Go Go Music

[Forrrce]

Originally Posted by QUINNY

I never realised until yesterday, how GO Go ish the rhythm track to Soul II Soul's 'Back To Life' is. Do you think they had Go Go in mind when they laid that track down or should we put it down to fate?

As they were pretty short on ideas, they used the beat from 'Keep On Movin'' and couldn't work the sampler to pitch it down (engineer went on holiday without tellin' 'em) - so they added some percussion in vain to disguise it. That's how I'd like to think the story went, anyway.

[K-Bee]

Almost by accident, I found this book at the public library:

"The Beat: Go-Go's Fusion og Funk & Hip-Hop" written by Kip Lornell & Charles C Stephensen Jr. (Billboard Books, 2001)

It includes essays on:
The Roots of Go-Go
Band Profiles
The Go Go Community

I really have no idea how it is since I haven't started reading yet, but I just thought i'd let you all know about this book.
It could very well be something interesting.

[efunk_adelic]

K-Bee, I have a good idea.... share some cool parts :D :D educational one's of course. I think I finally got the GO GO beat :lol: by the way... as I was fialling (can't spell) more LP's & 12' records... I came across my steal sealed copy of EU's LP... lmfao. shows you how much I was into their music... I can't remember how I got it either.
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[ladyboygrimsby]

Originally Posted by efunk_adelic

K-Bee, I have a good idea.... share some cool parts :D :D educational one's of course. I think I finally got the GO GO beat :lol: by the way... as I was fialling (can't spell) more LP's & 12' records... I came across my steal sealed copy of EU's LP... lmfao. shows you how much I was into their music... I can't remember how I got it either.
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Which EU LP is this? I'd be interested in trading with you if it's the first one (Free Yourself).

[efunk_adelic]

It's titled Livin' Large I assume it was their first LP.

[ladyboygrimsby]

No, Free Yourself was the first. Thanks anyway!

[Forrrce]

Give or take the odd E.P., 'Livin' Large' is somewhere around their seventh LP! :)

Ladyboy, 'Free Yourself' has been re-issued twice now, through Black Fire 'Stateside and Blues Interactions in Japan (on CD).

[ladyboygrimsby]

Forrce: Yeah, thanks for the tip on the re-issue. I have it already, but always looking for an OG :)

[MsPaint]

I am so amazed at how much
you guys know about GoGo!
I am sitting up here with tears in my eyes!!
I am a native Washingtonian
(ok I'm originally from NorthCarolina )
and I'm pleased at how
GoGo has grown, although
I can agree with you all that it
is SAMPLED a lot these days!
That's not quite enough.
KurtisBlow was the first rap artist to
incorporate HipHop into GoGo
with PartyTime and E.U.
We thought that it was going to
blow up after that but it didn't.
GoGo was only for 'the hoods' of
WashingtonD.C. and ESPECIALLY
SoutheastD.C. for some reason.
Anyway, I have an online magazine and
I am now working on a full GoGo page.
Right now I only have a section.
I came across a page where TufAmerica,
part of the Tuff City music Group, which
was a seminal Hip-Hop label, that released
hundreds of rare blues, jazz, funk, soul and Hip-Hop
and now, it seems, GoGo obscurities, is suing RockAFella
for sampling TroubleFunk's 1982 song, LetsGetSmall.
I am saying this to say if there's anyone who
wants to write a small column
in my publication, feel free to
contact me.
I can't pay you, but we can be friends for life!!!

[MsPaint]

You put some joy inside my tears with all this talk about GoGo!!

[QUINNY]

Originally Posted by MsPaint

You put some joy inside my tears with all this talk about GoGo!!

Glad we made your day, so to speak. I wish more people knew about GoGo and there were a few decent readily available compilation CDs out there. I'd be first in the queue.

[Videoskooter]

Originally Posted by QUINNY

I wish more people knew about GoGo

I don't know what the problem with Go-Go was. I played it a lot on my shows BITD , certainly this legendary album:

http://www.discomusic.com/records-more/5375_0_2_0_C/


but it simply didn't hook the people! Too Funky? Too Underground? Too much Percussion? Too experimental? I don't know and that's a pity because I really thought that Go-Go would be the rebirth of Dance during the mid-eighties. And then there's that other new Kid in town: I was 1 of the first DJ's on Belgian radio that played a serious amount of Chicago House. Same problem! Didn't do anything outside the clubs. It was only until Farley Jackmaster Funk and other artists began to release more commercial house that it captured the airwaves and the charts.

[paul]

Interesting to see this thread again.
Johan, as I sorta implied years ago, the music was a perhaps a little too raw and gritty. At the time in Boston and NYC, house music was the dominant dance format. It's beat and tempo was faster and combined with a lot of innovative mixing by various DJs, thus go-go sounded IMHO "old."

[MsPaint]

Originally Posted by paul

Interesting to see this thread again.
Johan, as I sorta implied years ago, the music was a perhaps a little too raw and gritty. At the time in Boston and NYC, house music was the dominant dance format. It's beat and tempo was faster and combined with a lot of innovative mixing by various DJs, thus go-go sounded IMHO "old."

It's funny because GoGo is one of the reasons why it so hard for D.C. Rappers!!! In the '80's GoGo was ALL you heard in D.C. .
Not rap, not R&B and definitely not Disco.
It was all GoGo.
On every corner, in every household, in every store and in every car!!!!
Another reason is that there is NO UNITY in the industry in D.C. .
No body want's to help each other out.
It's every man for it'self.

[FlyRobinFly]

Originally Posted by MsPaint

It's funny because GoGo is one of the reasons why it so hard for D.C. Rappers!!! In the '80's GoGo was ALL you heard in D.C. .
Not rap, not R&B and definitely not Disco.
It was all GoGo.
On every corner, in every household, in every store and in every car!!!!
Another reason is that there is NO UNITY in the industry in D.C. .
No body want's to help each other out.
It's every man for it'self.

Ms.Paint, I have to disagree with you here. I grew up listening to the Go-Go bands. These were the bands playing at my high school dances and Homecomings. (EU, TroubleFunk, Chuck Brown, etc.) While it was very popular, it was not that dominant and certainly not in the clubs. When a certain Go-Go band played in the club then that is when they drew that Go-Go crowd but it did not dominate the scene of dance music in the more popular clubs back then.

I had stated this on another forum that Go-Go didn't take off because this is the type of music that is best listened to LIVE!! It is an awesome experience that I am glad to have participated in late 70's - early 80's. :)