The Four Tops, with the late
Levi Stubbs, sing their first major hit.
The great Esther Phillips
sings a Beatles ballad, introduced by none other
than John Lennon himself, who calls Esther's
performance "one of the best ever." This clip dates
from 1965. (Does anyone know what program this
video is taken from?)
Isaac Hayes sings one of his
first single hits, Burt Bacharach/Hal David's "Walk
on By" in what looks like a laundromat. At the
time of this 1969 TV appearance, he was a newcomer.
In this 8 minute clip,
British singer Dusty Springfield joins Motown's
musicians. After Dusty, some of Motown's
biggest stars join in. This video, recorded in
London, dates from 1965.
Rare footage of Mandrill. 1973.
Eddie
Kendricks, formerly of the Temptations, sings "It's So Hard to
Say Goodbye" on Soul Train. The song was featured on Kendricks'
album All By Myself, his first as a solo singer.
Gil Scott-Heron's classic
(from the album Winter in America).
Curtis Mayfield heard the
young Burke family in Chicago and offered to record
them. He formed the Windy C record label. Thanks to
a distribution deal with Philadelphia's
Cameo-Parkway, the Five Stairsteps (named for their
size differences: notice how they're aligned
in the video) became national celebrities. The
Five Stairsteps helped start a trend in family
singing groups featuring young brothers and sisters.
The most successful of these were the Jacksons of
nearby Gary, Indiana, who broke out three years
later. This rare video is probably from a local
midwestern TV station and has the Burkes
lip-synching one of their first hits, "You Waited
too Long," written by Curtis Mayfield (1966).
James Brown and Luciano
Pavarotti.
Bo Diddley in the 1960s. Norma Jean
Wofford (aka "The Duchess") is the female guitarist.
A rare collaboration between
singer Al Green and the rock band Chicago.
