Sophie Griffiths, along with guitarist Olly, performed a fantastic live set this evening. She sang two of her own compositions, together with a family favourite from the catalogue of Stevie Wonder. She told us that she grew up in a household filled with Motown music and this has influenced her career. Hold on to you has only recently been released and is available on all platforms. Beauty was released a few months ago and has a video with pictures of Sophie from when she was a child. She told us that the song was about feeling comfortable in your own skin. She loves Stevie Wonder’s track ‘Master Blaster’ and felt by doing an acoustic version she was making it her own. Sophie was the inspiration for featuring predominantly female artists tonight.
Playlist
HeatherLyn – Be here now
Sophie Griffiths live set – Holding on to you, Beauty, Master Blaster.
Supremes – Come see about me – Patrick had requested a Supremes song and really like this USA No1 from 1964.
Stevie Wonder – I wish – Sophie and her mother Ruth said this was their favourite Stevie Wonder track. Sophie particularly loves the base line.
Aretha Franklin – Spirit in the dark
Brenda Russell – Get here
Annie Lennox – Walking on broken glass
Eva Cassidy – Fields of gold – Phyl requested any track by Eva.
Brentwood School Big Band – Midnight Newsroom – this recording was under the direction of David Pickthall. Two weeks time he will be in the studio talking about the new album from the David Pickthall Big Band.
Joni Mitchel – Free man in Paris
Carrie Underwood – Jesus take the wheel
Diana Krall – Night and day
Alison Krauss – Living prayer
The chart this week from 1979.

Cliff Richard – We don’t talk anymore. No 1 for four weeks and his first UK no 1 since congratulations 11 years earlier.
Boomtown Rats – I don’t like Mondays – had been No1 for weeks in the summer of 1979. The inspiration was Bob Geldorf watching a news report of a school shooting in San Diago California.

Joe Jackson – Is she really going out with him. A top 20 UK hit on the third time of release after failing to sell on the previous two occasions.
Birthdays this day.

Chicago – If you leave me now – lead singer and songwriter Peter Cetera still performing at age 75.
Sister Sledge – We are family – sadly Joni Sledge passed away in 2017 aged 60 years.
Blood Sweat and Tears – Spinning Wheel – lead singer David Clayton Thomas, born this day in 1941. the band are still touring, though without him.
Dolly Parton – Joylene

Join me next week when my guest is Rob Scaggs from CHESS, the Chelmsford based charity working with homeless people in Chelmsford and in other parts of Essex.