Because it's Juneteenth...

Let’s not overlook some of the memorable music that came from African-American artists in 1973.

Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book came out at the end of 1972, and the man proceeded to blow our minds for the next four years.  His song “Superstition” was not like anything we’d ever heard:  catchy, funky, soulful, danceable, and how the hell did he play that clavinet riff?  As the lead single from the Talking Book album it went to #1 in January of 1973.  Though by the end of the year we were reveling in the musical delights of the follow up record Innervisions with its tracks “Higher Ground,” “Living for the City,” and “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing.”

Billy Preston played organ for Little Richard when he was performing in Hamburg, Germany, in the early ’60s.  That’s where he befriended The Beatles while they were working there...which eventually led to more work with the Fab Four on Let It Be and Abbey Road.  And then he started playing with The Rolling Stones.  With those kinds of friends, Billy’s own solo career had some clout behind it, assisted by his exuberant personality on songs such as 1973’s “Will It Go Round in Circles.”

The O’Jays entered the Top 40 with their single “Love Train” the same day that the Paris Peace Accords were signed bringing The Vietnam War to an end.  Coincidence?  Maybe.  But in those turbulent and uncertain times, it was nice to get on board and dance.  An interesting side note is the fact that the backing band for this hit was MFSB, the Philadelphia studio ensemble that gave us “T. S. O. P.” the year before.

Also in 1973, Marvin Gaye gave us what one reviewer called “one of the most sexually charged albums ever recorded.”  There was a lot to protest as the ‘70s began, and Marvin had called it like he saw it on his records What’s Going On and Trouble Man.  But after Al Green stormed the charts in 1972 with his provocative single “Let’s Stay Together,” Gaye found himself interested in delivering a new message with his music.  As he wrote in his liner notes to the album Let’s Get It On, “I contend that SEX IS SEX and LOVE IS LOVE. When combined, they work well together, if two people are of about the same mind. But they are really two discrete needs and should be treated as such.”