Trouble Funk - The Funk Going Trouble / Box Set

 

Trouble Funk is an American R&B and funk band from Washington, D.C.^[1] The group helped to popularize funk and the subgenre go-go in the Washington metropolitan area.^[1] Among the band's well-known songs is the go-go anthem "Hey, Fellas". They released several studio albums including Drop the Bomb, In Times of Trouble, Live, and Trouble Over Here Trouble Over There (UK No. 54),^[2] and two live albums, Trouble Funk: Straight Up Go-Go Style and Saturday Night Live. In 1982, they released a single "So Early in the Morning" on D.E.T.T Records, later reissued on diverse labels as 2.13.61 and Tuff City. Trouble Funk sometimes shared the stage with hardcore punk bands of the day such as Minor Threat and the Big Boys^[3].

Trouble Funk's song "Pump Me Up" was sampled by many other artists, including Dimples D.'s "Sucker DJ", which went to No. 1 in Australia, Public Enemy's "Fight the Power", Kurtis Blow's song "If I Ruled the World" and MARRS's song "Pump Up the Volume". The song is also featured in the film Style Wars and on the fictional old-school hip-hop radio station Wildstyle in the game, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002).

Keyboard player Robert "Syke Dyke" Reed died at the age of 50 on April 13, 2008, from pancreatic cancer.^[4]

Trouble Funk remains active in the Washington, D.C. area live-music scene.

Hiram Bullock In The Eighties

 

Bullock was born in Osaka, Japan, to African American parents serving in the U.S. military. At the age of two he returned to Baltimore, Maryland, with his parents and showed musical talent. He studied piano at the city's Peabody Conservatory of Music, giving his first public performance at the age of six. After playing saxophone and bass guitar, he took up the electric guitar at age sixteen.^[1]

Bullock attended McDonogh School for Boys in Reisterstown, Maryland. He was captain of the band in middle school. He studied at the University of Miami, where he met guitarists Pat Metheny and Steve Morse, and bass players Jaco Pastorius and Will Lee. He paid for tuition by performing at nightclubs in Florida before moving to New York. He became best known for playing with Lee on Late Night with David Letterman and working with David Sanborn and Bob James. His work can be heard on Steely Dan's Gaucho (1980), Paul Simon's One Trick Pony (1980), Sting's ...Nothing Like the Sun (1987) and Billy Joel's The Stranger (1977). He also worked with Harry Belafonte, Marcus Miller, Carla Bley, Miles Davis, Ruben Rada, and Gil Evans.

He recorded as a member of the 24th Street Band, which released three albums: 24th Street Band (1979), Share Your Dreams (1980) and Bokutachi (1981). In 1982, he released his debut album, First Class Vagabond, which was exclusively distributed for the Japanese market by the JVC-Victor Company and later reissued on CD. Also in 1982, he was an original member of The World's Most Dangerous Band, the house band on the NBC-TV program Late Night with David Letterman. He stayed with Letterman's show for about two years.

In 1986, Bullock released his first album as a leader for Atlantic Records called From All Sides, followed by the albums Give It What You Got in 1987, and Way Kool in 1990.

Shortly after the Atlantic albums, he recorded a few tracks from those sessions for a live event at the Indigo Blues Venue, in order to release it in Japan. His live band from the Indigo Blues sessions included Dave Delhomme (keyboards), Steve Logan (bass guitar), and Steven Wolf (drums).

On May 27, 2004, he teamed up with drummer Billy Cobham and the WDR Big Band for a performance of the works of Jimi Hendrix at the University of Cologne in Germany. An album of this performance was released posthumously in 2008.

He had his own signature model guitars made by Cort, the HBS & HBS-II.

After overcoming a bout of throat cancer in 2007, Bullock succumbed to his intermittent but long habit of substance abuse and died after a "crack binge" on July 25, 2008, in New York City, at the age of 52. Letterman band leader Paul Shaffer said after his death that Bullock “was the greatest guitar player ever, with the exception perhaps of Jimi Hendrix. Nobody was ever better.

The History Of Bob James

James was born on Christmas Day of 1939 in Marshall, Missouri, United States.^[1] He started playing the piano at age four.^[1] His first piano teacher, Sister Mary Elizabeth, who taught at Mercy Academy, discovered that he had perfect pitch. At age seven, James began to study with R. T. Dufford, a teacher at Missouri Valley College. At age 15, James continued his studies with Franklin Launer, a teacher at Christian College in Columbia, Missouri, with more music instruction during high school from Harold Lickey, conductor of the Marshall High School Band and Orchestra. Apart from the piano, James learned to play trumpet, timpani, and percussion. From 1950 to 1956, he competed in the Missouri State Fair piano competitions and received several blue ribbons.

James attended the University of Michigan,^[1] but during his second year transferred to Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. At Berklee his roommate was saxophonist Nick Brignola.

 

His first professional music job was when he was eight years old, playing for a tap dance class at Mercy Academy. During his adolescence, James's music career proliferated. Early jobs included being a member of the Earle Parsons Dance Band (c. 1952–55) which played various engagements around the Marshall area. During this time, he penned his first dance band arrangement.

During the summer of 1955, at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, James played for dancing and occasional jam sessions with the Bob Falkenhainer Quartet on the Governor McClurg Excursion Boat in the evenings. He recalls that "during the day we had free time and I became a proficient water skier that summer!" At age 16, a solo engagement followed in the summer when James traveled with good friend Ben Swinger to Colorado and ended up with a job in the piano bar at the Steads Ranch resort in Estes Park.

 

While in college at Michigan, James played free jazz with musicians in Ann Arbor and Detroit. In 1962, his band entered the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival, where the judges included Henry Mancini and Quincy Jones. The trio entered the competition not expecting to win but wanting to provide some avant-garde music in a contest field that was primarily straight ahead music.^[5] To the trio's surprise, they won the competition. Not long after, Jones signed James to an album deal with Mercury Records. Mercury released James's first album, Bold Conceptions (1963), a somewhat free jazz exploration that was produced by Quincy Jones and that differed from the smooth jazz for which he would later become known.^[6][7][3]

In New York City, James worked as an arranger and was hired as piano accompanist for jazz singer Sarah Vaughan.^[1] He reunited with Quincy Jones when Jones asked him to do some arranging for studio sessions.^[1] Creed Taylor, producer and founder of CTI Records, was at the sessions and hired James to work for CTI as a producer, arranger, and studio musician.^[1] In the 1970s, James worked on albums by Gabor Szabo, Milt Jackson, Stanley Turrentine, Grover Washington, Jr. (notably on Mister Magic), and Maynard Ferguson.

 

Creed Taylor invited James to record a solo album. The result, One (CTI, 1974), contained the song "Feel Like Making Love", with which Roberta Flack had already had a hit. James had been hired to play piano for the song on Roberta Flack's album two weeks before recording a version of his own, using the same band. Radio stations played both and contributed to the commercial success of One.^[6] The album was notable for adapting classical music to a modern-day scene, e.g. "In The Garden" was based on Pachelbel's Canon in D and "Night on Bald Mountain" was a cover of Modest Mussorgsky's composition of the same name.

After three solo albums, James founded his own record label, Tappan Zee. Immediately thereafter, he cut a disco version of the Theme to Star Trek: The Motion Picture, a 45 of which was included with the soundtrack LP, and recorded the album Touchdown (Tappan Zee/Columbia/CBS, 1978).^[8] Among the songs on the album was "Angela", the theme song for the TV show Taxi. James provided all the music for Taxi and collected some of its music, including "Angela", on The Genie: Themes & Variations from the TV Series Taxi (Columbia/CBS, 1983).^[9] When he toured in 1979, he was supported by a marketing campaign that included posters of him at the wheel of a New York yellow cab. The performances were documented on the album All Around the Town (Tappan Zee/Columbia/CBS, 1980), with a cover of James at the wheel of a taxi.

James turned from smooth jazz to classical music to record Rameau (CVS Masterworks, 1984), his interpretations of Baroque-period composer Jean-Philippe Rameau.^[10] In later albums, he interpreted the work of two more Baroque composers, J. S. Bach and Domenico Scarlatti.

A year after Rameau, he moved to Warner Bros. Records and collaborated with David Sanborn on Double Vision (Warner Bros., 1986); the album won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance.^[11] He would record albums for Warner Bros. (which also reissued Bob James' CTI and Tappan Zee/Columbia back catalog in the mid-1990s) for the next seventeen years. His collaboration with Earl Klugh, One on One, won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1980 and has sold over one million copies. Another collaboration with Klugh, Cool, (Warner Bros., 1992) was nominated for a Grammy, as was Joined at the Hip (Warner Bros., 1996) with Kirk Whalum. He also recorded Flesh and Bone in 1995 with his daughter, Hillary James, and another solo album, Joy Ride (Warner Bros., 1999). Joined at the Hip was reissued with a 2019 Remaster on evosound.

 

Let's Smooth With Dave Valentin

Valentin was born on April 29, 1952, to Puerto Rican parents specifically from Mayagüez in the South Bronx in New York City Fox Street Tiffany Hunts Point, Bronx section, predominantly a Jewish neighborhood at that Time. His father was a Merchant Marine and his mother Sylvia Valentin Ramirez, a working housewife. He lived across St. Athanasius Church (Bronx). At age 13 his mother died. He attended The High School of Music & Art.^[2] He learned percussion at an early age, and by 10 was playing conga and timbales professionally.^[3][1] When he was 12, he began to practice the flute so he could get to know a girl in school who played the flute, Irene Cathcart. He borrowed a flute, bought a Herbie Mann record, and started to teach himself.^[4] Years later, he recorded an album with Mann called Two Amigos.^[2] He took lessons from Hubert Laws, who became his mentor.

In the 1970s, Valentin combined Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and funk with jazz with his ensemble which featured at various times Bill O'Connell (piano), Lincoln Goines and Ruben Rodriguez (bass), Richie Morales and Robby Ameen (drums), Sammy Figueroa and Giovanni Hidalgo (congas).^[3] He was the first musician signed to GRP Records, a label founded by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen that specialized in smooth jazz, jazz fusion, and jazz-pop-Latin. He recorded his debut album with Ricardo Marrero in 1977.^[2] Over time he recorded with Noel Pointer, Patti Austin, Lee Ritenour, Chris Connor, David Benoit, Eliane Elias, and Nnenna Freelon.^[3] Until 1979, he was a schoolteacher.^[1]

For several years Valentin served as musical director for Tito Puente's Golden Latin Jazz All-Stars, and also toured with Manny Oquendo's Conjunto Libre. In 2000, he appeared in the documentary Calle 54 performing with Tito Puente's Orchestra.^[5][6][7]

For seven years in a row, he was chosen best jazz flautist by readers of Jazziz magazine. In 1985, he received a Grammy Award nomination as best R&B instrumentalist.^[2][1] In 2003, he won a Grammy for Caribbean Jazz Project, an album he did with Dave Samuels.^[8]

In March 2012, Valentin had a stroke which left him partially paralyzed and unable to perform. In 2015, he suffered a second stroke, and worked to overcome his disabilities in an extended-care facility.^[9]

On March 8, 2017, Valentin died from complications of a stroke and Parkinson's disease in the Bronx at the age of 64. His lifelong "special friend", Irene, for whom he learned to play the flute, was at his side when he passed.

 

Ready For The World - The Studio Recordings

Ready for the World is an American R&B band from Flint, Michigan, that scored several pop, soul and dance hits in the mid to late 1980s. They were founded by Melvin Riley and Gordon Strozier.
 

Girls Will Be Girls The Klymaxx Final Anthology

Klymaxx is an American all-female pop/R&B band from Los Angeles, California. The band's classic lineup consisted of Bernadette Cooper, Lorena Porter Shelby, Cheryl Cooley, Robbin Grider, Lynn Malsby, and Joyce "Fenderella" Irby. Klymaxx is best known for their 1985 international hits "I Miss You" and "Meeting in the Ladies Room".
 

Leon Haywood – I'm Out To Catch (The 70s - 80s Collection)

Otha Leon Haywood (February 11, 1942 – April 5, 2016) was an American funk and soul singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his 1975 hit single "I Want'a Do Something Freaky to You", which has been frequently sampled by musicians such as Dr. Dre (for his 1992 hit "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang") among others.
 

Groove With Karyn White

Karyn Layvonne White (born October 14, 1965) is an American singer who was popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s. She is known for several hit singles including "Superwoman" (1988),^[1] "Secret Rendezvous" (1989), "The Way You Love Me" (1988), and the U.S. Hot 100 No. 1 single "Romantic" (1991).
 

Pebbles - Always (The MCA Recordings)

 Perri Arlette Reid (née McKissack; August 29, 1964), known professionally as Pebbles, is an American singer, songwriter, businesswoman, pastor, record producer, and music executive. She is known for her hits during the late 1980s and early 1990s such as "Girlfriend" (1987), "Mercedes Boy" (1988), "Giving You the Benefit" (1990), "Love Makes Things Happen" (1990) and "Backyard" (1991). In addition to a recording career, Reid helped develop the contemporary R&B group TLC. She is now an Atlanta-based minister, known as Sister Perri.

Dance With Jody Watley

Jody Vanessa Watley (born January 30, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, and music producer. Watley first found musical success in 1977 when she became a part of the original lineup of the R&B group Shalamar. The group recorded the hits "The Second Time Around", "A Night to Remember" and "Dead Giveaway". After recording several albums with the group, Watley left the group in 1983.

Watley signed with MCA Records and the label released her self-titled debut album in 1987. The album launched three top ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100: Number 1 R&B Hit "Looking for a New Love", "Don't You Want Me", and "Some Kind of Lover". The success of the album helped Watley to win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1988.^[4][5] Watley would eventually record four more top ten singles between 1989 and 1996 including Number 1 R&B Hit "Real Love" and "Friends" with rapper Rakim. "Friends" would arguably helped propel the formula of pop or R&B and rap collaborations along with Chaka Khan's "I Feel for You" which was a US top five Hot 100 hit several years prior in 1984. After the success of her sophomore album, Larger than Life, her commercial success peaked and subsequent releases such as Affairs of the Heart and Intimacy failed to make much of an impact on the Top 200 Album chart. Jody Watley, known as a style icon, has continued to evolve creatively and independently across genres of dance and electronica ^[6][7]

Since 2023, Watley has hosted the Sirius XM Satellite Radio show, The Jody Watley Show, a monthly life, music and culture show featuring celebrity guests and classic R&B hits.^[8][9][10]

Her honors have included a Billboard Dance Lifetime Achievement Award and a Crossover Music Icon honor at the Black Music Honors.^[11][12][13] In 2018, she was ranked the 53rd most successful female charting artist on the Billboard Hot 100.^[14] In March 2021, Watley was named the First Ambassador of the National Museum of African American Music.^[15] In 2022, Watley received an honorary doctorate in business and Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from Joe Biden at Jody Watley Day at Georgia State Capitol,^[16][17] and was inducted into Women Songwriters Hall of Fame.

 

Thelma The Houston Anthology

Thelma Houston (née Jackson; born May 7, 1943)^[1] is an American singer and actress. Beginning her recording career in the late 1960s, Houston scored a number-one hit in 1977 with her recording of "Don't Leave Me This Way", which won the Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.
 

Gary Taylor - The Studio Collection

 

Freddie James - Get Up & Boogie (The Anthology)

American singer, born in Chicago, Illinois in 1965. Became a stand-up comedian in the 1990's. Son of Geraldine Hunt, brother of Rosalind Hunt.

Tony Green discovered him, when Green was producing Geraldine Hunt - Sweet Honesty. Green recorded 4 tracks with James, who was just 14 at the time. This led to the release of Freddie James - Get Up And Boogie. For several years he was a dominant artist in the Disco charts. After the years, his career evolved from child star to hip urban funkster.

In the mid-1980's he landed a part in stage musical "Hair" which led to a part as 'Flash' in the 1987 movie "Wild Thing." After attending an Open Mic night, Freddie started in comedy. He performed in clubs such as The Comedy Nest, The Comedy Works and the Canadian comedy chain Yuk Yuks.

At the end of the 1990's he formed The Freddie James Project together with Rosalind Hunt.
 

Philippé Wynne – Wynne Jammin' (1980)

 

Cheri - Love Stew (1983)

 

Cheri - Murphy's Law (1982)

 

Ray, Goodman & Brown - Intimate Moments (2003)

 

Ray,Goodman & Brown - A Moment With Friends (2002)

 

Ray, Goodman & Brown - Mood for Lovin' (1988)

Mood For Lovin' is an unusual Ray, Goodman & Brown LP. An unknown singer, Greg Willis, is credited on the cover -- specifically "Ray, Goodman & Brown introducing Greg Willis." This appears to be a Greg Willis solo effort that went bad; some RGB tracks were added and a little creative packaging took place. Willis sings three tracks, and Harry, Al, or Billy can't be heard of any of them. "Where Did You Get That Body" is Willis' best effort, a girl-watching song that charted R&B. Willis sang in a rough tenor that needed seasoning. "Next Time I'll Now," led by Harry Ray, is a tear-jerker; listen to this after losing someone and you'll bawl like a baby. Jazzman Najee plays a tight, crying sax. Harry forsakes his falsetto and sings natural on "Never Stop Lovin' You," only resorting to his upper register at the end/fadeout. Brown closes the song like Phillipe Wynne did with the Spinners, testifying like a Baptist preacher. Billy Brown leads "Electrified," an uptempo harmonizer that works his versatile tenor. Ex-Labelle Sarah Dash and Harry Ray duet on "Don't Make Me Wait"; their voices are similar, and Harry's falsetto is actually higher than Dash's throaty vocals.
 

Ray, Goodman & Brown (1986) Take It To The Limit

 Arguably, the sweet singing trio's best LP, other than their best-of compilations, buttery smooth from beginning to end, with no embarrassing tracks interrupting the flow of non-stop love songs emanating from Harry Ray, Al Goodman, and Billy Brown. The exquisite title cut "Take It to the Limit," is a quiet storm favorite that features all three voices; the contrast, lyrics, and smooth session musicians including Najee combined for an outstanding performance. They croon about love from all angles "Celebrate Our Love" is positive and happy, while "Someone's Missing Your Love," will have you weeping. Harry Ray's lead gets the most play and he doesn't get any better than on "Waiting for Dawn"; his light falsetto delivers the sensitive lyrics of loneliness so tenderly you'd think he was trying to lullaby a baby to sleep. Billy Brown's churchy tenor is outstanding on "We've Got Tonight."

Ray, Goodman & Brown - All About Love, Who's Gonna Make the First Move (1984)

 

Ray, Goodman & Brown – Open Up (1982)

 

Ray, Goodman & Brown (1981) Stay

 Ray, Goodman & Brown pay homage to doo wop on a very nostalgic-sounding LP. Billy Brown leads "Only You," originally done by the Platters; the backing vocals by Al Goodman and Harry Ray are straight from the '50s. "Good Ole Days" parodies doo wop; the amusing song contains all the elements of street-corner harmony, including hokey bass parts and escalating falsettos runs. Two of their most beautiful songs, the whimsical "Heaven In the Rain" and "Pool of Bad Luck," with its clever lyrics, are simply delicious. The title cut, "Stay," is a new composition with rudimentary roots; it sets the tone for the album. The concept strays at times, but this still rates as one of their best.

Ray, Goodman & Brown II / 1980

 Ray, Goodman & Brown's second Polydor LP is as refreshing as the first. The rapping among the group to introduce and end songs harkens back to '50s doo wop; groups singing under street lamps and in hallways would employ the technique to get everybody on the same page. On "Happy Anniversary," a romantic, sentimental ballad, the technique enhances the song. Likewise on the underrated "Shoe Strings," a regretful love refrain with a sweet chorus. The late Harry Ray shines on both with his mesmerizing, buttery falsetto. Billy Brown does "My Prayer," the old Platters tune, in straight '50s style. RG&B do more with three voices than most can accomplish with four or five, but they do utilize a fourth voice; Walter Morris rounds out the harmonies on most of their recordings. A different technique is employed on "You," where each member spits out lines on the chorus. The shuffling, reggae beat of "Each Time Is Like the First Time" is irresistible, and shows their versatility. Ray lays his sweet tenor on the romantic "A Part of You," a ballad made for quiet storm formats. An excellent piece of work produced by Vinnie Castellano.

Ray, Goodman & Brown 1979

 Ray, Goodman & Brown is the eponymous studio album by American R&B/soul vocal trio Ray, Goodman & Brown, released in 1979 through Polydor Records. Recording sessions took place at H & L Sound Studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey with record producer Vincent Castellano. The album peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and number 2 on the Soul LPs chart in the United States, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on April 2, 1980.^[3] It spawned the hit singles: "Special Lady" and "Inside of You", which charted on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at No. 5 and No. 76, respectively.^[4] Its lead single, "Special Lady", became number-one R&B single in the U.S. and was certified gold by the RIAA on May 13, 1980.

Force of Nature - Unemployment Blues 1976

 

Force of Nature - Force Of Nature 1974

 

The Moments - Sharp (1978)

The Moments and Stang/All Platinum Records parted after this release. Some of the cuts sound like experiments and rejects from other sessions that had been collecting dust. "Dolly My Love" sounds like it was originally designated for someone else, as the sound is different from what Moments fans expect; it bombed in the States, but flourished in the United Kingdom. The Spinners' "I'll Be Around" has a totally different arrangement than the original; Al Goodman's bass sweetens the chorus. Lush is the word for "I Could Have Loved You," one of Harry Ray's better leads. On "Rain In My Backyard," the Moments employ Thom Bell's technique of closing the song with a gospel-inspired, improvising lead, which Billy Brown does well. Nothing else compels you to listen too intently. "Jack-in-the-Box," like "Dolly," enjoyed some popularity in Europe.
 

The Moments – Moments With You (1976)

"Look at Me (I'm in Love)" did so well (number one R&B) that the Moments continued the soft, lush, soulful sound on Moments with You. Side two consists of generic fodder written by Al Goodman, Harry Ray, and keyboardist Walter Morris. But side one contains three downtempo compositions' courtesy of Carole Bayer Sager and friends, eloquently led by Harry Ray's whispery falsetto. The waltz paced "With You," became a substantial seller; the hurt factor alone should have pushed "I Could Have Love You," up the charts, and the overwhelming harmonies of "I Don't Want to Go," will leave you breathless. Billy Brown leads the tension-building "Don't Cry out Loud" (also written by Bayer Sager) in his strong gospel-trained tenor.
 

The Moments - Look At Me (1975)

The Moments Look at Me spawned two hits. The lush "Look at Me (I'm in Love)," arranged by Sammy Lowe, became their second biggest seller (as the Moments), reaching number one on the R&B charts in June of 1975 for one week; "Love on a Two Way Street" also reached number one on the R&B charts but held the spot for five weeks in May of 1970, and climbed to number three on the Pop charts. "Look at Me," lovely backing vocals and all, only managed a number 39 Pop showing. The carousing "Girls" sparked some confusion. Label credits listed the Moments and the Whatnauts, but few knew who the Whatnauts were, their vocals are minimal, and most assumed they were the Moments' band. Their French version of "Girls" is just as satisfying as the English version. "Dolly My Love," has an upbeat, poppy rhythm that hit in the United Kingdom but did absolutely nothing in the States. The haunting "Come Away with Me" featured an exotic harp and a flute; while the lulling ballad, "Dolly," was too drastic a change for Moments' fans to feel, and went unnoticed when released in May of 1975.