Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson The Revolution Will Finally Be Televised By Jay S. Jacobs “The revolution will not be televised.” When recording artist and poet Gil Scott-Heron first wrote that line in 1970, he probably wasn’t thinking of the Harlem Cultural Festival, which had been run the summer before. Or perhaps he was, as he was … Continue reading
SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED) (2021) Featuring Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis Jr., Mavis Staples, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Chris Rock, Sal Masakela, Sheila E., Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Denise Oliver-Velez and archival footage of Nina Simone, BB King, David Ruffin, The Fifth Dimension, Mahalia Jackson, Moms Mabley, Abbey Lincoln, … Continue reading
Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. Not So Silly Love Songs – Taking ‘Blackbird’ to New Heights By Mark Mussari Fifty years ago, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. did something they’d never done before. As the de facto lead singers of the legendary 5th Dimension, the couple covered Paul McCartney’s “Every Night” on the … Continue reading
Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. The 5th Dimension Belong In the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame By Mark Mussari One day in the middle of Woodstock – the three-day musical extravaganza that defined a generation in the summer of 1969 – the massive crowd broke spontaneously into a rousing rendition of “Aquarius,” the seminal … Continue reading
Jimmy Webb’s New Memoir The Cake and the Rain Is a Rollicking, Musical Romp by Mark Mussari “There were two of me,” Jimmy Webb states at one point in his highly engaging new memoir The Cake and the Rain (St. Martin’s Press). Truer words could not be spoken by the composer of some of contemporary music’s … Continue reading
Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. The Many Faces of Love by Mark Mussari For Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr., the music never ends. The charismatic duo, whose instantly recognizable voices helped to make the 5th Dimension one of the pop era’s most revered vocal groups, has been married for almost 40 years. In … Continue reading
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