Where's Van Hunt?

I've found that most in my generation, regardless of race or background, who appreciate retro Black films feel the same about music that reflects an era gone by. Van Hunt was considered part of the early 2000s neo-soul movement with underrated hits like "Dust". Some music connoisseurs felt the title was stifling though some,like Erykah Badu and Jill Scott, managed to earn mainstream success to this day.

I still rock Mr Hunt's 2004 self-titled debut CD today. And it's on the strength of those tracks that I believe if Prince were to voluntarily pass the musical torch, Hunt could be a strong contender.

 This article describes some of the challenges the former Dionne Farris (now that's a name we haven't heard in a couple of minutes) protege. This year he released Popular, his first in more than a decade that was originally slated for 2008. Let me know what you think.
To listen on Spotify-https://open.spotify.com/album/6zyuCp6aqbAkBUuSTXuX7f
Other streaming music services - https://vanhunt.lnk.to/Popular

The Brother from Sha Na Na Dies at 66

If you grew up in the 70s, you remember that trip back to 50s nostalgia with Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley.  Anyway, you also remember that all 3-4 network channels had a load of variety shows.  Well, Sha Na Na brought the best of both worlds.

But there was this one lone brother, Denny (or Dennis) Greene who wore this tight gold lame outfit and always seemed content in the background.  As a kid growing up in Inglewood, I really wanted for him to have a solo...but now he gets to perform for the angels. RIP

RIP Gary Owens

Not the mediocre White comedian that loves to star in Black movies and does stand-up.  If you're old enough to remember the original Gong Show, then you know that Chuck Barris was not the original host.  Velvety-voiced Gary Owens was a voiceover and hosting veteran whose credits include Laugh-In and other crazy game shows from the 70s.  Read more about his life and career. (Variety) 

Wayback Wednesdays...What the Hell Happened to....?

Okay, I'm playing catch-up here so I'll try not to disappoint. Who remembers back in the day when Prince would appear on mostly White rock shows moving and shaking like Mick Jagger but looking a little bit better? Okay. So who under 50 remembers the bass player in the plastic pants? Andre Cymone missed out on the Purple Rain glory but went on to become an in-demand producer for future wife Jody Watley, Evelyn Champagne King and others. He also made a few decent albums and still records today One of my favorite mags, Wax Poetics, caught up with the man last year and found out what he has been up to since parting with boyhood friend Prince. See how he rocks it in the new millennium!

For ol' skool fools ...

Wayback Weds...Making Up for Lost Time in 2015

Love Injection - Trussell




This right here was my rollerskating jam back in the day and I have it on my MP3 (yes, I still have most of my albums, too) today.  Heard it on an old episode of Soul Train recently and damn near lost my mind.

Don't know much about these people or where they are today but this rare groove just reminds me of simpler times.

Release Yourself - Aleem (a.k.a. that flyer party song from the early-mid 80s)


Now if you remember Dr. Dre when he DJ'ed at that itty bitty club on Avalon, south of El Segundo, or the flyer parties near USC...or you lived for KDAY on the AM dial...you have to remember this song.  Don't know what became of these people either but I thought it was a treat to have the full length. 

And if you really liked KDAY on the AM Dial...

The you know they were in the only station is L.A. that played this crazy remix of Humpty Dance by Digital Underground.

Who Was the White Dude in Ohio Players?

The upper right corner...who that?

This is a question that has bothered me for all of 2014.  I saw their episode of TVOne's Unsung and I saw no White dude.  However, during my days of convalescence (which was the first half of 2014), I kept seeing him in early pics of the Ohio Players while watching the R&B Classics channel on Time Warner.

I mean, really, what's his name?  Is he still alive?  If so, does he still play music or did he see red in those contracts early on and decided to bounce?  As many times as I've heard the OP's covers on the radio (Red Hot Chili Peppers 'Love Rollercoaster' and 'Roger's 'Fire' are my favorites), I hate that OP can't live off their publishing.

Anyway, during my search for the answer to the above question, I ran across this blog that had a funny take on Ohio Players album covers, along with visuals.  Growing up, my household was more Earth,Wind & Fire or Isley Brothers and mostly female, so I was never exposed to photos that may be considered misogynist or degrading to women.  In fact, my mom recently confessed that she couldn't stand the OP.

Well, damn.

Back to question, if anyone can ID the less-pigmented dude above, feel free to holla with the intel.

Wayback Wednesday - Unlimited Touch

This was one of my skating rink jams back in the day.  Doesn't seem like 30+ years but that's just one of those facts of life.  Anyway, there isn't a whole lot to be found on this group but I'm grateful to Soul Walking for their 411.

I didn't make the video as there seems to be no official video for this classic jam.  Enjoy!

Wayback Weds...Sons of Darkness 1970s Funk

This is really new to me as I discovered them about a yr.ago.  Serious funk but the 411 is hard as hell to find..so here's another.  

Enjoy your holiday!

The Original Soul Train?

Now, I'm not talking about when it was filmed in Chicago or taking away from Mr. Don Cornelius' legacy but there was someone else that came up with the dance show concept for Black folks because...Dick Clark wasn't hearing it back then.

Okay, let me reverse gears a little.

The Mitch Thomas Show was a local dance program based out of Philly.  It was also syndicated in the Delaware and surrounding areas.  Like Mr. Cornelius, he got his start in radio and eventually created something that most likely had more flavor than American Bandstand did back then.

His show would only last from 1955 to 1958 and never reached the West Coast or South,where it may have done well, but it was popular with black and white teens.

When I read about Thomas over the weekend, it reminded me of the movie Hairspray. My mom was the first person to tell me that Blacks were not allowed to dance on the show when it began.  However, according to her and her friends, this scene was typical if a person of color went to audition for Dick Clark and 'em.

Way Back Wednesdays: Andre Cymone + The Revolution Reunited

I was a diehard Prince fan from 1978 - 199? ...let's just say I didn't care for the TAFKAP period but I did go to a few concerts.  Anyway, my roommate and I always "fight" about whether Andre Cymone and P are the same person (despite having numerous coffee table books around the house w/early versions of Prince and the Revolution).  Bounce TV always plays the Soul Train repeats of Dance Electric (1985) by Andre Cymone but few know his first hit.

Now for you old skoolers that remember that the Revolution actually started with Dez Dickerson and Andre Cymone...here is something special for you.  A rehearsal featuring all the original male players of the Revolution.

Way Back Wednesdays: Loose Ends

  Anybody who knows me knows I'm the queen of B-sides and those things old, vintage.  Anyway, this was my jam during my 1st year in college and I'm happy to have found this on YouTube.  Loose Ends was only around (in the States) for a minute in the 80s and there really much to be found online (I refuse to do that lazy Wikipedia $hit).

The New Mayor of Compton?

I went to school in the CPT long before it became the home of gangsta rap.  Recently, there was an incident of Latino gangs attempting to take over the city that once boasted more than 75% AA/Black population.

Anyway, many cities in L.A. County need help and while the immigration issue is definitely a hot topic for those trying to make a living, can a former burger pitchman make a difference? Courtesy of Yahoo News.

While it is impressive that this young man managed to stay out of trouble despite his popularity (raise your hand if you tried to get in on the 1970s commercial campaign to star with him), not sure if his recent work history reflects someone that can help a sometimes turbulent city.  His LinkedIn Summary reads like this:

WRITER, PRODUCER, DIRECTOR. CREATIVE MARKETING, LIVE EVENT PROMOTIONS, VIDEO PRODUCTION, PHOTOGRAPHY, HOST, TV/RADIO PERSONALITY, SPEAKER

Specialties: LIVE EVENT PROMOTIONS, SAG, AFTRA

Anyway, I wish all well as he may be able to use his contacts to bring some fresh revenue to the city.  Sorry, couldn't find the commercial with the song.

A New Year and a Little Tea

Hey'yall!  I first heard about Bettye Lavette last year on PR.  Since I (no longer, LOL) don't have the audacity to copy & paste and I never heard of her, I let the tea of her new tell all pass late last year.  Courtesy of The Daily Beast.

Here is a vintage vid and I really want to say that I HATE the state of music today.  That is all.

Okey dokey.  I got some Soul Train tea though it wasn't everything I expected.  Linda Howard, a dancer from 1973-77 who also performed with the Motown group High Energy passed over the holidays.  On many forums, people asked which one she was since you rarely saw their faces dancing.  She had more Asian features.  Not sure of her nationality as I remember arguing this with friends at West Athens ES (Go Class of 1980!) but her features stood out the most.  Here is a hit that I didn't know about until a couple of yrs. ago.  Would be nice if Mariah can get off whatever and do covers of these classics. JMO.

On a lighter note, I got found an interview with Damita Jo Freeman.  If you're just barely catching up to what Bounce TV has to offer (NOW it either comes on early in the A.M. or it comes on twice in the afternoon on the West Coast), she's famous for doing THAT high-ass kick.  Like Pat Davis had the neck-roll (back when it was cool and not a stereotype), the kick and robot were her signature steps.  Check her out in this classic clip w/Joe Tex.  

70s TV Superheros Are Coming to Digital in 2013

Anybody that was a kid from 1975-1980 can appreciate some Steve Austin or Jamie Sommers a.k.a.The Bionic Woman, regardless of color.  Or my favorite at the time, 'Charlie's Angels'...with Farrah Fawcett, of course!

Yep, somebody's been taking notes and realized that you can never beat the originality of old (or retro) TV shows.  I've also been pretty fortunate to see some Blaxploitation movies I've never heard of.  When I think of Sugar Hill, I think of Wesley playing a more toned-down Nino Brown, not an actress named Marki Bey doing some voodoo mess.  I may get that one uncut for Halloween next year.

So, back to topic.  Just as I was getting comfortable with watching restaurants that I would never visit and noting those places in Cali (yes, I will ride a train), here comes this Cozi TV channel out of nowhere.  They're also supposed to bring back the Lone Ranger (before my time, sowwy) and some other classics.

Here is the link.  Just enter your zip and it will give the current and future listings.

Donald Goines...my first REAL reading experience

If you've read earlier posts, I mentioned how I came to appreciate that street culture/blaxploitation is captured in the media.  However, like many of you, I hate when others think that "the streets" are the only story that a Black person has to tell.  Growing up in the 70s and 80s, people thought Alex Haley, Maya Angelou and other noted literary figures told the Black Experience, or who had an interesting story to tell.

While I liked some of those stories, I wanted to hear something different.  School book clubs and ABC Afterschool Specials (yep, like when Jan Brady was a street ho) scratched the surface but I wanted something that was grittier.  Which was strange for a teen who lived in a section of Inglewood that was quickly changing from a White liberal/Black suburb to a 'hood that was featured on the 5 o'clock news regularly for drug-related crimes.

In my mother's quest to try the 'burbs thing again, I used to wander through Waldenbooks at Fox Hills Mall often.  For those who didn't remember, there was no Internet, no coffee bar (overpriced or otherwise), no hipsters looking through art books by Jackson Pollock or Andy Warhol, not even eclectic or acid jazz selections.  Just books and people looking to buy books, not mistake it for a library.

Since I'm a fast reader, it only took a couple of pages for me to see that Donald Goines was what I had been looking for.  All the grit, funk and those pieces of honesty that I would see in Terry McMillan years later.

So almost like clockwork, I would visit the Black Books sections at least once a month to buy the next in his series, which were semi-autobiographical tales of crime, drugs and pimping.  Him, Iceberg Slim and others opened me up to another world to which I could visualize from a safe distance and escape.

It was around this time, I learned that a video store on Manchester in Inglewood (now closed) specialized in blaxploitation movies as well as indie films of that time.

Recently, TVOne paid a little homage to the late Mr. Goines in an account of his life as probably the first Black Urban-style author known to this generation. Enjoy!

Who Dat? Marsha Warfield

Years before becoming a cast regular on Night Court in the 80s, the first time I saw Marsha Warfield was on Soul Train.  I was too young (under 10) to catch her on the Richard Pryor Show but she cracked me up.



After being on a long-running sitcom, numerous appearances in movies and her own 1990 talk show (too many chefs in the kitchen), she's no where to be found in 2012.

Maybe she wouldn't drink the kool-aid or just chose to retire early, IDK. U know..share with us!

Just in Time For Halloween-Carol Speed

Clients are coming left and right but I thought I'd stop by and share a gem I discovered about a year ago.

Carol Speed had a short career and I found it interesting that she had a brief part in 1997's 'Jackie Brown but was cut at the last minute.  Hmm
Here she shares some other accounts with the Original Foxy Brown as well as her short stint in Hollyweird.

A video I'm having a hard time finding is Abby.  The stunts are a little better than TNT but from what I've seen online (I was six when this was in major release and my mother was not about to let me see it), it sounds like it would make for a good weekend.  Then again, I never get tired of the original Blacula.

Those Were the Days

Back when I was growing up between the Century Drive-In and Imperial theater in Inglewood, I didn't realize how much I may have missed out on. I wasn't born until late '68 and I just barely remember the neighborhood kids taking me to see the Melting Man and I cried so much that my mom had to pick me up.

*Sighs* Thanks Mom!

Anyway, back to blaxploitation business.  OK, I watched The Hit Man again and though dude is almost old enough to be my grandfather, I wouldn't mind going out on a date with Bernie Casey.  We both like art and since I just put this link on my FB wall, gotta keep it clean. LOL

Also, I found out who the mystery actors were that appeared in both Hit Man and Cool Breeze.  His name is Sam Laws and finding his pic online is hard because there are about three public figures with this name - and they're White.  Anyway, he's no longer with us as well as Bhetty Waldron/Fast Fanny from the bowling alley on Sanford and Son but I got a clip of her in action w/Fred.