LOTL-Radio The Comfort Zone

There is no doubt that among the great soul/funk groups of the 70s and early 80s, the Isleys were the baddest. They had the look down better than anyone; they had the smoke coming up from the ground in their concerts; and, more importantly, they could move from smoking funk songs like "Fight The Power" and "That Lady" to sweet ballads such as "For The Love of You" and "(At Your Best) You Are Love" with a seamlessness no one else could match. And while it is clear that Ronald Isley's magnetic voice and Ernie Isley's searing guitar solos were deserving of the kudos they've continued to receive to this day, Chris Jasper's influence on the unique sound of the Isleys has often been overlooked. His keyboard and moog work was the underpinning of the group's great dance tunes and was a key to their classic ballads such as "Groove With You" and "Between the Sheets."

From the early to the mid-'90s, a plethora of harmony groups - both male and female - dominated the pop and urban airwaves. The sound of four voices blended together was almost a throwback to decades earlier when classic Motown teams like The Temptations, The Miracles and The Four Tops ruled creating timeless music that still resonates today. In an everchanging music marketplace, many of those '90s groups simply didn't survive but there were a few exceptions: the Los Angeles-based team of Tony Borowiak, Jamie Jones, Delious Kennedy, and Alfred Nevarez, known collectively as All-4-One were fortunate in having established a very strong international following by virtue of major hits such as their revival of The Tymes 1963 classic “So Much In Love,” a 1994 chart-topping single and a cover of the country hit, “ I Swear” (one of the longest-running #1 singles in Billboard's history) which earned them a 1994 Grammy Award as Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. As a result, All-4-One - who achieved multi-platinum status with their 1994 debut self-titled album (recorded in just five weeks) and whose accolades include an American Music Award, Blockbuster Award and numerous international equivalents - has spent much of the last fifteen years consistently touring, performing and recording outside the U.S., particularly in Asia where they've become virtual household names, appearing in The Philippines, Malaysia, Korea, Thailand and Japan several times each year. Now with the release of No Regrets, their debut album on Peak Records (August 25, 2009), All- 4-One are focused once again on the U.S. market,  

THE LEGACY  CONTINUES   . LOTL RADIO WELCOMES       ALEX  ISLEY DEBUT HER NEW CD - THE LOVE/ ART MEMOIRS. If the name sounds familiar, you’d be correct in assuming the relation. Alex Isley is the daughter of Ernie Isley of the famous Isley Brothers. Don’t expect to hear anything that resembles “Between the Sheets”; she’s independently carving her way with her own unique sound in her debut project “The Love/Art Memoirs.” One thing, though, similar to the Isley tradition is undeniable smoothness. “Into Orbit” will send you there, while “The Boy Who Cried Love” puts a spin on love’s karma. Self-written and produced, her lush vocals, harmonies, thought-provoking relatable topics, and soothing production make for easy listening.  

Detroit native Carl Carlton got his start in the record business through baseball. When a neighbor yelled down from an apartment window to some kids playing baseball in vacant lot to stop playing ball and to turn that radio off, they yelled back "that ain't no radio, that's Carl!" The neighbor ran down to see where this astonishing soulful voice was coming from. Later, he took Carlton to Lando Records where he began recording in the late '60s as Little Carl Carlton."This Feeling's Rated Xtra" with a James Ingram tune, "Fighting in ihe Name of Love" on the B-side. It charted briefly, doing well enough for 20th Century to release the next single, "She's a Bad Mama Jama." "She's a Bad Mama Jama" earned Carlton a gold record in 1981, staying at number two for eight weeks straight, kept out of the number one spot by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie's "Endless Love." An album, Carl Carlton, was released with a front cover of a shirtless Carlton showing off his chiseled physique.

World traveling musician, Tondrae Kemp has grown with every new experience and city that he has visited. Where he was once known as a soul singer, he is now expounding on that notion by adding the potential for any genre to find its way into the music. From Blues to Reggae, Electronic to R&B...he's always Soulful, TK could take  you anywhere at any moment. Always with a fresh approach and always unhindered.  What was once described by -SoulSorts- as “Classic soul for the new century” when they voted Tondrae’s “Still Searching” as one of the top 5 soul albums of 2005, has given way to growth and could better be described as “Boundless” or “Eclectic” Soul.

Multi-talented multi-Grammy award winner Edwin Hawkins remains in the forefront of Gospel music by continually transforming Gospel music and attracting new audiences. He is the man who recorded the biggest gospel hit record of all time in 1969, “Oh Happy Day.” He and his brother Bishop Walter Hawkins are the founders of the Edwin Hawkins & Walter Hawkins Music and Arts Love Fellowship Conference, now in its Twenty- Eight year. SECOND HOUR LOTL WELCOMES            Stacye Branché  .debut her hit new single " PILLOW TALK.With a vocal style borne through a study of the emotional nuances of Minnie Riperton, Dinah Washington and Ella Fitzgerald, Branché has combined that knowledge with the influence and inflections of her work with Stevie Wonder, Herb Alpert and The Emotions to bring her distinctive style full circle. In essence, she has found her “truth.”

Back to Class is a fitting title for drummer and percussionist Drew Schultz’s debut CD, as he looks more like a college professor than a writer and producer of classic-styled Soul songs. But he proves the old maxim that one should definitely not judge a book by its cover.   Benefiting the band programs of the Detroit Public School system, Back to Class came to fruition after Schultz, who studied at The Berklee College of Music in Boston and Jazz at New York University, spent a year honing his song writing skills before moving to Detroit to tour with the legendary Four Tops. Originally intending to record his own compositions, Schultz opted instead to write for the very artists with whom he was working.   Back to Class is very much a tribute to the sound of Motown, overflowing with delightful melodies and clean-cut funk numbers. Schultz not only composed and produced the majority of the songs, with additional horn arrangements by renowned keyboardist McKinley Jackson, but also drafted in an abundance of musical legends to helm is debut effort. The roster of participants includes Northern Soul favourite Pat Lewis, former Funk Brothers member Dennis Coffey, and Ken Knox of Chairmen of The Board, who adds his vocal magic to the Invictus sounding, “So Many Fish in the Sea.”

LOTL RADIO WELCOMES LARRY DODSON & JAMES ALEXANDER OF THE BAR-KAYS DEBUTING THERE NEW HIT SINGLE "GROWN FOLKS "the first single, features highly sought after hip-hop producer, and son of James Alexander, Jazze Pha. J   The Bar-Kays’ are currently working on their 30th album. “Grown Folks,” the first single, features highly sought after hip-hop producer, and son of James Alexander, Jazze Pha. Just as the Bar-Kays have always been able inject their sound with the style of the day, they are using the technology of the day to fund their forthcoming album. A Pledge Music campaign was a launched in August and campaign incentives include Bar-Kays memorabilia, performance opportunities, and even a chance to name the album. Throughout their career the Bar-Kays have always taken time to give back to the community, whether through performing for US Troops in Kuwait and Iraq or volunteering with students at the Stax Music Academy. They’ve had many tragedies and triumphs, and many lesser acts would have called it quits after that fateful plane crash. “Believe it or not, even though we were youngsters, we had wisdom beyond our years. As 17 and 18 year olds, we all agreed that if something happened to any of us, whoever remained would carry on the band.  I made a promise and kept it,” James Alexander says; “And the legend continues” says Larry Dodson.

LOTL RADIO WELCOMES THE LEGENDARY D.J.ROGERS. INDEPTH INTERVIEW ABOUT HIS CAREER & HIS LATEST PROJECT WITH RENEE SPEARMAN.   If you love Luther Vandross, then you will simply adore Mr. DJ Rogers is also a tenor, with an smooth incredible range. DJ Rogers balladry, simply put must heard, it reaches the heart and kidney. DJ Rogers has been truly blessed by the True God to sing. This guy never had the air play he deserved. It's hard to understand why the very first album of gospel-inflected soul singer, songwriter and keyboardist D.J. Rogers, a kind of forgotten Sly Stone brother, in!

LOTL RADIO WELCOMES THE LEGENDARY MELBA MOORE DEBUTING HER LATEST HIT SINGLE " LOVE IS "From her forthcoming cd "Forever Moore" Although Ms. Moore enjoyed working on Broadway, she didn’t want to forget about her first love…music. Deciding to focus more on her recording career, she made her recording debut on Mercury Records with "I Got Love", followed by "Look What You’re Doing To The Man". She was nominated for a Grammy Award for ‘Best New Artist.’ During this time, numerous Grammy nominations, recordings, and television shows, including her own variety show entitled The Melba Moore-Clifton Davis Show, followed.   Ms. Moore was a regular on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson as well as The Flip Wilson Show, and many others. She scored a string of Billboard Charted hits with songs like “This Is It” and “You Stepped Into My Life”. Ms. Moore was the first female pop artist to do a non operatic solo concert at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera House.   Melba Moore continued to enjoy great success musically with such chart topping songs as “Love’s Comin’ At Ya,” “Keepin’ My Lover Satisfied,” “Living For Your Love,” “Read My Lips,” which she received a Grammy nomination for ‘ Best Female Rock Vocal’. She had two Billboard #1 hit singles for “Falling” and “A Little Bit More,” a duet with Freddie Jackson.

FAZE-O, the group that brought you Riding High, Good Thang, and Breakin’ the Funk, is back. Considered one of the hottest and most soulful funk bands of the 70's, FAZE-O is poised to bring the genre of music that influenced disco and and funk. Keith Harrison is a Grammy Award winning artist whose credits include writing, producing and performing. Harrison has worked with some of the biggest names in music such as, Ray Parker, Jr., Heat Wave, the Ohio Players, Lo-Key, and Morris Day & The Time. It was during Keith's tenure with the Dazz Band that the group received its Grammy Award for the song Let It Whip. Harrison has performed on top rated national television shows including Solid Gold, Soul Train and The Oprah Winfrey Show. With countless original compositions in his repertoire, Harrison is ready to take FAZE-O and funk to the top. One of the nation’s premier R&B funk bands, FAZE-O has regrouped and is turning up the funk with original members Keith “Chop Chop” Harrison, Robert “Bip” Neal, Jr., Ralph “Luv” Aikens, and Roger “Dodger” Parker.

LOTL Radio Welcomes Kenny Lattimore . debuting his latest single " FIND AWAY "                                       International R&B singer, Kenny Lattimore embodies the elements of traditional R&B with a decidedly contemporary flare and feel. He has established himself as a soulful song stylist of the first order receiving the NAACP Image Award for Best New Artist, and nominations for the Grammy, Soul Train and Stellar Awards. Whether putting a distinctive stamp on classic songs recorded by such musical icons as Donny Hathaway (“I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know”) The second hour of the broadcast. The Legendary Phillip Ingram from the iconic R&B Group SWITCH.      was signed to Motown Records in May/1977 and went on to record 5 albums for the Motown Label. Our 1st two albums went GOLD with such hits as "They'll Never Be", "I Wanna Be Closer", "Best Beat In Town", "Love Over & Over", and "I Call Your Name" In 1982 I choose to go behind the scenes and I've worked with such greats as Quincy Jones, Barbara Streisand, Celene Dion, Julio Iglesias, Luther Vandross, Sheena Easton, Lionel Richie, Boz Scaggs, Anita Baker, Patti Austin, Eros Ramazotti and many more.

Noel Gourdin : debut his new CD "Fresh: The Definition "   Remember Noel Gourdin? His track "The River" made a modest impact back in 2008, and he went on to release his debut album After My Time, which didn't yield another hit but wasn't a bad album overall. Since that time, however, he has been out the spotlight. Well, that's all about to change as Noel has a new single, "Beautiful," and a new album, Fresh: The Definition, due for release this April. Those familiar with Noel's earlier work will fondly recall his mix of classic and contemporary soul sounds, and that's exactly what we get on "Beautiful." The smooth, mid-tempo foot-tapper sees Noel apologizing to his lady for the things he's called her in the past and promises that he'll only be using the word "Beautiful" to describe her now. Awwww. That's a beautiful thing, indeed.

LOTL Welcome 5-time Grammy award winner Victor Wooten debut his latest CD " WORDS & TONES "   Continuing in his unique fashion of delivering musical innovation and thought-provoking compositions, Wooten will deliver Words and Tones, a collection of 14 tracks (12 new original tracks and 2 cover songs) featuring female vocalists. Sword and Stone is an instrumental CD that showcases the different sides of Wooten’s approach to music, performance and songwriting.   Vocalists on Words & Tones include Saundra Williams (Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings), Divinty Roxx (Beyoncé), New York vocalist Claudette Sierra, and Krystal Peterson, the newest member of Wooten’s touring band. New collaborations include a smooth vocal and bass performance from Me’shell Ndegeocello, and a beautiful duet featuring Joey Kibble (Take 6) and Cheryl Morse.  Guest performers include Wooten’s brothers and kids, with several vocal tracks from Kaila Wooten, Wooten’s 14-year-old daughter.  Other contributors include The Wooten Brothers; J. D. Blair (Shania Twain) and Derico Watson on drums; Pedro “Pedrito” Martinez on percussionist; and many more

LOTL Radio Welcomes John Michael debut Hit New Single From his Fantastic MixTape " Da Streetz's Vol 1 " Sophisticated Lady"       At the age of 23, John Michael has established himself as one of the premier singer/songwriters of  the upcoming generation. Born in northeast Washington, D.C. and raised in Virginia, John Michael  began writing at 16 years old. He has penned material for several distinguished producers who have  worked with top artists such as Wale, Rick Ross, Lloyd, and Jay Sean. Although he is a force to be  re ckoned with behind the scenes, John Michael is ready to step into the spotlight and showcase his  own music.