DJ's Old-Time Granny and Dyn-O-Mite spin old school soul, funk, and disco jams! The show airs on special occasions on WCOM radio, 103.5 FM in Carrboro, NC, and streams online worldwide. www.resoul.org
Another re-run from yesterday's edition of Choice Sides, this jazz-funk track spoke to me. The spaced-out vibe that kicks in once the horns and guitar solos get going seemed a fitting way to welcome the impending lunar eclipse.
It was the closing cut from Brazilian keyboardist (and future disco/funk producer) Eumir Deodato's Prelude LP (1973), his first US release. Co-written by drummer Billy Cobham and co-arranged by Bob James, featuring Stanley Clarke on bass and a solo conga break by Ray Barretto (apparently, only featured on the original, extended version of the track which appeared on the quadrophonic release, the one included here). Prelude went gold, selling 200,000+ copies and hitting #3 on the Billboard album charts, an amazing feat for a jazz record.
And as I was schooled by Solomon Gibson III, host of WCOM's Backbone, Prelude helped spell the beginning of the end for CTI Records. As label owner Creed Taylor began looking to replicate Deodato's success, the label's jazz mainstays started heading for the exits, decamping to other labels where they weren't as pressured to achieve cross-over sales.
Here's my latest Joint Of The Day, it's actually from a while ago, but I looked at it again last night and decided it deserved honorary "double-jointed" status for the second go-round.
The track is originally from this kids' record called Free To Be You And Me that Marlo Thomas produced in 1972, in partnership with the Ms. Magazine Foundation. All the songs were designed to teach kids positive lessons about gender and racial equality. I found a really scratched up copy at the thrift store, then scored a better one in the dolla bin at All Day Records! It was actually in the kids section, but it was still one buck. Unfortunately, the two best songs were gouged and skip! WTF. Silly crumbsnatchers.
But, it doesn't matter. Becuz the joint I'm digging most is a YouTube-only remix of one of the best two tracks – Sisters and Brothers. It's remixed by DJ Crimson Death with an accompanying video remix of footage from the 1974 TV SPECIAL featuring all kinds of superstars including MJ & Roberta Flack.
Today's joint has been my favorite for the past few days...this song right here. It's by One Way, whose biggest hit was Cutie Pie in 1982. They were originally known as Al Hudson & The Partners.
I love Hold It's final jam in particular, the funk just keeps funkin', no fade, no letting up, just boom boom boom, slapping every booty on the floor with horn blasts and that fierce, thumping bassline.
I've been on a One Way kick lately, scoring three of their classic records thanx to the usual suspects - the local thrift store circuit and the dollar bins at All Day Records, which is where I picked up the LP this track dates from, Fancy Dancer (1981). Still with the original Record Bar price sticker on it ($5.99).
Back in the day nearly 30 years ago, that was a significant chunk of change. But it was worth it if you were getting records like this one. Also slammin' on here is Get Up (If you don't know how to get down...shoulda told me!), Come Give Me Your Love, and Burn It. Plus beautiful slow jams, the kind One Way served up so well (Your Love Is All I Need and Show Me).
On a sunny Saturday afternoon in October, the second Soul'ed Out, UnLtd. radio show went down in Carrboro from 3-4 pm, with your faithful hosts DJ's Old-Time Granny and Dyn-O-Mite along for the ride. It was the day before Halloween, and we kicked out a special gospel edition. Mad props going out to our long-distance virtual guest DJ for the day, C-line from the ATL, who hooked us up with her Top 3 gospel tracks so we could do a C-line countdown!
As it turned out, both of us brought lots more tracks than we had time to play. Especially since this show was a shorter than usual, one-hour-version of the SOUL experience. So maybe we'll do another gospel show sometime. Continuing his run as SOUL's most loyal listener, DJ Tongue called in another request. And we had fans worldwide bug us after the fact for the podcast.
One track we ran out of time for was by Marvin Gaye – God Is Love (1971) (the LP version from What's Going On, not the original 7" version). This was especially unfortunate - the track clocks in at less than 2 minutes, and not only did both of us bring this LP, we both chose that song as the one that most needed sharing!
Kirk Franklin & The Family – Melodies From Heaven (Remix) (1996) (C-line's #3 pick)
Ebbo – The Way (produced by Osunlade)
New Jersey Mass Choir – I Want To Know What Love Is 12" (1985)
Shackleford Singers – God Is All Over Me
Main Ingredient – Why Can't We All Unite (1971) (from Black Seeds LP)
TALK SET #2
Dottie Peoples – He's An On Time God (2004) (C-line's #2 pick)
MC Hammer – Pray (1990)
TALK SET #3
Lauryn Hill & Tanya Blount – His Eye Is On The Sparrow (1993) (from Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit) (C-line's #1 pick)
Here's one I'm straight up fiending for lately. Sharon Redd - You Got My Love (Special Remixed Version, aka Francois K. 12" remix), it was the flip to the Francois K. remix of Can You Handle It, the original 12" dropped in 1981.
Still spinning and remixing today, Francois K. is one-third of the DJ emsemble Body & Soul, along with Joe Claussell and Danny Krivit. Dedicated to keeping the original communal, positive spirit of underground disco alive in the tradition of the Loft and the Garage, their next U.S. event is on Sunday, January 16, 2011 at Webster Hall in NYC.
After kicking it live tag-team style on old school jams all summer long, unlocking the funk at spots like Fuse, Milltown, and Lucky #7, DJ's Old-Time Granny and Dyn-O-Mite finally made it behind the decks at WCOM. We sent the overheated summer of '10 out in style on the first night of Labor Day weekend.
Lots of great DJs have come and gone in this town over the years (not to mention all the ones still in the house). But it's safe to say that the hours from 10-midnight on that Friday were among the funkiest to ever hit the airwaves around here!
Some listeners from far-away spots like H-town (Henderson, NC), FLA, and Hot-lanta tuned in on our live online worldwide stream after getting the SOUL lowdown via Facebook. DJ Tongue called in AND e-mailed us his funk-da-fied requests. That's a loyal listener right there.
And we hooked up the vintage Lost City boombox and a rotating disco light just inside the station's barbed wire fence to create the bare bones edition of Club Taqueria, the first step towards realizing SOUL Productions' velvet rope parking lot dreams! Even with a low-rent soundsystem and no frills ambience, some funk-lovin' late night revelers were spotted getting their boogie on. It was a party at the taco truck, with good tunes and eats all around.
Aside from the missing 40 minutes of this show getting LOST FOREVER in an inaugural technical f-up, everything flowed like butter. SOUL #1 was mad fun!
Stacy Lattisaw – Dynamite (1980)
Luther Vandross – Sugar and Spice (1981)
Free Style – The Party Has Begun (1984) (written and produced by "Pretty" Tony Butler)
YBM feat. Mark Twayne – What's Going On (1998)
Thank God It's Friday trailer (1978)
Eighties Ladies - Ladies of the Eighties (1980) (written and produced by Roy Ayers)
TALK SET #2
Digital Emotion – Get Up, Do You Wanna Funk (Action) (1983)
Shannon – Do You Wanna Get Away (1985)
Detroit Emeralds – Let's Get Together (1978)
Roy Ayers – Freaky Deaky (1978)
Ralph Carter – Higher and Higher (1976) (mixed by Tom Moulton)
TALK SET #3
---The Infamous Missing 40 Minutes, final third of SOUL #1---
L.T.D. – Love To The World (1976)
Skatetown U.S.A. trailer (1979)
The Dazz Band – Skate Lovers (1980)
Ashford & Simpson – Get Up And Do Something (1978)
American Gypsy – I'm OK, You're OK (1980)
The System – Now I Am Electric (1982)
Jago – I'm Going To Go (1983)
Sweetwater – Motherless Child (Live, 1969)
TALK SET #4
Marvin Gaye – A Funky Space Reincarnation (1978)
(Also somewhere in there were the trailer for Disco 9000 (1976), and a PSA featuring the Abominable Snowman & friends reminding listeners to eat their disco veggies.)
I gotta go to bed. Although I just cued up the instrumental version of Midnight Powers - Dance (It's My Life), which is a great track, from the Prime Cuts 1 double LP (1981) on Sugarscoop's Importe/12 label.
I just stumbled across a great video for the Trammps' Body Contact Contract track from the Disco Inferno LP (1976), which was also memorably featured on the Space Angel soundtrack:
(Note from years later - This was a video which of course, at some point got deleted by the YouTube fuzz. I can't even remember what was so great about it. But the track remains a classic.)
From Ashford & Simpson's 1977 LP Send It, the track I'm liking today is Don't Cost You Nothing, which sounds like Rose Royce. The extended 12" mix got spun at the Paradise Garage, among other places:
Right now I'm listening to Double Exposure's Ten Percent LP, for the first time in a few years. I remember this used to be on my heavy rotation, now I can see why, because it's super smooth. Now Everyman has kicked in, which is the best track on the LP, and I'm trippin'.
"Every man has to carry his own weight"...a timely message, indeed. And the instrumentation...wow...the Salsoul Orchestra at its best. Now I just discovered that Joe Claussell of Body & Soul fame did a 10 minute re-edit of this joint, and it sounds great, too.
On the flip, My Love Is Free is the second best jam on here, it went gold.
The title track has the distinction of being the first-ever 12" extended mix released on vinyl. At least that's what I thought. And according to Wikipedia, I was right...the "remix by Walter Gibbons being the first commercially available 12-inch single."
Old-Time Granny invited me to come check out this event, where she was spinning some along with a couple of other DJ's including Ethan Clauset, who was spending his summer furiously working to open All Day Records. Next door at Nightlight, local video artist kingpin Neill Prewitt (aka DJ Tongue) was co-hosting a night featuring video shorts from Yuxtapongo and a special out-of-town guest, the dude behind TV Carnage. Mr. (Pinky) Carnage undoubtedly showcased lots of demented weirdness, but all I caught when I ducked my head in there was the Best Of Totally For Teens. This short clip really doesn't do it justice, the whole thing was super funny.
(Note from 2016 - Looks like years later, Pinky got himself a deal with Adult Swim, and T4T was made available for the whole planet to enjoy! That's awesome. But we saw it first at Nightlight!)
It was a fun little scene at Fuse, even tho' I rolled up after the dancefloor crowd had largely dissipated. But me and Old-Time Granny tag-teamed together for the first ever time, an event that led directly to the formation of the international Soul'ed Out, Unltd. juggernaut.
The night's theme was love songs, and here's what rekkids I brought to the table:
Spinners – Once You Fall In Love (1979) (from Here To Eternally LP)
Eddie Kendricks – I Want To Live My Life With You (or) Diamond Girl (1977) (from Slick LP – can't remember which track got played)
Fat Larry's Band – Fascination (1976) (from Feel It LP, written by Luther Vandross & David Bowie)
Muscle Shoals Horns – Addicted To Your Love (1977) (from Doin' It To The Bone LP)
The Originals – Six Million Dollar Man (1977) (from Down To Love Town LP)
