Get People on the Dancefloor

January 17, 2012

CHIC Organization Getting People on a BIG Dancefloor

Yesterday it was Martin Luther King Day in America. This is important in and of itself - but from now on I'll always remember it as the day Jimmy Castor (R.I.P.) passed away. Sadly, he's not a household name, but his influence on music is ubiquitous.

Jimmy was a musical pioneer who blazed a trail that I followed like a bloodhound tracking funk-based pop. His groove music wasn't exclusively black music, it made Everybody want to Dance!

Not only can you hear Jimmy's influence on me any time I strum a guitar, but he was the essential link between Diana Ross and the CHIC Organization. He was friendly with Diana's Motown execs and linked them up with us. We'd go on to produce Ross's biggest selling album of all time.

After the success of the album "Diana," I'd go on to produce David Bowie, Duran Duran, Madonna, and countless other pop smashes, which were just one step removed from the "E-Man" grooves of Jimmy Castor. Thank you Jimmy for helping me Get People on the Dance Floor.

LEGACY»Rewind RE•MIX

Everybody Dance!
February 17, 2011

Today I woke up thinking about my upcoming gig in Japan in April. Before I went out for my morning walk I played the whole show, from the first song to the last. It felt good to play ninety minutes straight.

In Japan we have two different openings. Set 1. Open Up. Set 2. Hangin'. Then we play every song that I sang to myself during yesterday's walk, along with "Let's Dance,"...

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