Credits

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
Showing posts with label The Emotions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Emotions. Show all posts

Thursday, August 8, 2024

The Emotions -- Best of My Love

 

Although I grew up in the disco era, it took quite a few more years before I actually began to appreciate how fun and groovy those particular songs were. "Best of My Love" by The Emotions was one song that I used to hear on those old K-Tel disco hits commercials. Released in June 1977, the songwriters were none other than Maurice White and Al McKay of Earth Wind & Fire, and of course, the combination was a match made in disco heaven with the groovy rhythms becoming a template for probably other R&B tunes and perhaps even some Japanese City Pop songs (one EPO song comes to mind) later on. There are plenty of songs from the 70s that could be deemed flagpoles for disco; "Best of My Love" was one of them.

Of course, not being the sharpest billiard ball in the rack, it would take a long time for me to realize that The Emotions and Earth Wind & Fire collaborated on one of my favourites, "Boogie Wonderland", in 1979. In any case, "Best of My Love" hit No. 5 on Canada's RPM while it hit No. 1 on America's Billboard chart. I really should call the song a TARDIS because in its surprisingly brief time of a little over three and a half minutes, it packs so much fun and joy. As well, it's one of those songs that has me shimmying in my seat even in my middle age. However, I think the folks below actually do the choreography right (although it's Samantha Jade covering the song here).


So, I've got two songs by two groups which had their own dynamic disco take on things back in the day. And they were released in June 1977 as well.

Pink Lady -- Nagisa no Sinbad (渚のシンドバッド)


Candies -- Shochū Omimai Mōshiagemasu(暑中お見舞い申し上げます)

Thursday, January 5, 2023

Earth Wind & Fire and The Emotions -- Boogie Wonderland

 

This being a Thursday, it's time for Reminiscings of Youth, and this being the first Thursday of 2023, we're getting a twofer since I didn't put up a ROY on New Year's Day. Also, and more importantly, over the Holidays, the music world lost two people who belonged to a couple of groups that I've reminisced about for the beloved tunes of yesteryear.

For this article, I read that percussionist Fred White of Earth Wind & Fire passed away right on New Year's Day at the age of 67. According to his Wikipedia biography, he was fellow EWF member and co-vocalist Maurice White's (who himself died in 2016) half-brother and the brother of another bandmate, Verdine White.

I've enjoyed doing the ROY articles on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" for a few years now because it's given me the opportunity to additionally talk about the non-Japanese songs that I've loved hearing since I was a kid. And it's always a joy to include the discography of Earth Wind & Fire as you've seen from some of the past entries by the guys. Their May 1979 single "Boogie Wonderland" that they share with the R&B vocal group The Emotions is another EWF legend that was created by songwriters Allee Willis and Jon Lind. Willis was also behind one of my other band favourites "September", and Lind is someone that I was surprised to discover would come up with a couple of tracks for Akina Nakamori's(中森明菜)"Femme Fatale" album almost a decade later including the title track.

The Wikipedia article for "Boogie Wonderland" relates the good times at the discotheques and house parties as conveyed through the song, and I have to admit that though it would take a Mac truck to drag me onto the dance floor now, "Boogie Wonderland" still may...just may...change my policy. It's that great a song. And it wasn't just the dancers and the partiers who agreed. I recall a number of movies and TV shows that used the hit such as the hilarious "Caddyshack" above. In fact, I think that I first heard it during segments of the regional hockey telecasts and I know that it was used as the ending theme for a Fuji-TV late-night information series. Yup, Japan really loves Earth Wind & Fire too!

The smashing horns, the cool and sexy vocals by Maurice and The Emotions, and those funky rhythms still have me shimmying in front of the computer screen almost 44 years following the song's release. "Boogie Wonderland" hit No. 11 in Canada while in the United States, it peaked at No. 6 on Billboard. My condolences to Mr. White's family, friends and fans.

Now, what was coming out in April and May 1979? Well, I found some stuff at Straw-Wara.

Hiromi Iwasaki -- Natsu ni Dakarete (夏に抱かれて)

Yutaka Mizutani -- California Connection (カリフォルニア・コネクション)


Circus -- American Feeling