This high-powered funk/disco jam packed dance floors throughout the U.S. and the U.K. back in 1977. It’s masterfully arranged, featuring a scorching beat, crackling keyboards and some wicked bass. The track is further bolstered by an electrifying synthesizer solo and a roof-raising percussion breakdown. “Do What You Wanna Do” is about doing your own thing and not allowing others to dictate how you should live your life. Its message is that you’ve only got one life, so you might as well live it the way you want and do the things that make you happy, as long as you’re not hurting or negatively affecting others.
“Do What You Wanna Do” is Bahamian funk/disco outfit T-Connection’s biggest hit. It topped Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart and peaked at #15 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart. And it climbed to #46 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart and reached #11 on the U.K. singles chart. Written by bandleader Theophilus Coakley, “Do What You Wanna Do” was a single from T-Connection’s debut album Magic, released in 1977 on Dash Records, a subsidiary of T.K. Records.
"Do What You Wanna Do” has been sampled on 17 songs, per WhoSampled.com. Additionally, it was featured in a scene from the HBO series The Deuce (season 2, episode 2, 2018). And it’s included on the soundtrack for the British comedy slasher film Prevenge (2016).
The full band lineup for Magic was Theophilus Coakley (keyboards, lead vocals), Kirkwood “Kurt” Coakley (bass, background vocals), Berkley Van Byrd (drums, background vocals), Monty Brown (guitar, background vocals) and Anthony “Monks” Flowers (percussion, background vocals).
T-Connection performing "Do What You Wanna Do" live in 1977
“Happy Feelin’s” is one of the essential feel-good songs of the ‘70s. This track has such a positive, uplifting flow. It's the perfect jam to blast during the warm summer months, be it at the family cookout, chilling at the beach or vibin’ at the crib. It’s beautifully arranged and provides a great showcase for Frankie Beverly’s impressive vocal abilities. The soothing echo-laced bass part that opens the song is like a ray of sunlight breaking through the clouds. The butter-smooth background harmonies complement Beverly’s rich, soulful baritone. The majestic groove features delicate guitar licks, breezy keyboards and Robin Duhe’s exquisite bass work.
“Happy Feelin’s” is a track from the band's debut album Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly, released in 1977 on Capitol Records. Although it wasn’t released as a single, it’s one of the band’s most recognized songs and a bonafide soul classic. The song was written and produced by Beverly, as were all the tracks on the album. The collection peaked at #6 on Billboard’s R&B album chart and #52 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It was certified gold by the RIAA and earned the band a host of loyal fans.
According to WhoSampled.com, “Happy Feelin’s” has been sampled on 16 songs, including 2 Pac’s “Can U Get Away.” And it was included on the soundtrack for the Martin Lawrence/Danny DeVito comedy What’s The Worst That Could Happen? (2001).
The full band lineup for Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly was Robin Duhe (bass), Joe Provost (drums), Wayne Thomas (lead guitar), Sam Porter (keyboards), Ronald “Roame” Lowry (congas, vocals), McKinley “Bug” Williams (percussion, vocals) and Frankie Beverly (lead vocals and rhythm guitar).
Frankie Beverly formed Maze in Philadelphia in 1970. The band–originally named Raw Soul–relocated to San Francisco in 1971. Following their move to Frisco, they met Marvin Gaye who offered them a spot on his tour as one of his opening acts. Gaye became the band's mentor and was instrumental in helping them land a record deal with Capitol Records in 1976. He also suggested that the band change its name from Raw Soul to Maze. The talented soul outfit has earned nine gold albums and boasts a slew of R&B hits, including “Back in Stride,” “Can’t Get Over You,” “Running Away,” Southern Girl,” and “Golden Time of Day.” Maze’s sound encompasses soul, funk and R&B.
Maze has maintained a devoted following for more than four decades. They've had several personnel changes over the years; the only remaining original members are Frankie Beverly and Ronald “Roame” Lowry. The band is still very active and continues to tour throughout the U.S. and Europe.
Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly performing "Happy Feelin's" live in New Orleans
This rousing Prince hit pays musical homage to Sly & The Family Stone. It captures the influential band’s uplifting sound during their pre-Riot era of the late ‘60s. It has that same euphoric spirit of early Sly & The Family Stone classics such as “You Can Make It If You Try,” “M’Lady” and “Dance To The “Medley.” The catchy rhythm guitar riff is classic Freddie Stone, and the terrific horn arrangement evokes the brass magic of Cynthia Robinson and Jerry Martini. The track also features some funky bass thumpin’ and an irresistible stop-start beat. And dancer/singer/choreographer Cat Glover delivers a surprisingly strong rap. She also provides soulful background vocals.
“Alphabet St.” is a colloquial reference to an area in Prince’s hometown of Minneapolis where east-west roads cross through streets arranged in alphabetical order, among them Aldrich, Bryant and Colfax avenues. And as with many Prince tracks, the song contains sexual references, but it also has an underlying social theme, which is another common feature in his songs.
It’s no secret that Sly & the Family Stone were a huge influence on Prince, not just musically but also visually. His band the Revolution was modeled after Sly & The Family Stone’s iconic interracial, inter-gender lineup. And there are many other tracks in Prince's discography where Sly Stone’s influence is apparent. He even gives Sly a shoutout in his song “Musicology.” Additionally, Prince was close friends with Sly & The Family Stone founding member Larry Graham. The bass legend frequently collaborated with Prince on different music projects, and the two often toured together. He was also Prince’s spiritual mentor and introduced him to the Jehovah’s Witness faith.
“Alphabet St.” was written and produced by Prince. It was the first single from his tenth studio album Lovesexy, which was released in 1988 on Paisley Park and Warner Brothers Records. The song performed well on the charts. It peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart. And it made the top 10 in a number of other countries–even reaching the top spot in New Zealand and Norway.
“Alphabet St.” has been sampled on several songs, including Nine Inch Nails' "Ringfinger" from their acclaimed 1989 debut album Pretty Hate Machine. And two-time Grammy-winning hip-hop group Arrested Development got into a bit of hot water when they sampled a part of “Alphabet St.” for their 1992 hit “Tennessee” without Prince’s permission. They ended up having to pay a $100,000 clearance fee to the Purple One. However, Arrested Development frontman Speech doesn't have any ill feelings toward Prince over it and feels he went easy on them. “He could’ve demanded that the record be taken off the shelf, requested the sample be taken out of the record, demanded publishing and writing credits on the record,” said Speech in an interview with Atlanta magazine. “He didn’t do that. Instead, he wanted a flat fee.” And in spite of having to fork over 100K to Prince, Speech cites him as his favorite artist and one of his biggest musical influences; and he was devastated upon hearing of Prince's untimely passing in 2016, per his Atlanta magazine interview.
Notable artists who have covered “Alphabet St.” include indie folk singer-songwriter/musician Sufjan Stevens and alternative rock band the Jesus and Mary Chain.
Prince made a lively and colorful music video for “Alphabet St.” The video features him walking, dancing, playing guitar and driving through an environment made out of letters. Unfortunately, the music video doesn't have Cat's rap in it.
The players on “Alphabet St.” were Prince (lead and backing vocals, electric guitar, Roland D-50 synthesizers, bass, Linn LM-1, Dynacord ADD-One, cuíca, handclaps), Sheila E. (drums and handclaps), Atlanta Bliss (trumpet), Eric Leeds (saxophone), Cat Glover (rap and backing vocals), Boni Boyer (backing vocals) and Ingrid Chavez (spoken voice).
Official music video for "Alphabet St."
Prince performing "Alphabet St." live in Dortmund, Germany in 1988 during his Lovesexy Tour
Janelle Monáe released her fourth studio album The Age of Pleasure on Friday, June 9. It’s her first album release in five years. This collection has a strong pan-African vibe, with Monáe incorporating Afrobeat, dancehall and reggae on her tracks. The album finds the artist in full hedonistic mode. She's ready to cut loose and indulge in some of life’s pleasures. This attitude is exemplified in “Champagne Shit.” Monáe is living her best life and enjoying the fruits of her success to the max on this cut: “Don't ask me shit about work/'Cause I'm on my champagne shit/I'm talkin’ high heels and no shirt/’Cause I’m on my champagne shit.” The indelible groove features dynamic horns and a dope beat. And it also boasts a great vocal arrangement.
Monáe continues her pleasure-seeking journey with the spicy “Lipstick Lover.” The infectious reggae-flavored track is elevated by Monáe’s marvelous vocal performance. Her lush harmonies underscore the track’s tropical vibe. The song also features a groovin’ bass line. “Lipstick Lover” was released as a single on May 11. It coincided with the announcement of her new album The Age of Pleasure. The song’s steamy music video raised more than a few eyebrows as well as temperatures. Some fans weren’t quite ready for this free, uninhibited side of Monáe, while others applauded her for boldly embracing her sexuality. It’s certainly a far cry from her tuxedo-wearing cyborg alter ego Cindi Mayweather, the heroine of her 2010 debut album The ArchAndroid.
It’s interesting how the trajectory of her ever-evolving image is the reverse of that of her late mentor and friend Prince. He started his career with a highly sexualized persona but gradually toned it down over the years. Monáe appears to be going in the opposite direction. Perhaps she didn’t want to start out being overly sexual so people would focus solely on her art and nothing else. That’s one of the things that distinguished her from a lot of other female R&B and pop artists at the time. Now that she’s achieved a significant amount of critical acclaim and commercial success, she probably felt it wouldn’t hurt to bring a bit of her sexy side into the mix. And let’s face it, she’s got a bangin’ body and no doubt wants to show it off every now and then.
The Age of Pleasure is a high-quality collection that reveals yet another layer of the talented and innovative artist. In late August, Monáe is kicking off a 26-city tour in support of the album. Tour dates and venue info are available at her official website.
James Brown released this scorching funk gem in May of 1968. The song is about a girl (“Sister”) who causes a commotion in her neighborhood when she’s caught doing the latest dances in her backyard. Sister is joined by “Junior,” who dances a mean “mashed potatoes" and even attempts to do the “James Brown.” Some of her prudish neighbors feel that these dances are inappropriate for a young girl and urge “Mama” to break out her “licking stick” to straighten out the brazen youngster.
Brown stresses the importance of education in one verse: “I don’t profess to be no teacher/these are my latest outlooks/She’s got to get herself back in the mathematics books/Do you hear me now?” He’s letting his young listeners know that having fun and dancing is all well and good, but getting an education should always be their top priority.
“Licking Stick - Licking Stick” is similar to Brown’s seminal funk classic “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” in that both songs have protagonists who know how to get down on the dance floor and are funky. And like Papa, Sister knows all the latest dances and stuns onlookers with her funky dance moves.
This track is hittin’ on all groove cylinders, with the band serving up huge helpings of funk. This tight, highly syncopated groove has kind of a Western feel to it–with sassy rhythm guitar licks and a soulful, countrified vocal break. The groove is centered around an irresistible bass line, and it boasts a killer horn arrangement and a smokin’ beat. And Maceo Parker’s superb sax solo is the icing on the cake of this massively funky track. Additionally, Brown brings his patented raw soul and dynamic energy to his vocal performance.
“Licking Stick - Licking Stick” was written by Brown, Alfred “Pee Wee” Ellis and Bobby Byrd, who harmonizes with Brown on the vocal break. It was produced by Brown and released on King Records. It was also included on his album Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud (1968).
The players on “Licking Stick - Licking Stick” were Tim Drummond (bass), Maceo Parker (tenor saxophone), John “Jabo” Starks (drums), Jimmy Nolen (guitar), Alfred “Pee Wee” Ellis (alto saxophone) and St. Clair Pinckney (tenor saxophone).
The song had quite an impressive showing on the charts, peaking at #2 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart and #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop charts. And it climbed to #31 on Canada’s singles chart. It has been sampled on eight songs.
James Brown performing "Licking Stick - Licking Stick" live in Dallas in 1968
Cameo dropped the funky instrumental "It's Serious" back in 1977. This smokin’ jam is one of the legendary funk band’s most underrated tracks. It features a ferocious beat and a badass bass line. The percolating clavinets and slick horn arrangement put an exclamation point on the funk. And the disco-flavored bridge is smooth as butter. The song has been receiving some much-deserved love recently thanks to a popular video of the talented Amsterdam-based dance troupe Ghetto Funk Collective bustin’ moves to it.
“It’s Serious” has been sampled on two songs and was featured in a dance scene from the 1978 musical-comedy Thank God It’s Friday.
It was a single from Cameo’s second album We All Know Who We Are (1977) and was written by Larry Blackmon and Gregory Johnson. The song peaked at #21 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart and #39 on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart. The album was produced by Blackmon and released on Chocolate City Records. The other single from the collection was the infectious mellow jam “It’s Over,” which climbed to #60 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart. We All Know Who We Are saw some solid chart action, peaking at #58 on the Billboard 200 album chart and #15 on Billboard’s R&B album chart.
The full band lineup for We All Know Who We Are was Larry Blackmon (lead and backing vocals, drums, producer), Eric Durham (lead and rhythm guitar), Gary Dow (bass), Wayne Cooper (lead and backing vocals, percussion), Arnett Leftenant (tenor saxophone, backing vocals, percussion), Gregory Johnson (keyboards, piano, vocals), Nathan Leftenant ( trumpet, percussion, backing vocals), Tomi Jenkins (lead and backing vocals, timbales) and Charles Sampson (lead guitar on the song “C On The Funk”). The Tity Brothers (trombonist Jeryl Bright and saxophonist Melvin Wells) did the horn arrangements for the album.
