By Don Valentine and Sarah Goldman
He-Said: Sarah, most of the readers are as exasperated as I am with the headlines. Paying $5 for gas, no baby formula on the shelf, and inflation prices on every-thing…
Let’s move to a more Uptempo topic. We have been graced with some out-standing “Blue Eyed Soul” singers. Wikipedia, starts the category with the Righteous Brothers – “Unchained Melody.” Personally, I think the commercial break for B/E soul came with the 1963 Skyliners hit “Since I
Fell For You.” That was a cover of the soulful 1945 original by a Black man, Lenny Welch. You have to put Hall & Oates 1975 “Sarah Smile” in the category of B/E soul.
She-Said: This is a refreshing topic to take my mind off the “1-6 hearings.” How could Trump be that transparent in his GRIFT! I would put Michael McDonald on the B/E list. He was the lead singer for the Doobie Brothers and then went solo. The duet with Chaka Khan “You Belong To Me” was a luscious blend of vocals. It had B/E soul mixed with the soulful voice of Chaka Khan. Don, who would you put on that list?
He-Said: I think it is a tie for the Bronze medal. Either Bobby Caldwell (What You Won’t Do For Love) or Van Morrison (Brown Eyed Girl). Then for the Silver medal, I would pick Boz Scaggs (Low Down, or Heart Of Mine). The Gold medal for B/E soul, without argument, goes to Mariah Carey. The list of songs to support that choice is way too large to dispute!
Sarah, who makes it onto your medal list?
She-Said: You have to put the “King of Rock and Roll” at the top of the list. Elvis has my Gold medal! Silver must go to the Blue Eyed soul star Teena Marie. My favorite song was the duet with Rick James (Fire & Desire). Bronze would go to Bruno Mars. He rocked the Super Bowl Halftime show with the song “That’s What I Like.”
He-Said: Elvis was a Spot-On example of B/E singers. The King copied the dance moves and harmonies of all the previous Black singers. It might be more accurate to call him a Blue Eyed thief! The most prolific thing you can say about Soul – Music is it can be Replicated, but never Duplicated.
