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Curtom
Curtom Records was a record label started in 1968 by Curtis Mayfield and Impressions manager Eddie Thomas. The label's name was a combination of Mayfield's first name and Thomas' last name. Mayfield had previously made attempts at a record label with the "Mayfield" and "Windy C" labels. It is noted for being one of the first-ever record labels owned by an African-American recording artist. Curtom was located in Chicago's former RCA studio (at 1 North Wacker Drive), originally acquired by Mayfield for cutting demos. Along with the Impressions' releases and Mayfield's own solo material, artists on or affiliated with Curtom included the Five Stairsteps, Donny Hathaway (principally as a songwriter/orchestration arranger), Linda Clifford, Baby Huey and the Babysitters, Leroy Hutson, the Natural Four, Bobby Whiteside, Holly Maxwell, the Staple Singers, and Mavis Staples' solo efforts. Most of the acts on Curtom's roster were either produced by Mayfield himself or heavily influen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linda Clifford
Linda Clifford (born 1944) is an American R&B, disco and house music singer who scored hits from the 1970s to the 1980s, most notably "If My Friends Could See Me Now", " Bridge over Troubled Water", " Runaway Love" and " Red Light". Career Clifford is a former Miss New York State, and fronted a jazz music trio before switching to R&B. After winning her title, Clifford worked as an actress, playing minor roles in films such as ''The Boston Strangler'' with Tony Curtis and Henry Fonda, ''Coogan's Bluff'' with Clint Eastwood and '' Sweet Charity'' with Shirley MacLaine. Unsatisfied with her roles, Clifford decided to concentrate on her singing career, performing for a year in Miami-area night clubs with the Jericho Jazz Singers, before forming her own group Linda & the Trade Winds. In 1973, she was signed to Paramount Records and her first single, "(It's Gonna Be) A Long Long Winter", was a minor hit on the U.S. ''Billboard'' R&B chart in the winter of 1974. She moved to C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.Curtis Mayfield , Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. "…significant for the forthright way in which he addressed issues of black identity and self-awareness. …left his imprint on the Seventies by couching social commentary and keenly observed black-culture archetypes in funky, danceable rhythms. …sounded urgent pleas for peace and brotherhood overextended, -funk tracks that laid out a fresh musical agenda for the new decade." Accessed 28 November 2006. Dubbed t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Natural Four
The Natural Four was an American R&B group from Oakland, California that played from 1967-1976. History Formed in 1967, the Natural Four approached Fred Ivey about becoming their manager. Ivey owned a local record store called Tape Town and eventually made a deal with a local Oakland label, Boola Boola Records. Their first release, "I Thought You Were Mine" sold 30,000 copies locally, after being regularly played on San Francisco soul/R&B radio station KSOL and on Oakland's KDIA where it rose to #7 on the chart. ABC Records saw the group's potential and picked them up. Their second release on Boola Boola, "Why Should We Stop Now" was re-released and, ABC then released "The Same Thing in Mind", a remake of their first hit "I Thought You Were Mine", and a cover of The Temptations' "Message From a Black Man", but none repeated the success of their initial recording. Chess Records released the single, "Give a Little Love" in 1971 without success and, following this, Chris James ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baby Huey And The Babysitters
James Thomas Ramey (August 17, 1944 – October 28, 1970), better known as Baby Huey, was an American rock and soul singer. He was the frontman for the band Baby Huey & the Babysitters, whose sole LP for Curtom Records in 1971 was influential in the development of hip hop music. Life and career A native of Richmond, Indiana, James was the son of Robert and Ernestine Ramey. He moved to Chicago, Illinois, at the age of nineteen, and worked with several local bands as a singer. When he was still in high school, he worked with his first; the Vets. Due to a glandular disorder, Ramey weighed about 350 pounds (160 kg) around this time. His size contributed to his stage presence, but also to health problems. Nevertheless, he made light of his condition, adopting the stage name "Baby Huey" after Paramount Pictures' giant duckling cartoon character of the same name. In 1963, Ramey, organist/trumpeter Melvyn "Deacon" Jones, and guitarist Johnny Ross founded a band called Baby H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddah Records
Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's founding. Buddah handled a variety of music genres, including bubblegum pop (the Ohio Express and the 1910 Fruitgum Company), folk rock (Melanie Safka, Melanie), experimental music (Captain Beefheart), and soul music, soul (Gladys Knight & the Pips). In addition to the Buddah imprint, the company distributed many other independent labels, including Kama Sutra Records (after Kama Sutra cut their distribution ties with MGM in 1969), Curtom Records (Curtis Mayfield), T-Neck Records (the Isley Brothers), Charisma Records (Genesis (band), Genesis, Monty Python), Sussex Records (Bill Withers), Hot Wax Records (Holland-Dozier-Holland post-Motown productions) and smaller subsidiaries. History Kama Sutra Records helped bolster MGM Records's profits durin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leroy Hutson
Leroy Hutson (born June 4, 1945) is an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and instrumentalist, best known as former lead singer of R&B vocal group The Impressions. His music concerns '70s soul, as noted in the June 29, 2006 issue of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. He is the father of producer JR Hutson. Biography Early years As a teenager, Hutson formed the Nu-Tones, a four-man vocal group based in New Jersey. They won several talent shows during his high school years. The other members of the Nu-Tones were Ronald King, Bernard Ransom, Ed Davis, and Irving Jenkins. In 1968, as part of the duo Sugar & Spice, Lee Hutson and Deborah Rollins recorded for Kapp Records. They recorded several singles with some success. Their single "In Love Forever" ranked the "Best New Record Of The Week" in the local newspaper column "Soul Sauce". Two other singles recorded were "Ah Ha Yeah" and "Dreams". College years Initially attending Howard University in Washington ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donny Hathaway
Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto", "This Christmas", "Someday We'll All Be Free", and "Little Ghetto Boy". Hathaway is also renowned for his renditions of " A Song for You", "For All We Know", and "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know", along with "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You", two of many collaborations with Roberta Flack. He has been inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame and won one Grammy Award from four nominations. Hathaway was also posthumously honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. Dutch director David Kleijwegt made a documentary called ''Mister Soul – A Story About Donny Hathaway'', which premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam on January 28, 2020. Early life Hathaway, the son of Drusella Huntley, was born in Chicago ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Impressions
The Impressions were an American music group originally formed in 1958. Their repertoire includes gospel, doo-wop, R&B, and soul. The group was founded as the Roosters by Chattanooga, Tennessee natives Sam Gooden, Richard Brooks and Arthur Brooks, who moved to Chicago and added Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield to their line-up to become Jerry Butler & the Impressions. By 1962, Butler and the Brookses had departed, and after switching to ABC-Paramount Records, Mayfield, Gooden, and returning original Impressions' member Fred Cash collectively became a top-selling soul act. Mayfield left the group for a solo career in 1970; Leroy Hutson, Ralph Johnson, Reggie Torian (born Reginald Torian), and Nate Evans (Twinight Records) were among the replacements who joined Gooden and Cash. Inductees into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Impressions had a string of hits in the 1960s, many of which were heavily influenced by gospel music and served as i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Staple Singers
The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha (April 11, 1934 – February 21, 2013), Pervis (November 18, 1935 – May 6, 2021), and Mavis (b. July 10, 1939). Yvonne (October 23, 1937 – April 10, 2018) replaced her brother when he was drafted into the U.S. Army, and again in 1970. They are best known for their 1970s hits " Respect Yourself", "I'll Take You There", "If You're Ready (Come Go with Me)", and " Let's Do It Again". While the family name is Staples, the group used "Staple" commercially. History First child to Roebuck "Pops" Staples and his wife Oceola Staples, Cleotha was born in Drew, Mississippi, in 1934. Two years later, Roebuck moved his family from Mississippi to Chicago. Roebuck and Oceola's children, son Pervis and daughters, Mavis and Yvonne, were born in Chicago. Roebuck worked in steel mill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress, and civil rights activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers (she is the last surviving member of that band). During her time in the group, she recorded the hit singles "I'll Take You There" and " Let's Do It Again". In 1969, Staples released her self-titled debut solo album. She continued to release solo albums throughout the following decades; and collaborated with artists such as Aretha Franklin, Prince, Arcade Fire, Nona Hendryx, Ry Cooder, and David Byrne. Her eighth studio album ''You Are Not Alone'' (2010), earned critical acclaim, and became her first album as a soloist to reach number one on a '' Billboard'' chart, peaking atop the Top Gospel Albums chart. It also earned Staples her first Grammy Award win. Following this, she released the albums: ''One True Vine'' (2013), '' Livin' on a High Note'' (2016), '' If All I Was Was Black'' (2017), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holle Thee Maxwell
Holle Thee Maxwell (born October 17, 1945) is an American vocalist and songwriter who performs opera, jazz, soul music, blues, R&B, pop, and country music. She has performed with soul and blues artist Ike Turner and jazz organist Jimmy Smith. She wrote a song for Bobby Bland's 1978 album, ''Come Fly with Me''. Her seven-decade career includes opera training in childhood, performances as a soul balladeer in the 1960s, European tours, and appearances at the Chicago Blues Festival. The Cannes Musical Festival named her "Queen of Entertaining Entertainers". Life and career Maxwell first sang professionally at the age of five. She studied classical voice and piano from ages nine to seventeen. At age twelve, she was featured at the Chicago Civic Opera House. Maxwell holds two degrees in music from the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University and The Juilliard School. Her mother sent her to modeling and finishing school and made her take classical musical training, but Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Five Stairsteps
The Five Stairsteps, known as "The First Family of Soul" and later "The Invisible Man's Band", was an American Chicago soul group made up of five of Betty and Clarence Burke Sr.'s six children: Alohe Jean, Clarence Jr., James, Dennis, and Kenneth "Keni", and briefly, Cubie. They are best known for the 1970 song "O-o-h Child", listed at number 402 on ''Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. History The Chicago group was dubbed "First Family of Soul" because of their successful five-year chart run; the moniker was later passed on to the Jackson 5. Initially a teenage five-member brothers and sister vocal group made up of the children of Betty and Clarence Burke, the Five Stairsteps, named by Mrs. Burke who thought her children looked like stair steps when lined up according to their age, featured lead singer Clarence Jr. (May 25, 1949 – May 26, 2013), Alohe, James, Dennis, and 13-year-old Kenneth ("Keni"). Most of the members attended Harlan High School. Clarence Sr. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
