The Groove
Saturday March 15th, 2025 with Elorious Cain
Caribbean Disco

On this show we feature CARIBBEAN DISCO and it is important to point out exactly what we are presenting. There are dozens of different DISCO GENRES in the Caribbean. As we maintain that the first DISCO GENRE is CONGOLESE RUMBA, bare in mind that the Congolese created a distinctly African music by combining various Caribbean styles with early SOUKOUSS and other Congolese musical styles. That is why there is real separation between CUBAN RUMBA and CONGOLESE RUMBA as the composers and producers in the Congo really re-invented RUMBA along with a vast selection of LATIN and Caribbean styles. Many sources suggest that BEGUINE from Guadeloupe, SON and RUMBA from Cuba, and MERENGUE from the Dominican Republic are just some of various Caribbean styles that were early DISCO musics predating African experimentations in the late 1940's and the 1950's and 1960's during the "Belle Epoque". The Caribbean has also offered a monumental selection of highly popular and influential DISCO GENRES starting with COMPASS in Haiti in the early 1950's (still extremely active and followed around the planet now), SKA in Jamaica in the late 1950's which was transformed into REGGAE in the mid 1960's spawning DUB in the late 1960's, (SKA has been re-invented several times. REGGAE has become one of the most popular and influential DISCO GENRES touching the cultural psyche everywhere, DUB continues to change the very definition of depth in popular music,) DISCO GENRES from the Caribbean like the different variations of SOCA, DANCEHALL, SALSA, REGGEATON, KASEKO, ZOUK. variations of CUMBIA along with uniquely Caribbean variations of BOUNCE, TRIBAL HOUSE, MOOMBAHTON and TRAP also have a positive effect on popular culture throughout the planet. We are avoiding all of the beforementioned DISCO GENRES and musical variations, specifically featuring Caribbean artists doing their own variation of AMERICAN DISCO and BRITISH DISCO from the 1970's and early 1980's. We are not featuring some Caribbean artists that did well with DISCO in other parts of the world. We are not featuring JOCELYNE BEROARD from Martinique who, before getting involved with the ZOUK super-group KASSAV', recorded a PARIS-NEFORM track that competed in the EURODISCO market in 1979 under the name SHANE GOLD. We mention it on the playlist and feature it on The Groove episode 'BLACKS IN EUROPE! part 3 ---- ( a BLACK HISTORY MONTH FOCUS)' on February 17th, 2024. Here is a link to that show which can still be heard at your convenience: https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/131/63918.html There are several Caribbean artists that did well with various EURODISCO projects which we are not featuring. Also very successful examples of DISCO recorded by Caribbeans like "Could You Be Loved" by BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS are not featured here. We are concentrating on DISCO recorded by Caribbean acts that you might have not heard, unless you were going out dancing in certain Caribbean cities in the 1970's and early 1980's. We give the originating country of release if we can't provide any information about some of the artists.