I wrote this thing like 3 times and then trashed it, just trying to figure out the right way of putting it. I’m not really good at this type of thing – eulogizing people I guess – and it’s also still kinda fresh up in the mix. But Teena Marie left the planet today. She’s one of my most favorite R&B singers of all time. But to actually just refer to her as just an R&B singer really doesn’t do her justice. Through the string of pop hits and chart dominance of her time, it’s often overlooked that she was one of the finest female singer / songwriters of a generation. And I don’t know… I know there’s always a lot of talk about her being a “white girl with a black voice” and, while I know what they’re saying but also in a sense I think that marginalizes things. It wasn’t a “white voice” or a “black voice” it was HER voice. Truly unique, and absolutely brilliant. And her voice rang out for so much more than just music, but also for the rights for artists to do what they do naturally – to create and to be not hindered by label politics. Her internal conflict with her label Motown helped lay the framework for what is called The Brockert Initiative (after her born name, Mary Christine Brockert) which makes it illegal for a record company to keep an artist under contract without releasing new material for that artist, helping not just her deal but many more after the fact. She was a gifted singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. She also was a strong independent woman who made strides in having control and independence over her career at a time when that was tough for any artist, not to mention for a female artist.
I told a friend lately that for 2011, I resolve myself to be able to say more with less. So I think I will start tonight, and instead of speaking about the woman, allow her to speak to all of us through her work. RIP Teena Marie.
I’m pleased to present to you the third and final installment in my Love Break series. It’s been a long time since I came out with any mixes and a few months ago I was listening to both the first and second mixes in this series and it just struck that I needed to release one very last statement for this. The first two are probably the most heralded mixes that I’ve ever done. They’re the ones that people holler at me about the most, and the ones that I’ve sold the most of with physical product. You can grab the other 2 joints on CD at my store here. It took me a few years to compile all the music that I thought would work just right for this mix, and for the tone of this mix I decided to take a more bittersweet perspective. But, just like the first two, I put this together with love and care, with minimal mixing and just allowing the songs to breathe and live on their own. So I hope you enjoy it… Click the Soundloud window below to listen and download, and please feel free to share and blog etc.
COSMO BAKER “LOVE BREAK THREE – The Heart’s Final Chapter
Love’s Intro
Ace Spectrum “I Don’t Want To Play Around”
Banks & Hampton “I’m Gonna Have To Tell Her”
Major Harris “I Got Over Love”
New Birth “It’s Been A Long Time”
Eddie Holman “It’s Over”
Black Ivory “(It’s) Time To Say Goodbye”
Marvin Gaye “Anger”
Top Shelf “Let Them Keep On Talking”
Lloyd Price “What Did You Do With My Love”
Jerry Butler “No Money Down”
The Moments “Love On A Two-Way Street”
Steve Parks “Still Thinking Of You”
Solomon Burke “Everlasting Love”
Clay Hunt “(I’m Claimin’) FInders Keepers”
Angela Winbush “Angel”
The Isley Brothers “Ain’t I Been Good To You”
Sweet Blindness “Ain’t No Use”
Billy Stewart “Cross My Heart”
The Delfonics “Trying To Make A Fool Out Of Me”
Freddie Hughes “Sarah Mae”
The Three Degrees “Collage”
Nancy Wilson “I’m In Love”
Patrice Rushen “Where There Is Love”
Joann Garett “It’s No Secret”
Bobby Womack “Woman’s Gotta Have It”
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles “A Legend In It’s Own Time”
Ben Vereen “I’ll Keep A Light In My Window”
Teddy Pendergrass “I’ll Never See Heaven Again”
Diana Ross “One Love In My Lifetime”
Brothers By Choice “Baby, You Really Got me Going”
Mary Wells “Two Lovers History”
You know that this music thing is really my thing, like I would be doing what I do even if I wasn’t getting paid for it. I guess it’s a compulsion, but that doesn’t really explain the connection that I have to music properly. But I just get a sense of indescribable enjoyment out of it, much like the way my sister Zoe Strauss describes her connection to the visual in this short film about her. The thing is I’m nowhere near as smart or talented as her… “Through the Lens of Zoe Strauss“ from Ted Passon on Vimeo.
But yeah man – sometimes there’s just something that hits you hard. Sometimes you hear something that instantly connects with you and there’s no way of putting it into words. So you’ll just have to listen. This past Thursday I did a show in Atlanta with my dudes Kon & Amirand the homie Injex from Sound Table. The night was over and I was standing in the back yard when I heard a song coming through the crack of the door that was so beautiful and haunting that I immediately had to rush in and see who it was. Injex was on the decks just playing 45s after hours and I walked in the booth like “Yo son what the eff is this?” The record was just ending at the time and, at the same time I was walking up, both the bartender and the last dancer on the floor simultaneously walked up, all three of us individually demanding to know what the record was. He showed me the 45 and it was so on. The next day in my hotel room in Montreal I was able to get a copy online (from the homie James Pants as a matter of fact!)
It was The Three Degrees. This is like a record that I should have known, but I didn’t. Sometimes things fall through the cracks and you miss joints, and this is one of them. The Three Degrees are a female vocal group from Philly and pretty much the “first ladies” of the TSOP organization. Mostly known for their songs “When Will I See You Again” and “The Sound Of Philadelphia” they went through a few variations of their lineup throughout the years but regardless of the members they always had one of the most distinctive vocal stylings of all time. Like top shit, eclipsing many of the more notable and supreme names in music history in my opinion.
This song came from their first album which predates TSOP, the 1970 “Maybe” release on Morris Levy’s Roulette imprint. The album was helmed by Philly producer Richard Barrett, who decided to lead the girls debut record off with an album cut buried deep on the first album by Cleveland rock outfit James Gang, “Y’er Album.”
The song was written by the great Joe Walsh and honestly, even though I have “Y’er Album” I never picked up on this cut, probably gravitating towards some of the more drum-laden tracks. But listening to the remake made me realize how incredible of a song it is. However I definitely feel as though the original is eclipsed by the remake, with Barrett’s orchestration being so lush and rich but never heavy-handed, coupled with absolutely perfect harmonies. This song floors me. It’s flooring me right now as I type while I listen to it.
Okay just want to be clear here, Breakbeat Tuesday isn’t just about “breakbeats” and whatnot, it’s just about joints and heavy tunes. But since I know a bunch of folks out there like their drums and breaks and whatnot, here’s a joint from the first James Gang album that sort of fits the bill.
Happy Birthday Curtis Mayfield. There was only one and there will NEVER be another. The master storyteller and, if James Brown is the Godfather of Soul, then Curtis is the Grand Uncle, and the true Conscience Of Funk. Tonight in New York I will be spinning at SubMercer – 147 1/2 Mercer St. – playing all sorts of Curtis tunage. This is including but not limited to early stuff, covers, productions, tributes, samples and more… Come through!
Saturday October 26 – Harbor Haunt – Philadelphia, PA 
I wrote this thing like 3 times and then trashed it, just trying to figure out the right way of putting it. I’m not really good at this type of thing – eulogizing people I guess – and it’s also still kinda fresh up in the mix. But Teena Marie left the planet today. She’s one of my most favorite R&B singers of all time. But to actually just refer to her as just an R&B singer really doesn’t do her justice. Through the string of pop hits and chart dominance of her time, it’s often overlooked that she was one of the finest female singer / songwriters of a generation. And I don’t know… I know there’s always a lot of talk about her being a “white girl with a black voice” and, while I know what they’re saying but also in a sense I think that marginalizes things. It wasn’t a “white voice” or a “black voice” it was HER voice. Truly unique, and absolutely brilliant. And her voice rang out for so much more than just music, but also for the rights for artists to do what they do naturally – to create and to be not hindered by label politics. Her internal conflict with her label Motown helped lay the framework for what is called The Brockert Initiative (after her born name, Mary Christine Brockert) which makes it illegal for a record company to keep an artist under contract without releasing new material for that artist, helping not just her deal but many more after the fact. She was a gifted singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. She also was a strong independent woman who made strides in having control and independence over her career at a time when that was tough for any artist, not to mention for a female artist.
But yeah man – sometimes there’s just something that hits you hard. Sometimes you hear something that instantly connects with you and there’s no way of putting it into words. So you’ll just have to listen. This past Thursday I did a show in Atlanta with my dudes 
It was The Three Degrees. This is like a record that I should have known, but I didn’t. Sometimes things fall through the cracks and you miss joints, and this is one of them. The Three Degrees are a female vocal group from Philly and pretty much the “first ladies” of the TSOP organization. Mostly known for their songs “When Will I See You Again” and “The Sound Of Philadelphia” they went through a few variations of their lineup throughout the years but regardless of the members they always had one of the most distinctive vocal stylings of all time. Like top shit, eclipsing many of the more notable and supreme names in music history in my opinion.
This song came from their first album which predates TSOP, the 1970 “Maybe” release on Morris Levy’s Roulette imprint. The album was helmed by Philly producer Richard Barrett, who decided to lead the girls debut record off with an album cut buried deep on the first album by Cleveland rock outfit James Gang, “Y’er Album.”
