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DISCO MIX: Shake Your Groove ThingJun 11 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Combining uptempo and slow grooves, this disco mix offers representative music from a self-indulgent polyester party animal time, when we all tried to get up to get down.
Long ago and far away, there was a chunk of time between the mid 1970's and early 1980's that will live in infamy. Well, the Disco Era was hated by all musicians except session men, though revisionists now are making noises like oh, it wasn't that bad, and there actually was some pretty decent music that came out of that era. Huh? Thumbnail History Disco evolved from the small dance clubs around New York City and San Francisco which spun only the hottest in soul, R&B and the up-and-coming funk. These trendy little clubs, initially catering mainly to a gay clientele, gradually made their in Altanta, New Orleans, Chicago, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Dallas, and more. The folks playing the music became known as DJs, 12" platters came out to emphasize the dance beat, and disco was born. Down To The Nightclub During this rather dark period in modern music history, I divided my time between doing A&R work for a large South San Francisco Bay Area horn rock band, that was dabbling with a more funky sound, and chosing the (vinyl) material for a friend's up and coming first club gig. I can remember wearing disco costumes, such as sleek spandex body suits with 30" bells and 34" inseams, (the better to break perfectly over my 3 and 4" platform heels), and teaching eager nightclub patrons the basic steps to the hot dance of the moment, The Fatback Band's hit, (Are You Ready?) Do The Bus Stop. This featured similar moves to the later smash line dance, Electric Slide. Those were the days of party all night, sleep all day, and if there was a college major given for Partying, I would have earned my Ph.D! While it wasn't my favorite era in music, nor did it preclude heavy listening to Van Halen, Foghat, Marshall Tucker, Aerosmith, Genesis, Brecker Brothers, Marvin Gaye and more, it was a slice of the life. So, dusting off the old vinyl wax, I present, in no particular order, 20 disco dance tracks from back in the daze: My Disco Mix Picks 1. Got To Be Real, Cheryl Lynn. Cheryl's covering one of Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes' records by the famous Gamble/Huff writing machine. This former Gong Show winner's got mighty powerful chops, and I like the combination of thumping Fender jazz bass and punchy bright horn punctuation as she swoops and soars all over this one. 2. Le Freak, Chic. We knew this song by the words "freak out", the throbbing rhythm, and way it had of just grabbing you up and landing you on the dance floor. A very popular tune, even the shyest dancers made an appearance for this. People forever told me I danced too fast here...too "rock and roll". 3. Shake Your Groove Thing, Peaches And Herb. A popular duo, this one starts out slow and then offers up a tasty hook of keyboards and bass that invites you to "shake it, shake it." No rocket science here, but eminently danceable, nevertheless. 4. I'll Be Good To You, Brothers Johnson. This duo of bass and blistering guitar, were proteges of one of music's great producers/arrangers, Mr. Quincy Jones. A nice, slow grinder, this song would let you dry off a bit while still having a chance to get close to that foxy person you had your eye on. 5. Love Hangover, Diana Ross. I recently found out that Miz D hated disco, and only recorded this track after a few glasses of the bubbly stuff. This one reeks of sex and I like her throaty little buzz laugh throughout. It also reminds me of Looking For Mr. Goodbar, a chilling movie that touches on the sometimes promiscuous, (pre-AIDS era), disco lifestyle. The other fine Ross track of this same time would be Upside Down. 6. Burn Rubber, The Gap Band. Stretching toward the end of Disco, this done-me-wrong-song was but one of many hits for this popular group. Featuring fuzz guitars, sound effects, and Wonderesque keyboards, it is hard to say if this, or You Dropped A Bomb On Me was their bigger dance hit. 7. You Can't Hide Love, Earth, Wind and Fire. This is my favorite Skip Scarborough composition, also nicely covered by Sweet Baby James Taylor, as well as my Bay Area friends, The Garcia Brothers Band. Lush vocals and tell-it-like-it-is lyrics, invite the recently burned to get back up and start all over again, in love that is. Of course, Shining Star, would be my pick for more uptempo groove, or the earlier, more funky Build Your Nest. 8. Dance With Me, Rufus, with Chaka Khan. Rufus put out 2 or 3 great albums, then later diluted their tried and true bass-heavy sound. A very funky, R&B band, adding the vocal pyrotechnics of the sizzling Chaka really rang my bell. I love the intro to You Got The Love with its chicken scratch guitar riff, but this one is a bit more compelling, dancewise. 9. I Just Wanna Get Next To You, Rose Royce. Best known for their song, Car Wash, and the movie soundtrack by the same name, Rose and the boys have created a lush and soulfully longing slow song, perfect for those scoping out a new relationship. Beautiful vocals highlight this track. 10. Back In Love Again, L.T.D. This is the band which launched the smooth soul crooner, Jeffrey Osborne. A nice long number, with a hypnotic beat, (boomers, think Chambers Brothers' Time Has Come Today), this either allowed everyone to sit and cool off, or at least gave the DJ time for a necessary break. 11. You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), Sylvester. Los Angeles' own, outrageous former member of the transvestite trio, The Cockettes, Sylvester grew up listening to his Mom sing the Blues, then honed his own chops with gospel theater abandon. The near sonic quality to both arrangement and voice, along with very beat-dominated bottom, make this a definite winner. Almost makes me miss those twirling glitter balls of yore. 12. Flashlight, Parliament. Straddling the boundaries of Old School Funk and newer, more lyric-based rap, P-Funk was a breath of fresh, witty and tart sass upon the whole disco scene. Live shows were fantastic, a sort of Brothers' version of The Tubes, with fantasy costumes and in-your-face patter. The genius of both George Clinton and Bootsy Collins, can be heard on other offerings like One Nation Under A Groove and Aqua Boogie. The dominant funk bass makes this song! 13. Get Down Tonight, K.C.and The Sunshine Band. It was unusual, to say the least, to see this crackerjack band, perform. A talented melting pot of culture, race and personality, a disco mix needs either my choice or some Boogie Shoes, Shake Your Booty or other booty-friendly fluff. 14. The Hump, Patrice Rushen. A more obscure track than say, Forget-Me-Nots, this was another DJ pleasing longer instrumental. Much more funky than Rushen's later jazz-flavored pop, this selection from the hard to find 1976 release, Shout It Out, is also available on her earliest compilation, the appropriately titled Let There Be Funk. Ahem, sister Patrice. 15. Love Is In Control, Finger On The Trigger, Donna Summer. The very epitome of capital D Disco, Donna's powerful vocals will forever stamp Last Dance on the minds of listeners/dancers everywhere. Which is precisely why I didn't chose it, preferring this chunky piece that still makes me smile. 16. Brick House, The Commodores. Competing with the Ohio Player's Fire for airplay, this sinuous slab of stair-step bass, spot-on vocals and horn bursts lets us ladies strut our stuff, and be "mighty, mighty, lettin' it all hang out," regardless of body dimensions. 17. We Are Family, Sister Sledge. Very upbeat song, that let even the cattiest among us feel tight, if only for 4 minutes or so. Besides the rousing chorus, the balance of the song had a nice interplay between soloist and bass line. 18. I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor. Big, big vocals that today, will always remind me of the Kevin Kline movie, In And Out. Gloria wants to let us know, she may have been down but never out, and she's back to let us know it. 19. Y.M.C.A., The Village People. So who was your favorite character? Possibly predictable, but I always went for the Indian, (flash on an early Frank Zappa song, where the drummer calls out, "I'm Jimmy Carl Black, I'm the Indian of the group!"). Campy, sure, but takes us back to the roots of disco. 20. Ain't Superstitious, Stevie Wonder. Just love the syncopated clavinet on this classic by the former 13 year old Boy Genius, (Fingertips Parts I & II, anyone?). Like The Godfather Of Soul, James Brown, Stevie surely knew how to get everyone on the good foot. Besides, I won second place in a dance contest with this song. Why only second place, you ask? Well, it was one of those things where the crowd's applause determined the winner, and the very vanilla first place couple just came in from a wedding reception, with many 50 friends in tow. Of course, you know who had the best dance moves, right? So here I sit, cooling off with a bottle of Fuzzy Navel, with an ice water back, amazed that my older body remembers most of the moves. Well, I can't kick my leg over my head any more, not as that was really disco. Just some kcfoxy drama stuff, and I still dance too fast. The perverse rocker in me always put in requests for "Stairway!" and "Freebird!" But just in case you'd like a few extra disco delights, perhaps I can interest you with these additions: Runner's Up Cameo: Word Up Edgar Winter Group, Frankenstein Crackin', Double Love Doobie Brothers, What A Fool Believes Graham Central Station, Can U Handle It Lakeside, Fantasic Voyage The Dazz Band, Disco Dazz Bohannon, Do You Wanna Dance Brother Cornelius & Sister Rose, Treat Her Like A Lady The Spinners, Rubberband Man Ben E. King, Supernatural Thing Part 1 Average White Band, School Boy Crush Con-funk-shun, Ffun, Ffun, Ffun Rick James, You And I Tower Of Power, Down To The Nightclub  |
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