Here's a great disco/boogie gem from Charles Veal titled "If You Ever Needed Somebody". This funky track was featured on the violinist and multi-instrumentalist's 1980 album Only the Best. Just a little something' to help you get through your Wednesday. Enjoy!
One of the songs that I dropped into my set this past Grow Up I dropped the boogie gem "You're Too Late" by Fantasy. This funky dancefloor friendly track is featured on the group's 1980 self-titled album, which I've owned for a few years now, however had for the longest time never really fully digested. After going through some of my records that I hadn't heard in a while I gave this LP another spin and discovered how much I enjoy the "You're Too Late" track along with a few other solid cuts like "Read Between The Lines" and "You Can't Lose What You Never Had". This album was produced by notable disco producer Tony Valor who has worked on other projects like Soccer and Tony Valor Sounds Orchestra. Overall, it was a nice find within my own collection. Enjoy!
I was very sad to hear that legendary musician, songwriter, and producer Nick Ashford passed away yesterday at the age of 69 due to throat cancer. Ashford, along with his wife Valerie Simpson, better known as the duo Ashford & Simpson wrote and released a number of soul and disco classics throughout the seventies and eighties including "Don't Cost You Nothing", "It Seems to Hang On", "One More Try", "Found a Cure", "Solid", and "Stay Free", to just name a few. On top of writing and producing numerous gems for him and his wife, Ashford also wrote a number of hits for many other artists including Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", Sylvester's "Over And Over", Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman", and Diana Ross's "The Boss" among many others. Looking back at Ashford's vast career which spans five decades, their might not be a greater and/or more accomplished soul, R&B, and disco song writer. Yesterday this world unfortunately lost one of it's great artists. With that being said, we will forever now remember him through the music he wrote and the joy his songs brought to the world (especially the dancefloor). In honor of this legend, I thought I would share one of my favorite songs by Ashford & Simpson in their 1976 loft-classic "One More Try".
I can't say that I'm a big Hubert Laws fan (at least as a band leader), however many of his CTI releases included some solid breaks. With that being said, here is probably my favorite track by the jazz flutist in "Family". This funky track, which has more of a boogie vide than anything even closely related to jazz, was the title track to his 1980 album Family, which came out on Columbia Records. Laws keeps it simple here, blending together some feel-good female vocals with a solid funk groove. and there's nothing wrong with that. Enjoy!
Let's keep it short and sweet today with a funky feel-good gem by Roy Ayers titled "Can't You See Me". This track was included on Ayer's 1978 album You Send Me, which could be considered one of the legendary vibraphonist's more funkier releases. Enjoy!
After a long hiatus, I'm excited to announce that next Tuesday, July 5th, the monthly disco/boogie party Grow Up returns! Resident deejays Hotthobo, Fenstar, and myself (Pat Les Stache) will be hosting the party in it's new location of Amnesia (853 Valencia Street, San Francisco). There will be no cover, therefore there is no excuses to not come out have a drink and hear some funky boogie and disco gems!
I thought I would keep it simple today and post an all-time boogie gem in "I Thought It Was You" by Herbie Hancock. This funky classic was featured on Herbie's 1978 album Sunlight. There is no argument that Herbie Hancock is a true legend that throughout his remarkable career has proven that he is always a step ahead of just about everyone else out there. His pre-boogie masterpiece "I Thought It Was You" is just another example of doing just this, writing a track that other producers and musicians could even dream of coming up with until about five years later during the early eighties. Regardless, just another classic from one of the greatest musicians to probably walk this earth. Enjoy!
One track I've listen to a lot lately has been Coke Escovedo's funky gem "I Wouldn't Change a Thing". This soulful cut was originally released off of Escovedo's 1976 album "Comin' At Ya!". The track has an overall "feel-good" groove, along with a few superb breaks, that nicely compliment the song's catchy chorus and melody. I find that it's the perfect song to listen to at the end of the night or after a long day. Definitely a true gem!
Here is the funky 1981 boogie classic "Evening of Love" by The Main Ingredient. This track was included on the group's early eighties album I Only Have Eyes For You, which features lead vocals by Cuba Gooding. Unlike many of the other albums by this group, I don't come across this record quite that often. Regardless, I can't seem to get enough of what I find to be the LP's best track in "Evening of Love". A true gem!
I was very excited to learn that later this month, BBE Records will be releasing the second volume of Al Kent's compilation series Disco Love. Much like the first release, which came out last year, the man behind those amazing Million Dollar Disco edits has once again dug deep into his vinyl collection and put together a well-crafted compilation full of an impressive selection of funky disco and soul gems. The compilation compiles both original disco rarities, as well as new unissued re-edits by Mr.Kent himself. The compilation will be released March 29th and it's probably safe to say that it won't last long on record shelves, therefore once it's released, I recommend people snatching this one up quickly. Here is a little taste from Disco Love 2 in Aged In Harmony's very rare disco cut "I Feel Like Dancin'. Enjoy!
With Grow Up being tonight, I thought I would feature a feel-good boogie gem in Bionic Boogie's "Hot Butterfly". This track was the title track off the group's 1978 album, which was entirely written and produced by Gregg Diamond. The lead vocals on the track were sung by none other than R&B/Soul legend Luther Vandross. This was slightly before Luther had gone out on his own and released his own solo work. Even though I find that this late seventies album was mostly known for the disco classic "Chains", I tend to prefer the funky soulful cut "Hot Butterfly". Enjoy!
Today I thought I would re-post the funky boogie gem "Heard The Voice of Music Say" by the group Sunbear. This rare disco cut was featured on the group's self-titled album that was released back in 1977 off of Don Cornelius's Soul Train Recording label. I actually broke this record out the other night for some close friends at my apartment, and I honestly forgot how great the song actually is. One thing is definitely for sure, it won't be another six months before I decide to drop this boogie classic again. Enjoy!
Here are some disco "Love Jams" to help get you through this Valentine's Day! Enjoy!
Here is a great rare boogie take of Toto's 1978 soulful soft-rock cut Georgy Porgy by the group Charme. This funky version of the song, which also features Luther Vandross on lead vocals, was included on the group's 1979 album Let It In. I've always been a fan of Toto's original version, however this is a nice boogie rendition of the classic. Enjoy!
Keeping with the same theme as Grow Up, here is a superb disco re-edit titled "Party Together" by Tom Noble. This edit was released a few years ago as the B-Side track to Noble's twelve-inch Africa Bump release. I haven't been able to hunt down much information regarding the original track, however the edit has a nice uptempo boogie feel that really plays off of the tracks very soulful vocals. Overall, a solid edit that is primed perfectly for the dancefloor. Enjoy!
Keyboardist Kiki Gyan might be best known for his contributions to the Afro-funk group Osibisa during the early and mid seventies. However after he departed from the group, the renowned Ghanaian musician released a couple of solid solo records. One of these notable records came in 1983 when he released the album Feelin' Alright off of the small Nigerian label Top Records. Many of the tracks off this album, including the title track "Feelin' Alright", had a more boogie-feel than any of his previous Afro-funk sounding records. Over the many years since it's intial release, the album has become a much sought after item by many record collectors. Kiki unfortunately past away in early June of 2004 at the young age of 47. His memory and legacy is now celebrated in the wealth of great music from both his Osibisa and solo recordings that he left behind. Enjoy!
Let's start the week off with the funky boogie gem "Hunk of Heaven" by the Hawaiian based funk group Lemuria. This track was featured on the group's 1978 self-titled album, which I believe is the group's only release. Much like the state that the group comes from, the funky track has an overall "feel-good" boogie groove that is perfect for all of those "not-currently-happening-due-to-the-cold-weather" summertime outdoor disco parties. However, if the winter does have you a bit down this year due to all the crazy blizzards we seem to be having this year (not in SF of course), then a track like "Hunk of Heaven" might be the perfect remedy to tie you over until the warm weather begins to approach us once again. Enjoy!
Let's end the week with Ray Munnings' 1979 version of "Funky Nassau". Munnings was one of the founding members of The Beginning of The End, which released the original version of the song back in the early seventies. Munnings eventually went on his own to release a couple of twelve-inch singles, which included his own solo version of the popular classic "Funky Nassau". On this version of the track, Munnings went with a bigger production sound that is very reminscent to many of the "boogie" songs that were starting to show up during this era. Personally, I am a bigger fan of the The Beginning of The End's early seventies version, however I think some people, especially those that have a love for "the boogie", will enjoy this late seventies rendition of the classic track. Enjoy!
Here is a track I plan to include into to my deejay set tomorrow night in Jimmy Ross's disco-boogie gem "Fall Into a Trance". This track is just one of the many amazing cuts off of Ross's 1981 album First True Love Affair, a record I highly recommend keeping an eye out for. Enjoy!
With a weekend full of great parties here in the Bay, including Beat Electric's Dance Show tonight at the Mezzanine and Go Bang! tomorrow night at the Decco Lounge, I thought would post something more fitting for these two engagement's in Ike Strong's 1981 disco boogie classic "Boogie Land". You might recognize the song's repetitive chorus, as a re-edit of the song was recently released by JDeep on his Sound of Deeper Edits, USA series. The original version of the song was released as a twelve-inch single and includes a solid instrumental version of the song, that tends to also get some play by deejays, on the b-side. Overall, it's a great track and one worth hunting down, especially if you find yourself an absolute fan of the "boogie". Enjoy your weekend!
