Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Disco hits that have vanished

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #46
    Re: Disco hits that have vanished

    Originally posted by Leo Lakio View Post
    Not to be confused with those horrid BEAT-CLAP-BEAT-CLAP "Hooked On..." medley albums, like "Hooked On Classics" vols. 1-3 and "Hooked On Swing" vols. 1-2, and a similar "Turned On Broadway" two volumes.

    All of which, I just noticed, I still own. Eww.
    Between 1981 (the time "Stars on 45" was released and became a huge hit) and around 1983, several singles and albums of this type were released, capitalizing on the Stars on 45 success.

    It got so bad that even the original labels issued remixed medleys by both The Beatles ("The Beatles Movie Medley", 1982) and a Beach Boys mix, which title escapes me now. These singles sold very well, with The Beatles zooming up the Billboard Hot 100 12 years after their break-up to a high of #12 with that horrid mix. "The Beatles Movie Medley" was released to coincide with the release of a Capitol Records compilation album called Reel Music, which featured Beatles songs that showed up in their 5 movies. The odd thing is that "The Beatles Movie Medley" single was not part of the Reel Music album.

    I have the single, never bothered buying the album since it was already a rehash of music I had on other albums. Today both releases are long out of print, so I guess that horrid single may be some kind of collector's item now.

    Years later, in 1989 another dance mix featuring snippets of old songs came out. This one was put out by a group called Jive Bunny & the Mastermixers. Their first single was "Swing To the Mood" which started off with a Glenn Miller snippet then went into a number of 50s rock n roll oldies. The single was a top 20 hit I believe, which spawned still another single called "That's What I Like" which features a snippet of "Hawaii Five-0" and Chubby Checker's "Let's Twist Again" on the front end of the record. Both singles were issued to an LP and an extended play disc, and later issued to CD.

    In 1989 I was long out of that DJing thing but I still bought the record...

    And a few years ago at the Friends of the Library book sale I found the CD for a dirt cheap price of $3 and bought it too. Whoever Jive Bunny is, they have managed to put out several albums, several of which are available at Amazon.com.
    I'm still here. Are you?

    Comment


    • #47
      Re: Disco hits that have vanished

      Originally posted by mel View Post
      Whoever Jive Bunny is, they have managed to put out several albums, several of which are available at Amazon.com.
      Father and son, John & Andy Pickles, from the UK. Andy was a dj, John was the label manager.

      Comment


      • #48
        Re: Disco hits that have vanished

        Originally posted by mel View Post
        Between 1981 (the time "Stars on 45" was released and became a huge hit) and around 1983, several singles and albums of this type were released, capitalizing on the Stars on 45 success.
        Was it bad? I dunno. It introduced and exposed young people back then to older music that they might never have otherwise gotten acquainted with. In fact, my then teenage cousin really got into the Beatles because of the Stars On LP that I bought for his birthday. It made him want to go out and buy "the real thing."

        Originally posted by mel View Post
        "The Beatles Movie Medley" was released to coincide with the release of a Capitol Records compilation album called Reel Music, which featured Beatles songs that showed up in their 5 movies. The odd thing is that "The Beatles Movie Medley" single was not part of the Reel Music album.
        Well, putting the Beatles Movie Medley (which was not classified as a disco hit, unlike the Stars On 45 medley) on the Reel Music LP would have been redundant, seeing as how all 7 songs on the medley were already on the album,.... in full length. But it would have been nice for Capitol to have thrown in the Medley 45 disc into the LP package.

        Yet another disco hit that has largely disappeared from the airwaves. What Cha Doin by Seawind. Does anyone know where the original promo video for this song is on the net? I can't seem to find it on YouTube.
        This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

        Comment


        • #49
          Re: Disco hits that have vanished

          Originally posted by Frankie's Market View Post
          Was it bad? I dunno. It introduced and exposed young people back then to older music that they might never have otherwise gotten acquainted with. In fact, my then teenage cousin really got into the Beatles because of the Stars On LP that I bought for his birthday. It made him want to go out and buy "the real thing."
          "Stars on 45" was not bad; I thought the copycat records that came after were bad, like the mix that Capitol made with the real Beatles music for the Reel Music album promo single. "Stars of 45" was quite novel for its time. I agree with you that the record may have introduced young people to the older songs.

          Originally posted by Frankie's Market View Post
          Well, putting the Beatles Movie Medley (which was not classified as a disco hit, unlike the Stars On 45 medley) on the Reel Music LP would have been redundant, seeing as how all 7 songs on the medley were already on the album,.... in full length. But it would have been nice for Capitol to have thrown in the Medley 45 disc into the LP package.
          I agree that "The Beatles Movie Medley" is not disco. However, usually when a single comes out to support an album, that single would be included on the album... or at least as you say as a bonus disc (which is what Columbia did when 2 different versions of Paul McCartney's dance oriented track from 1980 called "Coming Up" became a hit. The studio version was on the LP and the live hit version with Wings was issued as a bonus 7" record). So yes, it would have been nice to get that song as part of the album package.

          Perhaps if EMI-Capitol-Parlophone-Apple decide to re-release Reel Music in a digital format, that the "Movie Medley" can be included as a bonus track. That is more possible today with the longer format CD and digital downloads.

          Yet another disco hit that has largely disappeared from the airwaves. What Cha Doin by Seawind. Does anyone know where the original promo video for this song is on the net? I can't seem to find it on YouTube.
          "What Cha Doin" from the 4th and final Seawind album in 1980 was probably the most danceable song by the group I recall. Earlier tracks from their 2 CTI albums were more popular but this one got a lot of airplay on top 40 radio and I suspect in clubs. The band had moved to A&M records by that time.

          Today that song and album is kind of hard to find. Was out on CD for a time, but last I checked is unavailable. Ditto for their 3rd album. I have their first 2 albums on LP as well as CD. Seawind originated from Hawaii.

          Other "disco" hits not getting airplay today:
          • "The Wanderer" by Donna Summer
          • "Who Do You Think You're Foolin'" by Donna Summer
          • "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" by Rod Stewart
          • "Tragedy" by The Bee Gees
          • "Love You Inside & Out" by The Bee Gees
          • "He's A Liar" by The Bee Gees
          • "Fall in Love With Me" by Earth, Wind & Fire
          • "Flowers" by The Emotions
          • "Gimmie Gimmie (A Man After Midnight)" by Abba *


          * was not very popular in America, but in 2005 the song was extensively sampled and re-worked into Madonna's top hit "Hung Up".
          I'm still here. Are you?

          Comment


          • #50
            Re: Disco hits that have vanished

            Originally posted by mel View Post
            I agree that "The Beatles Movie Medley" is not disco. However, usually when a single comes out to support an album, that single would be included on the album... or at least as you say as a bonus disc (which is what Columbia did when 2 different versions of Paul McCartney's dance oriented track from 1980 called "Coming Up" became a hit. The studio version was on the LP and the live hit version with Wings was issued as a bonus 7" record). So yes, it would have been nice to get that song as part of the album package.
            The situation with the live version of Coming Up was a little different,... and quite unique.

            If you've collected Paul McCartney/Wings records, then you already know that for whatever reason, Macca often (but not always) had non-album B-sides on his singles. For example, the Band On The Run 45 in the UK had Zoo Gang as its flipside. And Zoo Gang was not on the Band On The Run LP. And there are numerous other examples of this.

            The Coming Up single was originally supposed to follow in this formula, with the studio version being the A side and the live version of Coming Up & Lunch Box Odd Sox being non-album tracks on the flip. Sure enough in the UK, the studio Coming Up shot up the charts. But in the States, deejays favored the live version.

            So when the McCartney II album was about to be pressed, Columbia (Macca's then-label in America) was in something of a quandary. They really wanted to add the live Coming Up to the Mac II LP to help sell the album in this country, just as Capitol did when they added Helen Wheels to the US LP of Band On The Run. With McCartney II's running time of under 40 minutes, it could very easily have been done.

            But Paul reportedly nixed that idea, as he wanted the McCartney II album to only contain the solo recordings he made in his home studio. (The live Coming Up was performed with Wings onstage in Glassgow.) So adding the one-sided disc of the live Coming Up to the Mac II LP was a compromise between Paul and his American record label. Throwing in the special disc wasn't really something that Columbia wanted to do, as it would have been cheaper for them to simply add one song to the LP disc. But as I said above, this was one of those unique situations.

            Originally posted by mel View Post
            Perhaps if EMI-Capitol-Parlophone-Apple decide to re-release Reel Music in a digital format, that the "Movie Medley" can be included as a bonus track. That is more possible today with the longer format CD and digital downloads.
            That's a thought. But seeing as how there's no Beatles Movie Medley burning up the singles chart at this moment, re-issuing Reel Music would be rather pointless.
            This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

            Comment


            • #51
              Re: Disco hits that have vanished

              I wish I still had my 2 different versions of "Coming Up" on 7 inch vinyl. Back in 1980 when both records came out, I bought 3 different versions. The first one I recall buying was the standard orange labeled Columbia 45 which has the studio version of "Coming Up" on the A side. The B-side featured 2 tracks, which itself is rare for a 45. That featured the live in Glasgow Wings recording of the same song (which is probably the last official Wings release) and another song, which was probably "Lunch Box/Odd Sox"... I can't remember now.

              I remember on American Top 40 and also seeing in Billboard Magazine, that both sides of the 45 were listed/featured in the weekly chart. As you mention and as I can clearly remember, radio did favor the live Wings recording. However for music video, the studio recording was featured with the multiple McCartney's playing different roles.

              I bought the McCartney II album the same year a few weeks after the 45 and I confirm as you said that the album features all of the studio tracks that McCartney released including the studio version of "Coming Up" on the record album itself. The bonus disc was the 7 inch live version of "Coming Up" that is on a white labeled single that spins I believe at 33 1/3 rpm.

              The CD version that I have does not feature the live "Coming Up" that I had on vinyl. I think it is on another McCartney CD that I own.

              And yes, McCartney issued many 45s with non-album B-sides. I bought many of them in the 1970s as they came out on Apple Records and later Capitol and then Columbia and then Capitol again.

              Some of those 45s and the non-album B-sides of note:
              • "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" B- "Too Many People" (1971)
              • "Hi Hi Hi" B- "C Moon" (1972)
              • "My Love" B- "The Mess" (1973)
              • "Helen Wheels" B- "Country Dreamer" (1973) *
              • "Junior's Farm" B- "Sally G" (1974)
              • "Girl's School" b- "Mull of Kintyre" + (1977)
              • "Goodnight Tonight" B- "Daytime Night Time Suffering" (1979)


              * Some versions of "Helen Wheels" featured"Mamunia" as the B side which is on the Band on the Run album. I have the Band on the Run LP on both Capitol and Columbia and both of them feature this single. When I bought the CD in 1987, it did not feature "Helen Wheels/" I later bought the 25th anniversary edition of Band on the Run which put "Helen Wheels" back in on CD.

              + "Mull of Kintyre" was one of McCartney's biggest #1 hits in England, but never quite made it big in America. The American A-side "Girl's School" just missed the Top 10 on Billboard.

              While McCartney routinely released singles with non-album B-sides, many other singles featured songs that were on albums, such as:
              • "Jet" b - "Let Me Roll It"
              • "Band on the Run" B- "Nineteen Hundred & Eighty-Five"
              • "Silly Love Songs" B- "Cook of the House"
              • "Let Em In" B- "Beware My Love"
              • "Listen to What the Man Said" B- "Love in Song"


              While I continued to buy McCartney singles and albums in the 1980s, 90s and today, for the life of me, I can't remember most of the B-sides to his 1980s era singles... and by the 1990s, vinyl singles were pretty much extinct (though you can still buy them from specialty places).

              What all this has to do with "disco" is beyond me... except that Paul McCartney did make a few disco and dance records... after The Beatles... I guess I should note "Say Say Say" which he did with Michael Jackson in 1983, which I also remember what the B-side was: "Ode to a Koala Bear".
              I'm still here. Are you?

              Comment


              • #52
                Re: Disco hits that have vanished

                In the world of "disco never went away" - there are new albums/tours either out or in the works from Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, Nona Hendryx (with and without Labelle), Grace Jones, Martha Wash, and an album of disco covers from Bananarama.

                Comment


                • #53
                  Re: Disco hits that have vanished

                  Disco still lives.

                  Notes of correction on Paul McCartney: "Mamunia" was on the B-side of some copies of "Jet". "Too Many People" was on the Ram album. All non-disco.

                  Link: McCartney Singles discography
                  Last edited by mel; June 25, 2008, 07:20 AM. Reason: added link
                  I'm still here. Are you?

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Re: Disco hits that have vanished

                    I bought both, Stars on 45 and Stars on 45 - Beatles Medley downloads.

                    Thanks for the link.

                    I need to listen to them to see what's the real difference.

                    Comment

                    Working...
                    X