PART 2 IN A SERIES OF SHOWS EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ROCK AND DISCO.
| In 1966 the Spencer Davis Group had a hit with "Gimmie Some Lovin'". Cerrone, under the name Kongas, did a Eurodisco version in 1977: |
| AFRICANISM KONGAS - AFRICANISM (LP) - CROCOS |
| GIMMIE SOME LOVING KONGAS - AFRICANISM (LP) - CROCOS |
| Los Bravos had a hit in 1967 with "Black is Black" The Italian supergroup Belle Epoque did a Eurodisco version in 1977. Also Cerrone did a eurodisco version with Alec R. Costandinos in 1976 on the legendary Love In C Minor album: |
| BLACK IS BLACK BELLE EPOQUE - MISS BROADWAY (LP) - CARRERE |
| BLACK IS BLACK CERRONE - LOVE IN C MINOR (LP) - COTILLION |
| The Yardbirds had a massive success with "For Your Love" in 1965. Germany's Chilly offered a Rock/Eurodisco version of it in 1978: |
| FOR YOUR LOVE CHILLY - FOR YOUR LOVE (LP) - POLYDOR INTERNATIONAL |
| Eric Clapton had considerable success in 1977 with the J.J. Cale song "Cocaine". The next year France's Chi-Chi Favelas enjoyed international exposure as the lead vocalist in Cerrone's highly successful "Supernature" and would continue by releasing the Rock/Eurodisco opus Rock Solid lp featuring her own version of "Cocaine"! |
| COCAINE CHI-CHI FAVELAS & THE BLACK AND WHITE BAND - ROCK SOLID (LP) - BARCLAY |
| The Animals had a hit in 1965 with their version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". In 1977 the French Eurodisco group Santa Esmeralda did a flamingo inspired version that eventually sold more than 25 million copies, 15 million of which were sold in a matter of months. With Leroy Gomez providing sensuously compelling vocals and Don Ray providing breathtaking musical arrangements, this Fauves-Puma production spread around the world to markets that were never exposed to British invasion groups like The Animals. It also started a whole new movement in Eurodisco simply called the "Santa Esmeralda sound" giving success to groups like the American Eagles and Yan Tregger's G.M.T.Sound. We are playing the whole 16 minute recording because it is still loved by millions today! |
| DON'T LET ME BE MISUNDERSTOOD SANTA ESMERALDA - DON'T LET ME BE MISUNDERSTOOD (LP) - STERLING |
| In 1964 the same British group The Animals enjoyed tremendous international success with their version of the American ethnic standard "The House Of The Rising Sun".
In 1977 Cerrone rushed out his "Santa Esmeralda sound" version of "The House Of The Rising Sun" under the Revelacion name a few weeks before Santa Esmeralda released their greatly anticipated and far more superior version. Again "The House Of The Rising Sun" would be interperated in Eurodisco by South Africa's Hot R.S. in 1977. We feature the Hot R.S. version because, complete with it's bizarre psuedo erotics, it was one of the most alluringly dark recordings of Electronic Disco predating the revolutionary Black Devil album and Giorgio Moroder's "Chase": |
| THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN REVELACION - THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN (LP) - CROCOS 0 |
| HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN HOT R.S. - HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN (LP) - VISION |
| In 1964 The British invasion band The Kinks established a solid international following with the smash hard hit "You Really Got Me". In the late 1970's the Montreal disco group Eclipse did a hard Montreal Sound version: |
| YOU REALLY GOT ME ECLIPSE - (youtube) 
|
| In 1968 the American Blues-Rock band Canned Heat had a hit with "On The Road Again". Ten years later the kings of Space music in Eurodisco - Les Rockets did an electronic version complete with vocodor vocals. Actually from Italy, the Rockets offered their own unique combination of Heavy Metal and electronic disco. It seemed oddly appropriate that they would cover a rock classic: |
| ON THE ROAD AGAIN ROCKETS - ON THE ROAD AGAIN (LP) - POLYDOR |
| The Rolling Stones released the controversial "Street Fighting Man" in 1968 to mixed market reaction.
In 1980 Santa Esmeralda released their rendition of the song. Dozens of Rolling Stones songs have been covered by disco artists throughout the years. With the exception of the version of "Emotional Rescue" by Freedom Dub in 2010, this Santa Esmeralda recording is the best example of the Stones being covered in disco. That being said "Emotional Rescue" was one of the disco records The Rolling Stones released in the early 1980's and therefore it doesn't really apply to this show. |
| STREET FIGHTING MAN SANTA ESMERALDA featuring JIMMY GOINGS - HUSH (LP) - DERBY |
| The Beatles were also often covered by disco acts with usually dismal results. One of the most successful examples was the Cafe Creme 12" single from Montreal that was a medley of various Beatle classics. We insist upon playing this tacky recording because it unknowingly started a whole movement in Disco featuring Rock and Soul recordings being presented in medleys and eventually megamixes. The internationally successful Stars On 45 is a perfect example. Many of these records are still being programmed at wedding receptions today! |
| CITATIONS ININTERROMPUES CAFE CREME - 12" - KEBEK DISC
|
| In 1968 The Crazy World of Arthur Brown sold over a million copies of their song "Fire". French experimentalist Lizzy Mercier Descloux did a crazy Electronic Disco version of it in 1979. Many disco artists have sampled Arthur Brown's forebodding vocals from the original rock recording like New York House producer DJ Duke and the British supergroup The Prodigy, yet Lizzy's 12" played today is a real coverversion. We shall be featuring those other examples next week! |
| FIRE LIZZY MERCIER DESCLOUX - 12" - PHILIPS |
| KNOCK ON WOOD AMII STEWART - youtube |
| EMOTIONAL RESCUE FREEDOM DUB - youtube |
| MISSION IMPOSSIBLE LIZZY MERCIER DESCLOUX - 12" - PHILIPS |
| FIRE THE PRODIGY - youtube |
Subscribe to The Groove
Wow! What a novel! So much information that I didn't know!
1:08 PM, May 12th, 2012