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 vinyl vault. Warning: by R&B/soul, I also mean disco. I could go all Weather Girls on your ass at any given moment, so just be ready!
Peaches & Herb’s 2 Hot! came out of nowhere to to rule the airwaves in 1979. “Shake Your Groove Thing” was the first single off of 2 Hot!, and it became the duo’s first Top 10 hit since 1967’s “Close Your Eyes.” Of course, this was really a new duo, as the original Peaches (Francine Barker) had been replaced by Linda Greene in 1977. Greene was a perfect fit for the band, and her sultry voice helped elevate “Reunited” to the top spot on both the pop and R&B charts. “Reunited” spent four weeks at #1 in May of 1979, and also earned songwriters Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris a 1980 Grammy nomination for Song Of The Year (it lost out to the Doobie Brothers’ “What A Fool Believes,” written by Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins).
The follow-up album Twice The Fire spawned the Top 20 hit “I Pledge My Love” in 1979, but Peaches & Herb would never again match the crossover success of 2 Hot! It’s a fantastic album from start to finish, and the Analog Kid is happy to present this copy ripped from my own original vinyl. Commence booty-bumpin’!
Peaches & Herb: 2 Hot!
Polydor Records, 1978
Vinyl rip courtesy of the Analog Kid
1. “We’ve Got Love” (Fekaris/Perren)
2. “Shake Your Groove Thing” (Fekaris/Perren)
3. “Reunited” (Fekaris/Perren)
4. “All Your Love (Give It Here)” (Fekaris/Perren)
5. “Love It Up Tonight” (Fekaris/Perren)
6. “Four’s A Traffic Jam” (Fekaris/Perren)
7. “The Star Of My Life” (Fekaris/Perren)
8. “Easy As Pie” (Fekaris/Perren)
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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.
Peaches & Herb: “Close Your Eyes” (Willis)
From the album Let’s Fall In Love
Date Records, 1967
Peaches & Herb: “I Pledge My Love” (Perren)
From the album Twice The Fire
Polydor Records, 1979
Peaches & Herb: “Reunited [Single Version]” (Fekaris/Perren)
Polydor Records, 1978
Peaches & Herb: “Shake Your Thing [Extended Version]” (Fekaris/Perren)
From the 12″ promo single Shake Your Groove Thing
Polydor Records, 1978
Shake Your Groove Thing [Extended Version]
![What A Fool Believes [U.S. 12_]](https://analogkidblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/what-a-fool-believes-u-s-12_.png)
The Doobie Brothers: “What A Fool Believes [Special Disco Version]” (McDonald/Loggins)
From the 12″ single What A Fool Believes
Warner Brothers Records, 1978
Vinyl rip courtesy of the Analog Kid
What A Fool Believes [Special Disco Version]
The Analog Kid 
Thanks so much for talking a bit about the history of these songs and the album that Freddie Perren was a part of. I have a friend who loves late 70s music and has been wanting so know a bit more about Perren himself since he help produce the Jackson 5. We’ve been looking into finding a website dedicated to him and his music so we can learn about him all in one place.