Christmas Special with Betty Wright

Digger

People love dressing there pets up these days and Christmas is no exception. This is Digger, he's a Jack Russell and as you can see is very photogenic, his owner Dave, loves to send him to friends at Christmas and I'm passing him on in the same way for the readers.

Dave tells me that if he takes him a walk and it's raining, he refuses to go out the door and insists on going to the back door to make sure it's not raining there too! If you have a nice picture of your pet in a Christmas theme, please forward it to us and we will show the best ones here next week.

Jolly & Flo retire!

Jollies card shop to close! It’s the Afro-Caribbean card shop that has become an institution among Birmingham’s black community. But now Handsworth is bidding a fond farewell to Jolly’s Greetings Shop after 22 years. Owners husband-and-wife Flo and Jolly Bailey will retire and pull down the shutters on their Soho Road store for the last time on New Year’s Eve. Selling everything from birthday cards, to artwork and sculpture reflecting black culture, Jolly’s first appeared in Nechells in 1988 before moving to Soho Road in 1991. Since then, Jolly’s has featured in the BBC’s Olympics coverage when it was visited by Midland gold medallist Denise Lewis. The former athlete, who visited the shop as a child, interviewed the owners on the day of Jamaica’s 50th independence anniversary. “Denise was doing a piece on herself and she bought the BBC here to look at the shop and the community in which she grew up. We had no idea, so it was a great surprise,” said Jolly, 71. (B,ham mail)

Ruben Studdard with Donny Hathaways Christmas anthem.
Merry Xmas from Mickey & Mr. Merry!

Tracklisting for Sunday 22nd December 2013

Hour One

Anita Baker - My Favorite Things
Brian McKnight - The Christmas Song
Joe Sample - The Road Less Traveled (chat over)
The Isley Brothers - Have Youself A Merry Xmas
The Drifters - White Christmas
Teddy Pedergrass - Happy Kwanzaa
Dianne Reeves - I Want You
R. Kelly - Love Letter At Xmas
Randy Crawford - Endlessly
Al Green - What Xmas Means To Me
Carla Thomas - White Xmas
The Emotions - What Do The Lonely Do At Xmas

Hout Two
Three-Inna-Row with Betty Wright
I Miss Ya / No Pain, No Gain
Thank You For The Many Things You Do

Aaliyah - Rock The Boat
Aaliyah - Rock The Boat (rmx)
Sylvia Striplin - You Can't Turn Away
Benny Golson - I'm Always Dancing To The Music
Maze feat: Frankie Beverly - Before I Let Go
George Benson - Breezin'
Milton Wright - Keep It Up
Starvue - Body Fusion

Betty Wright Biography:

Born 21 December 1953, Miami, Florida, USA. A former member of her family gospel group, the Echoes Of Joy, Wright's first recordings were as a backing singer. She later embarked on a solo career and scored a minor hit with "Girls Can't Do What The Guys Do" in 1968. "Clean Up Woman" (1972), a US R&B number 2/pop number 6 hit, established a punchier, less passive style which later releases, "Baby Sitter" (1972) and "Let Me Be Your Lovemaker" (1973), consolidated. Although "Shoorah Shoorah" and "Where Is The Love?" reached the UK Top 30 in 1975, the singer was unable to sustain a wider success. Wright nonetheless continued recording into the 90s and also forged a career as a US television talk show hostess.

Discography:
My First Time Around (Atco 1968)***, I Love The Way You Love Me (Alston 1972)***, Hard To Stop (Alston 1973)***, Danger: High Voltage (Alston 1975)***, Explosion (Alston 1976)***, This Time It's Real (Alston 1977)**, Betty Wright Live (Alston 1978)***, Betty Travellin' In The Wright Circle (Alston 1979)**, Betty Wright (Epic 1981)**, Wright Back At You (Epic 1983)***, Sevens (First String 1986)****, Mother Wit (Ms B 1988)***, 4U2 Njoy (Ms B 1989)**, Passion And Compassion (Vision 1990)***, B-Attitudes (Solar 1993)***, Distant Lover (Ms B 1995)***.