Re: The Best of R&B (CD 13: Gospel)

[Bob]

I'm making a CD set to give to my French teacher b/c she's going back to France-- she's in love with American culture, so I know she'll love this gift. These are the categories I'm making:

1.Jazz
2.Classic R&B
3.Motown
4.Disco
5.Neo-Soul
6.Hip-Hop
7.Rap
8.Urban
9.New Jack Swing
10.Classic Soul
11.Funk-Soul
12.Contemporary R&B
13.Gospel

I'll post one track listing at a time-- you can tell me if any of them really shouldn't be on there, or if I'm missing something crucial.

1. Jazz

Putting on the Ritz - Ella Fitzgerald
What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong
Cry Me A River - Ella Fitzgerald
Body and Soul - Billie Holiday
I Love Paris - Louis Armstrong
Blue Skies - Ella Fitzgerald
Stormy Weather ft. Nat King Cole - Ella Fitzgerald
My Funny Valentine - Sarah Vaughan
Blue Moon - Billie Holiday
What A Difference A Day Makes - Dinah Washington
Billie's Blues - Billie Holiday
Mack The Knife - Ella Fitzgerald
Summertime - Sarah Vaughan
Dream A Little Dream ft. Louis Armstrong - Ella Fitzgerald
Someone To Watch Over Me - Lena Horne
Too Close For Comfort - Ella Fitzgerald
My Man - Billie Holiday
I'm In Heaven - Ella Fitzgerald

[strong4PMB!]

That's a way to get an A!

[George Tropicana]

I gave my French teacher Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance" and she loved it so much she printed the lyrics for the class! She also called me to thank me and we talked a long time so I missed "America's Next Top Model" (the episode Ebony was eliminated).

[Bob]

geoguy said:

That's a way to get an A!

haha I already got the A

[Bob]

2. Classic R&B

You Are The Sunshine Of My Life - Stevie Wonder
Walk On By - Dionne Warwick
I've Got Love On My Mind - Natalie Cole
Tell It Like It Is - Aaron Neville
Stand By Me - Ben E. King
You Send Me - Sam Cooke
This Masquerade - George Benson
This Will Be An Everlasting Love - Natalie Cole
Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
Lean On Me - Al Green
Band of Gold - Freda Payne
My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
Something You've Got - Maxine Brown and Chuck Jackson
Save The Last Dance For Me - Sam Cooke
Loving You - Minnie Ripperton
Let's Stay Together - Al Green
I Say A Little Prayer - Dionne Warwick
Oh No, Not My Baby - Maxine Brown
Anyone Who Had A Heart - Dionne Warwick
If You Don't Know Me By Now - Teddy Pendergrass
Cupid - Sam Cooke
Ribbon In The Sky - Stevie Wonder
Twisting The Night Away - Sam Cooke



This one is the most random, since it tries to cover everything from 1950 to 1980 that doesn't fit into the other categories.

[WhySoSerious?]

Where's Aretha on the Classic R&B? Or does she go in Classic Soul?

[Bob]

TCorey said:

Where's Aretha on the Classic R&B?  Or does she go in Classic Soul?

I actually grouped her on the Motown CD, even though she's really not. Since these are audio CDs, by putting her on the Motown CD I was able to get more of her on the whole set. She also has one song on the Gospel set.

[Bob]

3. Motown

River Deep, Mountain High - Tina Turner
I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & The Pips
Get Ready - The Temptation
Someday We'll Be Together - Diana Ross & The Supremes
Chain of Fools - Aretha Franklin
Build Me Up - The Foundations
Spanish Harlem - Aretha Franklin
Don't Play That Song - Aretha Franklin
Come See About Me - Diana Ross & The Supremes
Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
Touch Me In The Morning - Diana Ross
Baby Love - Diana Ross & The Supremes
I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
You Can't Hurry Love - Diana Ross & The Supremes
The Way You Do The Things You Do - The Temptations
Stop! In The Name Of Love - Diana Ross & The Supremes
I Want To Take You Higher - Tina Turner
My Girl - The Temptations
Respect - Aretha Franklin
If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight & The Pips
Proud Mary - Tina Turner
Where Did Our Love Go - Diana Ross & The Supremes
You Keep Me Hanging On - Diana Ross & The Supremes
A Fool In Love - Tina Turner

I know, a lot of these selections are questionable. But I felt like they all HAD to be in here somewhere, and Classic R&B filled up quickly. And for the sake of continuity... it's one of my favorite CDs here.

[WhySoSerious?]

Bob said:

I know, a lot of these selections are questionable. But I felt like they all HAD to be in here somewhere, and Classic R&B filled up quickly. And for the sake of continuity... it's one of my favorite CDs here.

Lots of them aren't Motown though. Maybe you should call it Motown Era.

[Bob]

yeah its true... basically all the Aretha came after Motown, altho it was definitely influenced.. and it came IMMEDIATELY after, so the sound is similar. some of the Gladys Knight comes quite a way after, I know. But it came between Motown & Disco and some other stuff, so I put it here. But not all of it.

[WhySoSerious?]

Bob said:

yeah its true... basically all the Aretha came after Motown, altho it was definitely influenced.. and it came IMMEDIATELY after, so the sound is similar. some of the Gladys Knight comes quite a way after, I know. But it came between Motown & Disco and some other stuff, so I put it here. But not all of it.

But Motown is a label, not a type of music really.  All the major Motown hits are from Berry Gordy's Motown record label.  All of the Gladys stuff up through '73 is on Motown, but then she switched labels and went to Buddah.  Aretha was never on Motown though, all of her classic stuff was on Atlantic.

All of the Stevie Wonder songs on the Classic R&B disc are Motown, so you could swap them with some of the non-Motown stuff here.

[Bob]

TCorey said:

But Motown is a label, not a type of music really.  All the major Motown hits are from Berry Gordy's Motown record label.  All of the Gladys stuff up through '73 is on Motown, but then she switched labels and went to Buddah.  Aretha was never on Motown though, all of her classic stuff was on Atlantic.

All of the Stevie Wonder songs on the Classic R&B disc are Motown, so you could swap them with some of the non-Motown stuff here.

see, i'm glad i posted these! thx tony, i think i will swap them

[Bob]

4. Disco

Ring My Bell - Anita Ward
Never, Never Gonna Give You Up - Barry White
Love Hangover - Diana Ross
Love To Love You Baby - Donna Summer
If I Can't Have You - Yvonne Elliman
Funky Town - Lipps Inc.
Ain't No Stopping Us Now - McFadden & Whitehead
Bad Girls - Donna Summer
I Don't Know If It's Right - Evelyn Champagne King
Never Knew Love Like This Before - Stephanie Mills
Never Can Say Goodbye - Gloria Gaynor
Last Dance - Donna Summer
Don't Leave Me That Way - Thelma Houston
You're The First, The Last, My Everything - Barry White
Hot Stuff - Donna Summer
Shame - Evelyn Champagne King
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
Can't Get Enough Of Your Love - Barry White

This is probably my favorite CD, and the one that sticks truest to it's title, Disco. Woo!!!

[Gorminako]

Tina Turner isn't Motown, but the Supremes & 4 Tops did a version, in fact the most successful version, of "River Deep, Mountain High".  Tina should be removed or shifted to another R&B or Soul category. Aretha Franklin, who also is not Motown, should definitely be on R&B, and maybe classic soul.  Maybe take off "Loving You" from R&B; it's not soulful or R&B, and is hard for most people to tolerate. 

You should have the 4 Tops on your Motown list; my suggestions: "Reach Out, I'll Be There", "Ask The Lonely", "What Is A Man?", "Ain't No Woman", "Baby, I Need Your Lovin'", "Still Waters"... oh, there's lots of good songs by them.  I'd include the Supremes' "Love Child", one of Motown's biggest and most outstanding songs.  You definitely should not omit Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. Smokey Robinson was not only one of the greatest, cleverest songwriters, but an outstanding singer as well.  Try some of these: "Ooh Baby Baby", "Tracks Of My Tears", "Tears Of A Clown", "Baby, Baby, Don't Cry", "If You Can Want", "Going To A Go-Go", "More Love".  Stevie Wonder was Motown, too.  "I Was Made To Love Her" and Shooby-Dooby-Dooby-Doo-Da-Day" were great soul classics of the '60's, and you should include at least one of his funky numbers of the '70's either here or in R&B: "Superstition", "You Haven't Done Nothin'", and "Living In The City".  Supposedly "I'll Be There" by the Jackson 5 was the biggest-selling Motown hit.  A great soulful Motown hit was "25 Miles" by Edwin Starr.  He also did "War" (not bad timing for this song).  Martha & The Vandellas did the classics "Dancing In The Street" and "Nowhere To Run".  Actually, the 2 Gladys Knight & The Pips songs came while they were still with Motown, 1967 & 1970, respectively, and would be the ones I'd choose, too.  I think you should include Junior Walker & The All-Stars' biggest and best: "What Does It Take?".

To my knowledge, "Save The Last Dance for Me" was not a Sam Cooke song, but a #1 song for the Drifters.  My favorite Drifters song is "Under The Boardwalk", but I guess that's not really R&B; more like Latin rhythm.  "Lean On Me" is not by Al Green, but by Bill Withers.  Al Green's "Look What You Done For Me" is in my opinion the definition of soul.  He had a lot of other great soul classics from that time.  Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" is another great song, as are "Use Me" and "Lovely Day".

Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes were officially the artist that did "If You Don't Know Me By Now".  Teddy Pendergrass was the lead singer.  He had a great solo hit: "Close The Door".  If you want to include any sweet soul, don't forget the Stylistics ("You Are Everything", "You Make Me Feel Brand New", "Stop, Look, Listen", "Break Up To Make Up", "Betcha By Golly Wow"), and you also might try the Dramatics ("The Rain", "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get"), the Chi-Lites ("Oh, Girl", "Have You Seen Her"), and the Delphonics (La-La Means I Love You", "Didn't I?"). 

The Staple Singers should also be included in R&B.  I like your Dionne Warwick choices.

[Bob]

Gorminako said:

Tina Turner isn't Motown, but the Supremes & 4 Tops did a version, in fact the most successful version, of "River Deep, Mountain High".  Tina should be removed or shifted to another R&B or Soul category. Aretha Franklin, who also is not Motown, should definitely be on R&B, and maybe classic soul.  Maybe take off "Loving You" from R&B; it's not soulful or R&B, and is hard for most people to tolerate. 

You should have the 4 Tops on your Motown list; my suggestions: "Reach Out, I'll Be There", "Ask The Lonely", "What Is A Man?", "Ain't No Woman", "Baby, I Need Your Lovin'", "Still Waters"... oh, there's lots of good songs by them.  I'd include the Supremes' "Love Child", one of Motown's biggest and most outstanding songs.  You definitely should not omit Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. Smokey Robinson was not only one of the greatest, cleverest songwriters, but an outstanding singer as well.  Try some of these: "Ooh Baby Baby", "Tracks Of My Tears", "Tears Of A Clown", "Baby, Baby, Don't Cry", "If You Can Want", "Going To A Go-Go", "More Love".  Stevie Wonder was Motown, too.  "I Was Made To Love Her" and Shooby-Dooby-Dooby-Doo-Da-Day" were great soul classics of the '60's, and you should include at least one of his funky numbers of the '70's either here or in R&B: "Superstition", "You Haven't Done Nothin'", and "Living In The City".  Supposedly "I'll Be There" by the Jackson 5 was the biggest-selling Motown hit.  A great soulful Motown hit was "25 Miles" by Edwin Starr.  He also did "War" (not bad timing for this song).  Martha & The Vandellas did the classics "Dancing In The Street" and "Nowhere To Run".  Actually, the 2 Gladys Knight & The Pips songs came while they were still with Motown, 1967 & 1970, respectively, and would be the ones I'd choose, too.  I think you should include Junior Walker & The All-Stars' biggest and best: "What Does It Take?".

To my knowledge, "Save The Last Dance for Me" was not a Sam Cooke song, but a #1 song for the Drifters.  My favorite Drifters song is "Under The Boardwalk", but I guess that's not really R&B; more like Latin rhythm.  "Lean On Me" is not by Al Green, but by Bill Withers.  Al Green's "Look What You Done For Me" is in my opinion the definition of soul.  He had a lot of other great soul classics from that time.  Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" is another great song, as are "Use Me" and "Lovely Day".

Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes were officially the artist that did "If You Don't Know Me By Now".  Teddy Pendergrass was the lead singer.  He had a great solo hit: "Close The Door".  If you want to include any sweet soul, don't forget the Stylistics ("You Are Everything", "You Make Me Feel Brand New", "Stop, Look, Listen", "Break Up To Make Up", "Betcha By Golly Wow"), and you also might try the Dramatics ("The Rain", "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get"), the Chi-Lites ("Oh, Girl", "Have You Seen Her"), and the Delphonics (La-La Means I Love You", "Didn't I?"). 

The Staple Singers should also be included in R&B.  I like your Dionne Warwick choices.

wow, thx for all your suggestions. I am switching Aretha to R&B and Stevie to Motown. His funkier numbers will be on the Funk-Soul CD. The version of "Lean On Me" is a cover by Al Green.

As for the omissions, it's a 13-CD set as it is, so I have to really compress. I can't include those others. Thank you! You may like my Funk-Soul CD.

[Deleted]

As we get into disco, the 80's, and new jack swing, I can really help!

[Bob]

well Disco is up now!

[Deleted]

You have so many duplicate artists on that. I think it would be better more spread out among different artists.

Some other disco hits to check out:

"It Must Be Love," Alton McClain & Destiny
"It Seems To Hang On," Ashford & Simpson
"I'm Every Woman," Chaka Khan
"Got To Be Real," Cheryl Lynn

hmm you need some Chic... how about "Good Times" or, my favorite "I Want Your Love,".. or go for "Le Freak" if you want

I don't know how you feel about Diana Ross but you could go with either of her two disco #1's, "Love Hangover" or "Upside Down"

throw some Earth, Wind & Fire on there. "Boogie Wonderland," "September," and "Let's Groove" would probably be their most popular disco cuts to this day. you could also go for "Shining Star" if you want. i also like "Fall In Love With Me".

"Disco Nights (Rock Freak)," GQ
"The Love I Lost," Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
"Boogie Nights," Heatwave
"This Time Baby," Jackie Moore
"Runaway Love," Linda Clifford

"Love Sensation," Loleatta Holloway (THIS ONE SONG IS THE REASON FOR ALL 90's DANCE)

of course "Forget Me Nots" by Patrice Rushen

got to put some early Phyllis Hyman. why not go for "You Know How To Love Me"?

some of the early Shalamar singles could pass for disco. you can take a listen to "Second Time Around," "Make That Move," and "Take That To The Bank" and see how you feel about those.

Sister Sledge were huge with disco. i wouldn't go for the all out cheesiness of "We Are Family" of course, so why not tone the cheese down a tiny bit and go for "He's The Greatest Dancer"

"Just A Touch Of Love," Slave (You've heard this sampled absolutely everywhere)

"Best Of My Love" by The Emotions is sometimes considered disco... sometimes not. still spent several weeks at #1 back in 1977

[Bob]

The said:

You have so many duplicate artists on that.  I think it would be better more spread out among different artists.

Some other disco hits to check out:

"It Must Be Love,"  Alton McClain & Destiny
"It Seems To Hang On," Ashford & Simpson
"I'm Every Woman," Chaka Khan
"Got To Be Real," Cheryl Lynn

hmm you need some Chic... how about "Good Times" or, my favorite "I Want Your Love,".. or go for "Le Freak" if you want

I don't know how you feel about Diana Ross but you could go with either of her two disco #1's, "Love Hangover" or "Upside Down"

throw some Earth, Wind & Fire on there.  "Boogie Wonderland," "September," and "Let's Groove" would probably be their most popular disco cuts to this day.  you could also go for "Shining Star" if you want.  i also like "Fall In Love With Me".

"Disco Nights (Rock Freak)," GQ
"The Love I Lost," Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
"Boogie Nights," Heatwave
"This Time Baby," Jackie Moore
"Runaway Love," Linda Clifford

"Love Sensation," Loleatta Holloway (THIS ONE SONG IS THE REASON FOR ALL 90's DANCE)

of course "Forget Me Nots" by Patrice Rushen

got to put some early Phyllis Hyman.  why not go for "You Know How To Love Me"?

some of the early Shalamar singles could pass for disco.  you can take a listen to "Second Time Around," "Make That Move," and "Take That To The Bank" and see how you feel about those.

Sister Sledge were huge with disco.  i wouldn't go for the all out cheesiness of "We Are Family" of course, so why not tone the cheese down a tiny bit and go for "He's The Greatest Dancer"

"Just A Touch Of Love," Slave (You've heard this sampled absolutely everywhere)

"Best Of My Love" by The Emotions is sometimes considered disco... sometimes not.  still spent several weeks at #1 back in 1977

thx thx thx thx thx--- im in love with this music. i cant stand the cheesy crap like "we are family" but a lot of this other stuff is really hot

[Bob]

5. Neo-Soul

Gettin' In The Way - Jill Scott
Bag Lady - Erykah Badu
Lady - D'Angelo
You Don't Know My Name - Alicia Keys
Next Lifetime - Erykah Badu
Brown Sugar - D'Angelo
On & On - Erykah Badu
Halfcrazy - Musiq
A Long Walk - Jill Scott
Lifetime - Maxwell
Untitled (How Does It Feel) - D'Angelo
The Way - Jill Scott
Other Side Of The Game - Erykah Badu
Video - India.Arie
Fortunate - Maxwell
No More Rain (In This Cloud) - Angie Stone

There are a lot of the same artists on this, but then there aren't as many artists who fit into Neo-Soul; the only oversight I can think of is Bilal, who I never liked too much anyway.

[Deleted]

Remember neo-soul is not a set genre of music. There's no timeline or specific sound to look for. Erykah Badu said herself that she hates to be called neo-soul because what she's doing is music and not something that should have a seperate label from the rest of hip-hop and R&B. You also have Vivian Green's "Emotional Rollercoaster," Floetry's "Say Yes," Lauryn Hill's "Ex-Factor".... This gets really hard because like I said there's no definition for neo-soul. If "Fortunate" is on there then why not Jaheim's "Anything"? Or how about Heather Headley's "He Is"... Remy Shand's "Take A Message"... if you're going to duplicate any artists, Angie Stone's "Wish I Didn't Miss You" should be on there. Is Syleena Johnson considered neo-soul? Yeah, this group was a hard one.

[WhySoSerious?]

Alicia Keys could even fit Neo-Soul, but definitely Lauryn Hill. I remember Macy Gray was also called Neo Soul when she debuted, but I think she's considered less so now.

[Bob]

The said:

Remember neo-soul is not a set genre of music.  There's no timeline or specific sound to look for.  Erykah Badu said herself that she hates to be called neo-soul because what she's doing is music and not something that should have a seperate label from the rest of hip-hop and R&B.  You also have Vivian Green's "Emotional Rollercoaster," Floetry's "Say Yes," Lauryn Hill's "Ex-Factor".... This gets really hard because like I said there's no definition for neo-soul.  If "Fortunate" is on there then why not Jaheim's "Anything"?  Or how about Heather Headley's "He Is"... Remy Shand's "Take A Message"... if you're going to duplicate any artists, Angie Stone's "Wish I Didn't Miss You" should be on there.  Is Syleena Johnson considered neo-soul?  Yeah, this group was a hard one.

yeah, i know it is more of a sound, although it definitely doesn't start until the mid 90s. sometime i just included artists who are more identified with the sound, which would be why i didn't include jaheim.

i did put an alicia song on there. lauryn appears on two or three of the other CDs.

[Deleted]

Bob said:

lauryn appears on two or three of the other CDs.

well Lauryn was really credited majorly with having the best selling "neo-soul" album.  D'Angelo and Erykah were credited with making it mainstream and Lauryn was credited for making it blow up.  So leaving Lauryn off is not a good idea.

[Bob]

The said:

well Lauryn was really credited majorly with having the best selling "neo-soul" album.  D'Angelo and Erykah were credited with making it mainstream and Lauryn was credited for making it blow up.  So leaving Lauryn off is not a good idea.

thats true... i'm putting Ex-Factor on this disc (it was on Urban)

[Bob]

6. Hip-Hop (to try to compress all of hip-hop on one normal length CD is completely impossible; that's why I made a separate Rap set, but it's still no where near enough... so just bear with me here.)

I'll Be Missing You - P. Diddy, Faith Evans, 112
'03 Bonnie & Clyde - Jay-Z ft. Beyoncé
911 - Wyclef ft. Mary J. Blige
Come Close To Me - Common ft. Mary J. Blige
Doo Wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill
Whatta Man - Salt-n-Pepa ft. En Vogue
What's It Gonna Be - Busta Rhymes ft. Janet Jackson
One More Chance - Notorious B.I.G.
Still Not A Playa - Big Pun ft. Joe
Got Your Money - ODB ft. Kelis
You Got Me - The Root ft. Erykah Badu
Hot Boyz - Missy Elliot ft. many others
Return of the Mack - Craig David
Down 4 U - Ja Rule ft. many others
Gangsta Lovin' - Eve ft. Alicia Keys
Love Of My Life (Ode To Hip-Hop) - Erykah Badu
All Falls Down - Kanye West ft. Syleena Johnson

[Deleted]

Hip-hop is a culture... not a kind of music. This looks like a bunch of rap and a few R&B songs. Anyway, I think it leans way too heavily on music from the past couple of years. Erykah Badu is out of place... and Craig David does not sing "Return Of The Mack". Mark Morrison does.

[strong4PMB!]

Bob said:

Gettin' In The Way - Jill Scott
A Long Walk - Jill Scott
The Way - Jill Scott
No More Rain (In This Cloud) - Angie Stone

[Bob]

The said:

Hip-hop is a culture... not a kind of music.  This looks like a bunch of rap and a few R&B songs.  Anyway, I think it leans way too heavily on music from the past couple of years.  Erykah Badu is out of place... and Craig David does not sing "Return Of The Mack".  Mark Morrison does.

gross typo! ouch--- i dono how i put craig david instead of mark morrison, lol. im not gonna touch the "hip hop is a culture debate", basically the hip hop and rap cd are just two CDs to show them as part of a larger R&B set (even tho R&B is often called a subset of rock, and rap is separate)... the hip-hop CD has more singing in it, basically.

[Bob]

7. Rap

Indian Flute - Timbaland & Magoo
Gimme Some Mo - Busta Rhymes
4, 5, 6 - Solé ft. JT Money & Kandi
California Love - Tupac ft. Dr. Dre
1st of the Month - Bone Thugs n Harmony
Miami - Will Smith
Nann ***I'M RACIST*** - Trick Daddy ft. Trina
In Da Club - 50 Cent
Po Pimp - Do or Die
That's What I'm Looking For - Da Brat ft. Missy Elliott & J.D.
Gangsta's Paradise - Coolio
Ready or Not - Fugees
Dear Mama - Tupac
What's Your Fantasy? - Ludacris
Ruff Ryder's Anthem - DMX
Big Pimpin' - Jay-Z

No Eminem on purpose, I don't have any of his songs. Snoop is the one I should add, maybe? No serious gangsta rap, this IS for my teacher after all. "Nann ***I'M RACIST***" is pushing it lol.