He’s not exactly a household name but Popcorn Wylie is one of the key figures in Detroit soul music. A producer, songwriter, singer, bandleader, pianist and record label boss, he discovered some of the biggest names and played on some of the biggest Motown hits. (more…)

This is what used to be called a “Negro Spiritual” dating back to slavery days in the USA. It was first published in 1867 and I think the first recording was by Marian Anderson in 1925. (more…)

It’s not often in the internet age that you can’t find out a single thing about a record, or the people who made it. Until now. (more…)

Let’s celebrate the Commonwealth Games like they did – with some miusic from Birmingham. Not Sabbath or The Streets, and not the organisers’ choice of Duran bloody Duran. Not even UB40 or my preference, Steel Pulse. (more…)

Chuck Brown is surely not the only convicted murderer to have a hit record, but his crime lends a certain macabre cachet to his place in pop history. (more…)

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Dawes move into new territory with their eighth album, a decade after I discovered them on a sweltering summer night in London. (more…)

Deep Southern soul music doesn’t get much better than this version of These Arms Of Mine by James Carr from 1968. (more…)

Everyone knows them best for Boogie Nights but the Heatwave single I have in my collection is the 12-inch version of this sultry slow jam from 1978. (more…)

I was wondering what would be the perfect song to play on the hottest day we’ve ever had when I remembered this… a song that immediately conjures up a sweltering summer’s day in New York. (more…)