Was it in house favorite, Mary Wilson?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBXA3pG1ui0
HDH star Freda Payne?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dEZ3IQZBAU
or perhaps Taka Boom ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CInCzboOQU
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Was it in house favorite, Mary Wilson?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBXA3pG1ui0
HDH star Freda Payne?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dEZ3IQZBAU
or perhaps Taka Boom ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CInCzboOQU
Sadly none of the ladies made much of an impact on the disco scene.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BayouMotownMan
Taka takes the prize chart wise: #19.
Mary squeaked on at #85 and poor Frida, not at all, although she does an impressive Donna Summer sounding vocal over a rather pleasant [if uninspired] Latin tinged number.
Could be said of the various things that worked against Mary, one was choosing this unpopular theme.
All three are equally terrible. Rancid even.Thank God disco went the way of the non avian dinosaurs.
ok, lets try this,
...which of these Labelle-er disco participants is the most red hot ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeIhYvbLtoY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSDDa5undc0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OFdLEV6_Ak
Answer chart wise:
Sarah Dash- SINNER MAN #9 disco
Patti LaBelle - MUSIC IS MY WAY OF LIFE #10 disco
Nona Hendryx - DO WHAT YOU WANNA DO #23 disco
Both Nona's and Patti's 12"ers were mixed by esteemed disco remixer John Luongo and Sarah's by Tom Moulton.
Nona's is a remake of one of disco's biggest [secret] charting songs, a smash by T-Connection in 1977. it was #1 for seven weeks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2N9AHza9m0
I'd go with Patti here. I was never into disco but thought Music Is My Way of Life was a great song and Patti sang the hell out of it. I also liked Sinner Man but prefer Sarah in the background, honestly. Now I have to say Nona did not sing Do What You Wanna Do very well--she was lacking confidence in her ability to sing lead. It's the whole Mary Wilson syndrome. Nona would become a vocal powerhouse around 1984, but on this song she just wasn't there yet. It was really fascinating watching Nona gain confidence in her singing in the mid 80's.
Interesting hearing Freda Payne's vocals on "Red Hot." I think this answers the questions of whether or not she could have sang lead on the latter day Supremes as opposed to Scherrie. Clearly, she could have. Her style on this song is much closer to Scherrie's style of singing than it is to the style I normally associate with Freda. Scherrie was such a strong vocalist, and clearly Freda is too, but Scherrie including her background in Glass House, was more used to singing the kinds of songs the Supremes would have her sing.
But even if Freda could have been the lead singer, it would certainly be seen as a step backwards for her career-wise. She already had an established name as a solo artist, so losing her name recognition as a member of a trio would have seemed foolish at that time especially picking up the mantle as the third lead singer.
But I agree, it is interesting to contemplate. Both ladies are awesome singers who are also clearly two of the nicest show biz legends around, it seems to me.
She wasn't above doing disco, so that wouldn't have been an issue. I do think its more trouble to negotiate a trio than to just promote and navigate your own self. She was obviously comfortable being a soloist.Quote:
Originally Posted by kenneth
This one went to #18 disco:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErbqibDTMRg
Did Donna Summer's voice circumvent her chances??
looks like the above youtube disappeared so :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xHPipNf46Y
Bobby , do you know anything about The Cage??
Nope--I never asked Nona about this single mainly because I forgot all about Do What You Wanna Do. I heard the song many times at clubs back in 1982 or so, in fact, I heard it more than any other Nona song with the possible exception of I Sweat. Both songs were big in gay clubs but neither sold well. I Sweat was re-released, inexplicably, as a single when the movie Perfect came out. They even filmed a video for it!! I'm pretty sure it didn't even chart. RCA didn't know what to do with Nona and Nona felt like they felt she was too "weird." Later at EMI she was criticized for not having "skinny legs." I am not making this up, it really happened.
I remember Nona doing a great performance of I SWEAT [during its initial release] at the Rhythm and Blues Awards. The performance was in an outside Vegas venue as I recall. At the end of the song, Nona ran and jumped in a pool.Quote:
Originally Posted by BobbyC
I ended up buying a promo 12" of it when it was re-released, as well as watching its video from PERFECT, with John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis on BET. It did end up charting, at #28 r&b.
My favorite Nona tracks are probably IF LOOKS COULD KILL and BABY GO GO.
I remember the whole pool thing! I also loved If Looks Could Kill. Nona blasted that vocal out of the ball park!
@Boogie,
Thanks for the clip of Freda's disco song. I'd never heard it before. Her voice is pleasant and it definitely elevates the somewhat pedestrian arrangement, but it seems Scherrie was more the belter, and who could out-belt Scherrie? But that was interesting. I had no idea that Freda recorded this kind of material, but I guess they almost all had to in order to survive that era. Heck, even Ethel Merman recorded a disco album!
Bobby, The Cage appear to be a one-off British concoction.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kenneth
You're Welcome Kenneth ! I'll agree with your pedestrian assessment, ....paint by numbers disco.
Funny you should mention Ethel Merman ....shall we get out in the weeds with this retro disco blast from Freda?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYnxW9wWkcY
.... might've worked as a duet with Ethel !!
this is new to me , Belinda and Freda re-recorded the song in 1986. It went to #26 disco/dance chart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vViM00YVCu0
for good measure, Sylvester in 1983 :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d0d8TR1_kE
#18 disco
It's coming back to me now. Yeah I don't think The Cage was a real group--more of a studio group like Material. Man, it's been years!! I never heard of The Cage after this single.
How about this Supremes visit :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YBglNwKERk
A favorite for me by Patti :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjNQOzU9NpY
Hi Boogsie Baby!! Nona's remake of Itching was dreadful. The song is not in her key, she is an alto. The flip side of this single [[produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads) is a killer punk track called X-Ray, and it's far superior to Itching In My Heart.
Nona later had a mild hit with a song called Keep It Confidential which was really quite good. She is a prolific songwriter but I don't think disco was her bag.Quote:
Originally Posted by BobbyC
Nona always made it known that just because she was black, she should not have to fit into one category or another. Her comeback single Busting Out [[with Material) was a dance floor filler, especially on the east coast, but if you caught her live, she'd put a rock spin on it and other songs. Her shows are always high energy rock/funk displays. She is probably the most consistent live performer I've ever seen. Back in the mid 2000's, Nona unexpectedly did a show for a music festival here in Austin. I could tell most people at the show didn't know who she was, but by the end people left with their mouths open! She made a slew of new fans that night!
Bustin’ Out with Material is one of my Nona favorites. Why Should I Cry is her biggest solo hit and one of her best, IMO. Also Winds of Change [[Mandela to Mandela) from the same album as Why Should I Cry is also one of my favorites.
I still love Bustin' Out. It has taken on a life of its own online thanks to Narcos.