Sun Ra — aka Herman Poole Blount (May 22, 1914 — May 30, 1993) — was an American jazz keyboardist, composer, and bandleader who released more than seventy albums across thirty-five years. He led successive Arkestra iterations: Jazz Arkestra, Myth Science Arkestra, Solar Arkestra, Astro Infinity Arkestra, and Astro Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra. His early Saturn […]
The Commodores were an American soul-funk band from Tuskegee that released eleven studio albums (1974–1985) on Motown. Musically, the Commodores evolved from the hard funk of their early R&B singles “Machine Gun,” “Slippery When Wet,” and “Brick House,” to the ballads of keyboardist/singer Lionel Richie, who wrote their Billboard Top 5 hits “Sweet Love,” “Easy,” […]
Clarence Carter (Jan. 14, 1936 – May 13, 2026) was an American R&B singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Alabama who first recorded in the C&C Boys with fellow blind singer Calvin Scott, issuing multiple early 1960s singles on Fairlane and Duke. As a solo singer, Carter cut three 1966/67 singles on soul-press Fame, followed by […]
Eddie Kendricks (born Dec. 17, 1939 — Oct. 5, 1992) was an American soul singer, who served as the lead tenor vocalist in The Temptations between 1961 and 1971. He’s most recognized for his falsetto voice on the hits “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” “Get Ready,” and “Just My Imagination (Running Away […]
Frederick Knight (born Aug. 15, 1944) is an American soul singer, songwriter, producer, and label owner from Bessemer, Alabama. His 1972 single “I’ve Been Lonely for So Long” reached the U.S. pop and R&B charts. Knight later co-founded Juana Records and wrote and produced the 1979 Anita Ward hit “Ring My Bell.” Background Frederick Knight […]
Hotel was an American melodic-rock band from Birmingham, Alabama, that released the 1979/80 MCA albums Hotel and Half Moon Silver. Members: Marc Phillips (keyboards, guitar, lead vocals), George Creasman (bass, vocals), Lee Bargeron (keyboards, guitar, vocals), Tommy Calton (guitar), Michael Reid (guitar), Michael Cadenhead (drums, percussion, vocals) Background Hotel formed in Birmingham in early 1973 […]
Sam Sanders (Nov. 19, 1937 — Oct. 18, 2000) was an American jazz-funk saxophonist who recorded the 1975 set Mirror, Mirror, followed by the 1983 album The Gift of Love. Background Sam Sanders was born on November 19, 1937, in Birmingham, Alabama. During the fifties, he attended Northeastern High School in Detroit, where his school […]
Tommy Stewart (born Nov. 19, 1939) is an American composer, arranger, and producer who released a 1976 jazz-funk album on Abraxas. Background He was born Thomas Wesley Stewart Jr. on November 19, 1939, in Gadsden, Alabama. His mother wrote songs and led a choir. At age ten, he joined a high-school marching band. During his […]
Percy Sledge (Nov. 25, 1940 — April 14, 2015) was an American soul singer who released ten albums on Atlantic between 1966 and 1971, delivering a romantic evergreen with the R&B-gospel anthem “When a Man Loves a Woman,” one of the biggest hits of the 1960s. His other hits include “Warm and Tender Love,” “It […]
Moonpie was an American soul-funk band that made a 1977 self-titled album on Lanark Records. Background Moonpie emerged in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as an octet comprised of singer Jimmy Hardaway, bassist Alison Prestwood, drummer Mark Lanter, guitarist Jim Stewart, keyboardist Will Waller, trumpeter Tom Stipe, alto saxophonist Rial Gallagher, and trombonist Ben McCoy. Prestwood bought her […]
Sam Dees is an American soul singer, songwriter, producer, and keyboardist who cut ten singles between 1968 and his 1975 album The Show Must Go On. Dees wrote R&B hits for Larry Graham (“One in a Million You”), Gladys Knight & the Pips (“Save the Overtime (For Me)”), Loleatta Holloway (“Cry to Me”), L.T.D. (“Where […]
Dee Edwards (June 1945 — Jan. 25, 2006) was an American soul singer associated with the Detroit recordings “Why Can’t There Be Love” and “(I Can) Deal with That.” She later recorded for Cotillion Records, where “Don’t Sit Down” became a disco hit in 1979 and preceded the album Two Hearts Are Better Than One. […]
