[You Keep Me] Hangin' On

Ann Peebles is a singer I can put on repeat all day! And she is incapable of doing a song badly! This live version gives me goosebumps. Nice bit of skat to end off too.

Read Me My Rights

Another Ann Peebles track chosen at random from the 150 on my YouTube list!

Didn't We Do It

Ann with a bit of nostalgia about a romance that's ended.

Erma Franklin - Piece of My Heart (Video)

Erma Franklin retired from recorded music at 32 except for " an occasional performance". This is one such! My personal opinion is that she was THE singer in the Franklin family. What a great shame she never got really significant recognition in her time. I know that in her life after music she worked for 25 years at Boystown Holy Cross Community centre in Detroit, an organisation which helps children in need. This was filmed at The Soup Kitchen. I'm thinking this might be associated with her work for the underprivileged .

Let Me Down Easy

Inez with a song which was one of the biggest hits for another artist, Bettye Lavette. I featured the latter some time back in fact. Inez's voice is quite similar and she sings in the same key but at a slower tempo here. Both versions are very good.

Tightrope

Another iconic hit from this duo.Another great picture of these photogenic siblings!

INEZ FOXX - "You Shouldn't Have Set My Soul On Fire"

Inez singing solo . Inez singing solo .

Inez & Charlie Foxx - Vaya Con Dios- Fellows In Vietnam (Medley)

Inez and Charlie Foxx doing a tribute to the men and women who lost their lives in the Vietnam war. They made a very Handsome pair as can be seen from the still.

No Stranger to Love

The brother and sister duo again. They really work well together!

Mockingbird

Inez Foxx (1937-2022) and Charlie Foxx (1933-1998) were a brother and sister Soul and RnB duo from Greensboro NC. They had a million seller with this track which they adapted from a traditional nursery rhyme. Inez always sang lead and Charlie backup and guitar. She also did some solo work. They toured Europe together and did much to promote the Northern Soul Movement there. Charlie died of leukemia in 1998 at age 64 and Inez died this year (2022) at age 84. RIP Inez and Charlie Foxx.

MAXINE NIGHTINGALE Just Because

Maxine in a quieter mode here.

MAXINE NIGHTINGALE-lead me on (1979)

Maxine with a live performance on Spanish TV of one of her biggest hits.

Maxine Nightingale - Love Hit Me

This is probably Maxine's second biggest hit. Definitely Disco for sure. Nice selection of pictures too.

Maxine Nightingale - Right Back Where We Started From (1976) Clip

An early live performance by Maxine Nightingale of her biggest hit. She was born in 1952 in Wembley UK and began singing at age 13.By 17 she was an understudy to the principal star in Hair and soon after went to Germany where she was was lead in this musical and also starred in Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell. She married Minoru Dommberger and had one child. After achieving a number of subsequent charters the couple went to the USA. Her hit here was used in the Paul Newma.n movie Slap Shot about pro hockey in the USA. Later it was adopted by the New York Islanders team and they still play it when they win! After a 1982 duet with Jimmy Ruffin she mainly did live Jazz shows and since 2000 has been active on the retro RnB scene. She is still active today.

Feelings Old Feelings

I've now recovered from my little bit of surgery and have started my next catch up project with cement, a natural stone retaining wall which completes the sequence of 5 such walls on my property. (Catching up with all the things neglected during 12 years manufacturing Meccano parts!) Watch this space about a year from now.#KelleePatterson featured here was born in Chicago and raised in nearby steel making town Gary. She was winning talent contests for singing at 5 years old and by 16 went professional. In college she sang with a Rock group but then became influenced by the music of Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin. After college she entered the Illinois chapter of the Miss America contest and was chosen as Miss Illinois, 1971, the first African American to receive this title. This led to record contracts and she toured for her music and to give inspirational lectures. She signed with Gene Russell's Black Jazz label and later with Shadybrook. She achieved Gold for her single " If It Don't Fit Don't Force It." I came across a comment by a person who said that Kellee is his great aunt and that she still sings occasionally and is now a minister in a church. This was eight years back so I'm not sure if she is still

Kellee Patterson - If It Don't Fit Don't Force It.wmv

Kellee Patterson with her gold disc awarded number in a Disco-Funk style.

Dorothy Moore - Funny How Time Slips Away

About a year ago I ordered Dorothy Moore's cd Misty Blue. I paid for it but never received it .(The reclaim process was so complicated and involved a third party so I just let it go). Then three months ago I re-ordered it from the German company Groovesland . It arrived last week. If you want an extremely reliable supplier then Groovesland is it Never had a single failure with them so I always use them now. ( And I've done a lot of business with them in building a collection of Soul/ RnB/ Jazz greats) .So here's Dorothy with one of the tracks, penned by Mr. Willie Nelson.

Don't Blame Me

Another track from Erma Franklin which highlights the control she has over her voice. The vibrato is like a precision musical instrument again. It's a great shame she retired from recorded music at 32 due to no significant recognition.

ESTHER PHILLIPS TONIGHT, I 'LL BE STAYING HERE WITH YOU

My Esther Phillips 5 disc boxed set is now safely stored on my computer and I've listened to the whole set. 103 tracks and not a single dud! Fantastic! Here's one of them, a slightly scratchy old single but still great. A combination of her great voice and the enduring brilliance of wordsmith Bob Dylan.

FONTELLA BASS-this would make me happy

Fontella again with one her iconic songs.

Fontella Bass - Baby what you want me to do

Fontella's version of a song which has been done by several Soul singers, but hers is probably best known.

Lyle Lovett & Fontella Bass - Don't Messup A Good Thing

Fontella Bass at a somewhat later point in her career with one of her earliest songs where she did a duet with Bobby McClure. Here she duets with Lyle Lovett. She is introduced by well known impresario and pianist Jools Holland. David Sanborn is on alto saxephone.

Fontella Bass - Rescue Me / Night Music with David Sanborn & Jools Holland

Fontella Marie Bass was born in 1940 in St Louis, daughter of Gospel singer Martha Bass. She was an accomplished pianist by age 5 and toured with her mother and grandmother until 16. She started her professional career at 17 and played piano in clubs. After some moderate success with Chess records she scored a million seller hit with Rescue Me which she co-wrote but got no credit and little royalty for. She and her husband Lester Bowie moved to France where she worked on some of his movies. She retired from music in 1972 to concentrate on the four children they had. In 1990 she heard her song being used in an advert without permission and sued the company. She was awarded USD50,000. Her interest in her music was revitalised and so was her career. She received a star on the St Louis Walk of Fame in 2000 and toured with her younger brother David until she fell ill, having a number of strokes, breast cancer and a leg amputation. She died in 2012.RIP Fontella. The clip shown here is her biggest hit done with Jools Holland and David Sanborn's Night Music. David is on alto sax. This is in her newly awakened years but she still has tremendous Soul power!