The first time was so good, it was impossible to let these go, especially with the requests from the last one. Presenting:

Old School Wednesday: Philly Soul, Volume II.

01 - The Intruders - Cowboys to Girls. My moms used to play this cut endlessly.  And sing it. All the time. Hats off to London Lee for bringing it back. 
02 - The Stylistics - You Are Everything. I honestly can't get enough of the Stylistics, so I made sure to restrain myself.  In my opinion, everything they touched turned to gold. 
03 - Billy Paul - Let's Make a Baby. GrantLove had it on his mind, so why not pull it out?
04 - The Spinners - It's a Shame.  Co-written by Stevie Wonder (who was 20 at the time) and Lee Garrett, this song is also a classic. This helped put The Spinners on the map.
05 - Jean Carne - I'm Back For More.  Back in 1980, this duet with Al Johnson was released. Nods to GrantLove on this one also.
06 - The O'Jays - Used To Be My Girl.  O'Jays biggest selling single.
07 - The Jones Girls - Children of the Night.  Originally performed by The Stylistics, this socially conscious track always gets repeated in my car when played.   A classic Thom Bell /Linda Creed track. 
08 - Jean Carne - Don't Let It Go to Your Head. In my opinion, her greatest track- and most underappreciated.. 
09 - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - The Love I Lost.  Considered one of the first disco singles.
10 - Instant Funk - I Got My Mind Made Up. Speaking of disco, this song was mixed by the one and only Larry Levan.  This hit number one on the R&B chart and top 20 pop.
11 - The O'Jays - Love Train. Platinum single from The O'Jays.
12 - Instant Funk - Crying. Also released by Instant Funk. Yet another underappreciated track from 1979.
13 - Phyllis Hyman - You Know How To Love Me. I don't think I can say enough about it, so I'm calling on the people leaving comments to speak about this track instead.  Timeless.
14 - MFSB - Love Is the Message. This track, over 10 minutes long, was often the track that you heard at a club before they took your drinks out of you, started bringing up the lights, and opening the doors up, while personnel were getting ready to start pushing you out of the door when the song ended.  Classic.

Vibe it through.

Philly's in the house, thanks to my friend Mike P and Bernie. There were so many songs to consider, and so much reminiscing, that I finally had to stop myself and start presenting this in volumes. This is only a glimpse into the vibe. Right now, we present:

Old School Wednesday: Philly Soul, Volume 1.


01 - MFSB & The Three Degrees - T.S.O.P. (The Sound of Philadelphia).
02 - The Three Degrees - When Will I See You Again?
03 - The Stylistics - People Make the World Go Round (Full Version).
04 - The Spinners - Could It Be I'm Falling In Love?
05 - Billy Paul - Me and Mrs. Jones.
06 - The Intruders - I Wanna Know Your Name.
07 - Blue Magic - Sideshow.
08 - The Spinners - Games People Play.
09 - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes & Sharon Paige - Hope That We Can Be Together Soon.
10 - Billy Paul - Brown Baby.
11 - People's Choice - Do It Any Way You Wanna.
12 - The O'Jays - I Love Music (Extended).
13 - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - Bad Luck (Extended).
14 - The O'Jays - For the Love of Money (Extended).

Most of these songs bring up some serious childhood memories for me, I don't even know where to begin, seriously. More information is forthcoming. For now, just enjoy the vibe.....

I had a full weekend, and that's why I've been incognito. I've been enjoying my vacation instead of dropping my in-rotation and a Baker's Dozen talking about how much fun I had this weekend, my travellng and my brunch with some awesome people from all over the place. Instead, I just relaxed, hung out, and of course, had my headphones on during my chill-out period.

After I compiled the sequence, I had a hard time deciding on a description for this playlist. Luckily, KB came to my rescue. He saw the tracklisting and thought that the name below was appropriate: Who am I to disagree?

Old School Wednesday: Loves, Lies, and Promises.


01 - Jevetta Steele - Calling You, which Nikki mentioned two weeks ago, so I pulled it out. Featured in the movie Baghdad Cafe.
02 - Stevie Wonder - Love's in Need of Love Today, which was demanded by Yolanda and blessed by Bomani.
03 - Rufus & Chaka Khan - Stay. From 1978's Street Player.
04 - The Brothers Johnson - I'll Be Good to You. From 1976. George Johnson was dating several women and the situation was getting out out of hand, especially around the holidays. When he decided to commit to one, he wrote the song I'll Be Good to You, with family friend Senora Sam adding lyrics. Produced by Quincy Jones.
05 - Lalah Hathaway - Smile. From 1990. Russell Ferrante (from Yellowjackets) had a hand in this tune. From Lalah Hathaway.
06 - Deja - That's Where You'll Find Me. I have to hand it to Qamar for his hand in this one. Very underappreciated tune, co-written and released in 1988 with Monte Moir.
07 - Stephanie Mills - What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin'. Sister Outsider dropped this one to me. I'll tip my hat to her, when I purchase a new one.
08 - Earth, Wind & Fire - Fantasy. From All N' All. I don't think I can say enough about this track.
09 - Patti Austin - Big Bad World. From 1985's Gettin' Away With Murder. This track is accentuated with Chaka Khan, Jocelyn Brown, and Luther Vandross.
10 - Kiss the Sky - What Does It Take? A Jaki Graham and Paul Hardcastle collaboration.
11 - D-Influence - Journey. From their debut album Good 4 We. One of my favorite cuts from that CD. Considering that I can listen to that CD from start to finish, that's saying quite a bit.
12 - Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam - Lost In Emotion. Smash hit from 1987.
13 - Intro - Anything for You. From their eponymous album.
14 - Johnny Gill - Never Know Love. Unreleased track from Johnny's album Johnny Gill.
15 - Stephanie Mills - (You're Puttin') A Rush On Me. Hit from the 1987 release If I Were Your Woman.
16 - Christopher Williams - Every Little Thing U Do. From Changes.

I'd like to give special thanks to my sister, LDF, who assured me that this is the first thing she's going to listen to today, since it's her birthday and all. Happy birthday, Sis. Much love. Everyone, groove it forward.

Alright, we're ready. This actually came from the madman, KB. He states:

They say there's a fine line between madman and genius. So it came as no surprise, when preparing for his Old School Wednesday radio blog last week, EJ asked my favorite Hall & Oates song and then my favorite Stevie Wonder song. At first I didn't see the corelation but then I got it: rock n' soul. H&O are one of the most soulful pop acts of our time (they are from Philadelphia, after all). And Stevie has been a major musical influence for many, including pop & rock groups.

Genius... But what else should you expect from a music loving mad man.

I don't know about genius, but I'm alright with the music loving madman. All I know is what started out as a couple of questions turned into a soulsearching event, much reminiscing, and songs being pulled out of the vaults. Check it out:

Old School Wednesday: Rock and Soul.

Dropping the favorite tracks as prescribed.

Starting with the mellow tracks:
01 - Stevie Wonder - Knocks Me off My Feet, as stated by AB and Hopluv.
02 - Stevie Wonder - Rocket Love, as spoken by DJ Diva.
03 - Stevie Wonder - Overjoyed, by KB and JDid.
04 - Dionne Warwick & Stevie Wonder - It's You, because Thierno said we should pull it out of the vaults.

05 - Daryl Hall & John Oates - Sara Smile, by far the most requested from Hall and Oates, as stated by AB, DJ Diva, Xquizzyt1, and **RPM**.
06 - Daryl Hall & John Oates - She's Gone, because London Lee resurrected it.
07 - Daryl Hall & John Oates - One on One, as demanded by Angelicastorm.

Pushing it up a notch:
08 - Stevie Wonder - Isn't She Lovely, from Zun and Brotha Buck.
09 - Stevie Wonder - He's Misstra Know It All, A touch choice for London Lee.
10 - Stevie Wonder - Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing, because **RPM** mentioned this one too.
11 - Stevie Wonder - I Was Made to Love Her, for White Silk.
12 - Stevie Wonder - Living For The City, from Wayne, who said this one was easy. I had to pull the full version out, which I remember growing up. Scared me each time.

13 - Daryl Hall & John Oates - Rich Girl, from a couple of high school friends of mine who started singing it in my ear.
14 - Daryl Hall & John Oates - Everything Your Heart Desires, one of my favorites, without hesitation.
15 - Daryl Hall & John Oates - Out of Touch, which I also resurrected for Thierno.
16 - Daryl Hall & John Oates - I Can't Go For That (Extended), for White Silk, JDid, KB, Tazee and Hopluv - and then Gwen pulled out the extended mix. Wow.

And then finishing on a high note:
17 - Stevie Wonder - That Girl (1982 Musiquarium Version), for every wannabe producer, as Qamar stated.
18 - Stevie Wonder - All I Do, one of the songs that stops me cold, because it's heard on adult contemporary, pop, and R&B stations as well as dance clubs, and still has the same effect. Tazee mentioned it also, which made me happier to hear it.
19 - Stevie Wonder - As. Pulled out of the vaults from last week.
20 - Stevie Wonder - Another Star. I will play this in my car 10 times in a row, and I will be asked to turn it off each time. A song with accentuated horns, vocals, and percussion, written with sadness in mind? It always perplexes me.

21 - Daryl Hall & John Oates - Maneater, because Steph had to have it.
22 - Daryl Hall & John Oates - Your Imagination (Remix), which was mentioned by Qamar, so I had to pull out the mix.
23 - Daryl Hall & John Oates - Method of Modern Love (Extended Mix), which (as KB has told me to mention), is the one I confessed to him early on was my favorite.

I missed three, I'm very sure Zun and Enigma, I've got you on the next round (and Wayne, yours was so hard to find, I still have it on back order).

Something not here that should be heard? Let me know. Enjoy.