I think Aloe Blacc is great. Here’s a video of him doing “Tonight Downtown” which has a great retro feel to it

Nicely done: well shot video, great band, and Aloe Blacc brings greatness to everything he sings.

However I can see fans of Otis Redding and his peers grumbling. To which I say: why not enjoy both! Better still, if young people end up watching Otis and Sam and Dave and many others because of Aloe Blacc, then that’s great.

For young people who haven’t heard Otis Redding, here’s a taste:

One thing that was great about The Blues Brothers film and the film The Commitments was that it reintroduced great music to younger audiences that may not have heard it. I think Aloe Blacc can do that too.

Meanwhile, I’d love to see more Otis on YouTube. Music/TV companies: get on that.

Aloe Blacc performing “Tonight Downtown” and Otis Redding performing “Pain in my heart”

If you liked Janelle Monáe video, Tightrope, then you need to check out Sam & Dave.

Here’s the incendiary Hold on I’m Coming

and the sweet slow sound of When Something is Wrong with my Baby

and I haven’t even included the often imitated, never duplicated, Soul Man.

If you want to know more, you can read a little about Sam & Dave at Wikipedia or here at Ta-Nehesi Coates blog at The Atlantic. You can get what looks to be a great book, Amazon.com: Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom by Peter Guralnick that goes into things at depth.