Archive for February, 2007
on
HARLEM
This week, Harlem features an entire hour full of rhythm & blues love songs. Whether it’s songs about love won, lost or unrequited, Harlem’s got it covered. Oh, and what would a love songs show during Valentine’s week be without plenty of songs about drinkin’, cheatin’ and gamblin’? We’ve got those too. So open up a bottle of Jack Daniel’s good ol’ Tennessee Whiskey, because this is going to be a long week, on Harlem.
Harlem Airs on The 50s on 5:
Monday 2/12 @ 1pm over NYC
Tuesday 2/13 @ 9pm PST / midnight EST
Friday 2/16 @ 6pm EST
Sunday 2/18 @ 11am EST
Drink up, you lovers!
Matt The Cat
Iconic crooner, Frankie Laine passed away on Tuesday, February 6, 2007 at the age of 93. His death has been blamed on complications from a recent hip replacement surgery. Laine’s career took off at the tail end of 1946, when Mercury Records released “That’s My Desire”. This song would become a must for 1950s vocal groups to know and master. Versions by Hadda Brooks, Dion and The Belmonts, The Channels and The Flamingos still sound great today, as does Frankie Laine’s. He had several number one records in the late 40s, into the 1950s, including “Mule Train” and “The Cry Of The Wild Goose”. He left Mercury for Mitch Miller and Columbia Records. “The Moonlight Gambler”, “Hey Joe”, “Jezebel” and other great hits would follow.
Laine had a voice that was so versatile, he could sing ballads, jazz, R&B; and pop. He sang with such power and passion, that I would place him right next to Johnny Ray and Elvis Presley as a singer and entertainer. Even though he had largely been retired and inactive since the mid 1980s, his loss in the music world will most surely be felt.
Yes, he was 93, but it’s still very sad to see another great star of the 1950s pass on. Frankie’s up in heaven now chasing “That Lucky Ol’ Sun”, while the rest of us are left down here with just his memory and his records to enjoy.
-Matt The Cat
This week, HARLEM is co-hosted by BILLY VERA!!
Billy Vera joins Matt The Cat as HARLEM takes a satellite ride out to Central Avenue in Los Angeles. Jump n’ jive at the Dunbar Hotel, The Last Word and Ivie’s Chicken Shack as HARLEM features an hour of the best of Los Angeles rhythm & blues from the doo wop harmony of The Medallions and Jesse Belvin to the down-home R&B; of Floyd Dixon and Richard Berry. Billy Vera shares some memorable stories while Matt The Cat screams a lot, this week on HARLEM.
HARLEM airs on the 50s on 5:
Monday 2/5 @ 10am over Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles in Long Beach
Tuesday Night 2/6 @ 9pm over LOS ANGELES
Friday Afternoon 2/9 @ 3pm over Watts
Sunday morning 2/11 @ 8am over Hollywood
ABOUT
This blog is dedicated to the preservation of the world's greatest music: 1940s-70s Rhythm & Blues and Rock n' Roll. When I'm not collecting records, I'm listening to them.
