Galantis - Peanut Butter Jelly

Music Times recaps:

Galantis has released the music video for its funky track "Peanut Butter Jelly." Taken from their debut album Pharmacy, Galantis takes you to a supermarket, "Galantis Pharms," where people are infected with the groove and have no choice but to strip and dance. Things start to get a little out of hand towards the end as people start getting physical, odd for a supermarket, but "Peanut Butter Jelly" is just too infectious. What seems to be even more impressive is that the seemingly complete strangers line up to do some choreographed dance moves with surprising dexterity. Beware this is slightly NSFW and as a precautionary tale, there are some things you just can't unsee.

NERVO - The Other Boys

Via Pop Crush:

DJ duo NERVO just unveiled their collaborative track “The Other Boys,” which features Kylie Minogue, Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters and Chic legend Nile Rodgers, and it’s the kind of upbeat electronic hit that disco-dreams are made of. “The Other Boys” is an ode to unreciprocated romantic feelings, perhaps one of the most relatable scenarios — not to mention one of the most commonly expressed in song — of all time. But rather than lamenting softly about your sadness, NERVO wants you to scream about the injustice of it all — on the dance floor, preferably.  

(Tipped by JMG reader Jeff)

Music Journalist Barry Walters Looks Back At Manhattan's Legendary Saint Disco

Veteran music journalist Barry Walters has penned a fascinating look back at Manhattan's much-storied Saint nightclub. It begins:

From September 1980 to May 1988, The Saint defined gay nightlife in New York during its most tumultuous and literally plagued decade. Conceived by off-Broadway impresario Mailman, who had just scored a runaway success with The New St. Marks Baths, The Saint set such high standards that it soon rendered its competition redundant.

“When it opened, it just sucked the life out of all the other clubs,” says Robbie Leslie, the most popular of the disco’s surviving DJs. “Everyone abandoned these clubs they professed loyalty to. It only took a week or two, and they just flocked over to The Saint.”

Housed in the three-story former site of the psychedelic rock concert hall Fillmore East, The Saint offered multi-sensory pleasure like no other venue before or since. It featured a circular, 4,800 square foot dancefloor topped by an aluminum dome 76 ft. by 38 ft. under which much of the club’s 1,500 lights would shine, as well as constellations from a Spitz Space System projector ten times brighter than one in a typical planetarium. Designed by architect Charles Terrell, The Saint pointedly directed one’s attention skyward. Its experience was clearly meant to be uplifting – visually and otherwise.

The perforated dome hid the last and largest of the revered Graebar sound systems: Powered by 630 drivers and 32 amplifiers, nearly 500 speakers generated 26,000 watts – a figure touted in The Saint’s publicity materials as being “probably the most powerful per square foot for entertainment purposes in existence.” All this splendor ultimately cost $4.6 million in 1980 dollars – well over $13 million in today’s currency.

You don't have to be an eldergay to enjoy the full piece.

AUDIO: There are many recordings of Saint DJ sets floating around. In the above-linked piece Walters includes this set from closing night DJ Jim Burgess.

First Ladies of Disco - Show Some Love

Martha Wash, Linda Clifford, and Evelyn "Champaign" King.

(Via JMG reader Jonathan)

Funk Bassist Louis Johnson Dies At Age 60

Via the New York Times:

Louis Johnson, a bassist who had a string of funk hits with the Brothers Johnson and worked as a session musician for Quincy Jones, notably on the Michael Jackson albums “Off the Wall” and “Thriller,” was found dead on May 21 at his home in Las Vegas. He was 60. His death was confirmed by Jeff Mullen, the Brothers Johnson’s manager, who said the cause had not been determined. Mr. Johnson, who also sang, and his brother George, who played guitar and sang, began working with Mr. Jones in the mid-1970s. Mr. Jones mentored the brothers, and they collaborated for many years. “I considered Louis a core member of my production team,” Mr. Jones wrote in a tribute on his website. Nicknamed Thunder Thumbs (George was known as Lightning Licks), Mr. Johnson created a driving sound with his percussive, string-slapping technique. He was an early popularizer of the electric slap-bass style in funk, along with Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone. The Brothers Johnson had a number of platinum albums in the 1970s and ’80s. Their singles “I’ll Be Good to You,” “Stomp!” and “Strawberry Letter 23” all reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and made the pop Top 10.

It was Louis Johnson's memorable bassline that propelled Billie Jean into a global smash and helped make Thriller the best-selling album of all time. Below are my two favorite Brothers Johnson hits, the first of which I owned on a 45 that came with a strawberry-scented sleeve.


(Tipped by JMG reader Mark)

Giorgio Moroder - Deja Vu (Megamix)

Via Stereogum:

Next month, the Italo-disco genius Giorgio Moroder will release Déjà Vu, his first album in many years, and he’s found an innovative way to tell us how the album will sound. In a new five-minute video, we hear short clips of every track on the album, set to an effects-heavy video of a couple dancing. It’s not an earthshaking music video or anything, but it’s enough to keep your attention while you absorb the music. And that music sounds good, like top-shelf cheesed-out dance-pop.

You Sexy Thing: Errol Brown Dies At 71

Hot Chocolate vocalist Errol Brown, whose 1975 smash You Sexy Thing remains one of the most enduring hits of the disco era, died of liver cancer yesterday at his home in the Bahamas. His group landed 33 Top 40 hits in the UK, including three separate Top 10 appearances by You Sexy Thing in three different decades. Here in the US, Hot Chocolate took You Sexy Thing to #3 and scored Top 10 hits with Emma (1974) and (my favorite) Every 1's A Winner (1978). Just like I Will Survive, another disco classic, You Sexy Thing was first released as the B-side to different track. Hot Chocolate was a favorite of Princess Diana and they performed at her wedding reception. Condolences from the music world are pouring out on Twitter, including a message from Chic's Nile Rodgers.

Giorgio Moroder & Sia - Deja Vu

Last week we got the audio, here's the production clip. This is the title track from Giorgio Moroder's first album in 30 years, due on June 16th.

IRELAND: The Three Degrees Perform Disco Classic When Will I See You Again

On the same Irish show that featured the same-sex marriage debate mentioned in the post below this one, last night The Three Degrees performed their 1974 Philly disco classic smash When Will I See You Again. Oh, the harmonies! The track peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent two week atop the UK's singles chart. The group's lineup has gone through many changes since it was first formed in 1963 and fifteen women have performed with them over those 52 years. Lead vocalist Valerie Holiday has been with the group since 1967 and Helen Scott (left) first joined in 1963, returning in 1976. Freddie Pool (right) joined in 2011.

RELATED: You really must check out the The Three Degrees' live 1975 cover of MacArthur Park. The wigs! The choreography! The orchestra! And OMG again, the harmonies.

Giorgio Moroder Featuring Sia - Deja Vu

Stereogum raves:

Italo-disco god Giorgio Moroder is coming back later this year with Déjà Vu, his first new album in forever. It’ll feature things like the Kylie Minogue-collab single “Right Here, Right Now” and Britney Spears covering Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner.” The album’s title track hit the internet today, and it’s got Sia tapping into some inner disco queen that I didn’t even know was there. It’s a big, bold, surging song with some truly sweet strings and handclaps on the chorus. Moroder hasn’t changed his late-’70s sound at all, but the rest of the world has come around to it, and that’s a beautiful thing.

First Ladies Of Disco - Show Some Love

First Ladies Of Disco are Martha Wash, Linda Clifford, and Evelyn "Champagne" King. This is the remix of their first single, which I posted last month. Both versions are now available on iTunes.

Chic - I'll Be There

Via the Los Angeles Times:

More than 20 years after Chic's last album, the titans of disco and forefathers of today's dance music have a brand new single. Billed as Chic featuring Nile Rodgers, the new song "Ill Be There" is a revival of an old sound while still sounding completely contemporary. It's based on tracks Rodgers originally recorded with the group Sister Sledge and later revamped with the modern house music duo the Martinez Brothers. "The outtake became a new song called 'I'll Be There,' so named because when I discovered my band's co-founder Bernard Edwards' body a few hours after he'd passed away, I said, 'Now, I can be there for you in death, the way you were there for me in life,'" Rodgers wrote on his website. "Back in the day 'Nard always looked out for me. I was the reckless one. We had lots of fun and good times. So on the song's surface it's really happy. It's about the origin of CHIC, and how dance music changed our lives forever."

Chic has been nominated to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame nine times but have still not won inclusion.

Jury Orders Robin Thicke & Pharrell Williams To Pay $7.4M To Gaye Family

Via the Los Angeles Times:

A federal jury found Tuesday that the 2013 hit song "Blurred Lines" infringed on the Marvin Gaye chart-topper "Got to Give It Up," awarding nearly $7.4 million to Gaye's children. Jurors found against singer-songwriters Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke, but held harmless the record company and rapper T.I. The verdict capped a trial that lasted more than a week and focused on the similarities between the song and the legendary soul singer's 1977 hit. The jurors began deliberating Thursday afternoon. An attorney for the Gaye children, Richard Busch, said there were copied elements -- including the bass and keyboard line, the hook and a repeated theme -- in all but two bars of "Blurred Lines." Busch also repeatedly pointed to statements made by the credited writers of the song -- Thicke and Williams -- referencing the late Motown legend in interviews about their writing process. Thicke said in several interviews that he suggested to Williams that they write something like "Got to Give It Up," and Williams has said he was "trying to pretend" he was Gaye when he wrote it. Thicke, Williams and their attorneys brushed off the statements as casual remarks designed to sell a song -- and in Thicke's case, made under the influence while he was drunk and high.

Jurors were told that Blurred Lines earned more than $5M for both Thicke and Williams, $6M for the record company, and $8M for its publishers. Such details are rarely disclosed to the public. The single and its album reportedly cost $7M to record and market. Some industry observers believe that today's verdict will stifle the creative process of other musicians.

Jimmy Somerville - Some Wonder

Jimmy Somerville's disco tribute album Homage will be released on Tuesday and today we get the first production video. I interviewed Somerville back in November and you can check out a great fan video from album's glorious first single, Travesty.

Trial Concludes In Gaye Estate Vs Thicke

The children of the late Marvin Gaye are suing Robin Thicke for the profits of Blurred Lines, which has sold 15 million copies, earning $5M each for Thicke and its songwriter Pharrell Williams, who testified yesterday as the trial ended.

Williams said after the song was released, he saw similarities between "Blurred Lines" and Gaye's work but said that wasn't a conscious part of his creative process. Richard S. Busch, who represents the Gaye family, asked Williams whether he felt "Blurred Lines" captured the feel of the era in which Gaye recorded. "Feel," Williams responded. "Not infringed." The case opened last week and featured testimony from Thicke, who told jurors that he took a songwriting credit on "Blurred Lines" despite Pharrell doing most of the work. Thicke brought a bit of showmanship to a trial that has focused on minute details of chords and sheet music. He performed elements of "Blurred Lines" and hits by U2 and The Beatles to show how different songs can include similar-sounding musical elements. Williams did not perform any music during his more than hour of testimony, and complained that audio comparisons of "Blurred Lines" and "Got to Give It Up" had been created in a way that made them sound similar.

Criticized by some as an endorsement of sexual assault, Blurred Lines topped the charts in dozens of countries and spent twelve weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, making it the biggest hit of 2013. Gaye's single topped the pop, R&B, and disco charts in 1977.

First Ladies Of Disco - Show Some Love

Every gay man of a certain vintage is very familiar with these ladies. Via Eurweb:

In case you haven’t heard, Disco queens Evelyn “Champagne” King, Martha Wash and Linda Clifford have come together as the “First Ladies of Disco.” Look for the ladies to soon be out and about promoting their new single “Show Some Love” which is is set for its worldwide release on March 25 via Purple Rose Records. The First Ladies of Disco Show is inspired by author/speaker/host James Arena’s tribute book “First Ladies of Disco: 32 Stars Discuss the Era and Their Singing Careers,” a best seller in the United States, Canada and Europe. These legendary vocalists come together to bring you one of the most talked about shows in dance music history. This collective of fiery songs, dynamic vocal delivery and non-stop energy makes the First Ladies of DiscoTM Show not only a historic phenomenon, but a uniquely personal and one-of-a-kind experience.

So far their website shows two tour dates: Palm Springs (May 3rd) and Lincoln Center (July 3rd). The first single, interestingly, is straight-ahead pop rock. There will surely be remixes.

(Tipped by JMG reader Wayne)

Giorgio Moroder Releases New Video With Kylie Minogue: Right Here, Right Now

Two weeks ago we got the audio clip, today comes the production video. Lovely pop disco right out of the late 80s.

Giorgio Moroder Releases New Single With Kylie Minogue: Right Here, Right Now

From their labels:

RCA Records and Sony Music International today announces that the founder of disco and electronic music trailblazer, Giorgio Moroder releases his brand new single “Right Here, Right Now” featuring Kylie Minogue today, January 20th on RCA Records in the United States. (The single will have various release dates worldwide including January 30th in the UK.) The single will be featured on Giorgio Moroder’s upcoming album (title still to be announced) – his first solo album in over 30 years, scheduled for a Spring release -which will also feature a superstar line up of other collaborators including Britney Spears, Sia, Charli XCX, Mikky Ekko, Foxes, Matthew Koma and many more. Over the course of his career, Mr. Moroder has worked with some of the most famous names in music including Barbra Streisand, Elton John, Donna Summer, Cher, Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, Freddie Mercury, Blondie, and David Bowie.

Available today on iTunes and Google Play.

Singer Jimmy Ruffin Dies At 78

Motown legend Jimmy Ruffin, whose 1980 smash Hold On To My Love helped usher out an era of gay nightlife, has died at the age of 78. Via the Detroit Free Press:

Ruffin, whose poignant "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" is regarded by many as one of Motown's greatest works, died Monday afternoon in a Las Vegas hospital. A Mississippi native and the older brother of the late Temptations singer David Ruffin, Jimmy Ruffin did backup work with Motown in the early '60s before being drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed in Germany. Upon returning to Motown in 1964, he cut material with little success before striking it big in 1966 with "Brokenhearted," which took him to No. 7 on Billboard's pop chart. The two brothers collaborated on the 1970 album "I Am My Brother's Keeper," and while Jimmy Ruffin ultimately notched eight solo songs on Billboard's R&B chart, his biggest success came in England, where he lived for a stretch and continued to perform frequently in later years.

Hold On To My Love, which reached #10 on the pop chart, was the final song played at the 1988 closing party of New York City's legendary Saint, perhaps the most storied gay nightclub of all time. The track had become a beloved Saint staple, largely due to the extended remix created by Saint DJ Robbie Leslie, who in that pre-computer era took Ruffin's 45rpm single and used "a reel/reel tape deck, a few razor blades, and editing tape" to create the eight-minute version of the song that continues to be a highlight of disco classics events. Shortly after the Saint shuttered its doors that day, an anonymous graffiti artist painted the song's title and Ruffin's name above the club's main entrance in what Leslie calls an "evocative tribute." You can read more about how Leslie created his version here. Hold On To My Love was written and produced by Robin Gibb.

Giorgio Moroder - 74 Is The New 24

Three-time Academy Award winner and disco legend Giorgio Moroder, 74, today released the first single from his first studio album in 30 years. Via Billboard:

Moroder’s long-awaited forthcoming album will feature collaborations with Britney Spears, Sia, Charli XCX, Kylie Minogue, Mikky Ekko, Foxes, Matthew Koma and others. He has signed a worldwide deal with Sony Music International for the release of the set, which will arrive on RCA Records in the United States. "Sony/RCA constitutes one of the most groundbreaking histories in the world,” Moroder said in a statement. “As my new label, I believe my record will live up to their history, but more importantly, pave the way for the future! Sony from here to eternity." To celebrate the announcement of his new album, 74-year-old Moroder released the first music video from the set, appropriately titled “74 Is the New 24."

Moroder: "Dance music doesn’t care where you live. It doesn’t care who your friends are. It doesn’t care how much money you make. It doesn't care if you are 74 or if you are 24 because... 74 is the new 24!" The single is available today on iTunes and is streaming on Spotify. To me, it seems to be just a shorter version of Giorgio's Theme, which was streamed earlier this year and will also be on the new album.

UPDATE: The above-linked Billboard story has been top-linked by closeted homosexual Matt Drudge.