BARRY WHITE, KURTIS BLOW, STICK MCGHEE
Ending Black Music Month with a medley of music, memories and fun
You mention to anyone the name Barry White and they’ll say, “He made disco records” as if disco was a sound and not a location. And, I’ll admit, but the late ‘70s had become associated with some very specific traits (hi hat, strings, conga breaks, annoying lyrics.) But White, who is a foundational disco artists, in fact made extended dance jams in a medley of styles had the favor of Motown and funk. He was not a one dimensional musician or singer.
Recently I went down the Barry White rabbit hole to revisit tracks from some of his best albums, 1973’s ‘Stone Gon’ and1977’s ‘Barry White Sings for Someone You Love.’ “Honey Please, Can’t Ya See,” which was the second single from ‘Stone Gon’, is symphonic soul with a melody right out of Motown’s Holland-Dozier-Holland playbook. One of the most striking things about my re-listen is White’s vocal approach. He’s not in the league of the Four Tops’s Levi Stubbs in terms of his vocal range, but White pushes his baritone until it almost cracks as he communicates how much his love has saved him. Unlike some of the moronic disco lyrics to come, White’s song has real emotional content, which the lush arrangement supports.
“Playing Your Game” was the second single from ‘Barry White Sings,’ and was the follow up to the better known “It’s Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me.” Both start with a stark funk mininalism and, compared to his productions earlier in the decade, as much more sparse with more space for White’s vocals and the rhythm section to shine. On “Playing Your Game,” White is almost a guest vocalist as the sound of the cymbals, snare, bass and guitar really carry the tune. This is ‘77 when disco musical cliches are everywhere, yet White was actually pulling back on the excess and leaning back into groove.
By the way, playing White’s records with good head phones on (not ear buds) is truly aural seduction manifest.
On this day, I need to shout out my mentor and former roommate Robert ‘Rocky’ Ford Jr who masterminded the early career of rapper Kurtis Blow. A lot of the premise for this 1980 jam was developed in our apartment in Jamaica, Queens before it became the first gold rap 12-inch single and proved that Kurtis was a star. Rocky was born on this day in 1949 and his legacy lives on.
Oh yeah, in the last section of the record you hear “party peopple in the back” rhyming back to Kurtis and making noise. I am prouldy one of thoe people and it remains my only vocal performance on a hit record!
Wanted to run back this interview I did about my documentary, Finding the Funk, that’s on line at the Don’t Knock the Rock Festival (dktrfest.com) and also up on Amazon. I had a great time talking with Allison and Tiffany Anders, the director and musical supervisor who run the festival, about making the documentary the journey of one of my favorite genres.
I wanted to end Black Music Month on a fun note and no song makes me smile more than Stick McGhee’s 1949 recording of “Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-0-Dee.” It was originally cut for a small indie label down South ‘47. The guys at a New York start up record company heard it, found Stick’s through his brother and recut it. That new young label was Atlantic Records and the its neophyte owner Ahmet Ertegun was the man who chased down Stricks, who was staying with his brother Brownie in Harlem. This would be the first hit on Atlantic, reaching number two on the R&B chart, and beginning that company’s long successful history in the black music.
I love the history, but really love the chorus which shouts out a list of alcoholic beverages folks were enjoying in post-World War II America. The lyrics are embedded in my brain and, if you listen enough, they’ll be in your lips like elderberry wine.
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If you like this Substack check out the books THE NELSON GEORGE MIXTAPE books that inspire it. You can find Volume 1 and 2 at https://pacificpacific.pub.
Such an interesting post. Thank you. Firstly, I too have been rediscovering my old Barry White albums, which I bought in the early 80s as I was too young when they were originally released. It's been a thrilling experience to listen again with fresh ears, especially now that the disco years are long behind us. It's easy to distinguish the highlights in Barry White's music and recognize the mighty grooves and elements of funk he and Gene Page built the songs on.
Secondly, the first or second gig I ever attended was Kurtis Blow and Davy DMX in the early 80s in my hometown of Sheffield, England. DMX appeared behind the turntable decks and played the intro to Musical Youth's "Pass The Dutchie." At first, we all thought, "Oh, not this overplayed song." Then he scratched the intro and made the phrase "rule the nation, with version" repeat over and over, cutting it short by a word each time. The whole crowd suddenly reacted with a unified velocity and surged towards his decks. Out strolled Kurtis Blow, and he started rapping over Davy DMX's turntable wizardry. This was a first for the Sheffield crowd. It was brand new hip-hop from the Bronx, and we had never seen or heard anything like it before. For the first 10 minutes, instead of dancing, the crowd was transfixed on Davy DMX's hands and what he was doing on his wheels of steel.
Finally, I've long been mildly obsessed with Stick McGhee's lively ode to the people in NOLA having a wild time drinking various wines, from elderberry to blackberry. I've always been curious about how elderberry or blackberry wine might taste, especially after hearing how much fun they seem to be having with it in the song. A bunch of my old records were recently discovered in the roof space of my parents' house (now deceased), which I thought were all thrown out. It turns out half were thrown out and half were shoved in boxes in the attic. I shipped them over (to the USA where I now live) and started an Instagram page documenting my rediscovery @returntorecords. See you there?
P.S. I loved your Death of Rhythm & Blues book which I read when I was moving across the country in the mid 90s. 👍