TIPOFF MAGAZINE: 70’s SOUL Brothers

By Michael McCullough

From a musical standpoint, the 1970’s stands as the finest period in our musical history and the Soul Brothers took center stage throughout the decade. Mixing socially-conscious tunes with lover-man bedroom crooning, these were the guys the ladies loved and the fellas wanted to emulate. Slip on your headphones, bury your toes in that shag carpet and stack up your LP’s and 45’s...we’re going way back to bring you up to speed on the ‘70’s top Soul Brothers.

	Stevie Wonder Stevie thoroughly dominated the ‘70’s soul music scene, laying down perhaps the four best consecutive albums in a row between 1972 - 1976: “Talking Book,” “Innervisions,” “Fulfillingness’ First Finale” and the double-whammy “Songs In The Key Of Life.” Between them, these albums garnered 12 Grammy awards, including three “Album of the Year” awards and solidified Stevie as the greatest soul music artist ever.
	James Brown JBtruly earned the moniker “Soul Brother #1,” as his songs in the ‘70’s became anthems for Black empowerment. Taking things into his own hands, Brown formed his own record label and threw down jams like “The Payback,” “Super Bad” and “Say It Loud - I’m Black and I’m Proud.” James Brown’s tunes found a second life through hip-hop and his songs became the single most sampled songs in music history.
	Al Green “The Reverend” blurred the lines between church and soul in his music, with love the overriding message. “Let’s Stay Together,” “Love and Happiness” and “Take Me To The River” define the sound coming from the Hi Records factory in Memphis. If you don’t know the story about the pan of hot grits, you need to do your homework.
	Marvin Gaye When Marvin traded in his love songs and duets for the politically strident “What’s Going On” album, Berry Gordy, head of Motown records, freaked out. Marvin held his ground and was rewarded with perhaps the single best soul album of all-time. “Let’s Get It On” marked a career comeback that was tragically cut short. Want to see something special? Google “Marvin Gaye Sings American National Anthem.” Goosebumps...
	Isaac Hayes “Black Moses” intro­duced the monologue to Soul music and won an Academy Award for his soundtrack for the movie “Shaft.” Boldly incorporating strings and orchestration to his Memphis sound, Hayes also gave us the 34 letter song title -“Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic.” Say that three times fast!
	Teddy Pendergrass The ladies didn’t stand a chance when Teddy took the mic and told them to “Close The Door,” then “Turn Off The Lights.” The former drummer and lead singer for Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Teddy’s voice alternated between silky smooth and gravelly rough. And there was no mistaking his intentions.
	Donny Hathaway Donny Hathaway came in like the hawk blowing into Chicago, his hometown. Best known for his duets with Roberta Flack, music aficionados praise Hathaway’s seminal performances of “The Ghetto, Part 1” and the autobiographical “Someday We’ll All Be Free” as some of the best music of the decade.
	Bill Withers The storyteller with the voice dripped in honey, Bill Withers was unplugged before it was a thing. “Lean On Me,” “Ain’t No Sunshine” and the most perfect Saturday driving song ever, “Lovely Day” captured Withers’ positive outlook and laid-back musical style.
	Barry White “The Maestro” mixed his deep bass voice with the backing of a full orchestra to bring a new sound to Soul. His lengthy, funky grooves and direct to the point lyrics on tunes like “Never, Never Gonna Give You Up,” “I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More, Baby,” “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Baby” and “Playing Your Game, Baby” established White as the first “heavyweight lover,” while showing there was no limit to how many songs you could have with the word “baby” in the title.