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May 29, 2013 (WLS) -- Marvin Junior, the lead singer of The Dells, has passed away.

Junior died from kidney failure and had a weak heart, his son Marvin Junior Jr. told ABC7. He says his father died surrounded by family in his home in Harvey around 3:15 pm on Wednesday afternoon.

He grew up in suburban Harvey and began singing together with the other members of the group while attending Thornton Township High School.
The Dells formed in 1952 under the name The El-Rays. In 1956, they recorded their first hit, Oh What A Night.
(Copyright ©2013 WLS-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
 
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By Matt Schudel May 1 at 12:44 PM


Ben E. King, a singer and songwriter whose 1961 hit “Stand by Me” became an enduring rhythm-and-blues classic and found a new generation of fans through the popular 1986 film of the same title, died April 30 at a hospital near his home in Teaneck, N.J. He was 76.


His publicist, Phil Brown, confirmed the death, but other details were not immediately available.


Mr. King, who had one of the greatest voices of his time, recorded his first chart-topping hits in the 1950s, when he was a member of the Drifters. He sang the lead vocal on “There Goes My Baby,” “This Magic Moment” and “Save the Last Dance for Me,” the last of which became a No. 1 pop hit for the Drifters in 1959.


He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 as a member of the Drifters, but he found at least as much acclaim after he left the group in 1960. Dropping his original name, Ben Nelson, he embarked on a solo career as Ben E. King and scored a hit in 1961 with the exotic ballad “Spanish Harlem,” which begins, “There is a rose in Spanish Harlem, a red rose up in Spanish Harlem.”


When Mr. King first heard the Latin-flavored song, written by Phil Spector and Jerry Leiber, “I thought it sounded really good,” he told Scotland’s Glasgow Herald in 2012. “But I honestly didn’t know if I was singing about a flower or a girl.”


The day he recorded “Spanish Harlem” — Oct. 27, 1960 — Mr. King had extra time in the studio and began to work on a song he had written when he was with the Drifters.


“I sang what I had to Jerry and Mike” — Leiber and his songwriting partner, Mike Stoller — and “they worked up a quick arrangement, and within a matter of minutes we had my next single,” Mr. King said in 2012.


“Stand by Me” opens with an acoustic bass playing the melody over light percussion accompaniment. Mr. King comes in, singing the song’s wistful opening lines in his solid, slightly grainy baritone voice:

When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we’ll see
No, I won’t be afraid

Oh, I won’t be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me

 In a three-minute song, Mr. King evokes a timeless sense of hope and well-being, describing how the power of friendship or love can overcome everyday fears.


According to the music licensing company BMI, “Stand by Me” was the fourth most widely recorded song of the 20th century. It reached the pop charts no fewer than nine times performed by various artists and has been recorded by such diverse performers as John Lennon, Green Day and country singer Mickey Gilley.


“Stand by Me” was added this year to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress, and Rolling Stone magazine ranked it No. 122 among the 500 greatest songs of all time.


Benjamin Earl Nelson was born Sept. 28, 1938, in Henderson, N.C., and moved with his family to New York when he was 9. He worked in his father’s Harlem luncheonette in his teens, began singing in church and in junior high formed his first singing group, the Four B’s, so named because everyone in the group had a name beginning with “B.”


He later joined a doo-wop group, the Five Crowns, which performed at a talent show at Harlem’s Apollo Theater in 1958. About the same time, the Drifters, a vocal ensemble that formed in the early 1950s with the soulful Clyde McPhatter as lead singer, were dissolved by their manager, George Treadwell. Treadwell then hired the Five Crowns to be the new version of the Drifters.


Mr. King recorded only 13 songs with the Drifters, but several became major hits, including “There Goes My Baby” (partly written by Mr. King), “This Magic Moment,” “Dance With Me,” “Count the Tears” and especially “Save the Last Dance for Me,” which hit No. 1 in 1959 and has been a staple of senior proms ever since.


Critic Ken Emerson, in his book about mid-century pop music, “Always Magic in the Air,” wrote that “This Magic Moment” and “Save the Last Dance for Me” “were produced and performed with extraordinary elegance and dignity.”


When Mr. King asked for a greater share of the Drifters’ royalties, he was turned down and then quit the group. The Drifters, under different personnel, later had such hits as “Up on the Roof,” “On Broadway” and “Under the Boardwalk.”


Mr. King never duplicated his early success, but he had a few minor R&B hits in the 1960s and 1970s, including popular disco tune in 1975, “Supernatural Thing, Part I.” He also appeared on a 1977 album, “Benny & Us,” with the Average White Band.


He continued performing until his death and in recent years had turned more toward jazz, including a 2010 album, “Heart & Soul,” of songs from the Great American Songbook.


Survivors include his wife of more than 50 years, the former Betty Davis of Teaneck; three children; his mother; seven siblings; and six grandchildren.


A quarter-century after “Stand by Me” first reached the Top 10, Mr. King’s original version of the song climbed back up the Billboard charts in 1986, when it was featured in Rob Reiner’s coming-of-age film set in the 1960s, based on a Stephen King story and with a cast that included Kiefer Sutherland and River Phoenix.


“Stand by Me” spent more weeks on the charts in 1986 than it had in 1961.


“I never thought for a minute,” Mr. King said in 2012, “that it would last this long or that I would still be singing it 50 years later.”
 
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By Andy Greene April 14, 2015

Percy Sledge, the R&B singer whose golden voice powered the 1966 classic "When a Man Loves a Woman," died today of liver cancer at his home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. "'When a Man Loves a Woman' is one of the best songs I've ever heard," Rod Stewart said when he inducted Sledge into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. "Is anything possible when this man sings? It certainly is." Sledge was 73.


It was in those cotton fields that Sledge began humming and singing a melody that would circle in his head for many years, eventually getting fleshed out into a song called "When a Man Loves a Woman." The tune was the highlight of Sledge's stage show with his early band the Esquire Combos, though they only only gigged on weekends since Sledge worked full time as an orderly at an Alabama hospital.

In 1965 the group played a gig at a University of Mississippi frat house. Record producer Quin Ivy was in the audience that night, and he was blown away by the power of "When a Man Loves a Woman." "If you ever think about cutting a record, come on by," Ivy said. "I love that melody.” Sledge took him up on the offer and tracked the song with a killer backing band that included organist Spooner Oldham. The tape got the attention of Atlantic Records producer/executive Jerry Wexler, who released it as Sledge's debut single in April of 1966.


The song hit Number One on the Hot 100 chart, and in an amazing display of generosity Sledge gave all the writing credit to his two bandmates Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright, even though he wrote the vast majority of the song himself. "Worst decision I ever made," he said decades later. "But I am not at all bitter. I figure if God wanted me to do what I did, and say what I did to tell those guys they could have the song, then I’ll leave it that away and I would never change it."


Sledge continued to score hits through the 1960s like "Warm and Tender Love," "It Tears Me Up" and a cover of Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender," but none had the impact of "When a Man Loves a Woman." "All of my songs are the answer to that song," he said. "It's the granddaddy to all of my songs. The boss of all of my songs. I have great respect for that song. Always will.”


Sledge stayed on the road for decades, releasing the occasional new album. "When a Man Loves a Woman" had a second life in 1991 when Michael Bolton turned it into a hit again. In 2005, Sledge was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "God knows that I sung my songs so deeply from my heart," he said from the podium, "from all the love that I could give to you."
 
Mel Waiters, Southern soul blues singer, has died
By Alison Fensterstock - May 28, 2015 - NOLA.com
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Mel Waiters, the flashy rhythm and blues singer known for soulful party songs like "Hole In The Wall" and "The Smaller The Club," died early Thursday (May 28) after a short battle with cancer, his booking agent's office confirmed. He was 58.


Waiters was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, where he honed his powerful voice in both the church choir and in nightclubs beginning in the early 1970s. He worked as a radio DJ and as an entertainer on military bases, drumming in cover bands at teen clubs under government contract.


His debut album "I'm Serious," which included the regional hit "Hit It and Quit It," was released in 1995 on the Baton Rouge-based Serious Sound label. It established his modern soul blues sound, singing about romance and revelry – often with a saucy sense of humor – over synthesizers, bass and sultry horns. In a 2013 interview, he credited the New Orleans music impresario and former Huey "Piano" Smith and the Clowns vocalist Bobby Marchan with bringing the single to radio and helping to launch his solo career.


Soon after, he signed to the Waldoxy imprint of the Jackson, Miss.-based Malaco Records, joining Southern soul blues artists such as Marvin Sease, Denise LaSalle and Willie Clayton. He performed often on blues cruises, on package tours and at festivals, including New Orleans' Big Easy Blues Fest and the Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival. His most recent album was February's "True Love," on his own Brittney Records label.


He is survived by his wife, Portia, and a daughter, Brittney.
 
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by Will Robinson, January 6, 2016

Nicholas Caldwell, one of the founding members of the classic R&B group the Whispers, died Tuesday of congenital heart failure in San Francisco, according to the Associated Press. He was 71 years old.

The group began with Caldwell, brothers Walter and Wallace Scott, Marcus Hutson, and Gordy Harmon in 1963, performing in clubs in Watts, California, and the Bay Area. Just under a decade later, the group scored its first top 10 R&B hit with the wistful “Seems Like I Gotta Do Wrong.”

The end of ’70s also brought the Whispers’ peak popularity. Their self-titled ninth album, released in 1979, was their first to go platinum. One song in particular, “And the Beat Goes On,” found a second life with Will Smith, sampling it for his own track “Miami.”

Caldwell also penned some of their songs, including the fan favorite “Lady.”

The band has stayed active, playing as recently as Saturday in Hammond, Indiana. After Hutson’s death in 2000, the group consisted of Caldwell, the Scott brothers, and Leaveil Degree, who joined the group in 1973.
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From l., Nicholas Caldwell, Walter Scott, Marcus Hutson, Leaveil Degree and Wallace Scott of The Whispers perform on Soul Train in 1974.
 
Ooooh geez! When I heard their music being played on the radio back to back earlier today.....now I know why. :(

This kind of news always tears me up.

I knew about Ben E, King and Percy Sledge, but I'm not familiar with Mr. Waiters.
May you all rest in peace.

Thank you Duran for keeping me/us up to date and informed.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-video" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In our 1983 David Bowie interview, he criticizes MTV for not playing enough music videos by black artists. <a href="https://t.co/G2ePJFcaRN">https://t.co/G2ePJFcaRN</a></p>&mdash; MTV News (@MTVNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/MTVNews/status/686608586194030592">January 11, 2016</a></blockquote>
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DuranDuran;4128029 said:
In our 1983 David Bowie interview, he criticizes MTV for not playing enough music videos by black artists. https://t.co/G2ePJFcaRN
&#8212; MTV News (@MTVNews) January 11, 2016​
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Thanks for posting! I'd read about this encounter but have never seen video of it. Great footage.
 
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Jet Mag - January 11, 2016

Hall of fame rhythm and blues artist Otis Clay, known as much for his big heart and charitable work in Chicago as for his singing internationally, died Friday. He was 73.

The Mississippi-born Clay – whose gruff, tenor-tinged voice on blues songs such as “Trying to Live My Life Without You” varied from his haunting but hopeful baritone on gospel standards like “When the Gates Swing Open” – died suddenly of a heart attack at 6:30 p.m., said his daughter, Ronda Tankson.

The one-time Grammy nominee had a year of touring planned behind recent records and recognition at May’s 37th Blues Music Awards, manager Miki Mulvehill said. Clay is nominated for Soul-Blues Male Artist and Soul-Blues Album for “This Time for Real,” his collaboration with Billy Price.

“Otis was the last standard-bearer for deep southern soul music, the really gospel-inflected music that was in its heyday in the late ’60s and early and mid ’70s,” Price told The Associated Press on Saturday. “These styles change, and different styles are in the forefront, but Otis was just as strong in the past five years … For that reason, he was an icon for a lot of us who work in this genre.”

European music enthusiasts and record-collectors flock to Clay’s music because of its spare, “unvarnished” style wrought of the 1960s soul scenes in Memphis, Tennessee and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Price said.

A 2013 Blues Hall of Fame inductee who moved to blues-steeped Chicago in 1957, Clay had just begun planning a gospel tour of the U.S., followed by a summer European tour and, later, the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise, Mulvehill said. His latest album is called, “Truth Is.”

But Clay was much more than a talented musician. A resident of Chicago’s West Side, he was an avid humanitarian whose charitable works included assisting development of the Harold Washington Cultural Center. “Otis was the first one to jump on the ‘Can I help?’ train,” Mulvehill said.

Tankson, a Chicago special education teacher whose pupils include autistic children, said her father gave little thought to what benefit he’d get from performing and held nothing back, even when appearing for her students. “He sang to them as if they paid and he was on stage,” Tankson said.

Friends and co-workers of Tankson’s, whom Clay had never met, repeatedly asked if he would sing “When the Gates Swing Open” at loved ones’ funerals. “He never let me down on that,” she said, adding that he once delayed a recording-session trip to Memphis to comply.

Clay was born Feb. 11, 1942 in Waxhaw, Mississippi, to a musical and religious family, according to his online biography. After his arrival in Chicago, he joined the Golden Jubilaires, and in 1960 became part of Charles Bridges’ Famous Blue Jay Singers, performing a cappella at schools and hotels.

“We were known as variety singers, or we were billed as (performing) ‘Old Negro Spirituals and Plantation Melodies,'” Clay said in his biography.

His recording debut came in 1965 with the rousing ballad, “Flame in Your Heart.” Four decades later, in 2007, he was nominated for a Grammy for the gospel CD, “Walk a Mile in My Shoes.”
 
Thanks for posting the article Duran.

I remember my Dad playing that song by Mr.Clay, "Turn Back the Hands of Time."

*sigh*

Rest in peace Mr. Clay.
 
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^'Turn Back The Hands of Time' (love that song) was originally recorded by Tyrone Davis, another Chicago soul legend who is also tragically underrated, and passed away 10 years ago. He and Otis Clay were friends as well. May they both rest in peace.
 
SoCav said:
^'Turn Back The Hands of Time' (love that song) was originally recorded by Tyrone Davis, another Chicago soul legend who is also tragically underrated, and passed away 10 years ago. He and Otis Clay were friends as well. May they both rest in peace.
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You are so right. Thank you. :) That may actually be the one I'm thinking about.



Rest in peace Mr.Clay and Mr.Davis.
 
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By Evan Minsker on January 17, 2016
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Clarence Reid—the Miami R&B artist and songwriter who made dirty rap records as his masked alias Blowfly—has died. He recently entered hospice care after being diagnosed with terminal liver cancer and multiple organ failure. He was 76.

Reid was a profoundly prolific artist with two musical personas. One on hand, he was Reid, a singer and songwriter who wrote more traditional funk, soul, and R&B songs for artists like KC & the Sunshine Band, Sam & Dave, Irma Thomas, Bobby Byrd, and many others. Then there was Blowfly—the masked, outrageous artist who did sexually charged songs (with titles like "Who Did I Eat Last Night?" and "Electronic P***y Sucker"). His website claims that he was the first rapper to have a song banned.

Starting in 1973, he released close to 30 Blowfly albums. His final album, 77 Rusty Trombones, is reportedly due next month.

Blowfly was the subject of the 2011 documentary called The Weird World of Blowfly.
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