Mike Zito & Robben Ford - You Never Can Tell

 Mike Zito (born November 19, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer, and songwriter from St. Louis, Missouri, United States. He is a co-founder of Royal Southern Brotherhood that features Cyril Neville, Devon Allman, Charlie Wooton and Yonrico Scott.

Zito started singing at the age of five and by his late teens he had begun his career in the St Louis area music scene. In 2008, Zito made his international debut on the Eclecto Groove label, released records on his own label and toured regionally and even performed some national dates until signing with Eclecto Groove Records in 2008. The same year, Eclecto Groove released Today. Today was produced by David Z. The musicians on the CD were a line-up of studio musicians that included bassist James "Hutch" Hutchinson, (Bonnie Raitt, Boz Scaggs, Joe Cocker); Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch keyboardist Benmont Tench; co-producer/drummer Tony Braunagel (Taj Mahal, B.B. King) and percussionist Michito Sanchez (Nelly Furtado, Steve Winwood). Also appearing on the CD are Joe Sublett (saxophone), Darrell Leonard (trumpet), Mitch Kashmar (harmonica) with Teresa James and Ce Ce Bullard (background vocals).

In 2009, Eclecto Groove released his second CD Pearl River. Zito and Cyril Neville collaborated on the title track. At the 2010 Blues Music Awards, "Pearl River" won "Song of the Year". Pearl River was recorded in New Orleans, Louisiana at Piety Street Studios. It featured Cyril Neville, Anders Osborne, Reese Wynans, Susan Cowsill, Lynwood Slim and Johnny Sansone, with the rhythm section of Lonnie 'Popcorn' Trevino Jr. (bass) and Eric Bolivar (drums).^[5]

In 2011, Zito fulfilled his recording contract with Delta Groove/Eclecto Groove with the release of Greyhound. Greyhound was nominated for "Best Rock Blues Album" at the 2011 Blues Music Awards in Memphis, Tennessee.

In 2013, Mike Zito signed with Ruf Records and released Gone to Texas, a deep and personal CD dedicated to the state that he says saved his life. On Gone to Texas Mike assembled his band, The Wheel, which features Zito – guitars and vocals, Scot Sutherland – bass, Jimmy Carpenter – guitars/sax, and Rob Lee on drums. Mike Zito was in Royal Southern Brotherhood from 2010 to 2014.

Zito met Devon Allman while working together at the Guitar Center in St. Louis. The two would be reunited again through manager Rueben Williams, who managed Neville and Zito prior to signing Allman.

Zito, Cyril Neville, and Devon Allman became Royal Southern Brotherhood. The three invited rhythm section Charlie Wooton on bass, and drummer Yonrico Scott, to do a short tour. The band's first official show was at the “Rock n’ Bowl” in New Orleans. A year slipped by and the supergroup released their debut album to rave reviews.

With Jim Gaines as producer (Carlos Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Steve Miller Band), Royal Southern Brotherhood recorded the band's debut album at Dockside recording Studio in Maurice, Louisiana.  Allman, Neville and Zito shared lead vocals for the new album and Zito and Allman play twin guitar leads, a reminder of the band's related sound to the dual guitar leads played by Allman's uncle, Duane, and Dickey Betts in the Allman Brothers Band.

In May 2014, Royal Southern Brotherhood won the Blues Music Award for "Best DVD" for the band's Ruf Records release Songs From The Road – Live In Germany.

In June 2014, Royal Southern Brotherhood released their second studio CD Heartsoulblood on Ruf Records. Making the Scene described the CD as " Combining blues and soul the way they do down in N’awlins, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." It was produced by Jim Gaines and engineered by David Z.

In early October 2014, Mike Zito left Royal Southern Brotherhood in order to focus on his own career.

In 2012, Zito debuted his new band, 'The Wheel'. The Wheel features drummer Rob Lee, Scot Sutherland on bass, Lewis Stephens on keyboards, and Jimmy Carpenter on saxophone. In 2014, Mike Zito and the Wheel's album, Gone To Texas, was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the 'Rock Blues Album of the Year' category.

In May 2018, Zito's most recent album, First Class Life, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard's Top Blues Albums Chart.

In November 2019 Zito released the tribute album Rock 'N' Roll – A Tribute To Chuck Berry on Ruf Records. The album contains 20 tunes featuring 21 guest guitarists: Joe Bonamassa, Walter Trout, Robben Ford, Sonny Landreth, Richard Fortus, Alex Skolnick, Joanna Connor, Anders Osborne, Ryan Perry, Ally Venable, Albert Castiglia, Luther Dickinson, Jeremiah Johnson, Tommy Castro, Tinsley Ellis, Josh Smith, Kirk Fletcher, Jimmy Vivino, Kid Andersen, and introducing Charlie Berry the 3rd.

In 2020, his European tour being cancelled, Zito flew to his home in Texas and started recording his album entitled Quarantine Blues, which was released as a "free-to-download" album. It was composed, recorded and mixed in 14 days with musicians in different cities, including a featured appearance from guitarist Tracii Guns, a founding member of L.A. Guns, collaborating from quarantine in Denmark.

Robben Lee Ford (born December 16, 1951) is an American blues, jazz, and rock guitarist. He was a member of the L.A. Express and Yellowjackets and has collaborated with Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Larry Carlton, Rick Springfield, Little Feat and Kiss. He was named one of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century" by Musician magazine. At age 18, Ford's band was hired to play with Charlie Musselwhite, and recorded two albums The Charles Ford Band and Discovering the Blues. He recorded two albums with Jimmy Witherspoon called Live and Spoonful. In the 1970s, Ford joined the jazz fusion band, L.A. Express, led by saxophonist Tom Scott. In 1974, the band supported George Harrison on his American tour and played on the Joni Mitchell albums The Hissing of Summer Lawns and Miles of Aisles. After leaving the L.A. Express in 1976, Robben Ford recorded his first solo album, The Inside Story with a band that later became the Yellowjackets- In 1977, Ford was one of half a dozen or so session players asked to play the guitar solo for the Steely Dan song "Peg." In the end, the group went with the version by Jay Graydon instead. In 2006, a tribute album to Steely Dan – The Royal Dan – was released, with Ford covering "Peg" in his own style.

In 1982, Ford was one of several guitarists who appeared on the KISS album Creatures of the Night, playing lead guitar on the songs "Rock And Roll Hell" and "I Still Love You".

Ford worked briefly with Miles Davis in 1986; and can be heard on Davis' Montreux box set. Ford released his second solo album Talk to Your Daughter in 1988. He joined Philippe Saisse, Marcus Miller and J.T. Lewis in the cast of The Sunday Night Band for the second and final season of the late-night NBC television program Sunday Night in 1989. In the 1990s, he released the albums Robben Ford and the Blue Line, Mystic Mile, Handful of Blues, Tiger Walk and Supernatural- Robben Ford has received five Grammy Award nominations and was named one of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century" by Musician magazine. He credited pianist and arranger Roger Kellaway and saxophonist and arranger Tom Scott, whom he met while playing for Joni Mitchell, as a major influence on his musical development.

Jeff Fowler - Addicted to Love

 Jeff Fowler is a Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter whose intelligent, piano-driven, songwriting has been compared to the likes of Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, Barry Gibb, and Paul McCartney. Jeff Fowler's first solo release, Side Hey! (Get It! Records, LLC), is one of two recording collaborations with producer/multi-instrumentalist Wes Styles (supporting keyboardist for Coheed and Cambria) and prodigious drummer Eli Hludzik (Dakota, Check in the Dark). Legendary engineer, Bernie Grundman (Thriller, Purple Rain, and many others), mastered the album.

Side Hey! has achieved noteworthy international popularity thanks to its lead-off single, “Mr. Mason Man” – a universally enjoyable love song that one might have expected Frank Sinatra to sing at the Sands Hotel in the 1960s. Drummer Eli Hludzik’s interesting take on the “Mr. Mason Man” rhythm anchors it with a relevant, almost urban feel. Deeper tracks, including the pop ballad “Gone” and jumpier “Breathe,” are classic in concept and demonstrate the true virtuosity of Jeff's band, particularly Wes Styles’ expert guitar-playing. Even deeper tracks, “Stay Awake” and “So Far” turn into guitar-heavy rock tunes that suggest an influence of Genesis and Led Zeppelin. Side Hey! concludes with a sweet piano lullaby, “Here with Me," which showcase's Jeff Fowler's distinctively velvet baritone voice. But perhaps the most pleasurable track on Side Hey! is the bonus live version of “Breathe,” which is an energetic recording of the band playing to a packed house at a well-known LA venue.

Al B. Sure! - Lady In My Life

Albert Joseph Brown III (born June 4, 1968), known professionally as Al B. Sure!, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, radio host and former record executive. He was born in Boston and raised in Mount Vernon, New York.  During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Brown was one of new jack swing's most popular romantic singers, songwriters and record producers.

Brown is the son of Albert Joseph Brown II, a nuclear medical technician, and Cassandra Brown, an accountant. Brown was a star football quarterback at Mount Vernon High School in New York, who rejected an athletic scholarship to the University of Iowa to pursue a music career. In 1987, Quincy Jones selected Brown as the first winner of the Sony Innovators Talent Search. He went on to work with Jones on several projects, most notably the platinum 1990 single "The Secret Garden (Sweet Seduction Suite)" from Jones' double-platinum-certified album Back on the Block. On this recording, Brown was one of a quartet with Barry White, El DeBarge, and James Ingram.

Brown's 1988 debut album In Effect Mode sold more than three million copies, topping the Billboard R&B chart for seven straight weeks. It included the single "Nite and Day," which topped the R&B chart and reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Off on Your Own (Girl)", which also top the R&B chart. He received numerous Grammy and American Music Award (AMA) nominations, and won an AMA for Best New R&B Artist. He also received several Soul Train Award nominations, and won the award for Best New Artist. Brown also won several New York Music Awards. In addition, his 1–900 phone line was third in generating revenue, following those for New Kids on the Block and Run-D.M.C.

As a writer and producer, Brown introduced to the music industry such multi-platinum acts as Jodeci and teen R&B performer Tevin Campbell (who was also one of Prince's and Quincy Jones' former protégés), as well as Faith Evans, Dave Hollister, Case and Usher.

In 2009, Brown signed with Hidden Beach Recordings. His first single for the label, "I Love It (Papi Aye, Aye, Aye)," entered the Radio & Records Urban AC chart at No. 33. The album Honey, I'm Home was released on June 23, 2009

In 2000, Brown's ABS Entertainment launched a television development division, and he served as co-executive producer of an HBO Comedy Special starring Jamie Foxx, filmed at the Paramount Theater in Oakland, California. Then, Brown teamed with the ABC Radio Network to produce and host a romantically themed nighttime music program, The Secret Garden, featuring a blend of music and celebrity guests.

Brown participated in Bless the Children Foundation's celebrity auction along with NFL stars Charles Woodson and Anthony Dorsett. He was presented with the key to the city of Oakland by city council member Laurence E. Reid in recognition of the participation of Brown's ABS Ken-Struk-Shen in refurbishing parts of the city. Reid proclaimed October 19 Al B. Sure! Day. Brown was a DJ on the Los Angeles radio station KHHT, and played old-school hip hop and R&B. He currently hosts a daily morning-radio show on iHeart Radio.

In July 2019, Brown became the new host of Urban One's nationally syndicated evening quiet storm/slow jams program Love and R&B, replacing the previous host, John Monds. The show, syndicated through Urban One subsidiary Reach Media and based in Dallas, Texas, is heard on urban adult contemporary format radio stations such as WZAK in Cleveland, WMMJ in Washington, KZMJ in Dallas, and WDMK in Detroit among others.

In 2010, Brown appeared as one of the 12 contestants on the TV One reality television dating game show The Ultimate Merger.^[4] The series was produced by Donald Trump and starred former Apprentice contestant Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, whom Brown dated previously.

 

George Benson & Al Jarreau - Summer Breeze

George Benson (Pittsburgh, Pensilvania, Estados Unidos, 22 de marzo de 1943) es un cantante, compositor y guitarrista estadounidense de jazz, funk y soul.

Se trata de uno de los artistas más populares de las últimas décadas y elogiado por la crítica. Entre las muchas distinciones que ha recibido, posee diez premios Grammy desde 1976, con el tema This Masquerade elegido disco del año en su edición como sencillo, hasta 2006, con God Bless the Child elegida mejor interpretación vocal de R&B tradicional.​

Su música abarca tanto el swing y el bebop como el hard bop, el quiet storm y la fusión del jazz con el pop y el soul.

Alwyn "Al" Lopez Jarreau (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 12 de marzo de 1940-Los Ángeles, California, 12 de febrero de 2017)​ fue un cantante de jazz estadounidense. Destacó por su versatilidad y originalidad, y por su apertura a diferentes estilos (soul, rhythm and blues, y pop, entre otros) e influencias diversas (Nat King Cole, especialmente). Ganador de varios Grammys, su voz se hizo popularmente conocida al interpretar el tema central de la serie de televisión en los 80 Luz de luna (Moonlighting).

Komodo - (I Just) Died In Your Arms

 KOMODO is a producer trio from the Polish Lesser Poland province. They became widely popular thanks to their first club interpretation of a very well-know song by Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins. Their remake of “Blue Suede Shoes” has had over 1 million views on Youtube. The real revolution though started when they premiered “(I Just) Died In Your Arms”. This cult hit of the British band Cutting Crew in a new dance version created by Komodo was undeniably one of the greatest hits of 2018.

Era - 7 Seconds

Era acrónimo de Eminential Rhythm of the Ancestors, estilizado como eRa,  es un proyecto musical del compositor francés Eric Lévi, que mezcla cantos gregorianos con ritmos modernos como el rock, el pop y el dance, clasificado dentro de la música New Age Era mezcla cantos gregorianos y ocasionalmente músicas del mundo con arreglos electrónicos y pop-rock contemporáneos. Es una reminiscencia de proyectos musicales de la nueva era como Enigma, Gregorian y Deep Forest. Las letras están escritas en latín e inglés, y algunas se basan en las creencias de los cátaros ​La letra de algunas canciones incluye estrofas escritas en un idioma imaginario inspirado en el latín, pero sin significado.

 

Sweet Mikey C - Susie Q

 I will tell you that Sweet Mikey C is not my real name. As if you couldn't figure that out by yourself. Because Tom Petty's guitar player, Mike Campbell, and I have the same name, I decided to use Sweet Mikey C.

My family moved from Phoenix to Odessa, Texas in November, 1956, the middle of my third grade year. We pulled into Furr's Supermarket, which had a small room for kids that featured a TV. The Teen Kings were on. Their singer was a young cat named Roy Orbison. If my memory serves me correctly, the show was called the Hub Jamboree, sponsored by Pioneer Furniture, and it was Saturday. If it does not serve me correctly, I'm sure someone from West Texas will let me know. But, heck, boys, I was only in the third grade.

Before leaving Phoenix, I was already hooked on Elvis. And that's Scotty Moore's fault. The sound of his guitar and how he played it were very addicting to a youngster. Then came Buddy Holly. Another early influence was Dean Martin. In those days I wanted to look like Elvis, sound like Roy Orbison, and be as cool as Dean Martin. Still do. Oh, well.

Years later I wanted to make a record with those early sounds, mixed in with some oldies and some original tunes. And then drummer Shannon Ford introduced me to Danny Gatton. I had never heard of Danny, but while listening to a live recording of their band, I knew he was the one I wanted to play on this record.