Music Friyay: Minnie Riperton, The Paragons, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
By Joanna C. Valente
Here’s some music, new and old, you should listen to and check out:
Minnie Riperton - Perfect Angel
This 1974 album is a gem. “Lovin’ You” never gets olds.
The Paragons - On the Beach: The Anthology
This album was the band’s debut in 1967, but has been re-released as an anthology. “I Want to Be With You” is both haunting and poppy. You probably know the ska/rocksteady band for its hit “The Tide Is High” (later covered by Blondie), but that only just scratches the surface of their genius.
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - I Miss You
The 1972 album was the band’s debut. “Yesterday I Had the Blues,” and of course their famous single, “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” are truly unforgettable.
Joanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. They are the author of several collections, including Marys of the Sea, #Survivor, (forthcoming, The Operating System), Killer Bob: A Love Story (forthcoming, Vegetarian Alcoholic Press), and is the editor of A Shadow Map: Writing by Survivors of Sexual Assault. Joanna is the founder of Yes Poetry and the senior managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine. Some of their work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Rumpus, Them, Brooklyn Magazine, BUST, F(r)iction, Ravishly, and elsewhere. joannavalente.com / Twitter: @joannasaid / IG: joannacvalente / FB: joannacvalente
