HUFFINGTON
11.17.13
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MUSIC
KURTIS BLOW
TORTOISE
KOKO TAYLOR
Artist, MC and producer Kurtis Blow
was born Curtis Walker on Aug. 9,
1959, in Harlem, New York. Kurtis
Blow blazed the trail for many rap artists including Grandmaster Flash and
Run-D.M.C. Walker started out as a
break-dancer, became a DJ, and then
the notorious MC Kurtis Blow. At the
age of 20, the trailblazer became the
first rapper to be signed by a major
label. His 1979 single “Christmas
Rappin” sold over 400,000 copies. Collaborations include The Fat
Boys, Run-D.M.C., Russell Simmons,
Wyclef Jean and Bride Dressed in
Black. Blow, who has worked with
Sirius Satellite Radio on old-school
station Backspin 43, is founder of the
Hip-Hop Church and became a minister in 2009. His breakthrough track
“The Breaks,” from the 1980 album
Kurtis Blow, was the first rap single to
go gold; remember it and play it loud!
Chicago-based experimental instrumental band Tortoise was founded in
1990 by Doug McCombs (bass, sixstring bass, lap steel), Johnny “Machine” Herndon (drums, percussion,
vibraphone, xylophone, keyboards,
drum programming), John McEntire (guitar, drums, percussion, EML
101, marimba, drum programming,
melodica, etc.), and Bundy K. Brown
(bass guitar). By the late ’90s, when
the iconic “post-rock” group released
their third studio album TNT, Dan Bitney (drums, hand percussion, guitar,
keyboards, drum programming), Jeff
Parker (guitar, vibes, keyboards), and
Dave Pajo (bass, guitar) had joined
up, with Brown exiting. Collaborations include Bonnie “Prince” Billy,
Beck, Thurston Moore, Paul Duncan,
and director Eduardo Sánchez (Lovely
Molly). Tortoise’s sound leaves an
alternatingly saturnine and joyful
aftertaste. With more than a dozen
releases to collect, rewind with “TenDay Interval,” from their 1998 TNT,
an exquisite transmission.
Grammy-winning “Queen of the
Blues” Cora Walton (a.k.a. Koko Taylor) was born in 1928 in a small town
near Memphis, Tenn. Koko and her five
brothers and sisters grew up poor on a
sharecropper’s farm. As a child, Koko
developed a deep love of gospel, blues,
and chocolate (hence her nickname).
By the age of 11, Koko and her siblings
were orphaned. After marrying, she
held a variety of jobs, but would sit in
with Chicago blues acts until the early
’60s, when Willie Dixon recognized her
greatness, and she found her calling.
With a career spanning five decades,
Taylor has collaborated with Junior
Wells, Muddy Waters, Robert Plant,
Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King and Buddy
Guy, to name a few. Her voice is a monument. The 1966 Willie Dixon-produced “Wang Dang Doodle (Single),”
from Koko Taylor (Remastered Bonus
Tracks), is a serious must-have.
BUY: iTunes.com
GENRE: Hip-Hop/Rap
ARTIST: Kurtis Blow
SONG: The Breaks
ALBUM: Kurtis Blow
BUY: iTunes.com
GENRE: Alternative
ARTIST: Tortoise
SONG: Ten-Day Interval
ALBUM: TNT
BUY: iTunes.com
GENRE: Blues
ARTIST: Koko Taylor
SONG: Wang Dang Doodle (Single)
ALBUM: Koko Taylor
(Remastered Bonus Tracks)