The Brief: The 3rd and final single from ‘The Gap Band IV’ album was “Outstanding”. The single was the band’s last appearance on Billboard’s Hot 100, peaking at #51. On the postivie side, it became their 3rd #1 on the R&B charts and has been sampled numerous times by other R&B and hip-hop artists, no [...]
The Brief: One would think that after reaching the Top 25 of the pop charts with their first Top 40 single that The Gap Band and Total Experience Records would be eager to get the next single out and capitalize on the success. One would think… “Early In The Morning” was released in April of 1982, [...]
The Brief: After concquering the R&B charts with 2 Top 5 singles from ‘The Gap Band III’ album, the Wilson brothers now set their sights on the pop charts. In my opinion, ‘The Gap Band IV’ album was the the strongest and most consistent album the band ever released. Drop the needle on track one [...]
The Brief: Another band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, like the Bar-Kays, was Chocolate Milk who released 8 albums between 1975 to 1982. The last LP to bear their name was ‘Friction’ and it contained the single “Who’s Getting It Now” which was produced by Allen A Jones, the producer and manager for the Bar-Kays. He produced [...]
The Brief: I passed up buying this record for many years because I did not realize it was a remix. This song comes from the Bar-Kays 1982 LP ‘Propositions’ which I have had since it was released. The track time on the album is listed at 6:02 and this 12″ lists it at 6:19. Since [...]
Posted in Bar-Kays, FWV 
Tags: 12 Inch, 1982, Mercury Records, R&B, Thompson and Barbiero 
16 Comments »
The Brief: This record turned out to be a huge disappointment for me. Not necessarily because of the songs, I absolutely love both tracks on this record. My disappointment was the result of the mis-printed label on the A-Side. This 12″ promo was pressed in France and lists “Alligator Woman” with a running time of [...]
The A Side: Livin’ In The New Wave 4:07 Kelly’s Eyes 3:47 All I Need Is You 4:42 Trouble 5:36 The B Side: Get It Girl 4:18 Baby Don’t Go 4:06 So Fine 4:16 Voice On The Radio 4:08 Ritz Club 3:18 The Brief: A childhood friend of Prince, Andre Cymone figured prominently in Prince’s [...]
The A Side: Find Another Fool (Recorded live January 30, 1982 at Charlie Daniels’ Volunteer Jam VIII) 5:46 The B Side: Right Kind Of Love 3:44 The Brief: Quarterflash formed in 1980 in Portland, Oregon and consisted of husband and wife Marv and Rindy Ross, Jack Charles, Rick DiGiallonardo, Rich Gooch and Brian David Willis. [...]
The A Side: (Bigger & Better) Lies 6:35 (Long) Beach Culture 6:48 The B Side: (Dub) Lies 6:10 The Brief: At one point, Thompson Twins, who were neither twins, a duo or siblings, was a six-member band. But, when the group pared down to Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway, they got their first [...]
The A Side: Murphy’s Law (Remixed by Michael Arato) 6:42 The B Side: Murphy’s Law 3:53 Murphy’s Law (Instrumental Version) 4:35 The Brief: In 1982, the duo of Rosalind Hunt and Lyn Cullerier released their debut self-titled album ‘Cheri’. The album featured the single “Murphy’s Law” which became the duo’s one and only Top 40 [...]
The A Side: Let’s Pretend We’re Married (Stereo Edit) 3:40 The B Side: Let’s Pretend We’re Married (Mono Edit) 3:40 The Brief: “Let’s Pretend We’re Married” was the last single released in the US, from the ‘1999’ LP. in November of 1983. This promo 7” contains the edit version of the song in stereo and [...]
The A Side: Little Red Corvette (Edit) 3:08 The B Side: Little Red Corvette (Dance Remix) 4:32 The Brief: Time for the second annual Paisley June in celebration of Prince’s 54th birthday on June 7. We’ll take a look at some records from the man himself for the first week or so and then move [...]
The A Side: Soup For One (Theme Song From The Movie “Soup For One”) 7:58 The B Side: Burn Hard 5:12 The Brief: I don’t really have to tell readers of this blog about Chic’s accomplishments in the late 70’s during the heyday of disco. But, let’s do a little exercise in name dropping… The [...]
The A Side: The Harder They Come 6:25 / Motherlode 1:50 The B Side: The Harder They Come 6:00 / Motherlode 1:30 The Harder They Come (Accapella Version) 4:30 The Brief: The Arthur Baker project Rockers Revenge followed up “Walking On Sunshine” with “The Harder They Come”, a tune written by Jimmy Cliff. Baker once [...]
Posted in FWV, Rockers Revenge Tags: 12 Inch, 1982, Arthur Baker, Electro-Funk, John Potoker, Promo, R&B, Streetwise Records 6 Comments »
The A Side: Walking On Sunshine ’82 9:30 Acappella Sunshine 4:30 The B Side: Rockin’ On Sunshine 10:30 Walking On Sunshine ’82 4:30 The Brief: Rockers Revenge was a studio musical project, assembled by producer Arthur Baker. Its initial entry on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, “Walking on Sunshine” (an Eddy Grant composition, featuring [...]
Posted in FWV, Rockers Revenge Tags: 12 Inch, 1982, Arthur Baker, Electro-Funk, Jellybean Benitez, R&B, Streetwise Records 14 Comments »
The A Side: The Smurf 6:05 The B Side: I Need Love 5:15 The Brief: “The Smurf” was a popular dance in the 80s that was popularized in song by numerous R&B and rap artists. Tyrone Brunson’s first single from his 1983 ‘Sticky Situation’ LP capitalizes on the fad with his electro instrumental take on [...]
The A Side: You Got The Power 6:35 The B Side: Cinco de Mayo 7:30 The Brief: In 1982, War signed with RCA Records and released ‘Outlaw” as their first album for the label. “You Got The Power” was released as a single and netted the group a Top 20 R&B hit. The single was [...]
The A Side: Rollin’ Stars 6:05 The B Side: Stars On 45 Get Ready III 7:15 The Brief: Stars On, as they were know in the US, was a Dutch act known for their novel medleys of 60s and 70s hits that were released in the early 1980s. In June 1981 the “Stars on 45 [...]
The A Side: Let Me Tickle Your Fancy (Vocal) 5:05 The B Side: Let Me Tickle Your Fancy (Instrumental) 5:05 The Brief: Jermaine Jackson was the last member of the Jackson family to record for Motown and the final LP he released for the legendary label was ‘Let Me Tickle Your Fancy’ in 1982. The [...]
The A Side: The Beat Goes On (Lunar Mix) 6:05 The B Side: The Beat Goes On (Vocal) 5:51 The Beat Goes On (ac capella) :47 The Brief: “The Beat Goes On” is a song written by the late Sonny Bono and released by Sonny & Cher as a single in 1967. The song peaked [...]
Posted in FWV, Orbit Tags: 12 Inch, 1982, Don Was, Electro-Funk, Ken Collier, RFC Records 2 Comments »
The A Side: Buffalo Gals (Scratch Version) 3:30 The B Side: She’s Looking Like A Hobo 3:35 Buffalo Gals (Trad Square) 3:43 The Brief: Malcolm McLaren’s resume includes everything from managing the Sex Pistols, New York Dolls, Adam Ant and Bow Wow Wow to introducing hip hop in the UK. In 1983 Mr. McLaren collaborated [...]
Posted in FWV, Malcolm McLaren, World's Famous Supreme Team Tags: 12 Inch, 1982, Electro-Funk, Island Records, Promo 7 Comments »
The A Side: Drive Me Wild (Extended Version) 7:08 The B Side: Bite The Beat (LP Version) 3:12 The Brief: On February 18, 1983, I and three buddies piled into my Chevette (yes, my little blue Chevette), along with a cooler full of hunch punch in the hatchback, and drove from Sylvester, GA [...]
The A Side: Let’s Work (Dance Remix) (Long Version) 8:02 The B Side: Let’s Work (Single Version) 2:56 The Brief: To kick off Fun With Vinyl’s “Paisley June”, here’s Prince’s promo 12” of “Let’s Work”. The promo release features the Dance Remix-Long Version and the Single Version. The Single Version has never been available on [...]
The A Side: Knockout (Special Mix) 6:18 The B Side: Knockout (Special Mix – Part II) 4:46 The Brief: Margie Joseph cut some demo recordings in 1967 at the famed Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. By 1971, her first album was released on the Stax Volt label. In 1983, her ninth studio album, ‘Knockout’, was released [...]
Posted in FWV, Margie Joseph Tags: 12 Inch, 1982, HCRC Records, Morales and Munzibai, Promo, R&B 1 Comment »
The A Side: Candy Girl (Vocal) 6:58 The B Side: Candy Girl (Sing-A-Long Version) 6:55 The Brief: Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky and Mike… and Ralph. Collectively as New Edition, as solo artists and with side projects, this talented group of youngsters generated numerous hits throughout the 80s and into the 90s. “Candy Girl” comes from the [...]
Posted in FWV, New Edition Tags: 12 Inch, 1982, Arthur Baker, Frank Heller, Maurice Starr, R&B, Streetwise Records 1 Comment »
The A Side: Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger) (Dance Remix) 7:03 The B Side: Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger) (Instrumental featuring Ernie Watts on saxophone solo) 7:03 The Brief: “Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)” is the first single released from Donna Summer‘s self-titled release for Geffen [...]
Posted in Donna Summer, FWV Tags: 12 Inch, 1982, Bruce Swedien, Craig Kostich, Disco, Geffen Records, R&B 5 Comments »
The A Side: Let’s Work (Dance Remix, Long Version) 8:02 The B Side: Gotta Stop (Messin’ About) 2:55 The Brief: Before the pop success of ’1999′ and the purple explosion of ‘Purple Rain’, Prince released an album in 1981 entitled ‘Controversy’. At this point in his career, Prince was more accepted by R&B radio [...]
The A Side: Fall In Love With Me (Special Remix Extended Version) 5:40 The B Side: Fall In Love With Me (Special Remix Extended Version) 5:40 The Brief: Earth, Wind and Fire formed as a band in 1969 and have released 19 studio albums in their career. “Fall In Love With Me” comes from [...]
The A Side: Flamethrower Rap (Long Version) 6:14 The B Side: Flamethrower Rap (Short Version) 4:07 Flamethrower Rap (Instrumental Version) 3:53 The Brief: In 1981 The J. Geils Band released their most successful album entitled ‘Freeze Frame’. The track “Flamethrower” was released as a single and went to #25 on the Billboard Hot Black [...]
Side A: Situation (Remixed by Francois Kevorkian) Side B: Situation (Dub Version) The Brief: An English synthpop duo consisting of Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet, they were known as Yazoo in the UK and as Yaz in the US. Their first LP released in the US was titled “Upstairs At Eric’s” and it reached #92 [...]
Posted in FWV, Yaz Tags: 12 Inch, 1982, Francois Kevorkian, Pop, Sire Records, SynthPop 2 Comments »
Side A: Time (Vocal) 7:29 Side B: Time (Instrumental) 4:37 The Brief: This song is a permanent fixture on my iPod’s Funk playlist. Released as a single in 1981, “Time” entered the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart on February 6, 1982. It stayed on the chart for 10 weeks and reached the #55 spot. This [...]
Side A: (You Said) You’d Gimme Some More 7:33 Side B: (You Said) You’d Gimme Some More (Instrumental) 5:27 The Brief: In 1982 KC & The Sunshine Band released their ninth studio album, ‘All In A Night’s Work’. The first single released from that LP was “(You Said) You’d Gimme Some More”. The song didn’t [...]
Posted in FWV, KC and the Sunshine Band Tags: 12 Inch, 1982, Disco, Epic Records, John Luongo, Pop 5 Comments »
Side A: The Walk 3:24 Side B: OneDayI’mGonnaBeSomebody 2:27 The Brief: The second of three singles from the 1982 album ‘What Time Is It?’. “The Walk” made its debut on the Billboard R&B Singles chart on 11/20/82. It only made it to #24 on the chart and spent a total of 11 weeks there. It [...]
Side A: 777-9311 3:20 Side B: Grace 2:37 The Brief: The first of three singles released from The Time’s sophomore effort ‘What Time Is It?’. Released in 1982, “777-9311″ debuted on the Billboard R&B chart on August 21, 1982. It climbed to a peak position of #2, where it stayed for 3 weeks, and spent [...]
Side A: Girl (edit) 3:40 Side B: The Stick 3:06 The Brief: “Girl” is the third and final single from their 1982 LP ‘The Time’. As with the 2 previous singles, “Girl” has been edited to a shorter run time than it appears on the album. From a time of 5:36 down to 3:40. The [...]
Side A: I Told U So (Dance Music Long Version) 6:17 Side B: I Told U So (Dance Music Short Version) 3:58 Backstreet (LP Version) 5:27 The Brief: David Sanborn’s 8th album ‘Backstreet’ was released in 1982. The single “I Told U So”, released in 1984, briefly charted on the Billboard R&B Singles chart, debuting [...]
Posted in David Sanborn, FWV Tags: 12 Inch, 1982, David Todd, Jazz, Nick Martinelli, Pop, Promo, Warner Brothers Records Comments Off
Side A: Drive Me Wild (Edited from the 12″ Maxi-Single) 2:20 Side B: 3 x 2 = 6 3:45 The Brief: The third of four singles from the 1982 album ‘Vanity 6′. A girl group put together by Prince, it consisted of Vanity (Denise Matthews), Brenda Bennett and Susan Moonsey. It was the only album [...]
Side A: Nasty Girl 2:55 Side B: Drive Me Wild 2:30 The Brief: The second of four singles from the 1982 album ‘Vanity 6′. A girl group put together by Prince, it consisted of Vanity (Denise Matthews), Brenda Bennett and Susan Moonsey. It was the only album put out under the name Vanity 6 as [...]