Every Tuesday, the Analog Kid blog goes back in time and features some groovy R&B/soul songs from a specific year. Sometimes you’ll hear songs from individual artists, and other times you’ll get an entire full-length classic LP ripped directly from the Analog Kid’s vast inventory. Warning: by R&B/soul, I also mean disco. I could go Village People on your ass at any given moment, so just be ready!
Groovy Tuesday: 1977
Celi Bee & The Buzzy Bunch: “Superman” (Pepe Luis Soto)
From the album Celi Bee & The Buzzy Bunch
TK Records, 1977
It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s a dirty song about Superman doin’ it! You gotta love the ’70s, right Clark?
I had forgotten all about this little jem until I was reintroduced to it by DJ PaulT and his fantastic website. Check it out if you love ’70s and ’80s remixes and obscurities, all beautifully ripped from vinyl!
Bill Withers: “Lovely Day” (Bill Withers/Skip Scarborough)
From the album Menagerie
Columbia Records, 1977
Listen to what Bill does at the 3:07 mark of “Lovely Day.” Who holds a note for eighteen seconds? Bill Withers, that’s who. Even Superman couldn’t do that.
“Lovely Day” only reached #30 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it’s one of my favorite Withers songs. If you’re curious, Bill is still alive and well– he just decided to stop recording in the mid-’80s. That makes me very sad.
The Floaters: “Float On” [Single Version] (Marvin Willis/Arnold Ingram/James Mitchell)
Original version from the album The Floaters
ABC Records, 1977
Cancer. And my name is Gary. Now I like a woman who loves her football, and I like a woman who can change a tire so that I don’t have to call Triple-A. And if you fit that description, baby, come with me. Take my hand. Come with me, baby, to Longhorn land. Let me show you how sweet it could be, sharing love and season tickets with me.
High Inergy: “You Can’t Turn Me Off (In The Middle Of Turning Me On)” (Marilyn McLeod/Pam Sawyer)
From the album Turnin’ On
Gordy Records, 1977
You Can’t Turn Me Off (In The Middle Of Turning Me On)
“You Can’t Turn Me Off (In The Middle Of Turning Me On)” peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was the only Top 40 single for High Inergy. A couple years ago, I was browsing a list of the Top 200 songs from 1977 and discovered that this song was the only one on the list that I didn’t already own. I took care of that glaring oversight very quickly.
Peter Brown: “Dance With Me” (Peter Brown/Robert Rans)
From the album A Fantasy Love Affair
TK Records, 1977
Vinyl rip courtesy of the Analog Kid
“Dance With Me” was a Top 10 smash for Peter Brown, and “Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me” (both from the album A Fantasy Love Affair) is one of the best-selling 12″ singles of all time. Brown’s place in music history would be secure based on just those two songs, but did you know that he also co-wrote Madonna’s “Material Girl?” Peter definitely got plenty of cold hard cash for that one…
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Bonus Tracks!
The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.
Peter Brown: “Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me” (Peter Brown/Robert Rans)
From the 12″ single Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me
TK Records, 1977
Madonna: “Material Girl” (Peter Brown/Robert Rans)
From the album Like A Virgin
Sire Records, 1984
The Analog Kid 
The Peter Brown tracks are my jams. So FUNKY. The Bill WIthers is a sweet timeless track, too, don’t you think? There was a godawful remix of it in the Eighties. Love “Float On” as well. Want to say there was a video of them performing it on some show but I could be mistaken. You could have been the fifth Floater with that smooth intro!
Always good to see DJ Paul T get props as well.
Awesome post.
This website was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something which helped
me. Cheers!