What a wonderful day it is to share another round of some new old records that I have acquired recently, this time we go to the 1980s and check out some hip hop and music that was influenced by the early American hip hop movement!
So prepare that boy stance, get your favorite tracksuit on and dust off that kangol hat as we cruise some forgotten gems...
Tanganyika
"The Name Game"
1985
Tanganyika Frederick had a short-lived career that was so short, it ended before she was a teenager! I've long been a fan of this novelty 80s cover version of Shirley Ellis' "The Name Game," but have only recently done any research on her! She had a few singles and one "full length" six song album back in the mid to late 80s..and just like that she vanished off our radar, having one young acting role and one behind the camera role decades later. The B-Side is a track called "She's Got the Beat, which"which is a bit more of a proper hip hop song that you would be expect for 1985, with crunchy beats and an electro tinge.
Orbit
"All Shook Up"
1983
Let's go back a couple years, but stay in the "let's do a hip hop style electro version of an old song" zone with Orbit's version of "All Shook Up," a song made very famous by Elvis Presley in 1957. While I am reading some mixed stories on the origin of the song, it one of the few songs Elvis had a writing credit for, supposedly for coming up with the title ( a claim disputed by others). We'll leave the story for the music historians and just go to the club and do the dance that our parents did back in the day, the dances that probably offended our grandparents, their parents. This song was definitely aiming for an early pop crossover, but I gotta give the edge to their cover of, "The Beat Goes On." Following the formula, I see...
The Rock Rangers
“Country Western Rock"
1984
Yeah, the 80s was such an interesting decade. I love me some early electro hip hop, and I love me some silly novelty songs-so it is just very convenient that their were so many silly novelty hip hop songs... No one seemed concerned with career longevity, just getting a song out there that would be played in the moment (Where's the Beef? Rap songs, anyone?). This group only had this record and maybe a few more singles over the year, but one of the members was Eugene Cooper, who also did that Invisibles record, "Donkey Kong( Catch You in the Break) so I think they knew exactly what they were doing. What's weird was that this song doesn't even have any country music feel for it at all, all they do is sing "Old McDonald" with their voices pitched up over some casio electro grooves. I would pretty much buy any record from Pandisc in this era based on that logo alone, Champions of that early Miami sound!
Maggotron
"Bass Invaders"
1988
Let's stay in Miami, but go for that more classic Miami Bass sound with some Maggotron! Of course, this record is a few years later than the others on the list today, which probably gives it a "heavier and more classic" hip hop sound for you young kids. I was actually a bit shocked to see that the producer of this group had such an extended career, with dozens of releases spanning multiple decades(and over 15 aliases!). I am a fan of some of these early Miami Bass records and Maggotron would often go for the outer space/aliens theme, and this one is no exception. The pitch shifter had to work extra hard on this record!
Thanks for reading.....I hope you liked my post! And don't forget the hire me to DJ your party!
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