Author: zachary.hoskins@gmail.com

  • Jheri Curl June: Lillo Thomas’ “Sexy Girl”

    Lillo Thomas is something of a renaissance man. Besides being a former world-class sprinter (he qualified for the 1984 Olympics, but was prevented from participating due to a car accident), he is also an actor, painter, and of course, a singer. Thomas provided vocals for several Jheri Curl June veterans including Evelyn “Champagne” King and Kashif.…

  • Jheri Curl June: Charlie Singleton & Modern Man’s “Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

    This is our fifth year of Jheri Curl June, and it continues to amaze me how little we have to search for new songs and artists to spotlight: even five years in, we still end each June with a backlog of tracks we weren’t able to cover. But, especially toward the end of the month, it…

  • Jheri Curl June: Jane Child’s “Don’t Wanna Fall in Love”

    As we’ve mentioned time and time again, while Jheri Curl is both a musical genre and a hairstyle, a jheri curl is not required to make top-notch Jheri Curl Music. Jane Child is a prime example of an artist whose hair consisted of just about everything BUT a jheri curl, but who still made a…

  • Jheri Curl June: Whitney Houston’s “So Emotional”

    There are certain Jheri Curl songs that just hit you in the solar plexus with their energy. “So Emotional,” the third single from Whitney Houston’s 1987 sophomore album Whitney, is just such a song. As soon as the powerful synths come in, I imagine jheri curls bursting into flames like Michael Jackson’s in the Pepsi commercial. Thankfully,…

  • Jheri Curl June: Stacy Lattisaw’s “Jump Into My Life”

    Danny Brown put me up on Stacy Lattisaw. After hearing him reference her in “Adderall Admiral” and gush about her in his Nardwuar interview (beginning at 5:45 in the video below), I made a point of checking her out and, lo and behold, she is a perfect fit for Jheri Curl June. Lattisaw’s most commercially successful…

  • Jheri Curl June: Meli’sa Morgan’s “Fool’s Paradise”

    Like last year’s Jheri Curl June inductee Vesta Williams, Meli’sa Morgan was a backup singer for Chaka Khan before beginning her solo career. The influence is obvious. Morgan and Khan both have larger than life, soulful voices; even larger hair; and a connection to Prince: the title track and first hit single from Morgan’s solo…

  • Jheri Curl June: Krystol’s “Passion from a Woman”

    We enter our annual Ladies’ Week with exactly what this year’s Jheri Curl June needs: some Passion from a Woman. Krystol is one of those groups that, despite having plenty of talent and hitmaking potential, never achieved widespread fame. Their first two albums failed to gain much commercial success, despite being chock full of bangers…

  • Jheri Curl June: Georgio’s “Tina Cherry”

    Every year there’s at least one artist who I eagerly anticipate writing about for Jheri Curl June. This year, without question, that artist is Georgio. I already told the story on our latest podcast about the first time I encountered Georgio, flipping through the racks at my local record store (shout out to Purple Narwhal Records…

  • Jheri Curl June: The Controllers’ “Stay”

    The first time I heard “Stay” by the Controllers, it was blasting from the speakers of a purple motorcycle driving down Warren Avenue on a sultry late August night in Detroit. The part I heard was about midway through, during the synth solo. My first thought was, “What the FUCK is this?!” Then I realized…

  • Jheri Curl June: Colonel Abrams’ “The Truth”

    In some ways, it’s surprising that it took us this long to feature Colonel Abrams (real name, no gimmicks) for Jheri Curl June. He was born in Detroit–always a big plus for us proud Southeastern Michiganders. He had connections to the architects of the sound, having sung on a few tracks by 94 East, a…