Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

Welcome to another journey through the time and various musical styles.

1960: Johnny Kidd and the Pirates

1965: James Brown

1982: The Clash

1971: Janis Joplin

1984: The Bluebells

1970: The Kinks

1981: The Specials

1981: The Go-Go's

1969: The Cambers Brothers

1975: Janis Ian

1975: Jim Croce

1979: The Cure

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

Another round of charting singles from the last decades, that are worth hearing again. Let's go.

1998: Air

1977: Television

1965: The Yardbirds

1974: Focus

1984: Huey Lewis and the News

1983: The Human League

1966: James Brown

1976: Patti Smith Group

1978: The Police

Feats Don't Fail Me Now

 

In August 1974 Little Feat released their fourth album Feats Don't Fail Me Now. It wasn't their best one but I still remember the day when I bought it. From 1979, I had to do my military service for 15 months. One day when I was at home for weekend the news arrived that one of the oldest discotheques in our town will close down and they will sell all of them records. The location was more a pub than a discotheque were me and a friend often went to because they didn't mind to sell beer to teenagers like us and they had a turntable where they played music. This place was heavily frequented by American soldiers and late hippies and we were introduced to psychedelic rock, funk and soul. It was the first time I listened to James Brown, Marvin Gaye and The Temptations on the one side and to Little Feat and comparable bands. The pub had a bad reputation because it was known as a marijuana distribution centre. And so I experienced more than one raid by the American military police. Nevertheless, it was a meeting place for us youngsters and I have seen older friends taking pictures, chairs and glasses as souvenirs with tears in their eyes on the last day. Amongst other albums, I was also able to purchase the Little Feat album, which I still enjoy listening to today, along with sentimental feelings.

Little Feat - Feats Don't Fail Me Now

Little Feat - Skin It Back

Little Feat - Spanish Moon

Little Feat - Oh Atlanta

David Jude Jolicoeur RIP

 

It was in 1989 when rap/hip-hop everyone talked about. Most people I knew talked about the so called gangster rap where boys from the hood and the the inner circle were going to get critical and chart access. It was also the time when De La Soul appeared on the scene with an album that changed a lot in listening to new African-American music. When the most artists in hip-hop tried to show us their bad habits De La Soul showed us the very different way. They came to my ears with their very own sound filled with samples from heavy bands like Led Zeppelin over Steely Dan to country to James Brown and funk. An album that opened my ears for something new and different. Trugoy/Jolicouer was the forming member of this fantastic and groundbreaking band and died last weekend much too early at the age of 54. Three Feet High And Rising is their legacy and still an album that works still after three decades.

Rest easy Trugoy

De La Soul - The Magic Number

De La Soul - Me Myself And I

De La Soul - This is a Recording 4 Living in a Fulltime Era

Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag

Inspired by yesterday's post I grabbed deeper in my old records for some music I didn't listen to for ages and found a 12-inch and an album by Pigbag. Formed by Simon Underwood when he left post-punk legend The Pop Group in 1980. If The Pop Group was named as a crossover band Pigbag absorbed more styles and genres into their unique sound. It was courageous by them as a band that had heavy influences by punk to include funk and horns to their sound. But it worked very well and Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag became a trademark to their sound. Apparently they hit with their percussive tribal power the nerve of the time and the song reached high positions in the charts. Also at my place many of the jazz addicted people could agree to them and this song was played by many DJ's in the early 80's. Probably one of the first independent dance track and still heard in clubs today.

Pigbag - Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag

They also appeared on Top of the Pops in 1982:

The song is based on a song James Brown recorded in the early 60's and also worth to listen after a long time.

James Brown - Papa's Got A Brand New Bag

Stay Away

More than 10 years ago Amy Winehouse went to Brooklyn to record her famous album Back To Black. In these days Charles Bradley worked in the small studio as a housekeeper, repairing everything that have to be done. At the age of 62 he released his first album No Time For Dreaming in 2011. In his younger days his sister took him to a gig to the Apollo Theater to see James Brown perform. From this time he was infected by the old soul music and it took almost 50 years to release his first record. I heard a few songs from him during the last years and they all were very soulful but they weren't burn in my brain. A few days back I got the news that a new record was release after he died by cancer last year. Listening to his songs on Black Velvet  I can hear what great artist he was. He brought me back to the real soul singers of the 60's and 70's. Many soul singers tried to cover rock and folk songs but I never heard better versions of songs by Nirvana and Neil Young in this style and ask myself what bright career he could have when he released this song 50 years ago.

Gone But Not Forgotten # 5

During the last weeks I have heard the music of Gil Scott-Heron over and over again. I remember when I got in contact for the first time with this kind of music. It was in the late 1970s when was a young guy. Some older friends made it possible that I could get into a club where a lot of American soldiers used to hang around. Because also many coloured soldiers hung around there, their music has also run. So I was introduced what they called soul music. They played the long live version from James Browns 'Sex Machine', a lot of The Temptations and Gil Scott-Heron as well. This kind of music opened my ears to another kind of music that most of my friends used to listen to. First I was impressed about the rhythm and the whole sound of songs like 'The Bottle' and later I understand the lyrics of him. He had something to say and was always a politic person who spoke about the things his compatriots moved. Over the years he was still a possibility to grab out one of his records when I didn't know what to play. It was a long time quietly around him and all the more it has surprised me that he has published a record a few years ago again above all that it was at the height of the time and has left his successors a legacy in which they can compete.

Gil Scott-Heron - Me and the Devil
Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Gil Scott-Heron - Ain't No Such Thing As Superman
Gil Scott-Heron - I'll Take Care Of You
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Johnson - Your Daddy Loves You
Gil Scott-Heron - New York Is Killing Me