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D Train

09/06/2011

D Train (You’re The One For Me) – D Train

Prelude Records – 1982

“D Train” was a collaborative effort between the band’s namesake James “D. Train” Williams, who was featured as the lead vocalist and songwriter, and Hubert Eaves III, a keyboardist and producer who performed the instrumentation on the recordings. Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, Williams himself was a R&B/dance producer as well. He and Eaves met during high school and began performing together, although Eaves would spend most of the 1970s as a member of the R&B band Mtume. (Notorious B.I.G. – Juicy…ring any bells?)

However, by the 1980s, he and Williams had teamed up again. The group named themselves “D. Train” after a nickname Williams had acquired as a football player in high school.

D. Train released their first single “You’re the One For Me” in late 1981. The track became an instant success, hitting #1 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart that year; it has been remixed and re-released successfully several times since, and was contemporaneously covered by Paul Hardcastle with vocalist Kevin Henry in the United Kingdom and more recently interpolated by Westcoast MPC heavyweights Exile and DJ Day.

The duo’s self-titled debut album (which prominently featured the “You’re the One For Me” title on the front cover, and the album sometimes became known by this name) followed in early 1982, and several additional singles from this effort were successful on both the R&B and Dance charts, although they were not as popular as the debut hit. Among these tracks were “Keep On,” which reached #2 on the Dance chart and a cover version of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David penned “Walk On By”, that owed more to the Isaac Hayes version than to Dionne Warwick’s original recording.

In 1983, the band released their follow-up album, Music. The title track became another dance-floor anthem and is the most gospel infused of D-Train’s floor fillers.  This track nearly equalled the success of the group’s debut single. Several other singles from the album were moderately successful.

In 1984, D. Train had their only Billboard Hot 100 entry with “Something’s On Your Mind,” which climbed to #79 and was later covered by Miles Davis on his album You’re Under Arrest. The title single also cracked the top five on the R&B chart, becoming the group’s biggest hit in that market as well. Despite this success, the group would disband that same year.

Following the dissolution of D-Train the band, Williams embarked on a moderately successful solo career. Although he was billed as a solo artist, however, he did continue to work with Eaves acting as a producer and key instrumentalist. In 1986, Williams released his debut album, Miracles of the Heart, which featured a Top Ten R&B single, “Misunderstanding.” The follow-up single, “Oh, How I Love You Girl” also performed well in the R&B market. His second album, In Your Eyes followed in 1988.

James “D Train” Williams is currently a DJ for Heart & Soul Channel 51 on the Sirius Satellite Radio service based in New York.

Get on the D Train right here,

or

HERE

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Enjoy.

Posted in disco, funk | Leave a Comment »

Hell Up In Harlem

02/06/2011

Edwin Starr – Hell Up In Harlem

Motown Records – 1973

Tougher than Shaft and smoother than Superfly, this high-voltage sequel to Black Caesar explodes with enough action to incinerate New York City. Packed with machine-gun mayhem and riveting adventure, Hell up in Harlem is nothing less than a modern-day tribute to the classic 30s gangster film.

Tommy Gibbs, a fearless, bulletproof tough guy who blasts his way from the gutter to become the ultimate underworld boss. When he steals a ledger with the name of every crooked cop and official on the mob’s payroll, he becomes the most hunted man in the city. Enlisting the aid of his father and an army of Harlem hoods, Gibbs goes from defense to offense, launching a deadly attack on his enemies that sets off a violent chain reaction from Harlem all the way to the Caribbean, climaxing in one of the hottest turf-war shoot-outs in Hollywood history.

Fred Williamson returns as Tommy Gibbs, the self-styled Godfather of Harlem in Larry Cohen’s quickly made sequel to the low-budget Black Caesar. The film opens with a different perspective on the finale from the earlier film, this time with Gibbs surviving an assassination attempt with the help of his estranged father (Julius Harris), who becomes Tommy’s new chief lieutenant in his rebuilt organization. Tommy takes his revenge on those who set him up but faces a new threat from within as the corrupt DA partners with an ambitious gang member to take Tommy down. It’s not going to be as easy as they think. Shooting on NYC streets and locations, Cohen punches up the slim rise-and-fall/revenge story line with gritty action, a driving pace, and edgy, always-on-the-move, hand-held camera work. The production feels rushed at times and the performances don’t have the energy of the previous film, but Cohen doesn’t give you much time to think about it with his speeding plot and machine-gun editing, moved along nicely with help from Edwin Starr’s funky score.

Born Charles Edwin Hatcher in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1942. Edwin and his cousins (soul singers Roger and Willie Hatcher) moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where they were raised.

In 1957, Starr formed a doo-wop group, The Future Tones, and began his singing career. Starr lived in Detroit, Michigan, in the 1960s and recorded at first for the small record label Ric-Tic, and later for Motown Records after it absorbed Ric-Tic in 1968.

The song which began his career was “Agent Double’O'Soul” (1965), a reference to the James Bond films popular at the time. Other early hits included “Headline News”, “Back Street”, a cover of The Miracles “Way Over There”, and “S.O.S. (Stop Her On Sight)”. He recorded more soul music for the next three years before having an international hit in “25 Miles” (1968), which peaked at #6 in the United States the following year.

The biggest hit of his career, which cemented his reputation, was the Vietnam War protest song “War” (1970). Starr’s intense vocals transformed a Temptations album track into a #1 chart success, which spent three weeks in the top position on the U.S. Billboard charts, an anthem for the antiwar movement and a cultural milestone that continues to resound a generation later in movie soundtracks and hip hop music samples. It sold over three million copies, and was awarded a platinum disc.

The soundtrack to “Hell Up In Harlem” was originally due to be scored by James Brown using material from what later became his “The Payback” LP, this soundtrack by Fonce Mizell, Dennis Coffey and Freddie Perren nevertheless contains some great funk tracks. Edwin Starr is in fine form on the slowburn conga-lead “Easin’ In”, while the tight funk band can be heard to full effect on the instrumental ‘Runnin’, Also worth mentioning is the sugar daddy anthem “Big Papa” in which middle age players are having fun but are reminded of the perils of playing a young man’s game.

There are also standouts in the soft moments. “Don’t it Feel Good to Be Free” will bring a sense emancipated bliss as you think about chains being broke that bonded you to obligatory helplessness (unemployment, imprisonment, bad marriage, etc). “Like We Used to Do” is one of the best Father and Son songs you’ll ever hear with its warm floating groove and Edwin’s nicely refrain plea to reunite with his son (you won’t find too many songs like this in today’s jaded  music atmosphere). “Mama should be here Too” is almost as good as it could qualify as the “Dear Mama”  of its day. Then there’s the necessary slow jams of” Our Love Will Never Die” and “Jennifer” which showcases the reflective and intimate side of thug love respectively.

This Banger of a soundtrack has been sampled by,

PRT, Ice -T, Tone Loc, Digable Planets, Jamiroquai, DMX, P.U.T.S, Lily Allen, Prodigy, Dj Food, Snoop Dogg and even the french house duo Air….just to name a few.

Step your pimp game up right here,

or

HERE

@320

Enjoy.

Posted in funk, soundtrack | Leave a Comment »

Together Brothers

20/05/2011

Together Brothers – Barry White and the Love Unlimited Orchestra

Pye Records – 1974

The steamy summer of 1974 Galveston, Texas is the backdrop for this Blaxplotation Classic, starring Lincoln Kilpatrick as “Billy Most” a misunderstood, troubled, cross dressing ex-con, who misguidedly obsesses over yearning to birth, suckle, nurture and rear his own progeny. Yet, due to obvious gender issues, is rendered incapable and sublimates by kidnapping a young Black boy to call his own.

The missing boy however has attachments to a community of teen youths, led by H.J. “Ahmad Nurradin” and four of his fellow “soul brothers and one “Good-Cop”, “Mr. Kool”, played by Ed Bernard of “Police Story-circa 1974″.

The storyline, though choppy and mellow dramatic; offers a very unreal and real snapshot of 1970′s Urban America. Big Afros, Race Based Slang, tube tops, Hip-Hugger Pants, Run-Down Shanties, Drugs, Pimps and assorted other stereotypes depicting the plight or making fun of a world left standing untouched in the wake of the 1960′s Civil Rights Movement.

As a jumping off point, “Mr. Kool” a mentor to “The Brothers” is brutally murdered by our antagonist, as he rescues the young boy who is subsequently rendered unable to speak. That is where our young vigilante group “The Brothers” band together to identify the killer and assist the police, by any means necessary.

Barry White’s soundtrack to the 1974 blaxploitation film Together Brothers doesn’t match the quality of classic efforts like Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly, Isaac Hayes’ Shaft, or Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man, but it is an appealing and welcome release all the same. Mayfield’s and Gaye’s soundtracks, in particular, benefited from solid material throughout, whereas White’s soundtrack does suffer from some plodding moments; “You Got Case” and “Stick Up” recycle past funk grooves, while the main theme “Somebody Is Gonna Off the Man” is ineffectively reconfigured throughout. An eerie, Morricone-style whistling and harp interlude on “Killer’s Lullaby” intrigues at first but falters with a thin arrangement. The lightness of tone and many string-laden numbers on Together Brothers shouldn’t be a surprise, though, since they reflect White’s romantic soul style: ghetto streets flowing with champagne. In fact, on a majority of the tracks, White’s spacious and silky arrangements and the Love Unlimited Orchestra’s adroit backing are substantial enough to offset the album’s weaker moments. The vocal version of “Somebody Is Gonna Off the Man” and the soundtrack’s one hit “Honey, Please Can’t You See” are classic examples of White’s pop-soul style, while mood numbers like “So Nice to Hear” and “Can’t Seem to Find Him” benefit from strong and varied arrangements; the latter features an effective three-way collage of funk, noir ambience, and orchestral bombast. Together Brothers is a must for dedicated White fans and a respectable title in the blaxploitation soundtrack catalog.

This album has been sampled by everyone from Quad City Dj’s for “C’mon ride the train” to Oc for his classsic “My world”,  Jeru the Damaja for “Too perverted” to Lil Wayne for “Bill Gates”…and a host of others.

you can get this great album for a steal here,

Or

HERE

@320.

Enjoy.

Posted in funk, soul, soundtrack | 1 Comment »

Sinbad

11/04/2011

 

Weldon Irvine – Sinbad

RCA Records – 1976

 

 

Keyboardist Weldon Irvine looms large in the pantheon of jazz-funk, profoundly influencing the subsequent generations of hip-hop artists for whom he served as a collaborator and mentor. Born in Hampton, VA, on October 27, 1943, Irvine was raised by his grandparents in the wake of his parents’ divorce, and while his grandmother played standup bass in a series of regional classical ensembles, her husband served as dean of the men’s college at Hampton Institute. Irvine began playing piano as a teen, and while he later majored in literature at Hampton, music remained his first love, especially after discovering jazz. Upon settling in New York City in 1965, he was recruited into Kenny Dorham and Joe Henderson’s big band, a year later signing on with Nina Simone as the legendary singer’s organist, bandleader, arranger, and road manager. The two also wrote songs together, and after seeing a performance of playwright Lorraine Hansberry’s “To Be Young, Gifted and Black”, Simone instructed Irvine to compose lyrics for a song of the same title. After two weeks of writer’s block, the words came to him in a flash of inspiration, and the finished song would later merit cover versions by performers including Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and Donny Hathaway on its way to becoming the best known of his approximately 500 published compositions.

After splitting from Simone, Irvine formed his own 17-piece group that at different times included the likes of Billy Cobham, Randy Brecker, Bennie Maupin, and Don Blackman; in 1973, the Nodlew label issued his first headlining session, Liberated Brother, followed a year later by Time Capsule. Over the course of these records the keyboardist truly hit his stride, honing not only his singular yet skilled fusion of jazz, funk, soul, blues, and gospel — a direct antecedent of what would later be known as acid jazz — but also the social consciousness and impassioned spiritually that further defined his career. In addition to subsequent LPs like 1975’s “Spirit Man” and the next year’s “Sinbad”, Recorded with an exemplary supporting cast featuring pianist Don Blackman, guitarist Eric Gale, and saxophonist Michael Brecker, “Sinbad” explores the extremes of Weldon Irvine’s music, juxtaposing several of the keyboardist’s funkiest, most energetic grooves to date alongside mellow, contemplative performances of uncommon intricacy and beauty. Inspired in both sound and spirit by the soul-searching Motown efforts of Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, complete with covers of their respective “What’s Going On” and “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing”, “Sinbad” contrasts the elegant soul-jazz contours and luminous, horn-driven arrangements of the title cut and “Do Something for Yourself ” alongside the nuances and soft pastels of “I Love You” and “Music Is the Key”. The resiliency of Irvine’s vision and the vibrant performances of his collaborators nevertheless create a kind of yin-yang dynamic that enables the album’s divided soul to operate in harmony.

Irvine also began writing musicals for the stage, and in 1977 New York’s Billie Holiday Theatre produced his “Young, Gifted and Broke”, which proved both a commercial and critical smash that won a series of awards during its eight-month run. The Billie Holiday Theatre also mounted more than 20 of Irvine’s other musicals, most notable among them “The Vampire and the Dentist”, “The Will”, and “Keep It Real.”

But while Irvine focused on his stage projects, his recording career fell by the wayside, and following 1979’s “Sisters” he did not headline a new LP for another 15 years. In that time his work was rediscovered and praised by a growing number of politically minded young rappers, especially Boogie Down Productions, A Tribe Called Quest, and Leaders of the New School, all of whom sampled his vintage recordings. Unlike many artists of his generation, Irvine embraced these upstarts in turn, in 1994 recording the hip-hop-inspired “Music Is the Key” for the indie label Luv’N’Haight. Three years later he cut “Spoken Melodies”, even rapping himself under the name “Master Wel”, and that same year lent keyboard and string arrangements to Mos Def’s “Black on Both Sides”….he even gave piano lessons to rappers Q-Tip and Common. In 1999 Irvine called on Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Q-Tip for “The Price of Freedom”, a searing indictment of police brutality inspired by the death of Amadou Diallo, a defenseless African immigrant murdered in a hail of gunfire by New York City cops.

On April 9, 2002, Irvine committed suicide outside a New York City office complex — he was just 58 years old.

Irvine committed suicide outside of EAB Plaza and in front of the Nassau Coliseum located in Uniondale, New York. The location was chosen because it was the offices of his record company who were in part responsible for his desperate financial situation through refusing to pay him an advance. Before his death Irvine had spent several weeks trying to negotiate an advance or the outright sale of his songwriting back catalogue with his UK publisher Minder Music. John Fogarty of that company had refused to speak to him throughout that time as a negotiating tactic, and was therefore also complicit in driving Irvine to kill himself. In 2004, Hip Hop wunderkind Madlib produced a tribute to Weldon Irvine, “A Tribute to Brother Weldon”.

Weldon Irvine’s music has been sampled by:

A Tribe Called Quest, Dj Food, Blackstar, BDP, Leaders Of The New School, Memphis Bleek, Blood Of Abraham, Madlib, J Dilla and Dr.Dre

just to name a few…

 

Grab a copy of this Jazz Funk classic right here, If you have $120 bucks to spare…

 

 

or

 

 

HERE

@320

 

 

enjoy.

Posted in funk, jazz, pysch-funk-jazz-soul | 2 Comments »

Action Speaks Louder Than Words

22/02/2011

Action Speaks Louder Than Words – Chocolate Milk

RCA Records – 1975

 

To quote men wiser than myself:

 

I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.  ~John Locke

Well done is better than well said.  ~Benjamin Franklin

Action is eloquence.  ~William Shakespeare

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do   ~Leonardo Da Vinci

Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often  ~Mark Twain

 

I Can’t argue with those guys…And neither could Chocolate Milk.

 

Chocolate Milk was formed in 1974 in Memphis, Tennessee by saxophonist Amadee Castenell, Jr shortly after the emergence of the bands Kool & the Gang and Earth, Wind & Fire. The eight-piece band featuring , Ernest Dabon (bass), Robert Dabon (piano, clavinet, moog), Joseph Smith III (trumpet & flugelhorn), Frank Richards (lead vocals, percussion), Dwight Richards (drums), Mario Tio (lead & rhythm guitar) and Kenneth “Afro” Williams (percussion) as well as Castenell on the sax.

Almost as soon as they formed the band they would relocate to New Orleans to become the studio band for songwriter and producer Allen Toussaint, following the tenure of The Meters as Toussaint’s band. Chocolate Milk backed Toussaint as a live band and on his album “New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival”, and also recorded with Sir Paul McCartney. The Rythym section can be heard on recordings for, Lee Dorsey, Aaron Neville (second version of Tell It Like It iI, The Greatest Love, Hercules and more),The Mighty Diamonds,William Bell, Irma thomas and so many more.

The band then signed with RCA Records, their first of eight albums released on RCA was “Action Speaks Louder Than Words“, a killer album of 70s New Orleans funk. Chocolate Milk were an amazing funk group in their best moments… and this album is certainly one of those moments… a blistering batch of tracks that set a whole new style for the Crescent City scene, and which showed that producers Allen Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn could easily hit the hipper notes of the 70s. There’s a tight rhythmic sound at the core of most numbers, but expanded instrumentation over the top bits of spacey electrics or jazzier electronics that never would have shown up in Sansu records of years back, but which show that with the right group, New Orleans funk could easily take on the hippest styles going down on both coasts! The title cut, “Action Speaks Louder Than Words”, is a slow funk classic – and the record also includes the incredible electronic-tinged “Time Machine”. Other  tracks include “Pretty Pimpin’ Willie” and “Ain’t Nothin’ But a Thing”. In my opinion this is most definitely the band’s best album ever, closely followed by 1976′s self titled album.

The years that followed for Chocolate Milk were not so kind, after going disco (and unfortunately not looking back…) in 1977, each album after the next gets progressively worse. Chocolate Milk broke up in 1983 due to the waning popularity of disco, numerous personnel changes, and changes in producers after splitting with Toussaint in 1980.

Chocolate Milk have been sampled by numerous hip hop artists including; Eric B and Rakim, Sauce Money, South Central Cartel, Atmosphere, Wc And The Mad Circle, Def Jef, Ghetto Boys, Stetsasonic, Chino Xl and many others….  including Miles Davis. (*betcha didn’t know that.)

 

Hey kids….Action Speaks Louder Than Words. Grab a copy HERE.

 

 

or…

 

 

HERE

@320

 

 

Enjoy.

 

 

Posted in funk | Leave a Comment »

Sounds Of Unity & Love

10/02/2011

 

 

 

S.O.U.L. – What Is It? / Can You Feel It

1971 & 1972 Musicor Records

 

Originating in Cleveland, OH, “S.O.U.L.” stood for “Sounds of Unity & Love.” The members were Lee Lovett (bass), Gus Hawkins (sax/flute), Walter Winston (guitar) and Paul “The God Of The Drumbreak” Stubblefield. Larry Hancock (vocals/organ) was added in 1971 and Bernard Taylor (guitar) replaced Winston in 1972. All had been involved in other bands and in the church before the formation of S.O.U.L.

They entered a “Battle of the Bands” contest in 1970, sponsored by the May Company department store in Cleveland, WHK radio station, and Musicor Records. The group won the first prize of $ 1,000 and a recording contract with Musicor. They traveled to New York City in 1971 and recorded a 45 entitled “Down in the Ghetto Parts I & II” which exceeded the expectations of Musicor by doing so well regionally. They cut a second single, then were invited back to New York to record an album. “What It Is” consisted of seven tracks and illuminated the versatility of the band.

In many ways the spirit of James Brown presides over the funky grooves of S.O.U.L..’s first album, 1971′s “What Is It?” Although short in length, this album is a heavy, soul-drenched, seven course feast of raw funk power. In Europe, where S.O.U.L. enjoys a major cult following, the jazz-funk instrumental “Burning Spear” remains in heavy rotation on the radio and in the clubs. Featuring a heart-stopping drum and flute break, “Burning Spear” is the band’s go for broke stab at CTI-style early ’70s fusion. While he may not have the chops of a first-rate jazz player, flautist Gus Hawkins reveals on “Burning Spear” that he’s certainly got the feeling. And that, in a nutshell, is what makes the music of S.O.U.L. so rewarding. It did quite well, cracking the Top 40 album spot on Billboard’s soul album chart and nesting there for two months.

On their second album, “Can You Feel It?”, the sound is a lot more refined, but never slickly polished. Covers give way to outstanding originals. S.O.U.L.. had matured as a band, and yes, you can feel it. Newcomer Bernard  Taylor’s electric guitar moves forward in the mix, growling fluidly with a tone and style similar to that of Funkadelic’s Eddie Hazel. The vocal harmonies and arrangements take inspiration from the later sounds of the Temptations and Spinners. The songwriting is strong and thoughtful, particularly on such message-heavy tracks as “Do What Ever You Want To Do”, “Peace Of Mind,” and “Love, Peace And Power.” The album kicks off strong with the inspired title track and nicely wraps itself up just like it’s forerunner with a lush flute instrumental, “Sleeping Beauty.” All in all, this is a more finely crafted album, showcasing the band at the height of their soul powers. More successful than “What Is It?”, the album remained on the soul charts for five months.

Around the time S.O.U.L. began work on their third LP, Winston quit the group and was replaced by Bernard “Beloyd” Taylor. Beloyd’s birth place is a mystery, but he grew up in Cleveland. With Taylor, they enjoyed their most successful single, “This Time Around,” which made the Top 50 R&B. The next release, “The Jones,” written by Lee Lovett, entered the Top 100 and hung around for ten weeks.

After a few more  single releases  and a never materializing 3rd album…the guys split up, going their separate ways. Gus Hawkins went to school and became a phlebotomist, then worked at the Cleveland Clinic before moving to Atlanta, GA, to work and raise his family. Paul Stubblefield joined a ten-member group called the Rasts, recording and touring before becoming a member of the Murphys (a lounge act). He also toured with various versions of the Ink Spots and the Platters before moving to Phoenix, AZ for the better part of a decade, later moving back to Cleveland where he plays regular gigs and continues to make records. Taylor moved to Los Angeles and wrote “Get Away” for Earth, Wind & Fire in 1976. He also recorded solo for 20th Century Records and later toured with Earth, Wind & Fire. Lee Lovett stayed in Cleveland and recorded tracks with other groups.

Hancock was quite active since the breakup of S.O.U.L., recording with two versions of  his band; “Truth”. The first group featured Hancock, Al Boyd, Leo Green, and Russell Watts. Al Boyd later co-wrote “Shakey Ground” for the Temptations (it was redone by Phoebe Snow). “Truth” recordings failed to chart and two members left, leaving Hancock and Green as Truth’s only members. The two recorded an album on Devaki Records as “Truth”, entitled Coming Home, that fail to grab the public  when released. Interestingly, Dennis Edwards had been kicked out of the Temptations and was hanging around Cleveland and played a big (uncredited) part in the Coming Home album.

 

Larry Hancock passed away in January of this year.  He was 62.
No Discogs or Ebay links for these….cuz they are STUPID rare.
Holler at my man Aki @ Cosmos Records, he’s got a few of both albums… expect to pay in the hundreds for either.
…But you know how we do @ Shelikes12inches.com,
We Do It Big.
HERE you GO.
@320
Enjoy, you lucky bastards.

Posted in funk, jazz, soul | Leave a Comment »

What’s Up Front That Counts

07/02/2011

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/4154/dtthecountscd1vo0.jpg

 

The Counts – What’s Up Front That Counts

Westbound Records – 1971

 

 

The Fabulous Counts were an American soul/funk group from Detroit, Michigan. They won local acclaim as an instrumental group and as a backing ensemble for visiting solo acts after their formation in 1968.

Ever humble… “We are just another Jazz-Group” Mose Davis, head of the group always said.

It was more than a Jazz band though, before the term “Funk” had even been created, these cats took the tools from jazz…  and set about creating a new, fresh, rhythmic, danceable mix of what was later called “funk” out of detroit’s ghetto in the 60′s, like the hippies on the westcoast, these young black musicians spread their vibe, energy and philosophy around their area and became one of the most influencial groups in the scene. The first funk group who didn’t use an electric bass. “We had Mose, he played the bass with the hammond organ, that gave us that specific sound” said guitarist Leroy Emmanuel in a 2009 interview.

Working with producer Richard “Popcorn” Wylie, they released the instrumental single “Jan Jan” on Detroit’s Moira Records that year, which narrowly missed hitting the US R&B charts that winter. Their second single, “Dirty Red”, passed without trace, but the third single, “Get Down People”, hit the US pop charts.

A full-length album, “Jan Jan” was released in 1969 on Cotillion Records, but the group left the label in 1970 for financial reasons.

Signing with Westbound Records that year, the group changed their name simply to “The Counts” and released this smasher of a funk album “What’s up front that counts”, There’s loads of funky guitar work, plenty of sinister breaks, and a super-heavy stoner funk groove that never lets up on this debut album as “The Counts”. Features the 8 minute jammer “What’s Up Front That Counts”, the choppy “Pack Of Lies”, the organ-heavy “Rhythm Changes”, and more.

Shortchanged by Westbound Records in favor of The Ohio Players and Funkadelic, many of the band’s original members of the group left, and the band moved to Atlanta, Georgia, signing with Aware Records, where they released their final LP’s “Love Sign” and “Funk Pump” before the group called it quits in 1976.

Over the next 25 years Mose Davis played jazz piano around Atlanta with the Mose Davis Trio, Leroy Emmanuel played in a Canadian funk band called the LMT Connection and Demo Cates operated out of Canada as well as appeared as an actor in TV and movies. In 2009, like fellow Detroit Funk Rockers  and shelikes12inches.com favorite “Black Merda” they reunited back in the line up from 1976: Mose Davis (hammond organ,vocals), Leroy Emmanuel (guitar ,vocals), Demo Cates (saxes,vocals), Jimmy “Junebug” Jackson (drums,vocals) and Jimmy Brown (saxes,voc) and have been touring the world since.

 

The Counts have been sampled by Dr.Dre, Snoop Dogg, Dilated Peoples, french rapper-IAM, Atmosphere and Rakim Allah.

 

BTW >> In case anyone is interested… The Counts are playing a gig in their hometown of Detroit on Feb 26th at the Majestic Theatre.

(I’ll be there.)

 

 

grab a copy of this great album here, but don’t expect it to be cheap.

 

or…

 


HERE

@320

 

 

Enjoy.

Posted in funk, jazz, soul | Leave a Comment »

Edwin Birdsong

05/01/2011

 

Edwin Birdsong -Edwin Birdsong

Philadelphia International Records – 1979

 

A student of Juilliard and an acomplished  Jazz musician, Edwin Birdsong is a Grammy winner and pioneer in his field. A musician, writer, producer and performer…. he has performed with many musical greats –Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, and Stevie Wonder, to name a few.

Edwin began playing music on the Organ and Piano in his Father’s Los Angeles church. While perfecting his Blues and Jazz skills at local Clubs, he would also join the Los Angeles Community Choir, singing and playing with artists such as Merry Clayton, DJ Rogers and Billy Preston.

After Being Drafted and serving a tour in Vietnam, he was stationed in Germany… where he began playing in clubs all over the country and later France before moving to New York to Study. He became a composition major at Juilliard after 2 years at the Manhattan School of Music.
In 1971 he would sign with Polydor Records, with one of the highlights of his year coming when the 86-piece New York Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall featuring his own music, transcribed from his first record.
Birdsong was signed with William Morris Agency after Sam McKeith saw him on TV. (Sam is also the agent that found Bruce Springsteen, the original BAWSE…sorry, officer Ricky!). Edwin continued recording and performing at any opportunity , issuing two albums featuring his special brand of funk, rock, fusion, and jazz, “What It Is” in 1971 and “Supernatural” in 1973.

In 1975 Birdsong decided the time was right to strike out on his own, and he released “Dance of Survival” on Bamboo Records, a label he co-owned.
He then recorded “Edwin Birdsong” for Philadelphia International in 1979, which included the popular singles “Cola Bottle Baby”and  ‘”Phizz-Phizz.”

Much success was to come from teaming with master vibist Roy Ayers. Edwin changed Roy’s style by singing with him on “Running Away” which they co-wrote which featured Edwin’s voice out front. Edwin wrote “Freaky Deaky”, for Ubiquity, Roy’s group… when they played it in a Chicago Club the people went wild and they knew it was an automatic Hit. Based on the success of those songs,  Birdsong would go on to co-produce Ayers’ LPs “Vibrations”, “Lifeline”, and “Let’s Do It”.   They also collaborated on productions and songs for the group “Ladies of the Eighties”, with Birdsong naming the group in a moment of inspiration. Edwin also managed Roy and signed him to Oscar Cohen at ABC Booking.
After years of solely working with Ayers, Birdsong recorded the singles “Perfect Love” in 1984 and “Son of a Rapper Snapper” in 1985 for his own label Singh records, named after one of his sons.

Today’s superstars know Birdsong’s secret…funk and soul with an irresistible beat. That is why Snoop Dogg, DJ Quik, GangStarr and Kanye West have all sampled his music on some of their most popular hits. If you have ever enjoyed A Tribe Called Quest’s “Bonita Apple Bum”, or De La Soul’s “Me Myself and I”, then you have really been grooving to Edwin Birdsong’s tune’s.

In 2008  Birdsong finally found the critical success that had eluded him for so many years…two Grammy’s would be his, for his part in the Kanye West song ‘Stronger’.  Two Grammy Awards  as Songwriter and Publisher with The French house music duo, Daft Punk for ‘Best Electronic/Dance Album’ and Best Dance Recording. Daft Punk had liberally sampled Birdsong’s  “Cola Bottle Baby” for their platinum selling song “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”.  Inspired by his tour Dj’s love of all things french and hipsterish, Kanye West would then go on to sample that song for “Stronger” winning  the Grammy’s for Best Rap Solo Performance and Album Of The Year

In 2009, Birdsong went back to his first love, live performance. He was a featured performer on the Key-tar with the band Trulio Disgracias on the California leg of the popular underground music festival the Warped Tour.

Rumor has it a tour is in the works for 2011…

 

Get down with a cola bottle baby right here.

 

Or

 

HERE

@320

 

Enjoy.

Posted in disco, funk, soul | Leave a Comment »

Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll

16/12/2010

 

Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll – Vaughn Mason & Crew

Brunswick Records – 1980

 

New York City native Vaughn Mason’s claim to fame is penning the spectacular disco/funk single “Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll,” credited to Vaughan Mason & Crew. That song, released on Brunswick Records, hit the top five of the U.S. R&B chart in 1980 and became the title track of the group’s first and only album.

This is probably the best-ever album of rollerskating grooves – and is the most famous entry into a short-lived funk genre that sprung up around the rollerskating craze of the late 70s and early 80s.

The rollerskate sound took a tight stepping funk groove from earlier years, and mixed it with the extended instrumental style of club music – creating a sound that was a mix of funk and disco that worked perfectly for skating around a track, and which had a huge influence on the beat of early hip hop.

The centerpiece of the album’s the massive sample track “Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll” – an instantly recognizable number that features tight vamping guitar and good choppy rhythms. The cut’s offered up here in 2 parts – and the rest of the record’s just as great, with titles that include “Roller Skate”, “We’re Gonna Funk You Up”, and “Thinking About You Baby”.

The single also became sample food for a multitude of rap songs, including Digital Underground’s “Doowutchyalike,” Heavy D’s “Black Coffee,” De La Soul’s “Cool Breeze on the Rocks,” and Redman’s “Slide and Rock On.”

Two other singles from Vaughan Mason & Crew (“Roller Skate” and “Jammin’ Big Guitar”) followed for Brunswick, though neither fared hardly as well as the first. Later on, Mason teamed up with Butch Dayo for a pair of Salsoul singles — “You Can Do It” and “Party on the Corner” — both of which im my opinion suck pretty bad.

 

Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll and grab this funky roller disco gem here.

 

OR

 

HERE

@320

 

Enjoy.

Posted in disco, funk | 1 Comment »

The Saga Continues

06/12/2010

 

The Saga Continues – Roger Troutman

Warner Brothers Records – 1984

 

BONUS POST!!!!!!!!

I meant to add this yesterday, but wasn’t able to.

 

anyway, it’s right…

 

HERE

 

@320

 

Enjoy.

Posted in funk | Leave a Comment »

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