Disco Diehards

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It’s disco time again! And some of the best disco comes from Germany, like the one in this mix from Su Kramer. The guy on drums is Keith Forsey. He played on records from Giorgio Moroder, Donna Summer and Sparks. Later on he produced the big hits for former punk rocker Billy Idol, like ‘Eyes without a face’. The song ‘Magic dance’ heavily borrows from ‘Was dog a doughnut’, the club classic from Cat Stevens. Sampling didn’t exist yet... A few years later the electro experiment from Cat Stevens was sampled by The Fearless Four ('It's magic' in 1982). Deichkind sampled 'Magic dance' for their hip hop track 'Bon voyage' in 2000.

The remixed version of ‘My house’ from Hercules & Love Affair came out last week. It uses a few beats from ‘Let’s start II dance again’, the Bohannon disco track (with additional raps from Dr. Perri Johnson and some very cool breaks!). It was one of the first rap tracks on the Dutch pop charts. Hamilton Bohannon was the bandleader for several Motown tours in the late sixties and early seventies. Marvin Gaye mentions his name on his very funky track ‘Checking out’. When Motown moved to Los Angeles in 1972, Hamilton Bohannon started a career of his own. I’m a big fan of his tight way of drumming ever since I heard ‘Disco stomp’ when I was a kid.

And don’t forget to listen to the last song, the very nice rework of ‘Give me the night’, the George Benson/Quincy Jones/Rod Temperton classic, sung by actor/singer Jamie Foxx who played Ray Charles very well in the movie ‘Ray’. It's from the album 'Q Bossa Nostra'. You only have to skip the Amy Winehouse track. She gives a very poor performance of 'It's my party', the Lesley Gore song that was produced by Quincy Jones almost 50 years ago. And did you know that British new wave band New Order (formerly known as Joy Division) worked with master Q on their 1988 remix of 'Blue Monday'? I included 'True faith' that went to #32 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987.

Enjoy these disco diehards! The mix is available for download on DJ History as well. A big thank you to Kyra for her very beautiful vinyl picture!

Tracklist:

Finis Henderson – Call Me (Motown/1983)
Second Image – Ovo Mexido [Egg Mix] (MCA/1985)
Patti Austin – Do You Love Me (Qwest/1981)
Yarbrough & Peoples – Heartbeats (Total Experience/1983)
Styrofoam – What’s Hot (And What’s Not) (Nettwerk Productions/2010)
Carol Lloyd – Dream Dancer (Earmarc/1979)
New Order – True Faith (Factory/1987)
Su Kramer – Magic Dance (Telefunken/1978)
Hercules & Love Affair – My House [Stopmakingme Remix] (Moshi Moshi/2011)
Bohannon – Let’s Start II Dance Again (Phase II/1981)
Network – I Need You (Rams Horn/1984)
Vicky "D" – This Beat Is Mine (Sam/1981)
The Quick – The Rhythm Of The Jungle (Epic/1982)
Giorgio Moroder Feat. Amor– On The Radio (Caus-N'-ff-ct/2000)
Quincy Jones Feat. Jamie Foxx – Give Me The Night (Interscope/2010)


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