Thread by @naima

Anyway, even as I’m getting into the sacred spirit of Holy Week, there is a #MusicSermon today. The doors of the church will probably open around 7. ⛪️

I appreciate ya’ll understanding and accommodating me taking a break last Weekend. I just didn’t have the stirring. Lol but serious. There’s a mood/mindset/headspace I have to be in to keep the right evergy. I won’t ever force one; it wouldn’t feel the same even to ya’ll.

We’ll start tonight’s #MusicSermon when the game is over. 🏀⛪️

Please govern yourselves accordingly.

Also you may want to put on comfortable clothes so you can dance... just sayin’.

Ok... I’ll wait till 8 so ya’ll can catch hopefully most of Stormy, and so I cn eat (I forgot I still need to do that)

*Steps into pulpit*
*Sips water*
*Opens text*

Happy Palm Sunday, Sermonites, Saints and Ain’ts.

We do send prayers on this evening to those of you whose brackets are irreparably busted. May you fare better next year.

Tonight’s #MusicSermon may run a bit late, so get ready.

A few months ago, we called on the elders (our parents and grandparents) to help us bring in the new year with the right party energy.

Tonight, we’re coming back to that neighboood.

twitter.com/i/moments/9470…

I said during that sermon that disco getting clowned now is a bad rap, especially for black music. So many of the classic jams we love fall in the genre. In fact, disco came from *our* dance music.
So pull out some sequins & metallics; we’re getting into disco & boogie music.

But fist...

1. This isn’t so much a sermon about the *entire* genre of disco as it is mostly about
a. The stuff that still jams, right now
And b. How disco is connected to funk & boogie & dance music in general.

So...

2. If I leave something out, it’s probably on purpose.

3. As I like to remind ya’ll, there will inevitably be typos. Mea culpa in advance. Just read for context.

So the music that came to be called "Disco" basically evolved from music we were jamming to in the dance clubs. Funk & soul with great bass lines, plus sounds originated & mastered by two sets of people:
1. OG uncle Barry White

"Love's Theme" (last clip), which Barry wrote, is sometimes credited as being the first disco hit. That big sweeping sound and composition he did with Love Unlimited was a trademark of early disco.
I gotta give Uncle Barry & his hair their own sermon at some point. They deserve.

The second early architects of what came to be the disco sound are Gamble & Huff. Soul Train's theme song, "The Sound of Philadelphia" was one of the first releases (if not *the* first) on Philadelphia International, and the first tv theme song to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

As we were moving into the funk era, soul music was adding a little kick. A little extra percussion. A few more layers on the instrumentation. Gamble & Huff were cookout music musicians.

PLEASE GET INTO THE MOVES

The trademarks of Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia sound: strings, bass lines, hi-hats...were eventually also the trademarks of disco sound.

And like I said, a lot of what came to be called Disco, and later evolved to Boogie music was (and is) for us, just JAMS. Soul Classics, Red Cup Music, Cookout Music...we all know it when we hear it.
Those Jackson joints that get pulled out for the family reunion? Gamble & Huff.

Roller Skating Jams also intersect with Disco Jams (we'll talk more about that)

Also Gamble & Huff....

So, something to keep in mind: rock music & the protest music of the 60s & 70s didn't lend itself to couples dancing (or hand dancing, as we like to call it), so when this sound started to go mainstream, and there were dances to go with it? OUTTA HERE. And I LOVE a good hustle.

Before we get into the straight up disco artists/ hits, like I said before, disco pulled from funk and soul. And if you were a recording artist at that hand, chances are you tried your hand at a disco cut. You almost had to. But some funk bands rode the line perfectly.

As with Your Parents' Party Music, I'll let a lot of these intros rock more than usual, because they're essential to the cut.
I mentioned disco and roller skating jams intersect; roller skates with plastic wheels hit the market in the early 70s, just in time to be in this wave.

The Commodores first big hit? Basically a disco jam.

I only touched on Heatwave in the Soul & Funk Groups sermon, but they are one of the most versatile groups I can think of. Funk jams. Classic R&B jams ("Always & Forever"), and what came to be one of disco's anthemic songs.
(I *think* the video is trippy on purpose...I think)

While we're on "Boogie" titles (there's a lot of those tonight) and funk groups...
EWF and The Emotions also had a classic.
Another thing to note that I'll bring up again in a minute: vocals for disco songs? REAL. With RANGE.

The other thing about disco and its connection to funk was that disco wasn't all just Saturday Night Fever moves and hustles, especially before its peak. It was also pop locking, the bump, etc. So again, a lot of what we just think of as dance music.
Shout out to Kool & the Gang

Kool & the Gang was another group of musical chameleons who managed to evolve and roll with the musical climates without sacrificing their identify. They made that transition from funk to disco with JT so smooth...

At the peak of disco, a few things were happening that set a trend in music we still see today:
1. Music became more about the producers. It was about who could create that big, layered sound. Not so much creating something special with a specific artist, but the SOUND...

2. Disco is named such because this music was ALL about the dance clubs, or the discotheque - literally translated to "music library".
This made the DJs crucial to breaking a record. Songs started in the club, not at radio.

So let's get into our disco stars. The only place to start was Donna. By now there is a formula for the disco sound that kept the bass and instrumentations, but filtered the soul out. THAT'S the disco people hate.But some folks were undeniable. Like Ms Summer.

Also, I mentioned disco vocals weren't for play play, right?
These songs changed tempos, keys, chords... You had to be able to match all these orchestration and percussion, etc.

Donna Summer IS everything disco. The voice, the hair, the sex appeal and agency (because we all know it was a WILD time, right?) THE LOOKS.
She was all of it.

Disco's rise was in the NE. NY was home. Before Studio 54 became the epicenter of disco and club culture for the world, NY was already a nightlife and club city, and on the dance floor blacks, latinos, italians, and LGBT people all got it in TOGETHER.
Let's talk @ Sylvester.

Sylvester is a disco icon, a gay icon, a drag icon...just ICON.
A former drag performer from Watts, Sylvester recorded two disco albums with Two Tons of Fun (later known as The Weather Girls) - Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes with hits here and in Europe.

And since we're on Martha and Izora...
Their biggest disco HIT might be "It's Raining Men" as The Weather Girls (which, btw, was written by Paul Schaffer, best known to most as band leader on Letterman), but if you come to the five boroughs? THIS is the one.

And you know who else belongs in the convo about straight up disco *stars*?
Auntie Diana...
I told ya'll before I gotta just let Nile and Bernard's intro rock on this one (and we'll get to them)

Thanks to production with Chic's Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards, the Diana album put Ms Ross SOLIDLY in the middle of the disco movement in a major way. Also JAMS.

Also LOOKS. Ms Ross was OUTCHEA LIVIN’, honey.

Oh, I forgot to add earlier that the disco era was the advent of 12” singles and remixes. Because you had to keep the ppl moving.

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Ok, back to Diana. I said in the Auntie Divas sermon that while we all think of Diana as glamorous, it might be hard for younger folk to truly think of her as *sexy*...As the Beyoncè of her era, damn near (without the curves, but you know what I mean). But...yeah man.

Ya'll probably figured this was coming since I mentioned them producing for Diana, but you can't have a convo about disco stars without talking about Chic.

Chic might be the only actual disco BAND. Meaning band that formed during this era and is known primarily for disco music. As I said earlier, disco was an era of producers putting songs together, not bands.

I'm so thankful that not only is Nile still with us, but he's getting his flowers, that he's still actively working, that artists are seeking him out.
That Nile Rogers bassline is a musical treasure.

And Disco was a great era for women in music. From the artists up to female DJs.

Did I mention already how many samples we're going to come across tonight?

Again, disco vocals weren't for play, and this was preautotune, so chances are, when you think of disco hits, you're either thinking about a male vocal GROUP (like some of the earlier tracks I posted, or the Bee Gees), or you're thinking of female leads.

This was a sister groups moment. Sledge, the Pointers (even though I consider them more straight R&B), and the Emotions. *does the bump*

But solo sisters with voices were getting it in, too.
It wasn't just Donna.

And to the point of this thread, these "disco" artists delivered joints that still get us up and dancing, singing loud and yelling "This is my SH*T!"

Shout out to all the kids making dance videos for the gram who have no idea where "Love Come Down" came from. You're welcome.

*Starts Soul Train line*

Grace Jones can't really be defined by era or genre, but she was an artist/performer/persona perfect for the 70s and the excess and exhibition of the disco era.

And I told ya'll that basically any recording artist at the moment tried their hand at a disco TRACK, minimum. (Aretha Franklin's poorest selling album was her disco attempt).
Chile, even Mother Cissy was up in here.

But she was probably inspired by Auntie/Cousin Dionne.
(Also, Solid Gold was MY SH*T)

And while we're on young Naima's very specific disco faves, and still on female vocalists...lemme tell you how I can never remember Anita Ward's name for NOTHING, but I KNOW THIS SONG, BISH. And have since approximately THREE YEARS OLD. *Grabs skates*

And while we all have our skates out...
(This is one of those songs you do a bunch of tricks on)

I don't think she quite fits right here, but I'm afraid if I wait to post Phyllis I'll accidentally skip over here and one of ya'll (several of ya'll) are gonna yell at me, so since we're still on female vocalists, lemme throw her in right quick.

In fact, let's use Phyllis to segue into the "disco" moments of our R&B divas. The original "I'm Every Woman"? DEFINITELY disco. It has every single sonic marker.

And "Do You Love What You Feel" falls in a disco pocket too. Chaka's fit, especially. LOL

And the fact that Stephanie is performing "Never Knew Love Like This Before" on Solid Gold would be enough for me to put this here alone. (Also one of my favorite songs of hers).
Stephanie giving you Angela as Tina in this look (and body) though...

While we're on disco moments for R&B artists in general, I have to throw this particular part of Eddie Kendricks' "Keep on Trucking" in here because SAMPLE ALERT.

EVERY SINGLE PERSONS MOVES IN THIS CLIP ARE TAKING ME CLEAN OUT.

And George Benson is really actually a jazz artist, technically. But he's playing a guitar on roller skates in this video, so here we are. (Also, a jam)

And I will always be grateful to disco for giving Luther his first run as front man, and inspiring Epic to sign him to a solo deal, thereby changing all of our lives for the better. Amen.
This is also one of my favorite songs in LIIIIIIFE

I'm going to use Shalamar as a transition group; now disco is waning. Music is rebelling, declaring disco dead, but DANCE music is still thriving & we're heading to Boogie, with the help of Leon Sylvers (who produced this).

One of the things I love about Soul Train is that its legacy goes beyond the show itself. The Lockers, Shalamar (and by extension Jody Watley and Howard Hewitt), Solar Records...all part of Soul Train's history and influence.

And obviously I can't post *any* Shalamar song if I don't post this one. (They just had straight bops)

So now let's talk @ post-disco & the Boogie genre. Boogie is that space between disco and straight R&B, sometimes with just a little techno on it.
In my opinion it was simply stripping the extra accessories off the music that became disco back to the early funk and R&B roots.

Boogie is the forreal forreal cookout playlist genre.
Forreal Forreal.

And timing for this one could go either way, but I'm gonna put "Blame It On the Boogie" here (shout out to my bio)...

...so I can use it to set up these other tracks.

This also arguably belongs solidly with disco, but I think it can go either way.

But THIS is Boogie.
And red cup music.
And NY cookout music.

I'm about to spin around my living room floor right quick. (I love this song so much).

This is like the 7th song we've talked about tonight that Rod Temperton wrote, BTW.

And just to shout out the OG real quick, bc Rod, former keyboardist for Heatwave, wrote “Boogie Nights”, (also “Groove Line” & “Always & Forever”) plus The Brothers Johnson x “Stomp”, plus George Benson x “Give Me the Night”, and of course PLUS “Rock With You” and “Baby Be Mine”

I gotta back up (this is why me actually checking my notes is important.) (Yes, I have notes). There are two other acts I want to mention in conjunction with disco who infused a little something extra into the songs and was a little left of disco center. One is Dr Buzzard's Band

And the other is Kid Creole & the Coconuts, who mixed disco with latin and caribbean sound. If they sound/feel similar, it's because August Darnell (Kid Creole) was the co-founder of Dr Buzzards Original Savannah Band. This isn't their most popular song, but it was my mama's JAM.

I think I covered pretty much everything I wanted to get into tonight, because if I go too far down the path of early 80's dance music we'll end up on YOUR PARENTS' PARTY PLAYLIST PART II, and we'll do that another day.

For now, ya'll have enough to get ready for warm weather.

I'm gonna close out with the song most likely to be confused for The Jacksons, because Leon Sylver was producing his younger siblings & then mot of the Solar roster to give us so much of that late 70s into early 80s sound.
Also, sample alert.
(Foster was not about this lip-sync)

So, if all hearts and minds are FULL
👋🏾
Now, unto music which is able to lift you when falling
Be joy, nostalgia, and peace
Now, henceforth and forever more.

And all the people said....

As the ushers come forward, if you feel moved to give towards the building fund, tithes, or just a token, it’s always appreciated. You can do so here: cash.me/$naimacochrane

Playlist will come tomorrow, AND I have an announcement tomorrow 😉

At long last... BAM - DISCO & BOOGIE WONDERLAND for Spotify

open.spotify.com/user/ncochrane…

And DISCO & BOOGIE WONDERLAND for Apple Music

itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/da…

And this is my periodic reminder NOT TO PUT MY PLAYLISTS ON SHUFFLE.