In Memoriam: Nelson Mandela—Gone With The Wind

It is with the deepest regret that we have learned of the passing of our founder, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela – Madiba. The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa will shortly make further official announcements.

We want to express our sadness at this time. No words can adequately describe this enormous loss to our nation and to the world.

We give thanks for his life, his leadership, his devotion to humanity and humanitarian causes. We salute our friend, colleague and comrade and thank him for his sacrifices for our freedom. The three charitable organisations that he created dedicate ourselves to continue promoting his extraordinary legacy.

Hamba Kahle Madiba

Kool and the Gang - Kool For the Holidays

 

The Temptations, The Jackson 5, New Edition, Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder and Kurtis Blow all had careers that intersected at some point with Kool & the Gang. But unlike those acts, in the 50 year career of Kool & the Gang, but the band had not released a holiday album. That’s pretty amazing considering that Kool & the Gang had two different bites of the crossover fame apple: first as a straight up funk band that hit big with jams such as “Hollywood Swinging,” and then as a R&B and pop outfit that, starting with “Ladies Night” and "Too Hot," became one of the biggest hit makers of the 1980s. Surprisingly, nobody ever green lighted a Kool & the Gang holiday album until now, with the issuance of Kool For the Holidays.

New album Gladys Knight Another Journey

How can it be that an artist as revered as Gladys Knight -- GLADYS KNIGHT for God's sake -- can issue her first album in seven years and nobody knows about it?  Well, that is just what happened this Summer when Knight quietly released a long-awaited disc of mostly original material on indie music platform CD Baby. Lack of promotion for the album has led to zero impact on the charts or with any but Knight's most loyal of fans. And that's a shame, because there is an awful lot to like on Another Journey;  while imperfect, it is an album generally worthy of Gladys Knight's legacy.

Jonathan Butler Merry Christmas to You

With the season of Fall just barely coming to pass last week and many still rocking summer gear, it's probably hard to even think about Christmas, much less the music. But when someone conveys the sentiments of the season with the fervor and finesse of Jonathan Butler, listeners might be tempted to warm up the cocoa anyway while absorbing what he brings to his first-ever holiday recording, Merry Christmas To You.