Oh hee hee. Great music to make me laugh and get me out of this funk!! And John Travolta in that pose, in that suit!! And the brothers' tight white pants and shiny white teeth! I'm listening to the soundtrack of SNF on my old phonograph in the studio. The 19-year old tutor working today couldn't name the tune, "Stayin Alive" --- maybe that's good for him. From Rolling Stone online:"In the mid-seventies, the Bee Gees swept away the arch pop of their Sixties hits and applied their silvery-helium harmonies to the creamy syncopation of disco. They made great albums in their new incarnation (such as 1975's Main Course) but none bigger or more influential than this soundtrack. In the past quarter-century, Saturday Night Fever has sold 30 million copies worldwide, and its musical worth justifies the numbers. The Bee Gees dominate ("Stayin' Alive" is the pulse of the picture as well as the album), but the Trammps' hot-funk assault "Disco Inferno" affirms disco's black-R&B roots.Total album sales: 15 million"On a serious note, though, my sweet mother, who is in a nursing home because of progressive multiple sclerosis, loves the BeeGees, and I'd be willing to listen to their music every day for the rest of my life if I could keep her alive and well and near me. So here's to my mommy, who is "More than a Woman." That particular song was performed on the album not just by the BeeGees but (on the flip side) by the Tavares. Here's a little info on that group from an online biography:"When asked to name the Soul Music supergroups of the '70s and early '80s, folks tend to gravitate to familiar names such as Earth, Wind and Fire, the Spinners, the Commodores and the Isley Brothers. However, five brothers from New Bedford, Massachusetts – Ralph, Tiny, Chubby, Butch and Pooch Tavares – arguably created the most consistently high quality soul music of that period.If their first three albums set the Tavares brothers up for success, the fourth, Sky High, (produced by Motown veteran writer/producer Freddie Perren) and its international hits, "Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel" and "Don’t Take Away the Music," led the group to the "A" list of popular black artists. Perren moved the group to a hotter beat-heavy sound not hinted at in Tavares’ earlier releases and the timing couldn’t have been better, as the disco boom was about to explode. The group teamed with Perren again for their Love Storm and Future Bound LPs in 1977 and 1978. It was at this point that Tavares hit an unexpected pivotal moment: it’s cover of the Bee Gees’ "More Than A Woman" was included on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, giving the group its greatest exposure ever (as well as its only Grammy award) but bringing with it a label that Tavares would spend years trying to shake – that of "Disco Group."The remaining four brothers continued to tour internationally and in 1994 released Check It Out, a CD of newly recorded versions of their past hits, on Canadian label Unidisc. The CD found the brothers in fine voice, but the instrumentation and production quality were low-budget. Brother Tiny later left the group and the remaining three continue to tour sporadically, appearing recently in the PBS "Superstars of 70s Soul" special. In a decade that highlighted so many groups, from the last Detroit days of Motown to the arrival of hot sounds in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, the Tavares brothers proved themselves to be incredibly versatile, effectively covering all of those sounds as well as a unique sound that they introduced in Love Uprising. Their wonderful harmonies and consistently strong selection of material made every one of their albums a keeper. "
And how about Ralph McDonald, who did the "Calypso Breakdown"? Check this out:http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Ralph%20MacDonald.htmlOkay, I guess this is enough "Jive Talkin'" for one post. But go here for one last finale:http://www.jivetalkinmusic.com/and here are the lyrics:"It's just your jive talkin' you're tellin' me liesJive talkin' your wear a disguisejsve talkin' so misunderstoodJive talkin' you're really no good.Ohmy childyou'll never know just what you mean to meOhmy childyou got so muchyou gonna take awayMy energy with all of yourJive talkin' you're tellin' me liesGood lovin' still gets in my eyesNobody believes what you sayIt's just your jive talkin' that gets in the way.Ohmy loveyou're so good treating me so cruelThere you go with your fancy lies leaving meLookin' like a dumb struck föol with all of yourJive talkin' you're tellin' me lies . .Love talkin' it's all very fineJive talkin' just isn't a crimeAnd if there's somebody you'll love 'til you dieThen all that jive talkin' just gets in your eye.Jive talkin' you're tellin' me lies ."Mog talkin' it's all very fine. Happy Friday, friends.
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