Denise Lasalle

Denise LaSalle’s seminal debut LP for Westbound Records, released in 1972, introduced the world at large to a storming force in blues.

During the blues revival of the 1960s a whole swathe of great blues artists were totally ignored by the revivalist record companies, writers and promoters. These were the Rhythm & Blues stars ' sexy and direct lyrics, sharp suits, swaggering live performances representing the concerns, attitudes and moods of the community they were a part of. What we loosely call 'Soul Blues' has also been largely ignored over the past few decades in favour of the guitar led, often rock influenced end of things. Total credit then to Pierre Degeneffe of the Ecaussines Blues Festival in booking in 2007 the absolute queen of 'Soul Blues' , Denise LaSalle.

Raised in the dirt-road town of Wellington, Alabama, Aretta Woodruff found her voice in the Hopewell Baptist church choir at five years old and has not stopped singing since. A force to be reckoned with, she brings her indefatigable spirit and powerhouse vocals to every performance. Aretta's talent and commitment to her art have propelled her into fame within the Birmingham Blues and R&B music scene. Aretta opened for The Queen of the Blues, Denise LaSalle on so many occasions that the two became close family friends.

50 years ago Emanuel Lasky’s timely ‘A Letter From Vietnam’ appeared on a brand new record label: Armen Boladian’s Westbound Records was born. In the ensuing years Westbound set about proving that post-Motown Detroit could still be a home to successful music-making, scoring hits and developing careers with a series of acts including Funkadelic, Denise LaSalle, the Detroit Emeralds and the Ohio Players, as well as registering pop hits with Byron McGregor, and recording incredible jazz on its Eastbound subsidiary.“Everything Is Gonna Be Alright” celebrates the label’s achievements in the world of soul, funk and gospel. Named after Bill Moss’ uplifting gospel anthem, the journey takes you from Westbound’s very first single, via the vocal group traditions of the Detroit Emeralds, the Magictones and Unique Blend, and the funk of Funkadelic and the Ohio Players, to the Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore-dominated disco era with C.J. & Co and others.

Much of modern hip hop has its roots in the adventurous recordings made at Westbound in the early to mid-70s. “Super Breaks” pays homage to some of their greatest sampled tracks. Available on CD and 2LP formats. It’s one of those “Why didn’t we do this before”-type compilations. “Super Breaks” has been a successful series for nearly 20 years and Ace’s relationship with Detroit’s Westbound Records goes back even further. Add the fact that on a per-record-released basis Westbound is probably the most sampled label ever, then we’ve probably missed a trick. But with Westbound celebrating its 50th anniversary, maybe there couldn’t be a better time than now after all.

Much of modern hip hop has its roots in the adventurous recordings made at Westbound in the early to mid-70s. “Super Breaks” pays homage to some of their greatest sampled tracks. Available on CD and 2LP formats. It’s one of those “Why didn’t we do this before”-type compilations. “Super Breaks” has been a successful series for nearly 20 years and Ace’s relationship with Detroit’s Westbound Records goes back even further. Add the fact that on a per-record-released basis Westbound is probably the most sampled label ever, then we’ve probably missed a trick. But with Westbound celebrating its 50th anniversary, maybe there couldn’t be a better time than now after all.

Much of modern hip hop has its roots in the adventurous recordings made at Westbound in the early to mid-70s. “Super Breaks” pays homage to some of their greatest sampled tracks. Available on CD and 2LP formats. It’s one of those “Why didn’t we do this before”-type compilations. “Super Breaks” has been a successful series for nearly 20 years and Ace’s relationship with Detroit’s Westbound Records goes back even further. Add the fact that on a per-record-released basis Westbound is probably the most sampled label ever, then we’ve probably missed a trick. But with Westbound celebrating its 50th anniversary, maybe there couldn’t be a better time than now after all.

This is the first-ever soul collection in Eric’s famous oldies series. "Sweet Soul Sounds" includes such classics as Clarence Carter's cheating epic, "Slip Away," and Archie Bell's dance ultimatum, "There's Gonna Be A Showdown." But the great joys of this collection are the hard-to-find gems previously unavailable to most collectors - songs like "(I Wanna) Testify," featuring a pre-P-Funk George Clinton, and two soul classics making their CD debut: Denise LaSalle's "Trapped By A Thing Called Love" is one of the last great Old School soul songs, recorded in 1971 as soul music was morphing into funk and disco; it appears here on a U.S. CD for the first time ever. And, Little Sister, a female trio featuring Sly Stone's younger sibling, is represented by two cuts, one of which - "You're the One (Parts 1 & 2 )" - has never been available on any CD anywhere!