In a long bygone era, this is precisely what I picture a Saturday night to sound (and look) like. RIP 1982.
David Morris - Saturday NightDavid Morris - Saturday Night (Instrumental)
In a long bygone era, this is precisely what I picture a Saturday night to sound (and look) like. RIP 1982.
David Morris - Saturday NightGeorge Kerr produced many, many influential recordings in his long career including the heavily sweated "Skull Snaps" LP in 1973 and the recently reissued Sabata 12" on my friend Rob Sevier's excellent Numero Group label. Kerr has songwriting credits dating back to the early 60's and Patrick Adams claims the first studio session he ever attended was Kerr recording the O' Jays in 1968. In the early 80's Kerr started hooking up with Reggie Griffin and produced quite a few boogie tracks including "S & M" by De De and "Thug Rock" by George's daughter Sandy Kerr. Keeping it in the family, George also produced a track with Vaughan Mason for his other daughter Tracy in 1984.
Reggie Griffin was best known for his early electro jam "Mirda Rock" on Sugarhill Records imprint Sweet Mountain in 1982. His boogie oriented production work with Kerr stands out to me as his best, but he was also quite influential in the hip hop world, penning songs and playing keyboards on some classic cuts for many Sugarhill Records releases including Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's LP "The Message".
The Kerr/Griffin colaboration began with "Thug Rock" in 1982 on Catawaba Records and continued with "S & M" (Sexy Music) in 1983 on the Clockwork label.
These days there are so many damn Kiss FM's floating around the dial that it is almost hard to fathom the brilliance that once was NYC's one and only Kiss 98.7 FM. Still at this pathetic stage in the game, Kiss is the best franchise on the market second to NPR. I so long for times past when radio programming was super diverse, the stations had legit DJ's, and the markets were regulated to keep corporate monopolies out of the system. Damn you telecommunications act of 1996!
Shep Pettibone made his name with the original Kiss 98.7 FM Mastermixes.
Armed with innovative tape delay and splicing techniques all his own, Shep launched his highly influential career producing a series of exclusive Mastermixes for the station from 1981 - 1983. This culminated with the release of the now obscure Prelude Mastermixes Volume 1 double LP in 1982. Shep's career in the world of dance music was quickly cemented as the mastermixes proved to be not only brilliant but a popular radio staple as well. Pettibone soon became the house mixer at Salsoul Records and went on to produce material for mainstream heavy hitters Madonna, The Pet Shop Boys and New Order amongst a plethora of others. Special thanks to Michael, check out his blog.
Nick Straker Band - A Little Bit of Jazz (Shep Pettibone Mastermix)
Secret Weapon - Must Be The Music (Shep Pettibone Mastermix)
Tracy Weber was discovered by Songwriter Nicky Braddy as they grew up close to one another in Queens, New York. Nicky and his writing partner Richard Bassoff penned "One Step at a Time" and "Sure Shot" with Tracy in mind. Recorded and produced by Eric Matthew and Gary Turnier, "Sure Shot" was a massive club hit thanks in part to a mix by Larry Levan. Sadly, Tracy was shot and murdered in a friends apartment two weeks before the single was released. "One Step at a Time" finally saw the light of day with a "Sure Shot" instrumental on the flip in 1983. Bassoff and Brady went on to write and produce "Ride on the Rhythm" by Mahogany for West End Records before both men exited the music business shortly thereafter. According to Richard Bassoff, Matthews and Turnier recorded a third track with Weber entitled "You Ought to Know" which remains unreleased to this day. Bassoff also claims that Tracy could nail any vocal in just one or two takes. I searched high and low, but could not find any picture of Tracy whatsoever. If anyone knows where I can find one, please hit me up.