Smooth Sailing: Rockin’ You Eternally

-
Unsplash
We are sailing smoothly into 2020… Enjoy the trip! 😊

American singer/songwriter Kirk Reed first recorded the West Coast gem California in 1979:
"The song is a folky groover that pays tribute to The Golden State through its imagery of sunshine and wide open roads. The original record is highly in demand among collectors."
This month a great remix of the track by Shawn Lee (Young Gun Silver Fox) has been released on Believe International Records. Lee has put the song in a new jacket with added instruments and vocals, but has kept the original West Coast vibe. You can read my first impression of the remix on the official Bandcamp page.

Sheila Ferguson, Fayette Pinkney and Valerie Holiday of the Three Degrees released their psychedelic soul album Maybe on Roulette Records in 1970, after a handful of singles the years before. On the LP were covers of well-known songs, such as Jimmy Webb’s MacArthur Park, Lynn Anderson’s Rose Garden, and Sugar On Sunday, originally recorded by Tommy James & The Shondells on their album Crimson & Clover in 1969. Another cover, Maybe, would give them their biggest American hit at that point of their career. After they had signed for Philadelphia International 3 years later, they would have a few more hits in the US, but they became phenomenally popular in Europe and the UK. Stock, Aitken and Waterman gave Sheila Ferguson, Helen Scott (who replaced Fayette Pinkney in 1976) and Valerie Holiday one last hit with The Heaven I Need in 1985.

Tracklist:

Paco Versailles – Libertine (2019)
Al Sunny – How Does It Feel (2019)
Heatwave – The Star Of A Story (1978)
Estate Sale Boat – Transitional Moment in Time [Extended Version] (2018)
The Three Degrees – Sugar On Sunday (1970)
Robert John ‎– You Don't Need A Gypsy (1972)
Christian Gaubert – Sweet Maryline (1979)
Bill LaBounty – Look Who's Lonely Now (1982)
Durand Jones & The Indications – Don’t You Know (2019)
Kirk Reed – California [Shawn Lee Mix] (2020)
Stylus – We All Need One Another (1976)
Stephen Bishop – Little Italy (1976)
Leon Ware – Rockin’ You Eternally (1981)
Bob James – Love Power (1981)
Sabrina Starke – Ain’t No Sunshine (2013)




Comments

Unknown said…
Really nice transition into Cali, my friend...really nice transitions all around...Live Entertainment / Kirk Robert Reed
January 14, 2020 at 7:23 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Disco Knockouts!

-
Image
Apart from the picture of Sharron Davies, there are two songs that inspired me to make this mix. One of them is a recent track from Duck Sauce. The repetition of the female vocals reminded me of Stars On 45 (I believe they both sampled 'Gotta Go Home' by Boney M). The other one is from Dutch singer Dee Dee. I heard ‘I put a spell on you’ on a recent episode of Tim Sweeney’s ‘Beats in space’. In the accompanying video she looks a little bit like a sex doll, but I love the song! I like the closing track from soul veterans the Drifters, but isn’t it strange to hear guys who were in their thirties at the time sing about schoolgirls? Different times, I guess, when no one had heard of R. Kelly yet... One of my personal favourites is ‘Night time’ from Maggie MacNeal. I bought the 7” which was produced by Michael Lloyd (known for his work for the Osmonds, Lou Rawls and Solomon Burke) way back in 1979. Maggie MacNeal was one half of the successful Dutch duo Mouth & MacNeal. Their
Read more

Smooth Sailing On A Late Summer Night

-
Image
Unsplash As a touring member of the Pretenders Welshman Carwyn Ellis originally started his worldwide collective Rio 18 in Brazil. She’s In L.A. is a collaboration with AOR masters Young Gun Silver Fox: “They deliver a new flavour of lowriding Californian funk, telling a story about the joy of finding a new life in the City Of Angels, the metropolis by the sea.” (Bandcamp) Evie Sands began recording as a teenager in the mid-1960s. After a rocky start and having trouble with unreliable record executives who stole her songs, she finally had a hit single with Any Way That You Want Me in 1969. Her debut album, also named Any Way That You Want M e, was released several months after the single had peaked. In 1975 Estate of Mind saw the light of day on Capitol Records. Produced by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, the album marked her continued output as a first class singer/songwriter. The disco inspried One Thing On My Mind is one of the outstanding tracks. The song was covered by severa
Read more

Soft Rock For Autumn Days by The Smooth Operators

-
Image
Pexels Look outside and watch the falling leaves and early sun downs: this is the AOR soundtrack to this year’s autumn by The Smooth Operators (Martijn Soetens and I) 😊 Enjoy some soft rock with a touch of soul! Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel are best known for their UK number one hit (Come Up And See Me) Make Me Smile in 1975. The song came from their album The Best Years Of Our Lives and was co-produced by then relatively unknown engineer Alan Parsons. Their pretty funky track White, White Dove was released a year later as the final single from their next LP Timeless Flight . The track was written and produced by Harley himself.  White, White Dov e was the second single from the album , after Black Or White had failed to chart. White, White Dove came out shortly after Timeless Flight , but despite the album's top 20 success in the UK, the single did not reach the UK top 50 either. However, the same year Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel would return to the UK top 10,
Read more