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Smiling Faces Sometimes
"Smiling Faces Sometimes" is a soul song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for the Motown label. It was originally recorded by the Temptations in 1971. Producer Norman Whitfield had the song re-recorded by the Undisputed Truth the same year, resulting in a number-three ''Billboard'' Hot 100 position for the group. "Smiling Faces" was the only Top 40 single released by the Undisputed Truth, and was included on their debut album ''The Undisputed Truth''. Overview Both versions of "Smiling Faces Sometimes" deal with the same subject matter, "back-stabbing" friends who do their friends wrong behind their backs ("Smiling faces sometimes...they don't tell the truth...smiling faces tell lies"), but in different ways. The lyrics inform the Listener to not be fooled by the smile, the handshake, or the pat on the back. The Temptations' original uses an arrangement similar to a haunted house film score to represent feelings of fear and timidness. Included on the 1971 '' Sky's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Undisputed Truth
The Undisputed Truth was an American Motown recording act, assembled by record producer Norman Whitfield as a means for being able to experiment with his psychedelic soul production techniques. Joe "Pep" Harris served as main lead singer, with Billie Rae Calvin and Brenda Joyce Evans on additional leads and background vocals. History In the 1960s, Billie Calvin and Brenda Evans had been part of a California-based group called The Delicates. They were introduced to Motown by singer Bobby Taylor, so when The Delicates broke up in 1970, the two began providing background vocals for artists around Motown. They sang backing on the hits "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" for Diana Ross and " Still Water (Love)" for the Four Tops. Joe Harris had been part of a Detroit soul group called The Fabulous Peps. Formed in 1962, the group was renowned for their energetic stage performances, and they cut a handful of singles for various different labels before their dissolution in 1968. Harris al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masterpiece (The Temptations Song)
"Masterpiece" is a 1973 soul single written by Norman Whitfield and performed by American vocal group the Temptations. Background Whitfield, who also produced the track, entitled it "Masterpiece" because he felt it was a perfect blending of strings, horns, rhythm players, voices, studio tricks, and sweetening elements. However, the word 'masterpiece' does not appear in the song's lyrics, which do not point to anything obvious from which to draw a title. As with their Whitfield-produced hit from the previous year, "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", the Temptations do not make their first appearance until after a long instrumental section. This added to already building tension between the group and Whitfield and led some music writers to start referring to the Temps as "the Norman Whitfield Choral Singers". Personnel * Lead and background vocals by Dennis Edwards, Richard Street, Damon Harris, Melvin Franklin (song verses), and Otis Williams (spoken introduction) * Instrumentation by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rare Earth (band)
Rare Earth was an American rock band from Detroit, Michigan. According to ''Louder'', "Rare Earth’s music straddles genres and defies categorisation, slipping seamlessly between the two seemingly disparate worlds of classic rock and R&B." The band was signed to Motown's Rare Earth record label. Although not the first white band signed to Motown, Rare Earth was the first big hit-making act signed by Motown that consisted only of white members. (None of the previously signed all-white acts, the Rustix, the Dalton Boys or the Underdogs, had any hits.) History 1960s The group formed in 1960 as the Sunliners and changed its name to Rare Earth in 1968. The band felt the name "Rare Earth" was more in keeping with the names other bands were adopting, such as Iron Butterfly, more "with it." After recording an unsuccessful debut album, ''Dream/Answers'', on the Verve label in 1968, the group was signed to Motown in 1969. The band was one of the first acts signed to a new Motown impri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Osborne
Joan Elizabeth Osborne (born July 8, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and interpreter of music, having recorded and performed in various popular American musical genres including rock, pop, soul, R&B, blues, and country. She is best known for her recording of the Eric Bazilian-penned song " One of Us" from her debut album, ''Relish'' (1995). Both the single and the album became worldwide hits and garnered a combined seven Grammy Award nominations. Osborne has toured with Motown sidemen the Funk Brothers and was featured in the documentary film about them, ''Standing in the Shadows of Motown'' (2002). Biography Originally from Anchorage, Kentucky, a suburb of Louisville, Osborne moved to New York City in the late 1980s to study filmmaking at New York University, where she had classes with legendary documentarian George Stoney, among others. Osborne was paying her own way through college and taking time off to earn money for another semester when, by chance, she sang a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobbi Humphrey
Barbara Ann "Bobbi" Humphrey (born April 25, 1950) is an American jazz flautist and singer who plays jazz fusion, funk, and soul-jazz. She has recorded twelve albums and founded the jazz label Paradise Sounds Records. In 1971, she was the first female instrumentalist signed by Blue Note. Early life Humphrey was born in Marlin, Texas, and raised in Dallas. She graduated from Lincoln High School, Dallas, in 1968. Her flute education included classical and jazz in high school. She continued her studies at Texas Southern University and Southern Methodist University. Dizzy Gillespie saw her play at a talent contest at Southern Methodist and inspired her to pursue a music career in New York City. She followed his advice, moving to New York in June 1971 and getting her first break performing at the Apollo Theater on Amateur Night. Career Within weeks of arriving in New York, Humphrey was signed by George Butler to Blue Note. She had already begun playing regularly throughout the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billboard Year-End Hot 100 Singles Of 1971
This is a list of '' Billboard'' magazine's Top Hot 100 singles of 1971. The Top 100, as revealed in the year-end edition of ''Billboard'' dated December 25, 1971, is based on Hot 100 charts from the issue dates of January 2 through November 27, 1971. See also * 1971 in music *List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1971 *List of Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles in 1971 This is a list of singles that have peaked in the Top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 during 1971. The Carpenters, Three Dog Night, Donny Osmond, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, and The Partridge Family each had three top-ten hits in 1971, tyi ... References {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Billboard'' Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1971 1971 record charts Billboard charts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trio (music)
In music, a trio (from the Italian language, Italian) is any of the following: * a composition for three performers or three Part (music), musical parts * in larger works, the middle section of a ternary form (so named because of the 17th-century practice of scoring the contrasting second or middle dance appearing between two statements of a principal dance for three instruments) * an ensemble of three instruments or voices performing trio compositions. Composition A trio is a composition for three performers or musical parts. Works include Baroque trio sonatas, choral works for three parts, and works for three instruments such as string trios. In the 17th and early 18th century, musical genre trio sonata two melodic instruments are accompanied by a basso continuo, making three Part (music), parts in all. Because the basso continuo is usually played by two instruments (typically a cello or bass viol and a keyboard instrument such as the harpsichord), performances of trio sonata ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychedelic Music
Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline, and cannabis to experience synesthesia and altered states of consciousness. Psychedelic music may also aim to enhance the experience of using these drugs and has been found to have a significant influence on psychedelic therapy. Psychedelia embraces visual art, movies, and literature, as well as music. Psychedelic music emerged during the 1960s among folk and rock bands in the United States and the United Kingdom, creating the subgenres of psychedelic folk, psychedelic rock, acid rock, and psychedelic pop before declining in the early 1970s. Numerous spiritual successors followed in the ensuing decades, including progressive rock, krautrock, and heavy metal. Since the 1970s, revivals have included psychedelic funk, neo-psychedelia, and stoner rock as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edwin Starr
Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. Starr was famous for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the number-one hit "War". Born in Nashville and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, he later lived in Detroit while singing for Ric-Tic and Motown Records. He was backed by the band that became known as "Black Merda". Hawkins and Veasey of the group played on most of his early hits on the Ric Tic Label. Starr's songs " Twenty-Five Miles" and "Stop the War Now" were also major successes, in 1969 and 1971 respectively. In the 1970s Starr's base shifted to the United Kingdom, where he continued to produce music, and resided until his death. Early life Charles Edwin Hatcher was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on January 21, 1942. He and his cousins, soul singers Roger and Willie Hatcher, moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where they were raised. In 1957, Hatcher formed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War (The Temptations Song)
"War" is a counterculture era soul song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for the Motown label in 1969. Whitfield first produced the song – an obvious anti–Vietnam War statement – with The Temptations as the original vocalists. After Motown began receiving repeated requests to release "War" as a single, Whitfield re-recorded the song with Edwin Starr as the vocalist, with the label deciding to withhold the Temptations' version from single release so as not to alienate their more conservative fans. Starr's version of "War" was a No. 1 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1970, and is not only the most successful and well-known record of his career, but it is also one of the most popular protest songs ever recorded. It was one of 161 songs on the no-play list issued by Clear Channel following the events of September 11, 2001. Temptations' version and initial release The Temptations' version of "War", featuring Paul Williams and Dennis Edwards on lead ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of successes, earning him the nicknames "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul". Gaye's Motown songs include "Ain't That Peculiar", "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". Gaye also recorded duets with Mary Wells, Kim Weston, Tammi Terrell, and Diana Ross. During the 1970s, Gaye recorded the albums '' What's Going On'' and ''Let's Get It On'' and became one of the first artists in Motown to break away from the reins of a production company. His later recordings influenced several contemporary R&B subgenres, such as quiet storm and neo soul. "Sexual Healing", released in 1982 on the album ''Midnight Love'', won him his first two Grammy Awards. Gaye's last televised appearances we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gladys Knight & The Pips
Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simply The Pips in 1952, derived from a cousin's nickname, the founding members were Gladys Knight, brother Merald "Bubba" Knight, sister Brenda Knight and cousins Eleanor Guest and William Guest. After a couple of years performing in talent shows, the group signed with Brunswick Records in 1957, recording a couple of singles that failed to chart. Brenda Knight and Eleanor Guest eventually left the group and were replaced by another cousin, Edward Patten, and a non-relative, Langston George in 1959. This lineup produced the group's first hit single, " Every Beat of My Heart". After the single was released on three different labels, they changed their name to ''Gladys Knight & the Pips'' in 1961. Langston George left the same year and Gladys Kn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
