My love for Stevie Wonder and his music began when I was a boy. I once dressed up as a young 1960s Stevie Wonder for Halloween.
The only thing missing from my costume was a harmonica which Mommy Dearest got for me. Like most Motown singles I saw as a child, Stevie Wonder’s name was on many.
His Innervisions album is one of my Desert Island albums. It would take me almost 30 years to have an even deeper connection with the album.
Songs In The Key of Life is easily the album I own the most copies of because it deserves to be owned in as pristine condition as possible. I was fortunate to have come across numerous copies over the years.
Had it not been for Innervisions, Songs In The Key of Life would have the secure spot on my Desert Island albums list. What Innervisions did was make me realize how special Stevie Wonder and his music are.
I’ve always been in awe of Stevie Wonder and most likely always will. Stevie Wonder'sSongs In The Key of Life Tour reaches Montreal on September 30, 2015.
When Sam The Record Man in Toronto was closing, I browsed the store for longer than my peeps waiting for me could have liked or tolerated. To my delight, I picked up a DVD collection of his performances. Although I already had Anthology, my knowledge of Marvin Gaye’s music was somewhat limited to select 1960s songs.
The DVD opened me up to You’re A Wonderful One. The song is quite possibly my favorite of Marvin’s solo 1960s songs. I liked the song so much that I added it to a show playlist dedicated to my god-daughter.
Only Stevie Wonder’s early 1970s classic albums and Michael Jackson’s juggernaut Thriller enter the discussion as contenders for soul album of all-time.
I saw the name Marvin Gaye on old 7” singles while growing up and distinctly remembered Sexual Healing was a huge hit in the summer of 1982. As I was exploring the late 1960s/early 1970s sounds, I did some research on Marvin Gaye’s music and history.
The duets with Tammi Terrell were the most magical. They looked and sounded perfect for each other. Because their timeless chemistry is still felt and perceived to this day, it is very easy to romanticize their recordings and one can only imagine them as the Romeo & Juliet of Motown Records. They were probably marketed as such but it is not a far stretch of the imagination to see them as lovebirds making music for lovebirds. Terrell dying in Gaye’s arms while on stage could on hand invite comparisons of Romeo & Juliet but it was responsible for Marvin Gaye creatinghis own masterpiece, What's Going On, which could be considered the musicalequivalent of Shakespeare’s great literary works.
From 1978 to 1980, Rick James rode the wave of success. I was in Toronto on the eve of the Sam the Record Man store closing and left behind the Come Get It CD on the shelf. I already had the vinyl at home and was only quite familiar with the biggest tunes on the record.
Upon my return to Montreal and further listens of Come Get It, I realize I should have bought the CD that day.
I most likely will one day. Mary Jane is one of my top 3 favorite funk breaks of all time.
Cold Blooded would be one of the first Rick James records I would seek when I started collecting vinyl. The song is funky as hell.
I remember Rick James' early 1980s era vividly. I remember Super Freak playing on the radio but it would take 1983s Cold Blooded for me to really connect with Rick.
The ballad Ebony Eyes would have registered with me more if I were older at the time of its release but I did remember being amazed Smokey Robinson would team with the reckless Rick James.Regardless of what I thought about either of them, they were label mates on Motown Records.
Chris Clark intrigued me from the moment I learned of her.
Upon my return to Concordia University's radio station in 2006, I was experimenting with rock, soul, funk, pop and world music from the 1960s & 1970s. I was looking for any and all artists that were soulful in their rock or rock artists covering soul music.
I seek the unknown whenever I can and to learn of Chris Clark recording for Motown put me on the path of discovering what I could about her.
I contacted her and interviewed her on my radio show.
She autographed my copy of her Chris Clark: The Motown Collection 2CD set.
With all of these things I possess, I can't get next to one of her 1960s albums on vinyl while digging in the crates.
Thankfully there is that compilation of her recordings and more for all that may be die-hard or curious as I am.
There is no need to be curious. Chris Clark's music will make its way onto upcoming DJ setlists and playlists.
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