On Saturday, I stopped by 95.5 The Lou and Smooth Promotions presentation of their R&B Legends show featuring Glenn Jones, The Delfonics Revue and Howard Hewett. I would say it was more of veterans and faces from the milk carton than legends, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy myself. Glenn Jones was up first and while I was a bit underwhelmed by his vocals, I’ll admit that he sounded better than anyone else on the bill that night. I think I was expecting too much because it was my first time catching him in the flesh. I’m grateful that he paid homage to Dennis Edwards with his rendition of “A Song For You,” but I was disappointed he didn’t mention that the song was made famous by St. Louis’ own Donny Hathaway. He’s selling wine glasses as a side hustle, but the folks didn’t seem bothered with buying any. He said he was working on a cognac glass that could hold a cigar that would be available soon. I was thinking “sell me on these songs, sir.” The Delfonics Revue sounded pretty doggone regular, though I must give them props for their open casket bedazzled suits and precise “Temptation-esque” choreography. And I’m probably the last person in the world to realize that The Fugees sampled them for “Ready or Not.” I had no idea until their little medley during Saturday night’s show. Headliner Howard Hewett didn’t sound the best, which is not typical of him. He must have been sick or something, because he put that mic out to the crowd for every high note that came his way. To make up for his vocal challenges he was especially charming and interactive with the crowd. He performed half the doggone show from the VIP area, so only general admission had any reason to gripe. They didn’t though. Y’all aunties were actin’ like peak Shalamar era up in The Ambassador.
