soul music

Hello again, music lovers. It's time for another edition of whatever we're calling this feature in which we look at records that peaked near the bottom of the Billboard Hot 100. This time, it's Number 97.  

What It Is! There's a tangible significance to this massive collection, representing the ghosts of mostly long, gone artists and the memories of generally obscure titles - all originally issued by the extended Warner Bros. family of labels (including many out-of-business offshoots). Much of this music has been lost to history, like roadkill on the busy road to commerce, though, you've no doubt heard a handful of these tracks.  

ATLANTA—Mention names like Joe Tex, Otis Redding and Johnnie Taylor and it's a good bet that many old-school music fans will recognize these names as soul music legends. On Sept. 25, nearly 50 musicians and about 200 patrons took part in the 4th annual Sidemen Reunion show at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Atlanta. The event sheds overdue light on side musicians who plied their craft with many stars who are now members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and other similar ventures.  

If you've slept on N'dambi, it's time to wake up. The Dallas soul singer, who used to sing backup for fellow Texan Erykah Badu, has stepped out of the shadows with her latest release, Pink Elephant (Stax), produced by Motown legend Leon Sylvers III. N'dambi's sultry storytelling shines atop a comfortable fusion of '70s soul and contemporary urban swing.  

In the early 1990s, two brothers and some friends in Munich formed the Poets of Rhythm, a band inspired by the "deep funk" sound of late-1960s James Brown, The Meters and similar groups. The Poets wanted to re-create that style so precisely, their 7" singles were often mistaken for being "vintage." The Poets are now recognized as one of the first "retro-soul" groups -- contemporary artists who based their sound around classic R&B styles of the '60s and '70s.  

The tenacity of the Isleys is a thing of wonder. At the forefront of soul trends for five decades, they handled doo-wop, R&B, funk, hippy-rock, disco and hip-hop transformations with ease, as if driven inexorably on by brother Ronald's astonishing instrument, and as the 68-year-old singer currently nears the end of his bit in the big house (having been convicted on federal tax evasion charges in 2005) you wouldn't bet against some kind of a comeback. He could certainly use the cash.  

One word. Turmoil. That's the best way to describe my personal life since the last time I came thru to write.  

Fifty years ago, Berry Gordy, a songwriter for local Detroit acts like The Matadors and Jackie Wilson, borrowed $800 from his family and founded two record labels that became incorporated a year later as Motown Record Corporation. In its half-century of existence Motown forged an unmistakable sound in popular music, turned a number of artists into superstars and legends (from 1961 to 1971 alone, the label churned out 110 top 10 hits), and helped bridge the racial divide with songs that everyone, regardless  

Brian Friedman has lashed out at Simon Cowell for changing this week's X Factor theme no less than six times. The theme is usually announced the weekend before the show airs and song choosing begins soon after. However Simon's indecision has led to a big delay in song choice and routine planning and reportedly thrown the whole process into disarray.