70's R&B Music

Commodores is the fifth studio album by the Commodores, released in 1977. The album spent eight weeks at the top of the R&B/soul albums chart, the second of their albums to do so, and was their first Top 5 pop album. There is also a previously released extended version. The band employed a variety of musical styles for the album, highlighted by the popular anthem "Brick House". With Walter Orange's deep voice on the lead, and Ronald LaPread's bassline, this track peaked on the U.S. Hot 100 at #5, and the U.S. R&B Chart at #4. "Brick House" means a "stacked" woman with an hour-glass figure. In contrast to "Brick House", "Easy" is a pop ballad with mellow vocals by Lionel Richie. "Zoom" is one of the Commodores' best known tunes, despite not being released as a single in the US. It reached #38 on the UK singles chart. Fergie sampled "Zoom" in her song "All That I Got (The Make-Up Song)" on the album The Dutchess. In the UK and other Western European countries this album was released as Zoom on Tamla Motown. The album was dedicated to Kathy Faye LaPread, bass guitarist Ronald LaPread's wife, who died from cancer around that time.[3]

"Runaway Love" is a 1978 disco single written and produced by Gil Askey,[2] and performed by Linda Clifford.

"Young Hearts Run Free" is a disco song written by David Crawford and originally recorded by American soul singer Candi Staton in 1976. Rolling Stone ranked Staton's "Young Hearts Run Free" number 150 in their list of "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time" in 2022,[1] while Billboard ranked it among the "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" in 2023.[2] In 1996, it was covered by American house music singer Kym Mazelle for the triple-platinum selling soundtrack of Romeo + Juliet. In 2005, a cover recorded by Gloria Estefan was released for the soundtrack Music from and Inspired by Desperate Housewives. [3]

"Haven't You Heard" is a song by Patrice Rushen. It became her first international hit in 1980. The song reached #42 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #7 R&B. It also reached #62 in the UK.

First Choice is a three-piece 70s disco girl group, similar to The Three Degrees but more sassy, with Rochelle Fleming on lead. "I got something for your mind, your body & your soul"/ "It's Not Over" are probably their most sampled lines (from the perennial "Let No Man Put Asunder").

"And the Beat Goes On" is a 1979 single by the American music group The Whispers.[3] The song was their first of two number-one singles on the Soul chart, and their first Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 19.[4] "And the Beat Goes On" was the group's only number-one song on the dance chart.[5] It was also their first and biggest hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also peaked at number 27 on the Canadian RPM chart. In 1996 after Phyllis Hyman died, the Whispers honored her with a musical: Thank God! The Beat Goes On. The fictionalized story intertwines the long-running career of the Whispers with the rise of Hyman, using songs by the Whispers including ones Hyman sang with them such as "The Beat Goes On". The Whispers played themselves while R&B singer Alyson Williams played the role of Hyman.[6]

"Good Times" is a disco soul song by American R&B band Chic, released in June 1979 by Atlantic Records as the first single from their third album, Risqué (1979). It ranks 68th on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time",[1] and has become one of the most sampled songs in music history, most notably in hip hop music. Originally released with "A Warm Summer Night" on the B-side, it was reissued in 2004 with "I Want Your Love" on the B-side, a version which was certified Silver in the UK.[2]

"Boogie Oogie Oogie" is a song by the American band A Taste of Honey from their 1978 self-titled debut album. Released as their debut single in the summer of 1978, the song became an extremely popular crossover disco hit. It topped the American pop, soul and disco charts in September 1978, and it became the first certified platinum single in the history of Capitol Records for selling over two million copies.[1] It also became one of the most recognizable songs from the disco era. The lyrics call out to listeners to "boogie oogie oogie, till you just can't boogie no more". The song features Janice-Marie Johnson doing the lead vocals while playing the iconic bass lines at the same time.

"Disco Inferno" is a song by American disco band the Trammps from their 1976 studio album of same name. With two other cuts by the group, it reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in early 1977, but had limited mainstream success until 1978, after being included on the soundtrack to the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, when a re-release hit number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[1][2] It was also covered in 1993 by American-born singer Tina Turner on What's Love Got to Do with It,[3] and in 1998 by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper on the A Night at the Roxbury soundtrack.[4] Among others who covered this are Damien Lovelock, Hardsonic Bottoms 3, and Vicki Shepard.

"Native New Yorker" is a disco song written by Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell. It was first recorded in 1977 by Frankie Valli and released on his album Lady Put the Light Out. Later in 1977, the song became a hit single for the soul dance band Odyssey, reaching No. 3 on the U.S. disco chart.[1] Odyssey's "Native New Yorker" also went to No. 6 on the soul chart and No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3] It reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart.[4]