Who samples who
Chic’s sound was anchored by the scratchy, James Brown-style rhythm guitar of Nile Rodgers and the indelible, widely imitated (sometimes outright stolen) bass lines of Bernard Edwards. Chic’s distinctive approach not only resulted in some of the finest dance singles of their time, but also helped create a template for urban funk, dance-pop, and even [...]
I try to be as complete as possible whenever I research a sample source artist/band (that is why James Brown and Barry White are going to take me some time). This of course implies a lot of Googlistics, as you might expect. But there are also a couple of sites that make my [...]
The O’Jays‘ first album on Philadelphia International Records, Backstabbers, was a masterpiece, highlighted by McFadden & Whitehead’s master composition, ‘Backstabbers’. The haunting song with the great intro became a monster hit, and was followed by the even bigger ‘Love Train’. Songs like ‘For The Love of Money’, ‘Livin’ For the Weekend’, and the classic ‘Use [...]
Once one of the most visible and winning jazz vibraphonists of the 1960s, then an R&B bandleader in the 1970s and ’80s, Roy Ayers‘ reputation is now that of one of the prophets of acid jazz, a man decades ahead of his time. In 1970 he formed the Roy Ayers Ubiquity, which featured such players [...]
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EMI/Virgin provides a great series of double CDs: the “Sampled” collection. They contain the original versions of songs that have been sampled in recent songs. Famous stuff like “Back Stabbers (O’Jays)” as well as lesser known pearls like “Take Yo’ Praise (Camille Yarbrough)”. The first installment was released in 2001 (re-released [...]
One of the few white groups to cross the color line and achieve success and credibility playing funk, with their tight, fiery sound also belying their Scottish heritage, evoking American R&B hotbeds like Detroit, Memphis, and Philadelphia instead. In 1974 The Average White Band topped the American pop charts with the Arif Mardin-produced instrumental “Pick [...]
Born in Chicago on November 8, 1947. Stevie Wonder agreed to co-produce Minnie Riperton’s 1974 album Perfect Angel, which contained the international blockbuster “Lovin’ You”.
“Loving you“, probably one of the most romantic songs ever, with little birds tweeting and Minnie’s etheric voice
The Orb: A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From the Centre of [...]
Born on September 30, 1954, in Los Angeles, keyboardist-singer-songwriter-arranger-musical director Patrice Rushen has had an outstanding career with several Top Ten R&B hits, including “Haven’t You Heard,” “Forget Me Nots,” “Feels So Real,” and “Watch Out”.
“Forget Me Nots” - probably her best known hit single, with the funky synth bass and the high pizzicato strings
Will [...]
Ever since I heard Sugarhill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight, with the bass line from Chic’s Good Times, I’ve been a sucker for creative sampling. Apart from the occasional home-brew sampling experiment, I also like to collect original songs of well known samples. James Brown, Diana Ross, Patrice Rushen, Cymande, … I’ve just got to have them [...]
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