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Jun 24, 2010 By Laura Studarus The Roots

Hanging with Jimmy Fallon on Late Night and releasing their own album isn’t enough for The Roots. Now they’re teaming with R&B musician John Legend for Wake Up!, a collection of 11 gospel, rock, and R&B songs from the 1960s and ‘70s. Included next to tracks from scene stalwarts such as Marvin Gaye are more obscure selections such as Baby Huey and the Babysitters’ “Hard Times,” and “Hang on in There” by Mike James Kirkland.

Says Roots drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson via press release, “When these songs were written, people were more spiritually in tune.” He continues to say, “It was fresh from the civil rights era and there was a feeling of hope that maybe, yes, someday we will all be free. In 2010, not so much.”

(www.johnlegend.com)

(www.theroots.com)