The Classics: Aretha Franklin Sings Curtis Mayfield

Aretha Franklin singing Curtis Mayfield's "The Makings of You." Soulful, perfect and beautiful!

The Classics / Happy Birthday: Bessie Smith

"Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out," 1929.

The Classics: Dorothy Dandridge & Louis Armstrong

Dorothy Dandridge & Louis Armstrong performing "Whatcha Say," 1944.

The Classics / Happy Birthday: Paul Robeson

Paul Robeson singing "Motherless Child."

The Classics / Happy Birthday: Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye singing: "What's Going On," and "What's Happening Brother." [SIDEBAR: I love the beautiful faces of the people.]

The Classics / Happy Birthday: Chaka Khan

Look at the incomparable singer Chaka Khan playing the drums, and being interviewed in 1976, at the age of 22.

[SIDEBAR: I love her hair!]

The Classics: Bobby Womack

Bobby Womack sings, "If You Think You're Lonely Now," while Richard Pryor looks on in the audience. Happy birthday to Bobby Womack.

The Classics: Fat Domino

Happy Birthday to Fats Domino! This musical legend is regarded to be the first artist to have an over-million selling rock-and-roll record.

The Classics: Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell: "Ain't no Mountain High Enough"

The Classics: Hazel Scott, Charles Mingus, and Rudy Nichols

Hazel Scott, Charles Mingus, and Rudy Nichols perform "Foggy Day"...Just perfect and sunny :) I love this.

[SIDEBAR: A Black History Fact: Hazel Scott was also Mrs. Adam Clayton Powell Jr.]

The Classics: "You and I" By: Stevie Wonder

Dedicated to the best...Happy Birthday...LOVE YOU.

The Classics: Dick Clarke Interviews Sam Cooke

Sam Cooke talks about writing music, working with Muhammad Ali (who was known as Cassius Clay at the time of the interview); and sings "Ain't That Good News"...

The Classics: Paul Robeson Sings "Amazing Grace"

[SIDEBAR: Notice how he changed the word "wretch" to "soul"...Love that!]

Fly Flicks: The Classic Huey P. Newton Edition

A classic picture of The Black Panther Party Founder- Huey P. Newton

Lyrics Worth The Quotation Marks/The Classics

"I'm just an addict addicted to music
Maybe it's a habit, I gotta use it
Even if it's jazz or the quiet storm
I hook a beat up convert it in a hip-hop form
Write a rhyme in graffitti in every show you see me in
Deep concentration cuz I'm no comedian
Jokers are wild if you wanna be tame
I treat you like a child then you're gonna be named
Another enemy, not even a friend of me
Cuz you'll get fried in the end if you pretend to be
Competing cuz I just put your mind on pause
And I can beat you when you compare my rhyme wit yours
I wake you up and as I stare in your face you seem stunned
Remember me, the one you got your idea from" -Artist: Rakim Song: "I Ain't No Joke" Album: "Paid In Full"

[SIDEBAR: This is what I was raised on, and I'm grateful for it!]

The Classics: "I'm Still Here" By: Eartha Kitt

I love this song! Eartha Kitt is the flyest! R.I.P.

The Classics: "Feeling Good" By: Nina Simone

The Classics: James Brown On The Arsenio Hall Show

A classic performance! True talent never fades.


SIDEBAR: It was my dream as a kid to grow up and one day be on Arsenio! [SIDEBAR WITHIN A SIDEBAR: I caught a lot of episodes of The Arsenio Hall Show as a kid because I was an insomniac.] Every time I use to watch his show. I would say "I'm going to be on his show one day." I wonder if somebody could convince him to come out of retirement so I could have an accomplished mission...Wishful thinking?

Happy Birthday To Phyllis Hyman

Today is extraordinary jazz vocalist Phyllis Hyman's birthday (R.I.P).


CLICK HERE to view a video of Phyllis Hyman discussing why she made sure her company was a Black Business. This interview clip is a must see! You Tube diabled the clip's embedding ability, so please click the link to view it.

Here is the incomparable Phyllis Hyman performing the Duke Ellington classic, "It Don't Mean A Thing"...

The Classics: Lauryn Hill Sings "A Change Is Gonna Come"

I couldn't resist posting this audio of Lauryn Hill singing the song that Sam Cooke made legendary: "A Change Is Gonna Come."