| Author | Message | ||
  isaiah imani (isaiah) 5-Doyen Username: isaiah Post Number: 185 Registered: 8-2004 Posted From: 66.119.33.135 |
Peops, another essay question...(smile!) There are a slew of great singer-songwriters in Soul Music who have imparted their philosophy on love and life, and other pertinent issues over the years... Many of these folks are daily discussed at this forum... The Smokey Robinsons, Curtis Mayfields, Barry Whites, and so forth, clearly had their personal philosophies about life, and had a unique way of musically conveying it to us... What I would like to know from you is, which of these great philosophers are your favorites, and why??? And...have their philosophies had a lasting and powerful impact on your own life, and how??? Hey, a little introspection never hurt no one right? Give this question some thought, and come on back to the in full effect with your responses... Meet'cha back here after I get my "head" together(smile!) Peace! Isaiah | ||
Vickie (vickie) 4-Laureate Username: vickie Post Number: 127 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 198.81.26.46 |
Marvin Gaye Because he took pain and negativiness from life and turned it into love and postitvity in music, everyone should take a lesson from him... | ||
BJL (bjl) 4-Laureate Username: bjl Post Number: 76 Registered: 5-2004 Posted From: 217.205.87.151 |
James Brown - positive political messages full of empowerment and pride. Jimmy Lewis - positive social and political songs. RIP, Jimmy... | ||
isaiah imani (isaiah) 5-Doyen Username: isaiah Post Number: 192 Registered: 8-2004 Posted From: 216.148.246.156 |
No doubt, it has to be Curtis Mayfield for me in every which dimension of life and love... Curtis had a gentle soul and a macroscopic world consciousness... I genuinely believe the man considered and cared for all humanity, and his reverie in song speaks to that truth... Curtis' gospel beginnings is something he never forgot, and never strayed far from... I am constantly hearing snatches of traditional gospel song lyrics in his work - People Get Ready is an example, and so is It's Alright, both of which are originally gospel songs re-worked by Curtis... That Church background kept the man grounded in his personal life, apparently, as he was a millionaire before he turned thirty. With the money rolling in, and the hit records for others and himself coming off his personal assembly line as if by some inexorable force, he could easily have lost his mind, and blew it all up in haze of drugs, cars, and women, but he remained true to the philosophy that had brought him to the pinnacle of his profession... When it came to matters of love, I must say that his insouciant sweetness in a song like I'm So Proud, and his bold professions of the kind of woman he prizes in Woman's Got Soul, got into my head as a child, and have never left me... Even for the ladies, Curtis unveiled his manly secrets when he wrote for Aretha the words, Giving Him Something He Can Feel... Lastly, though there is so much I could say about this wonderful human being's words and music, I think his life best attests to his philosophy... Here was a man who was paralyzed after a life of perpetual movement, and yet I never heard of him complaining of his condition... He accepted the bitter with the sweet with the same calm demeanor with which he delivered a song... In effect he became the embodiment of one of his great songs... He became Superfly in my eyes, and that he shall ever remain... Peace! Isaiah | ||
Gary (gary) 5-Doyen Username: gary Post Number: 229 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 66.73.238.2 |
When I first discovered the Last Poets in the early 70s, their message hit me like a ton of bricks. I said "Day-yum! These brothers are really breakin' it down," I became obsessed with them and at one point, I could recite from memory nearly all of their works. I still have the Last Poets albums on vinyl and their message makes even more sense to me now than it did 30+ years ago when I first heard it. I know they're technically not a musical or vocal ensemble, but when it comes to delivering a message, these guys are it. | ||
Soulaholic (soulaholic) 6-Zenith Username: soulaholic Post Number: 474 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.43.212.143 |
Gil Scott Herron  |
