10/16/14 O&A Throwback Thursday: Diana Ross- Standing Room Only Live At Ceasar’s Palace (1980)

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The HBO special, first aired in early 1980 as part of the network’s Standing Room Only series. It was taped in 1979 at Caesar’s Palace as Ross promoted her then-current album, The Boss. The album, featuring writers/producers Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson, featured songs that showed off a range and power that many had forgotten Diana Ross possessed. This was a peak time in the diva’s career; Ross dazzled audience around the world with her demanding, Tony Award-winning An Evening With Diana Ross stage show, and starred with protege Michael Jackson in the 1978 film The Wiz.  Continue reading

10/9/14 O&A THROWBACK THURSDAY: JODY WATLEY (Repost)

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Jody Vanessa Watley  is a singer, songwriter, record producer, music maverick and one of music’s defining artists. Her music crosses genres from Pop, R&B, Jazz, Dance and Electronic Soul. In 1987, she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.  Watley ranks as one of MTV Video Music Awards most nominated female artists ever, with six nominations for her Real Love video. Continue reading

10/9/14 O&A Throwback Thursday: Jody Watley

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Jody Vanessa Watley  is a singer, songwriter, record producer, music maverick and one of music’s defining artists. Her music crosses genres from Pop, R&B, Jazz, Dance and Electronic Soul. In 1987, she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.  Watley ranks as one of MTV Video Music Awards most nominated female artists ever, with six nominations for her Real Love video. Continue reading

10/2/14 O&A Throwback Thursday: Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds

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Babyface (Kenneth Brian Edmonds) is a multi-platinum selling R&B singer, songwriter and record producer. He has written and produced over 26 No. 1 R&B hits for artists such as Whitney Houston, Karyn White, Johnny Gill, Vanessa Williams, Pebbles, Madonna and Boyz II Men, and has also worked on various film soundtracks in his successful career. Babyface has won 10 Grammy Awards.

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9/25/14 O&A Throwback Thursday: Sylvester

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Sylvester James, Jr. better known as Sylvester, was a disco and soul singer-songwriter. Known for his flamboyant and androgynous appearance that exemplified the era. Sylvester was often described by the mainstream media as a drag queen, but he repeatedly rejected such a description. Responsible for a string of hit singles in the late 1970s, Sylvester became known in the United States under the moniker of the “Queen of Disco.” Continue reading

9/18/14 O&A Throwback Thursday: Aretha Franklin

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Aretha Franklin began her career singing gospel at her father, minister C. L. Franklin’s church as a child. In 1960, at age 18, Franklin embarked on a secular career. Franklin achieved commercial acclaim and success to gain the title The Queen of Soul by the end of the 1960s decade.
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9/11/14 O&A Throwback Thursday: Mariah Carey

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Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey was born and raised on Long Island, New York, she came to prominence after releasing her self-titled debut studio album Mariah Carey in 1990. The album went multiplatinum and spawned four consecutive number one singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Referred to as the songbird supreme by the Guinness World Records, she is famed for her five-octave vocal range, power, melismatic style and signature use of the whistle register.

Throughout her career, Carey has sold more than 200 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. In 2012, Carey was ranked second on VH1’s list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music. Aside from her commercial accomplishments, Carey has won five Grammy Awards, nineteen World Music Awards, eleven American Music Awards, and thirty-one Billboard Music Awards. Continue reading

9/4/14 O&A Throwback Thursday: O’ Jays- Backstabbers and I Love music

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The O’Jays are a R&B and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The group is from Canton, Ohio and was formed in 1958. The O’Jays had their first chart appearance in 1963 with Lonely Drifter. In 1972 the trio of Levert, Powell and Williams signed with Philadelphia International and teamed up with producers and songwriters Kenneth Gamble and Leon A. Huff. The trio emerged to the forefront of Philadelphia soul aka the Philly Sound with the 1972 international hit Backstabbers. Continue reading

Throwback Thursday: Destiny’s Child (Repost) Survivor, Bootylicious and bonus- No, No, No Part 1&2

Throwback Thursday logo 2destinys-child01Destiny’s Child was an R&B girl group formed in 1996 and is best known as a trio comprised of Beyonce’ Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Destiny’s Child has sold more than 60 million records worldwide to date, and Billboard magazine ranks the group as one of the greatest musical trios of all time.
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