Monkey on a Stick

Do you sit the majority of the day? Get headaches, brain fog, or fatigue, even after a good night’s sleep? Or wake up still feeling tired? If yes, try this: Stand up, relax your shoulders, make sure your head isn’t slouched forward, and place your hand over your belly. Take a big breath through your nose and try to make your hand move outwards by simply filling your belly with air. Do that three times

Rhythm & Blues was not recognised as a distinct musical genre until the late 1940s and these CDs from the middle of that decade reflect the musical taste of the black population of the United States as it moved away from country blues towards a commercial, dance-oriented fusion of jazz and blues that came to be known as jump blues.

Brownie's brother Stick McGhee had a hit or two to his name, and the two brothers split the 105 tracks on this boxed set between them (with some tracks from Brownie's longtime partner Sonny Terry)! Includes Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee; Tennessee Waltz Blues; Wee Wee Hours Pts. 1 & 2; Little Things We Used to Do Stick McGhee; Mean Ole Frisco; Key to the Highway; C.C. Rider, Where Did She Go Brownie McGhee; Mad Man Blues; Harmonica Train Sonny Terry, and more.

Originally released in 1982 this was the fourth solo release [also known as Security] featuring the bass & stick skills of Tony Levin and VDGGs Peter Hammill providing backing vocals on three songs.

Honey Cone, the girl group with the sweet name and the bumblebee persona, didn't masquerade as biker babe wannabes like the Angels, come off as fly foxes like the Ikettes, or fight their battles with tears either. They tell it like it is on "While You're out Looking for Sugar (Somebody's Gonna Take Your Honey and Be Gone)," "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show," "Stick Up," "Want Ads," and others written by a consortium of General Johnson, Angelo Bond, and Gregg Perry, with some Edith Wayne/Ronald Dunbar and HDH tracks in the mix. This complete account of Honey Cone's Hotwax recordings features the excellent "Ace in the Hole" twice – the long album version with the funky, bubbling break and the single edit. Instead of wailing at an imminent breakup, Honey Cone gets philosophical (i.e., "Sitting on a Time Bomb (Waiting on the Hurt to Come)," "The Day I Found Myself," "It's Better to Have Love and Lost," and "Girls It Ain't Easy"). They show vulnerability behind a strong façade on "Take Me With You" and cloying versions of "Ooo Baby Baby" and "Stay in My Corner." With 45 tracks, this gargantuan collection has enough soulful honey to fill a bee hive.

Honey Cone, the girl group with the sweet name and the bumblebee persona, didn't masquerade as biker babe wannabes like the Angels, come off as fly foxes like the Ikettes, or fight their battles with tears either. They tell it like it is on "While You're out Looking for Sugar (Somebody's Gonna Take Your Honey and Be Gone)," "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show," "Stick Up," "Want Ads," and others written by a consortium of General Johnson, Angelo Bond, and Gregg Perry, with some Edith Wayne/Ronald Dunbar and HDH tracks in the mix.