The Fifth Dimension

Founded in 1966, the singing group The Fifth Dimension was a fixture on the late 1960s/early 1970s pop culture scene. The five-member vocal group--Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis Jr., Florence LaRue, Lamonte McLemore (Davis' cousin) and Ron Townson--sang deeply-harmonized pop with just enough soul to keep things interesting.

The group gets down with Laura Nyro's "Stone Soul Picnic" in the clip above. The vid below is a medley of their hits.



The Fifth Dimension stayed intact until 1975, when McCoo and Davis (who were married) left the group and became pop stars as a husband-and-wife duo a few years later. Townson died in 2001. According to a Wikipedia entry, the group has had 25 personnel changes since 1975. The group now tours as Florence LaRue and the 5th Dimension, with LaRue as the only original member.

Breakwater

That's a 1980 jam by R&B group, Breakwater. Sounds good, doesn't it? You can listen again. I'll wait.

Now check this one out from 1978. Same group.



One more and I'm done:

Room 222

Today, the Soul Closet brings back a forgotten hit show of the 1970s: "Room 222." Set in Walt Whitman High School, the program largely centered on an American History class taught by the idealistic Pete Dixon, played by the supercool Lloyd Haynes. Denise Nicholas--looking mighty good, too--was guidance counselor (and love interest for Brother Dixon) Liz McIntyre.

"Room 222" premiered in September, 1969 and ran until January 1974. Here's a network promo of the show:



The 30 min "dramedy" was popular during its day, but dropped from sight after brief syndication runs in the 1970s. One of its co-stars, Karen Valentine, became a 1970s icon as cute student teacher Alice Johnson. But despite his good looks and charisma, fame eluded Haynes, the show's lead actor. After a few forgettable movies, Haynes did turn up as a judge on four episodes of the TV show "Dynasty" in 1981, according to IMDB, followed by a two-year run on the soap "General Hospital."

Haynes died of cancer in 1986. He was 52.

"Room 222" is on DVD, at least. Its first season was released in March. Here's an episode from a later season, featuring actor Bruno Kirby about two years before he would play young Clemenza in "Godfather II." And even here, he's trying to get his hustle on.

Cancer. With Soul

My kids laugh when I tell them smoking was glamorous and sophisticated when I was a kid in the 1970s. In movies, the line "May I offer you a light?" often led to romance--not a trip to a lung specialist. Being able to look cool holding a cigarette was a good thing. And stores stocked candy cigarettes for the young set.(I preferred Pall Malls.)

We close the week with an ode cancer stick advertising--with a little Soul. Here is a set of circa 1970 cigarette ads from Ebony Magazine.


Why does the woman have a black eye? The Tareyton cigarettes' ad campaign/tagline was "I would rather fight than switch" brands. Lung disease and a black eye. Nice. Dig the commercial.


Black folks and menthol cigarettes. I bet this is how it started.


This Winston ad makes fun of its own then-successful, but ungrammatical slogan, "Winston Tastes Good Like a Cigarette Should." The brother in the last quote balloon breaks it all down.


Oh come now. This ain't even subliminal.

And speaking of Pall Mall cigarettes. My father and all his friends pronounced it "Pell Mell" rather than the way it looks: "Paul Maul". All these years I thought they were wrong. Turns out they weren't.

Welcome to Club Soul Closet...

No video..we're gonna spin some wax today showcasing some early hip-hop/freestyle/dance/electro. If I don't, who will? Contemporary music stations play the Top 40 only; classic/oldies stations play the same [melonfarming] songs in 2009 that they played in 1979. If I hear "Heard it Through the Grapevine" or "Baby Love" one more time, I'm kicking the speaker in, whether the radio belongs to me or not...

Where was I? Oh. Some of these old jams still sound good, like C-Bank's "One More Shot" (click link above), replete with breaking-glass sound effects, tight production by synth wiz John Robie and melancholy vocals by lead singer Jenny Burton.

Hit the link below and check out C-Bank's "Get Wet"--dig the lyric "Get wet, or, my darling, I will do it myself." Well.



The late Sharon Redd, with "Beat the Street."


Here's Lime's "Babe, We're Gonna Love Tonight."


Remember this? "Must Be the Music," by Secret Weapon?


The NYC Peech Boyz' "Don't Make Me Wait."


The Peech Boyz again: "Life is Something Special" with the formidable Bernard Fowler--who is still in the game--handling vocals.


Blame me if you don't get any work done today. It's okay.

"What is Hip?"

Just to the right, there is a link to soul singer Lenny Williams' site. This song--"What is Hip?" from his years as lead singer of the formidable R&B/funk group Tower of Power--is just one of the reasons why.

Git down, y'all.

Who Do You Love?

Bernard Wright and his 1985 hit "Who Do You Love?"
(Well...I love the girl in the video. She need to hit a brother up.)

Randy Crawford &The Crusaders

The incredible Randy Crawford, backed by the Crusaders, in that 1979 jam "Street Life." Written by Crusader's pianist Joe Sample and Will Jennings, "Street Life" spent 20 weeks atop the jazz charts and, in its full version, is more than 11 minutes long.

Soul Closet's Bureau of Missing Persons.

Al B. Sure was in Chicago a few days ago, which reminded me: Whatever happened to his virtual twin, 1990's R&B singer Christopher Williams?

And while I'm at it, can we put out an APB on Williams' contemporary Keith Washington?



Report all leads to the Soul Closet's Bureau of Missing Persons.

Taste of Honey

No words today. Just listen to the two ladies jam.

Evelyn Champagne King

A friend and I were at restaurant yesterday when this 1982 video by R&B singer Evelyn "Champagne" King came on. We were transfixed for a second or two over the 80s-style "high tech" graphics of the vid. "Looks like they were just figuring things out, weren't they?" my friend said.

Ms King was 22 in this video, and was already a vet on the disco/R&B music scene. "I'm in Love" was #1 on the R&B charts back in '82. That fonky synth bass and catchy hook bear the mark of singer/producer Kashif, who made jams for darn near everybody during this period, including Howard Johnson ("So Fine"--now there's a old school jam you don't hear anymore) and Soul Closet reader Melba Moore--not to mention himself.

As for Ms King, she's just shy of 50 now and is still around.

Oh, and the nickname "Champagne"? Supposedly its a riff on her childhood nickname "Bubbles."

"Boss [Derogative Racial Term]"

Honestly, we forgot about this movie. But with the never-ending debate over the propriety of using the n-word, it's striking to find a 34-year-old movie that not only uses it in the the title---and, liberally thoughout the screenplay---but also in the theme song. Fred Williamson plays the title role. Literally. "Boss [Derogative Racial Term]" is his name in the movie.

Released in 1975, "Boss [Derogative Racial Term]" is a western starring Williamson and his frequent co-star and blaxploitation fixture D'Urville Martin as bounty hunters who appoint themselves sheriffs of a white town. Warning: The movie trailer above is not for the easily offended.

How many films used the n-word in the title, you wonder? At least 17, according to imdb.com and Williamson starred in three of them, including "The Legend of [N-word] Charley," from 1972 starring Williamson and its 1973 sequel, "The Soul of [N-word] Charley".
The there is "The Six Thousand Dollar [N-word] from 1979 about a bionic Brother.

The olden days of film gave us such titles as "Tossing a [N-word] in a Blanket" from 1898; "The Laughing [N-word]" from 1907; "The [N-word] in the Woodpile"---you could have guessed that one was coming---from 1904; "Ten Little [N-word] Boys," from 1912; and "The [N-word]" from 1915.

Who Remembers Captain Sky?

We re-open the Soul Closet with a quick nod to a forgotten Chicago-born funkateer, Captain Sky. As I write this entry, I'm looking at a copy of his 1979 LP "Pop Goes the Captain," which, with its cosmic motif and funky cartoon art, looks like a George Clinton joint. Sounds like one too...

Born Daryl L. Cameron, Captain Sky had a few R&B hits in the late '70s and early "80s, including "Wonder Worm" from 1979 and "Station Break" from 1981.

Click on the above video and check out the Captain doing his thing on "Soul Train."

Byron Stingily

We all turn into our parents, sooner or later--denouncing the day's music and hailing the music of "our day" as being better.

But in this case, I am right. Exhibit A: Byron Stingily's 1996 jam "Get Up," which still sounds good 13 years later.

Billy Stewart Sings "Summertime"

Of all the versions of the classic "Summertime," this 1965 bid by Billy Stewart is--by far--the most amazing. Stewart was a vocalist for Chicago's Chess Records who had a couple of soul hits the year before with "Sitting in the Park" and "I Do Love You." Then he struck gold with "Summertime." Sadly, a car accident claimed the life of this great singer in 1970. He was only 33.

Backed by Chess's all-powerful session musicians---the track's drummer is Maurice White, who late became frontman/guiding light of Earth Wind & Fire--the 300lb Stewart stutters, trills and double-clutches his way through the song, then ends it with a display of vocal pyrotechnics the likes of which have been rarely captured on wax (or CD, mp3, wma...) since.

Dig it.

Pointer Sisters

The Pointer Sisters--a talented bunch--had a string of hits in the 1980s, beginning with "Jump" and other video-ready tunes. Me? I always preferred the Pointer Sisters v.1 of the early 1970s. This was back before music videos, and when everybody had a variety show or a talk show--Carol Burnett, Mike Douglas, Dinah Shore...and at some point in the show, they'd say, "Ladies and Gentlemen: The Pointer Sisters."

...and these four (or three, if June Pointer couldn't make it) sisters would come out and just sing. Their dress was vaguely reminiscent of the 1940s, and so were the songs, but yet they were as funky and contemporary as all-get out.

Mama and Daddy would come in from the next room because black folks were so rarely on tv then, you had to yell out. "Can you turn that up?" they'd say.

Yes,we can (can).

Paging Mos Def?

I posted a 1970 clip of Jesse Jackson on "Sesame Street" and noted the resemblance between the then-young Rev and actor Will Smith. Well, today my vinyl record collection reveals a uncanny resemblance between jazz bassist Ron Carter and Mos Def. Talk to me...y'all know I'm right.

Jesse Jackson on "Sesame Street"

The Reverend, from a 1970 episode of "Sesame Street" that I fondly remember from my childhood. Dig the young Rev. Jackson. Looking at it now, two things come to mind: it's hard to deny the impact and beauty of this moment, and Will Smith, do I have a role for you, Brother.

And while we're here at Sesame Street, check out this clip featuring En Vogue. Back when there were four in the group, and I was crushin' on all of them. Especially Cindy Herron.

The Warriors

A scene from Walter Hill's 1979 classic "The Warriors."

"House of Payne" vs "Amos n Andy."

Forgive me for allowing the 21st century to intrude a bit into the Soul Closet today. I did a mild rant on my Facebook page, expressing my disdain for "Tyler Perry's House of Payne." I think "House of Payne" is pandering, embarrassing, mediocre and unfunny.

A few of the folks who commented on my FB page compared "House of Payne" to "Amos n Andy," and I presume they meant the black-cast television show of the 1950s, rather than the radio show which featured white guys doing stereotypical black voices. The radio show had a long run, but the "Amos n Andy" tv show was run off the air--quick--by the NAACP and others for its depictions of scheming and shiftless Negroes.

I saw an episode of "A & A" on a bootlegged VHS when I was in college in the 1980s. I expected to be outraged, and--dare I say it--I laughed. I can see why it was banned though: Who wants to see Ralph Bunche holding court on NBC News, only to flip the dial and see Kingfish's scheming azz, talking in "dese" and "dos". So I present above a clip "Amos n Andy" and below, "House of Payne." Maybe the NAACP can do that thing one more time.

Kool & the Gang

Kool & the Gang's 1982 jam, "Big Fun."

Stars & Stripes (and Plaid) Forever

I've been thinking about adding a new feature to the Soul Closet: class pictures. So I decided to prime the pump with my own. Here is Mrs. Hudson's 1st grade class, James Madison Elementary School, Chicago IL, 1971. See if you can pick me out.

School picture photography is lost art. My kids go to great schools, yet they bring home drab, washed-out looking photos printed on the cheapest of paper. But look at this picture bursting with color--befitting such a funky era.

The Bill Cosby Show

For years, I'd been telling my kids Bill Cosby had a sitcom that predated the 1980s "Cosby Show." My recollection of it was sparse: Cosby's character was a high school teacher named Chet Kincaid; the show was funny, and there was an episode in which he drove his girlfriend to the dance in a garbage truck.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Cosby "sang" what has to be the funkiest theme song (written by Quincy Jones) in the history of television. When the first season of the series, which premiered in 1969 and ran for two seasons came to DVD in 2006, I snapped it up and screened it for the kids and we dug it. Especially the theme and opening title.

Melba Moore, Cleavon Little & Charles Gordone

I got a friend request from Melba Moore today on Facebook. Turns out it was actually her. We've always had great love for Ms. Moore. As I accepted the request, I was reminded of this 1970 Ebony cover that I have featuring Moore, Cleavon Little and Charles Gordone. And Melba is wearing that dress, baby.

A talented trio. Moore and Little won Tonys in 1970 for their roles in Purlie; Gordone won the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play No Place to be Somebody.

Funkin for Jamaica

All rise: Tom Browne's 1980 jam "Funkin for Jamaica." Among the personnel: Tom Browne on the horn, the great Marcus Miller gets funky on the bass, and Toni Smith (who co-wrote the tune) gives Chaka Khan a serious run for her money on vocals.

Whaddaya Know...the Revolution WAS Televised!

..how else to explain this astounding find: James Brown singing "Say it Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)" in a room full of white folks in 1968, and they're clapping and smiling and singing the chorus with him!

You were bad, Godfather. Superbad.

(The show was "Playboy After Dark" by the way.

Baubles, Dangles & Beads?

Sure, they look all funky and hip, but I wonder: Who wore these things, outside of that overly stern woman on the Mothers Board? See there, that girl on the left? Every Friday, she begged her mother and father to go to Kresge's and buy her a pair of these glasses. Then in March, 1970 the parents relented. The girl wore them to school Monday and was feeling pretty good. Then she saw her manless and lonely Home Ec teacher (the woman on the right, actually) wearing a pair just like these. And by Tuesday, the girl on the left had put them in the bottom of her jewelry box, where they were forgotten forever.

Janet Jackson

The Soul Closet opens this week with two videos from Janet Jackson. What strikes me most as I views these: How much modern pop divas still perform the moves Janet did 20 years ago.

Did I just say "20 years ago"? I feel old now. Gotta take a Geritol. Go head and watch the vids. I need to take my nap.

Lola Falana on "The Muppet Show."

Frankly, I miss them both.

The Great Biz Markie

Biz Markie turns 45 this year. Rap and hip-hop have been around long enough for its pioneers to reach middle age (Big Daddy Kane will hit 41 in 2009. Roxanne Shante? 40. Melle Mel will be 48. And Kurtis Blow turns the big 5-0.) But I digress...

Few voices in hip-hop over the past 20 years are as unique as that of the great Biz Markie. I still remember "The Vapors from his Goin' Off album back in '88, and do not sleep on Biz' live and fonky performance of "Schizo Jam" on jazzman Don Byron's superb and (underheralded) 1998 CD "Nu Blaxploitation."

But Biz' career is indelibly marked by this 1989 song, "Just a Friend" and the accompanying video, both of which are hilarious (check the Mozart get-up) and poignant at the same time. If mainstream rap would remove the manufactured scowl and get down like this just one time today...

1988 Was a L-O-N-G Time Ago.

This 1988 ad for Isoplus promised to help the Sisters keep their hair this way, but for the life of me, I've forgotten why. This was a hot style when I was in college and every other young woman came out of the Touch of Class beauty shop rockin this look and, in retrospect,looking rather poodleish about the head. But we brothers can't laugh too hard. Back then, every fifth male was cutting his hair like this dude.

Cleopatra Jones

In the back of the Soul Closet are a pair of platform boots and a fur jacket belonging to one of the baddest sisters on film: Cleopatra Jones, played by the stunningly f-i-n-e, 6'2" Tamara Dobson, as a federal agent seeking to put the smackdown on an overacting Shelly Winters.

Dobson's plays the role with charisma, and given that the former fashion model had only one credited screen appearance before 1973's "Cleopatra Jones," she did a pretty good job as a female lead. Sadly, her career post- "Jones" career was all too brief. She was only in seven features between 1973 and 1984, including a sequel, "Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold." By 1978, she was Samantha in the quite-decent Saturday morning sci-fi series "Jason of Star Command." Her last role was in the 1984 made-for-tv film---predictably titled---"Amazons."

Dobson was diagnosed with MS in 2000. She died in 2006.

And now back to the action. I saw "Cleopatra Jones" at the United Artists Theater in downtown Chicago about six years after its release. When she opened up the hidden trap door in the Corvette and broke out the machine gun in the scene below, everybody in the theater went "oooooooo!" Including me.

Pre-Shaft: In a Robert Hall Suit.

Some slogans are timeless. "For the man accustomed to paying $100 or more for his suits" is not one of them, I'm afraid. This was the latest offering in 1970 from Robert Hall, the now defunct clothier. And yep, once again, the model in the vaguely-priced Crown Juilliard line suit is Richard Roundtree, who would later become Shaft. John Shaft paid more than $75 for his clothes, I bet. Why, just look.

Minnie

We were wannabe bad-asses, walking across the hot asphalt playground of Caldwell Elementary school in July 1979 when somebody---I don't even remember who--came up to us.

"Y'all heard? Minnie Riperton dead." We hadn't heard. And our bravado took the afternoon off when we did.

Breast cancer. She was 31. That honey sweet soprano voice that kissed the stratosphere--silenced.

...but, as it turns out, not forgotten. Thirty years after Minnie's death, people still worship the voice and the music. More than a few Soul Closet readers have emailed me: "You need to put some Minnie on there." And so today I have. The Closet closes for the week with the great Ms Riperton singing "Reasons."

While the backing track is identical to the album, the vocals are sung differently here than on wax, leading me to believe she sang it live here on Soul Train (the synch is off, as is often the case with YouTube vids), but she hits some outrageous notes with astonishing ease.

..and what the heck? It's Friday: Here's Minnie preforming "Lover & Friend."


And a live performance on the old "Mike Douglas Show", singing "Seeing You This Way." Check out how well she handles herself in the interview with Douglas at the song's end.


..and also from "Mike Douglas," a live performance of "Loving You."

Family, 1970

This is a 1970 ad for Esoterica skin creme. But let's set that aside for now and look at the picture of family. Mom and Dad are salt-of-the-earth, church-going Baptists. I bet he prefers to be called "Father", even by his wife. He is a supervisor at work; and his wife may be a teacher, but she is certainly on the Mothers Board at church. They seem old, but they are not yet 50. In fact, the mother is probably only 45. They are proud of their daughter, who is in her first year at Spelman.

But look at Junior, there on the right. He oughta to be in college, but he's not. Drifting. Borrowing money from Mama because Dad stopped speaking to him after the big fight in 1969. Dad tried to get him a good gig down at the job--even pulled some strings to do it--but did Junior follow up? No.

Mama prayed for him. She never gave up. And sometime around 1977, Junior started getting his bag together. He went to school, got a job and later became a minster at the church. Mama's prayers got answered.

Jeff Perry Shoulda Been Famous

For the life of me, I could never figure out why Jeffrey Perry wasn't a huge R&B star of the 1970s. I guess the field was crowded with so many greats back then, there was only room for so many.

Here's a rare appearance of him on a 1976 episode of "Soul Train," singing--quite happily, I should add---"Love Don't Come No Stronger." Perry's career did enjoy a bounce in the mid-1990s. Kenny B., a Chicago steppers' dj I used to know, started playing, "Love's Gonna Last," a track from Perry's forgotten 1979 MCA album. The song became a staple on WVAZ where Kenny B., spun records and gave Perry's career as shot in the arm.

The 1979 album, "Jeffree," is worth tracking down. It's beautifully sung, and Perry wrote all the songs on the joint. Why MCA let this album bomb is beyond me. I found a pristine copy of it for $5 at the old 2nd Hand Tunes in Hyde Park, and no you can't have it.

Buffalo Gals

After managing the rock groups the New York Dolls and the Sex Pistols, Malcolm Mclaren took a detour into hip-hop in 1983, creating this early UK jam, "Buffalo Gals."

Honey Cone

I dug deep in the Soul Closet---ok, it's youtube--to find a pair of jams from the early 70s R&B girl group, Honey Cone. Both "Want Ads," and "Stick Up" were number one R&B hits. And if the group sounds a little bit like the Supreme, there's good reason. The legendary songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland wrote for Honey Cone (and named the group) after leaving Motown.

The three stone foxes of Honey Cone were, from right to left: lead singer Edna Wright, Carolyn Willis, and Shelly Clark. Ms Clark has a Honey Cone myspace page right here, yall. On her page she's got great music. I learned that she is married to one of the coolest and most iconic cats in all of R&B: EWF's long-haired bassist Verdine White.

Homemade HammerTime!

I wonder if Vanilla Ice had one, too?

Bobby Caldwell

I had a conversation about a year ago with a white guy who loved black music. He said he hated when white artists sing soul music because "what right do they have to claim that? It's so artificial."

I agreed up to a point. There was nothing more fake than, say, a Michael Bolton herniating his way through a soul classic in the 1980s. On the other hand, the very white Michael McDonald, to me, is quite authentic. So is today's artist, Bobby Caldwell, singer of the late 1970s jam, "What You Won't Do For Love."

The song is part of the R&B canon, having been remade by everyone from Phyllis Hyman to Tupac. I like how this early music video begins with Caldwell in shadow (the cover of "What You Won't Do for Love" LP was just like this), then reveals him after the vocals began. I can only imagine the surprise back in 1978: "Dang, that's a white guy?"

Yes it is. But he's got the soul of a Brother.

When Gordon from "Sesame Street" was a Pimp

The Soul Closet brings forth today "Willie Dynamite," a 1974 film starring Roscoe Orman as a pimp who finds himself squeezed after refusing to join a collective of other macks. Brother Orman is best known as Gordon on "Sesame Street."

"Dynamite" is Orman's first role on film and he clearly had the makings of being a real movie star. He's charismatic, intense---and he pulls off one of the most outrageous wardrobes committed to celluloid. In her final role, the late Diana Sands is excellent as a former streetwalker at odds with Willie. You just wish she, and the rest of the cast, where in a better movie.

The clip above is the best part of the movie. Roger Robinson steals the show with a Pimpspearean performance as Bell, the lead mack. You'll see Orman, Nathaniel Taylor who played Rollo in "Sanford and Son," and character actor Don DoQui who appeared in "Robocop" and countless other features (he died Feb 9th of this year).

International Fashions. 1971

This is a 1971 ad for International Fashions. But it really should be an ad for a movie. Call it "Pimp Force '72: The Man from P.I.M.P." In it, pimps from France, the U.S., and Nigeria unite and go undercover to keep neo-Nazis from taking over the pimp trade.

Admit it: If there were such a movie, you'd be on Netflix right now trying to get for Friday. I know I would.

Run's House v.1

From the 1985 movie, "Krush Groove." Back when hip-hop was still young, fresh and edgy--before Madison Avenue, Clear Channel, big record labels and reality TV took an authentic voice and lifestyle of the streets and jacked it up.

Anyway, "Krush Groove" is based on the early days of Def Jam records, and featured appearances by Run-DMC, Sheila E., the Fat Boys and New Edition. The acting is a little wooden, but the musical performances more than make up for it.

5 Star

From 1987. You remember these folks? They were an 1980s R&B act out of the UK. Their biggest hits were "All Fall Down" and "Can't Wait Another Minute." The group was composed of the five Pearson siblings--who clearly owed a debt to the Jackson dynasty. And yes, I had the hots for lead singer Denise Pearson. She's now 41. I wonder what she looks and sounds like now?

Uh, Denise? Call me.

Is the Man Shortage THAT Bad?

Look at this 1969 ad for Armstrong tires. The comely-looking sister is snuggled up in the bed with a tire. She is disturbed.

You wonder how this affair began. Was she getting the mail one day and spotted the tire rolling down the street by itself and figured "..hey baby"? Or maybe it's a steel-belted tire, and she's cheating on the dedicated but worn-down bias ply tire she already has.

Or maybe she's married to an actual guy. Let's call him "Bill" and, well...

"Bill, as your friend, I must tell you: Sondra IS seeing someone else...but its not what you think."
"What is it, Man? All she's been talking about is how she's found someone new; someone who keeps her safe. Someone she can depend on. Someone who doesn't ask for much--"
"I know..and 'someone she can roll with'..We've discussed this before, Bill. But I peeped in the window of your house today, Bill. I saw who she's been messing around with. The loose lugnuts you keep finding in your driveway...that ain't by chance. This Mr. Armstrong you're hearing about is no man, Bill."
"I know he's no man...seeing my wife...shame on him."
"You don't understand, Bill. Mr. Armstrong....he's a tire, Bill. A TIRE!"
(music: daah--daaah..DAAAAAAH)

Pirelli bought out Armstrong Tires back in 1989. My car has Pirellis. And I like em. But not this much.

Levi's: 1970

This 1970 Levi's ad features a nice bit of informal street photography, Levi's and a great tagline: "Have You Ever Had a Bad Time in Levi's?" Yes, yes, the guy is clearly having the time of his life. But I look and I wonder: Do you think the girl ever found out the real reason why he never brought her home to meet mother?

[Alright, I kid! I kid!]

Across 110th Street!

"Across 110th Street"--gritty, violent, cynical--is among the best of the black movie genre of the 1970s. In fact, with its unrelenting nature, documentary-style camera work and explosive performances, "110th Street" deserves a place among other set-in-NYC classics of the day, including "Taxi Driver," "Mean Streets," "Report to the Commissioner" and others.

Released in 1972, the movie stars Yaphet Kotto and Anthony Quinn as two detectives at odds as they attempt to solve the fatal robbery of a Mafia count room in Harlem. But the powerful supporting cast of black character actors such as Paul Benjamin, Ed Bernard, Norma Donaldson and the gravelly-voiced Richard Ward--especially Ward---carry the film. Tony Franciosa also does fine work as the dimwitted, but violent mob hood who is in pursuit of the robbers.

The movie is brilliantly acted--the speech Paul Benjamin's character delivers in his rundown basement apartment is Oscar-worthy, if you ask me---bleak and pointed. And Bobby Womack kills on the theme song.

Cross Promotion, 1969

An amazing find from '69: an ad campaign for Cold Power washing powder and the Godfather of Soul. If you sent in proof of purchase, the good people at Cold Power laundry detergent would send you a 45 record of "Our World" by JB.

That makes sense. Cold Power--the least effective washing powder I can think of--and James Brown were both responsible for a great deal of funk in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

A DJ Saved My Life.

The Soul Closet kicks shut this week in typical fashion: with a dance music video. Today we bring Indeep's 1982 landmark jam "Last Night a DJ Saved my Life." Indeep was composed of female singers Reggie and Rose Marie Ramsey, with producer Mike Cleveland supplying the male rap.

The song's bassline, hook and title have sampled and borrowed by an array of R&B/Hip Hop acts, including Mariah Carey and Busta Rhymes. But here is the original. And after almost 30 years, it still sounds good.

In Living Color

Check out this clip from the 1990s sketch comedy show "In Living Color."

In the Heat of the Night

I never liked "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" starring Sidney Poitier and Spencer Tracy. It's preachy...stilted--and doesn't hold up well today. No, Sir. For my money, Sidney Poitier's best work from that era (other than the seldom-seen, but powerful "Brother John") is 1967's "In the Heat of the Night." Poitier is tightly-coiled and cool as a Philadelphia police detective forced help a sheriff, played by Rod Steiger, solve a crime in a racist southern town. And the above scene is one of my favorites.

The Mighty Quinn

"The Mighty Quinn" is a clever little movie from early 1989 that was among the first flicks to show the true star power of Denzel Washington ("Glory" was released later that year). Denzel plays Xavier Quinn, the police chief of an unnamed Caribbean island, who has a whodunit on his hands--and his boyhood friend Maubee (Robert Townsend) at the center of it.

It's a laid-back movie, awash in color and great music. Cast includes Sheryl Lee Ralph, Esther Rolle, Art Evans, M Emmet Walsh, Mimi Rogers and the beautiful Maria McDonald in a small, but memorable role as the mischievous Jax.

...As I think about it: Whatever happened to Maria McDonald? Great voice, strikingly fine face and not a bad actress. After "The Mighty Quinn," imdb.com shows her in the made-for-tv movie "The Marla Hanson Story" from 1991, and that's it. If you've got about 50 minutes to kill, check her out in this 1987 episode of "Miami Vice."

Soul for Sister Shirley

The Soul Closet opens the week with a little respect for the great unbossed and unbought Shirley Chisholm, who, in 1968, was the first black woman elected to Congress, and the first black person to run for president under a major political party. She died in 2005 at age 80.

Twennynine, featuring Lenny White

Back in '79, '80, '81--the hip thing was for a jazz cat to make a R&B/Soul album. Jazz drummer Lenny White's album, Best of Friends, pictured here is an overlooked jewel of the era. Lenny's in the white tie, I should add. The tune that got the radio play was the silly, but fun "Peanut Butter." But don't sleep on the title cut, a mellow cut with strings and strong vocals. You can go here to listen to cuts from the album.

Drop Squad: The Gospel Pak

The critics panned "Drop Squad" when it was released in 1994. The move was about a shadowy band of Brothers (led by Vondie Curtis-Hall and Ving Rhames) who kidnap and deprogram a "sell-out" black advertising exec played by Eriq LaSalle. "Drop Squad" should have been a razor-sharp satire through-and-though (like the brilliant "Fear of a Black Hat"). Instead it often got bogged down, preachy and heavy-handed.

Some parts are inspired, though, such as the clip above: a fast-food commercial produced by the company for which LaSalle's character works. This was high parody in 1994. Not so much today. Shoot, I bet if this commercial aired during "House of Payne" nobody would even notice.

Odyssey

Here is the music video for the 1982 hit "Inside Out" by the vocal group Odyssey. The dancers leaping through the clouds in a nice touch. And by the way, if the song sounds a lot like "Watching You" by Slave, there are a few good reasons: Slave's producer Jimmy Douglass was behind this song, and Slave's Mark Adams is handling the bass.

Ebony Magazine Fashions, 1970

We bring a little style to the Soul Closet today with these offerings from the early 1970s pages of Ebony magazine. We begin with the above outfit, worn by the wife of a prominent Ohio businessman, according to the caption. It doesn't say what kind of business he was in, but my guess? Fur trapper.



The caption for the above outfit said, "The hip, together, modern woman definitely intends to do her own thing.." This is a design by Maurice Rentner and features "the hippest of beige felt hats and beige above the knee boots that are just too much!" Rentner died in 1958 and his design house later merged with that of his sister and in late 1970 became better known as Bill Blass.



The original caption said this Pauline Trigere design is "a freedom loving black coat with plaid color squares." Power to the people.

Soul Double Feature

I was flipping through Comcast OnDemand last weekend and stumbled across two near gems. The first, "Buck and the Preacher" is a pretty good 1972 western starring Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte as a pair of post Civil War outlaws trying to defeat The Man while protecting a group of black settlers looking to move west. It's Poitier's first outing as director and he does well. Belafonte steals the movie as a comically-scheming preacher (who looks like a early Howard Hewitt). The coolest scenes: Belafonte, Poitier and the great Ruby Dee tearing across the desert on horseback; and Poitier gunning own a room full of bad guys in a burst of Sergio Leone-style violence (seen in the trailer above) They should have made a sequel.

The other movie is "Together Brothers" from 1974, a long-forgotten, ultra low-budget flick filmed in Galveston, TX. In it, a group of poor urban kids try to solve a murder. Sounds as square as the "Bloodhound Gang" and the movie drags on a bit, especially in the middle.

In fact, I was about to turn away when just after the half-way point, "Together Brothers" finds its groove and--so help me, y'all--turns into a convincing thriller, with shades of greatness. There is a surprising and poignant performance by Lincoln Kilpatrick who died a few years ago and was a fixture on screen and TV, including "Soylent Green" and "Uptown Saturday Night."

"Together Brothers" hasn't made it to DVD, so I have no clips to show, but check it out on On-Demand if you have it. Meanwhile, I will leave you with a little something: Barry White (a Galveston native son) and his Love Unlimited Orchestra did the movie's funky, urgent score. Decades later, the Quad City DJs would sample the "Together Brothers" theme to create "C'mon Ride the Train." Hear Barry's original here. And the Quad City DJs' here.

..in other words, "Baby, You Stank."

That's what he's really saying. His eyes are set, his collar is turned up and he ain't smiling. In fact, she must really stink because look closely: He's dressed for cooler weather. Which means she also has a coat on, too. And yet he can still smell her. So they're walking to the store, or coming out of the furniture shop and he turns to her all of a sudden and drops the bomb.

Trouble is, it's an ad for Ban Roll-On. So Brother, if she uses it, she's still going to stank.

Vanessa Williams

We crack open the Soul Closet today with this 1988 dance hit by Vanessa Williams. Just four years earlier, folks were reading the last rites over her career in the wake of her having to give up her Miss America crown when those nudie pix got released.

But this video marks the beginning of her second coming as entertainment force. Between then and now, she's starred and co-starred in major motion pictures, hit TV shows, and has been a presence on the pop music charts. Shoot, the girl has even sung with Pavarotti.

And--as this video shows--she can also Cabbage Patch down a flight of stairs like nobody's business.

The SOS Band

The Soul Closet ends the week with this 1980 jam from the SOS Band, "Take Your Time (Do it Right)." The sneaky and insistent bassline and great vocals by Mary Davis--who possesses one of the most unique voices in R&B--make this cut memorable. So here they are, on "Solid Gold" (remember that show?) from 1980. Enjoy.

Hoopty -n-waiting

Look at this. Everybody is trying to get you to buy this 1993 Mercury Tracer. Your girlfriend in the top center square--doing somebody's hair--is saying "you'll look good in it." Grandpa wants you get something comfortable. Look at the cheap ass brother on the bottom row who thinks air conditioning is free.

Trust me: The tow truck ain't free. And when this car broke down at 11pm on 23rd and Lake Shore Drive in the winter of 1994, none of these people were available to help.

The Electric Company v.1

I noticed PBS has begun airing a remake of the classic 1970s educational show, The Electric Company. So I watched a bit of the new show and it wasn't bad, actually. Needless to say, it got me to thinking about the original which featured folks like Bill Cosby, Rita Moreno, and that Soul Brother who played Easy Reader.

So dig the above clip of a really young Irene Cara with that stone fox Lee Chamberlin. And let me say this: I had a mad, mad crush on Lee Chamberlin when I was a kid watching this show. She was tall, fine, funny and--like me--had a gap in her front teeth. Not to mention she had a great first name and that Afro, which I am digging, even as I watch this clip. Turn it on, Baby. Bring ME the power!

The Pimpware Came C.O.D.

Footwear 1971, from Flagg Brothers. For my money, the Spat Boot and the Dorset were what all the discerning macks-in-training and hustlers-on-the-rise were wearing that year.

Inauguration Day: America's First Black President

Frankly, I'm surprised this 1972 movie isn't being referenced these days. "The Man," stars James Earl Jones as Douglass Dilman, a U.S senator who becomes the country's first black president.

But even in the movies back then, it was impossible for a black man to be flat-out elected president. Senator Dilman, president of the senate, gots the nod after a building collapse killed the president and the speaker of the house--and the vice president declined because he's too old.

"The Man" was made for ABC-TV, but had a theatrical run before heading to television. Jones talked about the movie a little earlier this month in the LA Times. "I have misgivings about that one," he said of the film. "It was done as a TV special. Had we known it was to be released as a motion picture, we would have asked for more time and more production money. I regret that."

Truck Turner: Addendum (rated R dialogue and MAJOR spoiler)

In my "Truck Turner" post from a few days ago, I should have also mentioned the movie's ultimate scene stealer: Nichelle Nichols who plays Dorinda the scorned and possibly psychotic madam who puts a hit out on Truck (played by Isaac Hayes.) You'll know Nichols as gentle Lt. Uhura in the old "Star Trek" tv show.

She's anything but that in "Truck Turner."

Click on the above video of various clips of Ms Nichols performance in the movie. See just how strong her pimp hand is. But be warned: Nichelle's language is foul. (But that woman could fill out a dress...and that white satin midriff-revealing pants suit thang.)

Rufus and Chaka, 1979

The Soul Closet closes for the week with this 1979 jam from Rufus & Chaka, "Do You Love What You Feel?" Why, yeah, I do. Especially when I see Chaka in those thigh-high boots.

Starpoint

Renee Diggs--and the way she pranced and jiggled her way through this video, to be more precise--made me late for class when I was in college back in 1987. What class was it? I don't know. What grade did I get in the class? Couldn't tell you. But I do remember the video...

Watching it now, it's worth noting how much mass-produced R&B has changed since "He Wants My Body" was released. Diggs fronted the band Starpoint, which had a pretty good run in the mid-1980s. But you hardly ever see a female-fronted R&B act like that today. In fact, the self-contained R&B group--once a staple of the genre--has all but disappeared from the airwaves. What I also like: Diggs wasn't a teenybopper. At 33 when this video was made, her performance carried the authority of that of a grown woman.

The "He Wants My Body" video represents Starpoint at its brief apex. Diggs was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a short time later, and by 1990, the group had broken up. Ernesto Phillips, who slides across the floor on his knees during the guitar solo in the video, died in 2004. Diggs died from complications of MS in 2005.

...and Lou Rawls with the Weather

I could tell you how cold it is in Chicago today. But let's let Brother Lou break it down instead. His monologue here at the beginning of the supremely funky "Dead End Street" tells you all you need to know.

Othello. Set to Jazz

Well, this might not be as funky as the Soul Train dancers I posted a few days ago, but bear with me. Reports today of the death of actor Patrick McGoohan got me to thinking about a seldom-seen 1962 movie in which he co-starred. The film, "All Night Long" is the story of Othello set to jazz and takes place in a single night in a modern loft. The movie stars Paul Harris as the Othello-like jazzman Aurelius Rex. McGoohan is Rex's scheming drummer Johnny Cousin. The music is superb and all sort of jazz giants make apperances here, including Charlie Mingus and Dave Brubeck. McGoohan gets off a very good drum solo. It's worth checking out.

Raydio!

Today we present a well-done cover from Raydio's 1979 album Rock On. Ray is still in the game. And you can hear this album's biggest hit "Jack n Jill" here on Last FM.

Who Said Black Folks Can't Swim?

Today, we dig d-e-e-p into the Soul Closet for this almost surreal item: a 1964-ish TV performance by Bobby Freeman, then 24, singing "C'mon On Swim." We dig Bobby, but the go-go dancers "swimming" across the floor at the end...why, that's just priceless.

"Free as a Breeze"

This 1970 ad depicts a day in the life of a beautiful, young redbone sister. She doffed her hat, drove a dune buggy, rode a bike, flew a kite and chilled on the beach in a funky hooded outfit. And then the toxic shock set in.

Soul You Can Drink To

The Soul Closet opens this week with a question: I wonder if the people at Dewar's White Label still do these clever magazine ads? I haven't seen one in a very long while. They'd pick an interesting person and do a quick profile, asking what books they read, their latest accomplishment and their favorite scotch. The favorite scotch was always Dewar's White label. An effective but subtle way to establish a brand. The 1970 ad above features a very fine 25-year-old fashion designer Ola Hudson--dig the earrings, y'all. She's also the mother of Slash, the guitarist from Guns n Roses and Velvet Revolver.

This 1968 ad features the gifted and distinguished Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt:


And this gorgeous Sister here is literary editor Carole Henderson in 1969:

She's Carole Henderson Tyson now. And is still on the scene.

Jermaine Stewart

Here's an old school song that you don't hear anymore: Jermaine Stewart's "The Word is Out," from 1984. Looking at the video and listening to the lyrics now, it seems rather clear to me that despite what images portray, Jermaine ain't really singing about no girl.

Nevertheless, Jermaine was a talented performer who released four albums in his relatively short recording career between 1984 and 1989 and even briefly appeared in an episode of "Miami Vice." He died in 1997 at age 39.

Soul Train

The Soul Closet concludes the week with a dose of Soul Train from 1974. My favorite part: The couple at :48.

Love, Peace and Soul.

Big Apple (Hat) and the San Remo Groove

A 1971 ad from Ebony Magazine. We remember when Rudy from the "Fat Albert" cartoon used to rock the knit Kangol on the left. But for my money, the coolest thing is the coat on the right. Whatever the San Remo Groove was, if it allows me to stand like that with my loosely-tied ascot blowing in the wind, then doggone it I WANT it. And I can get it, too. At all the hip stores, baby. For $95.00

Soul Hottie: Annazette Chase

I was watching Isaac Hayes' 1974 classic, "Truck Turner" recently--probably for the third or fourth time over the last 15 years--when I noticed something that should have been obvious from the first viewing: his movie woman, Annazette Chase not only can act, but is hot as all get out in a laid-back and sexy kind of way.

Yes, yes, she plays a shoplifter. But she plays it so well. As keeper of the Soul Closet, I was intrigued. What other work did she do? Where is she now?

The valuable Internet Movie Database has her appearing in 27 different features between 1966 and 1984. The bulk of her work in the late 1960s to mid-1970s with appearances in TV shows "Sanford & Son," "Harry O," "Dragnet '67," "The Green Hornet"--even a 1974 "The Rockford Files" episode that featured Isaac Hayes. (They made two or three "RF" eps with Isaac Hayes playing the memorable Gandolph Fitch).

Chase was China Doll in the film "The Mack" and played Belinda Ali in the Muhammad Ali biopic "The Greatest." Her tv and film career seems to have slacked off after then. Her last appearance was in a 1984 episode of Benson.

I don't know where she is now, though. But I'll continue the hunt. Meanwhile, click on the video above and enjoy. (If only I could do as well with a six pack of beer.)

Freddie Hubbard