Hey Folks:
The world over knows that Motown was the #1 African American owned music label; but do you know who the second in line was?
Archive for category Artist Spotlight
Hey Folks:
On my quest to spotlight some awesome blues music I’ve decided that my first artist would be Robert Johnson.
Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) is now among the most famous of Delta blues musicians. His landmark recordings from 1936–1937 display a remarkable combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced generations of musicians. Johnson’s shadowy, poorly documented life and death at age 27 have given rise to much legend, including a Faustian myth. Read the rest of this entry »
Artist Spotlight: Animal
Mar 29
Hey Y’all:
Yes, I said Animal! You know from The Muppet Show!
While watching TV this weekend I saw the Beyonce commercial for her new fragrance “Heat” in this commercial she was singing the song Fever by Peggy Lee.
On my search for an artist to spotlight today I came across this fun video featuring Animal from 1976 with Rita Moreno singing fever. That’s when it hit me that my spotlight should be on Animal!
What Rita says in Spanish?
“Listen Buddy. All I wanna tell you is that you shouldn’t do that. It’s not nice, you understand? Look at me when I’m talking to you. This is my number, and if you bother me any more I’m gonna hit you so hard, it’s gonna leave you stupid. Cool it.
Artist Spotlight: Animal from the Muppets
Animal was the crazed drummer of Dr. Teeth and The Electric mayhem which were a part of the Muppet Show. Animal was performed by the brillant Frank Oz from his first appearance until 1999. His drumming was performed by Ronnie Verrell who was an English jazz drummer who played in two of England’s famous Big band; Ted Health Orchestra and The Syd Lawrence Orchestra.
As the drummer for Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem; Animal had the opportunity to play with Buddy Rich and Harry Belefonte.
Who is your favorite drummer?
Until next time…
Keep Jammin!
What’s Up Y’all:
I was listening to “Funky Drummer” by James Brown (R.I.P.) the other day and got to wondering… exactly who is this funky drummer? So onto the net and found some goodies!
Here is my first Artist Spotlight: Mr. Clyde Stubblefield
The cat on Funky Drummer is Clyde Stubblefield from Chattanooga, TN. Mr. Stubblefield was also the drummer on James Brown’s “Cold Sweat, “I Got a Feelin”, “Say it Loud-I’m Black and I’m Proud” and countless others by the Godfather of Soul.
According to Wikipedia, Mr. Stubblefield is the most widely sampled musician in the world! As a matter of fact, “Funky Drummer” is believed to be the worlds most sampled record! Ain’t that something?
Currently Mr. Stubblefield resides in Madison, Wisconsin where he is suffering from kidney failure and undergoes dialysis treatment and is on the transplant list. Regardless of his illness Mr. Stubblefield plays a weekly gig at the Frequency in downtown Madison. He has collaborated with John “Jabo” Starks, another James Brown drummer and formed Funkmasters. As a team Stubblefield and Jabo have worked with Fred Wesley and Bootsy Collins just to name a couple. They also have appeared in instructional drumming videos.
I checked youtube and found a really cool clip of the Funky Drummer being well… funky.
So here is some trivia for you.
Comment on this post with three songs that have used the “Funky Drummer” sample for a chance to win a copy of Stix Bones “Groove Like This” after all he is our FUNKY DRUMMER! The winners and answers will be posted on next weeks Artist Spotlight.
Until next time…
Keep Jammin