Over the weekend, another great Black artist crossed over into the essence.
Like so many other unsung artists, the world did not know Mark Adams’ name, but he is deeply felt in the hearts of many folk…
Mark was just a high schooler from Dayton, Ohio when he became a memebr of legendary funk band, Slave…right from the gate Slave’s first single–a funk classic called Slide–was powered by the teenage Adams heavy bass attack…
Soon, Mark became the musical focus of the band and Slave scored a run of hits (Watching You, Snap Shot, Wait For Me,etc) all propelled by Mark’s stomping and growling basslines.
Usually, at this point I highlight a lesser known work by the artist, but Slave’s 1979 hit, Just A Touch Of Love is as deserving of praise as any other song. The bridge is genius. When it breaks down to just Mark’s bass at 4:35, you realize how integral his bass parts were to Slave’s music…
but I will give you one of Slave’s lesser known jams…listen to Mark attack this beat:
Bass players definitely know Mark, and I am no exception. He wasn’t ashamed to be “just a funk bassist”, and I appreciate that. He was funk all the way. When I listen to his playing, I know I need to go and practice. Matter of fact, when I play I do alot of slides(glisses in basses speak–which is short for the musical term glissando), and I got that from Mark.
Thank you, Mr. Mark–The Hansolor, for doing your thing.
Teena Marie may not have had the big selling records, or the accolades, or the superstardom…but what she did have was class, heart, integrity, and soul by the pound…
when I say soul, I’m not just speaking of her singing, writing, producing, and playing…Im taumbout that quality of passion and humanity that radiates from within and speaks volumes without words…
Teena Marie made BLACK music…she made no bones about it and she called it what it was, BLACK music…never did she look down on the music and the culture…she simply immersed herself in it and let it be….
She never beat us over the head with the fact that she was a white woman making Black music or implied that she was some kind of miracle for doing so…she just made music from her heart…
She was never the type to sit around and complain about the barriers that faced her, instead she just did what she felt was right and pushed ahead…Very little is said about how she wrote, produced and played her own music…She didnt toot her horn about it, she just did it…
Her integrity earned her a legion of fans that stayed loyal…she didnt chase hits or try to fit someone else’s mold for attention…she just made the music she wanted to make…She was a true champion of R&B music…in the down times, when her star wasnt as bright, she never tried to whiten her music or make herself more attractive to the pop audience…Teena Marie approached R&B music like the art form it is…
She possessed one of the finest and most soulful voices known to humanity and she used that voice to sing of love, intimacy, joy, and self-reflection…onstage, she poured her all in her performance…when Teena Marie was onstage, you got a f’real show…I witnessed her bring people to tears a few days after 9/11…
Her music speaks for itself…the funk of I Need Your Lovin or First Class Love…the elegant, sensual romanticism of Young Love or Portuguese Love….the aching soul of Casanova Brown, Shadowboxing or the previously unreleased Dont Turn Your Back On Me…the simple beauty of If I Were A Bell or Irons In The Fire…tell me, can you ever forget the first time you heard Fire & Desire?
Teena Marie is a true artist…her music was her life…she deserves to be heard, known, and appreciated by anyone who claims to love music…
The mainstream press may not know or care about Teena Marie…but our people do…she showed us that when its real, soul doesn’t have to be about race…let’s not wait for them to lift her up and sing her praises…she is a part of the fabric of our community…part of the soundtrack to our lives…
Mary Christine Brockert is loved.
…and she will be missed
Fly on, Vanilla Child…and add your voice to the heavenly chorus.
Check out up and coming indie Chicago electropop trio Hey Champ. They’re great musicians and they actually write good songs. Their songs harken back to the mid-80’s without being kitschy and ironic.
The band consists of:
Saam Hagshenas (vox, guitar, keys)
Jon Marks – (rhythm {drums, drum programming}, vox, keys)
