Memphis Dee Dee Bridgewater

Dee Dee Bridgewater has gone back to her beginning…Memphis, TN. Born in the city known for its pivotal part in American culture, music and civil rights struggle, Bridgewater was part of an American legacy. After moving to Flint, Michigan, Bridgewater s childhood nights were spent tuning into Memphis WDIA, the first radio station in the nation featuring all-black programming. It was also the station where her father spun vinyl as the on-air disc jockey, Matt the Platter Cat. This album is not only a return to Bridgewater s roots, but it offers ground-breaking re-imagining of American Blues and R&B classics with backing by the Stax Academy Choir, Kirk Whalum and recorded at Willie Mitchell s world-renowned Royal Studios.

Crème de la Crème Two: More Philly Soul Classics & Rarities from the Vaults of Atlantic, Atco and Warner Bros. Records 1970-1980 follows on its exemplary predecessor to further document the efforts of a major label conglomerate that throughout the decade rivaled Philadelphia International in terms of quantity and quality – the set digs even deeper than the first volume, assembling deep album cuts and unreleased tracks, but the music is no less impressive. Highlights include Major Harris' "Each Morning I Wake Up," Bettye Swann's "When the Game Is Played on You" and the Tom Moulton remix of Sister Sledge's "Mama Never Told Me."