Professor Eddy

Guardians of the Galaxy Hello Earth, we’re flying to 2016 with our disco spacecraft! ;-)  Space disco is the fusion of disco music with futuristic themes, sounds and visuals. This kind of music became popular in the late 1970s and was heavily influenced by sci-fi movies like ‘Star Wars’ and the growing popularity of electronic instruments. The main idea behind this subgenre was a musical or lyrical exploration of the wonders of outer space, and many bands often included robotic shapes, laser illumination and computer screens sequences in their live performances. The artists themselves often dressed in a way inspired by glam rock and somewhat futuristic fashion. They looked like astronauts on stage. The lyrics about going into space have sometimes a sexual connotation, which I try to parody in my track ‘Counting down tonite’ with a George Clinton sample. In fact, George Clinton was the one who introduced the P-Funk Mothership in 1975. Later bands like Earth, Wind & Fire and T...

Merry Christmas from The Smooth Operators ! :-) We selected some mellow tracks that sound tasty during Christmas diner... ;-) One of the tracks is ‘Wiggle that wotsit’ by The Hollies. They had over 30 charting singles on the UK Singles Chart and 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, with major hits on both sides of the Atlantic that included ‘He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother’, ‘Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress’ and ‘The Air That I Breathe’ (written by Albert Hammond). Singer Allan Clarke, who left the band for good (he did some solo projects through the years) in 1999, has a very distinctive voice and the three part harmony of the band is extraordinary. In recognition of their achievements, the Hollies were inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. 'Wiggle that wotsit' reached #20 on the Dutch Top 40 in January 1977. Tracklist: Earth Wind & Fire – Gratitude (1975) Tuxedo – Wonderful Christmastime (2014) America – You Can Do Magic (1982) Dionne Warwick –...

Mary Lake World We're rolling into Christmas... ;-) Enjoy these disco classics to lighten up your holidays! Last Friday new remixes of 'Jerry goes black' by Funk My Jesus came out. They're all outstanding, just like the original that is on this cloudcast. The Universal Robot Band were Gregory Carmichael, Patrick Adams, Leroy Burgess, Gregory Tolbert and Woody Cunningham. Their debut single was 'Dance And Shake Your Tambourine', which featured some magnificent keyboard parts by Gregory Tolbert. It peaked at #93 on The Billboard Hot 100 in 1976. Woody Cunnigham started the band Kleeer a few years later. I selected a Christmas track by The Universal Robot Band. Michael Jackson / Sister Sledge Rose Royce used to play with Motown artist Edwin Starr, but they became famous for the Norman Whitfield-produced soundtrack to the Richard Pryor movie 'Car Wash'. With its hand-clapping, funky intro, exciting vocals and the band's great performance, the...

@joansmalls Instagram Enjoy the 1980s inspired episode of Smooth Sailing ! Sophisti-pop or sophisticated pop was a smooth, jazzy style of mainstream pop/rock that appeared during the mid-1980s. In addition to jazz, many sophisti-pop artists incorporated sweet pop-soul into their sound. The dominant synthesizers that usually polished the arrangements marked sophisti-pop as a product of the 1980s. With its slick production and mellow, urbane feel, sophisti-pop fit both adult contemporary and quiet storm radio formats, but it never became an established trend. By the beginning of the 1990s, when house and hip hop became big, it was pushed out of the market. Simply Red and Sade were probably commercially the most successful exponents of sophisti-pop. Other important representatives were Matt Bianco, Curiosity Killed The Cat, Hue & Cry and The Blow Monkeys. Synth-wave was the electronic variant of new wave. The bands were young DIY artists with cheap keyboards that knocked on the ...

Enjoy the second volume of Mellow Moods by The Smooth Operators ! One of the tracks is by Greg Perry, brother of soul singer Jeff Perry. While in his teens, Greg began his musical career at Chicago-based Chess Records working with legendary producer Billy Davis (the Dells, Fontella Bass). He turned down a publishing deal with Motown, opting instead to sign with Holland-Dozier-Holland's just-opened Invictus/Hot Wax Records. Meeting singer/songwriter General Johnson and lyricist Angelo Bond, the trio began to collaborate on songs, many of which became huge hits. One of them was 'Stick up' by Honey Cone. Main member of this girl trio was Greg Perry's (future) wife Edna Wright, sister of Darlene Love (known for her work with Phil Spector). Picture by Joel Meyerowitz Tracklist: Average White Band  – Atlantic Avenue (1979) Debra Laws  – How Long (1981) Herbie Hancock  – Motor Mouth (1982) Brooklyn Dreams  – Fallin’ In Love (1980) Benny Sings  – My Favourit...

Diana Ross Canadian singer-songwriter R. Dean Taylor is one of the most underrated acts ever to record for Motown Records. Although he wrote lots of chart-topping singles, like 'Love child' for The Supremes, his own single 'Gotta see Jane' received no promotion in the US. It was picked up in Europe and it became a hit in the Netherlands and the UK. After his American top 5 smash 'Indiana wants me' in 1970, 'Gotta see Jane' reached #67 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971, 4 years after its original release. By far the best version of 'Don't leave me this way' is the one that Thelma Houston sang on Motown. Her vocals and the funky, almost neurotic bass from Henri Davis (who also played on 'Love hangover' from Diana Ross) make it a song about lust and desire, rather than love and sadness. That's also the difference between disco and soul in a nutshell. Thelma Houston obviously turns the soul song from Harold Melvin & the Bl...