Sheldon Taylor's Souls of Black Notes

  Let’s go back. Way back. Back into time. A sea of young’ns groove to percussive drum sounds that go on forever. Chants and call-and-response pepper the air like gunshots. Rapid-fire handclaps and sexy gyrations keep time to the beat.  It's a vibe and a syncopated ride that feels instinctively familiar. In my mind’s eye, I see women in Santeria white and pristine Sunday best catching the spirit in sweaty ciphers and church revivals. Now I’m toiling in southern cotton and tobacco fields where people endure hard times during the day and exhale in steamy juke joints at night.  The music transports me to a world of lilting tropical rhythms and Trinidadian pan drums, delectable sights of winding beauties in Jamaican dancehalls. I soak up the excitement of packed Bronx park jams or Brooklyn block parties.  Now I’m in Atlanta or NOLA bouncing to hypnotic beats. Back to life. Back to reality: it's ‘87 and I’m at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland and DC's Celebrity Ha...

  "Everybody can't jump on Prince's thing. People need romance. It's like a pendulum swing. After the bam-bam-bam, the love songs will always be there.” Prolific songwriter Linda Creed's 1985 declaration  in Billboard  wasn't a jab at Prince's sexual shock-and-awe or an attempt to rain on his purple parade. It was a well-refined modus operandi.  During the 70s Creed penned many of the Philly Soul songbook's most durable hits.  Two of them ("You Make Me Feel Brand New" and "People Make The World Go Around") would spawn over 100 remakes across multiple music categories. Before she was thirty, Creed earned over 20 gold and platinum records and a half-million dollars in royalties.    SEE: THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL: A STORY OF CANCER, COURAGE AND COLLABORATION Now the jewel of her catalog was primed for a makeover.  1977's "The Greatest Love of All" would be revived for Whitney Houston's debut album.    A year later, Cree...

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                                                     New Edition’s appearance with fellow Bostonians NKOTB on last night’s American Music Awards was a full circle moment, continuing the string of victories continuing to tip the scales in their favor after decades of career ups-and-downs. During NE's early years, one-sided management deals devoured their royalties and performance earnings. As NKTOB became millionaires, NE languished in financial purgatory. Group implosions grounded lucrative career take-offs. As the years came and went, others passed them by and reaped rewards that were always just beyond their grasp.   Fast forward to 2021.  A pair of TV biopics, a partnership with a high-powered Hollywood agency and a looming V...