The legendary blues shouter Big Joe Turner began his career singing at four years old, working on Kansas City street corners after his father died in a train accident. When he was fourteen he was working in nightclubs, where he was eventually known as The Singing Bartender. In 1936, twenty five year old Turner traveled to New York City, where an appearance with bandleader Benny Goodman opened many opportunities. He had his first hit record in 1945, and his great success continued. In 1954, the song Shake Rattle and Roll transformed Turner's career by making him popular with teenagers. The song was written for him by songwriter/producer Jesse Stone. "Shake rattle and roll" was a favorite saying of Stone's at his weekly poker games, and the lyrics are about good times and dancing he had there. Also in 1954, Bill Haley & The Comet's covered Turner's song for their follow-up to their hit Rock Around The Clock. The Bill Haley cover cleaned up the lyrics, re-writing some of the more overtly sexual lyrics.
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In 1970 Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards formed The Boys, their first band together, which would later become The Big Apple Band. Eventually, Niles and Rogers joined the band New York City, which had a big hit in the UK in 1973 with I'm Doing Fine Now. In 1976 the two once again formed their own band - Chic, which was intended to be a rock band. The group recorded their first demo in 1977 - the disco anthem Dance Dance Dance (Yowseh Yowseh Yowseh). The recording featured backup vocals from young session vocalist Luther Vandross. The song was shopped around, but they had a hard time finding a label that was interested. Eventually they convinced Buddah Records to produce the song as a single. The songs huge success in the clubs got Chic noticed by Atlantic Records, and they had a major record deal by the end of 1977. The word "yowseh" was a popular African-American slang for the word "yes" during the Great Depression. The word was popularized by jazz violinist and radio personality Ben Bernie. In 1972 eighteen year old Chaka Khan recorded some demo tapes with her band Rufus. The demo scored the Chicago bar band a long-term recording contract with ABC Dunhill. It wasnt long before the band was traveling to Los Angeles to record their first album. In 1974 the band released their third album Rufusized, it was their second album release that year. The album features the Once You Get Started - their second top ten single. The song was written by singer and songwriter Gavin Christopher, who was in a band with Khan before she joined Rufus. Christopher, who recorded the song himself in 1986, also penned Dance Wit Me and Fools Paradise on the following Rufus and Chaka Khan album. Christopher also was a mentor to Mariah Carey before she got her big break, and he was heavily involved in hip-hop's formative years, writing and producing for Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa and others. Christopher's sister is house music singer Shawn Christopher, known for Another Sleepless Night and Lil Louis' French Kiss. In 1942 Peggy Lee had her first big hit with her cover of the popular blues and jazz fused song Why Don't You Do Right. Lee recorded the song with "King Of Swing" Benny Goodman and his orchestra in New York, who she would later record even bigger hits with (she would later marry the band's guitarist). Why Don't You Do Right is a cover of blues singer Lil Green, whom Lee was a big fan of, who had record the song the previous year in 1941. The song was written by Joseph "Kansas Joe" McCoy, and it was originally recorded with completely different lyrics in 1936 as Weed Smokers Dream. The original recording was by McCoys band The Harlem Hamfats - a successful swing jazz band from Chicago, not Harlem. In 1941 McCoy re-wrote the lyrics and made the song about a mistress and her broke lover in the depression. Why Don't You Do Right has been covered many times by a variety of artists, including a memorable performance by animated Jessica Rabbit in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
In 1982 DeBarge released their second album All This Love - a Motown classic. I Like It was the second single off the album, and it was the first big hit for the family band. Randy DeBarge sings lead vocal for the verses, with El DeBarge on the bridge. Because of the success and popularity of album, Luther Vandross asked DeBarge to open for him on tour. In 1991 I Like It was covered by femme house trio Jomanda. The song has also been sampled over 60 times, such Guy's I Like in 1988, and Wrecks N Effect's Rumpshaker in 1992. It has also been sampled on Common's Soul By The Pound in 1992, Mase & Harlem World's I Really Like It in 1999, Nelly's Ride Wit Me in 2000, and Lloyd and Lil Wayne's Girls Around The World in 2008.
Eddy Grant had his first number one hit record in 1968 at twenty years old. Grant had moved to the UK from Guyana when he was a boy, and he was lead guitarist of The Equals - a UK multi-racial band. The song he penned - Baby Come Back/Hold Me Closer - was a hit in 1968, and again in 1994 when it was covered by Pato Banton with UB40. In 1978, Grant released his third solo album - Walking On Sunshine. The album's biggest songs were the title track, and the political protest song Living On The Frontline. Grant wrote numerous songs protesting the apartheid regime in South Africa, including the anti-apartheid reggae anthem Gimmee Hope Jo'anna - which was banned in South Africa when it was released in 1988. In 1965, former DJ Al Bell joined with Stax Records, and by in 1969 he became the label's vice president and co-owner. In the early 1970's, Bell's brother was shot and killed. When he returned home from his brother's funeral, he sat down and penned the gospel soul song I'll Take You There. He gave the song to long-time friends the Staple Singers, and had them record it with the famed Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section in Alabama. The Staple Singers released the song on their 1972 Bell-produced Be Altitude: Respect Yourself album. It was the first number on song for the soul and gospel family band. The song's intro and other elements are heavily based on The Liquidator - a reggae instrumental track from 1969. Bell had purchased the record on one of his many trips to Jamaica, and he had played it to the band during the recording sessions as an example of a sound he was looking for. The band thought that the record was a demo that Bell had made, and they copied the song. It was not until several years later that the band realized they had copied an existing song. The Gap Band was originally formed in Tulsa, Oklahoma In 1967 by the three Wilson brothers - Charlie, Ronnie and Robert. In 1973 they shortened their name from The Greenwood Archer and Pine Street Band to The Gap Band. After 43 years together, the band officially retired in 2010. In 1984 The Gap Band released their Gap Band VI album, which was originally intended to be the solo debut of Charlie Wilson. The Gap Band VI album featured the song Disrespect, a song that is rumored to be dissing Prince over something he said or did. The video for the song was animated by p-funk artist Overton Loyd, and it was one of the first animated music videos featured on BET in it's early years - MTV wasn't playing R&B yet. In 1965 Marvin Gaye released Ain't That Peculiar, and it wasn't long before it became his signature song. The song was written for him by Smokey Robinson and Marv Tarplin - the Miracles' guitarist. The song was a follow-up to I'll Be Doggone, which was also written for Gaye by Robinson. The two songs were Gaye's first million selling records, and both songs featured Smokey Robinson's group The Miracles on backup vocals and guitar. Ain't That Peculiar , like many of Gaye's songs, has been sampled and covered numerous times. Usually the music is credited to Gaye, and the rights are licensed through Gaye's family. In March, 2015 the family of Marvin Gaye was awarded $7.5 million in a copyright infringement lawsuit against producer and singer Pharrell Williams for stealing elements from Gaye's Got To Give It Up for the 2013 hit song Blurred Lines. After winning the lawsuit, the family of Gaye is reported to be considering another lawsuit against Pharrell. In 2013 Pharrell also released the song Happy - that song sounds peculiarly like Gaye's Ain't That Peculiar. Parrell's number one song Happy earned the heavily decorated singer/producer an Academy Award and a Grammy. VIEW HAPPY HERE In the 1970's, French composer and producer Jean Michael Jarre paved the way for electronic music. In the late-1960's Jarre began to experiment with electronic music and devices, and he would become one of the most influential figures in modern music. In 1976 Jarre recorded a low budget album in his home studio which was produced with a variety of synthesizers and drum machines. When the album - Oxygene - was finished, Jarre couldn't find any record labels that were interested in it. Jarre eventually found a label to release his album, it ended up selling over 12 million copies - making it the all-time best selling record from France. When Jarre recorded his follow-up album Equinoxe, the 1978 release was promoted with free outdoor concert celebration of Bastille Day in Paris. The crowd of over a million people set a world record for open air concerts. Jarre's performance was accompanied by a light show, projected images and fireworks - which would become a regular part of his stage shows. In 1986 Jarre broke his record at a concert in the US, his performance at the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Houston that was attended by 1.5 million people. In 1990, Jarre broke his record again at a celebration of the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution - attended by 2 million people. On September 6, 1997 (as Princess Di was being buried), Jarre broke his record for a forth time in Russia, where he performed to a crowd of 3.5 million at the 850th anniversary of Moscow. |
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