Hot Tub Time Machine: Soul Hits of the '70s

 "Love Rollercoaster," Ohio Players (1975): "Say what?" Number 1 in 1976 and a monster at school dances and probably the discos, I hadn't been to one quite yet. Dr. Funkenstein, George Clinton, doesn't like the disco blahs but discos sure do like the funk. Bohannon, Eddie Kendricks, Archie Bell, Earth, Wind, & Fire, Isley Brothers, Kool & The Gang, Jimmy Castor, War, Chic, and the Ohio Players could all be funky as it gets and were big hitmakers in the discos. 

"Shake, Shake, Shake (Shake Your Booty)," KC & Sunshine Band (1976): As a pretentious pimply adolescent I resisted KC's lyrics, which all more or less encourage you to shake your booty. Not that I was opposed to shaking my booty, properly lubricated, but couldn't they be not so freakin' obvious about it?! Now I think the dancing dogma accentuates KC's singular focus on making irresistibly catchy Latin funk pop. This or "Get Down Tonight" my Sunshine Band peaks. They emphasize the fun in funky.  

"You're Everything I Need," Major Lance (1975): By the '70s and the disco era Major Lance is a throwback, raw early '60s soul, like early Motown but still a little rougher around edges, more mistakes and sometimes more enthusiasm and that all-join-together churchy musical energy that made soul music sizzling hot in 1963 and still a dance music breakdown-sound, which Sly took to glorious pop heights, favorite in the '70s discos. Especially big in the discos of northern England and dubbed Northern soul. 

"The World," Sweet Inspirations (1970): A lot of early gay disco was taking Philadelphia International, Motown, or Atlantic soul music like this, as DJ's naturally started with a special appreciation for the longer stuff, more time between record transitions, Eddie Kendrick's "Girl You Need A Change of Mind" or The Temptations "Papa Was A Rollin Stone," both going way past five minutes, for early disco examples, and then stretching these proto-disco models even longer, lovingly adding symphonic intros and outros, elaborately funky bridges, endless buildups and exquisite climaxes. Producer Tom Moulton made a whole career out of this. This Atlantic single is more country than Moulton's mixes, the Sweet Inspirations bring more churchy old school fervor into the disco, but the mix conveys Moulton's kind of disco love for original soul music sources. Some of the love behind the Sweet Inspirations should also be credited to Jerry Wexler as well, the guy who coined the phrase rhythm & blues. The SI's were backup singers for Aretha, Elvis, Dusty, and a bunch of other Wexler production credits, and put out eight albums of their own between 1967 and 1979.