Unsung

[amybrickwallace]

So far, my favorite of this young season is Otis Redding. His widow was so sweet - she never had the desire to remarry. It's kind of chilling that his last performance was in Cleveland, my hometown. The plane flew out of Cleveland and never made it to its planned destination.

I'm still waiting for a profile of Syreeta Wright. I wonder if they will EVER get to doing an episode about her. Stevie participated in the Deniece Williams episode, so I see no reason why he wouldn't do the same for an episode of Syreeta. Same goes for Smokey Robinson, who recorded a couple of duets with her (the most famous being "First Time on a Ferris Wheel" from The Last Dragon) and has been interviewed for other episodes of the show.

Is there anyone you would like to see profiled that hasn't been yet?

[DramatistDreamer]

Wow, I never knew that Syreeta did that duet with Smokey Robinson for The Last Dragon soundtrack! I immediately liked that song, and remember it still. It was one of the gems among a surprisingly weak soundtrack, considering the fact that Berry Gordy produced the whole shebang. (I read somewhere last week that the film is now on DVD).

Maybe if you're on Facebook or Twitter you can suggest Syreeta Wright there? I noticed that the producers of the Unsung documentaries even have their own Twitter page. Sounds like you could be a consultant on that Syreeta Write documentary, you're very knowledgeable.

Is it just me or does it seem as if women don't truly get their due on this series? Especially the women of classic R&B, rock and rap.

Besides Sylvia Robinson (who brought the Sugar Hill Gang to prominence on her record label), I am curious about the life and career of Dee Dee Warwick as I heard a few songs of hers recently and realized I don't know anything about her, other than the fact that she's Dionne Warwick's sister but she has a very soulful style, which contrasts from Dionne's pop style and I just wonder where the two sisters' style diverged- was it intentional? Or did each sister naturally gravitate to their preferred style?

Rose Marie McCoy, an R&B and blues Songwriter. She along with her frequent collaborator Charles Singleton wrote hit songs for the likes of Louis Jordan, Elvis Presley, Ruth Brown and Sarah Vaughan as well as a bunch of other artists that covered her songs-- from Aretha, Nat King Cole, all the way down to Faith Hill.

Also, although she's a reggae singer, Marcia Griffiths may be better known in the U.S. as the lady who sings the Electric Slide song. She's got a very storied career, as a solo artist, singing backup for Bob Marley & the Wailers (along with Bob's wife Rita) and she's still very active as a solo singer.

Some of the singers that have sadly recently passed-- the lead singers of The Brothers Johnson and Hot Chocolate, who were big in the 70s and whose songs can still be heard on radio and TV commercials (who hasn't heard You Sexy Thing?)

Yeah, those are a few.

[SFK]

Dee Dee had a tough go of it, and I'd be interested in hearing more about her too. More likely, they'd do an Unsung on her aunt, Cissy Houston. Cissy has done so many interviews and a couple of autobios, so I doubt there'd be a lot of new information shared. Unsung episodes seem to barely scratch the surface as is, and with the requisite focus on Whitney and Bobbi Kristina, that hour would go by in a flash.

[amybrickwallace]

Dramatist, Syreeta was Stevie Wonder's first wife (and they stayed the best of friends years after the divorce - until she passed in 2004) and co-wrote some of his songs from the early 70s including "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" and "If You Really Love Me" (and she's the female voice on the latter song). Syreeta also sang "With You I'm Born Again" with Billy Preston, which was a major smash in 1979-80 - and Billy Preston has already been profiled by Unsung. She can also be heard on the soundtrack for The Jacksons: An American Dream - singing "Stay With Love" with Jermaine Jackson. Syreeta also sang Stevie's "Harmour Love" which enjoyed renewed popularity a few years ago when featured in the movie Junebug.

So she's the perfect candidate for an episode on the show. I would also love to see them profile Hot Chocolate and The Brothers Johnson.

[VirginiaHamilton]

Very late to this thread, but:

1. I'm mad that I missed the Chuck Brown/GoGo episode (stupid DVR taped over it) and hope that they air it again in the near future.
2. While I'll concede that Xscape were unsung (compared to groups like TLC and SWV that enjoyed a higher profile), I'm side-eyeing the lie that they were the first R&B artists to wear hip-hop attire when the aforementioned had been doing it for at least a year before they were a thing (The stan in me will also mention that Mary J. Blige ushered in that era of hip-hop soul glamour when she first came out before all of them.)
3. I'm thrilled that they closed the season with Kid n' Play (and do believe that House Party deserves its own Unsung Hollywood episode), as it brought me back to my childhood (when having fun in hip hop was the norm and not the exception to the rule).
4. I sure hope that that bucktoothed backstabber Steve Harvey isn't involved in tomorrow night's season premiere of Unsung Hollywood with the dearly departed Bernie Mac and that they get into one of the main reasons why I loathe that fool.

Edited July 21, 2015 by VirginiaHamilton

[All My Shadows]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who hates Steve Harvey.

As far as who I want to see on Unsung? I've already said it multiple times, but why not again. It will always be BETTY WRIGHT followed by MAZE FEATURING FRANKIE BEVERLY. I don't know, maybe it's just a southern thing (or not even southern - maybe it's a Louisiana thing), but those two are STAPLES at family parties and get-togethers. It's not a party until you hear Maze's "Before I Let Go" or Betty's "Tonight is the Night." They may have had limited chart success, but they were and still are very successful live performers who has mad respect in the industry. That's the definition of unsung to me, and they need to get on producing those episodes.

Beyond them? They've already done Evelyn Champagne King, Con Funk Shun, Cherrelle, Deniece Williams, Sylvester, and Rose Royce. I guess Johnny Taylor and Tyrone Davis. OHHHH, First Choice!! Candi Staton! I'd LOVE it if they could find Shirley Ellis of "The Name Game" and "The Clapping Song" fame.

Edited July 21, 2015 by All My Shadows

[VirginiaHamilton]

1. I could've sworn that they did an Unsung episode on Maze featuring Frankie Beverly (or am I confusing this with another show?) already.
2. Candi Staton is an Unsung that I'd love to see. 'Victim' is one of the most tragically underrated disco classics of all time.

[All My Shadows]

If they've done something for them, I've never seen it. I did a quick search, and I can say with certainty that Unsung has never profiled them.

In the midst of that search, though, I did find this interview that FB did for Ebony last year. So smooth and laid back, and I love that my favorite Maze song ("We Are One") is also his favorite.

VICTIM is my favorite Candi Staton track, so yes, I totally agree.

All this thinking of people who can be done on Unsung has me wanting CMT or GAC or whomever to do something similar for classic country artists of the 70s/80s (and I guess 90s, though that's usually where I start tuning out as far as country is concerned). Or hell, a general show that focuses on unsung artists in non-mainstream genres. The disco episode was good, but they could totally delve deeper into the stories of some of those people.

Back to regular Unsung. A general episode on all of the southern blues/soul artists who are basically 100% unknown to mainstream audiences but sell out shows all the time.

Edited July 22, 2015 by All My Shadows

[DramatistDreamer]

The episode with Chuck Brown and GoGo Music was good, although I'm surprised they didn't mentioned the controversy concerning the Waterdance song and the DJ who got sued for lifting the melody from another GoGo group, besides EU's Da Butt, the Waterdance song was another song that became pretty popular outside of D.C. Not being from the D.C. area myself, I never knew that GoGo music was being blamed for the rampant violence of the 80s and early 1990s in D.C. I thought the crack epidemic and the flood of guns had more to do with that than any other factor.

The Kid n Play episode was a treat-- I'd forgotten how much fun their music was and yeah, that's part of my childhood right there (lol). At the risk of sounding unkind, Christopher Reid (Kid) looks to be aging sorta badly so when he began to recount his tangle with DUIs and alcohol and his prolific weed habit I was not surprised, but at least it seems like he is trying to be consistent in returning to a balanced life.

Why doesn't Unsung archive their old episodes on their website? I missed all of last seasons Unsung Hollywood (and I was really looking forward to seeing the A Different World episode) and because I no longer subscribe to cable, I rely on seeing episodes on their website. Do they really think people are going to pirate and sell these episodes or something? These episodes are interesting but the production values are still not top drawer for someone to try to profit from them or anything.

Edited July 22, 2015 by DramatistDreamer

[SFK]

I'm from the DMV and my brother was in a Go-go band, so I don't know if this made national news... but do any of you remember the Rare Essence pool party video controversy? There was an amateur video doing the rounds, Go-go blaring, crowded pool, dancing girls shaking their stuff and pulling their bikini bottoms aside to be penetrated with drumsticks (wooden, not chicken) and assorted objects, it was... wow... That put a huge blemish on the Go-go subculture for many in the area, particularly for the uninitiated who didn't comprehend that this was not the norm.

AMS, was it the BET or Essence awards a few years back that Frankie Beverly and Maze got a splashy tribute? I forget, but it was nice to see them recognized and of course everyone in the audience was singing along. #cookoutmusic

[amybrickwallace]

I just finished watching the Bernie Mac UH - Steve Harvey is not in the episode. Chris Rock and Cedric the Entertainer were interviewed.

Candi Staton was one of the interviewees in the Disco episode of Unsung, along with Nile Rodgers, Gloria Gaynor, Janice Marie Johnson (of A Taste of Honey), and Anita Bell among others. It would be great to see a profile about her. My dad absolutely loves "Young Hearts Run Free"!

[amybrickwallace]

Oh, and D.L. Hughley was also interviewed on the Bernie Mac episode.

[Eric83]

What did Steve Harvey do to Bernie Mac?

[amybrickwallace]

http://www.inquisitr.com/2268404/bernie-mac-unsung-hollywood-beef-kings-of-comedy-steve-harvey/

[DramatistDreamer]

I haven't seen the episode (waiting for it to be uploaded online) but I wonder if Larry Wilmore, one of the headwriters of The Bernie Mac show, will be included.