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Spinning only the best in Rhythm & Blues

 

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Marv Goldberg, Marcia Vance, and Mike Redmond

The original cast of Yesterday's Memories:
Marv Goldberg, Marcia Vance, and Mike Redmond




The greatest problem in communication is
the illusion that it has been accomplished.

                                          George Bernard Shaw




R&B And Me:
An Author Remembers


I am a part of all that I have met.
Ulysses - Alfred, Lord Tennyson

I don't sing. I don't play an instrument. I don't write songs. I don't arrange music. I don't have a reputation as an influential DJ. I don't own a record label. I don't produce recording sessions. I don't even have much of a record collection.

I'm not sure if this list is exhaustive, but it certainly gives you a pretty clear idea of what my involvement with Rhythm & Blues is not.

Why then have I called this section "R&B And Me"? Well, I have been involved, in my way. For more than half a century, I've been a researcher and music historian in the field. I've interviewed more than 300 people, mostly members of vocal groups, who created R&B music in the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. These interviews were then turned into magazine articles (and, in one case, a book), usually written by me (at times with one or more collaborators), sometimes handed over to others, if my workload was particularly heavy. The result, as of January 2016, is about 275 articles on groups, 2 on duos, and 10 on single artists. (Harder to classify are the articles on Waldo Champen and Arthur Crier each of whom sang with many groups.) There are also several articles that aren't about specific singers; you'll find them listed separately, below (as Non-artist Articles).

My resulting body of work is therefore a survey of R&B music, from the mid-30s to the mid-60s. My articles have appeared in many publications over the years (including some original writing done for album liner notes), and below you'll find a list of all I've done.

I'm proud to have been a part of R&B. I wish the music itself had found greater acceptance, but at least I did my part to see that the artists got the recognition they deserved. There are so many more stories to be told; that's why I keep digging.


articles


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generic "bird" groups



        Alphabetical listing of my online articles


My R&B articles are alphabetized in this drop-down list (with a
chronological listing further down the page). Just make a selection.

NOTE: I'm reasonably certain that all the links are correct. If you're looking up the Thor-Ables,
for example, you'll be correctly brought to the Flairs article. Tell me if a link is incorrect,
but first make sure that the group you want isn't in the article you ended up at.


SITE SEARCH



To search for all articles that mention a group or member, use this search field. Enter a selection and then click the "Search My Site" button. If the item is more than a single word, surround it with quotation marks. If you put in more than one search argument, you'll only get pages that have all  the terms.

NOTE: To keep everything consistent, I've used "3", "4", and "5" in group names. Thus, you'll find them under "5 Keys" and "4 Buddies". If you enter "Five Keys" or "Four Buddies", you won't get the results you expected.

ANOTHER NOTE: Since I usually list what other artists' songs were reviewed in a given week, many of the instances will be irrelevant. If you just want to read an article about a specific group, it's faster to use the drop-down menu, above.

To search all of Google, not just my site, clear the check box below.

Search my site


        Recently-added articles
 
Madeline Greene & 3 Varieties Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop Master Keys 3 Keys/4 Keys/Furness Brothers Flennoy Trio
Mabel Scott Caldwells Open The Door, Richard Angel Face Vanita Smythe
Little Four 4 Clefs 3 Peppers Ginger Snaps Beale Street Boys
Bixie Crawford 4 Steps Of Jive Sugar Tones Betty Hall Jones Grooveneers
         
        Recently-updated articles

NOTE: I'm constantly fiddling with my articles as I find new data and photos. The ones listed below are those that have significant changes or what I consider to be interesting ones.

The Lavern Baker article has been completely re-written
Syncopators Monograms Lavern Baker Striders Blenders
Titans Kings 5 Emeralds/Downbeats/Elgins Crows Scamps
Dovers/Vocaltones Teardrops (Sampson) Cats And The Fiddle King Odom Quartet Cabineers
 
        Non-artist Articles

NOTE: Occasionally I write articles that aren't about specific artists. This list will make them easier to find.

Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop Open The Door, Richard Gloria - A Short History Let The Show Begin
Baton Records Old Town Records Showtime At The Apollo How Many Boots Do You Have?
American Graffiti (movie review)      
         
        Constantly-updated articles (the supergroups)
         
5 Keys Clovers Dominoes Drifters Flamingos
Larks Moonglows Orioles Platters Ravens
Red Caps Teenagers      
         
        Credit where it's due
     
In many cases, I wrote articles with others (sometimes only doing the interviewing). Since then, I have thoroughly rewritten most of those articles myself, but these are the people with whom I co-authored the originals, in the publications listed below.

Blanket credit is extended to Ferdie Gonzalez of Disco-File, for his help over the years with the discographies used in most of my articles.
     
*DF = written with Donn Fileti
*DH = written with Dave Hinckley
*GM = written with George Moonoogian
*JN = written with John Nielson
*KK = written with Kitty Karp
*MR = written with Mike Redmond
*MV = written with Marcia Vance
*PG = written with Pete Grendysa
*RF = written with Ray Funk
*RW = written with Rick Whitesell
*TB = written with Todd Baptista
     
OVER 50 YEARS OF WRITER'S CRAMP
a chronological listing of my articles



And don't forget my Ink Spots Book.


liner

Note: every once in a while I come across a CD that has something I've written used as liner notes. It's rare that I'm asked (or even told) about this, although sometimes I volunteer an article if I find out about a project in time. If you ever run across something I've written that isn't on this list, please let me know, so that I can add it here (I'm actually proud that someone thinks enough of my scribblings to use them; however, it would be nice to get a copy of the CD).



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