The Webs -- It's So Hard To Break A Habit

Yesterday, someone in the network was asking for this song, calling it "magnificent." How true that is. I couldn't remember the song -- and now that I re-discovered this gem, I had to share it with you all. The track is available on Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures: Taken from Our Vaults, Vol 4

With the holidays just weeks away, this collection would definitely make for a great gift to any Deep Soul lover.

The Webs, It's So Hard To Break A Habit

Blues Thursday with B. B. King and Jimi Hendrix

Can you believe it? It's already Thursday. That means the light at the end of the week is in sight! Of course, it's also the Blues day at SOTS. It's a bit difficult for me to get into the blue side of life today -- but I tried anyway. Up came Mr. B. B. King live at the Apollo, accompanied by the Harris/Morris/Philip Superband. All Over Again is a piece of "easy listening" Blues, imo, so it works for those who like their Blues not too gloomy.  
The second title is by the giant among guitarmen, Jimi Hendrix. Listening to Bleeding Heart is such a pleasure, one just forgets about the Blues ... 

B. B. King, All Over Again


Jimi Hendrix, Bleeding Heart

Teddy Pendergrass -- You Must Live On, Nine Times Out Of Ten

Today I'm in the mood for TSOP. And who would represent the Philly Sound better and more appropriately than Teddy P.?

The two tracks are from his It's Time For Love album.

While I was searching for the album cover online, I found an article about the singer's hospitalization in August this year. I was surprised I hadn't heard earlier that Teddy was sick and I'm hoping sincerely that he will recover completely. All my best wishes go out to him.

Get Well, Teddy!

Solomon Burke -- Goodbye Baby, Cry To Me

Big man, big voice! Solomon Burke has been around forever, it seems -- and he's still in demand.  Solomon is one of the very few artists to whose voice time has not done the damage seen in so many other singers.

Cry To Me

http://www.limelinx.com/files/9784d0919e296a3984aae3698bf4ff10

Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye)

http://www.limelinx.com/files/751db1ca9d405844b616851256abdbd3

The Ethiopians -- Train To Skaville, The Whip

Here We Go!

Deep Soul Saturday!

Alright! It's time for another dip into Raggedy's Deep Soul collection.

After I Shed A Tear -- Mary Holmes

Baby Oh Baby -- Charles Greene

Say You Will -- Willie Small

Some Man's Woman (part 1) -- Sammy Roberson

Enjoy!

Eccentric Soul series by the Numero Group label

Today's tracks are from the Numero's Eccentric Soul series compilation of Prix label releases.  UK's guardian music blog describes the Numero Group "... the connoisseurs' choice. Its releases are prized and praised for their attractive but understated design, meticulously researched sleeve notes and careful sound restoration." (http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/oct/22/numero-group)
The group was founded in 2003 as an record label with the goal to archive material from different record labels. Since then,  its founders, Tom Lunt, Rob Sevier, and Ken Shipley have turned the label into a media company offering  recordings, films and photography from obscure yet high-carat artists. They consider themselves being  "on a dirty, labor-intensive mission... and it’s urgent as all hell. Time kills off precious bits of passed-over sound ..." 

To find out what else is going on at Numero's and with the Eccentric Soul  collection go here.


Lynn Williams -- Don't Be Surprised (from the Prix label compilation)

Marion Black -- Come On And Get It (from the Prix label compilation)

And now: Happy Friday to Everyone!

Johnny Copeland -- I Can Tell, Old Man Blues

Johnny Copeland

Here's a bio of the artist from all.about.jazz.

Johnny Copeland was one of the most celebrated Texas bluesman of his generation. His huge, soul-drenched voice and intense guitar made him instantly distinctive. After decades of struggling as a journeyman blues and R&B player in Houston and New York, cutting dozens of singles and receiving some radio play, he burst on the international blues scene with his 1981 album “Copeland Special.” From that point on, he never looked back, touring ceaselessly around the world until his death in July 1997.
Johnny Copeland was born March 27, 1937, in Haynesville, LA. The son of sharecroppers, his father died when he was very young, and Copeland was given his father's guitar. Moving to Houston, he first gained attention as a vocalist with his friend Joe “Guitar” Hughes. Unlike the dry, slightly urbane vocal style of the Texas guitar heroes T-Bone Walker and Gatemouth Brown, Johnny brought a gospel intensity and tough growl to his singing. His big voice could be heard over the horn-driven Houston bands. Copeland and Hughes formed a band called The Dukes of Rhythm, which became the house band at the Shady's Playhouse, one of Houston’s leading blues clubs.
Johnny’s early recording career embraced blues, soul and rock ‘n’ roll. He cut singles for Mercury, All Boy and Golden Eagle, among others. His first single was “Rock ‘n’ Roll Lily,” and he later cut regional successes like “Please Let Me Know” and “Down On Bending Knees.” For the most part, his singles featured Johnny as a vocalist more than as a guitar player.
Frustrated with the disco boom and the number of clubs replacing live bands with DJs, Johnny moved to Harlem in 1974, playing local clubs and house parties. He took a day job while continuing to play at night. But it was in New York that his break finally came. He was “discovered” by a pair of producers who took him into the studio, focusing on Johnny’s blues talents and teaming him with a horn section that included a number of famous jazz players. The album, entitled “Copeland Special,” released on Rounder, introduced Johnny to the white blues audience and created a small sensation in the blues world. He hit the road, playing blues and rock clubs nationally and across Europe. Johnny brought endless energy to his live shows, and proved to be a charismatic front man as well as an excellent songwriter.
Copeland recorded seven albums for Rounder Records, beginning in 1981, including “Texas Twister,” and one recorded during a tour of Africa, “Bringin' It All Back Home.” His appearance on Alligator’s “Showdown!” album, the classic recording that he made with his friends Albert Collins and Robert Cray, won Johnny a Grammy. His later albums on Polygram/Verve/Gitanes Blues continued his series of quality recordings.
Johnny was diagnosed with heart disease in 1994. A series of surgeries slowed his touring down considerably. In 1997, he was fitted with an experimental heart pump and was able to resume touring. He brought his teenage daughter Shemekia on the road with him to open his shows; it was the beginning of her climb to blues stardom.
After surviving much longer than predicted with the experimental pump, Johnny received his long-awaited heart transplant. However, the transplant was not a success, and Johnny died on July 3, 1997. He left behind a proud legacy of some of the hardest-edged Texas blues recorded in the ‘80s and ‘90s, hundreds of high-energy live shows and, with his daughter Shemekia, a musical force carrying on into the future.

I Can Tell

Old Man Blues

Al Reed -- 99 44/100 Pure Love

Something to brighten the ladies' day: don't worry too much about these superfluous pounds ...

Al Reed is one of the guys who knows what really counts in a woman.

Darrell Banks -- Beautiful Feeling, When A Man Loves A Woman

Unfortunately, I am a little bit in a squeeze -- time wise. So, instead of summing up Darrell's bio, I'll give you a link to a quite exhaustive article about him: here.

When A Man Loves A Woman

Beautiful Feeling

Get his music here!