Ok..I haven't been on here in awhile so if someone has posted this before please excuse me but: has anyone ever heard the original version of "I Am The Black Gold of The Sun" by Rotary Connection? WOW! Nuyourican Soul did it a few years ago and for what ever reason ( maybe i wasn't paying attention)it slipped by me that their's was a remake. They did a good version but Rotary Connection's (with Minnie Ripperton) was much more raw and funky. WOW.

Great tune.
paligap (aka ) has done some stellar posts on Rotary Connection.

Too bad that "search" function is temporarily out of order.


tA

Tribal

Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

see now im in the mood for a all day vinyl dig

theAudience said:

LOL!!!

theAudience said:

See now, ya gonna make me pull out da' photos- I'm sorry folks:



Charles Stepney

That was (is) My group!!
They were way before their time -- Marshall Chess wanted to put out an interracial group that would capture the late 60's acid / psychedelic/Theatrical sound , but with a more soulful spin - he got together with Chess arranger /composer (and later Earth Wind and Fire producer) Charles Stepney, Chess session artists like guitarists Phil Upchurch, Pete Cosey, and the ethereal voiced- Minnie Riperton and paired them with rockers John Stocklin, drummer Kenny Venegas, bassist Mitch Aliotta and guitarist Bobby Simms. Sidney Barnes, songwriter, background vocalist and solo artist (and early George Clinton collaborator) completed the line-up. They were never a big hit, but they had a small cult following, and Stevie Wonder was a big fan of the group - he contributed a song(from an unfinished musical he was working on at the time) called 'This Town' for their 'Songs' album (Please check this song out if you get the chance! An amazing showcase for Barnes , Minnie's other worldly-upper octave singing, Stevie's compositional skills, and Charles Stepney's masterful arrangements--Definitely one of the groups highest acheivements, along with tracks like I Am the Black Gold Of The Sun, from the 'Hey Love' album...




...

(both Songs and Hey Love reissued on a 2 for 1 CD:

Aladdin and Dinner Music were also re-released in a 2 for 1...)

Of course, Stevie and Minnie would go on to work together more extensively, both in his band Wonderlove and with his contributions to Minnie's Perfect Angel album...

but her first solo album, 1969's Come to My Garden was done while she was a member of Rotary Connection -- with Stepney again as producer, and several of the group's musicians - another wonderful, ethereal showcase for Minnie's incredible voice...






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[Edited 3/18/05 14:07pm]

We discussed this before, but one thing I've never been able to figure out is the writing credits on the Rotary Connection song, Love Has Fallen on Me (Chaka Khan later covered it on her first solo album)--it lists Charles Stepney and Lloyd Webber as the writers, and we were wondering if it was Andrew Lloyd Webber....it was written around the time of 'Jesus Christ Superstar', and it has that theatrical feel to it, but nobody seems to know for certain...

paligap said:

AllMusic.com credits Andrew. . .

I've always wanted to explore them some more. I still only have the first Rotary Connection record--and coincidentally was just touting it to someone the other day while they were listening to Bonita Applebum.

trashoblanco said:

that's right, Tribe used that sample from Memory Band for Bonita Applebum...



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[Edited 3/18/05 13:36pm]

Btw, Their last album, Hey Love, was originaly credited as the "New Rotary Connection" -- Sidney Barnes and a few others had left, and they put three new singers - Dave Scott, Kitty Haywood, and Shirley Wahls together with Minnie, and Master Henry Gibson was added on Congas...It had an even more soulful feel, and tracks like I Am The Black Gold of The Sun are a signpost towards the work that Charles Stepney would do with the re-vamped Earth Wind and Fire three years later...




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[Edited 3/18/05 14:25pm]

I'm LOVIN' that "I Am The Black Gold of the Sun".....that along with Love Unlimited Orchestra's "Strange Games and Things" and I"m ready to conquer the world!!

does a single cd version of the "hey love" album exist?

Scrapluv said:

not at the moment....funny, because they did release "Songs" in the UK as a seperate disc....but, right now, Hey Love's only available as the 2 on1 CD...