Top 87-Hamilton Bohannon - "Let's Start II Dance Again"

Hamilton Bohannon (born Hamilton Frederick Bohannon, March 7, 1942, Newnan, Georgia) is an American percussionist, band leader and record producer, who was one of the leading figures in 1970s disco music.

After graduating from Clark College, Atlanta and playing in local bands, he was hired by Stevie Wonder to be the drummer in his touring band. He moved to Detroit in 1965 and was employed by Motown as band leader and arranger for many of the label’s top acts. When Motown moved from Detroit in 1972, he stayed behind to form his own band. His band featured members of the Detroit band The Fabulous Counts.

He signed with Dakar/Brunswick Records and in early 1973 released the album Stop And Go. This was followed by five more albums for the label over the next two years, on which he perfected his formula of heavy, thudding bass accents and aggressive rhythms. Although several of his tracks were club hits, he had limited chart success – however, in 1975 "Disco Stomp" made the Top Ten in the UK, and "Foot Stompin’ Music" later that year scraped into the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Top 40.

In 1976, Bohannon signed to Mercury Records and two years later had his biggest success with "Let’s Start The Dance." It made the R&B Top Ten and featured the singer Carolyn Crawford, whose subsequent albums Bohannon went on to produce.

Although he continued to release records through the 1980s using new vocalists Liz Lands and Altrinna Grayson, he met with diminishing success. Nevertheless, more recently his music has been widely sampled.

His name was mentioned in the Tom Tom Club song "Genius of Love."

Bohanan is a devout Christian and dedicated his album "Dance Your Ass Off" to "God and His Son, Jesus Christ". The album also included a disclaimer that "The word 'ass' is not used here in the sense of profanity."
UK singles chart discography

* "South Africa Man" - 1975 - #22
* "Disco Stomp" - 1975 - #6
* "Foot Stompin' Music" - 1975 - #23
* "Happy Feeling" - 1975 - #49
* "Let's Start the Dance" - 1978 - #56
* "Let's Start to Dance Again" - 1982 - #49

Top 88-George Benson - Never Give Up On A Good Thing

Electro-disco; reached #14 Pop in the U.K. in February 1982.

George Benson (born March 22, 1943) is a multi- Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist. He is also known as a pop, R&B, and scat singer. This one-time child prodigy topped the Billboard 200 in 1976 with the triple-platinum album, Breezin'. He was also a major live attraction in the UK during the 1980s. Benson uses a rest-stroke picking technique similar to that of gypsy jazz players such as Django Reinhardt.

1970s and 1980s


By the mid to late 1970s, as he recorded for Warner Bros. Records, a whole new audience began to discover Benson for the first time. With the 1976 release Breezin', Benson began to put his vocal on tracks such as "This Masquerade". He had used his vocals infrequently on songs earlier in his career, notably his rendition of "Here Comes the Sun" on the Other Side of Abbey Road album. Breezin was a significant album in terms of popular music history - the first jazz release to go Platinum and the first indication that something new was about to happen. In 1976, Benson toured with soul singer, Minnie Riperton, who had been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer earlier that year. "This Masquerade" won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year and the live take of "On Broadway", recorded two years later from the 1978 release Weekend in L.A., also won a Grammy. He has worked with Freddie Hubbard on a number of his albums throughout the '60s '70s and '80s.

The first recipient of this stellar team effort was Benson, and the Qwest label's first official release was Benson's breakthrough pop album Give Me The Night. Benson made it into the pop and R&B top ten with the song "Give Me the Night", produced by Quincy Jones having previously been almost unknown to the younger audience. More importantly, Quincy Jones encouraged Benson to search his roots for further vocal inspiration and he re-discovered his love for Nat Cole, Ray Charles and Donny Hathaway in the process influencing a string of further vocal albums into the 90's. Despite returning to his jazz and guitar playing most recently, this theme was reflected again much later in Benson's 2000 release Absolute Benson featuring a cover of one of Hathaway's most notable songs, The Ghetto. Benson accumulated three other platinum LPs and two gold albums.[ He also recorded the original version of "Greatest Love of All" for the 1977 Muhammad Ali bio-pic, The Greatest, which was later recorded as a cover by Whitney Houston. During this time Benson recorded with the German conductor, Claus Ogerman

Top 89-France Joli - Gonna Get Over You

France Joli is a Canadian singer, born 1963, who is best known for the disco classic "Come to Me."

Teen stardom

A native of Montreal, Quebec, Joli grew up in the Montreal suburb of Dorion. Her father was a hardware merchant and her mother was a teacher.

As early as age four, Joli was performing for relatives lip-synching to Barbra Streisand records while handling a skipping rope like a microphone; she had appeared on television by age six. At age 11, Joli left the public school system (her mother tutored her) to concentrate on her performing career appearing regularly in television commercials and talent shows. A mutual acquaintance suggested Joli meet up with musician Tony Green who Joli approached backstage after he'd given a concert, Joli inviting Green to be her record producer. Green didn't take the 13-year-old Joli seriously: he'd recall: "To get rid of her [told] her to keep in touch." According to one source Joli eventually visited Green's home to sing for him; it's also reported that Green first heard Joli sing from the audience of an "end of school year show" in which she performed in the fall of 1978. Both accounts concur that Green first heard Joli singing along with a Streisand record. Green had written the song "Come to Me" for Joli by the next day.

When the producer Green originally commissioned to record Joli indicated a desire to develop Joli as a Francophone singer, Green himself took over production duties for Joli. The tracks Joli cut with Green were picked up by Prelude and released on April 17, 1979 as the album France Joli: the track "Come to Me" received a boost when Joli performed it as a last-minute replacement for Donna Summer at a concert held on Fire Island on July 7, 1979 before an estimated audience of 5000.

"Come to Me" began a three-week reign atop the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play on 22 September 1979 and the France Joli album rose to #26. On the Billboard Hot 100 "Come to Me" peaked at #15 a symptom of the increasing disenchantment of pop radio with disco music.

Joli made her network television debut on 26 October 1979 broadcast of the Midnight Special and she co-hosted the 7 December episode. Her other TV credits included episodes of the talk shows of Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin and Dinah Shore and also a Bob Hope special.

1980 saw the release of Joli's second album Tonight with the ballad "This Time (I'm Giving All I've Got)" released as a single bubbling under for two weeks pk #103: this attempt to curry favor in the mainstream market was unsuccessful with Joli receiving support only in the dance club market where the tracks "The Heart to Break the Heart" and "Feel Like Dancing" achieved a joint position of #3: Tonight was ranked on the Billboard album chart at #175.

In 1981 Joli's third album Now - produced by Ray Reid and William Anderson from Crown Heights Affair rather than Tony Green1 - failed to generate even a low chart placing, success apparent only in another dance club smash with the track "Gonna Get Over You".2 However Joli, as evidenced by her opening for the Commodores during their American tour of 1981, was still viewed as having star potential: she departed the dance music-oriented Prelude label for mainstream music giant Epic. Prelude owner Marvin Schlachter would say of Joli: "She was a very beautiful young lady and she had a sort of magnetic appeal, which quite frankly was appealing to everybody, but in a manor [sic] of speaking - the talent was...the people behind her [who] directed her career. When she felt that she wanted to rise above the Disco market and left Prelude to sign with [Epic's owner] Columbia - her career disappeared. Because again, the talent was in the producers and the writers and so on. She again, was an instrument of their creativity."
* 1The track: "Your Good Lovin'" was arranged and produced by Prelude regulars Eric Matthew and Darryl Payne.
* 2"Gonna Get Over You" reached #43 on the French Pop charts

Epic albums

Joli's Epic debut Attitude (1983) was produced by Pete Bellotte; Giorgio Moroder was credited as executive producer. The album personnel included Martin Page on electric guitar, Page's Q-Feel sideman Brian Fairweather on electric bass and Richie Zito on electric bass and electric guitar: Zito also performed arranging duties. The tracks included Joli's original "Dumb Blond" (co-written with Daniel Vail) and a remake of the Four Tops' "Standing in the Shadows of Love" which featured Gladys Knight's backing group the Pips; the latter was a moderate club success in tandem with the cuts "Girl in the 80s" and "Blue Eyed Technology" but despite a performance by Joli on "Solid Gold" the single "Girl in the 80s" - written by Jay Ferguson and Deborah Neal - garnered no evident mainstream interest.

Joli's next Epic release was Witch Of Love (1985) produced by George Duke: prior to the album's release Joli had performed the Duke-penned track "Party Lights" at the Yamaha Music Festival in 1984 and had won the Grand Prix. The title cut of Witch of Love was a Joli-Vail composition as was the track "What About Me". Witch of Love featured probably the two tracks Joli ever recorded that had the strongest credentials in terms of songwriters: Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly contributed "In the Darkness" while "Love Always Finds a Way" was courtesy of Tom Snow and Cynthia Weil. However as with Attitude the choice for single was a Ferguson-Neal composition: the rather quirky "Does He Dance", which again failed at US radio - although it did become a Canadian airplay item - while becoming a moderate club hit boosted by a remix by Shep Pettibone.

The commercial failure of both of her Epic album releases led to the label dropping Joli who spent the next ten years with her career focused on performing rather than recording.


In 1996, Joli reunited with Tony Green for the single Touch on Popular Records. The original incarnation of the single was a CD single with eurodance/hi-nrg styled remixes intended for radio but received limited airplay. The song belatedly became a hit in clubs, reaching #24 on Hot Dance Music/Club Play, when new remixes by Darrin "Spike" Friedman were released on vinyl 12" single. There were two separate 12" singles released individually, each featuring a different Darrin Friedman remix, along with the other mixes from the CD single divided between the two records. The song became a regional hit in the New York tri-state area, as it was a favorite of DJs such as Jonathan Peters and Junior Vasquez at their weekly residencies.

The follow-up single "Breakaway" included remixes geared toward the underground clubs. Two different CD singles of "Breakaway" were released, Part 1 and Part 2. Part 1 had the Junior Vasquez and Eddie Baez mixes of "Breakaway," while part 2 included additional remixes of "Breakaway," including a remix by Andy the Lamboy, as well one of the Darrin Friedman mixes of "Touch" and a previously unreleased Junior Vasquez mix of "Touch." Both "Touch" and "Breakaway" were featured on Joli's first album in 13 years, If You Love Me (1998): as the Popular label had folded Koch Records released the album.

A reported hookup in the 2000s between Joli and Lewis Martineé evidently did not happen.

In recent years, Joli has performed at clubs and private functions primarily in the New York City area: she's appeared multiple times at the annual KTU Disco Ball at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, NJ.

Joli has dated New York disc jockey Joe Causi - no official word on whether or not she is working on new material.

* Joli's "Come to Me" is featured in When Ocean Meets Sky[1] (2003), a documentary detailing the 50-year history of the Fire Island Pines community. The film - which had its television premiere on June 10, 2006 - includes much previously unseen archival footage, but unfortunately Joli's electrifying July 1979 performance of "Come to Me" is presented only in still photographs with musical background, suggesting no footage of that renowned event exists. The sequence includes interviews with those who recall Joli's 1979 performance on Fire Island. When Ocean Meets Sky is seen occasionally on the Logo channel.

Top 90-Esther Williams - I'll Be Your Pleasure (Larry Levan Remix) 1981

Esther Williams' "I'll Be Your Pleasure" has garnered much attention almost two decades after its first release and for good reason-it is a great track.

Top 91-Diana Ross - Work That Body 1981

Top 92-Cheryl Lynn - Shake It Up Tonight

Reached #70 Pop in the USA in September 1981, #5 R&B in the USA, #5 Disco in the USA in 1981.

Top 93-Liquid Gold - Dance Yourself Dizzy

Liquid Gold was an English disco group from Brackley in Northamptonshire, United Kingdom.

Liquid Gold was formed by Ray Knott and Ellie Hope, who had met auditioning to play in Babe Ruth, a group that released four albums between 1972 and 1975. Both of them worked on the band's last album, Kid Stuff. They then recruited Wally Rothe (who is currently in a relationship with Loose Women presenter Jane McDonald) and Syd Twynham under the name Dream Coupe; after a few shows they signed to Creole Records, a Polo Records subsidiary, and changed their name to Liquid Gold.

Their first single, "Anyway You Do It", was released in October 1978. It narrowly missed the UK Top 40, peaking at No41, but resulted in their being transferred to Polo for their next release, "My Baby's Baby". A remixed version of the song was concurrently released by Parachute Records in the U.S. and became a hit, reaching #5 on the US Club Play charts and #45 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979. Despite their success in America, however, they never toured the U.S..

In England, their next single was "Mr. Groovy", which did not chart; it was quickly followed with "Dance Yourself Dizzy", which became their biggest English hit, peaking at #2 on the UK charts in 1980. The song also reached #26 on the U.S. Club Play charts. Their next single, "Substitute", also went Top Ten in England, reaching #8 in the summer of 1980; their final UK Top 40 entry was "The Night, the Wine, and the Roses", which hit #32 late in the year.
In March 1981, the single "Don't Panic" was released and was also entered into the UK "Song For Europe" contest to pick the UK's entry for Eurovision that year. The song did not gain enough votes to win. 1982 saw the release of the singles "Where Did We Go Wrong" and "Turn the Table". In 1983, Rothe quit the band, and Twynham left soon after. With the slimmer lineup they released one final single that year, "What's She Got". They disbanded shortly afterward.

All songs produced, arranged, written, and engineered by Adrian Baker

"Synth and Strings", a 1999 chart hit by Yomanda was based around a sample from "Dance Yourself Dizzy".

In 2008 "Dance Yourself Dizzy" remixes were released on 12" single with bonus cd, and digital download.

Top 94-Sylvester - Band Of Gold

Electro-disco version of Freda Payne's 1970 hit with a section covering "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" by the Four Tops.

Top 95-Yvonne Elliman - Love Pains (Disconet Remix)

Yvonne Marianne Elliman (born December 29, 1951) is an American singer who performed for four years in the first cast of Jesus Christ Superstar. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved a #1 hit with "If I Can't Have You." After declining success, she dedicated herself to her family, and after a long hiatus made a come-back album as a singer-songwriter in 2004.

Top 96-Viola Wills - Stormy Weather

Viola Wills (December 30, 1939—May 6, 2009 was an American pop singer, best known for the 1979 UK Singles Chart #8 and U.S. Hot Dance Club Play #52 hit, "Gonna Get Along Without You Now". Other hits included further covers of the songs, "Both Sides Now" (#35 UK(1986), and "If You Could Read My Mind" (#2 U.S. Hot Dance Club Play) (1980).

Born Viola Mae Wilkerson in the Watts district of South Los Angeles, Wills was already married from her teens and was the mother of six children before the age of 21 when, in 1965, she was discovered by Barry White who signed her to Bronco Records and rechristened her with the shorter stage surname of Wills.. She started her career at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and, over the following years, in addition to working with White, also performed with Joe Cocker, Smokey Robinson and many other established recording artists of the era. It was while working in London as one of Cocker's backing vocalists (dubbed the "Sanctified Sisters") that she worked on and released her solo debut album of self-penned originals titled Soft Centers, backed by Cocker's session players.

Later Career

Wills' first major break into the mainstream came in 1979 with her cover version of "Gonna Get Along Without You Now" (the song's release date was May 14, 1979) which started a string of dance hits and Wills' subsequent title of a "disco diva". Determined to have a career writing and singing her own songs, Wills recorded and charted her first original hit "Dare To Dream", followed by her version of "Both Sides Now" in London. All three of the songs would land Wills in the Guinness Book of Records. In 1982 her cover of "Stormy Weather" hit #4 in the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Eventually Wills took a break and returned to America to work on a college degree in music therapy. During this period she wrote and produced her one-woman show 'Willspower'. Also, by this time she had divorced her first husband and, around 1982, married Robert Ashmun with whom, in 1983, she formed the record label RVA (Robert Viola Ashmun) and used it to release a number of songs, including "Wall", "Space" and "If These Walls Could Speak".

A demand for 1980s music brought Wills back to Europe. With this new commitment she formed a new band and created her own unique style of music "Jazzspel", a mix of jazz and gospel. Most of the band members were graduates of Brighton University. Some of the UK venues Wills has appeared on, or at, were Top of The Pops (October 11, 1979), Pebble Mill, Soul Train (October 30, 1971 [Season 1, Episode 5] where she performed the song "Sweetback"), Later... with Jools Holland, Ronnie Scott's, Never Mind the Buzzcocks (February 17, 2003 [Season 12, Episode 7]) and a residency at Joogleberry Playhouse in Brighton.

Although Wills has not had a mainstream U.S. hit to date, she is popular among the nation's gay community and her singles are popular in dance clubs and a number of her recordings are found in various compilations, including "No News Is News", "A House Is Not a Home", "If You Could Read My Mind", "Up On The Roof", "Love Pains", "Let's Love Now", "Take One Step Forward" (by Wills and Noel McCalla), and "Always Something There to Remind Me".

Wills died of cancer on May 6, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona at 8:27am Pacific Time. Her funeral was held at the Macedonia Abbey Baptist Church in Los Angeles on May 15, 2009.

Top 97-Time Bandits - I'm Specialized In You (1982)

Time Bandits are a Dutch band from the 1980s, best known for their song "Endless Road," which was played extensively in Europe.

The band

The band was formed in 1981 by Dutch born Alides Hidding, who wrote all songs and sang lead vocals. The band's four albums made the charts all over the world, establishing a presence on the American music scene by topping the dance charts with the #1 dance hit "Live It Up".

By the mid-1980s, Time Bandits was achieving great success as far away as Australia, where "I'm Only Shooting Love" and "Endless Road" (where its music video was filmed) were both Top 10 hits and are now widely considered '80s classics. These singles and other hits such as "Listen To The Man With The Golden Voice", "Dancing On A String" and "I'm Specialized In You" were also successful in the Netherlands, Germany, France and New Zealand (where "I'm Only Shooting Love" hit number one in June 1984).

After moving to Los Angeles from Europe in 1989, Alides' songs have been recorded by such artists as Jennifer Rush, The Nylons, and various European performers. He has established songwriting collaborations with such writers as Charlie Midnight (producer of Alides' last album Can't Wait For Another World together with Dan Hartman), Jackie DeShannon, Pamela Phillips Oland, Dwayne Hitchings, Donny Markowitz, and Todd Smallwood.

The versatility of Alides Hidding is reflected in his capacity to adapt to a wide range of songwriting and producing styles. His works vary from R&B, blues, dance, rock and pop with equal skill.

Other band members were Marco Lightenberg (keyboards), Guus Strijbosch (bass) and Dave van den Dries (battery).

After an absence from the stagelights, Alides began touring with his new band in 2006.

Singles

* 1981: "Live it up"
* 1982: "Sister paradise"
* 1982: "I'm specialized in you"
* 1983: "Listen to the man with the golden voice"
* 1983: "I'm only shooting love"
* 1984: "Reach out"
* 1985: "Endless road"
* 1985: "Dancing on a string"
* 1986: "I won't steal away"
* 1986: "Only a fool"
* 1987: "We'll be dancing"
* 1987: "Wildfire"
* 1988: "Can't wait for another world"
* 1996: "Specialized in you" (reissue)
* 2008: "Live It Up 2008" (with Johan Gielen)

Top 98-Scherrie Payne - "Medley: I'm Not in Love / Girl, You're in Love"1982

Disco; reached #35 Dance in the USA; partly a disco version of 10cc's 1975 pop hit "I'm Not in Love"

Top 99-Koxo - Step By Step (Extended mix)

Jaar: 1982
Muziek/Tekst: Leonardo Rececconi
Edoardo Martin
Giuseppe Santapaga
Producer: Leonardo Rececconi

Top100-Last Night A DJ Saved My Life - Indeep Official Video

funky disco with a rap ending and sound effects - reached #13 Pop in the U.K. in February 1983; reached #2 Club in the USA in 1983, #10 R&B in the USA, #101 Pop in the USA

My Favorite Disco Top 100

In the next few days im gonna post my own favorite Top 100 so i hope you enjoy my selection of Disco tracks.
I wanna wish everyone a great weekend,Loulou

People's Choice: You Ought To Be Dancin' 1980

The yellow LP is a must-have if you find it. It certainly looks cheap, but wait 'til you hear it. It was recorded at Sigma Sound in Philadelphia and released in 1980 on Neil Bogart's Casablanca Records. With the remix-inventor and master producer Tom Moulton behind the console, keyboardist and lead vocalist Frank Brunson's People's Choice never sounded better. The other members/musicians were David Thompson (drums and percussion), Stanley Stazan Thomas (bass), Ronald White, Ron Jennings, Roland Chambers (guitars), Dexter Wansel and Artis Gamble (synthesizer)

Alma Faye Don't Fall In Love 1979

Back when Casablanca was hot in the late 70's (This one's from '79) came this soulful dance ditty from the very sexy Alma Faye Brooks. In late 1978 Michel Daigle and Dominic Sciscente (BLACK LIGHT ORCHESTRA fame), along with ALMA FAYE BROOKS began writing and recording what would become her only album release. Originaly released in Canada (see photo above) "Doin' It" would be a disco masterpiece. By 1979 the album would make it's way to the American club scene when Casablanca records picked it up and re-released here under the shortened Alma Faye moniker.
"Don't fall in love" was Alma's classic disco mix of 1979, on her Casablanca and RCA album "Doin' it".

THE DEEP-1977 TV Soundtrack Commercial w/Donna Summer-Casablanca Records

The Deep: This is the original 1977 Casablanca Records 60-second TV spot for the soundtrack LP to The Deep, featuring Donna Summer, Beckett, and the music of John Barry.

The Trammps - Hold Back The Night

The Trammps - Hold Back The Night - The Legendary Zing LP - Buddah Records - 1975

The Trammps, based in Philadelphia, were one of the first disco bands. The band's first major success was with 1972's "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart". The first disco track they released was "Love Epidemic" in 1973. However they are best known for their Grammy Award winning song Disco Inferno.

They are most remembered for their Grammy Award winning single "Disco Inferno" (1976), which was included on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in 1977 and achieved the Number 11 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1978.

Other major hits included "Hold Back the Night" (1975) and "That's Where the Happy People Go" (1976).

Renowned British pub-rocker, Graham Parker delivered significant attention to "Hold Back The Night" when issuing a highly valued & often collectible 45 in (1977) that went to #20 in his native U.K., top 60 U.S. while garnering much A.O.R. airplay in this country.

In late 1977, the Trammps released the song "The Night the Lights Went Out" to commemorate the electrical blackout that affected New York on 13 July 1977 (see New York City Blackout of 1977).

In 2000, group member Jerry Mills Collins was convicted of beating his wife with a handgun on Valentine's Day when he suspected her of infidelity. Collins was found guilty and sentenced to 12–35 years in prison.

Their signature song, "Disco Inferno", has been covered by some high profile artists including Tina Turner and Cyndi Lauper.

On September 19, 2005, the groups' signature record "Disco Inferno" was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in New York. During the ceremony the original band members performed together for the first time in 25 years (minus, of course, Jerry Mills Collins).

Discography
Studio albums

* The Legendary Zing Album (The Trammps) (1972, Buddah Records)
* Trammps (1975, Golden Fleece Records)
* Where the Happy People Go (1976, Atlantic Records)
* Disco Inferno (1976, Atlantic)
* Disco Champs (The Trammps) (1977, Philadelphia International Records)
* The Trammps III (1977, Atlantic)
* The Whole World's Dancing (1979, Atlantic)
* Mixin' It Up (1980, Atlantic)
* Slipping Out (1980, Atlantic)
* Up On The Hill 1983 (12" Release) (9:20) / Up On The Hill (Instrumental) (5:23) (1983)

Singles

* "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" (1972) - US HOT 100 #64, US R&B #17
* "Sixty Minute Man" (1972) - US BUB UNDER #108
* "Pray All You Sinners" (1973) - US R&B #34
* "Love Epidemic" (1973) - US R&B #75
* "Where Do We Go From Here" (1974) - US R&B #44
* "Trusting Heart" (1974) - US BUB UNDER #101, US R&B #72
* "Shout" (1975) - NL #5
* "Hooked for Life" (1975) - US R&B #70
* "Save a Place" (1975) - NL #40
* "Hold Back The Night" (1976) - US HOT 100 #35, US R&B #10
* "That's Where the Happy People Go" (1976) - US HOT 100 #27, US R&B #12
* "Soul Searchin' Time" (1976) - US R&B #67
* "Ninety-Nine and A Half" (1976) - US BUB UNDER #105, US R&B #76
* "Disco Inferno" (1977) - US HOT 100 #53
* "I Feel Like I've Been Livin' (On The Dark Side Of The Moon)" (1977) - US BUB UNDER #105, US R&B #52
* "The Night The Lights Went Out" (1977) - US BUB UNDER #104, US R&B #80
* "Disco Inferno" (re-release) (1978) - US HOT 100 #11, US R&B #9
* "Seasons for Girls" (1978) - US R&B #50
* "Soul Bones" (1978) - US R&B #91
* "Up On The Hill (Mt. U)" (1983) - US R&B #79

Members
Original lineup

Main Lead Vocal (Jimmy Ellis) 1972

* Norman Harris - vocals/guitar
* Ronnie Baker - vocals/bass
* Earl Young - vocals/drums
* Ed Cermanski - keyboard/piano

Early 1980s lineup

* Jimmy Ellis - vocals
* Robert Upchurch - vocals
* Harold Wade - vocals/guitar..
* Stan Wade - vocals/bass
* Earl Young - vocals/drums

TINA CHARLES. YOU SET MY HEAR'T ON FIRE 1975

Tina Charles (born Tina Hoskins, 10 March 1954, Whitechapel, London is an English singer, who achieved success as a disco artist in the mid to late 1970s. She is best known for her 1976 #1 hit "I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)". Her chosen stage name of Charles was a tribute to her father, Charles Hoskins.

Charles began her career as a backing singer and session musician, and recorded her first solo single in 1969 with a then unknown Elton John singing backing vocals. During the early 1970s she supplied vocals for the Top of the Pops album series. In 1971 she made appearances in the first series of The Two Ronnies, the BBC One sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett.

In 1975 Charles and her friend Linda Lewis were backing vocalists on the Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel chart topping song, "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)". She provided the lead vocals for 5000 Volts' 1975 disco hit single "I'm On Fire". Although not publicly acknowledged as a group member at the time, Charles was considered to have a stronger voice than the group's official lead singer. The song reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart, and 26 in the Billboard Hot 100.

Charles' big break came in 1975, when Indian-British music composer and record producer Biddu, who had just enjoyed massive success worldwide writing the disco hit "Kung Fu Fighting" for Carl Douglas, produced the single "I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)" for her. The single spent three weeks at number one on the UK chart in March 1976, and was a major hit around the world. Biddu's collaboration continued on a future album and another song hit: "Dance Little Lady Dance". In total, Charles spent 42 weeks on the UK Singles Chart in 1976 alone, mainly due to these two songs.

Further hits like "Love Me Like a Lover", "Dr Love", "Rendezvous" and "Love Bug" made her a pop star throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, but she was never able to achieve success in the US. Her only solo recording to chart significantly in the US was "You Set My Heart on Fire," which reached number 3 on Record World's 'Disco File Top 20' chart in the autumn of 1975.

In 1978, Charles was a joint winner at the World Popular Song Festival held in Tokyo, performing the tune, "Love Rocks". Charles represented the UK, and shared the top prize with Japan's own entry.

By 1980 her career was in decline, and disco music generally was losing some of its public appeal. She attempted to change her disco style for her 1980 album Just One Smile for a more hard edge rock electronic style but the album was virtually ignored. Charles married and had a child, and devoted herself for some years to her family life, putting her singing career on the back burner. In the mid 1980s she had a resurgence with a remix of "I Love to Love" which was produced by Sanny X.

Since 2000, Charles has performed throughout Europe where disco music and her hit singles have been reappraised, and she has become a popular live performer. Charles featured in the Top 5 of the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart with "Higher" in 2006. The song is produced by longtime friend and associate Sanny X. She made a guest appearance with The Producers at their 2007 concert, singing "Slave to the Rhythm". In October 2007, Charles recorded "Hide and Seek" with producer Ian Levine for the album Disco 2008. Her latest album, Listen 2 the Music was released in March 2008.

On 16 April 2010, it was announcd that Charles had been back in the studio working on new material with the producers, Dave Ford, Ian Curnow and Carl M Cox, including a remake of "I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)".

Personal life

Born to the actor Charles Hoskins and his wife Hilda, Charles recovered from meningitis as a newborn. She has a brother, Warren. On launching her music career she did not use her real name, Hoskins, since this could have caused confusion with Mary Hopkin, better known at the time. She chose Charles since it was her father's name.

Charles was married to Bernard Webb, and had a son Max, born in London in 1977. She was divorced in 1979. She re-married in 1993 to her second husband Tetoo. They live in Surrey, England.

Discography
Singles

* "Nothing in the World" (1969)
* "In the Middle of the Day" (1969)
* "Good to Be Alive" (1969)
* "Bo-Bo's Party" (1970)
* "Baby Don't You Know Anymore" (1971)
* "There's No Stopping Us Now" (1972)
* "One Broken Heart for Sale" (1974)
* "You Set My Heart On Fire" (1975) - Netherlands #4
* "I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)" (1976) - UK #1 (3 Weeks), Germany #6, Ireland #1
* "Love Me Like A Lover" (1976) - UK #28, GER #13
* "Dance Little Lady Dance" (1976) - UK #6, GER #8
* "Dr Love" (1976) - UK #4, GER #20, IRE #3
* "Rendezvous" (1977) - UK #27
* "Fallin' in Love in the Summertime" (1977) - GER #39
* "Love Bug - Sweets For My Sweet (Medley)" (1977) - UK #26
* "I'll Go Where Your Music Takes Me" (1978) - UK #27, IRE #18
* "Love Rocks" (1978)
* "Fire Down Below" (1978)
* "Makin' All the Right Moves" (1978)
* "Boogie 'Round the Clock" (1979)
* "Just One Smile" (1980)
* "I'm Just as Bad as You" (1980)
* "Rollin'" (1980)
* "Turn Back the Hands of Time" (1980)
* "Love Hunger" (1984)
* "I Love to Love (remix)" (1986) - UK #67, GER #5
* "Second Time Around" (1986)
* "Dance Little Lady '87" (1987) - GER #20
* "I'll Go Where the Music Takes Me '87 remix" (1987)
* "You Set My Heart on Fire remix" (1988)
* "Go to Work on My Love" (1989)
* "World of Emotion" (1993)
* "Only Tonight" (EP) (1994)
* "I Love to Love (Latin Remix)" (2004)
* "Higher" (2006) - US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #5[8]

Albums

* Tina Sings (1973)
* I Love to Love (1976)
* Dance Little Lady (1976)
* Rendezvous (US release) (1977)
* Heart 'N' Soul (1977) UK #35
* Greatest Hits (1978)
* Just One Smile (1980)
* I Love to Love - Greatest Hits (1987)
* World of Emotion (1993)
* I Love to Love - The Best Of (1998)
* Foundation of Love (2004)
* Listen 2 the Music (repackaged as Feels Like Sunday) (2008)

High Life (1979) DISCO Dennis Parker

Dennis Parker ' October 28, 1946 – January 28, 1985) was an American actor and singer who started his acting career in pornographic movies.

His first feature film role was probably in the 1975 gay adult film Boynapped!. He subsequently appeared mostly in straight porn films shot in New York such as Barbara Broadcast, Jail Bait, Summer of Laura, Punk Rock, Marishino Cherries, and Teenage Pajama Party.

In 1979, using the name Dennis Parker, he recorded a disco album on Casablanca Records titled Like an Eagle. The album was produced by Village People creator / producer Jacques Morali. The title track was released as a single, and appears on the 1994 box set The Casablanca Records Story.

Also under the name Dennis Parker, he was known for playing Police Chief Derek Mallory on the soap opera The Edge of Night.

Maybe This Time - Glenn Rivera ReStructure Mix - Norma Lewis

Norma Lewis graced the dance floors with her disco-fied version of "Maybe This Time" from the musical, "Cabaret". Produced by Marvin Howell (ERC Records and Jackie Rawe's "I Believe In Dreams") and Tony Green.

This was a classic in the making - a pure disco arrangement and the placement of a song in the genre which worships it's kind. Norma Lewis delivers the track with pure disco ala torch magic that keep meaning and drama in place.

I have ReStructured the track for Marvin Howell who continues to keep disco music and it's magic alive with his troupe Keep The Playin' (www.keepthemusicplayin.com) - the original version - this is my breakdown of the magic in a new package.

For you Marvin - thank you for all you do - "I Believe In Dreams!"

Norma lewis Maybe this time. 1983

A favorite cover of mine,Glenn Rivera made a great Disco Video Mix of this track.

http://ladivas-discodiva.blogspot.com/2010/10/maybe-this-time-by-norma-lewis-disco.html

VINYL ALBUM / SINGLE TITLE
Maybe This Time (Hi-NRG Mix) (12 Inch)
RECORD LABEL / RELEASE INFO:
ERC Records (UK) - 1983 - ERCLX 106 - 12" - 45 RPM
STUDIO CREDITS / RECORDING / RECORD SLEEVE LINER NOTES:
Produced by: Marvin Howell

Side B produced by:Peter Green
Mixed by: Ian Levine
ALBUM TRACKLISTING:
Side A
Maybe This Time (Hi-NRG Mix) (No time stamp)

Side B
Life Is The Reason (No time stamp)

Claudja Barry - Sweet Dynamite - 1977

Claudja Barry is best known for "Boogie Woogie Dancing Shoes" on Chrysalis Records. Claudja Barry's "Sweet Dynamite album is full of great music including the awesome low BPM "Love For the Sake of Love," which takes a powerful, but sleaze sounding role.

ALBUM TRACKLISTING:
Side A
1. Love For the Sake of Love (7:53)
2. Sweet Dynaamite (7:22)

Side B
1. Dance, Dance, Dance (6:43)
2. Live A Little Bit (3:28)
3. Why Must A Girl Like Me (7:21)

CERRONE - BLACK IS BLACK (1976)

Disco cover of the 1966 Los Bravos classic.

Brass Construction - "Ha Cha Cha (Funktion)"1976

Funky disco; reached #51 Pop in the USA.

Brass Construction was an American funk group formed in Brooklyn, New York in 1968. They were originally known as Dynamic Soul, and went on to record a string of hit singles and albums through to 1985.

Bebu Silvetti - Spring Rain - 1976

Reached #39 Pop in the USA in March 1977; theme song to the television game show "The Love Experts" with Bill Cullen.

Juan Fernando Silvetti Adorno (27 March 1944 — 5 July 2003), professionally known as Bebu Silvetti or simply Silvetti, was an Argentine pianist, composer, conductor, arranger and record producer. Popularly known for the 1977 instrumental disco hit "Spring Rain", Silvetti was also a successful, Grammy-winning producer for a wide variety of Latin and international music performers.

Silvetti was born in the city of Quilmes, Argentina, located in the province of Buenos Aires, approximately 17 kilometers from the capital city of Buenos Aires.

He started his piano education at the age of six. During his teenage years he formed his own jazz quartet and a few other musical groups. At 21, Silvetti left Argentina to go to Spain where he stayed a few years working as a pianist at some of the most popular jazz clubs of the time. In the early 1970s he moved to Mexico and started arranging and composing. Upon his return to Spain some years later, he recorded his first album, which contained his hit offering, "Spring Rain." Other albums followed. Silvetti returned to Mexico in the late 1970s, where he continued arranging, composing and producing mostly for other artists. After a stint working in Los_Angeles, California, he eventually settled in Miami, Florida, where he produced, arranged, and composed for a wide variety of Latin and international artists.During his career, Silvetti worked with performers such as Plácido Domingo, Luis Miguel, Paul Anka, Engelbert Humperdinck, Vicki Carr, Roberto Carlos (singer), Rocío Dúrcal, Rocío Jurado, Jerry Rivera, Tamara, Los Kjarkas, Paul Anka, Daniela Romo, Armando Manzanero, Jose Luis Perales, Daniel Barenboim, Nazareno Andorno, Juan Gabriel, Maggie Carles, Los Nocheros, Marco Antonio Solís, Ricardo Montaner, Paloma San Basilio, Raúl di Blasio and Selena.

Silvetti achieved many successes and accolades throughout his long and prolific career. In 2003, Silvetti was the recipient of the Latin Grammy Award for Producer of the Year. In 2002, he received the Billboard Producer of the Year Award. In 2001, he topped Billboard's year-end "Hot Latin Tracks Producer Chart."

Bebu Silvetti died at his home in Coral Gables, Florida, at the age of 59 from respiratory failure caused by complications from lung cancer treatment. At the time of his death, he reportedly had composed more than 600 songs, over 200 TV and radio commercials, and a number of film and TV soundtracks.

Musical legacy

His hit track "Spring Rain" was remixed by DJ YOSHITAKA for the Japanese music game beatmania IIDX 13 DistorteD. The song name was changed to "Spring Rain (Lluvia de Primavera)" to signify the remix.

"Spring Rain" is sampled throughout the title track of Negativland's album Helter Stupid.

Denki Groove's song "Shangri-La (Y.Sunahara 2009 Remodel)", the ending theme of the 2009 anime series Kūchū Buranko, is based around looped samples of "Spring Rain". Silvetti is credited as a co-writer of the song.
Discography

* World without Words (as Silvetti) (1976)
* The Sensuous Sound of Silvetti: Spring Rain (as Silvetti) (1977)
* Concert from the Stars (as Silvetti) (1978)
* I Love You (as Silvetti) (1980)
* Lluvia de primavera (as Bebu Silvetti) (1994)
* Íntimos (Armando Manzanero and Bebu Silvetti) (2003)
* Boleros eternos (Carlos Greco and Bebu Silvetti) (2006)