The Starting Five

Continuing the musical and cultural current vibe of Friday Fire, The Starting Five highlights the greatest men of musical soul.

I’m only going five here but you all can go ten. Obviously there are others (Al Green, Barry White, Teddy, Bobby Womack, Isaac Hayes, Gerald Levert, Smokey Robinson–to name a few–but these five are the ones who have hit me the hardest personally. Educate me. Ladies I did the best I can here so please do what you do and blow up this post like all those hound dogs (You Bow wow wow yippy yo yippy yays) did the ladies. Where you at J?

Marvin Gaye

“I remember Marvin Gaye used to sing to me, he had me feelin’ like black was the thing to be.” This was the image I had for Marvin which echoed Tupac’s verse in Keep Ya Head Up. What’s Goin’ On changed me.

I threw away the bubble gum and focused on the drums his song beat in accordance with my Black existence inside of a beat. I’m almost for a loss of words because dude was so good. He also opened my eyes to love–though like him, I haven’t been very good at it–and truly set me off on the sensual travels of adoring for eternity the mind, body and soul of sugar and spice and especially everything genuinely nice. Yeah, I want you…but I want you to want me too. That about says it all when it comes how I choose to love and I thank Marvin for setting a standard I’ve yet to attain within a relationship.

How many of us were touched by his obsession with sexuality through his uncommon duality of conscious and mad lustful purpose forever extended? His life was before us like the cage of zoos we seek with pointed hypocritical fingers. Oh Distant Lover, will you ever replace the depression that perched in his heart and stole his soul? His love and persistent chase of deep, so far off yet so powerful wonder of the dream not always clean but always Black maybe mean is one of the most intricate realities I choose to be.

The choices we make become us and unfortunately Marvin’s choices saw him also fall in front of all of us. Why can’t genius be interpreted correctly by the masses stuck primitive in a lost and unfulfilled cultural illiterate past? Marvin’s gleam for the eye of you was misconstrued so many times over, but please don’t discount his true love for love…because through that love our love ultimately becomes the love he’ll never see.  How many of us could deal with our insecurities, physical, financial, mental and relationship failings placed on the cultural horizon for all of us to see and feel when the clock strikes 12 noon? Marvin was unreal…and unfortunately it killed him.

Sometimes I wonder if he belonged on this earth because he just wanted what was after the risk inside of life’s natural pause. Something I thought of after hearing Mercy, Mercy Me was the good are separated from the great simply by the risks they take. Crazy that in ’79 he was living in a bread truck. How the hell can that be? Remember his life, but also remember his death. Miss you brotha. You sure could party. Come back in a dream so we truly one day will understand your reality.

Stevie Wonder

Jammin’ on the one. Stevie has a heart for all of us. Has there ever been another as musically talented? His blindness became his gift. His instruments defined the word. He might be the GOAT. All he does is give the world something to smile about. He is happy making other people happy and it shows when he performs. Because he’s five tool, his vocals could be underrated. One of the most amazing song writers ever. How many people were married with Stevie in their eyes? He told you a story and made you think about it while you didn’t realize your hands were clapping and your feet were tapping. He brought you closer to his world by doing so. He is the Master Blaster. Where would we be without Stevie.

Michael Jackson

For real for real? Looking for a pic of Mike almost brought me to tears. Damnit man…what have you done? OK Ok…I’m done with that because there is no denying how bad Michael Jackson was and probably still is. His life is his so who am I to judge?

He could be number one here and also on a group list. My sister loved this dude. Back then, no one would dare argue about who was better (Mike or Prince) in her presence. He is the greatest entertainer to ever live simply because his name has been said by all. Don’t even argue the point so Beat It. At his top flight height, there was no one who could touch him–and that means anything. I will say that his popularity (like his basketball namesake) probably hurt music because everything became entertainment after he blew up the spot. His songs will be whitewashed for eternity and that’s unfortunate but also a testament to his greatness. They’ll never be anyone like Mike, so all respect due. He is the most imitated dancer ever. Where were you when the Thriller video debuted?

Prince

The freak of the industry. The only one who was in striking distance of Mike in the 80′s. My Pop would turn off Lady Cab Driver as soon as it came on the radio because we knew what it was. Prince must have his people crawling over the web because there is nothing to link to. Dorothy Parker, Adore, Anotherloverholeinthehead, Erotic City, When Doves Cry, The Beautiful Ones, Condition of the Heart, Pop Life, Sexy MF…some of my favorites. I remember a very dear friend of mine and I going to his concert 1988 in Philly with Dwayne Wayne glasses flipped up, paisley shirts, button down sweaters, those baggy khakis and penny loafers…damn I pray there are no pictures of that night. Woobles do you remember? Prince is another musical genius who did it his way with no apologies. He was also one to bring a lot of people together because of his versatility. He was a movement. His talent also spawned creativity. From Jesse Johnson and Morris Day to Sheila E and Vanity, dude put in some work for the field. Yo…but Prince was a straight pimp back in the day. Nasty girls? Apollonia Six? Darlin’ Nicki?–to name a few. Dude made a lot of money morphing in and out of sexual ambiguity. Not my cup of tea, but hey…what can ya say? He is still the man.

Luther Vandross

The Crooner. Made thousands of babies without sight or touch. Another gone too soon. Could not be stopped on the mic. The real. Ladies loved while the fellas admired. He was a song. In my opinion he is the best male singer to ever sing a note. I got married to this song. Shoulda stayed there. I post this because I guarantee we weren’t the only ones who tied the knot as one of his tracks escorted thousands of beautiful brides down the aisle.

Back in the day. Can’t believe my son will be 18 shortly after Christmas

Crazy how Luther was discovered almost by mistake. He never was one to push the envelope even though he could have done so with ease. You knew what was singing and the rest was up to you. He was another who most likely will never be duplicated. Another amazing song writer. A true Superstar. He kicked that Philly sound too.

In this video, dig the look on Dionne’s face. As talented as she is, she was simply in awe.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 14th, 2008 at 5:03 pm and is filed under Blogroll. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.