This Twitter thread shows how talented we are.

[ThrobbingHood]

But also how far we’ve fallen off musically.



I’ll post them as pictures rather than the whole thread to reduce loading time.

Quincy Jones

Holland-Dozier-Holland & The Motown Sound

Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff & Thom Bell...the beauty of the Philadelphia Sound & Philly Soul.

Nile Rodgers/Bernard Edwards...the Disco/Synth Pop takeover

Nick Ashford & Valerie Simpson - turning Motown greats into solo superstardom

Prince, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Janet Jackson & the Minneapolis Sound...the fusion of Black musical genres: rock, funk, folk, dance +R&B into urban synth masterpieces accessible to the masses. The lynchpin for Nee Jack Swing & the most lasting legacy in modern music.

L.A. Reid/Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds - Built upon the Minneapolis Sound but find tremendous success with sweeping radio friendly ballads & artist driven uptempo songs to dominate the 1990s.

Norman Whitfield - the multi-part & group harmony songwriter for Motown

Freddie Perren - The Jackson 5, young Black bands & the start of Disco

Narada Michael Walden & The Return of the Black Belting Pop Diva!

Otis Blackwell - The writer behind Elvis

Allen Toussaint & the Birth of Black Pop Music with a little hoodoo in it

Willie Dixon - the artist that white artists and producers loved to steal from. To use in a sentence, Beyoncé is to Led Zepplin what Andrea Martin is to Willie Dixon.

Barry White

And that’s barely scratching the surface.

 

[ThrobbingHood]

James Brown: Godfather Of Soul.

The Isley Brothers

Ohio Players

The Gap Band

Timbaland and Missy Elliot.

Kool And The Gang:

Earth, Wind And Fire:

Stevie Wonder:

Brothers Johnson;

Rick James:

 

[ThrobbingHood]

Cameo

Roy Ayers

Lonnie Liston Smith

The Blackbyrds

George Duke.

 

[Knights89]

Great thread. To this elite list I'll just add Curtis Mayfield and Smokey Robinson. Both were prolific writers for themselves as solo artists, thier grourps- The Impressions and Miracles, and many other artists

 

[RaspberryFitted]

I’ll also thrown in Patrice Rushen. Beautiful voice and ultra talented with various instruments

 

[Fill Collins]

Scott Joplin (father of ragtime) and WC Handy (father of jazz)

I played piano as a jit and learning about Scott just made me proud to be Black before I knew what that was

 

[King_Kamala61]

Of course music... is that all Negroes know song and dance? no real artists huh? Just entertainers to show how talented we are

 

[Lexington Steele]

Billy Preston

 

[Vandelay]

You can go up to about 2008-9 with this. Wonder what changed...maybe 2011. After that, there's maybe 1 album a year that's a must hear, and that's being generous.

 

[Whatupdoe?]

Beautiful thread op. I wish we could popularize bands again.

 

[Lucky_Lefty]

Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff & Thom Bell...the beauty of the Philadelphia Sound & Philly Soul.

My dad and brother are trying to get the rights from them to do a documentary

 

[BaileyPark31]

That type of shirt that Roy ayers is wearing I noticed is making a comeback.

 

[010101]

..........*

 

[blues_funk_reggae]

James Jamerson, the bass sound of Motown

 

[ThrobbingHood]

Of course music... is that all Negroes know song and dance? no real artists huh? Just entertainers to show how talented we are

Yes.