Phil's previous grooves 2001

Links to other parts of the Disco Discography:

12th March 2001

New York's most famous disco group The Trammps evolved their sound from Philly roots. "Sixty minute man" is a classic example of their mid-1970's soul-disco style, and the label shown here is the full length Tom Moulton mix found on a UK only 12" 4-track EP pressed in 1976.

19th March 2001

Mixed by Walter Gibbons and written by Tyson, Harris and Felder, this male-vocal disco track was the first 12" on Gold Mind records. Gold Mind is a sub-label of Salsoul, and this track is the b-side of "Cheaters never win".

26th March 2001

Mixed on 12" by the famous Tom Moulton, "You gotta let me show you" was the first 12" on Friends & Co. records. It's written by Eddie Drennon, so expect the usual dark, funk bassline and echoed flutes and violins. A must have for any collector of early 12" singles.

2nd April 2001

Funky disco magic from New York, "Just laying it down" was the only 12" released on the Mahogany label. It's mixed by Rafael Charres and was released in 1977; Southroad Connection later moved to United Artists for the boogie classic "Take me back for more".

16th April 2001

A beautiful disco track with nice deep male vocals and fascinating bassline. Especially nice is the occasional cracking of the wah-wah guitar.

30th April 2001

Taken from their 1976 album on the D&M Sound label, "Get on down" was an early commercial 12" single. It's a groovy, funky disco record and the combination of violins and horns made it equally popular on the rare-groove scene in the 1980's.

14th May 2001

One of the most beautiful instrumental disco tracks of all time. Shown above is the UK-only 12" of "Bourgie bourgie"; this record was later covered by John Davis & the Monster Orchestra, and Gladys Knight.

28th May 2001

A great commercial disco track from 1979, "Go dance" by Billy Moore is a true disco stomper and was one of the first 12" on New York's Emergency label.

4th June 2001

An early classic disco record from Germany, "Fly, robin, fly" made number one in the US charts and signified the start of the worldwide disco explosion. It was promotionally released as an early 12" single on Midland records and was given out to disco DJ's only. It's actually the b-side of "Always another girl" and this original pressing is now rare.

11th June 2001

Classic disco record from New York's West End label. This is the original 7:43 Walter Gibbons mix, preferable to the minimalist 11:03 remix 12" (although that record is a better DJ tool).

18th June 2001

Seventies model and superstar Grace Jones recorded several disco records in the late 1970's, many of which were first played at New York's famous disco Studio 54. "Do or die" is one of these, and it's one of the few records on the Island record mixed by Tom Moulton. A great tune, with nice drum breaks to keep those feet on the disco floor.

2nd July 2001

A lesser known Salsoul act, vocalist Cubby St. Charles released just one 12" from his 1979 album, funky disco classic "Party". It's a very good mix by Bobby Guttadaro; and we also especially like the b-side - "Shake it".

16th July 2001

A great Hi-NRG disco track from 1979 on its original label, before Cut Glass were signed to 20th Century Records. This 12" was the only release on Ear Hole records.

30th July 2001

One of the first commercially available 12" singles from the US, "Full time thing" by Whirlwind was a minor international disco hit - but it should have been bigger because it's a great tune. Really nice melody and orchestration was what made this type of early disco music great. Note that this is a "double-artist" twelve (the b-side is "Touch and go"). Many of these early 12" releases on smaller disco labels featured another artist on the b-side - presumably to plug two great disco tracks from labels with a small catalogue!

6th August 2001

Disco madness and Midnight madness this week from Don Ray, whose only solo album was produced by Cerrone ("Love in C minor"). This UK-only 12" was released in 1978 on the Polydor "Steppin' out" series.

20th August 2001

Wicked, ultra long disco track "Let me be your fantasy" features Diva Gray on vocals. It's also the only record to be released on the Talpro label - which was a merchandising idea from the Penthouse empire. Oddly enough, the cover for this LP is a triple gatefold... and I bet you can guess what the picture is.

3rd September 2001

Fantastic highly-energised New York disco groove from Patrick Adams's P&P record label. Jesse Gould's "Out of work" was released in 1978 and features crazy violins, a great bassline and a thumping disco beat. This record was reissued in 1999, but shown above is the rare original 12" pressing.

10th September 2001

Nice, laid back Prelude release from 1978 with great orchestration and a strong disco beat. You'll find this 12" on blue or black vinyl. It's also the first commercial 12" on New York's Prelude label, although a few promo-only 12" were released prior to this.

17th September 2001

From the independent New York funk disco label Jam Sessions. "Sweet lady (dance with me)" by Chain Reaction has some great horn stabbing and synthesizers, and was mixed by John "Jellybean" Benitez. There is no date on the label, but this record is known to have been released in 1979.

1st October 2001

Los Angeles disco producers Laurin Rinder and W. Michael Lewis came up with this disco gem in 1977. This is the 12" extended version of a great El Coco track which builds really well and sounds great when it peaks. The phrase "I'm mad as hell", incidentally, comes from the film Network, which was first shown in 1976.

15th October 2001

Great boogie tune from 1980. Nice bassline, great horns and a mix that really flows - topped off with strong female vocals. This record came out on New York's Dakar label (Bohannon), which is a sub-label of Brunswick.

29th October 2001

When you see Willie Henderson's name amongst the authors of a disco track, you know that this funk is made for dancing. This eight-minute funky disco extravanganza has a great intro and is so well mixed that you'll never lose your interest. By the way, the Hilltak label (which was by 1979 distributed by Atlantic) was originally licensed from Prelude records (for whom Broadway had previously recorded).

5th November 2001

Legendary disco writer and producer Van McCoy came up with this gem a year after his most famous recording "The hustle". "Rhythms of the world" is a great tune which is available in the full ten minute version on this early 12" single.

12th November 2001

Chic producers Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards wrote this deep, snappy disco track back in 1978. Norma Jean was a lead vocalist with Chic; she launched her solo career, under the production and sophistication of Nile and Bernard, when she signed to Bearville records.

19th November 2001

Leroy Burgess penned track on the Buddah label from 1979. This track has one of the best basslines you'll ever hear. Collectors note - there are two different 12" mixes of this, one of five minutes and one of six. But they both have the same catalogue number!

17th December 2001

Writers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff were the instigators of the "Philly Sound", which helped transform soul to disco in the early 1970's. Their best known group were The O'Jays, who released the classic Philly disco track "I love music" in late 1975. Shown above is the first pressing of this nine-minute dancefloor masterpiece on 12" single - it's the UK copy which predates the American 12" by a year.

24th December 2001

Although Jimmy Castor was best known for his early 1970's funk hit "Troglodyte", he recorded disco and funk records well into the 1980's. This gem from 1976 is just at the crossover period from his funk to disco sound, and contains the best elements of both. "Space age" is on promo-only Atlantic records and was released in 1976.