Ok, I'm a sheltered white guy, and I have no surveys to back me up. But I have the impression that in the current day, the fans of Blues and Soul music are mostly...old white guys. And some of the biggest white fanatics? The British. Think of those on MOG alone posting blues and soul tracks: Mousetrap, Deadmandeadman, YotoChan, CodyB, me. All white dudes (I don't know about the race of runobodyii, but she IS female).
I even read a quote recently about a more modern-day black musician calling the Blues "nigger music".
WTF is going on here? One of the greatest accomplishments of African-Americans in the US, Britain, and worldwide, is the contributions they made to - indeed the very roots of, modern popular music. Yet I have the impression, right or wrong, that the Black community generally could care less about that segment of their history and are instead obsessed only with the latest fads. The careers of rappers and hip-hop artists are shorter than those in other genres.
Some thoughts and possibilities occur to me:
1) The biggest influence that Blues had is being the father to rock music, so it may be seen as being co-opted by white musicians.
2) Maybe there is a "safe" element to older white guys liking older black music. The creators are either dead or aged, and there is little threat to be seen in the tropes of a bygone era. And, of course, the British have never had a significant black population, and their obsession with Northern Soul certainly outstrips that of the U.S.

Of course, current black music, rap, hip-hop, whatever, is a worldwide phenomenon, probably the most currently popular music on the planet. But I remain puzzled at the failure of the African-American community to claim its legacy.

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(Sixth in a series)
The new Rembrandts website (therembrandts.net)has been a godsend to me. It includes a link to a free download of a Westwood One radio show from 1988 featuring Rembrandt-to-be Danny Wilde, live, in 1988. The attached track is from that concert and has never been studio-recorded and released on his solo LPs. But - on to the chronological.
1988 saw him signed to Geffen Records for a 2-album deal. Thus came the release of his second solo LP, entitled Any Man's Hunger

Even with the lack of future Rembrandt Phil Solem, this is IMHO the best of his late 80s LPs. The public apparently agreed, in small numbers, as it charted at #176 on the Billboard 200 - the only one of his solo LPs to land there. This may've been due to the modest success of his single, Time Runs Wild

A video was made for this single, presented here:

As well as a truncated live version of him and his band performing it live:

Does anyone recognize the TV show and/or host? I do not. I guess at the time the flowing-curly-Michael-Bolton-like mane was in, and Danny complied. The song reached #15 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart (how many charts do dey gots, anywaze?)
A year later ('89) his final 80s solo LP came out. Oddly enough, this one was self-titled (or eponymous as the reviewers love to say) - a tradition usually reserved for first releases.

It seemed a bit calculated - from the pop-star cover to the songs within. One single was released, The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of

But it did nothing for Danny or Geffen. I'll include what I think is a better track, and my fave from the LP, Who's Gonna Hold You Now, in Comments.
NEXT : Finally, The Rembrandts burst into the 90s with a powerful debut album.

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dermahrk says:

And, as promised, the track from his third solo LP, Danny Wilde, entitled Who's Gonna Hold You Now.

Posted 13 days ago | Delete

deadmandeadman says:

The second track is the better, IMHO

Posted 13 days ago | Delete

dermahrk says:

Well, yeah. Probably why the first never made an LP. I still like it, though.

Posted 13 days ago | Delete