Auto-Mo-Billy

This one started on the stupid idea of the name. I wanted to get Rockabilly songs on this pick that all had something to do with cars. Automobiles. I am not really a car guy. My wife. She knows cars. People all around me know cars. My next door neighbor was a champion racer. Friends that love cars. I've actually had some cool cars in my life, but mostly it wasn't on purpose. I always wanted a VW Bus, so I had one of those. I've had English sport cars. An MG-B GT (which was fun just because of all the letters), a Spitfire (wouldn't mind getting another one of those.) I once had a car that had parts of five different model names on it (and five different shades of red paint - I called it my Hot Tamale). My fastest car ever was not my 1964 Mustang which I ruined by making it fast and loud and modern, but an old VW Bug that was also converted to be fast. Porsche engine. It was fun, but I got too many tickets in it. This comp is missing some big name car songs, but I don't care.

Auto-Mo-Billy

01 Psycho Devilles - Psycho Cadillac

02 Bob Cass - Corvette Baby

03 The Crew - Red Chevrolet

04 Wally Hughes - Convertible Car

05 Jack Kitchen - Hot Rod Boogie

06 Harry Hutchins - Rockin' Rollin' Cadilac

07 Rocky Davis - Hot Rod Baby

08 Flyin' Cats - Hot Rod Gang

09 Billy Burnette - Hot Rod Hillbilly

10 Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps - Race With the Devil

11 Sonny Wallace - Black Cadillac

12 Bobby Brown & The Backup Boosters - She Knows Cars

13 Brian Setzer Orchestra - Drive Like Lightning (Crash Like Thunder)

14 Tom Tall - Hot Rod Is Her Name

15 Arkie Shibley & His Mountain Dew Boys - Hot Rod Race

16 Gene Simmons - Peroxide Blond And A Hopped Up Model Ford

17 Jimmy Carroll - Big Green Car

18 The Camtwisters - Hotrod Twist

19 Pat Davis - Spinner Hub Caps

20 Session '57 - Cool Cruisin' Car

21 Richie Deran - Girl And A Hot Rod

22 Bill Sherill - Cadillac Baby

23 Bobby Verne - Red Hot Car

24 Tommy Lam - Speed Limit

25 Joyce Green - Black Cadillac

26 Larry Dowd - Pink Cadillac

27 Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen - Hot Rod Lincoln

28 Bill Parsons - Hot Rod Volkswagen

29 Eddie Ringo - Full Racing Cam

30 Stray Cats - Look At That Cadillac

Bobby Orlando Big O

I'm very torn about this pick. I would never have said that I am a big fan Hi-NRG and yet without knowing the term, I am and always was a big fan. Everyone visiting this blog knows that I put on a lot of disco and frankly that's kind of what it is. I think of Giogio Morodor and Donna Summer I Feel Love. And one of the prolific purveyors of Hi-NRG productions was Bobby Orlando especially in the 80's. This pick is just a sampling of stuff he did. From writing to producing and everything in between Bobby O  had control of the dance floor for years. And a lot of it I had no idea he was a part of until later. Divine and the Flirts are a good example of my ignorance. I knew the tracks and played the songs, but I wouldn't have classified it as that genre and I had no idea that the Big O had anything to do with them. Enjoy revisiting this selection or hearing it with new ears.

Bobby Orlando Big O

01 Roni Griffith - Desire

02 The Flirts - Passion (Extended Mix)

03 Free Enterprise - Make It On My Own

04 Bobby O - She Has A Way

05 Girly - Working Girl (One Way Love Affair)

06 Divine - Native Love (12'' Version)

07 Oh Romeo - One More Shot

08 Hippies With Haircuts - Eye On You

09 Waterfront Home - Take A Chance On (On Me)

10 Bobby O & Claudja Barry - Whisper To A Scream

11 Beachfront - Once In A Lifetime

12 Gina Desire - Breathless

13 Banana Republic - Lonely Too Long

14 Wow - Bring On The Men

Swing Swing Swing 4

Four volumes in and I am clearly not over this. More is coming! The pick runs from the golden era heavyweights who invented the whole thing through the neo-swing revival acts that proved it never actually died. I think it just went underground for a while. As an amateur ballroom dancer for years, emphasis on amateur, there is nothing quite like a good swing tune for reminding your feet what they're supposed to be doing even when your brain has other ideas. This volume has a little more muscle and defiance to it than the previous three. Either way it swings. From sex to war to just drinking, it's all here this time. And every time. All through the ages.

Swing Swing Swing 4

65 Benny Goodman - Don't Be That Way

66 Duke Ellington - C Jam Blues

67 Gavin Povey & The Fabulous Oke She Moke She Pops - Hook Line & Sinker

68 The Indigo Kings - How Can It Be True

69 Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers - What's The Matter With You

70 Harry James & His Music Makers - Two O'Clock Jump

71 The Lazy Jumpers - Salt And Pepper Boogie

72 Robyn Adele Anderson - Immigrant Song

73 Count Basie - Shorty George

74 Keely Smith - Swing, Swing, Swing (Sing, Sing, Sing)

75 Fletcher Henderson And His Orchestra - Wrappin' It Up

76 The Atomic Fireballs - Man With The Hex

77 Erskine Hawkins - Tippin' In

78 Woody Herman - Four Brothers

79 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - You & Me & Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)

80 Charlie Barnet - Skyliner

81 Jennifer Rocket - Stand Up Baby

82 Phantom Alley Swing - Pocket Full of Stars

83 Artie Shaw - Begin The Beguine

84 Maria Muldaur - It Ain't The Meat (It's The Motion)

85 Glenn Miller - Pennsylvania 6-5000

86 Jimmie Lunceford And His Orchestra - For Dancers Only

87 Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five - Choo Choo Ch'Boogie

88 The Mighty Blue Kings - Baby Drives Me Wild

89 Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra - Pull The Other One, Rob!

Salsoul Selection

This selection/pick sits right in the middle of a very specific corner of disco — the Salsoul Records world, which was its own thing even within the broader New York scene. Salsoul had its own DNA: Latin percussion, gospel-inflected vocals, lush orchestration, and a particular sense of drama that set it apart from the more stripped-down funk happening elsewhere. It's not the same universe as Patrick Adams, but there's definite overlap in spirit if not in sound — both were chasing something bigger and more emotional than the average dancefloor demanded. The label gave us some of the most beloved twelve-inch singles ever cut, and the remix culture around it — Gibbons, Pettibone — was as important as the records themselves. Thirteen tracks, no filler.

Salsoul Selection

01 Touch Of Class - I'm In Heaven

02 Loleatta Holloway - Hit And Run

03 Instant Funk - I Got My Mind Made Up

04 Bebu Silvetti - Spring Rain

05 The Salsoul Orchestra - Ooh I Love It (Love Break) (Moplen Radio Edit)

06 Charo & the Salsoul Orchestra - Dance A Little Bit Closer (Extended Version)

07 First Choice - Let No Man Put Asunder

08 Skyy - Call Me

09 Candido - Jingo (Original Shep Pettibone 12 inch Remix)

10 Carol Williams - More

11 Double Exposure - Ten Percent (Walter Gibbons 12 inch Mix)

12 Inner Life featuring Jocelyn Brown - Ain't No Mountain High Enough

13 Joe Bataan - Latin Strut

PAP Smear (Patrick Adams Pick) 3

This is the final piece of the Patrick Adams pick. I've been relistening to this, over the last few days and it's just good. And several of these disco tracks are probably stuff you had no idea were even related to Adams. Unless maybe you were a DJ, then maybe. A couple of repeat bands in here from previous volumes, even one track that supposedly is higher rated than previous pick. But I know what I like. Last volume I linked to another record label and here is another reason why I picked that label: Herbie Mann covering Celi Bee in a jazzy dance-y way.

PAP Smear 3

23 Bumblebee Unlimited - Love Bug

24 Dazzle - Slipped Disco

25 Sine - Just Let Me Do My Thing

26 Four Below Zero - My Baby's Got E.S.P.

27 Patrick Adams Presents Phreek - I'm A Big Freak (R•U•1•2)

28 Logg - You've Got That Something

29 Inner Life featuring Jocelyn Brown - Ain't No Mountain High Enough

30 The Sparks - Woe Woe

31 Universal Robot Band - Dance And Shake Your Tambourine

32 Marta Acuna - Dance, Dance, Dance

33 Rainbow Brown - Let's Go Another Round (Tom Moulton Extended Mix)

34 Herbie Mann - Superman

35 Wish & La-Rita Gaskin - Nice And Soft

PAP Smear (Patrick Adams Pick) 2

Patrick Adams pick is continued on this second volume. Not sure why I added smear to this, since I definitely am not trying to smear him. In fact his legacy is unsmearable. But Patrick Adams Pick was too deliciously going to be PAP and that's what I thought of. Another non-New York disco outfit also came to mind and that was TK (Terry Kane) Records. Sunny and free Florida but also a healthy production team. Lots of different one off band names with Adams and lots of mentoring of young groups hoping to make it. And he gave them the best possible start. Lots of people like the boys from Chic credited Adams after he died and listening to some of these chord progressions you can hear why.

PAP Smear 2

11 Musique - Keep On Jumpin' (Remix)

12 Sine - Happy Is The Only Way

13 Dazzle - You Dazzle Me!!!

14 Sandy's Gang - Hungry (12' Extended Version)

15 Black Ivory - I Keep Asking You Questions

16 The Golden Flamingo Orchestra - The Guardian Angel Is Watching Over Us

17 Logg - I Know You Will (Larry Levan 12 inch Remix)

18 Rainbow Brown - Till You Surrender (Special Remix)

19 Louie Vega, Patrick Adams & Cloud Two featuring Anane - Rebel Nation

20 Patrick Adams - Jack In The Bush

21 Venus Dodson - Night Rider

22 The Shades Of Love - Come Inside (12'')

PAP Smear (Patrick Adams Pick) 1

If you have followed this site for awhile, you know that I love disco and also that I love following producers. This Patrick Adams pick does both. Going through his stuff was amazing and there was a deluge of songs, bands etc that I had not connected to Adams. This is going to be three volumes long. I was fascinated how even though they didn't work together there were some sonic parallels to Rinder & Lewis. One was East Coast, one was West. They didn't do the same stuff, but I kept hearing it underneath. Anyway this volume has the first song I ever owned by Patrick Adams (and I had no idea then it was him). In case you are wondering, it was Musique. But listen to these songs!

PAP Smear 1

01 Phreek featuring Christie Shire - Weekend (12'' Extended Version)

02 Wish & Fonda Rae - Touch Me (All Night Long)

03 Inner Life featuring Jocelyn Brown - Make It Last Forever

04 Patrick Adams Initiative - Kings And Queens

05 Universal Robot Band - Barely Breaking Even (Club Version)

06 Musique - In The Bush

07 Caress - Opportunity

08 Bumblebee Unlimited - Lady Bug (12 inch Mix)

09 Cloud One - Atmosphere Strut

10 The Sparks - Cool It