Throw-It-Back...Throwback

You know I love to rep it for the ladies in the music game. Especially my beautiful Black women who have in some shape or form changed the face of music. So today, I came across this throwback diva's, Donna Summer, video on SOHH.com. Check it out:




Ya girl Beyonce's sample of this song, in Naughty Girl, sounds just as good too.

Notable Blacks: Etta James "The Queen of R&B"

Beyonce will play the leading role of a lady who is considered to be the Queen of R&B, Ms. Etta James, in a new movie entitled "Cadillac Records". Although Beyonce is playing the leading role and will be executive producing the film, most people are not even paying attention to who and what the story is about. So as a blogger, I'll put the spotlight on Etta...

• Born Jamesette Hawkins in Los Angeles in 1938


• Received first #1 hit on the R&B charts, in 1955, with "The Wallflower"


• Since 1950's, noted as "the greatest of all modern blues-singers"


• Inducted into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of fame in 1993


• Most Notable Songs:


• Tell Mama


• The Wallflower (Dance With Me Henry)


• Something’s Got a Hold On Me


• Don’t Cry, Baby


• I’d Rather Go Blind


• I Wish Someone Would Care


• All I Could Do Was Cry


• If I Can’t Have You


• My Dearest Darling


• At Last (many have tried, but few has conquered her sound)

Side Note: Etta was addicted to heroin most of her career, but overcame that battle and successfully cameback in the late 1970's. She also battled issues with her size and finally had surgery which helped her shed 200 pounds.

It's going to be quite interesting to see how Beyonce pull this one off. Hhhmmm...I wonder if she gain a some pounds for this role. Knowing Holloywood, they probably just put a fat suit on her.

Notable Blacks: BILLIE HOLIDAY

Born April 7, 1915 in Baltimore, Eleanora Fagan marked her spot in history as one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. In her younger years and without any formal vocal training, Eleanora developed her talent by singing at after-hour jazz clubs (night after night) which gave her the opportunity to sing alongside recordings by Bette Smith and Louis Armstrong. Eventually, her mother moved to New York to look for work and Eleanora went right along. It was in New York that Eleanora borrowed the name Billie from a screen actor name Billie Dove and began performing at seedy nightclubs in Harlem. At the age of 18, Billie Holiday was spotted by a John Hammond and recorded her first record with Benny Goodman.

During the 1930's, Billie went on to record over 100 songs and several albums. But it wasn't until 1939, that her song "Strange Fruit" captured the attention of her "real" audience. Not only did Strange Fruit reveal the harsh realities of racism, but songs like "God Bless The Child" and "Gloomy Sunday" showcased just how much pain Billie lived in day to day. Once one of the highest paid entertainers of her time, much of her income went toward her drug addiction.

Plagued by health problems, bad relationships, and addiction, Lady Day spent most of the 1940's and 1950's witnessing the death of her mother and close friends all while spiralling out of control from alcohol and heroin abuse. Billie Holiday died at the age of 44, on July, 17, 1959.

Here' s a rare video footage of Lady Day singing Strange Fruit.

If you haven't already, check out the movie Lady Sings The Blues with Diana Ross, Richard Pryor, and Billie D. Williams.