The Brief: “16 Tons of coal and whadda ya get?” This song definitely grooves and the lyrics thrown around throughout the song are quite clever and humorous. ”You get a hump in ya back, sucker”. This was the second of 3 singles from the ‘Gap Band III’ LP of 1980. My copy of “Humpin’” is a promo [...]
The Brief: From Tulsa Oklahoma, originally called the Greenwood, Archer and Pine Street Band, the Gap Band have been making funky music since 1967. At the very beginning the band consisted of Ronnie Wilson, Roscoe Smith, Chris Clayton and Tuck Andress who later formed the jazz duo Tuck & Patti with Patti Cathcart. A few [...]
The Brief: By the late 80s the Bar-Kays had been been performing for 20 years, the band survived tragedy and lineup changes and reinvented itself numerous times. But, by 1988 they had begun to run out of steam and the 1988 ‘Animal’ LP was the last original studio album put out by the band in [...]
Posted in Bar-Kays, FWV 
Tags: 12 Inch, 1988, Dave Ogrin, Mark Berry, Mercury Records, R&B 
5 Comments »
The Brief: I turned 16 years old in May of 1981, finally able to drive and go places on my own. The summer before, Prince released the LP ‘Dirty Mind’ and one of the tracks on that album was entitled “Uptown”. Now, I really can’t say if that is what gave us the phrase but, [...]
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 A Side: Oh Yeah (Dance Mix) 6:25 The B Side: Oh Yeah 3:05 Oh Yeah (Indian Summer Music) 5:30 The Brief: If you are a fan of the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, certainly one visual image you get when hearing this song is of a bedraggled and disheartened Ed Rooney getting on [...]
The A Side: Mama Used To Say (Mixed by T. Scott) 6:40 The B Side: Mama Used To Say (Instrumental) 6:05 Mama Used To Say (English Party Mix) 4:56 The Brief: The debut single from the debut album, ‘Ji’, by Junior was “Mama Used To Say”. The song was a Top 10 hit in the [...]
The A Side: Misfit (Extended Version) 7:03 Misfit (7″ Edit) 4:02 The B Side: Misfit (Club Mix) 5:23 Misfit (Dub Mix) 4:06 The Brief: Curiosity Killed The Cat were a British pop band made up of vocalist Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot, bass guitarist Nick Thorp, drummer Migi Drummond and guitarist Julian Godfrey Brookhouse. “Misfit” was the group’s [...]
Posted in Curiosity Killed The Cat, FWV Tags: 12 Inch, 1986, Glen Skinner, Mercury Records, Pop, SynthPop 3 Comments »
The A Side: Certified True (12″ Remix) 6:20 Certified True (Dub) 5:05 The B Side: It Be That Way Sometimes 3:55 Certified True (7″ Mix) 4:30 The Brief: “Certified True” is the lead single released from The Bar-Kays 16th studio album entitled ‘Contagious’. The album was released in 1987 and reached #25 on Billboard’s Hot [...]
The A Side: Sexomatic (Remix by Mark Berry) 6:20 The B Side: Sexomatic (Dub Version) 6:52 Sexomatic (Bonus Beats) 2:00 The Brief: The Bar-Kays began performing and working in Memphis, Tennessee in 1966 as a studio session musician group, backing major artists at Stax Records. The band was chosen in 1967 as Otis Redding’s touring [...]
The A Side: Pop Goes The World (Dance Mix) 7:43 Pop Goes The World (Edited Dance Mix) 4:38 The B Side: Pop Goes The World (Dub Mix) 6:26 Pop Goes The World (Album Version) 3:35 The Brief: Men Without Hats hail from Montreal, Qubec and came together as a band in 1977. The name of [...]
Posted in FWV, Men Without Hats Tags: 12 Inch, 1987, Mercury Records, Paul Northfield, Pop 8 Comments »
The A Side: Victory (12″ Version) 5:55 The B Side: Victory (7″ Version) 3:58 Bad Woman 5:35 The Brief: By 1986, Kool and the Gang had been recording and releasing music for 17 years. The LP ‘Forever’ was their 18th album release of original material. Promotion for the album was kicked off by the release [...]
The A Side: Run To Me (Running Wild Mix) 6:15 Run To Me (Acapella) 2:12 The B Side: Run To Me (Running Wild Dub) 6:10 Run To Me (Bonus Beats) 4:42 The Brief: A promo only release with mixes of “Run To Me” that differ from the commercially released 12″. Angela Winbush would go on [...]
Posted in Angela Winbush, FWV Tags: 12 Inch, 1987, Bruce Forest, Frank Heller, Mercury Records, Promo, R&B Comments Off
The A Side: Run To Me (12” Club Remix) 5:55 Run To Me (LP Version) 4:47 The B Side: Run To Me (7” Remix) 3:42 Run To Me (12” Dub Remix) 6:15 The Brief: Angela Winbush got her start in the professional music business as a member of Stevie Wonder’s backing vocal group. She eventually [...]
Posted in Angela Winbush, FWV Tags: 12 Inch, 1987, Bruce Forest, Frank Heller, Mercury Records, R&B Comments Off
The A Side: Tell Me What (I’m Gonna Do) (Vocal) 7:12 Tell Me What (I’m Gonna Do) (Instrumental) 5:39 The B Side: Tell Me What (I’m Gonna Do) (Vocal) 6:45 Tell Me What (I’m Gonna Do) (Instrumental) 6:10 The Brief: Did you know there was a connection between Prince and Con Funk Shun? OK, well, [...]
Posted in Con Funk Shun, FWV Tags: 12 Inch, 1985, Larry Smith, Mark Berry, Mercury Records, Promo, R&B, Rod Hui Comments Off
The A Side: Get To You (12″ Mix) 6:50 Get To You (7″ Mix) 3:36 Get To You (Spanish Version) 4:20 The B Side: Get To You (Dub Version) 6:15 Ritual (Dido Slam) 6:40 The Brief: Welcome to Fun With Vinyl 2011! Let’s get started shall we? In 1988 at the “Book Nook” in Atlanta, [...]
Posted in Dan Reed Network, FWV Tags: 12 Inch, 1988, Mercury Records, Rock, Timmy Regisford Comments Off
Side A: Mothers Talk (Beat Of The Drum Mix) 8:45 Side B: Mothers Talk (Long Version) 6:18 Mothers Talk 4:14 The Brief: For their first two albums, Tears For Fears were a four piece band that included keyboardist Ian Stanley and drummer Manny Elias. Oh, yeah, and two guys named Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. [...]
Posted in FWV, Tears For Fears Tags: 12 Inch, 1984, Chris Hughes, Dave Bates, Ian Stanley, Mercury Records, Pop, Promo Comments Off
Side A: Stone Love (Club Mix) 5:20 Side B: 1. Stone Love (House Mix) 5:25 2. Dance Champion 3:00 The Brief: “Stone Love” was the second of four singles released from Kool & The Gang’s 1986 ‘Forever’ LP. This 12″ includes a Club Mix and a House Mix of the track. Also included is the [...]
Posted in FWV, Kool and The Gang Tags: 12 Inch, 1986, Chris Lord-Alge, Mercury Records, R&B 1 Comment »