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London, United Kingdom
DENIM DISCO is a blog dedicated to the pop music and culture of the 1970's. ~ Glam Pop and Discotheque Rock ~ The Sound Of The 70's ~ Contact:denimdisco@hotmail.co.uk
Showing posts with label SOFT ROCK. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SOFT ROCK. Show all posts

Wednesday, 27 April 2022

JOHNNY BRISTOL - NOT A FACSIMILE



JOHNNY BRISTOL enjoyed a creative and successful period as a SONGWRITER / PRODUCER working for  TAMLA MOTOWN from the late 60's onward. He co-produced '' AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH '' for MARVIN GAYE and TAMMI TERREL and also co-wrote and produced '' MY WHOLE WORLD ENDED { THE MOMENT YOU LEFT ME } for DAVID RUFFIN, '' TWENTY FIVE MILES '' for EDWIN STARR,  SOMEDAY WE'LL BE TOGETHER '' for THE SUPREMES and '' WHAT DOES IT TAKE { TO WIN YOUR LOVE } for JNR WALKER. He left MOTOWN in '73 and continued to produce records for CBS. When the company were unwilling to back him as a solo artist, he struck a deal with MGM and they released his Debut LP '' HANG ON IN THERE BABY '' the following year. The title track reached the US top ten when it was released on 45 and was hugely successful on the dancefloor. Today it's seen as one of the key records of the EARLY DISCO ERA 





The LP included a number of great DISCO / FUNK and DEEP SOUL BALLADS, but BRISTOL choose the COUNTRY / SOUL number '' MEMORIES DONT LEAVE LIKE PEOPLE DO '' as the follow up. He clearly had great enthusiasm for the song as he had already produced a version for JERRY BUTLER and later did the same for JOHNNY MATHIS and TOM JONES .Unfortunately his his own version failed to register in the same way that '' HANG ON IN THERE '' had . The LP contained another COUNTRY / SOUL number that had an unusual BAROQUE feel: '' LOVE ME FOR A REASON ''. The track was placed at the end of the LP and it fades into a reprise of the opening cut '' WOMAN, WOMAN ''. That could have been the end of the story, but the song was given to another MGM act: THE OSMONDS. Producer MIKE CURB went for a more straightforward sound for their recording and dropped the harpsichord / flute feature which was reminiscent of '' I DON'T KNOW HOW TO LOVE HIM '' from the musical '' JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR ''. Two hit versions of that song had been recorded { one by cast member YVONNE ELLIMAN and another by HELEN REDDY } and to cloud things further: the melody was presumed to have been lifted from a violin concerto by ' Bach fanboy ' FELIX MENDELSSOHN



The OSMONDS were at the height of their success and the gifted song eased into the US top 10. In the UK it did even better, reaching the number 1 spot where it joined '' HANG ON IN THERE '' in the TOP 5. Ironically it's possibly still the only hit pop song to contain the word FACSIMILE!


Wednesday, 11 July 2018

STEAL AWAY MIX


A Selection of 70's Soft Rock Grooves Mixed By DENIM DISCO

TRACKLIST:

01 - Don Ray - Garden Of Love
02 - Leo Sayer - The World Keeps On Turning
03 - Paul McCartney and Wings - Silly Love Songs
04 - Starbuck - Moonlight Feels Right
05 - Ned Doheny - Guess Who's Looking For Love Again
06 - Gino Vanelli - People Gotta Move
07 - Steely Dan - Do It Again
08 - Mud - Use Your Imagination
09 - The Marc Tanner Band - Lady In Blue
10 - Bob Welch - Ebony Eyes
11 - Todd Rundgren - I Saw The Light
12 - Silver - Wham Bam Shang - A - Lang
13 - America - Slow Down
14 - Photoglo - Steal Away
15 - Toto - You Are The Flower
16 - Exile - Never Gonna Stop
17 - Player - Baby Come Back
18 - Orleans - Spring Fever
19 - Jim Capaldi - 1890




Download An MP3 Of The Mix {With Artwork} Here:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/f470tlnbn78132b/Steal_Away_Mix.7z/file