boomp3.com
Biography by Richie Unterberger
In the late '60s, the female-male duo of Peggy Scott and Jo Jo Benson made the pop Top 40 three times (charting much higher in the R&B section) with a clutch of good-natured Southern pop/soul tunes. Semi-legendary producer Huey Meaux, who had worked extensively with such soul and rock legends as Barbara Lynn and Doug Sahm, was responsible for putting the team together, and produced their first sessions in 1968 in Jackson, MS. After "Lover's Holiday" and "Pickin' Wild Mountain Berries" yielded a couple quick hits, the producer's chair was turned over to Shelby Singleton, who cut a few sessions with the pair in Nashville. Some of these tracks were notable for their fusion of soul and country influences; a few featured top Nashville session men Jerry Kennedy (on guitar) and, more unusually, Pete Drake, perhaps the first white country musician (and certainly one of the few) to play steel guitar on a soul record. Scott and Benson were competent talents, but ultimately would have to be classified as rather-average performers who didn't establish a particularly distinguished or exciting style. The country influence and the odd sitar-ish guitar tone on several of their records were the most novel things they had going. Under Singleton's guidance, they landed their third hit within a year with perhaps their best track, "Soul Shake," but only managed one more minor hit, "I Want to Love You Baby," before leaving Singleton's SSS International label for Atco. Their relationship already strained, the duo's career petered out after a few obscure singles in the early '70s. Nearly 25 years later, Scott — now known as Peggy Scott-Adams — returned to a recording career with several albums on Miss Butch.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Saturday, August 9, 2008
SLAVE
Boomp3.com
Arguably the hottest of the '70s Ohio funk bands, Slave had a great run in the late '70s and early '80s. Trumpeter Steve Washington formed the group in Dayton in 1975. Vocalist Floyd Miller teamed with Tom Lockett Jr, Charlie Bradley, Mark Adams, Mark Hicks, Danny Webster, Orion Wilhoite, and Tim Dozier. Vocalists Steve Arrington and Starleana Young came aboard in 1978, with Arrington ultimately becoming lead vocalist. Their first big hit was the thumping single "Slide" in 1977 for Cotillion, where they remained until 1984. Their best tracks were lyrically simple and at times silly, but the arrangements and rhythms were intense and hypnotic. Other Top Ten R&B hits were "Just a Touch of Love" in 1979, "Watching You" in 1980, and "Snap Shot" in 1981. Young, Washington, and Lockett departed to form Aurra in 1979. Arrington himself left in the early '80s. They added Charles Carter, Delburt Taylor, Sam Carter, Kevin Johnson, and Roger Parker as replacements and continued on, though much less successfully, into the late '80s. They moved to Atlantic for one LP in 1984, then switched to the Atlanta-based Ichiban in 1986 for singles and LPs that were just a shade of the former vibrant Slave sound. Their most recent release was The Funk Strikes Back in 1992. Rhino issued Stellar Funk: The Best of Slave, a first-rate anthology of their finest cuts, in 1994.
Biography by Ron Wynn (Allmusic)
Review by Craig Lytle
As funky as they were, Slave had a distinctive smoothness to their music. Here on their second album, the self-contained ten-member band assembled an engaging mix of songs. This collection featured two releases. The first was "The Party Song." Arranged around a swinging funk track and chanting vocals in unison, group leader Steve Washington invokes a jazzy trumpet interlude. The single peaked on the Billboard R&B charts at number 22 after an unjust ten weeks. The second release was "Baby Sinister," also spiced with that '70s funk sound. While it has a similar arrangement to "The Party Song," it retains more use of the synthesizer. It peaked at #74 after a mere four weeks. While their vocals are not as sharp on most selections, the group compensates with their musical ability and impressive arrangements. "We Can Make Love" is the only ballad on the album, and an outstanding ballad it is. It would be a great addition to any quiet storm format.
Arguably the hottest of the '70s Ohio funk bands, Slave had a great run in the late '70s and early '80s. Trumpeter Steve Washington formed the group in Dayton in 1975. Vocalist Floyd Miller teamed with Tom Lockett Jr, Charlie Bradley, Mark Adams, Mark Hicks, Danny Webster, Orion Wilhoite, and Tim Dozier. Vocalists Steve Arrington and Starleana Young came aboard in 1978, with Arrington ultimately becoming lead vocalist. Their first big hit was the thumping single "Slide" in 1977 for Cotillion, where they remained until 1984. Their best tracks were lyrically simple and at times silly, but the arrangements and rhythms were intense and hypnotic. Other Top Ten R&B hits were "Just a Touch of Love" in 1979, "Watching You" in 1980, and "Snap Shot" in 1981. Young, Washington, and Lockett departed to form Aurra in 1979. Arrington himself left in the early '80s. They added Charles Carter, Delburt Taylor, Sam Carter, Kevin Johnson, and Roger Parker as replacements and continued on, though much less successfully, into the late '80s. They moved to Atlantic for one LP in 1984, then switched to the Atlanta-based Ichiban in 1986 for singles and LPs that were just a shade of the former vibrant Slave sound. Their most recent release was The Funk Strikes Back in 1992. Rhino issued Stellar Funk: The Best of Slave, a first-rate anthology of their finest cuts, in 1994.
Biography by Ron Wynn (Allmusic)
Review by Craig Lytle
As funky as they were, Slave had a distinctive smoothness to their music. Here on their second album, the self-contained ten-member band assembled an engaging mix of songs. This collection featured two releases. The first was "The Party Song." Arranged around a swinging funk track and chanting vocals in unison, group leader Steve Washington invokes a jazzy trumpet interlude. The single peaked on the Billboard R&B charts at number 22 after an unjust ten weeks. The second release was "Baby Sinister," also spiced with that '70s funk sound. While it has a similar arrangement to "The Party Song," it retains more use of the synthesizer. It peaked at #74 after a mere four weeks. While their vocals are not as sharp on most selections, the group compensates with their musical ability and impressive arrangements. "We Can Make Love" is the only ballad on the album, and an outstanding ballad it is. It would be a great addition to any quiet storm format.
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