The great rock and roll of the 1950s and early 1960s had many great black singers and singing groups.
Radio did not show the color of skin and we loved that music.
But then, they were real singers. Not rap crap.
“The great rock and roll of the 1950s and early 1960s had many great black singers and singing groups.
Radio did not show the color of skin and we loved that music.
But then, they were real singers. Not rap crap.”
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Absolutely! Exhibit A: Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” is a fantastic, moving song.
She died far too young.
No one should be fooling themselves that music fans didn’t know who was and who wasn’t black in the 50’s and 60’s. They did, there were places that banned music by black musicians and radio stations that refused to play it. That’s how several white musicians of that era came to be famous, covering songs from black musicians. My mom, who came of age in the 50’s, still has her collection of Sun 45’s, quite a few of which are black musicians. That was a fairly radical thing at the time. She’s no “progressive,” but she’s still a Democrat. Bugs the heck out of me, she should be agreeing with Trump on practically everything and if she wasn’t blinded by the nightly news propaganda that she still watches religiously, she would. But, she thinks he’s a dangerous nut as a result.
Rock & Roll saved the Black Female Backup Singer who was taking more and more of a back seat to the all male rap acts. A good example is the backup vocal on Gimme Shelter by Merry Clayton. So powerful. It kicked off a whole new legacy for many of those ladies.
Ditto
I think "The Platters" "Only You" was the first to really break DJ barrier.