The Groove
Saturday September 27th, 2025 with Elorious Cain
The "DOCTOR BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH" sound
In this show we feature DOCTOR BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND and some of the artists and recordings that contributed to expanding that sound they effectively created,
| DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND
Initially called SAVANNAH, DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND was established by the brothers STONY and THOMAS BROWDER in the Bronx district of New York in the early 1970's. (THOMAS BROWDER used his middle names AUGUST DARNELL, and also KID CREOLE.) The group included the incredible singer CORY DAYE along with the musicians and singers like ANDY HERNANDEZ, DON ARMANDO BONILLA, MICHAEL ALMO, MICHAEL BOONE, MICKEY SEVILLA, and ROLAND PRINCE, Some sources say that the group was a "quirky jazz fusion disco group that had international success in 1976 with their song "Cher Chez La Femme" before disappearing into obscurity", Other sources rant and rave about their uniqueness. One source says they were one of "the most original musical ensembles of the disco era" No source seems to express how enchanting the group was for millions of young people around the world who got lost in songs like "Sunshowers" and "Cher Cher La Femme". All three of their albums in the 1970's left a lasting effect on popular music. They were loved by so many. They inspired other artists to compliment their highly popular sound. They were what legends were made of! |
| CHER CHEZ LA FEMME / SE SI BON DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND - 12" - UNIDISC |
| HARLEY DAVIS
The singer HARLEY DAVIS was featured in the Gee String Records' 1982 spoof of then U.S. President RONALD REAGON's "Reaganomics" which was one of many AMERICAN DISCO efforts complimenting the "DOCTOR BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH" sound. |
| HEY DIDDLE DIDDLE - REAGANOMIC'S 1982 HARLEY DAVIS - 12" - GEE STRING |
| GICHY DAN'S BEACHWOOD # 9
THOMAS BROWDER most often used his middle names AUGUST DARNELL. Outside of his role in DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND, AUGUST DARNELL produced other artists that complimented that "DOCTOR BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH" sound like GICHY DAN'S BEACHWOOD # 9 and ELBOW BONES AND THE RACKETEERS before assuming the wildly popular persona of KID CREOLE with the supergroup KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS. |
| WINTER ON RIVERSIDE DRIVE GICHY DAN'S BEACHWOOD # 9 - GICHY DAN'S BEACHWOOD # 9 (LP) - RCA VICTOR |
| TUXEDO JUNCTION
TUXEDO JUNCTION was a studio AMERICAN DISCO group conceived by a new label called Butterfly Records as their first release. Like DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND, Butterfly's TUXEDO JUNCTION combined SWING with AMERICAN DISCO. Produced by the amazing LAURIN RINDER and W. MICHAEL LEWIS, TUXEDO JUNCTION enjoyed international success with covers like "Chatanooga Choo Choo". |
| RAINY NIGHT IN RIO TUXEDO JUNCTION - 12" - CENTURY |
| LUV YOU MADLY ORCHESTRA
Often referred to as the best thing ever released on the Salsoul label, LUV YOU MADLY ORCHESTRA became a controversial and spectacular group in AMERICAN DISCO circles. Many sources identified the group as one of the best new groups in 1978. Two competing schools of thought were wrapped around the adoration of the production by STEPHAN JAMES. One very dominant group of critics compared the whole LUV YOU MADLY ORCHESTRA project to works by the CHARLIE CALELLO ORCHESTRA, the widely popular RINDER & LEWIS produced TUXEDO JUNCTION and the whole "retro-jazz movement" dominated by groups like DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNA BAND and KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS. After all, the whole 'Luv You Madly Orchestra' album was an affectionate tribute to the works of JAZZ great DUKE ELLINGTON. There was clearly an identifiable nostalgic flair to the whole album complete with stories for each of the tracks on the album cover, The other school of thought insisted upon connecting and comparing LUV YOU MADLY ORCHESTRA with experimental groups like DINOSOUR and the LOVE OF LIFE ORCHESTRA. Songs on the album like "Moon Maiden" featuring the alarming vocals of ALFA ANDERSON were stunning and mind bending works of emotional intensity that didn't quite fit into the saccharine polluted sex music that overwhelmed the AMERICAN DISCO market to the point of near suffocation. The "In The Beginning Medley" was called out as a deliberately failed medley much in the same tradition of EURODISCO spoofs like TORPEDO's "Like To Write A Song". The "In The Beginning Medley" offered an uncommercial intensity that was almost creepy at times. Even in the 1980's some sources compared LUV YOU MADLY ORCHESTRA tracks like "Hippo Hop" to instrumentals from the highly experimental LOVE OF LIFE ORCHESTRA album 'Geneva' released on the Infidelity label in 1980, Other sources connected the LUV YOU MADLY ORCHESTRA material to the experimental side of AMERICAN DISCO by making a big deal of the mixing of "Moon Maiden" and "Rocket Rock" by WALTER GIBBONS. Even though WALTER GIBBONS was an early New York City area dj, the mixer who extended "Ten Per Cent" by DOUBLE EXPOSURE long enough so that Salsoul Records could release it as the first commercially available 12" single, and the magician that mixed the early underground classic "Sun.. Sun... Sun" by JĂ KKI into its own historic stratosphere; many of these younger critics most emphasize his work with the late ARTHUR RUSSELL (formerly from DINOSOUR) like RUSSELL's spectacular and wildly experimental INDIAN OCEAN material released by Sleeping Bag in 1986. |
| FOUNTAIN BLUE FOREST LUV YOU MADLY ORCHESTRA - LUV YOU MADLY ORCHESTRA (LP) - SALSOUL |
| KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS
KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS are without a doubt the one supergroup of the whole "Savannah Band sound"! Created by KID CREOLE with ANDY HERNANDEZ and Swiss born producer ADRIANI KAEGI, the band would have several international hits and become a household name in The United States and various parts of Europe. Their appearances in popular movies didn't hurt the growth of their popularity. Unlike DOCTOR BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND, KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS incorporated RAP in songs like the very popular 1982 hit "Stool Pigeon". KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS spawned other comparable groups like the previously mentioned ELBOW BONES AND THE RACKETEERS, The COCONUTS singer CRISTINA started her solo career as a NEW WAVE artist with the spoof "Disco Clone" in 1978 which was followed by the KID CREOLE produced 'Cristina' album in 1980 which featured the underground hit "Jungle Love". ANDY HERNANDEZ used the name COATI MUNDI to release several popular singles of his own. The COATI MUNDI material was particularly popular in the NODISCO and NEW WAVE DISCO scene. As in the case of LUV YOU MADLY ORCHESTRA, the music of KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS and COATI MUNDI has often been associated with experimental groups in the NEW WAVE. |
| ANNIE, I'M NOT YOUR DADDY KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS - TROPICAL GANGSTERS (LP) - ZE |
| QUE PASA / ME NO POP I KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS present COATI MUNDI - MUTANT DISCO: A SUBTLE DISCOLATION OF THE NORM (LP) - ZE |
| COATI MUNDI
Two particular songs by COATI MUNDI are of particular significance: On his 'The Former 12 Year Old Genius' he offered his LATIN infused cover of CAPTAIN BEEFHEART's "Tropical Hot Dog Night" which featured vocals from GICHY DAN'S BEACHWOOD # 9 and musical contributions from SALSA great RUBEN BLADES. COATI MUNDI also recorded the minimalistic TRIBAL track "Palabras Con Ritmo" with the late neo-expressionist painter and musical artist JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT. |
| TROPICAL HOT DOG NIGHT LITTLE COATI MUNDI - THE FORMER 12 YEAR OLD GENIUS (LP) - VIRGIN |
| PALABRAS CON RITMO COATI MUNDI-MICHEL BASQUIAT - DOWNTOWN 81 (2LP) - RECALL |
| SUNSHOWERS (RICO UNO & KUTCORNERS DRUM EDIT) DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND - |
| AN ORGAN GRINDER'S TALE DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND - MEETS KING PENETT (LP) - RCA VICTOR |
| CORY DAYE
CORY DAYE is the amazing lead vocalist that greatly contributed to the magnificence and mystification of DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND. She is one of the most unique and amazing singers in America. Recently she recorded with COATI MUNDI & HIS RAINBOWPHONIC BAND. When DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND broke up she started a memorable solo career with the 1979 album 'Cory And Me" which enjoyed several hits like "Single Again/What Time Does The Balloon Go Up", "Pow Wow" and the Caribbean inspired "Wiggle & A Giggle All Night". It was produced by SANDY LINZER and was easily mixed with selections from DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND and THE CHARLIE CALELLO ORCHESTRA. Keeping in the "Savannah Band" sound, CORY would release two superb 12" singles: "The American Dream" in 1984 and the uptempo "City Nights / Manhattan Cafés" in 1886 which was edited by ELECTRO-FREESTYLE producer/artists THE LATIN RASCALS. |
| SUNDAY KIND OF LOVE CORY DAYE with COATI MUNDI & HIS RAINBOWPHONIC BAND - |
| NEW YORK AT DAWN DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND - JAMES MONROE H.S. PRESENTS DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND GOES TO WASHINGTON (LP) - ELEKTRA |
| ITALIANO DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND - JAMES MONROE H.S. PRESENTS DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND GOES TO WASHINGTON (LP) - ELEKTRA |
| CHATANOOGA CHOO CHOO TUXEDO JUNCTION - 12" - UNIDISC |
| CALL ME DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND - JAMES MONROE H.S. PRESENTS DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND GOES TO WASHINGTON (LP) - ELEKTRA |
| THE CHARLIE CALELLO ORCHESTRA
First called CHARLIE CALELLO AND HIS ORCHESTRA, this band started in the 1960's and many sources have disassociated them from The "DOCTOR BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH" sound. After all their 'Direct Hits Played By Charles Calello And Orchestra' album in 1966 was programmed in discotheques with tracks like "Concrete And Clay", Abigail Beecher" and "A Lover's Concerto". Yet the discotheques of the mid 1960's had nothing directly to do with the AMERICAN DISCO industry in the 1970's. When the THE CHARLIE CALELLO ORCHESTRA album was released in 1979, it was very wise for the group to combine SWING with AMERICAN DISCO. They had a very brassy sound. There appropriately TRIBAL version of the SWING classic "Sing Sing Sing" became an international sensation. Still many sources join THE CHARLIE CALELLO ORCHESTRA material with the "DOCTOR BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH" sound because CHARLIE CALLELO arranged the first DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND album. The producer of that iconic album was SANDY LINZER, who wrote music for CHARLIE CALLELO AND HIS ORCHESTRA back in 1966. |
| SING SING SING THE CHARLIE CALELLO ORCHESTRA - CALELLO SERENADE (LP) - MIDSONG INTERNATIONAL |
| SINGLE AGAIN/WHAT TIME DOES THE BALLON GO UP CORY DAYE - CORY AND ME (LP) - RCA VICTOR |
| I'M CORRUPT LITTLE COATI MUNDI - THE FORMER 12 YEAR GENIUS (LP) - VIRGIN |
| DON ARMANDO'S 2ND AVENUE RHUMBA BAND
Coming out of DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND, DON ARMANDO'S 2ND AVENUE RHUMBA BAND had a very popular album produced by AUGUST DARNELL in 1979. The group was created by the late percussionist DON ARMANDO BONILLA who was a key musician in DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND. Uptempo and endearing, the album featured vocals by FONDA RAE who would go on to be extremely successful in AMERICAN DISCO, FUNK and HOUSE MUSIC. Her single for Vanguard Records in 1982 "Over Like A Fat Rat" is considered to be a DISCO CLASSIC! |
| I'M AN INDIAN TOO DON ARMANDO'S 2ND AVENUE RHUMBA BAND - DON ARMANDO'S 2ND AVENUE RHUMBA BAND (LP) - ZE |
| CITY NIGHTS/MANHATTAN CAFES CORY DAYE - 12" - BLUE CHIP |
| MOON MAIDEN LUV YOU MADLY ORCHESTRA - LUV YOU MADLY ORCHESTRA (LP) - SALSOUL |
| DEPUTY OF LOVE DON ARMANDO'S 2ND AVENUE RHUMBA BAND - DON ARMANDO'S 2ND AVENUE RHUMBA BAND (LP) - ZE |
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Great notes. Thank you.
12:19 PM, September 27th, 2025