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. 👍
Aah, thanks, man. My record page is on Instagram only. The title is @returntorecords, and I'd be honored if you found the time to take a look and see if anything piques your interest. I try to write something personal and meaningful about every record I put up there. 🙏❤️
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. 👍
Wow. Great comment. Is your record group on Substack or elsewhere?
Aah, thanks, man. My record page is on Instagram only. The title is @returntorecords, and I'd be honored if you found the time to take a look and see if anything piques your interest. I try to write something personal and meaningful about every record I put up there. 🙏❤️