They write the songs ...

... that make us sing, smile, frown, laugh, cry, scream, holler, shout, testify, high-five your girl, and feel every other emotion on the spectrum.
There's something about a well-written song that arouses feelings of admiration and envy. I admire the writer for composing a wonderful work of art that will more than likely live on forever. I get a little green because a lot of times, I long for the talent to produce beautiful words like them.
Because there's nothing like hearing a wonderfully, well-written gospel song, let's start with some of my favorite gospel song writers.

Let's begin with one of the greatest writers in gospel music, the incomparable Psalmist Richard Smallwood. Smallwood, a graduate of Howard University, is responsible for some of the most beautiful gospel songs I have ever heard.
Smallwood has penned songs that have been performed by Karen Clark Sheard, Whitney Houston and his own groups Vision and the Smallwood Singers. While I love his music, my absolute favorite song by him has to be "Total Praise."
There's something about the "Amens" that make me want to cry. The B.B. Thompson Young People's Choir that I've been singing on since I was 'yay high' has been performing this song every year since it came out. And I don't mean to toot our horns, but uh, beep beep. We put stank on this song every time we sing it.
Take a listen:

Also pictured here, clockwise from the left is: Twinkie Clark, J. Moss, Kirk Franklin and Donald Lawrence.
You can't talk about gospel music without mentioning the Mattie Moss Clark Dynasty. First off, she was the first choir director to break the choir up into three parts - soprano, alto and tenor.
Before she came along, everybody was singing in unison. Now that she's gone, her daughter Twinkie and her great nephew James have been carrying on the family name by writing some of the greatest songs in rotation at any gospel station. Some of the songs they've written that you're probably most familiar with are Twinkie's "You Brought the Sunshine" performed by her and her sisters and James' "We Must Praise".
Franklin and Lawrence are beyond explanation. I guarantee you can not turn on any gospel station or show and go longer than an hour without hearing a song they've written or performed. I'll be the first to admit that neither or them sing well but you can't tell me that they haven't written a song that speaks to you.
My personal faves of theirs includes Franklin's "Imagine Me" and Lawrence's "Encourage Yourself"
I'm warning you, click with caution. These songs have been known to cause shouting, speaking in tongues and deliverance.
Now, even though I love a good ole' gospel song, I love some good rhythm and blues. Thanks to my mom, I grew up listening to some great music. Like most everyone in the world, my mom had us listening to all things Motown and just about anything else that was hot while they were growing up.
I'm sure my parents spent a lot of time "cutting up rugs" in the hole in the wall night clubs and jook joints they frequented in their youth. They managed to pass on their love for music to my siblings and I.

Clockwise from the left: Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, Smokey Robinson, Prince, Ashford & Simpson and Babyface. I could focus on just one and glaze over the others but I won't do any of them justice if I do.
First off, Stevie Wonder is, well, wonderful. He could have very easily let his vision impairment hold him back, but he didn't. He could have limited his musical genius to just the harmonica and his voice, but he didn't. He could have kept all that wonderful talent to himself, but I thank God he didn't.
That man is responsible for several of my favorite songs including, "I Just Called to Say I Love You," "Sir Duke," "Higher Ground" and my absolute most favorite song by him, "Overjoyed". That is the most beautiful break up song of all time. It can't and won't ever be touched.
Roberta Flack is perhaps known for her work with the late, great Donny Hathaway, who I couldn't find a picture of. What she ought to be known for is her song "Killing Me Softly With His Song" that The Fugees remade. I'm soooooo not a fan of remakes but Lauryn Hill put her foot in that one, but then again, the song was great before she touched it.
Smokey Robinson has the most famous song of all the song writers pictured here. In case you didn't know, Robinson is responsible for The Temptations' ginormous hit "My Girl".
To give you an indication of how that song has impacted every generation since it was first released, my 9-year-old niece and two of her cousins, 10 and seven, put on a concert for my sister, my cousin and I and the first song they sang and danced to was "My Girl." For that, every person mentioned in this post should want to study at the feet of one, Smokey Robinson.
And Prince, he doesn't need any explanation. Dare I say "Purple Rain," "Diamonds & Pearls," what about "1999?" I love just about all his music but the one thing I love him for the most is writing "I Feel For You" and giving it to Chaka Khan to perform. Tell me you don't immediately get thrown back to the movie "Breakin'" when you watch the video? It's got Shabba Doo and Bugaloo Shrimp for crying out loud!!!
Nick Ashford & Valerie Simpson are just freakin' awesome. They've written and performed some of my favorite songs, but this power couple along with Smokey Robinson have written probably half of Motown's hits.
Their song book includes everything they perform like "Solid" and "Is It Still Good to Ya?" They're also responsible for just about all the songs recorded by Marvin Gaye & Tammy Terrell including my absolute most favorite song in the world.

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds is like Smokey Robinson Jr. This is the guy responsible for the "Waiting to Exhale" Soundtrack that stayed in heavy rotation in my CD changer for at least 10 years - seriously. How many of us wasn't singing "Not Gon' Cry" or "Sittin' Up In My Room" or "Exhale (Shoop, Shoop)" all the time?
My favorite song that he's written thus far though is on his brother Kevon's "24/7" CD. It's called "A Girl Like You". I swear, if the dude I marry can sing, he'd better be singing this to me at our wedding!

Now, this brings us up to the new kids on the block. Clockwise from the left, they are Johnta Austin, Kandi Burruss, Missy Elliot, and Ne-yo.
They may look familiar to you because they have all tried their hand at a recording career. The most notable recording careers are of course Elliot, Ne-yo and Burruss, she was a member of the 90s group XSCAPE.
These guys are responsible for a lot of the songs that you're hearing on the radio right now. Check the CD jackets of your latest R&B CDs, meaning, within the last five to 10 years. Ne-yo and Burruss are competing for the most recognizable song in this round. He penned Beyonce's "Irreplaceable" while she penned TLC's "No Scrubs", with the exception of Lefteye's rap, Destiny's Child's "Bills, Bills, Bills" and "Bug-a-Boo."
Elliot, along with producer Timbaland, is responsible for the majority of Aaliyah's music right before she passed away. My favorite is "I Care 4 You" from the "Aaliyah" CD.

Austin has been around for a hot minute but has started getting some face recognition after releasing his single, "The One That Got Away." Don't get me wrong, brotha can sing, but I prefer hearing the songs he's written, particularly, Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You".
Who has written some of your favorite songs?

We've come a long way, baby!!!

A long way from singing spirituals and songs of triumph in the cotton and tobacco fields of the South.
A long way from singing hymns in stuffy one room churches without musical instruments.
A long way from singing the blues in the jook joints and liquor houses.
A long way from performing concerts for segregated audiences.
A long way from having some of the most popular songs stolen and performed for a "mainstream" audience.
Now, we're singing in massive sanctuaries with 100-voice choirs and in front of thousands in coliseums and arenas and even millions on television. And now, we wish a playa would take even part of a song without discussing royalties.
All of this and so much more tells the story of the evolution of black music to what it is today. For the next 25 days, I will do my best to bring you tid bits and snippets of some of the best black music has to offer.
Though a lot of the pioneers have passed on, their music lives on and will continue to do so as long as we appreciate good music.
I'd love to be able to tell ya'll that I did a boat load of research and this whole series will be in order by year and genre. I can't tell you that because I didn't do that. I'd love to tell you that I have it mapped out day by day how I'm going to attack this monster, but I don't.
All I can tell you is I have several posts coming that will be about gospel, neo-soul, rock n' roll, R&B, maybe some hip hop if I can convince Eb the Celeb to bless my spot and be a guest blogger on the subject (I haven't asked yet) and probably even a little bit of country. And before you ask, yes, there are some black folks who write, perform and listen to country music.
I will also do a couple of specialty posts that will include some of my favorite artists that you've probably never heard of and the one I'm doing later today, singer/songwriters.
I'm open to all sorts of ideas as it relates to my Black Music Month posts. Hit me up in the comment section or shoot me an e-mail and I'll respond.
Enjoy!

Things that make you go hmmmm...

I was all prepared to give you guys the second installment of my Black Music Month special until I checked my e-mail this morning.
OK, so here's the situation, you guys know I am a reporter, right?
Because of the job, I am supposed to appear unbiased and nonpartisan and for the lack of a better term, drone-like when it comes to controversial and political issues. This is so the public does not assume that because you feel a certain way that you will intentionally leave things out, not report them or slant the story or whatever.
I pride myself on being able to get in and get all angles of the story so that it is not biased or slanted one way or the other. I also pride myself on the fact that I can think for myself and I don't really care what anyone else thinks of me or how I live my life.
The problem is, a lot of my colleagues and counterparts have adopted the, "I'm not saying it," mantra and I for one think that's unfair. I don't think we should have to have this "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy as it relates to our political views.
As far as I'm concerned, one's political beliefs should be considered a part of who they are.
Journalism is the only professional field where people are constantly asked, told and made to check who they are at the door. This, to me, seems like some folks think that my counterparts and I are too stupid and/or lazy to separate who we are from what we do. I resent that.
Journalism is what I do, it is not who I am. People who identify themselves by what they do, i.e. their profession, don't, in my opinion, have very much going on for themselves outside of work.
Does this mean I look down on or have disdain for those folks who identify themselves as their professions? No. I am simply saying don't label me as such. Don't try to put me in a box with these people who live what they do. In fact, I try hard to get as far away from what I do when I'm not working.
It's funny to me, when people ask me why I became a reporter or a journalist, I always say, "it's the only way I could write and get a steady pay check." I'm a writer by nature but I am a reporter/journalist by trade.
My main goal/dream is to become a syndicated columnist to pay my bills and be able to sit in a remote location somewhere near a beach and crank out wonderful screenplays. Since I have only five years in this business and I am nowhere near ready to handle a syndicated column, I have to pay my dues just like everyone else.
I don't however consider abandoning my beliefs, values and opinions on issues I don't report, a part of paying dues.
What do ya'll think? Be honest.

A moment of silence please ...

... for blues and rock n' roll pioneer Bo Diddley. He passed away earlier today from heart failure.
Diddley, 79, to me, is blues personified. Anybody who knows me, knows that I am a lot like the O'Jays - "I love music, any kind of music." I pulled two of my favorite Bo Diddley songs for you guys to check out.





The first one you guys may recognize more as a remake than his original. That song has been remade so many times it's not even funny. The one I recognize most is when Raven Symone lip synced to Koko Taylor's version, "I'm A Woman" on The Cosby Show.



In honor of Black Music Month, I would like to do at least one post per week that details a little bit of information about some figure in black music. In light of Diddley's death this week, he's obviously first.
This will not be a research paper by any means, but I do want ya'll to have a little bit of info about Diddley. His earliest recording dates back to 1958 although his career started as early as 1951. He's responsible for what became known as the "Bo Diddley Beat."
I could so go on and on about him, but I won't. I'll let you do your own research. But keep in mind if it were not for Diddley and his counterparts, there'd be none of the music that we enjoy/loathe today.