Thursday 6pm: Feature Artist – Gladys Knight & The Pips

Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the “Empress of Soul”, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight is best known for the hits she recorded during the 1960s and 1970s, for both the Motown and Buddah Records labels, with her group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald “Bubba” Knight and her cousins Edward Patten and William Guest. – Wikipedia

Thursday 6pm: Feature Artist – Isley Brothers

The Isley Brothers are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that started as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O’Kelly Isley, Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley. The group has been cited as having enjoyed one of the “longest, most influential, and most diverse careers in the pantheon of popular music”.

Alongside a fourth brother, Vernon, the group performed gospel music until Vernon’s death a few years after its formation. After moving to the New York City area in the late 1950s, the group had modest chart successes during their early years, first coming to prominence in 1959 with their fourth single, “Shout”, written by the three brothers. Initially a modest charted single, the song eventually sold over a million copies. Afterwards the group recorded for a variety of labels, including the top 20 single, “Twist and Shout” and the Motown single, “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)” before recording and issuing the Grammy Award-winning hit, “It’s Your Thing” on their own label, T-Neck Records.

Influenced by gospel and doo-wop music, the group began experimenting with different musical styles incorporating elements of rock and funk music as well as pop balladry. The inclusion of younger brothers Ernie Isley (lead guitar, drums) and Marvin Isley (bass guitar), and Rudolph’s brother-in-law Chris Jasper (keyboards, synthesizers) in 1973 turned the original vocal trio into a self-contained musical band. For the next full decade, they recorded top-selling albums including The Heat Is On and Between the Sheets.

The six-member lineup of the band splintered in 1983, with Ernie, Marvin, and Chris Jasper forming the short-lived spinoff group Isley-Jasper-Isley. Eldest member O’Kelly died in 1986 and Rudolph and Ronald released a pair of albums as a duo before Rudolph retired for life in the Christian ministry in 1989. Ronald re-formed the group two years later in 1991 with Ernie and Marvin; five years later in 1996, Marvin Isley left the group due to complications of diabetes. The remaining duo of Ronald and Ernie accomplished mainstream success with the albums Mission to Please (1996) Eternal (2001) and Body Kiss (2003), with the former album spawning the top twenty hit, “Contagious”. As of 2016, the Isley Brothers continue to perform under the lineup of Ronald and Ernie.

The Isley Brothers have had four Top 10 singles on the United States Billboard chart. Sixteen of their albums charted in the Top 40. Thirteen of those albums have been either certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum by the RIAA. The brothers have been honored by several musical institutions including being inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. Five years later, they were inducted to Hollywood’s Rockwalk and in 2003, were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. – Wikipedia

Saturday 7pm: Great Soul Performances I and II with Bobby Jay

This evening on “Great Soul Performances” we go back to the “DISCO!” We are going to boogie like it’s the 1970s in our virtual “Studio 54,” where on the dance floor we’ll get it on to the music of “Disco” stars like: The Village People, Tavares, Donna Summer, the Bee Gees, KC & the Sunshine Band, the Trammps, Gloria Gaynor, the Joneses, Sister Sledge, Kool & the Gang and others. The “Disco Ball” will begin to spin at 7PM ET, 6PM CT, 5PM MT & 4PM PT. Then it will be time for “Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s,” where you’ll hear from: Kurtis Blow, the Spinners, U.S.A. For Africa, Teena Marie, Rick James, Grandmaster Flash, Billy Ocean, Bloodstone, Mtume, Stevie Wonder and more. The 80s music starts at 9PM ET, 8PM CT, 7PM MT and 6PM PT. It’s gonna be a wonderful night of music and dancing later this evening with “Great Soul Performances” and “Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s” on RadioMaxMusic.Com. See Ya Later ‘Gator!

Saturday 7pm: Great Soul Performances with Bobby Jay

Since Daylight Saving Time returns at 2:00 AM Sunday, this evening on “Great Soul Performances” all of our songs will reflect on “Time.” Singing about “Time” will be: The Chambers Brothers, the Isley Brothers, Baby Washington, Smokey Robinson, Ray Charles, the O’Jays, Tyrone Davis, Aretha Franklin, Eugene Pitt & the Jive Five, James Brown, the Jimmy Castor Bunch, and the Flamingos among others. Our “Time” starts at 7PM ET, 6PM CT, 5PM MT and 4PM PT. Then it’s “Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s” at 9PM ET, 8PM CT, 7PM MT & 6PM PT, where you’ll hear: David Peaston, Stephanie Mills, Rockwell, Earth, Wind & Fire, Prince, Lakeside, Ben E. King, El DeBarge, Bobby McFerrin, Billy Vera & the Beaters and more. I’ll be looking for you later with “Great Soul Performances” and “Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s” on RadioMaxMusic.Com. In the words of Jimmy Castor, “Don’t Waste The Time!”

Monday 9pm: Black History Month Feature Band – The Four Tops

The Four Tops are a vocal quartet from Detroit, Michigan, USA, who helped to define the city’s Motown sound of the 1960s. The group’s repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes.

Founded as the Four Aims, lead singer Levi Stubbs, Abdul “Duke” Fakir, Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Lawrence Payton remained together for over four decades, performing from 1953 until 1997 without a change in personnel.

The Four Tops were among a number of groups, including the Miracles, the Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, the Temptations, and the Supremes, who established the Motown Sound heard around the world during the 1960s. They were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer, whereas most male and mixed vocal groups of the time were fronted by a tenor.

The group was the main male vocal group for the highly successful songwriting and production team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, who crafted a stream of hit singles for Motown. These included two Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits for the Tops: “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” in 1965 and “Reach Out I’ll Be There” in 1966. After Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown in 1967, the Four Tops were assigned to a number of producers, primarily Frank Wilson, but generally with less success.

When Motown left Detroit in 1972 to move to Los Angeles, California, the Tops stayed in Detroit but signed a new recording deal with ABC Records’ Dunhill imprint. Recording mainly in Los Angeles, they continued to have chart singles into the late 1970s, including the million-seller “Ain’t No Woman”, their second release on Dunhill, produced by Steve Barri and the composers Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter.

In the 1980s, the Four Tops recorded for Casablanca Records, Arista Records and Motown, returning to that label on two occasions for brief stays. Apart from their album Indestructible (owned by Sony Music Entertainment), Universal Music Group controls the rights to their entire post-1963 catalog (through various mergers and acquisitions) and also their 1956 single, “Could It Be You”.

A change of lineup was forced on the group when Lawrence Payton died on June 20, 1997. The group initially continued as a three-piece under the name the Tops, before Theo Peoples (formerly of the Temptations) was recruited as the new fourth member. Peoples eventually took over the role of lead singer when Stubbs suffered a stroke in 2000, with Ronnie McNeir then joining the group. On July 1, 2005, Benson died of lung cancer. Payton’s son Roquel Payton replaced him. Levi Stubbs died on October 17, 2008.

Fakir, McNeir, Roquel Payton, and Harold “Spike” Bonhart, who replaced Peoples in 2011, are still performing together as the Four Tops. Fakir is the only surviving founding member of the group. – Wikipedia

Saturday 7pm: Great Soul Performances with Bobby Jay

We’ve been having fabulous, unseasonably warm weather here on the east coast this week, so this evening on “Great Soul Performances,” I feel like dancing. Back to the Disco! We’ll be dancing to music from: Tavares, A Taste of Honey, Van McCoy, Vicki Sue Robinson, KC & the Sunshine Band, Thelma Houston, Frankie Smith, Diana Ross, Kool & the Gang and more. I want to see you in your best polyester and platform shoes at 7PM ET, 6PM CT, 5PM MT and 4PM PT. Then stick around because at 9PM ET, 8PM CT, 7PM MT & 6PM PT it’s “Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s” where we’ll boogie to songs from: Earth, Wind & Fire, Quincy Jones, the Jones Girls, Rick James & Teena Marie, Eddie Murphy, Chaka Khan, the O’Jays, Al B. Sure!, Anita Baker and several others. I’ll be looking for your face, in the place this evening for “Great Soul Performances” and “Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s” on RadioMaxMusic.Com. DISCO!

Thursday 10pm: Black History Month Feature Artist – Wilson Pickett

Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter.

A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100. Among his best-known hits are “In the Midnight Hour” (which he co-wrote), “Land of 1,000 Dances”, “Mustang Sally”, and “Funky Broadway”.

Pickett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, in recognition of his impact on songwriting and recording.

Pickett died of a heart attack on January 19, 2006, in Reston, Virginia. He was 64. He was laid to rest in a mausoleum at Evergreen Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky. Pickett spent many years in Louisville. The eulogy was delivered by Pastor Steve Owens of Decatur, Georgia. Little Richard, a long-time friend of Pickett’s, spoke about him and preached a message at the funeral. Pickett was remembered on March 20, 2006, at New York’s B.B. King Blues Club with performances by the Commitments, Ben E. King, his long-term backing band the Midnight Movers, soul singer Bruce “Big Daddy” Wayne, and Southside Johnny in front of an audience that included members of his family, including two brothers. – Wikipedia