R.I.P Harry Mosco

Well, Harry... I guess you can fly now.

I'll miss you, brother.

Two mixes for Sunday night

On the real, I haven't felt much like writing anything since, y'know... the whole thing with MJ and everything, but I just thought I'd share this great mix of J5 and early Michael solo stuff, courtesy of DJ Jaycee (who I don't know, but someone sent this mix to me on the day the news broke, and it kinda got me over).

DJ Jaycee presents Michael Jackson: The Soulful Years

1. Intro
2. Sugar Daddy
3. ABC (Jaycee's '86 Ultrasound Mix)
4. It's Great To Be Here
5. Jaycee Wants You Back
6. My Girl
7. I Wanna Be Where You Are
8. Dancing Machine
9. Dance In Peace Dilla! (Detroit Style)
10. Mama's Pearl
11. The Boogie Man Interlude
12. Can You Remember
13. Ready Or Not (Here I Come)
14. Never Can Say Goodbye
15. If I Don't Love You This Way
16. I'll Be There
17. My Cherie Amour
18. I Don't Know Why I Love You
19. Born To Love You
20. Don't Say Good Bye Again
21. The Love You Save
22. Ben
23. All I Do Is Think Of You
24. I Am Love Ft. Jermaine
25. Call On Me
26. Ain't No Sunshine
27. Dear Michael
28. Everybody's Somebody's Fool
29. Got To Be There
30. Maybe Tomorrow
31. La La La (Means I Love You)
32. People Make The World Go Round
33. With A Child's Heart
34. What Up Khrysis
35. 2-4-6-8
36. Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing
37. If I Have To Move A Mountain

If mourning Mike ain't your bag (or even if it is), I suggest you check out this wicked selection of Nigerian rock and funk by old friend Obafunkie jR, courtesy of new friend Mr. Wonderful of the Nuts to Soup podcast:

NUTS TO SOUP presents OBA TI DE (THE KING HAS ARRIVED)

As can be expected from Obafunkie, it's some nice stuff!

1958-2009

Damn man.

I mean, just...

Damn.

A fuckin' era ends.

Between Farrah Fawcett and now this, it's like today's the day that all the pop culture icons of my formative life are being snuffed before my eyes.

Cliff David (1945-2009)

Since I've not been posting that much lately, I didn't get to mention the passing of Clifford David Nwaire--a.k.a. "Cliff David," leader of the Cloud 7 pop group--a few weeks ago.

Cloud 7, who released five albums between 1978 and 1987, were one of the most popular music acts in Nigeria, with their hit "Beautiful Woman" in particular resonating as an evergreen classic.

In recent years, David had settled in Aba and dedicated his life to evangelism, even releasing a gospel album called Thank You Jesus.

He will be buried tomorrow at Ikperejere, Ihitte-Uboma Local Government Area, Imo State. May his soul rest in peace, and may his music live on.

DOWNLOAD On Cloud 7: Tribute to Cliff David

(Cliff David photos courtesy of Emmanuel Ohayagha)


****

...and oh yeah...

SELLIN' OUT RETURNS!!


I've also got a couple of records I'm selling up on eBay, so check 'em out and drop a bid if you're interested. There will be more to come in the next few weeks.

Joe Cuba (1931-2009)

NYC salsa band leader Joe Cuba dies at 78

By Laura N. Perez Sanchez, Associated Press Writer

SAN JUAN — Salsa band leader Joe Cuba, dubbed the "Father of Latin Boogaloo" for weaving a fluid, bilingual mix of musical influences, died Sunday in New York City, a member of his group said. He was 78.

The musician, a friend and contemporary of the late salsa giant Tito Puente, died from complications of a persistent bacterial infection at Mount Sinai Medical Center a day after doctors disconnected his life support, said Cheo Feliciano, a longtime friend and singer in the Joe Cuba Sextet. Cuba had fought the infection for several years.

Born Gilberto Calderon in 1931 in New York to a family from Puerto Rico, the band leader and conga player helped change the sound of salsa in the 1960s, Feliciano said.

Until then, most popular salsa had been played by orchestras, he said. But Cuba led a six-member band with three singers who also played percussion and danced a routine.

"He had a dynamic group," with a signature vibraphone-fronted sound that "caused a craze because it was different," Feliciano said. Albums such as 1966's Bang! Bang! Push, Push, Push incorporated elements of salsa, Latin jazz and R&B and featured lyrics in both English and Spanish.

Cuba, whose musical career took him on world tours, was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame and became director of the International Salsa Museum in New York's East Harlem.

In his 70s, he was confined to a sick bed for three years after contracting a staph bacterial infection while being treated for asthma at a hospital. After care in hospitals, a nursing home and at his New York home, he resumed performing in 2006.

Feliciano said he spoke to Cuba by telephone from Puerto Rico just before Cuba died.

"I told him that God has a mission for all of us, and when we've come to the end of the mission, we have to go to the place we came from," said Feliciano, who debuted as a singer in the sextet in 1957.

The band leader's remains are expected to be interred in Puerto Rico.