SEPTEMBER 18,2010
"THE ULTIMATE SOUTHERN SOUL SHOW"
Hello Blues and Southern Soul fans.My attendance for Blues and Southern soul shows this calender year have been far and few.I've received tons of emails from the loyal fans of this genre of music wanting to know, why I haven't been posting any concert reviews?I must admit I feel like I'm letting the fans down when I'm not able to attend all these wonderful southern soul gatherings.A couple of years ago while I was covering the annual ,WDIA JUKE JOINT TOURS, and I remember our beloved Steve Ladd ( R.I.P.) saying that the lineups for those tour shows brought back some great memories from the chittling circuit days.He told me he remembered the late greats, Johnnie Taylor and Tyrone Davis were booked together for a seven state tour including fifteen cities across the south which was affectionally referred to as "The Chittling Circuit:".He told me Johnnie Taylor was the headline for Texas,Arkansas,Louisiana and Tyrone Davis was the headline for Tennessee,Mississippi,Alabama and they both shared top billing for Georgia.Can you imagine the star power and the egos that had to exist for an event like that?Well let me set the record straight,he told me it never existed and that it was an unwritten rule for the artist on the chittling circuit to let personal feelings interfere with entertaining the hardworking poor folks who sometimes sacraficed rent and groceries to attend these shows.
Lets fast forward to the present where the computer age has brought southern soul music to a more broader audience,expanding both nationally and internationally.Yes the internet has gained this genre of music its most exposure ever.It doesn't have the recognition of today's so called mainstream music but its fans are truly second to none no matter what genre of music you compare it too.With that being said I recently attended a southern soul gathering that included arguably the two most popular artist for this genre of music today."The King Of Southern Soul",Sir Charles Jones and "The Bad Boy Of Southern Soul",T.K. Soul.I mention these two artist with "no" disrespect to the rest of the artist in the industry.T.K. Soul's "Undisputed" cd entered the Billboards Hip Hop & R&B chart at #85,not to mention the Billboard Blues chart at #2 which is a very rare feat for a southern soul album.Sir Charles "Love Games" cd also peaked at #29 on Billboards Hip Hop & R&B chart which is unheard for a southern soul album.We can't forget the couple of years he spent opening for the likes of the late great mainstream artists, Gerald Levert and Teddy Pendergrass.Also, I don't want for people to say how dare I compare these two artist to Johnnie Taylor and Tyrone Davis?Every fan have their own favorite artist,so please don't take my comment out of context.I have two daughters ages 13 and 15 and I asked the two of them before I left for this show who were their favorite southern soul singers(yes they listen to grown folks music)?My oldest girl replied with a kool aid grin, that T.K. Soul was her favorite and my youngest daughter with a dreamy eyed look on her face stated, that Sir Charles was her favorite, so even in the Big Dawg's house both of these artist are winners.
This brings me to the theme of my concert review for this show.There has always been rumors,that these two established artist don't like each other or they don't support each other.These are the type of rumors that have damaged this genre of music for the last couple of years and it brings a pain in my heart and a tear to my eye to see,hear and witness such nonsense.This music has been labled "grown folks music" but I simply acknowledge it as being "poor folks music".About 75% of the faithful followers of this music in the words of Omar Cunnigham are truly living check to check.There is a vast majority of the fans of this music that have been hurt and trapped by love.Then there are those fans of this music that have been played,lied and cheated on, so its a little bit of everything for the common people to relate too, in this genre of music.
For this show there was an estimated 3,000 common people who came out to show their love and appreciation for these hardworking artist.The Harlow Casino in Greenville,Mississippi played host to this mega event.It was so nice to see so many old but familar faces in attendance.The 2,500 seat entertainment complex was filled with a lot of excitement.I was joined in the dawg pound by fellow members Earl Gray and Will Lindsey(Chill Will)who happen to be big T.K. Soul and Sir Charles fans.We were very lucky to have front row seats for this spectacular event.
The Bad Boy Of Southern Soul,T.K. Soul was the first performer of the night.It has been a long time since I last saw him perform and since that time there has been a major change in his performance.The group of guys whom I had grown too love and gotten accustomed to hear backing him were now playing for Sir Charles.There was only one holdover from the band formerly known as "Soul For Real" backing him on this night and this too has fueled a rumor about these two artist hating on one another.Let me set the record straight.There is "no beef" about this issue.In sports players change teams all the time but the teams still exist and continue to have sucess.This hold so true with T.K. Soul's current band, "The Bad Boys".The audience gave him and the band a great ovation as he opened up his show with "#1 Fan".Is there any better way to immediately get the crowd amped than to dedicate your first song to the fans?Smart move.Also, HE THANKED THE CROWD FOR COMING OUT AND SUPPORTING HIS LIL BROTHER,SIR CHARLES JONES,this was a great example of the "respect and support" these guys have for each other.Myself and the thousands in attendance got even more love and respect for T.K. Soul.This was a nice gesture for real.His next song was the soulful ballad,"My Kind Of Girl" followed by the uptempo dance groove,"Cheating & Lying" and I wasn't suprised to see him spinning the mic and being able to do splits like he first did some eight years ago.He helped to heal a lot of love addicts with the smooth slow jam,"Rehab" which also received a large ovation from the crowd.I hate that security wouldn't allow a dance floor in this beautiful state of the art facilty because there were plenty of fans who wanted to join him on "Zydeco Bounce".Two lucky females amongst the thousands were allowed onstage to get their bounce on.His performance had a consistent pattern tonight as he went from ballad to dance grooves."It Ain't Cheatin Til You Get Caught" was his next selection and I have to admit his band "The Bad Boys", are bad for real.They really sounded great on this song.In true T.K. Soul form he and "The Bad Boys" displayed a nice dance routine on "Meet Me At The Spot Tonight"(That brought back some Soul For Real memories for me).His next song was "If You Don't Want Me" which went over very well with the crowd."Party Like Back In The Day" almost got a couple of enthused fans removed from the show as they tried to get a dance floor party started down stage.It was really too bad that the fans couldn't cut a rug tonight.He closed his performance with one of my persoanl favorites "Try Me".As he concluded his performance he introduced his band to the crowd with the drummer getting an exceptional ovation.He also acknowledge his tour manager,Kim Coles for all of her hardwork and efforts to make him the real Bad Boy Of Southern Soul.Finally he thanked all the fans in attendance for coming out and supporting T.K. Soul and Sir Charles Jones which I thought was a very classy move.I was so glad to have the opportunity to see him perform again.Although the band has changed the dynamic sounds and the vintage showmanship still remains and he is truly still one of the top performers in the industry today.He was the first established artist that allowed me to cover his shows and I will forever be thankful for that.He opened the doors for me to cover a lot of the many talented artist that exist in our business today.For all the latest and up to date news from the Bad Boy Of Southern Soul please visit his website at www.thebadboyofsouthernsoul.com You can also follow him on facebook(Terence Kimble) and on myspace.
Now who can possibly follow The Bad Boy Of Southern Soul?I can easily count them on one hand and tonight you had "The King Of Southern Soul",Sir Charles Jones more than willing to do the damn thang.This is no lie.This man is so loved by the fans that he could just walk out on stage and not sing a verse and the crowd would be cheering.As mentioned before he is now backed by the band formerly know as Soul For Real,along with recording artist,Stevie J(plays a mean lead guitar) now simply refer to themselves as "The Dream Team".Speaking of dream team recording artist,Reggie P was the first one to hit the stage and just like a setup from an old school rap concert he played the role of the hype man as he brought Sir Charles onto the stage.Just like T.K. before him, the crowd supplied a big ovation as he opened up with the working man's national anthem "Friday".I love this song and I really love the way he delivers it live.You can't help but to be in a good mood as he performs this song.The next song was "Better Or Worse" but you could have also dubbed it "T.K. Soul's Appreciation" as he gave The Bad Boy much love and respect,even sharing with the fans how he remembered T.K. playing keyboards for Willie Clayton,during the same time he was singing backup for Marvin Sease and how they both envisioned becoming the top performer in southern soul.He asked the crowd to give T.K. a big round of applause which the crowd happily obliged.This was truly a great gesture by Sir Charles and again a wonderful way to display that he has no beef or issues with T.K. Soul.This man just garnered even more respect from the Big Dawg and the thousands of fans in attendance.Greenville is the hometown of our beloved Tyrone Davis and Sir Charles did him proud with an excellent rendition of "Mom's Apple Pie".You can only imagine the ovation that Tyrone Davis hometown gave him on this cut.I've always boasted about the charisma that Sir Charles displays doing a performance and his next song "Just Can't Let Go" proved me right.He left the stage area and worked his way around the room and then he told the story about him messing with another's man woman and the almost fatal consequences(looking down the barrel of a gun) that followed.The only reason the man with the gun could give him for his actions were, he just couldn't let go.The crowd really showed him some love. R.Kelly's "trapped in the closet" couldn't touch that one.His next song was the southern soul classic "Slow Roll It" and did he ever.The ladies really screamed as he went low and rolled first to the left and then to the right,broke it on down and said he could roll it all night as "The Dream Team" and a few lucky women from the crowd all joined in.There are some fans who doesn't know this but Sir Charles use to open up for the late great,Teddy Pendergrass and during that time they became very good friends. On this night he did his friend justice with a brillant rendition of the late crooners " Latest And Greatest Inspiration".Again he left the stage area and swooned the ladies in attendance and even presented some of them an authographed photo and cd.Before he concluded this song he showed his spiritual side.He told the crowd if you believe GOD is your greatest inspiration please stand up.I witnessed three thousand people all stand up at the same time.Enough said about that.He closed his show with the southern soul classic that made him a star."Is There Anybody Lonely" sounded oh so sweet as he left the stage but not before thanking the fans for coming out and supporting T.K. Soul and Sir Charles Jones.Without a doubt, he will forever have the title "The King Of Southern Soul".When it comes to charisma there is none other better in the business.For all the latest and up to date news from The King Of Southern Soul please visit his website at www.kingofsouthernsoul.com You can also follow him on facebook(Charles Jones).
Now its time to announce the winner of tonight's show.Its an easy choice for me.Hands down and without a doubt the biggest winner tonight is "THE FANS".Without you the fans there is no Bad Boy or King Of Southern Soul.To have an opportunity to watch two of the biggest names in the industry perform on the same show is truly a unanimous win for the fans.I mentioned before that T.K. was the first established artist to open the doors for me to cover their shows and the last couple of years Sir Charles has built a staircase for me and this has allowed for me to bring you fans the likes of Walter Waiters,Kenne Wayne,LJ Echols,O.B. Buchana,Omar Cunnigham,Willie Clayton,Steve Perry,Latimore,Mel Waiters,J. Blackfoot,Floyd Taylor,Wilson Meadows,Billy Soul Bonds,Terry Wright,Lebrado,David Brinston,Nathaniel Kimble,Reggie P,Vick Allen,Theodis Ealey,Marvin Sease,Wendell B,Mr. Sam,Donnie Ray,Jeff Floyd,Denise Lasalle,Shirley Brown,Betty Padgett,Karen Wolfe,Ms. Jody,Roni,Pat Brown,Sheba Potts-Wright,Sweet Angel,Nellie Travis,Ms. Monique,Big Cynthia and our beloved fallen angel,the late Jackie Neal.
In closing, I would like to reach out to the southern soul industry.To all the promoters,jocks,record executives and artist, you all have got to be a cohesive unit to take this genre of music mainstream.There is too much talent and fan base nationwide and abroad to garner this industry the recognition that it truly deserves.Its ashame that a casino can get two of the biggest artist in the industry together for a show and the industry play politics with the artist for their shows.I can see all the long time promoters getting together and taking these artist on a nationwide tour.I know its easier said than done but this industry,artist and promoters need to come together and stop letting the casinos make all this money by themselves and yes the casino made a lot of money tonight.I know Johnnie Taylor and Tyrone Davis had to look down and smile tonight. Big props to my boys T.K. Soul and Sir Charles for taking the time to meet,greet and converse with me.As always I'm very appreciative to be in your presence.I want to give shout outs to Kim Cole,Too Sweet,Reggie P,Anna Coday,Angela,Punkin,The Bad Boys,The Dream Team,Stevie J,Alonzo(Rock),Anna Sullivan,my cousin Denia Wellington and my fellow Dawg Pound members Earl Gray and Will Lindsey(Chill Will).I had a great time at this show and I just wanted to share it with the greatest fans in the world.Take care and MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS.I'll see you down by the stage.
BIG K9
"THE ULTIMATE SOUTHERN SOUL SHOW"
Hello Blues and Southern Soul fans.My attendance for Blues and Southern soul shows this calender year have been far and few.I've received tons of emails from the loyal fans of this genre of music wanting to know, why I haven't been posting any concert reviews?I must admit I feel like I'm letting the fans down when I'm not able to attend all these wonderful southern soul gatherings.A couple of years ago while I was covering the annual ,WDIA JUKE JOINT TOURS, and I remember our beloved Steve Ladd ( R.I.P.) saying that the lineups for those tour shows brought back some great memories from the chittling circuit days.He told me he remembered the late greats, Johnnie Taylor and Tyrone Davis were booked together for a seven state tour including fifteen cities across the south which was affectionally referred to as "The Chittling Circuit:".He told me Johnnie Taylor was the headline for Texas,Arkansas,Louisiana and Tyrone Davis was the headline for Tennessee,Mississippi,Alabama and they both shared top billing for Georgia.Can you imagine the star power and the egos that had to exist for an event like that?Well let me set the record straight,he told me it never existed and that it was an unwritten rule for the artist on the chittling circuit to let personal feelings interfere with entertaining the hardworking poor folks who sometimes sacraficed rent and groceries to attend these shows.
Lets fast forward to the present where the computer age has brought southern soul music to a more broader audience,expanding both nationally and internationally.Yes the internet has gained this genre of music its most exposure ever.It doesn't have the recognition of today's so called mainstream music but its fans are truly second to none no matter what genre of music you compare it too.With that being said I recently attended a southern soul gathering that included arguably the two most popular artist for this genre of music today."The King Of Southern Soul",Sir Charles Jones and "The Bad Boy Of Southern Soul",T.K. Soul.I mention these two artist with "no" disrespect to the rest of the artist in the industry.T.K. Soul's "Undisputed" cd entered the Billboards Hip Hop & R&B chart at #85,not to mention the Billboard Blues chart at #2 which is a very rare feat for a southern soul album.Sir Charles "Love Games" cd also peaked at #29 on Billboards Hip Hop & R&B chart which is unheard for a southern soul album.We can't forget the couple of years he spent opening for the likes of the late great mainstream artists, Gerald Levert and Teddy Pendergrass.Also, I don't want for people to say how dare I compare these two artist to Johnnie Taylor and Tyrone Davis?Every fan have their own favorite artist,so please don't take my comment out of context.I have two daughters ages 13 and 15 and I asked the two of them before I left for this show who were their favorite southern soul singers(yes they listen to grown folks music)?My oldest girl replied with a kool aid grin, that T.K. Soul was her favorite and my youngest daughter with a dreamy eyed look on her face stated, that Sir Charles was her favorite, so even in the Big Dawg's house both of these artist are winners.
This brings me to the theme of my concert review for this show.There has always been rumors,that these two established artist don't like each other or they don't support each other.These are the type of rumors that have damaged this genre of music for the last couple of years and it brings a pain in my heart and a tear to my eye to see,hear and witness such nonsense.This music has been labled "grown folks music" but I simply acknowledge it as being "poor folks music".About 75% of the faithful followers of this music in the words of Omar Cunnigham are truly living check to check.There is a vast majority of the fans of this music that have been hurt and trapped by love.Then there are those fans of this music that have been played,lied and cheated on, so its a little bit of everything for the common people to relate too, in this genre of music.
For this show there was an estimated 3,000 common people who came out to show their love and appreciation for these hardworking artist.The Harlow Casino in Greenville,Mississippi played host to this mega event.It was so nice to see so many old but familar faces in attendance.The 2,500 seat entertainment complex was filled with a lot of excitement.I was joined in the dawg pound by fellow members Earl Gray and Will Lindsey(Chill Will)who happen to be big T.K. Soul and Sir Charles fans.We were very lucky to have front row seats for this spectacular event.
The Bad Boy Of Southern Soul,T.K. Soul was the first performer of the night.It has been a long time since I last saw him perform and since that time there has been a major change in his performance.The group of guys whom I had grown too love and gotten accustomed to hear backing him were now playing for Sir Charles.There was only one holdover from the band formerly known as "Soul For Real" backing him on this night and this too has fueled a rumor about these two artist hating on one another.Let me set the record straight.There is "no beef" about this issue.In sports players change teams all the time but the teams still exist and continue to have sucess.This hold so true with T.K. Soul's current band, "The Bad Boys".The audience gave him and the band a great ovation as he opened up his show with "#1 Fan".Is there any better way to immediately get the crowd amped than to dedicate your first song to the fans?Smart move.Also, HE THANKED THE CROWD FOR COMING OUT AND SUPPORTING HIS LIL BROTHER,SIR CHARLES JONES,this was a great example of the "respect and support" these guys have for each other.Myself and the thousands in attendance got even more love and respect for T.K. Soul.This was a nice gesture for real.His next song was the soulful ballad,"My Kind Of Girl" followed by the uptempo dance groove,"Cheating & Lying" and I wasn't suprised to see him spinning the mic and being able to do splits like he first did some eight years ago.He helped to heal a lot of love addicts with the smooth slow jam,"Rehab" which also received a large ovation from the crowd.I hate that security wouldn't allow a dance floor in this beautiful state of the art facilty because there were plenty of fans who wanted to join him on "Zydeco Bounce".Two lucky females amongst the thousands were allowed onstage to get their bounce on.His performance had a consistent pattern tonight as he went from ballad to dance grooves."It Ain't Cheatin Til You Get Caught" was his next selection and I have to admit his band "The Bad Boys", are bad for real.They really sounded great on this song.In true T.K. Soul form he and "The Bad Boys" displayed a nice dance routine on "Meet Me At The Spot Tonight"(That brought back some Soul For Real memories for me).His next song was "If You Don't Want Me" which went over very well with the crowd."Party Like Back In The Day" almost got a couple of enthused fans removed from the show as they tried to get a dance floor party started down stage.It was really too bad that the fans couldn't cut a rug tonight.He closed his performance with one of my persoanl favorites "Try Me".As he concluded his performance he introduced his band to the crowd with the drummer getting an exceptional ovation.He also acknowledge his tour manager,Kim Coles for all of her hardwork and efforts to make him the real Bad Boy Of Southern Soul.Finally he thanked all the fans in attendance for coming out and supporting T.K. Soul and Sir Charles Jones which I thought was a very classy move.I was so glad to have the opportunity to see him perform again.Although the band has changed the dynamic sounds and the vintage showmanship still remains and he is truly still one of the top performers in the industry today.He was the first established artist that allowed me to cover his shows and I will forever be thankful for that.He opened the doors for me to cover a lot of the many talented artist that exist in our business today.For all the latest and up to date news from the Bad Boy Of Southern Soul please visit his website at www.thebadboyofsouthernsoul.com You can also follow him on facebook(Terence Kimble) and on myspace.
Now who can possibly follow The Bad Boy Of Southern Soul?I can easily count them on one hand and tonight you had "The King Of Southern Soul",Sir Charles Jones more than willing to do the damn thang.This is no lie.This man is so loved by the fans that he could just walk out on stage and not sing a verse and the crowd would be cheering.As mentioned before he is now backed by the band formerly know as Soul For Real,along with recording artist,Stevie J(plays a mean lead guitar) now simply refer to themselves as "The Dream Team".Speaking of dream team recording artist,Reggie P was the first one to hit the stage and just like a setup from an old school rap concert he played the role of the hype man as he brought Sir Charles onto the stage.Just like T.K. before him, the crowd supplied a big ovation as he opened up with the working man's national anthem "Friday".I love this song and I really love the way he delivers it live.You can't help but to be in a good mood as he performs this song.The next song was "Better Or Worse" but you could have also dubbed it "T.K. Soul's Appreciation" as he gave The Bad Boy much love and respect,even sharing with the fans how he remembered T.K. playing keyboards for Willie Clayton,during the same time he was singing backup for Marvin Sease and how they both envisioned becoming the top performer in southern soul.He asked the crowd to give T.K. a big round of applause which the crowd happily obliged.This was truly a great gesture by Sir Charles and again a wonderful way to display that he has no beef or issues with T.K. Soul.This man just garnered even more respect from the Big Dawg and the thousands of fans in attendance.Greenville is the hometown of our beloved Tyrone Davis and Sir Charles did him proud with an excellent rendition of "Mom's Apple Pie".You can only imagine the ovation that Tyrone Davis hometown gave him on this cut.I've always boasted about the charisma that Sir Charles displays doing a performance and his next song "Just Can't Let Go" proved me right.He left the stage area and worked his way around the room and then he told the story about him messing with another's man woman and the almost fatal consequences(looking down the barrel of a gun) that followed.The only reason the man with the gun could give him for his actions were, he just couldn't let go.The crowd really showed him some love. R.Kelly's "trapped in the closet" couldn't touch that one.His next song was the southern soul classic "Slow Roll It" and did he ever.The ladies really screamed as he went low and rolled first to the left and then to the right,broke it on down and said he could roll it all night as "The Dream Team" and a few lucky women from the crowd all joined in.There are some fans who doesn't know this but Sir Charles use to open up for the late great,Teddy Pendergrass and during that time they became very good friends. On this night he did his friend justice with a brillant rendition of the late crooners " Latest And Greatest Inspiration".Again he left the stage area and swooned the ladies in attendance and even presented some of them an authographed photo and cd.Before he concluded this song he showed his spiritual side.He told the crowd if you believe GOD is your greatest inspiration please stand up.I witnessed three thousand people all stand up at the same time.Enough said about that.He closed his show with the southern soul classic that made him a star."Is There Anybody Lonely" sounded oh so sweet as he left the stage but not before thanking the fans for coming out and supporting T.K. Soul and Sir Charles Jones.Without a doubt, he will forever have the title "The King Of Southern Soul".When it comes to charisma there is none other better in the business.For all the latest and up to date news from The King Of Southern Soul please visit his website at www.kingofsouthernsoul.com You can also follow him on facebook(Charles Jones).
Now its time to announce the winner of tonight's show.Its an easy choice for me.Hands down and without a doubt the biggest winner tonight is "THE FANS".Without you the fans there is no Bad Boy or King Of Southern Soul.To have an opportunity to watch two of the biggest names in the industry perform on the same show is truly a unanimous win for the fans.I mentioned before that T.K. was the first established artist to open the doors for me to cover their shows and the last couple of years Sir Charles has built a staircase for me and this has allowed for me to bring you fans the likes of Walter Waiters,Kenne Wayne,LJ Echols,O.B. Buchana,Omar Cunnigham,Willie Clayton,Steve Perry,Latimore,Mel Waiters,J. Blackfoot,Floyd Taylor,Wilson Meadows,Billy Soul Bonds,Terry Wright,Lebrado,David Brinston,Nathaniel Kimble,Reggie P,Vick Allen,Theodis Ealey,Marvin Sease,Wendell B,Mr. Sam,Donnie Ray,Jeff Floyd,Denise Lasalle,Shirley Brown,Betty Padgett,Karen Wolfe,Ms. Jody,Roni,Pat Brown,Sheba Potts-Wright,Sweet Angel,Nellie Travis,Ms. Monique,Big Cynthia and our beloved fallen angel,the late Jackie Neal.
In closing, I would like to reach out to the southern soul industry.To all the promoters,jocks,record executives and artist, you all have got to be a cohesive unit to take this genre of music mainstream.There is too much talent and fan base nationwide and abroad to garner this industry the recognition that it truly deserves.Its ashame that a casino can get two of the biggest artist in the industry together for a show and the industry play politics with the artist for their shows.I can see all the long time promoters getting together and taking these artist on a nationwide tour.I know its easier said than done but this industry,artist and promoters need to come together and stop letting the casinos make all this money by themselves and yes the casino made a lot of money tonight.I know Johnnie Taylor and Tyrone Davis had to look down and smile tonight. Big props to my boys T.K. Soul and Sir Charles for taking the time to meet,greet and converse with me.As always I'm very appreciative to be in your presence.I want to give shout outs to Kim Cole,Too Sweet,Reggie P,Anna Coday,Angela,Punkin,The Bad Boys,The Dream Team,Stevie J,Alonzo(Rock),Anna Sullivan,my cousin Denia Wellington and my fellow Dawg Pound members Earl Gray and Will Lindsey(Chill Will).I had a great time at this show and I just wanted to share it with the greatest fans in the world.Take care and MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS.I'll see you down by the stage.
BIG K9