Volume 12 of a 20 volume Rhino series. I had no plans to collect all 20 CDs, but they keep appearing in used bins and I simply can't help myself so we'll have to wait and see where this leads. Singles included on this volume charted in 1973 & 1974 at the dawn of disco, and it is quite possibly the best volume of the series.
Tracks, with my favorites indicated (✔) and Billboard chart peaks:
- Love Train - The O'Jays (#1 pop, #1 R&B) ✔
In 2006, this single was inducted to the Grammy Hall Of Fame. - Soul Makossa - Manu Dibango (#35 pop, #21 R&B) ✔
Originally released in Cameroon in 1972, this single is considered by many (including this humble blogger) to be the first disco record. - Stoned Out Of My Mind - The Chi-Lites (#30 pop, #2 R&B)
The group from Chicago ultimately placed 5 tunes in the Top 40; this was their fifth and final pop hit. The group would continue to place singles on the R&B charts thru 1984. I'd like to hear Casey Kasem backsell this one. - Theme From Cleopatra Jones - Joe Simon With The Mainstreeters (#18 pop, #3 R&B)
Taken from a "blaxploitation" film which I've seen and wholeheartedly agree with this CD's liner notes when they claim "its most redeeming quality is its music." - The Love I Lost (Part 1) - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (#7 pop, #1 R&B) ✔
Originally written by Gamble & Huff as a ballad, the group turned it into a funk-disco tune with Teddy Pendergrass on vocals. - Show And Tell - Al Wilson (#1 pop, #10 R&B) ✔
Originally a very minor hit for Johnny Mathis, this version became Wilson's biggest hit of his career. The mid-tempo ballad with its soaring strings also saw action on the adult contemporary chart, peaking at #3. - Boogie Down - Eddie Kendricks (#2 pop, #1 R&B) ✔
The second big solo hit from the former member of The Temptations. Nominated for a Grammy in the category Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male, ultimately losing to Stevie Wonder's Boogie On Reggae Woman. - Jungle Boogie - Kool & The Gang (#4 pop, #2 R&B) ✔
This funky thing contains one of the best horn licks of the early '70s and that's really sayin' something. - TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia) - MFSB Featuring The Three Degrees (#1 pop, #1 R&B) ✔
More proto-disco goodness from Gamble & Huff, who wrote the tune as the theme for Soul Train and it went on to become the first television theme song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. As if that weren't enough, it won a Grammy award in the category of Best R&B Instrumental Performance. - Lookin' For A Love - Bobby Womack (#10 pop, #1 R&B)
Womack originally recorded the tune in 1962 as a member of The Valentinos. This solo remake would become his only top ten pop hit. - Just Don't Want To Be Lonely - The Main Ingredient (#10 pop, #8 R&B) ✔
The second of three Top 40 pop hits for the group; it was also a minor hit for Ronnie Dyson a few months prior. - Be Thankful For What You Got - William DeVaughn (#4 pop, #1 R&B) ✔
Diamond in the back, sunroof top, diggin' the scene with a gangsta lean.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None from the '70s, but my very young sons and I danced to Jungle Boogie a lot back in the late '90s. A lot.
Previously revisited for the blog:
| Volume 5 | Volume 14 |
| Volume 6 | Volume 15 |
| Volume 13 |
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