Some 1950's & 60's R&B & Soul Singers

Huey Piano Smith - 89 - American R&B pianist & songwriter ("Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu", "Don'tcha Just Know It")

HUEY PIANO SMITH ~ "DON'TCHA JUST KNOW IT";


Charlie Thomas ~ 85 ~ Singer with 1950's & 60's R&B vocal group the Drifters ("There Goes My Baby", "Sweets For My Sweet";

THE DRIFTERS ~ "SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES";


THE DRIFTERS ~ "THERE GOES MY BABY";


Barrett Strong - 81 - American singer with Motown ("Money (That's What I Want)") and songwriter ("I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone")

BARRETT STRONG ~ "MONEY";


Lillian Walker ~ 78 ~ Singer with 1960's R&B vocal group the Exciters

THE EXCITERS ~ "TELL HIM";


THE EXCITERS ~ "HE'S GOT THE POWER";


Tina Turner - 83 - American Hall of Fame singer ("River Deep – Mountain High", "Proud Mary", "What's Love Got to Do with It") and actress (Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome), eight-time Grammy winner

IKE & TINA TURNER ~ "RIVER DEEP MOUNTAIN HIGH";


IKE & TINA TURNER ~ "PROUD MARY";


TINA TURNER ~ "PRIVATE DANCER";


Katherine Anderson - 79 - Singer with Motown Girl Group the Marvellettes ("Plaese Mr Postman", "Beachwood 4-5789", "Don't Mess With Bill")

THE MARVELETTES ~ "MEDLEY";


THE MARVELETTES ~ "PLEASE MR POSTMAN";


THE MARVELETTES ~ "DON'T MESS WITH BILL";


Chuck Jackson - 85 - American 1960's R&B singer ("Any Day Now", "I Keep Forgettin'", "Tell Him I'm Not Home")

CHUCK JACKSON ~ "ANY DAY NOW";


CHUCK JACKSON ~ "LONELY LONELY MAN AM I";


Toussaint McCall - 89 - American 1960's R&B singer & organist ("Nothing Takes The Place Of You")

TOUSSAINT McCALL ~ "NOTHING TAKES THE PLACE OF YOU";


Floyd Newman - 91 - American saxophonist w/The Mar-Keys (including Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, BB King, Aretha Frankin, Etta James, Bozz Skaggs, Lulu, Stephen Stills) & The Memphis Horns

ETTA JAMES ~ "TELL MAMA";


OTIS REDDING ~ "MY GIRL" / "RESPECT";


WILSON PICKETT ~ "LAND OF 1000 DANCES";

Hugh Hefner, Playboy And Rock & Roll

Hugh Hefner isn't normally thought of as a figure with a connection to R&R but part of his "Playboy" esthetic, or ideology even, included the idea that a Playboy Man should have god taste in literature (Hemingway, Capote, Mailer, Miller, Vidal and Baldwin all wrote for him), art (Pop Art, Abstract Expressionism, Dali) and music. At a time when "swingers" were still listening to Mantovani or Jackie Gleason's "Songs For Lovers" albums Hefner promoted some fairly hip music. Starting with the obvious choices like Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan in the 1950's he moved into Cool Jazz and before embracing the Summer Of Love in the mid sixties. One of his projects in the late 1960's was a late night TV show called "Playboy After Dark which had on some of the coolest bands around, including a number of black musicians hosted by Hef in a somewhat incongruous tuxedo.

IKE & TINA TURNER;


STEPPENWOLF ~ "AMERICA";


PETER GREEN'S FLEETWOOD MAC ~ "RATTLESNAKE SHAKE";


THE BYRDS ~ "YOU AIN'T GOING NOWHERE" & "THIS WHEELS ON FIRE";


DEEP PURPLE ~ "HUSH;


IRON BUTTERFLY ~ "INNA-GADDA-DAVIDA";


CANNED HEAT ~ "ON THE ROAD AGAIN";


JAMES BROWN;


MARVIN GAYE ~ "CHAINED";


JAMES COTTON & LUTHER TUCKER;


BUDDY MILES;


BB KING ~ "THE THRILL IS GONE";


BUDDY RICH;


DAVE BRUBECK ~ "TAKE FIVE";