with a platinum certified single called “Damaged” for two million plus copies sold in North America.

The following week ending 12^th April 2008 the group Day26, a male vocal group and also a recording act on Bad Boy Records debuted at number-one on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums Chart (1week) making it the third number one album from Making The Band winners.

Self title album "Day26" became
the third studio album released
by Bad Boy Records to top the
Billboard Hot 200 Albums Chart
in the new Century.

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

Sunday, 29 December 2013

Significant Events in the music industry ( Part 2 )

Some Key Facts about The Queen of Soul

Aretha Franklin’s second gold album
of her career featuring
the gold single “Chain of Fools”

In the same year she returned to the top with another new studio album entitled “Aretha Arrives” released on 4^th August 1967 by Atlantic Records. The album also peaked at the number-one position 9^th September 1967 (5 weeks). “Baby I Love You” was the only gold single to be released from the album.

During 1967 alone she had a total of four gold singles from three studio albums on Atlantic

Franklin's third gold album of her career

Records, with all the singles going to number-one on the Billboard Hot Soul and R&B Singles Chart in North America. These gold singles were : “I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You”, “Respect”, "Baby I Love You" and “Chain of Fools.From February to August of 1967, she sold in excess of 3.5 million copies singles and albums.

On the Billboard Hot Soul Albums Chart from 1967 to 1969, Franklin had five number-one studio albums with three of them receiving gold certification for over half a million units sold for each album according to RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America).

Her five first studio albums released by Atlantic Records featured members of the Muscles Shoal Rhythm Section, King Curtis and Sweet Inspirations. The Album “Lady Soul” featured Eric Clapton playing guitar on track “Good to Me As I Am to You”. Her 1968 album “Aretha Now” featured the Memphis Horns Section who played on many classic hit recordings on Stax Records and Hi Records in Memphis.

All her albums from 1967 to 1969 were recorded at Atlantic Records recording studios in New York city with a Southern Soul sound because many of studio session musicians were from the South that gave her recordings a raw and refine Soulful signature sound.

All five of Franklin's studio albums spent a total of 59 weeks at number-one on the Billboard Hot Soul Albums Chart from 1967 to 1969. During her career as a recording artist she has won a total of 18 Grammy Awards and is one of the best-selling female artists of all time, having generated over 75 million copies of singles and album globally. Franklin was also the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, 20 years after her first gold album on Atlantic Records.

Significant Events in the music industry ( Part 1)

Same Key Facts about The Queen of Soul

Did you know that Aretha Franklin is the only female black recording artist to have achieved more than one number-one studio recording albums in succession on the Billboard Hot Soul Albums Chart from 1967 to 1969, while signed to the legendary Atlantic Records based in New York City.

It started with her first studio album produced by the legendary Jerry Wexler, released 10^th March1967 which achieved the number-one position on the Billboard Hot Soul Albums Chart on 29^th April 1967 for 14 non-successive weeks (as it was known during the 1960s and the 1970s before it was later finally changed to Billboard Hip-hop /R&aB and Soul Albums Chart).

Franklin's first album of
career to be certified gold

“I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You” was the first album for Aretha Franklin to become gold certified for over half million copies sold in America in 1967.

It helped to established Aretha as a global superThe album also contained her signature song, “Respect”, which actually topped the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart on 3^rd June 1967 (2 weeks), selling over one million copies in the process. The single also peaked at the number-one position for eight weeks on the Billboard Hot Soul and R&B Singles Chart from week-ending 20th May 1967 to 15th July 1967.

The title track: “I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You”, achieved gold status for over million plus copies sold and also achieved number-one on the Billboard Hot Soul and R&B Singles Chart for the week ending the 25th March 1967 and remained there for seven weeks. The song was the first gold record by a female artist that presented the Muscle Shoal Sound produced at the famous FAME Recording Studios which brought more fame to that particular musical workshop.

With the major success of the album, Franklin went on to receive two Grammy Awards in 1968 in two categories: Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording for “Respect” and a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for “Respect”.

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

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.