Aretha Franklin: 1942 – 2018


When I was 13 years old I asked my parents to get me the Aretha Franklin greatest hits album Ten Years of Gold for Hanukkah. I’d heard “Until You Come Back to Me” and “Respect” and maybe one more of her songs before then. That album started a life-long love of her music. I now have 50 Aretha albums, plus many singles. One of the highlights of my professional life was working with this woman who I idolized since my teens.

I’m very sad she has left us, but so grateful for the countless hours of joy she brought. Here is my Aretha top 40.


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Madonna: Sixty At 60


Madonna celebrates her sixtieth birthday today. I’ll let others write about her place in pop culture and her impact on society. I’m here to celebrate her music.

Here are sixty of my favorite Madonna songs. Did I leave out a favorite of yours? Let me know.


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You Know Their Songs: Kenny Gamble And Leon Huff


You may not know their names, but you know many of their songs. Individually, but more often as a team, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff wrote and/or produced a lot of timeless classic songs in the soul music genre. They were the pre-eminent rhythm and blues architects of the first half of the 1970s, and their production style paved the way for disco, before that genre got watered down. Plenty of their records found their way to the top of the pop charts as well.

Today is Kenny Gamble’s 75th birthday. To celebrate, Tunes du Jour presents a playlist of twenty great Gamble and Huff sides.


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