Memphis soul


  • Rock Chronicles, Part 1 โ€” Joe Cocker, with a little help from his friends

    In 1966, a gruff-voiced blues singer was looking to put a band together that might finally propel his straggling career to the next level. Joe Cockerโ€”born John Robert Cocker in 1944โ€” lived on Tasker Road in the English city of Sheffield. As early as 1960, at the age of sixteen, Cocker was already well under…

    Read More


  • Diving into Disco, Part 4 โ€” Funk and Memphis Soul

    Born in Barnwell, South Carolina, James Brown had to hustle his way up and out from extreme poverty. Partly raised by a mostly-absent mother and abusive father-husband, young Brown bore the brunt of a rough, tough childhood, shining shoes for less than a dime, and living with one of his aunts in a brothel; his…

    Read More


  • Clint Eastwood to Booker T. & the M.G.โ€™s: โ€œHang โ€˜Em Highโ€

    In an earlier piece, I spoke about sharing with you, dear reader, a three-part homage to one of the biggest musical influences in my young life in Chicagoโ€”Booker T. & the M.G.โ€™s. In Part 1, I touched on the first pair of tunes from the band that grabbed my attention and affected me for the…

    Read More