Club Music & Remixes
Legendary 80s dance deva Samantha Fox (not to be confused with the porn star Samantha Fox), was one of the baddest bitches in club music! Now, I know that some of my readers may disagree with Samantha being a dance deva; but this completely depends on the environment your in. Hate her/love her, her music was a must have in terms of the underground. In fact, believe it or not, her music just wasn’t big in the straight night clubs; but she was also a massive hit in the gay clubs too! Strangely enough, she had a considerable connection with Black gays. The common answer I got was “her music was easy to vogue to.”
She Was One Of The Biggest Dance Devas Of The 80s!
When I tell you records and tapes? Every mix, remix, dubs, tribal mix, and mega mixes that was released by Samantha, the gay community had it. Back in the 80s when we still purchased albums, about every hour someone would ask if a store had the latest Samantha Fox mix. It was so serious that if a club didn’t play Samantha Fox, I remembered people saying “They didn’t play my song!” ?
Unfortunately, for this UK girl, Samantha was often confused with the porn star whose stage name was also Samantha Fox, because Samantha (the singer) done a lot of risque pinup work. Most of her pictorials were topless, and unfortunately, this was the only “safer for work” photo I found I could share. Ok straight boys, don’t drool all over your keyboard. LOL. Samantha started off posing semi-nude in a London paper at the estimated age of 16.
One of my ultimate favorites from Samantha was her massive 1989 hit, “I Wanna Have Some Fun.” This song peaked at #8 on the 100 chart. Another favorite is a song called “Love House.” I was quite surprised that the song only peaked at #14 in the U.S. But, then again, like I’ve mentioned earlier, it depends on your environment. I remember gay children literally jumping over each other just to get on the dance floor when this song was played. Goodness, I really do miss those days. The music was different, and the people were different. I’ll give you one more huge favorite of mine. It’s called “Naughty Girls (Need Love Too).” The song peaked at #3 in 1988. I think it’s a great dance tune!
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Yes!! Her two massive covers made her over. They made her over in to a very successful international superstar. Like Madonna and Cher, she is simply known by one name. Sybil. Do you remember her? Vocally, this lady had it going on back in the day! This little lady is from Patterson, New Jersey; and sings a variety of genres, including new jack swing, and house/club. She’s got a soft singing voice, with banging dance beats.
This Song Reached #2 On The R&B Charts
What? You still don’t remember her? Well, you may remember her from hearing her biggest hit of her career! The song is called “Don’t Make Me Over.” It was written by legendary writers Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It was written specifically for Dionne Warwick, and she released her original recording in 1962. Sybil’s version of “Don’t Make Me Over” only reached #20 on the Top 100; however, it shot up to #2 on the R&B Chart & #4 under Dance. Dionne’s original peaked at #5 under R&B.
Sybil had one more major international 80s hit; which also happens to be another Dione Warwick classic called “Walk On By.” This song hit #3 on R&B and #7 on Dance. Now, it seems as though the Black community played both these songs so much, we have played her out of our memory! I don’t even recall hearing internet Black radio playing her music. Her music is definitely worth jamming to.
My opinion is that, after her two major 80s hits, she became severely underrated. Her voice and music was really bangin’, and still is! There’s a lot of her music and remixes that deserved the same recognition. I’d like you to check some of (what I think) is bangin’ dance remixes, and is deserving of your ear. Check out “It’s Too Late (Thommy & Spen Dub),” “Don’t Give Up (Club Mix),” “Troubled Waters – MuthaFunkaz Vocal,” and “Make It Easy On Me.” Now, I was a little bit taken back by the song “Make It Easy On Me,” because I almost didn’t recognize her voice. She sounded a lot like Deniece Williams. ?
Michael Jackson & Justin Timberlake. If Michael was alive at the time of this mix, there would have been no greater collaboration! I’m talking about the hit song “Love Never Felt So Good.” Their voices blended nicely and seamlessly together. I have to say, this song is one of my ultimate favorite songs from the late MJ. I just appreciate the fact that while the producers involved offered a new spin on the song, they also managed to keep Michael’s essence of the 70’s. Hearing this song just made me miss MJ all over again ?
The Song Was Co-written with Paul Anka!
I learned something interesting. NEVER in a million years would I ever thought the song was co-written with Paul Anka! I found this out indirectly, when I heard the original piano version, and guess who was on piano? Yup, the legendary Paul Anka! Now, don’t get me wrong, I love me some Anka, I was just thinking from the standpoint of their musical styles are so different, I just would have never matched those two together. Yet, at the same time, I am not surprised. Michael was inspired by many people that are not spoken of today, and that includes Charlie Chaplin. MJ was truly musically diverse indeed. To my understanding, the song was still just a demo put together from the 1980s, and was never released until 2014.
Now, for various reasons, I don’t watch award shows; and haven’t done so since the 80s. But it is my understanding that Justin has received a Vanguard Award @ The VMAs, according to The Rolling Stones Magazine. So, I guess the remix of Michael’s song was good timing, as Justin was at the very peak of his career. Watching the tribute video to this song just makes MJ fans wanna cry. To hear the words sung “Love Never Felt So Good,” and to see footage of some of Michael’s best performances, was just heartbreaking to me.
You know, given light to all of Michael’s past personal problems; especially in regards to his financial troubles; the only question that seemed to be in the media just before his death; “would Michael be able to make enough money for a successful comeback?” The song “Love Never Felt So Good” alone was such a huge success around the world, there was no doubt about it, he would have been very successful. It seemed that every single artist on the planet covered this song. It was like listening to a karaoke explosion or something.
You know, before I get to his song “Promises.” I’d like to say that, arguably…… Sam Smith (in my opinion), could very well be one of the most successful out LGBT musicians in today’s pop culture. I mean, he’s even larger than Adam Lambert was, since his first major break on American Idol. They’re both talented, but let’s be real, Adam Lambert has a set of pipes on him. If you can lean a gig, singing with the legendary rock group Queen, you’ve got talent! However, Sam’s unique smooth and relaxed voice attracted the attention of many types of music fans, as well as LGBT supporters.
5 Top Tens, Within Four Years!
Just a shy over four years, Sam has managed to land 5 top ten hits! That’s incredible! That is not easy to do. However, even in this era of music streaming, I still think that if he was already out before he released his albums, he would not have had the same success. I mean, technically speaking, Adam has a trained voice, and look how much hell he got on American Idol! I also think the obvious….. Despite the micro movements towards LGBT acceptance, “straight acting” is still a major problem in the entertainment industry, be it music or film.
Fans fell in love with his song “Stay With Me (2014),” from his album “In The Lonely Hour,” which reached #2 on the Top 100 Charts. The next song that would become Sam’s next hit was, “Too Good At Goodbye (2017),” from his album “The Thrill Of It All,” which reached #4 on the Top 100 Chart. However, the song I really like from him did not reach high on the charts. It was the last single (I believe) he put out in 2018. The song is called “Promises.” Promises, is way down at #65, what a shame. I’m shocked that the song ranked so low. I loved his… Almost like a Bing Crosby sound. The song was mixed by Calvin Harris. There’s a remix album for this song, done by various DJs. Check it out on Spotify. Some of them sound hot.
I’ve been meaning to write about these amazing and forgotten performers for a long time now. I remember shaking my booty to Jomanda’s “Got A Love For You” in my almost mid 20s. In terms of dance music, CeCe Peniston and Jomanda were huge in the gay community. Let me tell you, if you want to know about good classic club music; most gay people form the 80s-90s era are scholars in that department.
This Was A Hurley’s House Mix
This particular house mix was done by the talented (and handsome I may add) Steve Silk Hurley. Hurley’s brilliance included, Crystal Water’s “So Happy,” and he also contributed (along with other DJs) to En Vogue’s “Hold On.” Discogs has a few of his rare releases from back in the day. Of all the remixes I’ve heard, both in the clubs and on radio, his version of “Got A Love For You” was not only the best, but most memorable.
Another massive dance classic I remember from this same album is called “Make My Body Rock.” This song took off at a time when “organ house music,” was massively popular. I dare to say that organ house music back then, was popular in the same way that EDM is today in my opinion (the only difference is 80s/90s organ house sounds better (what can I say? I’m an 80s kid at heart)).
Jomanda’s Cover Of A Debarge Song
I stumbled across a song I totally forgot they did. Do you remember Debarge’s “I like It?” Well, Jomanda sang a cover to the song. Their version of “I like It,” was “bangin'” as the young kids used to say back then. I can get pretty critical when it comes to groups like Debarge; because their music is so perfect; I just couldn’t picture any other group performing this song as good as them. However, It turns out they did a really good job.
Unfortunately, The Group Jomanda had a very short career, only lasting a little more than 10 years. The group consisted of Cheri Williams, Renee Washington, & Joanne Thomas. After several years of fighting colon cancer, Joanne died in 2003. Although the remaining two are no longer performing, their music lives on!!
This remix of Chic’s “Le Freak” by Oliver Heldens is freak’n’ awesome!!This is absolutely the best Chic club remix since I can remember. I am stunned, talk about coming out of left field? This is the kind of intense club music I remember growing up in the 80s. You just don’t hear great club music like this anymore, at all. However, It seems as thought this is the only mix I like from him. I found out he’s a well known DJ, but he mostly does EDM music. Rarely have I heard EDM music I like. Call it getting old, I don’t care.. ? But……. Yo, this Chic remix is hot I think.
I should have put Suzanne in a “forgotten artist” category, because no one is talking about her these days. There are only two huge hits I remember her for. I think she became most famous for a club mix she did called “Tom’s Dinner,” off her second album called “Solitude Standing.” This must have been a special 12 inch release, ’cause she only sings this song a-cappella on her album. I loved the beat of this song. Although the song only peaked at #5 on the billboard, it was still a considerable hit. The second song you may remember her for is a song called “Luka,” which is on the same album. This was a very important song in the 80s, as it brought awareness to domestic violence towards women. The song hit #3 on the Hot 100 Charts. She has recorded quite a few albums since then, but none has repeated the success of her second album.
Wow, I must really have been in a dance mood lately. I came across one of my favorite dance oldies you may remember from the 90’s. It’s from a classic house queen that dominated the nineties dance floor. Her name is Crystal Waters, and the song is called “Makin Happy.” The song came from her debut album called “Surprise.” I must say that, the late eighties into the late nineties were special, in that artists used to write lyrics to dances that made absolutely no sense, yet these same songs became major hits because they were fun to listen/dance to. Crystal is a poet, writer, and performer. I recommend that you go through some of her greatest hits album, she’s had a LOT of great dance tunes that has gone to #1 on the dance charts. Including “100% Pure Love (1994).”