Just sipping some Jameson and listening to music and I had a revelation of sorts. I feel that Hall & Oats are the best Blue Eyed Soul Group ever. Sara Smile, Rich Girl, Kiss Is On My List, I Can't Go For That-These dudes got soul.
Rascals, Van Morrison, Rod Stewart, David Bowie, Mitch Ryder, Boz Scaggs, Steve Winwood (Spencer Davis Group), The Righteous Brothers, Joss Stoneb and Hall & Oates are my "A" team in blue eyed soul. One of my favorite TV shows these days is Darryl's house where he plays with stars of yesterday and today.
Well, probably because Buffet isn't purely a soul artist; part country, part rocker, part reggae, part soul, part baladeer. None the less, I love all of his music. And, frankly I was pulling chains and expected some abuse.
Did anyone see the B.B. King sketches in Amazon Women on the Moon where he is soliciting for the "Blacks Without Soul" charity? It was an absolute stitch. And it got even funnier when the singer who was portrayed in the "ads", a Sammie Davis knockoff, was marketing his muszak with the tagline, "He turned an affliction into a carrier". Priceless stuff. Actually, the whole movie is one of my all time favorites.
When he wasn't inventing hip wiggling Rock and Roll or chasing skirts, guns and another high, Elvis was a really good natural voice. His long time back up group, the Jordanairs, cut many Gospel albums on their own. What most people don't know is that Elvis sang with (not as lead) the group on many of those songs. The Memphis dude also knew how to sing the Blues (Memphis style, of course).
I knew one of the Jordanairs when I lived in Nashville in the '70s and he let me listen to some private recordings (reel to reel) of the gang (Including Elvis) singing Blues, Gospel and Delta Soul. One of the soul numbers included Elvis (clearly his voice, but without the twang) adding his own verses - and WOW - that dude could do soul!
I didn't really like Elvis music back then (still don't care much for his Rock&Roll or Pop stuff) but I do know he could sing and sometimes he sang with his soul!
The single most classic Blue eyed soul song ever was performed by a local bar band called the soul survivors. Check out Expressway to you Heart and imagine that not one band member was black. Just a bunch of white boys from central Massachusetts. John Oates is awesome - a telemark skier living in Colorado and just jamming with local musicians when he's not tree skiing.
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Eric Burdon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STZiJNdCK…
When I found out it was a white guy from the UK I was stunned.
Jamie Commons
Here is a version I prefer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zchMsSsXk…
Did anyone see the B.B. King sketches in Amazon Women on the Moon where he is soliciting for the "Blacks Without Soul" charity? It was an absolute stitch. And it got even funnier when the singer who was portrayed in the "ads", a Sammie Davis knockoff, was marketing his muszak with the tagline, "He turned an affliction into a carrier". Priceless stuff. Actually, the whole movie is one of my all time favorites.
When he wasn't inventing hip wiggling Rock and Roll or chasing skirts, guns and another high, Elvis was a really good natural voice. His long time back up group, the Jordanairs, cut many Gospel albums on their own. What most people don't know is that Elvis sang with (not as lead) the group on many of those songs. The Memphis dude also knew how to sing the Blues (Memphis style, of course).
I knew one of the Jordanairs when I lived in Nashville in the '70s and he let me listen to some private recordings (reel to reel) of the gang (Including Elvis) singing Blues, Gospel and Delta Soul. One of the soul numbers included Elvis (clearly his voice, but without the twang) adding his own verses - and WOW - that dude could do soul!
I didn't really like Elvis music back then (still don't care much for his Rock&Roll or Pop stuff) but I do know he could sing and sometimes he sang with his soul!