10 Songs Former BET Host Donnie Simpson Says You Need to Hear

The influential DJ reflects on meaningful music, new and classic

As told to Jennifer E. Mabry,

AARP

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Published September 19, 2025

donnie simpson posing for a portrait in front of a colorful background

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Donnie Simpson was the heart and soul of R&B radio for five decades. His charisma and musical knowledge—his mother owned a record store—led to success as a disc jockey on stations in Detroit and Washington, D.C. But he’s best known nationally as a TV personality, most notably as host of BET’s Video Soul.

Despite retiring from radio last year, Simpson, 71, remains active in entertainment and is set to relaunch The Donnie Simpson Show, a podcast on streaming platform Discovered.TV. He’s also featured in We Want the Funk!, a documentary now streaming on PBS.

We asked Simpson to share some music—new and classic—he’s been digging lately:

Frankie Beverly and Maze, “I Wanna Thank You”

Frankie’s music was uplifting, and he was spiritual. He was one of us. You could sit down and kick it with him. I love that young people, like Superbowl MVP Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles, are finding joy and inspiration in Frankie’s music. That’s the beauty of music, it never dies.

James Brown, “Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)”

Hearing this song at 14, was life-changing. James Brown was everything to me because he turned me on to me. He shaped an entire generation through his performance, creation of funk, and just by being James Brown. He’s the basis for so much of our musical culture. His music was, and remains, empowering. That’s my man, my king.

Marvin Gaye, “Flyin’ High (In the Friendly Sky)”

I sobbed for 40 minutes after listening to that song. It’s the most emotional moment I’ve ever had with music. It’s a song about Marvin’s drug addiction, and it made me reflect on my brother’s heroin addiction when he returned from the Vietnam War.

Aretha Franklin. “The Makings of You”

Aretha Franklin is the greatest voice I ever heard in my life. She is the queen, and a fellow Detroiter. I interviewed her on Video Soul, and at one point, she starts singing this song by Curtis Mayfield, and I just lost it. I started crying. She’s singing, one-on-one, to me. I’m sitting at her piano, on her throne, and I didn’t know how I got there. There was so much in that moment for me. No one moves me more than Aretha.

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, “A Fork in the Road” and “Ooo, Baby, Baby”

Smokey is such a great writer. His lyrics are concise, simple, and he’s so poetic. I consider Smokey the most romantic man on the earth. And there’s a tenderness in his voice. I grew up going to the Motown review, and would get lost watching Smokey and The Temptations and the Supremes. And now, he and I have become friends. He’s taken care of his voice, his instrument, and he still sounds good.

Elton John, “Madman Across the Water” and “Bennie and the Jets”

Elton’s phrasing and falsetto, combined with lyrics by Bernie Taupin, are out of this world, so unique. When I dared to play “Bennie and the Jets” for my Black audience in Detroit in 1974, they went wild, and it shot to No. 1 on the R&B chart there. A few months later, Elton came to town, presented me a gold record and we hung out for two days!

Doechii, “Catfish” and “Denial Is a River”

I saw her perform on the Grammys, and she’s awesome! She’s raw, she’s genuine and I’ve always been drawn to artists who express themselves differently. I didn’t think there was anything you could put in these ears that I haven’t heard before.

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Journalist Jennifer E. Mabry, whose work has appeared in The New York Times and USA Today, among other outlets, is the author of the memoir Fighting to Be Seen: A Civil Rights Baby Reflects on Life in Post-Integration in America.