Sorry, still not a fan. Sylvers, Heatwave, are way more deserving of an Unsung than Klymax

I thought that the premise of this show was to highlight r&b artists who were heralded within that specific music genre but never received MAINSTREAM props. So in that case I have no problem with the next subjects – especially not my mellow, Lady Tee!!

As a female Klymaxx meant and still means a lot to me as the first and only all female funk band so I am more interested in the evolution of the group than any drama (which they aired out on some VH1 reunion special a few years ago anyway).

I’m a fan of Zapp so their rise is of great interest to me.

I’m not a fan of Bootsy Collins although I’ve heard of him so I’m curious to see how he rose to fame.

I love other posters’ suggestions of featuring Tammi Terrell, The Sylvers, Syreeta Wright & Millie Jackson and would like to add Angela Bofill, Teddy Pendergrass and Stacy Lattisaw to that list.

ernestsewell said:

I agree except with the first sentence because i'm not in the business
of flaming others. That's what i've been trying to say about Unsung. Their
initial documentaries may have been about artists who have suffered personal
setbacks or tragedies but i never saw or read where Unsung was limiting their
shows as such. Like you stated Klymaxx was the first all and only female funk r&b band to impact the music industry. Although their time was short due to creative differences and the changing musical landscape, their accomplishments
cannot be denied. The Men All Pause, Meeting in the Ladies Room, and I Miss You are still staples on AC and AC/Urban formats.
Not to mention that Bernadette went on to produce and work with other
artists like Madame X and Teena Marie while Joyce Fenderalla Irby did solo
work and production work on other artists such as Troop and introduced the
world to a then young Dallas Austin on her solo album.
[Edited 6/30/09 12:04pm]

phunkdaddy said:

Just for the record, I wasn't flaming her. It was just one of those "OMG You're DEAF if you don't think that....." sorta things. It's why I started the next statement with "I say that while remembering...", to relieve any possibly perceived bitchiness on my part. There was none.

I don't care who get's an Unsung, I'll be watching regardless who it is. Any show that features the artists I grew up listening to will get my attention

ernestsewell said:

My bad. I misunderstood the tone of the sentence.
This is the org and none of us are immune to taking a sentence
out of context.
Your point about Klymaxx and Unsung are dead on.

phunkdaddy said:

Yeah, it's hard to emote online. I kind of second guessed that one sentence after I typed it, but figured I'd leave it be, and hope people knew what I meant. It's all good, bro.

I took it as a personal attack and an ugly one at that.

Evelyn Champagne King and Gloria Gaynor, Thelma Houston and Freda Payne should get unsungs

they need to do separate Unsung episodes on El Debarge and Howard Hewitt.

I agree with El, but did Howard have that much tragedy in his life?

scriptgirl said:

well it really doesn't depend on the tragedy, he was a talent that should have suceeded as a solo artist, but it didn't quite turn out that way, same as El (of course you would agree with El, lol) but i do know Howard was on drugs for a minute.

They need to do one on Don Letts. It's a crying shame that he's so unknown, even in his native UK. Don was that the forefront of both punk rock and reggae in the 70s and still works today. He has a radio show on BBC Channel 4, IIRC. Don makes all kinds of videos and movies. He was also in the band Big Audio Dynamite in the 80s w/ ex Clash dude Mick Jones. He made the docs "Punk Rock Movie" and "Punk: Attitude". He also was very involved in making the feature film "Dancehall Queen".

One of the 1st videos he directed was "Pass the Dutchie" w/ Musical Youth one of the few Black videos MTv would bother to play. Don needs propers, IMHO. He's da man!
[Edited 7/3/09 4:45am]

Minnie Ripperton is tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 central on TV|ONE.

For those who don't know, Minnie is the mother of SNL and "Away We Go" actress Maya Rudolph. Minnie used to sing a made up song to lull little Maya to sleep. It formed into its own song. You might have heard of it. "Loving You".

scriptgirl said:

Willie Hutch was a very talented singer/song writer/producer.

Most people know him for doing the soundtrack to "The Mack." He also did the soundtrack for the Pam Grier movie "Foxy Brown." Both are great soundtracks btw.

However, he wrote, co-wrote and produced songs for a lot of people including The Jacksons, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, The Fifth Dimension and others. He actually co-wrote the Jacksons hit "I'll be There" and helped arrange their vocals on "Never Can Say Goodbye" and "Gotta Be There."

His own original songs have also been some of the most sampled among rappers.

I would LOVE to see an UnSung on Willie! I love his music so much, I think he is criminally overlooked.

Since I started the thread on Shuggie Otis the other day, I will add him to the list. I'm learning a lot about him on that thread. That's why I can see where some of you are coming from about the choices for the next crop. Maybe they shouldn't have named the show UnSung. It seems like they are doing more of a "Behind the Music" thing now.

There really are some people who are more "UnSung" than Zapp, Klymaxx, Bootsy and Teena. Most of them had a touch of mainstream success in some way. For example, "Lovergirl" was a crossover hit for Teena as was "I Miss You" for Klymaxx, and Bootsy is widely regarded as a legend. Zapp is probably the least known in the mainstream. However, some of the people mentioned here really remained "UnSung" to the larger mainstream audience or their flights just never left the runway.

Do the people featured have to be pre-'90's acts? I would love to see someone profile people like Rahsaan Patterson or Donnie. They both seemed to have such promise but never really hit their stride. I guess Rahsaan did get a little more exposure than Donnie, but I just expected a better reception for them both.

Leroy Hutson, Blue Magic, Ohio Players

who is blue magic?

scriptgirl said:

A Soul/R&B singing group that had some popularity in the 1970s. They're biggest hit was "Sideshow."

Ain't they kinda obscure?

The Time and the Family are both Unsung. The Time was on the verge of being the great R & B band of the 80's, Jam and Lewis Fired, ego trippin Morris, Jesse's shit with Prince, going solo and later depression. We tend to not see the time as a sad story because J & T made Bank but as a band, it is. The Family is interesting, and could be lumped unto the Time episode because they were built on the ruins of the Time and included Princes (at the time) girlfriend and wendy's twin, Jerome and Bean also had to deal with a lot of loyalty issues as well. oooo, that would be an hour long show LOL

Blue Magic Obscure? Whoa, no old school credentials huh?

Ready For the World

The Time are NOT Unsung. The Family is, but really, I don't seem them getting an ep. They had a great album, but that is not enough. I don't think they made an impact and I love them. Jam and Lewis were out of the band before Purple Rain-they did not fire Morris.

I love Old School, but I have never heard of Blue Magic. Ready for the World-great Unsung idea.

Bootsy? Teena?

exactly.
Would Mandrill and Brick make good Unsungs?

dreamshaman32 said:

Ready for the Curl

You know you're wrong

phunkdaddy said:

SoulAlive said:

U know that ain't right.....