Showing posts with label disco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label disco. Show all posts
December 30, 2023
February 1, 2021
45 RPMs 55: Rick James - Super Freak 12" 45
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design by Ginny Livingston
logo design by Norman Moore
photo by Ron Slenzak
detail photo of album cover by Styrous®
Rick James
was born in Buffalo, New York on this date in 1948; he was an American singer-songwriter,
multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He is best known for his hit single, Super Freak. I remember dancing madly to it at discos in the early eighties.
Rick James ~ Super Freak 12" 45
Side 1, in album sleeve
photo by Styrous®
In 1981, James released his most successful album, Street Songs, which included career-defining hits such as Give It to Me Baby and this song, Super Freak, which became his biggest crossover single, mixing elements of funk, disco, rock and new wave.
James also had a successful career as a songwriter and producer for other artists including Teena Marie, the Mary Jane Girls, the Temptations, Eddie Murphy and Smokey Robinson.
James' mainstream success had peaked by the ttime of the release of his album Glow in 1985 and his appearance on the popular TV show, The A-Team. His subsequent album releases failed to sell as well as their predecessors.
Rapper MC Hammer sampled James' Super Freak for his 1990 hit, U Can't Touch This which won Best R&B Song at the 1991 Grammy Awards. James received his only Grammy for composing the song.
By the early 1990s, James' career was hampered by his drug addiction
and he was embroiled with legal issues. In 1993, James was convicted for
two separate instances of kidnapping and torturing two different women
while under the influence of crack cocaine, resulting in a three-year sentence at Folsom State Prison. James was released on parole in 1996 and released the album Urban Rapsody
in 1997. James' health problems halted his career again after he had a
mild stroke during a concert in 1998, and he announced a
semi-retirement.
photo by Mark Weiss/WireImage
On the morning of August 6, 2004, James' caretaker found him dead in his
Los Angeles home at the Oakwood Toluca Hills apartment complex, just
outside Burbank. He had died from pulmonary failure and cardiac failure, associated with his various health conditions of diabetes, a stroke, pacemaker, and heart attack.
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A - Super Freak (Disco Mix) - 7:05
Side 2:
B - Super Freak (Pt. 1) - 3:18
Companies, etc.
Side 1:
A - Super Freak (Disco Mix) - 7:05
Side 2:
B - Super Freak (Pt. 1) - 3:18
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Motown Record Corporation
Manufactured By – RCA Ltd.
Distributed By – RCA Ltd.
Published By – Jobete Music (UK) Ltd.
Manufactured By – RCA Ltd.
Distributed By – RCA Ltd.
Published By – Jobete Music (UK) Ltd.
Credits:
Arranged By – Rick James
Arranged By [String] – Daniel LeMelle, Reggie Andrews, Rick James
Executive-Producer – Alonzo Miller
Producer – Rick James
Written-By – A. Miller*, Rick James
Arranged By – Rick James
Arranged By [String] – Daniel LeMelle, Reggie Andrews, Rick James
Executive-Producer – Alonzo Miller
Producer – Rick James
Written-By – A. Miller*, Rick James
Notes:
From The Album "Street Songs" G8-1002M1
Rick James – Super Freak
Label: Motown – TMGT 1241
Format: Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1981
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Disco, Funk
Label: Motown – TMGT 1241
Format: Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1981
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Disco, Funk
Viewfinder links:
Global Grind ~ I’m Rick James B*tch: 6 of His Wildest Moments
RollingStone ~ From Dali to Bestiality: 10 Stories in Rick James’ Memoir
udiscover music ~ Super Freaky: The Life Of Badass Rick James
YouTube links:
Music ~
Rick James ~
The Insane Story Of Rick James (documentary)
Styrous® ~ Monday, September 7, 2020
July 17, 2020
May 5, 2020
Meco (Domenico Monardo) articles/mentions
June 22, 2019
Giorgio Moroder articles/mentions
~
Berlin & Top Gun @ 30
John Heard & Cat People
DAF ~ Alles Ist Gut
Giorgio Moroder
date & photographer unknown
October 19, 2018
20,000 vinyl LPs 154: Divine ~ Greatest Hits
Divine (Harris Glenn Milstead) was born on October 19, 1945. He was an American actor, singer and drag queen who worked with John Waters (link below). Divine was also the inspiration for Ursula the Sea Witch, the Walt Disney character created for the film, The Little Mermaid (link below).
Divine was a character actor, usually performing female roles in cinematic and theatrical appearances, and adopted a female drag persona for his music career.
Divine was a character actor, usually performing female roles in cinematic and theatrical appearances, and adopted a female drag persona for his music career.
Divine's big hit was So, You Think You're a Man. Male body builders are featured in the video for the song but Mae West (link below) beat Divine to it by 50 years. Divine also did a cover of Walk Like a Man by the Four Seasons (links to both below).
Divine ~ Greatest Hits
vinyl LP album cover
photo by Styrous®
In 1984 Divine released an album entitled, The Story So Far, in Australia, Europe and Japan. The same year, he released this album, Greatest Hits, in Canada on the Unidisc label. This album has none of the songs that were his hits; instead it has songs he sung that are seldom heard.
Needless to say, all are Hi-NRG tunes written by Bobby Orlando execpt Native Love, which was written with Marc Bauman. Shoot Your Shot was produced by Spanish record producers.
Love Reaction was recorded twice upon the suggestion of Divine's Dutch record company, the second version modeled after the successful New Order, Blue Monday single. A suit was threatened against Orlando for audio plagiarism, but never materialized (link below).
Love Reaction was recorded twice upon the suggestion of Divine's Dutch record company, the second version modeled after the successful New Order, Blue Monday single. A suit was threatened against Orlando for audio plagiarism, but never materialized (link below).
Divine ~ Greatest Hits
vinyl LP album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Shoot Your Shot was produced by Toni Peret (Antonio Peret Alcalde) and José María Castells. It became Divine's second single to chart on the Dutch Top 40; it debuted at #26 and eventually peaked at #3. The song spent a total of 10 weeks on the chart. Shoot Your Shot was certified gold (100,000 copies) in the Netherlands.
Divine ~ Greatest Hits
vinyl LP album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
vinyl LP album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Native Love (Step By Step) became Divine's first single to chart on the Dutch Singles Chart.
It debuted at #37 before climbing to and peaking at #28 in its second
week. The song spent a total of 11 weeks on the chart.
Native Love (Step By Step remains Divine's highest charting song on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Songs, where it peaked at #21.
Divine ~ Greatest Hits
vinyl LP album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
The intro for Jungle Jezebel is a minute & a half and when the vocal begins, somehow, it reminds me of what The Residents (link below) might do vocally.
Divine ~ Greatest Hits
vinyl LP, side 1
photo by Styrous®
Divine ~ Greatest Hits
vinyl LP label, side 1
photo by Styrous®
Divine ~ Greatest Hits
vinyl LP, side 2
photo by Styrous®
Divine ~ Greatest Hits
vinyl LP label, side 2
photo by Styrous®
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A1 - Native Love - 5:10
A2 - Shake It Up - 9:28
A3 - Jungle Jezebel - 4:37
Side 2:
B1 - Shoot Your Shot - 8:23
B2 - Love Reaction - 5:31
B3 - Native Love (Suite) - 8:30
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – "O" Records
Copyright (c) – "O" Records
Copyright (c) – Unidisc Productions Ltd.
Manufactured By – Unidisc Productions Ltd.
Distributed By – Unidisc Productions Ltd.
Credits:
Producer – Bobby Orlando
Notes:
℗ 1982, 1984 "O" Records
© 1984 "O" Records / Unidisc Productions Ltd.
Made in Canada
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Runout Side A): SPLP-8004-A IA 2X
Matrix / Runout (Runout Side B): SPLP-8004-B IA 2X
Divine – Greatest Hits... So Far..!
Label: Unidisc – SPLP-8004
Series: Disco/Dance Classics – SPLP-8004
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Country: Canada
Released: 1982, 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Hi NRG, Disco
Side 1:
A1 - Native Love - 5:10
A2 - Shake It Up - 9:28
A3 - Jungle Jezebel - 4:37
Side 2:
B1 - Shoot Your Shot - 8:23
B2 - Love Reaction - 5:31
B3 - Native Love (Suite) - 8:30
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – "O" Records
Copyright (c) – "O" Records
Copyright (c) – Unidisc Productions Ltd.
Manufactured By – Unidisc Productions Ltd.
Distributed By – Unidisc Productions Ltd.
Credits:
Producer – Bobby Orlando
Notes:
℗ 1982, 1984 "O" Records
© 1984 "O" Records / Unidisc Productions Ltd.
Made in Canada
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Runout Side A): SPLP-8004-A IA 2X
Matrix / Runout (Runout Side B): SPLP-8004-B IA 2X
Divine – Greatest Hits... So Far..!
Label: Unidisc – SPLP-8004
Series: Disco/Dance Classics – SPLP-8004
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Country: Canada
Released: 1982, 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Hi NRG, Disco
YouTube links:
Divine ~
Native Love
Shake It Up
Jungle Jezebel
Shoot Your Shot
Love Reaction
Native Love (Suite)
So, You Think You're a Man
Walk Like a Man (video)
Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons ~ Walk Like a Man (video)
Styrous® ~ Friday, October 19, 2017
Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons ~ Walk Like a Man (video)
Styrous® ~ Friday, October 19, 2017
March 7, 2018
Maurice Ravel ~ Escalera á Lenin
~
Today is the birthday of composer Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel - 1925
photographer unknown
He was born, Joseph Maurice Ravel (French: [ʒozɛf mɔʁis ʁavɛl]) on March 7, 1875. He was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In the 1920s and 1930s Ravel was internationally regarded as France's greatest living composer.
My favorite work by him is the Pavane pour une infante défunte (Pavane for a Dead Infanta). It was originally written for solo piano in 1899 when he was studying composition at the Conservatoire de Paris under Gabriel Fauré. There is a recording from a piano roll of Ravel playing it on YouTube (link below). He also published an orchestrated version of the Pavane in 1910; it is scored for two flutes, oboe, two clarinets (in B-flat), two bassoons, two horns, harp, and strings. A typical performance of the piece lasts between six and seven minutes. It is a very melancholy, slow and incredibly beautiful piece of music (link below).
However, it is his Bolero that has become the first thing that pops into the mind of people when they think of his music. That's too bad as his work was massive; it included chamber music, symphonies, operas, ballets, choral works and many other forms (link below).
Bolero is a one-movement orchestral work composed as a ballet commissioned by Russian actress and dancer Ida Rubinstein which premiered in 1928. It was one of the last pieces Ravel composed before illness forced him into retirement.
While on vacation at St Jean-de-Luz, Ravel went to the piano and played a melody with one finger to his friend Gustave Samazeuilh, saying "Don't you think this theme has an insistent quality? I'm going to try and repeat it a number of times without any development, gradually increasing the orchestra as best I can." It was initially called Fandango, but its title was changed to "Boléro". According to Idries Shah, the main melody is adapted from a melody composed for and used in Sufi training.
I think of Bolero, as the first real piece of Disco; the endless repetition of a simple music motif. A story I once heard was it was composed when Ravel spent a night in a hotel next to a sawmill; NOT true but makes for a great urban legend and I like it. As it is his most famous musical composition, his "trademark", I have decided to concentrate on it with an interesting film interpretation that utilized it.
The 1990 film entitled, The Orchestra (YouTube link below), was conceived and directed by Zbig Rybczynski who won the 1982 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for Tango. There were several segments to the film, Chopin Schubert, Mozart, Rossini and the last one, Ravel, was entitled, Escalera á Lenin (Vimeo link below).
photographer unknown
The music, Ravel's Bolero, was performed by the RIAS Symphony Orchestra, Berlin, conducted by Ferenc Fricsay. The film was produced by Stuart L. Weiss. The costumes were designed by Ed Falco and the computer designs were by Tara Brooke Weiss. The featured performers in the Bolero segment were Rafal Ney-Jaskulski, Meryl Newbern, Anatol Glushko and Drew Dix. The film was shot at The Zbig Vision Sgtudios in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Ravel epilogue
In October 1932, Ravel suffered a blow to the head in a taxi accident. The injury was not thought serious at the time, but in a study for the British Medical Journal in 1988 the neurologist R. A. Henson concludes that it may have exacerbated an existing cerebral condition. In 1937, Ravel began to suffer pain from his condition, and was examined by Clovis Vincent, a well-known Paris neurosurgeon. Vincent advised surgical treatment. He thought a tumour unlikely, and expected to find ventricular dilatation that surgery might prevent from progressing. Ravel's brother Edouard accepted this advice; as Henson comments, the patient was in no state to express a considered view. After the operation there seemed to be an improvement in his condition, but it was short-lived, and he soon lapsed into a coma. He died on December 28, at the age of 62.
for classical and fingerstyle guitar
Viewfinder links:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart articles/mentions
Maurice Ravel articles/mentions
Gioachino Rossini articles/mentions
Net links:
Music of Ravel
Zbigniew Rybczyński
YouTube & Vimeo links:
RIAS Symphony Orchestra, Berlin ~ Escalera a Lenin 14 min. ,15 sec.
The Orchestra (complete) 57 min., 14 sec.
The Making of Zbig's "The Orchestra" 25 min., 03 sec.
Pavane pour une infante défunte solo piano by Ravel
Pavane pour une infante défunte orchestral version
"The only love affair I have ever had was with music"
Styrous® ~ Wednesday, March 7, 2018
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