Mel Tillis [1932-2017]

Artist: Mel Tillis

LP: Detroit City

Song: "Games People Play"
[ listen ]

Della Reese and Charles Manson weren't the only ones who died on November 19th, of course. In fact, county singer Mel Tillis died that same day too. To be honest, I'm not a huge (or even a small) Mel Tillis fan. I picked up this 1973 compilation LP mainly because I thought the cover was cool. But I'm sure Mel Tillis is someone's Doris Day out there, and to those people I'd like to say I'm sorry for your loss. (And to Mr. Tillis' friends and family too, of course.) But it really is a pretty neat album cover, you gotta' admit. You can find Mel's obituary here.

Mel Tillis

[ August 8, 1932 — November 19, 2017 ]

Someone will miss you, Mel.

The Chi-Lites

Artist: The Chi-Lites

LP: A Lonely Man
Song: "The Man & the Woman (The Boy & the Girl)"
[ listen ]

Song: "Ain't Too Much of Nothin'" 
[ listen ]

"A Lonely Man" was The Chi-Lites' biggest hit record. Released in 1972, it's their only LP to reach #1 on the R&B album charts and the only one to reach the top 10 on the Billboard Top 200, peaking at #5. Both songs posted here were written by lead vocalist Eugene Record, who died of cancer in July of 2005. Only Marshall Thompson remains living from the 1972 lineup, and he's still a member of The Chi-Lites today!

The Chi-Lites are one of my favorite R&B groups, so I was pretty excited when I found this LP a few weeks ago at Easy Street Records in West Seattle and it already had my name written all over it. Well, not really my name, exactly, but my initials. And I guess they weren't 'written,' per se, and they weren't really 'all over it' either, but they were stamped out on one of those plastic stamper things, (which I've just learned is called an 'embosser') and then stuck to the top of the cover. But still—it's nice to find a record you really want that's already got your initials on it.

Anyway I put this on this morning as I geared up to ride my bike through dim and freezing early morning fog toward a warm and delicious breakfast at The Dish. Somehow it made the perfect soundtrack.

[ The Chi-Lites ]