Craig's Pop Life: 7.1.23
Discover more from Craig’s Pop Life
Hey, everybody! Hope you had a great week. Welcome to another edition of Craig’s Pop Life, a Black gay excursion into pop culture. It’s giving content, hunny!
MUST WATCH
Black Music Archive dropped two great mini-docs…
CRAIG’S POP LIFE ARCHIVE
Aretha Franklin’s impact on club music, Billboard, August 25, 2018
5 of my fave Aretha Franklin club moments…
Aretha Franklin - “Only Star”
Aretha Franklin & Whitney Houston - “It Isn’t, It Wasn’t, It Ain’t Never Gonna Be (Cole & Clivillés Vogue Dub)”
Aretha Franklin - “A Rose Is Still A Rose (London Connection Hierarchal Remix)”
Aretha Franklin - “Wonderful (David Harness House Mix)”
Floorplan w/ Aretha Franklin - “Never Grow Old”
Deee-Lite, The Face, January 1991
Deee-Lite: Craig’s Pop Life 10
IN CASE YOU MIXED IT: MARTHA WASH (a.k.a. CLUB VAULT)
A new The Weather Girls/Martha Wash compilation just dropped. This is great news since a lot of the material isn’t streaming. In honor of the occasion, here’s my Two Tons Of Fun/The Weather Girls playlist.
I also compiled a YouTube playlist of 10 of my fave Martha Wash remixes, and I asked my friend Tim Dillinger (of the great God’s Music Is My Life Substack), who has interviewed Wash and wrote the liner notes to the Weather Girls/Martha Wash collection, to provide commentary for some of my selections.
1. Martha Wash - “Carry On (Masters At Work Vocal Bass Dub)”
TIM: What I love about this mix is that it distills Martha's voice down to its core. Eric Beall, who composed and co-produced "Carry On," told me that in his experience with Martha, "she's not like a New York studio musician who's looking at his watch. She didn't bring any baggage to the studio. In the studio, she's very focused. She knows when she's in the pocket and when she's nailed it." Hearing her vocal in this mix makes evident the precision and focus she is working with.
2. Martha Wash - “Leave A Light On (Basement Boys Extended Version)”
TIM: This thirteen minute tour de force (also co-written by Eric Beall) further exemplifies the time Martha puts in in the booth. The album version (co-produced by Beall, Steve Skinner and the Basement Boys) was a clear edit--as this version gives us many, many more vocal takes by both Martha and the background vocalists. Beall remembered, "We had a really fun session with the background crew and they were excited to be on Martha's record. She came in and heard those and lit up!"
C&C Music Factory - “I Found Love (Underground Mix)”
Seduction - “(You’re My One & Only) True Love (C&C New York House Mix #2)”
C&C Music Factory - “Takin’ Over”
TIM: There was undeniable chemistry between David Cole, Robert Clivilles and Martha Wash. Maybe it was that David had history as a touring musician with The Weather Girls, maybe it was the commonality of their gospel foundations, but there was a melodic openness that they provided for her as composers and a largeness that she brought to them as a vocalist that made their collaborations apart from each other pale in comparison. "I Found Love," "You're My One and Only True Love," and "Takin' Over" each showcase that magic in very distinct ways.
Black Box - “Everybody Everybody (TR 808 Acapella)”
Black Box - “Fantasy (Extended Mix)”
TIM: While Cole and Clivilles give us full throttle Martha, the Black Box productions showcase just how 'pop' Martha could get without losing the soul. "Everybody Everybody" was a top 10 pop hit, while their take on Earth, Wind & Fire's "Fantasy" was an international hit, hitting the Top 5 in the UK and Australia. Wash's lawsuit against Black Box and RCA Records did ultimately result in federal legislation requiring vocal crediting on recordings and videos. "Hold On (The Dance)" should not be confused with the two-part "Hold On" which Martha recorded for her solo debut.
Martha Wash - “Carry On (Todd Terry Honey Dub)” [see #1]
Black Box - “Hold On (The Dance)” [see #6 & #7]
10. Martha Wash - “Runaround (Todd Terry Tee’s Master Dub)”
TIM: One of the treats of Martha's debut solo album was that it reunited her with Eric Robinson, who'd been responsible for the bulk of the music on the first Two Tons albums. Runaround, a Todd Terry production, was co-written by Eric, who was responsible for the song's lyric. Robinson's memory was that "[Todd] said 'I need some lyrics.' I wrote some quick lyrics and she went in there and sang it in like five minutes and that was that." When asked about her collaboration with Terry by Newsday's Frank Owen in 1993, Wash said, "He was okay. Sometimes to get a record out, you have to make compromises."
AMEN CORNER
Spirit Of Love - “He’s Alright”
Thanks for hanging out again. I hope you enjoyed the letter. Until next week, be cool, be kind, be creative, be yourself. Love, Craig