R&B/Soul music is on life support and our generation is responsible for putting it there. The best music has already been made and it was in the 70s. It won't be repeated again. Once you recognize this like I have, you'll feel much better about things and won't get so discouraged when you hear new music today. I cringe when I listen to some of the R&B music today. Everything is just so engineered and nothing seems authentic. And, depending on the artist, you'll have a rough time finding them with a live instrument in a performance on television and an even rougher time finding one on a concert stage.

But artists like Tyrese gets it. That's why he's pleading with his peers to help rescue the music we enjoy so much. He even tried with his lovely song, Shame. He did a good job, too. Unfortunately, 70s R&B is a hard act to follow.

Set sail with me/Misty lady, set my spirit free/New love to find/And though I leave another behind/I'll always come back to you ~The Isley Brothers

Music should give you pause. It should make you stop what you're doing for a second and take in the melody, the lyrics, play it over and over again, snap your fingers, close your eyes, fall out in a crying fit if it's a love song. Today's R&B/soul music rarely makes you want to do any of that. It's such an incredible disappointment.

Remembering the pain if I must say/It's deep in my mind and locked away/But then most of all/I do love you still ~The Commodores

Make no mistake, I have a great appreciation for 80s pop, the 90s New Jack Swing era, 80s & 90s Hip Hop, Neo Soul. Additionally, there are a select number of artists out today that I do think are extremely talented. Unfortunately, you won't often hear a lot of them on the radio. Still, there is no music that moves me quite like that of the 70s with the exception of such greats like Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Prince, etc.

I mean these musical geniuses include Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Sly and the Family Stone, The Commodores, Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, The Jackson 5, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Sam Cooke, James Brown, Bobby Womack. I didn't even name the disco, funk, and blues artists.

If you want me to stay/I'll be around today/To be available for you to see/I'm about to go/And then you'll know/For me to stay here I've got to be me ~Sly and the Family Stone

I often wonder if artists from the 70s who are still with us are secretly disappointed in the music today. You know, when Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, and Gladys Knight are sitting in the audience at an awards show, what are they really thinking? I'm sure there are some artists they appreciate, but I can't imagine that this number is off the charts in comparison to who they admired back in the day. But, then again, maybe they aren't as hard on them as this writer.

It is nice though to see the 70s influence on some musicians. They've been remaking a lot of songs from this era since around the 90s and continue to do so today. That just tells me that they appreciate it, too ... maybe a little too much, as some are getting into a little sampling trouble. I can see how they just can't help themselves. It's incredible music. It's tempting to pretend it's yours.

It is strange to think that this music is once in a lifetime and that nothing else will ever come close. Then again, I guess it isn't. It's just kind of how life goes. Their experiences during those times caused them to create some of the greatest music we'll ever hear. On the flip side, our generation is also making music based on their experiences but it just isn't as impactful. The one obvious exception I'd say is hip hop, which can be extremely stimulating. Although the old hip hop is still the best, it is forever evolving, so I'd say it's our generation's main contribution to music.

I'm just happy that thanks to the internet our fingertips will always have access to this exceptional, masterful music from the 70s. That gives me great comfort.

Just as time knew to move on since the beginning/And the seasons know exactly when to change/Just as kindness knows no shame/Know through all your joy and pain/That I'll be loving you always ~Stevie Wonder

#music #soul #hiphop