Saturday Morning Soul: May 2008

Saturday, May 31, 2008

The Crusaders are an American music group popular in the early 1970s known for their amalgamated jazz, pop and soul sound. Since 1961, more than forty albums have been credited to the group (some live and compilations), 19 of which were recorded under the name "The Jazz Crusaders" (1961–1970). In 1960, following the demise of a few short-lived Houston-based groups, pianist Joe Sample, drummer Stix Hooper, saxophonist Wilton Felder and trombonist Wayne Henderson relocated to Los Angeles, CA. After changing their name to "The Jazz Crusaders," the group signed with Pacific Jazz Records, where they would remain throughout the 1960s. The group shortened their name to "The Crusaders" in 1971, and adopted a jazz-funk style, which really ushered in the genre which came to be known as "jazz fusion".

Street Life (1979) featuring Randy Crawford

The Way It Goes (1986) featuring Nancy Wilson

Chain Reaction (1986)

SOS BAND

The SOS Band is an American musical ensemble, founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 1977. Originally known as Santa Monica, the "SOS" initialism in the band's name does not stand for Save Our Souls but for Sounds of Success.
The band, fronted by Mary Davis, was initially famous for the Disco hit "Take Your Time (Do It Right)" in 1980. In 1983, they joined forces with then-new production team Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, who went on to craft a string of R&B hits for the group, including "Just Be Good to Me," "Tell Me If You Still Care," "Borrowed Love," "No One's Gonna Love You," "Just the Way You Like It," and "The Finest".

Take Your Time, Do It Right

Just Be Good To Me

Just The Way You Like It

Tell Me If You Still Care

Borrowed Love

MINNIE RIPERTON

Minnie Riperton (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American singer and songwriter noted for her five-and-a-half octave vocal range, with her 1975 single "Lovin' You."

Loving You

Memory Lane

Reasons

If I Ever Lose This Heaven

Lovers and Friends

Interview

SKULL SNAPS

Skull Snaps was a mysterious funk group that released one eponymous album on the small GSF label in 1973 before disappearing. They were in fact the group originally known as The Diplomats who had released numberous singles between 1963 and 1970 with middling success. Skull Snaps' main claim to fame is not its quality, but that the drum breaks on it have been sampled numerous times on rap and hip-hop records; the familiar opening drum pattern of It's A New Day (sample (help·info)) can be heard in songs by well-known acts such as Ol' Dirty Bastard and The Prodigy.

Its A New Day

WILLIE HUTCH

Willie Hutch (December 6, 1944 – September 19, 2005) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. Hutch, born in Los Angeles, California and raised in Dallas, Texas, is notable as both a performer and songwriter/producer for the Motown label during the 1970s. Before joining Motown, Hutch worked as a producer for acts such as The 5th Dimension.
Besides writing hit songs such as The Jackson 5's "I'll Be There", Hutch also recorded several albums for Motown (and later for Whitfield Records, run by former Motown producer Norman Whitfield), and had top 20 R&B hits with singles such as "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" and "Slick" (both 1973). Following in the tradition of Curtis Mayfield, he recorded the soundtrack album for the blaxploitation films The Mack (1973) and Foxy Brown (1974).

Slick (1973)

Brother's Gonna Work It Out (1973)

THE FATBACK BAND

The Fatback Band (later, simply Fatback) is an American funk and disco band. Most popular in the 1970s and 1980s, The Fatback Band is most known for their Top Ten R&B hits, "(Do The) Spanish Hustle", "I Like Girls", "Gotta Get My Hands on Some (Money)", and "Backstrokin'". Their 1979 single "King Tim III (Personality Jock)" is considered by many to be the first rap single. Formed in New York City in 1970, The Fatback Band was the concept of Bill Curtis, an experienced session drummer, inspired to merge the "fatback" jazz beat of New Orleans into a funk band. The band specialized in playing "street funk".

Bus Stop

Gotta Get My Hands On Some Money

Backstroke

I Like The Girls

King Tim III

Friday, May 30, 2008

GRANDMIXER DST

Grandmixer DST is an American turntablist. "D.ST" is a reference to Manhattan, New York City's Delancey Street on the Lower East Side. He was featured in the influential hip hop film Wild Style. Widely recognized as a pioneer, DST is credited with helping establish the turntable as a a fully performable and improvisational musical instrument (Alberts 2002). Especially important is his technique of altering the pitch of the note or sound on the LP record. He is also credited with greatly helping to popularize DJing through his scratching on Herbie Hancock's single "Rockit" from the Bill Laswell produced album Future Shock.

Cuts It Up

Rockit with Herbie Hancock

Saturday, May 24, 2008

EASY READER AND DWAYNE

Easy Reader = Morgan Freeman

CHUCK BROWN AND THE SOUL SEARCHERS

Chuck Brown is affectionately called "The Godfather of Go-Go". Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed in and around Washington, D.C. in the mid- and late 1970s. While its musical classification, influences, and origins are debated, Brown is regarded as the fundamental force behind the creation of go-go music. (from Wikipedia)

Bustin' Loose

TYRONE BRUNSON

Washington, D.C. bassist and vocalist Tyrone Brunson played and sang in area bands through the '70s. He was signed to the Columbia-distributed Believe in a Dream label after some demos he'd submitted impressed CBS executives in 1982. His first single, the instrumental "The Smurf," tapped into what was then a New York dance craze, and the song won international club recognition. But when the smurf trend cooled, so did Brunson. While "The Smurf" reached number 14 on the R&B charts in 1982, the follow-up, "Sticky Situation," stalled at #25. Brunson made a slight comeback in 1984 with "Fresh," which reached #22. But neither of his LPs, Sticky Situation or Fresh, managed consistent sales. Brunson later did background vocals for Levert. (from allmusic.com)

The Smurf

BIG JOE TURNER

Big Joe Turner (born Joseph Vernon Turner Jr., May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. Although he came to his greatest fame in the 1950s with his pioneering rock and roll recordings, particularly "Shake, Rattle and Roll", Turner's career as a performer stretched from the 1920s into the 1980s. Known variously as The Boss of the Blues, and Big Joe Turner (due to his 6'2", 300+ lbs stature). (from Wikipedia)

If You Remember (1955)

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

Feelin' Happy

Exactly Like You (1958)

Wee Baby Blues (1965)

Low Down Dog (1965)

Hide and Seek (1971)

FAT LARRY'S BAND

Fat Larry's Band was an R&B/funk band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who enjoyed some commercial success in the early 1980s.
Formed by drummer and vocalist "Fat" Larry James in 1977, band members included trumpeter/flutist Art Capehart, saxophonist Doug Jones, trombonist/alto saxophonist Jimmy Lee, guitarist Ted Cohen, percussionist and lead singer Darryl Grant, bassist Larry La Bes, and keyboardist Erskine Williams. The band's biggest hits were "Act Like You Know" (1982) (which later appeared on the soundtrack for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City) and ballad "Zoom", which hit number two in the UK singles chart in October 1982. They had two other minor hits in the UK: "Center City" with lead vocals by Grant and "Boogie Town".
James died on December 5, 1987 and the band folded. (from Wikipedia)

Zoom (1982)

ROCKMASTER SCOTT AND THE DYNAMIC 3

Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three was an old school rap group that is best known for the single "The Roof Is on Fire" that has since been sampled by many other groups. They all grew up in the Bronx of NYC, and three of the members lived in the same building on Webster Avenue. They were responsible for "The Roof Is on Fire" -- one of the most memorable old-school party jams -- a number five dance hit from 1985. The flipside of the release was "Request Line," which also enjoyed chart success by reaching number 21 on the Hot R&B/hip-hop singles chart.

Request Line

WHODINI

Whodini is a hip hop group from New York that was formed in 1981. Along with Run-DMC and The Fat Boys, Whodini was among the first hip-hop groups to cultivate a high-profile national following for hip-hop music and made significant inroads on Urban radio. The Brooklyn, New York-based trio consisted of vocalist-chief lyricist Jalil Hutchins; co-vocalist John Fletcher, aka Ecstasy, who tended to wear a Zorro-style hat as his trademark; and DJ Drew Carter, aka Grandmaster Dee.

Contemporaries of Run-D.M.C., they were managed by Russell Simmons, brother of Joseph “Run” Simmons. The group signed with London-based indie Jive Records in 1982; they enjoyed a string of hits, mostly charting on Urban/R&B stations. The bulk of production on its releases was done by Larry Smith, a bass player who also handled much of Run-D.M.C.’s early work. (from Wikipedia)