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.

Tracy Weber - One Step at a Time

Tracy Weber - Sure Shot (Instrumental)

The brainchild of producer Darryl Payne (Sharon Redd, Katie Kissoon), the female vocal group Sinnamon topped the club charts in 1982 with their hit "Thanks To You" on Beckett Records. Co-written by the brilliant Eric Matthew of Gary's Gang and mixed by Shep Pettibone, "Thanks To You" was destined to be a boogie classic. In 1983 the band switched over to the Jive label and added a male lead vocal for their excellent follow up single. "I Need You Now" had a much smaller impact on the charts, but is now considered a more sought after and pricey 12". The group released several more singles fairly well into the 80's, but slowly faded out as they could never match the success of their early releases.

Sinnamon - Thanks To You
Sinnamon - I Need You Now

Katie Kissoon is a powerful vocalist born who was born in Trinidad and raised in the UK. Katie got her start in a soul duo with her brother Mac in the 70's. Since then, she has had a long run as a back up singer for Roger Waters of Pink Floyd as well as stints with Eric Crapton and Van Morrison. Obviously, I prefer her brief solo run on Jive Records in the early 80's. "You're The One (You're My Number One)" is a spot-on mid tempo boogie track released in 1983, produced by Darryl Payne who is notable for his work with Sharon Redd as well as his collaborations with Gary Turnier and Eric Matthew of Gary's Gang. I was too lazy to take a photo of the 12 inch, so instead you not only get a picture of Katie, but a pic of the Jive Logo as well. Bonus!

Katie Kissoon - You're The One (You're My Number One)

This mix is a collection of songs that might have been played on this Bozak mixer when it was installed by Richard Long Associates (RLA) in the legendary NYC club Inferno. This club was in Midtown and was the stomping grounds of house music legends David Morales and Roman Ricardo. I really hope some of their talent rubs off! Bozak mixers are unique because the circuit is discrete which allows way more headroom than mixers with IC chips. Also, the nature of the design puts the tape outs before the tone control, so the signal that is recorded is flat.

Tracklist:
Clifton Dyson - Body In Motion
Front Page - Love Insurance (Sharon Redd and Eric Matthew)
Voyage - Souvenirs (Translucent Red Vinyl)
Bombers - (Everybody) Get Dancin'
Evelyn "Champagne" King - Shame
El Coco - Medley: Afrodesia / Coco Kane
Erotic Drum Band - Pop Pop Shoo Wah (Long Version)
Stephanie Mills - You Can Get Over

mp3: Souvenirs from 1979

If you had a funk band in the 70's you were "Bunch" and if you had a kick ass disco band in the 80's you were a "Gang." Gary's Gang, with the production whiz and trademark vocals of Eric Matthew, (he also produced Sharon Redd, Toney Lee, Sinnamon and many others), produced a string of hits throughout the late 70's through the late 80's. Their first major hit was 1978's Keep on Dancin' on Sam Records. As many disco acts met their demise after the year disco died, Gary's Gang continued to bring it! This track from 1984 is one of the band's last, but it is so strong and has such a solid disco pop presence it is amazing that the band took a three year hiatus after its release.

This recording features some new hardware, I hope you enjoy it. To see any recording details, check the info section on the ID3 tag.

mp3: Gary's Gang - Runaway

Sharon Redd, a formal Shaffer Beer girl, was an amazing singer. Thanks to some incredible production work and a mixe by the seminal Francois Kevorkian, her tunes are still moving dance floors all over the world. Beat The Street has a perfect blend of percussive guitar with a simple, yet iconic synth line. The vocals are a preview of what would later become Hi NRG and vocal house music. This track was featured on fantastic mixed releases by Chicken Lips and Chromeo.

mp3: Sharon Redd - Beat The Street