I'll say it over and over again. R&B and Soul are the most passionate genres of music. I've basically written this before. From my personal experience, I don't believe that these genres get as much attention as they should. I've posted one from each genre and both of them are at the bottom of view counts for my personal uploads, based on the amount of time, since each video was uploaded. I believe that each of them represent two of my most dramatic performances, as well. I do believe that I sang each cover with everything I had! If you couldn't FEEL my passion, then I'd be really surprised! Well, I guess, ALL of my performances are dramatic! I do put EVERYTHING on the line! But those two performances, in particular, gave me goose bumps, by the time that I had finished my last note, for each song. The first R&B hit that I chose to cover was my 8th upload: "Can You Stop the Rain" by Peabo Bryson. It was a #1 hit for him in 1991. The first Soul hit that I chose to cover was my 2nd upload: "Wildflower" by Skylark. This was THE hit that put David Foster on THE MAP in 1973! David Foster has never looked back, since that time. Beginning on November 21, 2010, I'll be posting 7 straight weeks of Christmas music, taking me into 2011. Therefore, this will be my last video of 2010, outside of celebrating the Christmas season; my favorite season of every year!!!!!!! Our family has already started decorating our home for Christmas! Every year, my sister starts decorating her home on November 1! Can you believe that!?! I would do THAT also, if given the chance. Like many, we are PASSIONATE about Christmas!!!!!!! Anyway, to cap this AMAZING year of magic for me on YouTube, before focusing on my Christmas series, I'm posting my PASSIONATE LOVE for R&B with Ruben Studdard's amazing 2003 rendition for a timeless pop classic, made most notably famous by The Carpenters: "Superstar"!!! I hope you can feel my groove and feel my PASSION for R&B!
From Wikipedia:
"Superstar" is a 1969 song written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell that has been a hit for many artists in different genres and interpretations in the years, most notably by The Carpenters in 1971 and Luther Vandross in 1983. Accounts of the song's origin vary somewhat, but it grew out of the late 1969/early 1970 nexus of English and American musicians known as Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, that involved Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, Leon Russell, Eric Clapton, and various others. The song's working title during portions of its development was "Groupie Song". In its first recorded incarnation, the song was called "Groupie (Superstar)", and was recorded and released as a B-side to the Delaney & Bonnie single "Comin' Home" in December 1969. Released by Atlantic Records, the full credit on the single was to Delaney & Bonnie and Friends Featuring Eric Clapton. During the first half of 1970, Joe Cocker's legendary Mad Dogs and Englishmen Revue toured in the United States. Ex-Delaney and Bonnie vocalist Rita Coolidge was a backup singer on this tour, and song co-writer Leon Russell was the bandleader. Some accounts have Coolidge suggesting or inspiring the song's creation in the first place, and working with Bonnie Bramlett on her portion of the writing. In any case, Coolidge was given a featured vocal on the song during the tour; she took the verses with an air of resignation but the choruses with more anguish. In August 1970, the live album Mad Dogs and Englishmen was released, using performances recorded in March and June of that year. The song, now under the name "Superstar", which had been adopted by the end of the tour, appeared on it. So, it was on this album that people started becoming aware of the song. The performance helped vault Coolidge to greater visibility.
