A Night With The Professor
All songs are about going out, getting down, making love and having fun in the small hours! So let's enjoy this night with the professor... ;-) Beautiful picture on the left from Julia Fuchs.
Tracks and linernotes:
Frank McDonald – Night Moves (1978)
I don't know anything about Mr. McDonald. I read somewhere that he had worked with Mike Batt (Katie Melua), but this is a very nice jazz-funk track from the late seventies.
Soulpersona Feat. Princess Freesia – Last Night (2011)
Soulpersona and Princess Freesia team up again for a great track. Princess Freesia is working on her official debut album ('The rainbow ride') that comes out later this year. She released her early work on 'The hoxxxy demos' in February.
Neville Brothers – In The Still Of The Night (1990)
This is from the album 'Red Hot + Blue' that was the first in the Red Hot Benefit Series. It features contemporary pop performers reinterpreting several songs of Cole Porter and the title of the album comes from Cole Porter's musical 'Red, Hot and Blue'. Released in 1990, it sold over a million copies worldwide and was heralded as one of the first major AIDS benefits in the music business. Songs on the album are classics like 'I get a kick out of you', 'Night and day' and 'Love for sale', to name but a few.
Maysa – Day N Night (2011)
Maysa Leak used to be one of the singers of jazz-funk band Incognito. This is from her solo album 'Motions of love' that came out a few months ago. Great track, great album!
Pleasure – Ladies' Night Out (1978)
Best known for its 1979 hit 'Glide'. Pleasure was a risk-taking, horn driven 8-piece band that often brought jazz overtones to its solid funk foundation. Pleasure wasn't huge but enjoyed a small cult following. The track I chose is from their album 'Get to the feeling' (1978).
The Jones Girls – Nights Over Egypt [A Tom Moulton Mix] (2012)
This is what Tom Moulton has to say about his remix on 'Philadelphia classics: the Tom Moulton remixes':
"Of all the Dexter Wansel songs, this really got to me. The way it began, you almost feel like you're in the Middle East. It's a great production and it's a great performance by those girls. Everybody assumed I was going to do 'You're gonna make me love somebody else' for this album, but it's the whole mystery element that grabs your attention."
Dee Dee Bridgewater – Gunshots In The Night (1980)
Another very nice Philly production. From her self-titled album that came out in 1980.
Valentine Brothers – One Night At A Time (1979)
How could this be overlooked in 1979? Probably because it has elements of funk, jazz, soul, blues and rock, which makes it difficult to categorize in times when disco was huge. John and Billy Valentine wrote 'Money's too tight (to mention)', which was also recorded by Simply Red. The Valentine Brothers' version peaked at #41 on the Billboard R&B charts in 1982, while the Simply Red single went to #13 on the UK charts in 1985 and #28 on the Billboard U.S. pop chart in 1986.
Finis Henderson – Blame It On The Night (1983)
I think this one was overlooked for the same reason (difficult to categorize). Chicago vocalist Finis Henderson sang with The Dynamic 4 as a teen before joining Weapons of Peace in 1970. They remained intact for eight years, and then Henderson relocated. He worked for a while as a comedian, and even served as the opening act for Richard Pryor in San Francisco. He teamed up with former Earth Wind and Fire guitarist Al McKay for the album 'Finis' on Motown. It contains this killer track.
GQ – Disco Nights (Rock-Freak) (1979)
This band from the Bronx had two Top Ten R&B and Top 20 pop hits. 'Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)' was a number one R&B single in 1979, also peaking at number 12 pop. The single won GQ an American Music Award as well. The intro sounds very similar to 'Boogie oogie oogie' from A Taste of Honey.
Taka Boom – Night Dancin' (1979)
The sister of Chaka Khan, vocalist Yvonne Stephens forged a new identity by combining the Swahili word for 'love of my people' (Taka) with a last name derived from her ex-husband's occupation (demolitions expert). She worked alongside Khan locally in their hometown of Chicago until Chaka joined Rufus, and Taka moved to Los Angeles. Boom was a session vocalist in the early 1970s, singing with the Gap Band and Carl Carlton, as well as being a member of George Clinton's Brides of Funkenstein. She served as lead vocalist for Undisputed Truth in 1975, then signed as a solo singer with Ariola. Her self-titled debut album was released in 1979 and the single 'Night dancing' became her only R&B Top 20 hit (peaking at #20).
Melba Moore – Night People (1979)
From the album 'Burn'. Tommy from Disco Delivery wrote this about it on his blog:
"Having worked largely with American producers before (and since) in a decidedly R&B vein, Moore and company broke from that with this album, opting for British (via Munich) producer Pete Bellotte. With Belotte being something of a disco specialist by this time after co-producing Donna Summer (and others) alongside Giorgio Moroder, 'Burn' is clearly and obviously the most disco-centred LP of her career. Bellotte not only brought disco credentials, but a different sensibility to her work altogether."Starpoint – Starnite Your Night (1981)
Starpoint was an African-American R&B sextet from Maryland that began recording in the 1980s, releasing a string of R&B hit singles. Their 1985 single 'Object of My Desire', released on the Elektra label, reached #25 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their only Top 40 hit on the pop charts, although I like 'Starnite your night' better.
Blue Moderne – Through The Night [Mr. K. Edit] (2011)
A wonderful edit from Danny Krivit.
Billy Ocean – Nights (Feel Like Getting Down) (1980)
Before becoming some kind of super star in the mid eighties Billy Ocean (real name: Leslie Sebastian Charles) recorded quite a few high quality disco singles, like this one.
Escort – All Through The Night (2011)
My favourite disco band of the moment! This track is from their debut album that came out last year.
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