Professor Eddy

I wish you all the best for 2014! Let’s step into the new year with a step back in history of exactly 40 years. The first hour contains tracks of 1974 and the second hour is about 1975. The mid seventies mark the transition from early, more sophisticated, seventies soul to hedonistic disco with the so-called ‘four on the floor’ beat later on. The track from the Trammps sums it up best: it contains disco rhythm elements, but the vocals are evidently based on doo wop and gospel (question-answer routine, based on singing in church). The song about 1975 from Rae & Christian is a remixed track from their latest album 'Mercury rising': “ The genius of Rae and Christian is that they have always had a good ear for combining artists with their music. This is proven in '1975', featuring Diagrams. Seven minutes long, '1975' was the first single released from the album and is arguably the best song on 'Mercury Rising'. It perfectly showcases both Rae and Chris...

(Quote: Daily Mirror ) Hopefully 2014 will be as good as 1976… “1976 was Britian's best ever year according to new study. Research by economists revealed the year the Ford Fiesta, The Body Shop and Apple launched was also the UK's happiest year, the Sunday People reports Brits bask in glorious sunshine, The Rolling Stones tour and rank outsiders win the FA cup – each could be a headline from this year. But they were equally true in 1976, which was the UK’s best ever year, according to a new study by economists. Many people fondly remember the year when the mercury topped 28C (82F) for a record-breaking 22 days… and for once the nostalgia is not misplaced.” The million-selling 'You'll never find another love like mine' from Lou Rawls parked at number one on the R&B charts for two weeks and number two on the pop charts for two weeks as well in the (warm!) summer of 1976. The song was written by Philly soul creators Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. It is abou...

Picture: Wikipedia Enjoy part 3 of Eddy's 80s Grooves ! The mix ends with Die Fehlfarben: “ Monarchie und Alltag, the 1980 debut album by Die Fehlfarben, is one of the key releases of the Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW), the German equivalent of new wave. Die Fehlfarben were never quite the same after Monarchie und Alltag -- constant lineup shuffling, intermittent streaks of band activity -- and though the album fell upon deaf ears initially, it grew in stature over the years and rightly became recognized as a cornerstone of modern German rock, earning a deluxe reissue in 2000. Renowned for decades, the band nonetheless only ever scored one proper hit, "Ein Jahr (Es Geht Voran)," a song from Monarchie und Alltag that became a surprise Top 20 smash belatedly in 1982, after EMI reissued it as a single during the height of the Neue Deutsche Welle." "The roots of Fehlfarben reach back to the dawn of German punk in 1977. Formed by members of the Düsseldorf punk scen...

Picture Gavin Turek: Tiger Tiger Enjoy this 34th edition of Groovy, sexy & soulful ! The opening and closing track are from Americana 2, an excellent blue-eyed-soul album, compiled by Zaf Chowdhry and Mark Taylor. They say about the album on AOR Disco: "More music from artists that never really quite made it to the AOR big time, or were able to afford their own yachts. Those 'ships in the night' artists who, in some cases, never even had a hit song, and who sank without a trace, without even a rubber dingy." An example of a band that couldn’t find a 'rubber dingy' is RCR. Their album ‘Scandal’ is crap, to be honest, but the track that Zaf Chowdhry and Mark Taylor found is something special! I like the dark and funky dance track from Clubfeet, which was an inspiration for this mix. Clubfeet are a five piece synth-pop band from Melbourne, Australia, and Cape Town, South Africa. In 2010, Clubfeet released their critically acclaimed debut LP ‘Gold on g...

My soulful view on 1977. One of the tracks is from EWF: "Earth, Wind & Fire's artistic and commercial winning streak continued with its ninth album, All 'N All, the diverse jewel that spawned major hits like "Serpentine Fire" and the dreamy "Fantasy." [...] Because EWF had such a clean-cut image and fared so well among pop audiences, some may have forgotten just how sweaty its funk could be. But "Jupiter" -- like "Mighty, Mighty," "Shining Star," and "Getaway" -- underscores the fact that EWF delivered some of the most intense and gutsy funk of the 1970s ." ( Alex Henderson ) Tracklist: Life Force – Slow Dancer (1977) William Bell – Tryin’ To Love Two (1977) The Floaters – Float On (1977) The Dynamics – We Found Love (1977) Earth, Wind & Fire – Serpentine Fire (1977) The Commodores ‎– Brick House (1977) Houseband – Dancing Shoes (1977) Washington Jamb Band – Can’t Hide The Funk (1...

A tribute to one of the most gifted, visionary, and enduring talents ever launched into orbit by the Motown hit machine: “ Marvin Gaye blazed the trail for the continued evolution of popular black music. ” (Jason Ankeny) Enjoy! Tracklist: The Durutti Column – The Truth (2010) The Impressions – Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) (1971) Quincy Jones & His Orchestra – Ain't That Peculiar (1965) Ike & Tina Turner – I Heard It Trough The Grapevine (1969) Mongo Santamaria – Too Busy Thinking About My Baby (1969) The Funk Brothers – Ain't No Mountain High Enough (1960s) Gato Barbieri – Latin Reaction (1977) Fred Wesley & The JB's – You Sure Love To Ball (1974) Leon Ware – I Wanna Be Where You Are (1976) Grover Washington, Jr. – Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) (1972) The Three Degrees – Distant Lover (1975) Stanley Turrentine – I Want You (1976) Dianne Reeves – I Want You (2013) David Fathead Newman – Distant Lover (1978) Quincy Jones –...

Remy Martin Enjoy this 33rd part of ‘ Groovy, sexy & soulful ’! One of the tracks is the sublime ‘Night people’ ('Yeah, baby, yeah') from The Leaders. Songwriter Carl D'Errico remembers: “Ted Cooper, Carl Spencer, Eddie Rabbitt and I wrote a song called "Night People" where the demo turned into the master. The four of us were hanging out at the office and decided to write a song together. Carl Spencer sang the male vocal and I'm not sure who did the female vocal. That's Eddie and me struggling in the background with our falsettos to sound like a female backup group. Teddy got a deal with the Fontana label for the demo and came up with the brilliant name for the group, the Leaders.” ( http://www.spectropop.com/CarlD ) If you stick to the end, you can hear a track from the professor himself, called 'Counting down tonite' 😊. Track listing: The SOS Band – Even When You Sleep (1986) Toni Braxton – You’re Making Me High [Mr Leigh The Sky E...

Picture: Roller Boogie Paying tribute to the last year of disco, before the ‘disco sucks’ movement took over by burning disco records in public. In 1979 I was too young to go to a discotheque, but I imagine the music there would have sounded something like this, including the bad mixing... ;-) The track from Moonshoes is actually brand new, but it has the 1979 feel. The accompanying video contains footage of Skatetown USA (picture below), a movie (starring Patrick Swayze) that came out in 1979. By the way, the father of one of the Daft Punk guys wrote Ottawan’s ‘D.I.S.C.O.’ ‘Love to love you Donna’ is the new Donna Summer remix album that is out on Verve now. DJ's and artists like Chromeo, Hot Chip and Holy Ghost! have teamed up to remix the late singer’s classic hits. It includes reworked versions of ‘Hot stuff’,‘I feel love’, ‘MacArthur Park’,'On the radio' and more. The biggest surprise is an unreleased track called ‘La dolce vita’, a collaboration between the Que...

My inspiration came after seeing the movie ‘ Blood ties ’ and hearing ‘ There goes my love again ’ from White Lies. I love those dramatic songs. The more dramatic, the better! I like the drum rolls, twanging guitars and big orchestra sounds, like the famous ‘wall of sound’ from Phil Spector. I hope you will enjoy these dramatic ballads too! One of the tracks is from The Dells. On the 29th of May this year singer Marvin Junior of the Dells died. ‘Iron Throat’ is what David Ruffin, the former lead singer of the Temptations, once called Marvin Junior. ‘Two tons of fun’ is what he called himself. He grew up hoping to be the next Ray Charles and eventually inspired other singers, including Teddy Pendergrass. In the 1970s Gamble and Huff wanted the Dells to join the Philadelphia International label, but when they failed, they contracted Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes with singer Teddy Pendergrass. They thought his voice sounded almost similar to the one of Mavin Junior. The voice o...

Three Degrees: Rolling Stone journalist Vince Aletti first spoke of ‘disco’ in 1973. So we are celebrating 40 years of disco this year! This mix is a selection of the early years. The tracks I chose made the (disco) ball rolling. In 1973, for instance, 'Girl, you need a change of mind' was one of the first songs with a (disco) break and 'The love I lost' was probably the first song that had an uptempo disco beat, because of the hi-hat pattern played by drummer Earl Young (Source: A House on Fire: The Rise and Fall of Philadelphia Soul ). One year later, 'Rock the boat' (that started to use the off-beat tom tom ) and 'Rock your baby' were the first disco hits that reached the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100: “Considered by some to be the first disco hit, the Hues Corporation's funky 1974 hit "Rock the Boat" is certainly a key track in the style's development. Certainly the song's hypnotic structure -- aside from two br...

Picture: Minnie Riperton Enjoy this 32nd edition of ‘ Groovy, sexy & soulful ’! It was made after I’d heard a mix from Breakbot (I borrowed a snippet from his 'Bedtime stories'). Breakbot is a very cool French electro producer and DJ, who also co-directed one short film, 'Overtime'. It won the Ottawa International Animation Festival award for 'Best Graduate Film' in 2005. Breakbot is most recognized for his remixes. He reworked songs for Justice, Röyksopp, Digitalism, Phoenix and Chromeo, among others. The music video of his song ' Baby I'm Yours ' became a summer hit on MTV Pulse in France three years ago. Recently Breakbot resurfaced with his debut album 'By your side'. The album arrived in the US last spring. 'The windmills of your mind' is my tribute to singer Noel Harrison. Last Saturday he died at his home in Devon (England), aged 79, He wrote the song for the movie 'The Thomas Crown affair', starring Steve Mc...

Pictures: Lasse Persson The album track '1978 (Leave The Radio On)' from Ed Motta inspired me to create a mix with songs from 1978, when the economy was at its peak. The Daily Mail explains why it was the greatest year ever: " Scientists have discovered that despite an overabundance of polyester flares and bouffant hair, 1978 was the year that the world's quality of life peaked, after which it has gradually deteriorated ever since. " (Quote: Daily Mail )  This is what The Independent wrote about Ed Motta's latest album 'AOR': " Gilles Peterson's favourite Brazilian soul-boy goes all 1970s Steely Dan, with lugubrious horn harmonies and the smooth guitars of Larry Carlton or Jeff "Skunk" Baxter echoed here by Bluey from Incognito and fusion legend David T Walker (a session musician with Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye to name two). " (Quote: The Independent ) Tracklist: Ed Motta – 1978 (Leave The Radio On) Paul Mauriat Pl...

Again some funky & jazzy grooves from the Capitol and Blue Note vaults and a few tracks from affiliated labels, like Liberty, Stateside and United Artists. One of the tracks is one of the best love songs ever: 'Hey Laura' from Gregory Porter. It's a song about a man who can't accept the fact that his ex-girlfriend is seeing another guy. He goes to her house one night in an attempt to make her say that he's the only one... A very touching song! This is what Pat Les Stache wrote about his album 'Liquid spirit' that came out on Blue Note last month: “ This marks the vocalist's debut on Blue Note, which follows up his two previous GRAMMY-nominated releases Water (2010) and Be Good (2012). The album features a nice mix of heart-felt ballads like "No Love Dying", "Hey Laura", "Water Under Bridges" to uptempo groove-oriented cuts like "Movin'", "Free", "Musical Genocide", and my personal c...

Enjoy this 31th edition of ‘ Groovy, sexy & soulful ’! The closing track is from Body Language. This is what their official site has to say about them: Fresh off the success of last year’s Social Studies LP—which earned the approval of everyone from NPR to The New York Times to The Guardian, the Brooklyn based electro-dance quartet, Body Language are ready to reveal their sophomore album Grammar. Like Social Studies, this sophomore release embodies the band’s restless pop experiments with a future-shocked blend of soul and R&B. Or as multi-instrumentalist/producer Grant Wheeler puts it, “Our world still exists in an indie-disco bubble; we’re just pushing the limits of every genre to a point where the bubble’s about to pop.” Picture: Taxi Driver Tracklist: The Stepkids – The Lottery (2013) Earth, Wind & Fire ‎– Reasons (1979) Little River Band – Light Of Day (1978) Nouvelle Vague – In A Manner Of Speaking (2004) Snakehips – On And On [Kaytranada Remix] (201...

A rare groove that I really enjoy is 'To prove my love' from Ned Doheny (born in 1948 in Los Angeles): “Sampling would make his music accessible to a succession of hip-hop and rap artists. One of his songs, “To Prove My Love”, would become an underground dance hit in England and a seminal influence in the world of house music.” (Quote: Ned Doheny Official Site ) Thanks to DJ Spinna for the inspiration! Picture: Arjan Benning .  Tracklist: Curtis Lundy – Never Gonna Let You Go (1985) Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 ‎– Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (1970) Norma Jenkins – Coward's Way Out (1973) Jon Lucien – Motherland (1975) The Ambassadors ‎– Ain't Got The Love Of One Girl (On My Mind) [Scratchandsniffs Extended Re-Rub] (1969) Richard Evans – Capricorn Rising (1979) Willie ‘Beaver’ Hale – Groove On (1980) The Meters – The Look Of Love (1969) Cal Tjader - Cucho Frito Man (1969) Francisco Aguabella – Desire (1977) The Armada Orchestra – P...

This 30th edition of ‘ Groovy, sexy & soulful ’ only contains classic soul from the seventies and early eighties. One of the tracks is ‘Heavy fallin’ out’ by The Stylistics: “After the Spinners and the O'Jays, the Stylistics were the leading Philly soul group produced by Thom Bell. During the early '70s, the band had 12 straight Top Ten hits, including "You Are Everything," "Betcha by Golly, Wow," "I'm Stone in Love With You," "Break Up to Make Up," and "You Make Me Feel Brand New." Of all their peers, the Stylistics were one of the smoothest and sweetest soul groups of their era. All of their hits were ballads, graced by the soaring falsetto of Russell Thompkins, Jr. and the lush yet graceful productions of Bell, which helped make the Stylistics one of the most successful soul groups of the first half of the '70s.“ (Quote: Allmusic.com ). Enjoy the classic soul edition of ‘ Groovy, sexy & soulful ’ ! Pict...

Taylor LaShae R&B songs (mostly) from the pre-disco era (1958-1978), when you had to put a coin in the jukebox to hear the latest hits. It was before disco broke loose (after the success of 'Saturday Night Fever') and discotheques were all over the place. The songs were about high school love and holding hands, with only a little sexual innuendo here and there. The classic ‘Will you love me tomorrow’, composed by Gerry Coffin and Carole King, and sung by The Shirelles, contains the line ‘the magic of your sigh’, for instance. The song is about respecting a woman after the act of love. These mere two lines sum up the impact that two people can have on each other's feelings. 'Tonight with words unspoken,' sings the narrator. 'You say that I'm the only one.' Words unspoken? She is vulnerable, perhaps kidding herself, and she knows it: she is wishing for the best. Another epic track I selected is the ultra dynamic ‘Tell him’ from The Exciters: ...

Put on your disco pants and listen to Angela Bofill, for instance. “Bronx native Angela Bofill sang with Ricardo Morrero & the Group and the Dance Theater of Harlem chorus before her 1978 debut. With her strong, distinctive alto, she has carved a niche as an outstanding interpreter of soul ballads. Between 1978 and 1984, Bofill had consistent success on the R&B charts, with six albums making the Top 40 (five of which made the Top 100 on the pop charts as well), including two, Angel of the Night (1979) and Too Tough (1983), that made the Top Ten. During this period, she also placed seven singles in the R&B Top 40, with "Too Tough" making the Top Ten. Bofill's career cooled off after 1984, but she returned to the R&B charts with Intuition (1988), I Wanna Love Somebody (1993), and Love in Slow Motion (1996).“ (Quote: Allmusic.com ). Enjoy! Pictures: This Fashion Is Mine Tracklist: Brownstone – I Can't Tell You Why (1994) The Fatback Band – I F...

Isaac Hayes in good company These are the linernotes for ‘ Groovy, sexy & soulful : post summer edition ': Ozark Henry – It Was A Queer Sultry Summer (2013) Wonderful sounds from Belgium. Bebe Black – I’ll Wait (2013) A great track and a great video as well! Official release is plannend in October. Isaac Hayes – Theme from Shaft (1971) “Although the original Shaft is a cool Blaxploitation movie, most critics agree that aside from its historical significance, it doesn't hold up as well as its soundtrack. But regardless of the quality of the film, it's no mean feat when a composer's opening theme song captures the essence of a film's main character better than the movie itself.” (Steve Huey/ Allmusic.com ) T.S. Monk – Candidate For Love (1981) T.S. Monk is the son of jazz legend Thelonious Monk. He made some very nice jazz-disco tracks in the early eighties. I heard this one for the first time on ‘After the Playboy Mansion’ from French dj gen...

Don Johnson (left) and Philip Michael Thomas (right) This is my 2013 imaginary electro funk soundtrack to eighties TV-series ‘Miami Vice’, starring Don Johnson (Sonny Crockett) and Philip Michael Thomas (Ricardo Tubbs). Johnson typically wore thousand dollar Versace and Hugo Boss suits over pastel cotton t-shirts, drove a Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona (really a replica kit on a 1981 Corvette chassis), followed by a Ferrari Testarossa and lived on a 40-foot Endeavour yacht with his pet alligator, Elvis. ‘Miami Vice’ was noted for its revolutionary use of music, cinematography, imagery, and its glitzy take on the police drama genre. One of the tracks is from Sunfire's self titled and only album: Sunfire is probably the least heralded and hardest to come by project of Reggie Lucas, former Miles Davis band member and production partner of percussionist Mtume, whom he met whilst they both played for Davis. His best known work probably being Madonna's 1983 debut album. I love the ...

Picture from Digital Freak Nothing feels better than cooling out on a quiet afternoon! Track 3 is from powerful soul duo Lady: “All you have to do is listen to Lady once, and you’ll remember — in case you forgot — why they call it soul music. The honesty, the aching sweetness, the raw power of these singers and their songs will remind you that nothing can move you as much, or touch you as deeply, as two women with amazing voices singing in tight harmony.” (Quote: http://truthandsoulrecords.com/albums/lady /). Another outstanding track is the one from Kisses. This is what Allmusic.com wrote about their latest album: "Kisses' first album, the lo-fi, home recorded-sounding The Heart of the Nightlife, was inspired by Jesse Kivel's friendship with disco maestro Alec R. Costandinos and the time they spent together listening to old disco records." Enjoy! Tracklist: Leroy Hutson – Cool Out (1975) Weldon Irvine – I Love You (1976) Marvin Gaye – Time To Get It ...

The first song is my tribute to jazz giant George Duke, who sadly passed away last week. It’s one of the boogie and disco tracks that I selected for this new cloudcast. Most of them are from the heyday of Farrah Fawcett (picture), mostly known for her part in ‘Charlie’s Angels’. This is what Vibe.com wrote about ‘Farrah Fawcett Hair’, the great song from Capital Cities: "Landing somewhere between Daft Punk’s happy-go-lucky new wave disco and alternative electro rock French band Phoenix is the Los Angeles based group’s anthem for all that is “good shit.” This is the type of song that inspires epic sing-alongs." Tracklist: George Duke ‎– I Want You For Myself (1979) Rufus & Chaka Khan – Any Love [Dim’s Classic Re-Edit] (1979) Bruno Mars – Treasure [J-Mixx Remix] (2013) Sharon Redd – Can You Handle It [Francois K Remix] (1982) Myron & E ‎– Do It Do It Disco (2013) Electro Funk Machine – Don’t Stop [Part 1] (2013) Capital Cities Feat. Andre 3000 – Farr...

Enjoy this 28th edition of ‘ Groovy, sexy & soulful ’! One of the key tracks is ‘Hot fun in the summertime’ by Sly & the Family Stone. Stewart Mason from Allmusic.com wrote this about the song: "The lazy summertime tempo, set by Rosie Stone's insistent one-chord piano line (shades of '50s early rock ballads like the Platters' "The Great Pretender") and embellished by easy listening-style strings and horns, is perfect for Sly Stone's nostalgic, romantic lyrics. The whole thing is unexpectedly sweet, with even Cynthia Robinson's occasionally grating voice harnessed perfectly for her explosive vocal solos." Picture: Sasha Wolf Gallery / Paul McDonough Tracklist: Clarence Mann – Show Me Girl (1985) Ritchie Family – Frenesi (1975) The Blow Monkeys – It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way (1986) The Sequence – Funk You Up [Leftside Wobble Edit] (1979) Sun – Legs (1984) Millie Jackson ‎– I Had To Say It (1980) Brenda Watts – Who Needs...

On the beach is the best place to be, as Cliff Richard told us a long time ago. This cloudcast is partly inspired by ‘The Parifornia Tapes Vol. 2’ from Walter Sobcek . This is what the French duo from Paris say about themselves on Soundcloud: “Walter Sobcek is born during a party on the hills of Hollywood. We met a very special man, halfway between Jeffrey Lebowski and Patrick Bateman. He told us his life, his relations in the early 90s porn industry of L.A., his parties with his buddies Charlie Sheen and Traci Lords. We couldn´t believe it. The guy disappeared but we decided to tell his story through music... In 2012, their cover of the Hall and Oates classic 'She´s Gone' was picked by Les Inrockuptibles to feature on their covers compilation with Hot Chip, Brigitte and José Gonzalès, among others.” Tracklist: Love Unlimited Orchestra – In Brazil (1983) Ramsey Lewis Feat. Earth, Wind & Fire – Sun Goddess (1974) Shook – Summer Heat [Album Version] (2013) O’Mar – ...

Tomorrow I'm going to take the train to go on holiday for a few days, That trip and the footage of Mayer Hawthorne on Facebook gave me the inspiration for this mix about trains, a 'soul train', to quote Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman). He is surely one of the original rock & roll greats. In the early 1950s Little Richard merged the fire of gospel with New Orleans Rhythm & Blues, which later would be called rock & roll. While numerous other temporary artists had been moving in the same direction, none of them matched the sheer electricity of Richard's vocals. With his bullet-speed deliveries, ecstatic trills, and the overjoyed force of personality in his singing, he was crucial in upping the voltage from high-powered Rhythm & Blues into the similar, yet different, guise of rock & roll. Although he was only a hitmaker for a couple of years or so, his influence upon both the soul (James Brown) and British Invasion stars of the 1960s (The Beatl...