“The Sound Of Philadelphia” by MFSB (Mother, Father, Sister, Brother) featuring vocals by the group The Three Degrees was written by Philly Soul legends Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff as the theme song for the television show Soul Train. The song reached #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B chart in 1974. Although the song was re-recorded in different versions over the different eras of black music (’80s R&B, New Jack Swing, Hip-Hop, Neo-Soul) since 1974, “The Sound Of Philadelphia” remained the show’s theme song until the final episode in 2006.
Leonard Friend is the alias of one Alex Feder. Named after his grandfather who left music for a career in sales, the talented new artist and dancer could very well give Justin Timberlake a run for his money (whenever he actually decides to do music again). Out today, Friend releases his 8-track EP entitled Lynyrd Frynd.
Mixing the genres of pop and R&B, Feder crafts music that is quite danceable (first single “Serious Music”) and quite serious (“The Year I Die”) as well as tunes meant for the ladies (“Mrs. Friend” and “The Last Gentleman”). If you haven’t caught the video for “Serious Music,” check it out below. It was partly inspired by a performance by the late King of Pop back in ’93, when he performed sitting down because of a sprained ankle.
In a recent press release Friend says, “The reason I came up with the seated idea for the video is because I tore my ACL and had surgery to repair it and didn’t want to wait until I was fully recovered to make a video” … “I remembered a Michael Jackson performance at the Soul Train awards in 1993, where he sprained his ankle during rehearsal and performed sitting down. When I got up to dance that day at the end of the video, that was literally the first time I had danced in five months. We saved it for the end of the shoot in case I re-injured myself (which, thankfully, I didn’t).”
Download Lynryd Frynd EP for free via the artist’s website.
A very talented group of musicians that rose to the top of the music world not once but twice, Kool & the Gang continues to be one of the most beloved bands of the last 30 years. Formed by Robert “Kool” Bell, his brother Ronald Bell and bunch of their New Jersey teenage friends in the mid-60s (then called the Jazziacs), the group played traditional jazz in regional venues for several years, slowly morphing their style to incorporate emerging funk sounds of Sly and the Family Stone and James Brown. They were signed by the De-Lite label in the early 70s and gathered a small but loyal national following (particularly for their 1971 release Live at the Sex Machine). The group’s fortunes exploded in 1974 with Wild and Peaceful, an infectiously raw album that spawned three smash hits, “Funky Stuff,” “Hollywood Swinging,” and “Jungle Boogie,” all featuring great instrumentation and lyrics virtually shouted by the group. However, as quickly as they rode to fame, Kool & the Gang faded, their rough sound appearing out of place against the slick, dance-oriented sounds that began to dominate popular radio in the late 70s.
Love this song or hate it–it was hard to ignore, not wiggle to or get out of your head. Featuring a verse by Q-Tip and vocals and bass guitar from none other than Bootsy Collins baby.
I’ll admit it, when I first purchased “Where It All Begins” and saw the name of this track, I was expecting a full blown slow jam for the “Midnight Love” set. The track starts off slower and subdued, and then it picks up to faster tempo jam. Lalah’s voice has a way of making everything sound good, no matter the tempo. Play this one as the ice breaker at your house party to pull everyone to the dance floor.
Now I’ve heard the New Boyz “You’re A Jerk” but nobody can make being a jerk so “condensatingly cool” at the same time like Mr. Morris E. Day. This 1981 song originally intended for the What Time It Is? album, just carries that fun feeling you know you’re always gonna get from The Original 7ven (formerly The Time).
The motion picture, Graffiti Bridge had some nice cuts that sometimes gets overlooked due to the film itself. Release It is definitely one of my Time favorites but the other cut would be Love Machine. Now some people my feel indifferent towards this song and you’re entitled to that opinion however I feel differently. Pulsating with a vibrant mix of funk, dance and a catchy chorus, you can easily neglect the erotic lyricism of this tune. What completely lures me in is the “20 questions” banter between Morris Day, Ingrid Chavez, and Jerome Benton. The conversation starts off with a “tongue-in-cheek” innocence but grows in a rapid fire beginning to unravel certain inhibitions. A nice twist of clever and sexy.
Here is The Original 7ven (formerly The Time) with Love Machine.
Another tune from the songwriting hand of Rod Temperton, Burn this Disco Out was the last cut from the Off The Wall album. Due to the incredible success of 4 top ten hits from this album, which had never been achieved before by a solo artist, this particular cut didn’t get as much attention as Rock With You or Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough however, in my opinion, it could have easily replaced Girlfriend as the 5th release from the album. Trumpeting it’s high energy intro and driving bass line, this song was definitely made for the club, better know as the disco. So move the couch and tables and groove with this funky tune!!!
