ALPHABET CITY :: DANCE 12"

Picked up this Monster Modern Boogie 12" - Alphabet City - last year. I don't have much information at the moment. This is there first release, and this is the label Traveller records.

Good luck hunting this down. If you missed out on this 12" its probably to late or you might have to pay some money. This one sounds KILLER on Sweater Funk Sound System

Alphabet City - "Lowdown" by Traveller Records

Thought this was funny,

“This is modern day Electronic Boogie at its finest, take note all you wack easy to get record sampling folk, real keyboards & basslines are back, no joke, this tune makes me SHIVER!” - Phil Asher / Restless Soul

FISTICUFFS :: HIP HOP IS BACK

Link:

Street Hip Hop is BACK!

Lyrics so tight, they don't have to rhyme! Funk-Flex

TRUST IN ME

Don't forget to download my latest mix "Trust In Me" featuring slow & midtempo cuts from 2000-2011. Check out some of the best under played soul music out today.

THE GOD FATHER OF ROLLER BOOGIE

Often cited as the Godfather of Roller Boogie, Bill Butler is seen as the man who gave funky soul skate dancing to the world when he pioneered Roller Disco at Brooklyn’s Empire Skate Rink. He co-authored the seminal Jammin’ published in 1979 (impossible to get a copy if you didn’t buy one in the 80′s). It was a ‘complete guide to roller disco and Butler’s Jammin technique’ in which Butler outlines moves and etiquette on the skate rink floor.

‘The Godfather’ has been skating for more than 40 years. He has seen Rhythm Skating go through many changes in that time, from the disco era of the 70′s to the jam skating era of today. His love and passion for the sport still has him enjoying skating well into his 70′s. He remained a strong part of the roller boogie underground even when the roller blading rose in popularity and quad skating was out of date in the eyes of mainstream America.



Even with rinks closing down across the U.S., more and more people still want to skate. The black skate scenes of Chicago, Atlanta and Detroit kept 8 wheel skate dancing alive, and remain strong albeit relatively invisible to outsiders. Young white Americans are gradually discarding their roller blades and returning to the art of rhythm skating in a form known as “Jam Skating”, a combination of rhythm skating and breakdancing to retro electro sounds (note: Jam Skating must not be confused with Bill Butler’s Jamming technique, but jam skating could not have existed without Butler’s jamming technique).



Butler was a driving force as part of the New York City roller skating activists Good Skates International. The company was conceived by fitness and roller skating fanatic Judy Lynn, who believed that lack of places to skate in New York city was a true crime. Inspired by the hugely popular skate scene in Brooklyn’s Empire Roller Rink, and the outdoor roller skating at Venice Beach in Los Angeles, Judy Lynn was determined to get New Yorkers healthy and happy through roller skating in Central Park. As a result, Good Skates pioneered an outdoor skating revolution when they set up a roller skate shop, skate hire and outdoor skate parties in the middle of Central Park in 1977. The area is still a popular spot for roller skaters today.

Thanks to hollyroller production

CHANSON

Chanson was a viable R'n'B / disco group, actually a duo, consisting of vocalists James Jamerson Jr. (bassist, son of the famous Motown bassist James Jamerson Sr.) and David Williams (guitarist) and fleshed out with studio friends and musicians.
The two of them met while playing with the Temptations' road band, and this is when they hatched the idea of Chanson.

They released two LPs "Chanson" and "Together We Stand".
By 1980 the duo was labeless and forced to return to studio session work. Not that it's a bad thing, in fact their real success is behind the scenes. Together and separately they can be heard on countless pop, rock, R&B and disco tracks.

CHANSON - DID YOU EVER 1978

THE ESQUIRES

The Esquires were a vocal group from Milwaukee, WI, formed in 1957 at the height of the R&B vocal boom. Gilbert Moorer, his brother Alvis, and sister Betty were children of a musical family; their father had sung in a gospel group called the Friendly Five, while their mother played piano. Gilbert, Alvis, and Betty Moorer were in high school when they formed the Esquires in 1957.

During the Esquires' early years in Milwaukee, they saw many people pass through their lineup. Some key members joined and remained, including Sam Pace in 1961 and, four years later, Shawn Taylor. During this same period, however, Betty Moorer departed the group. By 1966, the Esquires -- Gilbert Moorer, Alvis Moorer, Sam Pace, and Shawn Taylor -- felt ready to try for a record deal and the chance at a national career. The group moved to Chicago, where they first tried without success to interest Curtis Mayfield -- then trying to run the Windy C and Mayfield labels -- in giving them a chance to record.

Several more approaches to other producers finally led them to Bill "Bunky" Sheppard, who owned a small Chicago label called Constellation, which had recorded Gene Chandler and Nolan Chance, among others. Sheppard not only liked the Gilbert Moorer song "Get On Up," that they had recorded as a demo, but liked the group. His interest resulted in a hook-up with a new voice, in the person of Millard Edwards, a bass singer already in the Constellation stable.

It was Sheppard's intention to record the Esquires on Constellation, on their own single and backing Edwards on one of his records, but the failure of the latter single, coupled with the collapse of Constellation late in 1966, made for some changes. The first was a shift to the Bunky label, which Sheppard salvaged out of the wreckage of Constellation, and the second was the addition of Millard Edwards to their lineup.

The Esquires debut single, "Get on Up," finally appeared on the Bunky label, distributed nationally by New York-based Scepter Records. "Get on Up" was a huge success, soaring to number three on the R&B charts and number 11 as a pop single. Suddenly, the Esquires, who'd spent ten years preparing for this moment, were one of the hotter R&B vocal groups of 1967.

"Get on Up" completed the transition of the Esquires from a local to a national act. They played venues that included the Regal Theater in Chicago and the Apollo in New York. In the process, they also lost Shawn Taylor, whom Sheppard regarded as unreliable for his late arrival to some shows. In October of 1967, the Esquires issued a follow-up recording, "And Get Away" (also written by Gilbert Moorer), which charted at number 22 and number nice, pop and R&B, respectively. With this second hit under their belts, the group's debut (and only) LP followed as a matter of course, cut for Bunky Records. March of 1968 saw the group's third single, "You Say," get to number 41 on the R&B charts, and, three months later, "Why Can't I Stop" charted at number 48 (R&B).

At the end of 1968, following the release of their fifth single, the Esquires left Bunky Records and signed directly with Scepter, which placed the group on its Wand imprint. Their next two singles, "You've Got the Power" and "I Don't Know," reached numbers 29 and 37 on the R&B charts, respectively.

They left Scepter after one year and were back with Bunky Sheppard beginning in 1969, before jumping briefly to Capitol in 1970 for one single ("Reach Out"). More lineup changes took place that year, as Millard Edwards left and Shawn Taylor returned to the Esquires. The group made another run up the charts on Lamarr Records with "Girls in the City," which got to number 18 in 1971.

The Esquires were absent from the charts for the next five years, but they continued performing. In 1976, they re-cut their biggest hit as "Get on Up '76," which managed to chart, closing out their recording career. For the next two decades, the Esquires were exclusively a performing act, based in Milwaukee where they started out, with new members periodically coming in to work alongside Gilbert and Alvis Moorer.

In 1992, the group's two biggest hits, "Get on Up" and "And Get Away," appeared on Capricorn Records' The Scepter Records Story. In 1998, England's Westside label released the CD Get on Up and Get Away, a comprehensive retrospective containing most of their singles (including all of the hits) from various labels, and highlights from the album of that name. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music

Jerry was one of the original members in the group the Esquires. There first was hit "Get On Up" in 1967. This song reached the top 10 and the song of the year in the R&B charts in 1967. "When I started JLD Productions in 1986 my guest was Brenton Wood and The Crest (Sixteen Candles). Our first event was twenty plus years ago. It was a sold out concert at the Chester Washington Golf Course Club House. We put the whole show together and advertised it on K-fox Radio Redondo Beach.

THE ESQUIRES - LISTEN TO ME 1967

THE STARS OF TOMORROW!!

Darrell Lee - Just A Little Bit

***VINYL BLING***

The Charmels - Classic STAX Label Sweet Soul

BONAFIDE

STEREO SKATEBOARDS :: MUSIC :: FILM :: STYLE

One of my favorite and influential Skate company's in our time. Stereo knows how to makes Soul and Art a priority. Big up "Stereo" who've been doing it sine the 90's... If you are not into Skate culture but appreciate visual art, you have to watch the video's. 8mm film classics.




Founded in ’92 by renowned professional skateboarders and longtime friends Jason Lee and Chris Pastras, Stereo came as a breath of fresh air during a time that many skaters felt that skateboarding had creatively hit rock bottom.

Stereo’s unique and highly innovative approach to skating, with emphasis on style, originality and plain old fashion fun, was quickly embraced by the skateboard community. By incorporating street art, 50s and 60s design, jazz album cover artwork and ideas pulled from early men’s magazines, Stereo has been credited as revolutionizing skateboard graphics, artwork and advertising. The classic Americana styles Stereo produced -- and continues to produce -- carries with it a lightness and humor that promotes individuality and creativity amongst skateboarders of all ages.



Together, Jason and Chris released two skateboard films: A Visual Sound (’94) and Tincan Folklore (’96). Going against the grain with the use of 8mm film, black and white still photography and avant-garde music -- some of which composed by Chris and Jason -- the two films are now revered as classics within the skateboard community.

In ’96, Jason set skateboarding aside to pursue an acting career and has since appeared in many big screen productions, including Mall Rats, Chasing Amy and Almost Famous, among others. Chris headed Stereo entirely on his own in Jason’s absence. However, despite Chris’ painstaking efforts to keep the company alive, the legacy came to an end in ’00. While continuing to skateboard and work within the industry, Chris went on to pursue other interests outside of the business. He attended college full-time and focused more on his art.

As fate would have it, however, Chris and Jason joined forces again in ’03 to re-launch Stereo under Giant Distribution. With a new team of skateboarders and other influential artists, musicians, actors and individuals dubbed Sound Agents, Stereo quickly gained momentum.




In addition to resurrecting Stereo, Jason and Chris continued to advance their personal careers. Jason landed the leading role on NBC's hit sitcom My Name is Earl, and Chris was beginning to establish himself as prominent figure in the contemporary art world, displaying his work at world-famous galleries all across the globe.

Jason and Chris released their third film, Way Out East, in ’04. Shot exclusively with 8mm and 16mm film, the video documented a three-week long road trip through London, New York and Paris. With the same jazzy feel and innovate approach to skateboarding as the first two Stereo releases, Way Out East was regarded by many as an instant classic.



Stereo parted ways with Giant Distribution in the summer of ’06 to pursue the independent route. The two partners wasted no time setting up shop and were fully operational within a matter of weeks.

Today’s Sound Agents are considered to be some of the most naturally gifted and innovative skateboarders on the scene. The internationally diverse team consisting of Clint Peterson, Danny Supa, Benny Fairfax, Raymond Molinar, Dyson Ramones, Ben Gore, John Lupfer, Josiah Gatlyn, and Tony Karr is a true skateboarding force to be reckoned with.

Amidst ongoing collaborations with well-respected lifestyle brands, the forthcoming release of the highly anticipated film and over 17 years of industry experience, Stereo continues to be an influential skateboard brand and is now on its way to be coming a lifestyle powerhouse.

RAE & CHRISTIAN FEAT VEBA :: SPELLBOUND

Rae & Christian emerged in the late '90s as a successor to the many stellar British production teams of the '90s, updating the rich urban grooves of Soul II Soul and Massive Attack with a bit more emphasis on classic hip-hop. The duo of Mark Rae and Steve Christian, often helped out by vocalist Veba, began recording together in 1995. Grand Central Records released several of their collaborative singles -- as well as a few solo singles by Rae -- beginning in 1996. The duo's debut album, Northern Sulphuric Soul, was released in late 1998. Sleepwalking followed three years later. The duo hooked up with Kinetic in late 2001 to mastermind the hypnotic collection Anotherlatenight for Rae & Christian's chill out favorites like Riton, Dubble D, Capoeira Twins and more. John Bush, Rovi

Cleaning out records again, I re discovered this Rare Rae & Christian R&B Soul tune from 1997. I forgot who memorable this track was, even better when you can play it loud. While listening, this one brought back some great memories from the 90s. Download and make some memories of your own.


RAE & CHRISTIAN FEAT VEBA - SPELLBOUND (RMX) 1997

AALON :: CREAM CITY

Aalon showed a tremendous amount of promise on its debut album, Cream City, which was among the finest albums of the late 1970s and indicated that lead singer and songwriter Aalon Butler had the potential to develop into someone as important as Sly Stone or George Clinton. His music was soul and funk with rock elements, and the writing is superb on material ranging from the playful title song and the sentimental "Summer Love" to the poignant "Rock and Roll Gangster" and the haunting "Lonely Princess." In fact, Cream City is every bit as strong as the five-star albums that Prince and Rick James would be providing a few years later. But while Cream City's title song enjoyed some airplay on Black stations, the LP was far from the major hit it should have been. One hoped that a second album would make Aalon huge, but regrettably, a second album never came about

AALON - ROCK N ROLL GANGSTER 1977

THE DYNAMIC SUPERIORS

A sweet set of vocal group tunes from the Dynamic Superiors — arranged with a bit more of a high stepping groove than some of the other Motown work of the time. Backings are handled by a range of talents that includes Paul Riser, William Eaton, Al Gorgoni, and Horace Ott — but the real charm is the way the group’s innocent harmony style puts over the lyrics, all of which are very strong tunes written by the team of Ashford & Simpson.




THE DYNAMIC SUPERIORS - HIT & RUN LOVERS 1975

L.A. BOPPERS

Augie Johnson, a member of Side Effect, formed the Boppers in Los Angeles, CA, in the mid-’70s to back his stylish, knickers-wearing group who had inked with Fantasy Records. The Boppers, consisting of Robert Griffin, Kenny Davis, Ed Riddick, Ed Luna, and Vance Tenort cut their own Fantasy album entitled The Boppers in 1978. Unfortunately, neither it nor single releases “Everybody Wants to be a Star” and “Something Missing” were successful.

They switched to Mercury Records in 1980 and became the L. A. Boppers. The lineup also went through some tinkering and now consisted of Tenort (lead), Gerry Davis, Riddick, Kenny Styles, Michael Stanton, Stan Martin, with Augie Johnson (on loan from Side Effect) also contributing to their sound. The L. A. Boppers (with input from Mikki Howard) dropped on Mercury in 1980; the first single “Is This the Beat (Bop-Doo-Wah)” made the R&B Top 30 and become their most popular single ever. Subsequent releases, the jazzy “Watching Life” and “Be-Bop Dancer,” failed to capture the same audience. A final Mercury album Bop Time (1981) featured an update of the Delfonic’s “La, La Means I Love You.”

A final album on MCA Records Make Mine Bop in 1982 spawned two poor selling singles: “Where Do the Bops Go” b/w “Well Deserved Rest,” and “How Strong Love Can Be” b/w “Dog House.” Disenchanted, they disbanded after MCA failure. Soul/funk/jazz fans worldwide now trumpet their unheralded album cuts including “Give Me Some” and “Funk It Out.” (Andrew Hamilton, AMG)2. Sublime work from this jazzy harmony combo — a really unique group who took older vocal modes and fused them onto tight modern soul grooves! This set may well be the best-ever from the group — a perfectly produced album done with Augie Johnson of At Home Productions — with a warmly sparkling vibe that’s right up there with the best At Home work for Creative Source or Side Effect — both groups who’d be a good comparison to this one! There’s a few upbeat funk numbers that are pretty sweet, but the best cuts are usually the laidback, mellower ones — which really have LA Boppers hitting their stride. Titles include the killer cut “Watching Life” — a smooth mellow groover, and one of their best tracks — plus “Saturday”, “Funk It Out”, “Life Is What You Make It”, “You Did It Good”, “Is This The Best”, and “Are We Wrong”. (DGA, Inc)




L.A. BOPPERS - YOU DID IT GOOD 1980

JEFF WHITE :: CHICAGO

My boy out of Chi-Town has been lacing me up with some incredible mixes and its time to spread the love. Coming correct on the Soul Genre specializing in era's 78-85 (by sound) Jeff Whites track selection is top notch blending Common tracks, to Hard to find rare numbers. You can tell Jeff has been doing this for a long time. One day soon I would like Jeff to play Sweater Funk.

Jeff comes from the school of, let my Records do the talking!

Enjoy.

Jump on his podcast

R.I.P :: GLADYS HORTON

After a 2010 stroke, former Marvelettes lead singer Gladys Horton, 66, died yesterday in a Los Angeles nursing home, Reuters reports.

Signed to Berry Gordy’s Motown during its soulful heyday, the quartet landed the label’s first No. 1 single on Billboard‘s Hot 100 singles chart–1961′s “Please Mr. Postman.” And before leaving the group in 1967, Horton also was featured on other hits like “Too Many Fish in the Sea.”

The Marvelettes were a teenaged girl group who went from an Inkster High School talent show to scoring Motown’s first pop No. 1, “Please Mr. Postman,” their first time out, in 1961. Gladys Horton, Wanda Young, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, and Juanita Cowart were unstoppable in the early 1960s, hitting big with “Playboy,” “Beechwood 4-5789,” its flip side “Someday, Someway,” and many more. With Smokey Robinson at the helm later in the decade, the Marvs hit big with “Don’t Mess with Bill” featuring Wanda Young in the lead. Motown’s first success story, the Marvelettes became the prototype for the company’s girl groups to follow, from the Martha and The Vandellas to The Supremes.

VINTAGE BROADCASTING LOGOS

You may notice I love all things Vintage. So it's no surprise when I post random topics like this next one.

I draw most my inspiration from the past. Music, Fashion, Art, Pop Culture its basically my Life Style. Most of the fliers I've created are basic. Simple Font and Text but its the layout and Image that make the project. Nothing beats old Broadcasting logos. Very simple and to the point.


Here are some of my favorites I would like to share with you.

Enjoy

ANTHONY MICHAEL SNEED

Anthony Michael Sneed is a multi-platform visual artist who lives and works in Brooklyn. As a small child, Sneed suffered an accident that crushed his right hand, permanently disabling its use and thereby forcing him to become ambidextrous. The implications of being right handed and switching to left as a result of this trauma and the plausible impact it has on his right versus left brain functions fascinates Sneed and inspires inquiry into how that has translated in his work.

Legos, video games, and even the arts and craft association of the artist's process are derivative of Sneed's childhood memories. These tools and their application to the large-scale canvas comprise an ultimately self-referential language dominated by the basic geometric nature of the pixel. Angular shapes and rational lines constitute the visual framework across all the mediums in which he works and gives form to ideas, both abstract and conceptual. Rigid angles sharply contrast with the playful, tongue in cheek nature of his social commentary. Often incorporating early 80s 8-bit video game aesthetics, the resulting imagery can seem anachronistic or frozen in a particular time, juxtaposing the contemporary topical content with a conscious approach.

Anthony Michael Sneed - "Hell for Hire" from The New Pop on Vimeo.

OAKLAND CRUISE NIGHTS

RALFI PAGAN :: CHICANO SOUL

RALFI PAGAN - EL HIJO DE MAMA

The story of Ralfi Pagan...

Born in 1947, Ralfi was a Bronx, New York based Latin soul and salsa singer of Puerto Rican parentage who was active from the late 1960s to the mid '70s. He specialized in soul ballads sung in Spanish and English and released five albums during the 1970s. He may be best known for a duet with Sylvia entitled Soul Je'Taime and for his solo reworking of Make It With You previously recorded by David Gates and Bread. Sadly, it was on a tour of South America while visiting Colombia when he was murdered.


Early career...

Ralfi Pagan (born Rafael Pagan) in Puerto Rico first came to prominence in 1969 with the release of the album Ralfi Pagan for Johnny Pacheco and Jerry Masucci's Fania label. Issued twice, first with all Spanish sung titles and shortly after, with four English song titles substituted for four Spanish titles, Pagan's falsetto tenor favored ballads. This made him highly popular amongst young Hispanic Americans particularly in the urban centers of Los Angeles and New York where Pagan made a significant cultural impact. His forte was ballads such as Who Is The Girl For Me, Don't Stop Now (originally recorded by Eddie Holman), and I Can't See Me Without You. He was also adept on uptempo salsa such as his cover of Oscar Brown's Brother, Where Are You?

In 1971 Ralfi broke through nationally with a Latin cover of Make It With You which entered the Billboard R&B chart on the 10th July 1971 for an eleven week run during which it peaked at #32. It sold 250,000 copiesnationally and Pagan appeared on the nationally syndicated TV show Soul Train. A second album With Love produced by Harvey Averne and Jerry Masucci and recorded in New York consolidated Pagan's status amongst urban hispanics and chicanos. A further R&B hit in 1973 with Soul Je T'Aime,a duet with Sylvia (Robinson) on Vibration Records, was his last appearance on the national charts. The Ralfi album containing a by now familiar balance of Latin-Soul and salsa influenced numbers was released the same year. In 1975 he released hisfourth and final Fania album I Can See which included his distinctive take on Smokey Robinson's Ooh Baby, Baby and the bitter sweet Stay Out of My Life. His voice has been compared with Smokey although it was lighter and less powerful.


Chicano favorite...

By 1976 Ralfi was based in Los Angeles where he found especially favor amongst Chicanos for whom his persona as a sensitive latin lover resonated. He became a regular on the thriving club and salsa dance circuit that included The Gold Dust on Garfield Avenue in Montebello, The King's Table in Pico Rivera, The Monterey West in East Los Angeles, and the Mardi Gras across from MacArthur Park.

Pagan maintained a parallel career as a salsa singer and after a disco release, Girl From The Mountain on Coco records in 1976, he released his fifth album El Flaco De Oro sung entirely in Spanish which represented him as a salsa singer. This appeared on Pumpkris Records for whom he also took the production duties for an album by Johnny Nelson entitled Ralfi Pagan Presenta Johnny Nelson-El Principe de La Salsa. Pagan's final known release is the disco sounding Take Me With You b/w Heaven Sent You also on Pumpkris. An album Take Me With You was scheduled but Pagan's early death curtailed its release.


Death in Colombia...

Pagan had a large following in Latin America and regularly appeared in South America. It was on a tour of Colombia in 1978 where he was substituting for fellow Fania performer Joe Bataan that he was murdered in circumstances that have not yet been collaborated.

Most of Pagan's back catalog has been made available since the mid '90s and he is now probably better known to the general music public then he was during his lifetime. The Gambler, a Fania track from 1972, was featured in the Leon Ichaso film Pinero (2001) starring Benjamin Bratt as the poet-playwright-actor Miguel Pinero.