The Soul Of John Black - Blues Soul Rock (USA)

The Soul Of John Black is the nom de musique of The Soul Of John Black, whose impressive resume includes a stint as percussionist with the Miles Davis band, eight years of guitar and keyboard work with the pioneering rock-funk-ska band Fishbone, and touring and session work with Dr. Dré, Eminem, Nikka Costa, Bruce Hornsby and Everlast, just to name a few.

Slinging dirty blues with just enough pop to be highly addictive, John Bigham brings a little bit of Chicago with him to his current base of operations in Los Angeles. Growing up in Chicago, Bigham didn’t start off playing the blues in fact he began his career by playing guitar and keyboard for punk ska band Fishbone for nearly a decade. Bigham didn’t really start to appreciate the blues until working with legends Miles Davis and John Lee Hooker. Since Forming The Soul of John Black with Christopher Thomas in 2002, Bigham has since taken over the duet,

Early in the Moanin’ is certainly blues and rock based but it’s a far cry from classic Chicago sounding blues. It’s a bit dirtier, a bit more southern sounding, but with a bit more pop. “Thursday Morning” is a sweaty soul soaked revival that leaves you wiping the perspiration from your brow. “Crooked Leg” starts with grit, and puts a groove on it that keeps you tapping long after the song is over. “I Wish I Was Makin’ Love” is a sexy track that sounds like Bigham successfully channeled Prince’s vocals and guitar playing ability.

“Early Riser” is a slightly psychedelic, but low-key track that’s lyrically driven. My personal favorite tune on the album, it captures a haunting familiarity and leaves you with the feeling of being the first one awake in a house that will soon be busy.

Early In The Moanin' [2016]

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Labelle - Soul Blues

Labelle is an American all-female singing group who were a popular vocal group of the 1960s and 1970s. The group was formed after the disbanding of two rival girl groups in the Philadelphia/Trenton areas, the Ordettes and the Del-Capris, forming as a new version of the former group, later changing their name to The Blue Belles (later Bluebelles). The founding members were Patti LaBelle (formerly Patricia Holt), Cindy Birdsong, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash.

As The Bluebelles, and later Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, the group found success with ballads in the doo-wop genre, most notably "Down the Aisle (The Wedding Song)", "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Over the Rainbow". After Birdsong departed to join The Supremes in 1967, the group, following the advice of Vicki Wickham, changed its look, musical direction, and style and reformed as Labelle in 1971. Their funk rock recordings of that period became cult favorites for their brash interpretation of rock and roll and for dealing with subject matter that was not typically touched by female black groups. Finally after adapting glam rock and wearing outlandish space-age and glam-rock costumes, the group found success with the proto-disco smash "Lady Marmalade" in 1974, leading to their parent album, Nightbirds, which achieved gold success. They are notable for being the first contemporary pop group and first black pop group to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House. They were also the first black vocal group to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone.

The group members each went on their own after the end of a tour in 1976, going on to have significant solo success. Nona Hendryx followed an idiosyncratic muse into her own solo career, which often bordered on the avant-garde,[1] Sarah Dash became a celebrated session singer while Patti LaBelle enjoyed a very successful Grammy winning and receiving lifetime achievement awards from the Apollo Theatre, World Music Awards and BET Awards .

The group returned with their first new album in 32 years with 2008's Back to Now.

Labelle had nine Top 20 R&B hits between 1963 and 1976.

1971 - Labelle

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Janis Joplin - Blues & Soul

Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American rock, soul, and blues singer-songwriter, and one of the most successful and widely known female rock stars of her era. After releasing three albums, she died of a heroin overdose at the age of 27. A fourth album, Pearl, was released in January 1971, just over three months after her death. It reached number one on the Billboard charts.

In 1967, Joplin rose to fame following an appearance at Monterey Pop Festival, where she was the lead singer of the then little-known San Francisco psychedelic rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company. After releasing two albums with the band, she left Big Brother to continue as a solo artist with her own backing groups, first the Kozmic Blues Band and then the Full Tilt Boogie Band. She appeared at the Woodstock festival and the Festival Express train tour. Five singles by Joplin reached the Billboard Hot 100, including a cover of the Kris Kristofferson song "Me and Bobby McGee", which reached number 1 in March 1971. Her most popular songs include her cover versions of "Piece of My Heart", "Cry Baby", "Down on Me", "Ball and Chain", and "Summertime"; and her original song "Mercedes Benz", her final recording.

Joplin, a mezzo-soprano, highly respected for her charismatic performing ability, was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Audiences and critics alike referred to her stage presence as "electric". Rolling Stone ranked Joplin number 46 on its 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. She remains one of the top-selling musicians in the United States, with Recording Industry Association of America certifications of 15.5 million albums sold.

Live At Winterland '68

I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! 1969

Pearl 1971 

Joplin In Concert 1972