03/05/2023
Like I said on my Rock n' Roll Mania post, haven't posted a playlist here either in a long, long time. We'll see if I can keep up. My March 3 show was a tribute to the punk funk pioneer Rick James. I recently saw his documentary, "Bitchin': The Sound and Fury of Rick James" and it raised the question whether his huge crossover album, 1981's "Street Songs," was part of the emerging hiphop scene, considering much of it was about growing up in the ghettos of Buffalo, NY. Considering this is the 50th anniversary of hiphop and rap and I have been playing a lot of that kind of music lately, I thought the timing was perfect. I was going to play "Street Songs" in its entirety until I saw there was a deluxe version that included practically an entire live show. The songs were recorded on or about May 18, 1981 in Long Beach Arena, CA.
Intro
Ghetto Life
Big Time
Come Into My Life
I'm A Sucker For Your Love (w/Teena Marie)
Square Biz (with Teena Marie)
Fire It Up
Love Gun
Do You Want Some Funk?!
Mary Jane
Super Freak
You and I
Give It To Me Baby
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Then I played a few studio tracks.
Mr. Policeman - from "Street Songs"
Rick James could also be considered one of the first "super producers," recording, writing and producing with everybody from Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, the Mary Jane Girls to Eddie Murphy. Sadly, the hits dried up by the late '80s as his drug use spiraled out of control.
Ebony Eyes - w/Smokey Robinson
Standing On the Top - w/The Temptations
Bustin' Out
