Tag Archives: R&B

Walk In My Shoes – Dedicated to Brittany Duprey

Last night was Brittany’s 20th Birthday. I got her a pair of sneakers, which she seemed to love. Shoes were a fitting gift, maybe more for me than Brittany, because she probably doesn’t remember this. Around her Sixth Birthday, I showed her how to tie her shoes; actually she pretty much had it figured out. She was going to start First Grade, and I was worried that she might not be able to tie her shoes because no one had ever shown me how to tie my shoes, and when I was expected to do it myself, I remember feeling a tremendous amount of pressure. Fortunately, I was able to do it, having learned without trying from watching others. I was confident Brittany would be able to do the same. I told her about my experience and asked her to try tying her shoes. She did with one minor mistake, which I corrected and with her 2nd try, she had it down pat. “I’m glad, because I can’t always be there to tie your shoes for you,” I told her.

The gift wasn’t exactly a surprise because I had to call her to find out her shoe size. You’d think I’d know these things, huh? Well, as it turned out, I wasn’t able to be there for a lot of things, too many in fact. I was proud of Brittany when she was six for being able to tie her shoes and I’m proud of her today for all of the other things she achieved in her life when I couldn’t be there. For these reasons and more, I dedicate this song to her with all my heart.


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Emily King – Walk In My Shoes at YouTube.

 

Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)

I remember when this shit first came out, it was all over the place. The way it exploded, you would think nobody had ever been boastful and narcissistic over some jazzy samples. It went to #15 on the Hot 100, #6 on the Rap chart, got a Grammy and everything. Yet, I’m sure that a lot of you who know this song probably didn’t know it was called Rebirth Of Slick, and I’m also pretty sure that a good number of you are wondering, “Who the fuck are Digable Planets?!” I think part of the reason a lot of people don’t remember this might be that a lot of people who enjoyed this song were smoking a lot of blunts, including the band. This shit is 4 minutes, 20 seconds long… coincidence?!? It probably is.


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Digable Planets – Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat) at YouTube.

Framed

It seemed appropriate to throw this song up after I realized my mistake regarding my missing Tori Amos CDs. This 1958 tune written by Leiber & Stoller and originally recorded by The Coasters (aka The Robins) may seem familiar as it has been covered by myriad artists including Ritchie Valens, Jerry Reed and Cheech & Chong.

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Framed by The Coasters at Spotify.

School Days

Hey, people. It’s been a couple of days, I know. Kind of slacked off for a bit, but I did some maintenance on the blog; fixed a lot of the broken embeds on the older posts. Still have a few to go, but I’m getting there. Anyway, in honor of those of you all returning to school this week, enjoy Chuck Berry‘s classic ode to academia.

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Chuck Berry “School Days” at YouTube.

I Want’a Do Something Freaky to You

Even if you’ve never heard this Leon Haywood classic, you probably know it anyway, because in the last two decades or so this shit has been sampled on at least two dozen tracks by artists like Public Enemy, Redman, Masta Ace, and Mariah Carey; most notably by Dr. Dre and Snoop Whatever The Fuck He Calls Himself These Days on Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang. It’s a great piece of funk to listen to going into the weekend. Happy Friday, People!

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I Want’a Do Something Freaky to You by Leon Haywood at Spotify.

Higher and Higher

Legendary producer Carl Davis, largely responsible for shaping the Chicago Soul sound of the 1960‘s passed away earlier this month. Here’s one of the most popular songs he produced, Jackie Wilson‘s cover of Higher and Higher, which revitalized Wilson‘s career.

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Jackie Wilson – Higher & Higher Official Video at YouTube.