Thea Queen of Clubs - Vol. 1: Wild Girls Like Billie Jean!

(COLD OPEN)
CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

"That's Where The Happy People Go" - The Trammps

(Apr./May 1976, highest chart pos. #1 Disco/#12 R&B,

#27 Hot 100, perf. on Dutch TV show TopPop)

Disco... "That's Where The Happy People Go," and you just saw and heard

The Trammps of Philadelphia, one of the pioneering disco bands of the 70s,

doing their crossover hit that topped the dance chart in the spring of 1976. 

Live from Club Verdant, where the

happy people go in Star City... it's

Thea Queen of Clubs!

Hi there! I'm your

Hostess with the Mostest

Thea Queen

 welcoming you into the club

 and inviting you to dance

till dawn or till you drop,

whichever comes first.

As you recall from my previous

appearances on Shady's blogs,

I'm Oliver Queen's kid sister

on Arrow, the superhero TV

series based on the DC

comics character

Green Arrow. 

Using the code name Speedy, I am a member of Team Arrow,

the gang of crime fighting vigilantes on a mission to save our city. 

When I'm not suited up for combat,

I'm gussied up for hosting duties

as owner of Verdant, a nightclub

founded by Oliver and used as a

cover for his vigilante operation.

His Arrowcave headquarters

is located in the basement. 

That's Ollie (above) at the grand opening of Verdant

proposing a toast and thanking the party people for coming.

Our mother was also there that night to show her support.

In previous appearances on Shady's blogs, I have been your host for rave parties.

This is my first official radio show as a new member of The Shady Bunch.

Thea Queen of Clubs

is unique because it is the only S-P-M-M show that comes to you

live from a nightclub with simulcasts on radio and YouTube. 

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

My mission is to keep you out on the

floor and begging for more as I play

the best of 70s disco and 80s dance

club sounds, and here now is another

great one. It's LA-based R&B thrush

Carrie Lucas performing the hit single

from her most successful album,

Carrie Lucas in Danceland.

The 1979 disco song brushed

the top 5 on the U.S. Dance

chart and went top 40 in the

UK. Here's Carrie Lucas

making it clear she wants

to-- "Dance With You!"  

"Dance With You" - Carrie Lucas

(Apr./May 1979, highest chart pos. #6 U.S. Dance,

#27 R&B/#40 UK/#70 Hot 100)

From 1979, the last big year for disco,

that was a sizzling sound on both sides

of the pond... California dance diva

Carrie Lucas and her best known

song "Dance With You." 

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

We're still deep in the heart of disco

as I play this seldom heard relic from

early 1979... another record that was

a hit in both the U.S. and the UK.

Here's child actor and singer

Leif Garrett doing his signature

song "I Was Made For Dancin'." 

"I Was Made For Dancin'" - Leif Garrett

(Jan./Feb. 1979, highest chart pos. #10 Hot 100,

#15 Cash Box/#2 Australia/#3 New Zealand/#4 UK) 

That was teen idol Leif Garrett performing "I Was Made For Dancin'"

... the biggest hit of his career as a recording artist. You first saw

Leif as an actor in 1969 when he played the son of Elliott Gould

and Dyan Cannon in the movie Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.

Just now tuning in? Hi, I'm...

Thea Queen of Clubs

from the TV series Arrow, and this is my first official radio show on

S-P-M-M... where we make old school new again and cool again.

I'm bringing you the best

of 1970s disco, freestyle

faves and 80s dance club

sounds. We're right in the

middle of a 7-in-a-row

seamless jam, so keep

that body movin'. 

During the Thanksgiving

and Christmas holidays

of 1966, Diana Ross

and The Supremes

topped the charts

with "You Keep

Me Hangin' On."

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Here's the Hi-NRG

remake by English pop

star Kim Wilde, a single

that also reached #1 in

the states.  Go Wilde

on the dance floor as

Kim sings her cover

of "You Keep Me

Hangin' On!"

"You Keep Me Hangin' On" - Kim Wilde

(May/June 1987, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100,

#2 Cash Box/#2 UK/#1 Australia)

That was the official music video for UK popper Kim Wilde's

chart-topping 1987 cover of "You Keep Me Hangin' On." 

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

Now here's the King of Pop,

Michael Jackson, with a song

everyone in the civilized world

knows. This single spent nine

weeks at #1 and helped Thriller

become the fastest selling album

of all time and top that chart for

37 weeks. The song is ranked

high on Rolling Stone's list of

Greatest Songs of All Time and

was named the greatest dance

record of all time in a poll of

BBC Radio 2  listeners. Here's

Michael with his monster

hit-- "Billie Jean!" 

"Billie Jean" - Michael Jackson

(Jan. thru Apr. 1983, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box

& R&B & UK & France & Switzerland & Belgium)

Number one in America and

a smash heard round the world

beginning in the early months

of 1983, that was "Billie Jean"

by The King of Pop...

Michael Jackson. 

Thea Queen

of Clubs

keeping your feet busy

and giving up the funk

with another early 80s

dance club classic.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW! 

Here's one of the baddest sounds around. It's by the LA-based,

all-female R&B band Klymaxx. Time to party with "Wild Girls!"

"Wild Girls" (12 inch remix) - Klymaxx

(Nov./Dec. 1982, highest chart pos. #78 R&B)

From the ace record producing team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis,

that was "Wild Girls," the best song on the 1982 Klymaxx album

Girls Will Be Girls. At the time of its release, the single didn't

have much impact, but has since grown into a fan favorite.   

Dawn's breaking and the dance party's over. Hope you had fun dancing

the night away at Star City's hottest night spot, Verdant, and being

part of this special live blogcast on S-P-M-M Retro Radio.

 

Stick around. Coming up on the flip side of Gary Owens' news,

Dell Rat Tom returns to Shady's Place with Part 7 of his series

 SAVED BY THE BELL  DELL  

And I'll be back before you know it to bring you more

of the great sounds from the disco 70s and clubbin' 80s.

To play us off, one of the hottest disco hits of the 70s,

"Born To Be Alive" by Patrick Hernandez...

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

 

 And look-- the awesome sight of a flash mob grooving to the song. Now

this is your Rockin' Royalty of Retro Radio, your #1 Dance Diva DJ

Thea Queen of Clubs aka "Speedy" urging you to shed the

blues and put on your boogie shoes. See you next time! 

"Born To Be Alive - Patrick Hernandez

(Aug./Sept. 1979, highest chart pos. #1 Disco/#16 Hot 100,

#17 Cash Box, Flashmob Dance, Feb. 2023)

Shady Train - Ep. 10: Halloween Party Train!

BOOTH ANNOUNCER:

Shady Train...

the hippest trip in America!

60 nonstop minutes across the

tracks of your mind into the

exciting world of Soul!

And now, here's your host...

Don Cornelius!

Hi there and welcome back in. You're right on time
for another hip trip on the Shadytown choo-choo.
Don't need money. Don't take fame. Don't need
no credit card to ride this train... so climb aboard!

On this special edition of our show we're taking the Terror Train...

and the Horror Express and heading straight toward Halloween.

And as the train prepares to leave the station

we are delighted to introduce a very talented

young actor known for his portrayal of base-

ball great Jackie Robinson in the film 42 and

his starring role in the 2018 blockbuster

black Panther. Now behold his brilliant

portrayal of soul legend James Brown in

Get On Up, the 2014 film biography that

chronicles the Godfather's rise to inter-

national fame. Ladies and gentlemen,

Mr. Chadwick Boseman and Mr. Dynamite, James Brown, invite you

to Get On Up and get on board-- the "Night Train!"

"Night Train" (live) - James Brown And The Famous Flames
(May/June 1962, highest chart pos. #35 Hot 100/#5 R&B,
scene from 2014 film Get On Up)

START PLAYING VIDEO

AT 35 SEC. MARK!

And our next guests are, we believe, setting a new standard for what bands are all about. If you base your opinion on sales and genuine popularity, you have to consider them as the best band in the business. As they join us courtesy of our friends at American Bandstand to do their latest single on Total Experience records, a top 3 Halloween hit entitled "Party Train," a great welcome, gang, for-- The Gap Band!

"Party Train" - The Gap Band

(Halloween 1983, highest chart pos.

#3 R&B/#101 Bubbling Under)

START PLAYING VIDEO

AT 30 SEC. MARK!

And the Shady Train dancers are gonna style awhile

and get into a groove that makes you wanna move

real smooth. It's one of three singles by a talented

Italian-American band that topped the U.S. Dance

chart simultaneously for nine weeks in the spring

of 1980 - an all-time record. They call themselves

Change and this is a biggin' everyboy's diggin'

entitled-- "A Lover's Holiday!"

"A Lover's Holiday" - Change

(April/May 1980, highest chart pos. #1 U.S. Dance Club,

from Apr. 1980 album The Glow Of Love)

And just in time for Halloween let's welcome one of 

he finest talents and one of the loveliest ladies in our

business. She is Miss Evelyn "Champagne" King

and this is a song from the soundtrack of the hit

horror flick Fright Night-- "Give It Up!"

"Give It Up" - Evelyn "Champagne" King

(Halloween 1985, from OST of film Fright Night)

And we are super excited to have aboard the big train

a talented band from Los Angeles to do their smash

disco hit on the Capitol label. As we speak the

record is topping the pop, soul and disco charts

in the U.S. and catching fire all over the world.

The song is entitled "Boogie Oogie Oogie"

and this is-- A Taste Of Honey!

"Boogie Oogie Oogie" - A Taste of Honey

(June/July/Aug. 1978, highest chart pos.

#1 Hot 100/#1 R&B/#1 Disco/#1 Canada)

And as the big train takes dead aim on Halloween,

let's check out this amazing mix of two smash hits.

It's Ray Parker Jr. with the theme song he wrote

and performed for the movie Ghostbusters,

along with Huey Lewis And The News

doing their chart-topper "The Power

Of Love!" It's a nifty mashup called

-- "The Ghostbusters Of Love!" 

Mashup "The Ghostbusters Of Love"

Ray Parker Jr. vs. Huey Lewis And The News

("The Power Of Love" + "Ghostbusters")

START PLAYING VIDEO

AT 50 SEC. MARK!

And the Los Angeles group Klymaxx was one of

the first and only all female bands to ever make it

big in our industry. The group is responsible for

killers that include "Wild Girls," "The Men All

Pause," "I Miss You," "Man Size Love," and

their biggest hit and signature song which

you about to hear. As a Halloween treat we

present a parody video starring comedians

Fortune Feimster, Allison Dunbar and friends.

They're-- "Meeting In The Ladies Room!"

"Meeting In The Ladies Room" - Klymaxx

(parody by comedians Fortune Feimster, Allison Dunbar & friends)

(orig. Apr./May/June 1985, highest chart pos #4 R&B/#59 Hot 100)

That does it for our Halloween Party Train edition

of Shady Train. We'll open another six pack again

next time and throw in another cool one for good

measure, and 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!