Soul Strutter: 12/01/22

Thursday, 1 December 2022

Bandcamp Friday

Commencing at the start of Covid lockdown in March 2020, Bandcamp introduced Bandcamp Friday on the first Friday of each month where it waives its revenue share to help support artists who saw their livelihoods disrupted by the pandemic. Even though lockdown is now over (and we hope it doesn't come back) they continue to waive fees on the first Friday of each month.

The next Bandcamp Friday is this Friday 2 Dec 2022. Artists/labels receive on average 93% (after payment processor fees) of sales proceeds. Even on normal days artists receive on average 82% of proceeds so, wherever available, I would encourage you purchase from Bandcamp rather than the huge multinationals such as Apple and Amazon.

Amazon's fee model is quite convoluted but for a single £0.99p track I estimate that, after fees, less than 10% is received by artists as there is a per item fee of £0.75p plus a referral fee of 15.3%, so £90.3p is deducted from a £99p sale. There are also closing fees but I don't think they are applicable for digital music. To obtain more then you must sign up to a monthly plan starting at £25 per month which I suspect you are tied into for at least 12 months.

I haven't investigated the Apple fee structure but I'd be surprised if it were much different.

Version Excursion - One Man At A Time - Nancy Butts / New Love Ltd / New Love Ltd & Interstate 95

Nancy Butts was from Sparta, GA, and was the lead singer in her family gospel group the Butts Sisters before releasing half a dozen secular singles, initially on Eugene Davis' Detroit label Flaming Arrow and Crow and then on Jar-Val out of Macon, GA, run by DJ Hamp Swain which was also responsible for the release of Matt Brown's superb "Thank You Baby". Her first release on Jar-Val included a cover of Don Covay's "Letter Full Of Tears" which was picked up nationally by King Records.

Hit And Run Records has just reissued both sides of her first single on Flaming Arrow "I Want To Hold Your Hand Baby" / "Your Friend Will Take The Man You Love". In that post I alluded to another song from her that I would post separately so here it is with another two later cover versions.

It's a deep soul song "I Can't Love But One Man At A Time" which was covered twice by New Love Ltd. as "One Love At A Time" who released it as a single on Arco in 1977 and then on their only album, "So Much To Talk About" (1978) (where they were billed as New Love Ltd & Interstate 95) which only appears to have been released in Brazil, although there is a 2015 reissue by Funky Planet. The album version is a different take to the single. It is thought that it is Nancy Butts on the single but the album vocalist is definitely Valerie Lipford.

Whilst the original song is credited to only Jackie Avery, on the Arco single Nancy Butts is also on writer's credits which may be why it is thought she is singing? However, on the album version both are replaced by Samuel Wilson who was a member of Today, Tomorrow, Forever's band and is credited with writing all songs. The things that went on! He has other writing and performing credits with Rivage on their rare 1981 album "Sittin' On It" from where their sought after modern soul gem "Strung Out On Your Love" came from, as well as with Philly Cream and The Mighty Ryeders. Incidentally Ronald Broomfield (aka Eugene Wilde, brother of Vince) was also a member of Today, Tomorrow, Forever.

Nancy Butts [1972] - I Can't Love But One Man At A Time [Jar-Val #14]

New Love Ltd [1977] - One Man At A Time [Arco #100]

New Love Ltd & Interstate 95 [1978] - One Man At A Time [Giant #201.005]

Who's YOUR Favourite Artist in 2022?

Wow! This was received in the inbox from Spotify this morning. If you had any doubt about how much music is sifted through in an effort to present you with the best of what's around, it has notified me that I have listened to 6,387 different artists so far in 2022! That's approx. 20 different artists per day, every day for the year, so where would you start to choose? I'd hate to hazard a guess as to how many actual tracks have been listened to!

2023 Grammy R&B Nominations

With mentioning that PJ Morton having three nominations for the 2023 Grammys in the last post, I thought you 'might' be interested in the full list of the 2023 R&B nominations for the 65th Grammy awards where winners will be chosen on Sunday 5 Feb 2023.

Best R&B Performance

Beyoncé - Virgo’s Groove

Jazmine Sullivan - Hurt Me So Good

Lucky Daye - Over

Mary J. Blige Featuring Anderson .Paak - Here With Me

Muni Long - Hrs & Hrs

Best Traditional R&B Performance

Adam Blackstone Featuring Jazmine Sullivan - ’Round Midnight

Babyface Featuring Ella Mai - Keeps on Fallin’

Beyoncé - Plastic Off the Sofa

Mary J. Blige - Good Morning Gorgeous

Snoh Aalegra - Do 4 Love

Best R&B Song

Beyoncé - Cuff It

Jazmine Sullivan - Hurt Me So Good

Mary J. Blige - Good Morning Gorgeous

Muni Long - Hrs & Hrs

PJ Morton - Please Don’t Walk Away

Best Progressive R&B Album

Cory Henry - Operation Funk

Moonchild - Starfruit

Steve Lacy - Gemini Rights

Tank & the Bangas - Red Balloon

Terrace Martin - Drones

Best R&B Album

Chris Brown - Breezy (Deluxe)

Lucky Daye - Candy Drip

Mary J. Blige - Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe)

PJ Morton - Watch the Sun

Robert Glasper - Black Radio III

Best Jazz Vocal Album

The Baylor Project - The Evening : Live At Apparatus

Carmen Lundy - Fade to Black

Cécile McLorin Salvant - Ghost Song

The Manhattan Transfer & The WDR Funkhausorchester - Fifty

Samara Joy - Linger Awhile

PJ Morton [2022] - Watch The Sun Film (Full Album)

Well PJ Morton is certainly getting his money's worth out of this years album "Watch The Sun" with a Deluxe edition of the April released album put out in October and now a visual album, an entire video for the album (the first not the Deluxe), premiered on 18 Nov.

It's a compilation of existing videos for the tracks along with a couple being reimagined, a couple of animations and two new videos.

Morton has three nominations for the 2023 Grammy's:

Best R&B Song

PJ Morton - Please Don’t Walk Away

(#18 in SoulStrutter's Top 25 Tracks of 2021)

Best R&B Album

PJ Morton - Watch the Sun

(included in this year's 2022 Albums of the Year ... so far Pt.2)

Best Gospel Performance/Song

PJ Morton Feat. Zacardi Cortez, Gene Moore, Samoht, Tim Rogers & Darrel Walls - The Better Benediction

Click icons below for further information or to connect with the artist.

Billy Paul - A Profile

Paul Williams (1 Dec 1934 - 24 Apr 2016), better known as Billy Paul, would be celebrating his 88th birthday today. The song immediately associated with him is his #1 hit "Me And Mrs Jones" from 1972 on Philadelphia International Records.

A native Philadelphian, he was raised on his mothers jazz records and states Nat King Cole as an early influence along with Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Dina Washington, Sarah Vaughn, Carmen McCrae and Nancy Wilson as well as Nina Simone, Johnny Mathis and Sam Cooke.

At the age of 16 he performed at Club Harlem in Philadelphia for a week, on the same bill as Charlie Parker, and has never forgotten his words of encouragement.

Paul's first single was delivered in Apr 1952, aged 17, on Jubilee Records, a full 20 years before he had his first hit record with "Me And Mrs Jones"

He released a total of 11 albums for PIR (and associated labels Gamble and Neptune) between 1968-1979. Only another two studio albums materialised after he left the company, "Lately" (1985) and "Wide Open" (1988).

Having released two singles for Jubilee in 1952, another on Finch in 1960 (he had been drafted into the military in between and was stationed in Germany with none other than Elvis Presley!) and one on New Dawn in 1966, Paul was one of the first signings of Gamble and Huff who had seen him perform at a jazz club and signed him to their newly established Gamble label. He recorded his debut album of jazz covers "Feelin' Good at the Cadillac Club" released in 1968 on Gamble.

His classic "Me And Mrs Jones" came from his fourth album "360 Degrees of Billy Paul" after his first, above, "Ebony Woman" (1970) and "Going East" (1971) so he had more than paid his dues before obtaining his first taste of singles success, although the previous two albums did well on the R&B charts ("Ebony Woman" #12 and "Going East" #42). The flip side to the single was a very good cover of the Elton John and Bernie Taupin hit "Your Song" and was the label's first #1 hit. It earned him a Grammy award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male at the 15th annual Grammy Awards in March 1973. He was in good company as Aretha Franklin won the female award for "Young, Gifted And Black" and The Temptations won the group award for "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone" which also scooped the only other two R&B awards for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Instrumental Performance.

The label made a big faux pas with his next single release with "Am I Black Enough for You?" which was too political for the masses and only reached #79 Hot 100 which killed the momentum of his smash hit. Paul himself was against releasing it but the label persisted. He wanted to release the superb "Brown Baby" or "I'm Just A Prisoner" neither of which saw a US single release, although "Brown Baby" was released in the UK to follow up his hit but didn't chart and has been a firm favourite of his ever since first hearing it on one of those K-Tel type budget compilations, I think it might have been "Superbad"? (Having just checked it was "Black Explosion" (1974))

Only two further singles crossed over to Billboard Hot 100, "Thanks For Saving My Life" (#37 1974) and "Let's Make A Baby" (#83 1976) (another song that caused controversy!) and only two of his other R&B charting singles made the R&B Top 50.

Album Discography

1968 - Feelin' Good at the Cadillac Club

1970 - Ebony Woman

1971 - Going East

1972 - 360 Degrees of Billy Paul

1973 - War of the Gods

1974 - Live in Europe

1975 - Got My Head on Straight

1975 - When Love is New

1976 - Let 'Em In

1977 - Only the Strong Survive

1979 - First Class

1985 - Lately

1988 - Wide Open

Here's playlist of 45 tracks cherry picked from his albums.

My personal Top 10 in no particular order would be:

Brown Baby

Me And Mrs Jones

Your Song

Let The Dollar Circulate

Be Truthful To Me

Let's Make A Baby

People Power

America (We Need The Light)

Bring The Family Back

Sooner Or Later

Freda Payne [2022] - Do You Still Dream About Me? (The Love Mix) [THE SOUND OF L.A.]

Even after reaching the age of 80 this year (19 Sep), Freda Payne is still active (and even performing live as she had a concert as recent at 8 Nov) and can still turn a tune. She has also just won an award for lead actress in a musical "The Viz".

Her latest release is a cover of Nancy Wilson's "Do You Still Dream About Me?" from her 1990 album "A Lady With A Song". Payne also recorded it on her 2007 album "On The Inside" but her latest version is a different arrangement.

A bit of further digging revealed that she released it with bassist Mitchell Coleman Jr. on 19 Sep '22 which sounds similar to her latest version but slightly different and is 20 seconds shorter. I've just noticed on the cover image of the latest version that it is subtitled "The Love Mix". Note that the link on the image below is for this version as the new version is not available on Amazon as yet.

Ms Payne then clearly likes the song which was written by Sami McKinney and Tsuyoshi Takayanagi.

Freda will, of course, be always remembered, and be best known for her 1970 #1 UK pop chart (#3 US) hit "Band Of Gold" but her recording career began in 1962 and she had already released three albums prior to joining Holland Dozier Holland at Invictus. The nearest she got to emulating the million seller was with an anti-Vietnam song "Bring The Boys Home" in 1971 which reached #12 and his her only other million selling record.

Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.

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Details

Rating:	7.6
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	New Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	THE SOUND OF L.A.
Cat No:	None
Date:	11/11/2022
Key/BPM:	10B/78
Price:	£1

Brik.Liam [2022] - laundromat (close) [Self Released]

Brik.Liam is Jacoby Williams, born in Petersburg, VA and as a military kid was raised in Germany and Houston, TX. His stage name is a combination of "Brik" (a synonym search of his favourite colour, red (I don't quite get that but that is what he says)) and "Liam" is an abbreviation of his last name.

He was reared in the church by is mother as head of the choir and has been exposed to different genres of music that has influenced his current sound which fuses classic soul from the likes of Marvin Gaye with the urban contemporary music.

Brik has toured, and opened, for Grammy winning artist PJ Morton during the More Gumbo tour in 2018 and has signed with Morton Records.

He has just released his first new material for over three years in the form of a single "laundromat (close)" on 23 Nov '22.

Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.

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Details

Rating:	8
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Neo Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Digital
Label:	Self Released
Cat No:	None
Date:	23/11/2022
Key/BPM:	2B/76
Price:	£1

Myele Manzanza [2022] - Crisis & Opportunity, Vol.3 - Unfold [DeepMatter Records] (Full Album)

Myele Manzanza is a drummer and composer (born in New Zealand to Congolese master percussionist Sam Manzanza) who currently lives in London.

Manzanza is recognised as one of NZ top jazz musicians, having been nominated for the 2017 NZ Jazz Album of the Year for his sophomore album "OnePointOne".

He regularly tours and collaborates as a sideman with a broad range of artists across multiple genres, and was selected from over 20,000 applicants to participate in the Red Bull Music Academy in London.

The third of a series of five albums "Crisis & Opportunity Vol.3 - Unfold" was released on 25 Nov '22 which comes a year after "Vol 2 - Peaks"

The album includes guest vocalists Rosie Frater-Taylor (three tracks), Rachel Fraser (two tracks), Wallace and the unmistakable voice of Omar.

Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.

Click icons below for further information or to connect with the artist.

Details

Rating:	8.4
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Soul Jazz
Format:	Album
Media:	Digital / Vinyl
Label:	DeepMatter Records
Cat No:	None
Date:	25/11/2022
Price:	£7.99 / £20.28