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Wednesday, Nov 16 2022, 5AM
Celebrating 50 years of KEXP! This week! The year 1978!
1978 saw the release of the debut album from R&B group Mtume - featuring vocals by Tawatha Agee.
Released in 1978: 'Rainbow Seeker' by keyboardist/composer Joe Sample - founding members of The Jazz Crusaders (aka The Crusaders)!
According to AllMusic, The O'Jays 1978 release 'So Full of Love' was a departure from their previous Philly International offerings in that it contained no social or political commentary whatsoever -- with the disco era in full swing, Eddie Levert felt that the market for R&B message songs had dried up.
www.allmusic.com
The 1978 debut funk album by Parliament-Funkadelic keyboardist Bernie Worrell was produced by Worrell and P-Funk leader George Clinton and features various P-Funk alumni including Garry Shider, Bootsy Collins, Junie Morrison, Billy Bass Nelson, and Eddie Hazel.
Known for his work with Parliament Funkadelic and the Talking Heads, Bernie spent the last years of his life between Seattle and Bellingham, where he recorded several projects with Khu.éex'
"Bernie Worrell: The Most Influential Keyboardist You've Probably Never Heard Of" (NPR)
www.npr.org
Released in 1978 as a single, James wrote the song with his keyboard player, Billy Nunn, as an ode to marijuana. It was his second single as a solo artist, his first being the album's title track.
Check out a documentary "Bitchin: The Sound and Fury of Rick James" documenting the life and times of the outrageously funky Rick James.
bit.ly
Released in 1978, 'Touchdown' is the sixth album by Bob James; its title is a reference to this being James' sixth solo album (a touchdown being worth six points), a pattern also followed by his previous album 'Heads' (featuring a five cent coin on its cover) and next album 'Lucky Seven'.
Bob James is known for decades of work in smooth jazz, but also has a strong repertoire of funk and fusion -- including the famous theme from Taxi, "Angela Theme". He was originally discovered by Quincy Jones!
Check out a conversation with 9th Wonder & Bob James about sampling, getting sampled, and Bob James' influential history!
youtu.be
1978 influences! Oakland hip hop group Souls of Mischief sample Bob James's 1978 track Angela Theme (Theme From "Taxi") in their 1993 song "Cab Fare". Tajai said the members were fifteen/sixteen when they recorded the track!
1978's 'Patrice' was Rushen's first album with Elektra Records after making three jazz-oriented albums with Prestige Records. With this album, Rushen made a switch from jazz to a more R&B/pop music style. She was heavily criticized by jazz aficionados for selling out.
patricerushen.com
The lead single from Bobby Caldwell's eponymous 1978 debut album. The song went platinum in both the US & Japan in 1978.
Bob Marley and the Wailers released their tenth studio album in 1978. The album consists of tracks recorded along with the tracks on the 1977 'Exodus' album.
Jamaican singers Althea Forrest and Donna Reid were just 17 and 18 when they cut this track in 1977. Conceived as a light-hearted “answer song” to Trinity’s "Three Piece Suit," the track, produced by Joe Gibbs, was essentially based on the 1967 Alton Ellis tune" I’m Still In Love" which had already been redone by Marcia Aitken as" I’m Still In Love With You, Boy." However, it was the Three Piece Suit version – itself a Joe Gibbs production – which sparked the new, improvised lyrics from Althea & Donna. bit.ly
Nina Simone's 1978 reggae-styled treatment of Randy Newman’s frequently covered song about deindustrialization and hard times in the city, "Baltimore". Simone would later say of the album, "The material was not my personal choice, and I had no say whatsoever in the selection of songs. It was all done before I could make any decisions."
1978 influences! JAY-Z's 2017 track "Caught Their Eyes" from his '4:44' album samples Nina Simone's 1978 track "Baltimore" (covering Randy Newman's 1977 song "Baltimore")
1978 studio album by vocalist Gil Scott-Heron and keyboardist Brian Jackson - the duo's fifth album for Arista. Scott-Heron's lyrics on 'Secrets' largely concern socially conscious political themes; however, his decision to double-down on directly political lyrics was somewhat at odds with the expectations of Arista executives, who desired a more commercially accessible direction and had begun scheduling his live act as an opener for chart-toppers like KC and the Sunshine Band and the Spinners.
"Angola, Louisiana" addresses prison conditions in the United States. Taking its title from the Louisiana State Penitentiary's nickname "Angola", the protest song decries the wrongful imprisonment of Gary Tyler; at the time of his conviction, Tyler was the youngest person on death row.
Rose Royce released their third album 'Strikes Again' in 1978. Los Angeles-based group first formed in the early 1970s when members of several backup bands from the Watts and Inglewood areas of Los Angeles united under the name Total Concept Unlimited.
1978's 'Almighty Fire' was Franklin's first reunion with Curtis Mayfield since they collaborated on the 'Sparkle' album in 1976. By the time of the album's release, Franklin was going through a commercial slump, due in part to the widespread popularity of disco.
Curtis Mayfield's 1978 'Do It All Night' album was a complete break in style as Mayfield moved into a pure disco vein. It was his most successful album in three years, but it alienated many longtime fans because he deliberately dumbed down his writing -- he traded his core audience, who couldn't abide the album, for a slightly larger disco audience that had previously eluded him.
www.allmusic.com
In June 1978, the jazz and pop singer with a five octave vocal range, Jean Carn(e) released her second album 'Happy to Be With You', which included the hit single "Don’t Let It Go to Your Head".
Released in 1978 on the Isley Brother's own T-Neck Records label, 'Showdown' was their sixteenth album release.
In 1978, Teddy Pendergrass released his sophomore album 'Life Is a Song Worth Singing'.
Video for the hit single "Close the Door":
youtu.be
Bill Withers collaborated with jazz pianist Paul Smith on 1978's ''Bout Love' - Smith produced the album and co-wrote all but "Memories Are That Way" with Withers.
Released in 1978, ‘Love Will Find a Way,’ has a reputation as a lush and unique album that has gained quite the cult following over the years, also featuring two other legends in their own right, drummer/producer/singer Norman Connors and vocalist/ actress Phyllis Hyman.
Released in 1978, 'Modern Man' is the fifth album by jazz fusion bassist Stanley Clarke. The Philly-based bassist and film composer was a founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands.