Science Of Soul

Now in her seventies, Mavis Staples has been a fixture in the music world for decades. One of the most enduring figures of popular music, she and her family fused gospel, soul, folk and rock to transcend racism and oppression through song. Honing her prodigious talent on the Southern gospel circuit of the 1950s, Mavis and The Staple Singers went on to sell more than 30 million records, with message-oriented soul music that became a soundtrack to the Civil Rights Movement-inspiring Martin Luther King Jr. himself. Here, Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot cuts to the heart of Mavis Staples's music, revealing the intimate stories of her sixty-year career. From her love affair with Bob Dylan, to her creative collaborations with Prince, to her recent revival alongside Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, this definitive account shows Mavis Staples as you've never seen her before. I'll Take You There was written with the complete cooperation of Mavis Staples and her family. Readers will also hear from Prince, Bonnie Raitt, David Byrne, Marty Stuart, Ry Cooder, Steve Cropper and many other artists who have been influenced by Mavis's talent. Filled with never-before-told stories, this fascinating biography illuminates a legendary singer and group during a historic period of change in America.

Attracting passionate fans primarily among African American listeners in the South, Southern Soul draws on such diverse influences as the blues, 1960s-era Deep Soul, contemporary R & B, neosoul, rap, hip-hop, and gospel. Aggressively danceable, lyrically evocative, and fervidly emotional, Southern Soul songs often portray unabashedly carnal themes, and audiences delight in the performer-audience interaction and communal solidarity at live performances. Examining the history and development of Southern Soul from its modern roots in the 1960s and 1970s, David Whiteis highlights some of Southern Soul's most popular and important entertainers and provides first-hand accounts from the clubs, show lounges, festivals, and other local venues where these performers work. Profiles of veteran artists such as Denise LaSalle, the late J. Blackfoot, Latimore, and Bobby Rush--as well as other contemporary artists T. K. Soul, Ms. Jody, Sweet Angel, Willie Clayton, and Sir Charles Jones--touch on issues of faith and sensuality, artistic identity and stereotyping, trickster antics, and future directions of the genre. These revealing discussions, drawing on extensive new interviews, also acknowledge the challenges of striving for mainstream popularity while still retaining the cultural and regional identity of the music and of maintaining artistic ownership and control in the age of digital dissemination. Both books can be found at Amazon (£12.84, £16.99 respectively)

This Sunday's play list - 16th. March 2014


Hour One
Omar - There's Nothing Like This
Lalah Hathaway - Heaven Knows
Curtis Hairston - All Are One
Al Wilson - Touch & Go
Maze - Before I Let Go
Al Johnson - Since You Walked Out Of My Life
The Spinners - He'' Never Love You..
Angie Stone - I Wish I Didn't
Al Green - You Ought To Be With Me
Al Hudson - Now That I Found You
Luther Ingram - Do You Love Somebody
Alicia Keys - Don't You Know My Name

Hour Two

Mr Day - Queen Of The Ministerials

Teddy Pendergrass - Love TKO

Betty Wright - Old Songs

Josh Osho - Imperfections

Intruders - Sad Girl

Khemistry - Can You Feel My Love

Denise Williams - Black Butterfly

Rockie Robins - Try To Think

Isley Brothers - Work To Do

Dramatics - Beautiful People

JP Robinson - Our Day Is Here

Khemistry - Walking Papers

Bettye Swann - Tell It Like It Is

Thanks To Bill Bishop for keeping my chair warm this week