"That's the Way Love Is"

Remembering Bobby Blue Bland, one of the all time great soul-blues artists, who passed away last Sunday.

Here's his 1963 hit "That's the Way Love Is," which reached #33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Hit R&B Singles. Classic soul.

This is great news

One of the all-time classic pop/funk albums has been re-issued! "Inspiration Information," a 1974 masterpiece by Shuggie Otis, has been released with a companion album, "Wings of Love," a compilation of 14 unreleased cuts.

Shuggie, son of the famous band leader and producer Johnny Otis, made his initial splash at the age of 15 as a blues guitarist, appearing on Al Kooper's 1969 Kooper Session. In 1970, B.B. King called Shuggie "his favorite new guitarist."

"Inspiration Information," a trippy, jazzy ride that still sounds contemporary, was Shuggie's third and final album for Epic Records, taking three years to complete. Shuggie wrote and arranged all the music and played all the instruments except horns and strings. The album hit #181 on the Billboard Top 200, and Shuggie has not released an official new project since.

Check it out!

Also-- check out "Strawberry Letter #23," released in 1977 by The Brothers Johnson. You may remember this cut from its extended play on Quentin Tarentino's film "Jackie Brown". Shuggie wrote the song and plays guitar on the track. The song went to #1 on the Soul Singles chart.

Check this out from NPR. Shuggie is touring to support the new release! He'll be at Scullers Jazz Club, in Alston, MA, for two shows on August 7.