In the mid-'70s, when Disco was still fresh and new, these Philly jams reflect the best of the best! Some were massive, some rarely heard! Enjoy, and boogie up....or down. Hey, suit yourself!
Thanks, Mark! Glad you dig.....and, if you find yourself digging out your silk shirt with the Cessna-winged collar, strapping a couple books onto your bedroom slippers (to double as stacked heels), and hanging a small kitchen appliance to a gold chain, and slipping it around your neck, and boogying down....don't fight the feeling!
Dance like no one's watching.....I'll sit back and watch like no one's dancing!😉👍🕺🎶
Thanks for the dedication!! This is ALL brilliant: the analysis, the song choices, the valuable information... those tunes!! I don't even know where to begin! I like the fact I already knew some of these songs (and I really like Teddy Pendergrass and his enveloping voice), and I'm eager to dive into those that I didn't know, or that I didn't know enough. Whoever is teaching at music schools, music journalism schools, teaching music industry courses or whatever: move aside, please... your time is up! Let the MASTER preach!! Thank you, Brad! 🥰
Makes me feel good....thank you, Andy! So many of those (like Philly Devotions and Archie Bell, or the Warwick/Bell albums I'm sharing with you) may not have gotten the airplay (here in the U.S.), but as I had access to the promo singles (and albums), that's how I heard them, and that's what I value so much....I didn't have to suckle at the withered radio teat for all my musical nutrition! That's why I framed this article as I did.....they don't have to be radio hits to have been included here.....if they were hits in my living room, 'nuff said!
This is also, among many other things, what makes your POV so unique and so valuable: that you had access to a lot of material that others didn’t (partly thanks to your parents but mostly because you were passionate, and when there’s a will there’s a way). In addition to this exposure, you had the tools and talent to grasp what you needed to grasp, and the wisdom to develop the skills that would open so many doors later in life. All this to say, while I will concede that you were fortunate to be in certain places at the time, what you did with all that — what you chose to do, and what you learned how to do — went far beyond what others could have possibly done. And that, my friend, deserves a lot of credit.
Thanks, Andy.....you nailed it. It also helped, certainly during my teen years, that my weekends weren't consumed with dating......ooh, ick. As I've told many friends: In the early '70s, when able to drive in my high school years, if Brimstone didn't have a gig, I could either be found at the Astrodome for an Astros game (free tix from Dad), or a concert at the Music Hall or the larger Sam Houston Coliseum, next door (again, tix from the radio station)!
I think to tag onto your thoughts....I had a musical mind, and inasmuch as I wasn't a musician (even though I taught myself to sing and play flute...by ear), I certainly found an easy kinship with musicians and those in the biz. I felt I belonged, and thus, blended in easily with them (see my 2 weekends with the Dolls, hotel-room time spent with the Ramones, driving Tom Robinson around downtown Houston, drinks with Todd, chattin' up David Cassidy in his penthouse, etc).
They never got fanboy vibes from me (well, maybe Dee Dee, when I was sitting on the floor next to him🤫), and I wasn't hounding them with questions or shoving a mic in their faces (except for David, and that was just for a station ID)!
Pero es que son ciertas! You certainly knew how to use and maximise what you had available, and make it even more enjoyable/meaningful/fruitful for you. If that’s not passion, drive and determination, I don’t know what is!
Def. The good news, though: all that was me just being me. No pretenses, no agenda. Just me doing what I loved, feeling welcomed into "the society" of rockers and peripheral entities (radio, record reps, artists, etc), and using my talents as they slowly unfolded, and I became more and more aware of them...just a low-key dood who loved the people who just happened to inhabit my record collection, and welcomed me into their world!
A perfect segue into my appreciation of Stephen Michael Schwartz.....I had his album at 19, when I was in college radio. Half-a-century later.....😱.....I get the opportunity to "house" 20 articles in his own words....the story he's been wanting to tell for years, and he landed with someone (in his words) cared, and cares about his career, and of course, he's right.
This is awesome. I have also very faithfully followed (in some cases stalked 😆 lol) my favourite artists, and I think it’s a skill in and of itself. When you get to that place where they actually want to spend time talking to you, enjoying your company… ahh, few things in life can top that!
Fantastic newsletter Brad and a lovely playlist to get me through a dreary afternoon!
Thanks, Mark! Glad you dig.....and, if you find yourself digging out your silk shirt with the Cessna-winged collar, strapping a couple books onto your bedroom slippers (to double as stacked heels), and hanging a small kitchen appliance to a gold chain, and slipping it around your neck, and boogying down....don't fight the feeling!
Dance like no one's watching.....I'll sit back and watch like no one's dancing!😉👍🕺🎶
Thanks for the dedication!! This is ALL brilliant: the analysis, the song choices, the valuable information... those tunes!! I don't even know where to begin! I like the fact I already knew some of these songs (and I really like Teddy Pendergrass and his enveloping voice), and I'm eager to dive into those that I didn't know, or that I didn't know enough. Whoever is teaching at music schools, music journalism schools, teaching music industry courses or whatever: move aside, please... your time is up! Let the MASTER preach!! Thank you, Brad! 🥰
Makes me feel good....thank you, Andy! So many of those (like Philly Devotions and Archie Bell, or the Warwick/Bell albums I'm sharing with you) may not have gotten the airplay (here in the U.S.), but as I had access to the promo singles (and albums), that's how I heard them, and that's what I value so much....I didn't have to suckle at the withered radio teat for all my musical nutrition! That's why I framed this article as I did.....they don't have to be radio hits to have been included here.....if they were hits in my living room, 'nuff said!
This is also, among many other things, what makes your POV so unique and so valuable: that you had access to a lot of material that others didn’t (partly thanks to your parents but mostly because you were passionate, and when there’s a will there’s a way). In addition to this exposure, you had the tools and talent to grasp what you needed to grasp, and the wisdom to develop the skills that would open so many doors later in life. All this to say, while I will concede that you were fortunate to be in certain places at the time, what you did with all that — what you chose to do, and what you learned how to do — went far beyond what others could have possibly done. And that, my friend, deserves a lot of credit.
Thanks, Andy.....you nailed it. It also helped, certainly during my teen years, that my weekends weren't consumed with dating......ooh, ick. As I've told many friends: In the early '70s, when able to drive in my high school years, if Brimstone didn't have a gig, I could either be found at the Astrodome for an Astros game (free tix from Dad), or a concert at the Music Hall or the larger Sam Houston Coliseum, next door (again, tix from the radio station)!
I think to tag onto your thoughts....I had a musical mind, and inasmuch as I wasn't a musician (even though I taught myself to sing and play flute...by ear), I certainly found an easy kinship with musicians and those in the biz. I felt I belonged, and thus, blended in easily with them (see my 2 weekends with the Dolls, hotel-room time spent with the Ramones, driving Tom Robinson around downtown Houston, drinks with Todd, chattin' up David Cassidy in his penthouse, etc).
They never got fanboy vibes from me (well, maybe Dee Dee, when I was sitting on the floor next to him🤫), and I wasn't hounding them with questions or shoving a mic in their faces (except for David, and that was just for a station ID)!
Me encantan tus palabras, mi amigo Andres!
Pero es que son ciertas! You certainly knew how to use and maximise what you had available, and make it even more enjoyable/meaningful/fruitful for you. If that’s not passion, drive and determination, I don’t know what is!
Def. The good news, though: all that was me just being me. No pretenses, no agenda. Just me doing what I loved, feeling welcomed into "the society" of rockers and peripheral entities (radio, record reps, artists, etc), and using my talents as they slowly unfolded, and I became more and more aware of them...just a low-key dood who loved the people who just happened to inhabit my record collection, and welcomed me into their world!
A perfect segue into my appreciation of Stephen Michael Schwartz.....I had his album at 19, when I was in college radio. Half-a-century later.....😱.....I get the opportunity to "house" 20 articles in his own words....the story he's been wanting to tell for years, and he landed with someone (in his words) cared, and cares about his career, and of course, he's right.
For our readers, Stephen's incredible story starts here: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/career-chord-change-stephen-michael
This is awesome. I have also very faithfully followed (in some cases stalked 😆 lol) my favourite artists, and I think it’s a skill in and of itself. When you get to that place where they actually want to spend time talking to you, enjoying your company… ahh, few things in life can top that!