David Ruffin Jr. - Can't Get Next To You

YouTube

David Ruffin Jr. sounds quite a bit like his father to me. The Temptations should do some music with him and bring that old Motown sound back again. They could team up with Smokey Robinson again and write some good old fashion love songs like they use to do. I have said it once, and I will say it again, I'm sick of Jay-Z and all that hip hop stuff. It's not that I hate hip hop but that's all that I hear these days. I'm tired of the same old people and the same old tunes. However, people never get tired of Motown because Motown is real music. Glad to know that there is a David Ruffin Jr. that has great talent like his father. Check out a little bit of his vocal.

http://youtu.be/ExbTYJdfc7g

Smokey Robinson's Great Friend Marv Tarplin

Google Image

R&B legend Smokey Robinson pays tribute to his great friend and collaborator Marv Tarplin, the Motown guitarist and songwriter, who passed away in Las Vegas last week. 'He was one of my best friends. This news is like a dagger to my heart' Rollin Stone....

Deep Soul The Up Rising of Motown

Clip from Video

Watch the history of Motown. Watch Deep Soul, "The Up Rising of Motown". Learn about Barry Gordy and how Motown got started. This is part one of the story. See more at Youtube.

Nick Ashford Leaves Us

Google Image

It hurt my feelings to find out that Nick Ashford has died of throat cancer. He died at age 70. I loved to hear him sing with his wife Valerie Simpson. They were known as Ashford and Simpson. My favorite song that they made was Solid. I never heard anything bad about Ashford and Simpson. I never heard the word divorce when it came to their name. They look like they had true love and their songs were real and straight from the heart.

AshfordSimpsonVEVO

Stephanie Mills and Michael Jackson Dated

Clip From Video

1079WRNB

It is said that Stephanie Mills dated Michael Jackson back in the 70's. I always knew that they met each other and that they were friends. I remember reading about their relationship in a magazine in the 80's. Stephanie knows a lot about Michael.She said she cooked for him and washed his clothes. I do not remember reading any information like that. Stephanie said that Michael was a man and very loving.


ilovemjx

I Miss the Good Old Days

I'll never forget that day when me, my mother, father, and brother were waiting for Motown 25 to come on. We had to set the VCR to record it. Television kept family around. If you wanted to see something, you had to get it from television. Now, the Internet has made life so easy and boring. Music is too easy to get and so are all of the videos and television shows. Everybody has their own little private space and computer hooked to the Internet. I hardly watch television anymore because everything that interest me is online. Family has grown so far apart. Neighborhood girls use to come to my house just to see Michael Jackson. There were not many people that had a VCR in my neighborhood back in the 80's. It brought me great company. I miss the good old days.

The cast of Thriller Live perform on GMTV

Clip From GMTV

The Cast of Thriller Live performed on GMTV. They did a great job singing ABC and I Want You Back. I think that someone needs to write songs for this group and bring back that old Jackson Five style. The lead singer of the group name is Kieran. He has a voice like Michael Jackson but there is some difference. Kieran's voice fits the songs of the Jacksons and the rest of the group too. These guys need to make singing their career and they need to stick with it. I think they have a good thing going.

From Clip GMTV

GMTVChannel

Marvin Gaye_Yesterday

raymondbarber1001Channel


Yesterday was sung by the Beetles. Marvin Gaye added soul, more expression, and feeling to the song. The song is about the way I feel. Sometimes life seems better yesterday than it does today. More people was around yesterday. There was not as many worries yesterday. People was closer to one another yesterday. Today, neighbors that live right beside you grow apart from each other. Nobody has time to visit. I believe in yesterday.

Dragon Lady_Disco Lady

Clip From the Commercial Dragon Lady

Do you remember the commercial, "Dragon Lady"? I remember hearing the dragon lady song on a soul radio station. Then I saw it on television. Seems like I remember seeing it whenever I would watch Soul Train. When I first heard it, me, my mom, and dad would laugh and joke about it.We enjoyed seeing the commercial.



oldschool4111Channel
_________________________________________________________

Johnny Taylor Clip From Soul Train

Dragon Lady came from Johnny Taylor's song, Disco Lady. It is a very good song. For some reason, I remember hearing Dragon Lady the most. That's funny. Disco Lady was a song of the 70's. I don't know why I don't remember hearing it. Maybe it wasn't played on the radio much or it just didn't grab my attention back then. However, the commercial sure did. Now I know Disco Lady, and it's a song that is still like brand new.



MilpitasHSclass1994Channel

Carla Thomas - Gee Whiz

Google Image

scmm42Channel

Carla Thomas is the Queen of Memphis soul. She is the daughter of the late Rufus Thomas. Carla made records for Stax Records in the 1960's. Her most famous single was, "Gee Wiz" (Look at His Eyes). This is a beautiful song to me and my first time hearing it. It is better than anything new playing on the radio today. I get sick and tired of gangster rap and hip hop. Carla Thomas is real soul.

Florence Ballard Interview

MeetTheSupremesChannel



Hear Florence Ballard's interview. Hear how she was treated in the days of Motown. To me, it sounds like she was treated like she wasn't a human being. It sounds as if other Motown members may have been hurt too in those days from what I gather from other news. When I was young, I had questions why everybody left Motown. I think it is all coming clear to me now. We see the happy smiles in pictures. It looked like Motown was a family, but we did not know their trials.

Berry Gordy and all of the Motown family were very young in those days. People can realize how wrong they were and can change and make things right. People can admit their wrongs but they will not. Sometimes people make mistakes being young and foolish and not knowing any better. Then again, some people have hearts so hard, they never apologize or change. The older someone gets, the harder their heart gets. It's hard for some people to heal and get over hurt. Sometimes we have power and do not use it by doing what is right. We have power to forgive, and we have power to free someone from a burden when we are wrong. People just go on hurting, and it's hard to put the past behind them. It's hard for people to unite and come together. People need correcting.

Carlo Riley as MJ

Google Image
Almost MJ

AlmostMJChannel

Well, we have a Michael Jackson impersonator that can dance, look, act, and model like Michael. It would be even better if he could sing like Michael to carry on his legacy. His name is Carlo Riley. The great thing about Carlo being a Michael Jackson impersonator is he could be used for a Michael Jackson movie. Carlo had the privilege of meeting Michael Jackson in person in March 2007 at the prestigious Thriller 25th anniversary party. You can learn more about Carlo at AlmostMJ.com

Wylie Draper as Michael Jackson

Clips from Jackson Movie

Wylie Draper could act, dance, and sing so much like Michael Jackson. He played as Michael Jackson in the movie "The Jacksons American Dream." Wylie also was a dancer in Michael Jackson's video, "Remember the Time". It is sad news to me, and I am just finding out today that Wylie passed away in 1993. Wylie was born in 1969 and would have been 42 years of age if he had lived. Wylie died of leukemia. I heard nothing about his death in 1993. Maybe because he wasn't famous enough, but he should have been.

It's sad to know that both Michael and Wylie are now gone. They could have entertained together. If Wylie had been living today, he could have done a tribute to Michael and could have carried on his legacy. If Michael would  have recognized Wylie more, we might would have known about his death. I guess Wylie's acting in the Jackson's movie was enough. I sure did not know that he was a dancer in Michael's video, Remember the Time. Michael did recognize him and Chris Tucker too.

Shorty Long_Here Comes the Judge

Google Image

MotownMagic1959 Channel














Shorty Long is a Motown singer that I did not know or was unfamiliar with. Most of the time when radio stations play oldies from Motown, it is always the ones that we hear most about. Shorty Long's biggest hit was Here Comes the Judge in 1968. The song was inspired by a comic act on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In about a judge by Pigmeat Markham. Long had talent to play instruments and was the only one besides Smokey Robinson who was allowed to produce his own recordings. On June 29, 1969, Long and a friend drowned when their boat overturn on the Detroit River in Michigan.

Four Tops Movie

Posted By: http://www.youtube.com/user/HauntedStudios

 It would be great if Motown made a movie about the Four Tops. All four members of the group began their careers together while they were high school students in Detroit. In 1963, Berry Gordy, Jr. convinced The Four Tops to join his Motown record company. "Baby I Need Your Loving" was a song written for the Four Tops. The single made a success.