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Bill Summers & Summers Heat Anyone else here a fan their early 80s stuff? Call It a What You Want, We Call It The Box, etc. I never see a lot on this group even though he's well respected in jazz circles I enjoyed his foray into some contemporary funk and R&B. |
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It’s surprising that there isn’t a ‘best of’ compilation by them.I love songs like “Call It What You Want”,”Jam The Box”,”Seventeen” and others. | |
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"Call It What You Want" (1980) | |
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"Jam The Box" (1981) | |
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In 1982,they went into a funky New Wave direction for the song "Seventeen",which got alot of airplay here in the Bay Area | |
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Seventeen was my song....1982 was my year for old school jams...to name a few.... Cutie Pie - One Way Must Be The Music - Secret Weapon Gigolo - O’Bryan Let It Whip - Dazz Band Love Come Down - Evelyn King High Hopes - SOS Band The Message - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five Flirt - Cameo Freaky Behavior - Bar-Kays A Night To Remember - Shalamar I Want To Do Something Freaky To You - Saint Tropez Last Night - Stephanie Mills Nasty Girl - Vanity 6 777-9321 - The Time Attack Of The Name Game - Stacy Lattisaw Apache - Sugarhill Gang Genius Of Love - Tom Tom Club Murphy’s Law - Cheri | |
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I would love to see Bill Summers and Summers Heat on some of these funk fest shows that feature several funk bands. | |
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Yes all of that early 80s funk of which Clinton referred to as "brand x". I was pretty much all over it. Skyy had Jam The Box too, but I believe Summers Heat did it first, I could stand corrected. Bill Summers have that band a crisp sound. Lots of bass drum kick in the mixes. They changed up for the London Style album which seemed to be the end of the run. Although, I really dug that one. |
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That's correct.Bill Summers album came out in early 1981,while the Skyy album didn't come out until the fall of '81.
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SoulAlive said: That's correct.Bill Summers album came out in early 1981,while the Skyy album didn't come out until the fall of '81.
I often wondered what the story was behind the, both doing essentially the same song. Skyy is another band that if often under appreciated in funk circles. They had quite a few good albums, with some funk in the grooves. |
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I agree,Skyy is a top-notch band too.They had a good run.
.. [Edited 1/4/18 16:08pm] | |
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Comser said: Seventeen was my song....1982 was my year for old school jams...to name a few.... Cutie Pie - One Way Must Be The Music - Secret Weapon Gigolo - O’Bryan Let It Whip - Dazz Band Love Come Down - Evelyn King High Hopes - SOS Band The Message - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five Flirt - Cameo Freaky Behavior - Bar-Kays A Night To Remember - Shalamar I Want To Do Something Freaky To You - Saint Tropez Last Night - Stephanie Mills Nasty Girl - Vanity 6 777-9321 - The Time Attack Of The Name Game - Stacy Lattisaw Apache - Sugarhill Gang Genius Of Love - Tom Tom Club Murphy’s Law - Cheri It’s amazing how many great jams we had back then! | |
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mrwiggles said: They changed up for the London Style album which seemed to be the end of the run. Although, I really dug that one. Never heard that album.The last I heard of them was in 1982 when they released the ‘Seventeen’ album.That one took them in a New Wave direction....lots of synths. | |
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"We Call It The Box",from 1981,is another favorite | |
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OK, looks like I struck a nerve with you SoulAlive. I'll be pulling out some old Summers vinyl this weekend and giving it a spin. London Style had a couple of slow-cooked, mid tempo grinders on it with one of his strong female vocals leading. Mtume style. I can't find that one anywhere now. I can recall buying the Seventeen cassette the day it was released.
With the US Funk Mob seemingly in moth balls by that time, was looking for some good hard grooves and Summers Heat was giving me my fix. I can barely recall what was on that album other than the title track. She's only 17, he's only 35 lol. [Edited 1/6/18 4:19am] |
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I have the 'Seventeen' album on vinyl,gonna pull it out later and listen to it.As I recall,much of it is very New-Wavish,with lots and lots of synths and drum machines.I also have the 'Jam The Box' album,which I think is superior. | |
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I wish their catalog could be upgraded/reissued.They only had what....4 albums? A label like Big Break Records should reissue the albums. | |
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