The funk; the album covers…! Where did guys store their albums after they taped the album covers to their walls?
Shortly after Cupid’s Hunt, I promised some Class of ‘75 mixes to celebrate those friends and classmates, lost and found. I hadn’t forgotten; I guess I needed a trigger.
Earlier today, I heard “Fire” on the radio, and remembered those evenings in Woody’s car with Woody, Joel and Patty, riding to Buxton’s after picking me up from work; and the parties, dj’d by Todd, where people just weren’t sure when to stop dancing to “Running From the Devil”. Then, I started thinking about all the other good music we danced, studied, slept and parked to that year. I loved those artists; I loved that music. It’s still background noise when I work; it’s still my lullabyes.
Hello, Linden; hello Roselle; hello, Rahway. I know Gold Bell Bakery is long gone; but, is Buxton’s still around?
I wasn’t going to let April 2 pass without paying tribute to Marvin Gaye. Had he lived, he would be 71 today. There’s not much to say beyond that. In light of the circumstances of April 1, 1984, I found “Piece of Clay” to be particularly beautiful and haunting.
This is dedicated to my mom, Ethel Mae McKenzie White, who celebrates her own birthday in two days and always had plenty of Motown playing around the house; to Curt Jones (I can’t hear “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby” without remembering him singing that song on our bus to summer camp); and to my cousin, Patricia (I can’t listen to “Got To Give It Up” without remembering her wedding reception).
Is that the Temptations singing background on “Try It Baby” and “Your Precious Love”?
Cupid’s Hunt was like giving birth…and I was tired! I’m still listening to all the wonderful music posted for the event; and surfing from site to site listening to podcasts posted since then. I’ve also moved The Night Shift to a web host to allow more growth and flexibility. The move was not without bumps in the road; I had to create a new domain and continue to use the original domain to host the large mp3 files. There’s no need to dismantle the old domain for now.
The needle has landed! Gone are the days when I haunted the Radio Shacks for parts. Now, there is actually a TurntabeNeedles.com, and other sites that offer parts I can use to repair old changers I’ve refused to discard. I can’t wait to bust some vinyl, though.
But, in the meantime, shout-outs and prayers for some March birthdays; for those who have left us and for those who grace us still; and especially for the birthday girls featured in what is my first ‘Girl Power’ mix.
March 1 Harry Belafonte
March 4 Miriam Makeba
March 9 Bow Wow; Chingy
March 10 Timbaland
March 11 Marlon Jackson; LeToya Luckett; Bobby McFerrin
March 14 Quincy Jones; Les Brown
March 15 Will.i.am; Sly Stone
March 16 Flavor Flav
March 17 Nat “King” Cole
March 18 Queen Latifah; Irene Cara; Wilson Pickett
Hit It Again – Luther Vandross/Queen Latifah – Dance With My Father [4:37]
Here We Go Again (feat. Norah Jones) – Ray Charles – Genius Love Company [3:59]
I Feel Good All Over – Stephanie Mills – Ultimate Collection [5:02]
Home – Stephanie Mills – Ultimate Collection [3:35]
I Know Where I’ve Been – Queen Latifah – Hairspray – Soundtrack [4:13]
I also would like to thank the members of the Music Podcast Consortium and all the Cupid’s Hunt contributors for inspiring me. I was a child in your playground, and you pushed my swing.
Happy Birthday to Sly Stone . We miss him; and, he’s still around. This is also dedicated to my brother. It’s the hot summer of ‘69…he and his friends are in the cool basement listening to Sly records…I’m sitting at the top of the stairs (they can’t see me)…
Our prayers to the friends and family of Ron Banks , founder of the Detroit soul group, The Dramatics , who passed away at the age of 59. They really rocked the 70s for us with “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get”, a tongue-in-cheek favorite for Flip Wilson fans; “In The Rain ”, that kept the walls buffed clean at blue-light basement parties; and their cover of Billy Paul’s ”Me and Mrs. Jones ”, that knocked me to my knees.
Our prayers to the friends and family of Ron Banks , founder of the Detroit soul group, The Dramatics , who passed away at the age of 59. They really rocked the 70s for us with “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get”, a tongue-in-cheek favorite for Flip Wilson fans; “In The Rain ”, that kept the walls buffed clean at blue-light basement parties; and their cover of Billy Paul’s ”Me and Mrs. Jones ”, that knocked me to my knees.
Despite the hoops I jumped through to get this site up and running, I am having fun surfing the net for plug-ins and applications to make it more user-friendly. Though I will be using PowerPoint more onUp All Night, I love what I was able to do with this presentation over at Slideshare.
TNS – The King Remix is a shortened version of TNS – For the Children of the Dream, released in celebration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King.
As it turned out, the mix was too long to download, one of my rookie mistakes. Also, once I showed my sister what I was doing, she urged me to expand my King idea into mixes that included speeches of Malcolm X, Medgar Evers and whoever else’s recordings that were available. I liked her idea. However, Black History Month just happens to be the shortest month of the year, and time is getting tight. So, should I run out of time getting other posts up, I want this one to stand.
I dedicate this entire section, all the mixes that I intend to include for Black History Month, to my mother, Ethel Mae McKenzie White. Long before black history was taught in the schools (you remember, textbooks that included only Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver), my mother taught us at home from volumes of The Negro Heritage Library, and with the speeches of Dr. King and Malcolm X on vinyl. Long before James Brown recorded “Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)”, she had us saying it to ourselves so we could repeat it in public (back when being called “black” was considered and insult). She had a take-no-prisoners ‘pride, don’t hide’ attitude that she passed on to her children, and that I hope I’ve passed on to mine.
TNS – The King Remix includes “I Have A Dream” and “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” in their entirety. I also included Kirk Franklin’s “My Life Is In Your Hands” from the soundtrack of “Get On The Bus”, a movie about another march on Washington, D.C., the Million Man March.
But, we won’t celebrate Valentine’s Day on a Sunday again for another seven (?) years. And Millie just wouldn’t let me rest. Her song, “If You’re Not Back in Love By Monday” has been in my head all night. Is there more fitting a song for a Monday morning after a Sunday V-Day?
So, like a true night shift-er, I’ve been up for awhile keeping myself busy. I’d made a huge pot of chili for dinner, and the family is out cold with ‘the itis’. Law and Order is on TNT; Angel doesn’t air until 5am. It’s just me, with Millie and few others who sing of trying to get back what they once had.
This goes out to all those Cupid Hunters who are back in love this morning. No promos or intros (I didn’t have much time); just the music, with Millie’s , “Good night, everybody” at the end.
