tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13397435.post114553988549616516..comments2024-03-07T00:00:13.142-05:00Comments on Get On Down With The Stepfather Of Soul!: B-O-B-B-YThe Stepfather of Soulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14012795861121326506noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13397435.post-1149458277232222612006-06-04T17:57:00.000-04:002006-06-04T17:57:00.000-04:00I remember well a radio broadcast over here in the...I remember well a radio broadcast over here in the UK with Pete Guaralnick and Paul Jones - I may even have recorded it somewhere.It was obvious that Bobby Blue Band was a real favourite of P.G's but, I seem to remember, the discussion was mainly about Bobby and his personal demons. I'll have to listen to the tape again to refresh my memory but I got the impression that Bobby, at times, found found it difficult to face the world. Almost unimaginable, with that wonderful commanding voice, the show left me thinking that our heroes are just as fragile as the rest of us....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13397435.post-1145624683650223212006-04-21T09:04:00.000-04:002006-04-21T09:04:00.000-04:00Thanks for your further comments. Indeed the rare...Thanks for your further comments. Indeed the rare soul crowd would be small, proportional to the overall population, but I am forever amazed at how there's a fire burning for this stuff all over the world, and especially among people who are closer to me in age!The Stepfather of Soulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14012795861121326506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13397435.post-1145574711022940872006-04-20T19:11:00.000-04:002006-04-20T19:11:00.000-04:00Yes. The scene here is healthy at the moment, but ...Yes. The scene here is healthy at the moment, but don't overestimate it. In a city, like mine, with half a million people there might be about 500 sixties soul fans and about the same number of modern soul / soul fans (with a lot of crossover, of course). That's enough to keep the venues open and support a small, specialist record industry. What is great is that we can still get the artists over, some very obscure, and the welcome we give them is something they never forget.<BR/>The real funk scene is very healthy at the moment as is the jazz dance scene. What I would like to see is a breaking down of the walls between each genre. Then we would have some real clout.<BR/>However, at the end of the day the U.K. black music scene is dominated by contemporary "R&B," house and hip hop, just like everywhere else, I guess.MadPriesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15120376342802143188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13397435.post-1145569934361095052006-04-20T17:52:00.000-04:002006-04-20T17:52:00.000-04:00Indeed, "Shoes" has kept the fires burning within ...Indeed, "Shoes" has kept the fires burning within the world of Northern Soul, etc., but of course, generally soul fans in the UK have been a much more loyal lot than the "intended" audience of R&B here in the US!<BR/><BR/>'50s R&B is indeed full of interesting stuff. I think that "Little Boy Blue," though, was somewhat ahead of its time - I mean, if you play Earl Gaines' version of the song (on the great CD <I>Lovin' Blues</I>, a compilation of Gaines' DeLuxe/Hollywood '60s and '70s sides) it's not too much more "modern" than Bobby's, although recorded at least a decade later.The Stepfather of Soulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14012795861121326506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13397435.post-1145563242693441612006-04-20T16:00:00.000-04:002006-04-20T16:00:00.000-04:00Hi Jason. In the U.K. Bobby Bland's soulful dancer...Hi Jason. In the U.K. Bobby Bland's soulful dancers have remained popular since they were released. Of course, the big one remains, "Shoes," and with good reason. I must have heard it a thousand times but it still remains well up there in my all time top twenty favourites. Even though it's popular on the dancefloor it's also "grown-up" soul music, above all - it's different.<BR/>Thanks for this one. It's before my time and I hadn't heard it before. I am finding that as I grow older I am finding things in 50s R&B that I just didn't hear when I was younger. It's like when you're a teenager older women look old, but when you yourself get old, you find they do, in fact, look beautiful. (now that's a bit Bobby Bland, isn't it?)MadPriesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15120376342802143188noreply@blogger.com