HEAR TODAY SHOWING SOME LOVE TO ELLISON.Byline: Fred Shuster Music Critic Noun 1. music critic - a critic of musical performances critic - a person who is professionally engaged in the analysis and interpretation of works of art Pop-gospel singer Lorraine Ellison had exactly three entries in the charts, but was far more prolific than many singers with double that tally. Still, the Philadelphia-born deep-soul singer, like so many of this country's finest r&b, jazz and blues artists of the past 40 years, is known today chiefly to aficionados elsewhere in the world. In addition to two 1965 Mercury singles, Ellison cut 48 sides and three albums for Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . between 1966 and 1973. With an incredible vocal power, range, and intensity that was perhaps too nakedly emotional for the masses, Ellison never made it big, except of course in the hearts of committed soul fans. Her biggest hit was the immortal ``Stay With Me,'' which has since been covered by everyone from Bette Midler Bette Midler (born December 1 1945) is an American singer, actress and comedienne, also known to her fans as The Divine Miss M. She is named after the actress Bette Davis although Davis pronounced her first name in two syllables, and Midler uses one. to Jimmy Witherspoon Jimmy Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American blues singer. James Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. He first attracted attention singing with Teddy Weatherford's band in Calcutta, India, which made regular radio broadcasts over the U. to Natalie Cole. Just out is ``Sister Love: The Warner Bros. Recordings'' (Rhino Handmade; $59.98), a 68-track, three-disc set that draws from Ellison's studio albums and non-album singles. Best of all is the disc of unreleased demos that reveal Ellison singing her heart out and playing piano on 15 of her own songs. Ellison never fit into any neat categories and when the mainstream r&b market turned to other diversions, she continued singing in church until her death from ovarian cancer ovarian cancer Malignant tumour of the ovaries. Risk factors include early age of first menstruation (before age 12), late onset of menopause (after age 52), absence of pregnancy, presence of specific genetic mutations, use of fertility drugs, and personal history of breast in 1983 at the age of 51. We reached author David Nathan (check out his Web site www.soulmusic.com), who compiled the Ellison box set and wrote the in-depth liner notes, for an overview. Q: For someone that may never have heard of Lorraine Ellison, what does ``Sister Love'' reveal? A: She was an artist beyond the one hit. There was a body of work and so much of her material was under the radar This article is about the magazine. For other uses, see Under the Radar (disambiguation). Under the Radar is an American magazine that bills itself as "The solution to music pollution." It features interviews with accompanying photo-shoots. . She didn't tour and did so few engagements because it was hard for her to recreate the recordings. Her records were often very orchestrated, almost like opuses, and the singing is very emotionally intense. Q: What kind of woman was she? A: Very down to earth, very warm, witty, very much a kind of righteous-thinking sort of person. You could tell she'd grown up in gospel music and it had affected how she dealt with life. When I visited her (in 1975 for the U.K.'s Blues & Soul magazine), she cooked for me. ... She was very taken that people in Britain were familiar with her music. Here's a sample of other new releases in stores this week: Diana Ross turns to love songs sung by Harry Nilsson, the Beatles, Marvin Gaye and more in ``I Love You'' (Manhattan; $18.98). ``Romance: Songs From the Heart'' (Capitol; $18.98) collects 21 love songs by Frank Sinatra. ``Farewell to the World'' (Capitol; $24.98) is the swan song from Crowded House recorded in 1996 at the Sydney Opera House Sydney Opera House Performing-arts centre on the harbour in Sydney, Australia. Its dynamic, imaginative design by Danish architect Jørn Utzon (b. 1918) won a competition in 1957 and brought Utzon international fame. . ``Definitive Greatest Hits'' (Capitol; $24.98) is another hits set from the great Al Green, this time with bonus DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. . Also in stores ``With Love: Charles Tolliver Big Band,'' Charles Tolliver (Blue Note; $17.98) ``Meet the Smithereens smith·er·eens pl.n. Informal Fragments or splintered pieces; bits: The fragile dish broke into smithereens. : Tribute to the Beatles,'' Smithereens (Koch; $17.98) ``A Collection of Roxette Hits: Their 20 Greatest Songs,'' Roxette (Capitol; $18.98) ``Dirty Deal,'' Coco Montoya (Alligator alligator, large aquatic reptile of the genus Alligator, in the same order as the crocodile. There are two species—a large type found in the S United States and a small type found in E China. Alligators differ from crocodiles in several ways. ; $16.98) ``Centuries Before Love and War,'' Stars of Track and Field (Sidecho; $13.98) ``Maria Callas 100 Best Classics,'' Maria Callas (EMI Classics; $19.98) CAPTION(S): photo Photo: no caption (Lorraine Ellison) |
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