I am someone who is often getting yelled at by her friends for playing the Sam Cooke Pandora station at a party. (Apparently “A Change is Gonna Come” isn’t good beer pong music, though I heartily disagree.) I miss the likes of Al Green, Ben E. King, and Penny and the Quarters as if I was alive to know them personally — and if Har Mar Superstar’s most recent album, Bye Bye 17, is any indication, I am not alone in the sentiment.
“Lady, You Shot Me” — wow. This is deep soul in the way that the genre originally intended: wholehearted, raw, intimate yet social. And what is particularly impressive here is though the kings of rhythm and blues undoubtedly inspire the song — Har Mar Superstar has been quoted saying he was listening to a lot of Otis and Sam when he began the album — this is more than just homage. The song is something incredibly his own. Here Har Mar Superstar not only combines vintage and modern, but “Lady, You Shot Me,” brings the fun into heartbreak; you can’t help but dance even as he croons about betrayal.
OK, off you go. Listen and reminisce about eras of musical greatness.