Unsung: Mondays At 9PM EST on TVOne: Sheila E, Atlantic Starr, Bobby Womack, Sly And The Family Stone

 DAILY MUSIC TRIVIA QUESTION:   What early Rolling Stones song was written by Bobby Womack?   Yesterday:  Michael Balzary (Flea)

Flip through the cable TV channels, it can be overwhelming. Literally hundreds of channels, new shows popping up each week.   TVOne has an excellent weekly one hour music documentary show called "Unsung" on   Mondays 9PM EST.   The show breaks down the career of R&B artists who might have got lost in the shuffle, have a story to tell beyond the music.    Their tag line:         Uncompromised, Underrecognized, Unparalled, .... Unsung.


"THE GLAMOROUS LIFE"   SHEILA E.

Great episode on Sheila Escovedo, the daughter of drummer Pete Escovedo and god-daughter to Tito Puente.  There was always music playing growing up, Sheila emulated her dad and his love of percussion.   Other male drummers grew jealous of Sheila's skills and said things like "why are you playing drums, this is a man's instrument".   She took that as a challenge to become the best. They documented meeting and dating Prince and how he convinced her to sing.  Here's Sheila's biggest hit produced by Prince:

"NO MATTER HOW HIGH I GET (I'LL STILL BE LOOKING UP TO YOU)"    BOBBY WOMACK

You don't get more soulful than Bobby Womack.   Should have been as famous as Stevie Wonder, but bad life decisions including drugs and an inflated ego, got Bobby blackballed by the music industry.  After marrying the widow of Sam Cooke after Sam's mysterious murder, Bobby was always seen with suspicious eyes.   Yet, he persevered and put out passionate, emotional, soulful records for decades.  There is no denying his voice, it's on par with Aretha, Otis Redding, genuine Rhythm and Blues, singers who feel every ounce of emotion in their music.  Here's an inspirational Bobby Womack classic from the early 80's.

"SECRET LOVERS"    ATLANTIC STARR

The Lewis brothers were signed to Atlantic Records by Herb Alpert.  They had some minor R&B hits but it wasn't until they added a female lead singer, first Sharon Bryant, then Barbara Weathers, until they reached the top of the charts.    The guys were jealous that their biggest fame was attributed to the women and eventually they fired the girls.  It turned out to be a bad decision as the band had a couple more hits but never achieved the same fame and success of the mid 80's.  

"EVERYDAY PEOPLE"   SLY & THE FAMILY STONE

This past week they told the story of Sly & The Family Stone and got the reclusive superstar to grant his first interview in a decade!  Sly's career was short but what an impact.  A musical genius who could play almost any instrument.  Great line from the show, "Sly wrote songs that could start a riot or calm down thousands".    They were the first major band that had men, women, white, black, and they didn't think anything about the differences.   To highlight their message about intolerance, Sly wrote "Everyday People" in the style of a nursery rhyme so his message was crystal clear :)