Grooveroom Talking - 18 December 2009

Welcome back to my third radio show!

Carrying on the theme from previous shows the celebrity disco track this week is Gone, Gone, Gone from Johnny Mathis, and our music from the movies is the Julio Gutierrez version of Last Tango in Paris.

We also have some tracks exploring the boundaries between easy listening, jazz and disco, and finishing with a great favourite of mine from Eddie Kendricks.

Hope you enjoy listening - the weekend starts here!

1.		Sly and the Family Stone - Dance to the Music	1968
2.		Grey & Hanks - Dancin'	1978
3.		Geraldine Hunt - Can't Fake the Feeling	1980
4.		Cheri - Murphy's Law	1982
5.		Johnny Mathis - Gone, Gone, Gone	1979
6.		Julio Gutierrez - Last Tango in Paris	1973
7.		Syd Dale - Disco Tek	1973
8.		Silver Convention - Save Me	1975
9.		Steely Dan - Time Out of Mind	1980
10.		Shakatak - Easier Said Than Done	1981
11.		Eddie Kendricks - Date with the Rain	1977

Grooveroom Talking 11 December 09

This is number two in my series of disco oriented radio shows and I had great fun putting it together. I'm going to try and make these shows a weekly event as long as time permits!

I've got some great tracks from disco's earlier days to start us off, a curiosity from Ethel Merman, and this week's cinema spot looks at the 1970 British film "Groupie Girl" and the track "Sweet Motion" which is featured in the film.

We follow that with a couple of italo-disco tracks from around 1980 and finish with a slow dance to Barbra Streisand's "Guilty" from the same year!

Don't forget to leave me a message on the blog if you've got any suggestions for future shows - I'd love to hear from you!

The tracks I'm playing and talking about this week are:

1.		Steely Dan - Do It Again	1972
2.		Zulema - Giving Up	1973
3.		Love Unlimited Orchestra - Love's Theme	1973
4.		Patti Jo - Make Me Believe in You	1975
5.		Ethel Merman - There's No Business Like Show Business	1979
6.		Salon Band - Sweet Motion	1970
7.		Passengers - I'll be Standing Beside You	1979
8.		Pino D'Angio - Ma Quale Idea	1980
9.		Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb - Guilty	1980

Grooveroom Talking

Felt like trying something new this time, so instead of just stringing the music together I thought I'd talk about it too - a bit like a radio broadcast, so hope you find it entertaining! Apologies for any blips in the sound - this was something of a tryout session as far as my equipment goes. Anyway looking forward to reading any comments you want to make about the show, so please don't be shy!

The tracks I'm playing and talking about are:

1.		Final Edition - Betcha Can't Love Just One	1980
2.		Harlow - Movie Queen	1980
3.		Alan Hawkshaw - Beat Me 'til I'm Blue	unknown
4.		Love De-Luxe - Here Comes that Sound Again	1979
5.		Paul Zaza - Love Me 'til I Die	1980
6.		Banzaii - Chinese Kung Fu	1975
7.		O C Smith - Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp	1968

A Trip to the Early 80s

Some of the tracks in this selection show how disco started to change in the early 80s. At number 2, for example, we have Harlow, a Canadian group who made quite a splash at the turn of the decade. Disco had already started to retreat back to the underground at this time, so tracks which were big on the dance floor were no longer likely to be chart hits. As far as I know, all of Harlow's music comes from the same album called Taking Off, and they all seem to have a happy, slightly wistful quality which I love.

The D-Train track was unusual in that it was both a chart hit and a dance floor hit. Very much a sound of the changing times when it first came out, I love its chunky beat and that electronic keyboard hook!

Slightly more laid back sounds from Ronnie Dyson and Geraldine Hunt next. Geraldine Hunt was another Canadian-produced performer, from a time when Canada was a real force for change on the disco scene. Not only did she have some great dance tracks of her own, but so did her children - Rosalind Hunt and Freddie James. Rosalind went on to be form the group Cheri who gave us the annoying but catchy Murphy's Law in 1982.

A classic at number 8 from Loleatta Holloway - you know it's good when 8 minutes just flies by and you still want more!

Right back to the late 60s to finish. The Sly Stone track is among many nominations for the "first disco record". In my view Dance to the Music has a better claim to the title than many!

A slow track to finish from one of my favourite singers, Madeline Bell. She didn't have that many hits under her own name, this cover of I'm Gonna Make You Love Me being no exception. However, to quote Peter Jones from the notes to her retrospective CD collection "Doin' Things" Madeline was able to "offer personal interpretations that neither differ radically from the originals, nor particularly remind one of them either." And I take that as praise!

1.	00:00	John Forde - Stardance	1978
2.	04:27	Harlow - Movie Queen	1980
3.	10:17	Grey & Hanks - Dancin'	1978
4.	16:52	D-Train - You're the One for Me	1981
5.	21:48	Ronnie Dyson - All Over Your Face	1983
6.	27:38	Geraldine Hunt - Can't Fake the Feeling	1980
7.	32:32	Loleatta Holloway - Runaway	1977
8.	40:54	Muscle Shoals Horns - Breakdown	1976
9.	44:16	Sly Stone - Dance to the Music	1968
10.	46:53	Madeline Bell - I'm Gonne Make You Love Me	1968

Mixed Bag

I guess hard-core disco lovers will hate my selections, as I love messing around at the fringes of the genre. But I reckon if something's danceable, it doesn't have to sound like disco to get included here.

Hence the first two entries in this selection. Late 60s pop really, but who could not like Madeline Bell - a singer who had yet to make her mark when she recorded this unsuccessful single in 1968. Biljo by Clodagh Rodgers is catchy, though not her biggest success by a long way. As so often on Clodagh's earlier recordings, the lyrics seem almost nonsensical, but I love the general sound.

I'm not a huge fan of African influenced disco, but find the Manu Dibango track at No 3 pretty powerful. More borderline disco from Sniff'n'the Tears next - in fact this is one of my favourite examples of rock disco.

The most unlikely people got into disco in the 70s - as witness track No 5 from the Glitter Band - and this was a recent discovery for me, as was Idris Muhammed at No 6.

We break the dance mood slightly at no 7 with the Polish Radio Orchestra. Time to pour a Bacardi (or perhaps put the Ovaltine on?).

Shakatak don't even seem to be retro cool these days. A forgotten sound of the early 80s, I suppose, but a good record of the jazzy influences around in those times. A classic from George McRae at track 9 - one of the sounds that really started the disco explosion back in '74.

This seems to flow nicely into the Don Ray track - apparently a Frenchman named Raymond Donnez in reality - and then we have Syd Dale's Disco Tek which is sleazy and cheesy all at once! Finishing off for once with an uptemp number - and pretty classic disco at that from Carrie Lucas. This is the 1980 remake of her 1977 success. Never quite clear why it was remade as not much changed apart from the title!

1.	00:00	Madeline Bell - Thinkin'	1968
2.	02:33	Clodagh Rodgers - Biljo	1969
3.	05:32	Manu Dibango - Dikalo	1972
4.	09:29	Sniff'n'the Tears - Driver's Seat	1979
5.	13:05	Glitter Band - Makes You Blind	1976
6.	18:57	Idris Muhammed - Could Heaven Ever be Like This	1977
7.	27:18	Polish Radio Orchestra - Pondering	1974
8.	30:11	Shakatak - Night Birds	1981
9.	34:26	George McRae - Rock Your Baby	1974
10.	40:40	Don Ray - Garden of Love	1978
11.	45:06	Syd Dale - Disco Tek	1973
12.	47:50	Carrie Lucas - Keep Smilin'	1980

Funkytown - The Montreal Disco Era

Came across this very interesting radio documentary from CBC Canada about the Montreal disco scene.

Canada, and Montreal in particular, was a major contributor to disco music and this programme reflects on how Montreal's position as a cultural bridge between Europe and North America may have been the reason.

A few curious omissions, however (or perhaps there's a Part 2 planned?). So no mention of important artists like Gino Soccio and Lime here. But this seems more like an analysis of the earlier years, so perhaps there is more to come. There's certainly enough material to fill a second programme, as Canada was a major player in the retrenchment of disco after it fell out of mainstream favour around mid 1979, and continued to be an influence on the genre well into the 80s.

Easy Listening Disco

I've called this selection Easy Listening Disco because that's just what it is - something like a Radio 2 playlist perhaps (but a good one, of course!).

South Side Movement is a recent discovery for me and we kick off with a nice funky instrumental. Next up is The Cutter - a fun Rediffusion library track, linking on to Eddie Kendricks early disco sound with Date with the Rain.

A bit of celebrity disco at track 4, but Johnny Mathis does it so nicely we can forgive him! Then at track 5 something interesting - an uncredited female singer on Sounds Like Soul's version of Son of a Preacher Man (another Rediffusion library track), and I must say whoever she is she gives Dusty a run for her money.

Going way back in time next for the Frank Sinatra track. This and the end track are from an EP that's been lying about since I was a child. Usual classy vocals accompanied by a very uptempo and swinging Billy May Orchestra on these two tracks.

A soulful sound from session singer Rosetta Hightower next, and some more funk from LTG Exchange, then on to another track from the 1980 film Prom Night. This track accompanies the dancing at the prom disco just before all the carnage begins!

We finish up with some classic pop from one-hit wonders Ace, and some late 60s northern soul from Marilyn Powell before ending with the second Frank Sinatra track.

1.	00:00	South Side Movement - Mud Wind	1972
2.	04:25	Vick Flick - The Cutter
3.	06:29	Eddie Kendricks - Date With the Rain	1972
4.	15:02	Johnny Mathis - Gone, Gone, Gone	1979
5.	21:22	Sounds Like Soul - Son of a Preacher Man	1969
6.	23:44	Frank Sinatra - Dancing in the Dark	1959
7.	26:06	Rosetta Hightower - Friendship Train
8.	29:51	LTG Exchange - Waterbed	1974
9.	35:22	Paul Zaza - Love Me Til I Die	1980
10.	39:58	Ace - How Long	1975
11.	43:06	Syd Dale - Time for a Change	1974
12.	46:30	Marilyn Powell - Something to Hold on To	1968
13.	49:14	Frank Sinatra - Baubles, Bangles and Beads	1959

Please note this mix is presented for information and demonstration only in a low bitrate mono stream

Re-discoveries

After a long gap I've finally got another mix of my favourite dance and slow dance tracks together. A few notable ones here for example, track no 3 was composed for the Canadian horror film Prom Night. It's one of the few horror films I know of with a disco soundtrack. The female vocalist was never credited, so I've listed it under composer / arranger Paul Zaza.

Track no 4, Dolly My Love by The Moments was never one I was particularly fond of - until now! By chance I happened to hear it while supermarket shopping this week, and suddenly thought what a great, happy sounding dance track.

Wasn't sure about including track 5, by Andy Williams, but it's a good example of "celebrity disco", a phenomenon that occurred around 1979 when a mixed bag of established artists started recording disco tracks - ironically just as the disco bubble was about to burst, in the US at least.

The Steely Dan track at no 7 was another re-discovery for me. I recently found the album Can't Buy a Thrill in a Manchester charity shop, and was struck by how strong this track is. Ditto with Maria Muldaur at no 8 - known the song for years, but it really does repay another listen.

I've used the Banzaii track so much lately, just because I love it. I guess at the time it was very much the poor relation of Carl Douglas's "Kung Fu Fighting" but of the two I reckon I now prefer Banzaii.

We finish up with Barbra Streisand and Guilty. Never a huge Streisand or Bee Gees fan - this is actually a duet with Barry Gibb - but I just love this, and it seems an ideal slow dance track.

Here's the complete listing:

1.	00:00	Gary's Gang - Keep on Dancing	1978
2.	04:25	Peter Gatah - Rock Me Now	1980
3.	06:29	Paul Zaza - Prom Night	1980
4.	15:02	The Moments - Dolly My Love	1975
5.	21:22	Andy Williams - Love Story	1979
6.	23:44	Raydio - Jack and Jill	1977
7.	26:06	Steely Dan - Do It Again	1972
8.	29:51	Maria Muldaur - Midnight at the Oasis	1974
9.	35:22	Banzaii - Chinese Kung Fu	1975
10.	39:58	Barbra Streisand - Guilty	1980

Please note this mix is presented for information and demonstration only in a low bitrate mono stream

Disco Mix 3

Lounge-disco, rock-disco, jazz-disco, even plain ordinary disco -- it's all here!

00:00 Julio Gutierrez - Last Tango in Paris (1974)
03:06 Steely Dan - Time Out of Mind (1980)
06:45 Betty Wright - Where is the Love (1974)
10:17 Manu Dibango - Dikolo (1972)
14:05 Timebox - Beggin' (1967)
16:34 Salon Band - Sweet Motion (1970)
19:58 O C Smith - Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp (1968)
24:51 Love De Luxe - Here Comes That Sound Again (1979)
29:17 Alan Hawkshaw - Powerboat (1974)
30:38 Skatt Brothers - Walk the Night (1980)
35:09 Roachford - Cuddly Toy (1987)
38:40 Marlena Shaw - Haven't We Been in Love Before (1979)
42:26 Martin Circus - Disco Circus (1979)
47:10 Herb Alpert - Rise (1979)
53:14 George Benson - Give Me The Night (1980)
56:38 Eighties Ladies - Turned on to You (1980)



Please note this mix is presented for information and demonstration only in a low bitrate mono stream

Disco Mix 1

Carol Douglas - Doctor's Orders (1974)
The Equals - Baby Come Back (1968)
Bimbo Jet - El Bimbo (1975)
Love Unlimited - Move Me No Mountain (1974)
Titanic - Sultana (1972)
Patti Jo - Make Me Believe in You (1975)
Barrabas - Wild Safari (1971)
Titanic - Macumba (1972)
Pattie Brooks - My Heart Belongs to You (1979)
Len Boone - Love Won't be Denied (1978)
Zulema - Giving Up (1973)
Barrabas - Woman (1971)

Please note this mix is presented for information and demonstration only in a low bitrate mono stream

Disco Mix 2

Marshall Hain - Dancing in the City (1978)
Steam - Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye (1970)
The Chequers - Undecided Love (1975)
Jumbo - Turn on to Love (1976)
Munich Machine - Whiter Shade of Pale (1976)
Andy Kim - Rock Me Gently (1974)
Love Unlimited Orchestra - Love's Theme (1973)
Donnie Elbert - Where Did Our Love Go (1972)
Forrest - Rock the Boat (1983)
Gonzalez - Cuba (1980)
Herbie Hancock - I Thought It Was You (1979)
Banzaii - Chinese Kung Fu (1975)
Dick Hyman - Strobo (1969)
Elephant's Memory - Mongoose (1970)
Barbra Streisand - Shake Me Wake Me (1975)
Silvetti - Spring Rain (1976)



Please note this mix is presented for information and demonstration only in a low bitrate mono stream