Final Note: Fontella Bass, singer of "Rescue Me," dies at 72

By Richard K. Barry
Ms. Fontella died in December 26, 2012 in St. Louis of complications from a recent heart attack.

About the 1965 song "Rescue Me," the New York Times writes this:

A major crossover hit, the song reached No. 4 on Billboard’s pop chart and has remained a staple on oldies radio, movie soundtracks and television commercials; Aretha Franklin sang a version of it for a Pizza Hut ad in the early ’90s (as “Deliver Me”).

As they add, Fontella Bass's "Rescue Me" was an "indelible example of the decade's finest pop and soul."

Yes it was, and the horn section in this clip is pretty cool too, not to mention the dance steps of all involved. It is so hard to get rhythm and horn players to dance these days.


(Cross-posted at Hogtown Hipster.)

Everything old is new again - JD McPherson

By Richard K. Barry

In my never-ending quest to figure out what people are listening to "these days," I was recently checking out the Americana Music Association (AMA) website. Okay, maybe I don't care about Top 40 or Grammy winners, but, rather, good music that people might be listening to.

The AMA lists the top 100 Americana Albums of 2012 and at the top is a guy by the name of JD McPherson with an album called Signs and Signifiers. Not that I had never heard of him, but maybe I didn't realize he was doing so well. 

It sounds like rockabilly and old fashioned R&B to me. Not that I haven't always loved that stuff, but it's hardly new. None of that matters, I guess, but it does make me smile.

Here's a cut called "North Side Gal." Good stuff. 



(Cross-posted at Hogtown Hipster)