BOOTH ANNOUNCER:
Shady Train...
the hippest trip in America!
Brought to you in part by...
Johnson Products Company
...makers of
Ultra Sheen...
Afro Sheen...
and
Ultra Sheen
cosmetics.
Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen...
The largest selling products
in the "Natural" world.
And now the host of
Shady Train...
Shady Train...
Don Cornelius!
Hi there, you're right on time for another super slick ride
on the Shady Train. You know the drill. Only the cool
kids get in and every tune's a bad mamma jamma.
And to kick things off we're gonna jump on it to one of the slickest sounds around.
It comes from a funky R&B veteran who has been turning out hits since the mid
1960s. He is currently on a roll in the 70s thanks to a disco hit on his new label
Epic Records entitled "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)."
Let's get some hands together, gang, for the fabulous Mr.-- Joe Tex!
"Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)" - Joe Tex
(Apr./May 1977, highest chart pos. #7 R&B/#12 Hot 100/#15 Cash Box)
And since they first informed us a few
years ago that "La La" actually means
"I Love You," three handsome and
talented young men have virtually
cornered the market on songs of love.
They boast a string of hits that seems
to have no end. Flashing back to the
early years of Shady Train via the
magic of videotape, a big welcome
please, gang, for Philly's Phinest,
the mighty-- Delfonics!
early years of Shady Train via the
magic of videotape, a big welcome
please, gang, for Philly's Phinest,
the mighty-- Delfonics!
"Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" - The Delfonics
(Feb./Mar. 1970, highest chart pos. #3 R&B/#10 Hot 100/#13 Cash Box)
(Feb./Mar. 1970, highest chart pos. #3 R&B/#10 Hot 100/#13 Cash Box)
And check 'em out...
the Shady Train gang,
the Shady train line.
They're coming down
the pike to a tune
you'll like, a funky
sound that's bad to
the bone. "Shot you
mouth off, boy!"
It's Indeep--
"When Boys Talk!"
"When Boys Talk" (Adeyhawke Remix) - Indeep
(May/June 1983, highest chart pos. #16 Club/#32 R&B)
And that's just
half the ride.
Stick around for
more super soul
sounds when
Shady Train
continues right
after this.
And let's turn back the hands of time for another vintage Shady Train performance,
this one by an extraordinary canary who earned herself a gold record by getting
on "Mr. Big Stuff's" case. As she joins us to do her smash hit and signature
song, please welcome Stax recording artist miss-- Jean Knight!
"Mr. Big Stuff" - Jean Knight
(June/July 1971, highest chart pos.
#1 R&B/#2 Hot 100 & Cash Box)
(June/July 1971, highest chart pos.
#1 R&B/#2 Hot 100 & Cash Box)
And we're workin' on a groovy thing here
on the Shady Train, and groovy is the
theme of a hot one performed by our
next guests, another exciting band from
The City of Brotherly Love - Philly, PA.
As they join us to do their latest single
on the TSOP label entitled "Party Is
A Groovy Thing" from the album
Boogie Down U.S.A., let's make
some big noise please, gang,
for-- People's Choice!
on the Shady Train, and groovy is the
theme of a hot one performed by our
next guests, another exciting band from
The City of Brotherly Love - Philly, PA.
As they join us to do their latest single
on the TSOP label entitled "Party Is
A Groovy Thing" from the album
Boogie Down U.S.A., let's make
some big noise please, gang,
for-- People's Choice!
"Party is a Groovy Thing" - People's Choice
(Jan./Feb. 1975, highest chart pos. #45 R&B/#14 Netherlands)
And we are delighted to
welcome a dynamic duo
that puts down a mighty
funky sound. Together
since 1979, they are
currently breaking
through to stardom
thanks to their talent,
their charisma and
a recent record
label switch.
As they join us to do "I'll be Good," a hit single from their first
Mercury album entitled Street Called Desire, let's hear it,
gang, for-- René and Angela!
"I'll Be Good" - René & Angela
(Sept./Oct. 1985, highest chart pos. #4 R&B,
#7 U.S. Dance, #47 Hot 100)
And look out now, it's Frankie Smith. He's runnin' down a sound we think is
one of the baddest things around. This one spent an astonishing 31 weeks
on the chart. It's a biggin' everybody's diggin' called-- "Double Dutch Bus!"
"Double Dutch Bus" - Frankie Smith
(Mar. to Aug. '81, highest cht. pos. #1 R&B,
#29 Cash Box/#30 Hot 100)
And if that don't do it for
you, nothing ever will.
We hope you'll get
into it with us again
next time when we
pop open another
six pack and toss in
an extra cool one
for good measure.
CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!
You can bet your last money, it's all gonna be a stone gas,
honey. I'm Don Cornelius, and as always in parting,
we wish you love... peace... and soul!
"TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" - MFSB
(Theme from Soul Train feat. The Three Degrees)
(Mar./Apr. 1974, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box & R&B)
Do they still make Afro Sheen?
ReplyDeleteHi, Alex!
DeleteYou burst across the finish line with arms flailing above your head in glee to triumphantly reclaim the title of Early Bird. Thanks for coming, good buddy!
A cursory search turned up Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen products still being sold:
https://www.beautydepotonline.com/58271/afro-sheen-afro-sheen-texture-flexing-foam-85oz?gclid=Cj0KCQiA54KfBhCKARIsAJzSrdo-yhx0P0AHXYbtwEhI7fgVGc4QtYAAucu04VZOyAb8XdmrNyn9i4gaAlnREALw_wcB
https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Sheen-Extra-Conditioner-Ounce/dp/B000AA5WG2/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3TP8NA3NQIY9J&keywords=afro+sheen&qid=1675703897&s=beauty&sprefix=afro+sheen%2Cbeauty%2C132&sr=1-3
I never used the products in my youth because my hair was straight, and lately I don't have much hair left to style. :)
Thanks for riding the Shady Train, good buddy Alex!
What a stone gas blast, Tom! I didn't watch Soul Train nearly as much as I did American Bandstand but I wish I had. The music you highlight in this series has the sound I really appreciate. Other than the theme song in your line up, the only other song I knew after hitting play is "Mr. Big Stuff". The Delfonics, "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" jingles a tiny bell in my brain but then I'm not sure if it just reminds me of another song. I was very surprised that none of the tunes that came out in the early 80s. Of course, that was the period I was in college followed by my early career days. I think DH the overseer of anything to do with channel surfing usually had the radio set to pop stations mostly during those years, so I guess that's why those songs never reached my ears. Thanks for sharing these song picks with me today and for your visit earlier this morning, my friend. Have a boogietastic week!
ReplyDeleteHi, Cathy!
DeleteI'm back off the road, dear friend, and very happy to see that you visited while I was out and about running errands. Thanks for putting on your boogie shoes and riding the Shady Train on its 20th hip trip!
in the early and mid 70s, I worked with an African American guy in the newsroom of my first television station. On Saturdays, we tuned in Soul Train and watched it as we worked. I rarely missed an episode during that span of years. This episode of Shady Train features four brilliantly restored clips from that period. The videos are "cleaned-up" to such an extent that it seems like the performances were recorded only yesterday instead of 45 to 50 years ago. I'm proud to present, in HD and HQ, a few soul songs you remember and introduce several that are new to you. I'm delighted that you had a stone gas blast riding the big train today.
Thanks again for coming by, dear friend Cathy. Have a wonderful week and I'll be over to check on your BOTB final tally on Wednesday!
Tom,
DeleteGrowing up in southern WV many towns were comprised of whites or blacks. There wasn't too much of an equal mix. I'm sure all of this was left overs from the segregation era. I didn't go to school with a single colored person until I was high school and even then there seemed to only be a handful. In my junior year, I had a really sweet girlfriend who was black. We exchanged letters after I got married for several months but then I lost touch . I sometimes wonder what became of her. All I remember is her first name, Inez.
About 15-20 years ago the school district where I attended merged my old school with a rival which consisted mostly of blacks. I always wondered how that worked out, not because of the different races as much as the years of rivalry. I hate that some kids had long bus rides to get to school. It was bad enough when I was growing up.
I love your clips of Soul Train and the music from those days really top notch!
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteThanks for returning to pick up where we left off, dear friend!
This is another excellent, though provoking comment by you, Cathy. I always appreciate personal anecdotes that enable me to understand what your life was like when you were young. Perhaps fate will bring you and your schoolmate friend Inez back in touch with each other. It might surprise you to know that my story bears similarities to yours. When I finished elementary school and entered 7th grade, I needed to take a 20+ minute bus ride to get to school when there was a school practically within walking distance in the other direction. The reason why I was bussed a great distance had nothing to do with redistricting to achieve integration. It was simply how the districts were laid out. My family happened to move to a suburban neighborhood near the borderline separating the two school districts. In elementary school, I befriended a black boy who was the only African American child in the whole school. His family moved away at some point, and when I went on to my new school in 7th grade (grades 7 through 12 were all in the same building), there were no black students whatsoever!
Thanks again for returning to chat, dear friend Cathy. I'll be back to see you tomorrow and gaze at your wonderful artwork!
Happy Monday morning Shady! Oh how those Soul Train kiddos could dance! And the clothes were awesome too! You know my hubby sported the afro look when we met but I don't think he ever used Afro sheen! He did have a pick in his pocket though! I knew a few of these songs and when I watched Jean Knight singing a song I know very well, I couldn't help but think...Miss Big Hair! Wow! Is she any relation to Gladys Knight? Just wondering. Anyway I wish I could have the moves today of those dancers but that "train" has left the station! Ha! Thanks for the throw back to a time when I could have a few of those dance moves and I do remember a few of the Afro Sheen commercials. I notice there are tons of products made today that would rival Afro sheen. My boys having that same curly hair and some of my grandkiddos could benefit from those products too! Have a great week! I hope the weather down there is full of sunshine! (throw a few rays up north when you have the time!)
ReplyDeleteHi, Yaya!
DeleteMy goodness, dear friend, you're in the hunt for the Early Bird spot each and every week lately. Thanks for coming right over to ride the Shady Train. This is the 20th episode of my series that started many years ago over on the old SDMM blog. In recent years, I am elated to discover that more and more vintage clips from Soul Train are being remastered, restored, upscaled, whatever the correct term might be. This episode brings you some fine examples.
Yessum, you also see more studio dancers of the 1970s than usual in this volume. Many have large Afro hairdos, the kind that Jack used to have. Tell him I think he should go back to that look and appear on a billboard. It might attract more people to his practice. :) Jack kept a pick in his pocket? Imagine if a pickpicket had picked his pocket and stolen the pick in his pocket! :)
I'm thrilled that you remember and like Jean Knight's signature song, "Mr. Big Stuff." I can't believe the pristine clarity of that video, and the sound quality is also first rate. Jean Knight is not related to Gladys Knight, but the soul queens are roughly the same age. Jean is from New Orleans and just turned 80. Gladys was born in Atlanta and will soon be 79.
I insist that you post a video on Whispering Pines demonstrating how you can still perform all of the Soul Train dances. :) I'd like to see you break-dancing! :) Glad you remember the commercials for Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen from Johnson - advertised as << the largest selling products in the "Natural" world. >>
Here in Florida, the temperature is rising, on the way to a high near 80. I'll be glad to send a few rays of Florida sunshine your way if you reciprocate with a cold front. :)
Thanks again for joining the fun aboard the Shady Train. Have a wonderful week, dear friend YaYa!
I love taking a ride on the Shady Train! Here we are with another Joe Tex song and again, I don't remember it. I thought it was fun (and funny), but I bet it's not considered PC in today's world.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kelly!
DeleteThanks for coming early on day one, dear friend! I'm pleased to see you hopping aboard the big train on its 20th trip across the tracks of your mind into the exciting world of Soul!
I know from experience that you like this series. Yessum, wasn't it you who posted the Joe Tex "Gotcha" video recently? R&B zinger Joe Tex never shied away from singing songs that poked fun at people's appearance, novelty ditties that might not be as acceptable in today's PC-obsessed society. In addition to the disco song in this volume of Shady Train, "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)," Joe had a national hit in 1967 with "Skinny Legs And All" which was also a very popular jukebox play at the Shady Dell. In 1978, Joe released "Loose Caboose."
Thanks again for your kind visit and comment, dear friend Kelly. Take care and enjoy the rest of your week!
Hi Shady,
ReplyDeleteI'm only familiar with "Mr. Big Stuff" and the Delphonics. The rest are new to me and I had fun creating my own Soul Train. I love these series, especially on a Monday. A Monday that was a busy day and it's going to be a busy week.
Thanks for the groove, dear friend.
Hi, Jessica Marie!
DeleteThanks for being here for the 20th episode of Shady Train, dear friend!
Yessum, seems like most of the people who left comments so far best remember the Delfonics and Jean Knight songs, probably because they were the two biggest crossover hits. Both reached higher positions on the pop charts than the other songs in today's show. The others were big on the R&B chart and in clubs. I remember hearing them and dancing to them often at the various nightclubs and discos where I hung out during my second bachelorhood.
I'm glad you dig the sounds and enjoyed the ride. A busy week can be a happy week if you play it right. I hope it turns out that way for you.
Thanks again for coming over to get your groove on at Shady's Place, dear friend JM!
Hi, Shady,
DeleteIt has been a busy week and I'm exhausted. We're going on a trip tomorrow and will be home Saturday afternoon. We're both really excited, but also a little nervous. We'll be there for each other, and we have some neat stuff planned. Maybe before we see a heavy metal show, I may have to play this blog for David. When you do another metal post, I'll definitely share it with him too.
Have a great Thankful Thursday, dear friend.
Hi, Jessica Marie!
DeleteThanks for stopping back in, dear friend!
You have me curious to know what you and David have planned. Guess I'll find out when I visit your site. Glancing at my schedule, I don't have any metal posts coming up any time soon, but you could always call up some of my older posts for a look and a listen. I recommend Dorothy, Dea Matrona, Suzi Uzi & Black Road, and the various metal artists I presented in G.L.O.W. (Gorgeous Ladies of WOW) and Symphony of Destruction.
Thanks again for dropping in and happy Thankful Thursday to you, dear friend JM!
Here I am ready to boogie down in a funky style but I need to do this on shag carpeting. When I heard the first song, I started to laugh and thought of Lizzo that fat unattractive woman who won a Grammy. I loved seeing the break dancing which always amazes me and seeing a Kenny Loggins type guy rapping...UT was weird.
ReplyDeleteThe ad was very classy and Sheba looked great..
OMG! That fake hair from that singer for Mr. Big Stuff made me just watch yo see if it moved.
I could boogie down to the groovin' party song. That 80s song and the outfits just scream 80s
I enjoyed all of it I gave Harkey a big hug from you. Harley is a true suck who gets jealous of our pussy cats. Take care and enjoy your weather
Hi, Birgit!
DeleteThanks for coming all the way down from Canada to ride the Shady Train dear friend!
If you didn't get a chance to watch that Joe Tex video all the way through, you need to click at the 2:30 mark and watch the fun. Apparently, Joe hired a dancer to play the "big fat woman" as part of the act. She comes on stage and starts bumping him and actually knocks him off his feet. Joe takes a convincing dive to the stage, so much so that he could have been a Hollywood stuntman.
I think the rapper you are referring to is the one in the Indeep video "When Boys Talk." He's the leader of the NY-based dance trio, songwriter and musician Michael Cleveland. He wrote the group's songs, including their claim to fame, the big club and chart hit "Last Night A D.J. Saved My Life." Michael also served as the voice of the rapping D.J. on both singles.
Yessum, Jean Knight's hair looks like it was sprayed with Afro Sheen for a solid ten minutes before she went on. "Party Is A Groovy Thing" wasn't a big hit on the pop chart or even on the R&B chart, but it was big in clubs. I remember hearing it all the time in my neck of the woods.
Thanks for giving my buddy Harley a hug for me. Tell him there's plenty of lubbin to go around, and he doesn't need to be jealous of the kitties.
How on earth can I enjoy our weather when it's so dang warm and sunny.... and warm.... and sunny? :)
Thanks again for joining the fun and riding the train, dear friend BB. I'll be over to the BBC tamale to listen to your tuneage. Have a nice Tuesday!!
Good morning, Shady.
ReplyDeleteI remember watching Soul Train. I liked it because I can't dance, never could. I tried and it's just not something I can do gracefully. lol But I like watching other people dance. That show was always good for that. Plus I like some of the music they had on there.
The clothes in those videos sure brought back some memories. I was a teenager in the early 80's and I think we had some of the most fun clothes back then.
I actually recognized all the songs this week. Some of them I only knew slightly but others brought back some fun 80's memories.
I hope you have a good week.
Hi, Mary!
DeleteYour comment went right to my front page instead of the spam dumpster, dear friend. Yay! I'm very happy to see you and thank you for coming by!
I'm like you, Mary. I enjoy watching people dance, but I always felt awkward doing it unless I was boozed-up which, I'm sorry to say, was 99% of the time. I know I'd be shocked and disgusted to see videos of how I behaved in clubs for years on end.
I'm happy to know you watched Soul Train and enjoy my blog version of the series entitled Shady Train. I try to make it as authentic as possible for you, right down to the commercials and the Soul Train animated music theme "bumpers" leading into and/or out of breaks.
Yessum, you will see some wild fashions in these vintage videos. You can note quite a difference in the styles worn by the Soul Train gang in episodes taped in the 1970s compared to the 1980s. Don Cornelius didn't like the trend in the 80s that had the young women dressed like hoochie mamas and the young men looking like their pimps.
I'm thrilled that you actually remember all of these songs. No dunce cap for you, dearie. :) Thanks again for being here for the 20th edition of Shady Train. Enjoy the rest of your week, dear friend Mary!
Hello friend Shady! Soul Train was not one of my usual programs to watch but I do know a couple of these songs. I can't get over the hair on Ms. Knight. I am a bit jealous as my hair is so thin and fine, but I don't think I'd like quite so much sitting on top of my head as that.
ReplyDeleteI have to laugh at the fat woman bump. There have been a couple songs about fat bottomed women and I can relate.
I enjoy watching the different dance styles. Some of the couples are really smooth together. Hope you have a great rest of your week. I am still trying to get my act together over here. Slow and steady.
Hi, Janet!
ReplyDeletePleased to see you, dear friend! Thanks for coming and welcome aboard as the Shady Train takes it's 20th ride to Soulsville U.S.A., the place referenced in the hit song by Wilson Pickett, Tina Turner and in the soundtrack of the 1998 movie musical Blues Brothers 2000.
Yessum, Jean Knight had big hair, a popular look in the 70s. I remember Mrs. Shady #1 having long straight hair and using empty frozen orange juice cans as rollers. She was a sight to behold with her hair filled with those big cans.
Yessum, did you see Joe Tex get knocked off his feet at the end of his performance when a plus size mama approached and started bumping her booty against him? I think the stunt caught some of the Soul Train dancers by surprise.
The Soul Train Gang were the gold standard of TV studio dancers, especially in the later 70s and 80s when they wore outlandish costumes, brought basketballs, jumbo size toothbrushes, giant whistles and other props to the show and even performed simple skits as they danced.
Yessum, I understand what you mean by slow and go. Getting your MIL adjusted is no easy chore. I'm sure something keeps coming up to draw you away from your transcription work, Etsy business and crafting.
Thank you again for your kind visit and thoughtful comments. Please be extra good to my buddy Benny. He's a blessing to have near you, a lovable pet that lifts your spirits whenever life starts getting you down.
Enjoy the rest of your week, dear friend Janet!
It strikes me as odd that you have at the top of this post what looks like a 1950s pulp paperback picture of young white people only to follow it with videos of young black people in the 1970s and 1980s. Are you trying to make some kind of point about the racial dividing line? If you are, I'm sorry to say the point went completely over my head.
ReplyDeleteJust like most everyone else who commented, the only song I'm really familiar with is "Mr. Big Guy", but I wouldn't have been able to tell you that it was Jean Knight who sang it before I watched this video. I have heard of the Delfonics, but not that particular song.
When the video for "Party is a Groovy Thing" by People's Choice (I wonder if they ever won THAT award) first started playing I was looking down at an open page of a magazine--I guess I shouldn't have but I figured, you know, music is for LISTENING--and thought there was two different people singing, one man with a moderately deep voice, and another man with an IMMENSELY deep voice. Imagine my surprise to look up and see it was the same man! I had to watch and listen to it a second time to see if the deeper voice was indeed coming from someone else. No, the same guy. I know they lip synced on American Bandstand, and I imagine that was true on Soul Train as well. Still, it was fascinating to watch him scrunch up and then un-scrunch up his face as he sang a kind of call-and-response with himself.
As I approach the sunset of my life, my ears may not be what they used to be, but I swear to God I heard the white Jewish playwright Neil Simon's name referenced in Frankie Smith's "Double Dutch Bus", absolutely the last person I would expect to hear mentioned on Soul Train.
And that's all I got for today.
Hi, Kirk!
DeleteWelcome aboard the Shady Train, good buddy, and thanks for being here! By the way, to clear up any confusion, my Shady Train series was inspired by Soul Train, not by Terror Train, the 1980 Jamie Lee Curtis slasher flick. :)
Yes - BINGO - you got me! In the interest of transparency and full disclosure, I will come clean and confess that I picked that 1950s pulp paperback picture because I am trying to make some kind of point about the racial dividing line. Knock yourself out trying to determine exactly what that point is. (Insert evil laughter here.) Just kidding, good buddy. I had no ulterior motive. It's just a piece of art I found that loosely fits the title of the post, nothing more :)
You might be familiar with "Mr. Big Guy," but the song in question is entitled "Mr. Big Stuff." :) I'm pretty sure Mr. Big Guy is the title of an 8 mm John Holmes loop. :)
The R&B/Soul trio The Delfonics had a modest string of hits that started in early 1968 with the song mentioned by Don Cornelius in the intro - "La-La (Means I Love You)," their biggest crossover success. The streak continued with "Didn't I," the 1970 hit featured in this edition of Shady Train. Subsequent singles were not as successful as those two, and by the mid 70s the act was missing the R&B chart as well as the pop chart. Yet, the two Delfonics songs I like best are their first two singles released in 1966 and 1967 just before their breakthrough hit "La - La - Means I Love You." They are "He Don't Really Love You," released in August, 1966, and "You've Been Untrue," released in April, 1967. Both records sold poorly and are little known and seldom heard today, yet they are two of the finest examples you will ever hear of the blossoming Sound Of Philadelphia that became a major force in popular music in the 70s. I have both of those rare singles in my collection, and the Moon Shot label scan from my copy of "He Don't Really Love You" is on display in my right sidebar.
Thanks for your input on "Party Is A Groovy Thing" by People's Choice. The lead singer of the Philly funk band was co-founder Frank Brunson who died in 2007. The band had at least three other vocalists, and therefore I don't know for sure if Bunson actually did both vocal parts on the original recording, even though he "sang" both parts in that lip sync performance on Soul Train.
I checked sites that have the complete lyrics of 'Double Dutch Bus" and did not see any Neil Simon references, but thanks for mentioning the unique and groundbreaking funk song. Written, recorded and released in 1981 to capitalize on the popular Double Dutch jump-rope game played by children on city streets and sidewalks, "DD Bus" was the first recording to make use of the "izz" infix form of slang, later popularized as "izzle" by rapper Snoop Dogg. Wiki further explains the izz/izzle etymology: << from a style of cant (esoteric slang) used by African American pimps and jive hustlers of the 1970s. The “-iz, -izzle, -izzo, -ilz” speak (which also uses an infix -iz-), similar in some ways to Pig Latin, was developed by African Americans around the period of the Harlem Renaissance, with hotspots of the speak in Oakland, New York City, and Philadelphia. It was partially developed as young African American girls improvised chants and nursery rhymes while jumping rope, with the -iz dialect serving to add syllables when necessary to maintain the rhythm. A similar -iz dialect has also been used by carnies (carnival workers). >>
If you are approaching the sunset of your life, then old Shady is burning the midnight oil. :) Thanks again for your midweek visit and great comments, good buddy Kirk!